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[0:00] out. And let's see, where's the first place to take you to tonight? I guess you can get to Luke, Luke chapter 16. And I'll just briefly review with you. If you were with us last Wednesday night, we started something that Lord willing, just going to wrap up tonight, finish up a study on the superiority of the written word of God, the superiority of the written word, and what we saw from the book of Job was that Job twice, and I'm sure it could have been a handful more times, but just two times quickly, I pointed out how Job, and they referred to the words as wind, how it's just, the things they speak, they're just gone, just like that, and no one hears them. One time Job's crying out, but nobody's hearing them. No one's reacting to what he says and listening.

[0:51] And so the solution was that he said, oh, that my words were printed in a book. Oh, that they were printed in a book. Why? Well, initially, you may recall that we talked a little bit about how God, in the first 2,000 years of his creation, how he dealt with man through the spoken word.

[1:08] We really didn't run the references to prove that or back it up, but I trust you're familiar enough with the word of God, as Moses is the one that he told to write. But before Moses, you've got Adam, you've got Abraham, you've got Noah back there, and you've got so many more. But generation after generation, just the relationship they had with God was through the spoken word. And somewhere along the lines there, God transitioned to telling men to write. And holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, but then he told them to write and commissioned them to have it written in scripture. And so the Lord chose the written word as the medium by which he'd reveal himself and instruct his truth to man today. And he continues to reveal his truth to man, and he continues to do so through the written word. Now, we ran several passages last week to get through two categories of the superiority of the written word. And the first one was the matter of authority. And I said that the written word is more powerful than the spoken word. And I gave you examples from Ezra and from Daniel. And we went to Esther. If you remember Esther, then the king Ahasuerus made a commandment, a verbal command, and nothing happened. The queen ignored him. He's like, what can I do?

[2:25] And I looked to the men, what can I do according to the law? Because he was powerless unless it was written. And so when he found, when he didn't have anything he could do, they said, let it be written. And they came up and initiated a law that would get rid of the whole problem with the women in that day not respecting or honoring the authority of their husbands. And so the documentation possesses authority. All right, then the second category was accuracy, where the written word of God is more particular. And I showed you a few cases in Luke and in Proverbs 22, how that is written, that thou mightest know the certainty of the words. And I gave you a few examples, again, with that story that we'll get to a little later tonight around Ezra and Nehemiah, how it was because the word of God, because of the written word, they could fulfill their, in this case, their priestly duties, their Levitical priesthood. There were certain ones that claimed that they had a right to be in that priesthood, but they couldn't find any record of it written. So they were cast out of the priesthood.

[3:32] There were certain feasts that God has established and how things were to be accomplished. And they would have had no real way of knowing for sure they were doing it right, but that it was written.

[3:43] And so the written word is more particular than the spoken word, and that it can be reviewed, and it's specific and distinct. And so those are some things we covered last week. And this week, I want to wrap up with two more categories. And the third one, you're in Luke chapter 16.

[3:57] The third category is that of influence. The written word is more persuasive than the spoken word. And let me show it to you in this passage here. And so we'll just read the passage. We got time tonight. So Luke chapter 16, verse 19. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

[4:30] Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of the finger of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this between us and you, there's a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from hence. Now notice this in verse 27. After all this background, the man knows he's not getting out of hell. He's not getting any comfort from his torment and his heart turns toward his living family. In verse 27, he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou would send him, that is send Lazarus, send him to my father's house for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

[6:03] Now the rich man hears his response. Abraham says they have Moses, they have the written word of God, Moses and the prophets. So the guy wants out of hell or no, I can't. Okay. So would you please send Lazarus, send him to go witness to my brethren? The answer is no, it won't work. They have Moses, they have the written word of God already. The man says, the rich man in his, in his thinking says, but nay father, that's not persuasive enough. That's just to them. That's just a book, an old book, old scrolls or whatever. That's not persuasive enough. And his mind, they need something supernatural. They need something supernatural that'll totally captivate them. Then they'll believe, then they'll hear, they'll listen. If one was raised from the dead and would go back to them.

[6:58] And I have to admit, this is just human nature because when I read that in my, I'll just say it's in my flesh because it's lacking faith. I tend to side with the rich man, with his philosophy.

[7:14] I tend to think, well, yeah, they're not, they're not going to hear the Bible. They're going to, but if, but seriously, if somebody was raised from the dead, I think that way too. I think that supernatural thing, they would just flock to that person to hear what words they can tell of something that they have not seen or heard or experienced. I think that's true too. And I'm wrong for thinking that, of course. The problem is the reason we think that way, we think, oh, they would hear when the, the supernatural, when the one would be raised from the dead versus the scripture. We think that way because we overestimate a sinner's ability to reason and his ability to judge rightly.

