Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000025
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00:21 Hello, friends.
00:22 Welcome to another "A Sharper Focus" broadcast 00:25 coming to you live from the 3ABN Worship Center 00:27 here in Thompsonville, Illinois 00:30 right across the county line 00:32 or the city line is 3ABN main building, 00:35 West Frankfort, just about a few feet apart. 00:38 But we are glad that you've chosen to tune it night 00:40 for our weekly Bible study on how to live a spiritual life 00:44 in a what kind of body? 00:46 In a natural body. 00:48 That's the challenge that God has given to all of us 00:51 because that's the challenge we are all going to have 00:52 until Jesus remakes us over like unto His glorious body. 00:57 We are called to be spiritual 00:59 while living in this natural body 01:01 and we're continuing our topic tonight 01:03 on "How to Grow in Christ." 01:05 So if you like to invite your friends and family members 01:08 to sit down for the next hour or so 01:10 as we can study God's word together. 01:12 If you like a copy of the lesson, 01:13 go to this website. 01:15 Don't put www, 01:17 just type in ASF.3abn.org 01:22 and download lesson 008 or 008A 01:27 which is the spiritual lesson for tonight's topic 01:30 on "How to Grow in Christ." 01:33 And then make sure you have your Bibles and your pens 01:36 and you can follow along tonight with us 01:38 as we invite God to be with us. 01:40 Want to say hello to those 01:41 that are down there in Life Institute in Florida, 01:46 in Lady Lake, Florida 01:47 who are joining us via the internet 01:49 and also want to say hi to David Butler 01:51 who is normally here and he is down there, 01:53 one of our church members who just recently enrolled. 01:55 We are praying for you 01:56 and we want to just say hello to you 01:58 as you tune in with your friends 01:59 and fellow colleagues down there. 02:01 But before we go any further, 02:03 we always like to invite the Lord's presence 02:04 to continue with us, 02:06 so let's bow our heads together. 02:08 Our gracious Father in heaven, 02:09 tonight is an opportunity for us 02:12 to invite the Spirit of God to come and be our teacher, 02:16 to open our hearts and minds to the study of Your word. 02:19 Lord, everyone of us needs more strength 02:22 and there is a famine coming 02:24 that the world does not know of. 02:26 Men are planning in, 02:28 storing things that are physical 02:30 and transient and temporary. 02:33 But tonight, Lord, we turn to Your word 02:35 and we pray that You will bury it in our hearts 02:37 that we may be prepared for the days ahead of us. 02:40 So abide in our presence 02:41 we ask tonight in Jesus' name, amen. 02:46 Now before we go into our lesson, 02:47 we are gonna sing a song, it has become our theme song, 02:51 the song is "Victory in Jesus" 02:53 and we are gonna sing that locally. 02:54 If you know the song, you can sing with us. 03:00 Are you ready? 03:02 I heard an old, old story 03:06 How the Savior came from glory 03:09 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:13 To save a wretch like me 03:17 I heard about His groaning 03:21 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:24 Then I repented of my sins 03:28 And won the victory 03:31 O victory. 03:32 O victory in Jesus My Savior, forever 03:40 He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood 03:47 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:51 And all my love is due Him 03:55 He plunged me to victory Beneath the cleansing flood 04:02 I heard about a mansion 04:06 He has built for me in glory 04:10 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:14 Beyond the crystal sea 04:17 About the angels singing 04:21 And the old redemption story 04:25 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:29 The song of victory Key change. 04:33 O victory in Jesus My Savior, forever 04:40 He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood 04:48 He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him 04:55 He plunged me to victory Beneath the cleansing flood 05:03 He plunged me to victory 05:07 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:13 Amen. Amen. 05:15 Well, tonight out topic is "How to Grow in Christ." 05:21 Not just how to grow, "How to Grow in Christ." 05:25 I made a statement a moment ago 05:27 and I believe I use the same illustration 05:29 for our last study 05:31 when we began studying this particular lesson 05:35 entitled "How to Grow in Christ." 05:37 A lot of the world doesn't know it, 05:39 but there is a famine coming. 05:42 And it's not a famine 05:43 because of a lack of money in the stock market. 05:47 It's not a famine for oil 05:49 but, you know, the word famine is always associated with food. 05:52 There is a famine coming 05:54 the Bible says in the Book of Amos. 05:55 There's a famine coming not for bread or for water 05:58 but for the hearing of the Word of God. 06:01 And today if I could take a survey 06:05 on how many Bibles are sold, 06:07 I'm sure the numbers will be millions 06:09 because the Bible is still 06:10 the number one selling book of all time. 06:13 But that's not the survey 06:14 that's gonna help us in the last days. 06:16 If we could take a survey 06:17 of how many people study their Bibles, 06:20 how many people read their Bibles every day, 06:22 how many people meditate on the Word of God, 06:24 then we will know 06:26 how many people are getting ready 06:27 for the famine that's coming. 06:28 So tonight's study is not so much 06:30 about how many people buy Bibles 06:31 or how many people owns Bibles 06:33 or how many homes have a Bible in it. 06:36 David didn't say, thy word have I hid in my cupboard, 06:38 that I might not sin against thee. 06:40 David said, "Thy word have I hid" where? 06:42 "In my heart, that I might not sin against thee." 06:45 And you will discover today as we study this lesson, 06:49 we've covered quite a bit of things, 06:50 I think one of the things 06:52 we talked about in our last lesson 06:53 is faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 06:57 So if you want to strengthen your faith, 06:59 you've got to have a source 07:01 and the source is the Word of God. 07:04 You will also discover that the Word of God 07:06 effectively works in those who believe it. 07:12 The Word of God is like ingredients 07:14 in a well baked bread or ingredients in a cake. 07:18 You can have all the ingredients, 07:19 but if you don't put it in it, 07:21 if you don't put the ingredients together 07:23 before you put the cake or the bread in the oven, 07:25 it's not gonna do anything. 07:27 The Word of God is like divine yeast, 07:31 but it doesn't work outside of us, 07:33 it works when it's planted in us. 07:36 And, you know, unfortunately in our world today 07:37 where the challenge is sitting down and finding time 07:41 to study the Word of God 07:42 because our minds are pulled in every direction. 07:44 Even down here in quiet old Southern Illinois. 07:47 I was mentioning to my wife 07:49 and someone else when I came into this evening 07:51 that I've been so busy every night of the week, 07:54 waking up early in the mornings and putting my mind 07:57 and get up for the challenges of the day. 07:59 You've got to really chisel out time 08:01 to study the Word of God. 08:04 You've got to chisel out time 08:06 to lay before you the Word of God 08:08 and find out that 08:11 unless you spend that thoughtful hour with God, 08:13 doesn't have to be an hour, 08:15 but an hour will go by very quickly 08:17 when you are studying God's word. 08:19 Sometimes many hours will go by, 08:21 but don't forget if you study in the morning, 08:23 try not to make your study late and make you late for work. 08:26 Because there are not many employees 08:29 or employers would say, 08:30 "So you studied your Bible, that's why you are late." 08:33 Make sure you choose your time wisely. 