The Berean Spirit

Welcome to each one. Thank you mothers and cooks for the refreshing meal and thank the Lord for the bread of life. We are a blessed, blessed people.

It's hard to comprehend how blessed we are, but we can try. My father always used to say, he said, when we'd sit down to a meal, it was all prepared and there were love touches on the table and it was just a sweet little family evening. My father would say, there is no way that we can be as thankful for this that is before us as if you place this before a starving child in another land.

But he would say, let's go ahead and try. And so let's be thankful for the blessings that we enjoy. We are a blessed people.

The desire that we have, we have several desires, the snow is so beautiful. I was looking out there and I was thinking about my wife. She's almost here.

I don't know how efficient she is in the snow, so there's kind of a prayer there that she'll be arriving soon with our family. But our desire this afternoon here, we have a desire to minister life. And the burden is not so much that we minister it or however.

We just want you to have life, however it comes. Sometimes it comes through collective gathering. Sometimes it comes through dreams and visions, Joel says.

Sometimes it comes just in the quiet time. Have we all experienced just the reading of God's Word and something clicked in our mind that we had never got before? That is our desire. That is how we want to encourage you this afternoon, is to read the Word of God.

The Word of God is an anchor for the soul. The Word of God is eternal. The Word of God is quick.

That means it's alive. It's not just words. It's not just a book.

The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow, and it's a discerner. Now you have to be alive to discern. It's a discerner of the thoughts and the intent of the heart.

The Word of God is a powerful thing. And there is life in it. Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

I want to encourage each of us. I mean, this afternoon is going to kind of be a devotional, an encouragement for each of you to have a plan. And I don't know that there is just one specific plan you have to have.

The Word of God is so flexible at reaching our hearts. But to have a dedicated time to read the Word of God, and it just goes with prayer. But it's just interesting to me, and down the road a ways we've done some counseling of different people, and it seems like whenever the trials of life get big and the temptations are too much to turn down, many times it's at a time when the Bible reading is at a low.

When someone is in the Word, there's a strength that comes into our life. And it is life. And so, a lot of times, people want to be fed.

They want to be blessed. And I think it's God's will that it would happen. But it's also God's will that we would be in the Word, each of us on our own.

Now, my wife and I love to read the Word of God together. That's just a, I just don't know that I could trade that for anything. Much, I was just talking to Brother Mike here, much of what we say from the pulpit just comes right out of the living room, comes right out of the bedroom in devotions.

It just comes out of everyday life from being in the Word of God. And many times I have marveled how even the children will bring out points that I never even thought of. And all the lights will go on.

It's so exciting. And there is life in a home setting, a family circle, when the family enjoys being in the Word together. That is a life-giving formula that is a real deterrent to sin.

High level of communication, you know, if someone just sits there and doesn't ever say anything, you're not real sure what's going on in their mind. But if the communication level is high and the Word of God is open and there's just different thoughts being poured in, you know, it's just interesting to me. My wife has told me before, she said, I have a thought on that, but I'm not sure it's right, so I'm not sure I want to say it.

You know, and I'll say, well, say it. You know, in interaction and communication, we can determine truth together many times. Many times people are afraid to express themselves because they're afraid they might be wrong.

Well, I'll tell you, if you're wrong, there's a way to straighten you out. Go ahead and express it with an open heart for correction and direction, and it'll be a blessing. You know, I don't know how to say this right, but there have been times in prayer when I told God I was really upset with Him.

I know it wasn't right, but it seemed like it was true. What do I do? Yeah, and God can work with all the information laid out on the table. We don't have to be right.

Actually, my wife has actually told me that. She said, Dale, if you're going to take responsibility for my life, if I'm to be under your authority and you take responsibility for my life, then you have to know everything that's in here. She kind of grinned and said, and I'm willing to talk, and so communication is a beautiful thing, but when it's around the Word of God, when it's surrounded and bathed in prayer and just a transparency, you know, it's just a beautiful thing.

I was talking to Mike about Leaven on the way home last night, and you know, Leaven is an interesting thing, because Leaven is sin. It's a puffed up thing. It's kind of symbolic of pride and some wrong things, and the Scriptures tell us that we should purge out the old Leaven.

It's not good to have it in there, because a little Leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and what that means is if I have a little bit of Leaven in my life, that's not really fair to y'all, because you're the whole lump, but a little Leaven can leaven the whole lump, and I was just thinking in light of the message that we had last night, isn't there another way to purge out the old Leaven besides just getting rid of that person? That's what happens so often, but I think if we have transparency and honesty and openness and we bring that thing out, if I have Leaven in my heart, but I open my life to you, and Brother Jerry and Brother Craig, you speak into my life, and my heart is open and I listen, and through your counsel and through the Word of God and prayer, I come to conviction and I confess my sin, that's purging out the old Leaven, but I'm still here. That's the way God wants this thing to work among His people, and so let's keep communication at a very high level, and let's be in the Word. That was such a thing to, I've known different people that love to be in the Word, and I've been in churches where it wasn't really encouraged to speak about it that much, because we pretty well had things set and figured out of how we were going to do things, but really, it's good to just talk about the Word.

