The Question for Today's Church, Part 1

If you've been with us, you know that we have been looking at a series called The Ministry and Message of Christ to His Church, looking at Revelation 1, 2, and 3, coming to understand what is the message that Christ has to His church, not just back in the days He wrote to those seven churches in Asia Minor, but what does He have to say to the church today? Having looked at that over the last several weeks, we want to embark on something that relates to that, and that is the question and the quest for today's church.

What is the question for today's church that must be asked and answered, and what is the quest that every church should be on in order to please the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord? For each letter concluded with He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And so when Christ wrote those letters, spoke those letters to John, He wrote them down and delivered them to those seven churches, they were written so that the people in those churches would understand exactly what Christ had to say to them.

And hopefully, as you went through those seven churches with us, you were able to examine your life in light of what the Word of God says and ask yourself, where am I in the church?

Where do I stand with Jesus Christ in the church? And so having looked at that ministry and message that Christ gave to the church at Ephesus, which was a cold church, and the church of Smyrna, which was the crushed church, to the church of Pergamum, which was the compromising church, or the church at Thyatira, which was the corrupt church, or Sardis, which was the corpse because they were dead, or Philadelphia, they were the crown church, or Laodicea, they were the counterfeit church. What would Christ say to today's church?

Specifically, what would He say to our church? How would He address us? Would there be commendation? Would there be condemnation? For five of the seven churches were told they had to repent. Would Christ say, I'm coming down to you? He told Pergamum He was coming to them. He told Ephesus, I have this against you, one thing, but by the time you come to the church of Pergamum, He says, I have a few things against you because they have grown. He told the church at Thyatira, who was truly married to the world.

The church at Pergamum flirted with the world, but the church of Thyatira married the world. He said, I'm coming down and I will throw those committed to the teaching of Jezebel on a bed of sickness. I will deal with them. He told the church at Sardis, I'm coming to you like a thief. You will not know when I'm coming, but I'm coming because you're dead. What would Christ say to our church? How would Christ address us? Would there be affirmation or would there be accusation? Would there be things that He has against us or would there be things that there is nothing but commendation like there was for the church at Philadelphia?

How would we respond to a letter that Christ would write to us? And what would He say? So the question is simply this, what would Christ say to our church? What would Christ say to each individual in the church? For He said to the church at Sardis, there were a few that had yet to soil their garments. The majority of them were unbelievers, but there were a few that did not soil their garments. The church at Laodicea, there was nobody there who knew Christ. He was on the outside knocking to get into the inside because he wasn't a part of anybody's life in that church.

So what would Christ say to us? What would Christ say specifically to you? How do we respond to that? How do we become the kind of church that Christ commends and does not condemn? That Christ affirms and does not accuse? That like Philadelphia, there was nothing but commendation because there's nothing He has against them. It wasn't that they were a perfect church because no church is perfect. It's not that they were all perfect people because there are no perfect people. But Christ who said that He was the holy standard, that He was the one by which He judges man, had no accusation against the church of Philadelphia.

So how do we respond? What would be our answer to the question, what would Christ say to our church? And would we be the church that Christ commends? So over the next couple of weeks, I want to help you understand what that church looks like. What you as an individual need to look like because you are the church, you're a part of the church, right? And so it's addressed to us corporately as well as to us individually. What is a church supposed to look like? Those in the church, what are their commitments?

So that Christ would give nothing but commendation, nothing but affirmation to those in our church. That's what we want to ask and answer. The Bible says in Psalm 138, verse number two, thy word, O Lord, is magnified even as thy very name.

Thy word is magnified even as thy very name. In other words, the word of God is on the exact same plane as the name of God. And one day, every person who ever existed will bow in subjection to the name of God. So in other words, God's word is as authoritative as God himself is, because these are his words. He spoke them into existence. He is the word incarnate. He is the word that became flesh and dwelt among us. He's given us his word that we might come to understand and know him. So the word of God is held at a very high level.

So the church that God commends must hold his word at the highest level. In other words, the word of God must be absolutely paramount in the life of that church and in the life of every individual in that church. In other words, God's word is the authority. It is that which matters. In fact, God's word is the only thing that matters. Why? Listen to this very carefully. If at any time you or the church demeans the word of God or devalues the word of God or discards the word of God, if God's word is demeaned, devalued, or discarded, God himself is diminished in that church.

