The Model Church, Part 2

Take your Bible and turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, this is our study. And we're looking at the model church. And what does it mean to be the model church? And Paul has great things to say about the church at Thessalonica. And for us to learn those things are so very, very important if we are going to become a model church. Now notice that Paul, what he says to those in Thessalonica, he could not say to, for instance, the church in Corinth.

For the church in Corinth was a selfish church. Historians tell us that there were four letters written by the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. Two of them are in our scriptures, 1 and 2 Corinthians. And so when you read about what Paul says to the church at Corinth, you realize that they were steeped in carnality. In fact, everything they had in their unbelieving life, they tried to bring over into their church life and tried to incorporate it in their assembly. It didn't work that way. So Paul had to write them and correct them on many issues.

He had to correct their pride and their corruption, their animosity. In fact, he even had to correct them on the Lord's table. Simply because they would eat and drink the Lord's table in such an unworthy manner that a lot of them were sick and some of them were even dying because they abused the Lord's table. And so he would write 1 and 2 Corinthians. And then, of course, if you look at the church at Colossae, they also had their struggles.

And he would write to them about their unfaithfulness, their carnality, their mysticism and their legalism, trying to set them aright. Then you have the church of Ephesus, the church that Paul had pastored for three years. He was instrumentally involved in that church in a variety of ways. And yet he had to correct them on their lack of humility and their lack of a Christ-like walk. And what does it mean to walk in the light as children of the light? And what does it mean to walk in the Spirit as Christ controls you through His Spirit?

What does that mean? Because they didn't know how to do that and they lived in disobedience to the Lord. Then you have the churches at Galatia. There were several churches in the region of Galatia. And Paul would write to them because they became defective and disloyal. And that which they had begun in the Spirit, they were now trying to perfect themselves in the flesh. And they were walking not by the Spirit but in the flesh. So he had to correct them as well. Then you have the church of Philippi.

And Paul even names two ladies who were at odds with one another because there was so much disharmony and disunity in the church that it'd correct the direction they were going. And then 40 years after those churches, John the apostle would write to the seven churches in Asia Minor. And five of those seven churches were told to repent simply because of their corruption. Or that they had compromised the faith. Or that they were, even as the church of Laodicea was, a counterfeit church. Some of them had even become cold and callous.

So as the church progresses, it seems to degenerate and get worse and worse and worse. And so there were letters from the apostle Paul and there were letters from the apostle John. But the church of Thessalonica was a different kind of church. They were a unique bunch of individuals. They were unique in such a way that Paul just kept commending them for how they abundantly developed in the gospel. How they kept growing fervently. How their service was strong. How their steadfastness was deeply committed, even amidst persecution.

And they did all this because they loved the Lord. And that was their motive. Their labor was prompted by their love. And that's how they lived their lives. And so Paul would commend them over and over again, all throughout 1 Thessalonians, all throughout 2 Thessalonians. That's why they are the model church. And so to study them is to help us understand how we in turn then can become the kind of church that patterns itself after the model church, the church of Thessalonica. Notice what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 1.

He tells them that they're in God the Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells them that he knows in verse number 4, knowing brethren beloved by God his choice of you. That's just a remarkable statement because he knows they are chosen by God. And to know that they have experienced God's elective love is so important. A lot of discussion today about predestination and about election, but there are certain things, once you understand it, helps you realize the blessings that it brings. Let me give them to you.

Number one, if you understand God's elective love, it pummels all your pride. Not pebbles, pummels. P-U-M-M-E-L-S. It destroys your pride. Why? Well, listen to what Paul says to Titus in Titus chapter 3, verse 4. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us, not on the basis of your deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Paul says it's not by works of righteousness which you have done. You didn't obtain your righteous standing with God. No, it's because of his divine love for you and his choosing of you that you are saved. In fact, over in 1 Corinthians 1, he says it this way in verse 26, For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen the things that are not, so he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God, but by his doing you are in Christ Jesus.

In other words, why are you in Christ Jesus? Not because of anything that you did, but he chose you based on what he did by his own elective love. You say, well, I received Jesus. Yes, you did. But I had faith to believe. Yes, you did. But I repented of my sins. Yes, you did. But repentance and faith and belief are all gifts by God. God grants you repentance. 2 Timothy chapter 2. He grants you faith. 2 Peter chapter 1. He grants you belief. Philippians 1, 29. He grants you those things as gifts. And so, therefore, you're able to believe, have faith in God, and repent of your sin because of the graciousness and the mercy of our God.

So when you understand God's elective love, it pummels all your pride. And then, number two, it promotes only God.

God is promoted. God is lifted up. God is put on display. God himself is seen. That's so important. Philippians 1, 29. It has been granted to you to believe for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. Why? Because it's all about his name. It's all about his glory. Psalm 115. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your loving kindness, because of your truth. But our God is in heaven, and he does whatever he pleases. You see, your salvation is all about the glory of God. Revelation 14, the angel that flies around him in heaven says, Fear God and give him glory.

Why? Because salvation is all about the glory of God. So when you understand God's elective love, it pummels all of your pride and promotes only God as the sovereign ruler of the universe who's in control of everything. Number three, when you understand God's elective love, it produces joy.

It produces joy. 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter says, To those who reside as aliens, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood, verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice. And then in verse number 8, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. You see, the Bible says that I had not seen nor ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him.

Simply because God's elective love produces joy. That God, in his sovereignty, would choose me, write my name in the Lamb's book of life, gives nothing but joy. So it pummels pride and promotes God and produces joy. And number four, it promises nothing but privileges. It promises privileges. Ephesians chapter 1, verse number 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.

In other words, all the privileges that we have come because of God's elective love for our lives. And then it propels holiness. To know that you're chosen by God only propels you to a holy lifestyle. Look what it says in Colossians 3, verse number 12. So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

And beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. There's nothing that propels holiness more than an understanding that God in his sovereignty has chosen us for himself. And lastly, God's elective love provides security. Philippians 1, verse number 6, being confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will complete it to the day of Jesus Christ. And Paul would say at the end of 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 23, Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful as he who calls you, and he also will bring it to pass.

So Paul says, I know. I know God has chosen you. I know God has sovereignly selected you to be a part of his family. I know that because you, number one, abundantly develop in the gospel.

I know that because of your work of faith, your labor of love, and your endurance that's inspired by hope. So Paul knows this. But I want you to notice what Paul says in verse number 5.

He says this, You can stop right there. It came to you in power. Paul knew that. Paul knew about the power of the gospel. Remember Romans 1, verse number 16, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

So Paul knew about the power of the gospel. But isn't it interesting that so many of us don't understand the power of the truth of the living God? In fact, we don't live as if it's powerful, but it really is. And so let me explain it to you, because I think it's important for you to understand what the apostle Paul knew.

You see, when you come on Sunday, we say, take your Bible, open up with me to this chapter, or this book, or this verse, or in this case today, this word, the word power, right? Why do we do that? Because you need to be informed by the word of God in order to be transformed by the spirit of God. So you will be conformed to the will of God. And they all go hand in hand. You can't be conformed to the will of God unless you're transformed by the spirit of God. And you won't be transformed by the spirit of God unless you're informed by the word of God.

In other words, we open up the word of God, the living and abiding word of God, open it up to you so that you will know exactly what it says. But because we believe that the word of God is powerful enough to do exactly what it says it will do. The question is, do you believe that? I think that if we believe that, we would spend more time in the word than we do. We'd spend more time praying the word than we do. We'd spend more time in Bible study, more time in memorization, more time teaching our children about the word of the Lord.

We make sure our children were involved in Sunday school and youth ministry because we want them to hear it from their peers and be involved with their peers. If you really believe about the power of the word of God, we would be totally invested in the word of God. Paul was. He understood its power. It's so important. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 119, verse number 89, that God's truth is forever fixed or settled in heaven.

The eternal word of God is forever fixed in heaven. It will never be altered. It will never be changed. In fact, he says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. In other words, it's the eternal word of God that will always be in existence because it's everlasting. Peter calls it the imperishable word of God. We're born again not by a perishable seed, but an imperishable seed. It's called the living and abiding word of God. That's why our radio program is called Living Word Radio because we believe in the living word of God.

We actually do believe that. We understand that God's word is alive. It's active. It's powerful. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the depth of each man's soul and does what nothing else can do. We truly do believe that. In fact, Psalm 119, verse number 160, says this. Psalm 119, 160. The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting. It never ends. It's eternal. Over in Isaiah 40, verse number 8, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever.

In other words, it's fixed. It's eternal. It's firm. It's steadfast. It will never be altered. It will never be readjusted. It will never be changed. It's always the same. And therefore, we need to understand that the Scriptures are the cornerstone of the church. In fact, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3.15 that the church is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Everything about the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And that's all built upon by the word of truth, the eternal, fixed, settled, firm word of the living God. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? I was sharing on Wednesday night that I received this past week a correspondence about the Modern Church Leaders Conference. So I was intrigued, wondering whether or not I was a modern church leader. So I opened my email and began to read about the Modern Church Leaders Conference in Dallas, Texas at the end of October of this year.

And thought, wow, maybe I'm a modern church leader, maybe I'm not. Let's see. So when I opened it up, this is what it says. The Modern Church Leader Conference is a groundbreaking gathering designed for church leaders. So far, so good. Seeking to transform their ministries. Good. And enhance their impact on the kingdom of God. That's great. Then it says, through leveraging technology and innovative strategies. And I thought to myself, how did Jesus build the kingdom without modern technology and innovative strategies?

How did Jesus do that? I mean, He is the King. He came to present the kingdom. But poor Jesus. He didn't have modern technology. No wonder He had very few followers. Maybe if He would have invented the cell phone back in His day, maybe He would have had a lot more followers than He did. So I began to read on. It says, picture this. Over 30 practical workshops designed specifically to empower and equip you for effective leadership in today's ever-changing church landscape. We're talking about everything from cutting-edge strategies for community engagement and digital outreach that dives deep into the world of technology and how to develop into a modern church.

I thought to myself, how is it the apostles did it without diving deep into modern technology? How could they ever start a church? How could they ever build a church? And then I begin to list the workshops. I'm thinking maybe they'll have some workshops that are really good. And here they are. YouTube for Ministries Best Practices. That's not me. Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence in your ministry. And I was sharing with the people on Wednesday night, do you know we have a church filled with artificial people?

And now we're going to bring AI into the church to develop more artificial people. Why would we ever want to do that? But that's what the modern church leader wants to do. And then it says, how to effectively leverage a church management system. How to empower your church in the digital age. Nothing about communicating and preaching the gospel. Nothing about how to communicate and teach the truth of the gospel. Those aren't the workshops. It's all centered around the digital age, modern technology, and how to make sure your church is a modern church to reach everybody through some kind of technology.

And yet I wonder if the word of God is settled in heaven, if the word of God is forever, if heaven and earth will pass away, including modern technology, all artificial intelligence will all pass away, but the word of God stands forever, how is it that the apostles were able to communicate truth and build people according to the truth? You see, if God's word is forever settled, it goes against all cultures. It goes from the beginning of time to the end of time, because it's the eternal word of God.

It spans man's timeframe. And it's relevant no matter what time period you live in, and doesn't need the assistance of modern technology. Again, I was sharing on Wednesday night with the people about that famous series called The Chosen, and how somehow 95% of the series is not even in the Bible. And yet Kirk Cameron comes along and says, listen, if you watch The Chosen, it fills in all the blanks for you, as if the divine mind gave us a Bible with blanks in it. And that somehow a human mind can fill in the blanks of the divine mind.

What on earth are we possibly even thinking that that could possibly be? But you see, what you do is you deny the authority and the sufficiency of scripture by thinking that the show will help you understand the scriptures. You just deny the sufficiency and authority and the validity of the truth of the word of God. You see, we don't even understand we're doing that. But it happens all the time. And so, come the end of October, thousands of pastors will gather together to learn about this digital age, and how they can reach and communicate with people in an age of technology, not realizing that God gave them all the tools they needed by putting it in a book for them to open and to read and to teach and to preach.

That's it. Don't you think that if there was another way to do it, that God would give us another way. But you'll notice what the Lord says.

Paul writes the pastoral epistles. They're epistles given to pastors to know how to pastor churches. And this is what he says. Verse 6, 1 Timothy 4. In pointing out these things, what things? The things I've just said to you, if you point them out to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of sound doctrine, which you have been following. If you want to be an excellent servant, not a modern church leader, but if you want to be an excellent servant for Jesus Christ, our Lord, you remind them, Timothy, of these things that I just taught you.

And then he says in verse 11, prescribe and teach these things. Verse 13, until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. Until I come, Timothy, this is what you need to do. Now, that was written 2,000 years ago. Okay? If it was good enough 2,000 years ago, because it's the eternal, fixed, forever settled word in heaven, it's good 2,000 years later to preach the word, to instruct in the word, to exhort in the word. That's what we do, because that's what the Bible says.

We just do what the Bible says. It's not rocket science. You just do what the Bible says. And then he says, verse 16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. He says this, verse 17 of chapter 5, the elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. And then he says in verse 20 of chapter 6, oh, Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge.

And then he says in 2 Timothy chapter 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. He goes on to say in chapter 2, remind them again of these things. Verse 15, be diligent to present yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Don't be an ashamed workman. Cut it straight.

Handle the word of God correctly. Then you'll be an approved workman and you won't be ashamed. And then he says in verse number 15 of chapter 3 of 2 Timothy, he tells Timothy, from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Timothy, from early childhood from brifos, a word used of a child in the womb. From early childhood you have known the sacred writings which are given in order to save you, Timothy.

The word of God is given to save you. You've known them. He goes on to say these words, all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate equipped for every good work. In other words, whatever you need is right here in the word of God. It's the truth of the living God that moves you from place to place, that teaches you what you need to know to live for the glory of God. So Paul says, I know that when the word of God came to you it came to you in power because Paul knows about the eternal word of God.

He knows about the forever settled word in heaven. He knows that it's an eternal word. In fact, he knows what Jesus said about the word. Listen to the words of Jesus. Jesus said these words, He said, In other words, the words I'm speaking to you are life. In other words, there's only one book that gives life. It's the word of God. There is no other book that gives life. Just God's word does. And so he says these words in John 6. And then he says this in John 14. Excuse me, John 12. He says, Christ says, I did not come and speak on my own initiative.

When I came, I came to speak only what my father commanded me to say. Because you see, he is affirming the eternal forever settled firm word in heaven. He is affirming the eternal word of the living God. I'm only going to speak what my father commands me to speak. So he says this in verse number 50. Listen, if only Jesus is going to speak only the things his father tells him to speak, then why should anybody or any preacher say something other than what God has already said? The answer is he shouldn't.

He has nothing else to say except what God says. Because of the authoritative, all-sufficient, infallible, inspired word of the living God, which is the eternal word fixed and settled in heaven forever. In fact, in Deuteronomy chapter 30, Moses, and you know the book of Deuteronomy is the most Old Testament quoted book in the New Testament. It's quoted over 80 times in the New Testament. It's the book that Jesus quoted more than any other book, the book of Deuteronomy. And so, he says in verse number 50 of chapter 30, I've given you two options, life or death.

Prosperity or adversity. What would you choose? Would you choose life or death? Would you choose prosperity or adversity? He says, I've put these things before you today. He says, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply. And that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish.

You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today. And I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice and holding fast to Him. For this is your life and the length of your days that you may live. The only way to live is according to this book. The only way to have life only comes through this book.

It comes no other way. In fact, he goes on to say in chapter 32 of Deuteronomy, these words, he says, These are all empty words. This is your life. Without it, you will perish. Paul knows that. So Paul says, When I came to you, I came to you with the power of the Word of God and full conviction of the Spirit of God. He knew that once he opened the Word of God, God's Spirit was at work. He knew that. Do we know that? Do we understand that? Do we grasp the magnitude of that? My friends, this is huge.

This is so big. It is so huge that I'm afraid that we have glossed over it or minimized it so that we don't understand the effects of the gospel. For instance, we know that God's Word is powerful enough to crush the soul of a man. We know that because the Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 23 that God's Word, verse 29, is like a fire and like a hammer that crushes the soul.

God's Word does that. So what do you do if you're married to a man who's hard-hearted? Or you're raising children that have hard hearts, calloused souls. How do you break up a hard heart? Well, you can't argue them into the kingdom. Your words aren't going to convince them of anything. So what do you do? You just read and teach the truth of the living God. That's all you do. You live it out. You speak it. You teach it. You quote it. Why? Because it's the only thing that can shatter a heart that's hardened.

God's Word does that. It breaks it up. If it crushes the soul, then it will convict the soul. It will convict it. Convict it of its sin. Remember over in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul says these words to the church of Corinth. He says, Verse 23. Will they not say to you that you are mad? But if you all prophesy, in other words, speak forth the truth, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

If you just speak forth the truth, if you just tell them the truth, if you just teach the truth, the man will know that what you're saying is from God. He'll be convicted. Those things on the inside will be disclosed. He'll fall on his face before God and trust in Him for his salvation. You see, God's word is powerful enough to crush the soul. It's powerful enough to convict the soul. If it's powerful enough to convict the soul, it's powerful enough to convert the soul. How were we born again? James 1, 17 and 18.

By the word of truth. 1 Peter 1, 22 and 23. By the imperishable seed. Romans 10, verse number 17. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing concerning the word about the Christ. Psalm 19, verse number 7 says what? Says that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. See, Paul knows that. Paul knows that when he comes in the power of the word, that it will crush the hardened heart. It will crush that soul. It will convict that soul. It will convert that soul and then in that whole process, it cleanses that soul.

Titus chapter 3, verse number 5. It's by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the spirit of God. John 15, verse number 3. You've been made clean through the word which I've spoken unto you. The Bible says Ephesians 5, verse number 26.

God's word does that. Nothing else can do that. When your soul is dirty, it needs to be cleansed. Only God's word does that. That's it. A soul that's not saved needs to be converted. Only God's word does that. We live in a world of dead people. Dead people need life. God's word is eternal life. So we give them life-giving words. Words that are not empty. Words that are not filled with anything else other than the truth. We give them the truth. That they will grow in their walk with the Lord and understand who the Lord is.

That's what we do. So important. It crushes the soul and it converts the soul because it convicts the soul and cleanses the soul. It will be that one element that comforts the soul. What comforts the troubled soul? What comforts the beleaguered soul? What comforts the terrified soul? The anxious soul. Psalm 94, 19. When my anxious thoughts well up within me, thy consolations delight my soul. Psalm 119, verse number 50. This is my comfort in my affliction that your word has revived me. Verse 52. I remembered your ordinances from of old, O Lord, and comfort myself.

I go back and remember your ordinances and this is how I am comforted. Romans 15, verse number 4 says the same thing. Verse number 76 of Psalm 119 says, O may your loving kindnesses comfort me according to your word to your servant. See, Paul knows all that. So what does he do? He comes and goes to the synagogue. According to Acts 17, he reasons with them for three Sabbaths. For what? The truth. He tells them the truth about who the Messiah is. What he came to do. Because they needed to know that.

And then he would begin to instruct them and teach them. And listen to what he says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. We're a long way from there yet, but it says this. It says, In other words, I've shared this with you before, I'll share it with you again. It's a word that means to put out the welcome mat. I've kept this welcome mat underneath my pew for 20 years. Somebody gave me this 20 years ago. I've kept it under my pew all this time. Because you see, if I don't welcome and receive the word of God into my heart before I stand up to preach, how can I expect you to receive it and welcome it into your heart?

And so, it's a word that means to lay out the welcome mat. Paul says, You rolled out the red carpet and said, whatever the word of the Lord says, that's what we're going to do. And you know what? It powerfully worked in you who believe. So it goes back and uses that word power again. Why? Because that's what God's word does. It powerfully works in those who... it doesn't work in those who don't believe, but it does work in those who do believe. Because those whom He chooses, He changes. We told you that last week, right?

If God chooses you, He changes you. And He does it through the power of His word. As you read it, as you study it, as you're instructed by it. And as long as you're putting out the welcome mat to the word of God, you're saying, Lord, teach me. Change me. Instruct me. Show me my error. Help me to live a righteous and holy life. Help me to understand you, that I might serve you all the more. That I might be the man or the woman you want me to be. That's what we're supposed to be doing. See? That's what made the model church a model church.

That's what made them the prime example. See, God's word is purposeful. God's word is powerful. God's word is preennial. God's word is preeminent. God's word is everything. It is far above everything else you can even imagine. Because it lasts forever. It is the eternal word of the living God. And as children of God, we should always be putting out the welcome mat to the truth. Because we know, as children of God, it will work in our hearts like nothing else will. Listen, you can't convince anybody of anything.

You just can't. How do we know that? Well, when Peter said, Christ said to him, You didn't come up with that on your own. No man told you that. But my Father who is in heaven, He revealed that to you. How could Peter make that great confession? Simply because God was working in his heart. And therefore, that truth took up root in order for him to make that great confession about the identity of the Messiah. My prayer for you and for me is that we would just roll out the red carpet to the truth of God's word.

In fact, get your own welcome mat. I got mine. Get yours. Bring it with you next week. And put it down in front of your pew and say, I'm ready to receive whatever God has for me today. I'm going to welcome it. It might go against what I think, what I've always thought. It might go against the grain of my emotions. But you know what? If God says it, it's the eternal, fixed, forever word of the living God that will never pass away.

That means it's absolute truth. If it's absolute truth, it's life for my soul and I want to live. Let's pray. Father, thank you for today. The opportunity you give us to spend time in your word. And our prayer, Father, is that Lord, we would put out the welcome mat for the truth. And that we would welcome it with open arms, soft hearts, ready ears to listen to everything you have to say. That we might follow in your obedience until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.