The Law of God, Part 2

Father God, we thank you for today and all the things that you do and we're grateful, Lord, for the Word of the Lord. We're grateful that we can study it and that we can learn about who you are and that we can grow on our walk with you. We're thankful, Lord, that you allow us to gather together in the middle of the week to spend time looking deep into the Word of God.

Tonight, Lord, we just ask you to work in all of our hearts. Cause us, Lord, to be open and receptive to the things that we hear. Help us to have soft hearts and not hard hearts, that we might be truly broken and understand clearly your marching orders for your children.

We truly want to live like children of the King. And so as we study your sermon about how to do that, we just pray that you would just direct us, lead us, and guide us. That we might be honoring to you, not just today, but through all the days of our lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Take your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 5 as we continue to look at the sermon on the Mount.

The last time we were together, we were looking at Matthew 5, verses 17 to 20, by way of introduction. Let me read it for you, just to set it in your minds.

It says, do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then and knows one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever keeps and teaches them, you should be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now, these verses point to a very pivotal aspect to Christ's sermon, because truly he is the fulfillment of the law.

The law is all about the Christ. So he wants everybody on the mountain side to understand that he is not saying anything contrary to that which has already been said, that he is the fulfillment of the law. So let me illustrate that to you by taking you to the gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 24, the resurrection of Christ.

Remember in verse number 1 of Luke 24, it says, on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing.

And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. Don't you remember all the things that he always said to you specifically about his death, burial and resurrection? Move down to verse number 13.

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

He said to them, what are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking? And they stood still looking sad. One of them named Cleopas answered and said to him, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened to you? And here in these days, he said to them, what things? They said to him, the things about Jesus, the Nazarene.

Now, remember, Christ never asks questions to receive information. He knows everything. He only asks questions for your illumination, not for his information. It's always important to realize that.

So Jesus asked him, what are you talking about? What things? So they begin to tell him. They said, Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people and other chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel, indeed.

Besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us were, among us, amazed us when they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said, but him they did not see.

And he, Jesus, said to them, oh, foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? Christ immediately takes him back to the prophets, the Old Testament, to show them that this was all prophesied.

Because he came not to abolish the law, he came to fulfill the law, all of the law. Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. So he would explain to them him.

He would explain to them who he is, what the Old Testament said. So they would be without excuse. So they would understand that the Old Testament had one theme.

The theme was the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Deliverer of Israel.

Verse 28, and they approached the village where they were going, and he acted as though he was going further. But they urged him saying, stay with us for his getting toward evening and the day is now nearly over.

So he went to stay with them. He reclined at the table with them. He took the bread and blessed it and breaking it, he began giving it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight. They said to one another, were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us.

That verse is so important. Their hearts were not burning because of the revelation of the Savior. Their hearts were burning because of the revelation of the scriptures. Which begs the question, as you were following along and reading with me, was your heart on fire? Was your heart burning on the inside? Because you see, the Lord said to Jeremiah, the prophet, Jeremiah 23:29, is not my word like a fire?

It is. We have to ask ourselves the question, why is it when we read the word that a fire doesn't well up within our soul? Why is it we can read it and be so cold? Why is it we read it and we're not moved or motivated? Why is it when we read it, it's as if it's just another book? But these people, these two men on the road to Emmaus, had Jesus explained to them the scriptures and their hearts burned within them, when they came to realize that the scriptures spoke only of Christ and he was able to explain that to them.

They would go back to Jerusalem. They would meet with the other apostles. And Jesus said these words in verse number 44. Now, he said to them, these are my words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. He would open their eyes, help them to understand that, listen, everything in the law of God, everything written by the prophets, everything written in the Psalms, everything in your scripture is all about me. The light of the world. And therefore, whenever God's word is explained to you, there must be something within you that wells up on the inside. There must be something in you that catches a blaze.

There must be some flicker of a flame in your heart that when God's word is read and explained, you are motivated and you are moved to action. There's something about it that excites you. And if there's not, you got to ask yourself the question, why? Why is it I am not motivated? The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 2, verse number 13, that God's word works effectively in those who believe.

It could be that you don't believe. We don't think of it that way. But if you're a believer and you hear the word of God, it does something on the inside of you.