08:35 But tonight, we are gonna begin as we go to question number 11. 08:40 We've covered question numbers one to ten. 08:43 And if you download the syllabus, 08:44 you should have a syllabus 08:45 that takes you all the way to question number 29. 08:48 Question number 29, 08:53 the study of the Word of God 08:56 and we are gonna look at question number 11. 09:03 And by the way, 09:04 this is leading into the last thought 09:06 we had in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 09:10 that talks about those who study the Word of God, 09:14 those who are of Thessalonica, they study the Word of God, 09:18 not as the word of men 09:19 but in fact as it is the Word of God. 09:22 You know, lot of people say, "Who wrote the Bible?" 09:24 And somebody would say, "Well, men wrote the Bible." 09:27 But we also know that holy men of God wrote, 09:32 holy men of God spoke as they were moved by who? 09:37 By the Holy Spirit. 09:38 So the author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit, 09:41 the penmen are men 09:44 that God choose that are holy men, 09:47 not corrupt men, not men that were tipsy, 09:50 not men that were inebriated, not men that were carnal, 09:54 not men that were worldly. 09:55 God choose men that he imbued with His spirit 09:58 and let them to write to be the penmen 10:00 as the Holy Spirit was the one that affected the thought 10:03 that is in the Word of God. 10:05 And let me just add one more thing 10:06 before we go to question number 11. 10:09 Lot of times people say, "Which translation is best?" 10:12 Just want to ask that question very quickly. 10:14 Now, one of the oldest translations 10:16 is the King James Version 10:18 and some people are more comfortable 10:19 with the King James Version. 10:21 I use both but in our study 10:22 we usually use mostly the New King James Version. 10:26 Some of the thoughts have been sharpened 10:28 and some of the words that were not effectively 10:31 are translated in the King James 10:33 were correctly in the proper context 10:35 in the New King James Version and some people use the NIV. 10:39 I don't strongly recommend that 10:41 because a lot of the verses have been cut short 10:43 and sometimes omitted altogether. 10:45 But here's the key 10:48 and this is what I want to communicate 10:49 on the basis of the thought. 10:51 When the Spirit of God communicated to men and women 10:54 that were included in the Word of God. 10:56 There were no women writers by the way. 10:58 When the Bible was written by these holy men, 11:01 the thought like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 11:04 they write about the same experience 11:05 but sometimes they use slightly different wording. 11:08 But if you look at the thought, 11:09 the thought is exactly the same. 11:11 So if you stand at the corner of an accident 11:14 and there are four men on four corners 11:16 and the accident is in the intersection, 11:18 each of them is gonna give a different perspective 11:21 of what happened in that intersection. 11:23 But if you look at the thought, 11:24 make sure the thought is in the proper context 11:27 of the entire picture that is given there 11:30 which we often refer to as the context. 11:33 Now as we lead into question number 11, 11:36 this is about a man that came to Jesus, 11:38 a man by the name of Nicodemus. 11:40 What was his name? Nicodemus. 11:42 He was a wealthy man, 11:43 but he was afraid to come to Christ during the day time, 11:45 so he came to Him by night. 11:47 And one thing he learned is what each of us needs to know 11:51 and let's go to the question first. 11:53 Question number 11, 11:55 "What is necessary for mankind 11:57 to have access to eternal life?" 11:59 "What is necessary for mankind 12:02 to have access to eternal life?" 12:04 The answer is found in John 3:3 and you will begin to see 12:08 how this leads into the very foundation of the Word of God. 12:13 John 3:3 is where you are turning for the answers. 12:16 Get your pens out so you would write in. 12:18 "What is necessary for mankind 12:20 to have access to eternal life?" 12:21 John 3:3 reads as follows 12:23 and this is Jesus speaking to Nicodemus. 12:25 So when you see the word him, it's Nicodemus. 12:27 "Jesus answered and said to him, 12:31 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is..." 12:34 What is the next two words? 12:36 "Born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" 12:40 Let's not run past that too quickly. 12:43 In order for your eyes to be sharp 12:45 and to see the things that God want you to see. 12:48 Some people would read the Bible 12:49 like they read a regular novel 12:51 or like they read a magazine or like they read a book 12:55 that they bought in or rented from a local store 12:58 or borrowed from a local library. 13:00 You can't read the Bible that way, 13:03 because the Bible is saying unless a man is born again. 13:07 What's the phrase? 13:08 "Born again, he cannot..." 13:11 What's the next word? 13:12 "Cannot see." 13:14 So what we have to do is not just be born again, 13:16 but you will discover in just a moment 13:19 what that born again is all about. 13:21 You can't just say I'm born again. 13:23 Born again is not a phrase 13:24 that we say, "Well, I'm born again." 13:26 You got to be born of something 13:29 and in order for us to be able to see, 13:32 we have to be born again. 13:34 So somebody may look at the Bible text and say, 13:35 "Well, I don't see that." 13:37 Well, you know, what I often say, 13:38 "Well, maybe you are not born again." 13:41 Because a natural person 13:43 doesn't receive the things of God 13:45 for they are spiritually discerned. 13:48 So in order for us to benefit 13:49 from the study of the Word of God, 13:51 let me even go to another level. 13:53 Sometimes we have professors and I was in a, 13:56 when I was taking the electronics in school, 13:59 I had a professor that used to be a priest 14:02 and then he became an atheist. 14:07 And we had discussions in our class sometimes 14:09 about things that didn't even make any sense. 14:11 For example he says, "What if I can recreate, 14:14 what if the black hole 14:16 can be recreated one mile above earth's atmosphere, 14:20 he said then we can go light years into the past 14:23 and light years into the future 14:24 if we can go through the black hole." 14:26 You know, the class sat with their mouth wide open. 14:29 And I thought, "Oh, great speculation." 14:31 So I said to him, "Doctor, can I ask you now." 14:35 I don't want to say his name. 14:36 "But can I ask you-- 14:38 Let's talk about something that makes more sense to me. 14:40 Why do people die?" 14:42 And he said "Well, all machinery 14:43 eventually breaks down." 14:45 And I thought, okay, I see where this is heading, 14:47 I said, doctor, are you and he is an atheist. 14:50 I said, "Are you married?" He said, "Yes, I'm married." 14:52 I said, "Why are you married." 14:54 And he said, "What do you mean?" 14:55 I said, "Well, why do you have to be married?" 14:59 And he kind of said, "Well, it's a good thing to do." 15:02 And I said, "Who said?" 15:04 And he said, "Okay." 15:07 And I said, now I got really pointed. 15:08 I said, "Now, doctor, what if, 15:10 what if I committed adultery with your wife, 15:13 is that a bad or good thing?" 15:15 He said, "That's a bad thing." 