Standing on the promises of Christ
the Lord, Bound to Him eternally, Overcoming many with the Spirit's
power, Standing on the cross with the God. Standing, standing, Standing
on the cross with the God, my Savior. Standing, standing, Good singing. All right, let's turn to 1 Peter
chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. This will be a very profitable
study tonight, and I hope you have a pencil and a piece You will want to jot some things
down and remember them. I guarantee you, you will want
to refer to these things again. Recently, I mentioned that I
might deal with this subject, so tonight we will. Look at verse 2 of 1 Peter chapter
2. 1 Peter 2 verse 2, as newborn babes
desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. We are
going to look at this subject tonight, of desiring the sincere
milk of God's Word, or in other words, reading God's Word. Reading God's Word. So many times we have declared
how vital the Word of God is to us. So often you have heard
how that this book, this word, is the source of all spiritual
blessing. All. blessing. This book is the
source of it. Not only are we saved by the
Word, look up at chapter 1, verse 23. That's what it says, being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the Word of God, which liveth or is alive and abideth forever. So he says we are saved by this
Word. We are saved by the Word of God.
Not only that, but we are kept by it. It is the Word of His
power which we are kept by. We are restrained by it. We are restrained by the Word
of God. We grow spiritually by it and
on and on and on. All spiritual blessings. life
itself comes from God's word and all spiritual blessings come
from. And he said there in chapter
two he said if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious
if indeed you have experienced the grace of God and born again
by his word then you surely As Peter said, you surely desire
this work. You do, don't you? I believe that's why you're here
tonight. It's a nice group here tonight, and it pleases me. And this message will be very
profitable. You do desire the sincere milk
of the Word, don't you? And you do want to desire it
more, don't you? That's exactly what Peter says
to us. He said, as you can read that
two ways, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word,
that you may grow thereby. In other words, newborn babes
do desire the sincere milk of the word. That's proof of life
itself. And if it weren't there, that
wouldn't be a lie. Babies, first thing they want
to do is nurse, right? So it is with the child of God. But he's exhorting us here. He
says, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word
that you may grow thereby. So you do desire it, but You
desire to desire even more now. Now, because of the flesh. You
have trouble. Reading. I know you do, because
I do. I'm a man of like passions or
trouble. As you and because of the flesh,
we have trouble. Reading God's word is a struggle. Why is that? Why is it a struggle?
When you can take some carnal magazine, whatever it may be,
whatever magazine you like to read, I don't know, Cooperative
Farmer or Full Cry or Truckin' or whatever your magazine might
be, whatever you like, Hot Rod, Whatever your lady's home journal,
Better Homes and Gardens, whatever it is that you enjoy reading
past time, you can just devour every word of it, can't you?
You can just pour over it and not want to put it down. Is that
not right? Then why is it such a struggle
to pick this book up and read one verse? Is it so with you? Be honest. Don't be pious. Be
honest. Everybody. I'll tell you why. Well, the
Scriptures tell us why. Because the flesh lusted against
the Spirit. The Scriptures say it. And we're
not wrestling with flesh and blood, really. Paul said we're
not wrestling with flesh and blood. We're wrestling with principalities
and powers. Spiritual wickedness. in high
places, rulers of the darkness of this world. In other words,
there are forces at work to keep us from this world. Satan knows where in the power
of God lies. He knows. He knows. He's seen what the Word of God
does, the power of it. So, granted, we have those problems. We all do. And you do desire
it, don't you? So this is for everyone who desires
to read, to know, and understand the Word of God. All right? Look
over at Matthew chapter 4. Matthew 4. Now, we're going to
look at several verses of Scripture. And this is a test. This is a
test. to see if you do indeed desire
it, because we're going to search it. We're going to search it. It's good practice to turn to
the Scripture. Quite often I write Scriptures
down in the context of a message, so you won't have to turn, because
I know how you can look at too much Scripture in a message.
