Jeremiah chapter 23 Jeremiah 23 If the Lord has been gracious to us We are to be faithful. One. To him. In all things. He saved us. Or we're not our own. He says we were bought with the price. So everything that we do, whether you eat, drink, whatever, do all of the glory of God and secondly. We are to be faithful to his word. the written Word of God. Faithful to the written Word of God. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Hold your hand there in Jeremiah 23. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 1 and 2 Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now, you know, this is speaking about elders, pastors, bishops, but every learned this a long time ago. If you look at the qualifications for the pastor's elder, they're the qualifications for believers. What you find about one person, you find about a regular believer. So look at verse two. Moreover, it is required in stewards. That's everyone who has tasted and experienced the Lord has been gracious. So if you're a believer here this morning, it's required in stewards that a man be found faithful, man, woman, boy, and girl. Turn with me to Matthew 25. Matthew 25 and verse 21 and verse 23 is the parable of the talents and Christ is teaching all who would hear who have ears to hear his Lord said unto him well done thou good and faithful servant thou has been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And verse 23, same thing. His Lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant. Good and faithful servant. So back to our text in Jeremiah 23. And let's look at just two verses. Just two verses, verse 28 and 29. 28 and 29 of Jeremiah 23. The prophet, the person, the speaker, the preacher, the teacher that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he that hath my word, he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully, faithfully. What is the chaff? to the wheat, saith the Lord. Well, let's look at verse 29. This is my main text. Jeremiah 23 and verse 29. Is not my word, which is, if we have his word, if the Lord has taught us from his word, reading, preaching, studying, meditating, let him speak my word faithfully. And then he likens the word of God to fire, is not my word like as a fire, sayeth the Lord, like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. How so is the word of God likened unto fire? Now, this is obviously before electricity, so you've got to put your mindset back in the day, back in the Old Testament. So if we'll see these correlations between the Word of God and fire, I think we'll see just how profitable the Word of God can be. But oftentimes, I don't know how many Bibles Melinda and I have at the house. We've got one in each vehicle, so we don't ever want to be without the Word on vacation or whatever. We like to have the Word around us. This is how important it is, and oftentimes it gets set, it just, the book gets closed, and we get other things we gotta do, and it should be the other way around. We oughta center our time away from here, and well, and again, I say, I've got it written down here somewhere, that's why I have somebody read the scriptures. Because if I miss it, the word of God was read purely on its own. That's why we do that. And in Bible class, Bruce is not, it's not his opinion. He's reading from the Word of God. So how so is this, he says, is not my word like as a fire? Well, the first thing is, it is a property of fire to illuminate. Like I say, back in the day before we had all this electricity, the fire was used to illuminate. Turn with me to Psalms 119. Psalms 119. In verse 105, and again in verse 130. Psalms 119, 105 thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path Verse 130 verse 130 the entrance of your words Gives light it gives understanding under the simple under the simple you're raising your children and you've got some experience you've got some wisdom and Go to the word, go to the word. I remember years ago when, when I finally got to have Henry Mahan here two years in a row, and I got to visit with him for hours and I had a bunch of questions and I had three pages of questions and he answered each question, his opinion. And then he says, now I'm going to go back over here and he goes, let's see what the word says. And I thought that was very, very wise. So the word, the property of fire is to illuminate. If you're a saved sinner this morning, is this not true with us in our lives? The word is read at home or here or wherever, it's preached, it's taught, and we are naturally in darkness. We're born in sin, which we heard this morning in Bible class. We're born in trespasses and sins. And then, By the Holy Spirit convincing, we are illuminated and called and quickened and redeemed by His Word. By His Word, through the blood of Christ. Faith and grace in Christ. By and through His glorious Word, through faith and grace received. And incidentally, that's not of yourselves, what he says in Ephesians. That grace is not of yourselves, faith is not of yourselves. His Word, not mine or your opinion. not creeds, church creeds, not logic or even education, but by the super, and I call it unnatural, usually the supernatural truth of the living God, but this is unnatural. The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, indeed their foolishness. So, by the super unnatural usage by the Holy Spirit, he uses the word of truth. His truth, not air, like Bruce said this morning, not super suppositions, but His unerring word, and He gives light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, no other. 2 Corinthians 4. Secondly, how is this fire, back in our text, how is this, or how is the word of God likened to fire? Secondly, fire gives heat, gives heat. Now, we read Jeremiah 31.3, and you don't have to turn there, but he says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. When you grab hold of that, or if that grabs hold of you, however you want to phrase it, doesn't that give you warmth? Warmth of the grace of God? Jeremiah chapter 20 look at what it says in verse 9 Jeremiah 20 verse 9 the word of God is like fire Secondly, it gives heat it gives heat Jeremiah 20 and verse 9 This is the prophet talking then I said I will not make mention of him the grace of God I'm gonna shut my mouth nor speak any more in his name, but his word was in my heart and as a burning fire, shut up in my bones and I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay." The believer, if he tries to shut down the grace of God, if he tries to shut down the words where, I got friends and I don't want to offend them and I don't want to make them mad, that's on you. It's not on your friend, that's on you. But the believer, he's going to be convicted, he's going to grieve the Holy Spirit, And he's gonna, it's just right here. I could not forbear. Because why? Because the word was as a burning fire shut up in his bones. May the Holy Spirit light such a burning zeal in us for to speak and to live and to worship and praise his glorious name. I pray that would be so here because Uh, we don't, the, the fire, you know, the Lord's taking the candlestick out of several places. And there are several places that we know that don't have pastors. He may take the candlestick out of there. We don't want that. We want to be stewards of his word. The Brians, when the, after