Amos chapter 8. Amos chapter 8 is where the message is going to come from. Well, did you find Amos? Yeah, it's one of those that if you haven't been there a whole lot, it'd be tough to kind of find. So, interesting, I've known two Amos's in my life. One was my, I had an uncle, Amos, and he was actually a pretty interesting man. He served in World War II for this country and was a prisoner of war, was in a concentration camp actually. in France when he was there. And he was not a big man, not a small man, but from what I understand, when he got out, when he was freed from that prison camp in World War II, he weighed less than 100 pounds. So I appreciate him and his service. He has gone on to be with the Lord. He knew the Lord. And the other Amos that I know, I don't even really know him all that well. He's actually been to this church before. He worked out at Hoosier Hills Camp. Some of you guys that have been out there might know Amos Sakelly. He was actually, His brother Aaron Sackelly does the music for us at the couples retreat and he came here, Amos came here one time with Hoosier Hills and sang and did some choir pieces. Now, what does it have to do with anything I'm going to talk about? Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Well, before we read Amos chapter 8, I want to just give you a little bit of background about Amos, the prophet Amos. How many of you can remember hearing a message from Amos any time recently? Okay, good, Brad, wow, good, couple, okay, few people. I was trying to think about the last time I heard a message from Amos, and I couldn't think of a time. You know, when I read God's word and doing my personal devotions with him, oftentimes the messages that I preach come directly from that, just something that the Lord really just gripped me with as I was reading, and that was one of these times. The Lord kind of dealt with me about talking about this this morning. But just a little bit of information about Amos very quickly, and then we'll read the chapter and get into the message. But as we know, Amos was a prophet, but he was not the son of a prophet or the son of a priest. Oftentimes a prophet was the son of another prophet or son of a priest. Actually, his calling in life was a shepherd. If you look at the very first verse of the book of Amos, it says this, the words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Now that was interesting when I read that, two years before the earthquake. Now again, this doesn't have anything to do with the message this morning, but this must have been quite the doozy of an earthquake. So 300 years later, the prophet Zechariah actually references this particular earthquake. You can just write down Zechariah 14.5. I'm not going to go there right now. So for it to be talked about 300 years later, it must have been quite the earthquake. So anyway, Amos chapter 7, In verse 14 references a little bit about his background also. Chapter 7 and verse 14 says, Then answered Amos and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was a herdman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit. So that's the very humble background of Amos that the Lord called to preach and to prophesy in his name. So Amos was charged to prophesy to the northern kingdom of Israel, oftentimes referred to just as Israel. We know that not long after Solomon was king, the country of Israel, the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern 10 kingdoms was Israel, and then the southern kingdom was referred to as Judah. And the kings of Israel, the northern part of the kingdom, were largely wicked kings. Very little good is said about any of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. And Amos was from the south. He was from Judah. His task was to go and preach, basically, prophesy, warn, basically let the people of the north know how wicked they were. So this was a difficult task for him. In Uzziah, we know of King Uzziah in Isaiah 6. Isaiah talks about in the year that King Uzziah died. And Isaiah was in a bad way when Uzziah died because Uzziah was a good king. He did a lot of good for the Lord in Judah at that time. Now the king of northern part of the kingdom of Israel was Jeroboam II. There was another Jeroboam not long after Solomon. But again, very little righteousness came from the kings of the north. Most of them did really nothing but wickedness in the sight of the Lord. And during the time of Jeroboam, really Israel was experiencing, the northern kingdom was experiencing a huge amount of success and prosperity. Seemingly, things were going great. Their wealth and influence may have been as high as it ever was. And Amos was tasked to go to this seemingly thriving nation of Israel, to the northern kingdom, and pronounce judgment upon them. A very difficult task. But within 50 years of Amos warning and prophesying of Israel, they would be destroyed by the Assyrian army and literally turned into a slave nation. So what he told them happened within 50 years. And most of them, I'm sure, just wrote him off, didn't believe him. In fact, probably hated him for the message that he brought to them. But within 50 years, it came true. All right, so let's look at this passage. I'm going to read all of chapter 8, 14 verses. It says this, Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me, and behold, a basket of summer fruit. Think about what a basket of summer fruit looks like. Various colors, nice, fresh, juicy fruit that are in the basket. Really a beautiful sight to look at. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, a basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, the end is come upon my people of Israel. I will not again pass by them anymore. What a sad beginning here that the Lord is giving him in this portion. passage of scripture. So that basket of summer fruit becomes tainted very quickly. It becomes spoiled. It becomes grotesque to look at. Verse 3, and the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God. Let me stop there for just a moment. You know, when we sing in this auditorium, Our goal to sing and to present our music should never ever be about us performing. Ever. It should be all about honoring and glorifying and praising and lifting up the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our songs, our praises should never seem as just howlings coming out of the house of God. It ought to be something that we take very, very seriously. And then he says this, there shall be many dead bodies in every place. Talking about the future invasion of Assyria. They shall cast them forth with silence. Now, verse 4, hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail. saying, when will the new moon be gone that we may sell corn? And so the Lord's calling them out for the things that they're doing wickedly. And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit. So some deceitful financial dealings. Verse 6, that we may buy the poor for silver. All right, talking about slavery. And the needy for a pair of shoes. Yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat. The Lord has sworn by the excellency of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this? And everyone mourn that dwelleth therein. It shall rise up holy as a flood. It shall be cast out and drowned as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. And I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head. And I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day." Now, these next two verses is really what the Lord just jumped off the page at me when I was reading this a few weeks ago. Verse 11, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Okay, now let me stop there for just a second. You know, in our world today, in our society today, you know, you go to the grocery store today and you see empty shelves, you see prices rising and a lot of craziness going on and the word famine is being thrown around. We're seeing some food shortages and things like that. They're literally now talking about not just a famine here, but a global famine. And understand, that type of stuff should not scare the child of God. You know, He promises to take care of our needs. He promises to meet our needs. He's in control, God's sovereign. But there are a lot of people out there, a lot of the news outlets and media that, you know, it's just the next thing that they're trying to put fear in our hearts about. You know, COVID, COVID, COVID, now it's famine, it's all these other things. We don't have to worry about it. God has it all under control. Verse 11, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Now pay attention to this. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. What a famine. Verse 12, And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east. They shall run to and fro, and seek the word of the Lord. And then, look at that phrase, and shall not find it. I get emotional about that this morning because we have the Word of the Lord so readily available to us, but we have to ask ourselves this morning, are we really hearing it? Are we really hearing it? Not just hearing it, but are we being a doer? Not just a hearer, but a doer. And that's the title of the message, A Famine of Hearing the Words of the Lord. And we can be so, so guilty of this and become the victim of this, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And then verse 13, in that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst. All right, seeking the Word of God, but not finding it. They that swear by the sin of Samaria and say, thy God, O Dan, liveth in the manner of Beersheba liveth, even they shall fall and never rise up again. Let's pray. Father, help me this morning. We need you. I need you. I just pray that you'd fill me with your Holy Spirit. Lord, we need your Word so bad. Lord, I just pray that we would not take it for granted this morning. Lord, you teach us some things in this passage that we're going to look at, but ultimately I think you want me to focus on this idea of a famine of the hearing of the Word of the Lord. Lord, I just pray that you'd speak to our hearts. Help us to fall in love with your word all over again. Help us to every day search it out, seek it out, and find it. Lord, we need you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. I've got just three points this morning that I'll elaborate on a little bit. I want to give what is in the context here. And as I've said, I'm going to focus on verses 11 and 12. But I do want to give you what the first part of this chapter says. So number one, I want you to see this, the lens of self instead of others. the lens of self instead of others. Let me read verses 4-6 again. And again, this is the indictment. This is what God is calling the people out for here. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn, and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat." So the first thing I want you to notice here is that the poor of the land were oppressed to the point of no recovery. It says, at the end of verse 4, even to make the poor of the land to fail. even to make the poor of the land to fail. Listen to what 1 John 3.17-18 says. 1 John 3.17-18, you can just jot it down, you don't have to turn there. But here's what it says, God says this, But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." I believe that we as a church are a giving church. Without a doubt, I believe that we are. But we have to be careful not to pick and choose who we give to based upon some kind of outward reasoning. I'm not saying that we should be poor stewards of what God has given to us because He has given us everything. We have to use discernment when giving to those in need. We can't give to the point of enablement of sin, but we are to view everyone equally in their need. And I believe we have to let the Lord speak to us in how it is that we are giving. Our giving is very, very important. I'm going to talk more about that in a moment. The second thing I want you to see here that's pointed out here is financial gain was the priority and the motivation of these people. I want to read what one commentator says about this. This is actually J. Vernon McGee. He says this, if you had been among the people in that day, especially down in Jerusalem at the temple, you would have wondered what the Lord was talking about. You would have seen them going through the rituals which God had prescribed, but you see, God knew what was in their hearts. The new moon and the Sabbath were holy days on which business was not to be transacted. God is saying that even when the rich went to the temple to praise God, they were so greedy and covetous that they were thinking about business the next day, and how they could make more money by cheating their customers. They not only practiced their sin during the week, but they carried it into the temple. What a picture this gives us of Israel in that day, and of modern man as well. You know, we spend all of January. Preacher does a great job every year of speaking to us on the idea of stewardship. You know, how we manage what God has given to us. All things. How we handle business and our finances absolutely matter. And how we give absolutely matters. Let me just say this. You think about what has been given to us. Think about what has been given to you. Me, think about what has been given to me. You know, everything that we have is not ours. God has given it to us. And then the greatest gift that has ever been given, Katie just sang about a little bit ago, is the gift of Jesus Christ, that we have accepted, that we have eternal life because of. It's all a gift. It's all been given to us. So our giving should be a reflection of everything that has been given to us. How are we doing with our giving this morning? Are we just bundling it up, keeping it to ourselves? Maybe the Lord is speaking to us about a specific need right now that needs to be met. And I don't know what it is. I'm not talking about anything in general or very specific. But what is it that the Lord is speaking to you about? Just about your giving. Our giving should be a reflection of what has been given to us. You know, we've heard it said many times, show me your pocketbook and I'll show you your priorities. All right, it's convicting to me to think about that. Show me your pocketbook and I'll show you your priorities. So it's very important that we consider that this morning. Now, number two, I want you to see God's lens of displeasure. God's lens of displeasure. Again, look at verses 7-10 with me. It says this, The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this? And every one mourn that dwelleth therein. And it shall rise up holy as a flood, and it shall be cast out and drowned as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and will darken the earth in the clear day. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. And I will bring up sackcloth upon your loins, and baldness upon your head. I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day." You know, I wonder if God looks this morning at us, at the way we handle our finances, our budgets, our bank statements, our pocketbooks, our spending, our impulsivity, our tithes and our offerings in displeasure. Lord, help us this morning to be a people that give, that give with a cheerful heart and do it all unto the Lord because He has given so much to us. All right, now, I wanna get to number three, the lens of scripture is lost. And this is really where I wanna focus this morning. The lens of scripture is lost. Now, I want you to just think about some things before we continue to move on here. Think about what has our attention from day to day. All right, just think about that for a moment. What is it that is in front of your face? It's in your thoughts. It's something that you're focusing your attention on on a regular basis. Think about that for a moment. What is that? You know, we have the news, there's shows, there's sports, there's social media. You know, I have an iPhone and every Sunday I get a report of the average amount of screen time that I spend every day on my phone. I