Sunday School | Foundations - God's Word

Introduction

Our Foundations Sunday School class, we're so glad that you guys are here. Just by way of reminder, this is a class that we've invited everybody to, but the content that we are looking at is going to be the content that we take in the future as newcomers show up here and they're wondering what are you guys all about? What does it mean to be a part of Church of the Holy Spirit? This thirteen-week class that Tim and I are teaching now to the whole church, or at least have invited to the whole church, is going to be what we talk with newcomers about in the future.

And therefore, one of the things that we begin with is what does it look like to be a healthy disciple of Jesus? What are the things that you need to know and what are some of the practices that you need to begin practicing? Who can tell me some of the things that we have covered so far? What did Tim talk about in week one? The gospel. And the gospel is Jesus became King. And if you have not listened to that lesson yet, I would encourage you, go back. All of these are on our podcast.

What else do we talk about? Week two. Confession. Confession. And the scripture that we looked at is from 1 John chapter one, Jesus, I'm sorry, where John tells us that if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness. And He frames confession as walking in the light, as He is in the light. Walking in the light is not living a life of moral perfection; it is living a life of exposure before a God who already sees.

Week three, we talked about the assurance of salvation. It's a little bit what Tim talked about today. How can we know that what God has promised to us is true for us? We are not meant to live our whole life wondering if it's true for us. But 1 John also, 1 John 5 primarily tells us, these things I've written to you so that you may know that you have eternal life. And it is our desire that every single one of us would live with a sense of security that those He has called, He will keep, and He will bring you across the finish line.

And then last week, we—I'm actually blanking on what I talked about last week. Who remembers what we talked about last week? We talked about the spirit-filled life. What was the metaphor or image that we discussed that painted that picture? We gave a couple. The chocolate milk—that we gotta be stirred. Every person that has received Christ through faith has all of the Spirit. We don't receive the Spirit in varying degrees; we have all of the Spirit. The question is, is the Spirit stirred up? Are you filled? To be filled with the Spirit doesn't mean to get more; it means that what's already in there is activated. And we begin to experience Christ in the way that we were meant to.

The Passage in Luke

Today, we're gonna continue looking at what I would say is maybe one of the most important practices for our life as healthy followers of Jesus. But before we get in, before I tell you exactly what that is, I want to look at a passage together in Luke 10:38-42. So if you have your Bible, turn there, I would encourage you. It's a familiar story. And here's what it says, beginning in verse 38:

Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, I want you to listen to this, Martha, Martha, you're anxious about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

This is a powerful statement that Jesus makes. I mean, somebody says one thing is necessary, especially when the person saying that is God made flesh, the one that created everything that we see. But for our purposes today, who created you, not just humanity in a general sense, He knit you together in your mother's womb. And what He says to Martha here is one thing is necessary. What was Jesus talking about? What is it that He observed in Mary that became such a teachable moment for Martha? When He says one thing is necessary, what is it that He's talking about?

Sitting at his feet, no—mercy. Sitting, yes, sitting at his feet, hearing his word. What else? Faith. Faith, all great things. But here's what I would say, whatever that one thing is, we should figure out what it is so that we can do it too. Because if only one thing is necessary, in the actual Greek word, it means needed—that there is a need that we have. And something about what Mary is doing is meeting that one need better, for sure, than what Martha is doing. And my suspicion is that what Mary is doing is better than what many of us are doing also.

Let me tell you why I think that Jesus says the thing that she was doing was needed. I want you to turn with me to Psalm 63. Actually, I have that one already open here. And these are David's words. I want you to listen to what David says:

Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. It's a few more excerpts from this Psalm: verse three says, Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. Verse five, My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

I think this Psalm is instructive for us in a number of ways, but one of the ways that it's instructive for us is that it's teaching something about humanity. What is it that David says in these first couple of verses? What does it teach us about who we are? Anyone want to take a stab at that? When he says, Oh God, my God, you are my God, my soul thirsts for you. What is he saying? I think of Tim's sermon this morning, beginning with the clip he played, you know, with there is no other stream. There is no other way to satisfy the thirst—intimacy with Jesus. That's exactly it, Bob. In fact, when I was sitting there listening to Tim, I actually wrote down, you're dying of thirst and there is no other stream. That could not have been a more perfect quote for what we are talking about today because what David is acknowledging about humanity—and we've talked about this in so many different ways—is that we are dying of thirst. We have hungry souls, and there is no other stream. And what Jesus identified in Mary is that she was doing something, primarily sitting at His feet, listening to His teaching. And Jesus says that, that is what is necessary.

