Go with me now to Colossians
3. Often folks come up to me after
a message and say thank you. And I appreciate that. They should
say thank you. We ought to say thank you for
a cup of cold water. Anything anyone does for us,
we should say thank you. Remember that article by Brother
Don Bell in Sunday's Bulletin? Thank you. It's a good thing. But most of the time when people
say that, what they're saying to me is they really didn't get
too much out of the message. I know because I've said it myself.
When you don't find anything, you tasted it but didn't really
eat it. Like sitting down at a meal,
I always say thank you for every
meal done on me. But if it really tastes good,
I just go on and on about it. Those beans, that corn, so good. And you know what the difference
is. Let me tell you what the difference is. Hunger. That makes all the difference. Hunger. Thirst. You can eat the
same old common food you eat time after time, and if you're
hungry, oh, those beans. We've had those in the pantry
for years. Oh, but they're so good. And
this Word is good. David said, it's sweeter than
honey to my taste. I want the preaching to be a
blessing. I want you to not just taste
it. I don't want it to just teach
your head. I want it to reach your heart.
That's what I want. I want it to reach my heart.
Now, only the Spirit of God can do that. Only the Spirit of God
can do that. I can't do it. We can't drum
it up, but He's given to those that ask for Him. So how much
more do we need to ask every time? Every time. Last couple
of weeks ago, we looked at Psalm I'm sorry, Isaiah 45, 22. Look
unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. What a
word. What a word that is. Last week we looked at verse
15 here. Let the peace of God rule in
your hearts to which you are called. Peace ruling. Peace ruling. I want that, don't
you? I want the peace of God to overrule all the unbelief
that I have, fears and worries. If it does, we'll have that peace
that passes understanding. Tonight, this is a vital message.
I've eaten this for myself, and it has blessed me. I listened
to another man preach this text myself. I do that a lot these
days, and it was a great blessing to me. It made me realize how
much I need this. Colossians 3 verse 16, let the
Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Let the Word of
Christ dwell in you richly. Whose Word is this that we're
looking at? This is the Word of Christ. This is the Word of
God. It's the same thing. The Word of God, the Word of
Christ. Go to John chapter 12 with me.
John 12. These are not John Calvin's words. These are not John Bunyan's words,
Edward's words, Whitefield's, Spurgeon's, or even Peter or
Paul's. This is the word of the living
God, the word of Jesus Christ. The Word of Christ deserves our
utmost attention, doesn't it? Our undivided attention. It deserves
to be pondered. It deserves to be considered.
It deserves to be meditated upon. It deserves to be thought upon.
It deserves to be acted upon. It deserves to be believed. It
deserves to be heeded and heard. The Word of Christ is what it's
called. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly. It's called the Word of Christ
because He's the author of it. It's His Word. Look here at John
12, verse 44. He says, Christ cried and said,
He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent
me. And he that seeth me, seeth him
that sent me. I am come a light into the world,
that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. If any man hear my words and
believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge the world,
but to save the world. He that rejecteth me and receiveth
not my words hath one that judgeth him, the word that I have spoken.
The same shall judge him in the last day, for I have not spoken
of myself. But the Father which sent me,
he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should
speak. And I know that his commandment
is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." That's the Word
of Christ. He's the author of it. He's the
preacher of it. He's the preacher of it. The
Son of God came down here to preach, not only to save, us
from our sin, but to preach this word of life. To preach. God, who at sundry times in diverse
manners spake unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son. He's the author of it. He's the preacher of it. He's
the subject of it. That's why it's called the Word
of Christ. He's the subject of it. He said this, he said in
John 5, they are they which testify of me. He says, you search the
Scriptures and in them you think you have life. They are they
which testify of me. He says Moses wrote of me. If you believed Moses, you'd
believe me, because Moses wrote of me. I'm the subject of Scripture. To him give all the prophets
witness. His name is the Word. That's
his name. So this is the Word of Christ.
That's why it's called that. Every law points to Him. God
wrote this book. Christ wrote this book. The co-author,
the Holy Spirit, to point to Christ who is our salvation,
who is the only God we'll ever see or hear from. Every law points
to Him. Every prophet prophesied of Him.
