Psalm 119: Part 10 - Stand Strong During Pressure!

Hey, Victorious Living family. I am Christi Overton Johnson, your host of more Victorious Living broadcast. Today, we are finishing our study on Psalms 119 for real. I know y'all have heard me say that a couple of times, but this is for real. This will be the last one. We have not touched on everything. As you know, this is the longest chapter in the Bible and we could talk about every verse, all 176 of them, for a long time. But, we're going to bring it to a close today. I hope you've enjoyed it. I know that I have learned things that I did not expect to learn when I set out. I think God has given us some different themes and things to dive into. Some have been comfortable, you know, and encouraged us and helped us. Some have been a little more challenging, like our last segment together where we were talking about being willing to stand up and honor God's Word and stand up for what's right and the things that are for God and not against God. That's not comfortable all the time. Today, I wanted to close out with reading Psalms 119, 143. Again, this is a writer and an author who is telling us how much the Word of God and the commands of God mean to him. He's talked about the benefits of it and we have studied many and many of them. But, he says right here in Psalms 143, as pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. Your laws are always right. Help me to understand them so that I may live. Some of you right now, I know there's times even in my life where the pressure is coming down. It is bearing down on you and you can't breathe. Maybe you've had a panic attack. Maybe you just don't see a way forward. We talked about a couple sessions ago that God's Word is the light and the lamp to help you move forward in life. But, sometimes that pressure is so real that the pressure on our senses, what our body feels, the pain or the fear that might be coming up upon us, the physical pressure of what you're having to endure maybe in your job. I know that some of the guys even in jail when you have jobs at the prison, it's difficult. There's moments where fights can break out and where you're having to make decisions in the split second of what to do. And, the pressure can often get to you. And, that's how this person feels. Pressure and stress is bearing down on me. What do you do when pressure and stress are bearing down on you? When you feel anxious? When you feel overwhelmed? We do what the author here does. Goes to God. Talks to God. Tells God what they need. I need you to help me. I need you to help me understand. I need you to help me to know what to do. I need you to guide me. I need you to protect me.

Psalms 143 here in Psalms 119 verse 143 says that when that pressure and everything's coming against us, he also says what he does is he finds joy, the joy in the commands. He says, I find joy in your commands. That sounds so different than what I imagined growing up. To me, when I would look at the commands, I did not see this as joy. I saw this as rules. But what the writer here is saying is, I know where I need to go. When the trials of life are coming at me and the pressure is pressing down, that's why it's called pressure. It's bearing down. It's coming down on me and it's so heavy. We can choose to collapse under the weight or we can choose to grab a hold of God's hand, grab a hold of his word and let him fill us up with his joy. There is joy in the commands. There is joy in the word of God. This will come in your inner being and it will encourage you. It'll strengthen you. It'll build you up. And that's why the Bible says, build yourself up in your most holy faith. How do you do that? You read the word, you pray, you sing, you praise. And that's what he is saying here. As the stuff's coming against me, what I'm going to do is I'm going to make a choice to find joy in your commands. I'm going to remember and rejoice that you are my God, that you will not fail me, that you see me, that you know me, that you love me. And they find joy in that. In Nehemiah it says, I believe it's Nehemiah 8.10. I hate it when I quote something. Anyway, it's in Nehemiah. Nehemiah says that the joy of the Lord is my strength. So to have the strength to be able to stay up under something, and that's really what the word patience is, is the Greek word of it's giving you staying power. It doesn't power, not powder, staying power. It doesn't mean you just sit there twiddling your thumbs. Oh, I got patience. I can sit around and wait. No. God's patience that he gives you through his Holy Spirit is this ability to stay up during pressure times. When it's pressing down, you don't get squashed. Okay. So the Holy Spirit just reminded me of this verse where it says we are pressed down, but we're not destroyed. And I got to figure out where that is. So let's just, just hold on a second. I'm going to Google it and see where that verse is. Some of you already know it. Shame on me for not, but it's a big Bible and there's a lot of verses. So verse, here's what I do. Verse about being pressed, but not crushed. On all sides. Here we go. 2 Corinthians 4. See how nice and handy that is. 2 Corinthians 4. Okay. If you got your Bible, hope you have your Bible. Turn with me. First, second Corinthians 4, 18. That's not it. 4, 8 through 10. 4, 8 through 10. This is, the writer is Paul and he's writing