That's something to motivate you. It does something to excite you. It does something to cause you to want to obey because it always works in those who believe.

In fact, listen to this verse, the book of Colossians, the book of Colossians, the first chapter. Listen to what Paul says. Colossians, chapter 1, verse number 5.

He says, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of which you previously heard in the word of truth. So the word which is true.

Has given you a hope of heaven. Just as in all the world. Excuse me, the word truth, the gospel, which has come to you just as in all the world.

Also, it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you. Also, since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth. He says, since the day you heard of the gospel of truth, you began bearing fruit. And you continue to bear fruit. Because of the word of truth.

In other words, he is affirming 1st Thessalonians 2:13. That God is using his word to always work in the life of the believer. This is the uniqueness of the power of God's word. That's why Paul would say, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God and his salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. There is power in the gospel.

So here's the point. If, when you hear the word of God, and you read the word of God, and you understand the word of God; if you're not moved by that, there's a good chance you are not a believer in Christ. Than you are a believer in Christ.

Because it's always bearing fruit in you and continuing to do so, even to this day, Paul says, to the Church of Colossae. We have to stop thinking that people are saved when they live like the unsaved. We have to stop thinking people and assuring people that they are born again because of some decision that they made one day down the road or some prayer they prayed 20 years ago.

Is there fruit-bearing in their lives? Is there evidence of the word of God bearing fruit in them, motivating them to live for Christ? Because it effectively works in those who believe. That means it doesn't work in those who do not believe. And so we need to understand that from the very beginning, because here is Christ saying I've come not to abolish the law, to get rid of the law, instead I've come to fulfill it.

I am the embodiment of the law. And so the words I'm going to give to you are not going to be contrary to the words that have already been spoken to you in the word of the living God. It's there. I am it. Which leads us to our introduction, which leads us to the brilliance of the law. We talked about this two weeks ago.

And from the brilliance of the law, we're going to move from there and we are automatically going to talk about the importance of the law, the endurance of the law, and the relevance of the law. But I want to take you back and look once again at the brilliance of the law, because it's so powerful, it's so unique, and we need to understand how magnificent, how brilliant, how incredible God's word is. So let's go back to Psalm 19, because that's where we left off two weeks ago, to help you understand the brilliance of the word of the living God.

So the last time, in the first six verses, he talks about the beauty of the work of God, and now he talks about the brilliance of the word of God in verses 9, or excuse me, verses 7 and following. Because it's absolutely brilliant, and he gives six titles for the word of God. We covered these last time.

The law of the Lord is perfect, complete, sufficient, restoring, converting, redeeming the soul. There's nothing more complete than the word of God to redeem a soul. And then he says the testimony of the Lord, the divine witness of the Lord.

Christ is his own witness, but the divine witness of the Lord is immovable, it's sure, it's unshakable, making wise the simple. The simple person becomes extremely wise simply because of the testimony of the Lord. Then it says the presets of the Lord are right.

The statutes of the Lord, the divine principles of the Lord are right, not necessarily right as opposed to wrong, but right in terms of directing in a straight path, a direct path. That's the way to go, rejoicing the heart. And then he says the commandment of the Lord, the mandates of the Lord, they're not optional, they're mandates, is pure, lucid, clear, enlightening the eyes.

In other words, there's no mystery here, there's nothing confusing in the word of God. Yeah, there are some things that are hard to understand, that's true, and Peter speaks about that, but it doesn't mean that it's confusing, it's very clear. The fear of the Lord is clean.

In other words, the fear of the Lord is another title for the word of the Lord. Isaiah 33, verse number 6, says the fear of the Lord is his treasure. In other words, the fear of the Lord is another title for the word itself.

That's why the Proverbs says in Proverbs 1, verse number 7, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Where does wisdom begin? It begins with the dispensing of God's fear, which is his truth that he gives you. Proverbs 9, verse number 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

So here he says that the fear of the Lord, which is his treasure, is clean and it endures forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. In other words, when God passes judgment, it's never an error.

It's always done righteously and true. They are righteous altogether. And that is what we call the preciousness of the word of God.

God's word is so precious that it's sufficient enough to make sure that we have the vision that we need, the eyes that clearly see, and that we are righteous altogether, and that we are able to endure. God's word does all that. That's why it's so precious.