Every psalm sings to Him, of Him, or is sung by Him. He's
the singer of them. The sweet psalmist of Israel,
yes, David, but more particularly the son of David. Son of David. And no one understands, truly
understands the Word unless, by the Spirit of God, he reveals
the Word in the Word. It is to him to give all the
prophets in the Word. So he says, let the word of Christ
dwell in you. This is his word. Let the word
of Christ dwell in you. That means abide in you. In your
heart. In your heart. Because out of
the heart are the issues of life. With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you. If we do not have any real abiding
peace and joy, the Word must not be abiding in us. It must
not be dwelling in us. If we do not have any real faith
or confidence or trust, but mostly fears and worries, It's because
the Word is not abiding or dwelling in us. All faith comes from and
based on the Word of God. All faith, all hope, all peace,
all comfort, all joy and rejoicing comes from the Word of God. So
this is why he says, Christ dwell in you richly, under these riches. The riches, Scripture says, of
the full assurance of faith. We may have full assurance as
long as the Word is dwelling in us. Full assurance of understanding
the mysteries. Full assurance of faith, peace, the riches, the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Christ in us is a restraint from
sin. We just read that. Thy Word have
I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee. Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereunto
the Word of God. The Word. The Word is a restraint
from sin. The Word is a constraint that
causes us to love, Be merciful, be gracious. The only thing with
it is the Word. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly. Listen to this. The Word of Christ.
He said this. If just a word like this would
dwell in us so that we would be able to think on it later,
it would give us great faith. Listen to this. John 16, 33.
These things have I spoken unto you. that in me you might have
peace." Now, that was John 16. A lot was said before that. The last verse of John 16. Do
you know what all he said in John 14, 15 and 16? Or before that? Oh, my. Someone said the believer, especially
the preacher, ought to know at least the Gospels like the lawyer
his law books, like the sailor his compass. These things have
I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the
world you shall have tribulation." He said, marvel not if it happened
to you. I told you it would. In the world you shall have tribulation.
Now listen. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. So who is he that overcometh
the world? He that believeth there unto him. He that hath that dwelling in
them. And when these thoughts come in, all this worry and these
fears and these troubles come into our minds and begin to overcome
us, who is He that overcometh? Remember, He said, I have overcome
the world. Be of good cheer. All power is
given unto me in heaven and earth. Over everything. Every time. And everyone. Let the Word of
Christ dwell in you richly. Why does it not? Why would it
not? Probably because we don't dwell
on it, but other things. Probably because we're rich and
increased with goods. I just read the letters to the
churches in the Revelation, seven letters, the last of which is
to Laodicea. We ought to read that every week.
Every week. It's a dire warning, especially
in this day of affluence. We're all rich and increased
with good. And it often causes a lukewarmness. Lord, deliver
us from a lukewarmness. Deliver us from that. Give us
a hunger and a thirst. He said, I would if you were
hot or cold. If you get cold, You need to
be warmed up. If you get hot, it's good. If
not, our hearts burn within us. Even cold is good because you
realize you need to be warmed again. But lukewarm, man, man,
man. I need to read that over and
over again until it's dwelling in us. Until that word is dwelling
in us always, warning us. Whatever we dwell on will dwell
in us. Whatever we dwell on will dwell
in us. Whatever we dwell with or whoever
we dwell with is who we're familiar with and who we're conversant
with and who we're friends with and who we are companions. That's
what this means. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly. One who dwells with you in your
dwelling such as your husband or wife. It's not a stranger
either. You can't dwell with somebody
and be a stranger to them. Well, yeah, you can. Human beings
can. But for the sake of an illustration,
if you dwell, you don't really know anybody that you dwell with,
do you? Because it's someone that you're
familiar with, someone you're a constant companion of, someone
who's your friend, hopefully. and someone you're conversant
with, someone you're talking with, you're communing with.
