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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] And now we're going to page number 159. That's page number 159. Blessed be the name. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. All praise to him, praise to him, In majesty's love dream, Who gave his son for man to die, He my memory dear. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Find the scene, grab your song works, turn to page number 159. We're going to sing, blessed be the name, page 159 on the second. His name above all angels sing, Exalted more and more, That God the Father's almighty, Where angels adore. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Redeemer, Savior, friend of man, Who true with mine of all, Thou hast been my salvation's grant, For thou hast lied for all. Sing it out. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. You guys are singing great tonight, let's sing it out on the last page. 159 on the last. His name shall be the Counselor, The mighty Prince of Peace, Of all her kingdom come her, His name shall never cease. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church and the Wednesday evening Bible study. Let's open up in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for these church people coming out here on a Wednesday evening to serve you. I pray that you bless the service. I pray that you bless our singing that would glorify you, Lord. I pray that you bless the preaching to come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. All right, turn in your song books, page number 397. Page 397, that's another great song. Little is much when God is in it. Page 397, little is much when God is in it. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first verse. In the Lord is still the rhyming. There's a word for all to do. Mark the words of God. He's calling to the Lord. He's calling for you. Little is much when God is in it. Thank you, Lord, for all your pain. There's a crown that you can win. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Page 397 on the second verse. Does the place you call to favor seem so small and fragile? It is pretty when God is in it. And for God, for good is good. Sing it out. Little is much when God is in it. Thank you, Lord, for all your pain. There's a crown that you can win in. Thank you, Lord, for Jesus' name. For you, Jesus, I consider this body more than time and air. You can stand up in the battle. You can sing your praise and prayer. Little is much when God is in it. Thank you, Lord, for all your pain. There's a crown that you can win in. Thank you, Lord, for Jesus' name. Let's sing it out on the last page. 397 on the last. When the conflict here has ended, in our race, long has come. He who stays, long will be home. Welcome home next round of time. Little is much when God is in it. Thank you, Lord, for welcome. Thank you, Lord, for all your pain. There's a crown that you can win in. Thank you, Lord, for Jesus' name. Amen. Great singing. Amen, and we want to welcome you to the midweek service here at Ready Baptist Church. We're so glad that you are with us. Let's go ahead and take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand, and one of our ushers can get one for you. Put your hand up, and we will get one for you. The verse this week is Psalm 92, 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service times, Sunday morning service, 1030 a.m. And we, of course, invite you to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for Church. We have our Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. And we're glad that you're here for our Wednesday evening Bible study. If you look at our soul winning times, our main soul winning time is on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And, of course, soul winning is when we go out in the community. We knock on doors. We preach the gospel to anyone who's interested. And we'd love you to join us, of course, on Saturday for our big soul winning rally. And then we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. So if you'd like to go soul winning, there will be an opportunity for you to do that tomorrow and on Saturday on Sunday, of course. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, we had our family fun night on Sunday night. And that went well. And then we just want you to be aware of a few things. We have our Spanish service coming up this Saturday, April 5th at 5 p.m. So please make plans to attend if you are a Spanish speaker or if you have a Spanish speaking family member or friend that you'd like to invite to church. This would be the service to do that. And so make sure that you're aware of that. We'll have a potluck after the service as well. And then we've got several things coming up. The Lord's Supper is going to be on Wednesday, April 16th at 7 p.m. So that'll be a special service. Make sure you don't miss that. And then that Sunday is Easter Sunday, April 20th. And of course, you're not going to want to miss Easter. We're celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll have special music and treats for the kids, all sorts of stuff. You should have cards like this in your bulletin, that little stack of three there. And what we're asking is that between now and Easter, you would help us hand these out and that you would invite someone to church, invite them to Easter. And we'd appreciate your help with that. Choir practice is on Sunday at 5 p.m. And then this Sunday begins the children's choir practice as well. So the adults are practicing at 5 p.m. here in the auditorium. And then the kids choir, the children's choir is going to be at 5.15 p.m. And they're going to be practicing in the playroom. It's open to ages four to 12 years old. The adult choir is practicing for Easter. The children's choir is practicing for Mother's Day. So make sure you make a note of that. And then also tomorrow there is PE for the home school group. And that is at 10 a.m. So please make a note of that as well. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of April. This week we had Valor Roland's birthday on March 31st. Anna Puris had a birthday on April 1st. And brother Johnny Cervantes III has a birthday today, April 2nd. And also brother Joshua Gastelum Sr. has a birthday today, April 2nd. So happy birthday to both of them. Praise report, money matters, all of those things are there for you to look at. And then I do have a birth announcement to give tonight. And we want to announce that Mia Vokulcik was born on March 31st, weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 20 inches long. And both the baby and Miss Antonina are doing well. So congratulations of course to brother Vladi and Miss Antonina on the birth of their daughter, baby daughter. And of course we'd like to provide meals for the Vokulcik family. So if you'd like to help with that, please see my wife after the service. She has a sign-up sheet and she can get you signed up if you'd like to help bring meals to the Vokulcik family. So please make sure you see her with regards to that. And I think that's it for all of the announcements. So actually, no, if you're a first-time guest, we are glad that you're here with us and we have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building tonight. So you go out our main foyer. You see a little table set up on that table, you'll see these little gift bags. Please make sure you grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight. And we'd love for you to take one of these. And there's some things in there that we think you'll like. And then also if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card which is inserted in your bulletin. And if you need a pen, you can raise your hand. One of our ushers will bring you one. And we would love to have a record of your attendance. We actually would like to send you a little gift in the mail as well, but we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. Before we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate. And I think that's it for the announcements. So let's go ahead and take our song books. We're going to sing one more song before we receive the offering this evening. And let's go to page number 455. And we're going to sing Oh Perfect Love 455 as we prepare to receive the offering this evening. Oh Perfect Love 455. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. Oh, believe me, there, where in all I know, that there's really none of which goes wrong with me. When the peace is gone, it is gone. When two lives belong, glorious and unknown, that comes from heaven and earth. There's a beautiful song singing out on the last ornamented by Paul. On the last, in the soul of heaven, gracious and forgiving, Lord Jesus Christ, I will come to you. In the holy name, most high, all things merry. Now and to end the day. Lord God, you are born. Amen. Good singing. And before the guys come up and help us with the offering, just quick reminders that we, of course, are a family-integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. However, we do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating. They've got monitors set up or windows set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to use those rooms. If you're not sure where the rooms are at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the mother-baby rooms are, where the daddy room is. It'll show you where the restrooms are. And then, of course, we also ask that you please take a moment to check your phones and make sure that they aren't silent or vibrate. Make sure they're off so that they don't go off in the middle of the preaching. We'd appreciate your help with that. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. We thank you for allowing us to gather on a Wednesday night in the most encouraging service of the week. Lord, we pray that you'd bless the offering and give them the giver. We ask that you would meet with us as we take time to pray for our church family and then, of course, as we study the Bible together. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, well, let's go and take our prayer sheets tonight. We're going to go through our prayer list. And if you did not receive a prayer sheet on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers will get one for you. Of course, on Wednesday nights, we have our prayer time and we take time to pray through our prayer sheet before we get into our Bible study. So we'd like for you to have a copy of the prayer sheet. And we want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card on the back of the card that is placed for you to write down a request. Make sure you mark whether it's private or public. If it's private, only I will see it. If it's public, we'll put it on the prayer sheet. If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out. But usually we don't add those. And when we do add the request, of course, they're added in the order that they received and they're removed after a couple of weeks. So if you'd like for it to be there longer, we ask that you take a moment to fill out another communication card. And we're going to take these requests. So, Lord, I'm going to pray out loud and I'm going to ask you to pray in your mind and your heart with me. And let's bow our heads together and pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you tonight with these requests from our church family. And, Lord, we begin with these requests regarding health. And we begin with Ms. Edith praying for her test to go well without any complications that she has coming up. Also, Ms. Kimi praying for her mom's kidney disease and that the doctors can find a good treatment for her. Ms. Noah Sweeten praying for his client's upcoming shoulder surgery, that it would be successful and also that he would have a speedy recovery. And Brother Nate praying for his daughter Abby's upcoming dental work on the 5th and praying that everything would go well there. Brother Warren, he's praying for the health of his siblings. And Ms. Brittany praying for healing for her coworker's mom's brain disease, also for the health of her aunt's student. And also, Lord, we're praying for Brother Ron and for the swelling in his leg for his upcoming surgery later this month. Jerry and Gina are praying for their daughter's health. Ms. Maria Kudalima praying for successful surgery on her spine. Ms. Christine, Brother Salvador praying for their health. Brother Edgar, Ms. Selena, of course, praying for Joretsy and Jonathan to continue to be healthy. And Ms. Docmo praying for her pain and relief with her pain. And we're praying for our missionary, Dave Cabuntala's wife, Ms. Angel, as she's being treated for breast cancer. And Lord, we just pray for all of these individuals. And Lord, we ask that you would heal them if it's your will. We ask that you would relieve pain, that you would help them to get better. Lord, we pray that you would give the doctors wisdom and discernment and nurses, people dealing with them. Lord, we pray that you would help these individuals, that you would heal them. We also pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting. We pray for Ms. Katie and Ms. Ajana and Ms. Masha and Ms. Mars and Ms. Melody and Ms. Ariel. Asking that you give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues, no complications. And Lord, we pray that you would give them all good deliveries. And we thank you for the healthy baby that was born this week, Mia. And Lord, we pray that you would just continue to help our church and bless the ladies in our church that are expecting. We also pray, Lord, for these that have requests regarding salvation. Trey Coughlin praying for his dad's salvation. Ms. Kathleen Grohas praying for her family's salvation. Brother Warren praying for the salvation of his co-workers. And Ms. Gina praying for Diane's salvation. Ms. Natalie praying for her husband's salvation. And Ms. Christine praying for her family's salvation. Ms. Maria Kudalima praying for Roma and Skyler's salvation. Ms. Docma praying for her daughter and her family's salvation. Lord, we ask for all of these individuals. We pray that you would be with them, Lord. We ask that your Holy Spirit would work in their hearts and their minds. We pray that you would use any means necessary to bring them to the place where they would be willing and able to hear the gospel and receive it. We pray that a soul winner would communicate the gospel clearly to them. Lord, we also pray for these that have physical needs, financial needs. Brother Warren praying for his siblings' finances as well. Ms. Rebecca Garcia praying for her husband Danny's board date in September. Brother Edgar praying for his mom's immigration appointment tomorrow and that everything would go well and that she would have her residency approved. Ms. Christine praying for her finances. Brother Salvador praying for finances and work as well. And Lord, we just ask for these individuals. We pray that you would help them and be with them, Lord. That you would open doors and that your will would be done in their lives. And then, Lord, we pray for these that are traveling. Ms. Brittany praying for safe travels for her husband as he travels for work. And Ms. Docma praying for safe travels as she's visiting Germany and coming back from Germany. And, Lord, we pray that you would keep them safe as they travel, bring them home safely. And then, Lord, we also pray, Ms. Gina praying for Diane, not only she would be saved, but also she grieves the loss of her father, David. And, Lord, we pray that you would comfort her and be with her at this time. We also pray for these that have requests regarding their walk with you. Douglas Piper praying for Lord's wisdom and guidance in his life. Ms. Christine, Brother Salvador praying for their faith in their walk with you. And, Lord, we ask that you would help them and be with them. And then we pray, Lord, for these that are asking for their families as well. Jerry and Gina praying for their family and Brother Salvador praying for his family. And, Lord, we pray that you would help in these situations and be with these individuals. We pray for these that have unspoken requests. Brother John Cervantes having an unspoken request. My dad, Brother Felix having an unspoken request. Ms. Brittany having an unspoken request. Brother Salvador, Ms. Dogma both having unspoken requests. Lord, you know what their petitions are. You know what they're asking for. We pray that you would answer according to your will. And then, Lord, we pray for our missions work and our ministry here. We pray for our missionary, Dave Gabuntala, and his family in the Cebu in the Philippines. We pray for Pastor Stuckey and his family in Manila and in Pampanga and Bikol, the locations that they have there in the Philippines. Lord, we pray for the work being done by the missionaries there, that you would continue to bless them and help them. Lord, we pray for our church. We pray that you would continue to help us and bless us. We pray for the upcoming Easter service. Lord, help us be able to reach people with the gospel and to use this special day as a tool to do so. Lord, we pray that you would help us and that you would meet with us tonight as we take some time to open your word to study the Bible together. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please open up to Matthew 7. Matthew chapter 7. If you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand and I know you should bring your Bible. Matthew 7. Matthew 7. We will read the entire chapter as our custom. Matthew 7 beginning in verse number 1. Judge not that ye be not judged, for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrites, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou seek clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Now they cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receive it, and he that seeketh find it, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth into life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me not, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then while I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, saith we liken unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word, and for our church. I ask that you please meet with us tonight. Give us all a tender heart to the message, and ask that we, the pastor, please strengthen him, and fill him with your spirit. We love you. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in Matthew, chapter number seven. And of course, on Wednesday nights, we are normally, in our Wednesday night Bible study, we've been preaching through the book of Psalms, and we're studying the Psalms together. But tonight, we're taking a break from Psalms, and I'm preaching a different sermon. And for those of you that maybe are new to our church, I'll just let you know that here at our church, we have a little bit of a tradition that whenever a church member who's been here for 10 years or more has a birthday that falls on a church service, they can request for me to preach a sermon, their favorite sermon, or a sermon that I've preached in the past that they like. And today is Brother Johnny's birthday, and he's requested for me to preach the sermon that I'm preaching tonight. Now, let me just say this. You guys get one shot at this thing, okay? So it's not that every time your birthday falls on a service, I'm going to do this, but one time. And of course, many of you have requested that over the last few years, and it's been a fun thing. But anyway, that's why I'm preaching from this passage tonight. So if you don't like the sermon, you can blame Brother Johnny. Or as he's getting older, he's Brother John, I should say. How old are you today? Forty-four? Oh, good night, yeah. You are Brother John. When he first showed up, Brother John III was Big Johnny, and Brother John IV was Little Johnny. But then Little Johnny got taller and bigger than Big Johnny, and then the whole thing just got real confusing. So I don't know if Dad's Little Johnny now. But anyway, this is the sermon that's been requested. So we're here in Matthew chapter 7. I'll give you the title here in a moment, but I'd like you to notice there in Matthew chapter 7, and of course in verse 24 we have this famous passage of the parable of the wise man who built his house upon the rock. And this is Jesus ending his great Sermon on the Mount, probably the most famous sermon in the Bible, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. I think it's interesting that his conclusion is just this epic parable that he gives. Matthew chapter 7, if you look at verse 24, the Bible says this. Matthew chapter 7, if you look at verse 24, the Bible says this. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them. This is Jesus finishing his sermon, and he's finishing with this thought. He says, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And of course this is referring to the foundation. He's using a parable. This is an illustration. It's a picture. We know that parables are earthly illustrations to give us a spiritual application. And he says, he that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And then he says in verse 25, And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew. It's interesting to me that in Luke, where this same parable is given, it says, and when. So it's not if, but when. We know that in life there's going to be trials and storms and difficulties. And this is being illustrated here with the storm, the storms of life. He says, the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew. Notice the words here, and beat upon that house. And the Bible says, it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. So we see that the wise man built his house upon the rock. It was founded upon the rock. And when the storms of life, the trials of life, the difficulties of life came, the Bible says it fell not. Now we are to compare that and contrast that with the next man in this parable. Notice verse 26, Jesus goes on to say, And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man. So now we have the foolish man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew. Again, not if it'll come, but when it'll come. The Bible says this, and beat upon that house. Doesn't it sometimes feel like the storms of life just beat upon our house? Notice what the Bible says about this man. The Bible says, Jesus says, and it fell. The house fell. The storm came, and the house fell. Now I want you to notice that the house did not fall because of the storm. The house fell because of its foundation, because it was built upon the sand. And the storm did not cause the house to fall, but the storm simply revealed the foundation on which the house was built. The house fell, and Jesus says, to add emphasis, he says, and great was the fall of it. I think that's interesting when he says, great was the fall of it. So we have this parable, the wise man and the foolish man. And of course, it was a very well-known parable. And we want to see quickly, what is this all about? What is this well-known parable about? Well, notice there in verse 24, both of these men are building a house. In verse 24, it says at the last part of verse 24, it says that the wise man which built his house upon a rock. In verse 26, the end of verse 26, it says, a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the house here represents our lives. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 1, you have to turn there, I'll just read this for you. But in 2 Corinthians 5, 1, Paul says, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, and he's referring to our bodies, he's referring to our lives and the day of our death, and he calls it the earthly house of this tabernacle. He says, we have a building of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So, the building here in this parable, this house, is a representation of our lives. The rock on which the wise man built his house is a representation of God's word. Notice there in verse 24 again, he says, therefore, whosoever, notice what Jesus says, he says, heareth these sayings of mine. So, he's talking about someone who hears these sayings of mine, and someone that doeth these sayings of mine, and he says, that person that builds their house upon these sayings of mine, he said, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. So, the rock is a reference to the sayings of the Lord, or to the word of God. We know, of course, and I won't take the time to go through this, but you can say this out on your own. We know, of course, that throughout the Bible, God is referred to in the Old Testament as the Rock. We know that in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the Rock. We know that Jesus is also the Word. John 1 tells us the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father. So, we know that Jesus is the Word. We know that Jesus is the Rock, and we know that the sayings of mine, Jesus says in this parable, are the Word and the Rock. Jesus is the living Word of God, and the Bible is the written Word of God. And what the Bible is telling us here, is that the individual that built his house upon the Word of God, he's building his house, his life, upon a rock, and when the storms of life come, he'll be able to withstand. But the fool, in verse 26, which built his house upon the sand, what's that? That's the shaky ground, that's the sands that are not stable of this world. It represents the world and the earth. And the idea is this, that you're either building your life upon the foundation of the Word of God, or you're building your life upon the foundation of the world, the foundation of our flesh, of the world's philosophies. And what Jesus says is this, that the individual that fails to build their life on the Bible, the Bible says that when the storms of life come, when the difficulty of life comes, Jesus says it fell and great was the fall of it. And I think that's what you and I would want to avoid, that it would be said of our lives, that not only did it fall, and not only did it fail, but great was the fall of it. I think if you and I had our way, we would not want that said of our lives. We would not want that written on our tombstone. His life fell apart and great was the fall of it. And Jesus here is telling us, if we don't want to destroy our lives, ruin our lives, cause everything we work for to fall apart, and for people to look at it and say great was the fall of it, he's telling us that we must build our lives on the Bible. And that's what I'm preaching about this evening, this idea that we should build our lives on the Bible. And the question is, how do we do that? How do we build our lives on the Bible? Because it sounds nice. I don't think anybody would disagree with the statement, we as Christians ought to build our lives on the Bible. It sounds like spiritual talk, and it sounds like biblical talk, and it sounds like good talk. But what does that mean, and what does that look like in real life? And I'd like to this evening, as quickly as I can, give you three thoughts on this concept of building your life on the Bible. Of course, I preached this sermon several years ago, which is why Brother John has requested it. Every time you re-preach a sermon, or any time you re-preach a sermon, obviously it's never going to be the same. So even if you've heard this sermon in the past, I'm sure you'll learn something new. But I'd like to give you three thoughts this evening in regards to building your life on the Bible. We ought to build our lives on the Bible. And if you'd like to maybe jot these down on the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to take some notes, and I'd encourage you to take some notes. Let me say this, number one. When it comes to building our lives on the Bible, to build your life on the Bible, and for me to build my life on the Bible, we must first know what the Bible says. To build our lives on the Bible, we must know what the Bible says. Now, you're there in Matthew chapter 7. I'd like you to flip over just a few pages to Matthew chapter 12. I want you to notice what Jesus says about this matter of knowing what the Bible says. Matthew chapter 12 and verse number 2. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 2, the Bible says this, But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, this is the Pharisees coming against Jesus, they said unto him, that's Jesus, and they said, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. Now, they're accusing Jesus of allowing his disciples to do something which according to them is against the Bible. They're actually wrong about this, and it's always interesting to me how people will confidently tell you that the Bible says to do something or not do something that's not actually in the Bible. And here, the Pharisees, they come and they say, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. I want you to notice the response by the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse number 3, he says this, the Bible says this, But he said unto them, I just want you to notice these words. In fact, if you don't mind underlining in your Bible, you should underline these words in the Bible. Jesus says, Have ye not read? Because they're saying to him that he's allowing his disciples to do something which the Bible forbids, which the Word of God does not allow. They said it is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. And Jesus says, Oh really, if you're going to tell me what the Bible says and doesn't say, then maybe you should start by reading the Bible because he says unto them, Have ye not read what David did when he was in hunger and they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest. They said, You're doing something that's against the Bible. And Jesus says, You haven't even read the Bible. You don't even know what the Bible says. He says, Have ye not read? Have ye not read what the Word of God says? Notice in verse 5, he says it again. He says, Or, and again, maybe you can underline this statement in the Bible. He says, Or have ye not read? Or have ye not read in the law? How that on the Sabbath days, the priest and the temple profaned the Sabbath and are blameless. And I'm highlighting for you here that Jesus is explaining to these individuals that they actually don't know what the Bible says. And he's explaining to them, You haven't even read the Bible. You're not even familiar with what the Bible says. You're trying to tell me what to do based off the Word of God. And he questions that. He says, Have ye not read? This is something that Jesus does a lot in the Bible, in the Gospels, with the Pharisees specifically. You're there in Matthew 12. Flip over to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. Let me just highlight some of these for you real quickly. Matthew chapter 19. Look at verse 3. Matthew chapter 19 and verse 3. The Bible says the Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, saying unto him. Now they're going to question him. And again, notice they're questioning him about what the Bible says, about the law. Is it lawful for a man? And the question is, Is it okay according to the Bible, according to the law? Is it lawful for a man to put away, that's the Biblical terminology for the word divorce, to put away his wife for every cause? Or we might say for any cause. And he answered and said unto them, Why don't you notice what Jesus said? In fact, just underline this in your Bible if you don't have it underlined. He says, Have ye not read? Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female? And he goes on to say that he has made them, he has taken twain and made them one flesh. And he says, What God hath put together, let not man put asunder. By the way, that's the answer to the question. Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? Or have ye not read that what God has made one, man should not separate? That's the answer. And Jesus highlights for them and he says, Have ye not read? He says there in Matthew 12-3, Have ye not read? He says there in Matthew 12-5. Or have ye not read? He says there in Matthew 19-4. Have ye not read? Go to Matthew 22 if you would just real quickly. You're there in Matthew 19. Just flip over a couple of chapters. Matthew 22. Let me just give you a set up real quickly cause I don't want to take the time to read through all this. But in Matthew 22 you have the Sadducees. Not the Pharisees this time, but the Sadducees. And the difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees is the Sadducees do not believe in a resurrection. And they're going to ask Jesus a question about the resurrection trying to trap Jesus in this little gotcha question. And they are referring to the law of Moses and they're specifically referring to where the law of Moses commands that a brother in the Old Testament should marry his deceased brother's widow. If his brother dies, that the brother should marry the widow to raise up seed unto his brother's name so that the name would not be ended there. So they come to Jesus with this hypothetical question. And they're asking about seven brothers. This is not real by the way. This is just hypothetical. Which is always interesting to me when people give us these hypothetical things to try to disprove the Bible. But their question is this. Seven brothers all married, the same woman, and one after another each kept dying. Which to me, that's interesting. You know, somebody should probably look into that. And these brothers keep dying and each dying childless and finally the woman dies too and the question they ask there in Matthew 22-28 is in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? Because they don't believe in a resurrection and they're trying to put Jesus in the little gotcha moment and they're saying well this woman was married to seven different men and they make sure to say and she didn't have any children with any of them because it would probably make sense to say well the one she had a child with, that would be the one. But they say she didn't have children so in the resurrection which one is she going to be married to? Notice the response by Jesus in verse 29. Matthew 22 verse 29. Jesus answered and said unto them. Notice the words here. He says ye do err. The word err there is where we get the same word as error. It means to make a mistake, to be wrong, to be incorrect, to be an error. Jesus says ye do err not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. By the way, I want you to notice that the scriptures are always connected to the power of God. Our access to the power of God is through the scriptures. This is why the Bible says for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. But Jesus says here ye do err. He says you're an error not knowing the scriptures. He says have ye not read, notice verse 30, for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are as the angels of God in heaven but as such in the resurrection of the dead, verse 31, notice the words, underline them in your Bible. He says have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God saying. And he goes on to school them on their question. What I want you to notice and what I want you to understand is this. That Jesus expects for us to read the Bible and to know what the Bible says. And in fact he says ye do err. He says you will make mistakes. He said you will do things that are wrong, that are incorrect because you don't know what the Bible says. You're there in Matthew. I'd like you to keep your place in Matthew. We're going to come back to it. Just keep your finger there or a ribbon or something. But go with me if you would to the book of 2 Peter towards the end of the New Testament. If you go backwards you've got Revelation, Jude, 32 and 1 John, 2 Peter. Find 2 Peter chapter 1. Do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there in 2 Peter because we're going to leave it and come back to it. So I'd like you to keep your place in both those areas, Matthew and 2 Peter, 2 Peter chapter 1. Here's what the Bible is teaching. The Bible is teaching us that if you're going to build your life on the Bible, if you're going to build your