15:16 I said, "Who said?" 15:18 Now I wanted to shock him. 15:21 You know, when you hear that, that's a shocking statement 15:23 especially when you include yourself in the scenario. 15:26 And so he, he with the class were shocked. 15:29 I said, "Well, who said?" 15:31 And, you know, he was stunted. 15:33 And we continued for about 40 to 45 minutes. 15:35 We had a two and half hour class. 15:37 We had this back and forth and he entertained 15:39 that he likes a challenge and I'm a New Yorker, 15:42 so that kind of fits into that scenario. 15:45 But what I'm saying here 15:46 is that those things that he was talking about 15:49 that were natural didn't make sense to me 15:51 because my mind is focused spiritually. 15:54 Those things that I talked about spiritually 15:55 didn't make sense to him 15:57 because his mind is focused naturally. 15:58 So here is the first parameter, 16:01 what you want to write down for number 11. 16:03 What is necessary? 16:05 You must be born again. 16:08 Must be born again. 16:09 And in your study you want to put, 16:11 unless you cannot see. 16:14 If you are not born again you can't see. 16:16 So some people may study the Sabbath said, 16:18 "I can't see that." 16:19 Well, there is the answer. 16:21 When you are born again, your eyes will be opened. 16:26 Now let's go to number 12. 16:28 Let's go to number 12 because being born again 16:30 is not enough, you have to understand 16:32 the context of being born again. 16:33 What does it mean to be born again? 16:35 Question number 12, here it is. 16:37 "What is the context of our new birth experience?" 16:41 "What is the context of our new birth experience?" 16:44 The conversation continues with Nicodemus 16:47 as Jesus answers the question. 16:49 He says in verse 5, 16:50 "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, 16:53 I say to you, unless one is born of the..." 16:57 Oh, let me go to the text. 16:58 "One is born of the water and the Spirit, 17:01 he cannot enter the kingdom of God." 17:04 You have to be born of the water 17:07 and of the Spirit. 17:08 Let's break that down briefly. 17:09 Water is baptism. 17:12 That's the death, 17:13 the burial and the resurrection to walk in the newness of life. 17:16 But you have to be born of the water 17:18 and of the spirit. 17:19 Now why? 17:21 Because without having the spiritual new birth, 17:23 you cannot have spiritual eyesight. 17:25 So let's go back to tying it down to the text. 17:27 And you will see why that was relevant to question 17:31 lead in to the very next question that's coming. 17:35 The spirit does something that cannot happen naturally. 17:39 Let me give you my own experience. 17:41 Sometimes I'm studying the Bible 17:43 and I'm able to go, I look at a particular text 17:46 that I've read many, many times before 17:48 but on this particular occasion 17:50 I said, "Lord, I really want to understand 17:52 and so I spend little more time in prayer." 17:56 And when I get up off my knees 17:57 and I read that, all of a sudden 17:59 it's like I have-- 18:01 I start seeing things that I never saw before. 18:06 And I stand back and even to my amazement, 18:08 sometimes when I'm doing my seminar, 18:09 I would go to my wife and say, 18:11 "Honey, let me read this text to you 18:12 but we read this a thousand times before 18:14 but listen to it in a different way." 18:17 And I said, I just didn't see that. 18:21 And it's not that I wasn't born again 18:22 but sometimes when you really plead for the Spirit of God, 18:26 He responds by giving you that anointing 18:29 opening your eyes as the Revelation says, 18:32 Revelation Chapter 3 says, "We have to pray this prayer. 18:37 Anoint my eyes with eyesalve that I may see." 18:41 So sometimes our eyes are open but they are not anointed. 18:45 So you have to pray not just for your eyes to be opened 18:47 but for your eyes to be what? 18:48 Anointed. 18:50 Because in this day and age our eyes are-- 18:51 You know, if you walk down the streets of New York City, 18:53 particularly in Times Square, your eyes are everywhere. 18:57 I would challenge anybody to try to study your Bible 18:59 while they sit in Times Square. 19:01 You couldn't do it 19:02 because your eyes are distracted. 19:04 But as we're going to lead in, 19:05 born again, born of the water and of the spirit. 19:08 Now let's go to question number 13 19:10 to see why this is so significant. 19:13 Why this is so significant. 19:14 So if you want to add in the answer for number 12. 19:16 What is the context of our new birth? 19:19 What are you gonna write down? 19:21 Water, baptism, spirit, spiritual. 19:27 When it says spirit, that means you are now spiritual. 19:30 You're walking in a spiritual life. 19:32 You're walking in a spiritual relationship. 19:35 You are not walking in a natural relationship, 19:37 you are walking in the spirit. 19:39 And let me just emphasize that 19:40 because a lot of times people say 19:42 I'm in the spirit, right. 19:44 You know, that's so simple to say, 19:48 but if you say you are in the spirit, 19:49 you have to understand that. 19:51 If you are in the spirit and you read the Bible, 19:54 nothing you read should offend you. 19:57 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 19:59 If you read, if you love me, keep my commandments. 20:01 Let's go there. 20:02 I want to show you something. 20:03 John 14, John Chapter 14, I want you to see something. 20:07 Show you how the Spirit of God works. 20:10 John Chapter 14, 20:12 this is not in the syllabus but that's all right. 20:16 Look at how the spirit works. 20:20 John 14:15, 20:24 all right. 20:26 It's good to start at verse 14 20:27 because it kind of leads into that. 20:29 Lot of times people wonder 20:30 why their prayers are not answered. 20:31 Let's look at verse 14 and 15 and 16 it says, 20:35 "If you ask anything in My name..." 20:37 What does Jesus say? 20:38 "I will do it. 20:40 If you love Me..." 20:41 What did He say? 20:43 "Keep My commandments." 20:44 Look at the continuing thought. 20:45 And if you're keeping His commandments He says, 20:47 "And I will pray the Father, 20:50 and He will give you another comforter or another Helper, 20:53 that He may abide with you for..." 20:55 How long? Forever." 20:57 That who is that comforter? 20:58 Look at the very next verse. 21:00 "Even the Spirit of truth, 21:04 whom the world cannot receive, 21:08 because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, 21:13 but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be..." 21:17 Where? "In you." 21:18 So what happens is now, 21:19 if the spirit of God is abiding in your life, he is there, 21:22 because you are obedient. 21:24 You are what? You are obedient. 21:26 Go with me to Acts Chapter 5, want to tie this together. 21:29 So if somebody says I love the Lord 21:32 but they don't want to keep His commandments 21:33 and they are not ignorant of the Commandments of God 21:37 then there is a problem there. 21:40 Acts Chapter 5 21:43 and we are gonna look together at verse 32. 21:47 Acts 5:32 21:49 I want to dive into this the work of the Spirit of God 21:52 very effectively here not just in the study of God's word 21:55 but notice what the apostle says 21:57 in verse 32 of Acts Chapter 5. 22:00 And it says, "And we are His witnesses, 22:03 that is of these things, 22:05 and so also is the Holy Spirit 22:09 whom God has given to those who..." 22:11 Do what? "Obey Him." 22:14 So you don't just say I'm in the spirit. 22:18 You are in the spirit if you are obedient. 22:21 You don't say I want the spirit. 