The Sunday morning Bible study,
but this for some reason is special because those who come here generally
come because they really want to and need to. You make, obviously,
you make a real effort to get here. Sometimes You don't even
have enough time, but this is not, you don't come here because
it's Sunday morning and you shouldn't expect to be cut. So I have that
in mind when I prepare these messages. It's easy to preach
for those who want to hear it, like it's easy to cook for those
who are hungry. And I understand, sometimes I
don't, I lose sight of this, but I do understand it's the
middle of the week and you're tired. But I have trouble leaving
out things. Those of you who've done the
teaching understand what I'm saying, don't you? You think,
this is too good a day, well, no it isn't. But I know you're
tired and I'll try. be as brief as possible. But
we need some help. This Middle Week service is vital. The old writers put great stock
in the Middle Week service. The old Puritans and all. We need help during the week.
We need, as it were, some food to go on to get back to the end
of the week, because Sunday is a day of rest, it really is,
and you can get a double portion, even a triple if you listen to
the radio. A triple portion, and you can
just last 24 hours on that. You can last a little while,
but anyway, you can just feel refreshed. But the middle of the week, you
need this, this, uh, what's the word? This, the low laces in
the middle of the week. So I want to give you more than
a sermon at this time, more than just doctrine. The consolation
in Christ. Now, that ought to sound good
to you. It did to me. Couldn't get away
from that line. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ. Now, consolation, the word consolation
means that which consoles you. Console means gives you comfort. It alleviates your fears and
your anxiety and your sorrows and your troubles. It's consolation. Has someone
in trouble and needs comforting. Now, Sunday morning we were chided
a little bit. We need that. We need to be reproved,
rebuked, corrected. Because we're little children,
we need that. We were chided Sunday for our self-pity, our
times of self-pity and moodiness and poor-mouthing our poor old
lady. Weren't we? I say we were chided. I was. I do that. The bad thing
about when I do it, everybody sees it. If nobody will make
it. But it's never right. It's never right when we come
into this place. Our self-pity and all that needs
to stay at home. Because there's a larger picture
than us. There's something greater at
stake than our own personal temporal well-being. We are here to build one another
up, to, as Hebrews says, exhort one another, so much more as
you see today approaching. And encourage one another. Verse
4 here of chapter 2, he said, Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be of you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That was the
mind Christ had. He didn't live on his own things,
but on the things of others. And he was a man of sorrow, pain,
and grief from his youth up. He was hunted like an animal
from the day he came. And very few friends, really. If we considered others more
than ourselves, we would quickly see greater problems than our
own. Know that. We sure would. We'd just look
around and consider others. I mean, really stop and consider
others. We would see, quickly, see problems greater than our
own. And we would see that we need
to do some consoling ourselves. I'm saying that we need to do
the consulting rather than be consulted. Nevertheless, tonight
is not a chiding message. Tonight is a message of consolation
for everyone. We all need it. And this is going
to show us why we should not be full of self-pity. Why we should not be full of
woe is me, and be moaning in our sad state, when the fact
is, it's really not a sad state at all. We have a constellation, a great
constellation. We sorrow, believers sorrow over
many things. We're going to see them all.
Yet, we don't sorrow so easily. Sorrow in the unbelieving world
is a distraught woe, but no help, no hope. The end, it's all over. Sorrow, but not to believe. No, no, no. We have this consolation
in Christ. Now, Paul wrote this. Now, I want you to remember where
he was when he wrote this, alright? Don't ever lose sight. of where
he was when he wrote this. He's sitting in a jail cell. He says, you think on the things
of others. That's what he was doing. If anybody could have
bemoaned their sad condition and been thinking on their poor
sadness, Paul could have been, woe is me. And he was there. He didn't deserve this. He was unjustly unfairly treated. But he concluded, and he was
thinking on those who were feeling sorry for him. Well, let's look
at it. Paul's in prison, and he's going
to be killed. Now, think about this, too. He's
not only going through some difficult, tough things, he's going to be
killed soon. He's going to die, he knows.
These are not the words of a woe-is-me man. a man full of self-pity. Had he been thinking of himself,
he would have been talking about himself, and he would have been
demoted in his troubles. But look at chapter 1, verses
3 through 5. Chapter 1, verses 3 through 5. He writes, and I said, I thank
my God upon every remembrance of you. I've been thinking about
you today. Verse 4, I've been praying for
you in every prayer of mine, making requests for you, Richard.
