Lord God, our Father, as we come to you in prayer, we do so with the sentiments of that hymn still ringing in our ears and hearts. We thank you for the sentiments of which it speaks of our blessed Redeemer. Thank you, Lord, how wonderful it is that death is vanquished and tell it with joy, ye faithful, that we have a risen Saviour and one who is mighty to save. Thank you, Lord, that we can come and have this oasis of fellowship with you. We've worked one another in the middle of a busy working week. Thank you. We can take refreshment from you and we would confess that this is what we do need, Lord. We do need that spiritual refreshment of heart and an engagement with yourself through the Word of God by your Holy Spirit. So thank you for this privilege we have coming before you. This evening, remember those caring for little ones at home, or perhaps those not well, those away for duty or job responsibilities. We pray your blessing upon them, and we pray that in our time this evening, we may know the rich blessing of our God upon us. And we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. So, we can turn to Psalm 19, verse 1 to 14. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world In them he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward who can understand his errors cleanse me from secret faults keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer. Amen. Pray God's blessing upon his word. And it's to Psalm 19 that I want to turn your attention to this evening. Reading that psalm brings back lots of memories for me. because during my time at Highbury Baptist Church we had an outreach program where I was open air preaching every Tuesday whether on Holloway Road or Highbury Corner and before I began preaching I would always invariably read this section just to remind the people walking past, stopping to hear where we stood and what we believed. And the passage particularly from Psalm 19 was verses 7 to 11. Perhaps I'd like to read those again. Verses 7 to 11. This is the passage I always read. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. I want to begin a series of messages really based upon these words, and particularly verses 7 to 9, and I want to preface my comments by just putting to you a question, and this will be the theme in the time by God's grace I'm here on Thursday evenings. The question is this, why bother with the Bible? Or do you? Is it important to you? Well, if you're a believer, and most are, I think all are, we say, yes, it's very important to me. Well, it's not very important to many people, alas. And if it is important to us, we would say we are in a minority, sadly. So why do we think so much about the Bible? So in these series of messages, we're going to focus upon the role of the Bible in our Christian lives? Why bother with the Bible? And the answer in the first stanza is this, the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. And that's the phrase I want to speak on. It's the only book that brings life. This is what it says, the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. It's a remarkable few verses here describing the Bible. Describes it in six respects. There are six different descriptions of the Bible. The law of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the judgment of the Lord. And then there are what we would say characteristics of the Bible. It's perfect. It's pure. It's clean. It's true. And there are virtues. What it does, converts the soul. Rejoices the heart. Enlightens the eyes. Enduring forever. Writes us all together. And it's to be more desired than gold. Much fine gold. So, some tremendous truths here aren't there to reflect upon and consider. In one sense I think I read a commentary which said these three verses are a perfect summary of the longest psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119. And this is really so important and it's encouraging to me because it's confirmed by experience and by the study of the word itself. it says here then that the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul and we know well there are other scriptures that tie into that particular truth having been born again says Peter not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible through the word of God which lives and abides forever it's almost as if Peter said well I know all about Psalm 19 verse 7 And it's true in my experience and the experience of every Christian. And our Lord Jesus on the Emmaus Road opened the Scriptures on the things concerning Himself. And when you and I grasp spiritual truth from the Bible, it is because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has opened our minds to His truth. It's not our own ability that discerns spiritual reality is his gracious mercy to us. So why bother with the Bible? It's the only book that brings life. I want to see this under four headings really briefly, it's self-evident. The Bible can be ignored, and it often is. I remember doing evangelism in my second year at Bible College. I think I've said this before. I'd just been married about six weeks and I went to Northern Ireland to do evangelism. We were doing door-to-door work in Cork in the Republic of Ireland and we were trying to encourage people to read the Bible and one says, oh yes, I believe the Bible is a wonderful book, wonderful, wouldn't do without it, marvellous. Can I show you it? Oh yes, by all means, he got it off the shelf and it was cellophane-wrapped and he said, oh it's a wonderful book this, you know, look at the back pages, look at the photographs we have of the Pope, isn't it marvellous? I started to think to myself, well do you read it? Do you read this book? He said, oh no, it's too holy, it's a book to read. Don't read the book, I said, well I tell you what, read this book and your life will be transformed if you obey it. Now today and tomorrow, throughout the