Children—Bry'n Ross
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Good morning, good morning. Trust everybody had a good sleep and you're all ready to.
Roll into the day with the Lord. So let's start the morning by perhaps singing #40 the first verse, second verse, and the fifth verse.
If somebody could start that in a tomb we could all live with, that'd be great.
Yes. Umm, yeah, she's not close to me.
Yes, she is House of me.
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
Genesis loves me. Who died?
Heaven's gate to old grand life, He will wash away my sin.
Let alone.
Some come in.
Yes, Jeep and blows me. Yeah, she's not loudly.
Yeah, let's see. Umm, so I'll see. The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me, He will stay close to his body.
All the way.
If I trust him, should I die, he will Take Me Home on time.
Yeah, Jesus, clouds, please.
Just love me.
Yeah, Jesus loves me.
Love my God, help me so.
The Bible tells me so.
What a wonderful word. How many brought your Bibles today? Hold them up.
You brought your Bible. Hold it up.
Because the day I want to introduce you to the most versatile book in the world. And if you don't know what the word versatile means, it means it'll do anything, anytime, anywhere for you. It's a wonderful book. As Wally said last night, it's the most.
Bestseller. I can't say it's the most popular book in the world at this moment, but I know that it is the most versatile book that has ever been written. And today we're going to take a quick look at that. But before we do that, let's sing #45.
If somebody could start that for me please.
Now, before we open this very versatile book, let's give the author some praise and worship and give him thanks. Our God and Father, indeed, we give Thee thanks for this time we can be together thanking Thee especially for the precious gift of Thy word. We pray that each heart here may see it as such a precious gift given from Thy hand that will help Him guide us, form us, mold us, shape us, and in it we can see all Thy glory.
00:05:01
All thy wonder, all the marvellousness of thy grace and mercy towards us, sinners as we are. And we thank thee, our God and Father, that each one hear from the smallest to the oldest, can find in there Thy truth that is so easy to find and not hard.
To dig out. And we thank thee for thy spirit too, that guides us through these things and keeps us and strengthens us.
And and guides us through our lives. So we pray that each heart here might avail themselves of this precious word, and today that we might even see it in a newer and clearer way. In the name of thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's pictured on every page, Amen.
The book of Isaiah chapter 55, verse 11 Says this. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish that which I please, and shall prosper in the thing wherein I sent it. When the Lord spoke to Peter, he told him the two things He told him to feed his sheep.
And to feed his lambs. As I look around, I see there's a bunch of children here, a lot of young people and a few Gray hairs scattered amongst us. So we're gonna be feeding all of us. We're just not gonna leave it up to the children. Sometimes it's wonderful to see the children. They can be quite entertaining. But tonight, uh, or this morning, maybe some of the parents can entertain their children for a change. I, uh.
As I mentioned, the Word of God is very versatile. We can use it for everything from the smallest to the youngest. If you turn with me to the book of Ephesians.
And the reason it's so versatile is God in his Word.
Has given it.
Many names, he's called it many things, but each one of these things is a very practical thing. It's something that we use probably every day, some of us, or it's something that we can use every day. So I wanna take a look at it in that sense. So we look at the word in a, in a purely practical, uh, being able to use it in our lives point of view from the oldest to the youngest. So if we turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 5, verse 26, it says this Speaking of the Lord Jesus and, and his relationship to the church.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word, the washing of the water by the word. So I believe that the word comes to us as a picture of water, clean, pure crystal water. And one of the things we do, umm, with water is, uh, we wash with it.
How many of you, as as children and even growing up as your mother, when you come in from playing and you get all dirty, you know, you're all playing in the mud. Umm, I don't know if you're still playing mud. Now, everybody does this and watches things and, but when on my days we played in mud with pinkies and had a great time, But with the first thing we did, as soon as we got in the door, our mother would say, what? What do you think she'd say? Go washer hands because supper's ready or lunch is ready. Anybody ever heard that from their mom? Go wash your hands.
