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The Law of God (Part 1) · CCC West Covina

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Lord God, we thank you for today, and we are grateful that
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we are able to gather together to study Your word.
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Thank you for the word of the Lord and thank you Father, for
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the opportunity you give us to dive deep into it to understand
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more of what you have for us. We truly are a blessed people.
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Thank you for those who are here tonight.
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Thank you for the journey that they have made.
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We know, Lord, things sometimes are difficult for families to
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get out during the middle of the week, but we're grateful for the
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opportunity to come and for those who are here and pray that
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you bless them in a special way because of the effort they have
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made to to be here tonight. And pray, Lord, that as we study
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your word, the truths that we learned would be indelibly fixed
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in our hearts and minds that we might live in line with them.
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We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Take your Bible if you would,
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and turn with me to Matthew chapter 5.
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Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount, Living like a child
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of the King is the title that we've titled this three chapter
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sermon that our Lord gave in Matthews 5-6 and seven.
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And he begins by interpreting the identity of a child of the
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king, by going through the Beatitudes after he interprets
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the identity of those children. And then he articulates the
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authority of those children. And it falls into two
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categories. 1 is their peculiarity because they are
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salt and light. That's peculiar because they are
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the ones who are persecuted. But the ones that are persecuted
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are the solution to a world that's decaying in the world
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that's dark. And then he goes into their
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their veracity, the the veracity of God's truth, because that's
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the authority by which they live their lives.
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And that's in verse 17. So follow along with me as we
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read this, please, and we'll spend a a couple of weeks here.
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It says verse 17. Do not think that I came to
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abolish the law of the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but
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to fulfil. For truly, I say to you, until
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heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke
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shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.
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Whoever then annulls one of the least of these commandments, and
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teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the
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Kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches
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them, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
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For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses
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that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter
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the Kingdom of heaven. Now Christ says these words
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because I'm sure that as the audience sat there and listened
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to the Lord speak, they had all kinds of questions about this
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preacher, this prophet. They are taken back by the
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things that he says, but at the same time they they wonder by
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what authority does he speak? He will never quote a rabbi.
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He will never quote another source because he is the source
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of all truth. And so that I'm sure that there
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were there questions among the people.
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So in their minds, he knows that they are probably wondering, is
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this guy a follower of what the Old Testament scriptures teach?
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And so Christ begins to tell them that he's not come to know
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the law, abolish the law, get rid of the law, but instead he
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is here specifically to fulfill the law, accomplish all the laws
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requirements. And the statements that the Lord
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makes are quite incredible. And we're going to sum them up
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in 4 categories. 1 is the brilliance of the law.
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The next is what we will call the importance of the law.
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Then we'll look at the endurance of the law and then the
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relevance of the law. By looking at the brilliance of
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the law, I'm going to take you back to the Old Testament, to a
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passage of Scripture that describes for us the magnificent
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brilliance of the law of God. It's a summation of Psalm 119,
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which is 176 different verses. But this summation is found in
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Psalm 19, both written by David himself.
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So if you got your Bible, turn back with me, viewer to Psalm
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19. And we want to look at what the
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word of the Lord says in terms of the brilliance of the law.
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David makes 6 statements about the law of God, six statements
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that sum up the nature of the law and then he gives the the
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consequences of that title and then the benefits of that part
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of scripture. To help you understand the the
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absolute brilliance of the law of God.
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Psalm 19 verses 7 to 14. In the 1st 6 verses he talks
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about the work of God. The remainder of the chapter he
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talks about the Word of God. The works of God describe His
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beauty, the Word of God describe His brilliance, and so with that
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He gives us general revelation that speaks to us about God.
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And they talks about the special revelation which is the Word of
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God to help us understand the effects of it.
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So he says in verse #7 the law of the Lord is perfect,
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restoring the soul, the testimony the Lord is sure,
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making wise the simple, The precepts of the Lord are right,
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rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is
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pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
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enduring forever. The judgment of the Lord are
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true, they are righteous altogether.
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They are more desirable than gold.
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Yes, and much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the
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drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant
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is warned. In keeping them there is great
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reward. Who can discern errors?
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Equip me of hidden faults and keep back your servant from
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presumptuous sins. Let them not rule over me.
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Then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great
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transgression. Let the words of my mouth and
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the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O
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Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Now there is not one thing
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imaginable, not one issue that the Word of God does not
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address. God's Word is absolute truth,
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and it gives us the truth concerning everything in life.