He is diminished in that church. Why? Because he is known through his word. One author said it this way. He said, the church has become shallow, disrespectful of its understanding of God. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God. Show me a church that doesn't take the Bible seriously, and I'll show you a church that doesn't take God seriously. They trivialize God. Therefore, if God's word is devalued or demeaned or discarded in any way, God himself is diminished. Listen, if God is diminished, the gospel is diluted because the gospel is based on the identity of God and the ministry of God.

The ministry and identity of God is best seen in the authority of the word of God. So if God's word is discarded or devalued or demeaned in any way, then God himself is diminished in that church. If God is diminished, the gospel is diluted. If the gospel is diluted, then good works will always decrease. Why? Because we have been created unto good works because of the effect of the gospel, and the gospel is working in our lives. Well, listen, if the gospel is not purely given, thoroughly given, clearly given, then people don't know how to respond properly to the gospel.

And it's not purely or clearly given because God has been diminished and God is diminished because God's word is not the authority. So therefore, you need to see the progression. God's word cannot be devalued, demeaned, or discarded in any way. If it is, God himself is diminished. If God is diminished, simply the gospel is diluted. If the gospel is diluted, good works decrease, and if good works decrease, godly living will disappear. Godly living will disappear. That is, the standard is no longer held to high esteem.

Christ said, be perfect as I am perfect, be holy as I am holy. Therefore, godly living disappears in the church. If godly living disappears, God is dishonored. And if God is dishonored, then God's people are destroyed. Hosea 4, verse number 6, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. That's the, that's the progression downward. It all stems from your belief and understanding of the authority of God in your life as an individual and as a church. So how do you know that this church holds the word of God as paramount?

How do you know that your life holds the word of God at the highest level? How do you know that whatever church you happen to go to or attend holds the word at its highest level? Because if it does not, God is diminished, the gospel is diluted, good works decrease. It just goes down that, that path. It's inevitably going to go down that path. It always goes down that path, always. And it all stems from your belief and understanding of the authority of the word of God. God's word must be paramount in the life of the church.

That's why Paul says this, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse number 15. He says very clearly, verse 14, I am writing these things to you hoping to come to you before long, but in case I am delayed, excuse me, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. The church, the household of God, the church of the living God is the pillar and foundation of the truth. In other words, the church doesn't invent the truth.

The church doesn't alter the truth. The church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. It is to hold it in high esteem. It is to hold it up at its highest point. And if the truth is not, the church doesn't do that with the truth, the church will crumble. And as you look at the seven churches in Asia minor, those who held the word in high esteem, well, they were commended.

Those who did not, they were condemned. And God says, I'm coming to you. I'm coming to you because you refuse to do what I've told you to do. So how do you know that the church you attend, the word of God is paramount? Because if it's not, you've got to leave the church, can't be there because God's word has been devalued. God ultimately will be diminished in your eyes, in your perception of him because God's word is not held at a high esteem. And if that's the case, simply good works will decrease because the gospel has been diluted.

If the gospel is diluted, you've got to run. That's the wrong church, right? That's just the way it goes. So you need to understand those kinds of things as you are a part of the ministry of the church. See, I love the church. Christ died for the church. I'm into the church. I'm all about the church. The church is everything. The church lives on forever in the presence of Christ. Church has eternal value. Everything in our lives should be about the church. I want my family to understand that the church is their life.

The church is not added to their life. The church is their life. Big difference. The church is not something you do in life. The church is something you are in life. We need to understand the ministry of the church and the emphasis that Christ himself placed on the church. He died for the church so he might redeem a bride for himself. So is the word of God paramount? Let me give you seven principles that will help you understand that, okay?

Seven principles that you can ask and answer today in your seat to see if that's true of you. And you can evaluate our church based on this, okay? You can evaluate our church based on what we're going to give you this morning. Is the word of God paramount? Number one, you know the word of God is paramount if the word of God is desired fervently and intensely.

The word of God is desired fervently and intensely. Peter said it this way, 1 Peter 2, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, right? So you have to ask yourself, is God's word that which is desired? Because whatever you value, you desire. You want more of. So the psalmist would say over in Psalm 119 verse number 72, I delight in your law. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Wow. Your law is more desired to me than gold and silver.

He goes on to say in verse 127 of Psalm 119, these words, I love your commandments above gold. Yes. Above fine gold. 161. My heart stands in awe of your words. I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil. In other words, I rejoice over your word because what I find in it is so enormous, so wonderful, so great. So you have to ask yourself, is the word of God desired fervently, intensely in your own life? Because you all desire something, right? Every one of us desires something, something.