If you have put up your hand, just don't be afraid. Go wash your hands. Well, young people, up we go. Stand up. Turn to Psalm 119. We're going to do some hand washing.
All the young people, if you want to be kind of as a young person, you can stand up to no embarrassment.
Yes, some of us are a bit Psalm 119. I want you to turn to Psalm 119, verse 9.
Psalm 119, verse nine. We'll read it quickly and then we're going to wash our hands to the tune of it or to the words of it. Ready. Psalm 1919 says wherewithal. So a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereunto according to Thy word. OK, you can put your Bibles down because you can't wash your hands with Bible in your hands unless you want to try. Everybody know how to wash your hands. You know now that they're promoting this everywhere because of the germs and the flus that are happening. So here we're going to do this. Well, I read it. Everybody's going to wash their hands and you're going to remember this verse for the rest of your life. You ready?
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereunto according to thy word?
Now, if you're younger than that.
We'll try this out. How many of you are 12 and below? Put up your hand if you're 12 and below.
OK. You guys can stand up.
All right, everybody stand up is 12 and below. Here we go. We're gonna wash our hands in. The verse we're gonna use is a simple verse that says wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
Can you understand? Is that a good verse? Watch me, I should be whiter than snow. Or I guess we're going to get a lot of snow coming. So we're going to get a lot of washing, but we're going to be whiter than snow because the Lord washes us whiter than snow. You ready? OK, ready. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
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All right, even she did it all right. OK, thank you very much. You may sit down now another thing that the word of God is called if we turn to the book of first Peter.
First theater.
Chapter One.
First Peter chapter one, verse 23 tells us.
Being born again, not of corruptible speed, but of incorruptible by the word of God. So the word of God is a seed. And when you're, when you receive the Lord Jesus as your savior, that word of God, somehow God puts it in your heart. He plants it in your heart like a little seed and it grows. The more you read the word of God, the more you become like the Lord Jesus, the more you get to find out what he's all about and what he's like. But if we turn to Psalm 119.
Those who have Bibles.
Psalm 119, verse 11.
Tells us why he does this.
Psalm 119, verse 11 Says thy word, Have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee?
Isn't that a wonderful thing? He puts his our word and He asks us to put His word in our heart so that we won't sin against God because sin is an awful thing in the eyes of God. It cost Him the life of his dear Son for you and for me. He shed his blood on Calvary to purchase us back, to buy us back and redeem us to God. And so it's an important thing that we remember that we plant that seed in our heart, that we keep God's word hidden in our hearts so we might not sin because whenever we think about sinning.
We can turn to God's Word. Or maybe perhaps as you're older, you store up God's Word, you memorize it, and you make it a part of you. So when you think about sinning, God's Word will come instantly to your mind and you'll say, well, the lights will go on. You'll say, no, I can't do that because God's Word tells me that I shouldn't do that because it would dishonor God.
In the book of Jeremiah tells us something interesting about the word.
Jeremiah, chapter 15.
This is the one one of the things that it's it's.
Well, I'll, I'll read it. We'll find out. Jeremiah 15 verse 16 says thy words were found.
And I did eat them.
My words were found and I did eat them.
Now I don't know about you, but.
What would you put on this ketchup relish?
Mayonnaise make it taste better, is that what you mean?
Take out a page every morning and instead of re, you read it once. You read it, yeah.
Swallow it to make sure you got it. You think that's what he means? I don't think so. I think what he's trying to say here is that when you're a child, how do you grow? You eat. You eat good food, your parents feed you good food, and you grow and you grow and you grow. One of the wonderful things about coming to conferences is that everybody gets to see everybody, but only like usually once a year, if you go to certain conferences and you look at the young people and you see how they've grown.
And you say, wow, your parents are feeding you pretty well, but you see the difference that that comes from getting older and from eating good food.
Now when your mom bakes, perhaps, I know when I was younger, my mom used to bake and, and uh, one of the things I really like to do was I like to wait until she baked like cookies or something like that. And she had this big bowl of stuff. And what would you, what do you like to do when you could see a big bowl like that that your mom would make? How many you've got fingers and you go.
