SCRIPTURE ALONE

In my early days as involved in ministry, going back a number of years now,

I wasn't particularly schooled in the traditions of the church.

And so therefore you make a number of mistakes.

I remember that one day distributing communion was my first time, in fact, ever distributing communion.

And there was a bunch of people out the front there.

The bread had gone through.

And I knew the system.

I'd watched people do this.

It seemed pretty straightforward.

You went along, followed the person with the bread, and you gave them a bit of a drink from the cup.

You said a few words, and you wiped the cup in a certain way, and you handed it to the next person, and next person, next person.

On this particular Sunday, which was my first time, there was a number of guests there at church.

And I just assumed, quite ignorantly, that everyone took it exactly the same way.

Until I got to this gentleman, and I had the cup.

I said a few words, and I put the cup in front of him.

And he didn't take it.

Well, he mustn't want it.

So I stood there, and he looked at me, and I looked at him.

We're trying to communicate silently about what's meant to happen at this point.

He didn't take it.

And then eventually, all he did, kneeling in front of me, was grab the cup just with that much of his fingers and his thumb.

I didn't realize at that particular point that in some church traditions, you're not actually meant to touch the cup at all.

I still regard it as, in fact, the actual body and blood of Christ.

And only a person who's me, who's been ordained like a priest, should touch this thing.

More full than him, because I actually wasn't one at the time.

But he only touched it.

And I'm sort of standing there thinking, he hasn't got a good grip on that cup.

I didn't realize that what I'm meant to do is to sort of tip it towards him.

I didn't know that.

I was completely ignorant.

And I'm thinking, he hasn't really got a grip.

He's looking at me.

He's just touching it.

I'm looking at him thinking, get a better grip.

And then I thought, well, he's an early gentleman.

He must know what he's doing.

So I let it go.

And so what happened in that particular moment was,

these little tiny grip he had meant that the cup, which was about three quarters full,

tilted and went bang, under his nose.

And I think that's why one of the reasons why one of the church traditions is you should use white wine and not red wine,

is because red wine has a tendency of staining.

And this three quarters of a full cup hit his nose, went onto his glasses and down his shirt.

And so I had no idea what to do.

Of course, the minister at the time saw this unfolding, decided not to rescue me.

He ducked off into the vestry and was killing himself laughing.

I could see him from where I was.

And all I could think of was, well, I've got a cloth, put my hand on his head,

and I was wiping his glasses so he could see.

And whatever sins he thought he was being absolved for in that moment didn't include the glare on his face at me,

I can tell you after that.

I had no concept at all that for some people in church traditions,

the traditions mattered a lot to them.

A lot to them.

And it's interesting that when you turn to the Bible,

that Jesus debates with the religious leaders of his time the subject of the traditions we have.

It came up often for the religious people that Jesus dealt with.

The religious guys were constantly outraged with this Jesus,

who did not observe their traditions as he said they thought they should be observed.

That they thought were actually, in fact, mandatory.

And in Matthew 15, Jesus, he zeroes in on this issue of the real problem with traditions.

He says that they have this awful potential to undermine, over time,

the very obedience in God's word that they were originally may have been intended to express.

He says that the human heart is almost limitless in its capacity to come up with rules and regulations and traditions

that may at some point have been quite useful and helpful,

but which gradually become more distorted, more corrupted,

more, in fact, important than the word of God and obedience to the word of God.

The human heart's almost limitless in its capacity to do that.

And that's the issue, or certainly one of the issues,

one of the sparks that ignited the Protestant Reformation in the 1600s.

Sorry, in the 16th century.

In 1516, Johann Tetzel, a Diminishian friar,

was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell these things called indulgences.

According to Roman Catholic theology,

an indulgence is kind of like a get-out-of-jail-free card

to lessen the amount of time that a person needs to suffer in order to go to heaven.

So they would have this view that you would go to purgatory,

and an indulgence could be granted by a priest

to lessen the amount of time in purgatory

so that you could eventually go to heaven.

