What Are You Going to Do About It?
Pastor Joe opens his sermon not with a theological argument, but with a story — a scrappy kid, a schoolyard bully, and a well-timed slap that changed everything. The bully grabbed his food, stared him down, and said, "What are you gonna do about it?" That moment of holy rage, and the courage to actually do something about it, sets the tone for everything that follows. Because every believer, Pastor Joe reminds us, faces a bully far more persistent than any kid on a playground. That bully's name is sin. And just like a schoolyard bully, sin has no real power — it can only exploit the weaknesses it finds. The sermon's central question rings out like a challenge: what are you going to do about it?
The solution, Pastor Joe argues, is staring us right in the face — the Word of God. Quoting Hebrews 4:12, he describes the Bible as a precision surgeon, able to cut between soul and spirit and expose our innermost thoughts and desires. He also draws on theologian James Boice, who writes that apart from the grace of God, the heart will always be occupied by lust, greed, pride, and self-love — and that only God can cleanse it, through the power of his Word. The Bible, Pastor Joe says plainly, is a cleansing agent. Like soap, it only works if you actually apply it.
From Psalm 119:9-16, Pastor Joe draws out five practical steps for dealing with the sin problem. The first is to guard your way. The Word of God is a guard — it protects the mind, the will, and the emotions. If you are struggling with bad thoughts or bad dreams, the first question to ask yourself is how much time you are actually spending in Scripture. Equally important is the urgency of starting now. The word "young" in verse 9 isn't just about age — it's about seizing the earliest opportunity. Waiting only allows problems to grow roots, like a tree left too long near a house foundation, eventually costing far more to fix than if it had been dealt with early.
The second step is to seek God with your whole heart. Pastor Joe defines this as "an active, wholehearted pursuit and continuous longing for God, his will and his righteousness." This is not casual or occasional — it is a daily choice. Practically, it means opening the Bible before checking social media, scheduling time with God and protecting it, going out of your way to remove distractions, and serving others with genuine love. Pastor Joe shares from his own experience that the more consistently he sought the Lord, the easier it became to say no to sin. He even throws out a challenge — try it for six months and see what happens to your life.
The third step is to ask for help. The psalmist does exactly this in verses 10 and 12, crying out, "Let me not wander from your commandments" and "teach me your statutes." Pastor Joe reminds the church that Jesus promised not to leave his disciples as orphans — he sent the Holy Spirit, a helper who walks alongside believers and empowers them to live righteous lives (John 14). But help can also come from fellow believers. Citing James 5:16, Pastor Joe shares his own testimony of confessing an alcohol problem to a group of brothers, praying together, and experiencing a miraculous and immediate deliverance. Humility and community, he says, are powerful weapons.
The fourth step is to hide scripture in your heart. Verses 11, 13, and 15 paint a picture of a man who has stored up God's Word, declared it with his lips, and meditated on it deeply. The model here is Jesus himself, who in Matthew 4 faced the devil's temptations not with a scroll in hand, but with scripture already hidden in his heart — responding every time with "It is written." Pastor Joe flips the coin to show the other side: when you neglect the Word, you become an easy target. As 1 Peter 5:8 warns, the enemy prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour — and Ephesians 4:27 urges believers not to give him that opportunity. Practical advice includes reading during your brain's peak performance time, memorizing scripture regularly, verbalizing it to others, and meditating deeply on what you've learned.
The fifth and final step is to delight yourself in the Lord. Verses 14 and 16 describe the psalmist finding as much joy in God's testimonies as in all riches — not treating his commands as a burden, but as a treasure. Pastor Joe is honest that this kind of delight doesn't just happen overnight. It follows a process: delight is a product of desire, and desire is a product of discipline. Discipline, he acknowledges, is not popular in today's culture — but it is necessary and good. Like pushing through the soreness of a new gym routine until you start seeing results in the mirror, spiritual discipline builds desire, and desire, when it matures, produces genuine delight in God and his Word. The call is clear — stop waiting, start doing, and trust that God's Word will do what it promises to do.