It's just pretty easy to tell when you're around somebody if they're in the Word. If they're not in the Word, you ask a question and the thing just falls flat and there's just no interest. It's just amazing to me.

I've been around certain people when I just almost hinted at some question or subject out of the Scriptures, and they were right there. They just took that thing and went. Well, that person's in the Word.

What kind of people are we? Are Scriptural subjects, if somebody's wrong, a little off on doctrine, do we react to that, or is that just an opportunity? I mean, Paul said about Priscilla and Aquila, did he not, that they had some things that needed to be straightened out, and he said, we straightened them out and things are good. We need to open ourselves to counsel. I marvel at myself how the fear that I have so often of being wrong, and that's just kind of embarrassing.

That's not embarrassing. That's normal. There's nobody here has everything figured out right.

We need each other. We are a balance to each other, but the Word of God is supreme. We don't balance the Word of God with our life.

That's not where the balance comes in, but in coming together, I want to encourage us to be in the Word of God. Individually, as a marriage couple, as a family, as a church, it's just a beautiful thing to be in the Word of God. The Word of God is an anchor for the soul, and it always leads you to a holy life and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. In other words, the scriptures are just going to lead you to Jesus Christ. I've heard that wherever you cut the Bible, it bleeds.

It's just one story that leads us to the Lord Jesus Christ and to a holy life. It's a beautiful picture. I think I would like to just put a little title on our devotion this afternoon.

I would like to have the title be The Spirit of the Bereans. The Spirit of the Bereans. I say spirit because we want more than just the intellectual knowledge of what is written in this book.

There's a spirit that has a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. When that hunger and thirst comes forth and the Word of God is opened, there's a spirit there that is a beautiful thing and the Bereans had it. The Bereans, there's only about two verses on them in the whole Bible that they got famous out of those two verses.

How many Bible study groups want to be called the Berean Bible study group or the Berean Christian Fellowship for a church? It's just like it's an automatic compliment. This group of people is in the Word. They want truth.

They're willing to search this thing out. They cross reference of scriptures. They're seeking God.

That's just what the word Berea means just because of a couple verses in the Bible. And so I want to consider how the Bereans read the Word of God. How do you read the Word of God? How they received the Word of God? And how they responded to the Word of God? And really they all kind of go together because how you respond to the Word of God really has everything to do with how you receive it.

And how you receive the Word of God has everything to do with how you read it. And so why don't we open to Acts chapter 17 where these couple of verses are there that mention the Bereans. Acts chapter 17.

It's really verses just 10 and 12 but they go like this. And these Bereans here they're Jews. The Jews at Berea.

And so these people are steeped in Judaism. These people I don't know that they figured it out themselves but they were taught by people that had already figured this thing out how it is. And they were just steeped in Judaism.

And so they had some barriers, some walls to break through. And when they searched the scriptures they searched the Old Testament. That's what they had.

That's what the scriptures were. But they had a pretty good dose of the New Testament too because Paul was there preaching. And he was just giving them the New Testament.

And I just think that these Jews when they were searching the scriptures they got so excited when they found out that the Passover lamb of the Passover that that was the very hour that Jesus died. They started putting this thing together. The Passover lamb slain.

And Paul was just trying to show them that that's exactly when Jesus died. He is the Passover lamb. It's the blood that I will pass over you.

And just the message started coming clear as they were digging in the Old Testament. And so let's just read here. Verse 10 says that the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Saddus by night unto Berea.

This is from Thessalonica where they were rejected. So they were sent to Berea who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so.

Now I think in that verse there's some individual study. There's some collective group study. There's probably a couple people up in this corner and a couple more over here.

They were searching the scriptures with all readiness of mind to see whether those things were so. They wanted truth. And there's a result that comes from that.

Therefore many of them believed also of honorable women which were Greeks and of men not a few. That's interesting to me that they didn't just exclusively limit their discussion to them as Jews. There were some Greeks in that circle that got a hold of this.

I want to give you just, I tried to think how did the Bereans read? How did they read the word of God? And I just came up with an attitude, several different attitudes that I want to mention and I want to encourage you to read the Bible this way. First I want to encourage you to read the word of God like a son. It is your father's words.

Read it like a son. It is your father's words. I want to lift up the father-son relationship for a little bit here this afternoon as the highest relationship that there is.

And I've said before that the marriage is the highest relationship that there is. But I'm going to lift up the father-son relationship for just a moment today because of God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You're not going to surpass that relationship.