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. The Word of Christ
dwell in you richly. David, throughout Psalm 119,
spoke of the Word of God like it's his close companion and
friend, didn't he? You read that with me, didn't
you? Oh, my. This is not a book to be read
as a kid. It's not a mere book. This is
the Word of Christ. This is the Word of Christ. And we need Him to speak to us. Our
Lord is a person. He's not a doctrine. Our Lord
is a person. He's not a concept or religious
belief. A theological fact. He's a person. How does he speak? Not out loud. He doesn't speak
to anyone out loud. He speaks one way. He said, my
sheep will hear my voice. And those who talk to me, I'll
talk to them. Those who are conversant with
me, I'll converse with them. Those who draw nigh unto me,
I'll draw nigh unto them. I'm at the door and knock him.
Those who open the door, I'll come in and sit. Let the Word
of Christ dwell in you richly. In the Psalms, David speaks of
the Word of God as his strength, his person, his strength, his
hope. Where does hope come from? Where
does all our hope come from? The Word of our Lord. We have
no hope. If we are without hope, the Word
must not be dwelling there. The Word is our hope. The Word
is our help. The Word is our joy, our peace,
our comfort. The Word is our rock. If all
about you seems to give way, He then is all my hope and study. Oh, and Christ is a solid rock. Christ is His Word. His Word. Rock, our shield, our protection
from the fiery darts of the wicked, our meat. Oh, and I'm really
hungry. Men, tell me if it's not so.
When you're really hungry, what do you want more than anything
else? Something you can sink your teeth into. This is our
meat, it's our drink, honey, manna, God, our life, and all
in all I can go with it. Scripture said it. I'm afraid
we're more familiar with the words and books of men than the
words of Christ. I'm afraid we spend more time
listening to men than we do the Lord Jesus Christ. The Persians
said that's a mighty poor way to treat the words of the Son
of God. All right, how then? How then will the Word of Christ
dwell in us? It says, let the Word of Christ
dwell in us richly. How? Again, and I can't emphasize
this enough, and I say it every time, I quote this every time,
concerning everything that it tells us to do, our Lord said,
without me, You can do nothing without me. It's not by might. It's not by power. It's by my
Spirit, saith the Lord. You can try your dead-level best
to read this, and you won't get a thing out of it. You can try
your hardest to pray, and you won't get a thing unless He blesses
you. Christ said, without Me, you
can do nothing. Without the Spirit of Christ, we cannot read this
book. It's just a closed book if he doesn't open it to us.
Without the Spirit of Christ, we can't hear this Word right
now. You're struggling to hear it. We're not wrestling with
flesh and blood. And unless a mightier than He
comes and overrules us and our flesh, the flesh lusts against
the Spirit. The Spirit against the flesh.
So we cannot do the things that we would. Satan knows the power
of God. He knows what the power of God
is. It's a word. It's a gospel cry. He knows that. And he does everything in his
power to prevent us from hearing it. He's like the fowls of the
air that come, hoping it will fall by the wayside so he can
pick it up. We can't receive it. We can't understand it unless
the Holy Spirit of Christ give us an understanding that we might
know Him. We cannot retain one word. We
won't remember one word unless He writes it on our heart. This is why David said, Remember
thy word unto thy servant. Bring it back to thy memory,
upon which thou hast caused me to hope. All my hope is there.
get into despair, I need to remember, Lord, hide thy word in my heart. Write it in my heart. Let the
word of Christ dwell in your heart richly, abundantly, not
scarcely, not barely, not a little bit. I need a lot. A lot. Prayer. So it begins there. Ask
and you will see. Seek and you'll find. James wrote,
You have not, because you have not. Paul wrote, pray without
ceasing. Be always in an attitude of prayer.
Lord, help me, help me, help me, speak to me. Especially when
it comes to hearing His Word. It's not a vain thing, Moses
wrote. It's your life. It's the life
of our children. Lord, would you let my child
hear this? Would you let my teenager, my young adult, would you let
my little child hear this? Please, please, before they go
out in that world. Please, please, please. They're not going to hear it
unless you arrest them. It's life. This is life. Life. Lord, speak to me. Lord, speak
to me. Now again, this is not a mere
book. It's the Word of Christ. We need to hear His voice. You
know what the voice of the Lord does? Where's that found? Psalm
29. What the voice of the Lord does,
it'll break the hardest heart. It'll cause the calves to hine.