What do you desire? What governs your daily life? The word of God must be desired fervently, and it must be desired intensely. That's why it says in Psalm 19 that the law of the Lord and the testimony of the Lord and the commandments of the Lord and the fear of the Lord and the judgments of the Lord are more desirable to me than fine gold. How about you? What do you desire more than money? What do you desire more than gold and riches? Because whatever it is you desire, you hold in highest esteem.

So those who hold the word of God as paramount, they desire it fervently and intensely. Number two, they defend it vigorously and uncompromisingly.

The word of God is paramount in your life when you defend it vigorously and uncompromisingly. That is, there is a war on truth today, and those who know the truth will defend it at all costs. That's what Jude said in Jude 3, that we are to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. We are to go to war for the faith. We are to be involved in battle for the truth. Paul would say this in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 20, O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.

Avoid worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Timothy, you guard what's been entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1 verse 13, Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Timothy, guard the treasure. What's the treasure? It's the gospel.

It's the word of the truth. Listen, we all put our treasures in a place nobody can touch them. Nobody can take them. Nobody can harm them. Why? Because they're our treasure. And so we're going to put them under lock and key. We're going to put them in a safe. We're going to put them in a safe deposit box. We're going to put them in a bank. We don't want anybody to take our stuff. But Paul says, You have to guard this treasure, Timothy, this treasure. This is what you guard. This is what you protect.

This is what you defend. And so any church that has the word of God as paramount is going to desire it because it means more to them than to anything in the world. And not only will they desire it, they will defend it at all costs. They will defend it uncompromisingly. They will defend it vigorously. They will fight for the truth. Always be a part of a church that fights for the truth because the truth is all that matters. See, it's all that matters because we serve a God who is called the God of truth.

Number three, the word of God is paramount in the church where the word of God is declared openly, willingly, lovingly, authoritatively, and specifically.

Where the word of God is declared openly, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, Paul said in Romans 1 verse number 16. It's declared willingly. We go into all the world and preach the gospel. We go into all the world and we make disciples and we teach them and we baptize them that they might understand the truth of God. We do it willingly. They declare the gospel lovingly, Ephesians 4 verse 15. They speak the truth in love. We declare the gospel and the truth of God authoritatively. Why? Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 to preach the word in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and patience.

Why? Because there's going to come a time when men will not want to hear the truth anymore. They want to have their ears tickled and they don't want to hear the truth. You see, the truth of God doesn't tickle your ears. The truth of God boxes your ears and they don't want their ears to be boxed. So they will accumulate for themselves teachers who will tickle their ears. So is the word of God declared openly? They're not ashamed. Is it declared willingly? They want to go and preach the truth. Is it declared authoritatively?

Because it is the truth. Is it declared specifically and biblically? That is, do they declare the whole counsel of God? Do they declare it accurately? Do they make sure that people understand the truth about the gospel? So people understand what it means to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow the Christ. They understand what it means to repent of their sins and turn from their sins and give their life to the living God. They understand that because you have declared it specifically and accurately.

So the word of God is paramount in the church where the word of God is desired fervently and intensely. The word of God is paramount in the church where the word of God is defended vigorously and uncompromisingly. And the word of God is paramount in the church where the word of God is declared openly, willingly, lovingly, authoritatively, as well as biblically and specifically. And then, and then the word of God is paramount in the church where the word of God is demonstrated clearly and authentically.

Where the word of God is demonstrated clearly and authentically. That is, the people in the church actually do what God says.

They demonstrate it. That's why James would say over in James chapter one, verse number 22, prove yourselves doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude themselves. In other words, if you're a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word, you have deluded yourself. That is, you're not true to yourself. You're not true to what God says.

You become self-deceived. For if anyone here is a hearer of the word and does not, is not a doer of the word, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. This is the blessed man. The blessed man sees the blemish.

The blessed man takes care of the blemish because he knows it hinders his appearance. Well, the believing person hears what God's word says and is looking into the perfect law of liberty, the mirror, sees the blemishes in his life, and therefore deals with those blemishes so that he can look like the Christ he says he serves. That's a doer of the word. And then he gives you a specific example. He says, if anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

The very first thing, the very first illustration he gives you about being a doer of the word has to deal with your speech.

It deals with your conversation. So he says, okay, you want to be a doer of the word? Here's your exam. How do you speak? What do you say? How do you say it? Because you see, if you're not able to bridle your tongue, if you're not able to control your tongue, because the mouth gate is the very first indicator of your heart's condition, right?

