2 Timothy 3. While you're turning, I'll go ahead and introduce our guest speaker this morning. Not guest, I guess our resident speaker. This is Pastor Eric. We'll be preaching this morning. We'll be introducing the topic of spiritual disciplines, and we'll be doing a series for the next few weeks on spiritual disciplines. This is something that we do every year as a church. It's a reminder God has given us the ability to grow in grace. Discipline is a good thing for our lives. Pastor Eric will be beginning that series on the importance of God's Word. We've taken our Scripture reading from 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. This has been the reading of God's Word. all this morning. So good to see Pastor Matt and Miss Becky back home. And most of you that have gone for holidays, great to see you back home to the church. This morning I'd like to speak to you on the subject of spiritual discipline. The topic would be on God's Word and the importance of God's Word. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man, woman, boy, girl, child of God may be perfect or mature, truly finished unto all good works. Thank you Pastor Matt for reading the scripture this morning. Spiritual disciplines for us are good. As a child of God and those whom we profess to be believers and Christians and those of us who say we are a child of God, spiritual discipline is a must. Spiritual discipline is a Something that helps us in our growth towards spiritual maturity as we daily are transformed by the scriptures to become more and more like Him in word, in deed, in thought, even in responses to others. So what are spiritual disciplines? What are spiritual disciplines? Well, I dug some answers and there's various of types of spiritual disciplines that we can instill in our lives to be better child of God, better Christians, There's Bible reading, Bible study, prayer, fasting, tithing, missions giving, witnessing, journaling, worship, submission, integrity of the heart, abstention, or Sabbath, that's one day out of the rest to have rest. Or even silence and solitude, et cetera. Some go as far as denying themselves, and some go even far as getting whipped and whipping themselves, okay? And those are called spiritual disciplines. But this morning, I will not encourage you to whip yourself. But the others, yes. All these have one thing in common. It takes commitment. It takes practice. It takes faithfulness. It takes consistency. And most importantly, it takes intentionality. You have to be intentional to grow mature in a Christian life. And so that is discipline. We know that all disciplines can come under three main categories. One, the Bible. That's God's Word. Two, prayer. That's having God's attention, His ear. And three, fellowship. That's belonging to the body of God's Son, Christ. Three most important spiritual disciplines. The Bible, his word, prayer, getting his attention, his ear, and fellowship with one another, belonging to the body of Christ. You take care of this tree, and the rest, you can't do it, except for the flagellation or whipping yourself. This morning I want to speak to you about the Bible and why it's important to our spiritual growth and our well-being. When someone asks you, do you believe the Bible is God's Word? What would be your response as a child of God? What is your response to this question? Do you believe the Bible is God's Word? There are four possible responses. One, because the Bible says so. Two, because my father and mother say so. Three, because I heard this from Sunday school. Four, because my pastor says so. These are good answers. Yes, they are. But these are elementary. really draw the person who's asking the question to the Savior. See, as a child of the Most High God, our answers must be informative and in-depth when we answer these questions. What is the Bible? And why is it important for me? Just two points this morning. I want us to look at this most important book that is on your lap this morning. Firstly, the origin of the Bible. The Bible itself, as we all can agree, it is God's Word. And we agree to that. We know it is God's Word. But do we understand how did God transmit His Word that you are now holding, that you claim that is God's Word? So we need to understand that. to greatly appreciate that this is God's Word and when I read it, it's going to help me in my life. This is God's Word and when I trust it and believe it and apply it to my life, there will be changes. We need to understand where and how God gave us His Word. So the Bible itself claims that it is God's Word. We don't need to back it up. We don't need to say, yes, it's God's Word. The Bible itself claims itself to be God's Word. And so there are 3,800 times in the Bible where it says, thus saith the Lord. 3,800 times, thus saith the one who created all things, the One who is immutable, the One who is all-powerful, the One who is self-existent, the One who doesn't need anything because He created everything, thus said this Lord and His words were written in this book. So millions of books are written about this book. And millions more are written on how to interpret this book. And millions are written that talk about this book. And millions and millions are written on how to study this book. And then they're translated into millions of languages, hundreds of languages, just for this book. This book has divine origin. This book comes from God himself. That is why the whole earth cannot contain the study of this book. Because this is God's word. No other book in history of mankind can outlive, outnumber, or outsell, or even outprint the Bible. It's