I like to study. Uh, well actually, scratch that. I love to study.
This is a thing in my house. Uh, I, I think, I think it's a thing in my house. Uh, I enjoy spending my time in a good book and just kinda gleaning from it. Um, my family likes to drop some subtle hints to me in some funny ways. Uh, last year for Christmas I received a T-shirt that says, "I put my book down to be here." And so I don't think that was necessarily a compliment, uh, but it does speak to my desire and enjoyment of studying.
But that hasn't always been the case, though. Uh, I did, uh, take six years to graduate college. Uh, so I didn't really enjoy studying when I was in college.
However, there was one class that really drew my attention more than others. It's actually the one class I tell my kids that I still remember today out of the plethora of classes that I took, and that was astronomy. I just loved astronomy. It had absolutely nothing to do with my major, um, but of course, my major was baseball, so nothing had to do with my major. Uh, and but I was just drawn in by astronomy, the vastness of it, uh, just the expanse of it. I, I believe that, that that was the beginning of, of God drawing me into His greatness and His scope. Uh, it is mind-blowing just, uh, when I think and when I look up. It still even today does the same thing to me.
But maybe this describes somewhat of your experience in this area. When it comes to study, does it stress you out? I know for many students it does. Do you get excited to study, or does it feel like just a lot of work, a lot of labor, or maybe too academic, or maybe you're like, "No, thanks. I'm not interested." So then how do you get someone to study?
This is a question that has plagued parents for generations. How do you get children to do anything? Um, well, there's components to this. There, there does need to be a drawing towards it, a curiosity, an affection. You need to find some value in it as well, right, if you're gonna study something.
And then there's a greatness that's involved in this. You start to see it for something greater than what you thought it was when you first started.
And I don't care who you are in this room today, I believe everyone loves to study. What they love to study varies, but a love to study nonetheless in a particular area of interest. Most people that I've met have an area of interest that appeals to them.
Well, here we are, about halfway through our Pasco series this summer, trekking through the expectations of our, our members here at Sunrise, and we have begun with prayer. Andrew brought us this.
We expect our members to pray.
We expect our members to attend, uh, church, and so much other, uh, things that we offer around here. Adam brought us that. Uh, last week Chad hit on service, to be involved in the way that we serve, and today it is study.
And I know some of you on, in here might be starting to shut down in this area, because you used to study, and you meant to take off just a couple days, and these couple of days turned into a couple of weeks, and these couple of weeks, a couple of months, and then you know how this goes, a couple of years, maybe even a couple decades, worst case scenarios. You just haven't quite gotten back to that desire and that love to study. You haven't been able to stir up enough motivation or encouragement or momentum to even sustain it for any length of time.
So you may be saying, "Yeah, yeah, Scott.
We know this. We, we know we need to study more.
But you don't know my life right now. You don't... I don't have the time to do this. I just... I'm, I'm, I'm stretched thin these days." Or, "You know what? I'm not smart enough. I don't have a, a PhD, an MDiv, a bachelor's, an assoc- I, I actually dropped out of school. I'm not smart enough to study this material. I need help. I need someone to come alongside me and help me to study this," or, "I don't have the resources." I think Pastor Adam hit on both of those today. You may not have the resources, but there are resources available. How about the season of life you're in? "You don't get where I'm at right now in this season of life. How can I possibly study?" Well, the reality is the biggest hindrance to study is you.
You are the biggest hindr- hindrance in this area.
But there's good news, because if you're a believer in this room, if you are saved, if you are a child of God, then you should also know this: there are many wonderful benefits to being His child, and especially in this area. One such benefit is the Holy Spirit.
We know, uh, the Holy Spirit takes responsibility for the child of God, to particularly dwell down in this area, and to help each believer to understand and to know the Word of God. James 4:8 tells us, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Do you not think that if you seek after Him genuinely, that He will not show up for you? In our text today, we will encounter a word that is used about 200 times, uh, in the Old Testament, and about half of those times it's used in s- in the specific way that we're talking about this morning, and that word is study. It's be- been mentioned a bunch of times already. In our text, we're s- we'll see it as studied.
