Throughout the years, I have been a great, it's been a great
joy to me to have the opportunity to study with people
who are new to the church, new to God's way, new to God's plan
in this congregation. You have several and we're so
proud of you, all of you, those who've been born and raised in
the Lord's church, those who have come to the Lord Church
right at some point in your life, and those of recent times,
the last year or two who have become New Testament Christians.
All of this is spectacular. It's wonderful.
And I just pray to God that you at the end of life's day, that
you would be as faithful to God today then as you are today.
That is so very important. That is the difference in you
being saved or lost, but not only than those who are newer to
the church. Everybody here, we all need to
do, we talked about last night, be faithful unto death and I'll
give their crown of life. We need to be faithful to the
Lord and being willing to give our life to the Lord if that's
what it took. And it's furthermore, we as
Christian people, we need to have a commitment that we are so
much evangelistic minded. We're going to tell our friends,
we're going to tell our family, we're going to tell our
neighbors. We wouldn't even tell our
enemies about the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
There is so much we need to learn.
What we have on the board tonight is a brief look.
There's many more passages we could include on the board, but
I want to share with you this because it has proven to be
effective in helping to stabilize individuals faith in
the Lord. And it helps us all and me and
you both to know we've got to go back to Scripture.
We've got to go back to Let the Bible Speak.
In October of 1968, the brotherhood that we know began
ATV program called Let the Bible Speak.
It began in Springfield, MO. At the particular time, the
first speaker was Brother Ronnie F Wade, who now has deceased
back in January of 2020. But Rodney did the program for
many, many years and then he retired and another preacher
took his place for a little while and then he passed away
suddenly. So Rodney went back to him for a
second time and then he did it for a while.
Then another preacher took his place and let Rodney retire for
the second time from the TV program.
And then this other preacher had health trouble, so Rodney took
it back up again for his third time.
And then so you had all that together and he was in there
preaching on the television for 30 to 40 years.
Numerous of others have done so recent times.
Perhaps the largest audience of the people would be Brad Hickey
and also would be Kevin Presley. Now, there are several others in
different smaller markets. But these two great men, great
men of God, great preachers, and I'm proud of everything they
accomplished because they're reaching out beyond the borders
of the United States. They're reaching out to other
countries to run their sermons out of many other parts of the
world. Listen, the TV program from 1968
to the current day, obviously 15, whatever, six years or so
ago, but this is wonderful way to reach the gospel.
I don't know how many of you have been converted because of
the TV program, but I know that brother Frankie, he's done a lot
of TV follow-ups. That is people writing in,
asking questions, asking for maybe a CD or DVD, asking for a
home Bible study or Bible correspondence course.
But in Oklahoma City, we have that and we have results
essentially, with rare, rare exceptions.
Every Sunday we get a new introduction to someone's home
and it is so exciting. I just can't hardly wait to be
able to go visit them or to respond to whatever request that
they have. Most times the first request is
a copy of the sermon, maybe a transcript, maybe ACD or
whatever. It's fine.
We just are thrilled to death to have that good fortune.
And we have the same good fortune today, approximately
2000 miles away from where I live in Oklahoma City, to make
my brothers and my sisters in Christ, some of which have been
in the church essentially all their adult life.
And other than you've been in the church for just a few weeks,
few months, few years, God bless you all, everyone of us,
regardless of who you are, what your background has been, we all
are making a commitment to the Lord the day that we obey the
gospel of baptism. You know, it's very much of A
transition when you're baptized into Christ.
You walk in the water, which is behind this board here.
Yeah. You walk into the water, a dry
center. Guess what?
You walk out a wet Christian. That's an amazing transition.
And just a matter of seconds, you change to being a Sinner, to
being a Christian. You walk in a child of the
devil. You walk out of the child of
God. Let me tell you what the
motivation that that should give within every one of us.
We gain motivation by witnessing your baptism and or even hearing
about it 2000 miles away. Brother Terry, Brother Frankie,
you know, on their own timing, you know, they called and we
communicated by phone several times before the meeting came
about. And it was such a joy to hear
the joy in their heart for your salvation.
They love you, I love you. They, they know you better than
I do, but I love you in a way because you're my brother or
sister in Christ. So I want you to be so committed
to the Lord. And I promise you this, if
you'll let this title and its meaning that we're going to
share with you 7 points and we can make brief comments on each
of these. But if we can really bear down
and make sure that we individually, men or women,
young or old, been in the church a few weeks, few months, few
years, whatever the case may be, that we're committed to whatever
God wants out of me, I'm going to give it.
