 We're here in Ephesians chapter six. I'm going to read beginning at verse just to conclude the context of this passage. I'm going to begin reading again as I have a couple of times recently. I'll begin reading at verse 10, but I'm going to conclude at verse 17. And our subject is found in verse 17, but beginning at verse 10, Ephesians chapter six, Paul writes, finally, my brother, and be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, stand. Therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breast plate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Now, as we've seen, as we've been going through the book of Ephesians and have arrived at this particular portion of scripture, Paul has been instructing the Ephesians concerning spiritual warfare. And last time we were together, we looked at the helmet of salvation. Now, I mentioned to you that believers are to be continually girded with truth. We are to wear that breastplate and we're to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Well, the following three weapons, as I've mentioned, are to be used in individual battles, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit. Now, those weapons are kept in a state of readiness. So we raise or we take up these weapons when we are engaged in actual combat. We take up the shield by applying what we know about God, everything we know about God through the Bible. We put on the helmet by calling to mind the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. You see, one of the enemy's tactics is to encourage us to doubt and to encourage us to hopelessness. This, I think, is one of his most effective devices, undermining our confidence in Christ. And he also encourages us in our own sense of unworthiness. And that's an ancient tactic. What he desires us to feel is abandoned and sorrowful. The Psalmist said in Psalm 2713, I would have disbared, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I would have disbared unless I would have known or believed that I would actually be with the Lord. Psalm 43.5, why my soul are you down, downcast? Why so disturbed within me? And then he self, self talks of you, well, he says, put your hope in God. For I will yet praise you, my savior, my God. And so the enemy tempts us to be abandoned, a sense of, a sense of sorrow that, that we're abandoned by God. And, and it's a, it's a tactic he's used on, on many, including the Apostle Paul. In second Corinthians, chapter one, verse eight, Paul said it like this. He said, we do not want you to be unaware, brethren of our affliction, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we'd have spared even of life. Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. We despaired. We were in that sense that we were going to die, but we trusted the Lord. So when under such attack, we remember to put on the helmet. We call to mind who we are in Christ and we call in mind what God is doing. So the next weapon, the one that we're going to be looking at is the sword of the spirit, which he says is the word of God. Now the sword that Paul refers to is, is a sword that the Roman soldier would carry. It was what we would call today a short sword. It was anywhere from dagger length, six inches up to about 18 inches in length. It was carried in a sheath and it was attached to a belt. And this is the kind of sword that was used for hand to hand combat. So he's informing us that God's word is actually our spiritual weapon. This weapon, the sword of the spirit. Now I'll develop this with you for just a moment. Notice how it's referred to as the sword of the spirit. That means that this sword is not of human origin. It means that this sword, this weapon is of divine origin. It's the sword of the spirit. In 2 Peter chapter one, verses 20 and 21, Peter said it like this. He said, above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man. But men spoke from God as it were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So Peter had said that the spirit led and inspired the writers of scripture as they wrote. Now, Jesus taught us that the Holy Spirit is the teacher, the teacher of God's truth. In John 1426, he said, but the helper of the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In John 1613, however, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority. But whatever he hears, he will speak and he will tell you things to come. This is a sort of the spirit. It's the Holy Spirit who inspires scripture. It's the Holy Spirit who is the teacher of God's truth. So they communicated God's truth, these writers of scripture, but they retained their own personalities. There's a phrase that theologians use, Bible teachers will use it in school and I heard professors use it. They said truth through personality. You can read your Bible and you're going to notice that if you read it carefully, that the writers had different styles. The Apostle John wrote with a different style than the Apostle Paul. And the Apostle Paul wrote with a different style than the Apostle Peter. The Gospel of Mark is a different style than the Gospel of John. So you'll see that there are concepts and words that are used, that are particular to each one of those writers. And yet they are all coalescing on the same truth because it's a Holy Spirit who inspired them to write the words and they wrote them as it pertained to their own personalities and understandings of the way God was was moving them. In 2 Timothy chapter three, verses 16 and 17, it says all scriptures given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. All scripture given by inspiration of God. So he says that all, speaking of biblical scripture, is inspired. It's Theonistus, it's God breathed. All scripture is God breathed, it's inspired by God. Now he points out that this God breathed scripture prepares us for a life of service and it's not only going to benefit Timothy, who is reading that at that time, but it benefits all who trust in the word of God. So all scripture is given by inspiration. All scripture has distinct from simply the Old Testament writings. This would include