WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.740 I would like for you to open your Bible to First Peter, chapter 1. 2 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:25.780 And we’re going to look at several verses this morning because I’m going to have something like a topical sermon, which I don’t usually do, but we’re going to look at this verse in 1 Peter chapter 1 and looking at verse 23. 3 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:27.580 1 Peter chapter 1:23. 4 00:00:27.580 --> 00:00:32.260 So, let me read that message. 5 00:00:32.260 --> 00:00:47.300 The apostle Peter is writing to his scattered people, believers in Christ, mostly pretty much Jewish believers at that time. 6 00:00:47.300 --> 00:00:59.180 They were going through all kinds of difficulties and tribulations and he’s calling attention to their faith in Christ and what they’ve received from Christ. 7 00:00:59.180 --> 00:01:13.620 Verse 23 of chapter 1 says, “For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God.” 8 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:24.040 Last week we looked at Richard Rogers… I talked about the little booklet that I’d been reading, Richard Rogers, Holy Helps for a Godly Life . 9 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:38.620 And we looked in particular, we didn’t really spend all that much time in that book actually, but he has a section on giving thanks and the importance of thankfulness and we considered that last week. 10 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:45.480 What I thought I might do because these holy helps are graces of God. 11 00:01:45.480 --> 00:02:03.000 So whenever we think about them, whenever we consider these gifts from God which enable a person who has faith in Jesus Christ to gain strength in the Lord and to grow up materially and to have the benefits of blessing. 12 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:15.040 When we consider each of these things and use these things then it is through these means of grace that a believer is sanctified. 13 00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:21.360 It’s the means of grace that a believer grows stronger more like Jesus Christ himself. 14 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:36.480 Gains maturity, enables them to gain strength to be able to oppose sinfulness and to be able to carry out and minister to people through the giftedness of the spirit of God in their life. 15 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:44.420 So, we’re going to think about first of all the gift of the ministry of the word of God this morning. 16 00:02:44.420 --> 00:02:50.740 So, having read that passage, let me ask God’s blessing on his word this morning. 17 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:59.580 Father, we thank you for the preciousness of your gifts to us, beginning with the revelation of yourself to us. 18 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:01.580 What a precious gift that is. 19 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:08.040 Help us this morning to understand how precious your words are to us. 20 00:03:08.040 --> 00:03:11.140 What it means for us eternally. 21 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:18.860 But father how we should glorify your name because of such grace that you’ve given us. 22 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:20.880 Help us Lord in these things. 23 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:22.740 We pray in Christ’s name. 24 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:25.320 Amen. 25 00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:45.530 Well, in our house because Christmas is just a few weeks away, we’ve been thinking about presents that we’re going to purchase or trying to figure out how to get to certain members of our family and thinking about what the person might value. 26 00:03:45.530 --> 00:03:49.440 You know, you want to give a gift that somebody values. 27 00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:54.040 Sometimes when we give gifts, we try to make them as personal as possible. 28 00:03:54.040 --> 00:03:56.400 Sometimes we make our gifts. 29 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:59.760 Not that we probably wouldn’t do better by buying something. 30 00:03:59.760 --> 00:04:06.740 But just to make it personal, but it’s something that we invest ourselves into in some way. 31 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:14.320 Because gifts are often more precious to us because they’re an expression of love from someone. 32 00:04:14.320 --> 00:04:26.080 I have received gifts in my past from people who gave me gifts because they felt like it was the thing to do, you know, it was just obligatory. 33 00:04:26.080 --> 00:04:40.780 So you get a gift I don’t remember many of those gifts, you know, because they really didn’t mean that much to me. 34 00:04:40.780 --> 00:04:47.740 You can you might receive a gift and it might be a really good gift and you actually not value it. 35 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:56.140 It’s interesting, you know, why we value certain gifts and what it is we set our hearts on when we receive and give gifts. 