 Welcome back everyone. So yeah, we were talking about practical ways to keep God first. Did anyone else have anything they'd like to share? What are some ways in which we can make sure we're not allowing other things to take us away from God and from His kingdom? Okay, let me just also just share some thoughts. So I think looking at our resources, God has blessed us with His blessed us with money, His blessed us with time, His blessed us with abilities that we can use. And all of those things, like how are we utilizing those things? How do we use our time? How do we use our money? How do we use the gifts that God has given us? Are those things actually being given to serve God or are they serving our own purposes primarily? And are we bringing it into submission to God? The ways in which we use our time, our money, our resources, our abilities. The ways in which we, like we looked at even in this Psalm 60 to 10, if we are resorting to things like extortion, things that are clearly not in line with God's will, that itself is evidence that God and His will don't have first place in our lives. So we can look at the fruit of what we're doing or we can look at how can we use the things that God has given us in ways that are honoring to God so that we keep from falling into the other end of making those things God rather than God Himself. So that is one thing. So how do we sacrifice time to be in God's Word? How do we give off our money making sure that we're not hoarding our money or very stingy with it? Or it doesn't come in the way of us giving generously towards God's work or towards people in need. All of those things, how we're using our money, how we're using other resources that God has given us, how we're using the abilities He's given us to serve us, to serve Him, sorry. All of those things can be indications of where God is in our lives and the decisions we make with how we use those things can protect God's place in our lives as well. So those are practical things that we can do to make sure that we don't allow them to take a place over God. So we'll go into the next section which is the last chapter in this book. So three things that this parable talks about in the three Gospels is understanding the Word of God, receiving the Word of God and then retaining the Word of God. So let's just start with Matthew 13-23. Someone can read that for us please. Seed on the ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some 100 fold, some 60, some 30. Okay, thank you. So Matthew 13-23 is talking about this understanding of God's Word which we already looked at. So going beyond our natural understanding to a spiritual revelation of what the Word talks about. So depending on the Holy Spirit in this, can someone read these verses, Psalm 119-18. And then we'll also go through the verses in the next bullet point as well. So Psalm 119-18, open my eyes. That I may behold wondrous things about of your law. Yes, so Psalm 119-18, open my eyes. So that can be a prayer even before we start to look into God's Word to pray this over ourselves. Lord, open my eyes that I will see wonderful truths in your instruction. So recognizing that the Holy Spirit has to give us that understanding and revelation. Can we look at Colossians 110 and 310 also? Colossians 110. So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Thank you. Can you also read 9 and 10? So we pray verses 9 and 10. And so from the day we heard, we have not keys to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Thank you. So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in knowledge of God. Thank you. So that spiritual understanding enables us to live in a way that honors and pleases God, growing to know God more and more. That's what Colossians 110 says. So each of these verses in the second point are talking about the ways in which we can be growing. We'll have very similar language, but we'll still read through them just to look at what are some ways in which we can grow as we grow in our spiritual understanding. So Colossians 310 as well please. Colossians 310 and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Thank you. So here we're being renewed in our minds and we're becoming more like God himself, right? So as we grow in our understanding of the Word of God, in our understanding of who God is, our minds are transformed and with the transformation of our minds, our being is transformed. The way we live is transformed to more fully be like who God is, to be more full reflections of who God is. Can we read 2nd Peter 318? But growing the grace and knowledge of a Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. So this is growing in grace and in knowledge. So as we're growing in the knowledge of who Christ is, we're also growing in grace to live like him, to be like him. Can we read Ephesians 318-19 and then Ephesians 4-13. Ephesians 318-19 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Thank you. So with a knowledge of scripture comes knowledge also. We can grow in a knowledge of God's love towards us and that love although it's so difficult for our human minds to comprehend that comes through the spiritual revelation, through the Holy Spirit's revelation. And that is what fills us with God's life and power, enabling us to live in it. And then Ephesians 4-13. Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Thank you. So for us to keep growing in our faith and knowledge. So as we're growing in knowledge, we're growing in faith, becoming more mature in him, becoming more and more fully mature church that God has called us to be. So this is what it means to have that spiritual understanding and then to keep growing. How does that spiritual understanding impact us in our spiritual walks as well? We look at Mark 4-20, which talks about receiving God's Word. And then look at the two verses that we have there on the PowerPoint. Mark 4-20. But these are the ones, these are the ones sown on good ground. Those who hear the word accept it and bear fruit, some 34, some 60 and some 100. Thank you. So this is Mark is talking about hearing and accepting or receiving God's Word for ourselves. So not only hearing it, but also saying this is something that I believe in, that I am choosing to receive and believe that it will bear fruit in my life. We look at Hebrews 4-2 and Luke 1-45, please. For indeed the Gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Luke 1-45, yes. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. Thank you. So we see the difference here. Hebrews 4-2 talking about people who didn't receive the Word in faith, versus Luke 1-45 where Mary receives the Word of God to her in faith. And so because she receives it in faith, she sees the fruit of it and she's blessed because she has believed. Whereas in Hebrews 4-2, we see that it didn't do the people any good because they didn't respond to the Word that they had heard in faith. So both of them received the promise. So Hebrews 4-2 is talking about the people of Israel receiving a promise of God's rest in the promised land. But they didn't receive that in faith and so they missed out on receiving that promise. Versus Mary who received a Word that seemed impossible, but she believed it. And because she believed it, she was able to relieve the blessing of being the mother of Jesus. And so that can be, we can choose where we fall with the Hebrews, with the people of Israel or with Mary and what we see as a result of our faith. Let's look at Luke 8-15, which is the last reference to the parable how we respond to the Word of God. 8-15, yeah please go on. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who having heard the Word with a noble and a good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Thank you. So here we see that Word keep or retain the Word of God. That can also be translated as clinging to the Word of God, like staying, holding fast to the Word of God or sticking with the Word of God. So this means that no matter what is coming against us, we are holding on to that Word for dear life. No matter whatever challenges we are facing, we know that the Word is life. The Word is where our strength is, the Word is where our promises and our hope is. And so no matter what is happening around us, we are holding on to that Word. And as we do this, as we receive spiritual understanding, as we respond to the Word in faith, as we hold on to the Word in the face of challenges that are coming our way, we believe that we will see the fruit of that Word in our lives. So Matthew and Mark specifically, Matthew and Luke, yeah no, Matthew and Mark, talk about the fruit being 30 fold, 60 fold and 100 fold. So we might initially see a smaller harvest, but as we continue to hold on to it, we see that Word bear greater and greater fruit in our lives. From 30 fold to 100 fold and even greater, we can believe God for that. So some last few verses that we're going to look at and then we'll close with our discussion on our own experience of meditating on God's Word. So Romans 12-2, I'm sure all of us know the verse, but we'll just read it. Someone can read Romans 12-2 for us. Romans 12-2, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Thank you. So we see here that we're allowing the Word to transform us. So don't follow the behaviors or the customs of this world, be transformed by changing the way you think and then you will know God's will. So we allow the Word to transform the way we think. The Word renews our minds, it cleanses our minds and then it teaches us the true good pleasing will of God and as we know the will of God, then we also continue to walk in the ways of God. So Romans 12-2, don't copy the ways of the world, be renewed in your mind. So that should be our posture as well. So we are not going to follow the way we see the world living. We're going to go to God's Word and look at what God says about how we should be living and then let that inform the way we think, let that inform the way we live every day and as we are doing that, we will more and more know God's will. We'll more and more be able to discern what is pleasing to him and what is not. Let's look at James 1-22 and 25. But be doers of the Word and not errs only, deceiving yourself, 25th Word, but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful error, but a doer of the Word, this one will be blessed in what he does. Thank you. So moving from just knowing the Word to actually being doers of the Word. Those are the people who are blessed. It's not just because we know the Word of God that we see fruit in our lives, but also because we walk in obedience to it. So apart from what we looked at in the parable of understanding, receiving, retaining, we also want to encourage obedience to the Word of God for only through obedience that we see the blessings of God then become something that is realized in our lives. And then just we look at this last part of abiding in God's Word. So what does it mean to abide? It means to remain, to continue and not to depart from God's Word. So that becomes our place of dwelling. That becomes the place where we establish our home is in the Word of God. And we look at all of these verses that are listed here, John 8, 31 to 32. Gospel of John 8, 31 to 32. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, if you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Thank you. So it is as we remain in God's Word, as we remain faithful to God's Word, that we see the truth of that Word becoming something that we are holding onto, something that is setting us free from things that have a hold on us. Let's read John 14, 21. John 14, 21, He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves me and He who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love Him and manifest myself to Him. Thank you. So in John 8, 31 and 32 we looked at abiding in God's Word, so remaining in God's Word. John 14, 21 has this promise of those who obey my Word, I will come and abide with you. So the Father will love them and I will love them and reveal Him. Sorry, 21, 23. Did we read 23? No, I didn't answer it. Can you read 23 as well please? Sure. Jesus answered and said to Him, if anyone loves me, He will keep my Word and my Father will love Him and we will come to Him and make our home with Him. So we see here the promise of God Himself abiding with us. So as we abide in God's Word, John 8, 31 and 32, we see fruit born in our lives, we see release from lies and we walk in truth and in freedom. And then John 14 is as we walk in obedience to God's Word, God Himself abides with us. So there's that almost like a reciprocation, right? We are abiding. God is abiding in us and it becomes a place of communion. We are constantly dwelling in the presence of God. John 15, 7. You can read that verse. If you abide in me and my Word abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. Okay, so we see answer to prayer as we are remaining in God's Word. So they're also praying in line with God's Word and in line with His will and we see those things manifest in our lives. And then 1 John 2, 14. 1 John 2, 14. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young man, because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one. Thank you. So it is as we abide, as the Word abides in us, that we overcome the wicked one. We looked at this verse previously as well in an earlier chapter. So these are the promises as we abide in God's Word. These are some verses that look at what can we expect to see in our lives. We can expect to see freedom. We can expect to live in truth. We can expect the very presence of God to be with us. We can experience the power to overcome Satan in our everyday lives in the challenges that we are facing. And let me just go back to John 15, 7, sorry. And we can expect that we will see the Word fulfilled as we are praying that Word and asking for things from God in line with His Word. We see those things fulfilled in our lives. So we've come to the end of the book. So this is what we want to encourage us through this book is that we will learn to go to the Word of God, right? To study it, but to go to it with a desire to know God more, to dwell in His presence, to see Him, to experience Him, to encounter Him and to see His Word fulfilled in our lives. And we do that by depending on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth. And as we depend on the Holy Spirit, we believe that the Word of God will transform us from within. It will renew our minds. It will transform our hearts. It will release us from things that are not of God. And then our lives will be transformed. The way we live our everyday lives will be transformed as we see those changes that are happening within, start to manifest in the way we live. And we believe that as we live like that, we live those transformed lives, we will be those blessed people that Scripture talks about, people who are prosperous, people who are successful in everything that we are doing, people who are bearing fruit in every season, not just in the good seasons, but in every season we are bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. So, we are God's garden, right? The Word of God is being planted in our hearts. The words of blessing, words of victory, words of prosperity, of healing, of purity, holiness, power, peace, and love, all of these things are being planted in our hearts through the Word of God. As we go to God's Word, those are the things that we are receiving. And we can expect that as we continue to meditate on His Word, that these things will begin to manifest. And we will be a revelation of who God is in the world around us. We will show two people that our God is a God who desires to bless, who desires to prosper His people. Our God is the victor and He gives us victory. Our God is a holy God. Our God is a pure God. Our God is healer. Our God is the one who gives us peace in every aspect of our lives. And our God is a God of love. So, to see all of those things manifested in our lives, and we ourselves become a revelation of who God is as we allow His Word to come into our hearts and to transform us and bear fruit in our lives. So, we've come to the end of the book. Let's... I'd love to hear from