Thank you, friend, glory. There's a special scripture in Titus chapter one at verse two that said, in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. Wow, in hope of eternal life. What does that mean? Your reward for serving God when this life is over is not heaven. Boy, that got your attention, didn't it? It's everlasting life. Everlasting life. Heaven's where God lives. We're gonna go there. But our reward for living for Jesus is everlasting life. That's what he said, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. but have everlasting life. It's so good to be here. Thanks, Pastor, for the opportunity of being here tonight. Miss Peggy, we've been in Oklahoma this week, and come home, what is today, Friday? Come home yesterday. And she was sick, and she said, tell all of them. I said, I ain't telling them nothing. I'm just gonna tell them you was mad when I left the house. She said, you better not say nothing like that. but she couldn't be here tonight and she regrets that. And what a wonderful meal back there. I tell you what, it was, I hadn't even planned to eat when I got here this evening, but I can resist everything but temptation. That's my weakness right there. And when I walked back there and they had all that food there, and a cheese dip, Lord have mercy. And first thing, I dropped an olive that was covered in cheese dip and it didn't bounce, it just rolled. Cut down my tie and I washed it off to the best I could. I'm just thankful Peggy's not here. That's a plus for me, I'll assure you that. But we're glad to be here tonight. How many preachers we got in the house? I want to see your hand tonight, Mylon. We got a house full of preachers here tonight. We're so thankful to have each one of you. Good to see Brother Leo Dye. He and I grew up right down the road from each other, and through rocks, and at each other sometimes. You know, just had a good time. Coming up, my friend Bruce, and then Ballard's here, Brother Wes. I preached for him back, I guess, in January, February of this year, and he's just now getting that straightened out. Just now got it straightened out to where he could leave and come up here tonight. And we're glad to have him. Good to have everyone tonight. Got a lot of friends here. I'm not gonna make a mistake of trying to recognize everybody here tonight, but we are so thankful. Got a niece here. Good to have all of them. She's from Russellville. I don't know what she's doing up here, but is the law after you or something, okay? But anyway, she's up here in these mountains, all right. We're glad to have all of you tonight. Well, I wanna get in to what I feel like the Lord has directed me to this afternoon. If you turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy 3. I wanna read verse 16 and verse 17. Now this is 2 Timothy chapter three, verse number 16 and verse number 17. I've been doing it like this for about 48 years. I've been preaching 54 years and that is miraculous considering I'm just 39. God has crammed all that together. He's a wonderful Lord and a miracle maker at that, on top of that. But would you honor the reading of the scripture tonight by standing? And you'll appreciate this when I get started. You'll say, will he have us to stand any other time before we go home tonight? In 2 Timothy chapter three, verse number 16 and 17, he said, in all scriptures given by the inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect. Wow, what a word to use there. Man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. That word furnished there means equipped. God has equipped us with his word. Now what I want to preach to you tonight is this. the written word and the living word. I want to put both of them together tonight and just let God speak into your heart. Let us pray. Father, as we come to you tonight, we're just so thankful for your love. I bless you, Lord, for your goodness, your power, and your glory. I thank you tonight because you are the everlasting living Lord. I pray tonight that you would move in this place. You would bless us. May the fellowship of heaven just settle down over this congregation tonight. Feed us from the table of God. God, challenge us tonight with your word. Let us leave here inspired, encouraged, and uplifted, Lord, as we go back to our homes. Bless us, give us a touch of heaven, I pray, in Jesus' name, and we thank you, Lord. Praise God, praise God. You may be seated tonight. Let me reiterate what I said a minute ago. I'm preaching tonight the written word, and the living word. Now, you know, it don't take a rocket scientist to see what's happening in our world today. The word of God, the Bible, is under fire. Everywhere you turn, somebody's trying to disprove something. about the Word of God. It's being challenged every way that we can possibly see it challenged, it's challenged. And sad part about it, there's many people that's turning away from the genuine truth of the Word of God. But I'm here to tell you tonight, our Bible is divinely inspired. It is divinely laid out by God. Fact is, in Matthew chapter 24, verse 35, he said, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away. What is he saying? Heaven will disappear and earth will disappear before God's word will. It's gonna be here from now on, even when we are in eternity. God's Word is going to live on. Through the Word of God, God's Word, the written Word, and we have, let me deal with the written Word before I get into the living Word tonight, but the written Word is our Bible that we have. It's written by the hand of God. Our scripture that we read to you tonight, he said all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. Wow, that's important to see, that's important to know. If you're following me in