So Jeremiah 23 is not a very good chapter for the prophets,
for the preachers, for the priests, for the pastors that you could see
from the very beginning there, you know, God is
letting them know that he's not pleased with their performance.
Now, the prophet Jeremiah was used by God toward the end
of Judah's time before they were taken into captivity.
You know, God was so disappointed in Judah they had turned
toward idols and toward lies and, you know, God would allow the
Babylonians to come and take them into captivity. God would allow
Nebuchadnezzar and his armies to destroy the temple, the house of the Lord.
He was so disgusted and so disappointed in his people at this time, and you
know the story, the people were taken then into captivity for 70 years
and then God would allow them to return and they had to rebuild
the temple. But one thing I want you to notice is that
even, like this was a bad state for Judah,
like this was a horrible state for Judah, but notice there's not a shortage
of pastors. There's not a shortage of prophets.
There's not a shortage of priests. They're all there.
Pastors, priests, prophets, they're all there,
you know, performing their religion, teaching what they claim to be the
words of God, and God is saying, look, I never sent
these people. They're dreaming dreams. It's not coming from his word.
And so, of course, it's so important that we be in a church that teaches God's
word. You know, that teaches the truth of God's
word. You know, that we can say, yes, this sermon or this past is being
utilized by God. He's speaking the truth of God's word.
And so, one thing that I was meditating on, you know, for the sermon
this afternoon was just how appreciative and how
thankful I am as a pastor to not have to rely on my own
wisdom. I don't have to rely on my skills,
you know, like I don't have to come to church and start juggling for you
or putting on some performance for you to keep you entertained,
that God has done such a great work to you, have given us his word,
and we can focus and give our attention on the wisdom that comes from
his word. Look at Jeremiah 23 verse 28.
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream.
Now what this is saying is God's saying, look, if someone says, man, I had a vision, I had a
dream, God has spoken to me, God is saying to them, look,
just let them talk. Let them tell you all about their dream.
Not because their dream is good, but he wants to show you the comparison
between the preaching of the dreams and the visions of these prophets
in comparison to his word. Because then he says,
and he that hath my word, let him speak
my word faithfully. So you got someone that's going to tell you their
dreams and there's someone that's got the word of God,
you know, says all right, you got God's word, speak it faithfully.
Then he says these words, what is the chaff
to the wheat, sayeth the Lord. What is the chaff to the wheat, sayeth the Lord.
What is it saying? It says the dreams of these prophets, these visions,
it's chaff in comparison to wheat. See God's word is here being likened
unto wheat and not the chaff. The title for the sermon this
afternoon is what the bible is likened to, what the bible is
likened to. And I've got several things in the bible,
I've got 12 things, 12 points that the bible is likened to.
And the first thing we see here is that the bible of God's word is
likened unto wheat and not to chaff. Say what is chaff? You know if you
are growing wheat and you may recall the story
of Jesus and his disciples when they were hungered, they passed by a field
and they collected the corn and they freshed it in their hands.
You know and when you do some freshing of some wheat or some corn
you've got the outlier, the husk of the seed
which is worthless. I mean you know with your hands you can move that and
the chaff just blows away. It's worthless, it's useless, it cannot
be eaten. What you want to eat is that corn or
what you want to eat is that wheat. And what God is saying when you go to
a church and people are prophesying their dreams
and their visions and they're speaking everything else besides the word of God,
that's like chaff. You're consuming chaff which is worthless,
which has no nutritious value for you, it's not going to nourish you.
But when you preach from God's word he says this is like wheat,
something that is nutritious. You know wheat can be milled into flour
and can be utilized to feed God's people in different ways.
What is the chaff to the wheat? Brethren if I come here and I just give you
my wisdom and my opinions on things, it's just chaff, it's useless, it's a
waste of time. It's not going to give you the
nutrients that you need in life, which is why it's so important that we
come and we hear God's word. What is the Bible likened to? The
Bible is likened to wheat. You see it gives you nutrition, it
gives you food, it gives you nourishment. I want to
thank each member of New Life Baptist Church,
especially those that have been around from the start. It's been almost six
years and thank you for being faithful, thank you for
for coming to a church desiring the wheat, desiring some food,
desiring to be fed. Thank you that you've never said to me,
pastor can you put on a show, pastor can you know can you start to
entertain us, pastor can you start acting and
putting on some plays behind, pastor can you tell more jokes,
can you entertain us, can you tickle our ears.
I appreciate you that have come and said man I just want to know God's word.