I'm going to do the very best I can to do what the Lord wants.
That's the kind of. Commitment the Lord had, and
tell you what, the Lord did you a favor.
He did me a favor. The Lord chose His only begotten
Son. Sent him from heaven.
Jesus was willing to come to die on the cross.
So you and I would have a plan, God's plan of salvation where we
can go to heaven. God wants you to go to heaven.
He designed the plan and you can go.
Jesus wanted to be part of that plan and he he volunteered, yes,
here am I sending me. He's ready to row.
He's ready to go. He was ready to help you go to
heaven. And my dear friends, today what
needs to happen? Every one of us, including me,
we need to have the same dedication to God as God does
to. Us, God wants us to go to
heaven, and now if he gave his only begotten Son.
But listen, I've got four kids. They're adult kids.
And my four adult kids, three of which have their own kids and
another has a fourth, and they have a child on its way and, and
they are very responsible for those young kids and want to be
born here in a few weeks. You know, all that's really,
really important. But tell you what's important
spiritually is that everybody in this building make sure you're
baptized by the baptism of the Great Commission.
You're not baptized according to some man or woman standard.
And I'll be very frank with don't be very pointed with you.
It doesn't matter what you think or what you believe or what I
think or what I believe. What matters.
Is just what Frank had mentioned, book, chapter, verse.
And that's the reason we go right here.
Let the Bible speak, not let island speak.
Not let you speak. Let the Bible speak.
This is where our commitment to the Lord really comes in.
Because if you're caught up, or if I'm caught up and oh, I think
this or I think that, well, listen here, we're listening to
the wrong guy. Us.
We need to go to God's word and listen to the inspired Word of
God. What I love to preach about the
Bible, where it came from, how we received and all that.
That's not what this lesson is. This lesson is going back to
Scripture, but chapter verse, taking a good look at it and see
what we can learn. Now, there's probably twice as
many points that could have been alluded to, but this was
something that I've chosen for tonight's lesson.
And it's it's critical that we follow this and listen, this
congregation and the town of Bakersfield, CA and I looked it
up on the way out here, not quite a half a million people,
but according to the 2023 census report was right at knocking on
the door 500,000 significantly over 400,000 people, half a
million people. I'm going to call her OK, half a
million people. Let me tell you what you're in.
You're so blessed. You're in a congregation right
here that believes in letting the Bible speak.
You're in a congregation unlike any other congregation
throughout this whole metropolitan area who's devoted
to serving the Lord. Put in the Lord first, doing
what Jesus said. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
and his righteousness and all these things to be added to you.
Matthew. 6 and 33, that's what Jesus said.
My dear friends, today this helps me and you to be more
committed because not about me, it's about God, It's about his
Son Jesus, it's about the Holy Spirit, it's about the angels,
it's about the apostles, about the righteous 1 who've lived
before. It's up to me and you.
God is relying on me and you to talk to people, friends,
neighbors, and everyone else about the gospel and letting the
Bible speak. Well, we're going to take a look
at these seven points and we hope it's encouraging to you and
motivating to you to help make sure we stay on course.
We don't let anybody or anything get in our way.
We don't try to make any unwise decision.
Like why do I have to go to church this Sunday morning
because of XYZ? Wrong.
Listen, Lord's Day morning is the Lord's Day designed for me
and you, as the Bible says, assembly together for the
communion. Assembly together to lay by the
store on the first day of the week.
Christian people gather together because that's the Lord's.
Plan, and that's what the Bible says, and I commend that to you
among many other truths. Point #1.
I have a lesson I preached the last two or three years in Tyler
and it is written. We're not reviewing that
material today, but Matthew 4, verse 4, verse 7, verse 10, if
you look at the tail end of chapter 3, verse 16 and verse
17, the very ending of that short chapter of Matthew 3,
verse 16 and 17, it's the baptism of Jesus.
It's Jesus been baptized and true enough, he was baptized and
then he went out in the desert land and he spent there for 40
days without anything to eat for 40 days.
He fasted before he began his gigantic 3 year ministry.
And when Jesus was coming out of the desert land, which is also
known as the wilderness land, and as he came out of there, of
course the devil is going to find you at your weakest moment.
And perhaps as the Lord gone 40 days without anything to eat,
food may have been on his mind. It would have been on mine, but
it was on his. And they thought that's what the
devil thought. He said, hey, turn these stones
to be made bread. Listen, if Jesus could turn
water to wine, he could turn his stones.
