Amen, if you would take your Bibles and turn to Deuteronomy chapter 32, Deuteronomy chapter 32, that's where we'll spend a bit of time. And it's a privilege to be here and preaching the word of God. And I'll try to stay in character. I won't try and deviate into any other preachers. If you were at the college talent show, you'll know what that's about, all right? But it's a, Amen, I'll stay in character. It's hard though, it's hard. But this message is gonna be a compilation. I had a sense of where I was going with this message once I found out that I would be preaching this service. And so automatically you begin to pray and you begin to think and try and discern what you're gonna preach on and ask the Lord first of all that he would show you what to preach on. major detail. And so as I was thinking about this, I was actually reading through this passage in my own private reading, and just this passage started to speak to me. And then as I looked at this one, and then we were looking at a message for the teens, and I began to study a message out. Then the Lord spoke to me about it, and so I preached one message to the teens, and now as I was preparing and trying to discern what to preach this evening, it's kind of both sermons combined, and so I got two sermons for you tonight. Alright, and so we've got a bit of time. Alright, don't worry about it. Let not your heart be troubled. Amen. But as we go through Deuteronomy chapter 32, and one of the things that got me thinking about really, that caught my attention is many times preachers or pastors They find different books or they clean out their library and get rid of their duplicate copies. And someone had donated quite a few number of books to the church or the college library and to the students. And so, of course, as pastoral staff, we got to go through it before we, because we had to make sure that we got the cream of the crop. out of the book, no. But I was able to go through that pile of books and one of the books in there dealt with the names of God, the names of God. And so as you begin to think about the names of God, you learn a lot about the character of God, who he is, because names are important. When I say Sidney Crosby, what do you think about? Hockey, football. No. All right. Who said that? Anyways, you know, when I say, maybe I'm a little bit past the modern era, but when I say Roger Clemens, what do you think about? Baseball, if you're in the elder class. All right, you think about baseball and why? Because their names are associated with that sport. And you begin to learn things about people when you talk about them. And their titles, they say something. And so as I was reading through Deuteronomy chapter 32, There was one particular word that began to jump out at me. And so this is a song of Moses. Moses has just spent, he's entering the twilight of his life. He's going into the nation of Israel. He's getting ready to enter into the promised land. And there's that transition that's about to take place between Moses and Joshua. And of course, God is going to take Moses out and he is going to pass away there on the mountain. And then the nation of Israel, that generation, the generation that rose up after the generation that was stunted in their spiritual growth, that were forbidden to move into the promised land, that next generation is getting ready to move in. But here, Moses is reminding the nation of Israel about a few things. reminding them about a few things. And as we think about this, I wanna read Deuteronomy 32, just a couple of verses, we'll jump around, and I apologize for that at the beginning, I got a lot of scripture, but Deuteronomy 32, verse three, it says, because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God, He is the rock. His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity. Just and right is He. If you jump down to verse 15, it says, but Jeshurun waxed fat, like us, alright, and kicked, thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. It says, then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. In verse 18, it says, of the rock that begat thee, thou art unmindful and has forgotten God that formed thee. If you jump over to verse 31, it says, for their rock is not as our rock, The capital R. Even our enemies themselves being judges. And so in verse 37 it says, And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock, in whom they trusted? And so that just kept jumping out at me as I read this passage of scripture. And in verse three it says, Because I will publish the name of the Lord. And here Moses is saying, I'm going to cry aloud. I'm going to call out. I'm going to exalt. the name of the Lord, the Jehovah, the self-existent One, the Eternal One, God, Jehovah, the Lord. And what was He going to do? He was going to ascribe greatness to God. Because He understood who God was. Because God, through the process of time, had revealed Himself to Moses. And Moses was used of God to receive the commandments of the Lord. You can imagine as Moses received the instructions for the tabernacle and just the instruction that as he went up to the mountain, God spoke to him and gave him insight in how to lead the people. And there was that one point in Moses' life where he had to wear a veil because his face had just shone so much because he was in the presence of God. And you think about what Moses is saying here. He knows the Lord, and he had a personal relationship, and he was saying, I'm going to cry aloud. And then he says, ascribe greatness unto God. In 1 Chronicles 29, verse 11, it says, Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head. above all." Moses saw the greatness of our God. He saw the rock of our salvation. In Ephesians 1, verse 19, it says, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power? Moses caught a glimpse of how great God was and is. Revelation chapter 411, it says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. And so as the word rock began to jump out at me, and I began to study, and really