You know without compromise, just tell me what the Bible says,
just teach us God's word faithfully because when that happens
it's wheat, you know it's nutritious. And look I understand that there are
going to be times when I preach God's word
or some preacher behind this pulpit preaches God's word and they're
going to give their opinion. Okay they're going to give their
thoughts and ideas and what I want to challenge you with this is this,
look you can't remove the chaff completely from from preaching.
The goal is to teach God's word and then to expand that
to apply it to your life but I recognize there are going to be times
that as preachers we just give our opinions but what you need to do as a
hearer is say hold on is this opinion or is this
application does it line up with God's word,
does it line up with the wheat because if it does line up with the
wheat then it is nutritious, it's been expounded you know the
wheat's been taken and it's been milled into flour
where it can be more digestible for me where I can understand it a bit better
that I know how I can apply it to my life. Well that's still wheat
that's still good it's still good for you but if you listen
to something behind this pulpit and you say you know what that is just the
pastor's opinion like there is nothing in God's word
that confirms that it's not aligned you know it's a bit of a bit strange
like that's that's actually just what my pastor thinks that's what the
preacher thinks then brethren label it as chaff and say you know what I can set
that aside and I know it's just a faithful man doing the best he can
with the limited abilities he has to proclaim God's word
but the last thing we want to be able to do is to find a church
where it's just going to be chaff it's going to be chaff and chaff hey
there might be a lot of chaff there might be a lot of wastage there
might be a lot of speaking but it's not going to fulfill
you it's not going to give you the nourishing value that the wheat's
going to give you not only is it compared to as wheat
but in verse number 29 God says is not my word like a fire sayeth the Lord
like a fire the bible is likened unto fire you see sometimes well
sometimes all the time fire is going to burn
okay you put your hand in a fire you put your hand in some hot substance
it's going to burn and sometimes brethren the preacher's going to burn
sometimes you know you are not right with God you know how you come to church
and you're kind of maybe hoping hope pastor kevin preaches something just
light not something too confronting this
morning or this afternoon because I know I'm not doing very well
with the Lord but brethren look God's word is like a fire it ought to burn
you know there are parts in your life that are not right with the Lord
there are parts that need improving you know there are parts that you know
about your life that God is not not looking down upon you favorably
it's so important that we keep preaching from God's word which is like a fire
what it does ah that hurts ah that was offensive
oh I didn't want to have to hear that because then you know
again if it's coming from God's word when you suffer that burn
then you know what I need to heal that now I need to fix that
in my life not only does fire burn but you know what if you put some
precious metal into the fire it refines you know
I use my analogy of my wedding ring you know it's a
what is this 18 karat I think it is 18 karat gold but it's got some
imperfections 24 carats pure gold but even then 24
carats not always perfect there are some imperfections always
with something of value but if you were to pass this
through the fire it's going to refine it even better
is there's going to be a greater level of purity and it will start to
diminish that which is impure and brethren that's what God's word is
like there are impurities in your life there are sins in your life
there are things that you know God does not want you doing
and you need to go through the fire of God's word and be refined
see the bible is likened unto wheat the bible is likened
unto a fire what else is it likened to verse number 29
is not my word like a fire saifer lord and like a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces what else is the bible likened to
the bible is likened to a hammer a hammer
look if you were a nail and you've been hammered by that
hammer is it going to feel nice look other times that i'm going to
preach some nice sermons you know that are
kind of not too confrontational but you're reminding you of some
great truth of God's word yes and there are other times when you
read God's word or you hear God's word
it's going to be like a hammer it breaks down
it's going to tear you down and so important that we get
all of these parts in our in in our preaching we get all of these parts
of God's word in our hearts it needs to break us
brethren we are selfish prideful creatures
and we need God's word to break that heart of pride
because it's what lifts and elevates itself against the Lord God
i mean such a strong hammer it breaketh the rock in pieces
you know what i like about that passage as well is it's not my job
to defend God's word it defends itself
like sometimes we do defend the scriptures to some extent you know we
are a king James only church and we try to defend the king James
bible position or you know some people might make uh
you know accusations of conflicts in the bible
and sometimes we'll come alongside and clarify what's the so-called
conflicts are but really God's word needs no defense
you know what God's word doesn't need defense it's a fire
it's a hammer it looks after itself and it's God's word to preserve his
word and that makes it easy for us because
all we need to do is accept and read and believe what
God's word has to say let's say God's word is likened to a