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In fact, Peter says it this way. In first Peter 1 he says this
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seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything
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pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of
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Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
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In other words, God has granted to us everything that we need to
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know about life and how to live godly in that life according to
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the true knowledge of God himself.
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And that true knowledge, of course, comes through the
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written Word of God. In fact, Isaiah said it this
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way. Isaiah chapter 55, verse #10 For
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as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not
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return there without watering the earth, and making it bare
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and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower, and bread to the
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eater, so will my word be, which goes forth from my mouth.
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It will not return to be empty without accomplishing what I
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desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
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In other words, God's Word, when it goes forth, accomplishes
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everything He designs it to accomplish.
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In fact, it never doesn't accomplish what He wants it to
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accomplish. That's the the power of the Word
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of the Lord. And so the Bible says these
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words in Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 16.
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All Scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament, is
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inspired by God or literally God breathed and profitable for
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teaching. It's profitable on how to know
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that which is right. It's profitable for reproof, how
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to be right. It's profitable for correction
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how to get right. It's profitable for training in
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righteousness how to stay right so that the man of God may be
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adequately equipped for every good work.
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In other words, every work that God has designed you to
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accomplish. The Word of God equips you not
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only to know that which is right, not only to be right, get
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right, and stay right, but to make sure that it accomplishes
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everything in your heart and life so that you can do what God
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has called you to do. So if you're here tonight and
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you are, you are hurting. God's Word has all the tools to
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fix those who hurt. If you're hungry, God's Word has
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all the food to feed you. So whatever need that you have,
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God's Word meets that need. There is no need that you have
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that God's Word doesn't meet. Now, it's hard to imagine that
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because you can combine all the literature in the world, put it
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all together under one roof, but it cannot accomplish what the
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living and abiding Word can accomplish.
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One book made-up of 66 different other books into one called the
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Bible is the answer to all of your needs.
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Every situation that you encounter is answered by the
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truth of the living God. So when when Pilate asked Christ
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about truth, Christ said, I have come to fulfill all truth.
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I've come to speak to you about all truth.
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Truth concerning life, truth concerning death, truth
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concerning eternity, truth concerning heaven, truth
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concerning hell, truth concerning creation, truth
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concerning man's destiny, truth concerning marriage, truth
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concerning morality. No matter what the truth is, God
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came to fulfill that truth and to speak that truth.
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And so we have the word of God, the one book that has the answer
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to everything that makes foolish men wise and helps us understand
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what it is God wants for us and how we might be able to
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accomplish those things for His glory.
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So it's important to understand the the the power and the
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authority of God's word. Paul would say these words in
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the book of Romans. He says in verse #9 of chapter
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1. For God, whom I serve in my
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spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness
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as to how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my
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prayers, making request, If perhaps now at last by the will
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of God, I may succeed in coming to you.
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For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift
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to you, that you may be established.
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Paul says, I want to, I want to impart to you some spiritual
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gift. Now that is not spiritual gifts
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like signed gifts or support gifts or speaking gifts as are
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outlined in Ephesians 4 and first Peter 4, Romans 12, and
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1st Corinthians 12. He's not talking about spiritual
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gifts because spiritual gifts are not imparted by another man.
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They're given to you by the Spirit of God at the time you're
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you're born again. But he wants to impart something
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spiritual to them because he wants to establish them.
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It's where we get our English word steroid.
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It's the, it's the word steroidzo.
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And so he wants to strengthen them.
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He wants to make them firm. He wants to establish them by
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imparting to them something that's spiritual.
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It could be through the preaching of the word, the
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expectation of the word, the teaching of the word, something
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along those lines, because that's how he's going to do it.
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We know that because of how Paul speaks all throughout his
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epistles. For example, this is what he
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says over in First Thessalonians chapter 2.
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He says these words. For this reason also, we
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constantly thank God that when you receive the word of God,
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which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of
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men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also
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performs its work in you who believe.
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So Paul says you receive the word of God and the word of God
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actually performs its work in you.
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If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Word truly works
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in your life. In fact, earlier he says this,
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he says in verse number two he talks about we came to speak the
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gospel of God to you in verse #4 We have been entrusted with the
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gospel in verse #8 We have a fond affection for you.
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We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of
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God, but also our own lives. And then he says in verse #9 For
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you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night
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and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you, we
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proclaim to you the gospel of God.
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You are witnesses and so is God. How devoutly and uprightly and
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blamelessly we behave towards you believers, just as you know
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how we are, or we're exhorting and encouraging and imploring
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each one of you as a father would his own children, so that
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you would walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into
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his own Kingdom and glory. So again, Paul is saying, look,
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we wanted to make sure that we imparted the gospel to you, not
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just the word of God, but our own lives as well.