country, in courts of law, people will give evidence and they will place their hand upon the Bible to swear an oath to truthfulness. And yet they're totally ignorant, aren't they, of what the Bible says. And so the church was ignorant of the Bible for a thousand year period during the Dark Ages. And then, wonderfully, the scriptures were made known, discovered again through the Reformers such as Hus and Vingly and Luther, and the Reformation took place. We know, for example, in the history of Israel for a time, 200 years or more, the Bible was hidden and discovered in Josiah's reign. So many discard the Bible, many ignore the But we dare not do that, we dare not lay up to gather dust on our shelves. Now I know when we open the Bible we don't literally, physically, audibly hear a voice. But we sense, we sense God's authority don't we? Every time I read the Bible, I can't speak for anybody else but myself, every time I read it, I sense his authority. I was taking part in an induction of a friend of mine to the pastor at Braintree Evangelical Church on Saturday and I was asked to read the scriptures and I read from Revelation 1 and I was just amazed as I read it resonated with the authority of God himself. It's amazing, it's true. So we don't hear from We don't open the Bible and it speaks to us audibly, but we sense its authority and the spiritual power. I had a birthday card once from my son and daughter-in-law that did speak. You open it up and say, Daddy call, you know. You've seen those kind of novelty cards. Well, the Bible's not like that. Well, I have to say, sadly, it's an age where the Bible's despised and disregarded. Secondly, the Bible's great theme is the Lord Jesus Christ. This book, and this book alone, tells us about Jesus, who he is, what he did, why he did so, and why he's so important to us. Now, it's embarrassing to say this, but religious people can miss this out, and not realise this. Jesus had to take to task some religious people in his day and as he did so we say well it's not dissimilar to today actually for example he said these words that the scribes and the pharisees you search the scriptures for you think that you have in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me but you're not willing to come to me that you may have life. Strange this, isn't it? Strange being a diligent Bible student and missing out on the great theme of the Bible, which is the Lord Jesus Himself. And the great story of the Bible is Him from beginning to end. The story is, of course, as we know, the failure of the first Adam. Yes, he did exist, literally, historically. The failure of the first Adam and the victory of the second. That's the theme. The Lord Jesus, the second Adam, to our help and to our rescue came. Now this book, the Bible, is the only source material we have regarding Jesus. And so I say to people who deliberately choose to ignore the teaching of the Bible, you are ignoring Jesus when you ignore the Bible. For a Christian, not to bother with the Bible is a disgrace, isn't it? Yes, we would agree with that. To say you're not bothering with the Bible, what you're doing, you're saying, I'm not bothering with Jesus. Well, that can't be so, if we really want to be happy and joyful and growing in the Lord. I've heard people say that. That's a foolhardy and dangerous thing to do. And it's sad, but sometimes it's even seen in the church. and this is what Jesus said this is the spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and would betray him Now, I don't know about your testimony, but I know about mine, and it is this, when we take the scripture seriously, and when we seek to obey it, we engage with the Lord Jesus Christ himself by the Spirit, we do. So when we say, this church, and this is true, this church is a Bible-based church, By saying that, we're saying that this church is a Christ-centred church. Same thing. Being Bible-centred means being Christ-centred. Same as being a Bible-centred Christian means being a Christ-centred Christian. And this is what this great psalm says to us here. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The Bible's great theme is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the third thing is that the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is used by the Holy Spirit. The Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is used by the Spirit. It's the inspired Word of God. Again, those words of Jesus, the words I've spoken to you are Spirit and they are Life. Now, the people that you and I come across who are not Christians find this very difficult to accept or believe. Why is this? Well, we know the reason, don't we, that spiritual matters can only truly be understood to those to whom the Spirit of God reveals them. And He reveals those who are sincerely concerned to know the mind of God in the Word of God. And this is true. Here is a young Christian, me, 50 years ago, very green in the Christian faith, not knowing anything but having a desire, being taken to the Word of God, persuaded that it is indeed the Word of God, taking it seriously, leads to spiritual growth. By God's grace it was true for you as it was true for me. this is what the scripture says 1 Corinthians 2 verse 11 for what man knows the things of a man expect the spirit of man which is in him even so no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us of God and when we make the word of God known we can be sure that the Holy Spirit will use his word to his glory. One of the encouragements we had at Highbury in our years there was our evangelistic table just outside the church where lots of people were coming and going during our open air outreach and we had people come to us and said to us, are you the church that gives away Bibles? Well yes we were by God's grace and we had free grants and had avenues where we could get quite cheap bibles and it was our joy and privilege to give away the scriptures along with reading aids and thought to encourage people in doing that. Again that wonderful verse from 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 23, this is this word that confirms this scripture we're considering. having been born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible through the word of God which lives and abides forever now the word of God the Bible gave you and I a believer new life in Jesus that's how it happened that's how it happened so it means that how can you or I be indifferent to the Bible how can you and I not bother you and I ignore the Bible, we surely can't, can we? We have to give time daily in reading the scriptures and as families, husbands and wives, parents with children, have time with them, reading the Bible, speaking of the Bible, so important isn't it? How can we have a careless attitude to the scriptures? Surely not. having an indifferent attitude to the scripture I've noticed this as a pastor a back sitting Christian always neglects two things always neglects prayer always neglects the reading of the word how could we be indifferent to the word? we can't surely it's like being indifferent to the one who gave you birth, your mother You can't be indifferent to your mother, surely. My mother has been gone seven years, but I still have a love in my heart for her, a deep gratitude. And some of you, your mothers have gone, perhaps some to glory, passed away, but you still have that residual love in your heart for her. I'm so grateful for and those who have mothers still alive you love them you really love them surely surely that's right and that should be seen in families that we respect our parents our mother our father we've got friends of ours whose daughter has given them the cold shoulder for three months and because her they're both unsaved and an unconverted husband, it just ignores grandparents, it's unnatural isn't it, it's perverse. When I worked for the Civil Service, well 45 years ago or more, I was a visiting officer in Bermondsey and I was working for the Department of Health and Social Security and I visited a lot of older people in high-rise flats down Jamaica Road, Redriff Estate, and they were so lonely, these old people. Can't you stay for a cup of tea? They would say, stay a bit more, have a chat. I says, well, where does your son live? Oh, he lives at New Cross, just down the road. Do you see him? Oh, I haven't seen him for years. You think, oh, that shouldn't be that, should it? It shouldn't be like that. It's not as if their children were far away. They simply neglected their parents, their mother, their father. Well, how can we neglect the Word of God that's given us birth? How can we? We can't do that, surely. We can't do that. This is the instrument God used to bring us to new life. Surely we have a love for the Word. We want to be in the Word and study it. I can confirm this every time I read it. I'm persuaded of its authenticity and truthfulness and power and authority. The Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is used by the Holy Spirit. That's what we do in evangelism, just making the Word of God known. Let the Word do its work. The fourth and last thing, really, is this. The Bible proves to be the Word of God. The Bible proves to be the Word of God's Word. Do we make an idol of the Bible? No. Are we bibliometers? No. No we're not. But we acknowledge what this verse says, that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. This is no idolatry, but this is yielding obedience to the Scriptures. That's what it is. We say here, Lord, I yield to your word and I rejoice in it. I do rejoice as one has found great, great treasure. This is what Paul says to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. for this reason we also thank God without ceasing because when you receive the word of God which you heard from us you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God which is also effectively works in you who believe that's amazing isn't it as we receive the word by faith what do we find The Word of God works within us by the Holy Spirit. That's what happens. And it goes deeper than we would ever know. This book is more pervasive than anything you could possibly imagine. Now, you may have gone to hospital and had an x-ray. That's pervasive. MRI scan, and that's pervasive, but this far more so, far far more so. For the word of God, says Hebrews 4 verse 12, is living and powerful and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Motives, how can I know my own motives? How can you know yours? The Word of God knows our motives and knows our hearts. TV programs quite regularly that denigrate the Bible, put it to pieces. I was hearing an amazing testimony of a lady whose husband died last year, Christmas a year ago I think it was, I don't know if you heard that on Radio 4, and she was giving her testimony how as a Christian she could forgive those who killed her husband. And she did so because she knew Christ, she knew the Lord. And the Bible, she quoted quite regularly in the interview, you know, requires us to forgive or we won't be forgiven. It was a powerful testimony. But the BBC had to have another interview with a so-called religious professional who poured school on that kind of simplistic approach. And I thought, oh my word, why don't you just let the Bible speak? This is the book which traces through the glorious and wonderful plan of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the book that convicts us. It convicts us. Great book, Pilgrim's Progress, isn't it? Graceless, reading the book, the burden becomes greater and greater. And he must know, he must seek deliverance. This is the only book, my friends, that converts the soul. So let's praise God for this joyful reality. Let's pray. Thank you Lord for your word and bless it to us in Jesus' name.