hammer so not only should we teach the truth
which is good but sometimes we need to break
things sometimes we need to break false doctrines
with the hammer of God's word okay sometimes we have to
break wrong philosophies of the world using God's word so it can be used
definitely as a hammer then it says in verse number 30 therefore
behold i am against the prophets sayeth the Lord that
steal my words every one from his neighbor
i don't want to be this i don't want to be the kind of pastor that steals
God's word away oh let's set aside God's word and let
me tell you my story you know that i've you know i've
preached in the past and again i don't like attacking
Baptist why do you take Baptist churches pastor
because i'm a Baptist i've grown up in Baptist churches
i i like Baptist churches for the doctrines
and and for many that i've seen a the reality of the Christian life in
many people that attend like-minded churches
but there's a lot of problems i remember going to Adelaide with my wife
before we started this church because i was thinking about starting a church in
Adelaide and i'll never forget going to a
church where the youth pastor started to preach
and i know i've used this analogy before but then he started to speak
about how the youth group went to the
movies and they watched world war z a zombie movie
okay and the sermon i don't even know how
but the sermon was about the movie the sermon was about zombies eating
people's brains i don't know right and there's some
Bible verses were thrown in and like i'm in Adelaide i'm going Lord
do you want me to start a church here
you know i want to be a blessing to this pastor maybe he can help me
maybe give some direction and i'm sitting there in church here in the
youth pastor go on about movies it was chaff
it was a waste of time and i'm thinking why am i bringing my family
to this house here we're not even here in God's word
how is it that we're here i'm trying to get my kids away from the worldly
movies i'm trying to tell them hey this
isn't the stuff that we should be watching you know we try to be careful
with the things that we watch and even when you're careful you know
hollywood still throws strange things at you
why am i saying that oh yeah because i went to youtube
a couple of days ago you know just looked up our church new life
baptist church and i think sebastian found it
uh new life church on the gold coast new life something church
what oh just new life i just just new life
okay and i'm like okay look do we have more subscribers and then
oh they're beating us they're beating us we've got to get that subscriber
number up okay if you haven't subscribed on youtube subscribe now
all right thumbs up you know smash that like button and give me a thumbs
up but uh anyway i just i was just
curious you know it's just like standard
you know standard liberal pentecostal style church whatever
with a rock band and i just i just thought i'll just listen to a random
sermon so i put it on actually i think the first sermon was a
woman preacher i think and then we put in the next sermon
it was a man who's the actual pastor and he's like he starts he goes you
know what just this past day went to the cinemas and i watched
what movie was it
oh no no he goes man if you've not seen this it's an older movie if
you've not seen this movie let me encourage you you got to watch
this movie it's about endurance it's about fire
anyway and then he starts building all this this uh you know christian
teaching about enduring and being strong based
on this if you've not seen this movie you got to go out and watch this movie
i'm like where is god's word
but there are so many churches like this so many churches preach in
hollywood to you hollywood i mean it's a cesspool of
iniquity these these actors are like the
scum of the earth and you got pastors and i know they're
not they're like these prophets in jeremiah's time
they're not even safe to begin with
oh there was a period that they read the scriptures before the sermon
and they had like a big screen they had i don't know let's say it was the
niv on show but the guy reading the
scriptures was reading from another version
and like you can't even follow what he's saying with what's on the screen
let's just confuse everybody with all these modern translations
and then let's just teach from hollywood what are hollywood's
lessons to your life
that's why when i read jeremiah to me it's just modern day it's the same
there's nothing new on the sun verse number 30 therefore behold i'm against
the prophets save the lord that steal my words
everyone from his neighbor can you imagine that god is saying these
preachers they're not just preaching chaff and
nonsense they're stealing god's words away
people are thinking they come to church to hear god's word
even in the independent baptist church and i'm listening to hollywood
i'm listening to world war z it's like why
what the bible is likened to wheat fire
hammer because a lot of preachers don't like this
they don't want fire they don't want a hammer what if we offend people
what if we burn people it's not our job just preach god's word faithfully
and all these qualities it might be a fire to some
it might be running waters to another person for the same sermon
but you need to leave god let god's work
word do the work that it's required to do you know
come with me to matthew chapter 4 matthew chapter 4 verse number 4
matthew chapter 4 and verse number 4
for our online listeners please subscribe all right
matthew chapter 4 verse number 4 matthew 4 4
what else is the bible likened to you guys know this story when christ was
tempted in the wilderness but he answered and said is it is
written man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of god see the
fourth point that i have for you is the bible is likened to
to bread the bible is likened to bread yes it's likened to wheat
