Well, we're looking at the same section of scripture that we looked at last week, 2 Timothy 3, and we've read it now, so we'll just go to the two verses of scripture that we're interested in, and that's 16 and 17. All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfectly, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at does the reading of the Bible benefits us and what we get out of it when we study the word of God. We first look at sin and then we looked at God. We started with sin because it is not until a man or woman see that they are sinners that then they begin to look to God and for God. Fallen creatures are tricked by Satan to think that they are self-satisfied until they're sinful, blind, that eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit's work in them to show them the state that they are actually in, the sinful state, should I say, that they're in. Before he brings them to see and acknowledge that there is a God, and there is a God who is to be found in scripture and only in him there is wisdom, blessedness, goodness and righteousness. It is only when we become conscious of our own sinfulness that we can appreciate the perfection then of almighty God himself. And this then makes us more aware of the distance that has separated us from such a holy and high God. As the person learns more of God and his own inability to be able to keep what God expects him, then he is prepared to hear and welcome the good news which the Gospels give, that another has fully met the claims of God for us. In other words, someone has stepped in for us. To all that put their trust and faith and believe in him, search the Scriptures, said the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he added, for they are they which testify of me. John 5. 39. So our subject matter tonight is the scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The scripture testifies of him as the only saviour for perishing sinners and the only mediator between us and Almighty God and also that only through which the Father can be approached He can't be approached in any other way. There is but one way. I am the way, says the Lord Jesus. So the only way then to God is through Jesus Christ. We also have, also in the scripture, the wonderful perfection of this person. The glory of his office and his all-sufficient finished work for sinful people. So apart then from the Bible, we cannot know anything about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is them alone then that he is revealed. When the Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them to his people, he is in fact making them known to the soul of the believer. It is of course true that Christ is the key himself to all scripture. It is equally true that only in scripture do we have an opening up, if you like, of all the mysteries of Christ that are found there. Ephesians 3 verse 4, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mysteries of Christ. Now depending how much you benefit from the reading and the studying of God's almighty word will give you some idea by the extent in which you know Jesus Christ himself. It will become more real and precious to the heart of the believer. for the growing grace is defined by what is written in 2 Peter 3.18 and Philippians 3.10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being made comfortable on onto his death. So the knowledge spoken of in these verses is not some intellectual knowledge that we have to seek out, but instead it is a spiritual knowledge. which no unregenerated heart and it's only through the Holy Spirit as he interprets and as he applies the Word of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that we will benefit from a knowledge of God or Jesus himself. This will benefit his believers in different ways, because according to our own individual needs and our own individual circumstances, in the same way concerning the bread which God gave to the children of Israel during the wilderness wandering. some gathered more, and it says some gathered less. And it's true with us, is it not, when we come to Christ, depending on what our needs are and what our circumstances are. In our Lord Jesus Christ, we do not find exactly what is suited to every condition, every circumstances, every need, both now and in eternity. But sadly we are slow to realise this quite often. John 1.16 tells us that there is an inexhaustible fullness of Christ which is available for us to draw on from and how we become strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. So we see then that is through scripture, a scripture that cannot be exhausted. The things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ himself. 2nd Timothy 2 verse 1. The word of God also reveals the needs his people have then of Jesus Christ. Man by his nature sees himself, oh, I'm all significant, I don't need any help. And somewhere in the background of his conscience, he has a very, very small view that everything is not quite right between himself and God. Yet he has no difficulty in persuading himself, oh, I can help myself, I can fix this. That is the fault of many religions that were mentioned in Jude verse 11. We read, Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and greedily after the heirs of Baal for reward. It is no different when Christ also walked on this earth. The most religious people of that time, the Jews, had no real sense. that they were lost and in need of a saviour. Matthew 9, 12, they that are at home need not a physician, but they that are sick. So you have to have some idea of your sinful self before you have a need then of Christ. The office of the Holy Spirit is by application of the word of God to convict sinners of their desperate condition and to bring them to see their state as it tells us in Isaiah chapter one and verse six. for this is how he describes us from the sole of our foot even onto the head there is no soundness in them but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores not a nice description of anybody but that's the way as i describes us but as the holy spirit then convicts us of our sins the sinners in gratitude towards god are murmuring against god and are wandering from Him, when the Holy Spirit shows us God has every right to our love, He has every right to us, for us to be obedient to Him and to adore and follow Him, then we are made to recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ is. only hope and that we expect we flee to him for refuge. Then the righteous wrath of God which most certainly fall on us if we refuse to do such a thing. Even after the sinner's conversion and the more the Holy Spirit works in us, the work of grace, the regenerated soul, the more the individual is made conscious of his own sinful self, then the more he discovers and learns to value the precious blood which has cleansed him from all sin by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, and He does that by opening our eyes wider of those of whom He died. He leads them to a greater need of Him, and the more Christ will become real to them. So as our need for Christ grows, the more we grow towards Him, the more we gravitate towards Christ. The Israelite nation saw nothing more than an outward shell in all their rites and ceremonies which God had given them. But a remnant of them had the privilege to see the Lord Jesus Christ before them. Because it was said of Abram, Abram rejoiced to see my day. John chapter 8 verse 56. Moses also esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Hebrews 11 verse 26. Even today, many see Christ just as a name or some historic character. Even the Muslims only see Christ, as they would say, as a prophet. But they do not enjoy a spiritual communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. But with the real, sincere, converted Christian, it is the opposite. As the hymn writer put it, I heard the voice of Jesus tell me, not off beside, not beside, and I've seen the face of Jesus and my soul is satisfied. So we see true Christians sometimes cannot be consistent even in their walk with Jesus Christ at all times. Just as the clouds come between the sun and the earth, we sometimes fail to see the Lord in all his countenance, all the time. But then, when we come to his Bible, when we come to see that he has laid down a law for us, and the more we try to keep those commandments according to John, 1421, the more the Lord Jesus Christ will be manifest of himself, the more real he becomes to our soul. And he will be able to say with Job, I have heard of thee by hearing of the ear, but now my eye seeth thee. Job 42, five. So the more Christ becomes a living reality to you, and you will benefit then from the reading of God's word. And the Lord Jesus Christ will become more and more precious to the believer. I count all things but lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, Paul says in Philippians 3.8. Just as the glory of God had appeared in the wonderful beauty of the temple there in Isaiah and in the wisdom of and the splendor of King Solomon, which drew worshippers to him from all parts of the earth, we read. So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ which does it more, powerfully attract the hearts of people from all nations. And there's proof of that even for us today as we look around the world and see many people putting their trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. but to see the devil is well aware of this drawing power, if you like, of Christ. Therefore, he is engaged in blinding our minds of them that don't believe by placing between them and the Lord Jesus Christ all the pleasures of this world. Of course, God, we read in the scripture, permits him to tempt believers but it is written for them, resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4 verse 7. So you see, believers do this by praying earnestly and by asking the Holy Spirit to help us to see the greater affection believers have in Jesus Christ through the study and the reading and the praying over of God's Word. The more our ways and thoughts are engaged in the things about our Lord Jesus Christ, The more we will adore him, the more he will have a great place in our heart. Actually, he will have the first place in our heart. It is through our own lack or our own misgivings of not making ourselves acquainted with him that makes our heart grow cold sometimes towards him. But where real and dear fellowship is cultivated by the reading and the studying of God's word, the Christian will be able to say with the psalmist, Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside thee. Psalm 73, verse 25. Remember, it is the heart of God that God looks at. It is not the words that we speak. Proverbs 23, verse 26, my son, it says, give me thine heart. So then, the more precious then Christ is to us, the more delight does he also have in us. So it's a two-way street. The more we look and the more we love Christ, the more Christ will of course love us. So then the individual who is profiting from the reading of God's word. We'll have an increased confidence in Christ. In the Bible, we read there is a little faith, Matthew 14, 31, and there's a great faith, Matthew 8, and verse 10. There is full assurance of faith, Hebrews 10, 22. There's trusting in the Lord with all our heart, Proverbs 3 verse 5, and there's a growing from strength to strength at Psalm 84 verse 7. And we read from faith to faith in Romans 1 verse 17. then the stronger and steadier our faith, the more the Lord Jesus Christ is answered. As we read through the four Gospels, we see there that nothing pleases the Savior more than reliance. placed in him by the few who really count on him. Jesus himself lived and walked by faith, and the more his followers do, the more they are being conformed to the head of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is, of course, the head of our church. Above everything else, there is one thing we should earnestly pray for, that our faith may increase. Paul was able to say of the Thessalonians, Saints, your faith grows exceedingly. 2 Thessalonians 1.3 So we see then, the more Christ is known to us, the more we learn to trust Christ. And then, that we know thy name. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Again, from the Psalms, Psalm 9 verse 10. As Christ becomes more real to the heart, and we dwell on Christian perfection, the more he becomes precious to us, then the more our confidence in him depends upon him, and it becomes very natural for us to trust him. just like we would trust our parents. We will trust Jesus and we will take him at his word. Second, Corinthians 5.7 tells us, we walk by faith. All right, so it's not as we have faith once, but it would seem that the faith is a continual process. There's an increased deliverance from doubt and fear, and a fuller assurance that all he has promised, he will fulfill. If, for instance, if you take Abraham, He's a great example to all of the believers. The record of his life illustrates what confidence in the Lord, what the Lord is. At the hearing of God's word, we are told, he left all that would be dear to him. He went forth in dependence of God and he dwelt as a stranger and sojourned in the land that God had promised him, even though he never owned any of that land. When the promise of a seed that was made, a son was made in his old age, older than any of us here, he did not consider it to be an obstacle in any way that God couldn't fulfill it. He knew God could, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And when he was called to offer that same son, Isaac, up and through, though The God had said to him that it is through Isaac that the promise would be filled to increase the people. But he still trusted God and he took his son and he was prepared to sacrifice him because he trusted God that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. Hebrews 11 verse 19. So you see the history of Abraham is written in the Bible to show us how grace is able to subdue a heart of unbelief and give them a heart of trust. Now the Holy Spirit, how the Spirit of God may become victorious over flesh and how God-given and God-sustaining faith may be brought to fruit by any believer with the same faith and trust in God. It is written about Abraham for our encouragement, for us to pray. that God may too work in us the same faith and trust which wrought in and through Abraham, who is called the father of the faithful. For it will glorify and honor our Lord Jesus Christ, to show that we have confidence, that we have put our trust, and like a childlike faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, who has given us every reason to trust Him with all our heart. Surely, that should be our driving force, then, to please God through showing in the lives that we live and how we live that life, that we as Christians appreciate everything that the Lord has done, all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for his people. All too often, of course, we get in our own way. We are worried about how we feel. We are worried sometimes what we think. Then, of course, we think about how does others see us. And then there's the question, oh, do you believe this or do you believe that? Instead, let us give ourselves over completely to trust Christ and let Him be the focus of our behavior and we will be profiting then from the Word of God by an increased faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the first things that a Christian needs to appreciate is, you are not of your own. You are brought with a price, 1 Corinthians 6.19. And by that being so, we read in 2 Corinthians 5.15 that he died for all. that them which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. The more our affections then are drawn towards the Lord Jesus Christ, the more the Christian desires to honour him by being obedient to all of his will, not some of his will, but all of his will. If a man loves me, he will keep my word. John 14, 23. All who have faith in Christ will then submit to all of Christ's commands. Can people say they have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ if they make no effort to study the word of God, to learn about Jesus Christ through the scriptures? What contempt for a ruler of a king, even of any country, if the subjects under him refuse to read his proclamation or his commands. But where there is faith in Christ, there will be a delight to keep his commandments, and also a great sorrow when we break them. Is it not impossible to believe that it was my sin that caused the Son of God to shed his precious blood? Without not hating our sins, who put the Lord Jesus Christ there? If the Lord Jesus Christ groaned under the burden of our sins, shall we not also groan over our own sins also? So the more earnest shall we seek grace for the deliverance from them and causes to seek to please our blessed Redeemer instead. So it does the study and the reading of the Word of God put a longing within you for the return of Jesus. Love for the Savior will cause us to have a desire to meet with Him and to see Him. We are presently beholding him by faith. We behold Jesus by faith now. For we see him through a dark glass, darkly. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12. But as it's coming again, that same verse tells us that we shall behold him face to face. Then will his own words be fulfilled. in john 17 and 24 where he prayed this to god father i will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where i am that they may behold my glory which thou has given me for thy loveth me before the foundations of the world only then This will meet the longing of all who have been redeemed by him. Isaiah 53 verse 11, only then will he see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. In Psalm 17 verse 15, As for me, I will behold the face of righteousness, and I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. At the return of the Savior, we shall be done forever without sin. The elect are predestined to be conformed also to the image of God's Son. We shall be like him, for we shall see him, as he is. Never again shall we groan or moan over our inward sinfulness. Never again shall we be annoyed or caused with disbelief. Christ will present his church to himself, a glorious church. It says, not a spot or a wrinkle or any such thing. Ephesians 5. at 27. So the more we look and yearn for that day, the more then we will be trimming our lamps in earnest expectation of his coming. The more then we will give evidence that we are indeed benefiting from the reading of God's wonderful Word. Through the reading and the study then of God's Word, have we a deeper sense of our need for the Lord Jesus Christ? Has he become even more glorious to us? Is he becoming more and more precious to you? Is your faith in him growing so that you can trust him for everything? Are you trying to please him in every detail of your life? And are you yearning for to meet him face to face? Each one of us, of course, must answer that question individually, searching our hearts and seeing if we truly benefit from the reading of God's precious word. Amen.