["In the Hall of the Mountain King"]
If you're planning on coming, please be sure to sign up on the voting board in the back near the water cooler.
If you get the Sierra Vista small town zoning trip coming up near the end of this month, I'll have a detailed itinerary about that.
And also in the back, you have the legally liable memory passage, which will go to young people to memorize.
And the announcement below that, the FWC mega conference, this is something that's taking place on the 10th beat.
And basically, Pastor Anderson is going to be doing a road trip of sorts. We'll get more details about that.
He's going to be gone preaching at all these other pastors' churches.
So while he's preaching there, they're going to be up in 10th beat preaching.
So I will be running a shuttle Wednesdays to anybody that wants to go. I'll have a sign-up sheet when that day gets closer.
It'll be a first-come, first-served basis. Probably leave here around five-ish.
Actually, five. I forgot to talk to you here. Five o'clock in the evening, right?
Five. And we'll probably get back sometime around ten-ish.
Usually is when I get back on Wednesdays.
So if that's what you want to do, maybe walk down the aisle.
Plan ahead for these dates.
And then, of course, you've got some other announcements below that.
Let's go over to Psalm 343. Revive us again.
Psalm 343.
Come, come, come, come, come.
For Jesus, who died in his ground, one above.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Hallelujah, amen.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Revive us again.
We praise thee, O God, for thy spirit of life.
Who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Hallelujah, amen.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Revive us again.
All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain.
Who has borne all our sins and has blessed every stain.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Hallelujah, amen.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Revive us again.
Revive us again. Fill each heart with thy love.
Each soul be reaped in bloom with fire from above.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Hallelujah, amen.
Hallelujah, thine in glory. Revive us again.
That was all four, right?
This time we'll pass our offering plate as it goes around.
We'll be able to come read for you so you can follow along with him.
And he reads from Proverbs chapter number 19.
Proverbs chapter number 19.
Proverbs chapter 19.
First one on the bottom reads.
There is a poor that walketh in integrity.
And he that is diverse is lit, is a fool.
Also has a soul, a new technology, and is not good.
And he that hateth basically speaks sin.
A foolishness a man can burn in his way.
And is hard to fight against the poor.
He is lovely to many friends, but the poor are separated from his family.
The false witness shall not be replenished.
He that speaketh lies should not escape.
The fool entreateth the favor of the prince.
And every man of his friends and every other guest.
All the brethren of the poor do hate him.
How much more than his friends go far from him.
He pursued them with words and care of quantity.
He that be hath wisdom and love of his own soul.
He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
The false witness shall not be replenished.
He that speaketh lies shall perish.
The light is not seeming for a fool,
but shalt for a certain set of rule of a princess.
The discretion of the man deferred was angered.
And his glory was not sold under transgression.
The king's grasp is as a roar as a rhyme.
And his favor is as a dew upon grass.
He foolish shines the clamor of his father.
The intentions of a wife are a continual groggy.
Housing riches to his parents and fathers,
and the crude of life, and the whiteness of his orders.
The false witness cast him to the deep sleep.
And that of his soul shall suffer comfort.
He that keepeth compassion, keepeth his own soul.
He that despise the way shall die.
He that payeth upon the poor leaveneth unto the Lord.
How much he hath given to his faith again.
He that chaste thy son while there was hope.
And that of his soul is a very rich crime.
He that great rash shall suffer function.
For if thou didst live with him, then thou must do it again.
Your counsel will receive instruction.
For thou mayst be wise, but not a wretch.
There are many devices in a man's heart.
Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
The desire of man is his kindness.
A poor man is very reliable.
Fear the Lord's end of his life.
For he that hath, and shall of life, satisfied.
He shall not be dizzy with me.
His thoughtful man hides his hand in the toilet.
He shall not so much as bring it to the house again.
His mind is torn, and his servant will beware.
And a true one, that understanding,
he who understand knowledge.
He that waste his father, and chaste the way of his mother,
is the son that cause a shame.
And when he approach, cease my son
to hear the destruction that caused him to prepare
for the word of college.
And a god of wind is scorned and judgment.
And a god of the wicked is god of labor.
The others are prepared to scorn,
and to strike some bad fools.
Put it on with a great wrestle.
Thank you Father God for this day.
And we thank you for this service.
We ask that you bless this service.
Because you begin to preach to us.
And help us learn and receive this message tonight.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen, so I want to preach a sermon entitled
Learning for Learning's Sake.
You know it's important that we continue to learn
throughout our lives.
That we never just reach a place in our lives.
We just say, I've learned everything there is
that I need to learn.
I don't need to learn anything else.
I know everything I need to know in order to function.
And to do what I need to do as an adult.
I don't need to learn anything else.
That's a very dangerous place to be in.
Because of the fact that learning is a skill that's developed.
And like any skill, if you don't use it,
if you don't practice it,
if you don't put it into practice,
it's something that's going to wane.
It's something that you're not going to be as good at.
You think about any other skill that you might have.
The other day we went over to the park across from my house
and we had a basketball.
And I used to play basketball a lot as a teenager.
I would be over at the park across from my house
where I was growing up.
We would play just for hours and hours and hours
throughout the summer.
Every day the lights are coming on.
And I had a pretty decent jump shot.
I had a little bit of a hook.
I could do a layup.
We played half court, so I didn't do a whole lot of running.
But it's been a long time since I've shot a basketball.
And we went over there and I decided,
me and my wife, we're going to play a game of pig.
And we didn't get past P, folks.
I mean, neither of us.
These weren't elaborate shots.
I wasn't trying to dunk it or something like that.
It was the same old shots I've always done.
But you know what?
It had been so long, so much time had gone by,
that just that skill of being able to put a ball
through a hoop had escaped me.
Why?
Was it because I never had that shot to begin with?
No, it's because it's not something that I practice.
And in the same way, learning, just the ability to learn
is something that you have to continually exercise
throughout life or you will not be able to continue
to learn as you get older.
And that's a scary thought.
And this is something I think about from time to time,
especially when I run into somebody out soloing.
This always reminds me of this when I'm out soloing.
I'll meet somebody at the door who is very humble even
and very polite, but older.
They've gotten on in years and they're just
set in their ways.
And you can tell that they've gotten to a point in their life
where they just cannot assimilate new information.
They can't receive the gospel because they've
lost the ability to learn and to receive new information.
And it's very sad.
It's very unfortunate because in all likelihood,
it's somebody that could receive or would believe the gospel
if they could receive that information.
But they've gotten to a place in their life
where they've just stopped being able to learn new information.
