The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Scripture, Part 1

Let's pray together. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to study the Word of God. Thank you that you have allowed us to have it been preserved all these years, that we might know our great God and Savior.

And tonight as we take time out of the middle of our week to examine the Word of God, I pray that our eyes would be enlightened, our heart would be opened, our ears would be receptive to the things we hear, that Lord we leave this place more excited about your Word than ever before, because it truly is the Word of God. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Tonight we are going to embark on probably one of the most fascinating, one of the most invigorating, one of the most stimulating studies in the scriptures, because it's about the scriptures. It's about what God has to say concerning His Word. It's a study of Psalm 119.

It's going to take us a number of weeks to get through it, but it's going to enlighten us as to the thoughts of God about Himself through His Word. And it's going to help us understand the treasure and the value God places on His Word. And I'm hoping that as we are able to study Psalm 119, we come to grips with the sufficiency and the supremacy of the Word of God.

That's my prayer. As we understand what God's Word says on God's Word, then the sufficiency of that Word and the supremacy of that Word should begin to rise in our hearts and minds. And I pray that that would be the case.

We understand that in the Bible it says, "...to this man will I look, to him who is broken and of a contrite heart and who trembles at my word." That's Isaiah 66, verse number 2. Isaiah 66, verse number 5 says, "...those of you who hear the word, or hear the word, O Lord, those of you who tremble at it." In other words, God wants us to tremble at His Word. He wants us to shake uncontrollably under the authority of His Word. In fact, I would pray that our time together would be more than just another study on the Word of God, but it would be an opportunity for us to shake and to shudder under the authority of the Word of God.

Why? Because that's the people God delights in. I mean, wouldn't it be good to know what makes God delighted? Well, the Bible tells you. Those who have a broken heart, those who have a contrite heart, and those who tremble at the Word of God are the ones God says, I delight in.

I delight in that person. God says, I want to be around that kind of person because that kind of person is going to make the greatest impact for my kingdom. They're going to best represent me.

And so we want to be able to understand the sufficiency and the supremacy of the Word of God. And so before we get actually into Psalm 119 verse number 1, we're going to take a couple of weeks to get us into it because we need to be able to shake and tremble and shudder at God's authority in our lives. And I'm going to do that in one of four ways.

One, I'm going to help you understand how God's Word is purposeful and powerful. And then I'm going to help you understand how God's Word is personal and penetrating. And then I'm going to help you understand how God's Word is precious and pleasing.

And then I'm going to help you understand how God's Word is praiseworthy and perennial. God's Word, number one, of course, is purposeful and powerful based on Isaiah chapter 55 when it says this, verse number 10, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be which goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

In other words, God's Word has a purpose. And because it has a purpose, it will be fulfilled because God's Word is powerful. So we will study the fact that God's Word is purposeful and God's Word is powerful to help you come to grips with the supremacy as well as the sufficiency of the Word of God.

And then we're going to help you see how God's Word is personal and penetrating. Hebrews chapter 4, verse number 12, says this, for the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

So God's Word now we see is personal as well as penetrating. God's Word is directly for you and for me, and it cuts to the deepest part of a man. It exposes the nature of a man.

It exposes the heart of a man. It exposes the soul of a man because God says, now everything is open and laid bare before me. So God's Word is purposeful and powerful.

It's personal and penetrating. Number three, it's precious and it's pleasing. Psalm 19, speaking of the Word of God, it says that God's Word is more desirable than gold.

Yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. God's Word is precious and God's Word is pleasing. It's the most valuable thing on earth.

We will see in our study of Psalm 119 that the Word of God is more valuable than all the riches and all the treasures of the world. And because it is precious, it is absolutely pleasing to the soul. And then we'll see where God's Word is praiseworthy and God's Word is perennial.

Because Psalm 138, verse number two says, thy word, O Lord, is magnified even as thy very name. In other words, God's Word is so high and so lofty, it's because God's Word is God's Word. In other words, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father because of His authority.

His Word is as authoritative as He is. Therefore, it's praiseworthy. Therefore, it's something we should thank Him for.

That's where we're going to go. But we must understand that as we look into the Word of God, it tells us that God delights in the man who trembles at His Word. A number of years ago, I did a series entitled Trembling at God's Word.

If you haven't received that series yet, you need to get that and listen to it. Because in there we give you eight principles that help you understand why it is you tremble at the authority of God's Word. Simply put, we tremble at the authority of God's Word because it reveals God's identity.