but now it's likened to bread and and of course christ is speaking about
your general staple diet your daily diet
and i guess bread in the time of christ is i'm sure
much more nutritious than it is you know the preserved bread that we buy in
the stores but it's something that we need on
our daily basis okay make sure the bible is something
that you consume every day every day that you go by
okay you say pastor i've not been reading my bible okay today sunday
the first day of a new week we're hearing god's word you're reading god's
word let this be a new start for you all
right tomorrow open god's word again like for
breakfast and consume some of it and maybe
consume a little bit for lunch maybe consume a little bit for dinner
this is what god's word is likened to
it satisfies hunger you know i recall being a teenager
going a long time not reading my bible months
months and months not reading my bible and a yearning inside of me
this hunger you know inside of me this
this this new man that i was inside of me but just
lacking you know nutritious value and i'd pull the bible
off the shelf and i would just consume that bible i'll just i'll just
you know page after page chapter story after story i just like to consume it
as much as i can because i'm so hungry so hungry for
god's word so the bible truly nourishes and
the bible truly satisfies hunger and we get hungry every
day well your new man your spiritual man within you gets hungry every day
it needs to receive the bread of god's word
i'll quickly read to you from amos 8 11
it says behold the days come save the lord god
that i will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread
nor a thirst of water but of hearing the words
of the lord a famine of hearing the words of the lord
you see when you go without your bible for a long time you will be
malnourished you go without food for a long time
you will be now malnourished in the flesh
reverend in order for you to have you know like this morning in order for you
to overcome temptations and live that victorious
life you need to nourish the new man within you
okay you've got the flesh and you got the spirit fighting within yourself
you know if you give to the flesh it's going to
overcome in the time of temptation but if you nourish a new man within you
you give us strength you give god's word the daily bread
every day it's going to be stronger and when the temptations come
the new man's going to have victory it's going to be able to subdue
that flesh you know under the power of that new man
and so the bible is likened unto bread
come with me to ephesians chapter 5 ephesians chapter 5 in verse number 26
ephesians chapter 5 in verse number 26
now this passage is about husbands and wives but it says in ephesians 5 26
that he might sanctify and cleanse it speaking about cleansing the church
with the washing of water by the word you see the fifth point that i have
for you is the bible is likened to water the bible is likened to
water that he might sanctify and cleanse it
you know we come to church and the lord is seeking to sanctify
a continual work of sanctification a continual work of cleansing
of your life of my life but how does he do that
by the washing of water sorry with the washing of water
by the word okay so this water that's been referred to here
is not so much drinking water but it's water used to bathe
to shower to clean verse number 27 that he might present it to himself a
glorious church not having spots or wrinkle or any
such thing but that it should be holy and without
blemish my desire for new life at this church
you know if we're able to sustain ourselves to the lord comes back
if he comes back in my lifetime then i want to be able to present this
church in the same way holy and without
blemish a glorious church look we don't have to be
a thousand member church to be a glorious church
we don't need to have the highest subscription number on youtube to be a
glorious church what we need is the water of his
word to cleanse us because brethren we all have spots and
wrinkles you know any such thing we have
problems we have defects we're unclean in our life
and you know it and i know it again if i knew i don't want to know your
heart and you don't want to know my heart
because it's it's not pure it's not clean and so we need the
water of god's word i love sometimes just uh you know on a
hot day you know maybe you sweat or you've
worked and you're you know you feel a bit dirty i just
i love just going to a shower and i just turn on that water and just
just feeling that water fall on me and just
the filth of the day washing away i like the feeling of being
clean you know if i've had a big meal and
and i just sometimes i just can't help but get a toothbrush and just brush my
teeth i just love the the feeling of being
clean on the on the outward but of course god is more concerned
about cleanliness on the inside and the only thing that's going to
penetrate the inside is the water of god's word
so the bible is like an unto water cleansing water
come with me to hebrew chapter five hebrew chapter five verse number 26
sorry 12 verse number 12 hebrew chapter five and verse number 12
hebrew chapter five and verse number 12
hebrews 512
so again i believe paul is the author of hebrews
could be someone else doesn't really matter god's the author overall
but it's an epistle to hebrews it's an epistle to to jews you know those
that have been saved you know with a with the work of christ in their
lives and you know they're struggling in in the book of
hebrews to differentiate between what were the old
testament practices and what are we to do under the new testament
they'll kind of struggle with that with that transitional period for them
but it says in verse number 12 for when
for the time you ought to be teachers they ought to be teachers they've been