I know that, and so I quote them for you. But you know, quite
often I I think that some people don't realize I'm quoting God's
Word. And I endeavor, and so does every
true preacher, to fill up a message with God's Word. Fill it up. But it's a good thing for us
to turn and look at it ourselves. All right, Matthew chapter 4,
look at verse 4. Christ said this in answer to the devil tempting
him. He said in verse 4, It is written,
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God. Man lives physically by physical
bread, but spiritual life comes from the Word of God. Interestingly,
this very same verse is in Luke chapter 4, verse 4. Do you reckon the translators
intended that? No. But that comes from Deuteronomy
chapter eight. All right. So he says man lives
by the word of God spiritually. I turn over to Psalm one. The first Psalm. This is my favorite
Psalm. Psalm one. Look at this with me, Psalm 1,
and look at these, these, look at what he says about the word
of God and look at the promises to those who peruse it. Look at verse 1. Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Now that's just, that just means this world, listening to, taking
up, following after, going the way of this world. Verse 2, blessed
is the man that doesn't do that, but his delight is in the law,
or the word of the Lord. And in his law, or word, doth
he meditate, think about, day and night. This is what he'll
be like. He'll be like a tree, by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not
wither." He's not a deciduous tree, he's an evergreen, planted
by the river. And what is the river? That's
Christ. For that matter, what is the tree? But Christ, he's
the blessed man. And whatever he does shall prosper. Well, let me ask you a question,
a little test. What chapter or what chapter in all of God's Word
deals with the Word of God more than any other? I'll give you a hint. In every
single verse, it speaks about the Word of God. And I'll give you another hint.
There's 176 verses in this one chapter. I'll give you another
hint. We preached on it. We preached on it. How many verses?
Eight. There's eight verses, eight lines
in each sonnet. Somebody. Psalm 119. All right. Psalm 119. Turn over
there, OK? So I'm one nineteen is based
on this whole chapter is about the word of God. The word of
God and we just read. The first eight verses of it. on one nineteen hundred like
I said a hundred and seventy six verses which speak of the
Word of God and its glorious beauty is power it's benefits. Verses one through three which
we read. They're similar to some nineteen
which we're going to look at the minute. Look at it again,
Psalm 119, verses 1 through 3. He said, Blessed are the undefiled,
the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, hold to and seek
him with a whole heart. They're serious about this thing.
They do no iniquity. That is, it's not their tenor
of life. They're walking in his way. They're walking in his way. And like Psalm one said, they're
planted. They'll be established. They
won't be moved. Those that aren't grounded and
settled, they'll be taken by every wind of doctrine, every
new thing. Anything comes along, they'll go with it. But not those
that are planted in the Word. They'll be fruitful and so forth.
Look at verse four and five. Thou hast commanded us to keep
thy precepts diligently. You've commanded us to keep your
word diligently, that is, sincerely and with effort. Oh, he prays,
oh, that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes. Is that
your prayer? Oh, that my ways were directed,
my way, my person, I want to be, you want to be like that
person planted by the river, that tree? of verse six, then shall I not
be ashamed. Are you not ashamed of yourself? Most of the time. If anything,
we're more ashamed of our lack of understanding of this word
and knowledge of this word, aren't we? OK, you need this? I do. All right, let's just browse
through here. Look at verse 9. He says, "...wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way?" A woman. look at it, by taking heed according
to thy word. You're not going to do it in
this world, you're just going to get dirtier, dirtier, filthier,
become more like it, and get what it's coming, what it has
come to. Look at verse 11, thy word, David
says thy word, now David, David's the one that wrote And
David, when Samuel came down to anoint David,
some say David was about 15 years old. Is it possible for a 15-year-old
boy to be interested in God? My son, give me that heart. Oh,
it's good for a young man or young woman to bear the yoke
in their youth. The earlier the better, because the older you
get, the older you get, the more this
world is going to get a grip on you. And the more you dive
in the sin, the harder, oh well, humanly speaking, the more it
has a grip on you. David said, look at verse eleven,
I don't know how old he was when he wrote this, he was a young
man when he started penning the Psalms. Thy word have I hid in
my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Look at verse fifty, turn over
there, verse fifty. So he says restraint from sin
comes from the word. Verse fifty, this is my comfort
in my affliction. Where do you, how are you going
to get any comfort when you're going through trials and afflictions?