It reveals His identity. Whenever you read about people in the Bible who came to grips with Jesus Christ and His identity, they would shake and they would tremble before Him because they realized His holiness and they could see only their sinfulness and they realized how far short they fell from God and they were absolutely fearful. John fell like a dead man when he came face to face with the living Christ in Revelation chapter 1. And John had had that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ throughout those three years of ministry while he was on the earth.

But when he saw the living God face to face in all of His glory and all of His splendor, he began to shake uncontrollably and fall at His feet like a dead man. Folks, that's what happens when you understand the authority of God's Word because it reveals God's identity. What did Christ say over in the book of John, the fifth chapter, the 39th verse? You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is these that bear witness of me and you are unwilling to come to me that you may have life.

You see, the Scriptures are about me, Christ says. They reveal my identity. That's why I like the book of Revelation so much because it's the unveiling, the unmasking of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The book of Revelation tells us more about the identity of Christ than any other one book in the Bible. Now, it's all about the revelation of Christ, but the book of Revelation specifically focuses in on who Jesus Christ truly is. By the way, that's why you think it's so hard to understand.

It's because Satan doesn't want you to read the book of Revelation because you come face to face with Jesus Christ, recognizing his identity, and you'll worship him like he needs to be worshiped. So people say, well, the book of Revelation, all those symbols, all those things that are happening, it's too hard for me to understand. I don't understand it, so I'm not going to read it.

Satan says, that's good. I'm glad. But that's the first book you ought to read.

The last one is the first one you ought to read. It's the one you ought to master because it's about the master of the universe, Jesus Christ our Lord. So the word of God is so powerful and so great that men tremble under its authority by because it reveals his identity.

Number two, it's because it radiates God's majesty. It radiates God's majesty. Remember, our Lord became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.

The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In Matthew chapter 17, when our Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration, he unzipped his flesh, and Peter, James, and John were able to see Christ in all of his glory. And Peter said in 2 Peter chapter 1, we have a more sure prophetic word.

We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. We saw him in all of his glory on that mount. Yet we have a more sure prophetic word.

That is, the revealed word of God is the most sure thing you could ever hold because in it describes for us the greatness of his majesty. So God's word is trembled at because it reveals God's identity, and it radiates God's majesty. Number three, because it reiterates God's authority.

It reiterates God's authority. Over 2,000 times in the Old Testament, it tells us, thus saith the Lord, or the Lord God has said. It reiterates the authority of God.

Christ said in Matthew 28, all authority has been given unto me both in heaven and on earth. It's all about the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 3, 2 tell us that these words are the oracles of God.

2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 tell us that this is the God-breathed word that's profitable for all things so that whatever a man needs in his life, God provides it through his word. So God's word is that which reiterates his authority. Number four, it reflects God's purity.

It reflects God's purity. Proverbs 30 tells us that every word of God is pure. Psalm 19, 8 says that the commandments of the Lord are pure.

This is the scriptures that reflect to us the purity of God, the holiness of God, the majesty of God. Number six, or number five, the word of God is trembled at because it resolves God's mystery. It resolves God's mystery.

Over in 1 Timothy 3, 16, it resolves the mystery of God in Christ. In Colossians 1, 26, it resolves the mystery of the incarnation. In 1 Corinthians 15, 51, it resolves the mystery of the rapture of the church.

In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 19 and 20, it resolves for us the identity of the church. And over in Ephesians chapter 5, it resolves for us the bride, which is the church. You see, God's word resolves all mystery.

And therefore, man begins to tremble at the authority of God and His holy word. Number seven, it reinforces, I'm sorry, I'm on number six. I'm way ahead of myself.

See, I'm so excited about what I have to say, I just can't even contain it all. I keep jumping ahead. It recounts God's mercy.

It recounts God's mercy. Over in Titus chapter 3, verse number five, we are saved according to His mercy. Over in Ephesians chapter 2, verse number four, it's God who is rich in mercy.

It's because of His mercies that we are not consumed. And so the reason man trembles at the authority of God's holy word is because it recounts over and over again the mercy of God. And when I realize what it is I deserve, and God doesn't give it to me, instead He grants me mercy.

I shake uncontrollably under His divine authority. Then, number seven, it reinforces God's sovereignty. It reinforces God's sovereignty.