What I want to talk to us today—well, one more thought. The primary lesson that David teaches us about ourselves is that we were made not just by God, but that we were made for God. One of my favorite illustrations that I used to give when I was a speaker at Young Life Camp was the illustration of a glove. And I wish I'd brought one with me. But in the same way that a glove was made for a hand, and it's not a hand, but it looks like one, it's fashioned to the image of a hand. But until that hand comes and fills it, that glove is lifeless and empty. But the moment that the hand—and whose image the glove was made—fills that glove, it takes on life and purpose and meaning, and we are no different. We were not just made by God. This is what Philippians 1:16 teaches. We were made not just by Him, but for Him. And Jesus is teaching us here that the way that we experience Him, the primary way, is by sitting at His feet and listening to His teaching.

We've been saying from John 6, He is the bread of life. And Tim said this at the end of his sermon today, I forget exactly how Tim said it, but the way that John Piper says it is He did not come to give bread, to be bread. He came to be the very thing which satisfies. And maybe you're someone that you hear that and it sounds really good, but you're like, yeah, but what does that mean? What does it mean that He came to actually be the thing that satisfies me? And how do I begin to experience that interchange? How do I allow Him to come and actually nourish and satisfy and fulfill me? Is it just an idea that lives in my head and I kind of walk around hoping that it happens? Or is there something that I can actually do?

Application

I want to suggest to you that the primary way that you can do what Mary was doing here, in which Jesus said, that's the one thing that is essential. In fact, let me just ask you, what do you think it is?

Surrender. Surrender? Okay. What is it? What if we were gonna say that there's a habit that you could commit to that would bring you to this place where you're experiencing what Mary was experiencing in that moment? What would it be? What's that, Tim? Read Bible. To read your Bible.

Now, Tim, we planned this class together. So he knew, he knew where I was going, but I'm grateful for the insight. No, it's exactly right. Jesus—do you know that this book, first of all, it is the revealed word of God. We believe at this church that every single word—Jesus would say every jot and tittle, which means every dot of an I, every cross of a T—is inspired by God.

All Scripture is breathed out by God. — 2 Timothy 3:16

These are His words. And the people that wrote these words down, Peter would tell us, I believe it's Peter, right? That these weren't the ideas of men. This was men writing who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Every single word matters.

But there's something else that we need to know. What is the ultimate revelation of God? We have creation, we have His words, but what is the ultimate revelation of God? It is His Son. And one of the most astonishing things that Jesus teaches us about this book is that every single page points to Him.

I had a Bible teacher in Denton, Texas, named Tom Nelson. And he would say, this is—and Tim says it this way—this is one story. He is the central focus of this book. The Bible has one author. God writes this book through human instruments. But the focal point of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is Jesus Christ. It was always about Him.

This is not just some trick that the New Testament writers pulled on us. It was always pointing to Christ. And so I want to show you where Jesus makes this point in Luke 24. He says this, He meets some of His disciples on the road to Emmaus after He had died on the cross. And these particular disciples did not know yet that He was raised from the dead. And He's walking along with them, and they didn't recognize Him. And they're complaining, they're sad, they're frustrated, they're disillusioned. The one that they had staked their life on had been killed. They didn't see it coming, even though Jesus had constantly warned that this was going to be how it all played out.

And in verse 25, it says, He said to them:

Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer all these things and enter into His glory?

And then in verse 27, in beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted them in all the scriptures, the things concerning Himself. Jesus, or rather Luke here, is telling us that what Jesus was doing with these guys is that He was showing them that all the Scriptures point to Me; it was always about Me.

Therefore, if you want to know me, this is the way. In verse 32 of that same chapter, it says:

Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the scriptures?

They walked with Him, they were talking with Him, but when Jesus opened up the scroll and began to teach them, now keep in mind, this is the resurrected Christ. And sometimes I like to think that I think there are eleven or twelve resurrection accounts. And those are really fun stories because when we are reading how the disciples interacted with the resurrected Christ, that is who we interact with. Like they knew Him before He was raised from the dead, but then there are a number of accounts where they interact with Him after He's raised from the dead. And He was bringing the scriptures to light to them. He was teaching them. He was actively involved in their understanding of scripture. And that's true today too, by His Spirit. God is illuminating the truths of these words. So we don't come to the Bible just to learn about someone—we come to the Bible to know someone, to interact with the one these pages write about.