You see, Roman Catholic teaching states that purgatory is the place that the soul goes to

after death to get purged.

Their thinking is that while Jesus died on the cross for our sins,

his death was not effective for complete cleansing of sin.

Roman Catholic teaching states that there is still a corruption of the human heart,

of the soul that remains, which needs to be purged.

And the way you purge it is by suffering.

And then once you've gone through the appropriate amount of suffering,

you can then go from that stage into heaven.

That's what purgatory is.

And it's in this climate in the Middle Ages

that saw the abuse of these indulgences which were granted by priests,

and ultimately the exploitation of the poor and the ignorant.

What happened was indulgences came up for sale.

You could buy an indulgence to raise funds,

and the reason why the church started to sell them

is because they needed money to build St. Peter's Bastillica in Rome

and many other building projects.

And the easiest way was to sell indulgences,

to get guilty people out of purgatory,

relatives out of purgatory,

myself out of purgatory,

in order that I could go into heaven.

And masses of money was raised.

But the unsuspecting masses of people

didn't know that purgatory nor indulgences

weren't in fact in the Bible,

let alone that it wasn't possible to buy someone into heaven.

He said, back in the 1500s,

the members of churches, unlike us today,

did not have the Bible in their own language.

You would walk into church as a German-speaking person in Luther's time,

and everything would be done in Latin.

And you would just sit there and watch.

They couldn't read the Bible for themselves.

The only authority on the way of salvation

was what they were told by the priests

and what they were told by the church,

what they were told was in the Bible.

And it was a situation that got under the skin

of the German monk and the theologian Martin Luther.

On the 31st of October, 1517,

Martin Luther wrote to his bishop, Albert of Mainz,

protesting the sale of indulgences.

He enclosed in his letter a copy of his disputation of Martin Luther

on the power and efficacy of indulgences,

which came to be known throughout history as the 1995 Thesis.

As Sam said, it was nailed to the door of Castle Church Wittenberg

so that all who could read could engage with Martin Luther's writing.

This letter began the Reformation,

which swept through Western Europe,

saw the establishment of the Protestant church,

and recaptured the heart,

the very heart of the Christian message.

Luther ultimately saw indulgences as a travesty of God's way of salvation,

which was one for us,

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He saw that this church tradition had grossly subverted

what the Bible taught about getting right with God

and receiving eternal life.

And so Luther and a whole bunch of other men and women

were moved to put their livelihoods and their homes

and their fortunes and their very lives on the line

to restore to the Christian church

the core teachings of the Christian faith

so that the masses of people could have freedom in Christ,

could know the joy, the joy of salvation,

the Christian gospel.

And so translated into English,

the five assertions from the Reformers

is that salvation is according to Scripture alone,

in Christ alone,

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

all for the glory of God alone.

And Martin Luther, when he was called to account,

took his stand on the Bible.

This was the key principle of the Protestant Reformation

and remains one of the striking differences

between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church

to this very day,

that the final authority in all matters of faith and of life

is found only in the written word of God.

Only in the written word of God.

Other sources and authorities of knowledge have their place,

such as reason and experience of tradition,

but the final, the overruling authority,

belongs to God as he speaks to us through his word, the Bible.

Now that's a claim that is just as challenging today,

in 2017, as it was 500 years ago in 1517.

You see, we exist in a culture that asserts

that there's no absolute truth

that must be understood,

that needs to be accepted,

and certainly is not authority for everyone's life.

Now, ironically, the culture that we exist in

that says there's no absolute truth

is a bit hypocritical,

because the assertion that there is no absolute truth

is in fact an absolute truth claim in and of itself.

Our culture says that truth is what you make it.

It's what seems right to you,

and whatever truth is right for you

might not be right for someone else.

So truth is up to the individual,

which ultimately means follow your feelings.

And therefore, what flows from that,

when there's no absolute truth,

and you make up truth,

that means that truth and authority flow together.

If I believe this is true for me,

you've got no right to tell me it's not true for me.