And I believe this word really has two main actions going on. The first action here is to seek and to search out or sought after, a pursuit of something with a desire and a delight.
This is not a passive word.
This is a movement, an intention behind it.
But there's more. There's a second aspect of this word that includes actions. It's also a slowing down. You know this, parents. If you ask your kids if they'd studied for school, what you don't mean is, did they lay the books out on the table and just go to that extent? That's not what you mean. You mean, did they open those books? Did they spend time hovering over those books? Did they slow down to take in the information? It's more than just having material. It is the intention to seek, but also the slowing down to take in. For example, ever study a good painting or a gem, a diamond? Some of you, maybe an engine. You know you're just fascinated by this thing, how it was put together, how it works, how it functions, the beauty of it, every aspect of it.
This is an example of something that you could spend time in because you're drawn to it, but yet you're amazed by it because of all of these details.
And when you're amazed by something, you tend to be drawn back to it over and over, and linger more and more on it.
And something like this is before us today.
Our subject, He is awesome and holy, and it's good to have a healthy, reverent fear of our subject today.
But keep this in mind: our subject also summons us to draw close.
And God invites us to take Him in and to linger and to meditate on Him.
So my hope and intentions are for us today that no matter where you find yourself in this area, that you will step up, step out, and press on in your pursuit to take on the habit and discipline of being studious, being a learner.
Let us pray.
Father God, we do need your help, Lord. You draw your people close to you. You are great and awesome and holy, and for us to wrap our, our puny minds around you is an awesome task that only you can do. Lord, help us as we look at your Word, as we look at our subject and our area today, and the expectations of our members here at Sunrise. Would you do what we can't do, Lord? In Jesus' name, amen.
So I have two main points today. The first point is: why study?
And the second point is: what to study.
So our first point, why study? Why are we putting such a significance on such a basic principle? I have at least three reasons for this.
First, when God saves a person, He saves the whole person. Still a sinner, still going to have struggles, yes, this is true, but still remaining in the world. Not the same, though. Changed. Different. Given a new heart, given new desires, a new control center, if you will.
And from that control center comes out new insight, new passions, new purpose, a new will and desire to please God, a desire to live a holy life, and last but not least, a desire- To study. A desire to know more. A desire to delight in.
And this is what we're stressing in our summer series here. Lacking this desire is concerning. I hope you'll see that today. I hope you realize that, and hope you understand that as elders of Sunrise, that it is a concern for us, too, when we hear this coming from some of our members, especially those who are claiming to be a follower of Christ.
And that's the first reason.
Second reason is this, why, why we should study. It's a mark of a healthy disciple.
This is a mark of a healthy disciple. No one, not even one, is righteous. Everyone is an enemy to God, separated and hopeless.
We all have sinned. We've all turned away. There is no one good.
We are all suppressors of truth by nature.
This is true.
But yet every genuine believer has been called out of darkness into a marvelous light, purchased and redeemed to now walk in this light, a light that is a lamp to our feet, who now no longer love the world they once loved, no longer love the sins they once partook in, no longer did what they used to do. You will also find this strange, new love growing, a desire to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. It's a mark of a healthy disciple. This area that we are spending time in today comes out of the work that God is doing and has done. Regular study is a good, healthy behavior of a follower of Christ.
This is the second reason why we study.
But third, because it's commanded in scripture. We're commanded to study, for no one came to Jesus unless the Father has drawn him. God desires for his people to have knowledge of him. It is through the Son that we gain this knowledge, that understanding is given to us, that his people shall love him with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all of their strength. How are we to do that without knowing who God is, without knowing what he's said, and without studying this God?
We turn now to Psalm 111.
This is our text today. If you would , Psalm 111.
This is where we're gonna camp out.
