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All hail the power of Jesus' name Let angels prostrate fall Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all 167 on the second. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race Ye ransom from the fall Hail Him who saves you by His grace And crown Him Lord of all Hail Him who saves you by His grace And crown Him Lord of all Let every kindred, every tribe On this terrestrial ball To Him all majesty a scribe And crown Him Lord of all To Him all majesty a scribe And crown Him Lord of all 167 on the last. O that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall We'll join the everlasting song And crown Him Lord of all We'll join the everlasting song And crown Him Lord of all Amen. And we want to welcome you to Verity Baptist Church this morning. We're so glad that you are with us and we, of course, would like to begin the service with a word of prayer. Let's go ahead and bow our heads together and pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you and we thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you would bless this time that we have set aside for singing and preaching and fellowship. Lord, we pray that you would meet with us this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Turn to song 397. 397 on the first. In the harvest field now ripen There's a work for all to do Hark the voice of God is calling Calling you Little is much when God is in it Labor not for wealth or fame There's a crown and you can win it If you'll go in Jesus' name Does the place you're called to labor Seem so small and little known It is great if God is in it And He'll not forget His own Little is much when God is in it Labor not for wealth or fame There's a crown and you can win it If you'll go in Jesus' name Are you made aside from service Body worn from toil and care You can still be in the battle In the sacred place of prayer Little is much when God is in it Labor not for wealth or fame There's a crown and you can win it If you'll go in Jesus' name Good, sing it out on the last. When the conflict here has ended And the race on earth is run He will say to all the faithful Welcome home, my child well done Little is much when God is in it Labor not for wealth or fame There's a crown and you can win it If you'll go in Jesus' name Good, sing it. Amen. All right, well, let's take our bulletins and we'll look at some announcements quickly this morning. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, Psalm 92, 13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 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. We're glad you're with us, of course, on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for Church. We do invite you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. And then, of course, we have our Wednesday evening Bible study. at 7 p.m. And we'd love for you to join us for the midweek service. If you look at our soul winning times, our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Soul winning, of course, is when we go out in the community, we knock doors, we invite people to church and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested. So if you'd like to go soul winning, there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that this afternoon. And if you look across the page there to the announcements and upcoming events, of course, we have our biblical leadership announcement there for men. If you're interested in that, you can go by in the foyer and we've got these little brochures there. Make sure you grab one. And there is an orientation night that you can sign up for on Tuesday, September 3rd. And that'll be a time to be able to answer whatever questions you have. So if you're interested, make sure you sign up for that. And then, of course, the big announcement that we want you to be aware of is our upcoming Family and Friend Day. And we'd love for you to join us on Sunday, September 15th at 1030 a.m., of course, for our morning service as we celebrate our church's 14-year anniversary. And we're going to have a lot of special things going on on that day. Of course, we'll be celebrating the church's anniversary. We're going to have lunch after the service. We'll be grilling. And we'll have lunch for everybody in the service that morning. And then we'll have the anniversary mugs that we give out to all of the families. We'll have candy suckers for all the kids. There'll be special music from the VBC Choir and Orchestra. So make sure that you make plans to be with us for Family and Friend Day. And then also make sure that you are making plans to be with us for the soul-winding push before Family and Friend Day. And we want to make sure we invite as many people as possible to this event. You should have one of these cards, I think, in your bulletin there. And we want you to use this as a tool to invite a friend. It's called Family and Friend Day because we'd love for you to invite your family, your friends, maybe you have a neighbor, a coworker, someone you've been thinking about inviting to church. This would be a great time for you to be able to do that. And then, of course, we're going to have a soul-winding push the weekend leading up to Family and Friend Day on Thursday, September 12th at 6 p.m., Friday, September 13th at 6 p.m. And then Saturday, September 14th, we'll have our big soul-winding rally at 10 a.m. So make sure you're planning on being there for all of those things. And we'd appreciate your help, of course. With that, we do want you to know that the homeschool group is starting back up for the year. And they're going to have their first P.E. class on Thursday, September 5th at 10 a.m. So make sure you're aware of that, put that on your calendar. And then, of course, there's choir and orchestra today at 5 p.m. as well. So if you're part of the choir, the orchestra, make sure you're here for that. There's other things there for you to look at. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of August this week, we have Ms. Roselle Wilson's birthday on August 20th and Ms. Joyce Nathan's birthday is on August 21st. And then, of course, there's the praise report and money matters and all of those things there for you to look at. I do have a couple of baby announcements, if you wouldn't mind. Let me go ahead and announce these. First of all, we want to announce the birth of Minju Kim-Davidson, born on August 14th at 756 p.m., weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces. And she's 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. So congratulations, of course, to Brother Andrew and Ms. Esther on the birth of their baby. And if you would like to bring a meal, if you'd like to sign up to help them with bringing them a meal, then please see my wife after the service. And she has a clipboard and a sign-up sheet and she can get you signed up for that. And then we have another baby birth. We had a baby birth last week and we have two births this week. So praise the Lord for that. And we want to announce the birth of Silas Balloonsat Lee-Wilson, born on August 17th at 806 a.m., weighing 5 pounds 7 ounces. And the baby is doing well. Ms. Rizal is having some medical complications. So we're going to ask that you please keep her in prayer and hopefully she'll be getting better soon. And then we're going to have a meal planned for them as well. But we're not going to start that right now. We're going to start that later on, probably on Wednesday. So we'll give you that information. My wife will have that information. But for today, if you'd like to sign up for the Davidson family, make sure you see my wife. I realize we have a lot of meal trains going on right now. We've had people with surgeries and baby after baby after baby. And we appreciate your faithfulness. We want to make sure we're a blessing to these families. So if you can sign up, don't be weary in well-doing. All right. And help these individuals. Just be in prayer for the church family as well. We've got a lot of people still out sick. There's this bug going around. We've got many families that are out sick. We've got many families that are traveling. Of course, it's summertime as well. So just be in prayer for everybody, that everybody can get back to church soon. But make sure you go by and see my wife to sign up for that meal. And then, of course, if you're a first-time guest, we are glad that you are here. We have a gift we'd like to give you. As you walk out of the church building this morning, as you go out our main foyer, you'll see a little table set up. And on that table, you'll see these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning. There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have. But