I and my Father are one. Jesus said, I do only those things that please my Father. Whatever the Father tells me, that's what I do.

I'm saying read the word of God that way. Whatever my Father tells me, that's what I'm going to do. Read it like a son.

This is your Father's words. Jesus had that relationship with His Father and it showed up when He was tempted and the temptation there in Matthew 4, you remember when the devil came to Him. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and the devil came to Him and said, if thou be the Son of God, command these stones that they be made bread.

And I'm just going to tell you this morning, I have never figured out what would be wrong with doing that. The fast was over. It was time to eat.

He was hungry, said so. Afterward he was unhungered. And it was time to eat and there was no food there.

So here comes the devil. Command these stones to be made bread. He knew Jesus had brought water out of the rock.

He had changed the water into wine. Why not command these stones to be made bread? And it seemed like it fit. What is wrong with that? Well, I want to tell you the answer that Jesus gave.

It is so interesting. It's because He read this as a son. It was His Father's words.

Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of my Father. In other words, I listen to my Father and you're not my Father and I only do what my Father says. Read it that way.

Read it like a son. It is your Father's words. That's a powerful way to read the word of God.

We are sons and daughters. I want to encourage you sisters that are here. I love that scripture when Jesus said, I forget which one it is, one of them that God healed maybe with an issue of blood.

Jesus said, daughter, thy faith hath saved thee. What a beautiful picture. Read it like a daughter.

It is your Father's words. In Hebrews chapter 12, talking about the chastening of a father and a son, let me read a couple of verses here. It says, And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children.

I tell you brother and sister, many times we forget, just like it says here, that we are children and it is our Father who loves us, speaking to us. You have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

And you can read that passage there, and it says that no chastening for the time is present, but accept it. It's okay. It's your Father giving you direction.

We don't need to react and revolt and rebel. We can receive it and we can grow thereby. Read it like a son.

It is your Father's words. Read it like a student. It is your teacher's wisdom.

Think about it that way. The word of God tells us that this word is settled forever in heaven. That's an anchor, pretty sure, in steadfast.

Settled forever in heaven. Read it like a student. It is your teacher's wisdom.

And even part of the word student is study, and that's what the word of God tells us to study. To show ourself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And it takes some study.

I think those Berean Jews, I think they were cross-referencing those things that Paul was telling them. They were checking this thing out. It was the exact same time that Jesus died.

And when the veil of the temple was ripped from the top to the bottom, that's God's work. Man can't even tear that thing. It's just beautiful pictures that just started opening up.

Let me turn, I just love, love, love to read here in Luke after Jesus was risen from the dead. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. So we're just talking about the Scriptures here.

Everything points to Jesus. And it says, Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. I think that I really believe that there is things here that an intelligent person will never get just because they're intelligent.

There's something here that needs to open up in their heart. And that's what it says here. Then opened he, Jesus opened their understanding.

How else are you going to get that thing open without Jesus opening up that thing being your understanding? How are you going to get it open unless he opens it? That they might understand the Scriptures. I want to give you a little bit of a challenge here for just a minute. There are some Scriptures that are interesting to me.

One of them is when Jesus said, You do err. You greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. And they go together.

But what a mistake they made by not knowing the Scriptures. Another one is when Jesus spoke of them making the word of God of none effect. Can you comprehend that? This book that is settled forever in heaven, having no effect whatever on your life, that is a choice that God has given us.

We are creatures of free choice, and we are people who make the word of God of none effect. Simply say, I don't believe it. But may God open our understanding.

And I just want to encourage us today, this doesn't always happen in a collective capacity. This happens right at home. Another Scripture was Paul mentioned, handling the word of God deceitfully.

Can you imagine handling the word of God deceitfully? Twisting that thing to make it support my wrong motives. To make it support me. Don't read it that way.

Read it like a son. It is your father's word. Read it like a student.

It is your teacher's wisdom. Many thoughts come to my mind. I want to finish this.

Hebrews says that your ears are dull of hearing for when for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles, the basic principles of the oracles of God. And I want to show, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 9. I want to show you something. This really convicted my heart when I realized these two Scriptures here that go together.

Matthew 9, 13, look at this. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and to the people and he gave them some counsel. He said in verse 13 of chapter 9 of Matthew, but go ye and learn what this meaneth.

I will have mercy and not sacrifice. It is a quote out of Hosea. We are not going to go there and I am not going to talk about what this means because I am still studying it myself.

But it says here, go ye and learn what this meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. It is like Jesus gave them some homework, wouldn't you say? That is kind of what this looks like here.

Go learn what this meaneth. He didn't tell them. He said go study this thing out.

We need to be in the word. Now I want you to turn just over a couple of pages to chapter 12 verse 7. These people didn't do their homework and they crucified the Son of God but look what Jesus said. In verse 7 of chapter 12 he said to them, if ye had known what this meaneth, if you had done your homework, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.