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But the gospel is that which we have presented to you, that you
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might walk worthy of your calling, because God words,
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God's Word works. In fact, over in Colossians 1,
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he says this in verse #5 He says this, I'm sorry, verse #6 the
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gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also,
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it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has
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been doing in you also since today you heard of it and
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understood the grace of God in truth.
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Now did you get that? He says that when you receive
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the Word, it was already bringing fruit and bearing fruit
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in your life and is constantly doing that.
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See, we live in a world where where people are saying, well,
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you know, I, you know, I love the Lord, I believe in the Lord,
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I, I love his word. But there's no fruit in their
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lives. That's the contradiction in
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terms. If you're a Christian, there is
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fruit in your life. If there's no fruit, you're not
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a Christian. Why?
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Because Paul testified to the fact that when you receive the
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Word, you began to bear fruit. And that fruit is increasing and
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unceasingly happening in your life on a regular basis.
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You see, we, we, we don't want to think that someone's not
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saved because they said a prayer, or we were with them or
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they made a profession of faith, but their lives are a
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contradiction to what the Bible says.
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If your life is a contradiction to what the Bible says, then you
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do not know the Lord because God's Word actively changes the
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life. God's Word goes forth,
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accomplishes its purpose, and always does its work and those
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who believe. So Paul says because God's work
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work, God's Word works. And those who believe, when you
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hear it, it changes your attitude, it changes your
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actions, it changes your conversation, it changes your
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relationships, it changes everything about you.
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You cannot say you're a Christian and live an unchanged
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life. That doesn't happen.
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Why? Because God uses His Word
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constantly in your life to do a fruit bearing kind of work.
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And when God sends forth His His Word, it always accomplishes the
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objective. That's why Paul would go on in
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Second Timothy 4 verse #2 and tell Timothy, Timothy, make sure
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you preach the Word because God's words profitable for a man
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to know right, to be right, to get right and to stay right, and
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to make sure that that man is thoroughly furnished to
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accomplish every work that God's given to him.
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So therefore preach the Word, because you're going to live in
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a day where men will turn away from the Word and they will
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gather for themselves preachers who will speak to them things
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that will tickle their ears. But you need to box their ears
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by giving them the truth of the Word of God that they might
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understand what God's Word says. And when you come to Psalm 19,
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you have this commentary on the brilliance of the Word.
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Because what God's Word does is producing us the kind of joy
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that we so desperately need, the kind of understanding, the
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clarity that we need to make it through life.
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It helps us to understand how it is God works in us through the
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power of the Word of the living God.
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So I want you to notice several things about the brilliance of
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the Word. They're in your notes, you're in
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your outline. First of all, you need to know
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that God's Word is precious. It's precious.
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And not only is it precious, but it's pleasurable, it's
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protective, it's powerful, it's priceless.
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And then, well, probably not tonight, but we'll give you some
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principles that come from the brilliance of the word of God.
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OK, first of all, it's precious. Why?
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Look what he says. He says the law of the Lord is
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perfect. Notice he, he calls the
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Scripture the law, the testimony, the precepts, the
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commandment, the fear, and the judgments.
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He he says that the law of the Lord is perfect, that the law
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simply is all. Of God's manual for living his
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kind of life. It's the law of God.
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It's God's standard. God has a standard.
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He's given us his law that we might meet that standard.
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And that law is, as he says, perfect.
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Perfect not meaning that there are no errors in it, although
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there are no errors in it, it means that it's complete, it's
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sufficient, it's all-encompassing.
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So the law of the Lord is absolutely sufficient for
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everything. It's it's complete for
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everything. It's more than just adequate,
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it's sufficient. Albert Barnes in his commentary
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says this about the word perfect.
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He says the meaning of perfect is is that Scripture lacks
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nothing for us. It's complete nothing in order
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that it might be what it should be.
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It is complete as a revelation of divine truth.
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It is complete as a rule of conduct.
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It is absolutely true. It is adopted, or, excuse me, it
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is adapted with consummate wisdom to the needs of man.
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It is an unerring guide of conduct.
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There is nothing there which would lead men into error or
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sin. There is nothing essential for
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man to know which may not be found in the Word of God.
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Everything is here. Your whole life is in this book
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and God has given to us by His grace and the law of the Lord is
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perfect. And it says restoring the soul
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or converting the soul or transforming the soul.
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This is this is the testimony of the word of God.