And this is just a fact.
Neurologists and others, they tell us that as we get older,
our ability to learn and to take in new information
declines just naturally.
That's why it's something that we have to keep exercising.
Because it's a very scary thing, to me at least,
to think about the fact that maybe I'll
be at a certain age where I'm just going through the motions,
where I'm there, I can respond, but I just go
through just an automated response.
You say this to me, my brain already
knows this is what I say back because that's
just what I've always said.
And if somebody tries to introduce any kind of new data,
try to put in, have any input, any new input into my brain,
that's just going to, ah, nothing's going to come back.
I'm not going to be able to even understand.
I'm just going to get that blank stare that they get.
And if we've been around, we've probably known people like this.
And it's unfortunate.
And what's happened is that person
has lost the ability to learn.
So what's so important about learning?
What is it so important about being educated and learning
new things?
Well, it's important to learn just for the sake of learning,
just so that your mind doesn't turn to mush in your old age.
That's something that you have to keep practicing
throughout your life.
I mean, look there in verse 20, it says,
hear counsel and receive instruction.
What's he saying, receive instruction?
He's saying, receive learning, learn.
You should be able to take in instructions.
Why?
That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
There's a couple of ways you can interpret that.
One, you should receive instruction
that's going to preserve you throughout life,
certain instruction that's going to help
you to live to an old age.
But also, if you learn to receive instruction
throughout your life, when you get into your latter end,
it's going to be what?
It's going to be wise.
You'll still be able to receive information.
You'll still be sharp.
I mean, have you ever known anybody
who's well into their 80s, 90s, who
is still just sharp as a tack?
Not everyone gets that.
That doesn't just happen to everybody.
And typically, if you talk to those people,
you'll find out that there are people that,
throughout their life, learned, did problem solving,
exercised their cognitive functions.
They didn't just turn into a couch potato at some point.
They didn't just graduate high school
and then just play video games the rest of their life.
They actually endeavored to do things with their mind.
They actually pursued careers that challenged them.
Even later in life, they were still problem solving.
They were still doing things that kept them that way.
And this is important, because today, we're
living in such a society that just wants
to be entertained all the time, just constant entertainment,
just constantly not having a screen,
whether it's on a television or a laptop or on your smartphone.
They just want to be constantly entertained
and have some screen do all the thinking for you.
We need to not forget the importance of learning,
of trying to take in new information through books,
old-fashioned books, pick up a book and read it.
There's lots of different ways we can learn different things.
Reading is a great way to keep yourself sharp
and to not just let other people do all your thinking for you.
It says in verse 8 there, Proverbs 19, verse 8.
And we're going to be in Proverbs,
because Proverbs talks about this at length,
just the value of wisdom, the value of instruction,
the necessity of knowledge.
It talks about these things.
We need to get this through our heads
and understand that we need to learn for learning's sake in our life.
It says in verse 8,
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul.
If you pursue knowledge, if you pursue wisdom,
if you get wisdom, you're loving your own soul.
You're being good to your own self.
The older you is going to thank you down the road.
That's something I think about often is
what is the Corbin from a year from now,
a decade from now, going to think of the Corbin of today.
A lot of times I'll just start doing things
that I don't really want to do in the moment,
but I think, you know what?
The Corbin of next year, the Corbin of two years, five years,
the Corbin of down the road
is going to thank the Corbin of today
for doing what he doesn't want to do.
And that's a big reason why people just kind of forsake learning.
Once they kind of get out of school,
where they've got their career going,
they can just put it in cruise control
and just forget about learning.
Why? Because that takes effort.
It's hard work.
Especially when you don't have somebody
like a schoolteacher or a boss or somebody cracking a whip
saying, hey, learn this information.
Testing you and teaching you
and provoking you to learn that information.
But he that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul.
Why should I get wisdom?
Why should I want to learn new things?
Because I love my own soul.
Because I care about the Corbin of the future,
myself of the future.
I don't want to be that 80, 90-year-old
just person with a blank stare who can't learn anything new.
But that takes developing and working on
and not loosening the ability to learn now.
Because we all have this thing that's called,
you've probably heard of this, neuroplasticity, right?
The ability of your brain to create new connections.
And a lot of times, once you get to a certain point,
that ability to create new connections in your brain
begins to fall off.
And that's why it's so important that we keep working on that
and keep working on those new connections
and learning for learning's sake.
Go over to Proverbs chapter 18.
Proverbs chapter number 18.
It says in Proverbs 1, a wise man will hear
and will increase learning.
We look at the guy that's learning,
that's taking on new information,
that's maybe continuing his education
beyond his graduate years,
or he's doing something to just bring in new information
and learn something for learning's sake.
And you say, oh, what a waste of time.
That doesn't look like very much fun.
But the Bible says that that is a wise man that does that.
A wise man that will increase in learning
and not just say, well, I've learned everything I need to learn.
And look, that's everybody.
Hopefully we all get to a place where we've learned
everything we need to learn
in order to provide for ourselves and others.
We've learned everything we need to learn
to function as an adult.
A wise man will continue to increase learning
and have something to share with others
and also be able to take care of his own self
and be able to improve his own self.
It says, a wise man will increase learning
and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.
He keeps seeking out knowledge.
It says in Proverbs 18, verse 15,
the heart of the prudent getteth knowledge
and a man of understanding, excuse me,
and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
You know, knowledge, understanding, wisdom,
these are things that have to be sought.
These are things that you have to go after.
These are things that you have to put into practice.
These are things that you have to learn
for the sake of learning them.
But if you learn them, you know what?
You love your own soul.
You're a wise person.
You're going to be somebody that is considered prudent,
that's somebody that is going to attain unto wise counsels.
You know, you're not going to turn into that,
you know, that just lethargic,
mushed-brained old person in your old age.
Or even sooner, it says in Proverbs 9,
go over to Proverbs 19, Proverbs 19,
you were just there, I should have had you stay there,
Proverbs 9, it says, give instruction to a wise man
and he will be yet the wiser.
What's that showing you right there?
Is that people who are in the practice of learning things
are the ones that are going to learn.
But people that have gotten to a point where they say,
well, there's nothing else for me to learn,
or they've even lost the ability to learn,
it's too late for them.
They can't learn other things.
Give instruction to a wise man because, again,
a wise man is someone that is seeking knowledge.
It's somebody who is learning for learning's sake.
You know, give instruction unto that individual
and he will be yet the wiser.
Teach a just man and he will increase in learning.
You can see it, we're just looking at a few Proverbs right now.