don't know how many of you have that, you know, report that is sent to you, but I'm not even gonna tell you what it is, because I'm kind of embarrassed. You know, and some of that I'm gonna, I'm going to be a little bit self-righteous here, but some of that I use to study with on my phone. But no, seriously though, the amount of time we spend in front of a screen, a screen is to me embarrassing sometimes. But social media and games and so forth that we play on our phones and so forth. The social media, the politicians that are speaking, the trends, the fads, health, there's so many things that grabs our attention on a daily basis. Understand this, we are always committed to something. We're always committed to something, but it's not always the right things. Our attention is always given to something or someone. We are allowing ourselves to be influenced by someone or something all the time. And the easiest way to test oftentimes what we are focusing and giving our attention to is to pay attention to what we talk about. You know, what is it that we are talking about when we are conversing with our family, when we're talking to the people that we work with, when we're, you know, spending time with friends and other family? What is it that we are talking about? That is what has our attention more times than not. What do we go to when we don't know what to say? Again, is it the weather? Is it the sports, news, politics, gas prices? You know, all of those things are easy to talk about. Or do we go to the Bible and easily talk about how the Lord has been speaking to us or what He has been doing in our life? We should be a people, again, that are filled with the Holy Spirit, that are saved by the grace of God. We should be a people that are talking about it. We should be a people that are talking about what has influenced us the most, and it ought to be God's Word. And you see, when we're depleted in our knowledge and understanding, our quantity and our quality in terms of Scripture. Even more importantly than that, when we're depleted of the touch of God's Almighty Word on our lives, we have lost touch with what truly is important. I love what Jeremiah says about the Word of God. Turn with me there for just a moment, back a few books to Jeremiah 20. Jeremiah 20. And look with me at verse 7. Now this was Jeremiah, and he was in a very, very difficult place in his life. Maybe even a low, and Jeremiah went through a lot. He's known as the lamenting prophet. He went through a lot. But here in verse 7 of Jeremiah 20, listen to these words. Oh Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed. I am in derision daily. depression, just struggling so badly. Everyone mocketh me. He says this, For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Now, look at the turning point here in verse 9. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. Wow. What a statement that is for Jeremiah to make, for the living God, the God of creation, to speak directly to him, for him to hear his voice, literally. He says, then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. Wow. But, and I'm glad this but is here, but his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and was weary with forebearing, and I could not stay." Or in other words, I couldn't stop. He wanted to stop. In everything in him, he wanted to stop. He said, I will not make mention. But the Word of God was so deeply ingrained in him that he couldn't stop. He couldn't quit. I mean, what a testimony that is. What a convicting thought that is to me. And I am nowhere near that point in my life right now. I'm not even close to being able to say, I'm ready to quit. I'm done. I'm not going to speak of the Lord anymore. But I have to ask myself, if I got to that point, could I not stop? Because his word was so deep in me and so powerful inside of me because of what I knew and what I studied and what I read, that there was no way that I could stop. It's a convicting question to think about this morning. It certainly is to me. You know, I wonder this morning if the enemy is even picking on us, pricking at us this morning. You know, if we're not seeing any kind of resistance from the enemy in what we are saying and doing for the Lord, then we're probably not doing a whole lot for him. What kind of resistance are you seeing? You know, again, Jeremiah had the Word of God so deeply in him, he couldn't stop. He could not throw in the towel. He couldn't stop speaking and preaching about the Lord and His goodness. It was impossible for him to let it go. How easy is it for us to just let it go and not talk about it? How easy is it for us to just skip several days and not read and not look at His Word? How easy is it for us to do that? Occasionally, from time to time, it'll be a busy day and I'll get to the end of the day and I'll just be sitting there thinking and I'll fall asleep and I wouldn't have spent very much time in God's Word, at least how I want to. When I do that, when that happens, man, it's like just something's missing. An ounce of energy that I needed for that day wasn't there because I didn't take the time to get in His Word. It's so very important. So what could be some reasons this morning that there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in our lives? And I just have three things here and we'll be done. What could be some reasons that