It's like a fire and a hammer and a sword. It's the fire of
God. The power of God. The Lord speak
to me. We need His voice. We need the
Spirit, not the letter. Not the letter. We can memorize
it. It will mean nothing to us. Like
the Pharisees of old. Read it cover to cover. Read
it cover to cover. And if the Lord doesn't open
our understanding, it will do us no good. It doesn't somehow
magically enter into our subconscious. No, it doesn't. You know, read the Bible through,
that's fine. Go ahead, do that, fine. But
if you don't retain any of it, what good does it do you? And don't tell anybody about
it if you did. Because then it won't be any good to you. But
if we don't have an understanding... Now here's the second thing.
Prayer. How is the Word going to dwell
in us? Prayer. Please, please speak to me. Open my understanding. Philip
said to the eunuch, do you understand what you're reading? Reading
the Word. Reading is good. Read. Read the
Word. Till I come, Paul told Timothy,
give attendance to reading. Give yourself to reading the
Word. But Philip said to the eunuch,
do you understand what you're reading? What did the eunuchs
say? How can I except some man show
me? Now, please God by the foolishness
of preaching, save them that believe. The world calls it foolishness
and it's being set to the wayside, but it's still what God uses
in a great way. In order for the Word of God,
Christ to dwell in us richly, there are means that he uses.
Prayer is one of them. Hearing the Word. Faith cometh
by hearing. Faith cometh by hearing. Reading,
yes, but mostly by hearing. And I'm not pitting the two against
another. Not at all. They both bite them. But as I
quoted, do you understand what you're reading? How can I, except
some man show me? I ask you, when do you understand
the Word more than when you come in here and we look at it together?
Huh? When we look at it together.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. Preaching. To save them that bleed. Save.
Preaching. Preaching the Word. He didn't
say just preach a sermon, but preach the Word to Him. Preach
the Word. Peter said, this is the Word
which by the Gospel is preached unto you. and preach the gospel.
And this preaching of the gospel, the preaching of Christ, who
is the gospel, saves us from sin. Saves us. Please God, by the foolishness
of preaching, to save them that believe. Save us from sin. Not
only to save us from sin, but to save us from our fears, save
us from our worries. Let me ask you, are you ever
so more comfortable and feel more comfort than when you're
hearing the gospel? Never. Save us from the world
and temptations. Let me ask you, when do temptations
seem to lose their power? More than when you're under the
sound of the Word, with your fellow believer, when you're
with the flock. Save us from temptations. Save
us from the world. When does the world lose its
luster? More than when you're hearing the Word proclaimed.
You're hearing the Gospel. Cannot be stressed enough. to
make best use of this time, these few times. They're very seldom,
aren't they? They're very few. We just don't, you know, I have,
I'm very conscious of the fact that how much you work and how
difficult it is and how the flesh is weak. I'm very, and how tiring,
much studying is awareness to the flesh. I'm very, very conscious. I remember. I worked midnights. I worked the second. I remember.
many days in a row. I know, I remember. I'm very
conscious of that. So we have very few in hope,
quality, and services. But there are very few. Very
few. And redeem the time. Jonah 2.8 is what it is. Jonah 2.8 says, He that observeth
lying vanities forsaketh his own mercy. Meaning, if we observe
anything or listen to anything or anyone other than our Lord
and His Word, if anything entices us, come here, come there, do
this, come that, it's lying to you. Come thou with us, we'll
do you good. I was glad when they said unto
me, Psalm 122, 1, let us go into the house of the Lord. Why? Because
it's life. That's not vanity. It's life. They observe anything. I've got
to do this. I've got to do that. No, you
don't. Man doesn't live by these things. But you do live by this
Word. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly. This is how. This is how. Availing
ourselves of these opportunities. There are so few and far between.
Redeem the time. Buy the truth and sell it not.