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God's law is so sufficient and so complete that it is that
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which transforms, changes, revives, and restores the soul.
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In other words, you can't be in the Word, you can't read the
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Word, you can't sit under the Word without that transforming
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nature power of God working in your life.
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Unless, of course, you don't know the Lord.
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Now, if you don't know the Lord, sitting and preaching of the
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Word and reading the Word is going to make no difference to
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you whatsoever. It's just another nice sermon.
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But if you know the Lord, then it works actively in your life,
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bearing fruit in your life. You, you leave with conviction,
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knowing you're marching orders, knowing what you need to do
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next, knowing what God's call upon your life is.
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And that's why we, we could constantly preach the word to
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you. We teach the Bible to you
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because the law of the Lord is, is perfect, converting and
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restoring the soul. Soul is the nephesh.
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It's the, it's the inner part of of the man.
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It's the real you. It's the real you.
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That's which is in the inside. That's who you are.
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And God's law works in that capacity.
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And so it says that the law of the Lord is whole, complete,
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sufficient, so much so that it converts, refreshes, transforms
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the soul. Listen to what the psalmist said
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in Psalm 119. Remember, Psalm 19 is a
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summation of all of Psalm 1/19. He just sums it all up for you.
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And look what he says in Psalm 119 verse #25 My soul cleaves to
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the dust. Revive me according to Your
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word. My soul cleaves to the dust.
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I'm down, I'm out. But Lord, you can revive my
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soul. You can restore my soul.
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You can enliven my soul according to Your word.
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Verse 28. My soul weeps because of grief.
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How many people you know that are that are weeping today
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because of the grief that encompasses their their lives
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and family? Strengthen me according to your
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word. Strengthen me.
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It's the same thing that Paul was saying in Romans chapter 1.
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I want to part something spiritual to you that I might
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strengthen you, establish you. That's why he said to the
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Ephesian elders in Acts 20, I commend you to God and the word
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of His grace, which is able to build you up, strengthen you.
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I'm going to leave, but I'm not leaving without giving you the
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word of grace, which strengthens you, establishes you, build you
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up. So important to understand this.
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And then from verse #28 look what it says over in verse #92
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Excuse me. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by
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them you have revived me. Psalm 107 I am exceedingly
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afflicted. Revive me, Restore me, O Lord,
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according to your word. Are you afflicted?
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The psalmist? New Lord, I need Your word to
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revive me, to restore me and then over in 116 sustain me
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according to your word that I may live.
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Since psalmist knew that that God's law is complete, it is
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more than sufficient to do what God has designed it to do.
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And so David says the law of the Lord is perfect.
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It restores the soul and then he says this, he says the testimony
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of the Lord is sure making wise the simple the testimony of the
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Lord. The Bible is the testimony of
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the Lord Jesus. It's the written testimony of
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who Jesus is and what he's done. So the law of the Lord is a
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witness. It's a testimony to the
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character and nature of God. He says the testimony of the
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Lord is sure. Remember in John 5 verse 39 when
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Christ said that the Pharisees you search the scriptures for in
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them. You think that you have eternal
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life, but they are that would speak of me see they they they
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were looking for something other than the Christ but but all of
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the Bible speaks about the Lord. It's his testimony.
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And so the so David calls it the testimony of the Lord, and now
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he's only referring to the Old Testament because that's all
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there was, right? So he's only referring to the
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law of the prophets. And he's talking about how this
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is a testimony to the character in nature of the Lord, the God
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of Israel, the Messiah who's coming.
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This is his testimony and it's absolutely sure.
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It's unwavering. It's it's unmistakable.
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It's absolute. God's testimony about who he is
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is the most sure thing ever. Let me, let me give you an
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example of that. Turn back with me if you would,
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to first Peter, chapter 2. I'm sorry, second Peter, second
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Peter chapter one, sorry, second Peter, chapter 1.
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Listen to Peter's testimony, he says in verse 16.
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For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known
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to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we
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were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
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For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such
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an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory.
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This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
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Now Peter is giving a testimony as to what happened on the, on
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the mount of Transfiguration there in the in the land of
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Israel. He's going back to that time
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where Peter, James and John went up with the Lord up to the
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mountain. I, I believe it's mountain
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Herman up in the northern part of of Israel, because that
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really is a high mountain and it falls in the context of them
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being an accessory of Philippi, which is at the base of Mount
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Hermon. But they went up into this
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mountain and, and the Lord unzipped his flesh and the glory
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of the Lord, the brilliance of the Lord would shine out and a
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great cloud consumed them and, and the majestic glory of God
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said, this is my beloved son, and whom I am well pleased.