I mean I looked at this and I said, well, how many more situations are there like this in the word of God that if we knew and if we understood and if we prayed and cried out to God that He would open our understanding, how it would save us from condemning everything from condemning the guiltless to destroying the relationship and committing sin if we understood the power that is in the word of God. To me that is a classical example from the word of God and I had to study some to even find it in there. But it is all through the Bible.

Homework. And if you don't do it, you are going to pay. We need to be in the word of God.

We need to pray that God would open up our understanding. And we need to do it collectively and we need to do it individually. You know I have sat before under the teaching of the word and I have just been convicted and just had to go forward and just had to cry out to God.

But there are also times that I remember when I sat there in that little green chair when I lived on Redwood Road out there in California in the almond orchards. I sat there and I got a vision of imputation. I had never had it before.

I always knew that my sins were imputed unto Christ. My sins were put to his account. I had known that and I figured now the scripture that I read, I believe it was in Romans 4 there or maybe it was Philemon, but it was talking about imputation and all of a sudden it just hit me.

Imputation is two ways. My sins were put to his account, but his righteousness was put to my account. He paid the price for my sins and I get the credit for his righteousness.

We are made the righteousness of God in him. I sat there and I just cried. I rejoiced.

I don't know what all I did, but my spirit was just effervescing. It was just coming out and this is life. This is beautiful and it's what we need.

Each of us individually, our marriages need it. Haven't you done that with your companion and sat there? Now, wait a minute, hon, look at this. It just goes back and forth and there's communication and the spirit is revived.

I just want to encourage us, read it like a son, like a daughter. It is your father's word. Read it like a student It is your teacher's wisdom.

I kind of left the song book open here. We sang a beautiful song about more about Jesus, what I know. The second verse says, more about Jesus, let me learn.

More of his holy will discern. Spirit of God, my teacher be. Showing the things of Christ to me.

I just was singing that and I just thought, read it like a student. It is your teacher's wisdom. Brothers and sisters, how much does the Holy Spirit know? No way we can comprehend, right? That's our teacher.

We are taught by the spirit of God. It's just a beautiful way. Do you realize what happens when you open the word of God? The power that is available for us, it's not dry.

I mean, I marvel. Deuteronomy, I think, okay, let's skip that one. Let's skip Leviticus or whatever, but the Bereans didn't.

And I remember the day somebody pointed out to me when Jesus was tempted three times and three times he came back with scriptures every time. And all three scriptures were quotations from Deuteronomy. I said, well, that's interesting.

I thought Deuteronomy was all legalism and law, but it looks like there's some power over temptation in there. If we can get a hold of it, just want to encourage us that way. I want to, there's a song that I like that kind of describes to me the spirit of the Berean, because it says they studied the word of God with all readiness of mind.

Have you done that? Have you thought about what that means? With all readiness of mind. I mean, you're ready for this. Whatever's coming, however big the sacrifice is, you're ready.

However big the sin is I need to forgive, I'm ready. I mean, that's what that means. Reading the word of God with all readiness of mind for anything.

That song, we sing it sometimes, ready to suffer grief or pain. If that's the calling, we're ready. Ready to stand the test.

Ready to stay at home and send others if he sees best. Doesn't have to be me. I just want to see the job done.

Ready to go. Ready to bear. Ready to watch and pray.

Ready to stand aside and give till he shall clear the way. In other words, if it's just wait on the Lord right now, that's okay. I'm ready to wait.

I don't have to do what I think needs to be done right now. God hasn't cleared the way. There's something sacred, brothers and sisters, about waiting on the Lord.

Very sacred. That when we're as patient with him as he is with us, I'll just say it that way to make a point. Ready to speak.

I love this verse. Ready to speak. Ready to think.

Ready with heart and brain. Ready to stand where he sees fit. Ready to bear the strain.

Isn't that an amazing verse? Are we ready for all of those things? We're ready to search this thing out. Ready with heart and brain. Ready to bear the strain.

Sometimes that's pretty hard on us. Ready to speak. Ready to warn.

Ready over souls to yearn. Ready in life. Ready in death.

Ready for his return. There's a lot of times when I realize I'm not even sure I'm ready for the Lord to come because there's some things that I want to get done yet. Just have a vision.

Just enjoy it. But that's not healthy. I mean it's healthy to be doing those things.

To occupy until he comes. But nothing is greater than when the Lord comes and it's all over. Ready for his return in the course.

Ready to go. Ready to stay. Ready my place to fill.

Ready for service, lowly or great. Ready to do his will. Lord you have your way with me.

Ready my place to fill. You know there's a lot of people that feel like they should be the one filling someone else's place and so they try to go fill that place. But if you're not in your place then your place is empty.