Reading. I did say that, didn't I? Reading.
When the children of Israel The Lord sent this wonderful manna,
this wonderful bread from heaven, didn't He? Boy, they didn't deserve
it. They said, what is it? Christ
said, I'm the manna, I'm the bread of life. What is it? John
said, that. And speaking of Christ, so indescribable,
that holy thing. What is it, manna? It is Christ. It is the Word, the bread. I said, I'm the bread. Christ
said, I'm the bread that cometh down from heaven. And just as
the Israelites had to go out every morning and gather, every
morning, mind you, every morning, and gather that bread, so do
we. Wives, mothers, especially those
with young children, it's tough isn't it? So tough. So tough. Let nothing keep you from it.
Nothing. No time? Come on now. We make time for
whatever we want to do, don't we? Turn off the TV. Turn off the TV. Read it. How do you read it? Slowly. Prayerfully. This is why I say, I'm not so
sure you ought to read it through all the way through. At some
point, yes, but you know that all the clean animals in the
Ark had these two characteristics. Clean animals. Picture type of
God's people. Clean. Clean to unclean. This
is what distinguished clean from the unclean. The clean parted
the hoof and did what? Chewed the cud. All of them. Chewed the cud and parted the
hoof. That's chew on the Word of God. Meditate on it. The more you chew on it, the
more you get out of it. When an old cow goes out in the
field, what does he do? He says, I'm going to clean this
lot off. No, he chews a little while and
then what does he do, Mac? Chews that cud. Chews that cud. He's getting everything he can
out of it. We pass over so much. We go word for word. We've been
through 40-some books of the Bible. Some of them more than
one. Verse by verse. Together. As
we should. All the counsel of God. Keep
back nothing profitable. But, every now and then we stop,
like this verse, and say, hold on now. Let's chew on this a
while. Or Dad used to say, let's camp
here a while. You know, if we could have this
verse reverberating through our head, Or is it verse 15? Let
the peace of Christ rule. Peace of God rule in your heart. If we could have that permanently
fixed in our hearts and mind, what would it do for us when
we need it? My, my. Reading it. Read it. Read it.
Slowly, prayerfully, carefully. Those unclean animals, what they
eat just does what? They don't even swallow it. I
used to give Abner, I'd give him some meat. Real luscious,
raw meat. I'd think, boy, he's going to
love this. Abner, this is expensive stuff. Chew it. Chew it. I'm going to give you dry food
from here on out. Chew on. Chew on. Chew on. Singing. Look at our text here
in Colossians 3, 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. Singing. I read Spurgeon on this
text. Wonderful sermon. He said, if
you can't pray, start singing. Start singing. If you can't read,
start singing. These psalms we sing. That's
why we sang what we sang tonight. The psalms, hymns, spiritual
songs. If you're feeling down, start
singing. If you're feeling depressed, start singing. I know from experience,
and you do too, it will lift your heart. It will cheer your
heart. That's what he said. In Ephesians 5, he says the same
thing, doesn't he? Similar. Ephesians 5, look at
it, verse 19. It says, Speaking to yourselves,
that means to one another. It also means to yourself. Speak
to yourself. It's a good thing that's communing
with your own heart. It's a good thing, Irene. Talk
to yourself in Psalms. and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing, making melody in your
heart to the Lord. These songs will, even the melody
will bring to remembrance the gospel. How firm a foundation. Does that not? Temptations lose
their power. Does it not? When those songs
come to mind, feeling down, feeling low, the Lord has told us that. Sing. When he created the temple,
when he ordered the temple, you can't believe how many singers
that David ordered. Go back and read it for yourself.
How many singers? How many players on instruments? Sing! Always
cheers everybody up. Oh, what? Give. Give generously. Give. Give.