the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting. And we would like to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing this gift bag on your way out. And 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 just raise your hand. One of our ushers will bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen. You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well. We're not going to do anything odd with your info. We would just love to have a record of your attendance. And we actually would like to send you a little gift in the mail, but we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done here with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop the card in the offering plate during that time. All right, well, I think that's it. So we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week, which is the insert in your bulletin. And even though it's just a short one, he's able, we're going to sing it through one time. And then we're going to receive the offering. So let's go ahead and sing it out. He's able, he's able, he's able. I know he's able. I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He's able, he's able. I know he's able. I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He healed the brokenhearted and set the captive free. He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. He's able, he's able. I know he's able. I know my Lord is able to carry me through. Amen. All right. Well, before we have the guys come up, I do want to remind you, of course, that we 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. And we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating. They have monitors 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, if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use those rooms. If you're not sure where they're at, you can look at the back of the bulletin, and you'll see a layout of the church building. It'll show you where the restrooms are, where the mother baby rooms are, where the daddy room is. If you need to be baptized, you can also let us know on your communication card. And we'll follow up with you, and we'd love to get you situated for baptism. And, of course, please make sure you turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they don't go off during the middle of the preaching. We'd appreciate your help with that. Right now would be a good time to just check your phone and make sure it's on silent or vibrate. And make sure that it's quieted down. All right, well, we'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you, and we thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you'd bless the offering, the gift, and the giver. Lord, we pray that you would help us as we open up your word and study the Bible together. Help us to minimize distractions. Lord, help us to be ready to receive your word. We pray you'd bless the offering and everything that happens today that it would draw us closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. Matthew chapter 4. We will read the entire chapter, as is our custom. Matthew chapter 4. Just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a Bible. Matthew chapter 4, the Bible reads, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up unto the holy place, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again the devil taketh him up unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephilim, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Azias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephilim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together and for this day. Thank you for bringing Pastor home safely. Please bless him. Please let the sermon bring glory to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. All right. Well, we're there in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter number 4. And today we're going to be dealing with the subject of daily Bible reading. And Bible reading is something that we are told in the Word of God is needed to nourish our spiritual growth. If you're there in Matthew chapter 4, I'd like you to look down at verse number 1. The Bible says this, then was Jesus led up with the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward in hunger. And of course, we know that this is the story of the temptations of Christ when the devil comes to him. The Bible here tells us in the context that Jesus has been fasting, and as a result, he is hungry. Look at verse 3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, notice the first temptation, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. So Satan is tempting the Lord Jesus Christ at a time when he is physically hungry to command that these stones be made bread. I want you to notice the response from Jesus in verse 4. But he answered and said, it is written. And the reason he says it is written is because he's actually quoting the Old Testament. And he says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And Jesus here makes a statement that tells us that we need every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and that man shall not live by bread alone. That our sustaining, the sustaining of ourselves is not just a physical sustaining, although we realize that we do need food and bread to sustain ourselves physically, but we must also, in the same way that we nourish our bodies physically, we must nourish our spirits and our spiritual growth, and that is done through the Word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And this is something that's taught all throughout Scripture. I'd like you to keep your place there in Matthew. We're going to come back to it, so if you can put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there, that would be great. And go with me if you would to the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter number 2. If you go backwards from the book of Revelation, you'll have the book of Jude, 3-2-1 John, 2-1 Peter, and I'd like you to find 1 Peter chapter 2. Do me a favor, keep your place in 1 Peter as well, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there, because we're going to go back and forth between these two books, Matthew and 1 Peter. And while you're turning there, let me just read to you some other verses that you don't have to turn to. Job 23, 12, and I want to highlight for you the fact that Bible reading is needed to nourish our spiritual growth. We already saw it there in the words of Christ. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In 1 Peter 2-2, excuse me, Job 23, you're turning to 1 Peter 2-2. Let me read to you from Job 23, 12. Neither have I gone back from the commandments of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. So here we have the words of Job, and he says that I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. And he's saying, look, more important than physical food is spiritual food. Again, this idea that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Here's what Jeremiah said, Jeremiah 15, 16. He said, thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart, for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I want you to notice that Jeremiah said, thy words were found, he says, and I did eat them. And again, the idea is that we must nourish. We have a physical man, we have a flesh, a man of flesh that needs to be nourished physically, but we also have a spiritual man, a man of spirit, and that man needs to be fed spiritually. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. Are you there in 1 Peter 2? Look down at verse number 2. Notice again the emphasis of scripture, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 2. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, notice these words, that ye may grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. So I want you to notice that the Bible here is telling us in the same way that newborn babes desire the sincere milk, he said we need the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. So we see that this idea is consistent throughout the Bible. And it is this, that we need the word of God, we need to consume the word of God, we need to read the word of God, study the word of God, memorize the word of God, in order to nourish our spiritual growth. And because of that, now keep your place there in 1 Peter, keep your place in Matthew if you would, and go with me back to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 17. Towards the beginning of the Bible you have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 17. When we realize that Bible reading is needed to nourish our spiritual growth, then the result should lead us to, this is why we need to read the Bible everyday. As Christians we need to develop the biblical discipline of daily Bible reading. The biblical discipline of daily Bible reading. It is crucial to the Christian life because in the same way that if you were to go day after day, week after week, month after month, without feeding yourself physically, you would become anemic, you would become weak, and you would eventually die. In the same way you can't go day after day, week after week, month after month, without feeding yourself spiritually, you need to develop the daily discipline of Bible reading. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food, is what Job said. And it is important. The Bible exhorts us to read the Bible everyday. Let me just give you some examples. Are you there in Deuteronomy 17? Look down at verse number 18. Deuteronomy 17 and verse 18, the Bible says this, And it shall be when he. Now here in the context the he is talking about the future king of Israel. These are instructions given to the future king of Israel. But we know that the Bible tells us as New Testament believers that he had made us kings and priests unto God and his father in Revelation 1.6. So though this was written to kings, we are spiritual kings and priests. So we see that there is an application for us here as well. And it says, And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests, the Levites. Notice verse 19, And it shall be with him. And notice these words, He shall read therein all the days of his life. God wants us to have a copy of the Word of God and to read therein all the days of his life. Now you might ask, Well why? What is the purpose? What is the point of reading therein all the days of his life? Notice there is a three-fold purpose in verse 19. It says, That he may learn. The first purpose is that you would learn to fear the Lord, his God. That we would know what the Bible says. That we would learn from the Word of God. And that we would learn to fear the Lord, his God. Notice the second purpose, To keep all the words of this law. And the word keep there has to do with internalizing it, making it your own. It's not just enough that the Bible says it, but it's that the Bible says it and that you believe it. That you believe the Word of God. And you have kept these words and these statutes. And notice number three, to do them. And that is the application. Not only do we know what it says, we believe what it says, and we do what it says. We apply what it says. And what we are learning here is that it is important for every Christian to develop a discipline of Bible reading. Go to Acts 17 if you would. Acts chapter 17. If you kept your place in Matthew, after Matthew you have Mark, Luke, John, and then the book of Acts. Acts chapter 17. While you turn there let me just give you this illustration. We read the words of Christ where he said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. That was actually a quote from the Old Testament when he said those words. And that comes from a story that highlights the idea of daily Bible reading. Because that quote is given in the story when God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna. And if you remember the manna came from heaven. And every day they were to go out, every day they were to go out and to gather the manna that was needed for that day. They were not allowed to gather more manna than was needed for that day. If they gathered more manna and tried to store the manna and have enough manna for two or three days, then it would bread worms, it would go bad, they were not able to eat it. And the idea was this, that God from heaven would provide the bread, the manna, and they were to go out every day and pick the manna for that day. They were to eat the manna for that day. Of course we know that on the Sabbath day was the day of rest. So the day before the Sabbath they were allowed to have two days worth of manna. But that in that context is when we are told, we're told that God did that to show them that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. And that physical manna, that was a physical story, a real story where God physically fed the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven. And they were to go out every day and pick the manna and that's how they were going to be nourished. The Bible tells us that that is a picture of daily Bible reading. Because the Bible is the bread of life. Jesus is the word, Jesus is the bread of life, he is the bread that came from heaven. But the King James Bible you hold in your hand is the bread that came from heaven. And every day God sends bread from heaven to nourish you spiritually but he expects you to go out and find it. He expects you to go out and search for it and eat it and consume it so that you may grow thereby. Look at Acts 17 verse 11, Acts 17 verse 11, the Bible says, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, notice the words here, And searched the scriptures daily. And searched the scriptures daily. Notice it doesn't say they searched YouTube daily. It doesn't say they searched Facebook daily. It says they searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. So we see here by way of introduction that the Bible is clear about the fact that we need the word of God to nourish us spiritually. And when we understand that the word of God is illustrated, it's represented as food that we consume. In the same way we consume physical food to strengthen our physical man, we have to consume spiritual food to strengthen our spiritual man. Then we understand that in the same way that you eat every day, and we're Americans and we eat every day and we probably eat a lot more than we need to every day. We need to be consuming the word of God every day. I'm not going to ask for a show of hands because I don't want to embarrass anybody, but I'm going to tell you this right now. The amount of Christians that actually have a discipline of daily Bible reading, if we were to be honest, would be shamefully embarrassing. The fact that the average Christian today does not open their Bible on a regular basis and consume the word of God on a regular basis. And I'm here to tell you, I want to encourage you to develop a daily Bible reading habit and we're going to talk about that this morning. But I want to say this, if you're not reading the Bible every day, you are spiritually anemic. You are spiritually weak. This should be telling you and explaining to you the reason why maybe it is that you're not succeeding spiritually because you must read the Bible every day. You must develop the daily discipline of Bible reading. What I'd like to do today is give you three thoughts in regards to daily Bible reading. All of what I've said up to this point was just by way of introduction. Let me give you three thoughts in regards to daily Bible reading and maybe you can write these down. I'd love for you to jot these down on the back of your course of the week. Of course, there's a place for you to take down some notes. And I want to give you three thoughts in regards to daily Bible reading and why it is that you should develop the discipline of daily Bible reading. Why you should develop the discipline of having a devotional life where you get alone with God every day and you read the word of God. Go with me, if you would, back to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter number 12. Let me give you the first thought. Point number one is this, daily Bible reading. Why do we need daily Bible reading? What is the purpose of daily Bible reading? What is the point of daily Bible reading? Number one, daily Bible reading for information. Daily Bible reading for information. What we need is to read the Bible so that we know what the Bible says. Remember what we read there in Deuteronomy 17? What was the first reason? That he may learn, that he may learn. We read there in Acts 17, they searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. They're searching the scriptures to know what the Bible says. And I would say to you this morning that daily Bible reading is needed. You say, why do I need to read the Bible every day? Why should I get up? Why should I develop a habit of opening up the Bible, reading it every day? Daily Bible reading is needed for information. And here's what I'm trying to say to you. There are things that you need to know from the Bible to help you. What is it that you need to know? And it's interesting to me because Jesus, this seems to be a common theme with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm not going to read all of the verses and all of the context, but I'm just going to highlight for you that Jesus is often, I'm just going to show you some verses here from Matthew, but he's often rebuking people for not knowing what