And he could have been making requests for himself, you know,
Lord, get me out of jail. But he's thinking about other
people. He's thinking about them. He's praying for them. You see
that? Paul, would you like to have the contentment of Paul?
This is the book, he said, I've learned in one service that I
need to be. This is the book where he rejoiced in everything. This is the book where he just
keeps on rejoicing, just fine, being content. Where is he? In
jail. I'd love to have that. How? On the premise of others. That's what he's doing, that's
it. That's what he's doing, and he's not rolling his tongue at
all. See, I was thinking about you. I've been praying for you.
Verse 5, chapter 1. Think of your fellowship in the
gospel from the first day until now. Oh, I remember you, I pray
for you, I think of you. Verse 7. You're in my heart.
You're just on my mind all the time. As for me and my troubles,"
he said, verse 12. As for me and my troubles, I
want you to understand, brothers, the things that have happened
to me is for the gospel's sake. It's all God's will, for God's
gospel. Now, Paul, you remember us studying
this, that some fellas were adding insult to his injury. While he
was in prison, they were saying, see, he got what he deserved,
he's smart as I am, he wouldn't be in jail. They were really
breaking his heart. But that doesn't matter. Paul
says, verse 18, that's all right, too. Christ was preached and
I rejoiced. Yeah, you know, I still rejoice.
I continue to rejoice. Verse 20 and 21, he says, My
earnest expectation and hope is that in nothing I shall be
ashamed. And with all boldness, as always now, as always, so
now also. Here's my hope, is that Christ
will be magnified in my body, Christ will be glorified and
honored in my body, in my life, what I'm doing, where I'm at,
what I'm saying, how I'm acting. Whether I live or die, it doesn't
matter. For me to live is Christ. For
me to die is death. They kill me. If I live, Christ
is. What an attitude, huh? So Paul's attitude was selfless. Paul's attitude was believing.
Paul's attitude, he believed God. You would think if there was
ever any room for somebody to not believe God, he'd be mad,
wouldn't he? Barbara, Paul's in jail, I was
in prison. I'm your apostle, Lord. I'm doing
all the work of preaching the gospel. What am I doing in jail
here? Why would you do that? Not for a moment. Not for a moment
did he even question God's will on earth. Not for one second. and rejoicing, confident. Verse
25, I have this confidence, he said, that I shall abide, that
I'm going to live as long as the Lord has purposed for me
to live, and I'm going to accomplish something through Him. Verse 28, I have nothing to be
terrified by, ladies and gentlemen, without fear of adversaries. Now, Paul was writing to or met
with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, and he said to them, he was
about to leave, and they would never see him again. And he said,
Now, I'm going bound in the Spirit. That is, I'm bound and determined
to go to Jerusalem, Acts 20. Not knowing, I don't know really
what's going to happen there, except, he says, as Holy Ghost
witnesses in every city, wherever I go, that bonds and afflictions
await me, that I know that I'm going to end up in chains, and perhaps dead. But, he says,
none of these things move me. I don't get my life nearer than
myself, because he's the one that knows Christ and our life.
Are you with me? I'm going to give you some consolation. This is not chiding. I'm just
telling you that there's a secret here. There's a secret of contentment
and consolation and joy, and it's selfless saving. And that this might be in you.
Don't think on your own problems and troubles. Think on things
like this. This is the mind of Christ, who
thought it was not proper to be equal with God, but took it
upon himself to form a circle. He became obedient, even under
the death penalty. Thought nothing of it. Like Paul
said, none of these things move me. Christ set his face steadfastly
toward Jerusalem, knowing what things would befall him. Cruel,
tortured, imprisoned, dead, hidden, terrified, for the joy of the
Sepulchral and dirty cross, despised, thinking nothing of the shame.
And he's right now to set his right hand on the cross. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
11. I want you to see this. Paul said, none of these things
move me. I don't get my life here unto
myself. I have a course to finish with
joy. What he said, that I might finish
my course with joy. Do you have a course? Sure you do. If you're living,
you've got a course. You've got to put joy. Hebrews
12, 1, let us run the race that is set before us. What is it?
The human race of a disciple. But I'm not. I don't do it. If
you're living and breathing, you're doing it according to
God's wills and purpose, and there is a will and a purpose
if you find it. Now, I'll tell you what they
are. It's served the purpose. an opportunity. Salt. Saved other things, might I say.
