God Has Spoken, Part 5

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Hebrews chapter one, Hebrews chapter one verses one and two again.

Yes, we're gonna be here for at least this week and next week as we understand what the writer of Hebrews said concerning the sufficiency and the supremacy of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Hebrews 1.1 says, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in the last of these days has spoken to us in his son. The Bible makes it very clear that Christ himself is the sufficient supreme one. And because he is, his words are sufficient, his words are supreme. And so we have been looking at the fact that God has spoken.

He spoke in times past to the prophets, to the fathers in the last of the days in which God was speaking, he spoke to us in his son. So we had the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, a never to be repeated event again. It was given to us by God himself. And therefore we hold in our hands the very breath of God, the very words of God. And if Christ himself is sufficient, then his word is sufficient. And we know that Christ is the wonderful one. We know from the book of Isaiah, the ninth chapter, the son that's given and the child that's born will have a name, his name should be called wonderful.

We know that because in the book of Judges, it says that the angel of the Lord said to Noah, why do you ask my name seeing that it is wonderful? We serve a wonderful God, a God whose words are wonderful, a God whose works are wonderful. Everything about God is wonderful. It's beyond anything that we can ever imagine. In fact, the Bible says these words about the wonders of God in Psalm 77, your way O God is holy, what God is great like our God.

You are the God who works wonders. You have made known your strength among the peoples. You have made or you have by your power redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and the sons of Joseph. He works wonders. And because he does, his words are wonderful. The Bible says in the book of Matthew, the seventh chapter, that never a man spoke like this man.

In Luke's gospel, the fourth chapter, it tells us that people were wondering at the gracious words that proceeded from his mouth. In other words, our Lord spoke wonderful words because he is the wonder working God. And so because he is supreme, because he is sufficient, everything that he says is supreme and sufficient. Not only does the Bible say that he's wonderful, the Bible says that he is the counselor, the counselor.

That means the words that he has spoken as wonderful as they are, are able to instruct you and guide you in the way that you should go. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 119, 105, I'm sorry, verse number 24, these words, your testimonies also are my delight.

They are my counselors. Not only is Christ himself the counselor, but his words give us counsel. I like what it says in Psalm 32, verse number eight. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go, the Lord says. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Think about that. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. When you come to me for counseling, okay, my eye is not upon you in the privacy of your home. But if my eye was upon you in the privacy of your home, I could do a lot better job of counseling you as to how you respond and what you say and what you do.

Would you not agree with that? Now, I know you don't want my eye upon you when you're in your home, I understand that. But God's eye is upon you when you're in your home. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. In other words, whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, God's eye is upon you. So whatever counsel he gives, he gives in the moment of your distress, in the moment of your fear, in the moment of your anxiety. I am not there in the moment of your fear and anxiety. You might make an appointment to come see me and your fear might subside a couple of days later.

But in the midst of that moment, God counsels you with his eye upon you. He instructs you and directs you in the way that you should go because that's the way God is. And so in the midst of all of our distress, in the midst of all of our fear, in the midst of all of our turmoil, the wonder working God who has words that are wonderful counsels us with those wonderful words because those words are sufficient. I love what the hymn writer said in How Firm a Foundation, a song that is my favorite hymn.

How firm a foundation he sings to the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you, he has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled. What more can he say? There's nothing else to say. There's nothing else he can say because he said everything that pertains to life and godliness according to 1 Peter 1 3. And because 2 Timothy 3 says these are the God-breathed words that we read and we hold in our hands, everything that makes the man of God thoroughly equipped, thoroughly furnished, thoroughly able to do everything that God wants him to do, what more can he say than to you he has said?

But we sing that song, hymn number 408, How Firm a Foundation. But before that on hymn number 407, there's a hymn entitled God has spoken by his prophets. It says this, God has spoken by his prophets, spoken his unchanging word, each from age to age proclaiming God the one, the righteous Lord. In the world's despair and turmoil, one firm anchor holds us fast. God is king, his throne eternal, God the first and God the last.