Paul preached, they went home and they searched what the scriptures, they searched the scriptures. And you can turn there if you want to, but in Luke 24, I love the passage of the two on the road to Emmaus. They're walking, and then Christ comes in them, and they didn't know who he was, but he says, I gotta read this, I should know it. In this verse, In Luke 24, in verse 27, they're speaking with Christ and they don't know who he is and he says, verse 26, ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, Christ expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the word of God, the scriptures, the things concerning himself. And look at verse 32, and they said one to another, did not our hearts burn Did it burn? Yes, it did. It burned. Why? Because fire, the word, gives heat. And time would not tell. You could look at Psalms 104. You could go to James 1. The next point. Fire consumes. Fire consumes. We sing this hymn. Fire, the word of God is like fire and property of fire is that it consumes. How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you he has said to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled. Verse four, when through fiery trials, thy pathway shall light, my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design thy draughts to consume and thy gold to refine." Thy gold to refine. The fire consumes. And we just look at one another and we know ourselves pretty well by the grace of God. The grace of God makes people honest with themselves and with others. This fire consumes the deeds of the flesh. consuming the dross and making no provision for the flesh. Affliction does the same thing. Trials will do the same thing. Hardships will also produce sweet results, but the word meditated upon, the word read, the word preached, and the word believed, all this is part and parcel of his work within us sometimes who are very foolish. It consumes, it consumes. Colossians chapter three. Colossians chapter three. And verse 16 Colossians three verse 16 let the word of Christ. dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Let the word, the word of Christ, this is the scriptures. And there's safety in this word, because it consumes. We're safe by looking at the word from law and works and legal entrapments, Satan's snares, worldly lusts, and the worry of, as you get older, the worry of death, these things. But if we look at the word, we have nothing but comfort. And that which is not of Christ, it needs to be consumed. And usually the word, the word does that. Fourthly, Fire has purifying effects. 1 Peter 1, fire has purifying effects. 1 Peter 1 and verse 22, 1 Peter 1 verse 22, The fire is likened unto the word of God, and the fire has a purifying effect. Verse 22, seeing you have purified your souls in obeying, what? The truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. Now that word purified, I looked that up, it has to do with washing to rid dirt. I like that, washing to rid dirt. And you remember the Lord was washing the disciples' feet. Peter says, oh, wash all, no, you don't need to be washed all over. You're washed, you're saved, you're cleansed from your sin. You don't need to be washed, but you get around, you get in the world, you walk in the world, you use your feet, and you need to have your feet washed. And that's what he's saying. You purified yourself, washing in the feet of his chosen disciples. And as I said, this is one reason why We read the scriptures, we read the scriptures. Such a treasure trove of the knowledge and mind of Christ, the mind of Christ. Fifthly, now this is a backwards look at this, but people say where there's smoke, there's fire. Well, where there's fire, there's smoke, right? And we've been around a campfire, I don't care how good the campfire is, there's always smoke. No sooner does the fire of the grace and mercy through Christ Jesus reach the heart, do we notice smoke of incense of prayer, praise, humble worship come forth. Acts, well turn to Psalms of Solomon chapter three. Songs of Solomon chapter three, this is the Lord's church is compared by the groom, by Christ himself. Look at what he says. I've really never seen this before. Songs of Solomon chapter three and verse six. This is Christ talking about his church. Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke? Perfumed with myrrh frankincense with all powders of the merchant Christ is our sweet smelling sacrifice, but he's speaking of the church here pillars of smoke. That's his church That's his church But I have a last word I have a last word turn to Acts chapter 4 And then we'll flip back to our Our passage in Jeremiah 23, Acts chapter four. And it started in verse 23 in Acts. Now the, actually it was Peter and John got captured and were by the Sanhedrin and they were warning them, don't preach in this name, don't preach the word, shut up, that's just for us. That's what's going on here. In verse 23, and being let go, John and Peter were let go. They went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art God, which hath made heaven and earth, sea, and all that is therein. who by the mouth of thy servant David hath said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, and the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together. For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done, And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word. Not the Baptist doctrine, not the Presbyterian doctrine, no, his word, his word. And verse 30, by stretching forth on hand to heal and signs and wonders may be done by the name of my holy child, Jesus. So it's all concerning Christ, all concerning Christ. I'll turn back to Jeremiah. I want us to see this. Excuse me. Jeremiah 23, and let's look at verse 29 again. Why preach the word? Why don't we just have, you know, fellowship? Why don't we just talk about the world? Why don't we talk about the weather? Why don't we? Because that's what you get when you leave here. Why are we so concerned about the word of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? Look at our text. Is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Everyone is born, is born with a stony heart. And his word, whether it's fire, purifies, heat, light, or hammer, And we know, we've talked about this years ago out of Micah chapter 2, Christ is referred to as the breaker. He breaks the power of canceled sin. So why preach the word? I gave you six or seven biblical reasons, but I'll give you one more and let this suffice. Substitute the term, and back in our text, Substitute the term in verse 29, word with Christ. Substitute that word, word with Christ. Is not Christ like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces? We are to preach it. I am not to manipulate it. Preach it. Preach the word. Preach Christ. May he burn and break hard hearts this morning. Christ is the living word revealed in the written word. That's what the scripture says. I turn back to Acts chapter four. You don't have to turn there in closing. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness we may speak your word. That's by the grace of God, and leave it alone. He will do a work. If it's his work, I don't want it to be my work. I don't want that. But may he give us boldness to speak his word and his word of truth. Bruce, would you close us, please?