John chapter number 20, and we will read verses number 30 and 31. The book of John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. We are going to look today at the title, These Are Written. And we're thankful to be able to come to you, to your place where you view and listen to these gospel messages. We're thankful for the privilege that we have had. This church has set forth the gospel for the last 45 years. And we are thankful that God has sustained it for us. It's not us, it's the Holy Spirit. So we're thankful that Grace Baptist Church of Jonesboro has been able to provide anybody with the Gospel that wants to hear it. John chapter 20 verse 30. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But listen to verse 31. But these are written. That's the title of our lesson today. These are written. Why? That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name. This is eternal life, that they may know thee, Jesus said in His prayer to the Father as recorded in John chapter 17. So all the miracles that were done are not written down. Why? Because those things that God would have written are those things that are for your salvation and for your being able to come to God. In John chapter 3, John chapter number 2, the last two verses and then in verse number 3, in chapter number 3 verse number 1, John 2, 23. And when he was at Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in his name. Listen, when they saw the miracles, which he did, but Jesus would not commit himself unto them. Now the word believe in his name in verse 23 is the same word commit in verse 24. So they are interchangeable. So it says, many committed to his name when they saw the miracles that he did, but Jesus would not believe them. They did not have true salvation by being excited by the miracles. So the belief that they had in verse 23 for the miracles was not a true faith and it did not produce salvation. He says, Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. And needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. And he starts off by saying, we know that you are a rabbi, a teacher come from God because of all these miracles. Jesus would not even carry on that conversation. He would not continue it. He says, I say unto you, you must be born again. Nicodemus being excited about miracles is not conducive to true faith. It is not that which brings you into salvation. So we are studying in John 20 and verse number 20 and 21, many of these signs that Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. You say, well, man, we got left out. I want to know what those miracles are. No, you don't. You don't need to know it. The next verse tells you why the Bible was written. But these are written that you might believe. There is enough here for us to have provision for eternal salvation. So this is eternal life that they may know thee. The revelation of God is that which is salvation. So he says, we're gonna preserve these things that are essential and necessary that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing you might have life through his name. Now let's skip down to chapter 21 and verse number 24, John 21, 24. This is the disciple which testifies of these things. John is speaking of himself. This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things. And we know that his testimony is true. Now verse 25 of John 21. And there are also many other things which Jesus did the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Amen. That's how John finishes out his writing of the Gospel of John. So, there's a lot of things that Jesus did that were not worthy or necessary or needful for salvation. But everything that was written is necessary for your salvation, and God did not leave them out. These things are written that you might believe, and that believing you might have life through His name. So, it seems like, you know, you ride down the road, well, you may not, but out here in the country where we live, ride down the road and have a horse in the pasture straining his neck through the barbed wire fence, trying to eat the grass that's on the outside. when he's got plenty of grass on the inside. That's the way a lot of church people are. They want to strain their net to try to find new stuff to get excited about when they've got enough right here to fill up their hearts and lives and bring them to know God. And they're not even trying to proceed through this and to know God as he has provided. Let me read you something. Luke chapter 16. Go with me in your Bibles. Luke chapter 16, beginning with verse 29. This is about the rich man outside whose gates Lazarus sat, the beggar, full of sores. The rich man died, and he inhaled, he lifted up his eyes, being in torments. and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." And we drop on down and we see that he asked Abraham to let Lazarus come and drop a drop of water into his mouth. And he still wanted Lazarus to be a servant and a slave to him. Evidently, you don't lose all that self-centeredness and that desire for everybody else to serve you and for you to be exalted above everybody when you get to hell. So here he was still in misery. And he says, uh, send Lazarus or send somebody to my house, verse 27, to my father's house. I've got five brothers and let him testify to them. lest they come to this place of torment." Now, because he had been a bad example to his other five brothers, and he knew that when they got to hell, it would add to his judgment for the misrepresentation and the lack of proper representation to teach them the things of God in truth. And in verse 29 of Luke 16, Abraham answers, and he says, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. Now, of course, Moses had been dead for centuries. But when you read the term Moses and the prophets, he's talking about the Old Testament scriptures. He said there's enough in the Old Testament scriptures for them to hear the word of God in that. We don't need to send somebody back from the dead. And listen what the rich man says, and this is the attitude of those in America today. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Two things, he denied that the scriptures had any ability to keep his brothers out of hell because evidently he never gave any thought and any attentiveness and any attention to the scriptures because he was in hell. And so he said, now we don't want them to have the scriptures. And then he said, the second thing is, but you know what? If somebody rose from the dead, they will repent. Guess what? Somebody did rise from the dead, and they didn't repent, and they wound up in hell, and his name was Jesus of Nazareth. Listen, folks, even if there was some mighty miracle done in America, it would still not save this ungodly nation. They've got in their hands, in their lap, in their bookstores, on their shelves, the multiple copies of the Scriptures. But they don't give any credence to it. And nobody has any patience when you hear scriptures or godly prayers prayed in public at some kind of political thing or whatever, or football game or whatever. Everybody's looking around wondering when they're going to quit so we can get on with what we want to do. Nay, Father Abraham, we don't want the scriptures. But let somebody rise from the dead and boy, that miracle would make them repent. And listen to what Abraham said. And he, Abraham, said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, if they hear not the Old Testament. Again, the term Moses and the prophets is a term to describe the Old Testament Scriptures. He says, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose them from the dead. Dear soul, listen, if you don't believe the scriptures and you don't find yourself in the scriptures with God speaking to your soul, it doesn't matter about Jesus's resurrection. You're not going to be profited at all. You're waiting for some, you know, big miracle to happen and God drop down out of heaven and stroke your little brow and speak sweet nothings in your ear. You ain't gonna make it. You got it in your lap. Believe what you got. And he says, number one, if they won't hear Moses and the prophets, they would not be benefited if one rose from the dead. So we see that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and America is not benefiting from it. Over 174,000 Americans were stricken with the Corona 19 virus just last Friday in one day. In one day, 1600 people, 1600 Americans died in that one day. God is telling America, listen, you need to benefit from the Scriptures. These things are written. Oh, if we saw some miracle, it would be great. He said, well, I'll tell you this, that Jesus did so many miracles and did so much that He did do that the world couldn't contain the books that would be written about it. But these are written that you might believe. Would you like to escape hell? Would you like to know God? Would you like to have the peace that passes all understanding? Would you like to have the Holy Spirit in you, teaching you from within the things of the Spirit and the things of the Scriptures? Then get in the Bible. Look to the Lord through the Spirit of His Word. John chapter 5. a little key, a little golden key verse that opened up my heart when I first got saved many years ago. John 5, 39. Listen to what it says. Search the scriptures. That's God's command. Search the scriptures. Get into it. Read it. You say, well, I can't understand it. Well, it's not to be understood by your brain, it is to be perceived by your heart. God will make it plain. You don't grab the Bible and read it like you would read a novel. You read the Bible as it were with your heart and spirit on your knees. You seek God's face. You pray and ask Him, Lord, Take the veil away from my eyes. Take the scales away from my heart. Let me see the things of the Lord. But you're not going to see them unless you search the Scriptures. Oh no, that's old hat. They've got Moses and the prophets. They're not going to believe that. Friend, if you're not going to believe that, you're going to spend eternity in hell. Search the Scriptures. Listen. He said, For in them ye think ye have eternal life. Now, if you go to the Bible trying to get a formula and think that you can A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, you know, whatever program, religious program you might concoct, you're in trouble. Because, let's read the rest of the verse. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. But what are they for then? He said, but they, the Scriptures, are they which testify of me. You're not seeking a form of religion. You're not seeking to be able to know the rules of the religious club you want to join. Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Catholic, whatever. No, Jesus didn't come to start denominations. He came to start eternal life and He gave you the scriptures to help you to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing in Him, the person of the Word, you might have everlasting life. Now, how does the book of John start off? John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word. And I notice that that word, Word, is capitalized. In my Bible, those words that are capitalized speak of Deity, speak of God Himself. And read the rest of the verse and you'll find that it's true. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So the Word, if you'll drop down to verse number 14 of John chapter 1, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. So the Word is God and the Word that is God is that of God, which became flesh and dwelt among us. And that, dear friend, is the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ. The scriptures are the writings. that bring you to the word who is the person of Jesus Christ. I study the scriptures not to become a religious person, but I study the scriptures to seek to find the person of the word. The written scriptures are to take me to the living word. And it says, these things are written that you might believe, and that believing in the Word, you might have eternal life. Believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you will have eternal life. So the Scriptures are valuable, not to bring forth religionists, but to bring forth the person of the Word, Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit reveals Him to our hearts as we read this precious Word. Now, 2 Corinthians chapter 3, I used to say the Bible has a skull and cross-bone label on it. You know what that is, don't you? The pirates used to run up a flag with a skull and crossbones to show that they were thieves and they wanted to take you down and steal everything on your ship. And it meant death. And God is faithful enough to make you understand the danger of misuse of the scriptures. You go to the pharmacist and you get your prescription and it says warning. Take only as directed. You need to be careful with this because here are the symptoms and the side effects. And usually, if you read the side effects, you don't want to take the medicine. Because one of them may say it causes strokes. It will cause death if you misuse it. They're being honest with you. It's a good medication for the malady that you have according to your physician. But you better take it exactly like He told you to, so that you don't get in trouble with it. That's what I'm talking about, about the Bible. What does the Scripture say about itself? 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Let's begin reading with verse number 1. 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 1. This is Apostle Paul asking the question to the Corinthian believers at the church at Corinth. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Do I need somebody to write out a recommendation, to put in my resume, to recommend me to you? Listen to what he says. He says, Ye are our epistle, that spiritual epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. It is a spiritual thing of you knowing me because it is a spiritual thing that I know you. I don't need a letter, a piece of paper with somebody's name signed on it, Dr. Bottlestopper, I recommend this man to you. No. He said, The Holy Spirit has put you in my heart, and the Holy Spirit will put me in your heart, and you don't need letters, physically letters of commendation, but you have our epistle, our spiritual epistle, known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, he says, ministered by us, listen, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart. Not in the natural, when God on Mount Sinai wrote with His finger the Ten Commandments in tables of stone. Not that. Now, the Holy Spirit is the stylus, the pen, the ink pen, that writes spiritually in your heart. and causes you to understand and perceive and know by the revelation of God to you through the person of the Word as you study the Scriptures and the things that are written in order that you might believe. Verse 4, And such trust have we through Christ to Godward, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. who has made us able ministers of the New Covenant, of the New Testament, of the New Contract. We're able ministers of the New Testament. And you notice he's been saying that it's been written by the Holy Spirit. He's not talking about, boy, I'm an apt preacher and teacher of the New Testament of the Bible. He's talking about the new contract made by Jesus Christ on the cross and applied by the Holy Spirit. We're able to deal by the Holy Spirit through the atoning work of Jesus Christ effectually to your heart as we preach the word to you, who has made us able ministers of the new covenant, the new contract, not of the letter, but of the spirit. Listen, for the letter, killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." Now that's that warning label on that little bottle of medicine. Warning. Careful. Use only as directed. And the Apostle Paul is telling you, like Jesus said, search the Scriptures. But make sure you understand that they, the Scriptures, are they which testify of the person of the Word, Jesus Christ. So at the very outset, at the very beginning of your desire to come to know God, you make sure you understand the proper relationship of one who can seek God truthfully, honestly, and according to the purposes of God, and not just one who's trying to learn the books of the Bible and learn the doctrines and learn this, that, and the other. This old lesson. There's only one name given unto heaven among men, whereby you must be saved, and that's the name Jesus Christ. It's not the name Bible. It's not the name Peter or Paul or John. It's not the name Baptist or Methodist or whatever. It's the name of Jesus Christ. That's who you need to come to know. And it is, as Abraham said there with Lazarus in his bosom, listen, rich man, The scriptures are enough, Moses and the prophets, even the Old Testament is enough for people to escape the damnation and the separation from God in hell. So if you use them rightfully, if you use them lawfully, then it is a great benefit to your soul. I remember one time my little cousin, probably four or five years old, was in the kitchen and my aunt was in, went walking in the kitchen and let out a shriek. I went in there to see what was wrong and that little child had a real sharp knife, kitchen knife, in her hands. We had to be very careful, not scare her and not cause her to run with it, but