36 00:04:56.140 --> 00:05:06.880 That’s the kind of thing I was thinking about as I was looking at and thinking again about these holy helps for godly living. 37 00:05:06.880 --> 00:05:20.700 God has given us many gifts, abundant gifts and yet you know unless we understand the expression of the heart of God and giving the gift. 38 00:05:20.700 --> 00:05:24.120 I wonder if we value that gift as we should. 39 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:40.740 And one of the things that strikes me is that too often we actually fail to comprehend and understand the preciousness of God’s gifts to us. 40 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:45.900 It’s important that we recognize the gifts he gives. 41 00:05:45.900 --> 00:05:52.060 The first section in Roger’s book has to do with the revelation of God to man. 42 00:05:52.060 --> 00:06:02.960 God gives the gift of revealing himself to us and we carry our Bibles around with us. 43 00:06:02.960 --> 00:06:06.220 Some of us carry our Bibles around with us. 44 00:06:06.220 --> 00:06:08.980 We take them to church with us. 45 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:11.760 We have them in our household. 46 00:06:11.760 --> 00:06:17.100 And yet it’s easy for us to take them as something that is so casual. 47 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:22.960 Give it not the thought or value that they truly deserve. 48 00:06:22.960 --> 00:06:43.720 When you think about Adam and Eve in the garden, God investing giving them life and such precious things live, bringing them and placing them into paradise and their open rebellion, willful rebellion against God and the consequences of that which is separation from God. 49 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:45.100 It could have ended. 50 00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:54.120 It would have been absolutely just for God to end it all there, never speak to them or communicate with them again. 51 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:55.920 But God doesn’t do that. 52 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:17.140 He continues by having a conversation with Adam and Eve, by talking to them, by pointing out their sinfulness, by making a plan of redemption, making through the sacrifice of an animal, he clothe them, which symbolizes a lot. 53 00:07:17.140 --> 00:07:35.440 As you look at future scripture, God doesn’t cut off the revelation of himself from them, even though that is the ultimate consequence of everyone who dies spiritually. 54 00:07:35.440 --> 00:07:44.740 Out of abundant grace, God has continued to give his revelation to us through his holy word. 55 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:46.900 It’s a powerful thing. 56 00:07:46.900 --> 00:07:54.140 In Rogers Holy Helps , he points out that the Bible is the authoritative word of God. 57 00:07:54.140 --> 00:07:59.500 It’s authoritative because of the one who is speaking. 58 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:03.420 The word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. 59 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:04.560 It is God himself. 60 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.840 God worked through men of old. 61 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:20.440 It tells us in the New Testament the whole prophets and the fathers and he communicates exactly what God wants communicated. 62 00:08:20.440 --> 00:08:23.520 It is ultimately the word of God. 63 00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:34.840 As you see over and over as you read through the prophets time and time again, they began with “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet.” 64 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:41.120 The word of the Lord came to and the phrase was repeated over and over again. 65 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.860 It is the precious word of God. 66 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:48.100 The same powerful word that brought about the creation of this universe. 67 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:56.600 Everything that there is, the whole cosmos, that kind of power is invested in God’s word. 68 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:08.180 So the first precious gift that we should especially consider and value is the authoritative word of God. 69 00:09:08.180 --> 00:09:15.260 And a couple of verses that points to that authority is Galatians 1:8. 70 00:09:15.260 --> 00:09:20.280 You know, how do you compare God’s word? 71 00:09:20.280 --> 00:09:34.720 Well, the Apostle Paul said to the Galatians, “If you hear me speak or if you hear an angel of God, if an angel of God came down to you and told you something.” 72 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:40.860 You’d probably listen to him if an angel of God came down to you and told you something. 73 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:54.060 He says, “If an angel of God comes down from heaven and or comes down and tells you something and that doesn’t agree with the word of God, let them be accursed.” 