his own letters. You see, during the during this time, the entire New Testament writings had yet to be collected. The recognition of the 27 New Testament books had yet to occur. So the official gathering and recognizing of what is called New Testament canon did not occur until the Council of Hippo. It was a lot of big guys, the Council of Hippo, which is in in modern Algeria in 393 AD. And again, at the Council of Carthage in Tunisia in 397. So the recognition of the 27 books had yet to occur. Prior to those dates, the Old and New Testaments were recognized as inspired. They were even sometimes combined in scripture. For example, 1st Timothy 518 Paul said, the scripture says, do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain and the worker deserves his wages. So when he said, do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain. That spoke of Deuteronomy 25 verse four. But when he said the worker deserves his wages, that was Luke chapter 10 verse seven. And so the scriptures were recognized both Old and New Testament as inspired. The apostles recognized their writings as inspired and even authoritative in Colossians 4 16. And I'm laying a foundation for you in Colossians 4 16. It says, after this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. So they recognize their writings as being inspired and they would actually share each letter with other churches. In 2nd Peter 3 16, he said, writing of Paul, Peter says, he writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort as they do. And they went on to use this phrase as they do the other scriptures to their own destruction. So they were recognizing the writings of Paul as being scriptural and authoritative in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13. And we also thank God continually because when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is the word of God, which is that work in you who believe. And so when Paul was using the word inspiration, that word as mentioned, the Anoustos is literally God breathed. It owes its origin to the breath of God, an outpouring of life to man. Somebody once said, if we are left in doubt as to which part is inspired and which is not, we are as badly off as if we had no Bible at all. He went on to say, I hold no theory of inspiration. I accept the inspiration of scriptures as fact. So it's profitable, this word. The Bible was written to reveal God's ways to us. So what is it profitable for? The Bible is profitable for teaching. The word teaching speaks of provoking us to learn. It informs us of God's revelation in Jesus Christ. It's profitable for rebuking. The word rebuked speaks of correcting error, correcting error in understanding of scripture and in the way that we live. It speaks of correction. That speaks of a restoration to a right relationship with God. And it speaks of training because by yielding to it and practicing these things, it develops our spiritual understanding. And the result is the man of God is surely furnished. He is surely equipped for every good work. Now, God's word is spoken of as being sufficient to equip us. In Psalm 119, verse nine. Wherewith all shall a young man cleanse his ways by taking heat into thy word. In verse 11, thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. So I'll just take a moment to say as a Calvary pastor, it's my desire to teach the whole counsel of God. And that's because I want our fellowship to be thoroughly equipped for every good work of service. And that's what pastors are commanded to do. We are commanded to teach the word of God. We are to to proclaim God's word as it is. We're to teach it in every way, shape and form. And when given every opportunity or any opportunity, we are to teach his word. The Lord gave a promise in the book of Jeremiah. It's found in chapter three, verse 15. And he said this, he said, I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. I will give you shepherds, those who have responsibility to oversee your spiritual life. I will give you shepherds according to my heart. These are things that are outpouring of my love and expression to you, expression of that love. And they're going to feed you. They're going to feed you with knowledge. That's not only the knowledge that is given through rightly dividing the word and presenting it, but it also speaks of a spiritual understanding through personal experience. So they're going to feed you with knowledge and understanding. They're going to give you wisdom through the word of God because they know the word of God and they're a gift to you. That's what God said to the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 3.15. When Paul was speaking to the Ephesian elders, he had an opportunity, as he was on his way to Rome, he had an opportunity to meet with the group of elders who were coming from Ephesus, the church that ultimately Timothy himself was pastoring. And when Paul was there in this place called Elita Support City there on the coastline of Turkey, he had met with these elders. And as the elders came in, he met with them, he began to share with them, and he told them how he had ministered to them and he knew it was the last time he would see them. He had final instructions and final words to speak to them. And you would ask yourself a question, you would ask yourself, if you knew this was the last time that you were going to meet with some people, say you were a spiritual leader and you were overseeing, leading, building up, mentoring, developing people in the faith, what would you want to say? What kinds of things would you say to them if this was your last time that you speak to them? Eventually there's going to be time, it's really not that far away compared to the time that we've already experienced here. You know, I've been pastoring this church for 41 years. I'm not going to be here for another 41 years. It's my prayer that the rapture is going to happen long before that. And nobody would want to hear a man who's 103 years old or 113 years old anyway. So, or maybe somebody would, we'll see. But I know that the time comes and the Lord is