Forgotten Pathways - Scripture

[00:00:01] Welcome to the River Church podcast. We're all about bringing the life, hope and love of Jesus to everyone around us. For more information, check out our [email protected] where we have been retracing forgotten pathways. We have gone through the pathway of solitude, fasting, service, confession, witnessing. But today we are going to stay and look at the pathway of scripture. [00:00:32] And I want us to pray. [00:00:34] Father, I thank you. [00:00:36] I thank you because you have given us another time to learn from you, from your Word. We have come to you. I have come to you this moment and I ask that you speak through me and you speak to all of us. I ask that what you want to do, you have said you want to dig a well. You want there to be deeper desire for your word, and you want us to become all that you have destined us to be. So, Father, we submit ourselves this morning in this preach, and we ask that you meet every one of us where we are. Holy Spirit, take your place, do your work in Jesus name. Amen. [00:01:11] Amen. [00:01:12] So scripture as we all know it, some of us call it Bible. I've got one here. [00:01:18] We call it Bible, we call it the Word of God. It's also, in fact, in the Old Testament, and in those days it was known as the Book of the Law. [00:01:28] And so you would see a lot of reference in the Old Testament. The Book of the Law is talking about the Bible. It's just that I didn't have the fullness of that back then. But he had the prophets, the laws, the Psalms, you see, they were all there then and so we would usually say Bible. So I may say Bible as I preach this morning. I am talking about Scripture. It's still the same thing. Scripture is a divine path that we must not abandon, no matter what the world offers, no matter what the world becomes. [00:01:57] Charles Ponjian said something and I want us to pay attention to it. It's a bit rusty. It's a bit, you know, it could sting a bit, but it's the truth. He said backsliders begin with dusty Bibles and end with filthy garments. The simple thing that he was saying in that is that the moment you begin to ignore the Word of God, the moment you begin to act like you don't need it and you don't read it and you don't stay in it, then you begin to draw closer to sin. It becomes very easy to. To fall into the trap of sin. It's just the honest truth. He said it. And that's why you see that David said, I have Hidden my word in your heart that I might not sin against you. He said that in Psalm 119. I want to, at this point, urge everyone to take a moment to go and read Psalm 119. It does a good job of just expounding the word, telling you what the word of God is and how it benefits you. I have found it very enriching. [00:02:54] Now, I was raised in a Baptist church, and I don't know if anyone knows this. It's called SWAT Drill. Do you remember it? Who remembers it? Give me a wave. Yes, yes. And we would have our Bibles. And, you know, just every time I prepared this sermon, I felt like the Holy Spirit was reminding me again and again. I wanted to act it out, but I thought I may lose time. So we would be asked to hold our Bible in. In this way first. So it says, shift your sword. That's what they say. And then they say, draw your sword. Everybody goes like this. We're about 10 of us in front, you know, and they say, okay, open to Jeremiah 33:19. [00:03:32] The first person who finds it jumps out and reads it out. [00:03:36] It was a game of speed, but it was a game of familiarity, meaning how well can you find your Scripture? [00:03:43] Juicy, do you know where to go? Are you looking for Jeremiah at the end of the Bible as an example? [00:03:49] And as I prepared this preach, I felt like God was saying that was a skill being given to us. And I hope we even do it with the youth. I think we try a couple of times to do it with the youth and even the children, but that was the skill being given to us back then so that when we grow older now, when we really need to draw into the Word, we can quickly find it. So it means that there is a lesson of familiarity in that activity. [00:04:14] And so the question is, how familiar are you with the Bible? [00:04:18] But also, it's not just about familiarity. [00:04:23] It's also about what the Bible can do for you, in you and through you. [00:04:30] That's really what it's about. Yes. Be fast to guess it, because there will be days where you really need to dig out a scripture because you need it. But see, familiarity with Scripture will not only bring you information, but so I know it. I know where John 3:16 is. I know what he says. But over time, because of some of the things we're going to hear today, it would bring you formation, it would build you, and it's our pathway to being like Christ. There's no other way. There's no other way. [00:04:58] Amen, sis. Thank you. There's no other way. And I realized that it's only when you have the Bible that you can draw the sword, that you can pull it out. You can't pull out what you don't have, meaning that if you don't know, you can't pull it out. So there is a call over us today to be the people, a church, a family that knows the word, that pulls out the word, that uses the word. [00:05:23] So I've said it's not just formation in formation. Rather it's also formation. [00:05:30] Scripture is the primary way. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind. As we think God's thoughts after him, we begin to develop the mind of Christ. [00:05:40] Romans 12:2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test. [00:05:51] It's only then you can approve what God's will is. It's only then you can tell that how I am living my life is right or not. When your mind is renewed, when you have allowed the world to stay inside of you. [00:06:04] Today God is reminding us as a church to review our habits and truly practice being a Christian. I was reading John Mac Comer's book, Practicing the Way. [00:06:18] Somehow my husband bought it. I was supposed to be the one buying it because I was the one who was meant to prepare. But he bought it, and I thought, I need that book. [00:06:25] And he said something. He said, the Catholics have what you call Catholics, and they have practicing Catholics, any former Catholic in the house. Is that true? Yeah. Yes. Thank you. So he said, the. The Catholics are, you know, we just. That's the name. That's who we are. You know, just go by the name. But that the practicing Catholics, they do every. They follow the way. They follow the pathway. And he was saying, maybe it is time that we also stop just saying, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian, but truly become practicing Christians. [00:06:58] And that's the call. [00:06:59] That's the call of our lives. That's why we've been on this forgotten pathway, to remember the original, the ancient pathway. I was reading Habakkuk, and Habakkuk was talking about the fact that the path of the Lord is ancient, but it does not mean it's outdated. [00:07:12] It forever remains the way, the only way. I wish our youth were here. That even in 20, 30 years, no matter what AI does, and whatever happens, the word of the Lord remains true and it remains firm. [00:07:24] And that's what we're hearing today. So today I realized that God is Asking us for some of us to go and dust, you know, take the dust off our Bibles. For some of us who maybe we already, you know, do a great job to renew our strength today. And for some of us. And if you're here, you don't have a Bible. You know, for some of us, we're going to be starting anew. We're going to be saying, I want to read my Bible after this. I really want to. And you don't have a Bible. I brought four new Bibles and I want to give it to you. It's for you. I don't want to take it home. Come and take it. Come and sit with it. You want to know why? I'll tell you why after we read the scripture. [00:08:00] Scriptures in a bit. So our anchor scripture is second Timothy 3, 16, 17 and another one. So if you're with your Bible physically, you can open and if not, if it's on your phone, that's great as well. Please open up. [00:08:16] Second Timothy 3, 16 says all scripture, all of it is God breath and is useful for teaching, useful for rebuking, useful for correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God, you and I may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. [00:08:41] So this scripture, God breath on it like literally. [00:08:47] Do you see? That's enough reason for us not to even stay far away from it. Yeah, that's enough reason. But then is that we can, we can use it to teach ourselves like this, but we can also use it to rebuke each other. We can use it to rebuke. You can use the eye reason to rebuke myself. I don't need anyone's day, Jackie. That was not good. That was below par. Yeah. And you can use to correct yourself, say, oh, this is how to do it. Oh, this is the way to walk. Oh, this is how to speak. This is juicy. You can do that, but you can also use to train and build muscle. [00:09:17] Let's look at the second scripture. [00:09:21] It says in Psalm 19, 7, 11. [00:09:24] I wanted us to look at it side by side to see what that scripture was saying in second Timothy and what this one is saying the same thing. The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. This Bible, I would use my Bible interchangeably. Please bear with me, but follow the Bible is trustworthy. The word of God is trustworthy. Making the simple wise the precepts of the law. The word of God is right. It gives joy to the heart. And as I was sitting there, the Lord was saying to me, if anyone is Going through any, you know, emotional trouble. It says the Bible gives you joy. [00:10:02] Go and sit with it. I had been there, and I'm not. We're not just saying scripture or preaching a sermon. I have been in down. Have had down times where I literally just sit with a psalm and. And my heart receives joy again, not because all is perfect, but because I feel the love of God through the Word. I have the assurance and I know that God is with me. [00:10:23] Yes. [00:10:24] So it says that the commands of the Lord are radiant. They give light to your eyes. [00:10:29] The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever the decrees of the Lord, this Word, they are firm and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold. They are sweeter than honey. And by them, you and I are warned by this Word of God. If we keep this Word of God, there is great reward for keeping the Word of God. [00:10:50] And we