the Bible says. Are you there in Matthew chapter 12? Look at verse number 3. Matthew chapter 12 verse 3. Notice what he says. He says, But he said unto them, they asked him a question, and his response to them is this. But he said unto them, Have ye not read? Now they're asking him a question, trying to trap him, trying to get him to say something wrong. But his response to them is, Well, have ye not read? And in this specific case, Have ye not read what David did when he was in hunger and they that were with him? But I want you to notice the rebuke from Christ is to these individuals. He says, Have ye not read? He said, You're asking me a question, but if you read the Bible and if you knew what the Bible said, you wouldn't have to ask the question because it's in the Word of God. Have ye not read? Notice what he says in verse number 5. They ask him another question. Matthew 12 and verse 5. He says, Or have ye not read? And he goes on to say in the law, how that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless. But I want you to notice the rebuke there in verse 3 is, Have ye not read? The rebuke there in verse 5 is, Or have ye not read? Notice in Matthew 19, if you would, flip over to Matthew 19, look at verse 4. Matthew 19 and verse 4, the Bible says, And he answered and said unto them, Notice what Jesus says to them. He says again, Have ye not read? Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? That's applicable today. I mean there's lots of people today that are confused about a male and female and the difference and it would be solved if they just read the Word of God. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? Look at Matthew 22 verse 29. Again he's asked a question about the resurrection. Matthew 22 verse 29, Jesus answered and said unto them, look what he says. He says, Ye doer not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. By the way, let me say this, if you don't know the scriptures, you won't know the power of God. The power of God is found in the Word of God. 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 spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And here we see again Jesus rebuking and saying, Ye doer, the word er there, he says, You're making an error. You're making a mistake. You're not doing the right thing. Ye doer not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Look at Matthew 22 and verse 31. Matthew 22 verse 31, again they're asking about the resurrection. He says, But as touching the resurrection of the dead, notice what he says again. He says to them, he rebukes them again, Have ye not read? And I'm here to tell you this morning that there are things that you need to know. There are things in the Word of God that are there to help you and we need to read the Bible. You say, Why do I need to read the Bible? For information. So you know what it says. So you know what the Word of God says so that you do not err not knowing the scriptures. Continue to keep your place there in Matthew if you would. Go back to 1 Peter, if you kept your place there in 1 Peter, and go to 2 Peter chapter number 3. If you're there in 1 Peter, just flip over to 2 Peter chapter number 3. Look at verse 18. 2 Peter 3.18. Why do you need to read the Bible? Why do you need to read the Bible? Why do you need to develop a daily discipline of Bible reading? It's for this reason, this is not the only reason, but this is the first reason, and it is for information. There are things you need to know that will help you. 2 Peter 3, look at verse 18. But grow in grace. But grow in grace, and notice these words, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible commands us to grow, and we are to grow in these areas. Grace, but also and in knowledge. You need to grow in your knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. You're there in 2 Peter 3, flip back to 2 Peter chapter number 1. 2 Peter chapter number 1, and look at verse number 3. 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3, the Bible says this, According as His divine power hath given unto us. Now I really want you to just look at this verse. It's very important. According as His divine power hath given unto us. Look at these words. All things that pertain unto life and godliness. If you don't mind writing in your Bible, you ought to underline those words. All things that pertain unto life and godliness. Notice it through the knowledge of Him, that He hath called us to the glory, that He hath called us to glory and virtue. And I'm showing you this verse to show you that the Bible tells us that God has given us, through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the knowledge of the Word of God, He's given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. You know the Bible says everything and will teach you everything you need to know about everything? It will teach you everything you need to know about anything, about everything. You say, I need to know about marriage. The Bible can teach you how to have a good marriage. I need to know how to raise my children. The Bible can teach you how to raise your children. I need to know what to do about my finances. The Bible can teach you what to do about your finances. I need to know what to do about my health. The Bible can teach you what to do about your health. I need to know how to succeed in the workplace. The Bible can teach you how to succeed in the workplace. workplace. The Bible has all the answers to every question you'll ever have. He had given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, but you've got to seek it out through the knowledge of Him. So why is it that you need to read the Bible every day? We need daily Bible reading for information because of what you need to know to help you. There are things you need to know. There are things you need to know. Let me say this, and I'd like you to go with me to the book of Hosea. It's towards the end of the Old Testament. If you can find those big books, the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, those big books, right after that you have the book of Hosea. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Hosea chapter 4. Why do we need to read the Bible? We need to read the Bible for information. Why? Because of what you need to know to help you. Because there are things you need to know. There are things you don't know that you need to know and it will help you, but in case that doesn't interest you, let me just say this. What you don't know is hurting you. Are you there in Hosea chapter 4? Look at verse 6. Notice what God says in the book of Hosea. Hosea chapter 4 verse 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. 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. That's a reference of the Bible. I will also forget thy children. And here God says, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. There's a common phrase that people like to use and they'll say, sometimes people will say, well what you don't know can't hurt you. And I understand the sentiment behind that and I understand that that's probably true in some areas of life, but let me tell you that is not true in regards to the Word of God. What you don't know will hurt you. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge, seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God. See there are things in the Word of God that you need to know. There are things and this is something that people often say to me. I'll preach a sermon on the subject of marriage or on the subject of parenting or on the subject of finances or relationships or whatever it might be. I'll preach a sermon where we teach the Word of God about some subject and I've had this said to me hundreds and thousands of times over the last 14 years of ministry. Someone will walk up to me and they'll say, I wish I knew that. I wish I knew that years ago. I wish I knew that back when I was married. I wish I knew that back when I was raising my children. I wish I knew that back before I made this decision, that decision. I wish I had known that. And here's what they're saying, what I didn't know hurt me. Now I understand that we can't go back like the Apostle Paul. Sometimes we need to just say forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before. But please understand this, what you don't know today is going to hurt you tomorrow and for that reason you need to wake up tomorrow and open up your Bible and read the Word of God and ask God to teach you what you need for today. You're raising children, you better read the Bible. You're not going to have those kids forever. They're not going to be little babies forever. And they'll grow up and they'll make decisions and moms and dads all over this country, Christian moms and dads will say, well I regret this and I regret that and and I wish I would have done and I wish I wouldn't have done. But listen to me, the answers are there in the Bible. Why should you read the Bible? Why should you turn off the stinking television? Why should you turn off Facebook and YouTube and social media and get alone with God and get alone with the Word of God? You say give me a reason. Here's a reason for information. Because there are things you need to know that will help you and if you don't care about that then realize this, what you don't know is hurting you. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. So we need Bible reading, daily Bible reading. Why? For information. Let me give you a second reason. Go back to Matthew if you would, Matthew chapter number seven. Not only do we need daily Bible reading for information, but here's the second point. We need daily Bible reading for application. For application. See it's not enough to know what the Bible says. Now that's the first step. You can't do what the Bible says if you don't know what the Bible says. But simply knowing what the Bible says is not enough to help you with life and godliness. It must then be acted upon. It must be applied. See you need daily Bible reading for information, but you also need daily Bible reading for application. Here's how Jesus said it. Jesus had his famous sermon, Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters five through seven. And Jesus ends this Sermon on the Mount. He concludes this sermon with his very famous parable, this illustration. And I want you to notice that the illustration is all about application. In Matthew chapter seven and verse 24 he says this, therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine. Now remember Jesus just got done preaching. In fact he just got done or he's finishing up one of the most famous sermons recorded in all of history, the Sermon on the Mount. And he ends this amazing Sermon on the Mount, which by the way you ought to read the Sermon on the Mount. It's a lot of good teaching and application for life and godliness in the Sermon on the Mount. But here's what Jesus said. He said, therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them. It's not enough to hear it. You have to apply it. It's not enough to have the information. You also have to make the application. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them. There's what Jesus said. I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And here the house is a reference to our lives. We are building our lives. And God says if you want to build, Jesus says if you want to build your life, if you want to be a wise man, then you need to build your life upon the rock. And we know that the rock of course is the Lord Jesus Christ. But here specifically it's a reference to the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. And we are to build our lives upon the Word of God. How can I build? Because I think if you were to ask any Christian, do you want to be a wise man? They'd say, yeah of course. You want to build your life upon the rock? Of course. You want to have a life that is sure upon the foundation of the Word of God? Yeah. Okay well here's how you do it. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them. And doeth them. See it's very easy to answer the question, are you founded upon the rock? Are you doing what the Bible says? I didn't ask do you know what the Bible says? We already talked about that. The sad thing is that many Christians don't even know what the Bible says. But let's just assume or hope that you get past that and you actually begin to read the Bible and you begin to go to church and you begin to make church a priority. By the way that's why you ought to make church a priority. Why? Because the Word of God is being preached and what you don't know is hurting you. Let's assume you know. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, what are you doing it? And doeth them. I will eigen him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. I want you to notice verse 25. He says and the rains ascended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. I want you to notice it doesn't say if the rains descended, it says and the rain descended. And here's the truth, in life, remember the house is a representation of our lives and in life we will deal with the storms of life. We will deal with difficulty. We'll deal with pain. We'll deal with persecution. We'll deal with bad things happening in our life. Health issues and trials and tribulations and Jesus says look the rain's coming. I often tell people in the Christian life you're either coming into a storm, you're either going through a storm or you're going out of a storm but the Christian life is a life of storms. Just realize that. So the question is not whether the rains will come, the question is what will happen when the rains come? And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house. Notice these words. I love these words. You got to underline these words. And it fell not. And it fell not. Why? Why did it not fall? Why did it continue? Why did it survive the storms of life? It fell not. Here's why. For it was founded upon a rock. It was found and had this foundation upon the rock of the Word of God. And then Jesus gives us a contrast. He compares and contrasts. Look at verse 26. And everyone that here at these sayings of mine hears the contrast and doeth them not. So there's somebody who knows what to do but they don't do it. They say, they make statements like this I know that's what the Bible says but. I know that's what the preacher said but. Now it doesn't matter what the preacher said but if what the preacher said is what the Bible says, don't add a but to it. And everyone that here at these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man. I didn't say that. Jesus said that. He says let me tell you what a fool is. You want to know what a fool is? It's what Jesus said. Don't get mad at me. I'm just telling you what Jesus said. Jesus said you are a fool if you sit in a church like Verity Baptist Church that teaches the Word of God in heavy doses. You hear it. It's explained to you. It's illustrated to you. It's given to you as simply as possible and you decide that's not for me. What do you call that? Look I'm not trying to offend you. I'm telling you what Jesus said. You know what you call that is? A fool. You know what a fool does? A fool would be an individual who was told hey I've got a book that will teach you everything you need to know about everything. It'll help you succeed in life. It'll help you prosper. It'll give you favor with God and man. You know what a fool would say? He'd say I'm just gonna I'm gonna watch this cat video on YouTube instead. That's what a fool would do. It's foolish. And everyone that hear these sayings of mine and do it them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. What is that? That's not the foundation of the Word of God. Aren't you thankful that the Word of God doesn't change? The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Forever O Lord thy word is settled in heaven. The Word of God doesn't change. The principles of the Word of God they do not change. But you know what does change? The shifting sands of the world. The philosophies of this world. The beliefs of this world. See the world's also going to tell you how to have a marriage. The world's also going to tell you how to raise your children. The world's also going to tell you how to do life and how to do finances and how to it's gonna tell you all its things but when you lay the foundation upon the world you're laying the foundation upon the sand. And you don't need to know a lot about building to know this. You need a good foundation. Which built his house upon the sand verse 27 and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell look at it and it fell that's opposite of and it fell not in verse 27 and it fell but then Jesus for emphasis as this little phrase he says and great was the fall of it. I'm here to tell you something. When your marriage begins to fall apart with your when your relationship with your children begins to fall apart. When your health begins to fall apart. When all these things that's not a result of the storms of life. The storms of life are only identifying what was already there. Weakness not strength. See you should be a doer of the Word of God. Not just information. You need information but you also need application. Why should you be a doer of the Word of God? Why should you apply the Word of God? Here's why. Because great was the fall of it. Because you and I need to be founded upon a rock. Because the rains