How much emphasis the Bible puts on getting wisdom,
learning, knowledge, and understanding.
You know, and it's completely counter-cultural
to the world that we're living in today.
You know, that just wants us all to just be brain dead zombies
that are just flipping through the channels
or scrolling through some news feed.
I love that they call it a news feed, right?
It's like my friend's dinner isn't necessarily news.
You know, that unoriginal meme that they put up
is not necessarily news.
You know, the news feed, they should call it
like the dopamine brain trough is what they should call it
because that's all it really is, just this trough
of just pointless, nonsensical information
that has no real value in it most of the time, okay?
But that's what most people are into today
because that's so much easier, isn't it?
Just in the moment to gratify yourself,
just to entertain yourself.
It's a lot easier to do that, to actually sit down,
crack open up a book, or you know,
actually take in some content that challenges you
to think and pay attention, you know,
or take some kind of a course or learn a new skill.
You know, it's so much easier to just do that
to pick up a game controller rather than to actually go out
and try to actually learn a new skill
because the world today just wants to be entertained,
you know, and it's going to be real interesting
in a few decades when we've raised, you know,
just millions of people who don't want to learn anything new.
I mean, it's kind of already, we've already been trending
in that direction anyway, haven't we?
And you can see how it's just beginning to play out.
Less wise, less, more foolish,
and you can see it before our very eyes.
And it's because the Bible's telling us, look,
we need to get wisdom, we need to increase in learning,
we need to seek knowledge, we need to attain unto wise counsel.
Where did I have you turn? Proverbs 19.
It said in verse 2,
Also that the soul be without knowledge.
It is not good.
It is not good that you be without knowledge.
You know, there's things that you must learn
and know and understand in this life.
It is not good, and he that hasteth with his feet sent it.
Go over to Proverbs chapter 4, Proverbs chapter 4.
The Bible says in Proverbs 1 verse 7,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
You know, it's the fool that sits there
and mocks at wisdom and instruction.
They despise it.
They say, oh, you know, I don't need to learn anything,
I've already got it figured out.
I mean, that's a really poor attitude to have.
And look, I've known people that have developed that attitude
very early on in life.
I mean, I remember a guy in, like,
early in high school who told me,
he said, don't worry about high school,
you can just get a job working construction
for 15 bucks an hour.
You know, this is back in the 90s,
when I was like 15 bucks an hour,
like, you can make more of that at In-N-Out right now.
And it just shows you how much inflatable.
And I was thinking, wow, man, yeah.
What a great idea.
To just, you know, forget all the tests,
forget all the learning.
Let me just despise the wisdom and instruction,
because after all, I could just go work hard labor
for the rest of my life.
For 15 bucks an hour.
Now, that might sound like a lot when you're,
you know, in high school,
but it's not going to go far
when you get out there in the real world.
Because in high school, you don't think about this guy
called the tax man.
Okay?
That first paycheck, you know, you start,
all of a sudden, you start, you know,
you become a little bit more interested
in what's going on in the world
when you start seeing, you know,
all those deductions.
You go, what's that?
And, you know, and mom and dad are just like,
welcome to the real world, son.
Are you sure 15 bucks an hour is going to cut it?
You know, maybe you shouldn't despise wisdom
and instruction and knowledge.
Maybe you should attain unto wise counsels.
You know, continue to learn, develop skills.
And not just write off, you know,
everybody that's trying to succeed, you know,
through learning as a, you know,
a bunch of, you know, just boring, dull people.
You know, they're the people that are going to succeed,
that are actually going to have something.
And you know what the irony is?
They're not the boring, dull people.
You know, the people that learn and read,
they're the ones that actually have
something interesting to say.
They're the ones that actually understand things
and know things that can profit you,
that profit them, that actually you like to listen to.
I mean, isn't that who we like to listen to?
I mean, that's how it is for me.
If I'm going to listen to a podcast,
I'm going to listen to somebody
that knows what they're talking about,
has some interesting things to share.
You know, I'm going to listen to the neuroscientist
or whoever, somebody who's studied the brain
or, you know, or knows something about health
or, you know, history or something like that.
You know what, don't get me wrong.
I know there's a lot of people that just want to tune in
to, you know, the sports channel
and just learn about who chased the ball
up and down the field last week.
You know, but that's kind of pointless drivel.
That's not, you know, that's entertaining,
but, you know, it's not really going to increase
your learning at all, right?
So the irony is, is that the people that do hit the books,
that people that do study,
that people that do put in the work,
that aren't out there just entertaining themselves,
you know, not having all the fun,
they, in the long run, actually end up being
the more interesting people to talk to.
You know, the other people,
all they want to talk about is,
we could just talk about what's entertaining.
You know, but that gets old, okay?
Where'd I have you go?
Proverbs 4, look at verse 5, it says,
get wisdom, get understanding, get it.
Just saying, hey, you know, it's an option.
You know, if you want it, you know, it's out there.
You know what he's saying, you know what you need to do?
You need to go and get it.
You need to get wisdom, you need to get knowledge,
you need to get understanding.
Forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth.
For sake her not, who's the her there?
Wisdom, personified.
For sake her not, she shall preserve thee.
Right, this idea that as you continually learn
throughout your life, that's what's going to keep you sharp.
That's what's going to make you better in your latter end.
She shall preserve thee, love her, and she shall keep thee.
You know, the Bible emphasizes the fact
that we need to learn for learning's sake, okay?
And let me just real quick just kind of give you
a few practical points, just maybe some things
that you might think about putting into practice,
you know, if this is an area where you struggle
or if this is something that you're not doing, okay?
Because hopefully I've emphasized, you know,
enough just out of these few verses in Proverbs
and there's a lot more we could have turned to,
hopefully I've emphasized that, you know,
as the Bible does, the need to continue to learn
and to seek knowledge and to seek understanding
and not just get to a point where you say,
well, I don't need to learn anything else.
Ways to continue to learn for learning's sake.
How about this for number one,
accept responsibility for your own learning.
Accept responsibility for your own learning.
You know, at some point you have to just learn
for your own sake, okay?
Accept responsibility for your own learning.
Now, it's real easy to not have to do that
when you're in school.
When you have, you know, someone pushing, you know,
handing you the paperwork,
when you have somebody handing you the test,
putting the curriculum in front of you and saying,
learn this, you know, and then you say,
oh, whether you want to or not, you've got to learn it.
You've got to pass the test.
You know, eventually, hopefully we all graduate,
you know, we move on beyond that in life
and then learning is optional.