to the church of Corinth who is getting pressed down. They have a lot of, a lot of pressure coming on them. They live in constant danger, it says, because they serve Jesus. So their pressure is coming from being a believer. And it says right here, we are pressed. Chapter 4, verse 8 of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 4, 8. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed. That means don't even know what to do, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we get up again. We are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. And so here, these are believers, just like this was a believer in Psalms, and they're going through some really, really tough times. There's enemies coming against them, and this is because they are standing strong for their faith. And maybe that's you today. You're trying to stand strong in your faith in a place where maybe faith is not welcome. Maybe it's your job. Maybe it's there at the prison. You've got different gangs and different things coming at you, and the pressure is real. What do you do? Well, you find joy in the commands. You keep going back to the Word. You keep going back to your knees. You keep saying, God, show me what to do. And that is the only way that you won't be destroyed by it. It's the only way that you'll have the staying power. And you know where this comes from? That staying power, that patience, that ability to have self-control, to have kindness towards people who aren't kind to you. All of that comes through your relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So you renew your mind with the truth. You determine in your spirit, I'm going to encourage myself, and I'm not going to react, and I'm not going to give up, and I'm not going to just lay down and let this thing kill me. No, I'm going to fight. And how do you fight? You fight in the Spirit. Because your war is not against flesh and blood. It's not against that thing you see. This war, you need a spiritual weapon, and that is the Word of God. It says that in Ephesians. So Ephesians 6, I believe it is. That is your weapon is the Word. And as you read the Word, it's going to, we've already learned, it's going to revive you. It's going to uphold you. It's going to refresh you. It's going to fuel you up. It's going to give you the way to go. And it says right here, starting right back at the front of Psalms right where we started. Joyful are people of integrity who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all his

hearts. So we did that lesson many, many, nine, ten videos ago. I think this is the tenth video. And so it's Psalms 119 starts with this determination that I'm going to be joyful in the Word and in the Lord. And it says right here, I'm going to find joy in your commands. Help me to understand them, Lord, so that I may live. This person doesn't want to die. I want to ask you today, are you giving up under this pressure and just ready to die? If you still have breath, you still have life. And you still have a purpose. And God has not given up on you. And He's going to give you that staying power. It says in Galatians 5 that the Holy Spirit will give you the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That Spirit comes alive through faith. It comes alive as you read the Word and that Word resonates with your spirit and you stand on it. You don't look at what you're feeling. You don't look at what you're smelling and you're tasting and seeing and hearing. You look at the world through the Word and that's the only way you can have joy. And that joy will be your strength and that joy will be the way that you're able to continue no matter how hard the pressure gets. So the pressure is coming down. This author here is going to find joy in the commands. They're going through a hard thing. You see them crying out to God. But during that crying out period, you also see in 147, they're rising up early before the sun is up. I cry out to you for help, God. I put my hope in your Word. I stay awake through the night thinking about your promises. This isn't just a person that says, oh I'll go on Sunday and I'll get a little Bible verse to think about. I'll read a two-minute devotion and I got it. No, this is a person who gets up before everybody else in the house. And most of my prison friends who really walked with God said they had to get up early or they had to stay up late. They had to find a place where they could get along with God because it was difficult but it was doable. And it was a determination in their spirit because they knew this was the only way they were going to be able to stay. This was the only way they're going to be able to live out their days there because the pressure was so great. It says here, 150 lawless people are coming to attack me. These people live far from your instructions but you are near, oh Lord. Do

you know that today God is nearer than your enemy? So this person could rise up in the morning, focus on the Word. During the night, focused on the Word. Knew that all these people were coming at him. They've lived in constant danger, constant stress. But it says right here in Psalms 119, 151, but you are near, oh Lord. And all your commands are true. Your laws will last forever. I put right here, God is nearer than my foes. God is stronger than the greatest pressure that will come against you. Look at my suffering and rescue me, 153. It says I haven't forgotten your instructions. This is a person that didn't do anything. They're living for God just like the people in 2nd Corinthians. They're living for God but yet they find themselves being pressed and crushed. They're crying out to God. They're committed but they're surrounded by evil people. But one thing that I see this person always doing is they go back to say, God no matter what I see, no matter what I feel, no matter what I'm experiencing, I'm going to trust you. And you know what else? I'm not going to let go. I'm not going to swerve from this. It says 157. Although they persecute me and trouble me, you could also say although I'm pressed down, the weight is heavy, I will not swerve from your laws. Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart. They don't care about your word. We talked about that last time. But I love you. The very essence of your word is truth. And that's what I'm going to keep going back to. Friends just keep going back to truth. And in the meantime, and all along, as you're watching this video, I'm going to You're going as you're coming as you're waiting, praise God. And that's what I see here. This is a person who says, I am going to, this is verse 171, it's getting towards the end. I will let praise flow from my lips. I will let my tongue sing about your word. That sometimes is one of the hardest things that we can do is praise God. To sing for joy about what he's done in our lives when you're going through a difficult time,

when your body hurts, your head hurts, your relationships are broken, you're far from anything that seems good. But if this word is true, we gotta believe all of it. And it says that wherever you are right now, whatever pressure that you're under, it does not have to crush you. That if you will stand firm and stay true and not swerve and keep hanging on, God's got you. And you know what, even if you've let go, even if you've fallen, he'll be there to help you get up. We have studied so many times where all you have to do is say, help me, God. And the minute you do, he falls in that place with you. So I just want to finish with that reminder that joy is found in the Lord. The ability to withstand the pressure that you're going through comes from standing on this word and drawing your strength from the Lord that's in you. The Lord Jesus Christ who lives in you, resides in you, and the power of the Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave will help you have life, will help you have strength. And God will put his joy in there and that'll give you strength. That'll give you strength too. Listen to this final verse, well it's our final verse in 165. Those who love your instructions have great peace.