And then we move from its preciousness to its pleasurableness. It's absolutely pleasurable. That's why he says in verse number 10, they are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb.

There is nothing more pleasurable than the truth of God's word. Nothing more valuable than the truth of God's word. And David's trying to explain to us how great, how brilliant it really is.

Nothing more desirable than the truth of God's word. We are to feed on that, and we are to hunger for it. That's why Christ said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they and they only shall be satisfied.

The other people are not satisfied. They're always looking to satisfy the inner longings of the soul, but the believer is satisfied by the truth that they embrace. That's why Jeremiah said, thy words are found that I did eat them in the name of the joy and the rejoicing of my heart.

And Jeremiah could say that even though he was all alone and even though no one listened to the words in which he said, and although God said, you can't get married, so he was all alone. Even though he'd be thrown into a pit, Jeremiah said, I got your word. As long as I got your word, I'm good. I'm satisfied.

But for us, it's like, we need something else. We need a little bit more. As if God's word is not sufficient for my loneliness. It's not sufficient for my isolation. It's not sufficient for my pain. It's not sufficient for my difficulties. It's not sufficient for whatever it is I'm going through.

But Jeremiah says, oh, no, I found your words. I ate them. I consumed them because they were the joy and rejoicing of my, they satisfied my heart. Because listen, no one's, no one's going to listen to the word of God anyway.

No one's going to follow God anyway. They're going to throw me in a pit anyway. I can't get married anyway.

So where does my joy come from? It comes from the relationship I have with the living God and the word that he gives me to impart to others. But for us today, that's just not enough.

We are saying to God, your word's great. It's just not sufficient enough to meet me in my time of need. Really? Do we really have that attitude? And David's saying, oh, man, God's word is so desirable. It's so sweet. Even the drippings of the honeycomb can't match the sweetness of God's holy word.

Those are the two points we covered last week under the brilliance of his word. Number one, it's precious. Number two, it's pleasurable.

Here's number three, it's protective. God's word is so brilliant, it protects you.

We all want protection. We all want to be watched over. We all want to be safe, right? Listen, there's only one safe space.

It's right here. There is no room, no person, no place that's going to cause you to be safe and protected but the word of God. Nothing.

There's something there you will fear. But God's word is a protective agent unlike anything else. Listen to what he says.

Moreover, by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward.

In other words, there's something about the word of God that warns me of impending danger. It warns me of sin. It warns me of temptation. It warns me of false teaching. It warns me about wrong relationships.

It warns me about error. God's word protects me from falling into error, falsities. It protects me from falling into sin and temptation.

Listen to what Solomon said in Proverbs chapter 4, verse 1. Hear, o sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching. Do not abandon my instruction.

When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, let your heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments and live.

Those four verses should revolutionize every dad in the room. Those four verses should challenge every dad in the room.

Listen to your father's instruction. Listen to what I'm going to tell you, because when I was young, Solomon's saying this, when I was young and I was very tender, I remember sitting with my father, who was King David, and he telling me the truth of the word of God, that somehow he would teach me and say, let your heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments, and you will live. Do you remember that? What are your sons and daughters going to remember about what you taught them? Are they going to be able to say, excuse me, to their children? When I was young and I was tender, and I was being raised by my mom and by my dad, my dad taught me, keep my commandments and live. So I'm going to teach you God's commandments so you can live.

But I wonder what your children would say today. Would they be able to reminisce as Solomon did? And remember what his father taught him when he was young? Read on.

Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding. Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her.

She will guard you. Love her. She will watch over you.

See that? God's word is protective. Acquire wisdom. Get understanding.

Where do you get that from? The truth of the living God. Don't forsake her. Don't turn your back on her.

Why? She's going to watch over you. Going to guard you, protect you. Verse 7, the beginning of wisdom is, acquire wisdom.

And with all your acquiring, get understanding. Price her and she will exalt you. She will honor you if you embrace her.

She will place on your head a garland of grace. She will present you with a crown of beauty. Hear my son and accept my sayings. And the years of your life will be many.

I have directed you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded. And if you run, you will not stumble. See God's word is protective.

Take hold of instruction. Do not let go. Guard her for she is your life.