Then learning is something that we don't have to do.
There's not going to be anyone there saying,
learn, get wisdom, seek knowledge,
continue to learn for learning's sake, develop skills.
You know, that goes away.
You know, and you can be like my buddy
and just go swing a hammer, you know,
and you can just be about beers and beers
for the rest of your life up in Northern Michigan
or wherever, and you can just be
another beer-swilling, you know, hammer-swinging redneck
and make $15 an hour.
But dadgummit, you ain't got to learn,
you got no books to deal with anymore.
You got no more books and teacher's dirty looks.
Yeah, but you know what?
You're just a buffoon.
And I fear for people like that,
what they're going to be like in their old age.
You know, I don't want to be like that in my old age.
I don't want to have just that blank stare,
just can't take any information.
Look, that's where a lot of people are headed, folks.
Accept responsibility for your own learning.
Saying, look, I've done all the learning
that was required of me, but I'm not going to stop there.
I'm going to continue to educate myself
and continue to learn new things,
even things that, you know, maybe aren't necessarily
going to immediately profit me in some job or something.
Just learn for the sake of learning.
Try new things on a regular basis.
I think that's another good thing to do.
Try something new.
Often, we don't want to do anything.
We just like to get in our routines and not disrupt that.
But you know, that's not healthy.
Obviously, there's some things we should never try.
But there are some things that we should be willing to embrace them.
Go out and learn a new skill.
Learn a new skill.
Maybe it's some physical activity.
You know, I'm going to go out and ride the bike.
I'm going to lift the weights.
I'm going to go for the walk.
I'm going to get outside.
You know, whatever.
Try new things.
Go get out of your comfort zone.
Try new things on a regular basis.
You know, going through that experience
of experiencing something new, that keeps your mind sharp.
And not just, you know, staying in the same four walls
every day, going through the same content,
just going through the motions day in and day out.
You should be willing to go out and try new things,
because that is going to keep your mind in the state of,
you know, openness to learning and to experiencing.
That's what you want your mind into.
That's the whole point of this.
That's the whole point of learning for learning's sake,
is not to just, so that you don't just turn into this mindless robot
who can't receive new information.
Here's another one.
Keep a to learn list and set goals.
You know, obviously we only have so many hours in the day.
We get busy, especially as we get older in life.
There's things that we have demands, but, you know,
I'm not saying you have to go out and learn it all tomorrow.
I'm not saying it's like, okay, tomorrow you need to just become fluent
in some foreign language.
You know, or you've got to read this stack of books
by the end of the month or something.
You know, we could, as we come across things, say,
hey, I want to learn this skill.
You know, I want to learn how to make a stool from wood.
And yes, that's on my list.
You know, I want to learn how to, you know, speak a language.
I want to learn this skill or that skill.
You know, have a list.
I want to read this book.
You should have a list.
Like, you know, I'm listening to people.
I'm reading something else.
They'll mention other books about other topics.
And, you know, I'll, I don't immediately buy it,
but I'll write it down on a list and say that would be another book
that sounds like it's worth reading.
You know, keep a list like that of things that you're going
to try to learn throughout the course of your life.
And continue to learn for learning's sake.
Here's one that maybe is really hard for us to do
is to ask questions when you don't understand something.
You ever have anybody explain something to you
and it's just like, whoop.
Come on.
You know you're out there, right?
We've all been there.
We don't like to admit it.
We don't want to admit it in front of me, just me.
Nobody else is looking.
But it's true.
Sometimes people say something and it's just like,
I don't understand what they're talking about.
And you know what?
That's the time to ask questions, not just go, oh, yeah, uh-huh,
and just act like we know.
Say, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, I know, I get it.
It's like, well, do you?
Do you really, though?
Why?
Because we're embarrassed.
We don't like to admit that we don't know something.
But look, that's everybody at some point in their life.
Did you know every, you know, anybody who knows something,
there was a time where they didn't know that.
You know how they learned that?
You know how they got to know that?
By asking questions, by learning it, by willing to say,
hey, I don't understand.
Can you explain that to me another way?
Right?
There's nothing wrong with that.
That's what's going to help you continue to be, you know,
somebody who's learning for learning's sake
throughout the rest of your life.
Ask questions when you're confused.
And then, you know, here's a really great way
to ingrain things is to put things into practice.
You know, when you want to learn information,
when you want to learn a skill, you actually
have to practice it.
You know, it's a big difference between just, you know,
watching a tutorial on YouTube or something
or reading something in a book, a set of instructions,
and then actually going out and doing it.
You know, like, the skill, like, let's say, like,
this will perk everybody up, firearms, right?
We're in Arizona, a bunch of gun lovers, right?
Amen.
You got one right here, too.
I'm with you.
Right?
But there's a big difference between watching some guy,
you know, just out there just, you know,
hitting steel targets, you know, three shots in under five
seconds or whatever, two to the center mass, one to the head,
and you actually being able to go out and do that.
Right?
You have to actually learn basic firearm skills
and actually put those things into practice
to become proficient at it.
You know, I'm just using that as an example.
That applies to any skill that you want to learn.
Look, if you're going to learn something for learning's sake,
you actually have to not only, you know, find the information,
read it, ask questions, try to understand it,
but then you have to actually put it into practice.
And that's what's going to ingrain it
and really give you the deeper, fuller understanding
of that subject.
Here's another way to be somebody who learns
for learning's sake, somebody who's, you know,
a lifelong learner.
You know, choose a career that encourages learning.
You know, and this really, when you think about it,
this is probably most any career.
Like any skilled trade, you know, really any kind of career,
you typically encourage is learning.
You know, there's always something you can learn
to do your job better, no matter what our job may be.
You know, we can always learn to take our skills
to the next level.
Here's another one, and this is the fun one.
You say, this sounds really dull.
This doesn't sound like something I want to do.
Have hobbies.
You know, hobbies are a great way to learn things.
Have hobbies, have projects.
You know, build something.
You know, learn how to, you know, cook something or whatever.
Because it's not necessarily just the skill itself
that's going to benefit you.
It's the act of learning that you're after here.
It's not really what you're learning so much.
Now look, taking the time to learn something
worth learning is obviously beneficial.
It could benefit you in a number of ways.
We'll talk about it in a minute.
But what we're really driving at here
is that you should learn something, a hobby, a project,
something for the sake of learning itself.
For the sake of learning itself.
Go to Proverbs chapter number 14.
Proverbs chapter number 14.
Because this is the, you know, this is the siren call,
you know, of every student.