saved long enough you know they've had
enough time to grow where they can now teach god's word to
others they ought to be teachers he says you have need that one teach
you again which be the first principles of
the oracles of god and have become such as have need of
milk and not of strong meat for everyone that
use of milk is unskillful in the word of
righteousness for he is a babe and so point number six
is that the bible is likened to milk the bible is likened to milk now
there's nothing wrong with milk and there's nothing wrong with people
needing milk but brethren who needs milk
the newborn babe the little infant or the grown-up adults
the babe needs the milk right the babe there's nothing wrong with being a
baby you know if you've been saved and you're
you're recently saved and you're you're learning and you're you know you're
kind of wrapping your heads around all the
doctrines of the bible there's nothing wrong you're a baby in christ
you're you're recently saved and it's good to be able to absorb
the milk of god's word it can be damaging
as a newborn babe as a new christian to try to take on the meat
now focus on the milk focus on as it says there
the first principles of the oracles of god the first principles the
foundational things the basic things of the of your faith
if you're newly saved knock those things in first
you see these hebrews they've gone some time saved
they ought to be teachers they ought to be guiding new people
and they're being rebuked here you have need of milk
you need to be taught all over again you know you guys aren't growing
and so brethren in order for us to grow in god's word we first need the milk
and again the milk are things like the deity of christ the milk is like
god created all things in six days creation
okay the milk is the trinity the milk is
christ is returning the milk is the blood atonement of christ
the virgin birth all these things that are important to our faith
and you've got to lock them in before you can start absorbing the meat
it continues in that same passage in verse number 14
but strong meat belongeth to them that are
of full age even those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil and so point number seven the same passage
is the bible is likened to strong meat strong a bit chewy you got to bite
into it you gotta chew on it a bit
then you gotta swallow that meat you know a baby without teeth
they're gonna choke on that meat okay but the bible is likened to strong
meats and look once you've taken in the milk
and you've grown and you've learned the basic principles of god's word
you've learned the basic principles of your faith
don't be afraid now it's time to grow now it's time to dig in a little
deeper now it's time for you to say lord teach me more
show me more lord and to me the easiest way
this has been my my my style of learning god's word
and i think it's the best way just have your daily bible read
just read the bible read chapter by chapter you know all the days of your
life taking a bit of you know god's word and the things that you
understand oh actually before you start reading
say god teach me lord guide me help me to keep attention
i don't want to just go through my chapter a day to keep the devil away
i give me attention lord so i can just be focused on what you have to
say read the chapter meditate on it how
can i apply this to my life and there are going to be times that
you understand it and the things that you understand
because of god's guidance because of his holy spirit the things that i
understand i'm going to do i'm going to lock
those truths in that i understand there are other things that you're
going to read that you just don't understand
don't ring me up pastor i got up to verse number five in this chapter
i don't understand the verse don't worry about it okay
it could be strong meat okay it might not be your time to understand that
right now and and in your process of time as
you read god's word more you'll understand more or maybe verse
number five god's going to allow you to hear it at church at some point
you know where it gets expanded and explained and then god's opening the
door for you to be able to absorb that part of the scriptures but
there's no rush like there's no rush to understand
everything to this day i still don't understand
everything okay who's gonna understand i'm never
gonna get to the end of understanding everything in god's word
i know full well when i go to heaven i'm gonna have to go to god sometimes
and say lord remember that chapter remember that verse it seemed a bit
awkward can you explain that to me i never really understood it on the
earth but the point is you grow and
develop and as you read don't worry if you don't understand
every single verse and every single cryptic part
or you're reading the book of revelation you can't pierce exactly
where that event takes place or how it takes don't worry about it
there's plenty of bible to read and understand focus on the milk
and as you grow the lord will automatically give you his meat
all right but don't be afraid of meat
i would say that the first baptist church that i went to as a child
it was just milk like every sermon was milk
and it's good milk but at some point
it's like i need meat i need veggies i need potatoes i need something more to
grow i mean it's good to know about god's
love and it's good to know about god's grace and it's good to know
about god's faithfulness but when am i going to learn about god's wrath
when am i going to learn the other things that i read in the bible
when are you going to explain to me why god was so
seemingly judgmental in the old testament because i'm just hearing one
side of god i want more i want all of god's word
what did what did jesus say uh what did he say earlier it said um