You know the word miserable? What's the root word of miserable? He said, give, and it will be
given to you. Give generously. Receive generously. Receive a miserly portion if
we're miserly. All right, look at this again,
verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
rich in faith, rich in in the Word. Rather be rich in the Word
than rich in the world. Rather be rich in faith than
rich in possession. Rather have the riches of full
assurance and understanding of the mystery than the riches of
worldly wisdom. It's nothing. But in all wisdom,
rich in all wisdom, what's that? Wise unto salvation. You know,
many people have read the Bible. Many people have read the Bible.
and through, and I'll tell you about it. I read the Bible all
the way through. But they don't have a clue what it means. When they preach and believe
this Arminian gospel of a God who can't and a Christ who can't,
a God who tried and failed, a Christ who came to attempt salvation
and can't, and Christ is an impotent failure and all that, it tells
me they don't know what this book is saying. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom, wisdom to know that God is God. Like Isaiah 45, I am the Lord. There is none else. I am God. There is none beside me. Isaiah
43, I have chosen you that you might know me, that I am He.
Before the day was, I work, and who let it? Before the day was,
I am He. I work, and who let it? This
is how the Lord bears witness with our spirit.
In all wisdom, wise unto salvation, which is faith in Christ. In
all wisdom is to look to Christ. If we read this book, if we really
hear it, if it really speaks to us, if it really dwells in
us, we will see Christ in it. It will give us faith in Christ,
because that's why God wrote it. That's why Christ wrote it.
They are they which testify of me. We don't read it for information
or for a history lesson. This is a hymn book. This is
His story. That's what it's all about. Unto
all wisdom, let it dwell in you richly, that ye might grow in
grace and in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is all
our wisdom, who is all and in all. And in all wisdom, all wisdom,
any wisdom. We need wisdom, don't we? If
any man lack wisdom, what do you do? What did James say? If you lack wisdom, what do you
say? Ask. First up, ask. Then how are you
going to receive? Who giveth liberally and upbraideth
not. God who giveth liberally and
upbraideth not. How does He give it? Wisdom to do what? to take the first step in the
day, to get out of bed and not be on the wrong side. Wisdom,
in all wisdom. Listen to the Proverbs. Listen
to this. Listen to Proverbs. And you can
turn anywhere, can't you? You can turn anywhere in the
Proverbs and read things like this. Wisdom, the Lord giveth
wisdom out of his mouth, cometh knowledge and understanding.
If you have wisdom, he says, and understand righteousness
and judgment, every good path, when it enters your heart, it
will be pleasant to your soul. It will preserve you. It will
keep you. It will deliver you from the
evil one. It will direct your steps. Your
barns will be filled with plenty. In all wisdom. Let the Word of
Christ dwell in you in all wisdom. That we might be wise as what?
What does the scripture say? That you might be wise as what?
Somebody say it. Serpents. Alright. How did the
serpent tempt Eve? The Word. Quoted the Word to
her. And then she misquoted it. She
added to it. Remember that? She added to it.
Satan cast doubt on it. You won't die. Hath God said?
Cast a question mark on it? It's not true. Then she added
to it, and all hell broke loose. That word had been dwelling in
her richly. The day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. Die. Die. Wise as serpents are able to
answer Him. Thus it is written. Now, how
did our Lord answer Satan? How did he deal with Satan? It
is written. It is written. He might be wise
as serpent, harmless as dove. And here it says, look at this,
and also that we might be able to answer him that asks us a
reason for the hope that lies within us with meekness and fear.
Peter said that, didn't he? He read it. With what? How are
we going to answer? A word and season. What word? One word from God. That's His
power. Oh, that the Word of God dwell in you, Christ dwell in
you, rich in all wisdom. That you may be able to answer.
Oh, I feel so ashamed. There's times when I can't recall
any word, don't you? I feel so ashamed. If it dwelt
more in me richly and abundantly, I'd have something to answer
it. I'd get so ashamed, I said. Well, here's the exhortation. Let this other stuff go. Let
the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Look at this. I've got
to hurry. It says in our text, Colossians
3, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Now, he's not telling
us to correct each other. No, sir. When you've got yourself completely
straightened out, then you can straighten somebody else out.