Where are you going to get it? There's only one place. This is my comfort and my affliction
for thy word has quickened me. Look at 105, verse 105, turn
over there. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. You sometimes wonder, well, should
I go here? Should I go there? Should I do
this? Should I do that? Do you? Thy word is a lamp, a light,
to show you the way, where to go, and so forth. Verse 130,
Psalm 119, verse 130. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. It giveth understanding of the
simple. Are you simple-minded? I'll take
my place with a simple-minded. You know what? John's scripture
says he saved the simple. Not many wise men after the flesh.
You take your place there, John? Oh, I'm so simple. Simple meaning
so ignorant. David said so ignorant. Was I?
Like a dumb beast. I'm so simple-minded. Why don't
I have any more wisdom? He giveth understanding to the
simple, the word. David didn't have any education.
David did not have any schooling. But he said back in one word,
he said, I understand more than the ancients. Didn't he? He said, I have more understanding
than all my teachers. Why? Thy word are my meditations. You don't need to go to school
to be wise. You do need to go to the school
of the Holy Spirit. And this is the textbook which
anyone can study. Verse 133 says, Order my steps
in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Do you desire that? Order my steps in thy word. Let nothing have dominion over
me. Didn't Christ say of what you
are overcome, that you are the servant of sin? Whatever. Don't let it have dominion over
me. Lord, you have rule over me.
Let your word have uppermost in my mind, my heart. right,
don't let me be led away by the world, by sin, by... let me be
led of your spirit, right? Do you desire that? All right,
look at verse 165. 165, this is good. I remember
preaching on this. This is wonderful. Great peace
have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Oh, Joe, I want that, don't you?
Peace which passeth understanding. And the world see me go through
something and say, how can you stand up under that? Because
I'm standing on the promises, the rock. Nothing shall offend them. Don't you want that? Do you desire
that? You desire these things. Well,
turn over, Nancy Parks, this is one of your favorite passages,
Psalm 19, Psalm 19. This is one of your favorites,
I know you've told me so. Psalm 19, which speaks so much
like, which reads so much like Psalm 119, and not by coincidence. Psalm 19, look at verse 7, the
law. The doctrine, the teaching, the
instructions of the Lord is perfect. It's complete. It's entire. It's all we need. That's what
perfect means. Something's perfect. Don't need
to add anything to it. That's perfect. It's entire.
It's all we need. The Word of God. Read on. The
instructions, the doctrine. Converting the soul. Converting
the soul. the next line. The testimony
of the Lord is sure testimony means a witness of God whatever
God says it's sure. What God testifies, testimony,
what God says, Steve, about himself, it's sure. What he says about
me, it's true, it's sure. And what he says about salvation,
it's sure. Whatever God says, what he testifies,
it's sure, it's certain, it's firm, it's absolute, it never
changes. A man's thoughts and ideas change
with the times, don't they? What's back today may be fabled
tomorrow. Not God's word. It's settled
in heaven. Look at the next line. Making wise the simple. There
it is. Making wise the simple. I need
wisdom. I need wisdom. I need to know
God. I need to know myself. I need
to know Christ. That you all you need to know. What God says look at verse eight
the statutes of the Lord are right. Statutes means appointments
what God is set for what God is established it's right statutes
are right word means straight. Word means straight. In other
words this is exactly how it is. There's nothing wreathed,
there's nothing. When God says, now here it is,
you'd better believe that's the way it is. There's no gray area,
there's no gray area in God's word. Oh no, it's right, it's
straight. Straight on, when God says, look
to Christ and you'll be saved, he means it. Now he doesn't mean
now look to Christ and, but, if, or, well, no, look. It's right. Read on. Rejoice
in the heart. That rejoices my heart. Doesn't
it to you? Whatever God says, I can bank
on it. I can count on it. I can rest
my soul on it. Well, he said it, so that's the
way it is, and I believe it. That rejoices my heart. Doesn't
it to you? I take him at his word indeed. Christ died for
sinners. This I read, and in my heart
I find the need. We said, come on to me, all you
labor and heavy laden, needy. I'll give you rest. Here I come.