Right? That's what salt is. If I'm a member of the body, I have purpose, right? Let me
ask every one of you. What member of your body, what
Part of your body, any part of your body are you willing to
do without? Now, all large or different teachers
that you don't like, I'm not just saying that. I'm not saying
that you'd like to change your ears or nose or whatever you
don't particularly like. But I'm trying to say, what little
member of your body, what anything would you do without? Your little, the nail on your
little toe. How about that? Can you do that? I'm toe-shy to this day. Absolutely
toe-shy. Don't you know that? Since I've
got the bowling ball on my toe. I'm toe-shy. I guard my toe with
treasure. If something moves, boy, I jump. I know what it's like for it
to hurt my toe. When I went a long time, it was
awful. You can't do without it, you'll
keep on losing it. This is what the first drink
is 12, is all about. Because the eye, because the
foot is not the eye, it can't say I'm standing here. Oh, I'm
the mouth and you're the little toe, you're not the forefoot.
Go without it if you want to. You see, I told you. You have
to learn to walk a little more. Well, if we're a member of the
body, we have the Bible purposes. We sure do. We have a course.
We have a course to follow. 2 Corinthians 11. Look at this. This is much later, after he'd
gone through the great trials and afflictions. I've really got to hurry. 2 Corinthians
11, verse 24. Listen to all of this. It's just astounding. Of the
Jews, now he's relating what happened to him. Of the Jews,
five times I received 40 stripes, they won. 245 lashes. No, it's, what is it? Five times
forty, two hundred, one hundred and ninety-five. One hundred
and ninety-five lashes with a whip. Most people didn't survive one
whip with that cat-of-nine table. Most people died under one lash,
five times. Three times I was beaten with
rocks, not a lash, a huge stick. Once I was stoned, I mean, they
didn't pick up pebbles, they took up big rocks. This was when
Paul died, and 2 Corinthians 12, the next chapter, is where
he talks about somebody going to the heaven of heaven. That
was him. They took him up for dead, that's
where his brains are from. How long do you think he was
getting over that? He suffered permanent bodily
damage, you know what I'm saying? Bring on. A night and a day I've
been in the deep. He traded water for it. Went
where? In the ocean. Sharks. And journeyings often. Journeys on foot. Hundreds of thousands of miles. Perils of waters, and perils
of robbers, and perils... One time I got bit by a poison
snake, remember? And perils by my own countrymen,
my friends. And perils by the heathen, and
perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils
in the sea, and perils among false brethren, and weariness,
and painfulness, and blighting for all to see. hunger, thirst,
fasting, scoffing, cold, naked, beside those things that are
without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches, all these churches, all over the place with a pulling
act, asking his advice, and the care of me, one man who could
not be spread thin." Verse 29, "...who is weak, and I am not
weak." You see what he's saying? What he's saying is, are you
weak and you're suffering and troubled and you go through times
of despondency? Do you not think that he didn't
go through those things? Going through all that. Who's in heaven? Bob's in heaven.
Paul says, I don't have it. Twenty-five percent. Who's offended? Verse 29. Who
is not offended? Who's offended? And I burn in
awe. That is, you've been wrongly
treated, and you get angry and you want to defend yourself. Can you imagine? Nobody did anything
right at all. All you want is repentance on
everybody. Go back to chapter 1, 2 Corinthians
chapter 1. Paul was just a man. He's flesh
and blood. He's a man of like passion, just
as we are. Temptations, troubles, thorns
in the flesh. He had the same needs as us. He had more needs than we do. I mean, he went through more
than we did. Cleverly. Right? I don't expect
anybody here to suffer a fraction of what Paul did. Where'd he
get his consolation, Sam? Sounds like he's got some, doesn't
he? Where'd he get it? I want some
of this. Where'd he get his comfort, my
boy? Look at chapter 1, verses 3 through 5. He says, Blessed
be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercy, and the God of all comforts. Who comforted us in
all our tribulations? Remember who's writing here?
Well, he's been through it. He knows what he's talking about,
Teresa. I'm going to listen. Now, here's why he does it. He
comforts us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort
him that are in trouble. Why does something happen to
us? Oh, it's for our good. Yes, it's
for our good. For our growth, for our spiritual
strength, strength in our faith, that we might in turn help somebody
else. Freedom. That by the comfort wherewith
we ourselves are comforted with God, as the suffering of Christ
abounded in us, so our consolation abounded by Him, by Christ. It's consolation in Christ. Christ is our consolation. Now
listen to me very carefully. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
appear to the Apostle Paul in person but one time. When he
first went, well, after he first appeared to him on the road to
Damascus. The second time was when he was
in Corinth. After that, no more. We tend
to think, well, the Lord really specially appeared in Paul's
life. No. No, it isn't. No, in Corinth, he spoke to them
and said, you stay right here. I have a bunch of people in this
cell. He was getting ready to leave.