life in a way where the storms of life and the trials of life, the tribulations of life, the afflictions of life and all the problems of life, whether they're exterior or they're self-inflicted, he says you're going to have to build your life on the Bible. And you say well that sounds nice. How do we do that? It starts with this. You need to know what the Bible says because when you don't know what the Bible says, we make errors. We do err not knowing the Scriptures. There's a common saying that goes like this. It says what you do not know cannot hurt you. And that saying is not in the Bible and that saying is not true. I can understand why people say it and in some instances I can understand the thought behind it. What you don't know can't hurt you. Now I don't need to know every detail of every little thing that people say negatively about me on social media. I have an understanding that there's a lot of enemies out there who don't like our church and the preaching of the word of God but I don't need to know every detail. In that sense I understand that what you don't know can't hurt you. I get that but the truth of the matter is this, when it comes to the Bible, what you don't know is hurting you. And you need to know what the Bible says. You need to understand what the Bible says because God has given us the Bible in order to guide us in life. Are you there in 2 Peter chapter 1? I'd like you to notice verse number 1. In 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 1, the Bible says, Simon Peter is servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith. Like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Notice verse 2, 2 Peter 1-2. Notice these words. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you. Doesn't that sound good? Isn't that what you and I want in life? I mean wouldn't you want your life to be characterized by these two words, grace and peace? If God said I can multiply these things in your life, grace and peace, would you sign up for it? If God said I can explain to you and I can teach you how to have grace and how to have peace and how to multiply it in your life, well God tells us exactly how to do it. Notice verse 2. He says grace and peace be multiplied unto you. That sounds good, God. How do I do it? He says here's how I do it, through the knowledge of God. I want grace and peace in my life. Here's how you get it, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Notice verse 3. According as his divine power, notice the emphasis on power. Remember, you do err not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God, for the word of God is quick and powerful. He says in verse 3, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things. Look at what it says. His divine power, which is connected to the word of God, hath given unto us all things. So we've been given all things. There's nothing missing. We've been given all things. What all things? Look at it. That pertain unto life. Anything that you and I need for life, we've already been given it. Anything that you and I need to know about life and godliness, look at it. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. How do I get it? Look at it again. Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. He says, I've already given you everything that you need to know that pertains unto life and godliness and you can have it through the knowledge of him. You can have grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God. Notice 2 Peter chapter 3. You're there in chapter 1. Flip over to chapter 3, verse 18. Famous verses, you know them. 2 Peter 3, 18. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and forever. Amen. I'm telling you tonight that what God wants you and I to do is to build our lives on the Bible. And the way we do that, where that all begins, the first step is we need to know what the Bible says because what you do not know is hurting you. What you don't know is hurting you. Which is why Hosea the prophet in the Old Testament, you don't have to turn here, but Hosea the prophet famously said, he said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me, seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. He says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And what you and I need to understand is that we need to figure out what the Bible says. Look, living this life without the knowledge and understanding of what the Bible says is like trying to, who's ever gotten one of those pieces of furniture from like IKEA? You know, talking about those, you've got the bookshelves or the desk, you know. You know what's interesting to me about those IKEA furniture is that they're not intuitive. You know what I mean? I mean, you would think like if you're putting a table together, you think there'd be like four legs and, you know, just the top of the table, the four legs, and you just screw them in. But with these things, they're like super complicated. They got screws that go this way and that way and they're hidden. And it's like trying to build one of those things without looking at the manual. You try to build one of those things without looking at the manual, you know what you're going to do? You're going to break it. You're going to strip something. It's not going to work. You're going to end up throwing the thing away and just ordering something else from Amazon. And that's how many Christians try to live their lives never reading the Bible, never knowing the Bible, never understanding the Bible, going through life, making error after error after error. Ye do err, not knowing the Scripture. Reminds me of the story in the Old Testament of Uzzah. Remember David and Uzzah? You don't have to turn there. I just want you to remember it. Remember David was bringing the ark of God, the Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 6-3 that they set the ark of God upon a new heart. And as they brought the ark of God and they set it on that ark, they were dancing and they were rejoicing. They thought they were doing something good and they're bringing the ark of God back to the children of Israel after they'd lost it to the Philistines. And they thought this was good. They thought God's hand was upon it. And the Bible tells us, and when they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen shook it. And look, that's a good thing. The ark, which is a representation of the presence of God, the most important furniture in the tabernacle that had been lost to the Philistines, excuse me, not the Philippines. I have the Philippines on my mind. They're bringing the ark back and it's important. It represents the presence of God. The ark shake it and Uzzah is afraid that the ark, the most important piece of furniture for the Old Testament nation of Israel, is going to fall to the ground. So the Bible tells us that he stretched out his hand and he put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen shook it. And the Bible says, if you're not familiar with the story, surprisingly, in the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and God smote him there. God smote him there. God killed him instantly. Here's what the Bible says for his error. For his error. You know why? Because he did err not knowing the scriptures. Because he had not read. And Uzzah dies and David feels bad about it. And if Jesus was there, he might have said to them, have you not read? Haven't you read that God already told you in Exodus 25 how it is that he wants the ark to be transported? Haven't you read that God has already determined that the Levites are to carry the ark and that there are these rings? Haven't you noticed that there's these rings around the ark and there's these staves that should go through it and you should pick it up on your shoulder and it should only be the Levites. And God has already told you how to do what you're trying to do. But Uzzah died, the Bible says, because of his error. Because they did not know what the Bible said. What's interesting is that in 1 Chronicles 15, 13, David later reflecting on the story, he says, as he's speaking to the Levites, he says, for because he did it not at the first. And what he's saying to them is he's saying because the Levites did not carry the ark properly to begin with the way that God had already told them in scripture how to do, he said, the Lord our God made a breach upon us for that we sought him not after the due order. And what I'm saying to you tonight is that what you do not know is hurting you. And it hurt David and it hurt Uzzah and it hurt the children of Israel and it was already there, it was already in the Bible. God had already given them instructions but he died for his error. Jesus would say, you do err not knowing the scripture. Oftentimes people will say to me as I stand in the back door and greet people on the way out after a service, people will say this and I appreciate them saying it, I understand what they're saying. After preaching maybe a sermon on some subject about child rearing or marriage or whatever it might be, someone will walk