a man shall not live by bread alone but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of god if i'm not getting every word i'm
going to be malnourished if all i'm getting is the same
passages again and again and again the same sermons again and again again
the same milk again and again again i'm going to be malnourished
could you imagine living your life as an adult and all you ever drank was
milk you'd have major deficiencies in your
body and there's a lot of believers with major deficiencies
in their spiritual life because they're not desiring to consume the strong
meat the bible is likened to strong meat
come with me to james chapter 1 james chapter 1 verse number 23
james chapter 1 verse number 23
i always find it funny when someone says to me pastor was that sermon for
me you know did you preach about my
situation oh i get that i get that a lot i find
it not fun not like haha i'm laughing at you
funny but just it's not really funny to be honest okay
because i'm i don't it's not my it's not my way of
preaching really you know but the reason you feel that
way when it happens is because of this james chapter 1 verse number 23 for if
any be a hearer of the word and not a doer
he is like unto a man beholding his natural face
in a glass or as we would say beholding his natural face
in a mirror the eighth point that i have for you brethren is
the bible is likened to a mirror this is a mirror you look at this and
you find yourself you look at god's word and go yep
that's me yep that's my problem sometimes you're
like ah those israelites of ode the stiff
oh actually i did that that was me i'm stiff necked
it's a mirror okay and mirrors will highlight your deficiencies mirrors
will show you when you wake up your hair's out of
place all right it's going to show you the defects
it's not always nice to look in the mirror but the bible is likened to a
mirror and so when i preach god's word and
you say to me pastor was that about me
i guess so it's a mirror yeah it was about you it was about me too
it was about all of us okay god knows what you look like and he's going to
tell you what you look like it's not so much me trying to make it
apply to you it's all going to it's always going to apply to you if god's
word is being preached faithfully it's always going to hit you in some
regard you'll be able to see yourself
verse number 24 james 1 24 says for he beholdeth himself
and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was
so if you hear god's word but you don't do god's word you're going to be
a guy that looks in the mirror and forgets what he looks like
there have been times that i've come to church rushing in the morning big
family right i've got my jacket got my tie
and we're getting you know it's a bit crazy my family on a sunday morning
trying to get ready for church and then um i walk to the van and you
know it's got the the glass the the window and i see a
reflection on myself and my hair's all over the place i'm
like i didn't fix myself and i've got to run into the house for some
gel on because i i forgotten what i look like
from all the bad rush that's what it's like life can be a
rush you know you get up in the morning you look at yourself
oh yeah and then you get caught up in the world you get caught up in life and
you forget what you look like well if you don't do god's word if
you just hear god's word you're going to notice the imperfections
on you but then you're so busy with life and you don't do what god asks of
you you're going to forget all about it look you're going to forget this
sermon you're going to forget this sermon tomorrow or next week
if you don't do something about it you'll forget it
how many times pastor that look i've had people say to me pastor it was a
good sermon last week and because i preach like three or
four times a week i forget sometimes like you know
cut me a break because i you know it's a lot of sermons and i'm like oh
what they're preaching again and i'm like oh i can't remember
but it's a good sermon the reason you don't remember is because you didn't
do it you might have liked what you heard but
now you forgot all about it okay it happens so much it happens so
often verse number 25 but whoso looketh into the perfect
law of liberty and continueth therein he be not a forgetful hero but a doer
of the work this man shall be blessed in his
deed reverend you're already doing half of
the job you've come to church you're hearing
now i want you to be blessed by god i want you to be blessed in your deeds
what you do so all you need to do now is put it into practice
take some you're not going to take the whole sermon take something
you know let's say i spoke to you about your need for the bible every
day okay you say pastor i can't do
everything that it's covered up some things i don't even remember
some things i don't even know what you mean by that okay but what you can do
say all right pastor said i need to read my bible
every day it's my daily bread so that's something you can do now you
can say lord tomorrow i'm going to read my bible
and lord tuesday i'm going to read my bible and lord wednesday i'm going to
read my bible look you do that you put something
as simple as that into practice god says he's going to bless you don't
we want to be blessed by god well don't be just a hearer do
something about it okay the bible is likened unto amira
can we meet to psalm 119 psalm 119 psalm 119
and verse 105 psalm 119 119
and verse number 105
we're up to point number nine
psalm 119 verse number 105 the bible says thy word is a lamp
unto my feet and a light unto my path the bible is likened to a lamp and a
light the bible is likened to a lamp and a
light reverend you know there are certain
decisions that i need to make in life and i don't always have the answer i
don't know wait wa i don't know i don't really
know the right answer right now okay and you guys have decisions to