If you're not in your place, your place is empty. And God has a mission for you in your place and that mission will be unaccomplished. And so as we yield ourselves to him and that brings us to the next attitude.

Read it like a servant. It is your master's command. That's a beautiful way to read the word of God.

Read it with the mindset of a servant. I want to tell you this afternoon that a servant thinks different than the boss or a king or you know someone in authority. A servant doesn't think that way.

A servant thinks obey. He thinks do what you're told. That's just the way he thinks and I'm telling you this afternoon read it that way.

Read it like a servant. It's your master's command. Obedience is a mindset.

Romans talks about the obedience of faith. Many people don't connect obedience with faith but faith doesn't stand alone when you read it like a servant. When our faith is great, when we're in the word, when we read it like a servant, obedience is very, very big.

And I feel like God wants us to understand how big it is with him. Let me read to you, this is very interesting to me, obedience of faith is a scriptural phrase and it's in the scriptures twice but it's once there in the last chapter of Romans in 16. It says this, now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began but now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God hath made known to all nations.

Now this sounds like quite a proclamation that's coming, doesn't it? I mean it's made by the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. In other words, it's an international proclamation that obedience goes with faith and when you read the word of God like a servant, obedience is just the automatic response and it's immediate obedience. It's a beautiful way.

So read it like a son. It's your father's word and the inheritance is yours and the joy is yours and the kingly line is yours. You're the godly seed.

What a joy. Read it like a student. It is your teacher's wisdom, the infinite wisdom of the teaching of the Holy Spirit as we read and read it like a servant.

It is your master's command. You start putting all these things together and you read the word of God all of these ways. It's exciting.

It's powerful. Read the scriptures on prayer. I dare you to just put the scriptures on prayer together and read them and believe them and move forward in obedience.

Powerful thing. Another attitude. I wanted to say this first about obedience.

God does not teach us wisdom by always giving us all the facts. God teaches us wisdom by teaching us to obey. I just want to encourage us with that.

That's so true. Who has all the facts? And we gather all we can. That's scriptural to do that.

He's a fool that judges the matter before he hears it. You need some of that information. But God doesn't teach us wisdom by just giving us all the facts.

He teaches us wisdom by teaching us to obey. An example of that would be Peter when Jesus was washing their feet. Remember he came to Peter and he was ready to wash his feet and Peter said I'm not going to wash my feet.

And Jesus said if I wash thee not thou hast no part with me. Peter said not my feet only but also my hands and my head. But there was one point there where Jesus told Peter, he said what I do thou know us not now.

You don't have all the facts. You don't understand this. I do.

We have confidence that God does. When he wrote this down he knew. And so we put our faith there and he told Peter what I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter.

In other words you need to obey first. You know what that says? If you don't obey you have no part with me. That's a pretty serious word.

And so let's obey. Let's read the word of God like a servant. Now read it also like a soldier.

It is your captain's orders. You know it's one thing to read how to do battle in a comfortable room in a peaceful setting and it's altogether another thing to read it in the trenches when the bullets are flying. We need to understand that we are in a battle.

There's a song I heard when I was young. I haven't even heard it since but I remember one line of it. It just said it's a battlefield brother not a recreation room.

It's a fight and not a game. And that's what Paul said about he didn't always talk about our walk of faith. He said fight the good fight of faith.

This is a battle that we are in and the enemy is very, very real and he's not out to just hinder our work. He's out to kill. The fiery darts of the wicked are thrown at us and they're thrown at our children and they're thrown at our churches and they're meant to kill.

This is a battle that we are in and we have an enemy. And Paul one place he said pray for us that a door and effectual is opened unto us and he said and there are many adversaries. This is a real battle.

Read it like a soldier. I want to read 2 Timothy chapter 2. Thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that woreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Look at that verse. This is the word of God.

Read that verse like a servant. Read that verse like a son. Read that verse like a student.

Read that verse like a soldier. No man. That means not one of us entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.

We're not going to accept the things that this world has to offer us. We don't do that so that we can please him who hath chosen you to be a soldier. He chose you to be a soldier because it's a battle that we're in.

It is. But it's exciting because he is our captain. Read it like a soldier.

It is your captain's orders. I'll give you another one. I was just thinking about this.

There's lots of attitudes that just come together in the spirit of Christ. Read it like a steward. It is the Lord's provision.

God has given us his word. God has revealed unto us his heart. God has revealed unto us his love.

Poured out his spirit in dwelling us to lead us and guide us in the ways of truth. And his riches are unlimited. I mean God even mentioned one time about the windows of heaven when he opens those things up.

There's not room enough to receive it. I like the song by Annie Johnson Flint. He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater.

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To added affliction, he addeth his mercy. To multiplied trials, his multiplied peace.

And this is the supply that our Lord has. His love has no limit. His grace has no measure.