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And they saw Moses and they saw Elijah, right?
29:45
And Peter said, let's, let's build 3 tabernacles here.
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This is a great opportunity for us.
29:51
So Peter's giving testimony to what he experienced in life and
29:57
the Bible records that experience.
30:00
But then he says this, and we ourselves heard this utterance
30:08
made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
30:12
So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do
30:18
well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place
30:23
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your
30:26
hearts. He says we have something more
30:29
sure than my experience because this is my experience.
30:36
It's subject to the surety of God's testimony, God's law,
30:41
God's word. We have a prophetic word, the
30:45
word of God made more sure than my experience.
30:49
That's why we always tell people, well, I experienced this
30:51
or I experienced that, and we say, OK, if that's your
30:54
experience, match it with the sure word of the Lord, because
30:58
we can't match it with the sure word of the Lord.
31:00
Your experience Trump's the surety of Scripture and the
31:04
authority of Scripture, and therefore you have put yourself
31:07
above God in His word. Can't do that because you're
31:10
subject to God in His Word. So whatever your experience is,
31:13
if it doesn't match what the God's Word says, you probably
31:16
had too much chilly the night before as to why your experience
31:19
was the way it was. The bottom line is, is that
31:22
God's Word is absolute surety. He says so.
31:27
The testimony of the Lord is unwavering.
31:31
It's ironclad. It's sure you can bank on it.
31:36
It's absolute truth making wise the simple, making wise the
31:48
simple. God's Word is so sure, so
31:51
absolute, so true that the simple person can become very
31:57
wise. Now note this, the word for
32:02
simple is the word that means open door.
32:07
Open door. You've heard people say, well,
32:10
you know, I, I, I'm really open about this.
32:12
I, I have an open mind that that's not a good character
32:16
quality to have. That's a bad character quality
32:19
to have. For example, if I, if, if I say
32:23
to you, do you open your door at night when you go to bed?
32:28
No. What do you do?
32:29
You lock your door. You shut your door.
32:31
You lock your door. Why?
32:32
Because you don't want anything on the outside coming on the
32:34
inside. So what do you do?
32:36
You shut your door, you bolt your door, you lock your door,
32:39
you set your alarm because you don't want anybody coming in,
32:42
right? That's a closed door mentality.
32:45
That's the right mentality. An open door mentality says I'm
32:49
just going to leave it open. All the books can come in.
32:52
All the burglars can come in. It's OK.
32:54
I have an open door policy. I have an open mind policy.
32:58
No, it didn't work that way. Why?
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Because when you're wise, your mind now is shut off from that
33:06
which is corruption, that which is evil.
33:10
That's what that which might bring harm to your life.
33:14
See. And that's what happens with the
33:17
testimony of the Lord that is so sure, it closes your mind to all
33:22
the corruption and all the evil on the outside.
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So it doesn't get in because now you have wisdom, you have
33:30
discernment. The open minded person is an
33:33
undiscerning person. The closed minded person is the
33:37
discerning person. He discerns between what is
33:41
right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil.
33:44
He shuts the door to the evil. He shuts the door to the bad.
33:47
He opens the door to the good and to the right and to the
33:50
true. That's the wise person.
33:54
You receive wisdom and wisdom is is is the application of truth
34:01
to life. Wisdom is just not an
34:03
accumulation of of knowledge. In fact, the the Bible says over
34:10
in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 24 verse #14
34:16
these words about wisdom. Know that wisdom is thus for
34:21
your soul. If you find it, then there will
34:25
be a future and your hope will not be cut off.
34:33
If you find wisdom. And we know from Proverbs
34:37
chapter chapter 3 that wisdom, excuse me, Proverbs chapter 2
34:42
verse #6 that wisdom comes from the mouth of the Lord.
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And these words are what the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
34:52
And so wisdom comes to us through the testimony of the
34:56
Lord. It is absolute, unwaveringly
35:03
sure to make the open minded person closed minded to all that
35:12
which is on evil on the outside. So he can be very discerning by
35:17
the wisdom of God in the decisions that he makes.
35:20
This is the preciousness of the Word of God.
35:23
You know you want you want to be wise in your decision making,
35:26
don't you? You want to be wise in your
35:29
relationships. A double minded man is unstable
35:33
in all of his ways. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
35:35
him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally.
35:37
James one verse #5 but an unstable man.