will get our reward as we continue to keep the Word. [00:10:54] So it matters. [00:10:56] Scripture matters. The Bible matters. We cannot, you know, subtract it from our life and our living because Scripture builds. [00:11:06] Scripture builds. I've said that Scripture is life giving. We already saw that in second Timothy 3, 16. [00:11:12] That, you know, it is God breath. [00:11:14] Scripture builds. Scripture does a great job of, you know, think of what a gym is to, you know, where are my gym buddies here? Simeon Co. You know, they will tell you what it does to a bodybuilder, isn't it? You're accumulating muscle upon muscle. You're becoming more fit, isn't it? You are stronger. That's what the Bible does. It takes you and you can go on a growing journey with the Lord if you stay with him, but by becoming a baby. And it's fine to be a baby, you know, some of us are babies. Some of us were babies before, you know, you become baby to a toddler, to a child, you know, to a preteen, a teen. So there's growth to an adult and even to a grandpa. Until Jesus comes. [00:11:55] Yes, until Jesus comes. Charles Spurgeon says nobody ever outgrows scripture. [00:12:00] The book widens and it deepens with your years. It's the truth. [00:12:06] It's the truth. I was reading a scripture again a few days ago and I thought I didn't see that before. You know, just telling you the potential it carries to keep teaching and renewing and refreshing you again and again. Scripture is light. [00:12:20] Scripture is light. [00:12:22] Scripture allows us to see where we are headed. It keeps us from getting lost in life even when our parents are not there, even when, you know Our friends are not there or anyone to hold us accountable. You can go into scripture and you will find your way. Honestly, you will. When I struggled with obeying and doing something, Scripture aligned me. Remember my last preach on faith? That was some alignment that I got. It was light. And God used the word to assure me, you know, that I'm with you. We can do this together. I did this for Abraham. Did this. And I thought, okay, I got some light, and he helped me. [00:12:57] Psalm 119, 105 says, Your word is a lamp for my feet. A lamp for my feet and a light on my path. [00:13:05] Psalm 19:8 says, the commands of the Lord are radiant. They give light to the eyes. [00:13:12] Scripture is a mirror. [00:13:14] You ever need to look at yourself and really be sure. [00:13:17] Scripture is a mirror. It's a revealer. It shows us who we really are, and it reveals our hearts to God so that he can. He reveals our heart to us so that God can transform us. We can't run away from Scripture. It's how we are going to be better. It's how we are going to be more like Christ. That's the whole essence. It's not just about knowing scripture to go to heaven. [00:13:38] No, it's about actually knowing scripture to be like him whilst we remain here on earth. It's very important. [00:13:47] And it says here, again, I say here, that scripture is a weapon. Sorry about this slide if it's not looking good. Okay. It's looking good there. So it says it's a weapon, and you know, it's a weapon of defense. Think about a soldier without an ammunition. Is he joking? So think about it going to war, and then he doesn't have anything, and he's going. You can't do that. Ephesians 6:17 says that the word of God is the sword of the spirit. It says, take the sword of the spirit. It is the word of God. This is our sword. So literally, boom, boom, boom. Yes. Create that image in your mind, which is why. And it's not just by holding the Bible. So it's not holding the Bible, but it's the fact that the word, if you know it's inside of you, you can use it, you know, as defense. I'm telling you. And we will see. We will see how Jesus did it. D.L. moody, you know, said one of generals in the past said a scarlet thread running through the Bible. [00:14:41] The whole book points to Christ. That the scarlet thread you can see all through is that it's all about Christ. [00:14:48] It's all about Jesus. So despite Jesus being The Savior, despite, you know, Jesus being the Word. The Bible says Jesus, you know, in John 1:1:3, it says Jesus was the Word made flesh. And though he is the Word, he still lived by the Word when he was here on earth. [00:15:09] He gave us a good example. Despite being the Savior, being the Word himself, he practiced the way of immersing himself in Scripture. [00:15:19] I want you to tap your neighbor and say, it's time to immerse. [00:15:23] And I mean it. Tell them, because it's time to immerse. We need to go deeper. No more surface level. That's what this preach is about. It's time to immerse yourself. [00:15:33] Okay? And so we're going to look at beautiful examples I would run through because I don't want to, you know, take too much time. But Jesus knew, He read, he used, he lived by Scripture, he taught from scripture, gave us a good example of how to live on earth. He stood up to read when he went to church, like we are in church today. Jesus went to church. Just so you know. So the next time you're feeling lazy about it, remember that Jesus went to church. Jesus went to church. He stood up and he read from the scroll of Isaiah and he declared the fulfillment of the Word. [00:16:06] Jesus. When