Isn't that right? You better not try to pull the
mold out of your brother's eye when you've got a beam of your
own. Didn't he say that? What he's talking about here
is more an attitude than anything. More an attitude. Singing. Psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs. That will teach someone. Hey,
it's all good. That will admonish someone who's
downcast. Why aren't thou downcast for
them, O my soul? Hope thou unto the Lord. We better
be careful. We better not correct our brother
or straighten him out, our sister. If we attempt to, we might be
wrong. If we think they've done something
wrong, it better be with a pure motive from the heart. Who has
that? And it better be from the Word. We better know the Word fully.
We better be right about it. And we'd better not make a man
an offender for a word either. And we'd better not offend a
little one because it would be better to have a millstone tied
about our neck. So he's not telling us, you correct your brother.
Oh, no. No, no, no. Never use the word
to rebuke someone in time of conflict. Don't do it. The Word
of God is not a whip. Not at all. And I love those
three things Brother Mahan said, whenever we say whatever we say,
is it true? Better make sure it's right.
Is it kind? Is what we're saying going to
be kind? Or are we going to hurt them deeply? Or number three,
is it really necessary? Is it really necessary? So he's
not saying that. It's more an attitude. An attitude. Teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And Spurgeon told this story. He said he said something wrong
when he was a young preacher and said it in a wrong spirit
and attitude. And he said one of the old men in the congregation
was a dear Christ-like man. He said, rather than come up
to me and just rebuke me and tell me what's wrong, which would
have slain me as a young preacher. And believe me, this is tough.
You stand up here and open your mouth for 45 minutes, you're
going to say something you wish you hadn't said. You're going
to say it in a way you wish you hadn't said it. You're not going
to say things you wish you had said. Try it. It's tough. Prayer. Oh my, who
wants to pray publicly? I'd rather almost do anything
than do that. It's tough. It's tough. But that man came up to him in
kindness. Well, he didn't come up to him
at all. It says he slipped something in his Bible in a place in a
psalm that he knew Spurgeon would read it later. And Spurgeon later
on, and he didn't know who did it, later on he read it and there
it was and it just rebuked him. The Word did. He said, we can't
hardly take something from a fellow human being. You know, I'm called
one that admonishes you. It's what 1 Thessalonians 5 says.
Those who are over you in the Lord that admonish you. That
I rarely, if ever, do it personally. Have you noticed that? I won't
do it. I learned that well. And I learned it from experience.
You hardly ever deal personally with somebody's problems or faults,
corrections if needed. If they're needed, I wait, I
hope, I pray that the Word of the Lord right up here will do
it. That's what I pray. And invariably,
he does. This is his church. He will discipline. It's not mine. He'll do the work. He'll do the work. And that's
what I wait for. So this is speaking more of an attitude of joy and
rejoicing and singing, which will teach us to be thankful,
teach us the truth of God's goodness, God's mercy, admonish us to turn
from a bad attitude and a bad spirit, And it happens, doesn't
it? You see someone come in here
and you know they're hurting? You know they've got troubles
worse than your own troubles? Don't you? And you see them rejoicing
and singing and you think, what have I got to complain about?
Lord, forgive me for my bad attitude. Don't you? No, don't try teaching correct.
That's not what this is saying. until we've fully been taught
ourselves and straightened out ourselves. But if the Word of
Christ dwells in us richly, in all wisdom, teaching, admonishing
us, we'll be wise to know when to speak, when not to speak,
how to act, how to answer, when not to answer. It will constrain
us to be much more merciful and gracious and forbearing and forgiving
rather than self-righteous and judgmental. Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you, Richmond. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you, Richmond.
Now, what did you get out of this? Don't come up and tell me, thank
you. No, I'm sorry. I know you're frank. I know you're
frank. But what did you get out of this? What are you going to
do with it? I'm telling you, this is late. Oh, may the Lord give us ears
and a heart to receive. We're going to sing Psalm 121.
Brother Gabe sings that all the time. We know it well enough
now to sing it. Psalm 121. Stand with me. Psalm 121. We
know it. Our Lord sang a hymn, didn't
He, at that particular table? I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hill, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven. heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to
be moved. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord
is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee
by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul The
Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this
time forth and even forevermore, even forevermore. Thank you.