[0:00] Job chapter 6 got the first smell of fires burning you know that's coming after some nice cool days and here comes the heat alright we're in Job and find chapter number 6 and just take a look at verse number 26 the first verse we'll look at here verse 26 Job is answering one of the three men that came to him that were going to comfort him miserable comforters he calls them and in verse 26 he says the question is do you imagine to reprove words in the speeches of one that is desperate which are his wind saying that his words are his wind look at chapter 8 and verse 2 this is Bildad replying in verse number 2 of chapter 8 how long will you speak these things how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind now wind is something you can feel and you can sense it but when it's passed it's gone and both of these verses liken man's words to wind now turn over to chapter 19 when the wind blows when the words leave the mouth like the breath that it takes to force that sound out it's gone the word is gone
[1:43] Job 19 and notice verse number 7 Job is answering their attacks further verse number 7 Job says behold I cry out of wrong but I am not heard I cry aloud but there's no judgment as if there's nobody listening to my words I'm just shouting I'm crying trying to get you to realize I'm an innocent man but nobody's listening to his words and now continuing in this chapter he makes this statement in verse 23 and Job says oh that my words were now written oh that they were printed in a book now let's consider that thought because while the words leave and they just go and they don't come back but if they're printed and if they're written in a book they can stick around and we want to just hold on to that thought and let me take you back to Job's day and even before initially it was the spoken word of God that the spoken word
[2:52] I should say that God used to reveal well from the beginning to create we read that in Hebrews a few times back a few weeks ago in Hebrews 11 that it's by the word of God the worlds are framed and it was his spoken word that he used to form things to create man and then to commune with man and to reveal himself and his truth and for sake of time we could easily do this but we don't need to do this is go back and see that that it describes in Genesis that the voice of God the voice of the Lord in the cool of the garden there he showed up by the voice of the Lord it describes him speaking to Adam it describes God speaking to Noah and actually to Cain and you could just follow through Genesis and see how God spoke to these men in Abraham's day he spoke to Abraham he met Abraham he spoke to Abraham even sometimes in dreams and visions of the night God would deal with men throughout the Old Testament it was the spoken word of God before Moses ever penned the scriptures that was all they had generation after generation nearly 2,000 or even more years of just the spoken word of God the spoken word of God and at some point
[4:08] God transitions here and I can't say the timing or exactly Job writes and then Moses writes at some point you can read in Exodus he tells Moses to write write he tells the prophets write he tells the apostles to write in the revelation of Jesus Christ several times John is commanded write and even one time he's commanded don't write these words are sealed but God then transitioned and decided to go with the written word he chose the written word as the medium by which he would communicate to man or by which he would rather reveal himself to man this was God's choice he could still audibly speak today if he chose to he's not limited his hand is not shortened and the people have said this well there's there's a whole lot more people on the earth now than there was back then what is that to God that he couldn't reveal himself to you or to I at the same time but he's chosen the written word and I think there's some great reasons why he did that
[5:18] I want to start something this week and I'm sure it'll go into next week and cover something that I'm just going to call the superiority of the written word the superiority of the written word if you would enter into an agreement or into a transaction with somebody today somebody that you didn't know at all or even very well say you put an ad out saying that you want to sell your vehicle or your boat or whatever the case and somebody shows up and they say yeah I'm going to buy that from you and I'll give you exactly what you're asking for I just don't have the money right now but I'll get it to you so can can I just have the keys how apt are you to turn over your property to somebody you don't know based on their spoken word exactly right you don't trust them and you could how good is a handshake how good is a handshake anymore it's not worth much of anything the spoken word is not good enough it's not trustworthy if an issue arises with that deal or that person and you would try to take them to court well they could always renege on their word they could always add to their word or subtract from their word because it's your word against theirs and in the bible there was a way around this or the way it was settled was in the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing shall be established and Jesus
[6:48] Christ even in the gospels told them take two or three with you if you're going to go meet a brother that it can be established but how can we get around that spoken word dilemma today well it's easy and we say this phrase all the time when we want to make sure we say put it in writing put it in writing why because the written word is superior to the spoken word if I wanted to go to the airport and walk up to the counter and they say sir can I see your ID could I say I am this this is my ID me what do you mean what do you what do you mean identification I am Toby Walski Michael T Walski why do you need some piece of paper to say that I am who I am when I'm standing right in front of you I mean if I'm on a telephone okay but I'm right here they won't let me through why won't they let me through that's not going to work for them they don't want to believe that they need a form of documentation declaring or validating that I am who
[8:00] I say I am they need something written they need something they can trust and today we certainly can't just believe anyone by their word so a system of sorts has been established and we accept it to verify people's claims it's in writing things that have been written things that have been signed things that have been sealed notarized then we take them and we believe them they're established everything is documented why because the written word is superior to the spoken word now I want to give you over these next two Wednesdays I believe four areas why the written word is superior to the spoken word and if the airports know it and the DMV knows it and practically every other source decides that the court systems they decide it has to be there's some reasons why and the first one is authority the written word is more powerful than the spoken word the first category is authority turn your