will descend the floods will come the winds will blow and beat upon that house and whether it falls or whether it stands will depend on one thing. Will you founded upon the rock? And again we all I think we all want to say I want to be founded upon the rock. Ok well it's very easy it's very easy very simple to identify are you founded upon the rock. All you need to ask yourself is are you hearing the Word of God and doing it? Well I hear it but I don't. Then you're not founded upon the rock. Well I don't even hear it. Well you're definitely not founded upon the rock. Great was the fall of it. So we see here in Matthew 7 why you should be a doer. But then let me give you the explanation of how to be a doer. Go to James chapter 1 if you would. James chapter 1. If you kept your place in first Peter if you go backwards from first Peter you'll have the book of James right before the book of first Peter you have the book of James. James chapter number one. And we looked at these verses before I think it's good for us to be reminded of these verses these powerful verses. And this is something that is taught consistently throughout the Bible. Look at James 1 and verse 22. James 1 22 says this but be ye doers of the word look at it and not hearers only. He said be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. Look at these words. Deceiving your own selves. Deceiving your own selves. Listen to me very carefully I'm glad you're here on a Sunday morning and I hope you'll come back. I honestly hope you'll keep coming. I think it's good for you to be in church at the very least if you're not going to read the Bible then at the very least let us read it to you and explain it to you. I think you should develop a time of daily Bible reading where you feed yourself with the Word of God. If the only time you get fed from the Word of God is when you come to church that's not enough. Look you come to church Sunday morning and you come to church Sunday night and you come to church Wednesday night that's like going out to a nice restaurant and they prepare a meal for you. We're going to prepare a meal for you and we're going to give you the Word of God in heavy doses and we might help you understand some things that you don't understand and we're going to make you eat your spiritual broccoli and your spiritual vegetables. But you can't just eat at restaurants every day. You got to cook at home. You got to eat every day. Now I hope you come to church and I hope you keep coming to church. But let me just be honest with you. You show up to a church like this or any church and you put on a nice outfit and you show up to church and you just come in and you pretend like you're a real good Christian. Never read the Bible. Don't know what the Bible says. Don't care what the Bible says. I'm just going to sit there and yeah that was a good sermon pastor and I'm just going to go on my merry way and do whatever I want and live however I want and ignore the Word of God. I'm telling you, you're not deceiving anyone but yourself. You're not hurting me. You're hurting yourself. But be doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. You're only hurting yourself. You're only deceiving yourself. You say why is that? Look at verse 23. For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's going to give us an illustration. I love this illustration. He said let me tell you what it's like to be someone who hears the Word of God and does not do it. He says 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. Now the illustration given here by James is this. That when someone knows what the Bible says and does not do it, he said it's like someone beholding their natural face in a glass. Now what the Bible is talking about here when it says his natural face in a glass, the word glass there is referring to what we would call a mirror. Someone looks at a mirror and they're beholding their natural face in a glass. He says for if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, look at the illustration. He is like unto man beholding his natural face in a glass for he beholdeth himself and goeth this way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. You say I don't understand. What does that mean? Here's what James is telling us. He's saying what is the purpose of looking in a mirror? What's the point? I know we live in this narcissistic social media society where people just like to see pictures of themselves. But what is the point? Like what is the actual purpose? Why do you own a mirror? Why do you have a mirror? What is the point of looking in the mirror? You get dressed, you comb your hair, brush your teeth, put your clothes on and then you look in the mirror. What is the point of looking in the mirror? You are looking in the mirror to identify is there something wrong. Apparently some of you don't own a mirror. But that is the point. You're looking in the mirror to say is my tie straight? Is there anything dirty on me? Is my hair fine? Do I have anything in my teeth? That's the point. You look at the mirror to identify what's wrong, what's the problem, what needs to be addressed, what needs to be fixed. And what James is telling us is that every day when you and I open the Word of God we are looking in the mirror of the Word of God. We are looking in the perfect law of liberty. And as we look in the mirror of the Word of God it is identifying for us. Hey, there's a problem here. Hey, you've got something in your teeth. Hey, your tie is crooked. Hey, your hair is messed up. It's identifying something first. And here's what James is saying. Here's what's foolish. What would be foolish is for you to look in the mirror and see you've got something in your teeth. You're like, oh man, I've got something in my teeth. And then you just walk away. And all day long you've just got something in your teeth. People kind of keep looking at you like. What would be the point? Here's what somebody would ask. Did you look in the mirror today? Oh yeah, I looked in the mirror. Well, have you got something in your teeth? Oh yeah, I know. Well, aren't you going to do something about it? No. Then why do you look in the mirror? What's the point of looking in the mirror? The point is not to see that there's something wrong. The point is to see that there's something wrong and then do something about it. And then fix it. And here's what James is saying. He says, For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. He says, when you look in the Bible, when you read the Bible or you come to a church service and the word of God is preached and the Bible is identifying for you problems in your life. He said, you not addressing those problems would be as stupid as looking in a mirror and not fixing your tie when it's crooked. Not getting what's in the middle of your teeth when you see it. See, the first step to being a doer is that we need to acknowledge the problems. Stop getting so mad at the preacher for identifying the problems in your life. And just realize that this is the mirror of the word of God and it is reflecting to you and telling you, hey, there's a problem here. But it's not just enough to acknowledge it. You have to act upon it. Look at verse 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein. They stay with it. They stick with it. He being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. By the way, I love how these words are used interchangeably. Verse 22, doers of the word. Verse 25, doer of the work. You say, why does he use those terms? Because when you do the word, it's going to be work. Being a doer of the word is being a doer of the work. You got to go to work on yourself. I have to go to work on myself and what we need to do is get in the word of God and let the word of God identify for us where we need to do the work. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. You say, I want the blessing of God upon my life. Well look, he's telling you, this is how you can be blessed. This man shall be blessed in his deed. You want to be blessed in your life? You want to be blessed in your relationships? You want to be blessed in everything you do? Here's how you do it. You look in the perfect law of liberty. You continue therein. You are not a forgetful hearer but you are a doer of the work. And when you do what the Bible says to do, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Same thing that Joshua said in Joshua 1.8, 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. That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein and then shalt thou make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success. You can come to a church like this and listen to sermons about life and success and marriage and all of it. You can listen to all of it and if you do none of it, none of it will help you. You need the information, yes, but you also need the application. You need to do what the Bible says. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success. This man shall be blessed in his deed is what the Bible says. So we need daily Bible reading. For what? For information. We need daily Bible reading. For what? For application. Let me give you a third one this morning and we'll finish up. Go to Romans chapter number 12 if you would. If you kept your place in Matthew, after Matthew you have Mark, Luke, John, Acts and then Romans. Romans chapter 12. Why do we need to read the Bible daily? Why? Why do you need daily Bible reading? You need it for information. Because there are things you need to know to help you and what you don't know is hurting you. Why do we need daily Bible reading? We need daily Bible reading for application. You need to be a doer of the word so you can be founded upon the rock so that when the storms come you will not fall. It will not be said of you, great was the fall of it. You need to be a doer of the word. You need to acknowledge it. You need to look in the mirror and identify the problems and you need to act upon them. And this man shall be blessed in his deed. But then thirdly this morning we need daily Bible reading for transformation. For transformation. The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. There's lots that can be said about that. I'm not preaching about that this morning but I will say this. Giving your life to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. It's not extreme. It's not being a religious zealot. It is a reasonable service. When you consider what Christ has done for us it is reasonable. When you consider that Christ gave his life for us it is reasonable for us to give our lives to him. Which is your reasonable service. Then look at verse 2. And be not conformed to this world. He said I don't want you to be conformed. I don't want you to be molded after. I don't want you to be patterned after the things of this world. He says and be not conformed to this world. That will cause failure. That will cause you to fail. Great will be the fall of it. And be not conformed to this world. He says but here's what I do want. He said I want you to but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. That ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. See we need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Your mind has bad thinking. Your mind has bad thoughts. If you live in this world all day long the world is influencing you and telling you and teaching you wrong things and leading you in a bad direction. And God says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How do you become transformed? By renewing your mind. Your mind needs to be renewed. How is this done? This is done by the word of God. Keep your place there in Romans 12. Just stay there. I'll just read for you from Ephesians. Ephesians 5 26 says this that he, talking about Jesus, might sanctify and cleanse it, referring to the church, with the washing of the water by the word. See the word of God as you read it is going to wash you. It's going to wash your mind. It's going to renew your mind. You're going to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. And people often, when you preach the word of God and you teach the word of God and you're not apologetic about it, people will falsely accuse us and say we're a cult and we're trying to brainwash people. But I always kind of chuckle when people say, oh he's trying to brainwash you. And I think to myself, well your brain needs to be washed. Your brain needs a good washing. Your brain has gotten you to the dirty mess you're in. And Jesus wants to wash you, wants to sanctify and cleanse you with the washing of the water by the word. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to start living differently, doing something differently. How does that happen? You have to be transformed by the renewing of your mind and that happens by the washing of the water by the word. As you read the word of God every day, it begins to transform you. It begins to change your mind. You begin to start thinking, you start thinking like God. You start thinking like the Bible. Things will happen throughout life and you'll start thinking, oh that's like what the Bible says or that's how the Bible says. And the word of God says this and you'll start applying those things and it'll start changing you. So we're transformed by the renewing of your mind. But let me say this, we are to be transformed into the image of His Son. You're there in Romans, flip back to Romans chapter 8, look at verse 28. Romans chapter 8 verse 28 says this, Romans 8 28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Verse 29, For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate. Look at it, He also did predestinate. What were you predestinated to? We were predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. That He might be the firstborn among many brethren. See, what is the purpose of discipleship? What is the purpose of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? What is the purpose of following in His footsteps? The purpose is this, that every day we would be more and more like Christ. That every day we would learn to respond more and more like Christ, to live more and more like Christ, to make decisions more and more like Christ, that we would be conformed to the image of His Son. Go to 2 Corinthians if you would, 2 Corinthians chapter 3. And here's what I'm trying to say to you. The purpose of Bible reading is information, and the purpose of Bible reading is application, but the purpose of daily Bible reading is also transformation. And the idea is this, the more you know about the Word of God, the more you do from the Word of God, the more you change your mind and are transformed by the renewing of your mind, it will begin to transform you. It will begin to change you, and you will begin to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the whole point. We have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. Are you there in 2 Corinthians 3? Look at verse 18. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 18. But we all, look at these words, but we all, and that's referring to all of us that are saved, with open face beholding as in a glass. Remember James? The perfect law of liberty was likened into a glass, holding your natural face in a glass. Here, the same illustration is being used. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass, look at it, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. See, when you and I look into the glass, the mirror of the Word of God, not only does it identify for us the problems in our life, but it also shows us how to be more like Christ. And when we all, with open face beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, when you behold the glory of the Lord, you will be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Do you know this? That you cannot spend time with Jesus and not have Him change you. You cannot spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ and not have that be marked upon you, not have that be seen in you. You cannot spend time, you cannot spend time in the Word of God beholding the glory of the Lord and not be changed into the same image. It's true. I'm reminded of the story in Exodus. We won't turn there. But in Exodus 34 we have the story of Moses. Remember the Bible says that he went in before the Lord to speak with him. He went in before the Lord to speak with the Lord. He spent time with the Lord. He communed with the Lord. He spent time with God. And the Bible says, Moses did not even realize this at first, but the Bible says when he came down and he was amongst the people that his face shone. See, he beheld the glory of God and then the glory of God was reflected in him. And that is a physical story, a miracle that physically happened. Moses had to put a veil on his face because the people were so afraid of his face shining. But there's a spiritual application there and it is this, that you cannot spend time in the presence of God and not have it affect you. That's why the enemies of the early church said in the book of Acts, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you. Acts chapter 4 and verse 13, it says, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John. And remember this was just weeks after the disciples had been cowards and had ran away and had forsaken and Peter had denied Christ. But now they have spent some time with the risen Savior. And here's what the people said, the enemy said, they said, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled and took knowledge of them. They said they saw these men and they knew that they had been cowards, they knew that they had been afraid, they knew that they were unlearned and they were ignorant. But when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. What changed them? What transformed them? What gave them boldness and knowledge and wisdom? Being with Jesus. Now they had physically been with the Lord Jesus Christ and it had changed their lives. But you know that you and I, when we spend time with Jesus and His Word, it will change us. It will transform us. Don't misunderstand what I'm about to say to you because all I'm trying to really get you to do today is to make a decision to read the Bible every day. Let me just say this about Bible reading. It's not about just reading. It's not just about marking something on some chart somewhere. I've got to read these three chapters, the pastor said. I want you to read and if that's all you are going to do, then start there and just read the Bible. We call it Bible devotions and I don't have a problem with that word. In fact, I like the word. But it's really not Bible devotions as much as it is worship of Jesus. As you and I take time every day, set aside time every day to open up the Word of God and just read the Word of God and to spend time with Jesus, to talk with Jesus and to have Him speak to us through His Word as we spend time with Jesus, then they might look at us and they might marvel and say they have been with Jesus. See, it will transform your life. It will transform you by the renewing of your mind. It will transform you into the image of His Son. Let me just end by giving you just some real practical steps for daily Bible reading. I think every Christian ought to read their Bible every day. I think every Christian ought to develop a discipline of daily Bible reading. You say, Pastor, you don't understand. I'm too busy to read the Bible. If you're too busy to read the Bible, you're too busy. If you knew the workload, then work less. Are you listening to me? If you knew how many hours I worked, then you're working too many hours. If you don't have enough time to read the Word of God, every Christian needs to develop the time to read the Bible. Let me just give you some quick steps. These are not deep, but they're just good practical things, steps for daily Bible reading. Number one, choose a place. Choose a place. Decide in your mind a location, a location where you're going to read the Word of God. Number two, use a plan. Use a plan. I think you ought to have a chart. I think you ought to have some sort of plan. We have charts here. We give them out and we can get one for you. We can print one for you. And I think you should have some sort of a chart, some sort of a plan that leads you through. It's not difficult. I don't think it's hard for every Christian to read the Bible cover to cover once a year. Take about 15 minutes, the average reader, to read the Bible cover to cover every year. You need to choose a place. You need to use a plan. And then number three, you need to make an appointment. You need to make an appointment. Choose a time. Choose a time and decide, this is when I read the Bible. This is when I get alone with God. This is where I do it. This is how I do it. This is when I do it. Choose a place. Choose a plan. Make an appointment. Choose a time. Now for my wife and I, we do this in the mornings. Every morning an alarm goes off and we get up and we go downstairs and she makes a cup of coffee, a couple cups of coffee, and then we sit. I sit at my chair and she sits on the couch next to my chair and I have a cup of coffee, she has a cup of coffee, and we read the Bible. Now we read the Bible together in the sense that we read it at the same time, but we don't read it together. I read my Bible, she reads her Bible, but we have a place, we have a plan, we have an appointment, and it helps to do it with an accountability partner. It helps to do it with somebody. We read the Word of God and then on most days if there's not something else going on, we'll go on a morning walk together. I'm just saying you need to make this a routine in your life. Make a habit out of it. Make it a daily practice. Choose a place. Choose a location. What are you going to do? Use a plan. Get a chart. A chart will make sure you actually read. You're like, well I'll just read what I want to read. You'll read Psalm 23 and you'll read the Gospels. The chart will make sure you read Ezekiel and Leviticus and then make an appointment. Choose a time in the day when you can get alone with God. Let me just read a few verses for you and we'll be done. 1 Timothy 4.13 says, Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. The word attendance means to give attention to, to give attendance, to give concern to it. Give attendance to reading. Revelation 1.3 says this, Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things. Isaiah 34.16 says this, Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read. None of these shall fail, none shall want her made, for my mouth it hath commanded and his spirit hath gathered them. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read. Would to God that we would be people of the book and that we would all develop the daily discipline of Bible reading. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord we do love you and we thank you for giving us this precious book. You've given us all the answers to all of life's questions, everything that pertains to life and godliness. It's all there and we just need to read it. You want to spend time with us, you want to commune with us, you want to fellowship with us, and we just need to make it a priority. Lord I pray you'd help us to read the Bible everyday for information. We need to know what it says. We're hurt by not knowing what the Bible says. But then help us to take the next step and take that information and turn it into application and begin to do, to do what the Bible says, to get founded upon the word of God. And then Lord we pray that it would result in transformation and that we conform to the image of the son. We love you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well God bless you. Thank you for being here this morning. I do want to just remind you a couple of things before we sing the last song. First of all, don't forget to see my wife this morning after the service to sign up to bring the Davidsons a meal. If you'd like to help bring brother Andrew and Miss Esther and of course the two little ones a meal, then we would appreciate your help with that. So please make sure you see my wife. She has a clipboard for that and she can help you with that. You men, if you're interested in the Biblical Leadership Institute, we've got the brochures back there. Make sure you go back there and grab those if you'd like. Then of course I want to encourage you to come back tonight, 6 p.m. for the evening service. And it's just another opportunity to hear the word of God preached, to learn what the Bible says, and to apply it to your life. I hope you'll make that a priority. We'd love you to join us tonight. Then of course next week I want to encourage you to be with us as we open up the word of God again. Bring somebody with you, invite somebody with you. If there's anything that we can do for you, please let us know. And we'll have brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Turn to Psalm 188. 1-8-8. 1-8-8 on the first. To win his every child We reconciled and parted from his sin O love of God, how rich and pure How measureless and strong It shall forevermore endure The saints' and angels' song When hoary time shall pass away And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall When men here refuse to pray On rocks and hills and mountains fall God's love so sure shall still endure All measureless and strong Redeeming grace to Adam's race The saints' and angels' song O love of God, how rich and pure How measureless and strong It shall forevermore endure The saints' and angels' song Good on the last. Could we with thee the ocean fill And were the skies of parchment made Were every stock on earth a thrill And every man a scribe a trade To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry Nor could the scroll contain the hole Stretch from sky to sky O love of God, how rich and pure How measureless and strong It shall forevermore endure The saints' and angels' song Amen. Good singing. Before we leave here, if anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism past, we'll be at the door. He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk to you about that. Brother Matt, would you close a prayer for us? Amen. Amen. Amen.