So here is my question: If this is the one thing that is necessary, and I'll tell you, from the time I began a relationship with Christ, people taught me this. If you want to grow in your relationship with Christ, the number one most important thing that you need to do is develop a habit of being in His word. We call it quiet time. You may have a different name for it—a devotional, whatever it is. But the question is this: why do we struggle to do this? Why is it that we struggle to develop this habit of daily being in God's word? Which, by the way, I would say that is the biblical encouragement and instruction. When Jesus says, I am bread, bread is something that you don't eat once a week. We need bread every day to sustain our life. Jesus is inviting us to experience Him daily in the primary way. It is not the only way, okay? We experience Him through prayer; we experience His presence. But I'm telling you, that the primary way that He speaks to us is through this Word. It is the place that we meet Him, that we know Him—not just know about Him, but actually know Him.

And so again, I just want to ask you guys, I'd love—this is not rhetorical. I would love for this to be interactive. Why is it? I tell you, let me ask you this way. Why is it that people you know struggle—struggle to do this? Why do you think that is?

We're—we're busy. Distracted by many things. Just like Martha. We're distracted by many things. What else? Our colleague today disordered affections. Would you read it again for us, Bob? Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants and purify our disordered affections that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Jesus. Yeah. We have disordered affections. What—what else? It's hard to understand. Sometimes it is hard to understand. And that sort of uncomfortable feeling subconsciously, we're like, oh, I just, I'd rather not feel that. And so I won't do it. We have an enemy. We have an enemy. Yeah, the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. He can't rob your salvation if you belong to Christ, but He can seek to make your life miserable. And one of the best ways that He will seek to do that is by distracting you, by keeping you as far away as He can from this book and from digesting it and allowing it to nourish and satisfy.

Thomas Jefferson cut out parts of the Bible. That's right. Yeah. The Jefferson Bible is just at least the rumor is that he went through and he just kind of cut out the things he didn't like. It's true. It is true, okay? But if it is God's Word, we take it all—or we take none. We don't take some of what Jesus said as truth. We take it all or we take none.

My teacher, Tom Nelson, used to say, this isn't like picking out life insurance where you say, I'll take the term, but I won't take this. It's not like going through a buffet and taking some things and not others. We take it all. And there are, Tim taught us today, there are some difficult teachings, hard things that we, if we were honest with ourselves, we'd say, gosh, it would be a lot easier if that didn't say that. Wouldn't it? There are a bunch of reasons. Let me give you—I think one of the biggest ones, at least for me. I want you to imagine what your favorite meal would be. For me, it might be Frankie Rollins, the cowboy ribeye, scallop potatoes, fill in the blank, but something like that. What would cause me to sit at the table Frankie Rollins and look at it and think, I'm not interested? And you follow-up on something else. What if I had spent the day eating Cheetos and Ho Hos, Twinkies, cupcakes? And then I show up to Frankie’s and I'm not hungry. Has anything objectively changed about Frankie Rollins steak perfectly cooked with that crust? It's so good. No, nothing has changed. What has changed is that I foolishly filled up on other things, lesser things. That actually curb my hunger, but they aren't nourishing me. They're not making me into a healthier version of myself. They're actually bad for me, but the effect is the same. I show up to Frankie Rollins not hungry. And I want you to know, I think that is the biggest reason that you and I, we know—I mean, know—that this is the thing that is going to produce maturity, growth, satisfaction. And when we don't do it, there's gotta be a reason. And I think that the reason is we have filled up on other things.

What are some of the things that we allow to fill us that cause us to not be hungry when we come to God's word? Media. What was this over here? Social media. Social media. Absolutely. I will tell you just personal testimony. And Jani and I have talked about this a lot. When I wake up in the morning and the first thing that I do is reach for my phone, and there's a bunch of things you could check: your text messages, your email, you could go to whatever news source that you have on your phone, social media. And if I turn to that first, the chances of me then going to spend time in God's word are massively reduced. It's because it's the first thing that I reach for and it just, it fills me up in a negative way.