74 00:09:54.060 --> 00:10:04.160 Now, the word of God has priority over all things, over anything that I tell you over anything that anyone else tells you. 75 00:10:04.160 --> 00:10:08.140 It is the authoritative word of God. 76 00:10:08.140 --> 00:10:09.820 And it is true. 77 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:13.240 It’s accurate. 78 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:14.860 And we need to value it. 79 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:21.320 It’s powerful because it is inspired by God. 80 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:22.540 It is God breathed. 81 00:10:22.540 --> 00:10:27.920 It says in 2 Corinthians 3:16, “And it’s sufficient for all of life. 82 00:10:27.920 --> 00:10:34.860 All scriptures and inspired of God is profitable for teaching or proof for correction for training in righteousness.” 83 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:42.100 All these things are part of the benefits of the word of God. 84 00:10:42.100 --> 00:10:58.960 Jesus in Matthew 11:25, Jesus prays, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and revealed them to infants.” 85 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:02.900 Now, what is Jesus saying there when he’s talking about his revelation? 86 00:11:02.900 --> 00:11:12.860 He’s really referring, it’s a prayer to God of thanksgiving in response to the people to the people’s response to him. 87 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:14.100 And what is he saying? 88 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:25.600 He’s saying that God has revealed something to infants to people who you wouldn’t expect to know. 89 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:29.360 Not to the wise, not to brilliant people. 90 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:33.860 But God’s revelation is such that it is clear. 91 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:45.900 It is so clear that the most important truths of the word of God is easily understood by the simplest people. 92 00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:53.760 The most necessary points are understood by simple and ignorant people. 93 00:11:53.760 --> 00:12:08.680 You don’t have to be profoundly educated to be able to comprehend powerful truths from the word of God and to it affect your heart and change your life and transport you out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. 94 00:12:08.680 --> 00:12:18.780 So there’s no gift more precious, more powerful than the life-giving revelation of God himself through his word because it is powerful. 95 00:12:18.780 --> 00:12:25.780 The word of God is powerful because it gives life. 96 00:12:25.780 --> 00:12:28.960 That’s the point of this passage we read this morning. 97 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:49.200 That’s the main idea in first Peter 1 in verse 23 when he says you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable. 98 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:51.460 He’s making an analogy. 99 00:12:51.460 --> 00:13:01.720 He’s making an analogy about that that has to do with human conception and people coming to life initially with physical life. 100 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:13.940 The idea of the seed coming and bringing about the conception of a person and giving them physical life which is in this world perishable. 101 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:20.900 You live your life, you grow old, you get sick and you die. 102 00:13:20.900 --> 00:13:22.180 It’s perishable. 103 00:13:22.180 --> 00:13:26.960 You wear out physically in this world. 104 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.160 But God gives something else. 105 00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:36.700 You’ve not been born again through a seed which is perishable, but what is imperishable. 106 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:46.000 The word of God is the seed that’s planted into the heart that gives spiritual life to a person that causes them to be born again. 107 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:51.420 It meets with the faith that God has wrought in the heart. 108 00:13:51.420 --> 00:13:57.160 And as a result of faith, by the way, comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 109 00:13:57.160 --> 00:14:00.500 It’s a work of the spirit of God and the heart of person. 110 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:23.980 And when you hear the word of God, the Holy Spirit of God uses his word to change us, to convict us, to convict us of our sinfulness, to awaken us to the powerful love of God, to give us a picture of the glory of Christ in our hearts, to change us inside out. 111 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:26.800 It’s transforming and it’s powerful. 112 00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:29.610 It causes us to be born again. 113 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:44.640 Again, as this passage says, it is extraordinarily incredible the fact that you have an soul that can be renewed in Jesus Christ. 