[9:09] Bibles to the book of Ezra just a little bit back to the left Ezra chapter number four and I'm just going to pull something out of the middle of this story here this is something we'll look at later next week Lord willing but in Ezra four they've been sent back into their land to rebuild the temple and this is after 70 years for most and more than that for some of captivity and eventually after they get going there's people of the land that show up and they resist the work of God here look at verse number four Ezra four verse four then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia now Cyrus is the one that sent them there even under the reign of Darius king of Persia so Cyrus is gone and other kings in his stead then it says in the reign of Ahasuerus in the beginning of his reign wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem and in so many words they said hey king you know they shouldn't be doing this because if you look and search you're going to find out that this city is a rebellious city they had some strong kings and strong kingdoms and if you let this thing grow and get established you're just asking for trouble as a matter of fact the way they pitch it is you're going to lose money you're going to lose your income they're going to rebel against you and stop paying you and we're just trying to help you out king we're just trying to give you a heads up we love you and so of course
[10:42] I'm sure you're familiar with the story come down a little bit later the king then reads this letter they send this accusation he searches he says yeah this is true this is everything they're telling me is true and he's just being a pawn here a foolish king and then sends word back verse 21 this is the word back he sends give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease and that this city be not builded now one thing to consider is they were commanded to build the temple and that's what they were building and they replied to saying that they're joining the foundations of this bad city in verse 12 and verse 13 the city be builded the walls set up again and so they slandered the men and the work that was going on some lies the king didn't check it out not a good king okay so he says that this city be not builded in verse 21 until another commandment shall be given from me take heed now that you fail not to do this why should why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings that's money right there all right so verse 23 now when the copy of king artaxerxes letter was read before rehum and shimshay and the scribe and their companions they went up in haste to jerusalem unto the jews and made them to cease by force and look at the word power power what was the power the power was we've got it written from the king he wrote it right here and they read it out to him saying this work give you now commandment to cause these men to cease and you've got to stop right now
[12:16] I bet they didn't read the next line that the city be not builded probably just left that part out the king said the work has to cease right here and right now they went up with force they took people with them and the power they had was the written word from the king because the written word here is an authority it's a now this gets much better than this so come to Ezra I'm sorry Esther the other E another E Esther just a little bit to the right the king made the commandment but it was the written word that carried the power I don't doubt for a moment they carried that letter with them to prove and to be as their authority look at Esther chapter one the superiority of the written word it's more powerful than the spoken word in Esther chapter one you remember this guy this is a different
[13:18] Ahasuerus here in verse two in verse one and two and his wife Vashti she refuses a command we'll pick it up in verse number ten on the seventh day when the heart of the king was married with wine he commanded and there's his seven chamberlains and in verse 11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal to show the people and the princes her beauty for she was fair to look on but the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment that's his word that's his spoken word but it didn't get anywhere not with that queen therefore the king was very wroth and his anger burned in him and the king said to the wise man which knew the times skip the parentheses to verse 15 what shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to the law because she hath not performed the commandment of the king of haseris what does he sound this isn't the king that we probably imagine in our minds this this dominant figure that just off with your head and off with your head he's dealing with a queen that's rebelling and his question is she didn't obey my command guys what can
[14:27] I do by law why by law why isn't his word his command the ultimate authority of the land because it wasn't and she rebuked or she refused him but look we found we find a solution here guess what the solution is going to be write it down a little bit later let me fast forward through this what shall we do and here's the verse 16 then Mimucan answered before the king and the princes Vashti the queen hath not done this wrong to the king only but also to all the princes and to all the people that are in the provinces of king for this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women so that they shall despise their husbands and their eyes when it shall be reported that he said commanded her she came not all right so here it is verse 19 if it pleased the king let there go a royal commandment from him and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes that it be not altered and he gives the law and he made it happen and off it goes what was the deal here the spoken word seems like it ought to have all the authority it needs but it was rejected it was rebelled against and it didn't have the power apparently but you know how to get things done write it into law write it down once it becomes written and stamped and sealed it's over it's final and they'll fear and they'll obey look at chapter 3