Truth and authority go together.

And what I want us to come to see here,

to become awakened to,

is the authority of God's word over our life

does not lead to bondage as our culture claims.

It leads to salvation.

It leads to freedom.

It leads to joy.

That's what biblical authority leads to.

2 Timothy 3, 14, 15,

continuing what you have learned

and have become convinced of

because of those to whom you've learned it,

and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures,

which are able to make you wise for salvation

through faith in Christ Jesus.

That's what the scriptures do.

They lead you into salvation and joy and hope.

We need to know that the God who defines all things

and creates all things and rules all things,

has worked to save all things,

has spoken.

He's spoken.

He has spoken loud.

He's spoken clear.

He's spoken with more authority.

That every other voice we will hear

on YouTube and Facebook and everywhere else

over every situation that we face in life.

So let's just go for a bit of a journey there.

I want to go back to Psalm 119.

Make the connection between God and truth,

and therefore what flows from that

is authority over our lives.

That's Psalm 119 verse 155.

Psalms 119:155

Let me just go on a little bit of excursion here

just for a little bit,

and I'm going to probably hit this point a little bit later.

500 years ago, you go to church,

you don't get the Bible in your own language.

You sat there and you observed.

500 years later, we got in our own language.

I think it's appalling that we would ever go to church

and not have the Bible in front of us opened.

So please do that right now.

Psalm 119.

People died in order to get the Scriptures

in our hands right now

so that we would understand God clearly speaking to us.

If you have not got a Bible in your hand right now,

put your hand up,

and our ushers will come to you

and they will get you a Bible in your hand right now.

Okay, back on topic.

Psalm 119.

Psalm 115.

All your words are true.

All your righteous laws are eternal.

Notice those words are talking about,

those sentences are talking about God communicating.

Decrees, laws, statutes, words, precepts.

Then it says in verse 160

that when God speaks,

precepts, laws, decrees,

when he speaks,

what he speaks is true,

it's eternal,

it's righteous.

And the word translated all

at the beginning there

in verse 160

in the NIV

literally means

head.

Means head.

It could mean the head of a body,

it could mean the head of a tribe,

it could mean the head of a river.

And the word used here in verse 119

as head

is the same word

that's used in Exodus

Exodus 30:12

30 verse 12.

I'll read it to you.

When you take a census

of the Israelites

to count them,

each one must pay

the Lord a ransom

for his life

at the time he is counted.

It's also used in Numbers

Numbers 1:2

chapter 1 verse 2.

Take a census

of the whole Israelite community

by their clans

and families.

What Psalm 119 says

is that if you took

a census

of the word of God,

the conclusion would be

is that the sum total

of the word of God,

the Bible

is truth.

The totality

of the Bible

is truth.

But notice

the second half

of verse 160.

It says,

all your righteous laws

are eternal.

So it's not just

the sum total

which is truth.

It's all the individual parts

that are truth.

The census would reveal

that all of it

as well as the parts of it

are all true.

It's truth.

So what it's saying here

is that when God speaks,

what he speaks

is truth.

Truth is what he says.

And the reason why

God's word

is ultimately truth

and it's overruling

and it has final authority

is because God

is ultimate reality.

that's the reason.

God is absolute.

There is nothing higher

than God.

There is no one,

no thing

equal with God.

There is

not another opinion

beside his.

back in Exodus

when

at the burning bush

God

said to Moses

go to Egypt

and sort them out

and

get my people

out of there.

And God

Moses said to God

well

if they ask me

who sent you

what should I say

to them?

God said

tell them

I am.

And you go

that's not helpful.

You know

someone rings up

can I speak to Steve

Jeffrey?

Yes you can.

Who is he?

I am.

You know like

it's

someone asked me

what's your name?

I am.

I mean

what's

I'm defined

by certain things

because God

stands over

I am

I am absolute.

There is

nothing

apart from me.