Psalm 99, verse number one, the Lord reigns, let the people tremble. Psalm 115, verse number three, our Lord is in heaven and He does whatever He pleases. It's all about the sovereignty of God and God's word is that which reinforces His sovereignty.

Number eight, it records man's destiny. The reason we tremble uncontrollably under the authority of God's word is because it records for us man's ultimate destiny. Listen to what the Bible says in John chapter 12, verse number 48.

He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him. The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. God's word records man's destiny.

Over in 2 Thessalonians chapter one, it tells us that when the Lord Jesus Christ appears, revealed from heaven with His mighty angels and flaming fire, verse number eight, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified. You see, it records man's destiny over that very familiar verse in John chapter three, verse number 36.

It says these words, he who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son should not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him forever. You see, that's why you shake and tremble at the authority of God's holy word. It's because of those things.

And you know, the Bible says very clearly over in John chapter six, let me read it to you. John chapter six, these words, verse number 63, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I've spoken to you are spirit and are life.

But there are some of you who do not believe. God says that the words I speak to you are spirit and are life. That is, they are life-giving.

That is, they give to you the kind of life that you so desperately need to have. These are the words that I give to you. I give to you eternal life.

I give to you the quality of life that you need to have because these are my words. So when you receive my words, you receive me. And when you receive me, you receive my life.

And when you have my life, you have real quality of life. And that's what Christ is saying. He said, but some of you don't believe.

Some of you don't believe. Of course, Judas was one who did not believe. And many disciples would leave Christ at that time.

And Christ asked Peter, are you guys going to go away too? And Peter would go on to say in John six, Lord, where are we going to go? You have the words of eternal life. Think about that. Where else are we going to go, Lord? You have life-giving words.

Nobody else has that. And you see, that's the essence of of the sufficiency and supremacy of scripture, because it is the word of God. It gives life to man.

That's why Moses recorded these words in Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse number 45. When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law, for it's not an idle word for you. Indeed, it is your life.

These words are your life. These words you can't live without. These words you need to obey.

These words you need to follow. These words you need to memorize. These words you need to understand are the only thing you need when you cross over into the promised land.

Now, folks, I believe wholeheartedly in the sufficiency and the supremacy of scripture. Unfortunately, most men who have the same job that I do don't believe that. You think, well, why would that be? Why would they be a pastor if they didn't believe that? Oh, let me tell you.

Let me tell you. Let me tell you what one man said. Let me read to you what he said.

Listen carefully. As he speaks, he is speaking against expository preaching. You see, the reason I preach expository in this verse by verse of the text is because I believe that all the words of God give life.

And all of God's word pertains to life. And everything that God says has value for your life, not just certain things that God says. Everything he says.

But listen to what this preacher said 80 years ago. 80 years ago. It's almost as if it was written yesterday.

He says this. Within a paragraph or two after a sermon has started, wide areas of any congregation ought to begin recognizing that the preacher is tackling something of vital concern to them. And if any preacher is not doing this, even though he have at his disposal, both erudition and oratory, he is not functioning at all.

Many preachers, for example, indulge habitually in what they call expository sermons. They take a passage from Scripture and proceeding on the assumption that the people attending church that morning are deeply concerned about what the passage means. They spend their half hour or more on historical exposition of the verse or chapter, ending with some appended practical application to the auditors.

Could any procedure be more surely predestined to dullness and futility? Who more surely predestined, I mean, excuse me, who seriously supposes that as a matter of fact, one in a hundred of the congregation cares to start with what Moses, Isaiah, Paul, or John meant in those special verses? Or came to church deeply concerned about it? Nobody who talks to the public so assumes that the vital interests of the people are located in the meaning of words spoken 2,000 years ago. Preachers who pick out texts from the Bible and then proceed to give their historic settings, their logical meaning in the context, their place in the theology of the writer with a few practical reflections appended are grossly misusing the Bible." End quote. Now you think about that.

That leads to this, same author, same writer, same so-called preacher. This man, this man is one who believes that scripture should be used only for illustrative purposes. He says, the modern preacher should clearly visualize some real need, perplexity, sin, or desire in his auditors and then should throw on the problem all the light he can find in the scripture or anywhere else.

No matter what one's theory about the Bible is, this is the effective approach to preaching. The Bible is a searchlight, not so much intended to be looked at as to be thrown upon a shadow spot. There is nothing that people are so interested in as themselves, their own problems, and the way to solve them.