What else? Relatively— That's a recent thing, a phenomenon. Social media. We've been doing this a lot, centuries ignoring. So social media is right now a scapegoat, but it's fill-in-the-blank. It's everything else. So we're blaming social media. Yes, I agree. But no, we didn't—we were sucky at it before. No. You're right, Stuart. You're right. But, yeah, work. All the anxious—I gotta get to work. I gotta get to work out at the gym. I gotta go do the— the—the the—the great things. Yeah. Important things. But they're not the first thing, the one thing. Like it's remarkable, right? Stuart is making the point that social media may be public enemy number one today, but this has been a struggle for Christians for generations. And so the issue I think that you're making, Stuart, is the problem is not social media. The problem is our heart. And our heart, as Saint Augustine, oh no, I think it's John Calvin that says, our heart is an idle factory. Is that right? Is it John Calvin that says that? We're looking, we're constantly looking for something else to worship. It's just, it is the curse of living in what Paul calls the flesh. You have a new nature; Christ has made you new. That is not a command; it's a fact. When it says, you have died to sin and you are alive in Christ, those things are true about you if you belong to Him. But it does not change the fact this new life that He has given you is in an old body. And that old body has instincts, desires, and it is our job to, by the power of the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the flesh. And that is hard work. Yes, what were you gonna say, Catherine? Our busy schedule for the day. What we have to get done, I'll just hop to that instead of the quiet, I don't wanna take the time to sit down and do the fun. Yeah, Catherine was just saying that our busy schedules, I mean, yes, Becky? Sometimes it's the good things we do. I think that's so true. Becky, when you say the good thing, she said sometimes it's even ministry. Man, I think that ministry, at least in my life, has, in fact, I could make the case that that's kind of what Martha was doing. She was so focused on serving Jesus that she forgot to sit with Jesus. She forgot to savor Jesus. She was doing for Him instead of receiving from Him, which is, by the way, a much better way to do ministry—out of the overflow of what He is pouring into you. But that's an easy trap. Like ministry can become an idol just like anything else. And any idol that we're worshiping is not honoring to God. And it robs us. Yeah, Ellen. Anger. Anger. Tell me more. If you're angry at someone, you may be angry at God, too, and that pushes you away. Absolutely. I think we get disillusioned with life. I just, I had the privilege yesterday afternoon to sit with some precious people at Celebrate Recovery. And we were looking at Lamentations 3, where Jeremiah is basically just talking about how miserable his life is and how God is the author of all that misery. And then do you know, I think it's in verse 23 to 25, do you know what He says after all of that? He says, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. Great is your faithfulness. And the shocking observation there is that this man who is not presently experiencing anything pleasant reassures and comforts his soul. And this became the inspiration, by the way, for one of the most famous hymns you've ever sung, Great is Thy Faithfulness. But sometimes we allow our disillusionment, we don't do what Jeremiah did. We allow our disillusionment to pull us away from Christ.

Benefits of Daily Scripture

Okay, let me, how much, what time is it? It is 10:34. Okay, here's what I want to do together, because I think we already know the benefits of being in God's word, but God's word actually testifies to itself of its value. And so what I would like to do is hear from you. What are the benefits to the person who brings him or herself before Jesus' feet as we study God's Word? What might be some of the benefits that Scripture testifies to? I have a bunch written down here, but my guess is that you'll get to most of them. What do you think? Who said freedom? Tell me, yeah, Tim discussed that today at the end of his message, but what specifically are you thinking of when you speak of freedom?

I'm thinking of, I mean, anger is bondage. Addiction is bondage. Every sin that I've allowed to keep me in bondage can be set free from through Jesus Christ. I love the observation that Tim made. And I think I'm teaching on this soon. This John 8 passage where Jesus says, He who hears my teaching and holds to my teaching is really my disciple. When do you have to hold onto something? You have to hold onto something or you tell someone to hold on to something because it's easy to let go of. It's easy for it to slip out of your hand. I mean, when my little kids were really little, and we're walking across the street, I'm holding on tight. Jesus is saying that there's something about my word that requires you to hold on tight because you'll lose it. But the ones that hold on tight are really my disciples, and then you will know the truth, and it is the truth that sets you free.

That is a powerful thing that Jesus is saying here—that digesting and holding onto and believing even when it doesn't feel true—that's what sets us free from addiction, from all kinds of stuff. What else? What are the other benefits? Yeah. I heard you over here too about peace. I've been meditating on verses Isaiah 26:3—about in him, you keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you. Just that resting, and that just gets rid of all the other—we had mentioned the thousands of other problems that we have in our head. And just rehearsing the verses that you know in your mind, the other ones that just keep you grounded in something true versus all the other things that are possibilities, apprehensions, anxieties, all these other things.

Yeah, that's great, Chris. Thank you. If you couldn't hear him, he was saying, God keeps him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on Him. And the way we keep our mind fixed on Him is by meditating on His Word. That's great. What else? Other benefits? Peace. Peace. Excellent. Back here. Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Absolutely. Resurrection from the dead. And if you guys, when you tell me the benefit, it would be awesome if you cited the place in scripture where scriptures testify to itself that this is the value that it brings. Philippians 3:10.