114 00:14:44.640 --> 00:14:58.300 You have a soul that will last forever, but you have a soul transformed by the word of God into a relationship with God that is blessed forever. 115 00:14:58.300 --> 00:15:07.580 What a difference that is being changed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and glory. 116 00:15:07.580 --> 00:15:13.740 So the word of God is powerful and it is God-given. 117 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:27.160 That’s why by the way James says he chose God chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. 118 00:15:27.160 --> 00:15:28.980 That’s what it is for a believer. 119 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:30.860 You come to faith in Christ. 120 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:33.280 You are born again. 121 00:15:33.280 --> 00:15:42.780 You are born given birth through the truth, the word of truth, and nothing else can save you. 122 00:15:42.780 --> 00:15:46.640 There’s not a thing in this world that’s going to redeem your soul. 123 00:15:46.640 --> 00:15:52.040 You can look and fascinate yourself with all sorts of things in this world. 124 00:15:52.040 --> 00:15:55.660 You can educate yourself in a thousand ways. 125 00:15:55.660 --> 00:16:15.760 You can steep yourself in history and learn deep truths that might equip you for planning a future in this life, but it’s not going to save your soul or meet any spiritual need that you have in eternity. 126 00:16:15.760 --> 00:16:29.700 You can look to philosophies, you can look to scientists, you can learn a great deal of things, but you’re not going to find anything that’s beneficial to your soul. 127 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:50.100 I think one of the reasons that it is easy for us to value stuff of this world rather than our soul, the word of God given to strengthen our spirit and soul is that we don’t tend to value our soul and spirit. 128 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:53.240 We tend to forget about it. 129 00:16:53.240 --> 00:17:01.480 We tend to not think about it as if we don’t have a soul or spirit. 130 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:24.840 But the Bible’s the Lord Jesus said you know that if we fail to consider I mean what does it gain a man he says if you gain all of the world and yet lose your soul now the soul is crucial it’s what will endure. 131 00:17:24.840 --> 00:17:32.300 If you’re a person who’s been redeemed by Christ you’ll receive a new glorious eternal body. 132 00:17:32.300 --> 00:17:40.040 And your soul will endure this life and enter into heaven and receive that body. 133 00:17:40.040 --> 00:17:44.240 You’ll receive that body on that resurrection day. 134 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:55.660 But you have a soul that is eternal and it can be lost into eternity in hell or it can be regenerated by the power of God’s word. 135 00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.640 You see, it is the word of God. 136 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:09.840 It’s God himself revealed to us through his word that changes us from darkness to light that gives us life in Christ. 137 00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:15.240 Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.” 138 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:31.180 If we’re to experience the life of God, we must experience in the only way that we can get it, and that’s through the Bible as the Holy Spirit works through it in us. 139 00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:41.380 So the value of the Bible in the book holy helps he’s calling our attention to how important this is. 140 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:59.900 He does it he talks about preaching a lot in there as well putting yourself under the ministry of the word of God and he calls attention to the fact that it tells us in Ephesians chapter 4 for example that God gives gifted people to his church including pastor teachers. 141 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:21.800 And the point of giving pastor teachers to the church is to help us is to for the building up of the body of Christ to the work of the ministry of God for all everyone to be doing the work of God through the ministry of the word of God as it’s explained to you through a gifted teacher. 142 00:19:21.800 --> 00:19:32.880 But of course he also talks about private study coming to the word of God daily and we do that out of necessity. 143 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:41.460 If God brought you to life by the power of his word and you have spiritual life in you now, how do you sustain? 144 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:44.280 How is that life sustained? 145 00:19:44.280 --> 00:19:45.880 How does it continue? 146 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:46.840 How does it grow? 147 00:19:46.840 --> 00:19:48.920 How does it develop? 