This is gonna be the central passage we focus on and also the springboard into our conversation today on study. One thing to make mention up front is today is less of an exposition of Psalm 111 and more of an expedition, uh, exposition on the w- on study and our expectations here. This psalm here provides the context needed for everything I've been explaining up to this point. That's why I, I use it as a springboard to move us forward, because it doesn't just give us the instruction, it gives us the direction.
But a couple things to point out before we read.
First is this. As we work through this text, you'll notice this ebb and flow, this wonderful back and forth, this waltz, if you will, this complimentary recognition of the person of God and the works of God and the author's response to both of those things.
This is an example to us, and our life should reflect a similar poetry. That's one thing we'll notice in our text today. The second thing I wanna point out, interestingly enough, this psalm is set up very much like our summer series in that there's an acronym here. The psalm is set up alphabetically with the Hebrew alphabet, drawing on each letter, starting out each line as a tool for memorization, as a tool for passing along and to recall, much like Pasco is for us here. That's our desire and how we're using that, that you would remember and be able to draw on these things.
Finally, you'll notice as we work through this, a lot of starting and stopping, maybe some pivoting and some changing directions in his thought pattern. You'll notice this. Sometimes there's a thought that seems like it doesn't flow, but it is what the author wants to draw our attention to.
So let's do that now. Let's turn to Psalm 111, and let me read verse one. "Praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of-" Of the upright in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear Him. He remembers His covenant forever. He has shown His people the power of His works in giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are faithful and just. All His precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people. He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
Immediately our passage begins by the author expressing to us his position, his praise.
Verse one, we see this immediate praise from not some of his heart, not most of his heart, but his whole heart. His mind praises the effects that he is meditating on. His will praises the impact and his will to, uh, to move in the, in the way that lo- the Lord is drawing him. His inner man praises Lord, the Lord totally, fully. His character, his emotions, and his affections.
We launch in immediately to see how the author is responding to who God is and what God has done.
And verse two then brings us to how this praise and to where this praise is then rooted.
We can see in verse two we are drawn to the works of God, how he has studied these works, and how that has resulted in his delighting then, then in them.
And I wonder if that's how you walked in today. I wonder if you came in today ready to delight in the Lord for the works that He's done because you have studied those works, and you show up today to praise Him just like in verse one. Praise the Lord. Did you come in ready to offer praises with a whole heart? Can anyone truly offer praise with a whole heart? Maybe not, but it shouldn't stop us from trying.
But this praise then leads somewhere. There is a result.
We see where the author begins, but let's look now at how it ends and where this delight then leads him to.
Verse 10. The proper fear of the Lord, we see, is the beginning of wisdom.
So this delight, this study in the works of God then results in this good and healthy fear of God.
And we know that in the absence of fear, there's wickedness, there's darkness, and destruction, and death. When you stop fearing the Lord, this will eventually be the result. Foolishness runs rampant when you lose your fear of the Lord. An environment where sin is the, is the norm. It's the very air that's breathed.
But this is not the case for the one who delights in the Lord. Why is that? Fear. Healthy, reverent fear of God. The psalmist implies then that we are to be like him in this way, delighting in this fearing of God. That we are to delight in the wisdom that it produces. That we are to delight then to put this into practice, this wisdom, and to then delight in the understanding of the result that this leads us toward. All of this is foundational to why we study.
So with that question answered then, let's then turn our attention now to the second point, what to study. What we don't mean here at Sunrise is this general call to study whatever you want. Don't miss that, okay? When we say PASGO and you see the S for study, it doesn't just mean freely study anything. No exercise and diet trends, sports or technology. No, we mean something very specific here.
We first start with God. Start in this study of the person of God. Paul tells us in Romans 11, "For from Him and through Him" Through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
We begin with God. Without knowing this, and without knowing God, you'll see that our subject today is just merely information. Pastor Adam referred to it earlier, like just swelling of the head.
And that may not interest you then if it's just information. Maybe confusing, hard to grasp, maybe too lofty, so why even try?
But no matter where you are, it's always going to bring you back to God, which is it, why, this is why we start there then.
This is why we start with God.