To bread. But guess what?
And as a kid, I just said, man, why didn't he do that?
That would have been so cool. But guess what, it wasn't man
cool because he would have done it had it been.
He said no Sir, he said it is written.
Number one, it is written. Man should not live by bread
alone, but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of
God. Don't go by physical food, you
go by spiritual food. That's what's important.
Jesus did two things three different times.
Matthew 4, Matthew 7, Matthew 4, verse 4, seven and 10.
He did three things. He did three things, two things,
three times. It is written.
It is written.
He quoted it right, quote UN quote.
It is written another thing He did three times.
He went to God for help. I want you to know in your
spiritual journey, you can have hiccups, you can fall flat on
your face. I have too.
And I'm not through falling. I'm not through making mistake.
I want to pray to God every day. And as baptized believers, you
can know what is written and you can stand against the devil just
like Jesus did. Jesus told the devil in verse 7
when when the devil took Jesus up on the pinnacle of the temple
and there he just set him down and then he essentially modern
day binocular, he did jump. Jump.
The anchor should give you charts concerning you less than
anytime you dash your foot on. In other words, you know, just
slap your toe, jump, we're all here.
Watch, let's see him, then jump. And I thought, boy, if jeez,
we're going thought it'd be so neat.
Guess what? No, it wouldn't have been.
So that was me thinking like a a mortal person, Jesus the
spiritual leader. And Jesus said it's rich and
again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Now if I was the devil, I just kind of think I would have left
the scene of action there, but I'm still going and move on.
Did the devil do that? No, he didn't do that.
He come bouncing right back and he showed Jesus the riches, the
glory, the honor, the fame and all the things of the world.
You know what Satan said? He said every bit of this I the
devil will give you Jesus If you know everything the devil offers
you carries a condition if you have fallen down to.
Worship me. I don't think Jesus had to think
twice about that. He said, I tell you right now
it's written again, thou shalt worship the Lord of thy God and
him only shall thy serve. Now Christian friends, listen,
young and old, men and women, new converts or people, been in
the church basically your whole adult life.
I want you to understand what is important in your spiritual life
is it is written. You want to know what's written.
You want to make sure you plot your life.
You want to make sure that you obey those things.
Big things happen when you obey the Lord.
Terrible things happen when we choose to disobey the Lord.
So I want us today, in order to get our spiritual life really in
shape, to learn what is written. And you're going to learn that
by reading, by studying your Bible, by focusing in and
comprehending these words and listening to a variety of your
brethren where they're teaching lessons, by going to revival
meetings and making sure that anybody that says anything.
We mentioned this briefly last night.
Is giving you book, chapter, verse in the Bible.
I'm not interested in people's ideas and thoughts souls if it's
not biblically based. I want biblically based
situations. It's so important point #2 have
you not read? And Matthew the 19th chapter,
the Pharisees, they came to Jesus and they said is it lawful
for a man to put away his wife for every 'cause?
Thus in verse three of Matthew 19 and Jesus, Philip says he
immediately popped the next, but he said, have ye not read
Matthew 19 verse four? Have you not read the he which
made you at the beginning, made you male and female?
And here comes the conversation back and forth.
And Jesus said from the beginning, it was not so He went
all the way back to the patriarchal dispensation of
time, back to Genesis, early Genesis chapter 123, and moving
forward. He's known from the beginning
God did not allow that. You know what they did?
The devil and his followers and these wicked old Pharisees here,
they said wait a minute, wait a minute, Moses, your man Moses
allowed you and allowed us to divorce for every 'cause you
know what Jesus said? Yep, He sure did because of your
hard hearts, because of your hard hearts, He allowed that.
But from the beginning God did not allow that.
Jesus allowed it. He has the manipulations, He
allowed it. However, Jesus said in verse 9,
whosoever shall put away his wife for every for any cause
other than for fornication and married another commits
adultery. Jesus tightened it up mighty
tight. One call for Scripture divorce
for man or woman, a Christian man or woman to divorce her
spouses for doctrine. And when these Pharisees
questioned Jesus about can we do it forever because Jesus
essentially gave them no and patriotic law and no under my
law. It's a powerful message.
The key point we're making right here is how did Jesus approach
it is have you not read, my dear friend, that is a good
phraseology to utilize when talking to people, whoever
you're able to talk with about spiritual things.
And they said, well, why do you do this?
Why do you commune every first day of the week?
Why do you sing without instruments, music?