Look, I'm sure everybody who's gone through high school,
junior high or whatever, has had this thought
at one point or another.
I don't need to learn this
because I'll never use this information.
Who's ever said that?
Pretty much everybody, okay?
Everyone has thought that.
You younger kids, just give it time.
You'll get there.
You know, you're doing some, you know,
you're doing algebra and you're thinking to yourself,
I'm never going to use this.
You know, you're learning some, you know,
obscure fact of history.
You're learning something out of a biology book
and you're thinking, what practical sense does,
I have a calculator in my pocket.
But what you fail to understand is
the value of learning for learning's sake.
Okay?
Because just like that guy's talking about in high school, right?
Well, I'm just going to go be a carpenter for 15 bucks an hour.
I don't need to learn all these books.
What that guy's failing to understand is that,
you know, you have to learn how to do things,
you know, hard things, problem solving,
that's a part of any job.
Look at Proverbs chapter 14, it says in verse 23,
in all labor there is profit.
Now either Bible's true or it's not.
In all labor there is profit.
And I don't think he's talking about financial profit here.
Look, if you go do some kind of labor that's unpaid,
there's still profit in that.
It's just not the kind you can put in a bank account.
It's not the kind you can go spend.
There's the profit of learning how to, one, do something.
You know, or what if it's something you don't like doing?
I remember when I was a kid, my dad worked in construction,
and he would take me to his job sites,
and they, you know, when they dig a basement,
they put all the dirt to backfill later right there on site.
So he's just got this, there's this huge mound of dirt.
And he said, go up on that, go on that pile of dirt
and pull all the rocks out of it.
That's what he said to an eight-year-old, nine-year-old.
Hey, hey, I got a job for you.
You see that big pile of dirt over there
that we're just going to put right back in this hole
when we're done with it?
Go pull all the rocks out of that.
And look, that was not my idea of a good time.
You know, I wanted to pick up the air gun.
I wanted to have, I wanted the tool belt.
You know, I wanted to run the saw.
I wanted to, he's like, no, go pick rocks out of the dirt.
You know, and at the time it didn't even dawn on me.
This is a completely meaningless task.
This is completely pointless.
Whether the rocks are in the dirt or out of the dirt,
it doesn't matter, they're all going back in the same hole.
But what, you know, but there was still profit in that
because, you know, it taught me something at a young age
that sometimes you just got to do things you don't want to do
because somebody told you to do them.
Because somebody said, hey, I'm your boss, now go do this.
You know, you might sit there and be looking at that problem
in some textbook saying, I'll never use this.
Why do I have to do this?
You know what, and you might be right.
You might say, hey, you're never going to actually use
that information right there.
But you know what you are going to, you find out real quick,
is that there's going to be other people that come to you
in your life and say, hey, go do this
when you don't want to do something.
That's what you're learning,
doing something you don't want to do.
You know, I don't know about you, but algebra is not,
I don't sit down and I don't seek to do algebra.
There's people out there that really enjoy that kind of thing
and God bless them.
We need those people.
I'm just not one of them.
I'm just being honest.
It's not my, I'm not very interested in it.
I've never been much for math.
But you know what, there's profit in having to do something
you don't want to do.
Because that is the rest of your life.
That is the field, that is work, that's any line of work.
I'll never use this, I'm just going to be an electrician someday.
Yeah, but on that job, you're going to have a guy called your boss
who's going to tell you to do things you don't want to do.
Every day.
Why do I got to figure out these problems?
Because any line of work that you get into is problem solving.
Learning how to think critically, learning how to take in information,
make sense of it, and come up with a solution.
That's any job.
I don't care what it is.
How do I get these fries in the fryers?
That's not exactly the deepest thinking, is it?
But there's a process there, isn't it?
And if you think, oh, I got to hold every individual fry in the grease,
you're going to end up in the hospital really quick.
There's problem solving involved.
There's instructions that have to be followed,
even from such a menial task all the way up.
Any line of work you choose, problem solving.
So sitting there and doing schoolwork,
or learning something out of a textbook,
while that particular information might not be something
that you're going to use to a great extent in your life,
the act of problem solving and doing things you don't want to do
is something you're going to do every day practically
for the rest of your life as an adult.
So learn for the sake of learning,
because in all labor, there is profit.
It's just that we don't always see the profit.
We don't always see it for what it is.
Learn for the sake of learning.
Learn something.
And we should all learn some kind of a skill that will benefit us.
That should be something that we're constantly trying to do.
I'm not saying we all have to become experts in everything.
Obviously, you can't do that.
But we should try to find something that's going to challenge us mentally,
instead of just turning into a bunch of just droned road bots
who just punch in and punch out our jobs
and then just stop thinking at the end of the day
and let the television...
I feel like now I have to just cover this whole gamut of media devices.
Anything with a screen, okay?
Anything with a screen that just does all the thinking for you at the end of the day.
And look, I'm not saying if you watch TV or you get on your smart...
that you're all going to end up with Alzheimer's or something like that.
What I'm saying is that we can't just do that day in, day out,
week in, week out for the rest of our life
and just completely forsake the learning for learning's sake.
Because you know what?
That is going to cost us our cognitive abilities later in life, quite potentially.
So in the meantime, take the time to learn a skill that will benefit you.
I mean, think about your job.
What could you learn that would benefit you on the job?
What new skill, what marketable skill could you learn?
Or maybe you're in a job that it would be beneficial to find a whole new career.
Maybe there's a whole other... if you learned a skill,
it would open up just a whole other career path for you that would benefit you financially.
Learn a skill that would benefit you.
Something related to your career.
What about health?
This is a hard one for me to preach.
But I've been working on it, I promise.
We all profit from that, from learning things about our health.
So that we all don't just end up sick of some disease early on in life.
We should all learn things about... that's going to have an immediate benefit.
Look, the benefit's twofold.
One, I'm still maintaining my ability to learn.
I'm learning for learning's sake.
But I'm also learning something that's going to help me immediately in my health.
If I learn how the hormones in my body work.
If I learn about insulin.
If I learn about weight control and exercise and diet and nutrition.
If you learn these things, one, you're still exercising your brain's ability to bring in new information,
assimilate it, and to put it into practice and learn new things.
But two, I'm benefiting from what I'm learning in my health.
Or in your career. Or in your family.
Learning is going to benefit you.
I mean, how can it benefit you?
How could learning something new, some new skill, some new information not benefit you?
If you put it into practice.
How about this, learn a skill.
Say, well I want to learn, I want to learn for learning's sake, but what should I learn?