your Bibles, go to 2 Peter chapter one, Verse 21, II Peter chapter one, verse 21. He said, for the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Let me give you the analogy of that. What the analogy behind that is, if you take a little grade school child, and they don't know A from B or Z, they don't know anything, put a pinch on their hand, ask them to write their name, they'll write all over the page, on the curtains, on the desk, on the floor, but if you take your hand and cup it over the top of their hand, and with the force of your hand, You teach them how to make the mark of their name and write their name out. That's what that scripture said. The prophecy came not in the old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. What's it saying? The Spirit of God moved on them so strong that they penned the scripture. They wrote the word of God. Many of them without even knowing the meaning of what they had written, but they wrote the Word of God. Pastor Mike, I can put my trust in that. I can put my trust in that, Brother West. I can put my faith in the fact that God's Word is inspired. It is holy, it is truth. Now, I'm talking about the written word, and I've got quite a bit to say about that. The word of God. You know, our Bible has got thieves and murderers, and it's got scandals in it. They're there, but what makes it so holy? Not because it's just anointed, but it's the fact that God told the truth about everybody and everything. David is called the apple of God's eye, but when he failed God, God wrote it in the book and tell you the details about it. He didn't cover up nothing. When Abraham got his wife married off, That's recorded in there well. And Abraham's called a friend of God. All of these scriptured men in the word of God, God told the truth about every bit of it. So when I open that Bible, I don't open it with doubt and fear. I wonder if this is okay. I wonder if this is the truth. You can bank on it. It is the truth of the almighty God. He didn't spare anybody's feelings. He didn't spare anybody's ideas about anything and there was no cover up. and there was no payoff. It is the truth of the Almighty God. And he said with that, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Now then, watch this. God's word is so divinely laid out. There's exactly 1189 chapters in the Bible. From Genesis chapter one to Revelation 22. There's 1189 chapters. The center chapter of the Bible is Psalms 118. And the center verse in the Bible is Psalms 118 and verse eight. And here's what it said. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. What about that? Wow. The very center verse of the Bible said it's better to trust in God than it is to put confidence in man. 594 chapters before it, 594 after it. It's between the longest chapter, Psalms 119, with 176 verses, and the shortest chapter, 117, with only two verses in it. You think that's an accident? Not by a long shot. That was the plan of God. He's simply saying the long and short of this thing is trust God and not man. You can put your faith and your confidence in God Almighty. Our Bible is so divinely laid out. Genesis is referred to as the book of beginnings. Revelation is referred to as the book of endings. That means in the Hebrew alphabet, the alpha and omega. Wow, what did Jesus say? I am the beginning and the ending. I'll show you that in a moment of time. He's the living word. And it was speaking of the written word that declared him as the living word. We'll talk about that in a moment of time. In the book of Genesis, death shows up in Genesis. It's cast into the lake of fire in Revelation. Man is created immortal and fell to morality in Genesis. He's changed from morality to immorality in the book of Revelation. The devil shows up in Genesis, but he's cast in the lake of fire in the book of Revelation, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending. God's word is divinely set out, it is divinely approved for us, so we can put our faith and our confidence in the word of God. Our Bible houses two great covenants, the old covenant and the new covenant. Now there's covenants made between God and man, but the two main covenants in the word of God is the old covenant and the new covenant. Of course, we understand that law is housed in the old covenant. By the way, let me say something here tonight. I just done a preacher's convention here last month and it was for the independent world and I had two pastors that come to me from the East Coast, and they said to me, Brother Colwell, we're New Testament guys. We don't do the Old Testament. In fact, all we do is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That's kind of the extent of our ministry, because we don't get in the Old Covenant. And I said to them, I said, brethren, do you realize Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John was all under the law? Every bit of that was all under the law. Oh, they said, it can't be. I said, yeah, it says that in Galatians. The book you don't, you go to very much? In Galatians chapter four and verse number four. It said, God sent forward his son, made a woman, made under the law. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John was all under the law. Grace did not start until the resurrection and started in the book of Acts. Matthew, Mark, well, let me just take a detour here and explain that for you this afternoon. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is a buffer between the old covenant and the new covenant, and here's why it was. In Jeremiah, chapter 34, and I'm not gonna read that to you, you can look that up when you get home, and it's also in Genesis 15. When two covenants was conjoined together, here's how they done it. They took a bull calf, They killed it, laid it on its back, took an ax, and split the carcass half in two. Shoulder, ridge, cave, and a ham. Shoulder, ridge, ribcage, and a ham. Well, you thought I didn't know my beef well, did you? Well, watch this now. And they just divided it up right there, pulled it apart, never drug it off anywhere, in its own blood and in its intros. And the person that is conjoining two covenants together walked in the blood of that animal between the two halves, just back and forth, walking back and forth between the two halves. What's Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all about? It's a story of Jesus walking between the old covenant and the new covenant that we might have grace that will fulfill the covenant of the law. That's what it's all about. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Well, preacher, how do you know that's in order? Well, let me show you. That's in the Word as well. Matthew wrote Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Mark wrote about Christ as the faithful servant. And Luke wrote about Christ as the Son of Man. John wrote about Christ as the Son of God. Watch this now. Go to Revelation, chapter number four, verse seven and eight. I like this part right here. I may preach it twice tonight. Hang with me just a moment in time. Revelation chapter four, verse number seven. He said there's four beasts that encircle the throne of God. Watch this now. The first beast was as a lion. There's Matthew. He rode him as the lion of the tribe of Judah. The second beast was like a calf. That's Mark, the faithful servant. And the third beast had the face of a man. There's Luke. The fourth beast was like a flying eagle. There's the Son of God. They are in order, the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle. He is the lion of tribe of Judah. He is the faithful servant. He's the son of man. He's also the son of God. Those four beasts don't do anything but encircle the throne of God. In verse eight, they're full of wings, they're full of eyes. They don't rest day and night. they encircle the throne of God and they chant one praise. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, which is, and which is to come. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, which is, and which is to come. Do you know what that's saying right there? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is represented around the throne of God to remind God, oh, let me preach on this. This is not part of my message tonight, but it won't take me more than 30 minutes to cover this, so you hang with me tonight. Watch this. Go to Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number eight. The book of Hebrews chapter 13, verse number eight. You know this scripture by heart, but let me remind you about it. It said, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now let's look at Revelation 4 and 8. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, there's yesterday, which is, and which is to come. Oh, hallelujah to the Lamb. What does that say? If he got you through yesterday, if he kept you through today, You put your faith in it, he'll get you through tomorrow. Let me see this, Bruce, for a moment in time. I believe I've got this somewhere in my Bible here that will help you understand what I'm trying to get across right now for you this afternoon. You understand that there is a power and there's strength in the Word of God. There is power, there's strength in Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Master, and our Redeemer. And this is what it's all saying there. It takes about eight seconds to say that little praise. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. which was, which is, and which to come. Do you understand? It's the only promise in the Bible that God chose to remind himself endlessly. Endlessly, he chose to remind himself. He hears that praise 7.5 times every minute. He hears it 450 times every hour. Every day, God hears it in a 24-hour period 10,800 times. In a week, 75,600 times. In a 30-day month, 2,268,000 times. I got them through yesterday. I kept them through today, I can get them through tomorrow. What does that mean? If God got me through yesterday, he kept me through today, I've got faith based on yesterday and today, he'll get me through tomorrow. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Wow. Well, didn't intend to bring that up tonight, but I'm glad I did. I felt good about that. Just felt plum good about it. God's word is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the alpha and omega. He is the beginning and the ending. Our Bible is just not a storybook. It is the word of the almighty God. It has depth to it. It has surface reading in it. You can read it, just take it for granted, or you can go in the depth in it and put your faith on it. Watch this now. In Romans 10 and verse 17. I'll give you about a half a second to get there. Romans 10, verse 17. He said, so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord. What does that mean? Your faith can never supersede your knowledge of God. Wow. What's the greatest thing you can get from God with the least amount of faith? That's salvation. All you have to do to be saved, believe Jesus come from heaven, this earth as a babe. Walked on this earth, died on the cross. resurrected the third day and sat at the right hand of the throne of the Father, and that's all documented. That'll get you saved. But after you start your spiritual walk, the more you learn about God, the more you find out about God, the stronger your faith is, the more solid your experience with God is going to be. He said, so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Wow, wow, wow. Put your faith in the word of God. Learn