His power has no boundary known unto man. For out of his infinite riches in Jesus, he giveth and giveth and giveth again. That is the supply.

We are stewards of that supply. Can we take the gospel to the lost? Look what we have to offer. Look at the supply.

The windows of heaven, it's not like it's look out there. It's over there and behind you and above you and below you. We get lost in the supply of the king of heaven.

Can you pray to a God that way? Does that affect your prayers? It's not just knowing that God has all that. It's believing it that he wants to pour his grace upon his children. We should be happy to wait.

If his timing is not yet, that's fine. That doesn't limit his supply. It's just his will and he knows best.

I want to encourage us to pray. I want to encourage us to read the word of God. I want to encourage us to do it individually, to do it as couples, to do it as families.

Raise that level of communication. Open up our hearts. Do it as a fellowship.

There's life in it. There's a time for the preaching of the word, but if that's the only way you ever get it, it's a little too far in between. Let's be in the word.

Read it like a follower. It is your leader's footsteps. You know, let's not be kidding ourselves or deceiving ourselves as the word of God says.

We are called to follow in his steps. He didn't come down to earth to just show us all the healing that he could do and all the great things that he could do and how full of the Holy Spirit he was. He didn't come down just to show us all the things.

He came down to teach us that that's what he wants to have happen to us, that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit also. I want to turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. Let's just look at a couple verses there, 1 Peter chapter 2. This is the passage here that has that he says, left us an example that we should follow in his steps. The context here is suffering wrongfully.

This is not a very popular thing. You know, when you realize that you're following in the steps of the master, it gets exciting. Literally, suffering wrongfully is everything about it goes against the flesh.

But it gets some exciting when you realize, I'm just taking another step in my master's steps. And I think I can say that most of the suffering that I have done, there was a reason for it. It wasn't really suffering wrongfully.

It's just paying the price for, you know, your own stubborn will. But we are called to follow in his steps. He didn't do wrong and he still suffered.

You know, many times when we do wrong and it comes back on us, we say we're sorry and we're a little upset that it came. But if we didn't do anything wrong and we get falsely accused, hey, we're going to straighten this thing out. Let's just read here.

This is thankworthy in verse 19 of 1 Peter 2. If a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully, that means suffering when you really haven't done anything wrong to suffer. The suffering still. For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults you take it patiently? But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently.

This is acceptable with God. And now this isn't just for the Lord Jesus. For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps.

And here it is. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He didn't sin.

Who when he was reviled, reviled not again. Is that the reputation I have? When he suffered he threatened not. Is that the reputation that I have? But committed himself unto him that judgeth righteously.

I want to read this thing as a son. It's my father's words for me. Even here unto where you called.

I want to read it like a student. It is my teacher's wisdom. I want to read it like a servant.

I want to be willing to serve. It is my master's command. I want to read it like a soldier.

I want to read it like a follower. It is my leader's footsteps. Here's a game we used to play when we were children.

It's called follow the leader. And the way we played it at least was somebody was the leader and they could go wherever they wanted to and do whatever they wanted to do. They could jump the rock or flap their arms or whatever they wanted to do and everybody behind them had to do it.

That's just the way we played follow the leader. And that's what we're doing. Whatever he did.

We should be willing to do that. And when you follow the leader there's a guarantee that goes with that. There's a guarantee, a guarantee when you follow the leader.

The guarantee is that you will end up where he is. That's a good guarantee when we follow the leader. Our Lord.

There are more attitudes that you can add here, but I feel like these are the attitudes that the Bereans had when they were in the Word. They were after truth. They weren't just into the intellectual end of it.

They had a hunger and a thirst. And I think Paul should I say bred that in them. I mean he just stirred that within their heart.

And they were wanting truth. So there's different attitudes that you can have, but my wife added one to this. And so I'm going to bring it out here.

My wife is the arc practical. When it comes to practical, that's just, that's who she is. And so she said this.

She said read it like a checklist. It is your practical application for life, for everyday life. Have you ever done that? Have you ever just made a list of the commandments of God and just checked that box? You know there's some boxes that we couldn't check very well.

And the reason we can't check it is because we haven't applied it to everyday life in a practical way. So let's read it like a checklist. It's your practical application for everyday life.

I want to read James chapter 1 verses 21 through 25. It says this. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls.

Receive with meekness the engrafted Word. Receive the Word of God. That's what we're talking about this morning.

Read it like a son. Receive it like a son. Receive it like a servant.

Have obedience be the immediate response. But be ye doers of the Word. The practical application and not hearers only.

Deceiving your own selves. You know we can talk spiritual, but if we don't do, if we don't check that box as it were done, it says here that we're deceiving our own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.

For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deeds. There's two people mentioned in verse 25.

There's forgetful hearers and doers of the work. And doers of the work are people who do it right away. They have an immediate response to get her done.