going to remove me and play somebody else and I know that. But what would I want to share with the fellowship? What would I want to say? If I had a last opportunity, that's what you see when you read the book of Acts chapter 20, especially when the apostle Paul is ministering and speaking to these elders of the church there in Ephesus. And one of the things that he says is found in Acts 20 verse 27 when he says, I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. I've taken you from the A to the Z. I've taken you through it. I have prepared you. I've adequately taught you. He said, you saw my manner of life. He said, I've been with you in tears, trials and the persecutions. You're aware of the various things that I've gone through. I've been an open book to you. I've shared with you everything that I could say to you. I've done as much as I could in front of you to model those things. I've been in every way, shape and form very obviously aware of my relationship with you and my desire to build you up in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. They've given you the word of God which is able to build you up. He says, but I have not shunned to declare unto you the entire counsel of God. I have told you from the A to the Z. I have built you up properly. And that's what every shepherd, that's what every minister is commanded to do. That's what we've been commanded to do. There are times that I'll say this briefly but there are times when we have opportunities to address current events and I think we should. I think pastors ought to share current events. And sometimes when you share concerning those current events people can get upset and people do get upset. That's just, I guess, the way it is. People get upset and there's nothing you can do to avoid that. There are always people who have their opinions and all of them, they get upset because you've said certain things. But every pastor has a responsibility to teach the right and true thing. And sometimes the things that we say may be hurtful to some. At least they may be pained for a moment and no pastor wants to beat the sheep. We want to feed the sheep. Yet it's our responsibility to go out and to speak these things. That's why we go from the A to the Z. Because you see the blessings of God but you also see in scripture the times that he will buffet you. You see both. And that's what you'll see as you go through scripture. And so as a Calvary pastor for the 41 years that I've pastored this church and for the two years prior to that and for the years prior to that when I started teaching Bible studies at the age of 23 in 1973, the one thing I've tried to be is faithful to teach the word of God. And so the time will come when people no longer endure healthy teaching but according to their own desires are gonna heap into themselves teachers because their ears are itching to hear other things. I understand that. I understand the days that we're living in. I understand the narcissism that many are now suffering with. It has to be my way or it's the highway. I get that. But at the bottom line guys, if I don't as a pastor teach you the word of God who's going to? My responsibility is to teach you. I'm laying this as a foundation. That's my responsibility to diligently pursue the things of the Lord. I had somebody say it must be nice and easy to be a pastor. You golf three days out of the week and you teach a couple of times. They don't understand ministry. They don't understand the hours it takes to prepare one Bible study. They don't understand it takes me two days for each study I do. It takes days of study and hours of preparation and cross references and what does the scripture say and what does this commentator say? It's a lot of work but it's worth it. Why? Because we're safeguarding the sheep from error. We're safeguarding. And sometimes there's criticism and I understand it goes with the territory. But the things that sometimes kind of crack me up in a way is somebody who's never even given a Bible study has a propensity to teach me how to teach. And I find that interesting. But that's today. That's the way people are. You know, what are you going to do? We just slap them in the face and move on. But as we look at this, you know, we're to teach the A to the Z. We're to equip the sheep for works of service. And so this with the sword does. So in battle, the sword is both a defensive weapon as well as an offensive weapon. Everybody knows that the sword is used not only to defend but also to go on the offense. And so the word of God provides defense. It provides a defense against the attacks of the enemy. And we're under constant attack by various forces. Forces that unite to oppose God. Scripture informs us there are at least three forces that we will constantly battle. We battle the world, we battle the flesh and we battle the devil. You see, we're under attack by the world. The world is the system energized by Satan in opposition to God. The world represents the culture that we live in. And that culture that we live in is evangelistic and it's very persistent. Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, read a magazine. That world is constantly evangelizing you. This world system is revealed in language, it's revealed in our music, in the arts, in fashion, social mores, religious beliefs. These things make up the world. And these things are what make up what has been referred to as the culture wars. And the influence of the world is corrupting. The influence of the world ultimately does its best to steal your innocence. The world and its system intends to destroy. It's in constant opposition to the things of God. The apostle John said in 1st John 2, 15 and 16, he said, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. Jesus said in John 15, 19, if you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world thinks you're great. Therefore the world hates you. Some of you sometimes have experienced that. I've heard one of us who's a believer does, and one time or another, you do experience the hatred of the world. And you might even be