No, you stay right here. That's that. No, the Lord especially
came from heaven. No, he didn't. No, he didn't. He had no special revelation.
What do you do with this constellation? Same place you get out of it. Same place you get out of it.
It's in a person. Alright, two things. I'm going
to give you these two things, take a note. Number one, what
is this constellation about? Number two, where do we get it? How do we get it? What is this
consolation in Christ? Now, let me ask you a question.
All your bodily pains, sufferings, and material worldly problems,
things that you go through, Not diminishing any of these
things at all. Some of you have been through
bodily pain that I have not been. I'm not diminishing these things
at all. Sorrow, things like that. Not diminishing those at all.
Let me ask you, those who claim to be believers. What is your
single greatest source of grief and trouble? The thing which gives you more
trouble than anything else, which causes you endless grief, sorrow,
trouble, and inward strife, and unbelief, is sin. Is it not sin? David, turn with
me to 1 John 1. 1 John 1. had typical troubles in life that
we have. He's married, he has children, and he had more. He had kingdoms to oversee, and
he had a lot of children, and lots of wives. But he had the typical problems
we have. But here, David said this. David
said, My loins are filled with this
loathsome disease. You remember what our brother
Henry Sword said one time. I still like it. He said, sometimes
I try to run away from my trouble. And when I get there, I'm still
there. We are our greatest source of
trouble. Our own sinful selves. But there's consolation. This
is what we need. I'm telling you, this is what
we need more than anything else. The first thing, the one thing
we need, forgiveness is needed. Deliverance from guilt. This
is the consolation in Christ. This is the first consolation.
This is the greatest consolation in Christ for a sinner. These things are going to be
with us, the troubles of this life. But our sin, oh, look at
verse, 1 John 1, verse 9. It says, Now, if we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to
cleanse us from all our lies. Now, the Scripture, the consolation
is this, though our sins be a charm, they'll be a white stone. Unto
us, as priests, forgiveness is given. There is forgiveness with
thee that thou mayest be forgiven. God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven
them. Blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven. He's faithful and just to forgive.
He's just because God laid on Christ the iniquity of us all,
all the iniquities of us all. God made Him to do sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. And He's faithful, so He's just. Forgive, because
Christ's faithful. He's faithful. This is a faithful
Savior. And it's worth listening to. Christ came into the world
and saved sinners. Now, who wrote that? Paul. He said, I'm the chief. I was
a blasphemer, a jurist, a persecutor, and I'm still the chief of saints.
Whoa, isn't that? There's no goodness in my book, he said. There's forgiveness. John said, if any man stand on
children, don't stand, but if you do, verse one, chapter two,
we have an answer. So this is a consolation in Christ. This is a faithful saying. Christ
said, I give unto them eternal life. I give it freely. And they'll never perish. Who? Whomever trusts Christ. No matter
how bad a sinner he may be or she may be. And Christ said,
I give unto them eternal life and they'll never perish. And
he said, he that cometh to me, I will end no one. All that God
has given me shall come to me. Here you are. I hope, I thank, and come to worship
Christ, to hear Him. Will He come? I know myself. No way. No way. For no reason. All manner of sin shall be forgiven. That's consolation in Christ.
Now, the gravy on the bread. His promises of help. Christ
has promised all things. Do you remember our message Sunday
morning? Okay? Spiritual and material help. Spiritual help is this.
Now, He shall perfect that which concerns us. And He will. He that hath begun a good work
will perform. Folks, 98% of this message is
Scripture, so get some. Turn with me to Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65, all right? Do you
remember what our Lord said? He said, now, your Father knoweth
you have need of all these things. He's promised us all these things.