up to me and say, I wish I had heard that 10 years ago. I wish I had heard that 20 years ago. I wish I had heard that when I was still raising my children or I wish I would have known that in my first marriage. People will say these things and here's what they're actually saying when they say that. What they're saying is that I didn't know that and not knowing that hurt me and what I did not know hurt me or hurt my marriage or hurt my children or hurt my health or hurt my reputation or hurt my potential or hurt my testimony. What you don't know is hurting you. So if you and I are going to build our lives in the Bible, we need to begin by knowing what the Bible says. And if you understand this, it might motivate you to read the Bible daily. You say, read the Bible? It's not January anymore. Well, I'm glad you read the Bible while we challenge you for the nine chapters a day, but you know, you and I need to develop a habit of reading the Bible every day. We need to develop a habit. You say, how do I do it? You need to just choose a place. You need to choose a time. You need to make an appointment with God. You need to get a chart to help you chart it out and you need to just read the Bible. Why? Because what you do not know is hurting you. And for those of you that are a little arrogant, you say, well, I know it all. Okay, that tells us you missed a few chapters. Just that statement. Well, I know everything and I don't need to know anything else. Okay, well, we've got a few chapters that we can assign to you about humility. But let me just say this. It's not just about knowing it all. It's about being reminded of it. You know what Paul said? Paul said, he said, it's safe for me to repeat these things unto you. It's safe to hear it again and read it again and be reminded. Because we're prone to wander. Isn't that true? Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. And every once in a while, we need to just be reminded about what the Bible says. If you understood that what you don't know is hurting you, it would cause you to read the Bible every day. It would cause me to read the Bible every day. If you understood that what you don't know is not hurting you, I understand I'm preaching to the choir tonight. This is the Wednesday night crowd. But it would cause you to show up to church faithfully. You show up on Sunday morning and you show up on Sunday night and you show up on Wednesday night and you'd be one of those fanatical three to thrivers. You say, why? Because what I don't know is hurting me and I need to know what the Bible says. And if somebody, if there's a church out there that's going to open the doors and turn on the lights and open a King James Bible and read it and preach it and explain it and teach me that I want to be there because I want to know. If you and I are going to build our lives on the Bible, it begins with us knowing what the Bible says. We must know what the Bible says. But there's a second step. Not only must we know what the Bible says, but the second step is this. To build your life on the Bible, you must trust what the Bible says. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians, you don't have to turn here. In fact, I'd like you, did you keep your place in 2 Peter? Find 2 Peter chapter 1 again if you wouldn't mind. And while you turn there, let me read to you from 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13, the apostle Paul writes these words. He says, for this cause also thank we God without ceasing because when he received the word of God, which ye heard of us. He says, you received not as a word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually, the word effectually means effectively, or producing results, or getting the job done, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. He says, I'm thankful that when you receive the word of God, you didn't receive it as a word of men. You didn't receive it just like any old book. Look, do you understand that this is not just any old book? These are the eternal words of God. This is the written word of God. The word of God that was made flesh, we're talking about the words in this book. I'm not talking, don't get hocus pocus, I'm not talking about the pages, I'm not talking about the ink, I'm not talking about the binding, but the words in this book, they are spirit and they are life. This is not just any old book. This is the eternal word of God. These words are filled with the spirit of God. They are filled with the power of God. They are filled with the life of God. And he says, I'm thankful that when you receive the word of God, you received not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Here's what I'm saying to you. If this Bible is what it is in truth, the word of God, then it would behoove us to listen to it. Are you there in 2 Peter 1? Look at verse 19. 2 Peter 1 and verse 19, the Bible says this, We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Aren't you thankful for that? That's the King James Bible. It's a more sure word of prophecy. But look, there's many a Baptist out there who understand the King James issue, and I'm not going to get into the King James issue tonight, but I'm going to say this, that not every Bible is created equal. And there are modern Bible versions out there that have perverted God's word. They've removed verses. They've changed verses. They've attacked the deity of Christ. They've attacked salvation by grace through faith. And we've got sermons and resources for you to become familiar with that. What I'm saying to you is this, there are many Baptists who'll say, I believe the King James Bible is the inerrant, perfect, preserved, inspired word of God, and praise the Lord for it it is, but then they never read it. But then they never study it. But then they skip out on church when it's being preached. And what I say to you is this, what is the point of having the inerrant word of God? If you don't read it, don't know it, don't understand it, don't care about it. He says, I'm glad that you received the word of God as it is in truth, the word of God. He says we have a more sure word of prophecy, 2 Peter 1.19, but I want you to notice the second phrase there. We focus on that first phrase a lot. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Here's the second phrase. Where unto ye do well that ye take heed? He said, you would do well, I would do well to take heed. As unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star rise in your heart. And the truth of the matter is this, that when we're going to build our lives in the Bible, not only do we need to know what the Bible says, but we need to trust what the Bible says. Because if you don't trust what the Bible says, then you're not going to do what the Bible says. I'm reminded of the story in the Old Testament of the children of Israel. Remember the children of Israel? As they came up to the border of the promised land in Numbers 13, you have to turn there. Remember that Moses allowed 12 spies to go in. 12 spies went in. 10 were bad and 2 were good. The Bible says that when the spies came back, they came unto the land. And they said to Moses, we came unto the land where thou senteth us and surely it floweth with milk and honey. They said, it's just like God said because God had told them, I'm going to give you a land that flows with milk and honey and God had told them and I'm going to give it to you. God's word had told them, I'm giving you this land. All you need to do is cross the Jordan and it's yours. And they came back and they said, it's just like God said. It's a land that floweth with milk and honey and this is the fruit of it. You remember they brought the grapes of Eschol and they brought these giant grapes and they said, it's just like God's word says. But then they said this. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land and the cities are walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there referring to giants. And the Bible says that Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, we'd be not able to go against the people for they are stronger than we. And the Bible tells us in Numbers 13 32 that they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched. And the Bible says in Numbers 14 that all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried and the people wept that night. If you remember Joshua and Caleb, they tried to turn the whole thing around. They said, if the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us. They said, only rebel ye not against the Lord for they are bred for us and their defense is departed from them and the Lord is with us. But he said, fear them not. But the people did not listen. What was the problem with the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Listen to me. It wasn't that they did not know what God had said. They knew. They knew that God had said, the land is there, it flows with milk and honey and I will give it to you. But they didn't trust what God said. They knew what God said. But they just didn't believe it. They got their eyes off of God and they got their eyes off of the word of God and they said, we are not able. They brought up an evil report. They said the people be stronger than us that dwell in the land. They said the cities are walled and very great. And the truth of the matter is this, that if you and I are going to build our lives on the Bible, not only do we need to know what the Bible says, because what you do not know is hurting you. Ye do err, Jesus says, not knowing the scriptures. But it's not just enough to know. You have to trust what the Bible says. This is why the Proverbs tells us, Solomon told us that we must trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, he says. Lean not unto thine own understanding. All thy ways acknowledge him. He shall direct thy path. This is why Proverbs tells us, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Look, you and I are not only going to need to know what the Bible says, but we must trust what the Bible says. Because if you know that God says, I want you to go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel, I want you to be a soul winner, but you say, but I'm too scared, then you know what the Bible says. You're just not willing to trust God on him. You know that God says that he wants you to bring the tithe to the house of God. And he says, prove me now here with, saith the Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out of blood. You know what the Bible says. You say, well, I'm not willing to take that chance. Then you just don't trust what the Bible says. And the truth of the matter is this, that you and I might not ever say it. We might not ever articulate the words. The words may not ever come out of our mouths. But when we say, I know what God says, but I'm not going to do it. I know he wants me to go into the land, but I'm not going to go because they're big and they're scary and I just don't trust it. You know what we're saying is, I know better than God. I know better than God's word. And I'm here to tell you that if we're going to build our lives in the Bible, we must first know what the Bible says. But we must also trust what the Bible says. We must believe what the Bible says. We must stop taking thought for the morrow. We must trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. We just have to trust what God says. But thirdly tonight, because it's not just enough to know and it's not just enough to trust. I hope you trust. I hope you trust the word of God. There's a song that says, if Jesus said it, I believe it. His word cannot lie. If it's written in the Bible, I'll believe it till I die. Though the mountains be removed and cast into the sea, God's word will last forever throughout eternity. I hope that's what you believe and I hope that's what I believe. We need to know what the Bible says and we need to believe what the Bible says, but even that's not enough. Can you make your way back? Keep your place in 2 Peter. Make your way back to Matthew if you would. Matthew 7. We're talking about how to build your life on the Bible. And to build your life on the Bible, we must, number one, know what the Bible says. We must, number two, believe what the Bible says. But number three, we must do what the Bible says. To build your life on the Bible, we build our lives on the Bible by doing what the Bible says. Why don't you notice the emphasis we find in this parable as Jesus finishes this great Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7. Look at verse 24 again. He said, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, that's step one. But he says, that's not enough. He says, look at it, he says, and doeth them. And doeth them. I will eigen him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. Look at verse 26. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, Jesus says, you hear the word of God, you know what it says. And, look at it, and doeth them not. You know what God calls that? You know what Jesus calls that? He calls that being a fool. No, I don't think you should say that. I didn't say it, Jesus did. Look at it. He says, and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. See, the emphasis all throughout Scripture is this on the doing of the word of God. In James chapter 1, you don't have to turn there. I'll just read this for you. In James chapter 1, in verse 22, the Bible says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only. Now listen to me, I'm glad you're here on a Wednesday night, and I'm glad you're hearing the word of God, but that's not enough. He said, be ye doers of the word of God, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. When you and I get this idea, we go to a good church, and we go to a church where the word of God is preached, and we get taught the word of God, and you think that's enough, you're deceiving yourself. You're lying to yourself. Because that's not enough. He says, be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likened unto a man beholding his natural face in the glass, for he beholdeth himself. He's talking about looking in a mirror, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. And the illustration here is this, that there's no point of looking in a mirror if you're not going to fix the problems you see reflecting back to you. And he says, there's no point of showing up to hear the Bible preached, or opening the Bible, to read it, or study it, or memorize it, if you're not going to deal with the problems being reflected back to you. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was, but whoso looketh in the perfect law of liberty, and continueeth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. What's interesting to me is that Jesus, or excuse me, James here, he begins in verse 22 by saying, be a doer of the word, and then in verse 25, he changes it to being a doer of the work. And the word word and the word work are very similar, but they're not the same. Why does he do that? I think he does that because doing the word is going to be work. And he says, you and I need to put in the work. This is the emphasis of scripture. That we not only need to know, now look, that's where it starts. You can't do what you don't know. So we need to know what the Bible says, and you cannot do what you don't trust. We need to trust what the Bible says. But to complete this process of building our lives in the Bible, we must also do what the Bible says. We must be obedient. It reminds me, you don't have to turn here. I'll just read it for you. Remember the story of the unnamed man of God? This is a more obscure story, so you may not be familiar with it. But you remember in 1 Kings 13, there was a man of God, an unnamed man of God. He's just called the man of God. We're not given a name. And he goes and he prophesies against the current king and the worship that's happening there. If you remember, the king stretches out his hand and it becomes leprous and there's this whole drama that goes along with that. But when that's all said and done, the king says to this unnamed man of God, 1 Kings 13, you have to turn there, I'll just read it for you. He says, come home with me and refresh thyself and I will give thee a reward. Because he healed him and prayed for him so that his hand would be healed. And he says, come home with me. He said, refresh thyself, I'll give thee a reward. What's interesting is that the unnamed man of God responds to the king and he says, 1 Kings 13, 8, he says, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. And you might say, well that's rude. Why is that? Verse 9, he says, for so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, eat not bread nor drink water nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. God told him before he went, he said, listen to me, I'm giving you specific instructions. And the unnamed man of God says that the word of the Lord told him, eat no bread nor drink water, just get there and get out and don't come the same way. If you're familiar with the story, there's an old prophet that meets him. And the old prophet comes up to him and he says, I am a prophet also as thou art. And he says to him, an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back. But the Bible says this, but he lied unto him. This old prophet goes to him and says, well actually God told me to bring you back and for you to come have a meal in my house. But the Bible says he lied to him. And the Bible tells us in 1 Kings 13, 19, so he went back with him and did eat bread in his house and drink water. And then the word of the Lord comes through the old prophet of all people. And God speaks to this unnamed man of God through the old prophet that lied to him about what God's word had said. And I want you to listen to this, here's what God says. He says, for as much as thou has disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers. And in verse 24 we read, and when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him. You say, what happened? What happened was this, that the unnamed man of God, he knew what the Bible said. He