22:24 The spirit works in various ways. 22:26 One to convict us, 22:27 the second one to give us that new birth experience 22:30 and the third one to empower us 22:33 with the gifts of God's Holy Spirit. 22:37 But He is not just gonna abide in your life 22:39 if you say, "Well, I just want to read God word, 22:41 God's word and I will pick and choose 22:43 what I want to accept, 22:44 in what I want to live in obedience too." 22:46 He would not empower your mind, He would not empower your life 22:49 because He gives, He has given to those who obey. 22:53 Those who obey. 22:55 Now look at question number 13, all right. 22:57 Question number 13 23:00 and we have 29 questions, 23:01 we may not get to them all tonight 23:03 but that's what wonderful about a continuing study. 23:06 "What other component is necessary 23:09 for the new birth to be effected?" 23:12 "For the new birth to be effected?" 23:16 Not effective but effected. 23:17 In other words or the new birth to happen, 23:19 for it's really be something that you experience. 23:22 What is necessary? 23:24 What are the necessary components-- 23:26 We are look at the text here in 1 Peter 1:23, 23:31 1 Peter 1:23. 23:33 Now remember, so far we have discovered 23:35 we are born of the water and of the spirit, okay. 23:39 But that's not the end of your birth. 23:41 See this topic is about how to grow in Christ. 23:44 If that's all you are born of the water-- 23:46 In other words, I'm baptized but I'm walking in the spirit. 23:49 The Lord says, that's not the end of it. 23:51 You got to walk in something else. 23:52 You have to understand 23:54 that your birth is far beyond just baptism, 23:58 far beyond just saying Holy Spirit come into my life. 24:01 The evidence of the spirit of God 24:03 coming into your life is encapsulated 24:05 in this very next verse. 24:06 Look at 1 Peter 1:23, 24:09 the Bible says, having been, read that with me. 24:13 "Having been..." What? 24:14 "Born again, not of corruptible seed but..." 24:18 Of what? 24:19 "Incorruptible, through the word of God 24:23 which lives and abides forever." 24:27 Now get this. 24:28 What is being said here, 24:30 Peter is saying that the incorruptible seed 24:34 is made available to us through the Word of God. 24:37 Now remember the Parable of the Sower? 24:40 It's in Matthew Chapter 13. 24:42 What was the sower sowing? Seed. 24:45 What did the seed represent? 24:47 The Word of God. 24:49 Get it now. 24:51 The seed, there is nothing wrong with the seed 24:54 but if you remember the parable in Matthew 13 very carefully. 24:57 Some seed fell on good ground 25:01 but some seed fell on shallow ground. 25:04 Some that is stony ground. 25:06 Some seed fell on thorny ground 25:08 and some seed fell on shallow ground. 25:11 What happened is the thorny ground 25:13 the cares of this life chocked the word. 25:16 Some seed fell on shallow ground. 25:19 Let me make the application. 25:21 There is some people that listen to the Word of God. 25:22 They heard the word of God preached 25:24 and one week they are completely in the world, 25:26 the next week they are fired up 25:27 and ready to do anything for God 25:29 but they go out like fire cracker, 25:33 because the Word of God hasn't taken root way 25:35 down inside of them. 25:37 The third category is the other one 25:40 sometimes that I say shallow ground, 25:42 thorny ground and stony ground 25:46 that means 25:47 what happens if you try to put seed in stone, 25:49 does it go through? 25:51 Now, this is where as a preacher, 25:53 I've come to the point of acceptance. 25:55 I can preach God's word for the next two millenniums 25:58 and there are some people 26:00 whose heart I will never penetrate. 26:03 And the Lord is saying one of the hardest jobs 26:04 of teaching God's word, 26:06 preaching God's word and sharing God's word 26:09 is there are those whose hearts are like stone 26:14 and it will never penetrate 26:16 because they have not been born again. 26:18 Remember the prayer in Psalms Chapter 51, 26:22 the Lord said to David, 26:23 I'm gonna take out your heart of stone 26:25 and give you a heart of what? 26:27 Flesh. 26:28 When the heart is softened, then the seed can penetrate, 26:32 then the seed can have roots that are tapped down deep. 26:35 But right here we are finding 26:37 that the incorruptible seed comes from the Word of God. 26:40 The point of the matter is 26:41 there is nothing wrong with the Word of God. 26:43 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 26:45 There is nothing, there is nothing wrong 26:47 with God's word, 26:48 the problem is the condition of the heart. 26:51 So if you answer the question 26:54 "What other component is necessary 26:55 for the new birth to be effected?" 26:57 That is the what? 26:59 That is the incorruptible seed- the Word of God. 27:06 The incorruptible seed 27:07 because when the sower was sowing, 27:09 if you read that story in Matthew 13, 27:10 the sower was sowing just fine. 27:12 There is nothing wrong with the seed, 27:14 but it was where the seed was falling 27:16 and the sad reality is in the statistics 27:19 that are listed here in that chapter, 27:21 if you come away with that story 27:22 being an application even in a parabolic setting, 27:26 you discover that 75 percent, 27:29 75 percent of those who heard the word, 27:33 it did not affect any change in their lives. 27:36 So if you look at the churches nowadays 27:38 and you say, "Well, what's happening?" 27:40 This is sad. 27:41 This is sad but I don't like to apply it 27:43 but it's saying chances are 75 percent of those 27:48 who ever hear the Word of God in their life, 27:52 75 percent of those according to that parable, 27:56 there will be no change effected in their lives. 27:58 There maybe a momentary change like the shallow ground 28:02 but you will discover no roots. 28:05 And when the trial comes, boom, they are gone. 28:09 So we have to understand the Word of God, 28:11 there is nothing wrong with the Word of God, 28:12 all right. 28:13 Number 14, number 14, 28:17 "How does the Bible convey 28:19 the victorious strength of the Word?" 28:24 "How does the Bible convey 28:25 the victorious strength of the Word?" 28:28 1 John 2:14 is where we are turning. 28:31 "How does the Bible convey 28:32 the victorious strength of the Word?" 28:35 You know, the Word of God is a book 28:37 that has victory in it 28:39 and when you apply it to your life, 28:40 it's like, I'm gonna give you an example. 28:43 We have in the 3ABN Worship Center 28:45 in the back of our stage, 28:46 we have a big box 28:49 that has to have about 300 batteries in it at least, 28:53 and there are batteries added every week. 28:55 But you know what? 28:56 They don't look any different from the brand new batteries 28:58 that we buy. 28:59 Now we used to sort in a little container 29:02 and that container had label on it bad and good. 29:06 And I always noticed that there were more bad batteries 29:09 than there were good batteries. 29:11 But let me just make this point. 29:13 You couldn't tell by the outside 29:15 because it said Alkaline Energizer or Duracell, 29:19 they both have the same external label. 29:22 So it's impossible by looking at a person from the exterior 29:26 to determine what's happening on the inside. 29:29 Why were those batteries bad, somebody tell me? 29:31 Why were those batteries labeled as bad? 29:35 Ran out of juice or what's happening, what else? 29:38 What's the word, another word for juice? 29:40 Okay. 29:42 No energy. 29:44 Okay. 29:45 Useless. Okay. 29:47 Running or ran out of power. 29:49 It didn't have enough power to get the task 29:52 that it was designed for accomplish. 