Why, Why? Why did you shoot something out
you said? Have you not read?
Ephesians 519, Colossians 316. Hebrews 212.
In the midst of the church. Well, I seen some praises unto
thee. Have you not read of how Jesus
the Lord suffered? Have you never read these
things? And you don't want to sound
egotistical here, but you want to get people to understand.
You've got to go back to what the Bible speaks or what the
Bible says. You got to read the Bible.
Now I do know this. People have different reading
habits. Some people like to read just a
few verses a day. That's OK, That's perfectly
fine. Some people like to read a
chapter a day. Now when I'm training young
preachers, I've trained a number of young preachers.
And when I trained young. Preachers, they've got to read
the New Testament through every month.
Every month that they're with me.
I I'm making a commitment to that.
And if you're not committed to that, you're not coming to study
with me because we're going to learn this book right here.
We can learn it. We can learn it good.
We're going to know what to do to be saved.
We're going to learn how to stay saved.
We're going to learn the establishment of the church.
We can learn all kind of things. And the only way you're going to
know that is to know what is being the scriptures know what
is for us to read. Have we not read?
Well, I've never had anybody not to agree to do that.
It's like that's number one every month that you read the
New Testament through and I've had people with me for weeks and
for months and for some have been for years.
They've been great. And then every morning we will
set forth a time to get together whatever book they've read, we
talk about questions they've had.
We talk about events of those particular reading those
chapters, that particular. Book of the New Testament and we
just have a really good intense study for about an hour.
Talk about what they read yesterday and then today they
take off on another book. And tomorrow we're going to do
the same thing again because we're going to learn the
Scriptures. My friend, I beg of you, let the
Bible be the number one book you read in your life.
Let it be your number one. Because if you don't read the
Bible, did you know you're going to be easily misled?
Oh, that'd be that'd be just so sad.
But you are and I would be. If I did not know my Bible, I'd
be easily misled. The Word of God teaches that
over and over again. And you know, today whenever
situations turn up and people are not reading and studying the
Bible, but yet they're complaining because they don't
feel like they're growing like they should without the reason
people don't grow. And the reason people don't grow
is because. They don't know what the Bible
says. You don't know what the Bible
says. We make mistakes.
It's just like someone who's new to the church.
They made for an example. When you throw a wild example
out here, they made some say do not show up, not because they're
sick, but they just had something else on their mind to
go do it. But once they read the Bible and
they began to realize what this is really, really important.
I need to read and study the Scripture.
This needs to be all what I do. You know what, the more you know
about God's Word, the better off you'll be spiritually.
So therefore, have you not read, You're going to find this all
through Scripture one way or another.
It is written, you send all this in.
These are just two of the points of the seven points, and it is
so critical that we read and we study the Bible.
We'll plot for life and guess what?
You will no longer be a baby in Christ like First Corinthian
talks about when people are first baptized there.
Like a baby. In Christ, but then they go to
what the word of God called full grown or mature.
It is so great to see people from beginning to you see, and
the Lord doesn't expect you to grow overnight.
He does expect you to work toward developing yourself into
a good, solid Christian. It is so precious.
The Lord is so good, so kind, so thoughtful.
I do want you to love the Lord, not the Lord loves you.
And if you do that, Satan doesn't stand a chance.
Well, I'll assure you. Have you not read and the
question that you can utilize within your?
Vocabulary. Just like I've tried to utilize
it in mind when talking to people and they ask you a Bible
question, I said to you. A lot of times I'll say, well,
have you ever read about this situation or that one, or maybe
a parable or a miracle or just a direct message or intent from
Scripture sermon, whatever the case may be, when people find
out it's in the Bible, they've not read it.
I, I just give you many, many examples of that, but that's not
what's important. What's important is that you
point in people to Scripture. Number one, you make sure that
you've read it and you know what it says?
You know where it says that? And now?
You are teaching other people #3 what said the Scriptures down
the the passage of Romans and Galatians.
Both of these say the same thing.
I'm not going to discuss all the details because it goes quite in
depth and that's not the tenor of today's lesson.
But Romans 4 and verse 3, Paul said what said the Scriptures in
Galatians 4 and 32, the Church of Galatia, just like this one
was the Church of Rome. He said what sets of scriptures?
I love this, I love this when people come to me and why do you
do this and why do you do that? I go, but what sets of
scriptures? What do you mean?
I go, what does the Bible say? Let us go.
What if written, have you not read?
Mention the passage too. You know what sense of
scripture? This is important, and this is
how to stabilize your Christianity.