God has spoken by Christ Jesus, Christ the everlasting son, brightness of the father's glory, with the father ever one, spoken by the word incarnate, God of God ere time was born, light of light to earth, ascending Christ as God in human form. God is speaking by his spirit, speaking to our hearts again in the ageless word expounding, God's own message now is then. Though the rise and fall of nations, one sure faith yet standing fast, God abides his word unchanging, God the first and God the last.

To understand the beauty of God and his word and how it is unchanging, the eternal word of God, which is sufficient for everything that we have, the writer of Hebrews sets out by helping us understand in the very first three verses of Hebrews 1, 1 and 2, that God has spoken.

The God who is the ruler of the world has given us his word that is sufficient for all things because Christ himself is sufficient. So the first three verses set the tone for the entire book.

If you miss the first three verses, you're gonna miss the impetus of the book and how it motivates us to live for Christ and honor Christ.

You must know that God spoke in times past, God has spoken and God has spoken in the last days by his son, Jesus Christ. So what he has given to us is his word that is sufficient and supreme because Christ himself is sufficient and supreme. And so therefore, we need to understand the sufficiency of God's word. So I wanna spend a few moments today helping you understand that because it gets us into the frame of thinking where God's word is everything that I need. The Psalmist in Psalm 19, David, when he wrote Psalm 19 verses seven to 11, he gives us six statements about the word of the Lord.

Six statements that tell us the commandments are from the Lord. The testimonies are from the Lord. Everything is from the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. Therefore, because it's from him, it is everything that you need. There's no need for additions. There's no need for extra revelations. There's no need for extra visions because what you have is sufficient. It provides for everything. So if you have your Bible, turn me to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, and let's look at what David said in Psalm 19 concerning the sufficiency of scripture as it relates to your life and to my life because the Lord who spoke it is a sufficient God, a wonder working God.

The Bible says in verses seven to 11, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold. Yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them, your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. That is a powerful, powerful portion of scripture when it comes to understanding the effect of God's word upon the people who embrace the all-sufficiency of Christ and his words. This becomes such a powerful testimony. Let's look at it together, okay?

It says that the law of the Lord is perfect. When David refers to the law, he refers to the Torah. He refers to the sum total of God's instruction that will help us build the creed, help us build our character, and help us build our conduct. In other words, it tells us what to believe, okay, why we should believe it, and how what we believe changes our lives. What you believe about God determines how you behave. How you behave is all determined because of who you are based on what Christ said he is.

So David tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect. The instruction that God gives is absolutely perfect. Better translation, sufficient. A better translation than that, whole. God's law is completely whole. It is sufficient. It is complete. In other words, there's nothing to add to the instruction that God gives. Albert Barnes in his commentary says this about the word perfect. He says, the meaning of perfect is that scripture lacks nothing for its completeness. Nothing in order that it might be what it should be.

It is complete as a revelation of divine truth. It is complete as a rule of conduct. It is absolutely true. It is adapted with consumer wisdom to the needs of man. It is an unerring guide of conduct. There is nothing there which lead men into error or sin. There is nothing essential for a man to know which may not be found there. In other words, scripture is comprehensive. Scripture is all embodying. It is necessary. David is saying the law of the Lord is that which is so sufficient, everything outside of the law can do nothing for your soul because the law of the Lord is perfect.

It is that one thing that restores the soul. It converts the soul, better translation, or even better than that, it transforms the soul. There's nothing that can deal with the innermost part of your life than the sufficient word of God, nothing. Nothing can touch you deeper than the scripture. We talked about that in Hebrews 4 verse number 12 a couple of weeks ago, that the word of the Lord is like a sword, it divides at the deepest level of a man's soul and spirit. It goes into the depths of a man and that's what God's word does because God's word is powerful.

The wonderful words of God are sufficient enough to touch the depths of your soul. And David wants you to understand at the very outset when he talks about the word of God that it's God's word that is transforming the soul. The deepest part of a man is changed. That's why we preach the word because it's the word of God that touches the souls of man, the hearts of man. And God's word can do what no man in all of his clever wisdom can accomplish. So the law of the Lord is complete, the law of the Lord is sufficient, so sufficient that it transforms the soul, it changes the soul.