148 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.740 Well, it develops through the word of God. 149 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:57.700 We gain spiritual nourishment through the word of God. 150 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:01.860 Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone. 151 00:20:01.860 --> 00:20:04.020 Jesus is tempted by Satan. 152 00:20:04.020 --> 00:20:06.300 He’s been fasting for days. 153 00:20:06.300 --> 00:20:08.680 He’s physically hungry. 154 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:11.760 Hard to imagine how hungry he might have been. 155 00:20:11.760 --> 00:20:21.180 But when tempted to eat to perform a miracle to suit himself. 156 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:23.580 No, he trusts the father. 157 00:20:23.580 --> 00:20:34.520 And he says he quotes the passage from Deuteronomy and says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” 158 00:20:34.520 --> 00:20:48.280 In Deuteronomy 8, that passage, the passage, Moses writes to remind Israel of what took place in the wilderness when God sent the mana. 159 00:20:48.280 --> 00:20:51.610 He gave them mana to eat. 160 00:20:51.610 --> 00:21:09.520 And the mana was given with certain rules and it was, you know, if you didn’t listen to God’s instruction then you suffered consequences by not being able to benefit from the mana. 161 00:21:09.520 --> 00:21:21.820 But Moses said the reason that God did that was to humble you and to let you be hungry and to feed you with mana that you didn’t know before. 162 00:21:21.820 --> 00:21:33.520 Neither did your fathers know that he might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 163 00:21:33.520 --> 00:21:39.460 We live and gain nourishment and strength through the word of God. 164 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:47.240 If we don’t get the word of God, then we become spiritually weak. 165 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:54.060 We become anemic in the faith and so our souls grow weak. 166 00:21:54.060 --> 00:22:06.960 Deuteronomy also that passage from Deuteronomy is also quoted in Psalm 19 where the Bible is taught to be an all-sufficient revelation. 167 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:18.000 It’s able to turn us from our sin to lead us through the difficulties that we have in life and feed and enrich us so that we’re able to enjoy the full benefits of spiritual life. 168 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:23.640 We’re to feed the new nature while starving the old nature. 169 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:45.060 We’re to feed on truth of the word of God, thinking about it, meditating on it, appreciating it, applying it and setting aside those things that disagree that the Bible makes clear is sinful ways of the world around us. 170 00:22:45.060 --> 00:23:00.280 So the text says in 1 Peter 2:1 and 2 it says therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander of every kind. 171 00:23:00.280 --> 00:23:09.780 And like newborn babes, crave pure spiritual milk so that you may grow up in your salvation. 172 00:23:09.780 --> 00:23:17.720 Repeatedly in the Bible, the word of God, the Bible, we’re instructed to hunger and thirst for righteousness. 173 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:29.100 We are instructed to value the word of God and to feed on it as if it’s the milk that a baby needs to grow up in Christ. 174 00:23:29.100 --> 00:23:34.860 We are told that it is to be our strong meat as well. 175 00:23:34.860 --> 00:23:44.560 We’re to gain spiritual strength and as we mature, we’re to understand more and more of the word of God. 176 00:23:44.560 --> 00:24:04.060 One preacher from a few generations ago pointed out that pretty much every revival that has come about has come about at the same time a new appreciation for God’s word takes place a new understanding and appreciation of the word of God. 177 00:24:04.060 --> 00:24:07.340 And I think that may be quite true. 178 00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:23.920 It is through the word of God and the value of the word of God that we are given spiritual strength that brings about the change that brings about the strength that we need to be a blessings to people. 179 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:28.320 So we’re to feed this new nature. 180 00:24:28.320 --> 00:25:04.820 It’s like in that passage in 1 Peter 2 it’s like the world the old nature and the pattern of our former life the way we lived before and the habits that we developed and the habits of all the people around us so many people around us that works against the soul well it’s like a lion in a cage has placed that into a cage for the believer so that we’re not affected by it. 181 00:25:04.820 --> 00:25:11.560 But you don’t want to continue feeding that and encouraging it and nurturing it. 182 00:25:11.560 --> 00:25:22.730 God says that as far as we are concerned, I mean the overactivity in the believer’s life, I mean we have freedom from that. 183 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:29.540 We have we can fall into it, but we have freedom from that as a believer. 