Wow. God's word is your life. Later in Proverbs 6, he would say this.

Verse 20, my son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck.

He's teaching them the commandments of God. He's not teaching them his opinion. He's not giving them some kind of secular education.

He's giving them the commandments of God, the truth of God's word. Bind them around your heart. You see, we are so into our children doing their homework from school, but not doing any studying of the word of God.

And one gives life and the other doesn't. But yet we are so in tune with our educational system and making sure our children receive the right kind of education. And I do agree you should receive an education, but not at the expense of biblical instruction and learning what the Bible says.

He says, when you walk about, they will guide you. I'm going to give you the word of God because you need guidance. So whenever you walk about, you're going to be going in the right direction because you're going to know what the word of God says.

And then he says this, when you sleep, they will watch over you. Now, how does God's word watch over you? Because it's protective. And so when you are being guided by the word of God, being led by the word of God, knowing that you are taking a step in the power of the spirit of God under the guidance of the word of God.

Guess what? You sleep like a baby at night. Why? Because you're inside the will of God. And you sleep well.

When you awake, they will talk to you. That's just so good. The commandments of God will talk to you.

This is the word of God, right? This is the God-breathed word. So God is going to speak to each and every one of you through his word. He's already spoken.

Everything he needs to say, he's already said. He said in his word. So every time you open the book and you read the word of God, God is speaking to you because these are his words.

And so he wants to converse with you. How does God converse with you? He's given you his word. Read it.

Whenever you read it, you're conversing with God. He's talking to you. Your prayer life is responding back to him. Your obedience is responding back to him. But God is conversing with you through his word. And so he speaks.

So Solomon says to his son, I'm going to give you instruction. The commandments of God. So when you walk about, they're going to guide you.

So much so that you know you're going the right way so that when you go to bed at night, they'll watch over you. And then when you get the next day, you're going to talk to God some more. You're going to converse with God some more.

And you're going to read his word. He's going to talk to you. He's going to explain to you who he is and what he wants for you.

He's going to converse with you. And then he says, for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light. Not only do you get direction, protection, conversation, you get illumination because his commandments are light.

And then he says, and reproves for discipline are the way of life. Admonition. God's word will admonish you.

God will speak to you through his word. You read it. You'll be admonished when you're out of line, when you're out of step.

And God's word will do that to you. Verse 24. To keep you from the evil woman from the smooth tongue of the adulterous.

God's word is going to protect you. Guide you. Watch over you.

See that? This is the brilliance of the Word of God. But we have minimized the impact of God's word. We've taken God's word, we've set it aside.

We'll pick it up on Wednesday night when we go to church, for Bible study. We'll pick it up on Sunday morning. Or we might read a verse here or a verse there. You know, a verse a day keeps the devil away. And so we'll just read it a little bit here, a little bit there. But we don't dive into it.

We don't study it. We don't grapple with it. We don't examine it.

And yet, this is how God speaks to you. Through His word. It's His conversation to you.

It's how He communicates to you. He wants you to hear Him speak. And He speaks through the written word that He's already given to us.

This is the power of the Word of God. And so we need to recognize how protective God's word truly is. So the brilliance of God's word is simply that it is precious.

It is pleasurable. It is protective. And it is powerful.

And again, I want to emphasize this because I think that we don't understand the power of the Word of God. And so let me just give you a few words that will explain it to you. Okay? You have to write these down.

Just follow along with me as I go. To show you the power of the Word of God. God's word is powerful enough to crush your soul.

Is not my word like a fire? Jeremiah 23:29. And then he says, is not my word like a hammer?

Listen, you know somebody's got a hard heart? You can't break their heart. You can't crush the hardness of their soul. But God's word can.

You see, it's a spiritual battle, right? Only be one through spiritual means. So it's only through the Word of God that a heart is crushed. A soul is crushed. It's not my word like a hammer. That's why the writer of Hebrews said, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness.

If you hear the voice of God, if you hear the Word of God, don't turn away from it. Don't turn your back on it. You become hardened.

Let the Word of God crush your soul. Let it shatter your independence. Because God's word does that.

But we don't necessarily believe that. And we kind of write people off. But we need to recognize that through the constant reiteration of the Word of God.