Christ said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So I know the condition of your heart by listening to the word you speak. That's what Jesus said. So if Jesus said it, it's true. It's credible, right? So James just follows up on that and says, listen, you want to be a doer of the word? You want to demonstrate the truth that God's word is paramount in your life? It's going to be evidenced in your speech, your conversation, how you address others. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God.

Our father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Okay, now you want to be a doer of the word? Here it is. You're going to have a great concern and compassion for the needy. You're going to have a great concern and compassion for those who are in need because widows and orphans are representative of people who have needs, right? So not only will you have a controlled speech, but you have a care and concern for those who are needy and you will be consecrated for the things of the world because you're going to keep yourself unstained by the world.

So James says, let me make it really simple for you. You say you're a doer of the word. If you're a doer of the word, it's going to be seen in your conversation. If you're a doer of the word, it's going to be seen in your conduct. If you're a doer of the word, it's going to be seen in how consecrated you are from the world. Now ask yourself, is that you? Is that you? That's why it says in Titus 2, verse 10, we're to adorn the doctrine of God. That's why Paul said to Timothy in verse 74, verse number 12, Timothy, you are to be an example.

You're to demonstrate what it means to live a life of purity, a life of faith, a life of love in your speech and in your conduct. You're to demonstrate all those things, Timothy. You live out the word of God. You see, how do you know the word of God is paramount in your life? You live it. You actually live what God says.

Because if you say that God's word's paramount and you don't subject yourself to the things that God says, then you have said effectually, I don't care what God says.

I can be and make my own decisions. In other words, you can say, I am my own God. I don't need the one true God. And that's blasphemous. So you have to ask yourself the question, is the word of God paramount? Is it demonstrated authentically? Not insincerely, not hypocritically. You don't go around doing a whole bunch of things to pull the wool over people's eyes, but it really is from the heart. It really is a genuine, authentic commitment to doing what God himself says. I demonstrate the truth.

I live out the truth of God's holy word. How about you? That's why Jesus said there'll be many people in Matthew 7 who say that we did these things, but Christ says, depart from me, you practice lawlessness.

You don't do what I've asked you to do. You've built your house upon the sand. You hear it, but you don't do it. And those who are the people who build their house on the sand, but those who hear the word of God and apply it and do it, they build their house on the rock. And when the wind comes and the storm falls, and all of a sudden the waves burst upon that house, it does not fall. It stands. Why? Because their life is built on one foundation. They heard the word of God, which is true, and they live the word of God because it is true.

So how do you know the word of God is paramount? It is desired intensely and fervently. It is defended vigorously and uncompromisingly. It is declared openly, willingly, lovingly, authoritatively, and biblically. It is demonstrated clearly and authentically, and the church is devoted to it wholeheartedly. The church is devoted to it wholeheartedly, and so are you. That's why it says over in Acts chapter two, right? Acts chapter two, verse number 42, they, the early church, were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to breaking of bread and to prayer.

The very first thing on the list for the early church was that they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, the doctrine that they were teaching, having received from the living God.

They were devoted to that because they were newborn babes in Christ. And what do newborn babes need more than anything else? Food. They have to eat. They don't need you to love and caress and care for them as much as they need you to feed them because you can hold them in your arms, and you can caress them, and you can kiss on them, and you can love them. If you don't feed them, they're going to die in your arms. You have to feed them. They need food. They have to eat. And so these newborn babes in Christ were devoting themselves wholeheartedly to the apostles' doctrine.

What is the apostles' doctrine? The church is built, Ephesians 2, on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. It's built on the confession of who Christ is and what Christ does. And they proclaim that loudly, and they could not wait. They wanted to be so bad, they met every day of the week. They were so hungry, they could not stay home. They had to be a part of the assembly of believers every day. And so they continued steadfastly, devoutly, committed wholeheartedly to the apostles' doctrine, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

How about you? That's the kind of church we need to be. That's the kind of people we need to be. Two more. Where the Word of God is paramount, the church is directed by it daily. They're directed by it daily, consistently. In other words, God's Word is your guide. The psalmist said it this way. Psalm 119, 104, through thy precepts I get understanding. 105, thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light into my path. Verse 133, direct my steps, O Lord, by your Word. Psalm 32, verse number 8, I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go.