I've heard of get her done people. That's who they are with the Word of God. It's doers of the work.

And the other kind is the forgetful hearers. And what that means is if you don't do it when you hear it, you're going to forget it. And we don't want to forget.

Let's read the words of Jesus there at the last of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7. I'll just read a couple of verses there. I like that passage. And you know when Jesus was teaching, he must have been impressive.

It says so that they taught, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority. But it says here, whosoever heareth in verse 24 these sayings of mine and doeth them, these are doers, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.

And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. But everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, hearers only, forgetful hearers, James said, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon a sand. And the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it.

So our desire, I tell you, after everything we've come through in the last four years, I want the people of God to prosper. I want there to be life in your home individually. I am through with this thing about it has to be done a certain way or it's wrong and there's a time for that so I don't want to throw that out.

I just want the Spirit of God to have liberty in our lives. I hope I didn't say that wrong because there is a right way to do things and so hear my heart in that. But we want the people of God to prosper.

I'm glad to just step out of the way and let God have his way but I'm willing to go, ready to stay, ready my place to fill. May God give each of us that grace. Now with that in mind, I want to give you an example of what I think are some other people who had the Spirit of the Bereans.

If you'll turn to Nehemiah, and I'm going to close with this passage here. In Nehemiah chapter 8 is where I want to turn. Now in Nehemiah, if you remember, they built the wall.

The wall was in rubble. It was completely broken down and they built that thing back up in 52 days. These people were active.

They were doers. They had a mind to work. Their mindset was to obey.

Their mindset was they did it like a soldier. They read the Word of God like a soldier. They built that wall with a weapon in one hand and a tool in the other.

I mean they had it and they were excited about the work of God. But now here in chapter 8, the wall is built. The wall is done and these people are hungry.

They had the same Spirit of the Bereans. And so we find here in chapter 8 that the priest, Ezra the scribe, and Nehemiah the Tershaph or the governor, they didn't have to call the people together and say, now listen here. We want to tell you what's really in the Book of the Law.

All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, bring us the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord commanded to Israel. We want to know what's in there. And they were excited about having built the wall.

They did everything that they knew to do and they were hungry for more. May God give us that Spirit. And it says, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear was understanding upon the first day of the seventh month.

Now I want you to take notice here. Seventh month is pretty significant to a point I want to make a little bit later. This was the first day of the seventh month.

And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday before the men and the women and those that could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose. And so these people, they made this platform.

Ezra come and bring and read us the Book of the Law that God gave to Israel. And we want to hear it. We want to know what's in there.

And so Ezra came. He was faithful. He was reading.

And it says, and behind him, beside him stood a bunch of men on his right hand and on the left in verse 5. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people. That's the way they made the platform. And when he opened it up, all the people stood up.

I just like, I like to picture that. Here's Ezra and he's ready to read. And those people are so hungry, they stood up.

I mean, I don't think they had that thing rehearsed. I don't think they did it all at once like we see a choir do sometimes, but it was just automatic. The Word of God was opened and they stood up.

There's something about the spirit of the Bereans that was in these people. Now I want to keep reading here. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up of their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. These folks were getting some exercise.

They stood up when the book was open. And, and, and when the great God was mentioned, they fell on their face and lifted their hands and bowed their heart with their faces to the ground. And then there's a bunch more men here, the Levites that caused the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place.

So now they're back on their feet. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. That's a good verse.

That's almost like God opened their understandings so that they could understand the scriptures like we read in Luke. And Nehemiah, which is the Tershatha and Ezra, the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people said unto all the people, this day is holy unto the Lord, your God. Mourn not nor weep for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

I marvel at this. I've read Leviticus. I've read Deuteronomy and it never really moved me to tears like it did these people.

But these people realized they were not doing what God said that they should do. They were doers of the work. They had a mind to work.

They just got done building the wall, rebuilding that thing. And all of a sudden they're hearing all of these commandments and they hadn't kept any of them. And these people just wept.

But it's interesting how Ezra and the Levites comforted them. And he said unto them in verse 10, go your way, eat fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord.

Neither be sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people saying, hold your peace, for the day is holy, neither be ye grieved. So all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions.

Don't you think they were generous? I think they were. They stood up at the reading of the word. They fell on their face before a holy God.

They wept when they heard the reading of the law. And they were comforted by the governor there, Nehemiah and Ezra, don't be sad. This revival is so pleasing to God that there's no reason to be sad.

We're going forward from here. So all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. Now, verse 13 starts on the next day.

This is the second day. And the fathers, kind of like a brother's meeting here, the chief of the fathers says on the second day were gathered together, the chief of the fathers and all the people, the priests and the Levites unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. That right there is just the spirit of the Bereans.

They want to know what's in there. They want to know more about what's in there. They had clear understanding.