By giving them what God's word says. Not my opinion, not my philosophy, not my ideas. God's word says this.

It brings conviction on people's hearts, which is number two. It crushes the soul. It convicts the soul.

1 Corinthians 14:24 and 25. If you prophesy, that is, you speak forth the truth of God's word, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters your congregation, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all.

The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. Paul is trying to help people understand, look, you're all concerned about speaking in tongues and making sure that you have this ecstatic utterance. But if you just understand that the prophecy, the teaching of the Word of God, the giving forth of the Word of God, when someone is an unbeliever walks into your assembly and they hear the Word of God, that's what's going to convict them.

It's going to cause them to fall on their face and worship the living God. Your ecstatic utterances is not going to do that, but God's word will. It brings conviction upon the soul because it crushes the soul.

Number three, it converts the soul. We read it in Psalm 19, verse number 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

Romans 10:17, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by a specific utterance of the words concerning the Christ. The only way a person's ever converted is because of the truth of the Word of God. And so you preach the Word.

You teach the Word. When you go out and you go door-to-door evangelism or you go and you preach the gospel or you go to talk to your friends, you give them the Word of God because the Word of God convicts. It crushes and it converts the soul.

Nothing else does. That's how powerful God's word is.

It cleanses the soul. That's number four. John 15:3, you are already made clean through the Word that I've spoken unto you. Psalm 119, how can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to the Word of God. The only way a soul is cleansed is through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Spirit of God.

It comes through God's holy Word. You are made clean through the Word that I've spoken unto you. You've heard it said many times before, I'll say it to you again, that sin will keep you from this book or this book will keep you from sin.

It's true. So you master the truth. You memorize the truth. You learn the truth. You bathe yourself in the truth of the living God.

It corrects the soul. 2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture is inspired by God and it's profitable for correction. It turns you back around again. It puts you on the right path.

Number six, I think it is, it conquers the enemy of your soul. How do you conquer the enemy of your soul? The Word of God.

Read Matthew 4. Christ, temptation, in the wilderness. What did he do? He quoted the book of Deuteronomy. He quoted the Word of God.

Did he have to do that? No. Whatever he spoke would be the Word of God. But he quoted the Old Testament.

Why? Because he set a pattern for you and me on how to conquer the enemy of your soul. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That's why he's given us the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, right? And through the sword of the Spirit, we're able to conquer the enemy of our soul simply because we are able to take whatever temptation comes our way and take it specifically to a passage of Scripture and defeat the enemy that wants to destroy our lives.

Only God's Word does that. Nothing else. It comforts the soul.

It comforts the soul. Psalm 94:19, when my anxious thoughts overwhelm me, thy consolations comfort my soul.

Psalm 119:50, this is my comfort in my affliction. Your word has revived me. Verse 52, I have remembered your ordinances from of old, O Lord, and comfort myself. Verse 76, O may your loving kindness comfort me according to your word to your servant.

The only comfort a soul will ever receive that is satisfying is the truth of the living God. That's how powerful God's Word is. So it crushes the soul, convicts, converts, cleanses, corrects, conquers the enemy of your soul.

It comforts the soul. It cheers the soul. Psalm 19, verse number 8, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

Psalm 119:14, I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. Verse 16, I shall delight in your statutes. I shall not forget your word. Verse 35, make me walk in the path of your commandments for I delight in it.

The only soul that can be cheered is a soul that truly is sold out for Christ in the word of the living God. That's it.

God's Word does that. God's Word counsels the soul. Psalm 19:24, your testimonies also are my delight. They are my counselors. There is no better counselor than the word of God. It says in verse 105, your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.

Verse 130, the unfolding of your word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. God's Word counsels the soul.

God's Word compels the soul. Psalm 119:32, I have chosen the faithful way. I have placed your ordinances before me.

I have chosen the faithful way. I'm compelled to do the right thing. Why? Because of your word.

It compels the soul. It critiques the soul. Hebrews 4:12, for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and morrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God's Word critiques the soul. So when you read it, it goes the depths of your soul and divides it up and shows you where you're in error so you can do the right thing. It challenges the soul.

Psalm 119:37, turn away my eyes from looking at vanity and revive me in your ways. Verse 133, establish my footsteps in your word and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. Nothing will challenge you more than the truth of the living God.