29:55 So you can put, you can put, 29:56 well, I don't know if you could this in series 29:59 but that battery no matter how much you say, 30:00 "Come on, batteries, let's do it. 30:03 Let's come on, you look like just any other battery. 30:05 Let's try it again." 30:06 You put that battery in... 30:09 Brothers and sisters, it's not how we look on the outside 30:12 so much as we are empowered 30:15 by the Spirit of God from the inside. 30:18 Born of the water and of the spirit. 30:20 So let's look at the answer here to question number 14. 30:22 "How does the Bible convey 30:23 the victorious strength of the Word?" 30:25 Here's the answer, 1 John 2:14, 30:29 "I have written to you, fathers, 30:32 because you have known Him who is from the beginning. 30:36 I have written to you, young men, 30:38 because you are..." What? 30:40 "Strong, and the word of God abides in you, 30:46 And you have overcome the wicked one." 30:51 "How does the Bible convey 30:52 the victorious strength of the God's Word?" 30:55 How does it convey it? 30:58 Look at that text. 30:59 How does it convey it? 31:02 The Word of God abides in you. 31:06 Now... 31:10 I'm using some crude illustrations here tonight. 31:12 Nobody is afraid of an empty gun. 31:15 The devil is not afraid of an empty Christian. 31:18 That is, if your mind is not equipped 31:19 by the Word of God, 31:21 remember now, when Jesus was faced by the tempter. 31:24 When Satan came and tempted Jesus, 31:26 Jesus didn't say, "Leave me alone." 31:30 Say it again, Dan. It is written. 31:32 That's right. It is written. 31:33 Now, if Jesus needed that to defeat the enemy 31:38 because the enemy is not concerned about our words. 31:40 That's why I say to people whenever I'm having studies, 31:43 I say, well, somebody once said to me 31:48 "Why is it that every time I ask you a question 31:50 you say the Bible says? 31:52 Can't you just tell me what you think?" 31:54 And I said to them, "What I think doesn't matter." 31:56 Isn't that right. 31:57 My word has no authority at all. 31:59 I can say, well, and that's the problem nowadays, 32:01 lot of times people put authority on the man, 32:03 on the word of man and not on the Word of God. 32:06 The key here is what overcomes the world, 32:09 what overcomes the wicked one 32:10 is the fact that the Word of God abides 32:13 and in this particular context when the apostle says that 32:17 God spoke to the fathers and he speaks to the young men, 32:21 he is saying that you both will overcome the wicked one 32:24 because the Word of God abides in you. 32:27 So here's the key. 32:28 If we are gonna be victorious on our day by day basis, 32:30 where does the Word of God have to be? 32:33 In us. 32:35 In us living and abiding and powerful 32:39 and quick as we found out in Hebrews Chapter 4 last week. 32:42 "The Word of God is powerful and quick, 32:44 sharper than any two-edged sword." 32:47 So the enemy when he comes and he sees that sword, 32:50 that flashing towards so he can't go any further. 32:54 That two-edged sword that the enemy is afraid of 32:56 is the living and abiding Word of God. 32:59 But it doesn't abide on your shelves, 33:01 it doesn't abide in your iPad or your iPod or on your laptop, 33:04 it abides where? 33:06 In us, inside of us. 33:07 And how does that happen? 33:08 You got to chisel out that time to read the Word of God. 33:11 Now if you don't have an entire hour, 33:14 spend at least sometime. 33:15 Get yourself a Bible text. 33:18 Get something in there 33:20 because if you put the Word of God in your mind, 33:23 that means it's less room for the devil. 33:30 And he can't really find a whole lot of space 33:33 because the Word of God as I mentioned to you earlier, 33:35 the Word of God is kind of like yeast. 33:37 When it enters the bread what happens? 33:40 It expands. 33:42 And you will find that throughout the day, 33:44 sometimes that text that you read in the morning, 33:46 you discover how it all of sudden 33:48 pops up in the relevant situations of your life 33:51 during the day. 33:52 But if it's not there, you can't recall that. 33:55 And by the way, the Holy Spirit promises 33:57 to bring back to our remembrance 33:59 what we have learned. 34:01 So in other words, 34:02 if there is no money in the bank, 34:04 you can't take it out, right. 34:07 Don't go to the bank and say, I like to get $200 out. 34:11 And they say do you have an account here? 34:12 I sure do. 34:13 Can I see your card? 34:15 Could you swipe your card? 34:16 Could you put your pin number and show? 34:17 Oh, your balance is zero. 34:19 But I do have an account, right. 34:21 Yeah, but you don't have anything in it. 34:23 So you may have a mind 34:24 but unless there is something in it, 34:26 you are not getting anything out, right. 34:27 The Spirit of God is that teller. 34:30 The Spirit of God is that person 34:31 that's behind that financial institution. 34:33 Let me put the application together. 34:36 God has a financial institution, 34:39 financial institution, 34:41 financial institution, that is never broke. 34:44 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 34:47 But He promises that if you deposit in that, 34:50 if you put your money there, 34:52 when the time comes to draw it out, 34:54 there will be something there. 34:56 In other words, if you invest in your mind His money, 35:01 His divine investments, when the time comes, 35:04 you can withdraw something. 35:06 Kind of round about way 35:08 but I think you got the point, right. 35:10 The Word of God must abide in us. 35:12 Now number 15, number 15. 35:15 We are moving at a good pace. 35:17 Number 15, 35:19 "What can the Word of God accomplish 35:22 when we consume it?" 35:24 My good friend Pastor Batchelor few years ago, 35:28 and by the way I want to encourage you 35:29 to tune in tomorrow night for 3ABN Live. 35:32 This is a live program 35:33 and Thursday night live 35:35 Pastor Batchelor is going to be here 35:37 but he wants, you know, 35:38 when he talked about the word devour in Revelation 35:40 "fire came down from God out of heaven, 35:43 and devoured them." 35:44 The word devour and consume are synonymous 35:46 and he said if you want to find out what devour means, 35:48 invite me over and have Mexican food. 35:52 So and in the very same way, 35:56 you know, we can, 35:58 we are people in America 35:59 that look forward to Thanksgiving. 36:03 Thanksgiving is not too far away. 36:07 Thanksgiving, this word consume 36:08 really comes into relevance, doesn't it. 36:11 People eat until they can't eat any longer. 36:13 But the question tonight is, 36:15 we have natural food and we have spiritual food 36:18 and there is a difference. 36:19 Look at the answer 36:21 here in Psalms 119:9 to the question, 36:24 "What can the Word of God accomplish when we consume it?" 36:27 It says, "How can a young man cleanse his way? 36:32 By taking heed according to..." 36:34 What? "Your word." 36:36 Now when you look at the question, 36:37 "What can the Word of God accomplish when we consume it?" 36:41 What does it do? 36:43 Cleanse. Cleanse. 36:46 Cleanse. The Word of God is a cleanser. 36:50 "How can a young man cleanse his way? 36:52 By taking heed according to..." 36:54 How? "Your word." 36:55 Now, this is particularly speaking to the young men 36:57 in the context, 36:59 but do you think it applies to every one of us? 37:01 It applies to every one of us 37:02 because the Word of God is a cleanser. 37:04 You know what that means? 37:06 This is a powerful illustration, 37:07 I must say so myself and here it is. 37:10 We naturally, our minds naturally are magnets to things 37:14 that are not clean... 37:17 right. 