That fact is basic. No preaching that neglects it can raise a ripple on a congregation. In other words, he says, the reason you preach is because people have sin and people have problems and you need to figure out what those problems are, figure out what those needs are.

In other words, figure out what those felt needs are in your congregation and then talk about those issues. Don't engage in expository preaching. Now folks, this is more common than you'll ever imagine, and I will read them, read some more quotes to you in a moment, as to modern day preachers and what they say concerning biblical exposition and presenting God to people.

So I'm going to tell you once again that most people in my position do not believe in the sufficiency and the supremacy of scripture, sad to say. Very few do, but I do. I believe that God's word is authoritative.

I believe that God's word is true. And I believe that what God said about his word is true. And I believe that God's word is effective.

I believe it's purposeful and I believe it's powerful. And let me give you seven reasons as to why I believe that God's word is purposeful and God's word is absolutely powerful. Okay, here it goes.

Oh, by the way, now we're beginning your outline, just in case you wanted to know. God's word is purposeful. God's word is powerful based on Isaiah 55 verses 10 and 11.

It's purposeful. It's powerful enough to crush the soul, to crush the soul. Jeremiah chapter 29, verse number, I'm sorry, chapter 23, verse number 29 says, is not my word like fire declares the Lord and like a hammer, which shatters a rock.

God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to crush the heart and soul of a man. God's word alone is that which does so over in Hosea chapter six, verse number five, our Lord says these words, what shall I do? Verse number four with you, Oh, Ephraim. And what shall I do with you? Oh, Judah, for your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like to do which goes away early.

Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth. It's my word that slays a man.

When our Lord returns in revelation 19, he has a sword that comes out of his mouth and that sword is the word of God. And that word is that which is going to slay man because it's God's word that crushes the heart. It's God's word that crushes the soul.

It's like a hammer that shatters a rock. God's word is purposeful and God's word is so powerful that when you read it and when you preach it and when you memorize it, it wrecks your soul. I believe that.

I firmly believe that with all of my heart. I wonder if you believe that. It's seen in how much you read your Bible.

It's seen in how much you study your Bible. It's seen in how much you talk about your Bible with other people. Because God's word alone is that which crushes the soul of a man.

The Bible tells us over in 2nd Timothy chapter 3, very familiar verses, all scriptures inspired by God, profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. See God's word is so profitable that it's used for reproof. It reproves a man.

It confronts a man. It crushes a man. It tells them exactly where he stands.

That's why Paul at 2nd Timothy preached the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering. Why? Because when you preach the word, that's what God's word does. It rebukes the soul.

It reproves the soul. It confronts the soul concerning its condition and like a hammer it just destroys the soul of a man. It crushes it.

It's like fire. It burns away the chaff. It's like a hammer.

It crushes the hardness that seems to well up inside. Only God's word can do that. That's why Paul would say in 2nd Corinthians 3.18 that when we with an unveiled face look into the law of liberty, the word of God as in a mirror, we are being changed from one level of glory to the next level of glory by the spirit of God because God's spirit uses his word.

And when you read the word of God and study the word of God, the spirit of God begins to work on your heart and things begin to change in your life. Folks, this is so important. God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to crush the soul.

And once it crushes the soul, number two, it's purposeful and powerful enough to convict the soul. That's number two. To convict the soul.

Remember John 17, verse number 17, Christ said sanctify them in truth. My word is truth. Remember that? It's God's word that's truth.

And in John 16, Christ said that he was going to send another comforter and that comforter would be the spirit of truth. And the spirit of truth works in conjunction with the word of God, which is truth. And the spirit of God is given to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

It convicts the man. The spirit of God uses the truth of God to convict the heart of a man of a sin. So in other words, if God's word is not opened and God's word is not preached, there's no conviction in the church.

There might be a lot of emotion in the church, but there's no conviction in the church. That's why the Bible says these words over in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says in verse number 22, so then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers.

But prophecy, that is a spoken word, is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speak in tongues and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy 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. How is it the unbeliever is going to know that God is among his people? It's when God's word is spoken. Because when a man walks into the assembly and the word of God is spoken, the spirit of God, who is the spirit of truth, takes the word of truth and causes it to work in the heart of a man or the heart of a woman.

And it crushes that soul, and it convicts that soul of the sin that's there. And when that man's convicted, what does he do? He falls down on his face before God and begins to worship the one true God. Folks, that's what it's about.