when you look at the definition for the rock, You can look at several different aspects to the same rock. And as we look at Jesus Christ, and one thing we need to remember as we read through the scriptures, in John 12, verse 21, at the last part of that verse, Philip says, Sir, we would see Jesus. we would see Jesus. And so when we think about Jesus Christ, or as we read in the New Testament, the rock, we would see Christ is the rock. Christ is the rock. He is the Redeemer. He is the Redeemer. The term rock represents to the Hebrew nation a strong and glorious protection, a God who is exalted above all other gods. Often rocks were turned into altars of sacrifice, God's people would offer those offerings of thanks to the Lord. We see an example of this in Judges chapter 13, verse 19, and there's many other examples. But it says, so Manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord. And so that was a rock that you could offer and you could give thanks to the Lord. And it was an altar of sacrifice. But also, when you think about a rock, it's a place of protection. It's a place of protection. God the Rock cares for His people. He cares for His people. It says in Psalm chapter 89 verse 26, it says, he shall cry unto me, thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. One of the things that when you go through a survival course or you think about being stranded in the wilderness or in the desert somewhere, what does a rock do? A rock offers a place of protection from the elements. You try and hide in the rock and we see that, Thou hidest my soul in the cleft of the rock. That's a reference to a passage in Isaiah. And so, as someone who needed protection, as someone who needed the Lord, praise the Lord, we could run to the rock, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He offers us protection. God cares for His people. In Psalm 18, verse 2, it says, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Why? Because He's our Redeemer. He's our Redeemer. Psalm 19, verse 14, it says, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. For someone to be a Redeemer, that person must first be revealed. And Jesus Christ has been revealed to us. For someone to be a Redeemer, that person must first be revealed, have the power to deliver people from their sin, and provide security from future captivity. And we have all three in Jesus Christ, the rock of our salvation. In 1 Corinthians 4, verse 10, we get clarity as one would read through the Old Testament, and we would just see references to rock, and the Lord, and Jehovah. But all of that is pointing to Jesus Christ, and we understand that in the Old Testament, Many things were spoken in the shadows, or it was a shadow of things to come. And when Jesus Christ came, He fulfilled. He was the image of all those shadows. And so in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 10, it says, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. And so Jesus Christ, the rock, is our Redeemer. In Romans 9, verse 32 and verse 33, it says, Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone, the same rock that is our refuge, for those who reject Jesus Christ, it's that stone of stumbling. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth in him shall not be ashamed. And so, praise the Lord, we have a rock that we have run to. We've run to Jesus Christ. In Psalm 60, verse 2 and 4, it says, "...from the end of the earth will I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of thy wings, Selah." So we see that Jesus Christ is that rock. That rock that we see in shadow in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment. He is that rock. He is that stone of stumbling to those who do not believe. But we also see that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, but Jesus Christ is the rock, our cornerstone. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. What is a cornerstone? A cornerstone is a stone that binds together the sides of the building. And when you lay that cornerstone, everything else is subject to that stone and is lined up with that stone. And so Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. In Ephesians 2, verse 20, it says, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. We see everything revolves around Jesus Christ in our life. Everything in the scriptures revolves around Jesus Christ. And we have an example of those who build on the Lord Jesus Christ and those who do not build their life on the Lord Jesus Christ, that cornerstone. There are those who live their life worried about lining up with the chief cornerstone, and there are those who could care less about it. And we see an example of this in Matthew 7, verse 24. It says, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken unto him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Jesus Christ is that chief cornerstone. Colossians 1, verse 23, it says, If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. The only way we can have a grounded and a settled faith is if we focus on our chief cornerstone, and that is Jesus Christ, the rock of our salvation. And so we see Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, Jesus Christ as the Cornerstone, and Jesus Christ the Rock, who is our Lord. There is no possible way, this is a sobering fact, there is no possible way of avoiding calling Him Lord. For it will be done either in this life, or at the eternal judgment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. Philippians 2, verse 10 and 11 says that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And so we think about the greatness of our God, the love that our Savior has for us, and we think about the name, just reading through Deuteronomy chapter 32, and just seeing the greatness of our God, the rock of our salvation, and how other people put... their trust in different things, and we get distracted. I'm looking at verse 18, it says, of the rock, the God that begat thee, thou art unmindful. And we forget what God has done for us, and we forget