Will you have me a set of wood? Amen. That rejoices my heart. Doesn't it, you? Look at the
next line. The commandment of the Lord is
pure. It doesn't say commandments,
does it? commandment. What does that mean?
It means everything he says is equal and the same. No options. It's all the same. It's all his
word. Whatever he says is commandment. And it's not an option. Not an
option. God doesn't give suggestions. You know that? God doesn't give
suggestions. I hear people talk about, well,
this is the way men think, this is the way God thinks. Really,
that's bad language, isn't it? It's not just God's opinion.
That's the reason I hate that book, that popular book by that
fellow in California, the title is The Gospel According to Jesus. You mean that's just his version
of it? Isn't that a bad title? People, it's the gospel. And
it is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other gospel other
than the gospel according to him, the gospel. Well, the commandment
of the Lord is pure. That means it's free from corrupt
motives. Listen to me, the word of God
is free from any corruption at all. Man is not free. from corruption. Do you know
that everything man does and says is tainted with some evil
motive behind it? You know it? Listen to what I'm
saying. Everything that man says and
does, the natural man that he is, there's something hidden
in it. There's some impure motive behind it. Scripture says the
love of money is really the root of all evil. You follow what I'm trying to
say? Not God's Word. God doesn't stand to gain anything
from us. See what I'm saying, Brother
John? God's Word is free from any hidden motive. It's pure. His Word simply declares the
truth whether anybody believes it or not. See what I'm saying? God's commandment is pure. Read
on. Enlightening the eyes. Enlightening
the eyes. Here's your verse, Nancy. The
fear of the Lord is clean. The fear of the Lord is clean. He's
not changing the subject because the Word of God is what creates
the fear of God. The beginning of wisdom is the
fear of the Lord. You don't know God, you don't
fear God except through this book. That's the reason John's
people don't fear God in this day, because they're not using
this book. Isn't that right? Oh, yes. Preachers aren't preaching it,
people aren't reading it. If they are, they've got a whittled-down
version of it that's taken all the majesty and glory and dread
and fear and terribleness of our God out of it. You know what
I'm saying, Brother Rick? These familiar versions, you
know, don't even refer to the Son of God as a male. They say it's sexist language,
you know. You know what I'm saying. But this book is designed to
do one thing, create the fear of God in man's heart, which
is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, and the fear of the
Lord's Fear of the Lord will eventually
clean your soul up. It will make you seek salvation.
It will put away all your sin. It will make you seek to Christ
who will blot out your sin by his own blood. The fear of the
Lord is clean. Fear of the Lord, the word of
God, is a restraining influence. It's a restraining influence,
enduring forever. In other words, when a person
really fears God, they keep on fearing God. They never quit
fearing God. Never quit fearing God. The saints in heaven fear God.
Though they're without sin, they still fear him. The angels, the
scripture says, the angels who don't have any sin, cover their
faces. and their feet in modesty. It endures forever, and it ought
to, because our God is a consuming fire. And if he casts out the
angels, well, read on. It says the judgments
of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. The judgments, the
verdicts, the pronouncements are true and righteous. Shall
not the judge of the earth do right? He's right just. That's all. He can't say anything but what's
right. Or do anything but what's right.
But he's right. He's true. And man can't do but
the opposite. All right. Okay. How do we read
this word? Do you see the value of it? Something of the value of it? Necessity of it? How do we read
this Word? And this is what I believe you
want to jot down some of these things. I've given several things
here. How do we read this Word? Now, personal reading and study
of God's Word is vital. It's like eating and drinking.
You can't live without it. If you're alive, you won't want
to live there, unless you're terribly spiritually sick, which
gives you a loss of appetite. Reading and study of God's word.
Now, the hearing the word preached, like you're doing tonight, is
a wonderful thing, a most blessed thing, because, and God, knowing
our weakness, He blesses preaching most especially, because it's
already prepared for you and so forth. But this is not to
usurp your own reading of the Word, or taking of it. You need
to go and get your own manna. You need to get your own manner. Do you understand? All right,
and I believe you desire to do so. How? How do you do it? How do you read this word? You
have trouble reading it? If you do, then maybe you'll
be interested. How? How do we go about reading
this word? I look at 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I've got to hurry, okay? Hurry
quickly. 2 Thessalonians 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. How
do we go about reading this book, reading God's word, speaking
God's faith, reading his word? How? 2 Thessalonians 2, look
at verse 16. Paul says, you got it? 2 Thessalonians 2, 16. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
now Paul is praying here. He says, "...our Lord Jesus Christ
himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath
given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace,
comfort your heart, and establish you in every good word and work." So Paul prays that
God would establish the people in the Word. All right, look
at the next verse in chapter 3. Finally, brethren, pray for
us that the Word of the Lord may have free course. All right,
so Paul prays that the people would be established in the Word,
and then he asks them, Sammy, he asks them, you pray for me
that preaching, that I might be blessed in preaching the Word.
So what would you say is the first thing that we need to do
in trying to read this book? Pray. Pray. Don't even open it until you
ask God. open it up to you, or it's going
to be a closed book. You might as well not open it
up." Huh? Isn't that right? Prayer is where
we start. Didn't I quote to you in James
1, verse 5? If any man lacks wisdom, if any man lacks wisdom, all
right, we need wisdom. Where are we going to get it? God's
Word. Let him ask of God. Lord, I'm about to read your
word, and if you don't help me read it, it won't possibly mean
anything. Keep my mind from destruction.
Please, open my eyes that I might behold one of these things from
my Lord. Wake me up. Here it is early. I've got to go to work. I need
to start today. Just open my eyes up. Wake me up. Bless your way. He said the first thing he did
was revel in the uprightest man. The uprightest man. Only God can create a desire.
I asked you a while ago, do you desire the desire? Where are
you going to get that? Huh? Only God can give the desire. Only God can reveal or open his
word to you. And only God can apply it to
you. Unless God applies it to you,
it didn't do you any good. You're just a hearer of the word
and not a doer. Right? Only God can make it fit. That's
what we ought to pray for, John. Lord, I'm about to read your
word. Would you... Would you... Is there any way to read it?
Lord, I'm about to read your word. Would you... Would you...
make me interested in it? Would you make it interesting
to me? Lord, I'm about to read your word. Would you make it
fit? Don't let me forget it. Plant it. Okay? Let me know... How do you read? So the first
thing is pray. Pray. Secondly, and just drop these
things down. How do we go about reading the
word of God? Pray. Secondly, read it regularly. Without fail. Read it regularly. Discipline yourself. Yes, you must force yourself.
Yes, you must. Didn't we read there how that
the flesh lusts against the spirit? So that you cannot do the things
that you want. You must force yourself, as with
anything that's difficult, or contrary to faith. Right? You
have to make yourself do some things. And here's the mercy
of God, is that He blesses this endeavor. God blesses this resolve. David said, we didn't read it,
but in Psalm 119, verse 47, he said, I will delight myself in
thy works. David said that. He said, I will
delight myself. He said it again in verse 30.
He said it again in verse 173. He said, I have chosen by precepts. This is what I've chosen to do.
Lord bless you. This is what I choose to do.
God bless that. He most certainly will. Don't
let anything or anyone deter you from it. Do it regularly
without fail. And after a while you'll find
that you cannot do without it. And you'll find, you'll find
yourself greatly lacking and disappointed if you did not,
if you did not do it. Here's another thing. Read it early. Read it early. God has always demanded the first
fruit. Hasn't it? The first fruit? begin
the day with speaking our Lord, what does the Scripture say in
Matthew 6 concerning All sufficient for the day, or
for the morrow, is the evil thereof." There's plenty of time during
the day to worry about this and that and the other. How about
15 minutes or whatever of seeking God's faith first? Early. First
fruits. Early. If necessary. What's it
going to take? He said, I don't have much time
for work. I go to work at 7 and I wake up at 6.45. You don't think some do that?
I know somebody in here who does that. I'll not call his name,
but if you look, they are red in the face. I better not look
in that direction either. So what's it going to be? How
are you going to be able to read the Word of God early? We might
have to wake up a little earlier, aren't we? David said, I'm going to
get up at midnight. Remember reading that, John? I will arise
at midnight. I'm not waking up early. But
God knows our flesh. He knows our frame. He doesn't
expect us to get up at 4 a.m. He gives us His beloved sleep.
And sleep and rest is a blessing to the laboring man. You'd be
surprised to learn that you can do without a little. You can
do it with a little less of it, or a lot more of it. Wake up earlier, a little earlier
if necessary. Wake up before others do. And that's my next
point. Do it in a solitary place. Leave
it in a solitary place away from others. Away from distraction. Away from, jot this down, away
from temptation. And what would you say would
be one of the biggest temptations to an American? Something that Americans can't
walk in a room where it is without doing it. Go somewhere where that thing
is not. Hide the remote. It's necessary. I'm not trying to be cute or
funny here at all, but I'm stating a fact here. That thing is a
scourge. So go somewhere where you're
not tempted to turn that on and look at those ridiculous people
on whatever show it is that you watch. I'm not preaching against TV.
I'm preaching on reading the word of God and the first thing
we need to consult is not the 6 a.m. news but the good news,
the everlasting news. in a solitary place, apart from
those distractions and temptations. And read, here's another thing,
read it to be fed, read it to be taught. Don't be reading it
just to be reading it, and don't read it for information. So I'm
going to see those Marminions today, I'm going to read Romans
9. I'm going to run into that woman today, I better bone up
and see who's won. I'm not going to let you or her. Don't do it. We need to be fed and taught
yourself. OK? Old brother Jeff Thornberry,
an elder up in the, you remember him? I remember hearing about
him. You remember him, don't you? Todd Nybert's grandfather
was an elder in the church, one of the founding members, and
he said this years ago. He was several years older than
my father, and he said it to my dad when he was a young preacher.
He said, Brother Henry, he said, I have learned now not to read
the word of God for information, but to read it to be taught by
the Holy Spirit. That's good advice. Read it to
be taught. Read it to be said. And this
is my next point. Didn't Peter say as a newborn
baby? Read it as a child. Read as a
child. Forget our preconceived notion. There's a degree, there's a sense
in which Calvinism will keep us from loving some verses of
Scripture. You know what I'm saying, Brother
Rick? You know exactly what I'm saying.
There were times, young, as a young believer, that I'd read verses
of Scripture and I'd I like it sounds Armenian. Have you ever
done that? Sure you have. Don't read it
like that. It's not Armenian. It's just
that we fail to see the context of it. Read it and rejoice in
it. God so loved the world. Oh, praise God. Praise God. And so on. So read it as a child. Here's
another thing. Read it all and read it in context. Read it all. Where should you
begin reading? Do you have trouble with that? Where do I begin reading? I want
to start reading the Word of God. Where do I start? Makes good sense, doesn't it?
Where would I start, where would I begin to read the Word of God? Read where God began, Genesis
1. But, now wait a minute. We need to read old and new together. Because the new really reveals
the old. Okay? The new reveals the old. Read both together. Start at
Genesis 1 and Matthew 1. All right? Again where God began. And read it all. Read on through
in context. Read it together. Read more of
the new than the old, too, because, listen, when you get to numbers,
don't feel guilty about skipping over the genealogy. John Hill
didn't know what they were all about either. And Chronicles
and so forth, I don't, I don't care. Go past the genealogy. They're there on purpose, and
the Lord will explain them to us someday. All right? You understand what I'm saying?
At times you go through the Old Testament and you get bogged
down in this and that and the other. Read more of the New because
it reveals the Old. Don't read too much. That's my
next point. Don't read too much. Try to retain a little bit of
what you have read. Was it, who was it that said,
I would rather, I would rather hear, know, or read
five words in my, with my understanding of it. It would be better to
read one verse and understand it and retain it than a whole
chapter and forget, and not remember anything in it, wouldn't it? Don't read too much. Here's another
thing. Use help. Use help. Commentary. And there's not a
better one. I have them all. Believe me,
I have them all. I have all the best. Gillum,
Ferguson, you name them. Calvin is not a better one, a
more concise one. One that has done all the research
for you than Henry Mahan's commentary. You would think that the government.
So often I've been a big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big
big big big big big big big big big big big What's that Bible, Steve? Amplified Bible. Some of you
have that. Amplified Bible. That's a good help. That's a
good help. The Amplified Bible. Sometimes
we'll open up a verse of Scripture that you don't understand. Here's
another wonderful necessary point. Compare Scripture with Scripture. Compare Scripture with Scripture.
It was Barnard, I believe, that said, the Bible sheds a whole
lot of light on those commentaries. They asked him, Brother Barnard,
what's the best commentary? He said, well, I believe the
Bible is the best commentary on itself. He said, it sheds
a whole lot of light on those commentaries. Compare Scripture
with Scripture. The reason I like this Cambridge
Bible and other Bibles, Nelson and so forth, Oxford, have this
center reference. What's it for? Men, godly men of old, have searched
the scriptures for you and found other scriptures pertinent to,
or that bear witness to, at the mouth of two or three witnesses.
This is the duty, this is where the blessing comes in, isn't
it, Brother John? When you read one verse of scripture and go
over and find another one saying the same thing, that just confirms
it, and another, and another, and another, and it just keeps
driving the nail home, and you say, it must be so. That's what
this thing is all about in here. If you see a little letter by
a line in a passage you're reading, look it up. Look it up. You'll get a blessing. You'll
get a blessing. Compare scripture with scripture.
Here's another thing. You remember that threefold criteria
for reading the scripture? Remember that? Who's riding? To whom? What does it mean? Always keep that in mind. All
right? And lastly, and the last should be first, look for Christ in the Scripture. wherever you're reading. Let me tell you something from
the Spirit. So many times, I've been reading the Word, and I'm
searching and searching and searching, and I'm trying to find out the
meaning and so forth, and it's like a light comes on. They are
there to testify to me. And I read it again. There it is. There he is. Everywhere, every page, every
line, every verse, every chapter, Christ is there. And isn't that
why we read the scriptures anyway? Isn't this our purpose and goal? Faith in Christ? Peter said,
and I quote him to you again, "...desire the sincere milk of
the word, that you may grow thereby." Well, the very last verse that
he writes in his second epistle, he says, He says that you might grow,
he prays that you might grow in grace in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it's all about. That's
who this book is all about. That's the purpose for it being
written. That's why we need to read it, Barbara. This is what
we need more than anything else, faith in Christ. Lord, I believe,
help my unbelief. Well, where does faith come from?
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So look to
Christ in it. The more Christ you see in it,
the stronger your faith in Christ will be. And you'll be fed. That's the bread. Christ said,
I'm the bread of life, didn't he? Which a man lives by. I'm the bread. We don't read
the word just to be reading the word. Read the word just to be
reading the word, but look for Christ in it. Pray over it. Pray over it. Read carefully. Read regularly. Read early. Read solitarily. Do it to be
fed. Use the help. Search the scripture. Look for Christ in it. I hope
that helps you some. I hope. Now, what are you going
to do the first thing in the morning? I hope so, and I hope, ask the
Lord. Lord, give me this resolve. Lord,
this, this, you know the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
so weak. Lord, overrule the flesh. Order my steps, and by word. Okay? All right, let's stand. Our Heavenly Father, bless us
to our understanding, to our minds, but most especially our
hearts and our ways. Lord, you know we are so thankful. You are a father, knoweth our
pain. You remember that we are dust.
And you pity us. But yet, Lord, we don't plead
our weakness. We are guilty. We are irresponsible. We don't plead bad as an excuse. We ask your forgiveness. And we ask that you would truly
give us the resolve, the desire, for the sincere milk of your
word, that we might grow thereby. This is our desire. This is our
plea. This is our goal. This is what
we want to attain to, faith in Christ. Grounded and settled
in Him. Do it, dear Lord, by Thy Word.
Strengthen us, quicken us, according to Your Word. We pray and we
ask all these things in Christ's name. Amen. I'm going to go ahead and do
that.