37:19 Our hearts are corrupt, our minds are corrupt. 37:22 Our righteousness is as what? 37:23 Filthy rags. 37:25 We are like vacuum cleaners and we suck in dust 37:27 and none of that dust is good. 37:29 It's a natural thing, it's a natural process. 37:31 We hold on to things that are not clean. 37:33 So the Lord says, 37:34 "Hey, I've got a way to clean out your thoughts. 37:38 If you put My word in there, it will clean it out." 37:40 Isn't that wonderful? 37:42 If you put the scouring pad of God's word in your mind, 37:46 you will discover, 37:47 you couldn't even say those words 37:49 that used to be there 37:51 or think those thoughts that used to be there. 37:52 Why? 37:54 Because you are storing up good things 37:56 and it's pushing out the bad things. 37:58 Think of the Word of God as a long tube, 38:00 if you push in the good things in one end, 38:02 it's gonna push the bad things out the other. 38:05 So the cleansing process that all of us needs 38:07 is not so much say, "Ah, man, 38:10 why am I sitting here in church 38:12 and my mind is everywhere else?" 38:15 I can almost guarantee you 38:16 that those who are not spending time 38:17 storing God's word in their minds, 38:20 their minds tend to wander a lot more 38:22 on things that don't pertain to God's word 38:24 than a person whose mind is so has been trained 38:28 to continue studying God's word. 38:30 If you think, now think about it, 38:31 if you read computer books everyday all day, 38:34 work on a computer, service computers, 38:36 what would you think about 38:37 when you are walking around the streets? 38:39 Computers, right. 38:40 If you had a regimen of studying God's word, 38:42 not necessarily not doing anything else 38:44 but if you had a regimen 38:45 of studying God's word day by day, 38:47 you know what happening? 38:48 You are storing this word, you are storing this word, 38:52 you are putting your stock and it's increasing day by day 38:55 and what happens you will discover 38:57 that those thoughts that used to be there naturally, 39:00 they are not even allowed to come in. 39:04 Now look at this illustration, 39:06 the Word of God is sharper than any two edge what? 39:08 Sword. 39:09 What happened when Adam and Eve sin, 39:11 what did the Lord used to keep them out of the garden? 39:13 Sword. 39:14 Sword keeps sin out. 39:16 The sword of God' word keeps sin out. 39:20 That's why the angel use, 39:21 the angel didn't just stand there. 39:24 When Jesus comes back, what is he gonna have? 39:28 What's gonna come out of his mouth? 39:29 The Word of God. 39:30 Is this gonna be a sword the Bible says. 39:32 And the sword is what? The Word of God. 39:34 Sword in the garden, sword in the Word of God, 39:38 sword in fact in Revelation that sharp sword, 39:42 that is the Word of God. 39:43 So if you want to, if you want to have your ways cleansed, 39:46 you got to have your mind filled by the Word of God. 39:50 Because, you know, what I tell you what? 39:51 It's hard to read God's word one minute 39:54 and be profaned the next. 39:56 It's not possible. 39:57 It's hard to read God's word one minute 39:59 and think terrible thoughts the next. 40:01 It's hard to read God's word 40:03 about how to treat your brother and your sister 40:04 and then treat your brother and your sister 40:06 opposite to what you just read a moment ago. 40:10 Because the Word of God is living, 40:12 the Spirit of God is working in your life. 40:14 He is abiding in you 40:15 and He will activate like yeast is activated, 40:18 whatever is in your life will be activated 40:19 and you will find that your thoughts. 40:21 How can a young man cleanse his way? 40:24 We will find that our ways are being cleansed. 40:26 But if we are saying away from the Word of God, 40:28 what's happening to our ways? 40:30 What's the opposite of being cleansed? 40:33 Corrupted, that's right. Corruptible. 40:35 See, the word of God is an incorruptible seed 40:38 and what does it do? 40:40 It cleanses our way. 40:42 You get that? Nothing wrong with it. 40:43 But the reason why there is so much corruption in the word 40:46 is because the Word of God is omitted. 40:51 Number 16, 40:54 "What evidence does the Bible give 40:55 to reveal the power of God's Word?" 40:58 "What evidence does the Bible give 41:00 to reveal the power of God's Word?" 41:04 I talked about this a moment ago 41:05 and some of you are already on top of this. 41:07 So I'm just gonna go and turn there Psalms 119:11. 41:10 You theologians already know the answers. 41:12 You want to read the text with me? 41:13 Are you ready? Here we go. 41:14 Psalms 119:11 the Bible says, "Your word have I..." 41:18 What? 41:20 "Hid in my heart, that I might not..." 41:21 What? "Sin against You." 41:24 We are the quoting the King James Version. 41:25 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, 41:27 that I might not sin against thee." 41:30 I know that by heart. 41:31 But thy word, your word have I hidden in my heart. 41:35 The word hidden there is not concealed but stored. 41:41 That's the difference. 41:42 You don't want to hide God's word, 41:43 you want to store God's word. 41:46 So when people come around and say, 41:47 "Man, doesn't seem like you have whole lot of food." 41:49 I said, don't get fooled, 41:51 you are looking for physical food, 41:52 but I got a whole lot of spiritual food. 41:55 And the reason why that's widely important 41:57 because we began by saying a famine is coming. 42:00 If a famine for the Word of God is coming, 42:01 you better make sure you have a lot of Word of God stored up 42:05 because when the famine comes 42:07 and you're not allowed to carry your Bibles. 42:09 Like it happened in Paris, France in the 1700s 42:12 where the Word of God was banned. 42:14 It happened during the Dark Ages 42:16 where the Word of God was taken from the common man. 42:18 If it happened during the Dark Ages 42:21 and people were put to death for having the Word of God. 42:23 If it happened in France 42:25 where the Word of God was outlawed 42:27 and burned in bundles. 42:28 If it happened in communist Russia 42:30 which is now no longer communist 42:32 where the Word of God was prohibited, 42:34 it's gonna happen again 42:35 but this time on a worldwide scale. 42:38 Every country, every continent, 42:40 that's why this is a critical hour. 42:42 We are doing what God wants us to do 42:44 by studying God's word together, amen. 42:47 We are storing it up. 42:49 Okay, number 17 that's where we are. 42:54 "How was the Christian church strengthened at its inception?" 42:58 "How was the Christian church 43:00 strengthened at its inception?" 43:04 All right. 43:09 We're gonna turn to the Book of Acts 20:32, 43:13 Acts 20:32 question number 17. 43:17 "How was the Christian church strengthened at its inception?" 43:21 Now I want you to get this. 43:22 The way that it was strengthened at its inception 43:24 is the way that it's gonna be strengthen 43:26 just before the church triumphant. 43:29 What they need, what the church needed 43:30 when it started is what the church still needs today. 43:32 Am I right? 43:34 Here's the answer, Acts 20:32. 43:37 I like to hear those pages turning 43:38 even thought we have it on the screen. 43:41 Acts 20:32 the Bible reads as follows, 43:44 "So now, brethren, 43:46 I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, 43:52 which is able to..." 43:54 Do what? 43:55 "Build you up and give you an inheritance among all those 44:00 who are..." What? 44:01 "Sanctified." 44:03 What is the Word of God able to do? 44:06 Sanctify you and do what else? 44:08 Build you up. 44:10 I'm... 44:14 You know, bodybuilding is one thing 44:16 but spiritual bodybuilding is something all together 44:18 that last a lot longer. 