184 00:25:29.540 --> 00:25:31.440 So, we’re not to feed that. 185 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.320 We’re not to encourage it. 186 00:25:33.320 --> 00:25:38.880 We’re not to grow in it, to think about it, to value it, to hold on to it. 187 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:42.720 We’re to starve that fleshly nature. 188 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:44.900 And we’re to feed the spirit. 189 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:57.200 And that is done through the study of the word of God, through coming to understand the word of God and the precious truths that God has about himself to us. 190 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.240 So, we should desire it intensely. 191 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:02.720 We should hunger for it. 192 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:06.240 It should be sweet to our taste like honey. 193 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.760 We should value it and precious. 194 00:26:08.760 --> 00:26:12.000 It should be precious to us. 195 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:20.460 There was an illustration from the life of a man named Major Gilbert, Major V. Gilbert. 196 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:23.260 He had a book called The Last Crusade. 197 00:26:23.260 --> 00:27:07.880 And it was his experience in World War I when he brought he was part of a group that brought about the liberation of Palestine in World War I and the story the Gilbert’s account goes driving up from Beersa a combined force of British Australians and New Zealanders were pressing on the rear of the Turkish retreat over the Arab desert and the problem is as they advanced They advanced ahead of their water bottle, the their water carrying camel train. 198 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:20.360 They went way ahead and the camel train ended up getting hilled back and so they were out in that desert without any water and it wasn’t long before all their water bottles were empty and they began to starve. 199 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:29.600 It said Gilbert writes, “Our heads ached and our eyes became bloodshot and dim with the blinding glare. 200 00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:31.960 Our tongues began to swell. 201 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:35.260 Our tips turned purplish black and burst. 202 00:27:35.260 --> 00:27:40.450 Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again. 203 00:27:40.450 --> 00:27:44.230 But the desperate force battled on to Shira.” 204 00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:47.060 And there were wells at Shira. 205 00:27:47.060 --> 00:27:51.280 And so they managed to get there before nightfall. 206 00:27:51.280 --> 00:27:53.580 If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have survived. 207 00:27:53.580 --> 00:27:54.640 None of them. 208 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:56.420 He said, “We fought that day.” 209 00:27:56.420 --> 00:28:03.180 Gilbert writes, “As men fight for their lives, we Shira stationed on the hills of the retreating Turks. 210 00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:10.680 And the first object which met our view were a great stone sistns full of cold clear drinking water. 211 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:18.460 And still night the sound of water running in the tanks could be heard distinctly maddening in its nearness. 212 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:27.520 But nobody or murmured that he said when orders were given for the battalion to fall in too deep facing the cistrants. 213 00:28:27.520 --> 00:28:33.460 So they took all the people who were especially sick and needy and gave them water first. 214 00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:35.900 And they did it in an orderly way. 215 00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:43.280 And the guys at the end of the line had to wait four hours before they got a drink. 216 00:28:43.280 --> 00:28:45.960 That’s thirsty. 217 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:48.280 That’s thirsty. 218 00:28:48.280 --> 00:28:58.040 Major Gilbert said, “We learned our first real Bible lesson on that march from Beersa to Shira of Wales. 219 00:28:58.040 --> 00:29:12.520 If such were our thirst for God, for righteousness, for his will in our life, a consuming, all embracing, preoccupying desire, how rich the fruit of the spirit, how rich in the fruits of the spirit we would be.” 220 00:29:12.520 --> 00:29:14.920 That’s true. 221 00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:35.910 God wants us to desire, be passionate about his word and value it to it needs to be precious to us, not just to know it or to come to understand it in a way but actually to embrace it with her heart in a real way to consume it. 222 00:29:35.910 --> 00:29:41.580 Now the story is told of Stuart Brisco in one of his he was addressing an audience. 223 00:29:41.580 --> 00:29:51.500 They were having a conversation with the with his congregation and he said what do the commandments what what do you do with the commandments in the scripture? 