There is

no reality

before God

all is void

all is formless

he is the God

from everlasting

to everlasting

no beginning

no end

he stands

outside of all

things that he's

created

he doesn't

need anything

that he's

created

never beginning

never ending

never becoming

never improving

simply

and absolutely

is

there to be

dealt with

on his terms

or not at all

that's God

every other

God

that we've

formed in

our minds

it's less

than that

it's simply

because we've

formed it

in our minds

we cannot

comprehend

the absoluteness

of God

let it hit you

brothers and

sisters

God

the God

in whose

name

we gather

today

the one

who has

spoken to us

through his

word

who we

sing about

the one

who we

pray to

never

ever

had a

beginning

there's

nothing

that we

look at

in this

world

or could

touch

or feel

a sense

that has

never

had a

beginning

the one

who never

had a

beginning

but always

was

and is

and will

be

he's the

one

who defines

all

things

that is

and are

whether we

want him

to be there

or not

he's there

we do not

negotiate

with what

we want

reality to

be

and what

we want

God

to be

God

defines

reality

that's

why the

reformation

state

begins

with

scripture

alone

and finishes

all to

the glory

of God

alone

no ranting

no raving

no sophisticated

doubt

or skepticism

has any

effect on

the existence

of God

he simply

and absolutely

is

and if we

don't like

it we can

change for

our joy

or we

can resist

for our

destruction

but one

thing remains

absolutely

true

absolutely

unchanged

God

is

he was

there before

we became

he'll be there

when we are

gone

and therefore

what matters

above all

things in

life is

this

God

I cannot

escape

the simple

and the

obvious truth

that God

must be the

main thing

in life

because he

defines

all things

you see

when God

speaks

he doesn't

just

interpret

history

when God

speaks

history

it's not

his interpretation

on the way

things have

happened in

the world

when God

speaks

he creates

history

if he didn't

speak

it wouldn't

have existed

he doesn't

interpret

history

he creates

history

therefore

this church

has to do

with God

because life

has to do

with God

and life

has to do

with God

because all

the universe

has to do

with God

and all

the universe

has to do

with God

because every

atom

and every

emotion

and every

soul

of every

angelic

demonic

and human

being

belongs

to God

who

absolutely

is

he created

everything

that is

he sustains

everything

in being

he created

and directs

the course

of all events

because

from him

and through

him

and to him

are all

things

and to him

be glory

forever

according to

Romans 11

36

reality

is created

it is

determined

it's defined

by God

and truth

is when

this God

chooses

to communicate

reality

the way

things

actually

are

that's

what truth

is

it's

when

God

chooses

to

communicate

reality

that is

for something

to be

true

it has

to

represent

reality

otherwise

it's a

myth

it's a

fantasy

or it's

a lie

when

God

speaks

he reveals

reality

left to

our own

devices

we've got

no

ability

as human

beings

don't care

how smart

we are

we've got

no ability

at all

to discover

reality

and truth

but God

has revealed

the way

things

simply

are

the one

who exists

in

inapproachable

light

has come

to us

and made

himself

known

so that

we are

not left

in the

darkness

and the

place

where

reality

the way

things

actually

are

and the

communication

of that

reality

come

together

in their

most

profound

sense

is in

the person

of the

Lord

Jesus

first

it's

because

Jesus

speaks

truth

Jesus

says this

in John

18

for I

came into

the world

to testify

to the

truth

everyone

on the

side

of truth

listens

to me

that is

Jesus

saying

here

that he

speaks

truth

when

Jesus

speaks

he

speaks

truth

he

came

to

testify

to

truth

and

if

you

want

to

know

what

truth

is

you

need

to

listen

to

Jesus

but

he

said

something

slightly

more

profound

than

that

in

John

14

I

am

the

way

the

truth

and

the

life

and

no

one

comes

to

the

father

except

through

me

he

says

I

don't

just

speak

truth

I

am

truth

the

most

ultimate

reason

why

he

could

say

that

he

was

the

truth

is

that

he

is

the

God

that's

why

and

that's

what

in fact

John

one

affirms

it

says

in

the

beginning

was

the

word

that

is

he

existed

before

anything

was

made

this

word

existed

before