Psalm 43, 3, O send out your light and your truth, O Lord. Let them lead me. Is the church directed daily and consistently by the Word of God? Listen, this is how you know God's Word is paramount in your personal life, in your church life, that the decisions you make are based on what God's Word has already said. So therefore, when it comes to your marriage, your marriage functions and flourishes or flounders based on whether or not you're obedient to the Word of God. What does God's Word say about your marriage?

Are you as husbands directed by the Word of God so that you will love your wife as Christ loved the church sacrificially, giving herself up for her? Wives, are you directed daily by the Word of God that you will allow yourself to submit to the leadership of your husband and follow him in a loving manner because you are representative of the church and he is the head? Are you directed by it daily? You can't say that God's Word is directing my life and live in opposition to what the Word of God specifically says.

As parents, do you raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? As parents, do you consistently spank your children? Because the Bible says you must do that.

Read the book of Proverbs. The rod of correction is that which drives foolishness far from the life of your child. If you love them, you will spank them, Proverbs chapter 13. And so are you directed by it daily as a parent with your children? That is so important. People say they want to have God's Word as supreme in their life, but they don't want to do what God says.

They're not directed by it daily in their marriages, in their families, with their children. They're not directed by it when they go to work each day. They're not directed by it when they when they have their conversation each day. That's why we're to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, right? So that we might let the Word of God, the peace of God, be that umpire, that ruler in our lives. But are you directed daily by what God's Word actually does say? That's so important. A lady this past week told me that she had picked up God's Hope for Your Home.

That's a book we wrote many years ago. And she was reading about housewives, honorable wives, okay? And she said as she read it, she had to go back and ask her husband to forgive her because she wasn't the wife that God said she should be in the marriage. Well, that's somebody who wants to be directed by the Word of the Lord. They want to understand what God's Word says and they want to demonstrate what God's Word says because God's Word is paramount. God's Word is the authority in their lives, see?

It doesn't mean you know everything that you are to do, but when you hear what you are supposed to be doing, you obey because you want to be directed by it. And so we as Christians, we as people who say that we name the name of Christ are to be directed daily and consistently by the Word of God, which we say is supreme and paramount in our lives because we love the Lord God and we truly want to honor Him. Next, the people who hold God's Word as paramount depend on it continually. They depend on it continually.

They can't make it without it. Jesus said, without me, you can do nothing. Moses said in Deuteronomy 32, these words which I'm speaking to you are not empty words, are not futile words. These words are your life, that if you do what is recorded in them, then you will prosper in the land in which I'm sending you. But they're your life. Where the Word of God is paramount, the people depend on it consistently, consistently because they know that they can't make it without it. They know that they need what God has to say to them because they are upheld by the power of the Word of God.

They need the Word of God. They need the Word of God when it comes to their transformation, right? 2 Corinthians 3, 18, we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being changed from one level of glory to the next level of glory. Even as by the Spirit of God, we need it for our transformation. God forbid that we should stay the same every day. There needs to be a renewing of our minds. There needs to be a transformation of our lives because God changes us. Alan Redpath, who a number of years ago wrote a book about the church, said that he was speaking at a young people's meeting one day.

And as he was preaching the gospel, when it was all said and done, one of the ladies, young girls from the youth meeting came up to speak to him. She was 24 years of age. She came up to Mr. Redpath and she said, you know what? You do not preach the gospel. Really, he said. No, for you don't know my Savior, she replied. And he replied, if that is so, please tell me about your Savior. Well, he is so wonderful, she said. He forgives me so freely. That is lovely, replied Mr. Redpath. He must be a wonderful Savior, but so is mine.

Oh, no, you don't really know him, was her reply. So I asked her to explain what she meant. She says, well, I am an awful, awful liar, you know, really a terrible liar. Only last night, I was out on a date and I did not want my mother to know where I was. So when I came home, I told her a lie. What did you do about that? Mr. Redpath asked. I went into my room, knelt down by the side of my bed and said, sorry, Lord Jesus, that I told a lie. Thank you for the blood that cleanses from all sin and thank you for forgiveness.

And I went to sleep. Why, my dear girl, said Mr. Redpath, you are quite right. I do not know your Savior. And I am sorry to have to tell you that you do not know my Savior. You do not know the Savior revealed in the word of God. There is no such thing as a saved liar, for you are saved from your lying. Think about that. Just think about that. You see, God's word is a transforming agent, because it's alive, it's well, and it really does its effectual work in those who believe, 1 Thessalonians 2.13.