224 00:29:51.500 --> 00:29:57.140 And this little old lady raised her hand and she said underline mine in blue. 225 00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:59.790 Well, you can underline them all in blue. 226 00:29:59.790 --> 00:30:06.180 That’s may not be a bad thing to do, but the commandments are given for us to obey. 227 00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:08.060 That was his point. 228 00:30:08.060 --> 00:30:17.880 We are given the word of God to hear it, to be changed through it, to listen to it, to respect it, to value it, and hold it precious to us. 229 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:22.640 We’re to have a desire for the word of God. 230 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:33.980 It is important that we do we do that. 231 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:46.340 As we think about God’s revelation it’s really important that we realize that all of the word of God leads us to an understanding of who he is. 232 00:30:46.340 --> 00:30:50.860 The point of it is to cause us to understand him. 233 00:30:50.860 --> 00:31:00.280 And that’s why the ultimate revelation of God is the person of Jesus Christ himself. 234 00:31:00.280 --> 00:31:03.720 Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. 235 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:15.920 The Bible is meant to lead us to Christ and Jesus Christ is the one who reveals to us God himself. 236 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:22.560 In John 14, Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the father and that that’ll suffice us. 237 00:31:22.560 --> 00:31:24.320 That’ll be enough for us.” 238 00:31:24.320 --> 00:31:32.180 And Jesus says, “Have I been so long with you and Have you not known me? 239 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:35.880 He who has seen me has seen the father.” 240 00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:40.520 Jesus is the perfect picture, the perfect revelation of God. 241 00:31:40.520 --> 00:31:47.360 He tells if you’ve seen Jesus, the invisible father is revealed through him. 242 00:31:47.360 --> 00:31:51.460 Hebrews talks about the revelation of the Old Testament. 243 00:31:51.460 --> 00:32:06.840 And the very first chapter, very first verse, God revealed himself by speaking to the church, the fathers of the you know the fathers of Israel and the prophets. 244 00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:11.880 And he says that he did that in many ways. 245 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:18.500 But he says in these last days he’s spoken to us in his son. 246 00:32:18.500 --> 00:32:23.160 He’s saying that Jesus Christ is a revelation of God. 247 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:28.740 And he says whom he appointed heir of all things through whom he made the world. 248 00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:37.280 And he’s the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature. 249 00:32:37.280 --> 00:32:40.080 And he upholds all things by the word of his power. 250 00:32:40.080 --> 00:32:45.280 And when he made a purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 251 00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:50.460 Jesus Christ reveals perfectly the heavenly father. 252 00:32:50.460 --> 00:32:57.180 Colossians 3:15 says that he is the image of the invisible god. 253 00:32:57.180 --> 00:33:03.760 He is we celebrate At this time of the year, he is the word made flesh. 254 00:33:03.760 --> 00:33:08.340 In John chapter 1, it says, “In the beginning was the word. 255 00:33:08.340 --> 00:33:10.540 The word was God.” 256 00:33:10.540 --> 00:33:16.780 And in verse 14, it says, “The word was made flesh.” 257 00:33:16.780 --> 00:33:19.360 Jesus is the word. 258 00:33:19.360 --> 00:33:22.120 He is the revelation of God. 259 00:33:22.120 --> 00:33:25.100 He is all that we can know about God. 260 00:33:25.100 --> 00:33:28.000 He’s the point of all of our history. 261 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:38.580 And through But what he has given us, we come to know God in the only way that we truly can through his ministry and mediation. 262 00:33:38.580 --> 00:33:45.080 So we need to recognize that the Bible leads us to Christ. 263 00:33:45.080 --> 00:33:51.580 When we come to Christ through faith, we are introduced and brought into the very kingdom of God. 264 00:33:51.580 --> 00:33:55.540 And we have an eternal relationship with God that lasts forever. 265 00:33:55.540 --> 00:33:57.920 Precious gifts. 266 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:00.380 Now, this is a precious gift. 267 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:02.880 I’ve talked about it so abstractly. 268 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:09.340 I’m not sure we’ve gotten it, but it is so precious. 269 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:10.760 It’s a gift that we cannot value. 