the people had turned the temple to a marketplace, he went there and he quoted Isaiah again. [00:16:13] He said. He quoted Isaiah 56, verse 7. He said, My house will be called a house of prayer. Stop this. And he did all that dismantling because you can't do what you're not meant to do in the house of God. Even when they asked Jesus about marriage, Jesus quoted Genesis, isn't it? Yep. Telling you that every book is serious. It's not a joke. Don't think. Oh, the New Testament. No, no, no, no, no. Even Jesus came and referred to them. [00:16:39] Wisdom is there for us. Counsel is there for us, and we can go on. There are many examples to give, but I want to go further, to say Jesus showed us that we can go through life situations and thrive by the Word. [00:16:55] And thrive using the Word. Jesus was tempted. [00:17:00] Jesus was tempted. [00:17:02] And in Matthew 4:1 11, Satan came to Jesus literally, telling him, using the word of God literally every time. Write it down. Go and study the temptation of Jesus. He came and said, if you are the Son of God, he came again. He said, if you are the Son of God, jump down, throw yourself down. For it is written that you will command your angels. Isn't it concerning you? So you can do it. Throw yourself and let me see your angels. Come and carry You. But for every time that Jesus was tempted, guess what he did? Family, do you know what he did? [00:17:35] He quoted the scripture. He said, it is written, do not put the Lord your God to test as an example. And even when Satan was not relenting, because that guy is. I don't want to use the word. You would say I'm cursing. But you know, that guy doesn't relent. And that's something we must know. And this is why we must be filled with the word. Because when he comes like that, you also must be ready. You know what Jesus said to him eventually? He said the devil took him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. And, and all this, he said, all this I will give you, he said, and if you bow down, worship me. Jesus said to him, away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. [00:18:17] And the Bible says the devil left him and angels came and attended to him. Jesus used scripture in times of temptation. What are you facing right now? Have you found a matching scripture for it? Can you find it? What is that thing you easily that besetting sin? Can you find a scripture for it now and begin to use it to counter it and tell Satan, get thee away from me. Yes, yes. Nothing can have a hold on you. It's in our being grounded in the Word. Jesus used it in teaching a lot. And I'm not going to go into that because we can see it all over the Bible. He also used it in correcting. Every time he wanted to tell them the better way, he would use the scripture. It's the best way to use for the children. I tried often and a lot just to say, see if you don't even hear me, please hear the word. Right. Do what the word says. Yeah, and I have to do that often. [00:19:03] I remember that. I have to do that often. [00:19:06] I remember, you know, also just saying about how scripture can be used to correct us. How I used to pray in my early days and I'll make you laugh a bit. [00:19:14] Some of us who are maybe from Nigeria would understand this or maybe from Africa, maybe even all of us will. But I will tell you what it is. So when we used to. Well, I joined a fellowship at some point in university. I used to stay with my auntie and we used to pray like fire prayers. Who knows what we call fire prayers? [00:19:29] They're already waving. They know. I'll tell you what it is. So we pray prayers like every enemy of my life die by fire. [00:19:38] Don't laugh. Khalid. [00:19:42] And so at some point I went to those meetings. And it's not as if we don't need to pray those Holy Ghost fire sometimes. But the point was I did it a lot. [00:19:50] And my husband, every time we're praying, I realized that I used to lose him. And he was just wondering, why is she trying to kill people? What's wrong? [00:19:59] And I'm saying this, I'm really saying this just so you understand that there's something called growth in the Word. But you know how t corrected me? He said, babe, Jesus already died. [00:20:10] Don't laugh, church, I thought you had my back. [00:20:13] He said, and he said to me, look at the epistles, look at the word of God. Jesus already died. You have overcome. I remember how he opened Ephesians 1 and said to me, look at it. It says, you should pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened, that you know the hope of your calling. He says, can you leave this one alone and begin to quote scripture? That changed my how scripture can correct us. [00:20:41] So then I realized Jackie. So I started praying better prayers. If you see me better praying better prayers, I got corrected using the Word even when Jesus suffered, Jesus suffered. And I liked when Ian came in to put the balance there, that you know, suffering, we will go through suffering. But one thing is this, you can also trust the Word. God is faithful. [00:21:01] You can. [00:21:02] I've been in some funny pain for one year now, trying to find a diagnosis. You wouldn't know except I tell you, but I have just stood on the word of God that you know what the plans of