Like to lick the bowl or the spoon, huh? Is that what you like? I see some guy. That's what I like to do. Isn't that what we like to do? We like to, we like to eat those good things even before they're baked. And then when they're baked, of course we get to eat them in their baked state. You get to eat them. Well, that's what the Bible should be like. The Bible should be something that we read and just like the things that we eat, we take into us to make us grow healthy and strong. The Bible is something that we should read and take into our lives to make us healthy and strong too.
Now there's a song I'd like to sing really quickly.
And you'll have to stand for it.
Gonna get her exercise this morning because and it's a very simple song. I think you all know it. We're just gonna sing the the the first verse. It's read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow. Are you ready?
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Read your Bible. Pray every day, pray every day, pray every day.
Read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll grow and grow.
Rejoin Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow.
Thank you. I think it's wonderful that God gives us such a practical book and people take the time to write such practical songs that we did. In these little songs we can get the whole truth of what God wants us.
To appreciate.
Now, along with the aspect of food being eaten.
In first Peter.
Chapter 2.
First Peter, chapter 2.
Verse 2.
It says as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby, so the word is compared. The Word of God is compared to milk for babies because there's things in the Word of God that are very, very, very hard to understand. But there's also things in the Word of God that are very, very easy and simple to understand. And one of the things that's very simple to understand from the Word of God that we learn is in the first song that we sang. It tells us that Jesus loves me.
That's not a very difficult thing to understand, is it? Or even to say. But the Word of God, that comes from the truth. But then we have other doctrines that are a little bit harder to get our minds around. But the Word of God is like milk to us all. When we're first saved, when we first come to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Lord provides us with what is necessary for us to take it in and to grow just like little babies, and we take this nourishment in. It also tells us in Psalm 119.
Psalm 119.
1St.
100 and.
Three.
Psalm 119103 says, How sweet are thy words unto my taste? Yeah, sweeter than honey.
To my mouth. So the word of God is honey. So we have milk and honey.
Now there's an interesting verse in the book of Psalms, Psalm 34. If you have a Bible, turn to Psalm 34 with me.
And we're gonna, this is one of those other simpler verses that you find in the Scripture, but very practical. You know, there are times in our lives as even the youngest person here, the oldest person here, when life might not be according to what we want it to be. The Lord may have some special plans, some trials, some tribulation that we might have to go through. And sometimes you might not understand that. Or there might be times when we're entering a new phase in our life and we really need some direction or guidance.
Even from the youngest child to the oldest. So there's a scripture verse in Psalm 34.
Verse 8.
And it says, O taste and see that the Lord is good, taste and see that the Lord is good. And one of the ways that we can taste and see that the Lord is good. As we read His word and we find out how he, for example, you look at the children of Israel, how He promised them so many good things. And because of their disobedience, they lost a lot of those things. But His heart was towards his people. His heart is towards you and I, from the youngest to the oldest, to give us what we require in order to live our lives to please Him.
So what I'd like to do is have everybody stand up again. We're going to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Because his word is milk and honey.
So now.
Some of you are younger, don't do this, but I know I have two teenage sons and those parents who have teenage sons and one of the things they like to do, I probably did it as a child or as a teenager. And so did you because they go to the fridge, they open the fridge door, they take the quart of milk, they open the quart of milk, the glass stays in the cupboard and they blub, blub, blub, blub, blub from the court. Then they close it up, put it back in the fridge store and close the door. How many guilty parties do we have in the room today that have done that?
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Whatever you had, you don't have to be a young person to do that either, you see? Yes, see.
Now honey is a different kind of thing because honey, you don't want to take too much honey because it's too sweet. But some of us, you know the same thing. You dip your finger and you go.
That's good. So what I'd like to hear is everybody, we're going to practice. I want everybody to take your finger, dip it in the honey or dip it in the word, put it in your mouth and go numb. NUM NUM, NUM, NUM, NUM, NUM.