surprised. It might even hurt your feelings. You might even get so bummed out that you're not the most popular person anymore because you're a Christian. But that's just the way it is. See, Jesus said it. He said the world loves its own. If you do the same things, if you agree on the same things, if you go the same places, if you do all of that, yeah, they'll accept you. But when you say, I don't do that anymore. I don't party anymore. Well, what happened to you? No, I don't have to fool anymore. What happened to you? I don't get loaded in. What happened to you? I'm gonna be faithful to my wife. What happened to you? I mean, the world really does disagree with that. And I don't wanna go too far into this, but when you say that as a man, I say I'm a man and I believe a man should marry a woman, what's wrong with you? That my child does not have the ability at the age of four years old to determine whether that boy is really a girl. I heard just yesterday, one professor who was saying that babies in the womb are already confused as to whether they're male or female. See, this is idiocy. That's a Greek word. It comes from the Greek word truly. It comes from the Greek word idiotes or the Spanish idiota, but it comes from that. It's the truth. It's an idiocy. It's imbecilic. It's moronic. It's anti-God. That's the world. See, that's the world. You see it. It's around you. It surrounds you. This cancel mentality, don't say things we don't appreciate or agree with. And Christians, because we want to be meek and we want to be loving, you know, you can get confused sometimes. But guess what? Sometimes you just have to speak the truth. You speak it in love, but somebody's got to speak it. You know, and that's, it's like when Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in Isaiah five and he says, Isaiah six, and he says, in the year of the king, Isaiah died, I saw the Lord. He was high and he was lifted up. The train filled the temple. And then he hears, you know, the angels singing holy, holy, holy, and all, and he's just amazed. He says, I'm a man with evil tongue. He says, and I dwell amongst people with evil lips. And then the question came out and it says, who will go for us? And then he says, here am I, Lord, send me. Well, there are a lot of people who know that passage. And when it gets to the point, who will go for us? They'll say, there he is, Lord. Send him, but Isaiah said, here am I, Lord, send me. And I wonder how many of us have been given opportunities to be like an Isaiah in a classroom or a neighborhood or a conversation in a store. But we were there saying, man, I just wish somebody else were here to take care of this for me. That's why we said the word of God. That's why we spend time. Listen, it isn't something that necessarily comes easy. Those who I have to tell you, I admire, who have this incredible memory. They're able to read something one time, you know? And they remember it. I'm not that guy. I have to pour over and pour over and pour over things, you know? And it takes a lot of work for me to remember. And I'm at that point now that I can remember the words, but I don't remember the numbers. And that I read in karaoke, you saw it a minute ago. I say, if I know, Isaiah said, I have to do that. I hope that's an inspiration for you to realize you can do it. It just takes a devotion. It just takes, I'm going to do this. Somebody needs to do this. And so we need to stay in the word. You see, if we were of the world, the world would get along with us. But because we actually stand in opposition to it, it hates us. We also battle our flesh, because my flesh resists yielding the spirit of God. My flesh yields to a system that's energized by Satan and actually Satan feeds that system. In Galatians 5.17, Paul said, the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. There's a war that takes place. That's why in Matthew 26, 41, Jesus said, watch and pray, unless you enter into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing. But he said the flesh is weak. And so there's a battle going on. And then we're attacked by Satan and Satan opposes God and all who would obey God. Satan is in constant rebellion. There's not a time when he's not rebelling. And he encourages people to rebel also. In 1st John 5.19, John said, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. So these three forces unite in opposition to God and to his rule. As believers, we are under attack constantly. I wonder if anybody in this room had a tough time getting here tonight. Most of you say, no, yes, some of you did. You should see if you stand there at the driveway and watch people come in on Sunday, you can see their heads as they're arguing and then they hit the holy highway here. Cause it can be tough. It can be tough sometimes because the enemy doesn't want you to be in the word. He doesn't believe me. I'm not making this up. You know this. He doesn't want you in the word. He wants you to be like a toothless dog. You know, you think you're bad, but you got no teeth? Well, the word of God, it's your teeth. Put your teeth on. So we have a means of defense that God has provided, his word. That again is the sword of the spirit. We don't hold tightly to the word of God. Many don't hunger for the word of God. And as a result, their minds are formed by the world. In Osea chapter four verse six, God simply said it like this. He said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Your reliance on God's word is actually revealing your relationship with God. Be very careful that you do not replace the word of God with man's philosophies and man's delusions. Be very careful. The enemy likes to add to the word of God. It wasn't that long ago and it's still said, and I'll say it like this, I'll just say what used to be very popular, perhaps it still is to some degree, I think it is. Where people said, in order to love others, I have to first and foremost love my God. I'm sorry, love myself. I first love me and then I can love you. You've heard that. You have to love yourself. I hate to tell you, you already do. That's a problem, isn't