the greatness of God. And as I was thinking about this passage of Scripture, and began to study on the various names of God and Jesus, and what do those names, they give us little insights, snapshots into the character of God, and they minister to our souls. And when I think about the greatness of our God, the love that we have experienced, the love that we were able to be given, that all was revealed through one avenue. That all came to us through one avenue. And what a privilege it is that we have an opportunity to sit down at the Word, sit down and open the Bible and study the Word of God. What a great opportunity. And I try to get the teens to understand that everything we know about God, the rock of our salvation, our Redeemer, our cornerstone, the Lord of our life, all of that came from one source. Yes, it came from God, but it was given to us in the Word. In the Word. And so, in Acts 4.12, it says, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." He's talking about Jesus Christ. And so what a great privilege that you and I have. A couple weeks ago I could sit down and read through Deuteronomy and read chapter 32, and I would see how good the Rock is. His work is perfect, and for all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity. We can learn all those various things about our God, and those things help us to live a life, and God Himself ministers to us through His Word. And sometimes we look at the names of God, and we think, oh man, you know, We like to study those names and we get caught up in so many of those different aspects and I'm not downplaying any of that, but my mind automatically was taken to Psalm chapter 138 verse two. It says, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth. Think about that. I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth. Praise the Lord for our God. If we continue to read that passage of scripture, it says, for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. If you would, go to Psalm chapter 119. This will be the second half of the message, Psalm 119. And the Lord spoke to me about this. Just as we think about the greatness of our God, And if I would ask you, how great is our God, and we would quote passages of Scripture like Revelation 4.11, and we would talk about how great God is, and the wonderful things that He has done for us, and we would testify, and we would recount passages of Scripture when God sent the plagues into Egypt, and He told Pharaoh to let His people go, and we just see all the wonderful works. We see Jesus Christ on the Sea of Galilee, as we heard this morning, where He said, peace be still, and everything, the winds and the waves obeyed His voice, and we would look at that, and we say, our God is great. But all those accounts, everything we know of Jesus Christ, of God, the rock of our salvation, comes from one source, and that is the written Word of God. Without the Bible, we would not have a clue who God is. We would not have a clue. And so, as we think about how important God is and He's important, and I'm not trying to take anything away from the names of God, but I'm saying sometimes we become unmindful. We forget about God's Word. It's not as precious to us as it ought to be. In Psalm chapter 119, it says, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word? With my whole heart have I sought thee. Oh, let me not wonder from thy commandments. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word? With my whole heart have I sought thee, O let me not wonder from thy commandments. The desire of a true born-again believer many of us, is one for purity. We desire to be clean. We desire to have those different virtues. And sadly, many Christians focus on obtaining purity, peace, and contentment, and those are all noble Christian virtues. They're great things to think about and to want to obtain. If the end goal is just to obtain peace, And contentment, we will become frustrated if these virtues are the end goal of our life. We will become frustrated if these are the end goal of our life. And so what am I saying? I'm saying Jesus Christ, the living word, came in the flesh. It came in the flesh. In John 1, it says, 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 not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. If you would go to John 1, verse 14, I'll read it. I have it in my notes. It says, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of His only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." And so we see that Jesus Christ, the Living Word, came to earth. And we see everything, all the miracles that Jesus Christ did. But then we also see that the Holy Spirit was given to the believer. In John 16, we'll go there, John 16, we see that the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, was given to us. John 16, verse 7, it says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto me. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He has come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. And that's what you and I do. When we live a life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit, we're Spirit-filled Christians. What does it do? It reproves the world. It's a witness. It's a witness. It says in v. 9, "...of sin, because they believe not in Me, of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more, of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged. I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now, howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine and shall show it unto you." It's the Word of God. The Holy Spirit was given to the believer. It's also the Word of God that cleanses and transforms a person. In Ephesians 5, verses 26 and 27, it says, "...that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." and I, myself included, have come to church, have gone to maybe a chapel session, or gone to even a college class, and as someone stands up and preaches the word of God and uses scripture, what does that scripture do? It begins to break down. It