You know, learn a skill that will benefit you, how about learning a skill that will benefit others?
You know, a lot of things I just mentioned, they'll benefit you, but they'll benefit others as well.
But, you know, learn a skill that will benefit yourself and others.
I mean, what's one thing that we could all stand to learn more of?
Every single one of us.
What's one thing that we could just, it would benefit us and everyone around us if we just learned more and more and more about it?
You got it brother, this book right here.
You know, we should all be endeavoring to learn this book.
Look, I'm not saying everybody in the room needs to be able to get up and just preach, you know, every sermon, every topic, a sermon on every single topic in the Bible.
But look, you need to be able to know the things that are, you know, apply to you especially.
But we should all know, you'd be learning what the Bible says.
Look, it takes a lifetime to know the book.
And even then, you're still, there's still going to be things you're constantly going to be learning.
That's one of the great things about the Bible.
You don't just read it once and say, we got that figured out.
I mean, the Bible just has so many layers.
And look, and again, it takes work to learn the Bible, folks.
It takes more than just having, you know, the audio on in the background to learn the Bible.
It's like any other book, you have to pay attention to what you're reading.
You actually have to think about, okay, what's the Bible saying here?
You know, we have to familiarize ourselves with the Scripture.
We have to be able to compare spiritual things with spiritual.
We have to know the book in context.
We're going to come up against hard things that we're going to have to study out.
I mean, you know, there's still, there's plenty of things that I come up against when I'm preparing sermons and I just say,
I don't understand that completely.
And I just say to myself, well, I'll continue to read and study and hopefully I'll figure that out.
And I'll just move on to the next subject.
And I'll put a little question mark, I'll make a little note and just say,
hopefully, you know, I find something else later that's going to help answer that.
You know, but if I'm just, you know, checking it off on a checklist just like,
okay, let me just kind of read, you know, get through my Bible reading today.
I got, you know, a couple minutes.
And then it's just like 10, 15 minutes go by and the whole time I've been thinking about something else.
You actually have to try to learn the Bible.
You have to put effort into doing that.
And look, if you learn the Bible, it's going to benefit you.
Go over to 1 Timothy chapter 4, 1 Timothy chapter number 4.
It's something that's going to benefit you and everybody around you.
Look, how could knowing the Bible not benefit you and everybody around you?
And again, it's twofold.
You're learning something for the sake of learning.
You're keeping your mind sharp.
You're keeping that plasticity loose.
You're keeping your mind, it's used to making new connections and it's not just in a rut.
It's not just turning you into just some mindless robot.
Your brain is saying, okay, new information is coming in, we have to do.
You know, you're learning how to learn.
You're learning how to pay attention.
You're learning how to do something that maybe your flesh doesn't want to do.
You're benefiting from that.
But then the content itself, you know, this isn't the algebra book.
This isn't the history book.
This isn't the biology book.
The stuff that's in here does, will come into play in life.
You can apply this.
You will use this in life if you're wise.
You'll pay attention to what you're reading and say, oh, I will put that into practice.
This will have, you know, something, this will make an impact on my life.
I will use this information.
Look at 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 15.
He said, meditate upon these things.
Give thyself wholly to them wide that thy profiting may appear to all.
That thy profiting may appear to all.
Look, he's telling Timothy to meditate upon these things, the word of God.
The things that he's instructing him in the word of God.
To give himself wholly to these things.
He's saying, learn this information, take it in.
Why?
So that thy profiting may appear to all.
And I don't think that profiting appeared to all.
I was just talking about, so everyone can just go, wow, look how smart Timothy is.
So that it's saying that his profiting will manifest, will appear, it will benefit other people.
Other people will say, I'm benefiting from Timothy having meditated upon these things
and having wholly given himself to these things.
It will profit everybody around him.
All the people that are going to come under the preaching, the sound of his voice and preaching,
all the people that are going to come under into his sphere of influence and his teaching,
they're going to benefit because why?
Because he took the time, rather than just mindlessly entertaining himself every day,
to meditate upon these things and to wholly give himself to these things.
He took some time to say, I'm going to learn this information.
I'm going to take this in and I'm going to learn this book.
These things that Paul has been teaching me.
Look at verse 16.
He said, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.
And doctrine is just another word for teaching.
That's all it is.
Doctrine is just any teaching that comes out of the Bible.
That's called doctrine.
And he's saying, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.
Take heed unto what the Bible is teaching you.
Continue in them.
Don't just read it once and say, oh yeah, I figured that out because that's not true.
You have to continue in these doctrines.
Put them into practice.
Learn them. Know them.
For in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself.
You're going to spare yourself a lot of heartache by knowing what the Bible teaches.
And them that hear thee.
Say, well yeah, it makes sense for Timothy. He's a preacher.
Yeah, but what about you as a husband?
What about you as a father?
What about you as a mother?
What about you as a soul winner?
What about you that has anybody that you can come into contact with and teach the word of God?
Friends. Family.
I mean, there's going to be people that are going to have problems and struggles.
They're going to come to us with them.
Wouldn't it be great to have continued in these things?
To meditate upon these things?
To have given ourselves to these things?
To have learned these things?
To say, hey, I've got an answer.
I can help you because I've learned what this book says.
Because I've taken the time to learn the book.
Not just for learning's sake.
But so that I can profit others as well.
This is one thing that we all need to learn.
That we need to be continually learning throughout our lives.
Is the word of God.
And never just get to a place and say, well I read my Bible.
I got through the 90 day New Testament challenge.
I'm done for the year.
Wrong answer.
The whole purpose of that challenge is to show you it can be done.
Now it's time to read the rest of it.
Or read it again.
And again and again and again.
And saying, look, meditate on these things.
Learn these things.
Give thyself to them.
Take heed unto the doctrine of thyself.
You know why?
So you can profit others.
You're going to save others.
You're profiting hope here to others.
And I get it.
Everybody starts out, in the Christian life especially.
We all start out just being empty vessels that need to just take in information.
We're the ones that have to do the learning.
We have to be the recipients of knowledge.
But we should all endeavor and be working towards the place.
Where in our lives we're not just going to be the recipients of knowledge.
And look, that's always going to be the case.
We're always going to be the people that need to learn.
But we should get to a place where that's not all we are.
Where we're actually the people that are teaching.
That we are a source of knowledge to other people.
That's what we should do.
To get to the place in our lives where we're actually not just a recipient of knowledge.
But we are actually dispersing knowledge.
We become instructors.
We become the ones that can teach.
That can give wisdom.