And that's why there are so few people knowing anything at all about worship, because there's been no conviction. And the reason there's been no conviction is because the word of God hasn't been given, and if the word of God hasn't been given, there is no crushing of the soul. That's why it's important to preach the word, to make sure God's word is spoken so that people understand the truth of God.

God's word is purposeful. God's word is powerful. To crush the soul, to convict the soul, and number three, to convert the soul.

There's been no crushing. There's been no conviction. Been no conviction, there'll be no conversion.

But God's word alone is that which does it. It's not the orator. It's not the communicator.

The communicator must preach the word, but it's the word of God that does the work, because God's word is purposeful and powerful. How do we know that? Psalm 19, verse number seven, says the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. God's word is perfect.

It's that which converts the soul. First Peter, chapter one, verse number 23, for you have been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and abiding word of God, for all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever, and this is the word which was preached to you. It's the living and abiding word of God that converts a man. Listen to what James says.

James chapter one, verse number 18. James says this. In the exercise of his will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the firstfruits among his creatures.

How was it we were born again? How was it we were brought forth unto God? It's by the word of truth. Over in second Timothy three, verse number 15, Paul talks about the word of God, the scriptures that make you wise unto salvation. Over in Romans 10, verse number 17, says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Bible says over in Romans chapter one, verse number 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of God, for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. It's God's word that's powerful. It's God's word that's purposeful.

It's when God sends forth his word, it always accomplishes the purposes that God wants it to accomplish, because it is powerful. It's powerful enough to convert the soul. Listen to what John said in John chapter five, verse number 24.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life. He who hears my word, and believes in me, is the one who passes out of judgment into life. But it's the word of God that converts the soul.

Remember Lydia in Acts chapter 16, when the word of God was opened, it says that when the word of God was opened, and the word of God was preached, that Lydia gave her soul to Christ, because it was the word of God that converted her soul, Acts 16, verses 14 and following. It's God's word that does that. So important.

Listen to what one man said to his pastor. He said, pastor, I've learned one thing in all my years of ministry, and it's this. You can't just get up there and give people the gospel.

You've got to give them a platform. You've got to have people's respect. If I can become famous and use my status as a star to give people the gospel, just imagine how powerful the message would be.

Now think about what the man said. He just said that God's word has no power. My star status does have power, but God's word has no power.

And somehow I must infuse God's word with credibility. I must give it some kind of go-juice. I must give it some kind of power to make it work for the audience to grasp.

I got to have a platform, and I got to demonstrate myself. So what do you do with Romans 1, 16, where the word of God is that which is powerful? Paul said, that's why I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation.

What did the early church do? The Bible says in Acts 17 that the early church turned the world upside down. They had no mass media. They had no PowerPoint.

They had no music. They had none of the psychological techniques that we have today. How did the early church turn the world upside down? They just preached the word.

That's all they did. Is it any wonder that America is not turning anybody upside down? Because we don't preach the word anymore. We do everything else, but we don't preach the word hardly at all anymore.

There's coming a time where those who believe in the supremacy and sufficiency of scripture will no longer exist in the church, or they'll be very few and far between. J. I. Packer wrote these words years ago concerning that situation. He says, the outside observer sees us as staggering on from gimmick to gimmick and stunt to stunt like so many drunks in a fog, not knowing at all where we are or which way we should be going.

Preaching is hazy. Heads are muddled. Hearts fret.

Doubts drain strength. Uncertainty paralyzes action. Unlike the first Christians who in three centuries won the Roman world and those later Christians who pioneered the Reformation and the Puritan awakening and the evangelical revival and the great missionary movement of last century, we lack certainty.

He's right. We're just not so certain that God's word's enough. We're just not so certain that God's word's purposeful or powerful.

We just don't know if that's the case anymore. And thus we have become impotent in our churches at reaching people with the truth of the gospel. One pastor, I won't mention him by name, but he preaches in a glass church.

Listen to what he said. He, Robert Schuller, is basically the background behind the seeker church movement. His greatest disciple was Bill Hybels in the Willow Creek Church.

Listen to what he says. For the church to address the unchurched with a theocentric attitude is to invite failure and mission. The non-church to have no vital belief in a relationship with God will spurn, reject, or simply ignore the theologian, church spokesperson, preacher, or missionary who approaches with Bible in hand, theology on the brain and the lips, and expects non-religious persons to suspend their doubts and swallow the theocentric assertions as fact.