God for my life, they are good. [00:21:16] God has purpose for my life. I will live that life irregardless of this pain. That's what I've been saying to myself. [00:21:24] And what have I stood on the Word? [00:21:27] Jesus quoted Psalm 22, verse 1. [00:21:31] So don't simply read your Bible to get to heaven tomorrow. Allow the Word to bring a taste of heaven into your life. Today when I was doing my master's here, I'll tell you that story. And I think you know, let's see how that goes. And I was hustling because my mother paid only half of my fees. And I'm grateful to God for her because that was a lot for sacrifice, but she did that for me. I came to the UK to do my masters in 2007, and I needed to pay the remaining half. So I had to work very hard as well as schooling. And I remember my first job was in Arsenal Stadium as a kitchen porter. And I used to wash Plates, you see, the way I'm speaking with dignity was a good job, you know, I used to wash the plates and you know the time we have the matches, right? You know what the premier leagues and all of that. [00:22:16] So nighttime, isn't it? And you are the one who's going to wash the plates. That all the club chiefs and all the big boys, you know, they used to have their three course meal. So it means that I was leaving that place at about 10:30, 11, you know, get on the night bus. I would be cold, alone, and I would wonder why. Why did it have to be this hard? Why was my father not richer? Why didn't they have more money? You know, it was painful. Then I would go and braid people's hair because I learned how to braid hair as a way to make more money as well. It was hard. Let me tell you what carried me in that moment. My parents were far away. I didn't have them here. It was 1st Peter 5.10B. 1st Peter 5,10B says, after you have suffered a little while, the Lord will strengthen you, he will support you, he will establish you. That Word carried me. [00:23:01] Then I got a job in Selfridges. Ah, big girl, you know, you know, but the point is, that Word carried me. [00:23:11] When I finished that season, I thanked the Lord for it. [00:23:15] Hallelujah. In suffering, whether it's in sickness, whether in whatever it is, God's Word is able to carry us so that we don't break. Hallelujah. [00:23:25] Even in resurrection, even in confirming times and season. When Jesus had resurrected, he appeared to them in Luke 24 and he was walking with them, those guys remember? And they said as he spoke, because he said, this is that scripture, it has come alive. I'm here now, I have woken up like this is it. Those guys said as he shared, their hearts burned. [00:23:44] That's what should happen when you read the Word. If it's not happening yet, don't worry. Keep longing for it, keep praying for it and keep reading the Word. [00:23:51] It would happen. It would happen. So if Jesus was familiar with scripture in this way, how much more? [00:23:59] We haven't got a choice. [00:24:01] And the thing about this whole pathways we're talking about is that we are apprentices of Jesus Christ. We are following. [00:24:09] We are in the age where discipleship cannot be played with. We are his disciples. We are following his path. And so because of that, we are going to have to build a system that works for us. We are going to read the scripture. And you know what reading looks like? Reading looks like walking through Your garden. So you are skimming the surface. That's a good level to be. It's okay if you're there, but don't stay there, because what that does is that it exposes you to the Bible. You become familiar. But God wants to take you deeper. He wants you to also move to studying. [00:24:39] He wants you to move to studying. I'll come back to Tim Keller later. He wants you to move to studying. Studying is now when you begin to dig the soil. That's the moment where you take the Bible and you're saying, who, why, what, when do you see? You're asking questions, you're checking translations because you want to know what it really means. You're looking for meaning. Now. What studying does for us, Church, is that it begins to give us understanding. [00:25:07] Yeah. And that progression needs to happen. In our walk with God, we can't just stay at skimming the surface. We want to go deeper. But, you know, the other thing you must do, and reading can be. Can also be listening. So the audio Bibles are great. I see that my son loves audio Bibles, and I realize it's working for him, you know, so you can do that. And that's great as well. So we move from reading to studying. We begin to confess it. You know, when you begin to understand, begin to confess it. Even if you don't quote the verbatim, you have an idea, and that's really great. I want to show you what Acts 17:11 says. It says they received the Word with eagerness and they examined the Scriptures daily. [00:25:45] I'll leave that with you. [00:25:48] And then we also have meditating. You see, meditating is the third level. Reading, studying, meditating. That one. I love it so much. That one is where you get the juice of the Bible. I'm telling you. And you see, I'm saying it. It's like when you marinate, you know, when you want to prepare your barbecue. [00:26:02] Right. Or your what? Or your meat and all of that. And you put the ingredients and the spices the day before, isn't it? And leave it in the fridge like I've done for something we're gonna make today. Yeah. And I'm not gonna say I don't want to have guests, you know, so. [00:26:17] So, you know, But I've marinated it, and it's there. And I know what has happened. That meat has taken in all of the spice. It will be too tasty. Hopefully not too salty. [00:26:28] You know, what. What am I trying to say, family? Meditate on the word of God. This is the point where it sinks in. And I felt really strongly to just give you a practical example, you know, before I go. Ephesians 3:10 is my favorite Bible. Ephesians 3:10. 