It confirms the soul. Psalm 119:28, my soul weeps because of grief. Strengthen me, confirm me according to your word.

Sustain me, verse 118, excuse me, 116, sustain me according to your word that I may live and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. God's Word is a strengthening agent to confirm you, to establish you, to make you as solid as granite.

It controls the soul. Colossians 3:16, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your heart to the Lord. In other words, let the word of Christ be at home in your heart. Let it dwell safely within you.

Why? Because it controls you. It moves you to action. It clarifies the soul.

Psalm 119:140, your word is very, very clear, therefore your servant loves it. Psalm 19:8, precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is pure, enlightening the soul.

So it clarifies. It clarifies which direction to go. It clarifies what decision to make.

It clarifies what relationships to have and not have. It clarifies everything. It condemns the soul.

Proverbs 13:13, the one who despises the word will be in debt to the word. So God's word condemns the soul, but God's word also completes the soul. The law of the Lord is complete or perfect, restoring the soul.

Psalm 19:7, it consecrates the soul. Nehemiah 10:28-29, the people consecrated their lives unto God based on what the word of God said. So you can count on the word of God to do exactly what it says.

See, that's the power of the word of God. But do we trust it enough to confirm our soul, to cheer the soul, to critique the soul, to challenge the soul, to convert the soul, to crush the soul? Do we trust the word of God to do all that stuff? We should. Because the psalmist says in Psalm 19, these words, verse 12, who can discern errors? Equip me of hidden faults and also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins.

Let them not rule over me, then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. God, your word does that. It corrects me, it cleanses me, it keeps me on the straight and narrow, it moves me in the right direction.

It's so important for us to understand this. Why? Because the brilliance of the word of God is everything, which leads us to our last point, and that is this.

God's word is precious, pleasurable, protective, powerful, and priceless. That's why it's so brilliant. Proverbs 23:23, buy truth and never sell it. Why? Buy truth.

Listen, the cost of truth is high. Truth will cost you your family. Truth will cost you your friends.

Truth might even cost you your job. Buy truth, never compromise it, do whatever you have to do to obtain it, and never sell it out. Why? It's priceless.

It's so valuable. The Bible says in the book of Matthew 13 chapter, the keynote of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again, and from joy over he goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field. Christ is talking about the inestimable value of the kingdom of God.

Verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and he bought it. That's why Christ says in Matthew 16, these words, what would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul, or what would a man give in exchange for his soul? That's the question Christ asks. The word exchange is a banking term.

When you get saved, there's a transaction that takes place. I'm not sure you understand this or not, but there is a transaction that takes place when you are saved, and that is you are willing to give your life away in order to obtain Christ's life. That's the exchange in salvation.

What should it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but he loses his own soul? If he gains everything in the world, what profit is it there if when it's all said and done, you lose your soul? So what will you now give in exchange for your soul? Will you give your life away in order to obtain Christ's life? Because that's what salvation is, to recognize you that I have nothing to offer. I have nothing to give, but I'm willing to give away my life to Christ so that he owns my life because he bought my life. He died for my life.

So, Lord, you paid the ransom. I'm going to give you my life. That's my exchange. That's my transaction. That's all I have to give. I'm just going to give my life away so I can have your life.

And that's what salvation is. It's a transaction that takes place between you and God, which says my life is nothing. I can't earn heaven. I can't gain heaven. I can't buy heaven. I can't do anything to get heaven.

The kingdom of God is so valuable. I'm willing to do all I can to obtain it, but I can't because I have nothing to offer. So, Lord, just take my life.

Let it be wholly consecrated unto thee. That's it. What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

You see, God's word is priceless. It's so valuable that when you understand the gospel, you're willing to sell all that you have to obtain what Christ offers. That's what the parable of the lost treasure in the pearl is all about. There's nothing in the world that's more valuable than the priceless treasure of the gospel, the truth, God's holy word.

It's so valuable. That's why it's so brilliant because there's nothing that compares to it. Nothing on earth compares to the eternal word of the living God, which is his truth.

You see, when I preach this, my heart burns on the inside. My heart's a flame on the inside. There's not a flicker that's there.