just talk very quietly and softly and approach her and reach and get that knife out of her hand. Now that knife in my aunt's hand could provide you with a good meal, but that knife in that little baby's hand could have killed her and taken her life. You need to understand, dear soul, this is a double-edged sword. It can cut asunder all of the ungodliness of the flesh and of Satan's false religions and bring you to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to understand. Yes. Search the scriptures, but how do I search that in them, the scriptures, uh, they testify of the person of the word, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I go from the. written Word by the Holy Spirit to the Living Word, because in Him alone is salvation. There's no salvation in just this bare book. You can carry it around and memorize every word in it and still die and go to hell, because this is not here for this. This is here for Christ. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. but they are they which testify of me, Jesus said. So you need to get on with the scriptures unto the person of the word of God. So he says in 2 Corinthians 3, 6, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, talking about the law, written and engraved in stones was glorious, and it was, Israel was the only nation that had God to give them the stone tablets wherein they had the commandments whereby they might please and walk with God. It was glorious. It was more than anybody had in that age. So that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away. Moses went up on the mountain and got the Ten Commandments, and being in the presence of God, his face shone. He had to put a veil on him, like a woman at a funeral, you know, used to. They'd bring down the veil over their hats and hide their faces. Moses had to hide his face because of the glory that was shining forth from his face in receiving the Ten Commandments in stone, written in stone. Now listen. Which glory was to be done away? How was it done away? It was replaced by a greater glory. 2 Corinthians 3, 8. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit? He talked about in verse 7, the ministration of death. The 10 commandments written in stone. But in verse eight, he talks about the ministration of the spirit, and he's talking about God writing in your heart, in the fleshly tables of your heart, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the word of God, and bringing you to know the Lord by the heart. How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation The law did not save anybody. Nobody was ever saved. Not one person was ever saved by the law. Not one sin was ever forgiven or cleansed by the law. By the law shall no man be justified. So if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. Moses' face shone. His was the only one. Nobody else's face shown, just Moses. And that was because he was in the presence of God. And so, that law that they brought said, thou shalt not. And men had to say, yeah, but I did. That said, that law said, thou shalt. But men, in all honesty, said, but I didn't. So, They could not keep the law. There's only one being that ever kept the law perfectly. And that's Jesus Christ. And it is by his obedience and death and atonement that we are accepted in him. And we are accepted in the beloved. All right, where were we? For if the ministration of condemnation, 2 Corinthians 3, 9, be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. And I love this 10th verse. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that exceleth. Now, what does that mean? That which was made glorious, the giving of the law, it was so overshadowed by a greater glory that it didn't seem to have any glory at all once the gospel came. What are you talking about? Okay. Come on with me. It's midnight. We're going into a warehouse. We can't find the light switch. There are no windows. The doors are shut. It's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. But you say, wait a minute, I got a match. You strike a match and hold it up and you say, wow, that's great. But then another fellow says, wait a minute, I've got an eight cell flashlight. And he turns that thing on, boom, whoosh. And all of a sudden, that light that you were glorying in and praising God for, of that little penny match, is so overcome by the great power of that 8-cell flashlight, that it doesn't seem like it's worth anything anymore. When you had darkness, the penny match was great! But when you had the flashlight, The penny match doesn't seem to be glorious anymore. What does that mean? It means that when God gave the law, it was great. God was manifest. God was teaching man how to live with Him. Strike that match. Look how great it was. But it says in Matthew 4, verse 16, you can look it up. They that sat in darkness have seen a great light, and Jesus began to preach. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So listen, the law was great and good. It separated Israel from all the rest of the nations and it made a great manifestation in that darkness, in that world. But when the Holy Ghost came on Pentecost and the power and the revelation of God came far greater than an eight cell flashlight, the light came on And the law became like a penny match in a black warehouse compared to the glory of the illumination of the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about. He says, or even that which was made glorious, got my match. Nobody else has got any light like this in the Old Testament. Philistines, you know, the Jebusites and all them other sites, you know, the Hagarites and all them folks, they didn't have anything. We got a petty match. It's the greatest light there is on earth right now. But wait a minute. But that which is perfect has come. Those that sit in darkness have seen a great light. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He that walketh with me shall not walk in darkness. Oh, dear soul, the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the glory that excelleth. It's the glory that is far greater than any law given to Moses. God's word said, as we read in Luke 16, that Abraham could say to the rich men in hell, they have Moses and the prophets. That was enough back then. Jesus told the Pharisees, if you were Moses' seed, you'd believe in me. For Moses saw my day and he was glad, John chapter 8. But listen, when the Lord Jesus Christ came, that glory that seemed to be glorious was just a ministration of death. It was dealing with the law, and the law could not justify a single soul, could not forgive a single sin, but Jesus Christ came and said, come unto me all you that labor in a heavy labor, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, and you shall find rest to your souls. Nobody Can, nobody had ever, nobody shall ever be able to offer you soul rest upon your memorization of the words of the scriptures. But I can offer you and tell you in truth that you shall find rest to your souls if you come to that which is the purpose of the Scriptures and that is to bring you to the person of the words. These things are written. Why is your Bible written? That you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and believing in Him you might have life. That, dear soul, is the gospel. Hallelujah. Isn't that good? So he says, the sending of the law was so great light that it was just rejoiced in, but said, wait a minute, we found the light switch and we threw it on and all the great lights hanging from the ceilings and all the walls in that warehouse suddenly came on and man, it was like noonday sun in there. That's the difference between the law and the person of Jesus Christ the light of the world. And he said, He that follows after me shall have the light of life. I'm not just the light of the world. And he says that God gives light to every man. John chapter 1 verse 9. And what does that mean? Mental ability, mental capability, the ability to speak, the ability to understand speech, the ability to perceive, the ability to think, He lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, John 1, 9. But he that followeth after me shall have the light of life, spiritual life. the light of the glory of God that excelleth all other lights. This is the glorious gospel of Christ. This is why the scriptures were written. Don't use the scriptures and don't dedicate yourself to the scriptures and help yourself get to hell. Come to Christ. He is the Word. He actually said, I am Alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, and I am Omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet. And bless your heart, son. Listen, He's every letter in between. He's everything that God has to enunciate to you who God is. Jesus is God's alphabet. He is God's Word. He is the Word that is God. He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. He is the glory that excelleth. 2 Timothy 3. 2 Timothy 3. beginning with verse 14. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Now, of whom was the Apostle Paul speaking? He was speaking to Timothy who had come to know the Gospel through the teaching of the Apostle Paul. But he goes beyond that. He says, The things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of. Dear soul, when that preacher is preaching to me the truth of God's Word, I can learn what he is saying, but I am made assured that those are the words of God by the indwelling Holy Spirit. So the apostle is not just talking about himself and Timothy and their teaching sessions. He was talking about himself and Timothy and their teaching sessions accompanied by and provided with the presence of the Holy Spirit. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hath been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. And aren't we glad that there are those of us that were taught the scriptures from our youth? They were songs that we sang. They were the word of God. That was good. He says, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. Listen, which are, it didn't say that they made you saved and brought you salvation, but the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." I don't know how it happened. I know not how God convinces men of sin. The Spirit moves convincing men of sin. He said, but I know whom I have believed. One day you were standing there singing those same songs that you sang from your youth. But all of a sudden, without human hand, without human tongue, without anybody trying to explain to you, there was an explanation that came from the depth of your soul. And the Holy Spirit made you understand and perceive for the first time what those little childish songs and verses meant that you had been taught. And they turned into something different than you had ever known before, and now the scales fall away from your eyes, and now you are beginning to behold the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, well, I wasn't brought up like that. I didn't come up in a Christian home. I didn't have anybody teaching me like that. Well, you do have somebody that taught you like that if you were a born-again believer. It doesn't matter whether you were or were not raised in a Christian home, and whether you did or did not memorize verses and sing songs according to the Scriptures. God will, in every single conversion of every single soul that has ever been born again, will convey and change them from searching the Scriptures to finding the Lord Jesus Christ. Search the Scriptures. Write. Teach the child the memory verses, the Bible verses. Let them sing the songs that children sing concerning Christ. But understand and know this, search the Scriptures. I know we think in them we have eternal life, but we don't have eternal life in the Scriptures until they testify of the person of the Word by the Holy Spirit. Many miracles that Jesus did that wasn't written down. Why? Because they were not conducive to regeneration. Good master, I know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. So says Nicodemus in John chapter three and verse number one. Jesus said, Nicodemus, you know what? You need to be born again. He would not commit himself to Nicodemus, although Nicodemus was trying to flatter Christ and commit to Christ some flattering words. Jesus thought too much of him to leave him right there. And I'm glad that God thought too much of us, those of us that learned the Scriptures, whether we were young or old, whether we were middle-aged or whether we were youth. It didn't matter. God came to us. And He conveyed to us Himself, the Person of the Word. There is no other name given among men under heaven whereby you must be saved. Not the Word, the Bible. Not the Word, the Scriptures. But it is only the Word, the Person, the Name, Jesus Christ. He is the only One in whom we can believe. 2 Timothy 3. 15, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The scriptures are not to be thrown away, but they're not to be believed in of themselves. They are not the one that saved you. Think not that, you know, well, let me go and finish that verse. I was quoting the wrong verse. Think not that I have come to destroy the law and the prophets. I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. God's not going to do away with the scriptures. He's going to build upon them and bring you to an understanding and make you understand and see these things are written that ye might believe. Approach the scriptures as that which is necessary for you to convey to your heart and mind, uh, through studying and searching the scriptures. But only as the Holy spirit can apply Christ to you by the scriptures. Can you have salvation? So he says in verse 16, second Timothy three 16, all scripture is given. You can't buy it. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. You've heard it said often, it's still true. The word inspiration means God breathed. He breathed the word. It is the God breathed book. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." So the scriptures are used by the Lord to convey Himself so that you might come to know Him and that is salvation. But then you can't put them down. The scriptures are also not only able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus, but they are also profitable to make you to be able to be furnished for all good works for all the rest of your life. You never ever get away from the necessity of studying the scriptures of God. And I don't care how many times you study a passage, The next time you study it, you're going to get something different out of it. You know why? Because back then when you studied them, you might have just been a woman or a man, not married, just single. You didn't need the scriptures that those need that are married. Then you get married. Then you read the same scripture. It means something different. It doesn't mean the same thing as it does to those married people that have children. But you then come from being a single person to a married person and then to be a parent. You have children. You read the Scriptures again. It means something different. And on and on we go. Every stage of life brings a necessity of the Scriptures to be applied to you in that particular need. John 7, verse 17. John 7, verse 17. They asked, we read this last week, I'll back up to John. 714. Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? How does he know the ABCs? How does he know the scriptures? How does he know the things of the Israelite faith? Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine. I didn't need to go to school to get this. It's not by education. It's by inspiration. My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. What I'm telling you is that which God the Father is telling me. Now listen, and you can get in on this. How? John 7, 17. If any man will do his will, He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak from myself." So, dear soul, if any man desires to do God's will, if you are in it and you are exercising yourself in doing God's will, it opens up the doctrine to you. So you were doing God's will as a born-again single young lady. You were doing God's will as a born-again single young man. But when you two got married, now you're doing God's will in a different stage of life and you need the Scriptures to help you in that particular stage to know how to walk in and out before God in that particular experience. So the experiences of life bring on revelation of God by the Spirit according to your need. We have three children and inevitably one of the two oldest ones would come and say, why do you let the baby get away with such? You wouldn't let me get away with that. And we say, yes, you got away with it when you were their age. But you're not their age now. The requirement and the responsibility of you is according to your age. And I give you the word from your parent as what you need to be doing according to where you are in life right now. They're not that way. You can't put on a three-year-old what you would put on a 10-year-old. You can't instruct a three-year-old in the way you could a nine-year-old. It is a progression in life, a progression of need, a progression of hunger, and therefore it is a progression of revelation. And as you grow in grace, that just answers it right there. You grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord God. So we say, if any man desires to do