there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in our lives? First of all, A, our appetite for God's word has diminished. Our appetite for his word has diminished. Again, when was the last time that we would say spending time in the scriptures was truly a priority for us? When was that? Maybe it is right now and that's great, but if it's not, when was the last time? Not just a few verses on an app or a few verses before we go to sleep at night, but a definite time that is set aside to dive into God's Word where the riches of it are found. We need His Word so badly, speaking to us, energizing us, filling us, motivating us, empowering us. to contend with the enemy in our flesh, and to do the will of the Lord for Him to speak to us. We have to have it. To help us to discern, to not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Where is our desire for the Word of the Lord of God? For the Word of God. I've given this illustration on a number of occasions and you may remember it. I apologize if it's not anything new. I know I've given it in my Sunday school class and maybe one other time when I preached, but there's a story that I read one time and to be honest, It may have just been a hypothetical situation. I can't remember if it was completely true or not. But it's an amazing illustration to think about. I don't want to say that it was completely true when it's not. But here's the hypothetical situation. So there was a boy who was 10 years old and he was tragically kidnapped. The kidnappers, over a 10-year period, allowed for the boy to write his parents a letter, once a year for 10 years. They wrote a letter, or they allowed him to write a letter. It did not have any disclosure in it in terms of their location so that they couldn't be found. But could you imagine being the parents of that child, your child that had been taken, And once a year, you didn't know when it was gonna come, but that first year a letter came. And what a hope, what an encouragement despite all the wickedness of it and the downtroddenness of it to get a letter from your son. And you imagine reading that letter, taking in every single word. And then another year goes by and another letter shows up. and you're just savoring every word of it. And that goes on year after year for 10 years. And just how in a decade you have 10 letters from your son who you haven't seen in 10 years. How you would treat those words, how you would just savor every word. Well, what about that about God's Word? He has given us a letter. He has given us something that is more precious than what I just spoke about. He has given us something that is beyond riches, that is beyond gold and silver, that is beyond anything that we can imagine. The very words of God, the inspired word of God. Do we savor every word? Do we study it? Do we read it? Do we give it what it deserves? It's God's Word this morning that we're talking about. Our appetite for God's Word absolutely, and I'm speaking to myself as well, has diminished. Secondly, the second thing, we look for answers to life's questions everywhere else but in Scripture oftentimes. That's another reason why there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in our lives. We look for the answers to life's questions everywhere else but in Scripture. I mentioned this earlier, but where are we looking and who are we paying attention to? Again, compare the time you spend listening to the news and social media compared to the time we spend in God's Word. We have become an electronic media driven society. Our eyes are constantly looking at screens and literally just sucking the life right out of us. And again, I'm talking to myself because we give so much time to it. Our hope, our inspiration, our purpose is often wrapped up in what's on the screen in front of us. Instead of just giving a little bit of time to God, who is sovereign and in control over all of it, We mindlessly give our attention to things that have no impact for eternity whatsoever. So this is my challenge this morning. Let's get our minds refocused. Let's get our minds refocused on what's really important. Our God and our relationship with Him, keeping His commandments, showing His love to those around us, to a lost and a dying world. Those are the things that will last forever. not what famous people are saying on Twitter or whatever else, or what the media is saying or not saying about the current presidential administration or the midterms and all these things. And look, I'm not saying that all of these things are wrong. I'm not saying that if you're on Facebook or whatever, you're sinning. There's a place for it if it's done the right way. But it tends to dominate. It tends to control. It tends to just capture us. So it's very important. And then the third thing, we'll finish with this. And this is so very important. We wait to need God. Think about that phrase. Why is there a famine of the hearing of the Word of God? Because we wait to need Him. We wait to need Him. Think about when we really need God. You know, we pursue him heavily when a crisis shows up, when we're in a deep difficulty. You know, we pray really hard then. We may seek his word more then, but what about the rest of the time? You know, are things going well? The pocketbook in good shape? We seemingly have what we need, really, plus an abundance. Do we still need