you all. You can share either from your takeaway from this book or also your experience over this past week, meditating on certain passages of scripture. You can share what that was like, some of your learning, some of your insights or even your challenges. Yeah, this is the time for just us to discuss that and then we'll close. So, was there anyone who was able to try this out? It's what we talked about, meditating on God's Word. Sister, I've been... because I've been going through those verses and, you know, according to the themes, I'm actually putting them on a document. So, and I'm writing each verse out so that then it makes it easy for me to go through it, you know, theme by theme and meditate on all those verses. Okay, okay. So, you are doing the practical work of preparing before you start. That's right, yeah. It just makes it easy for me. Every theme will have a separate document with all the verses on there. Okay, thank you. Anyone else wants to share? You can also just share, since we've finished the book, anything that you've wanted to share regarding what we've covered, something that you've learned, something that was new, anything, or anything else that you want to add to what we've covered? Yes, Pastor, I'd just like to share one particular verse which I've been meditating on, I would say, from last year, basically itself. So, it's Isaiah 53.5. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed. So, this particular verse kind of, it kind of helps me. We say, we need to keep eyes on the cross and not get distracted by the things of this world, like in Romans 12-2, don't be confirmed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. For this kind of verse, it used to come to me now and then to kind of encourage me to stay focused on the cross. Stay focused on the cross in the sense, if we don't appreciate and value what Jesus has done for all of us, not just us Christians, but even the unbelievers, if we don't value his sacrifice on the cross, it's not going to convict us to turn away from the world. So, this particular verse was kind of, it's been holding me since last year. It's been a verse which I still meditate on it even to this day, just to keep me focused and to appreciate, to value, to honor what Christ has done for us on the cross. So, when we look at the beauty of his sacrifice for us, that should captivate our hearts and our minds and help us turn away from the things of the world which are trivial, which only last for a season or for a short time. But what Christ has done on the cross for us is for all eternity. It's something that is which surpasses anything that we can see on our left and on our right if we just keep our eyes on the cross. That's all I'd like to share, Pastor. Thank you. It's so important to keep the gospel at the center of everything that we're doing, right? So, Paul talks about only preaching the cross of Christ. That's because in the cross is power, hope, life itself. And if we forget that very core of who we are, our identity, where our identity is rooted, then it's so easy to get distracted like I said. So, very important to keep going back to the cross. Thank you. Okay. If there's anyone else who wants to share, you can share. Otherwise, what we'll do is we'll close and we'll come back for our third hour. Is there anyone else who wants to share anything? I just want to quickly share the this is the it's to do with my brother. And this is long before he actually became a Christian. He used to I mean, he knew some verses that, you know, he had learned. One of the verses was the Isaiah 53 was it? Yeah, and but he would say, by his stripes I'm healed, by his stripes I'm healed for anything. And the thing was, anytime he was in a strain situation or anytime he was in a challenging situation he would use this verse. Because he didn't know any other verses, but he had so much faith in this verse that every time he said that verse he would overcome any challenges that were there. And of course now he's been a Christian for a long time now and he's very deep rooted in the word but it just goes to show the power of the word. Even if you don't know, even if it's not the right verse for that situation but having the faith that God's word has power is amazing. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, thank you. Praise God. God doesn't wait for us to be those mature, fully understanding, fully knowing Christians. He works with us where we are and he blesses the small seeds of faith that we have. So yeah, an encouragement to us that wherever we are God knows and he blesses those small acts of faith that we that we display however tiny they are. Thank you so much. So let's just close here. If anyone didn't get a chance to share, you wanted to share, please feel free to post on Google Classroom and I encourage you to go into the practice of meditation to try it out. We spent five weeks on it so we definitely want to actually take what we've been talking about and then start to practice it and see what benefits it has for us personally. So just start to do it in your own personal prayer time. That's a good way. You don't have to find a new time to do it or kind of set aside some extra time if that is a challenge but within your normal devotional time to spend some time in meditating on God's word. So we'll close here and come back for the third hour on New Testament Survey. Thank you.