his will, he'll know the doctrine. It's according to where you are in life, that's how God can teach you. You can go back, and I don't recommend it, back to that old country church for the homecoming day, whatever that means. And you sit there and you say, This used to really be something to me, but now I'm not getting anything out of this." And you finally learn it's just not good to turn around and go back to that which you left. The Christian's armor is all on the front of him. There's none on the back. And you need to forget those things which are behind and press on towards the mark. And what they want you to do is come in and honor their religious affiliation with you, and get all emotional. Well, you can't work up emotions if the Holy Spirit has already conquered your heart and helped you to conquer those inordinate affections. So, you've grown out of it, is what I'm trying to say. Matthew 24 and verse 35. Listen. and earth shall pass away. Wait a minute now. Wait a minute now. Have you ever been anywhere else? You say, well, we flew out to see my cousin out in California. So we were in the heavens in that airplane. Yep. And then you landed on earth and there you are back on earth. And everything you've ever done has been on planet Earth. And every bit of that in which you have been given an arena to act out your life and act out that which God has destined you to be is going to pass away. Wait a minute. It's like standing on an iceberg. or a chunk of iceberg that's broken away and you're floating out into the ocean and you're getting into warmer and warmer currents of water and climate. And that iceberg is getting smaller and smaller and smaller and you say, ah, this thing is going to dissolve, right? Heaven and Earth is going to dissolve. Everything that's ever supported you, sustained you, and given you the ability to say, this is tangible, this is, you know, the way it is, we get up and we understand that gravity is there so we can get out and put our feet on the floor. We understand that when we're going to pour our coffee, gravity is going to be there to bring it down from the pot to the cup. But all that's going to be gone away. Everything you've ever experienced and where you've experienced it is going to pass away. You say, well, wait a minute, don't leave me on that iceberg that's melting. Watch the rest of the verse. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. then I'm going to swap my iceberg or that portion that I was standing on for the Word of God. Because God the Word said His Word shall never pass away. I'm going to put all my eggs in that basket. I'm going with that. So now I am dedicating my life, not only to the searching of the Scriptures and the believing that they bring me to the person of the Word, but also to the searching of the Scriptures to bring to you, for your soul's good and for your future, that you will have something to stand on when your iceberg finally melts down to nothing. And you'll say, heaven and earth shall pass away, but I'm not trusting in heaven and earth. I'm not trusting in longitude and latitude. I'm not trusting in climate. I'm not trusting, you know, in food. I'm not trusting in water. I'm trusting in the person of the Word of God. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day. It's not I know what I have believed. It's I know whom I have believed. And what was it we read you in John chapter 1 verse 1 and 14? And the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The only, the only person of God is named the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one thing that you can do that the Scriptures will help you in. They are they which testify of Me, He said. So study the written Word in order to come to the Person of the Living Word. That's how it's supposed to be. Let me finish with one other verse. John 10 and verse 35. And we want to end this session with this verse and hopefully begin the second session with this verse. John 10, 35. If he called them gods, unto whom the Word of God came. And those of you that are at home, would you finish that verse out? Would you just read it out loud? John 10, 35. If He called them gods, unto whom the Word of God came. Thank you. And the Scripture cannot be broken. We were changing around some of the things in the cabinets, and being the tall one, I was given the responsibility to reach up on the top shelf. Well, there were those glasses that we have never used with stems on them, and I had to get them down. Well, as I was trying to get them down, one of them slipped out of my hand, and it broke all the pieces. We had glass everywhere. is on the countertop and on the floor. We did everything we could to make sure we got all the little pieces of glass to get it up and put it in the trash can. And I found out those glasses can be broken. But that verse right there tells you the scriptures cannot be broken. Somebody says, well, the Bible said this in one place and it says this in the other. So it contradicts itself. No, it don't. What that means is you don't understand the Scriptures. Because the Word of God says of itself, the Scriptures cannot be broken. Everything you have can be broken. That's why they want to sell you a maintenance contract on everything you buy. Bought a new refrigerator, you want a maintenance contract? Why? Is it going to break down? Well, it might, and you just need... I bought a new car. Well, you want a maintenance contract? Why? Because it can wear out, it can break down. But dear soul, the Scriptures cannot be broken. You don't need a maintenance contract on the Word of God. You can put your eternal life and trust your soul and your eternal being to the Word of God because the Word of God is the person of Jesus Christ. May God bless you. Thank you for your attention.