it? No man has ever hated his own flesh, but he nourishes and cherishes it, Paul said in chapter five. You haven't hated it. See, it's like people say, I hate myself. I hate myself because I'm so ugly. I hate myself, no, no, that's not true because if you really hated yourself, you would be glad that you're ugly, right? Wouldn't you? I mean, that's true. I hate him, he's so ugly and I'm glad he's ugly. Well, I hate myself because I'm ugly. No, no, you love yourself so much that you're disappointed that you don't think you're as good looking as you'd like to be. It's called narcissism. And so all we have is, why am I telling you this? Well, I just want to, but it's true. You see, nobody ever went out and looked at the stars and said, when I behold the stars, the works of your hands, how wonderful I am. No, it makes you say, what is man that you are mindful of him? The son of man that you should consider him. It humbles you, it doesn't exalt you. When you know that God flung the stars with his fingers and knows every constellation by name, every star, that humbles you. It doesn't exalt you, see? And so what happens is this crept into, that's just one of the things that crept into the church in the 70s and 80s, especially 80s and early 90s. That was something we dealt with. Well, they say, didn't Jesus say, you're to love your neighbor as yourself? Well, you love yourself, don't you? So you should love yourself, then you love your neighbor. And they say, well, joy, Jesus, others, yourself, no, that's wrong, it should be yourself, others and Jesus. I heard that and I spoke against that. And I said, that's not what scripture says because the man walks up to Christ and says, Master, what is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said, there are two. He said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul strength with all your mind. And a second, he said, it's like unto the first, love your neighbor as yourself. He didn't say, oh, by the way, there's a second and then I didn't mention. And the third, love yourself. And so what they did is they took two commands, made them into three, and that found its way into the church and narcissism. It's gotta be my way or the highway came into the church because we stopped being servants and it had to have it my way. This isn't Burger King, it has to be done my way. No, it has to be done his way. And the way that comes is through his word. And see, it's very practical, it's very basic. You know, we must not replace God's word with man's delusions in philosophy. Proverbs 30, verses five and six. Every word of God is flawless. He's a shield to those who take refuge in him do not add to his words or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. God's word can be trusted from Genesis to Revelation and we hold tightly to his word. And in doing so, it keeps us from Satan's deceptive snares. In Colossians two, eight through 10, Paul said it like this. He said, see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form and you have been given fullness in Christ who is the head over every power and authority. So God's word is a defensive but it is also an offensive weapon. We wield that weapon when we proclaim his word to those who have yet to hear the message. We also are wielding it when we speak to those who have heard but still reject. In Hebrews 412 it says the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Now when it speaks concerning the word of God being the spirit, sword of the spirit that word word in verse 17 is a Greek word you've probably heard before it's Rema. Rema has been defined as a word that is what is called a particular word an individual statement. It's speaking of how the sword is to be wielded skillfully and precisely you're not just swinging it around in other words there's precision to it. So when the enemy is attacking you deflect the attacks of the enemy then you inflict harm on his purposes. When we proclaim the word of God it's an offensive weapon. I think it was Charles Vergean who simply said it like this he said the word of God is like a lion. Just let the lion out of the cage and that's the preaching of the word let the lion out of the cage. God has a way of doing what he wants to do. You see when you proclaim the word you use it in an offensive way when we wielded evangelistically we are actually freeing captives from the grip of the enemy. In Luke 4.18 and 19 it says the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He has sent me to preach to the poor and to heal the brokenhearted. Whenever somebody goes through pain they don't want to hear your philosophy. They don't want to hear your opinion or your ideas. They're a believer and even when they're not a believer if you're wise and know how to wield the sword you give them the word of God because it's a word of God that can penetrate even the most broken heart and heal it. I wonder how many in this room have been healed of a broken heart. I have. I've had a broken heart and God healed it by his word. That's what he does. He heals with his word. And when you preach the word of God sharing the gospel with people you're given them the opportunity to have a broken heart healed to have their eyes restored to see what is real not what is phony. The word of God is very important. You see when Satan brings doubt he asks the question did God say? And so the way we respond with the sword is we say it is written. Did God say it is written? Did God say it is written? And if you don't know what is written yet then you seek the Lord. You may go to somebody who's been in the word longer than you share with them and they can give you the scriptures that go home and it heals your heart. So when God is working in our lives he does it through the word and that's why we remain teaching the word of God. Now I was putting this together. I wrote a few things that I wanna give to you as I'm about to conclude this installment of our study. There are many benefits that you receive from God's word. In God's word there is life. In John 6.63 the words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. In