And look, that takes time.
But you know what else that takes?
Learning.
It takes the time to put in the work to actually learn.
To be there for the preaching.
To be there for the Bible reading.
To be there for your own devotions.
To do the memory work.
To familiarize with the word of God.
And look, I'm not saying you all have to memorize the entire New Testament.
But we should know what's in here.
There's probably some things that we should commit to memory.
There probably are a lot of things that we should know well.
As we go through different seasons of life and the Bible speaks to us.
You say, look, this is applying to me right now.
Let me write these things on the table of my heart.
So they'll be with me.
And you know what?
That stuff will come right back out at some point and profit somebody else.
If we take the time to learn it.
I know I'm kind of preaching a separate sermon here almost.
But the point of the sermon is this.
To learn for learning's sake.
And then we talked about, well, what are some of the different things I could learn?
Well, learn things that are going to profit you in your career.
Learn things that are going to profit you in your family.
Learn things that are going to profit you as an individual.
Learn to do hard things.
Learn to do things you don't like to do.
Learn for learning's sake.
But the one thing we should all definitely be learning is the word of God.
Because that is something that will profit.
That will make every single one of us profitable to other people if we know the Bible.
The Bible will make you a smarter person.
I believe that.
That if you know the word of God, it will make you just a wiser, smarter person in life.
I mean, look at how the world behaves.
Look at the things they do.
People raise children out there and they have no clue what they're doing when it comes to raising kids.
And they'll admit it.
And they don't know anybody.
I'm not saying that to fault them.
I'm not saying that to put them down.
I'm just saying they're the natural man.
They can't help themselves.
They just don't know what else to do.
You know, when they got saved, they learned the Bible and they learned what the Bible says about that subject.
You know what?
They just got smarter.
People have marriages that are on the rocks.
People who have marriages that are falling apart.
They don't know what to do.
Why?
Because they don't have the knowledge.
They learn the Bible.
They'd be smarter.
They know what to do.
It'll make them smarter.
You know, the Bible will make you a better employer.
You know, the Bible will make you a better employee.
The Bible will make you a better husband, better wife, better spouse, better child.
It'll profit you in every area.
The Bible will make you a smarter person.
And it'll make you a wiser person in how to live your life.
Go to Psalms 119, verse 97.
Psalms 119, verse 97.
And I'm almost done.
I'll read to you from Titus 2.
It says,
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.
You know, that was a command that Paul gave Titus.
Look, speak the things which become sound doctrine.
What things?
The things that you need to learn, Titus.
The things that you need to study and give thyself to
and to meditate upon and take heed unto.
Those things.
The things that you actually have to go through the process of learning.
You know, we don't just learn the Bible or anything for that matter
by just trying to shove it in through our ear.
You know, we have eyes, ears, a brain.
We have to actually learn these things.
We have to put in the effort.
That's why he said in 2 Timothy,
Study to show thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
It starts out with that big, ugly word, study.
You know, and that's something that we continually need to do throughout life.
And not just get to this place in our life where
I don't need to learn anything new.
No, you need to study to show thyself approved.
Learn for learning's sake.
You know, if you're going to learn something, learn something in the prophecy.
You know, what's another thing that would profit somebody?
Ourselves and others.
You know, this is where I think learning a foreign language is very hard.
It's not for the faint of heart, especially the older we are.
That's what I'm finding out.
It's very difficult.
But you know what?
If we could learn to give the gospel in a foreign language
or to communicate in a foreign language,
I mean, that's a very profitable thing.
And let me tell you something.
That's something that would be very profitable in this church
is to have people that could give the gospel fluently in Spanish.
Because, I mean, that's like over 60% of the population here in Spanish.
And look, obviously a lot of them are bilingual.
They speak English.
But how many doors have we knocked where it's just
no habla ingles?
You know, there's just a lot of people here that just don't speak English.
You know, and it's sad because a lot of times, you know,
those people are very open to the gospel.
You know, the Catholics,
the old schools, you know,
that are humble and meek and already have, you know,
their hearts already inclined towards the things of God,
albeit in a false religion.
You know, they're not Mormons,
or they've just been completely brainwashed.
You know, Catholics, you know, are actually,
if they're not just dyed the wool catheter,
they're actually some of the easiest people to get saved.
Because they already understand so many things.
Because, you know, believe it or not,
the Catholics actually do have some things right.
And I'm not here praising the Catholic Church, okay.
It's a wicked false religion.
That's damning trillions of people to hell,
if not trillions over the course of time.
Lots of people.
Right, but you know, they got the sunshine of Christ right.
They got the Trinity right.
You know, they understand the cross.
I mean, they understand so many things,
but you know what the barrier is often with them?
They don't speak English.
You know, and this is something that I am endeavoring to do.
But you know what I'm finding out?
It's really hard to do.
It takes a lot of time and effort.
But here's the thing.
You know, if I learn that, if anyone learns that,
they're going to profit from, you know,
learning another language is probably one of the best things
you could do for your brain.
You know, as far as keeping your brain limber
and holding on to that ability to take in new information,
foreign language is great.
But it's also going to profit, not just me,
through preserving an ability to learn,
but it's going to profit in the fact that we're going to be able to reach
so many more people with the gospel.
I mean, if we had people that could speak Spanish,
I mean, Mexico's right here.
We could be in Mexico sooner than we could be in Phoenix.
Think about that.
That's how close we are.
It's shorter to Nogales than it is to Phoenix, am I right?
Not by a lot, but I mean, that's saying something.
I mean, there's a whole world down there,
a whole, just another country of people that are,
you know, we could go get saved.
And, you know, from what I understand, these Mexico mission strips,
it's been pretty receptive.
And I have to imagine, you know, it's just not just
on the other side of the board that's receptive,
that the further in we go, the other places you can go,
that there's more people that are really ready, willing,
and able to receive the gospel.
But you know what it's going to take?
It's people who say, hey, I'm going to learn this.
I'm going to learn this.
You know, and some of you have a leg up on a gringo like me.
Some of you already know, already are legacy learners.
You already know a lot of vocabulary just from having grown up with Spanish speakers.
And all you got to do is just put in the hard work of, you know,
learning some biblical, you know, terms in Spanish.
And look, as hard as that might be, you're not starting from scratch.
Try starting from scratch.
You know, I'll learn Spanish from scratch and you go learn like,
I don't want to say German because that's one of the hardest languages to learn.
You go learn Italian. That's like one of the easiest languages to learn.
They say for English speakers. You go learn Italian
and then come back and tell me what's harder.