Come on, 123. Ready. Give it NUM NUM, NUM, NUM NUM. OK, now we're gonna try with the other part. Ready. Glug, glug, glug.
And once you do that, I want you to go Yum Yum.
OK, ready. 123. Yum Yum. All right, so this is how it's going to go. Taste and see. Glug, Glug at the Lord is good. Yum Yum. OK, 123 taste and see. Plug, plug. That's the Lord.
Is good. Yum Yum. All right, you maybe see that you're doing fine.
How are we doing tonight? OK.
Two other things that the Lord has his word for us is in Psalm 119, verse 105, and they come together. It's it's been a delight in my heart and perhaps in others. When you see how the Lord puts two things together, it speaks of something.
Like, uh, we, uh, one of our brothers recently read a, a thing that's like, when you know, righteousness and peace have kissed each other, something like that. When the, when the Lord puts two things together in Scripture, it's, it's something that you want to look at and try to realize why he's done that. And one of these things in Psalm 105 or Psalm 119.
Verse 105 is a verse that perhaps we all know, but it's a very practical verse. It says Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
I'll lap onto my feet, and a light unto my path, and what the word of God provides for you and I.
Is he he gives us guidance for our lives one step at a time, and it's important that we don't run ahead of God when he has a plan for us. It's important that every morning we open God's word and we try to understand what the plan is for the day. Now sometimes we try to plan our lives and perhaps it becomes something that we have to do to look a bit into the future for for certain things. But God is so willing to give us guidance from his word in those things that he provides light so that we can see sort of that that father the light at the end of the tunnel so we get.
The the guidance that we have, but one of the things that we can do when we read God's Word is we can shine his lights too. And the more we read God's word, the more we become like the Lord Jesus and the more we will shine as lights in the world. So others will look at us and say, why are you so different? What makes you so different?
And that's an important thing, the word. In his own word he says the entrance of thy words give light.
And light in the sense of not like this kind of light, but a light in the sense of, umm, shining through the darkness. Sometimes we speak about the darkness that's in the world. And when you read the word of God, even as the youngest person here, when you read the word of God, it tells us that God has promised to make us wiser than our teachers, wiser than those around us. Because as we read God's Word, his wisdom becomes a part of our lives.
And we begin to see the details of life in a way that those in the world cannot see because they're blinded to the truth that comes from His Word. But if you're a young Christian here, it's a wonderful thing to have God's word that you're able to look into, and God will speak to your heart.
And speak to your mind and speak to your life and give you a channel and guidance for your direction.
So those are two things. The other thing is in Book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah, chapter 23.
Jeremiah 23.
Burst.
29.
It says it's not my word like as a fire sayeth the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. So we have a combination of a fire and a hammer. Now fire and scripter usually speaks of things that purify. We have silver. In the old days they used to melt silver down in in a big pot under the fire and they would remove all the bad things so they would get pure silver and they did the same with gold and fire does the same it it is as a picture of the word of God in your life and mine as we look at.
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Ourselves and we look at the sin that's in our lives or our disobedience, or the way that we we don't please God and we look at how God wants us to be. Sometimes the word shows us that because sometimes we're afraid to admit that we're wrong or we're stubborn and we don't want to admit that we're wrong. But the word of God, when we read it accurately and it tells us that because it's also something else that we'll look at quickly at the end, it also shows us our weaknesses, but it also can give us great strength at the same time.
So it's like a hammer.
And it's like a fire. Well, what does, what do you do with a hammer? I usually hit myself on the thumb. Most of the time that's what I do with it. So I don't think that's a good thing to do. Well, who uses a hammer? I know at least one person in here does. How many of you have used a hammer?
OK, do you use it as a paperweight or you fly throw it? What do you use a hammer for?
What do you use a hammer for?
That's right, banging nails into the wall, you use it to build things. We build things with a hammer, and God's word is something that God has given us as a tool to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. It says so we can build ourselves. We frame a house, we use the nails, we frame it up, then we put the sides on it and we put the gyprock in. How many of you have done that? Remodel the home or yes. Lots of fun, isn't it? It doesn't happen overnight. It's hard work.