It stabilizes every young or older person in the faith.
I love it because the devil is a man on the run.
He's running away. So it's like he did Jesus here.
You know, verse 11 which we didn't talk about, but verse 11
of Matthew 4, the devil leadeth him and the angels came and
ministered unto Jesus. It is so great to see the devil
whipped soundly because Jesus quoted what was written in the
Scripture. My dear friends, today, if we're
not careful and we allow things to get in our way, it can really
create a lot of problems for it spiritually.
Please don't let Satan have one inch of your spiritual life.
Don't let him get one point with you.
No, you say no. No, I'm not interested in what
you have to say. You know, I have a priest this
one summer, a long, long time, but things the devil wants to
do, there's many things the devil loves to, to really dig
down and and do whatever he can. Because see, the battle is
between God and the devil. And the devil figured, well, I'm
not going to win over God, but I may win over God's children.
That's me and you. And he could try to get us out
of the way. I just want you to know this,
and this is disappointed as I need to be, but if we do not
know the Scriptures, if we don't know what's written, if we don't
know what's read, we do not know what the scriptures reveal.
My dear friend, the likelihood is we're going to make some
really serious blunders, and I want to show you what the Bible
says about it, and I'm going to invite you to turn Hebrew the
5th chapter. I don't have this passage on the
board, but Hebrew five can tell us the last.
Three. Verses of Hebrew five will be
verses 1213 and 14. And I want to look at the logic
that the great inspired writer of Hebrews reveals about knowing
God's will and God's Word. Hebrew the 5th chapter maybe
please begin reading the verse 12.
And we're going to read 1213 and 14.
Hebrew chapter 5, begin in verse 12.
I'll give you a moment, no hurry, we're good Hebrew.
The 5th chapter beginning in verse 12.
And I want you to look at this, and I want you to imagine you're
the person Paul's writing to verse 12.
For when, what? For when?
For the time you ought to be teachers.
You have neither one teacher. Again, which be the first
principle of the articles of God and you're becoming such a have
need of milk and not a strong meat.
Look at verse 13 for everyone that gives us milk is unskillful
in the word of righteous. Why?
Because he's the babe. He's the babe.
That's what the Bible says. That's what your version says.
Whatever your version is, he's showing he's the babe.
Verse 13, look here. But strong meat belongs to them
that are full age, that's mature.
They're growing in the faith or mature.
There are full age. Even those who by reason get a
hold of this, this is powerful. This is going to help us do the
right thing, make the right choice.
Look at the very last two verses here or the last two lines here.
He said who by reason of use. They have the senses exercise to
discern both good and evil. Don't you want to know what's
good? Don't you want to know what's
evil? Don't you know which is which,
good or evil, right or wrong? Well, yes, you know and you need
to know and you want to know. Well, you're going to learn what
the Bible says by what's written, what you read, and you
can learn the inspired scriptures given by God.
And now we know how to discern both good and evil.
Well, that's motivating to me to know that the more I know about
Scripture, the better it would be that I know right from wrong.
And guess what? The more you know about
Scripture and the more you know about what's written, the more
you know about Let the Bible speak, the stronger you can
become spiritually. Don't ever let anything get in
your way. This is what it's all about.
Or there's much more I can say, but I'm going to.
Continue #4 give attendance to reading First Timothy 4 and
verse 13. Here's the chance that the
apostle Paul is writing a young preacher Timothy, and we can
spend a little bit of time right here.
And both first Timothy and Second Timothy.
If you notice First Timothy 413, we'll also notice Second Timothy
2 and verse 15. But in first Timothy 4, you know
a very popular verse is in verse 12.
And I'll go ahead and turn there with you because the several
eternity and that's great. And I want us to take a good
look at this because beginning in verse 12, he's given you
several things that will help you live in a very faithful
Christian life. And in first Timothy the 4th
chapter, here's what the Bible says.
Let no man verse 12, let no man despise our youth, but be thou
an example the believers in Word and that's simply your matter of
life and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and
impurity. He said I want you to be an
example. Get hold of this.
I want you to be an example of the believers.
Now listen, this is the two way St. me and you.
We're baptized believers. We need to be example of the
believers two ways. Number one, to other believers,
we need to be a good example, letting our lights so shine
before others for everybody to follow.
Furthermore, we are an example of the believers #2 to non
Christians, to non baptized believers.