35:42
First Ada chapter 1 is is, or excuse me, double minded man is
35:48
unstable in every one of his ways, not just certain ways, but
35:52
all of his ways because he has no wisdom.
35:56
But God's word gives you wisdom. And God's word is that which is
36:00
perfect, restoring the soul. And so the psalmist says that
36:07
the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.
36:09
The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple and
36:13
the precepts of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart, the
36:21
precepts, the statutes of the Lord, those principles that that
36:26
guide all of our actions, those precepts that are of the Lord
36:32
and remember each phrase says of the Lord of the Lord of the
36:35
Lord, because he wants you to know that this is the word of
36:37
the living God. And so the precepts of the Lord
36:40
are are right. Now that's not right as opposed
36:43
to wrong. That's right, in terms of the
36:45
right way to go, the true way to go, right.
36:50
So what you have is that the precepts of the Lord, the
36:53
statutes of God show you which path to take always when you,
36:59
when you, when you cry for discernment, and when you ask
37:02
the Lord for wisdom and you ask the Lord for direction, he
37:05
always gives it to you through his word.
37:08
He always shows you where to go through his word.
37:11
That's why when someone goes someplace and it goes contrary
37:14
to the word of God, they say, well, the Lord led me there and
37:17
I'm not sure he did because it's contrary to what God's Word
37:19
says. See, what does God's word say?
37:23
You know, don't make a move, don't make a decision without
37:27
knowing you have chapter and verse behind the decision making
37:30
process in your life. If you do that, it will affect
37:34
everything else you do. The decision you make today
37:38
determines your destiny tomorrow, right?
37:40
Make a bad decision today, your future's in jeopardy.
37:44
Make the right decision today. Your future's going to go the
37:47
right way. That's why he says that the
37:49
precepts of the Lord are right. They give you direction.
37:54
They show you which path to take.
37:56
And know what rejoicing the heart.
37:59
See. The decisions you make about the
38:01
path you take causes great joy in the heart.
38:04
Not turmoil, not anxiousness, not tragedy, but causes your
38:10
heart to rejoice, to sing songs of joy because you want to
38:16
follow what the word of the Lord says.
38:20
That's just so incredibly important.
38:24
The presets of the Lord are right.
38:27
They are. They are showing you which way
38:30
to go, which path to take, so that your heart will always
38:35
leave. Be rejoicing over what God is
38:38
doing. If you're making the decision
38:40
and your heart's not rejoicing, you probably made a bad choice.
38:44
You probably didn't look to the precepts of the Lord.
38:46
The statues of the Lord probably didn't look to the law of the
38:49
Lord. You probably didn't look to the
38:52
testimony of the Lord. Why?
38:55
Because God's Word speaks, speaks loud, and all you got to
39:01
do is read it. All you got to do is sit under
39:04
it. I just hear it with an open
39:08
heart that says, Lord, teach me that I might understand your
39:13
precepts, your testimony, your law.
39:16
This is the brilliance of the law.
39:19
Look at the next one. The commandment of the Lord is,
39:22
is pure or lucid or, or clear, enlightening the eyes.
39:32
In other words, the commandments of God are, are absolute, right?
39:36
They're not suggestions. God never gives suggestions.
39:42
He doesn't even give you his opinion.
39:45
He just gives commands, right? And so God's word is filled with
39:49
all kinds of of commands. And so he doesn't, he doesn't
39:54
give you options, He gives you commands.
39:58
This is what the word of the Lord sends.
40:01
So the commander of the Lord is, is pure, it's clear, it's lucid.
40:08
In other words, it's not mystifying.
40:12
It doesn't. It doesn't boggle your mind.
40:16
The commandments of the Lord are very clear.
40:19
When God gives the command, he makes it very easy to
40:24
understand. They're very clear.
40:28
And so therefore, when you obey those commands, your eyes are
40:34
completely enlightened. In his light you're able to see
40:39
light. He shows you which way to go.
40:44
He gives you clarity. He gives you direction.
40:47
He helps you understand hope versus despair.
40:54
And so God gives you commands that are very clear, not
41:01
convoluted, so that you know what to do, how to live.
41:08
The problem comes when we say, well, I don't want to do that.
41:10
I don't want to obey that. And that's where my my sinful
41:13
nature creeps in. And I want to do my own will,
41:15
not God's will, but the commandments of the Lord,
41:20
they're absolutely clear. They're pure, enlightening, the
41:24
eyes. And then he says the fear of the
41:26
Lord is clean, enduring forever. And this is really abnormal to
41:36
call the word of the Lord the fear of the Lord.