divine. God's Word. It is God's Word. It is a revelation of the almighty, terrible God who created this universe and all other galaxies and stars that man have yet to find. God. There are some names that are given to the Bible, and I'll go through them. The Bible is sometimes called the book of Moses, the book of prophecy, The book of the covenant, the book of the law, the book of truth, the commands or commandments, covenants, the gospel, the gospel of Christ, the gospel of God, the gospel of grace, his decrees and statuses, holy scriptures, perfect law, law and the prophets, living word, lively oracles, thought of the Spirit, the Word, the Word of Christ, the Word of faith, the Word of God, the Word of His grace, the Word of life, the Word of the Lord, the Word of truth. Those are just some names that the Bible calls itself. And men down through history have called and referred to the scriptures that are on your lap this morning. And then there are some symbols that are tied to the Bible, like the mirror. It's called a mirror because it reflects the mind of God and the true condition of mankind. It's called a seed because when it's planted, Out from it comes good fruit. It's called water because it cleanses and refreshes and quenches the thirst of the soul and the spirit. It's called a lamp because it shows us where we are now and guides us to where we can go in our next step. It's called a sword. Because the only offensive spiritual defense against Satan is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It's called nourishing food like milk, honey, bread, or meat. The Word of God is called Haman. It breaks down barriers, tears down, and it builds up. And the word of God is called fire. It's called fire because it has the ability to judge, to purify, and to consume. You have that on your lap this morning. And God in revealing himself and revealing his will, revealed to us in two ways. One through general revelation in nature. God reveals His existence and His glory. You find that in Psalm 19. And then He reveals His omnipotence and He's the judge of the whole world in nature. You find it in Romans 1 and verse 18. And then in Providence, He reveals Himself as He gives to you what you need. And in Providence, He sends your way a destruction so that you will not come into hurt or anything that is going to destroy you. And then in your conscience, He reveals His Word and His will. God reveals the places in your heart where He keeps. his revelation. And then special revelation, how God reveals to us his mind, his will, and his words. We find that in scriptures, and then we find that in Jesus Christ our Lord, and then we find that in the words of Jesus as he has left them for us, thus we have that in our hands this morning. Not only that, we see the divine revelation. See, revelation or apocalypses or a revealing or an unveiling or a disclosure Simply it's God removing a veil just to show us a tiny glimpse of himself. Just enough for our finite mind to grasp and understand and grow towards his likeness daily. God revealed himself to mankind in the Garden of Eden He revealed his will, his words, everything that he wanted Adam to know, he gave to Adam. And after Adam's sin, God revealed more to Adam. His will, his promises, his grace, his love, his directions, his righteousness. Adam lives for 930 years. And Adam passes on the word from God in its purity to those who heard him. Enoch walked with God, we all know that. Adam was alive when Enoch walked with God. Where did Enoch get the words from? He got that from Adam, who got it from the very mouth of God. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, because God took him for his righteousness. Lamech, the father of Noah, where did he know how this righteousness would be? Where did Noah know this righteousness? Where did Noah know these words? They came from his great-grandfather Enoch, who heard it from Adam. given to him by God. And so the Word of God in its purity, in its purity comes down to one man, Noah, and then comes down all the way through to the tenth generation, Abraham. Abraham holds on to the very words that God spoke from his mouth and gave to Adam. And Adam gave to his sons, and his sons gave to their sons, and his sons gave to their sons. And the very pure words of God, Abraham held. because Abraham's great-great-great-great grandfather was still alive when Abraham walked this earth. How do I know? I just counted the years. The very words of God were preserved by God himself. You see, man preserve his mind, his will, his righteousness, his laws. And so Abraham has children and Jacob has 12 of them. And Jacob is brought into Egypt and the Word of God in its pure form was incubated And a tribe was born. That tribe that is going to be responsible to birth the Word in its fleshly form. In its flesh. Christ Jesus. And the very words of God became flesh, and He dwelt among us. We beheld Him. We beheld the very glory of God the Father in His Son Jesus. And His very words, with His Father's words, were preserved. And we have them this morning. Right there in your hands. right there on your laps this morning. The very words of God, how we reveal them through men up until to Christ. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life that is in Him is your light. The Word was made flesh and it dwelt among us, and we beheld its glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." God's Word has become flesh in His Son, Jesus. Friends, one day, one day, John saw this coming and John said, I saw heaven open and behold a white horse and he that sat upon that white horse is called faithful and true and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as flames of fire and in his head were as many crowns and he had a name that was no man knew but he himself and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and catch this and his name is called the Word of God. You have it on your lap this morning. God made himself flesh. The scriptures are God's revelation of himself And then we see the inspiration of this revelation, the revelation of God's Word by general revelation and special revelation is possible, factual, and alive because it is by the Holy Spirit of God who has given the inspiration, and the inspiration of it has preserved this revelation that we have this morning. The inspiration of God through His Holy Spirit also guarantees the accuracy of this revelation. My friends, you hold in your hands pure Word of God in its most accurate form in your laps this morning. 1 Peter 2 verse 1 and 21, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 3, 16a says, All scripture is given by the theonistos, the inspiration of God. And this is the only use of that word, theionustos, in the Bible. When in 2 Timothy 3, 16, God says, I breath my life into this one. The word of God comes out as a breath from his mouth. and it is preserved by man. Matthew chapter 4 verse 4, the Bible says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, man shall not live by rice alone, man shall not live by cocoa alone, let's bring it home, Man shall not live by fish alone, man shall not live by banana alone, or water alone, but by every, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. Jesus was quoting his father's words when he said those words. He was just repeating what his father said in Deuteronomy. Matthew 5 verse 18, Jesus said, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth shall pass, not one jot or tittle shall pass in no wise from this law until all is fulfilled." So in answering the first question, what is the Bible? It is God's revelation of himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is true and accurate in its revelation. The Word of God is infallible. Word of God is inerrant. A question may be asked, what about those extra books in the Bible? Like the book of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, or book of Banshirach, Baruch, Letters of Jeremiah, Book of Daniel, Prayer of Azariah, all the other books that were taken off from this. All right, what about those books? Because some may have those books in between your testaments, the old and the new. What about those books? Because most Bibles now, they have taken out those books, and there are only 66 books that we call the Bible. 39 and 27. But what about those books? Well, let me help you with this. There is a word called canon. Canon is city. Canon means books or letters that are compiled together as a whole. And this we have with us are books and letters compiled together, makes one whole, and it's called a Bible. It's a canon of God's Word. Canon of Scripture. The word comes from the Greek canon or the Hebrew kaneh, signifying a measuring rod or a measuring tape. And with this measuring rod, they qualify each letter of book or writing to become one in thought and story. It's a test. It's a test. And so this test is put in this way. Did the book indicate divine authorship? No. Did it reflect God speaking through a mediator? No. Was the human author a spokesman of God? Was he a prophet or did he have prophetic gifts? No. Was the book historically accurate? No. Did it reflect a record of actual facts? No. How was the book received by the entire Jewish communities? All those questions were the measuring rod. And so because those questions were asked, 39 books passed. The rest were discarded because they didn't flow with the thought of the 39. And so we have 39 in the Old Testament. And then a similar test on a road of measurement is employed when scrolls of the New Testament letters were found. And how did the church recognize that these books were canonical? One, apostolicity. Was the author an apostle? Did he have a connection with apostles? Was he there as an eyewitness? Did he have second-hand information? And all, was it accepted by the churches in the early days? The content, did a book reflect consistency of doctrine with what has been taught already? Inspiration, did a book reflect the quality of inspiration? The apocrypha, the middle books, and the pseudo epigrapha were rejected because they didn't meet the test. This book themselves should bear evidence of the Holy Spirit, but they didn't meet this test. So they were taken out of the canon and 27 books qualified to make it 66, 39, and 27. And that is called canon. And if you look at it carefully, God is in that work. God makes sure His Word is purified. God makes sure His Word is recorded. God makes sure that His Word is canonized into one. And we have it right here on our laps this morning. Question two, why is it important for me? Why is the Bible important for you? Why is it important? Why? All Scripture is this. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Why is it important? Because the words in the Bible can pierce your heart. Not like any other words. The words in the Bible can pierce your heart. You don't need me to come and point at you and tell you you're a sinner. You don't need me. Read the Bible. The Bible will pierce your heart. No other book in this world can do that. When Peter preached in the day of Pentecost, everyone that heard Peter preach were pricked in the heart. Acts 2, 37. My friend, change comes from the heart. If the heart is not changed, there will not be any change in your life, no matter how hard you try. There will not be any genuine change. The change is not from your heart. See, you and I cannot reach in and do that change. It is out of our reach. Only God can change your heart to effect a genuine change. And only His Word can pierce your heart. It does not only pierce the heart, but it reveals the heart. Hebrews 4, 12, 4, the Word of God is quick, it's alive, and it's powerful, and it's sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing ascender of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrows, and it's a dissenter of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. The Word of God. Jeremiah 17 verse 9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Only God Himself. See, that is why we need to guard our hearts. That is why you need change in your heart. And the only change that can come in your life and my life is when the Word does His work in our hearts and lives. Jesus, in speaking with the people, spoke to them with the intent of drawing them to the Father. You and I as believers, Every time we speak to men, women, boys or children, our friends and our families, we need to speak to them with the intent of drawing them to the Father. And there is no other word apart from God's Word that can draw someone to God himself. Accept God's Word. God's Word is profitable. 2nd Timothy 3 16 and B says it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It's profitable. That means it increases your quality. It increases you as a human being. It helps you. It helps me. It establishes right beliefs. When the believer appropriates the words of God and internalizes it, the Word of God creates a basis in your heart for a godly life. At this point, you should understand now that good life, a godly life, a clean life, a holy life is nothing that you and I can do in our own power but by His Word alone and His power alone. Psalm 119 verse 11, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. It's profitable. John 15, verse 3, Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. It's profitable. Word of God is profitable. Not only it establishes right belief, but it also produces a right kind of behavior in our lives. John 15, verse 4 and 5, Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you or me bear any fruit of any kind except we abide in him. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abided in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Christians, do you want much fruit in your life? Abide in Him. Abide in His words. Abide in Him. What's the last phrase here? For without Me, ye can do nothing. What is Jesus talking about? What is that without Him we cannot do? It is the fruit bearing. that should come out in our lives. Without Jesus, without His words, you cannot bear love, joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, and all the fruit of the Spirit. You cannot. You need to abide in Him and in His words. Because those fruit that the Bible talks about are not our fruit, His fruit. and he alone can bear those fruit in our lives if we allow him. The first Sunday of 2025, all other days in this year will hinge on your spiritual discipline generally. How disciplined will you be going forward or how disciplined Where you end, will you continue that discipline? Or will you increase that discipline? Maybe for some, you need to begin a new discipline process in your life. And this morning, I want to beg you, read God's word. Read God's word. Start with one verse. day. Read His Word and ask God questions as you read His Word. If He is your Heavenly Father, His Spirit will reveal to you other scriptures to answer your questions. Ask your Father. Begin a new death relationship. Ephesians 5 verse 9, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Galatians 5, 22 and 23, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. Not only God's Word is profitable to establish right beliefs, not only is it profitable to produce right behavior, but it is also profitable to empower you with grace to do that which is right in His sight. Philippians 2 verse 13, for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. You see, in our flesh, in our humanity, without God and apart from God, we don't have that inclination to try to please God. We don't have. And when we try to gather up and muster up strength to do good things, God is not pleased because they are not done in faith with Him. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. The only way for man to please God is to come to a relationship with His Son, Jesus. And then every good things that you do and I do will be pleasing to Him. So as a child of God, as we go into His Word, and as we appropriate His Word, as we study His Word, and as we learn his word and memorize his word. He works in us the desire and the strength for us to do his good pleasure. 