anything

was

made

and

the

word

was

with

God

and

the

word

was

God

and

he

was

with

God

at

the

beginning

and

through

him

that's

through

the

word

all

things

were

made

without

him

nothing

was

made

that

has

been

made

and

then

down

in

verse

14

we

see

something

incredibly

startling

this

word

this

communication

of

reality

and

the

connection

of

reality

became

flesh

and

he

made

his

dwelling

amongst

us

we

have

seen

his

glory

the

glory

of

the

one

and

only

who

became

the

father

full

of

grace

and

truth

and

so

the

question

in

John

1

is

who

is

this

word

who

is

God

who

existed

before

creation

who

created

everything

and

this

word

who

is

full

of

grace

and

truth

verse

15

John

testifies

concerning

him

he cries

out

truth

and

reality

the

way

things

actually

are

that's

why

Jesus

has

authority

over

all

things

as

Philippians

2

says

he

doesn't

just

speak

the

word

of

God

he

doesn't

just

speak

the

truth

he

is

the

word

of

God

he

is

the

truth

he

is

God

the

place

where

reality

and

the

communication

of

that

reality

come

together

in the

most

profound

sense

is

in

the

person

of

Jesus

and

Jesus

himself

endorsed

the

message

of

Psalm

Psalms 119:60

119

verse

60

when

he

says

in

Matthew

5

do

not

think

that

I've

come

to

abolish

the

law

of

the

prophets

I've

not

come

to

abolish

them

but

to

fulfill

them

I

tell you

the

truth

until

heaven

and

earth

disappear

not

the

smallest

letter

not

the

least

stroke

of

pen

will

by

any

means

disappear

from

the

law

until

everything

is

accomplished

in

is

that

the

whole

Old

Testament

is

pointing

to

him

all

of

God's

revelation

of

reality

and

truth

is

pointing

in

the

person

of

Jesus

the

Bible

as

the

word

of

God

is

where

we

have

God

revealing

the

way

things

actually

are

and

so

the

assertion

I'll

make

and

I'm

happy

to

argue

this

in

much

more

detail

you

can

buy

one

book

on

scripture

alone

it's

got

491

pages

in

it

it's

massive

so

trying to

summarize

a little

bit

66

books

of

the

Bible

with

Jesus

at

the

center

is

truth

that

is

absolute

revealed

to

us

from

a

God

who

defines

all

things

who

creates

all

things

who

sustains

all

things

it's

truth

and

Jesus

says

this

about

the

truth

it

will

set

you

free

it's

about

liberation

it's

not

about

bondage

it's

not

about

having

a

God

who

is

ogre

over

the

top

of

all

things

the

gospel

that

he

came

the

truth

that

he

revealed

is

that

we

as

sinners

have

been

saved

through

the

glorious

work

of

Jesus

on

the

cross

and

his

resurrection

and

so

the

Bible

is

where

God

speaks

what

is

real

what

is

absolute

and

so

it's

true

the

Bible

is

the

way

that

God

the

ultimate

all

important

reality

reveals

himself

to

us

with

clarity

and

with

authority

today

if

God

is

more

important

than

anything

else

then

the

Bible

is

more

important

than

anything

but

God

and

what

we

need

to

embrace

what

we

need

to

be

confident

in

is

the

whole

word

of

God

as

truth

with

the

Lord

Jesus

at

the

center

of

that

truth

and

the

gospel

the

glorious

gospel

that

sets

us

free

from

all

of

our

bondage

to

sin

and

darkness

is

at

the

center

the

God

who

made

everything

controls

everything

has a

purpose

for

everything

this

is

the

God

who

has

spoken

and

in

2

Timothy

3

16

it

says

that

all

scripture

is

God

breathed

that

comes

it

all

came

from

him

and

is

not

left

without

the

revelation

the

way

of

salvation

what

we

have

hopefully

you've

got

in

your

hands

right

now

is

simply

priceless

and if we could awaken our hearts

and our minds

that this is with confidence

that this is so

just imagine how we would live our lives

just imagine how we would navigate

the complexities of life in this world

that we see on Facebook and Twitter

and the political scene

just imagine how we would navigate

the relational issues

the implication for our lives

would be countless and vital

God has not left us

without a way to measure

every single vital thing

that we face in this life

he reveals himself only so much

and in so far as he thinks is necessary

for us to know him for our salvation and life

but everything that's vital

he touches

either directly or by implication

the Bible is God's provision for us

it is sufficient for life and faith