It doesn't say that those who love your instructions will have an easy life. It doesn't say that those who love your instructions will never face trouble. In fact, it says in the book of John, in this world you will have trials and tribulations. I think that's John 16, 33. But you can count it all joy. Here's that joy again. Why? Because the light of the world has overcome every pressure you will ever face, every problem you will ever face, any enemy you will ever face. He has already overcome it. Those who love your instructions have great peace. Not those who stay in their home and never face the world. Not those who never speak to anybody. You know, I thought that sometimes. Like man, if I could just live in my house and not have to interact with people, I'd have peace. If I could just stay here and write and I would just have peace. But no I wouldn't. My computer would break, the battery would give out, the dogs would do something. There's always gonna be something to rock your world. But those who love your instructions can have great peace. Peace isn't a situation. Peace isn't a place.

Peace is a person. It's the person of Jesus. It's God. God is peace. He is the God of peace. And we can have peace with him through his son Jesus. Not only do we have peace, but we don't stumble. So this just goes right back to what we talked about. I don't know if it's last time or the time before where God's word is a lamp and a light to our feet. And it'll keep us from breaking our toes, hitting on things and stumbling and falling in pits because we're walking purposely in step with the Holy Spirit. And how can we walk with him if we don't agree with his word and we don't build our life on his word? So like the author here in Psalms 119, as we wrap it up, let's determine and choose to hold fast, to not swerve, to build our life on this no matter what we are feeling, no matter what we're seeing. God is with you. He is for you. And there is nothing, the Bible says, that can separate you from his love. Let me close with that, Romans 8. I hope y'all have enjoyed this study. Romans 8. And I am convinced, 38, that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, our fears today or our worries about tomorrow,

not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power, no pressure in the sky or in the earth, nothing can separate us from the love of God. And it says right here, does it mean he no longer loves you if you're going through pressure, trouble, calamity? persecuted, you're hungry, or destitute, poor, or in danger, or threatened with death, does that mean that God doesn't love you? No. For God so loves you, and He's already proven His love. He says no, despite all those things, all that pressure, all that calamity, an overwhelming victory is yours in Christ Jesus. Friend, that is your promise. I hope you've enjoyed this study on Psalms 119. He did it! Y'all, this is our fourth video in the cheetah outfit. I don't know if you notice, I always like to change outfits just because that way when you look at a video you'll know, oh I already saw that one or that's a different one. And this here is my fourth version of this outfit. And we have sat today and done four lessons in the Word of God. And I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Got a little bit of a headache, but that's because of these crazy lights that are shining in my face. But it is so worth it. It is worth it to come to you and to share what God is teaching. And it builds me up, and you guys keep me on my toes. So thank you. I want to ask you to pray for our team. I want to ask you to pray for just our magazine and the videos and opportunities. We were meeting with tablet companies and prisons, private prisons today, about being on their learning management systems. And there is just so much opportunity out there. But we need finances and support and volunteers and all sorts of things. People with really some skills that can continue to help us move forward with technology and all of that. So if you just partner with us in prayer and know that we are praying for you, prayers of a righteous person availeth much. And when people of faith come together and we agree on things, God moves. God moves. And I believe He wants to move in your life, so that's why our team's praying for you. And I believe He wants to move through our ministry to

touch more lives. And so your prayers coming together for our ministry and all these ministries. There's so many prison ministries with wonderful hearts that great intentions. And so just pray that we continue to have access, that we're able to minister in an effective way and reach people for the Lord, because the Lord loves incarcerated people and He loves you. So Father, we thank you for this study on Psalms 119. We thank you for all that we've learned about your word and about your ways and about your character. And thank you for what we've learned about our enemies, that they're defeated foes. And thank you that we've learned that you will never leave us or forsake us. And help us every day to choose to meditate on your word, to walk in it, not just be a hearer, but to also be a doer. To tell other people to honor you and hold you in high esteem and your word. To never water it down. Help us have hunger for it and understanding. Help us, Lord, to understand what to say and what to do. Infuse us with your strength, because Lord, honestly, we're tired. And I know that there's people right now facing things that I don't even know. And they're exhausted. And the pressure is hard. But Lord, help them to find the joy of the Lord that will be their strength. We love you, God. And we praise you. And we thank you for that we'll be able to hopefully meet again and with a new topic that will be led by you. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. And hey, we got some prison tours coming up. We are hoping to be in Pennsylvania in August. We're hoping. We're working on that. And New Hampshire. Did I say it right? New Hampshire is what we would say here in the South in October. Going on a Florida tour in November. I think we're trying to get into I think it's the Regional Medical Center, the Florida State Prison, Columbia, and Baker. I think that's the four. Oh, and Marion. I set that one up yesterday and we're excited about being in there with the guys with Extreme Solution. And then we're also got a another tour and I cannot remember where. Oh, we got a revival of folk coming up. So lots of things. So appreciate your prayers and love you guys so much. God bless you. Bye. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at

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