You learning a brand new language or you just developing a language you already understand.
You already have a huge leg up on over a lot of people.
You know, that would be beneficial. I just went off on a huge rabbit trail.
But it was worth it.
Because I needed to be preached. But here's the thing.
The Bible is going to be what makes you smarter.
I had you go to Psalm 119.
Look at verse 97, it says,
O how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day.
You know, the more you read the Bible, the more you want to read the Bible.
It's always amazing to me.
People that read the Bible, they just want to keep reading the Bible more.
You know, if you've never had that sensation.
If you've never had this thought go through your mind,
I can't wait to get home so I can read my Bible.
Chances are you probably haven't done a lot of Bible reading.
Chances are you probably haven't spent a lot of time reading your Bible.
You haven't sat down and read your Bible for an hour.
Two hours.
Oh, I can't believe you didn't say to read the Bible that long.
I'm not saying every day.
I mean, it would benefit everybody to read their Bible for an hour every day.
Half hour, 20 minutes, get through your devotions.
But look, the more you read it, you end up saying, like David here,
How love I thy law?
I mean, I read it and say, man, this is what it says?
This is what I've been missing out on?
I love this.
I just want to meditate upon it all the day.
Next thing you know, you're going to be filling out 3x5 cards.
You're going to be pulling it out.
You're going to open up that smartphone and instead of going straight to YouTube or whatever,
you're going to be like, oh, let me open up the Bible app.
Because you're going to find the more you read it, the more you want to learn it, the more you want to meditate on it.
Thou, through thy commandments, has made me wiser than mine enemies.
For they are ever with me.
Wouldn't we like to be able to say that?
That God has made us wiser than our enemies?
We've got enemies out there.
If we want to be wiser than them, it's God's commandments that are going to get us there.
But it's not just because God wrote them down.
Oh, I'm wiser than my enemies because God wrote down His commandments.
No, He said, they've made me wiser. Why?
For they are ever with me.
Meaning, they're my meditation all the day.
So things I think about, this is what I dwell on.
Verse 99, I have more understanding than all my teachers.
For thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients, those old guys, those old wise guys, those ancients.
I understand more than them. Why? Because I keep thy precepts.
Look, the Bible will make you a smarter person.
It will increase your learning.
I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word.
I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me.
God will speak to us and teach us through His word, and we'll be smarter people.
103, how sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
Through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.
We like that last part, right? It makes that catchy t-shirt.
I hate every false way.
Well, amen.
But you know what? Through thy precepts I get understanding.
Where's the coffee mug that says that?
Where's the sticker that says that? Where's the t-shirt that says that?
Through thy precepts I get understanding.
Therefore I hate every false way.
That's why you have so many Christians out there, instead of hating every false way, they love every false way.
And they hate God's people.
They hate the man of God for preaching the Bible.
They hate the man of God for saying what the Bible says.
And they embrace all the enemies of the Lord.
You know why? Because they don't have his precepts.
Because they're not smart. Because they haven't been learning what this book actually says.
How else do you explain it?
One last passage. Go to Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter number 4.
It says in verse 7 of Proverbs 4, wisdom is the principle thing.
Principle thing.
It's the first thing. It's the important thing.
If you're going to say something is the principle thing, you're saying this is the thing that is the most important.
It's the principle thing.
Therefore, get wisdom.
Look, if wisdom is the most important thing, that's what you should spend your time in life trying to get.
Is wisdom. Knowledge. Understanding.
And with all thy getting, get understanding.
Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honor.
Well that sounds nice, doesn't it? It's true.
We want to be promoted. We want to be brought to honor.
We want to be wise people, but when do you get that? When thou dost embrace her.
You know, when you join yourself to it. Like I preached just a week or two ago.
Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh an inner metallith with all wisdom.
It's through desire.
You know, wisdom's there. When you read the chapter, she's standing in the high places.
She calls out and says, you know, turn in ye simple ones.
But we have to go to her. We have to go to the place where we have to embrace her.
She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
Look, learning for learning's sake, it can't help but profit you.
Even if it's not the Bible, even if it's not something as rich and as deep and as profitable as the scripture.
That's going to profit everybody and the people that you come into contact with.
You know, just learning for the sake of learning has profit in it, let alone learning the word of God.
You know, learn for learning's sake.
You know, because I plan on being here for a while, Lord willing.
You know, you're going to have to bury me in this town, Lord willing.
Which means you're stuck with me, but it also means I'm stuck with you.
You know, we're all going to get gray together.
Some of us are a little bit further ahead than others, right?
But look, I don't want to, I'd hate to see people that I've known for decades just watch them slowly just slide into the slime of senility.
How's that for an alleration?
You know, I'd hate to see that happen to my own congregants in this church, the people that I've been called to pastor.
You know, watch them just, you know, their cognitive functions just go down the drain.
It doesn't have to be that way.
You know, I know lots of people that are many years my elder that are very sharp people.
I mean, they're with it.
Witty, sharp, they know things, they have wisdom.
But you know what, there's also a lot of people in this world, it's the complete opposite.
You know, let's not let that be us in here.
You know, that's not just going to happen by itself.
You're going to have to embrace wisdom.
You're going to have to go to her.
You know, you're going to have to meditate upon these things.
You're going to have to give yourself holy to them.
You know, if you don't want to be that person, and I don't want you to be any more than I want to be, you're going to have to do what?
Learn to learn for learning's sake.
Let's go ahead and pray.
Dear Lord, again, thank you for the knowledge and the wisdom and the understanding that is just at our fingertips in the word of God.
Thank you that you've given to us all things that are necessary for life and godliness.
Lord, that we can know the mind of Christ through your word.
And we can profit from it immensely.
Lord, I pray it help us to be a people that are found reading it, meditating upon it.
Lord, undoubtedly in time loving it, desiring it, and profiting from it.
Lord, help us to be people who learn and people who can profit others.
We ask in Christ's name, amen.
Alright, we'll go ahead and sing song number 44 before we go.
We'll work till Jesus comes, song number 44.
In the land of wrath, for the ice I can feel the cold waves come on.
Praying, I shall lay my heart where I am well in peace at home.
We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, where we'll be gathered home.
To Jesus Christ I thank for rest, who made me cease to roam.
And he for succored on his breast, till he would not be home.
We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes,
where we'll be gathered home.
I sought at once my Savior's side, no more of his flesh shall roam.
Within all brains there's chilling, dying things where they hold.
We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, where we'll be gathered home.
We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, where we'll be gathered home.
.