It takes time, and God gives us this hammer to use to do that.
And because of that, we're going to sing another song. So if we could all stand up, we're gonna sing a song that everybody knows. It's based in the book of Matthew, Chapter 7. Because this is what the Lord wants to do in the in the book, he talks about a wise man and a foolish man and they both build houses. But the bottom line is that God says the one that hears my word and does it is like a wise man who builds his house the right way.
So we're going to sing that song and remind ourselves that God's word is like a hammer that gives us a hammer to build a wise as a wise man, We build a good house for him where he can come and reside and, and we can, uh, be an example in a testimony those around us. OK, you ready? You all know this song, OK. The wise man built his house upon the rock. The wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man.
Built his house upon the rock, and the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up. And the house on the rock stood firm. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
When the rains came tumbling down, the rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up, and the house on the sand fell flat.
What a difference, huh, between one and the other?
I know there's a last burst of that, but some people sing one version, some people sing another, so I didn't wanna inspire confusion at this moment. One of the last things that, uh, God tells us that his word is, is in the book of Ephesians chapter 6.
Ephesians chapter 6.
Verse 14.
Or pardon me, verse, uh.
MMM.
Verse 17 says then take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The word of God is compared to a sword because it cuts down our enemies. You know, many times people might give you an argument or try to argue with you about this or that or the other thing and it's always been my experience and perhaps others can to testify to this at the best experience to do or the best answer to that is to tell them the word of God says this.
And just leave it at that. Don't try to reason with them, don't try to argue with them. Just give them God's word. And it's, I think it's based on that promise that I first read in Isaiah 55. He says my word will do and it'll accomplish what I have set it out to do. And his word accomplishes that because it convicts people in their heart. The word of God is, is special in that it can convict people in their heart. And when you, uh, approach people with the word of God as your defense, they have no defense against it.
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And it will change their lives, I'm sure, in that way. So the sword does that for others, but for you and I also, the book of Hebrews chapter 4 tells us what the sword can do for you and me.
In the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 12.
It says for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
And of the joints and marrow. And is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word of God shows you and me who we really are. Many times we don't wanna show who we really are. We might put up a front or umm, try to pretend that we're something else. But the Word of God shows us as we truly are.
You know the importance of the word of God just to finish off quickly was shown when the Lord Jesus himself was tempted by Satan. And throughout your lives you'll be tempted by Satan. And the best defense once again is the word of God because he has no defense against it because it stands. It's the author that has written this word and he stands behind his word. Every word he's written, God stands behind it. And when the Lord was tempted by Satan in the garden, the Lord used.
The Word of God. And he always answered that Satan, whatever he tempted him with by saying it, is written. And that was a powerful thing for him to do because as I say, Satan has no defense against the Word of God because of the author who wrote it.
The final thing that the word of God has, it's something that I trust that if you remember it, nothing else in the book of James.
James chapter one, verse 23. It's my hope that there's been a little bit of, uh, enjoyment in this message, a little bit of wisdom perhaps, uh, that we can take with us realizing how God's word is so versatile and powerful for you and for I. But in the book of James chapter one, it tells us this.
Verse 23. 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.
I think there's nothing sadder than to watch people, Christians, young or old, who know the word of God, who know God's love for them and care for them, and yet willingly turn away from it.
When they read the word of God and they see things in their lives that need to be changed, they turn away from it. They hide for by whatever excuse they can come up with. The Lord delights in his people. The Lord delights in his word, and he's given it to us to use to show us what we are not, but to show us what we can become in Christ. And that's a wonderful gift that he's given us, a wonderful tool that he's given us. And I trust that each one here will use it, and I trust people have been using it. But even if you remember anything of this message.
That is that the Word of God is versatile and that it will in any situation be a guide for you and for me, no matter how old you are. Take time to read it every day, to enjoy it, to let the Lord speak to your heart through it, and you will grow.
Grow, grow. Let's pray.