I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. — Philippians 3:10

Awesome. Guidance, wisdom. Guidance, wisdom. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. I don't have a specific verse, but it helps me cope. It's amazing how something I've read over and over and over, and then I'm reading it, it takes on this new meaning because it's now what I needed to hear or to be told. So it's like all the time, things are popping.

Yeah. Pardon me? He's the comforter. Reassurance. Philippians 1:6. Reassurance. Do you remember what Philippians 1:6 says? Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. That's great. I would implore you, I'm gonna read to you just to, I’m gonna kind of breeze through it and just in the interest of time, but if you wanted to do something healthy, I think that a lot of times, one reason that I don't do things is that I don't really believe in the benefit that doing that thing would provide. And maybe it's for lack of knowledge, or maybe I've just forgotten.

Also, some of the best things that we do that lead to the best results are hard at first. Anybody ever been to the gym? Listen, can I, if you went to the gym every single day of your life and got zero results, would you keep going? No. And so my encouragement to you is treat this like the gym. See if God is true, if what He promises to those who come to His word. Take Him at His word, test Him and see what happens.

Okay, I just want to breeze through a few of these. The scripture gives life and nourishment. Deuteronomy 8:3—this is a familiar one:

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

There's some kind of nourishment that happens when we take in. And this, I should say, too, that the way that we read God's Word is not just to get information up here, but when you eat something, you chew it, you savor it, you swallow it, you digest it. Sometimes what we need to do is not just have our eyes bent over the page. I heard this—I can't remember who said it, so I am stealing a quote from someone and kind of appropriating it for myself. And I'll give you the quote later, but it's the idea that we need to sometimes sit up and close our eyes and think about what we just read. What does this mean for me? How is this true for me right now? What does this teach me about Christ? If it's really true that the scriptures all point to Christ, what is this teaching me about Christ?

Yeah, Robin. He's given us the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. And part of what I do is I ask Him to open His word to me and give me eyes to see because I can sit down and not do that and just read through it and have got nothing. Robin just said that when she comes to spend time with the Lord in His Word, she says, God, open my eyes, show me. She's asking for the help of the Spirit to help her. That is what He does, by the way. He is the helper. And one of the primary ways that He is helping us is to see Christ, specifically through the scriptures. This is what the doctrine of illumination teaches; that we, it’s what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 2, when he says, it is by the Spirit that we understand these things. So acknowledging when we come to the word, Spirit—without You, none of this will make sense. Illuminate these words so that they might become for me food, sustenance, satisfaction.

Anything else? –

In-timacy. Tell me about that, Charlie. Well, John Mark Comer, the book that we did, he makes a little statement there. I've never forgotten, but it's like in my quiet time when I look up and I look at God, and He looks at me and we smile. That’s awesome. I just love that. Yeah. I love you, Charlie.

Back corner. Back here. Oh, sorry. I'm so sorry. Tim, thank you. What Charlie just said, he referenced a book that we read, many of our life groups read: Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. And John Mark Comer says that coming to Christ in our devotional time, our quiet time, it is coming to Him and looking at Him, and Him looking at me and we both smile. And this makes the point that we're not just coming to gain information, we're not just coming to learn data, but we're coming to interact with a person about whom this book is written. And this is the way that He reveals Himself to us.

There's someone in the back. Allows you to enjoy the adventure. It allows you to enjoy the adventure. Thanks, PJ. I love that. Is there a scripture in particular? Isaiah 40:19? Isaiah 43:19, you say? Yeah. See it springs before you, streams in the desert. Oh yeah. You—you can enjoy the adventure because you know He's bringing you. Oh, that's so great. Streams in the desert—or as David would say in Psalm 63, in a dry and weary land where there is no water, my soul longs, thirsts for you.

Here's just a couple more, and I'm just really gonna breeze through these because I want to get to some practicals. Let's see, we've already said it gives life and nourishment. Deuteronomy 8:3—I'm just gonna give you a couple other references. Jeremiah 15:16. Actually, I am gonna read this one because I love this verse. In Jeremiah 15:16, he says, Your words were found and I ate them. And your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart. And here's what I want you to notice about that: We already talked about, we have to digest it, we have to eat it, but then it says, and your word became for me a joy and delight. Joy and delight from His word is a byproduct of eating, not just from reading, but from eating. And there is a difference because here’s the reality: anyone can read this, but not everybody can benefit from it. Okay? So spiritual nourishment—in 1 Peter 2:2—like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk. It strengthens you. It brings joy and delight. I love this in Psalm 19:7-8:

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

This is how we encourage ourselves and revive ourselves. Psalm 119:105—

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:130—

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

Joshua 1:8—

Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night, then you will be prosperous and successful.