It does a transforming work. God doesn't leave us in the state where we were once we were saved. He grows us into the likeness of his character. And so there is this transformation that takes place. I depend upon God's word constantly, because I am in need of transformation. I'm in need of maturation. Acts 20, verse number 32, I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, the most concise statement in scripture dealing with the impact of the word of God to help you understand how a man can be thoroughly equipped, thoroughly finished into every good work.

We need God's word. We depend upon God's word for its transformation, for its maturation, for its purification. You have been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you, says the Lord. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed to the word of God. God's word is that purifying agent that I need every day to maintain my purity before those I love and before the throne of God above. And so I need it for my transformation, for my maturation, for my purification. I need it constantly every single day for my satisfaction and for my jubilation.

It's God's word that causes joy. It's God's word that causes us to rejoice in all that God has done. If we base our satisfaction and jubilation on today's events or life's circumstances, we live that rollercoaster ride up and down, up and down, up and down. But if we base it on the authority of God's word in our lives, that words are found that I did eat them and they were the joy and they were the rejoicing of my heart. Read what the psalmist said about the joy of the Lord and the joy of his word in his heart.

It was all about how God's word makes a significant impact in the life of those who love him for the sake of satisfaction and jubilation, for the sake of purification and maturation, for the sake of transformation. And the list can go on and on and on because God's word has everything that pertains to life and to godliness. Everything. And those who make sure that God's word is paramount, they depend on it every day. You cannot live without it. They understand Matthew 4, verse number 4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Is God's word paramount in your life? Is it? All you have to do is measure your own life against the principles we've given you this morning to say, yes, God's word stands supreme. God's word reigns supreme. If not, if not, if not, you'd ask yourself, why not? Why not? What is more important to you than the word of almighty God? What has taken the place in your life that stands supreme over the authority of God in your life? What is it that you can't live without, but you're willing to discard or devalue or demean the word of God?

What do we tell you? If you do, God will be diminished in your life, in your eyes, because how you see him here in the word of God is who he is. If you set this aside, you will no longer see him for who he is. So he will diminish in your eyes. If he is diminished, the gospel will inevitably be diluted. It would not be the hardcore truths of the gospel. If any man come after me, it's all about self-denial. It's all about self-sacrifice. It's all about repentance. It's all about giving my life to the king.

Because you see, once I understand who God is, giving myself to him is really no effort at all. I want to give myself to him. That's why the gospel of Matthew 13 is like a treasure that a man once found was willing to give away all that he had to obtain it because of its indescribable value. And so if God's word is set aside, demeaned or devalued, then God himself is diminished. If God's diminished, the gospel is diluted. If the gospel is diluted, good works will decrease. Godly living will disappear.

God will be dishonored. And God's people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge. How many people do you know whose lives are in a complete upheaval because they do not know what God has said about their situation? How many people, how many marriages do you know that are crumbling because God's word has been set aside and discarded? And the marriages are breaking up right and left. Their homes are shattered simply because this book, the word of God, is not the paramount emphasis in that home, in that life, or even in their church as it needs to be.

I was counseling someone a number of weeks ago and they came to me and they said, what do you have to tell us that no one else has yet to tell us? I said, well, I don't know what anybody else has said, but I really don't have anything to tell you at all. They said, well, why are we here? I said, because you asked to come. I said, I don't have anything to say to you, but God's word has a boatload of things to say to you. So I'm just going to share what God has to say because what he has to say means everything.

When I was all said and done at the end of that time that we were together, that man looked at me and said, I have never heard anything like that ever before. And they've been going to the same church for the last eight years. And I told him, I said, I'm going to say this very, very nicely to you, but you're in the wrong church. I don't know what church you're going to, but you're in the wrong church because if you ever heard what I've told you today in eight years, someone's not preaching the word of God.

God's word's been discarded, demeaned, and devalued. And the natural consequence of that is your marriage and your family are being destroyed. You need to make a different decision about where you go to church. And that will set you on the right path to understand the importance that the word of God must be absolutely paramount. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for the word of the Lord. That's so true. That speaks to us right where we're at today. There's no one in this room, no one in this room who can say God's word does not apply to me because it does. You're the creator, we are the created, and the creator knows exactly what we need. And we need your word in our lives. And our prayer is that you would cause that to happen, that, Lord, every one of us would subject ourselves to your authority, that we'd go home today and lift your word on high, that we live your word, knowing what it says, seeking to depend upon it every day for the glorious sake of your name and your name only.

We pray in the name of our soon coming king, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.