Wow. So when you look at first
Timothy 4 and 13, then he says, I need you to do this right
here, Timothy. Oh, here's what I want you to
do. I want you to give attendance to
reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Listen, you look at that and it's very, very clear what he
has in mind and what he expects out of Timothy.
And then Please note here he lets him know I want you to give
attendance to it now my. Question to you is, are you
doing that? Am I doing that?
The more you read and study the Bible, you're getting so
equipped. You're going to be able to work
over the devil. He will lose every battle with
you. If you know the Scripture, what
enough to say, no, Sir, that's not what we're going to do.
It is so wonderful. You know what the most beautiful
thing is? Not only are you working to help
save yourself, you're working to help save others.
Now here's the situation. There's more I can say there,
but I want us to now go to a passage of Scripture that's been
thumped on a little bit unjustly, and I want to share.
Some thoughts with you on Second Timothy 215.
Now, Second Timothy 215 is not near as complicated as some
people seem to. Think it is and they try to make
it. There's none, none of that.
So I want to read it. I want to explain it and if you
have any question about this after services you feel free to
ask. I'm more than happy to talk with
you about it. The word of God said study
second to 2:15. The Bible said study to show
thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be
ashamed of rightly divided the word truth.
It's amazing how people say say study.
It don't mean study. It doesn't mean keep your nose
in the books. It doesn't mean you got to read
and study all the time. Who said it does?
There's probably been a time in the history of our life that
people use the word study to say you need to keep your nose in
your books. Let me tell you what this verse
teaches. Keeping your nose in your book,
but it's not in the word to study.
All right, look that verse again.
Study to show yourself approved unto God this word Study.
Matter of fact, if you're using a modern version, you very
likely said be diligent, be enthusiastic, be aggressive, be
diligent to make your calling and you're like, sure, see, you
need to be so on fire for the Lord.
You're not letting nothing get in your way of serving the Lord.
You be diligent. You study to show yourself what
approved unto God. What's more important than that?
Nothing is more important than you've been approved before God.
So you're the other thing you're studying to make yourself
approved unto God as a Workman. Listen that needeth not to be
ashamed. No, no, don't be ashamed.
Be thankful. Read your scriptures.
It's OK if people see you should read.
There are people, sometimes it's the strangest thing, they say,
Oh, we should not offer thanks in the restaurant because people
will see us praying and, and the Bible says don't pray to be seen
a man. Wrong.
What are people thinking? It's great to be an example for
now, if you're doing it for the absolute sole purpose of getting
people to wow they must be religious, then you've got a
problem within yourself. The fact of the matter.
Is we can show you time to people in the scriptures.
They pray where whoever was there can witness it.
Here's what I want you to do. I want you to give yourself holy
to Jesus in the scripture. Give yourself hold of them like
we read in First Timothy. Now we're studying, we're being
diligent, we're being eager to make our self approved unto God.
A word that needs not to be ashamed.
Now look here, rightly dividing the word of truth.
That sounds like I need to keep my book, my nose in the book,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
There's your study that you're not thinking of studying,
getting your nose in the book rightly divided the word truth.
Now I've got a whole lesson I did without one phrase.
Let me tell you what rightly divided the word truth is
focusing in. It's just like you remember here
in Matthew 19 when the Pharisee that Jesus about it didn't often
put away. Why fear?
Because. You know what Jesus did, but all
the way back to the beginning, the patriarchal law in Genesis 1
forward and then he showed them what God said.
And then they discuss the law of Moses and then now today we're
under the law of Christ. So it's very important to
rightly divide the word of truth.
So in other words, if I ask you a biblical question for today,
you can't go back to Genesis or Genesis 3 says this.
No, no. Or you can go to where the books
of the law of Moses and read chapter verse.
No I want Matthew to revelation. You rightly divide the word of
truth by knowing and you're recognizing well, this question
was asked under the Mosaic Law, and Mosaic law taught this.
But today we need to know what the New Testament teach you,
that it is the law of Christ that we need to follow His will.
That's how you rightly divide the word of truth.
That's not where it all ends. I'll assure you.
When you get into the law of Christ, then you got to talk
about, well, I need, I need to address that which is during the
day, the spiritual gifts and the days that are not spiritual
gifts, when spiritual gifts have already taken away and been done
away with, then how do we go from there?
The Bible. Tells us how matter of fact
there'll be. One night this week I'm I'm not
absolutely positive and we will be dealing more with that.
There's there's several topics that I, I want to give and I'm
working on that quite a bit today and I won't have more
sermons than I've got days to give, but it's OK, I'm going to
work at it. I do want you today.