The unconverted will, I submit, take notice when I demonstrate genuine concern about their needs and honestly care about their human hurts. For decades now we have watched the church in Western Europe and in America decline in power, membership, and influence. And I believe that this decline is the result of our placing theocentric communications above the meeting of the deeper emotional and spiritual needs of humanity.

In other words, Mr. Schuller is saying, when you go talk to people about the gospel, you can't talk to them about the God of the gospel. They'll spurn you. They'll reject you.

In fact, this is what he says. He says, the basic defect in modern Christianity is the failure to proclaim the gospel in a way that can satisfy every person's deepest need. And that deepest need of every person is one's spiritual hunger for glory.

That's his whole thesis. So in other words, it's not about God and his glory, it's about man and his glory. Whatever the man needs, that's what we give him.

And scores and thousands of people go to that church and watch him on TV every week because that's what the people want. It's not what they need, it's what they want. And after all, isn't the church about giving people what they want? No, it's not.

And yet, listen to what one author said, Walter Chantry, in his book, Today's Gospel, Authentic or Synthetic. He says, much of modern preaching is anemic with the lifeblood of God's nature absent from the message. Evangelists center their message upon man.

Man has sinned and missed a great blessing. If man wants to retrieve his imminent loss, he must act thus and so. But the gospel of Christ is very different.

Begins with God and his glory. It tells men that they have offended a holy God, who will by no means pass by sin. It reminds sinners that the only hope of salvation is to be found in the grace and power of this same God.

Christ's gospel sends men to beg pardon of the Holy One. There is a wide difference between these two messages. The one seeks to blaze a trail to heaven for man while ignoring the Lord of glory.

The other labors to magnify the God of all grace in the salvation of men. Folks, there are two kinds of messages being preached. One centered around the supremacy and sufficiency of scripture, and one that doesn't believe in it.

One who believes that God's word is completely enough to convert a soul, to convict a soul, to crush a soul, and one that's not. One that says, I got to do something to make the message attractive. I got to do something to keep the people there, because God's word is not powerful enough to do that.

See, if you believe that God's word was purposeful and powerful, it would be the only thing you preached. And you would preach verse by verse by verse by verse to the text, because people need to have a clear understanding of God. And if you don't do that, you do not believe in the supremacy and the sufficiency of the word of God.

Simple as that. So clear. Because God's word is sufficient enough to save a soul.

It's sufficient enough to do what God says it will accomplish. It will thoroughly equip the man unto every good work. Every man needs to be equipped to do the work of God.

And the only way that happens is through the God-inspired word of God. That's it. And yet somehow we think we got to do things different nowadays.

And yet the Bible says in Acts 2 that God added daily to the church. And the Bible says in Matthew 16 that Christ said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It's God's church.

He will build it, and He builds it through the preaching of His word. That's it. There is no other way.

And there is absolutely nothing else to do but that. And once you begin doing everything else, you have ceased to believe in the supremacy and the sufficiency of Scripture. It's just that simple.

Call me dogmatic. Call me hard-nosed. Call me insensitive.

Call me whatever you want. But I do know this, that God's word is the only thing that crushes a soul. God's word is the only thing that convicts a soul.

And God's word is the only thing that converts a soul. It's not how I package it. It's not how I say it.

It's not how many stories I tell. It's not how I play on your emotions. None of that is going to save your soul.

It is the word of God, because faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So how shall they hear without a preacher? Someone's got to preach it. Someone's got to teach it.

Someone's got to make sure that people know the truth, right? And that's why God's word is so powerful. That's why throughout the text of the pastoral epistles, Paul just keeps beating the same drum over and over and over again. Preach the word.

Give yourself to the reading, to the teaching, to the exhortation of the Scriptures, Timothy. This is what it's about. Don't stray to the left.

Don't stray to the right. Just do this, Timothy. Stay focused on the word of God.

And yet, and yet, there are so many churches who have strayed away from that one mission to preach the truth. And God's word is sufficient to accomplish what God sends it forth to accomplish. So, God's word is powerful enough to confront the soul, or to, excuse me, crush the soul, to convict the soul, to convert the soul, and therefore, to correct the soul.

To correct the soul. 2 Timothy 3, verse number 16, tells us very clearly that God's word is profitable for correction. For correction.

God's word, listen, makes the crooked straight. God's word takes the crooked man and makes him straight. Takes the unrighteous man and makes him righteous.

And only God's word can do that. Only God's word can do that. That's it.