could be that we were living according to the flesh, and we just are doing what we wanna do, and maybe the things of God aren't important to us, and we just kinda get, laxadaisical in our Christian life, but what happens when we come to hear preaching this morning? What happened when Psalm chapter 23 was read? The word of God began to work in our heart, began to make a difference in our life, began to, what, wash us, began to purify us. It's the word of God that cleanses and transforms us. And so we see that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Jesus Christ, the living word, came in the flesh. The Holy Spirit was given to the believer to lead us into all truth, and it's the word of God that cleanses and transforms a person. Jesus Christ left this earth in the flesh. He said, I'm going. I go to prepare a place for you. And as the disciples were there with him, he was caught up to heaven. He's gone in the flesh. He's not here anymore. Jesus Christ left this earth in the flesh. He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell, to make alive the soul of one who believes in him. And then the Holy Spirit uses the word of God to communicate God's will to man's heart. God uses his word to reveal himself to us. Just as we go back to Deuteronomy, and that name God, the rock, He revealed that to us through what? His Word. His Word, we see who He is. Why did He give us the Word? to reveal himself to us, yes, but why? So that we would have the fact that Jesus Christ is the rock, so that we would understand that Jesus Christ is Jehovah? No, why did he give us the word so that we may know him? so that we may know Him. God wants us to know Him. God wants us to have a deeper relationship with Him on a daily basis. And I would dare say that sometimes we get caught up in the flowery part of Christianity. We get caught up and we get so focused on some of the different things that are interesting. We can study various subjects, but the ultimate goal in our life is to know God. Ultimate goal in our life is to know God in a personal way. And so we have to be in the Word of God. We have to be in the Word of God. I write here, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but it's true. A Christian who does not read their Bible does not know God. A Christian who does not read their Bible does not know God because everything we know about God comes from His Word. I did not say that you were not saved, but God reveals himself through his word. I have seven kids at home. I have a wife. And you know what we do when we're in the same house? We talk to each other. Amen. Thank you. All right. We talk to each other. We don't give each other the silent, not all the time anyways. But you know what, as I come home and many times there's a couple of the kids that, you know, dad's home and so they come running and that's great, but then there's some of, they're a little bit older, but you know, sometimes they're just caught up in doing their own thing. And I'll say, hey, they don't hear me. I mean, they hear me, but it doesn't connect. And I say, hey. And they say, hey. Hi. Oh, hi, Dad. They were distracted. They weren't hearing my voice. And you know what? How terrible it is to live in the same house with people and you eat, you walk around, you talk, you sit in the living room, you sit at the dinner table, you may even Do different activities. How awkward would it be to not talk to that person? Very awkward. Have you ever had someone give you the silent treatment? Have you ever given someone the silent treatment? You're giving me the silent treatment. All right. It gets awkward really quick. It gets awkward really quick. But you know, God lives inside of us. God lives inside of us. And He uses the Holy Spirit to minister to us. And He uses the Word in concert with the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. But like we saw in Deuteronomy 32, we're unmindful of God. We're unmindful of the rock of our salvation. and we're not listening to Him. And a Christian who does not read their Bible does not know God. It did not say they were not saved, but God reveals Himself through His Word. If a believer seeks to be pure for purity's sake, and I'm not downplaying purity at all, but I'm saying if a believer seeks to be pure for purity's sake, we will find ourselves in the mire of a pharisaical living. The process is important, but it's not the goal. The process is important, but it's not the goal. So what is the goal? It's more of who is the goal and God is the goal. God is the goal. And so if we go back to Psalms chapter 119, Psalm 119 verse 10. Psalm 119 verse 10. He asked God a question in verse 9, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. In verse 10 it says, With my whole heart have I sought thee, O let me not wander from thy commandments. God is the goal. And the psalmist had a desire. He wasn't seeking to have a quick fix to life's difficulties. He was seeking God. He was seeking God. And you know, there are times where we go through dry seasons. There are times where we look at our life, and it could be that you come to church week after week after week after week, and it seems like the Word of God doesn't make a difference in your life. May I encourage you, if that is your state this evening, at the invitation time, what I would encourage you to do is come to the altar and ask God to revive the desire for His Word in your life. to revive the desire for His Word in your life, because it's the Word of God that makes the difference. It's the Word of God. And so, as we think about that, the psalmist had a desire. He said, with my whole heart have I sought Thee. How do we know and become like Christ? We take heed. The psalmist's heart was not divided. As we see this in Psalm 119.2, it says, Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that what? Memorize Scripture. No. that listen to a lot of preaching? No. He said, blessed are they that keep His testimonies and that seek Him, God the Lord, with the whole heart. In verse 34, it says, give me understanding and I shall keep Thy law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Verse 58, it says, I entreated Thy favor with my whole heart. Be merciful unto me according to Thy word. Verse 69, it says, The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Thy precepts with my whole heart. The psalmist's heart was not divided. He had a desire for the word of God. He understood it was the word of God that made a difference in his life. Because Jesus Christ isn't here in the flesh. He's given us his word. He's given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to help us through this life. And so, how many of us allow the word of God to dwell in us richly? is the Word of God dwelling in us richly. Do we go to the Word of God? Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? It's God's Word that makes a difference. The Bible tells us that God's Word is the living Word. For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It's the Word of God that makes us alive. The Word of God quickens our faith. In Romans 10, verse 17, it says, so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by an experience. No, hearing by a baptism. No, hearing by the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The Bible makes us wise unto salvation. In 2 Timothy 3, verse 15, Paul is talking to Timothy, and he says, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." We should never minimize the Word of God in our life. We should never minimize carrying our Bibles to church. We should never minimize carrying our Bibles anywhere, because it's the Word of God that makes a difference. It's the Word of God that transforms us. It transforms us. The Bible is a mirror. Let's go to James chapter 1. James chapter 1. And this isn't new to us, but we sometimes are like the children of Israel. We are unmindful of God. James 1, verse 21, it says, Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. Verse 22, it says, But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was, but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. And so the Bible is a mirror. I guarantee every one of us looked at a mirror at some point in time today. Well, you say, some people that might be debatable. No, those are just the styles of the day. Don't worry. I guarantee you. But how many of us, this last week, we checked the mirror of God's Word to see who we were, to see what we're about. It's God's Word that is a mirror. It reveals who I am in the flesh. The Word of God reveals who I am in the flesh. The Bible tells me I'm a sinner. The Bible tells me that in me dwelleth no good thing. The Bible tells me who I am in the flesh, but praise God, the Bible reveals who I am in Christ Jesus. It lets me know that I'm a child of God. It lets me know that I'm adopted. It lets me know that I have a home in heaven. It lets me know that I can live a victorious Christian life. It's the word of God. The Bible is a mirror, and it reveals who we are, who we need to be, the things that we need to get out of our life. It's the Bible that makes a difference. It's the Word of God. The Word of God cleanses. John 15, verse 3, it says, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. And so we see the importance of the Word of God. Everything we know about God, everything we know about Jesus, our faith, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Everything came through the Scriptures. And what a privileged people we are to have the Scriptures. But how many of us are neglecting the Scriptures? I ask us this evening, what are we doing with the Bible? What are you doing with the Bible? God's Word that He has given us and of all people, of all language groups, of everyone on the face of the earth, we have the Word of God. We have it. We have salvation. Why? Because we have the Word of God. We know the way. We know the way because God revealed it in His Word. What are you doing with the Bible? What are you doing with the Bible? What am I doing with the Bible? Do you have that desire to read the Bible? Or is it just some good thing to do when we come to church to walk around with it? Do you have a desire to read the Bible? In Psalm 51, David prayed for that desire to come back. He prayed, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. He said, wash me thoroughly and I shall be clean. He had a desire. And just given his story, his sin with Bathsheba, you understood that that desire for the Word of God was quenched in his life, it was taken away, but he prayed for God to give it back. And just as I mentioned before, that's what we need to do with to God, we need to come to Him and say, Lord, restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation. Restore that desire to get into Your Word. Because it's through the Word of God that we know God. What are you doing with God's Word? What are you doing with God's Word? What should we do with God's Word? We should read the Bible. We should read the Bible. Let me ask us, are we reading our Bibles? When was the last time we read our Bible? When was the last time we opened the Scriptures not to fulfill a plan, a Bible reading plan, not to get mom and dad off our backs because they wrote it into our homeschool schedule, but that we read the Bible? Read the Bible. When was the last time we meditate on what we read in the Bible. And when was the last time we obeyed what we read in the Bible? We should read the Bible. We should meditate on the Bible. We should obey what we've read in the Bible. Why? Why? Well, it's a good thing to do. No. It is a good thing to do, but that shouldn't be the main goal. Well, it'll keep me out of trouble. Wonderful. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. What should I do? Why should I read the Bible? Why should I meditate on the word of God? Why should I obey the word of God? The apostle Paul had it down, so that we may know him. so that we may know Him. So why do you and I read the Bible, meditate on the Word of God, and obey the Word of God so that we may know Him?