[15:53] I'm not going to read through this whole story either but it's a very similar situation where Haman is a wicked man but he's being promoted by the king and he's getting he's moving up so high but he's got this guy that will not respect and honor him Mordecai and Mordecai won't bow and reverence him everybody else will verse 2 Mordecai bowed not nor did him reverence and he gets so mad verse number 5 when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not nor did him reverence then was Haman full of wrath but he thought scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone for they had showed him that the people of Mordecai wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus so the idea here is Mordecai has a beef with a man but he's so lifted up it's not in his best interest to go put his hands on some nobody he'll be the one that looks like a fool so I'm gonna have to take him out with a bigger plan and indirectly
[16:56] I'm gonna knock him down this is a little more diplomatic way of getting back at your enemies because really if he stepped down off of his royal position and punched Mordecai in the face and drug him around the streets for a while he would be the one that looks like you work for the king and you're out here throwing hands with some guy they'd say you're not fit for that position so he was in a lose-lose situation if he did that alright so what does he do he comes up with a system here and you can you could skim it but it comes all the way to him getting it in writing and that's in verse number 12 and 13 the letters are sent out and actually back in verse 9 if it please the king let it be written that they may be destroyed now what am I saying I'm saying that by way of authority the written word is more powerful than the spoken word you can see this in Daniel chapter 6 as well what did those men want to do to get
[18:00] Daniel to fall let the king make a decree and sign it with the king's ring and then it'll be law so documentation possesses authority you ever consider like domestic issues that take place in the courtrooms things they involve things that involve reoccurring incidents the judge wants to see that you have something written down he doesn't want you to see you get up and just say well he did it every day for the last 50 years or something he wants to see that you documented that you documented that day and what happened and when he sees it's written down it's going to carry some weight the when's the where's and what took place over time that carries a whole lot more weight than just your verbal testimony alone so the superiority of the written word by the category of authority the written word is more powerful than the spoken word now come to Luke chapter one and our second category is accuracy accuracy accuracy the written word is not only more powerful than a spoken word the written word is more particular than the spoken word it's more specific it's more distinct look at
[19:26] Luke chapter one and notice the first four verses Luke is introducing the reason for the writing he says in verse one for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most securely believed among us even as they delivered them unto us which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word it seemed good to me also having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write unto thee in order most excellent the the the the the thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou has been instructed so Luke says things have been spoken verse one they've been set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most so it's it's been spoken there's been eyewitnesses he mentions in verse two things have been seen but I am going to write it why in verse four that thou mightest know the certainty now
[20:32] I'm going to show you a place that's just about a parallel passage to that very thought come back to Proverbs chapter 22 Proverbs 22 and this verse just bounces right to another one the written word is more particular than the spoken word and now it's superior by way of accuracy Proverbs 22 and let's pick it up at verse 17 bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise and apply thine heart unto my knowledge for it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee they shall with all be fitted in thy lips that thy trust may be in the Lord I have made known to thee this day even to thee have not I written to thee excellent things and counsels and knowledge that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send to thee to thee to thee to thee the answer yes you did the certainty again they're written for the purpose of making someone know the certainty both times those two phrases come up in this case the written word here is in verse 19 that thy trust may be in the
[21:56] Lord the reason these words are written and secondly that you can have confidence in his word making you know the certainty and thirdly that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee you can speak them and know them but the accuracy is the case here why the superiority of the written word the written word is more particular more particular for several reasons I just want to give you a few examples I want to go back to our original story I was at in Ezra so if you can flip back to Ezra chapter six and as I started looking through this I felt like oh my this could just go and go and go and go so I thought I'll just stay right here in this kind of setting since we already touched on it Ezra chapter six is a verse we'll look at one of the reasons the written word is more particular than the spoken word by way of accuracy here is because it can be reviewed because the written word can be reviewed it can be referred to you can look back to it to be certain to know the certainty of the so Ezra chapter number six and look at verse number 18 this is after they finish the house of
[23:14] God in verse 15 and they're dedicating and in verse 18 it says they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of God which is at Jerusalem as it is written in the book of Moses now consider this if you can that these this is like I said earlier 70 years at the very minimum that they were away I don't know how many that are here this day and I'm not even accounting for the time it took them to build this how many ever had their feet on this dirt I wonder how many of these men I'm imagining that the priests that are here and the Levites that are here that for most of them if not all of them this is the first time their feet were ever inside the house of God and now they have to minister about their courses according to their order how on earth are they going to do this correctly according to