And we start with the whole person of God.
We look at the Father, the one who has always been, who's created all things, who's promised his people of a coming savior. He has predestined His people, chosen them, elected them for His own possession. For these and many more reasons, this is why we study the Father.
But we also study His Son, Jesus Christ, the Son who has always been, God incarnate, God in the flesh, truly God, truly man, perfectly obedient from bor- uh, His birth to His death, sinless servant of His Father, provided atonement, and made the full payment, which tore open the veil that gave us access then to God. He rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and will return again to gather His people. For these and many more reasons is why we study the Son of God.
We also study the Holy Spirit, who has always been, who awakens the sinner, shining light in the darkness. Sam prayed for us earlier that we would have eyes to see. He calls and enables sinners to respond to the good news of the gospel. He gives spiritual eyes to the blind. He gives spiritual ears, uh, to the deaf so we can see and we can hear, and that is all of us. He indwells every true child of God, helping that child all the days of their life. For these and many more reasons, which is why we study the Holy Spirit.
This is the God the psalmist draws our attention to. Returning to our text now, let's look at, at some of these specific things. Let's see where His delight is.
Verse three: He is righteousness that endures forever. His moral excellence is perfect. All of His judgments, perfect in every way. No error. His justice, perfect every single time. He is righteous.
And this righteousness endures forever and ever.
Verse four: God is gracious and merciful. Know this. Gracious, and who doesn't need grace today? Who doesn't need mercy?
This is who God is.
Verse five: He is a provider. Everything you need, He will provide in His way.
We often think about our own ways He can provide. How often, almost always, it's never the way that He provides.
But He is a provider of His people. Also in verse five, we see that He remembers His covenant. Not because He's forgotten it, but it's always before Him. Everything He does, this is in view.
We often are the ones who forget the covenant, not God.
Verse nine: Holy is our God. Holy. He is separated. What is God like? He is like nothing. He is His own. There's nothing like God. Separated from all things in a category all His own. Also in verse nine we see that His name is awesome. Instilling power and majesty. His is the only name above all names that command such an awesomeness.
So this is the God that we are to know, and this is the God that we are to, uh, then boast in. I love this verse from Jeremiah. Let me read this. Jeremiah 9: Thus says the Lord, "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches.
But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me. That I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these- "These things I delight," declares the Lord.
This is what we should boast in. If you don't know this God, how then can you boast? If you don't study this God, what are you boasting in? We're called to boast. No one here needs training in boasting. This comes pretty natural. Theologian John Frame says this, I, I like this statement. He says, "Christian knowledge is knowledge of a person." I love that. It really focuses us this morning. A knowledge that requires study.
We start here because there will be no other person in your life worth studying more than God.
This is where it all begins.
This is point one.
We study the person of God.
Second point, we study the Word of God.
Our God has spoken. It has been recorded for us over time. It hasn't changed. It won't change. There's no need for us to wonder what He said or to make up anything that we might think He said.
We have what He has said and what He wants us to know.
And in this, He gives us direction, He gives us instruction, He gives us rules to live by. He gives us warnings to be aware of. This and so much more is why we study the Word of God. In 1858, a book was written that changed this area of science. Still around two centuries later. This book is called Gray's Anatomy. Some of you may have heard this. It revolutionized the medical industry at the time because of the meticulous details recorded in this book. It details the human body, the anatomy, visually illustrating what hasn't been done to that extent prior. It's a classic. Showing all the underlying structure to the body, the muscular layers, the cross-sections, the ligaments, the tendons, the organs.
I mean, it's all there. Highlighting what we already know to be true of the human body, that it's masterfully intricate, created by an intelligent being, specifically designed to function in very specific ways.
And what Gray's Anatomy was to the, was and is to the medical field, this is what expository preaching is to what we do here.