everything we face in this Bible

is touched in the Bible

I've got no doubt that there are plenty things

that we need to know about

but the Bible is the sun of the solar system

of all learning

it gives light

it gives perspective

it gives meaning

its truth needs to permeate everything

it's not one

it's not one among many books

it's the central book

all ideas will be judged by this book

this book will be known first and better

than all other books

and all other ideas

and all other information

but hear the warning of John 5

Jesus said in John 5

to the religious elite

you diligently study the scriptures

because you think that by them

you will possess eternal life

these are the scriptures that testify about me

and yet you refuse to come to me

to have life

it is possible to search the Bible for God

and miss God

it is possible to be fluent in the scriptures

to be able to quote scriptures offhand

and yet totally miss relationship with God

in the whole process

if we pursue knowledge of God for its own sake

it is bound to go bad for us

it will make us proud

it will make us conceited

you can always tell

if someone's proud or conceited

in terms of their knowledge of God

it comes out in the way of their attitude

as theologian J.R. Packer has written

to be preoccupied with getting biblical knowledge

as an end in itself

to approach Bible study

with no higher motive

than a desire to know all the answers

is the direct route

to a state of self-satisfied self-deception

it's not good enough just to know your Bible

we must know the God of the Bible

so what's the ultimate aim

in wanting to know God through the Bible

the supreme desire of the writer of Psalm 119

was to know and enjoy God himself

and he valued knowledge about God

simply as a means to that end

he wanted to know about God

in order to know God

he wanted to know the truth about God

so that his heart might respond to

and his life might be conformed to him

it is not good enough to simply know your Bible

our aim is in seeking to know Jesus

and to be led to Jesus

and in being led to Jesus

have life in Jesus

our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance with God

who defines all things

and so one tip

if I can just go here a little bit practical

one tip on how to turn your knowledge about God

into a knowledge of God

is by both

and I think this is demanding and simple at the same time

so here it is

turn every truth

that we learn about God

into a matter of meditation before God

leading to prayer and praise to God

say it again

turn every truth that we learn about God

into a matter of meditation before God

leading to prayer and praise to God

meditation is simply the activity of calling to mind

and lingering over and dwelling on

and applying yourself

what you've learnt from the Bible

about the works, the ways, the purpose, the promises

and the character of God

and the effect

will be to humble us

as we contemplate God's greatness and glory

in our own smallness

our own sinfulness

and to encourage and to comfort us

and reassure us

as we contemplate the unsearchable riches

of God's mercy to us in Jesus

there's so much more that could be said

the church of the middle ages

cut people off from the word of God

they cut people off from the word of God

and therefore they cut people off from God

it was a capital crime in the 1400s

in Britain to translate the scriptures

into the language of the people

a capital crime

they burn people alive

for even reading fragments

of the English Bible

taking a page out of the Bible

I mean just a page

you got burnt at the stake for that

including children

they burnt children at the stake

it was an evil

that ultimately descended people

into darkness and fear

but Martin Luther

as a German monk

had access to the Bible

he could read Latin

and he discovered something

in his reading of the Bible

something that he had not heard

from the priests

something he had not heard

from the official doctrines

of the church

and it was simply this

sinners are attractive

because they are loved

they are not loved

because they are attractive

he read that in Romans

and joy filled his heart

Luther discovered in the Bible

that God is glorious

that he is beautiful

that he is good

that he is kind

that he is generous

he discovered

it was possible to know God

and enjoy him through his word

and this year

we celebrate

500 years

since

that discovery

went public

it was all about

the recovery

of beautiful truth

that has changed

Luther's life

and changed the lives

of millions of people

around this world