2 Peter 1 verse 5 to 7 says this, and besides this give all diligence and to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness bodily kindness, and to bodily kindness charity. How can you add that to your life? You cannot on your own. I cannot on my own. The power is given to me by God himself. to add those to my life. And then the Word of God is dependable. My friend, the Word of God is dependable. Can I say that again? The Word of God is dependable. It is dependable. Don't depend on my words. I may fail you. I'm just a man like you. But the Word of God will never fail you. It builds you up that the man of God, that the woman of God, that the child of God, that the youth of God may be perfect or mature, truly furnished or equipped for all good work. See, God's Word is dependable. It gives you the tools you need in your life to build your life. It brings maturity, that a man of God may be perfect. Psalm 1, verses 1 to 3, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but is delighted in the law of the Lord, and in his law that he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and that brings forth fruit in his season. His leaf shall also not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. My friend, a life that is rooted in him and in his word is a life that will bring honor and glory to him. The prosperity spoken in here is not money or physical gain. It is the prosperity of your spiritual life, your maturity, your faith in God. And as those changes come about, the added blessings will come to your life in the physical realm. Study to show thyself, 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So the person that asks you, do you believe in God's word? And if your answers are shallow, come back again to the word. Read the Word. Study the Word. Ask your Heavenly Father, Lord, Father, reveal to me your will. Reveal to me yourself, so I can properly, I can with power and with great information, reveal you to those I am about to help, I want to help. Many times, We walk around ill-equipped, trying to help others. And in the process, we join their sadness and their sorrow, and we drown with them. Because we are not equipped. We are not studying or reading the Bible ourselves. It equips for ministry. does not only bring maturity, it equips you for ministry. Thoroughly finishes unto all good works. The Word of God is powerful. Don't just read it, study it, and it will change your life. And then it will change the lives of those that are around you. How can it do that? Because your life is changed. Your life becomes a lighthouse. Your life becomes a living gospel. So that those around you, without first you speaking to them about God, they will see God in you. They will be drawn by the Spirit of God. Because why? God has equipped you for the ministry of one. presenting him to others, too, of bringing together in reconciliation. It helps you speak into situations, helping many who need counseling, direction, or those who are contemplating suicide broken lives, broken marriages, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, those who are traumatized in life. The world is full of people who need Jesus. And I need to know Jesus so that I can share Him with those who need Him. But how can I know Him? How can I know Him if I don't read His Word? How can I know Him if I don't study His Word? How can I know Him if I don't have that driving me to know Him more? We need to know Him more so that we can share Him. People in this world need Jesus. They need God in their lives. God sent forth himself his son into the world so that man might be saved. And we have his very words with us. We need to appropriate those words so we can go out and bring man into the kingdom of God. Without his power, without his spirit, without his words, Our lives will be of no effect. Our lives will be of no effect for those who are with us. And so those who have been saved recently, I have something for you this morning. Those of you who have been saved recently, 1 Peter 2 and 2 says, as newborn babes, as those who are born into this family. Desire the sincere milk of the word. Why? Why? That you may grow mature thereby. In my flesh, I want to be rebuked, but I will not do it. I will allow God's Word to rebuke us. Hebrews 5 verse 12 to 14, the Bible reads, For when the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have become such as have the need To drink milk, not strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness. For those who have been saved recently, read the word. Grasp the word. Drink the milk of His word. This rebuke is for those who are supposed to be teachers at this point, is for those who are supposed to eat meat at this point, who are not, who are drinking milk, even though they have been saved for a long time. Strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, matured, Even those by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The church needs men, women, boys and gals who are matured in the Word. Your maturity comes when you are in the Word. Because if you are not in the Word, if you don't take the meat of the Word, the milk of the Word, you will not grow. A baby needs milk. But a baby, as it grows, doesn't stay on milk forever. Against nature. A man who is 20-year-old cannot survive drinking milk all the time. He needs meat. Come on, give me a T-bone steak. Me less no pulse, me like him T-bone steak. If you have been saved for so many years, brother, sister, The Word says here we need to discern both good and evil. And if we are not matured, if we are not in the Word, that discernment may not be there. You may think wrong is right and right is wrong. But you don't have the discernment. You don't know because you don't read the Word. Again, if you're saved new, read the Word. I encourage you to read the Word. If you have any issues, any questions, as you read the Word, Papa John is here, Pastor Matt is here, myself, I'm here. Come ask us questions, but read the Word, read the Word. There you will grow thereby. Spiritual discipline of reading, meditating, and studying the Word of God is an absolute necessity for anyone who calls themselves a child of God. If you are a child of God, it's a necessity for you to read and to know and understand your Father in Heaven. You call Him Father? Know Him! He wants to be known of you. Know Him. You will know and exercise dissentment against the enemies of the believer. We have enemies, my friend. We have enemies. As a child of God, as a believer, we have enemies and the Bible points them out. The world, the flesh, and the devil. Three enemies that fight us daily, bombard us daily, to get us to disobey our Father. 1 John 2 verse 15, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. John is talking to believers. Don't love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, The love of the Father is not in him. What is John saying? If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. He's not saying that if you love the world, God will dislike you and send you to hell. He's not saying that. God is centered and seated on the throne of your heart. You love him. But when your love tends and loves the world, there's only one spot in your heart, one throne in your heart. God, as you love the world, he will lift that throne and you will sit the world in your heart. The love of a father is not in you because he's been pushed out by you. The wealth system The last of the flesh, the last of the eyes and the pride of life are the world system. And those are the things that draws us away from the Father. Also the flesh, our old nature, the old man. Galatians 5.17, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit. It fights, there's a war against the Spirit. And the Spirit against the flesh in us. And these are contrary one to another. They don't get along. So that you cannot do the things that you would. Romans, when Paul is talking about the fight that he has in his Christian life, he wants to do right, but he cannot because there's a man in him that wants to do wrong and many times overcomes the person that wants to do right. We have that fight, the spirit against the flesh. And then we have our final enemy, the devil, the wicked one. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, your enemy, the one who hates you, the one who wants to destroy your life, the one who wants to destroy your marriage, the one who wants to destroy your family, the one who wants to destroy your community, the one who wants to destroy this country, be sober. be vigilant because the enemy is a roaring lion. He walks about seeking whom he may devour. And if you are not in the Word, most likely you will be devoured in your life. And in conclusion this morning, This is what the Bible can do for you as a believer. This is what God's Word can do for you as a believer. The Bible upholds. It orders the steps. It produces joy. It strengthens. It gives hope. It gives light. It gives understanding. It shows God's will. It builds you up. It produces fruit. It convicts you of sins. It converts the soul. It cleanses the conscience. It consecrates life. It corrects the wrong. It confirms the right. And it comforts the heart. And this, my friend, the Bible can do for you. You are a believer. And you need the Bible. You need to read it. You need to hear it. You need to see it. You need to desire it. You need to preach it. You need to rightly divide it. You need to live by it. You need to use it. You need to suffer for it. And my friend, if need be, you need to die for it. God's holy word came down from the Father The ancient words, the ancient words is now in our laps. This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of the believer. Its doctrines are holy. It preserves a binding. Its histories are true. Its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise. believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to sustain you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, a pilgrim's staff, and a pilot's compass, a soldier's sword, and a Christian's charter. In here, paradise is restored, heaven is open, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is the grand object. Our good is the grand design. And the glory of God, its final end. It should fill our memory. It should rule our heart. It should guide our feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is given you in life. It will be open at the judgment. And these words will be remembered forever. And in closing, I want to read Psalm 19, verses 7 to 11. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The status of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart, The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eye. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgment of the Lord are true, righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, than a honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Oh, Father in heaven, help us this morning to love your word. Help us this morning to hide your words in our heart. May at this point forth, may we take your word and appropriate it And may you, by the power of your Spirit, live your life through us as we engulf ourselves in your Word. Church, 2025, the first Sunday of it. And may we, at this point, resolve to walk in the newness of life. May we walk with God. The only way we can do that is when we have a life that is disciplined. Do you have a life that is disciplined? Let's start this morning by having a disciplined life by reading His word. For His words are life this morning. Every eye bowed and every eye closed. Father, we thank you for the chance to have your Word, a light to our feet, a lamp to our path, and Lord, we thank you that you have not kept to yourself secret from us. Thank you that we can know what you want for us to do. It is not something that we have to wait for some special dream or vision, but instead, just open the Word. And so I pray that we would take it seriously for our lives, in Jesus' name, amen. As a pastoral staff, we have prepared