41:40
But David does. It's the fear of the Lord
41:44
because there's something about the Scriptures, the law of God,
41:48
the commandments of God, the statutes of God, the precepts of
41:52
God, the testimony of God, that causes great fear in those who
41:58
read it. That's why the Bible says
42:01
there's forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
42:06
But the commandments strike fear in our hearts, knowing that God
42:12
is serious about what he says. And so David calls it the fear
42:16
of the Lord because he wants you to understand the magnitude of
42:21
disobedience and the importance of following all that God says.
42:27
It's it's a manual for how to worship the one of the Bible
42:34
that testifies about who he is. Because the fear of the Lord
42:38
speaks of the the reverence and the all in the all-encompassing
42:43
admiration and affection we have for the God we serve.
42:49
And there's nothing better than teaching you how to worship that
42:52
God. Then the fear of the Lord and
42:57
the fear of the Lord is is clean.
43:02
It is free from any impurities. It is free from anything that's
43:08
defiling. Scripture is without evil,
43:12
without corruption, without error, without blemish.
43:17
Psalm 12/6 says that God's word is flawless.
43:21
So the fear of the Lord is flawless, clean, no impure, no,
43:28
no, no impurities in it. What does it do?
43:34
It endures forever, forever. You see, God's word is, is
43:41
something that that is never ending.
43:43
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
43:46
away. Why?
43:48
Because His words are magnified even as His very name.
43:51
Psalm 138 verse #2 right? So as His name is the highest
43:57
name, his word is the highest word because they're on the
44:01
equal, same, equal plane. And so the word of the Lord is,
44:06
is to be obeyed and to be followed, but it endures
44:09
forever. That means that God's word,
44:12
because it endures forever, is relevant to every generation,
44:16
Every generation. I can't say, well, that's Old
44:19
Testament stuff. And that's what we apply to
44:21
apply to us in today's day and age.
44:23
Or that's what Paul said. And, and the culture now has
44:26
changed. Society has changed.
44:28
Things are now different. No, God's word is that which
44:33
endures forever. It is as relevant today as it
44:37
was in Genesis chapter one verse #1 when God spoke the universe
44:44
into existence. It is so relevant that applies
44:49
to every one of us in the room, no matter where we're from, no
44:52
matter what we're going through, it comes to speak to us in our
44:57
point of need. And then he says the judgments
45:01
of the Lord are true, they are righteous all together.
45:10
The judgments of the Lord, the ordinances, the divine verdict,
45:16
it comes from the, the holy bench of God.
45:21
We, we will be judged by this standard.
45:24
This is the only standard by which man is judged, God's holy
45:29
word. So whatever God's word says, man
45:32
is measured against. And so therefore, they're called
45:36
the judgments of the Lord and they, they are true, they're
45:44
absolute. That that is just so important
45:49
because you see, you can actually go to your philosophy
45:52
class and say, I know the truth. I know the truth.
46:00
Class is over. Class is done because you know
46:05
the truth. You have the truth.
46:08
You, you, you embody the God of truth and you hold the the truth
46:11
of God in your hands. But the reason there's a
46:16
philosophy class is because it's taught by people who don't know
46:18
the God of truth, who don't understand truth, can't live
46:23
truth because they don't know that God.
46:27
But you do. So you can say I know the truth
46:31
whatever question you, you have, I know the truth to the answer
46:35
to that question because God gives me the answer in his word
46:38
that's absolute true. The judgments of the Lord are
46:42
true. They are righteous all together.
46:45
In other words, they produce nothing but righteousness,
46:47
righteous acts in the lives of those who follow them.
46:52
This is the preciousness of the Word of God, and David sums it
46:59
up in in in six simple statements that will change a
47:05
person's life forever. When one person said this about
47:11
the Bible, does it have an author?
47:13
It's anonymous, it says, though the cover is worn and the pages
47:17
are torn, and though places bare traces of tears, yet more
47:24
precious than gold is the book, worn and old that can shatter
47:31
and scatter my fears. When I prayerfully look in the
47:36
precious old book many pleasures and treasures, I see many tokens
47:42
of love from the Father above, who is nearest and dearest to
47:47
me. The old book is my guide.
47:50
Tis a friend by my side. It will lighten and brighten my
47:54
way, and each promise I find soothes and gladdens my mind as
48:01
I read it and heed it today. So true.
48:08
So many people just lay the the truth of God aside and don't
48:13
spend time in in studying it, memorizing it, learning it,
48:18
growing in it, reading it. This is your life.