What things? What things, son? Food and raiment
and clothing. That involves many things, doesn't
it? If you're going to have food,
you're going to have rain, you're going to have clothes, you're going to have to have
a job, you're going to have to have money, you're going to have to have
a house, you know? Huh? What? Think of something. Anything. Your father knows you
have that. He tells us to ask daily
for our daily bread because he gets it lowered for us that way
when he gives it to us. If you just presume upon it,
and it comes, you think, chance brought it here. But if you ask
the Lord for it, He makes you mindful of it. Imagine you receive
nothing except what's given, and you give Him thanks for it,
and He gets glory out of it. But He's not a giver. Your Father
knows you have a dealings. I don't. I couldn't help it. My daughter came in this morning
and I was sitting in the chair reading and she got up early
and she's going to the job she has, a temporary job. By the
way, that just hurts me, her paperwork. It really does. It just hurts me. I'm sure I'm
going to expect her to pay me. coming off a loving parent doesn't
want anything from you. Anything. Anything. Except thanks. And love, huh? Who beat you?
You don't want anything. I uh, I drive the way. But anyway,
I was thinking, she went in there and she opened her refrigerator
and just piled the food out. She was a girl, but she just
started grating milk jugs and bread. And, you know, and I thought,
she didn't pay for any of that. But I thought, eat up, honey,
eat up. It's all yours. Whatever I have
is yours. There's nothing to lose. Does
it give you great pleasure, Brother Stephen, to provide for those
of us who are hungry? Great pleasure. It thrills you. What do you want, sir? All I
expect of you is obedience, and just acknowledge me. Thanks,
Dad. Love me. The moon is yours. Huh? Pay up. He earns, like I said, he kills
me vertical, but right after, oh honey. But, and I don't know why it
doesn't work. He really doesn't. It's His joy. It's His good pleasure to give
these to us. Your Father knows that. Isaiah
65, verses 17 through 19, He says here, now, Behold, I create
new heavens and a new earth. Former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in
what I create. Behold, I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in my people. The voices weeping shall no more,
not ever again will ever one cry ever be heard again. No tears
ever will be seen in my heaven again. We're going to be happy
throughout all eternity. I'm the father and all of my
children will be there. We're going to have a good time. Now that's the consolation, isn't
it? Woe is me. Woe is you! You're a child of
the King, an heir, a joint heir with Christ. Oh, but I don't have what you're
worth. The world is gifting the world and what the world has
coming to it. You remember from David's psalm
73? Oh, I've been wicked. They're just fat and sassy, and
they don't give God a thought. And when His kingdom comes, He's
not going to give them a thought. This just lasts seventy years,
which is not bad, is it, a hentai sword? Seventy years old, it's
gone. But eternity has no end. Would you spend seventy years
in this troubled, sorrowful eternity of that sword? Put it in that
light. We have a consolation in Christ. Now, Paul is in prison. Paul is in prison. Stay right
there at Isaiah 66 that we just read. Paul is in prison. Paul doesn't have anything, anything. No TV, no computer, no microwave
oven, no refrigerator, no nothing. He doesn't have any material. comforts, no nice, soft, downy
bed, nothing. At one point, he said, everybody
is forsaken there. Nobody's with me, he said. He's about to leave this world,
and he's going to get his head cut. And he said he wrote to young
Tim, who's out there free, laying on a bed of eggs. laying on a feather bed at night,
and he wrote to Tim, he said, cheer up Tim, don't be afraid,
we ain't afraid of nothing. Paul said, I'm with you. You
see this consolation in Christ, only this consolation in Christ
can have a man sitting there on his feather bed, down a chair,
and say I'm with you. Without that, he claims of this
life with every last gasping breath. Paul said nothing. Where did he get this consolation? Huh? Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66. I'll give you two places to look. And notice where we're looking
for this consolation. Where are we looking for the
consolation? This is it. This is the only
place you know about. God's Word. Isaiah 66, verse
10. Now rejoice with Jerusalem. Be
glad with her. Who's Jerusalem? Right here.
This is it. This is New Jerusalem. This is
Mount Zion. Rocky Mountain, Mount Zion. Same
thing. That is where the church is. Read on. Be glad. All you that love her, you love
God's church. All you that love and rejoice
for joy with her, all you that mourn for her, we mourn, we rejoice
together, that you may suck and be satisfied with the breast
of her consolations. Breasts of consolation. And then he gave the gift that
you may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. What's he talking about? Milk.
Have you ever heard that before? That's
right. Milk of consolation. What did
he say? Peter said to him, and Peter's about to die. Peter's
about to die. He knows he's going to be crucified.
He said, this is how I'm going to sing this to you. Milk of
the Word. Milk of consolation. Milk of
the Word. Look here, it says down in verse
14, your heart's going to rejoice and your bones will flourish.