270 00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:14.580 We can choose not to really value it, not to think about it. 271 00:34:14.580 --> 00:34:24.820 We can get caught up in all sorts of stuff in this world and things and not value God’s word. 272 00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:34.920 But it is so crucial that we hunger for it, that we thirst for it, that we make it a priority in our life. 273 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:44.380 When we come to the word of God, just a few guidelines as we close, we have to come to the word of God each time prayerfully. 274 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:48.140 It’s a spiritual the word of God is spiritual. 275 00:34:48.140 --> 00:34:49.240 It’s living. 276 00:34:49.240 --> 00:34:51.220 It’s the living word of God. 277 00:34:51.220 --> 00:35:02.920 And we come to it spiritually through prayer, asking God to teach us and talking to him as we read and study and meditate on the word. 278 00:35:02.920 --> 00:35:04.660 We’re to do it consistently. 279 00:35:04.660 --> 00:35:06.280 We’re to be persistent. 280 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:16.120 You know, if for some reason something interrupts your time with the Lord for a few days, well, don’t get discouraged and quit. 281 00:35:16.120 --> 00:35:20.440 You know, three days is better than no days. 282 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:23.220 Spend some time with the Lord. 283 00:35:23.220 --> 00:35:26.140 Keep at it and be persistent. 284 00:35:26.140 --> 00:35:30.520 The Bible is meant to be obeyed. 285 00:35:30.520 --> 00:35:31.820 We apply it. 286 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:33.820 It’s an easy thing for us. 287 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:42.440 It’s an easy thing for me to come to the word of God and think about how it applies to you. 288 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:50.120 The first and crucial thing that I must do is think about how it applies to me has to apply to me. 289 00:35:50.120 --> 00:35:58.110 When you come to the word of God and when you hear a sermon, it’s easy for us to think about who it might apply to. 290 00:35:58.110 --> 00:36:00.800 But it all applies to us. 291 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:02.260 It applies to us. 292 00:36:02.260 --> 00:36:08.480 And so we need to ask God for wisdom in applying it to our life. 293 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:21.460 To have whether we like a sermon or not or whether we listen to these words of God and think, “Well, that’s pretty plain and I knew all of that to begin with.” 294 00:36:21.460 --> 00:36:24.080 Has it changed us in any way? 295 00:36:24.080 --> 00:36:26.360 Do we value the word of God? 296 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:29.460 Is it making a difference in our life? 297 00:36:29.460 --> 00:36:56.900 You know, actually making a plan and then carrying it out, saying, you know, this afternoon I’m going to open up the book of Proverbs or I’m going to read through the book of James or I’m going to start reading the Gospel of John and I’m going to do that through the I’m going to read John’s gospel through the month of December. 298 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:07.640 And you make it practical and you enter into a an experience and a journey and a joy because it is nothing is you’re going to get a lot of Christmas presents this year. 299 00:37:07.640 --> 00:37:18.340 But if you just took a book of the Bible like the Gospel of John and read through it this month, you would get more joy from that than most other things that will last you much longer. 300 00:37:18.340 --> 00:37:21.240 It’s a precious gift that God has given. 301 00:37:21.240 --> 00:37:36.020 If we value it, if we desire it, if we open that package and receive it, then it’ll be a precious gift that we will bring joy and blessing to our life. 302 00:37:36.020 --> 00:37:37.760 So that’s what we have this morning. 303 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:39.780 Let me pray for us. 304 00:37:39.780 --> 00:37:56.120 Father, we thank you for the preciousness of your word which through your word you give us life and through your word you give us spiritual nourishment and strength that equips us for life. 305 00:37:56.120 --> 00:38:07.920 Through the Bible and through the revelation it gives us of our savior, the Lord Jesus, we are brought into fellowship with one another. 306 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:11.480 We’re brought into peace with you. 307 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:19.630 We’re given special, wonderful, precious gifts that are beyond our comprehension. 308 00:38:19.630 --> 00:38:23.900 And how easy it is for us to neglect such a precious thing. 309 00:38:23.900 --> 00:38:29.200 We ask that you awaken our hearts again to the value of your word. 310 00:38:29.200 --> 00:38:38.440 Lord, to take the time to value it, to read it, to use it, to eat the food and not just admire it. 311 00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:53.840 Lord, please use this word to strengthen this church and equip us for the work that you’ve called us to that we may glorify your name and lead others to glorify your name. 312 00:38:53.840 --> 00:38:57.260 Bless us we pray in Christ’s name. 313 00:38:57.260 --> 00:38:59.260 Amen.