This is what expository preaching is to the Word of God. This studying and understanding and knowing the Word of God, it's like Gray's Anatomy. Every morning we take a body of text, we identify it, and the dissection begins. The sermon unfolds, the passage is laid bare before us. The person behind the pulpit here preaches these points that are specifically in the text that look like ligaments and tendons that tie things together. There's a connection and flow from the author's thoughts, and there's muscle behind the arguments to support it. The passage then, uh, attaches to these ligaments in ways that shows us what the author is trying to tell us.
And there's bones and the theology and the doctrine, uh, that support and buttress the entire passage. It's like Gray's Anatomy, seeing all these parts. That's how we corporately study the Word of God, and that's how we should privately study the Word of God, is you take it apart, you s- you spend time, you dwell over it, look at all the little pieces. Sometimes it's just a word. It's just a word that has so much meaning and so much depth to it. 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, you know this verse, "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness." Why? "That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." But you must study
to have that profit. It will not be profitable if you don't know it.
Listen to what the psalmist has discovered in his study. Let's go back to our text. Look in verse seven. He tells us that his precepts are trustworthy, his commands, his law.
This is what's in view for us with, in, in precepts. They're trustworthy.
We can fully stand and trust in them, having the confidence and assurance of what they are.
Verse-
Verse eight. They have been established forever and ever. Exactly how long is that? Those precepts, they're settled. They're unending. They're not gonna change. There is no issue here. It's been resolved. It is these that the psalmist then in verse two points us to then. Look at verse two. He tells us that these works are studied by all who delight in them. The word studied, I mentioned it before, has this aspect of seeking out, of this being sought after, this pursuit.
Listen to what the psalmist in, in Psalm 119 says about this, 'cause he did the same thing. He sought after the precepts of God.
Verse 45, "I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts." Listen to that confidence. Can you see the level of trust and the faith that exists there? You think he finds the Lord's precepts trustworthy? I shall walk in a wide place. That's a benefit.
We were talking about benefits earlier to studying.
This is a benefit. He now possesses this wide place for him to stand.
This is where he now walks. His footing is sure and steady. No matter what he may go through, no matter the dark valley or the narrow path, his footing is firm, and in his mind, it is wide. It's a secure and stable place to be.
And the author of Hebrews helps drive this point home even further. He says this, "And without faith, it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." I know me, and this is a general statement, but I think it's also fairly accurate. There's probably not a person in here that doesn't like to be rewarded.
Imagine being rewarded from God in the pursuit of him. Again, it's in ways that are in his ways, but there's benefit here to studying this God, to pursuing him.
This is why we want you to study, so you can partake in these benefits. That it's more than just words to you, that it's actual, uh, life experience, so you can walk in a similar manner as the psalmist here who says, "It's a wide place for me, no matter what I'm walking through." And as imperfect as we all are, yet imperfect very much, we still strive to live this out.
We will make mistakes along the way, but his word doesn't change. It will remain the same forever and ever.
This is why we press on.
This is why at Sunrise we want you to be the Bereans and to study what the Lord has provided for us.
But there is a very dangerous alternative to not, uh, to not studying the Word of God. That same author in Psalm 119 tells us this, verse 155. He said, "Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes." Again, keep in mind that that word studied has that pursuit behind it, being sought after, specifically in this area of precepts. There is a danger here for the one who does not partake in this pursuit.
So let's be honest, because there's reasons why people don't study the Word of God, and very high on that list is because they know they will need to change. They will need to change. They will need to give something up. They will be held accountable. They will be expected then to live a certain way. What they fail to realize at the same time is the way God's economy works. I love God's economy. I love just thinking about it. Maybe you've never heard it, a term like that before, but it's an upside down economy because when you think you're losing because this is what the world will tell you, in God's economy, you are gaining.
So in this specific area, for those who struggle with this- You might actually think, "Yes, I don't have the time," or, "You don't know the season of life I'm in." You are actually causing yourself great harm because you think you're actually losing out by putting your time towards that, when in actuality, you will have great benefit and delight.
So don't buy into it.
But there's a litmus test if you can tell if you delight to study the Word of God, and it's a litmus test that really is general, uh, for any delight you partake in, no matter what it is, and it's time. I'm not saying putting time to it. What I'm saying is it goes very quickly. Think about it. When you do something you enjoy, do you not at the end of it go, "Man, time went so fast. That was quick. I wish I had more time," 'cause I enjoyed that? When you're studying and reading the Word of God, you will immerse yourself in it and you'll just wanna go, and whatever time you set for yourself, this is just an example, you'll run out and go, "Man, I wish I had more time." That is a litmus test for you to know that you are delighting in the Word of God.
Thomas Manton said something that I, I wanted to pull in here at, at this part, 'cause I, I think it's really drilling down on something specific here. He says this. Said, "The general end of scripture is knowledge." The general end.
We need knowledge. "But the special end is comfort and hope." I love that, that sentence there, and that could be found in scripture all over the place when it's studied and sought after.
Third, we study the works of God.
We see these works, and they come to us in two specific ways. One way they come to us is a general way. There's general revelation. It's a manner of testimony that God reveals Himself through His creation. Think about it. Everything you see, touch, smell, taste, all of these declare the glory of God, His power, His wisdom, His creativity, His care, and His precision, and the list goes on.
This is general revelation, but it doesn't end there because there's another way God reveals Himself, through special revelation, how God specially reves- reveals Himself in greater detail, and He does this by direct acts. He does this through dreams and visions.
We see that in scripture. He did this through the incarnation of Christ. God showed up, and He does this by giving us His Word. God reveals Himself to us in these, in these two ways. Psalm 111 then, the author in verse two calls us to study those ways, these works, and by study, the author draws our attention to the frequency that he studies these works, returning time and time again. When something is studied, does it not tell you that it's an ongoing thing?
And by doing this, he delights in them, but not only that, we also read that this is a motivator for him. This delight keeps drawing him back. He wants more and more and more, so he returns again and again and again because of this delight. It's as if he doesn't have enough time to partake in all the works that he wants to. In short, there was a study which results in great delight, but then also a delight that then motivates to greater study. It's reciprocal. They feed on each other. Maybe you've experienced this, this effect. I know many of you have, and you will when you open up the Word, study who He is, study the works of God. In your Bible you may have, uh, in the ESV, you have a title over Psalm 111, uh, and it says, "Great are the Lord's works." Let's
look at some of these works that the author draws our attention to.
Verse two. He begins by using that word, "Great they are." Verse three, "Full of splendor and majesty." What's more full than full? Splendor and majesty.
Verse four, "They are wondrous." Verse six, "They are powerful." Verse seven, "Faithful and just are his works." Verse eight, "Accur- Established forever and ever, faithful and upright.
Verse nine: "They are redeeming works." Is it any wonder then why he returns again and again to study these works? Now, the question, are you? Are you returning? Do you have that same longing, and desire, and delight? You know, in the summer, uh, many of you are, are into this. Summer is a blockbuster season. Blockbuster because around this particular couple weeks, uh, if you like to go to movies, this is really the highlight of the entire year. The summer July 4th, uh, area, the summer blockbuster movie season is in full swing, and movie trailers are out there, marketing tools meant to entice and draw you in to come and see their movie, their production.
And these same trailers and marketing tools use these same exact words, words like majestic, and powerful, and awesome, and great, and wondrous. All these words, and many of you will be drawn to them but then not drawn to this. You go see those movies because it's enticing, the action, right? Whatever it is that's drawing you in.
And our author today is saying, "That describes the word of God." Our Pasco series is designed to lay out our hopes for our people, the expectations we have for our members. Not the kind of expectations where we're gonna come over your shoulder and say, "Hey, have you done that? You haven't done-- You're-- Okay, we need to talk. You're in trouble." Like, "I expect you to do this," you know? No, it's an expectation that we want that for you.
We desire that for you, so you can benefit in what it produces. That's our expectation. Not just that because, uh, it's good to have. Obviously, it's great to have, but there should also be a desire that we wanna see in you, because God has given His children that desire.
We simply believe that these characteristics, all of them in Pasco, are areas that describe a healthy Christian life. It's for your benefit. Yes, it's true that others will benefit also, but first and foremost, it will be for you.
So that leads us then now to just talk on some of these benefits. Benefit of knowledge. How else will you know this God? How else will you live as a disciple? How else will you learn God's precepts? Where will you find out God's will for your life if you don't study? All of this recorded in scripture, gained through the study of the word. No one in here eats one meal a week. The equivalent is if you only learned and took in scripture here on Sunday, and then when you left, six days, no intake. None of you would do that. If we said, "Hey, we have a buffet up here today. Okay, this buffet now has to last you all week," you'd be like, "You're crazy.
We need to eat." Yeah. That's true. You need that for your physical body. What you need for your spiritual health is the intake of God's word daily, to be studied, to be read, to be, uh, uh, lingered over.
This is a good place then to share a warning at the same time, because there's a direct connection between study and faithfulness. When I meet with a, a person who's struggling, when a man who's struggling, and they wanna spend some time together, it's not long and into the conversation when I ask them, "How's your quiet time?" And what I mean by that is, are you reading the word of God? Are you praying? You know what I've never had someone tell me? That it's great. I've never had someone tell me that it's great. I have almost always had someone say, "It could be better. It's not good. It's nonexistent." There is a direct relationship between your time in the word and your faithfulness in life.
Direct relationship.
And you know this. You know that when you drift, you start to see things in your life you don't like. That's a trigger, by the way, for you to be drawn back.
This is why we desire our people to study.
Second, not just for knowl-
But the benefit of experience by application. When you take in the Word of God and exercise it and apply it to your life, you will experience the Word of God becoming real and vibrant, like HD. You'll have a completely new understanding for the Word, for who God is, for who you are. You'll experience His presence, His care, His love.
And in turn, your love for God will grow.
This is one way that God for you continues to get bigger and bigger and bigger. Yet we all know He doesn't change.
But He can for you. Where that reverent fear that He's telling us in verse 10 becomes very real. The more you'll be drawn to Him, the more you'll desire to live for Him, the more your love for others will grow. In short, the more Christ-like you'll become.
This is why we desire for our people to study.
And the third benefit, I would say, is conviction. This will be the result of the first two. The result of study and application, I believe, will lead to conviction.
Listen, when you study the Word of God and apply it to your life and experience this God and continue to grow in your love for His awesomeness while growing in your love for others, the result will be firmly established and ever-growing, a wide place for you on a narrow path in life.
This is why we desire for our people to study.
So as we begin to wrap up this morning, I want to also mention that study is both a blessing and a challenge. Blessing because to grow in grace as we walk daily in obedience towards Christ-likeness is at the heart of every true disciple and follower of Jesus.
This is a blessing indeed.
But a challenge. A challenge because Scripture has reflective properties. It exposes our faults. It sheds light in dark places, sometimes very dark. It reveals our shortcomings. It gives names to our sins. It also can make it look seemingly impossible to attain godliness.
This is challenging.
But Hebrews 4 tells us also that it's living and active, sharp and piercing. In other words, you should find it challenging. It's meant to cut. It's meant to divide.
This is normal and good and, by the way, necessary.
Listen to what Richard Baxter says. He says, Remember that as it is Christ's work to teach, it is yours to hear and read and study and pray and practice what you hear. Do your part then if you expect the benefit. You come not to the school of Christ to be idle. It's an interesting way to look at our Christian walk as a school that we're in.
Imagine with me this classroom. One classroom for the disciple.
And in that classroom, one subject.
And that one subject, God himself. The disciple is ever on this journey to study and to grow in the knowledge of God, to faithfully practice and apply what he has learned and to take that knowledge into life as flawed as he or she may be.
And we have some flawed people. The disciple is still a called person. Called to know God. Called to know God's word.
And called to know God's works.
This is why we desire for our people at Sunrise to study.
But remember this. Life is not meant to be lived in the study.
But study is meant to be lived out in life. Let's pray.