44:20 You don't have to look like Mr. Universe 44:21 because the strength comes not from you 44:23 but the strength comes from what? 44:25 The Word of God which lives and abides forever. 44:28 So if the Word of God built up the early church 44:31 and you know some of the stories, 44:32 you know, when the Bereans, the Bereans studied God's word, 44:36 the Thessalonican's study God's word. 44:38 And matter of fact, whenever the word was preached, 44:40 they didn't take what the preachers said. 44:42 What did they do? 44:44 They went home and checked it out. 44:48 Okay, I heard what you said 44:49 but let me make sure it's in God's word, right. 44:52 But that doesn't happen in a whole lot nowadays. 44:54 You see, you will discover that 44:56 whenever the Word of God is the measuring point, 44:58 whenever the Word of God is the place that people examine 45:02 what is being said publicly against. 45:04 When you measure what a person says, 45:06 and I always encourage people, don't take my word for granted. 45:10 Measure it by the Word of God. 45:11 When the Word of God is the measuring rod, 45:14 12 inches is always 12 inches, it doesn't vary at all. 45:18 Three feet always three feet. 45:20 The Word of God is the measuring rod, 45:21 that's why when you get down to Revelation Chapter 11, 45:24 you find this phrase, you find this phrase, 45:27 "Measure the temple 45:28 and those that worship in there." 45:30 What are they measuring them? 45:32 How they measuring them? 45:33 They are measuring them by the standards 45:35 that are divine. 45:37 They are measuring those that worship 45:38 by a divine standard. 45:41 We are not being measured. 45:43 We are not being measured by human standards. 45:45 We are being measured by what? 45:47 Divine standards. 45:49 Measure the temple 45:50 and those that worship there, okay. 45:53 The Word of God. 45:55 Now let's go to number 18. 45:56 So if you want to put the answer 45:58 "How was the Christian church strengthened at its inception?" 46:00 What did you put down? 46:02 By the word of God that was able to build them up, 46:06 revealed His grace and also sanctify. 46:10 It built them up, 46:11 revealed His grace and also sanctified. 46:15 By the way the word sanctified means 46:17 it set them apart. 46:19 They were not like everybody else. 46:21 You will discover that... 46:25 You will discover that those who study their Bible 46:28 are often in good company 46:30 when they are around other people 46:31 that studied their Bible. 46:34 I won't tell you who this story is told up 46:36 but I remember somebody telling me the story 46:38 that when they were growing up, they were rebellious 46:40 and their rebellion let them out of the church 46:44 and they hung around with friends 46:45 of a different denomination and their friends, 46:50 you know, when the Word of God is in your life, 46:51 you can't really run away from God's word. 46:53 When God's word is there, been planted there, 46:55 there are very few things that you can do 46:57 against the Word of God. 46:58 And the friends that they were hanging around 47:00 that was of a different denomination 47:02 has said to this person, 47:04 "You need to go back to your church 47:06 because you don't fit in." 47:09 You know what happens? 47:10 I know growing up there were certain things 47:11 I was taught in my mind 47:13 even though there was no one to tell me do or not do. 47:16 One particular example was, 47:18 I was, on Sabbath I was trying to go off a baseball practice 47:21 when I was in high school in New York City. 47:24 And I hid my baseball glove over my face 47:27 because I was on the bus 47:28 where most of the people that go to church 47:30 travel on that city bus. 47:31 Most people in New York don't have cars 47:33 so they were traveling on the city bus 47:34 and I had to take two buses and both of those buses 47:37 would go through all the neighborhoods 47:38 where people, Adventists were going to church 47:41 and I said, "I can't let them see me" 47:43 so I hid my face with a glove, baseball glove. 47:47 When I got to my destination 47:49 it was what had been hidden in my mind from young, 47:53 that Saturday which was a Saturday to me 47:55 which really was God's Sabbath and I knew different, 47:58 I couldn't hit the ball, 47:59 I couldn't swing, I couldn't catch, 48:00 I couldn't run, I was tumbling over myself 48:03 because what was in here 48:04 had so built a defense against what I was doing 48:08 that I couldn't deny what was in here. 48:09 So I just went home and said, forget, 48:10 I'm not gonna try that again. 48:12 And there was no one to tell me not to do it. 48:14 When our football, we had a football dinner, 48:17 I know I don't look like it 48:19 but I played football for short time, 48:21 in the short time that's why I still have my faculties 48:24 but I remember going to-- 48:25 I was invited to our school's football dinner 48:27 which was held on Friday night. 48:28 There was no one to tell me not to go 48:31 but I couldn't do it 48:32 because of what was in here. 48:34 It's amazing. 48:36 Basketball dinner. 48:37 I never got my basketball jacket, 48:38 never got my basketball school emblem on my jacket. 48:40 Why? 48:42 Because I just couldn't go, my feet couldn't go 48:44 because what was in here. 48:45 That's why it's so important 48:47 to hide God's word in your head, amen. 48:48 Amen. 48:49 Wonderful. Wonderful. 48:51 Look at number 18, 48:52 "What else has God designed 48:53 the study of His word to accomplish?" 48:55 "What else has God designed 48:58 the study of His word to accomplish?" 49:02 He has designed the study of His word 49:03 to accomplish many things but what else? 49:06 Not just build us up but something else. 49:09 And we touched on this in the last text 49:12 but we will see it right here. 49:13 Okay? Ready? 49:14 Here's the answer. 49:16 We all know this text by heart. 49:18 "Sanctify them by..." 49:19 What? 49:21 "Your truth. Your word is truth." 49:24 You know, that word truth is a word 49:26 that's not used a lot nowadays. 49:28 People say that's your interpretation. 49:32 People say, well, that's what your church teaches. 49:34 But I tell you what, if you study the Word of God, 49:37 whatever you study in the Word of God is truth. 49:40 It's what? T-R-U-T-H, truth. 49:43 So when people say, "Well, you know, 49:45 our church is nondenominational, 49:46 we don't teach doctrines." 49:47 You know what I always ask? 49:49 Do you use the Bible? 49:50 Oh, yeah, we use the Bible. 49:52 Then you cannot be a church that doesn't teach doctrine. 49:54 Because anything you teach in the Word of God, 49:57 the word doctrine simply means teachings, 49:59 that's all it means. 50:01 So if you are teaching from the Word of God, 50:03 you are teaching doctrines 50:04 because everything you teach in the Word of God 50:07 says something about the character of God 50:10 and the life of Christ. 50:12 And there's no such thing as studying the Word of God 50:15 and not teaching doctrine. 50:17 So if you are going to a church 50:18 that say they don't teach doctrine, 50:20 run for your life, run for your life. 50:23 If they say they are nondenominational 50:25 we teach, you know, 50:27 when I hear that phrase nondenominational, 50:29 it's like buckshot. 50:30 You know, whatever you want, it's here. 50:33 It's kind of like going to a bank and say, 50:34 "I would like to have $100 in change." 50:36 You know they ask you, what do they ask you? 50:40 "What denomination?" 50:41 And you say, "No denomination." 