from all different cultures

and backgrounds

even from kids

as 2 Timothy says

even from your infancy

you could know

the way of salvation

so may we be thankful

that we have the scriptures

in our language

and that we can know them

and that they can make us

wise for salvation

and one of our commitments

as a church

standing in that

500 year tradition

is written on the board

out there

Christ centred

Bible saturation

is a core value

of our church

it says that

we value individual

and corporate

biblical reflection

and assessment

of life and ministry

of authority

of Bible teaching

and preaching

over reason

experience

and tradition

the God

centredness

of all biblical truth

passing on to the next generation

of biblically informed

love for God

every believer

taking responsibility

to be spiritually

and physically prepared

to listen

and obey

as God's word is taught

every believer

having a vital

personal study time

where the Bible

is read

meditated on

memorized

prayed over

and obeyed

so let me just

stand aside here

very quickly

we're signing up

for community groups

the core thing

we do in community groups

is to sit around

and study the scriptures

and pray

and encourage each other

pastor one another

through God's word

we're signing up

for them

in the next couple of weeks

join a community group

that's first of all

second thing

Adrian's running a course

in the next couple of weeks

soon

it's in the bulletin anyway

on investigating Christianity

through the word

understanding who God is

and what he's done for us

so Adrian stick your hand up

so we know who you are

go and see Adrian

if you want to sign up

for that one

and thirdly

if you haven't done it already

get involved

in a personal

personal

walk with God

the battle

for the authority

of God's word

in our lives

is a personal battle

it's not just one

that the church

holds to

it's a personal battle

is it easier for you

to go to the opinions

of others

than it is to go

to God's word

how often are you

soaking yourself

in God's word

this battle

is a personal battle

that starts with me

I've

a couple of you know

I've been going through

a period lately

of what I would call

spiritual dryness

and one of the things

that has helped me

enormously

is to get a help

like this

buying from Curon

and a bunch of other places

a help like this

of daily devotions

and I've been going

just slowly

through Galatians

and rediscovering

and applying

the gospel

the core teachings

of the Bible

the gospel

the Christian message

into my life

grab one of these

or something like it

and get into the word

yourself

you can only be

malnourished

if all you're relying

upon is a sermon

from me

week in week out

that's all you're doing

and as we look

at our future together

do we have confidence

in the word of God

to accomplish

the work of God

in our life

and in this community

temptation of our society

to say get rid of it

it's archaic

do we have confidence

that God speaks

through his word

and when he speaks

through his word

life

and joy

and salvation

is the result

so as we pursue

Christ-centered Bible

situation

for the next 500 years

here at St. Paul's

may our reading

our memorizing

our songs

our ministries

our missions

all of our theological

questioning

all of our relational

issues

be submitted

to the word of God

fads and fashions

will rise

and they will fall

our fame

will rise

and it will fall

but the word of God

stands forever

Isaiah 40

the word of God

will outlive you

so submit to it

all people are like grass

and all their faithfulness

is like the flowers

of the field

the grass withers

and the flowers fall

because the breath

of the Lord

blows on them

surely the people

are grass

the grass withers

and the flowers fall

but the word of God

endures

forever

let's pray

gracious father

how thankful we are

for William Tyndall

480

480

something years ago

he was strangled

to death

and his body

was burnt

so that we could

have your word

in our laps

today

in this church

so father

may there be

nothing trivial

about the way

we speak

about your word

may there be

nothing trivial

about the way

that we treat it

here as a church

or we as individuals

not primarily

because we owe

a debt to Tyndall

but because

it is you

you

the God

who sits over

all things

speaking to us

and without

your word to us

we are dead

we are in

darkness

father we

we pray

that the children

amongst us

will be

shaped

by the

reverence

they see

from us

adults

coming in

from your word