That's why if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Why? Because he's changed from the inside out, not from the outside in. What happens on the inside can only be done by the power of God's holy word. So David says that the law of the Lord, it is absolutely sufficient and complete, it is absolutely pristine, it's perfect because it's that which transforms and converts the soul of a man. And then he says, he says, the testimony of the Lord is sure. What is the testimony of the Lord? Well, the testimony of the Lord is the divine witness of the Lord.

In other words, God's word is the divine witness that we have concerning the words and the works of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And those divine words are sure words, okay? That is, they are immovable, they are unshakable, they are unchangeable. In other words, the divine testimony of God's word is a sure thing, it builds the foundation of everything. The testimony of the Lord is foundationally sure, unshakable, immovable, unmistakable. In other words, when the psalmist says in Psalm 127, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it, right?

So how do you build your house? Well, Proverbs 24 verse number three says, by wisdom, your house is built.

By wisdom, your house is built. And the testimony of the Lord is so sure that it makes the wise simple. So by wisdom, the application of truth to life, your house is built. By understanding, your house is established. And by knowledge, all the rooms of the house are filled with pleasant riches. That's how God builds the house, why? Because the testimony of the Lord, the divine witness of God is the foundational element to everything in your life. You must believe that, adhere to it, enact upon it.

God's word is your foundation, it's your solid rock. So David says that the testimony of the Lord, the divine witness of the Lord is unmistakable. That's why Peter in 2 Peter chapter one, talks about the fact that when he had this more sure prophetic word, remember we talked about his vision on the transfiguration, what he saw on the Mount of Transfiguration with the glorified Christ. It said that this is my experience, but I have a more sure word, a more sure prophetic word. I have a more unmistakable word.

I have a more foundational word. Something that goes beyond my experience is the foundation of the word, the prophetic word of God. He's referring back to David's words in Psalm 19, where he says that the divine witness of the Lord is sure. That's why on the Emmaus road, when Christ spoke to those two disciples before he unveiled himself, he gave them the more sure word. He gave them the testimonies of the law and the prophets. So they would know that everything about what happened with Christ was prophesied, because he wanted them to have a solid base outside of the experience they would soon receive when they saw Christ face to face, their eyes were open, and they recognized that Christ was the Messiah.

Because they had to have this certain, sure, unmistakable word that was immovable, unshakable. You see that? And so David says that the testimony, the divine wisdom of the Lord is unmistakable. It's unshakable. It is your foundation. And it makes wise the simple. The simple is a word that means an open door, okay? The simple man has his mind always open. When people talk to you about, well, you have a closed mind, you need to be more open-minded. No, you don't. No, you don't, because the open mind is the foolish mind.

The closed mind is the wise mind. The simple person has an open mind. Now, let me ask you a question.

When you went to bed last night, did you leave your front doors open or closed? You closed them, why? Because you believe in the closed door policy, not the open door policy. During the day when you go away or you go on vacation, do you leave your doors open? No, why? Because you don't want someone coming in and stealing your stuff. You're wise, you close your doors because you believe in a closed door policy, not an open door policy. You don't go through the day, even while you're at home, leaving your front door open so all the flies and all the bugs and all the smell from the outside can come into your house.

You don't do that, why? You believe in a closed door policy. Same thing should be true of your mind. You see, the testimony of the Lord is so sure, it makes the simple man a wise man. In other words, you can count on God's word in what it says, because it gives you the discerning element you need to make wise choices between what is right and wrong, what is truth and what is error. So you close your mind to error, you close your mind to the truth, you close your mind to falsehood, you close your mind to those things that will lead you astray.

How can you do that? Because of the testimony of the Lord. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The only way you can be discerning in your life so you can close your mind to those things that are evil, that are wrong, that are bad for you, is to be wise in the scriptures, to apply the truth to your life. And so therefore, God's word is so sufficient, so complete, that it can transform the soul of a man from being one way to being another way because God made him a new creation.

And it can take your mind and close it off to all the fallacies on the outside, all the errors on the outside, and make you discerning so that you can make wise choices and live the way God wants you to live. David makes it very clear that God's word is sufficient. So the law of the Lord is perfect, it converts the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. And then he says, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Right. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing.

This is so rich. Listen, the precepts of the Lord are the principles that God gives that are the guidelines by which you govern everything you do. And it says that the precepts of the Lord, listen, are right. Now that's not meaning it's right as opposed to wrong. It means that it grants you a true path. So the precepts of God grant you the right path to be on versus the wrong path to be on. This is very important. Because we are looking for wisdom, we are looking for direction, we are looking for guidance.

And people are always looking for which way to go. Well, the precepts of the Lord are the only way to tell you which way to go. Without the precepts of God, you don't know where to go. You don't know who to see. And so the precepts of the Lord are right. They give you the true path, the right way to go, the truths that scripture lay out, the proper path through the difficult mazes of life. That's what makes God so wonderful. You see people on the path to destruction. How do they get there? You see people going down the path in a relationship that's the wrong one.

They're on the pathway that's gonna lead them further away from God, not toward God. That's because they refuse to look at the precepts of God, the guidelines that God gives in his word, the commands that God gives in his word to put us on the right path.

You know, the Bible speaks about the narrow way, the narrow path. Well, how do you know the narrow path? How do you know which way is the right way versus the wrong way? When the wrong way says heaven, but the right way also says heaven. How do you know that the broad way is not the right way? See, God shows you in scripture that he is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes into the father but by me. And David wants to make it very clear that the precepts of the Lord, they give you direction.

They give you the right path to follow. They show you which way to go. You see, as Christians, we should never be wondering what the will of the Lord is because we have the precepts of the Lord that give us the right direction. We don't wonder what God wants us to do because we know what God wants us to do because he tells us in his word. So we know which way to go. So the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Listen, when you're on the right path, nothing but joy. You're on the wrong path, guess what?

You're miserable. Are you miserable today? Are you joyous today? If you're on the wrong path, you are miserable. Things are not going your way. It's not a smooth path at all. It's a rough patch. And you're having all kinds of turmoil and all kinds of difficulty. That's because you haven't sought the precepts of the Lord to put you on the right path, going the right direction to do the right thing. You're on the wrong path, going the wrong direction, doing the wrong thing. But Satan is so deceptive that he puts you on that wrong path and you immediately have this semblance of joy and you think it's the right one until all of a sudden, things fall drastically apart.

And you wonder what happened. That's because you went by your feelings or your emotions more so than the truth of God's word. You felt like it was the right way. I had a friend of mine who used to always say to me, never go by your feelings because they're always gonna lead you the wrong way. They will, right? But Satan plays on our emotions. But God's principles, God's precepts give us the guidelines, give us the directions that put us on the right path. Rejoicing the heart. There is no greater joy in all the world than to follow Christ.

And when you follow Christ, there's always joy. Oh, you'll have tribulation and difficulty. Sure, that comes with being a follower of Christ. But when you know you're doing the right thing and you're on the right path, there's great joy that's there. And so David wants you to know that the law of the Lord is perfect. It transforms, it converts the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. It's a solid foundation. It makes those who are simple very wise. The precepts of the Lord are right. It puts you in the right direction, show you which path to take so your heart rejoices over God directing your life.

And then it says, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Now David says, not only are these words of God our law for instruction, not only are they the divine witness as to the character and nature of our God, and not only are they the guidelines by which we live our lives, they actually are commands. In other words, he says, God doesn't give suggestions. He gives commands. God doesn't throw out ideas. God doesn't throw out a multitude of solutions. God gives simple commands.

And so David says, the commandment of the Lord is pure. In other words, the Bible is non-optional in what it says. In other words, everything God says is essential to life and godliness.

What God says determines life or death. Next week we'll show you that in the book of Deuteronomy when God spoke to the nation of Israel, the words that he spoke to them would be for them life or death. They would be life for them if they obeyed, death if they disobeyed. Isn't that what we learned on Wednesday night? Those of you who were with us on Wednesday night, we're looking at Elisha, and three times in second Kings chapter seven, everything is reiterated.

When Elisha says to the king of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord. This was a command. Listen to the word of the Lord. For at this time tomorrow, the famine will be over. And the royal officer of the king mocked the word of the Lord, mocked the commandment of God. And said, well, what's God gonna do? Open the sky so food falls out? Because they were in the midst of a famine. They were about to die. So he mocks the word of the Lord saying, well, is God gonna open the heaven so food just falls to the ground?

Elisha says to the royal officer, tomorrow it will happen just as it was spoken. You will see it, but you will not partake of it. That royal officer had no idea what he meant. The very next day, at the very same time, it all happened just like Elisha said. The food was sold for a shekel. The famine was over. And the royal officer, commanded by the king, to go to the city gate and oversee the disbursement of the food was trampled by the people as he was going and was killed. So he saw it, but never partook of it.

And it reiterates that story twice in 2 Kings 7, because God says, I give a command. You either obey it or you don't. If you obey the command, you live. If you disobey the commandment, you die. You die. That's how important God's commandments are. They're not optional. We go through life thinking, well, I know God said that, but I have a better way. I have a better idea. I have another avenue by which to go. When God gives a command, you must obey. It's not optional for us. It's absolutely essential for us.

So David says, the commandments of the Lord are clean. I'm sorry, are pure, are pure. In other words, it's a word that means lucid or clear. In other words, God's commands are very clear to understand. They're not hard to understand. They're lucid, almost see-through. In other words, you don't have difficulty seeing them at all, because they're so pure and clean and clear. There's no need to misunderstand what God says.

He doesn't speak with a forked tongue. He doesn't stutter when he speaks. He speaks with great clarity. And the commandments of the Lord are clear. They are lucid. They are easily understood, because God wants you to follow them. He wants you to know them. And because they are, they enlighten the eyes. They help you to see. Because they're clear, they clear away your eyes, that you can see what is right and what is true, what is honorable, and the way I should live my life. God wants you to know that his sufficient word is a command that's been given, that's very easy to understand, not hard to understand, and that through that, your eyes will be opened to who he is and what he has for you.

Very simply stated. And then he says, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring, forever. The fear of the Lord is another name for the commandments of God, the testimonies of God. It's called the fear of the Lord. Why? Because the word of God is the manual for the worship of God. And only those who fear God can worship God. Isaiah 66, verse number two.

To this man will I look, to him who is broken of a contrite heart, who trembles at my word. Psalm 112, verse number one, says, blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments, because those who fear the Lord delight in the commandments of God.

And his children will be blessed after him, the Bible says in Psalm 112. And so the fear of the Lord is the manual that gives us how to worship God in fear, in holiness, and in trembling. And so the scripture that we worship is clean. It's clean. That means it has no impurities. It's not filthy. It's completely pure. From any defilement, any imperfection, scripture is without sin, it's without evil. That's why it endures forever. These are the words of Christ, right? Christ himself is without sin.

Christ himself is without error. Christ himself is without any imperfection. So the words you speak are without error and without any kind of imperfection. And that's why it can endure forever because Christ himself is eternal. His word now is eternal. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away because God is eternal. His word is eternal. And the way it is eternal is because it's absolutely perfect. It's clean. It's pure. Absent from any kind of sin or defilement. Therefore, it endures forever.

In other words, because it endures forever, it is relevant and unchanging in every arena of life, no matter what time that life lives, no matter what decade it's in, no matter what generation it's in. The relevancy of God's word is the fact that it's eternal word. It endures forever. And because it endures forever, those words are lasting words. They go from generation to generation. The relevancy of God's word to your life and mine from the time of Genesis chapter one to the book of Revelation chapter 22, every single word that God has spoken, that unchanging, perfect, undefiled word ministers to you and me, no matter what age we live in, because it is absolutely relevant to us.

So David says, the law of the Lord is perfect. It restores the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. It makes wise and simple. The precepts of the Lord are right and rejoicing in the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean and enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. In other words, God's words are the words that judge us. The judgments of the Lord. In other words, the judgment of the Lord is that, which is the ordinances of God.

They come directly from the bench of the judge who pronounces the verdict on each man's life. By the word of God, man will be judged. His word is the standard. That's why they're called the judgments of God. And God has passed judgment upon man, right? And therefore the judgments of the Lord are true. In other words, the unbeliever does not understand what is true unless he understands the judgments of the Lord. That would make him a believer. But we know what is true. We know what is true about the origin of life.

How do we know that? Because of the judgments of the Lord. We know what is true about the end of the world because we know about God's judgments and the verdict he has passed on the end of the world. We know what God's truth is about heaven and hell. We know the only way to heaven. There's only one way. And how do we know that? Because the judgments of the Lord are true. Absolutely true. Unmistakable. So we, as the children of God, know what is true based on what God has said. We don't wonder about the origin of life.

We don't wonder about the end of life. We don't wonder about heaven or hell or the way to eternity. We know all that. We know what happens after death. We know that absent from the body, present with the Lord. How do we know that? Because the judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. In other words, all the judgments of God encompassed together produce the righteousness in the life of the person who believes them because he knows the truth of those judgments. In other words, God's word produces the righteousness in you that only can be produced in a supernatural way through the spirit of the living God.

God's word is sufficient. God's word is complete. That's why he goes on to say, they are much more desirable than gold. Yes, they're much finer gold, sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb. This is the richness of God's word, the beauty of his word. One author said it this way. He said, I am convinced that many who submit to various kinds of extra biblical therapy do so precisely because they are looking for a way of solving their problems without surrendering to what they know God's word requires of them.

Scripture hasn't failed them. They have failed scripture. Many have never learned to let the word of Christ richly dwell within them as Paul instructs us in Colossians 3.16. They have treated scripture in a cursory way and never plumbed its depths. Their sinful neglect inevitably bears the fruit of doctrinal confusion and spiritual impotence because they never disciplined themselves to live according to biblical principles, they now abandon scripture for worldly alternatives. They turn to psychoanalysis to solve their problems, to science to explain the origin of life, to philosophy to explain the meaning of life, and to sociology to explain why they sin.

Churches, schools, seminaries have thus made themselves vulnerable to the influence of all such teachings. And he's right. You see, God's word is sufficient, it's true, it's complete. Everything about God's word is what you need to meet every spiritual need that you have, every emotional need, every mental need. God's word's complete, sufficient. We need to be diving into the word of God. That's why David said, this is more desirable than the honey of the honeycomb. This is more desirable than riches because I can't take the riches with me when I die.

But God's word is eternal. It lasts forever, the importance of God's word. And God says, he says this, verse 11.

Moreover, by them your servant is warned. God's words are warnings, right? The Bible says in Proverbs 13, verse number 13, that he who despises the word of the Lord will be in debt, will be judged by the word of the Lord.

He who treats God's word with disdain, he who treats God's word as if it means nothing will be judged by that word. So important. And David says, through these commandments, through these precepts, through this testimony of the Lord, through these judgments of the Lord, through this fear of the Lord, we are warned. We are warned. And then he says, and in keeping them, there is great reward. There's just not a reward. There is a great reward. And I wonder how many of you can explain the great reward.

If someone was to say, what's the great reward? If I'm going to keep God's word, if I'm gonna adhere to what God says, what is that great reward?

And next week, I will tell you what that great reward is. So that you will be able to explain it to others. Because scripture is sufficient. Because scripture is supreme. And it is sufficient and supreme because the God who spoke them is sufficient and supreme. And he is the one who says, these give you a great reward. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you for today. A chance to briefly spend time in your word once again, to understand more of the beauty of it. Forgive us, Lord, for not understanding what you have said. Forgive us, Lord, for setting aside the law of God, the word of God for our own ideas, our own imaginations, our own reasoning. Help us, Lord, to be men and women of the book. Men and women who believe in the truth and follow the truth. Help us to be a church that esteems the word of God high above all else. Help men to be in the word, to lead their families.

Help women to spend time in the word that they might understand the character development of their children and to live lives that honor you. Help our families to be strong in the word, knowing that the house is built by wisdom and without the wisdom, there is no foundation for that home. God, your word gives us everything that pertains to life and godliness. May we learn that through our study of Hebrews 1, 1 and 2. The God who spoke in ages past has spoken in the last of these days through his son.

And what you've given to us is unchanging, unshakable, immovable. It is the truth, the word of God. And for that, we are grateful. In Jesus' name, amen.