make in life okay there are so many options so
many ways that you can do things you know in order for you to walk
rightly in order for you to do what god look
god knows what is best for you if you want to make the best
decisions in life you need the lamp you need the lights of your feet you
need god to shine the lamp the pathway for you
so you need his word you see when you have a big decision to make
go to the lord and say lord i've got a big decision i don't know what to do
right now do i take this option do i take
that option but lord what i'm going to do
i'm going to spend time in your word and please show me something
the lord's going to show you the lord answers prayers
the lord wants to be a light to you he wants you to make the best
decisions he loves you and the answers are found in his word
but if you don't pick up his word how are you going to know which way to
go i'll ring my pastor my
pathway is different to yours because we have different lives
we have different experiences we're running our own race
which is to run the race that is set before us
we each have a race to run for the lord
i don't have all the answers i might say to you well i don't know here's a
passage meditate on that passage think
about it this is what i think i would do in your situation
but i'm not in your situation i'm not in your shoes but this is what i
think i would do but really it's you it's your call
and it's scary sometimes to make big decisions in life
it's scary to go lord i don't know am i going to do this i'm going to do that
but when you have a confirmation from his word
it takes all that burden and that fear away
says lord wow i found an answer you know what yeah this decision
this option makes the best sense aligned with your word that i cut
i read this morning or with a sermon that i heard on sunday or on wednesday
and so lord i'm going to pursue that path thank you lord
for shining a light to my feet one thing that i've heard taught as well
you know is that the lord doesn't necessarily shine
the destination to you it says there that he shines
a light onto your path and so usually he'll shine a light or you
need to step next you don't know exactly where it's going
to end up but you just got okay that light's there
i'll step into that light and then the lord will shine
again the next step and you step into that light
and you take steps all the way this is a faith-based
way of living your life you don't always know what the destination the
end result's going to be but you just say lord i'm just going
to take whatever step you shine before me whatever doors you
open before me because your your word your bible is
likened unto a lamp and a light of my to my path
come with me to psalm 19 come with me to psalm 19
psalm 19
i'll quickly read to you from ephesians 6 17 i'll be quick on this point
ephesians 6 17 says and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god point number 10 is
the bible is likened to a sword
you want to go to battle we're called soldiers of jesus christ
you can't go to battle without the sword you know when we go soul winning
like it sounds nice we're winning souls
but brethren you got to take that sword
you know every time we go out and we preach god's word to the lost
you're cutting you know this sword is blood stained
as you take away uh you know the beliefs of
uh of uh of good works to save you you know you start cutting through the
beliefs that my religion or my church is going to save me
you start cutting through those lies and you show them the truth
like a sword directly you take it to battle
and you can win some of these captives to jesus christ
the sword we saw that it can burn it can cut you know but it can cut
and cut quite deeply you know hebrews 4 12 says
for the word of god is quick and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirits and to the joints and marrow and is
a and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intense of the heart once again when you say
me no no the word knew the intense of your heart
it cut through and showed you where you're not right with the lord
it showed you what you need to fix
see like sin is like this it's like this cancer
you know and if it's not treated it continues to grow
and the only way to remove that cancer all those impurities
is surgery and that surgery is the sword
sharper than any two-edged sword that cuts even
you know uh the soul and the spirit the concern of the heart
shows you what needs to be taken out and brethren we need
we need a lot of surgery in our life you know led by the
gentle hand of the surgeon the great physician jesus christ
but it's by reading and understanding his word so the bible is likened
to a sword all right this is the last passage
psalm 19 verse number seven the law of the lord is perfect
so where's the law of the lord found in the bible all these verses about the
bible the lord is perfect converting the
soul the testimony of the lord is sure
making wise is simple the statutes of the lord are right
rejoice in the heart reverend does god's word rejoice
give you rejoice in your heart it should do
the commandments of the lord is pure and lightening the eyes
the fear of the lord is clean and during forever
the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether
more to be desired are they than gold yay than much fine gold the bible is
likened to gold the bible is likened to gold
and most of this world is seeking treasures most of this world is seeking
prosperity and value boy we have something more precious than
gold we have something more precious than
any treasure you could possibly have on this earth
like if god asked you you know if he gave you you know
a desire of your heart what do you want most than anything on this earth
and whatever whatever could be in your heart and your mind