Scripture brings transformation. Maybe one of my favorite verses on this is Romans 12:2—

Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

That verse is always a little bit surprising because what we would think leads to great transformation is like hard work. But what Paul is saying here is that the hard work we need to commit ourselves to is removing. The Greek word for renewing is renovate. It is ripping out old stuff that you believe and putting in God's truth in its place.

Scripture protects against sin. It keeps us pure. Anybody know a verse?

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. — Psalm 119:11

I've hidden your word in my heart. Before that it says, how does a young man keep his way pure? I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I could go on and on about what the scripture says about itself—that when we digest it, when we bring ourselves and submit to its teaching, we see Jesus, we savor Him, we love Him, we're satisfied. The things of this world, that Him—I forget who wrote it, but the things of earth will go strangely dim. That is a byproduct of meeting with Him daily, regularly, in His word, allowing it to wash us. We soak in it and we're transformed by it.

Maureen. Protection from deception. Many years ago, I was seeking God with all my heart. I spoke to Mormon missionaries. Wow. And I didn't know a lot of scripture, but while I heard the Lord say, I will not leave you worthless. And I thought, everything you're telling me is not true. Just one little line of scripture turns me around.

Wow, Maureen is suggesting—how would you put that in one sentence just so I can repeat it? Protection from deception. And we have an enemy whose name is the deceiver, and when he lies, he's speaking his native tongue. How do we protect ourselves from deception? God's Word, by hiding His Word in our heart.

Here is where I want to close, just because we got to wrap up. Another reason that we don't do it—so one of the reasons we do it, we don't do it, is we're already full on lesser things. Another reason we don't do it is we've either forgotten or we don't know what this promises that it will do for us when we do it. But then the third reason I think that many of us don't do it is that we don't really have a plan for it. If you're going to, if there's something like that you have to produce, there's a deadline, you know when it's due, it shows up on your to-do list, it shows up in your calendar.

In fact, I have a standing appointment every Friday from 9 to 11:30, and it is with my wife, Melissa. It is our date night in the morning. And we do it every week, and it's in my calendar, and it lives there. Is there anything blocked off in your calendar? Do you know—

In Mark 1:35, it says that Jesus, while it was still dark, He got up, He found a desolate remote place, and He prayed. There's a lot there. I mean, one thing that we could say is if Jesus, God the Son, needed to wake up early to be alone with His Father, you need it at least as much as He did.

Do you have—has this become something that you value to the point where it would make it into your schedule? What time will you do it? I would suggest to you early in the morning is best. I read a book—it's not the only way, by the way, but I do think it for me is the best way. When does an orchestra tune its instruments? Before they perform. And before you set out into your day—where you were gonna be attacked by the arrows of the enemy—that you would align your mind and heart with the one that made you.

Here are the three things, then we gotta be done: a time, a place, and a plan. When are you gonna do it? And then, truthfully, guys, when I have been successful most at this, I have a place— a chair that I like to sit in, a room that I like to go. When I was in college, I lived in a house with eight other dudes, and I had to find a place. And that place for me became this abandoned old Christian camp that no one was ever there. And I would drive twenty minutes out to Massaneta Springs, and I would sit in the woods by myself. In fact, I remember walking through the woods one day saying, God, give me a place—me a place, give me a place. And I walked through this trail; it was overgrown. And in this clearing, there was a little stool. And I really felt like this was—it’s—I have a picture of it; I’ll bring it sometime—but that became my place that I would meet with God.

Do you have a place? And when you get there, what are you doing? Do you know what you're reading? It doesn't have to be complicated.

What time is it? Is it almost eleven? It's until. We gotta stop there, but let me pray for us. And I hope that each of you this week will just commit, maybe even just starting small. I’m just gonna give ten minutes. I’m gonna be with God in His Word every single day, first thing. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for the truth that it brings, thank you for the life that it gives, thank you for the one that it points to. And that when we open it in faith with sincere hearts, we are doing the one thing necessary that Mary was doing. We are sitting at your feet, listening to your teaching. And that is what we need more than anything else. Help us to do it by your Spirit that lives in us. In Christ's name, Amen.