It had been read distinctly to them and the sense was given and they understood the reading, but there was more there and they were hungry. That's the spirit of the Bereans. That's what we want, the hunger and thirst after God.

So these people got together and they said, we want to know more. And so they kept reading. And in verse 14, they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month.

Now that is interesting. It's the seventh month. It's the second day of the seventh month.

Now that's what that. And so their ears were tuned, not only to what we should do this fall or what we should have done last year, or what we're going to do in five years or 10 years. Their ears were tuned to what they should do right now.

That's what got their attention. But that really got their attention. Look at this.

They found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month, and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem saying, go forth into the mount and fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths as it is written. God, did they understand why? That could sound a little silly. Everybody build a booth on their house and sit down in your booth for this feast.

They didn't ask questions. They just saw what God knew would be good for them. And it says here, boy, they were doers right now.

Verse 16, so the people went forth and brought them and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the street of the water gate and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day had not the children of Israel done so. That's a long time ago.

They'd never done it. And these people were doers. And the thing that got their attention was what they should be doing right now.

And they found out in the seventh month, we're supposed to make booths. We've never done this since Joshua's day. I don't know how many years ago, maybe somebody here knows that.

That's a long time. That's not five or 10 or 30 years. That was a long time ago and they had never done it.

And so they did it. And the end of verse 17 says, and there was very great gladness. Was it because they knew what they were doing? Was it because they understood the significance of it? No, it's because they knew that they were in obedience.

Also day by day, this is what happened. From the first day until the last day of this feast of booths, he read in the book of the law of God and they kept the feast seven days. And on the eighth day was a solemn assembly according unto the manner or how it was written.

Now in the 20 and fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of the Lord, their God.

One fourth part of the day, a fourth of the day, they read from the book of the law and another fourth part they confessed and worship the Lord, their God. What would happen? That's what happened with the spirit of the Bereans in that setting. What would happen with the spirit of the Bereans in this setting? What if one fourth part of the day, we read from the word of God.

Another fourth part of the day, we just confessed our sins and worship the Lord. I mean, they weren't commanded to do that. That's just what happened.

And I believe that there are many good things that will happen that aren't necessarily commandments, but when we obey the commandments, good things happen. Brothers, in the Lord, I want to encourage you, read the word of God. Have your heart tuned to what God would have you to do now.

May that be the thing that gets your attention. Maybe it's to forgive someone. You can't put that thing off.

That needs to happen now. Maybe it's to just do an obedience minister to a hurting heart, like we spoke about last night. Just raise your sensitivity now, because that's the heart of God.

I want to encourage you, read it like a son. It is your father's word. Read it like a student.

It is your teacher's wisdom. Read it like a servant. It is your master's command.

Read it like a soldier. It's your captain's orders. Read it like a steward.

It's your Lord's provision. We are stewards of everything that is promised in the word of God. We are stewards.

Read it that way. Read it with immediate obedience and read it to the glory of God. You know what we'll say when we're done and revival has broke out and souls are saved and God is glorified and prayers are answered and hearts are encouraged? You know what we'll say? We've only done that, which was our duty to do.

It's a joy. He is worthy. He is so worthy.

May God have the glory. We're bringing this today desiring to minister life and it's really God that ministers it and he ministers it through his word. I want to encourage you when you read the Bible, read the Bible stories.

Bible stories are really, really powerful. They do a lot of things for us and I'm closing here, but I wanted to mention this because I love Bible stories. Bible stories teach us some things.

Bible stories teach us to view life from God's perspective. Isn't that the way Bible stories are written? They're written from God's perspective. You know, if it's a story about Daniel, if it's a story about Moses, they're not the main character in the story.

God is. And I want to encourage you in your life to realize you're writing a Bible story and I'm encouraging you not to be the main character in it. View life from God's perspective.

When you read the Bible stories, it just clearly illustrates sin as God sees it. I remember reading stories of Samuel, how he wept over Saul's sin and it makes a child want to weep too. I remember reading the story of Samson and how Delilah deceived him and I was reading that story and I said, no Samson, please don't do that.

I mean, it just puts something in you that just makes you want to just pull for truth. And then you see the mistakes they make and the price is paid, but that does something in your heart. It does something in the heart of your children.

When you read Hebrews 11, I encourage you, go ahead and add a verse. Add your own. Put your own name in there by faith.

Put your name down there and mention a couple things in your Bible story. I want us to be children of God. I want us to have a testimony.

I want us to be excited about what God is doing in our life. Painful, it may be painful, but it'll be beautiful because God has a plan and God is a forgiving God. I think about different situations that are so hard.

Brother John, I think about your son-in-law. I don't even understand those things, but our God is a forgiving God. Our God is so powerful and it's a sacred thing to wait upon God.

Wait, I say, on the Lord. Let's give God liberty. Let's believe him.

He is a faithful God. Let's pray.