Nothing else. Now, we can try to bend back that which is crooked, but it didn't work when we do it. But it works when God does it.

And how does God do it? He does it through His word. He does it through His word. Let me ask you this.

Do you believe, do you believe that when your children stray from the truth, that if you read the truth to them, teach them the truth, their lives will change? Do you believe that? I mean, that's the bottom line. Because that's the only way it's going to happen. If you've got a crooked son or a crooked daughter, and you don't give them the word of God, guess what? Never going to be straight.

Never going to be straight. They're always going to be crooked. Because it's the word of God who does it.

And so therefore, we've got to keep giving them the word of God, keep giving them the word of God. Why? Because that's the only thing that matters. What you do and I do isn't going to make it happen.

Listen, I want my kids to walk with God. I really do. I really want my kids to walk with God.

And please hear me out here, because I want my kids to honor the Lord and walk with God. But it's not about how much time I spend with my kids. That is so overrated.

It's about whether or not my kids get the word of God, and that's my job to do that. To give them the word of God, to hold them accountable to a standard so that their lives are correct. Now you've got to spend time with them to do that.

But I could spend a lot of time with my kids doing a lot of different things, and never give them the word, and guess what? They're going to be crooked. Because my spending time with them ain't going to make them straight. Only God's word is going to do that.

See that? See, we think, well, I got to take my kid fishing. I don't fish, but I got to take my kid fishing. I got to take him to the ball game.

I got to take him to the mall. I get my girls to the mall. They got to go shopping.

I got to spend time with them. I got to do all this. But if I never spend time investing God's word in their lives, they're never going to be straight.

They're always going to be crooked. So therefore, the Bible says God's word is inspired. It's God-breathed.

It makes the crooked man straight. The question is, do you believe that enough to sit down and say, look, this is the only thing that's going to get you on the right path. This is it.

What's in the pages of this book, the word of God, is it. That's when you know you believe in the sufficiency and supremacy of the word of God, because you know it's purposeful and you know it's powerful. And when God sends it forth, it never returns to him without accomplishing the purpose for which he sent it forth.

That's God's word. And I believe that. God's word is, oh, I love 1 Thessalonians 2, 13.

Let me read that to you. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse number 13, says this. And for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

It's God's word that performs its work in you who believe. I was sharing with our leadership team on Monday night that somebody come to me and said, you know, I think your sermons need a little bit, have a little bit more application in them. I said, really? They said, yeah, you're not very application oriented.

I said, really? They said, yeah, you got to get some, you got to put some application out there for us. And so I took in the 1 Thessalonians 2, 13. I said, God's word is at work in you who believe.

I don't have to do that work. God's work, God's spirit does that through his word. It's the word of God that does that.

You know, my job is not to give you application. My job is to give you information as to who God is. My job is to identify to you who God is by what his word says and God will do all the work.

If I got to come up with some of this, some kind of application to make it work that I'm adding to the text, I'm trying to make it happen for you. I can't make it happen for you. Either God's working in you or he's not.

But if he's not working in you, maybe you're not saved. I'm not sure you like to hear that very much, but I mean, that's the bottom line, right? I mean, let's just take God's word for what it really says. And let's believe what it says instead of thinking that my job is to somehow make this thing applicable to you so that you'll understand it and then you'll grow.

Folks, that's God's job. It works in you who believe. Paul was very clear.

I preached the word. You accepted it as it is, the word of God. And it effectively works in you who believe.

It does the work. It's God's word that does the work. Because it's powerful enough to correct that which is crooked.

Oh, it's just so good. It also takes off a lot of responsibility upon you. Right? Man, we work hard, man, to make crooked things straight and they ain't happening.

We're pulling our hair out, having sleepless nights, you know, trying to figure out what the problem is. Very simple. It's the word of God that needs to be given.

To make the crooked straight. It's for correction. So a man of God will be thoroughly equipped unto all good deeds.

So God's word is powerful enough to crush the soul, to convict the soul, to convert the soul, to correct the soul, to cleanse the soul, to cleanse the soul. Ephesians chapter 5 verse number 26 reads this way. It says that Christ, in verse 25, loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.

God's word is a cleansing agent. John 15 3 says you have been made clean by the word of the Lord. That's why the psalmist, and we'll say this in great detail in a number of weeks, Psalm 119 verse number 9, how can a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed to the word of God.

That's it. That's it. Thy word I treasure to my heart that I might not sin against thee.