God's word there is freedom. John 8.32 you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. In God's word there is purity. Psalm 119 verse nine how can a young man keep his way pure? I live in according to your word. In God's word there is light in the midst of spiritual darkness. Psalm 119.105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. His word increases faith. John 14.21 he who has my commandments and keeps him it is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father and I love this part of it and I will love him and manifest myself to him. There have been times I bet in your life been there have been times in mine when I'm obeying the Lord perhaps these places on my heart will say to share with somebody something and as I'm sharing with them on a personal level just sharing with them I can sense the presence of God in a way that is kind of unusual and even very much very real and then I think of this particular verse here that I just quoted because Jesus said I will love him and will manifest I will make myself known and in obedience and this is really an important thing I probably could spend a long time on this I won't but I could it's in the obedience that you begin to learn the deeper things of God there's the theoretical knowledge you can have just by putting notes in your Bible but there's the experiential knowledge you have when you put that into practice and God shows up and you go and you talk to someone you say I can't believe what God did today in my life sometimes they'll look at you as if you're kind of crazy and maybe you'll think you are too maybe you will but everybody somebody's fool I just soon be a fool for God and for the world anyway so you do what the Lord says he shows up and I don't know why I get surprised but I do it's like wow wow so thank you Lord that was so cool how you showed up and he says yeah I'm keeping my word so he increases our faith put it into practice his word heals our soul again it brings refreshment to a broken heart Psalm 19.7 says it like this the law of the Lord is perfect the law of the Lord lacks nothing he says restoring or reviving the soul the testimony of the Lord is sure it's reliable making wise the simple making wise the open-minded the law of the Lord restores, revives, it refreshes our soul he heals us through his word his word gives us victory in 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9 be sober-minded be watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour resist him firm in your faith knowing that the same kind of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world he seeks whom he may devour when he says resist him firm in your faith it's not simply the faith that we have but it's speaking of that which composes our faith being strong in what you know about God in his word it's that kind of faith he's speaking about resist him through the word of God and so I'll close with a couple things how can we be prepared to do this basic things one read the word regularly read it regularly if you can't read that well and I had a fellow in the church who approached me once and said pastor you say we should read the word but I have to be honest with you and he was a successful businessman but he said to me I can't read he says I never learned to and I discovered that he's not alone in that that there are many others who have difficulty reading some people have reading problems dyslexia and various other things like that and I've seen that so I said to him you know what listen to listen to the word of God if you can humble yourself to do this ask your wife and hold the Bible with you because he could learn to read I said but have her read to you but get the word into your soul that's the whole point I'm making listen to the Bible law if you have a Bible app or something read something that you can read if you can read it easily read that but read regularly be in the word regularly also read carefully that simply I mean just concentrate on words and meanings don't speed read the Bible but take your time in reading it read systematically don't jump around just plain Bible roulette what am I gonna read today you know and you put your finger down on the verse wow you just went out and hanged himself that's not for me so you turn and then you put your finger down again go out and do the same no I don't want to receive like that you know read systematically then read obediently determine that what you read you will in Christ you will do again that's how you grow and then finally read patiently you don't go out into your backyard and plant a tree and the next day harvest fruit you take care of it you water it you give it time it grows through its seasons eventually producing be patient don't beat yourself up because you'd have to read something several times or don't understand it don't beat yourself up just keep seeking the Lord be humble enough to ask questions and watch what the Lord will do and finally I read this somewhere and just I wrote it down so I could read it to you as we close this section somebody wrote the Bible contains the mind of God the state of man the way of salvation the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers its doctrines are holy its precepts are binding its histories are true and its decisions are immutable read it to be wise believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy it contains light to direct you food to support you and comfort to cheer you it is the traveler's map the pilgrim's staff the pilot's compass the soldier's sword and the Christian's character here paradise is restored heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed Christ is its grand object our good is its design and the glory of God its end it should fill the memory rule the heart and guide the feet read it slowly frequently and prayerfully it has given you in life and will be opened in judgment and will be remembered forever it involves the highest responsibility will reward the greatest labor and will condemn all who trifle with the sacred contents the sword of the spirit