To. Learn.
That second Timothy 215 teaches to be eager and be diligent to
study. The Bible says you the King
James will use the word study other verses use the word to be
diligent to make your call and let you sure.
Why? Because it makes you approve of
God. At the end, it teaches you and
me that we need to rightly divide the word of truth. 2nd
10:00 to 2:15 is a wonderful passage, but people when they
realize the word study meant to be diligent, they just dismiss.
At least, it seemed like the attitude by which they
antagonize Second Timothy 215 people just didn't.
Want to pay attention to that passage?
That's bad. That's wrong.
I want you to appreciate this passage.
It teaches you how to be approved of God.
It teaches you how the right to divide the word of truth.
It teaches you the enthusiasm by which we need to study.
This is the great verse, and we need to do that.
And what we need to learn is give attendance to reading.
My dear friend, do you understand if we put all this
together? How motivated we are going to be
to study this word or just look at #5 using the Word of God
effectively? This is one of the most popular
passages of Scripture in the New Testament, at least in many
circles. Jesus wept might be the number
one because that way everybody can memorize.
It 2 words Jesus wept. John 1135 But no, that's not
what I want to talk about. I want to talk about Second
Timothy. Paul is teaching his training.
Timothy, did you know Second Timothy is the last book we have
in the record of of the apostle Paul wrote, it is said by
historians. Now he could look out the little
jail cell and he could see where his head was going to be removed
from his body. He could see where his life was
going to be taken from him. But before he died, buddy, he
started writing a letter. He wrote Second Timothy.
Oh, it's such a powerful. And when you know, when you know
when you start reading Second Timothy.
This is his very last letter. Paul wrote fourteen of the 27
books of the New Testament, but this one is his last one that we
have in the record. And what he teaches here in 2nd
10 to 316, he let it be made known.
And listen here he let it be made known.
All scripture is given by the inspiration of God.
All scripture. And I'll give you another verse
here in a minute. You go ahead and be turning
second Peter Chapter one I. Want you to get a hold of this?
We can come back here in a minute.
Go ahead and turn over to second Peter, but here he teaches here.
All scripture is given by the inspiration of God.
This scripture is given by God. That's why we're to be committed
to following Him. And it's profitable.
It's beneficial for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction and righteousness. What's the benefit?
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnishing
all good works. Wow.
This is really good. Now if you're in second Timothy
3, put your marker there. I want to show you the passage
that I want you to read in second Peter chapter one.
It's the very last a couple of verses of second Peter.
One the word of God said verse 20, knowing that first of all
the prophet knowing the 1st that no props the scriptures of
private interpretation, no scripture came from man.
It came by the inspiration, the Holy Spirit, which I would like
to speak on one night this week too.
Verse 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man, it did come by the will of man, but holy man of God spank
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
I want you to know the Holy Spirit inspire the scriptures by
God. Even Jesus when he got ready to
depart and to go to heaven, he told the apostles, I've got to
leave you. They was all what I call beside
themselves. They were not happy with what
was getting ready to happen that Jesus was going to leave them.
But one thing, Jesus let it be made known.
He said don't worry about it, no sweat.
When I get to heaven, I will send to you the Holy Spirit from
the Father. He, the Holy Spirit.
He's going to testify with me. He's going to tell you
everything thing that I've said to you.
He's going to remind you of everything I've said so you
don't have to worry about you remembering it because God is
going to give you the Holy Spirit and He's going to guide
you to everything you need to write.
See God, Christ, the Holy Spirit work together for God's plan.
Now when you look here, here's what we find.
We find the second in the 316 the Bible said teaching us to
use the word of God effectively, that this Scripture is given for
doctrine, reproof, correction and doctrine and instruction.
Here is what is right. You know, somehow or another,
and this should not be the way it is.
Doctrine is almost like a dirty word to some people and doctrine
just simply means teaching. But when you say, well, we're
going to talk, we here's our doctrine.
People say I don't really want your doctrine.
Would you say here's I'm we're going to teach what Jesus
taught. Oh really?
What did he teach? People are much more interested.
Don't hate the word doctrine, appreciate it.
Even the Bible from God in 2nd 3/16 he said doctrine.
Basically they can teach you what's right.
Oh reproof right here. Now he's going to teach us.
What is wrong? Wow, isn't it important for me
and you to know what's right and what's wrong?
You know how we do that? By learning what the Bible says.
Are we going to learn that by what's written about, what we've
read, about what the Scripture said, the fact we've been
focusing time and attention, now we're using the Word of God
effectively. That's how it's all fit
together. Listen, Satan is on the move
away from you if you're committed to following the Word
of God. We're not going to learn what's
right and what's wrong. We're going to learn correction.
You know what correction is, is how to get right.
Wow. You know what people love?
They love to know how to get right.
Well, their heart is really right, and they're trying to
improve that. They love to get right with the
Lord. My dear friend, I want you to
get right with the Lord. If you're not and if you are,
God bless you. You're our brother and our
sister. You're the son or daughter of
God Almighty. Wow.
The devil lost his battle with you because you obeyed the
gospel and baptism and you've made a commitment to the Lord.
I'm going to serve you to the day I die.
Your commitment to the Lord is is such a powerful commitment.
It is so wonderful. And then it says for instruction
and raunchiness. And that is how to stay right.
My Christian friends today, here's what we want to do.
We want to show you what's right according to Scripture.
We want what show you what's wrong according to scripture.
We want to show how to get right according to Scripture.
We want to show you how to say right according to scripture.
And that's because that's what 2nd 10 to 316 says.
I'm not making that up. I'm just giving you a bigger
piece of 2nd 10 to 316. What it's taken.
You can read verse 17 goes together beautifully.
Let's go to point number six and first Peter.
Now Peter is the same man who's in Jesus's inner circle, Peter,
James and John. You remember the transfiguration
and other events in the life of our Lord?
What Peter first Peter 2 verse six, he said it is contained.
I love this, believe me, I use this.
It's contained. In the scriptures, but if.
Somebody wants to change the way of worship, singing, praying,
teaching, communion, contribution, and they want to
change. I go no, no, no, no.
I'm not interested in what you want.
I'm interested in what the Scriptures teach.
I'm interested in what's contained in Scripture.
Now, can you show me in the scripture what you're promoted?
People say, well, not exactly. Oh well, if you can't exactly,
that means no. And I'm not interested in what
you think. I want to know what the
scripture says. Listen, you robbed that out and
people will either come to you and obey the gospel and do the
right thing or they going to leave and do their own thing.
Please don't be the one that's going to do your own thing.
You be the one that said, Lord, you tell me what to do and I'm
going to do it by the Scripture. You can do that.
It's contained in scripture. See friends, I'll tell you what
this is for new converts and people been in church based in
all your adult life and that is we need to learn what the Bible
says and we need to make sure we're plot to our life.
In conclusion here, Revelation one, verse three.
Blessed is he that readeth. Number one and they that keeps
the words of the prophecy of the book.
He said blessed word blessing means happy.
Blessed are happy. It's he that readeth it and keep
those things that are written therein.
Listen, we want to do today. We want to read and he said.
I want you to keep the things. That are written in this book.
Well, I love doing Bible markings and and teaching to do
personal work and and training a different one that I've done
this all over the country. And it's a very important role
because it's teaching the congregation how to accomplish a
very important principle of reaching the lost.
And this is where it is. It's following this teaching
right here that we're teaching people to read and to keep the
things they read. That's your commitment level.
You want to follow that? Well, there's so much more I can
say, but it's already 8:30 or so, 837.
I could go by my time and then it's bedtime, so I won't.
It's two hours later. But I want you today to do the
right thing. I want you to be so committed
that Satan know I don't stand a chance with him or her.
No, no, because they're going to go by the Bible.
They're going to stay with the word of God.
No, I don't have a chance. I'll tell you what, Whip Satan
and whip sin. Give yourself completely to the
Lord and don't let anybody or anything get in your way and
salvation would be yours. May the Lord bless you in every
way. To anyone in our assembly
tonight who's not ready to meet your Maker, would you please get
right tonight? We I always will be going home
in a little while, but we're not in a hurry.
We want to see you obey the gospel.
If you've not obeyed the gospel, and if you have obeyed the
gospel and you've got sin in your life, you have yielded to
temptation. You know the song you should
sing. Yield not to temptation for
yielding the sin. Listen, if you have things come
in your life, that's a myth, get rid of it.
Repent of the realms, confession, thoughts and our
prayer, the baptized belief with thy share privilege.
We want you to be saved. Please come and stand and want
to see. We thank you for listening to
our podcast put on by the Church of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in
Bakersfield. If you would like any additional
information or you would like to receive a free Bible
correspondence course by mail, please e-mail us at
info@churchofchristbakersfield.com. Our service times are Sundays at
10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and Wednesdays at 7:30 PM.
Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
honored guest.