50:45 Does it make sense? No. 50:47 No, what do you mean no denomination? 50:49 I just want $100 in change. 50:50 What denomination? No denomination. 50:53 Please give me nondenominational change. 50:55 You are not gonna get anything back. 50:57 Am I telling you the truth? 50:58 They say, "Sir, here's your $100 bill 50:59 would you please leave?" 51:01 Because whatever we give, 51:02 it's gonna be in some denomination. 51:04 Am I right? 51:05 $50, $20, $10, $5, $1 and then quarters, 51:07 half a dollars all way down to one penny, 51:09 but there is some denomination. 51:11 The Word of God is there not to confuse you 51:13 but to establish you on the truth. 51:15 "Sanctify them by Your truth. 51:17 Your word is in fact truth." 51:19 Now let me share with you this quotation. 51:21 It's not in your lesson. 51:22 It's not there, it's between question 17 and 18. 51:25 It's solely on the screen tonight, 51:26 so those of you who are viewing 51:28 and if you are listening by radio, 51:29 listen very carefully. 51:31 This comes from a devotional book called 51:33 "A Call to Stand Apart" page 69. 51:37 Listen to this quotation. It's a powerful quotation. 51:39 It says, 51:40 "There is nothing more calculated to energize the mind 51:44 and strengthen the intellect than the..." 51:47 What? 51:48 "Study of the Word of God." 51:51 Get this. 51:53 "No other book is so potent, that's powerful, 51:58 to elevate the thoughts, 52:00 to give vigor, that is life, 52:03 to the faculties, awaken the faculties, 52:05 as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible." 52:11 No other book. 52:12 "If God's Word were studied as it should be, 52:17 men would have a breadth of mind, 52:19 that is they will be spiritually deep, 52:21 a nobility of character, 52:23 and a stability of purpose 52:26 that are rarely seen in these times." 52:29 You want to find somebody that's well furnished. 52:31 You want to find somebody 52:33 that's not just intellectual but sound. 52:35 I was talking to my wife today 52:37 about how uncouth I was when I was younger 52:41 and I look back on my life and some of the things I did 52:43 and some of the things I said and I said, 52:45 "Honey, man, boy, I've come a long way." 52:48 And, you know, it's important for us 52:50 sometimes to take inventory as to where we were 52:52 and where we are. 52:54 I'm not talking about a month ago 52:55 or week ago or year ago 52:56 but go away back sometimes and say, 52:58 "Man, look at where I'm now 53:01 compared to where I used to be." 53:03 And you know what has made the difference? 53:05 The study of God's word. 53:07 The entrance of God's word gives light. 53:11 Now I think we will maybe able to cover 53:13 one or two more tonight 53:15 but let's move on to the very next one. 53:17 Number 19, number 19. 53:21 So if you want to be ennobling and strong 53:23 and have a stable character and a diligent mind 53:27 and a purpose that is something that is rarely seen in society, 53:31 study God's word and live by what it says. 53:34 Question number 19, 53:36 "How does Jeremiah describe 53:38 the experience of studying God's Word?" 53:41 How does he describe 53:43 the experience of studying God's Word? 53:48 Jeremiah 15:16, 53:53 Jeremiah 15:16. 53:57 This is a beautiful text. 53:58 This is the young Jeremiah by the way. 53:59 When we think of the word Jeremiah 54:01 and we think of 85-years-old, 75 years. 54:03 No, Jeremiah was a young man. 54:06 He was a young man. 54:07 Look at what he says in his youth. 54:08 He says, "Your words were found..." 54:11 In other words, he picked up God's word 54:13 and what did he do? 54:14 He said, "I ate them, 54:17 and Your words was to me the joy 54:21 and rejoicing of my heart, 54:23 for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts." 54:28 You know, what he is in essence saying, 54:29 if we reverse that he said, 54:30 because I love You so much and love Your name, 54:33 I realize that eating Your word is the only thing 54:36 that's gonna give me joy and make me rejoice. 54:39 You know, what he in essence saying, 54:41 he says, I say, I know You and I bear Your name 54:43 but I'm trying to find, 54:45 if I try to find joy and rejoicing 54:46 outside of Your word, I'm not gonna find it. 54:49 So here's what he says and let's just break this down. 54:51 Okay, I'm called by Your name 54:55 and You are the Lord of host 54:58 and I have been trying to find joy and rejoicing 55:01 every place else but I couldn't find it. 55:05 But when I found Your word, 55:08 go to the context now, Your words were found. 55:11 I was looking every place else but I couldn't find it. 55:14 But Your words were found and what did I do? 55:18 I ate them. 55:19 And Your words was to me the what? 55:22 Joy and rejoicing of my heart. 55:26 People spend so much time on things 55:28 that you don't have to spend, 55:31 people spend money on things 55:32 that don't really bring satisfaction, 55:34 don't bring joy and rejoicing. 55:36 God is saying the word is free right now. 55:39 We handle the free Word of God 55:42 as though it doesn't have any value 55:44 and we pay large money for things 55:46 that don't have any value. 55:48 When in fact, Jeremiah says, 55:50 "Man, this stuff tastes good and it brings me joy 55:53 and it makes me rejoice." 55:54 Amen, to that. 55:56 I think one more, one more, number 20. 55:59 This is a short one. 56:01 This is last one for tonight, number 20. 56:03 "What description does David give 56:05 to planting God's Word in our minds?" 56:08 What description does he give, Psalms 126:5, 6. 56:12 Psalms 126:5, 6. 56:18 I hear the pages turning. 56:19 Psalms 126:5, 6, here's what the Bible says. 56:23 David says, 56:25 "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. 56:28 He who continually goes forth weeping, 56:32 bearing seed for sowing, 56:34 shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, 56:38 bringing his sheaves with him." 56:40 I don't want you to miss this. 56:42 This is like the evangelist. 56:43 Those of you that are joining us from Life 56:46 or anyone of these schools 56:47 where you are studying your Bible 56:48 or colleges or universities 56:50 if you are studying God's word what is being said here 56:53 is "Do not be weary in well doing, 56:56 for in due time you will reap, if you do not faint." 57:00 If you are sowing God's word, 57:01 He is saying one day it's gonna produce the harvest 57:04 that you never thought it will produce 57:06 and it says and you 57:07 because of your diligent label will come rejoicing 57:10 and the harvest of souls 57:13 will come bringing in the sheaves. 57:16 So let me encourage you, friends, 57:18 those of you that are tuning in, 57:19 those of you that are watching and listening, 57:21 let me encourage you. 57:22 The study of God's word is something 57:24 that you cannot overestimate. 57:26 It is the book that will bring light. 57:28 It is the book that will bring joy. 57:30 It is the book that will bring rejoicing. 57:33 It is the book that will bring hope. 57:35 It is the book that will transformed, 57:37 it will give you depth of mind, nobility of character. 57:41 You will be able to walk in society today 57:42 and people will say, 57:43 "Now there is a trustworthy individual. 57:45 There is a person whose mind is balanced. 57:48 There is a person whose life tells 57:49 that he is more than just what he says 57:52 but he lives his testimony." 57:54 So continue studying God's word 57:56 and you will discover when you do that, 57:58 the truth of God and the life of Christ 57:59 will come into a sharper focus. 58:02 God bless you. 58:04 Let's pray together. |
Revised 2016-05-09