You're going to be dandled on the knees as a mother. Comfort. Dandling on the knees. You ever watch the baby nursing? Of course you will now. You yourself
got great pleasure in that. And boy, the child does. Really
does. We've been watching this Mexican
baby and listening and she's just, oh man, she's just slurping
and you know, oh man, she's just having a big time. Well, nothing's
bothering her. While she nurses me, I'm just
calm, totally at peace and consoled, and boy, is she getting fat.
Breastfed babies are the hell of us, but without a doubt. Fat? I've got all this immunity,
so many things. Breastfed believers are fat. They grow fat spiritually. They
have consolation. They have great comfort. They have great comfort. Their
hearts rejoice. They've got good bones, too.
Good bones. Not bad bones, Lauren. They've
got good bones. They don't break easily. They're set. God's Word is this
sincere milk of the Word where we find consolation. Psalm 119.
Hurry. Hurry with me. I've got about
35 more scriptures. I really do, but we don't have
time. Now, honestly, I have a bunch
of scriptures. Psalm 119. You think I'm going
there next? If we're going to look in the
Word for some consolation, what part of the Word better to look
at than Psalm 119? Because Psalm 119, from verse
176, is all about the Word. Every single verse has something
to do with the Word, except one or two. Every single verse, 174 verses,
directly mentions God's Word, God's Statute, His Testimony,
His Covenant, His Law, His Word. Whatever you're going through,
whatever time, whatever it is, whatever need you have, you'll
turn to Psalm 196. And start reading. Start sucking!
Start sucking! You'll find consolation. Guaranteed. You'd have not my word on it. And I just, I just browsed
through here. I just thought, well, look, there was Psalm 119.
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Put your finger down and find
something that just meets your needs. Look at verse 49 and 50.
Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me
to hope. This is my truth. We get all
down and dead, and what is it? What is it? Huh? Verse fifty-two, I remember thy
judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself. Verse
sixty-five, you dealt well with your servant, O Lord. I courted
unto you, O Lord, just like you said you would. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments
are right, and thou, in faithfulness, hast afflicted me. How do you
know that, David?" Verse eighty-one, "'My soul fainteth
for thy salvation, but I hope nothing.'" Verse ninety-two,
"'Unless your law, your word, is met my delight, I will perish.'"
Is that right, Mr. Parker? You like it perfect. That's sweet consolation. But
who is saying this? It's a person. It's not a book. It's not the Bible. It's Christ,
the Living Word. This is a person. He said, I
live. The old, I live forever. Now, he wrote this. He said,
I say them. He that abideth in me, my words
abideth in me. Consolation. Consolation. So, there is no consolation anywhere
else. There is no consolation anywhere
else. With anyone else, in anything else, It doesn't matter what
it is, no matter how appealing it may seem or how attractive
or, you know, what it promises, no matter what it promises, the
happiness, it's deceitful. Remember that? The deceitfulness of things,
our Lord said. There's no consolation in anywhere
or anything or anyone except in God's Word. We need to take
every opportunity. And this word, not just reading
the Bible, but when you see Christ in it, you look for Him in it. When you read it, here's the
key, when you read like Psalm 119, don't think of it as I'm
reading the Bible. Think of it, this is God saying
this. This is my real living Lord here,
my heavenly Father who knows best. This is my Father talking
to me here. This is Dad talking to me. You
see, that's how it is written. Have a father. Son, heed my word. And then it'll be thine, too,
then. It won't just be written, thine. And take every opportunity
to feed on it. If you leave off feeding on it,
you'll be weak, no doubt about it. Leave off feeding on it. This is how you get strong. Take every opportunity, period. This is where Christ is found
in all your consolations. Who He is, what He's done, give
us a chance. What he promised. Oh, what he
promised. I haven't seen deer that hurt.
Neither have deer in the heart of man. The things that our Lord
God prepared for them. Cheer up. Cheer up. Christ said so. It's going to
get real good. Alright, stand with me. Our Heavenly Father, our Lord,
we thank You for Your Word. It is indeed comfort, consolation to poor sinners. Our understanding is so finite,
our minds are so weak, our faith
is so weak, and we know that we've heard faith comes by hearing,
hearing by the Word of God. We know these things in our head.
We ask earnestly that you would instill them in our hearts, that
you would force us, make us to lie down and drink passion juice. Feed us with this grace and faith.
Sit us on your knees. Sit us down and cause us to suck
these breaths of consolation of your Word. Hold them and we
might grow. For your glory and our good,
in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.