2:10. 2:10, 2:10. I'll read it. It says, for we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Now, the way you meditate is that you take one scripture and begin to chew it. [00:27:11] You chew it. It's like going under a tree, plucking the fruits, sitting under that tree and eating it. [00:27:19] So you know what I do with this scripture? I say, God's handiwork. [00:27:24] Oh, wow. Not just my mom creating me. No, no, no, no, no. I'm a masterpiece, unique. He made me. So it begins to sink in my head, you see? And then I go on and I say, created in Christ Jesus. So the moment I give my life to Christ, you know, I have a new life. It's telling me now that my life in Christ Jesus is for me to do good works. Oh, wow. There are good works for me to do. Oh, wow. Then I begin to sit, and I'm like, oh, wow. You know? And it says, which God prepared in advance. Another version says, before you were born predestined. And I'm like, ah, wow. So now that I'm in Christ Jesus, I can live the life that God planned for me before. Oh, wow. I better get onto it. Do you see what meditation does? It's not just. And we're done. [00:28:11] One guy said his name is David Matthews, is a pastor. He said, don't let the push to check boxes keep you from lingering over a text, whether to seek to understand it, which is study, or to emotionally glory in what you understand. To say and say, ah. Even though I've sinned, Christ has paid the price. I can be all that God destined for me. Nothing missing, nothing broken. That's what meditation does to me. I've taken that scripture and I've turned it in and out. Nobody can tell me otherwise. That's something that we all must start doing. And I trust God to help us in the name of Jesus. And so we will also leave it. We will listen to. We would obey it. It's very important to obey it. It's very important to use it. And I want to end quickly. I said, I'll go back to Tim Keller. And I wanted to say it here. He said, God's way is perfect and his word is flawless. A perfect God could have nothing less than perfect communication with his People, it is we who read hastily, who skip prayer and fail to meditate on his Word, who find it confusing. [00:29:22] And so find what works for you. Family. [00:29:24] Find what works for you. Whether it's reading in the morning or whether it's reading the audio Bible. Like I said, physical one, digital one, just engage it. Find your moments. Whether it's in the morning, in the nighttime, whether it's on the train, just find your moment. Find your place. Church. Whether it's a quiet chair, if you have a nice rocking chair in your home, you know, sit there. Whether it's a garden, wherever it is, a closet on your bed, just get in there. [00:29:52] So we can be with Jesus when we read the Bible. That's how we be with Jesus. [00:30:00] Yes. [00:30:01] And so that we can become transformed by the Word, because that's how we become like Jesus. [00:30:09] And so that we can obey the Word and do as he did. [00:30:15] Church. If I live here and don't tell you the danger of forgetting the pathway, I wouldn't have done well, which is the danger of the fact that you will be like a soldier who goes to war without the sword. You can't be that person because Satan will come and tell you the Bible. He will come and even say the way he said to Eve. You remember what he said to Eve? Did God not say, and she fell for it? But when you have the Word and it's hidden in your heart, you are able to count time. You will not be vulnerable to Satan. So we need the Word. So as we go today, I pray in the name of Jesus. If you want to stretch out your hand, I want you to do so. If you want to put your hand over your heart, I want you to do so. Aw Tozer, very respected Christian author. He said, whatever keeps my Bible away from me or whatever keeps me away from my Bible, is my enemy. It says, however harmless it may appear to me, it is my enemy. I want us to pray. Say, father, help me. I want to draw closer. I want to go deeper. I want us to pray. Say, father, help me. You have just reminded me that this is your Word. This is what I need. This is my life. You have just shown me all of that. And so, Father, I want to go deeper. I want to be with you more. [00:31:19] I want to become like Jesus more. And I want to do as you do so. Father, this morning, on behalf of all of us, including myself, we receive your grace this morning. And we receive the power to spend more time to eat and chew the Word, to be transformed by the Word and even as a church that will be a church that is grounded in the word always. In Jesus, mighty name we pray. Amen. Thank you, church Sa.