God this morning? Do we still need Him? Do we need God in good and bad times? Do we need Him in our triumphs? And on our mountaintop? Or just when we're in the valley, in the moments of despair? We cannot treat God like He's a genie in a bottle that we can just conjure up at our leisure. We have to need Him now and all the time. We must never wait to need Him. There's an adage that is true and it says this, those who wait to need God will find themselves without God when they most need God. Let me say that again. Those who wait to need God will find themselves without God when they most need God. All right, I want you to turn just to one more passage with me and we'll be done. Revelation 3. I want you to turn to Revelation 3. Last book of the Bible, Revelation 3. And verse 17. This is Jesus speaking to the church of Laodicea. He says this, and poor, and blind, and naked." I'm going to read that again. Listen, and I'll tell you what, let me back up to verse 14. Just listen to these words. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would, or I wish, that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold or hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Now again, verse 17. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. All right, this is Jesus again speaking to the Laodicean church, which most interpret to mean the present church age. So this is a letter to us, to our church. And I want you to listen to Brother Brian Sharp was here a few minutes, a few weeks ago. And I was able to get, actually Avery bought his commentary for me. That was a nice gift from him. But I want to read what he says about this particular verse, verse 17. Brother Sharp says this in his commentary, clueless is the word that comes to mind when describing the awareness of the church of the Laodiceans. conceited, self-centered, self-serving, and self-aggrandizing are applicable. They just didn't get it. Oh, to miss out on the riches of Christ by settling for their inferior riches that moth and rust doth corrupt. Oh, how the visual loop of mirror-looking replayed in their mind. Oh, how the cover-up of fig-leaf righteousness became see-through clothing when viewed by Jesus. They were spiritually naked, as was Adam and Eve, in trying to hide in a garden of camouflage. And then I want to read one more thing. This is what Warren Wiersbe says. He says this, in times of crisis, people turn to the Lord for some word of guidance or encouragement, but for Israel, no word would come. We see not our signs, there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long." And that's Psalm 74.9. What a tragedy to have plenty of quote-unquote religion, but no word from the Lord. That means no light in the darkness, no nourishment for the soul, no direction for making decisions, no protection from the lies of the enemy. The people would stagger like drunks from place to place, always hoping to find food and drink for their bodies and spiritual sustenance for their souls. Let's not let this be us this morning. Let's bow our head and close our eyes and just think about a few things. You can just bow your head and close your eyes with me for a moment. You know, maybe this morning we are destitute. Maybe we're spiritually destitute this morning. And look, we're all, every one of us, including myself, is susceptible to this. And oftentimes it's because we are not giving the Word of God the attention that it deserves. We're not hearing from Him the way that we should be hearing from Him because we're not getting into His Word. It's important that we evaluate ourselves on these matters from time to time. Really all the time. You know, every day we wake up, we have a decision to make. The Bible says, choose you this day who you're going to serve. So who is it that we're choosing to serve on a regular basis? And how is that showing up in our finances and our stewardship? And then more importantly this morning, the focus has been His Word. How is that showing up and how we're handling the Word of God? It's very simple. You hear it preached time and time again. Yes, to be a good Christian, to be a follower of Christ, you've got to read His Word. And I know it's so simple. But the point is, are we doing it? Are we giving it the attention that it deserves this morning? You know, I don't know what the Lord is speaking to you about. It may be about God's Word and your use of it. It may be about totally something different. I don't know. But however the Lord is speaking to you, you come and deal with Him. Do business with Him this morning. Let's pray. Well, I'll tell you what. Stand with me and we'll pray. And then we're going to start singing number 153. Let's pray. Lord, we do thank you so much for your word. There are people groups all over this world that don't have your word, that don't have one verse of it translated into their language. literally thousands of people groups that don't have it. And we have it. There are at least 10 copies of your word in my office right now. And I imagine that many of us have multiple copies of God's word. It is readily available. But the question is, is there a famine of it, regardless of how much we have of it? Is there a famine this morning? Lord, help us speak to our hearts. Help us to recommit ourselves to you and to your word. Lord, we need you. Thank you for all that you do in Jesus name. Amen.