all you can learn about God. The Bible's like a puzzle. It just comes together one piece at a time, but when it all fits, it'll tell you the story of the depth of God's love and the purpose of God. I could go on and on about the written word. We've got the written word, it's called the Bible. The Holy Bible, we've got that. But the living word was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into this world in the beginning of time, he was the Word. Let me read that to you. Well, I tell you, I'm gonna give you time to look this one up, because this is important to see here. Go to St. John, chapter one. I'm gonna pick up several verses in this chapter here, but I want you to pay attention. attention to verse one and two, and then, let me look here, verse 14. We'll put them together at the end of this. But now look at this. Watch what he said here. St. John chapter one, beginning in verse one. He said, in the beginning was the word. Oh, look at that. In the beginning was the word. The word was with God, the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things are made by him. I'm in verse three, this is creation. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him is life, life is the light of man. Look at verse five. The light shined in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, his name was John. The same came for witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not the light, I'm talking about John here, he was not the light but was sent to bear witness of the light that is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. That which is born, nor blood, nor the will of man, nor the will of flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Here's where I wanna get to, verse 14. and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Remember verse one and two? In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word was God. Verse 14, and the Word become flesh and dwelt among us. He's talking about Jesus there. They're talking about Jesus now. I'm about to pull something here tonight that's gonna raise some eyebrows, but you just hang with me and we'll prove it by the word of God. Listen to me, Jesus wasn't equal with God in the beginning of time. He didn't become the son of God until he was born of a virgin birth. Ooh, I lost you there. Well, let me prove it to you. Go to Philippians chapter two. Book of Philippians chapter two. I'll tell you, let's start in verse five. There's some good stuff here. Philippians chapter two beginning at verse number five. Everybody there? Everybody's there, all right. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Look at verse six. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal? Oh, get down. to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death, even to the death of the cross. Wherefore God has highly exalted him, given him a name that's above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, even to the glory of God the Father. Here's what happened in Philippians chapter two. This is one of the best renditions in the scripture of Christ coming from heaven down to this earth to be in the form of man, wow. He came from heaven to this earth. Why? Because a God cannot die. So he had resigned himself from the deity of heaven and wrapped himself in the flesh of man so he could die on the cross of Calvary. I get this question a lot, pastor. How can he be very much man and very much God at the same time? How was he both? How was he God and man when he was on this earth? Let me explain that. Mary furnished him a body. God chose a woman over there, a little virgin lady, who was engaged to be married, and he picked her, and he said to her, you're gonna birth the Son of God. A woman brought the living word of God into this world. Wow, can you imagine that? That's a wonderful plan of God. She brought the living word, and because Mary was of the lineage of the tribe of Judah, And because she was of the seed of David, which was in her lineage, and the root of Jesse, Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah. He is born of the tribe of Judah, the seed of David, the seed of man. But did you know, a father determines the blood type of a child. They can take your blood, fellas, and tell whether you're the daddy of that kid or not. A father determines the blood type of the child. Now go with me to Matthew chapter one and verse 20. I want you to see this. Hang on a moment of time. I'm about to tear the heart out of a good message tonight because somebody here needs to hear this. Let's put it together in peace at a time, all right? In Matthew chapter one and verse 20, old Joseph is contemplating putting Mary away. She's expecting a kid and it's not his kid. And he don't know what to do about this. Look in the last phrase of verse 20. An angel appeared to him and said unto him, that which is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Ghost. Wow, Mary made him a body, that made him the son of man. but the divine heaven itself was his father. You understand that? What does that mean? His blood was not O positive or O negative. It was not A positive or A negative. His blood was divine. You understand that? So when he walked on this planet Earth, his body made him the son of man. but his blood made him the son of the living God. And when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, that divine blood had to be separated from the earthy body. Why? Because life is in the blood. And his blood was not just regular life, it was everlasting life. So his blood had to be separated from the body before his body went in the tomb that represented death. There ain't nothing dead about the blood of Jesus Christ. Now watch this. Saint John chapter 19 and verse 34. John 19 