My heart on the inside is on fire because of the truth of God's word, because of the power of God's word, the pleasure of God's word, the preciousness of God's word, the pricelessness of God's word. It's everything. That's why it's brilliant.

So, what are some principles? Let me give them to you real quick. Really quick. If God's word is precious, God's word is pleasurable, God's word is protective, God's word is powerful, and God's word is priceless…

Principle number one is: I will do all I can to protect it. I will guard it. I will protect it.

Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, these words, oh Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Protect it, Timothy. In verse 14 of chapter 6, he said, keep guard, protect the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 2nd Timothy 1, he says, verse 14, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Guard it, protect it. Jude says, contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.

Do all you can to watch over, keep, guard, protect the priceless treasure, that precious treasure of the word of God. So, you protect it.

Number two, you proclaim it. Second Timothy 4:2, preach the word. In season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and patience. But you preach it in season, out of season.

If it's that powerful, if it's that protective, it's that pleasurable, it's that priceless, what are you talking about? Talk about the word. Preach the word. Give the word.

If it actually says it does what it promises, then why don't I preach it all the more so people will respond in obedience to the word of God? I think that the reason we don't preach the word in season and out of season is because we really don't believe it crushes the soul or converts the soul or convicts the soul or condemns the soul or cheers the soul or critiques the soul. We don't really believe that. Because if you did, you'd be preaching it all the time.

Telling people this is the priceless treasure, the brilliance of the word of God. You've got to obtain it. You've got to digest it.

You've got to examine it. You've got to buy into the truth of the word of God and never sell it because it's everything. So, you protect it.

You preach it. How about this? You pray it. Psalm 145, verse number 18.

The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him, to all those who call upon Him in truth. In truth. To all those who call upon Him in truth.

So, in other words, I pray truth. Do you pray the truth? Do you pray the word of God? Are you praying what God has already said so that your life is in line with His line? We need to pray the truth. If it's that priceless, if it's that pleasurable, if it's that protective, then I need to pray, Proverbs 4, Proverbs 6, Psalm 19, Psalm 119.

I need to pray those truths because the Lord is near to those who call upon Him in truth. Think about that. So, you protect it.

You proclaim it. You pray it. And you practice it.

You just live it out. You practice the truth. That's where Matthew 5:19 comes in.

Christ says, those great in the kingdom of God, they teach the word of God and they keep the word of God. They teach it so others can hear it and keep it.

We talked about it on Sunday. Revelation 1, Revelation 22, Revelation 1:3, Revelation 22:7. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. So, what do we do? We practice it. We live it out.

We're reminded of the words of our Lord. In John 14, he says, He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him.

Verse 23, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words.

I mean, that's just so clear. Can you get any clearer than that? If you love me, you just practice what I say. But if you don't love me, guess what? You don't keep my words. Just do what you want to do.

In the life of our Lord, Luke 11, Jesus was preaching, teaching. And somebody interrupts him. I can't imagine interrupting Christ, but they did. And one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, blessed is the womb that bore you in the breast at which you nursed.

Here's Jesus speaking and teaching. And some woman stands up and yells that out. And Jesus very calmly says these words, on the contrary. I wish I could have been there.

On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. That's a blessed person. Just so, so pointed, so clear, so concise.

Blessed is the womb that bore you. Blessed are the breasts that fed you. Christ says, oh, no.

You want to know true blessing? I'll give it to you. Those who hear my word and keep it. That's where the true blessing comes.

And so we are committed to preaching the word of God and praying the word of God and practicing the word of God. And we are committed to protecting the word of God because it's priceless. Nothing more valuable in all the world than the word of God.

Nothing. Buy it. Never sell it.

It protects. It pleasures. It's precious.

It's powerful. That's the brilliance of the word of God. May God give us the grace to accomplish what He has said. Let's pray again.

Lord God, we thank You for tonight. And we have spent a few moments in the word of the living God.

And our prayer is that we would adhere to all that You've said. That surely, we would believe what we've read. It's true.

And our prayer, Lord, is that You would work in all of our hearts and cause us to live in accordance with Your Word. That we would leave here believing in its power. Believing in its pleasure. Believing. Believing in its protection. Knowing that there's nothing more valuable than the priceless truth of the living God.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen.