Sermon Series Blog: Living Proof Pt. 6
Living Proof: Why We Never Outgrow God’s Word or Grace
A Place for Broken People
At Church in the City, we say it often: you belong here. It doesn’t matter your past or even your present. We are not a community of perfect people — we are broken, flawed, and desperately in need of God’s mercy. That’s why we check our pride at the door and walk in humility. Only God can take our weaknesses and transform them into strength.
This is why the heart of today’s message can be summed up in one line:
We never outgrow our need for God’s Word or God’s grace.
When the Mirror Shows Our Mess
I’ll be the first to admit — I don’t have it all together. In fact, I sometimes have a bad temper (just ask the Gardiner Expressway). Recently, a reckless driver nearly caused an accident, and I was ready to unleash my anger. But when I pulled up beside the car, I saw a young mother with three children, panicked because a bee was in the car and her child was allergic.
In that moment, my anger turned to conviction. I saw the ugly side of myself in the rearview mirror. Honestly? The word that came to mind was turd. Not glamorous, but true.
Here’s the good news: in Christ, even a “turd” can become fertile ground. What was waste, God can use as fertilizer. Your failures, your mess, your brokenness — He can transform them into growth and blessing. As Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Word Teaches Us to Pray
Psalm 119 ends with a beautiful reminder. After 176 verses celebrating God’s Word, David doesn’t boast about knowledge gained. Instead, he cries out: “May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word” (v. 169).
Scripture is not about information — it’s about transformation. And transformation always leads us to prayer. God speaks through His Word; we respond in prayer. One without the other is incomplete.
The Word Produces Praise
David continues: “May my lips overflow with praise” (v. 171). What fills your heart will eventually flow from your lips. If the Word is truly transforming you, it will spill over into worship, thanksgiving, and encouragement to others.
It’s easy to reduce Christianity to a checklist of “do’s and don’ts.” But God cares more about who you’re becoming than what you’re doing. The Word isn’t meant to decorate your life with religious activity — it’s meant to form the foundation of your heart.
The Word Keeps Us Dependent on Grace
The psalm ends with a striking confession: “I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant” (v. 176). Even David, after pouring out love for God’s Word, admits his weakness.
This is the essence of spiritual resilience: not perfection, but dependence. John Newton, once a slave trader turned pastor and hymn writer, put it this way: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world — but still I am not what I once was.”
Living Proof of the Risen King
The journey through Psalm 119 reminds us of revival, focus, resilience, fruit, and praise. But above all, it reminds us that we never outgrow our need for God’s Word or His grace.
If you want to be Living Proof of the Risen King, it begins and ends with dependence — staying in the Word and letting the Word stay in you. Then, your life itself becomes the testimony.