verse 34. He said, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side. and thereforewith there came out, notice, there came out his divine blood drained from that earthy body. The body was taken down, put in a tomb, but the divine blood stayed on the outside. Why? Because three days from that time that Jesus was placed in the tomb, he'll walk out of that tomb, he'll take his blood out. Oh, do you understand me tonight? I want you to know the divine blood of Jesus Christ lives today. Wow. Lord have mercy. He was the word in the beginning. Yes, he was. In the beginning was the word. What else to say? In the beginning was the word. Some of you say, well, where in the world did he get the title of being the word? Thought you'd never ask. Let me prove it to you. Go with me to the book of Genesis chapter one. Now you guys that know me, I can't preach a message without going to Genesis. Because it's the book of beginnings. There ain't a subject in the Bible that don't have roots in the book of Genesis. If you guys and ladies here can understand the first 12 chapters of Genesis in minute detail, you've got a gateway to the whole entire Bible. Because it's all spelled out for us in Genesis in the first 12 chapters of Genesis. But watch this. I'm in Genesis chapter one, beginning in verse number one. In the beginning, wow, ain't that what John one said? In the beginning was the word, starts out the same thing. Gotta be some kind of match there. But watch this. In the beginning, God. There's the first person of the triune Godhead. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Let me preach on verse one just a minute. Have you ever noticed the Bible starts out assuming you believe in God? It don't tell you where God came from. It don't give you no history. There's no family background. He just said, in the beginning, God. created the heaven earth, what's that all about? The Bible starts out assuming you believe in God. The Bible is not a book to prove that God exists. It's a book about the already existing God. That's the reason he's so harsh on people that don't believe there is a God. He said the fool has said in his heart there is no God. Why? Because the very first verse in the Bible tells you, it just starts out assuming you believe in God. Now let me help you in that. Don't get one of them conversations with somebody that don't believe in God and they say, take your Bible and prove God exists. You can't! Because it's not a book to prove God exists, it's a book about the already existing God. Yeah, don't fall into that. Just back up and say, hey, I believe in him whether you do or not. Now watch this. Let me point out the Trinity here. In the beginning, God, I'm back in Genesis 1 and 1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void. Darkness was on the face of the deep. Here comes the next one. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. And here comes the word. And God said, Any time you said something, that's word. You remember John 1 and 3, all things are made by him and without him was not anything that was made. Let me show you where that took place. Right here in Genesis. And God said, let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness he called night, the evening and the morning were the first day. I'm gonna come back to verse six in a moment of time, but let me go across the page here. And we can all be on the same page, all right? I'm in Genesis 1, verse 16. God made two great lights. The greater light to rule the day, the lesser light to rule the night. And he made stars also, there's the sun and moon. Now look in verse 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Oh, day one God said, let there be light, but he never made a sun and moon to day four. Oh, get a load of that. Yeah. What's that all about? Let me show you. Put your finger right there in Genesis 1, I'm coming back there. Go to John chapter 8, verse 12. Saint John chapter 8, verse 12. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth after me shall not walk in darkness, but he shall have the light of life. While you're in John, flip back to chapter 1, look at verse 5. And the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Woo! Now go back to Genesis 1. Day one, God said, let there be light and he never made a sun to day four. Wow. God said, let there be light and Jesus said, that's me. I'm the word, I perform what God said. Yeah. And if God wants light, here we go. Now watch this. The light began to illuminate this earth when there wasn't a sun and a moon even built till four days later. But that first day, God said, let there be light, and under all that water and under all that darkness, oh, I forgot to read that to you. Let's start in verse six, all right? Genesis one, verse number six. And God said, here's the word again, And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. Midst means middle of. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. Let it divide the waters from the waters. God made the firmament. He divided the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament. It was sold and God called the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Day one, God said, let there be light. What's he saying? This earth was covered with water from the face of this earth all the way up through the galaxies because there wasn't no sun, wasn't no moon. But God said, let there be light on day one and there was light. What does that say to us? Your loved ones are not too lost. They're not too deep and dark. I don't care if their mind is blown by drugs. You can look them in the eye and tell they ain't nobody at home. There's a light that can shine in darkness and the darkness comprehends it not. So take courage and understand The power, the strength of the word of the almighty God. In the beginning was the word. God said, let there be light. And Jesus said, that's me. And God said, I will affirm it. And Jesus said, that's what he wants, that's what he'll get. Because he was the word. He performed what God said. Remember John one and three? All things are made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Wow. Watch this now, day number three, God said, I want dry land to peer out of the water. I want islands, I want mountains. And Jesus said, that sound like a resurrection to me, day number three. And he said, what mountains just come up. and dry land begin to appear out of the water. Day number four, God said, I'm gonna make a sun and a moon. Watch this now. The sun represents Jesus Christ. The moon represents the church of Jesus Christ. How's that? Because the moon reflects the light of the sun on the dark side of the earth. You and I, the church of the living God, reflects the light of Christ to the darkness of this world. Day number five, God said, I want grass, I want trees, I want birds, and Jesus said, whatever he wants, that's what I'm gonna do. Day number six, God made animals, and then he said, let us make man. I'm in verse 26, Genesis 1, 26, and God said, let us make man in our image after likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle, over all the earth and creeping things that creepeth upon there. Now flip a page, go to chapter two, verse seven. Chapter two of Genesis, verse seven. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into man's nostrils a breath of life, man became a living soul. Wow, wow, wow. Watch that, if you read this in Hebrew Chronicles, hear what it said. God physically came down from heaven. He never spoke man together, he created man. I could preach all night on that right there. I'm just gonna highlight it for ya. God came down to this earth, cast his image in the dust of the ground, took his finger, traced that image, an arm and a leg and another leg and another arm and a head, and then he breathed into that traced out image, and when he did, Adam just peeled right out of the ground, and just sat up and said, good morning, Lord, how are you? Wow, you understand the creative power of God. of the living God of glory. Man was made in the image and in the likeness of God, and in the image and likeness of God, created he him. Wow. Oh, let's get into this tonight. Jesus is the Word. He was the Word in the beginning of time. He performed what God said. When God said something, Jesus said, that's me. All things are made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. God spoke it, Jesus performed it. Oh my Lord, Pastor, I wanna preach on the Trinity now and show you the part the Holy Spirit played in the beginning of time. They're all there. Brother West, God spoke it, Jesus Christ created and performed it, and the Holy Spirit sealed it by the hand of the almighty God of glory. Can I tell you something? Jesus Christ was the living word. And one day, the living word came from heaven down to this earth to walk among mankind. He came out of timeless into time. You and I live in time. You don't believe that? Take a stroll through the cemetery. Every tombstone there has got a beginning and ending on it. Yes. But Jesus came out of timeless into time. He walked here 33 plus years, died on the cross of Calvary, and left time and went back into timeless. Why? So you and I can leave time and go into the timeless. And we're headed there. Either by the way of the grave or sound of a trumpet. We're headed there. Leaving time into timeless. because Jesus prepared the way for us and showed us it can be done. It will be done by the grace of the power of God. Now watch this. I'm gonna get into something now. Hang with me. I'm closer to finishing than I was when I started. That should encourage you right there. Now watch this, understand, Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. They placed him in a tomb for three days. He rose from the dead, walked on this earth 40 days, ascended back into heaven to sit down at the right hand of the Father. But he went back as the Word. Oh yeah, let me show you. First John, now this is not St. John. First John chapter five verse seven lets you see this. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. He was the Word in the beginning, stepped down for about 33 years, came into time out of timeless, went back into timeless as the Word. I'm gonna help you with something tonight. Now that's not the only scripture. Go to Revelation 19. Revelation chapter 19, this is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 19 verse 13. I tell you what, let's do, let's start in verse 11 where you get this picture. All right, and that way you won't be wondering who it is. Verse 11, I'm in Revelation 19. Verse 11, he said, I saw heaven open, behold a white horse. He that sat upon him is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness doth he judge and make war. His eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head was many crowns. Had a name written that no man knew, but he himself clothed in the vesture, dipped in blood, and his name is called what? Oh, get down. His name is called the Word of God. He went back to heaven as the word of God. What does that mean? If he performed what God said in the beginning, he's doing it again. He is the living word and we have the written word. Now hang with me tonight. I wanna show you how this operates. Go to Hebrews chapter four and verse 12. Hebrews chapter four, verse number 12. Watch this. He said, and the word, oh, and the word. What is he talking about? This right here. The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that's the book for me. He said, and the word, and the word, and the word. In the beginning was the word. The Word sets at the right hand of the Father. And he said in Hebrews 4 and 12, the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder the soul and the spirit, the joints and the mire, and is a discerner of the thought and the intent of the heart. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. When you look up that two-edged sword and go back to the root word of it, it means twice spoken. Twice spoken. What does that mean? When I say what God has already said, that's what puts the double edge on the sword. Wow. When I say what God has said, already said and established, heaven and earth will pass away, this won't pass away. It is forever settled. So when I say what God has already said, Jesus looks over the Father and said, we said that. I'm gonna do it. That helps your faith. Let me show you how important that is. I've been the Executive Press Spokesman for Assemblies of God for 30, I don't know, 30-some years. I've sat in meetings with dignitaries of all kinds and I'd make a statement. I'd say in my mind, boy, Dean, that was good. An old boy from cozy home Arkansas, where'd you come up with that at? I bet they're impressed. strut around there inside of me. I can do some strutting on the inside. Then when our meeting is over and I get in my truck and head home, and I rehearse what I said that day, I say, Dean, that was the dumbest thing you have ever said in your whole life. Why in heaven's name didn't you just stay there quiet and listen and not say a word? You opened your mouth and stuck your foot clear to the ankle in your mouth. How in the world? See, I can talk myself out of more blessings than God can throw on me. Let me let you in on a little secret about me. I don't need your help discouraging me. I can do that all by myself. And I'm very good at it. Yeah, I can talk myself out of more blessings than God can throw on me. You ever have a conversation with yourself? You ever drive down the road and just tell somebody off and they're not even in the car with you? We're close kin. We're close kin. But watch this. When I say what God has already said, I can't be talked out of that. Because when I go to the word of God and it still reads the same, I just need to re-say it. Now let me show you. You know, sometimes we have prayer for something and man, we're desperate and everybody gather around us and we pray and we feel goosebumps. Our chin quivers, a few tears come down our eyes. Man, we're having the time of our life. Oh God, you're wonderful, you're glorious. Go home, sleep on it, get up the next morning. There's no chill bumps, there's no quivering chin, there's no tears and the devil says to you, you can get it. They ain't a thing changed in your life. Same circumstance, same problem, same situation. And you say, that's right. I'll wait two weeks before I even pray for me again. Maybe it'll do better next time. But watch this. When you take the word of God, and you base your faith on what this book says, And you get up in the morning, there ain't no chill bumps, there's no quivering chin, ain't no tears, there's nothing. And the devil said, you didn't get it, open this Bible and see if it still reads the same. If you place your faith on it, and it still reads the same, you're still in the same market for a miracle, no matter what you feel. It's the word of God. I'm trying to build your faith, because you gotta put your faith on this thing, not just say, well, it's the word of God. You gotta put your faith on it. Yeah. I was preaching in southeastern Oklahoma, camp meeting here some years back, and oh, I don't know, there was an open air deal. And one night before service, they run a concession stand there before church, and I was in the line. Go figure that. gonna get a small hamburger. Just a small one's all I want. And a little blonde headed lady came up to me about this tall and she's just sobbing. And she said, Pastor Dean, can I talk with you? And I said, yes ma'am, you can. We went over to a little cedar tree right there at the end of the tabernacle and first words out of her mouth, she said this, I have AIDS. That's curtains. I have AIDS. Preacher, I've got three small kids. What am I going to do? I said, darling, you're in the right place. God's big enough to do anything. I love preaching this gospel because you don't have to back down from nothing that the devil throws at people. And I preached about the power and the authority of the word of God. And I had them to bring the Bible in a prayer line that night and put their faith on a scripture as we prayed for them. The prayer line was all the way across that auditorium out in the grass on both sides, two lines deep. She was in the second line. I had them give me about four foot there. And by the time I had prayed for probably 150 people at that point, I got to her. Her Bible was stained with tears. Her pages were wet. She was at Isaiah 53 and verse 5. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we're healed. And I said to her this. I said, listen to me, sweetie. You're gonna get where you know that verse of scripture by heart. I wanna challenge you to do something. Every morning when you get up, open that Bible, read that scripture. When you come in for dinner, open that Bible, read that scripture. When you pick your kids up from school, bring them home, read that scripture. Before you go to bed, read that scripture. Don't stop till that scripture gets from here into here. Three years later, I got a, I'm not sure if it text, email, message, I don't know, but I got it on the computer. And she said, I'm the lady at Podo, camp meeting back in, whenever it was, and I'm the one that had AIDS. Well, you don't forget that. I wrote her back, yeah, she said, I wanted you to know, preacher, under Isaiah 53 and verse five as a whole, wore out several pages deep. I've read it every morning, noon, afternoon, and night, and I haven't stopped. I opened that Bible. I wanted you to know, I came back from Oklahoma City today, and my doctor told me, he said, you'll raise him kids and you'll see grandkids. Power in the word of God. Power in the word of God. I've committed my life to memorizing the King James Version. I don't know it all. Don't, don't, don't, don't come here after church and wanna know what Jude chapter five and verse three is. Some of you didn't catch that. But in case you don't know, Jude's got one chapter, but if you go to, if you go to chapter five and verse three, it said, come unto me, all you little taters, and I'll make soup of thee. I've spent a lifetime memorizing scripture, the word of God. But every morning of the world, I get up and open that book and I read from five to 10 chapters every morning in the world. You know why? Because I believe in this book. I believe in this word. I believe in it. I believe in it. Would you bow your heads with me, please, tonight? How precious our Lord is. You know, church, I didn't intend to do this here tonight, but while I was preaching then, I thought, well, if God's leading this direction, then we need to do this. I want to ask, is there anybody in this place tonight unsaved before I get into this altar service tonight? Anybody here unsaved, you're lost and you don't know Jesus? But you want to know him. You're sick of sin. You're tired of living like you're living. You're sick of it. You want a change made in your life. He's the living word, but we have the written word. And when you come to an altar prayer and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin and confess him to be Lord, Jesus looks at the Father and said, that's the formula for salvation in Romans 10. We wrote it like that. Let's save him. And salvation comes because the Word says you can know him and be free from your sin. Is there anybody here? Slip your hand up right back down. Pray for me, preacher. I don't know the Lord, but I want to know him. Maybe everybody here's a Christian, I don't know that. And here's what I'd like to do tonight. I want you to take your Bible, and you've got a need in your life, your family, on the job, your health, whatever it is. I want you to open your Bible tonight to a scripture that relates to your situation. I want to challenge you to do that tonight. Take your Bible and open it to a scripture that relates to your situation of your life. Let me help you with something. Let me show you what I'm talking about. You've got unsaved children. You need to go to Acts 16, verse 31. He brought them out saying, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, thou shalt be saved and thy house. Put your faith on that. You got a physical ailment, you need Isaiah 53 and five. You got a financial situation, Philippians 4, 19. Whatever it is, God's word is to you. And then I'm gonna challenge you to do something. After this service tonight, I want you to pick your Bible up every morning, noon, afternoon, and night, and read that scripture. You'll get where you know it by heart, but there's something about opening the Bible. Something about opening the book. Read it, read it, read it until it gets from the pages of the book into your spirit, into your heart, and into your life. And here's what I want you to do. When you find the scripture that gives you a word from God, I want you to just stand up right at your seat with your Bible in your hand. This is God's word to me, preacher. This is God's word to me. I want you to know how powerful it is. How divine it is. The living word lives in heaven, but the written word was left here for you and I. to address the living word with. It's the word of God, heaven and earth will pass away. But he said, my words will not pass away. When you find that word, I want you to just stand up right at your seat with your Bible in your hand. That's it, just start standing. We're gonna pray. We're gonna pray, we're gonna believe God tonight. I want you to put your faith and confidence. Remember what I said? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God. The more you learn about God, the stronger your faith is. Stronger your faith is, the greater your relationship with God's going to be. When you find it, stand. Have your Bible in your hand, and say, Lord, I'm placing my faith on this. Not man, Not a church, not a family, not a preacher, but God and His Word. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Get ready for God to touch you tonight, and I challenge you when you leave this service, read this every day, every day, every day, every day, several times a day, until you hear from heaven. You're not basing this on what you feel. You're basing this on what God's Word says to you. Let's pray right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare your word, it's everlasting. You said it will not return to be void. God, these people are standing tonight with the everlasting word of God open in their hands tonight. Lord, they're standing here saying, God, this is your word and it's a promise from you to me. We're declaring the victory, we're declaring the glory, we're declaring the experience of heaven in their life. I pray make this word come alive so strong, so real, So great God, when they leave this building tonight, they're gonna be inspired, they're gonna be blessed, they're gonna be uplifted, and they're gonna be strengthened by the hand of God. Move, I pray, according to your word. Bless, Lord, let this word come alive to us. In Jesus' name, I pray. We receive it, Lord.