knew what God's word said. He knew the instructions he was to go in. He was to preach and do his thing and then he was to leave. And God specifically told him, I don't want you to eat with anyone, fellowship with anyone, don't eat anything, don't drink anything. And when the king said, come to my house and I'll feed you something, he says, no I can't. God said not to do it. But when the old prophet comes and he lies to him, he says, oh no, no, no, that's not what God said. He said, but he lied to him. Yeah, but you know what? The lion met him by the way and you slew him. He died anyway. You say, why did he die? Here's why he died. Because he disobeyed the word of God. He knew what God said. And he even believed it. But he did not do it. And the power is found in the doing of the word of God. This is the emphasis throughout scripture. This is why God through Joshua said, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. He says, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success. He said, how can I make my way prosperous? How can I have good success? How can I have the favor of God upon my life? How can I have grace and peace be multiplied? Well, first you got to know what the Bible says and then you got to believe what the Bible says. But you also have to do what the Bible says. It doesn't work if you and I don't do what the Bible says. Can you go to Ezekiel 33? Just real quick, this is the last place we'll go to. We'll be done. Ezekiel 33. We must build our lives on the Bible. Ezekiel 33 is towards the end of the Old Testament. If you find the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, then Ezekiel, those are big books. Isaiah, big book. Jeremiah, big book. Lamentations, small book. And then Ezekiel, big book. Ezekiel 33, look at verse 31. Ezekiel 33 and verse 31, this is God speaking to the prophet Ezekiel and he's talking to him about his ministry there, his preaching ministry and his prophet ministry. In Ezekiel 33 and verse 31, notice what he says. He says, and they come unto thee as the people cometh and they sit before thee as my people. He says, these people come, they come to church and they sit and they listen. He says, and they come unto thee as the people cometh and they sit before thee as my people and they hear thy words. They hear it, they know it. He says, here's the problem, that they will not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. He says, and lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice. He said, what does that mean? That means they liked Ezekiel's preaching. That means that they thought Ezekiel was an eloquent speaker. They said, you don't know why they come? Because thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice. And here's what the Bible is telling us. What God is telling Ezekiel is this. It doesn't matter how much they come and it doesn't matter how much they sit and it doesn't matter how much they hear. It doesn't matter how much they listen. It doesn't matter how much they like the preaching or how good they think the preaching is. He says, none of that matters. The only thing that matters is this. They will not do what the Word of God tells them to do. So he says there in verse 32, and lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument for they hear thy words but they do them not. And I'm glad that you're here on a Wednesday night. I hope you'll keep coming on a Wednesday night. I'm not trying to discourage you from coming to church. I'm glad you're here. But I will say to you, it doesn't matter how much you come. Now, don't misunderstand me. We want you to come. But it doesn't matter how much you come. It doesn't matter how much you hear. It doesn't matter how much you learn. It doesn't matter how good you think the preaching is. I mean, every once in a while, the preaching is good around here. It doesn't matter if you never do what the Word of God tells you to do. They hear thy words but they do them not. I want you to notice how he ends in verse 33, Ezekiel 33. He says, And when this... What's the this? Because this is in a broader context of the book of Ezekiel. The this is the coming judgment of God. The this is the destruction of the nation. The this is the mayhem that Ezekiel is trying to warn them about. And he says, And when this cometh to pass, lo, it will come. He says, When the storm comes, when the winds come, when the rain descends and the floods come and the winds blow and they beat and they beat and they beat upon that life that you're building, whether it's persecution, affliction, trials, tribulations, whether it's people hurting you on the outside or self-inflicted wounds of your own making, whether it's reaping what you sow or the judgment of God, whatever it is, he says, When this cometh to pass, lo, it will come. He says, Then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. Here's what he's saying. When the house falls flat, they'll know they should have listened. They'll know they should have trusted. They'll know they should have done what the Bible says to do. So Jesus begins his famous Sermon on the Mount. He ends, excuse me, the famous Sermon on the Mount with these words. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man that built his house upon a rock. And the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell and great was the fall of it. Oftentimes, our problems are so intense, aren't they? The storms are so hard and difficult, yet the solution is so simple. It's simple to have grace and peace be multiplied unto you. It's simple that thou mayest make thy way prosper and thou shalt have good success. It's simple. It's just build your life on the Bible. And if we build our lives on the Bible, then when the rain descends and the floods come and the winds blow, the house won't fall because it's founded upon a rock. So how about you and I decide tonight? We're going to build our lives on the Bible. You know what we need? We need a revolution back to the Bible. We need to get back to the Bible, back. We need to become people of the book. Let's build our lives on the Bible. Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. And Lord, we thank you for these clear lessons. And Lord, I know it's basic. It's basic, but yet we so often need to be reminded that we need to know what the Bible says and we need to trust what the Bible says and we need to do what the Bible says and we need to just build our lives on the Bible. And if we don't want a life that just falls apart flat, we need to get founded on the word of God. Lord, I pray you'd help us. I pray you'd help us to be a people that gets back to the book. Lord, I pray you'd help me to get back to the book, a revolution back to the Bible. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. I just want to give you a quick reminder that if you would like to help bring a meal for the Vukulcik family, please see my wife after the service. She has a clipboard and she can get you signed up for the meals. We appreciate your help with that. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. I want to encourage you to be with us this week. If you can, there's a time on Thursday. But there's a big soul-winning rally on Saturday morning. We'd love for you to be a part of it. And then, of course, be here in church on Sunday. You say, why? Because what you don't know is hurting you. And we're going to learn the word of God together. And I think it will be a help to you. I want to encourage you to be here. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Why Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. Turn into your song books, page number 325. Page number 325. We're going to sing Trust and Obey. Page 325, Trust and Obey. And let's go ahead and sing it out on that first verse. When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. While we do his good will, he abides with us still. And with all who will trust and obey, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Page 325, Trust and Obey. Let's sing it out on the second. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies. But his love when he drives it away. Not a doubt or a fear, not a sight or a tear. In a Bible we trust and obey, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share. But only the bridge we remain. Not a green floor of us, not a brown road across. But his price if we trust and obey. Sing it out. Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Let's jump down to the last verse. You guys are singing good. Let's sing it out all we can on the last page. 325 on the last. Then in fellowship sleep, we will sit at his feet. Or we'll walk by his side in the rain. What he says we will do, where he sits we will go. Never feel it on me, trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Amen. Great singing. If you're a guest and if you have any questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism, you can see pastor in the front and he can direct you to someone you can speak about. Can I please have brother Johnny close us in a word of prayer. Amen. Amen.