God's word is a cleansing agency, and God's word truly is purposeful and powerful enough to cleanse the soul of a man. God does that. He does it through his word.

So God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to crush the soul, to convict the soul, convert the soul, correct the soul, cleanse the soul, condemn the soul, to condemn the soul. It says over in Proverbs chapter 13, Proverbs chapter 13 verse number 13, these words, the one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. If you despise the word, you'll be judged by it.

You'll be condemned by it. But if you love the word of God and obey the word of God, it will be your great reward. The Bible says over in John 12 48, a verse we had read earlier, these words, very simply, he who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him.

The word I spoke is that which will judge him at the last day. God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to condemn the soul as well. It says over in second Thessalonians chapter two, these words, verse number nine, the one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, speaking of the Antichrist, with all power and signs and false wonders and with all deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

And for this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. See those who do not believe the truth, but take pleasure in wickedness are the ones who have a strong delusion during the tribulational period and will be deceived and take the mark of the beast and will go the way of all condemnation and judgment because they didn't believe what God said in his word. It's God's word that's true.

So you either love the truth or you love wickedness, right? Can't love the truth and wickedness. You either love one or the other. And therefore, the one who loves wickedness shows he doesn't love the truth and that truth then will condemn him because he didn't obey the truth of the gospel.

But one more thing, God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to conquer all sin, to conquer all sin. The Bible says in Romans 8 that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Remember when we say the temptation in Luke chapter 4, the temptation of Christ and how Christ would use scripture to combat Satan and give us the model there with which we are to follow and to honor our Lord so that we can conquer those temptations and those sinful desires in our hearts and lives.

It comes through the word of God. That's why I love what the Bible says over in 1 John chapter 2, verse number 14. I have written unto you fathers because you know him who has been from the beginning.

I have written to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you overcome the evil one. When you are strong, it's because the word of God abides in you. And when the word of God abides in you, you overcome the evil one.

See, God's word is purposeful and powerful enough to combat and to conquer all sin. I firmly believe that. If I didn't believe it, I wouldn't be a preacher.

I'd quit my job and do something else. But I believe in what the word of God says and I believe it's purposeful and it's powerful to do exactly what God has assigned it to do. And really the question comes, do you believe that? I mean, I can believe it all I want and I can preach it all I want, but if you don't believe it, then it's not going to make any difference in your life tonight or tomorrow or the next day.

You've got to believe that God's word is exactly what he said it is and that it will crush the hard heart of a sinner because it's like a hammer. And once it crushes the hard heart of a sinner, it convicts that sinner of a sin. And because it convicts the sinner of a sin, it's that which converts the sinner from sin to a savior.

And that conviction and conversion leads to great correction in one's life. It takes those things that have been bent and crooked and makes them straight and ready for use in the master's house. And those things that have been corrected are also those things that have become cleansed by the word of God because he's the one who cleanses us through his word and helps us conquer every temptation, every sin that comes our way that we might glorify his name.

And yet it also condemns those who do not believe it is true and do not accept what God says about saving grace. And so this is important. I would venture to say that this series on Psalm 119 will be the most important series I've ever preached in my entire life.

I'm almost 50 years old. It's half a hundred. That's getting up there, you know.

And so and yet a series on the word of God is so vital to your spiritual growth, so vital to your personal health, spiritual health, so vital to your life because it is your life. God's word is your life. The question is do you believe that? I trust that you do.

I mean you're here so you must believe something, right? You're here to study the word of God. You know about the series because you're here on Sunday so you know something. And therefore when you begin to apply these things to your life you begin to realize boy God's word is exactly like he said it was.

It's so true, so good, so right, so pure, so holy and therefore he gets the glory. Let's pray. Father we thank you Lord for the opportunity this evening to study God's holy word.

To realize Lord that it is sufficient because it is supreme. It's above all, the greatest of all things because it is your word and it does to me what nothing else can do, nothing else. And Lord I thank you that you've allowed me to be a preacher.

You've allowed me to be a preacher with these people and you've entrusted me with the opportunity to give forth this word and I pray that I'd be a good steward of the word of God and that Lord I would not stray to the left nor to the right about preaching the word of God. It be the word and only the word of God so that the word of God when it goes forth and takes up residence in the heart of men and women, boys and girls, it does exactly what you said it will do. And for that Lord we rest in your finished work and trust that you'll accomplish even greater things in Jesus name, amen.