[24:20] God's truth who by the way says if you don't do it right you're dead no pressure rookies you know how they know because it was written now if I was that man if I was a Levite I would be thankful to Moses and to God for the book of Leviticus and the book of Exodus and while we labor to read through this stuff there was a purpose amen and those guys would stand up to you right now today and say oh no keep it in there it you know what they did they read what was written it's more it's superior to the spoken word even the spoken word of God and Moses spoken word to the people because the written word could be referred to it's superior by way of accuracy and take a look here in Ezra we're going to look into chapter 7
[25:21] Ezra is the scribe and he's very familiar with the scripture so they had a great teacher look at Ezra 7 in verse 6 it says this Ezra went up from Babylon and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given and the king granted him all his requests according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him verse number 10 says for Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statutes and judgment the only reason he could do that is because it was written how would you like to be Ezra a thousand years after Moses without having a copy of the written scriptures and try to teach these guys what's right what kind of confidence would he have that he knows what he's talking about much less they being able to have confidence in their teacher it's the written word of God that got them through come to Nehemiah and they could we could look through all of these points here and everything that they did and established and set up it was all based upon the written word
[26:32] Nehemiah and let's look at chapter eight and now here's a setting where they've come in now they are building the wall of the city throughout this book and there's some opposition and some things going on stopping the wall and they get it finished and so a very similar set up and in chapter eight the law is read Ezra the priest in verse two gets up in verses one and two he gets preaching and reading the scriptures before them and just look at this one for instance among so many but verses 14 and 15 says 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 they didn't hear this before they found that in the book there's a feast we haven't been keeping this one I've never kept this feast a day of my life many of them said and verse 15 that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities in
[27:34] Jerusalem saying go forth unto the mount and to fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths as it is written so they did it and they kept this which is the timing is the feast of tabernacles a very important feast to God one that's into the times of Christ they're keeping but boy where and according to the way God established it from the written word it's accuracy that's important look at chapter 13 Nehemiah chapter 13 again there's just examples all over especially in this time frame that we could be pointing out here verse number one Nehemiah 13 verse one on that day they read in the book of Moses and the audience of the people and therein was found written that the
[28:37] Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever oh they didn't know that matter of fact they were letting some people profane God's sanctuary or the congregation rather the people and they were a mixed multitude it says in verse 3 they separated them from Israel they were not going to be a holy people unto God the way they had hoped to be until they found what was written in the book of Moses not only that let me see if I can find this other one look look back at chapter 7 Nehemiah 7 it's not just a matter of having a mixed people among them but there was even in establishing the priesthood and the Levites and who's who and what they're to do look at verse 63
[29:40] Nehemiah 7 63 and of the priests the children of Habiah the children of Coz the children of Barzillai which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife and was called after their name these sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy but it was not found you know what it wasn't written but they're like no we're good spoken word we're in there we're good our dad our line it's all good checks out no it doesn't but it was not found therefore were they as polluted kicked out gone why because they went by the written word why because the written word has the authority has the power it has the accuracy it's more particular you can refer to it you can go to it you can get it right and the superiority of the written word it's going to go a little bit more next week lord willing we'll look at two more categories it's influence and it's longevity and show you that the written word god transitioned from the spoken word to the written word and here's just four categories maybe if i'll dig further i'll find another one or two that are worthy of bringing forth if it's accurate that shows that the written word is far superior to the spoken word and so i believe and i'm sure that god has given us the written word for very very good reason and i'm thankful to have it and you and i can go to that written word and it can be our authority and we can rely on it and know it's accurate and then next week we'll continue on so we'll close in prayer here and pick it up next week lord willing right at that very point thank you for being here and i pray that you'll enjoy your week and men be ready for saturday and let's have a good time in the lord father thank you for the written word of god and god we uh we don't know what it's like not to have a bible most of us have had and have have known that that book exists probably all of our lives all but god i i honestly don't know what it's like to live without a bible and i truly take it for granted i just expect it to be there i expect to be able to open it up and read it i don't know what it's like to be to have it missing lord i'm thankful for it i'm thankful so thankful that you chose to retain certain things and preserve them for me and how you've enlightened me and how you've opened my eyes to myself and to this world and to your truth and to revelation lord i thank you for revealing to all of us the lord jesus christ in that book what he's done for us and how you've accepted his sacrifice and how we don't have to pay a thing thank you lord for the blood of jesus christ god there's so much we get out of that written book lord help us to love it and to go to it help us to rely on it and to live it to never be ashamed of it to proclaim it and lord may it change our lives thank you for bible baptist church thank you for each one here thank you for the kids that are out there in the other classrooms and pray lord that you'll help them to grow closer together closer to you and enjoy wednesday nights and enjoy being here and make it a habit and a part of their life i pray this in jesus christ's wonderful name amen you