48:24
Every answer you have, every question you have is answered in
48:27
this book. All you have to do is seek for
48:33
wisdom. It comes from the mouth of the
48:36
Lord. But not only is it precious,
48:40
it's pleasurable. Look what he says next.
48:44
They are more desirable than gold.
48:46
Yes. Then much fine gold.
48:49
David would know that he was a rich man.
48:51
He had lots of gold. But this testimony, this
48:57
judgement, this commandment, this law, this fear of the Lord,
49:04
it's so precious, it's more valuable than gold.
49:10
There is no earthly commodity that can measure or stand
49:14
against God's word. And then he says this, he says
49:20
sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb, that
49:29
that's just a a marvelous statement because honey is is
49:35
sweet to the taste. And David is thinking of the
49:40
sweetest thing that is most pleasurable when it goes down.
49:47
But he compares the scriptures with honey.
49:54
Why? Well #1 honey is provided
50:01
through the work of someone or something else other than you.
50:10
It's provided by the work of bees #2 it's a natural food that
50:22
means it doesn't take a lengthy time for a digestion, and it
50:27
acts immediately to give you energy #3 the taste of honey is
50:39
unique. There is no other sweetness
50:42
quite like it in the richness of all tastes.
50:49
Now compare that to the Word of God.
50:52
You have the Word of God not by your efforts, but by someone
50:57
else's efforts. The holy men of God spoke as
51:00
they were moved and borne along by the Spirit of God, right?
51:05
So you've been given this word, the Word of God's, been placed
51:10
in your presence, and now you have it by the work of the
51:16
Spirit of God in the lives of holy men.
51:18
And now you obtain it #2 when you read it, when you study it,
51:29
like honey, it goes to work immediately in your life to give
51:37
you the strength and energy that you need.
51:41
And #3 There is no other piece of literature known to man ever
51:48
written that provides the sweetness of the truth of the
51:53
living God. That's why David uses the
51:57
comparison. He wants you to understand the,
52:00
the, the pleasurableness of of the word of God, the sweetness
52:05
of the word of God, the joy of the word of God, the value of
52:10
the word of God. It is so, so pleasurable.
52:16
And so as you think about this, you and you begin to realize how
52:20
important God's word is. The Lord comes along and says,
52:24
come to abolish the law. I've come to fulfill the law, so
52:30
much so that the people of my Kingdom are committed to keeping
52:35
that law and teaching others that law.
52:39
In fact, those people are the greatest ones in the Kingdom.
52:48
The greatest ones in my Kingdom understand that the law of the
52:52
Lord is perfect and it restores the soul.
52:56
So they want to teach others about that.
52:59
They want to impart that truth to others.
53:01
If you're a mother, you impart it to your children.
53:04
You would instruct them in the ways of God.
53:07
You're looking for someone else to teach, to invest in so that
53:13
they can learn the truth that you, you learn.
53:17
And God says the people in my Kingdom, they keep this word.
53:20
They teach this word because it's a testimony about me.
53:27
And if it's a testimony about me, it's absolutely sure.
53:33
And it takes the open mind and closes it to all those things
53:37
that will corrupt it. And they want to teach others
53:40
how to do that. And the presets of the Lord are
53:45
right. They give you clear direction, a
53:48
clear path. They give you a true path.
53:51
It's that your heart's always rejoicing because you're walking
53:54
in obedience to God, in the ways of God, filled with the joy of
53:59
the Lord, commands of the Lord, a clean, pure, undefiled.
54:06
What do they do? They enlighten the eyes.
54:09
You might see the things that God wants you to see, fear the
54:14
Lord is clean and during forever.
54:17
The judgments of the Lord are are true.
54:19
They are righteous all together. So the Lord says, I've come to
54:24
fulfill all that and I've come to make sure that you understand
54:29
that this law is the most brilliant thing ever because
54:37
Christ is brilliant and these are the words of Christ and
54:41
therefore you want to adhere to all that he says, let's pray
54:45
together. Father, we thank you for today.
54:48
Yeah, opportunity to be in Your Word and pray that you direct us
54:51
and lead us in the way that we should go.
54:52
Thank you so much for how it is. You have articulated so clearly
54:58
the importance of Your Word. May we as your children long for
55:03
more of it. May we want it to be a part of
55:07
our everyday life. May we not go a day without it,
55:11
knowing that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
55:15
word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
55:17
That's how we live our lives. You have a life giving word that
55:23
transforms us from the inside out.
55:27
May we see the value of that, act upon it.
55:32
Teach others the same thing also in Jesus name, Amen.