you've already been given something more precious than that
his word i mean what a blessing guys what a blessing to have something more
precious than gold and we know how many hours we spend
work in a job to make money to get a paycheck
to to be able to pay nothing wrong with that you know to pay for x
how much time and effort do we do we work how many hours do we work
every week to make ends meet and then you don't pick up your bible which is
worth more than that we don't even give any percentage the
amount of work to read and meditate and
receive this precious gold more precious than gold
brethren this this bible is is amazing it's it's
it's the it's the hand of the lord on this earth the closest you're going
to get to god is through here the more you're ever going to know him
is through his word you know i often think about moses and
the amazing 10 command 10 commandments on the tablets
where god himself wrote on those tablets because that would have been
amazing to see you got more than the 10 commandments
10 commandments are just a little like half a page
you got everything else that god wrote
how valuable how valuable the bible is likened to gold
verse number 10 he continues sweeter also than
honey and the honeycomb the bible is likened to honey
the bible is likened to to honey and so it's it's sweet
in the mouth okay it's not always sweet in the belly it can be bitter in
the belly okay but it's sweet in the mouth and
again your dual nature the flesh doesn't think of god's word as honey
but the new man in you loves it can't get enough of it
give me more honey you know let me consume more
it's sweet it's delicious you know there's been a few times when i've
tried to go on the keto diet ketogenic diet where you got to get
off the sugars and i remember the first time i've
shared this to a few people the first time i tried the keto diet
my brain disconnected from my body because my brain is saying no sugar no
chocolates no chocolates and then i find myself i don't know how
it's like i transported i opened the pantry and i pulled out chocolate
but my brain's telling me don't but my body is just there
because it desires the sweetness it desires the sugar now honey's a better
sweeter than then then you know that refined sugar
but the point is that like the new man wants it
it's nice it's a nice dessert we've seen
the bible can be like like a like a wheat and like bread
and all these other things but it can also be something so sweet
you know a nice dessert you know it just satisfies the the sugar craving
that you've got within you it's a sweet book we have a sweet lord
you know he serves us a delicious spiritual meal
just we neglect god's word we think of it as another book it's not
another book it's amazing you need it i need it
it's going to teach everything you need to know about life
there is one other passage i'll just read to you very quickly
because you can have too much of a good thing do you know that
like
again i don't want to zap anyone's zeal if you're excited for the lord
run hard serve him but be careful because the bible even says in proverbs
25 16 i'll just read it to you proverbs 25 16
hast thou found honey eat so much as it is sufficient for thee lest
thou be filled there with and vomit it
have you found honey god's word is honey
okay just eat enough that it satisfies you
okay don't go overboard it's kind of the same idea of a babe
in christ choking on strong meat you just got
saved i want to understand revelation i
want to the most symbolic book of the bible
the end times just take it easy
everything has a right balance and god's word is good for you
read it every day you know take it in okay but don't absorb so much honey
that you get so full on it and then you throw up
we've got to be careful as christians sometimes you know
you learn great things from god's word and you have unsafe
family and then you just go and start what they call bible bashing them
you know your fornication is wrong your drunkenness is wrong and your
whatever bang bang they're not even saved
they're not even a babe they can't consume anything
and you're just telling them again what god's word bang like
to them it's vomit you've over consumed
no one wants to eat vomit they don't mind honey
but people don't want to consume and you you can throw up god's word because
you're just over consumed again like a babe choking on strong meat
or like someone that's zealous running the race of god they get so exhausted
they burn out they sizzle out everything's balanced
okay so hear god's word good read god's word good
you go pastor straight off tonight this afternoon sermon i'm going to listen to
another free sermons from preachers stop
how about you just take on board the things that you've learned now and
apply those things now do that now you don't want to over consume and start
vomiting okay it's not pleasant and i look
i feel kind of i don't know i kind of feel bad saying this but
you can have too much of a good thing be careful
be careful how much you consume and what you consume you then do
let it be sufficient for you oh that was good i've grown today i've learned
something today good that's enough for me okay tomorrow i
have my new breakfast i'll open god's word once again i'll
listen to another sermon potentially if that's what you want to do
but take it easy take it easy okay growth is slow from babe to an adult
takes time takes 20 years okay take it easy
don't over consume all right brevin title for the sermon
was what the bible is likened to and i just hope maybe i've given you
some other things to think about appreciate god's word don't let it be
just another book on your bookshelf okay it is so much value in god's word
it's such a blessing that we have the holy spirit that can
guide and to teach us the truth of his word and please put
what you hear into action okay let's pray