[8:00] We forget how sinful man really is. I think we underestimate the stubbornness, the stiff necked man in his heart, his pride. We underestimate the pride of a sinner and merely the spoken word.

[8:15] He doesn't think that's going to persuade him, but he believes that the one that's speaking it would. He believes that guy showing up would do it. But Abraham says, no, it won't work. And Abraham's right. Moses, he said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And in verse 31, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, is that the case? Yes, that's the case. That was the case with the rich man. He wouldn't hear Moses and the prophets and neither will his brethren. And if they won't do that, they're not going to be persuaded. Now, Abraham's right to say this. He's suggesting they would ignore a supernatural event. I wonder if the rich man's family was just as well off as he was. I tend to think the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Maybe they're not loaded, but they're probably not sitting beside Lazarus, you know, full of sores begging for crumbs. And I don't know what their financial status was, but of his family, they've already, he believes they're rejecting Moses and the prophets. So I'm going to say they think they're okay. How do you think they'd react to the beggar showing up at their house? How do you think they react to Lazarus saying, Hey, let me in. Your brother that died has a message for you. He's in hell. You think they'd listen to that beggar, to that guy that was full of sores, the dogs licking his will? You think they'd listen to a word? They'd say, get out of here. What right do you have to talk about my dead brother? Don't you dare say his name? They'd get all offended and mad and run him off or beat him down or something.

[9:52] They wouldn't want nothing to do with that man. Though he rose from the dead. Get off my property, they'd say. I don't believe they'd hear a word from him. How do I know that? Well, because they've already rejected Moses and the prophets. They've already rejected the scriptures.

[10:11] And that shows me they're not God-fearing men. That shows me they've got hard hearts. You remember the thieves that were on the cross, the one on one side of Christ, the one on the other?

[10:23] While the Bible describes the one as being repentant, the other one, the Bible says, he railed on him. He railed on Jesus Christ. And it just blew the other thief away, thinking, we deserve what we're getting. We indeed justly. But this man hath done nothing amiss.

[10:42] And the Bible says that as he railed on that, he said, save thyself in us, if thou be the Christ. And that guy, you know what? The other thief looked across, he says, does not thou fear God? The answer is no. Can you see that man hanging on the cross, railing on Christ? He doesn't fear God. And he is literally moments from facing him, moments from death, moments from the judgment of God. That fellow had a hard heart.

[11:16] And he wouldn't hear Moses and the prophets. And I don't believe for a moment that if that man could reject Jesus Christ right there and the rebuke right there in moments just that close, knowing he's going to die, he knows he doesn't have another chance. He knows he's dying and he's still that hard and cold toward God. I don't think those boys would have listened anyway. Abraham says they won't.

[11:41] If they won't hear Moses and the prophets, that tells you they've got a heart problem. If they won't hear the written word of God, it tells you they're not going to listen to something that's even supernatural. So the written word of God, by way of influence, it's more persuasive, according to Abraham, than even the spoken word or even beyond that, the miraculous. And by the way, while we're here, I can't help but just kick this for a moment because it needs it. This text, this text from our authority from the Bible, this text about this potential, somebody coming back from the dead and being allowed to of God to try to tell everybody and warn everybody. And what does, does God allow it? No. God said, they have the scriptures. They have what I've given them. If they rejected that, their heart's hard, their heart's cold, they're not going to hear anything else. This text serves another purpose for us today because this is our authority. This is where we, everything that we hear and see in life and experience, we go back and judge it by the scripture. Many have come in recent days and in past days, even in a few decades, have come on the scene saying, I died and I went to heaven.

[13:07] Or even some will say, I died and I went to hell. And God has let me come back to warn you all or to tell you what it's like. And so people, you've seen this, I'm sure, perhaps you've seen them on TV or seen their books or it's made its way around. I've been around in church long enough and I've had Christians come up to me, you need to read this book. And I'd say, no, I don't. Yes, you do.

[13:32] And I'd be like, no, I don't. I already have the book. I don't need to read what that guy says happened to him. I don't believe it. I'm telling you straight up in a nice way, but I'm telling you, I don't believe it. Oh, but you got to read it. Don't judge it before you read it. No, I need to judge it. I can judge it. I have authority by which to judge it.

[13:52] God did not take that man to heaven and send him back to earth to tell us what heaven's like or to tell you that grandma's okay now or something like that. Grandma's always okay in those books.

[14:06] God didn't operate that way. He didn't do it here. And if he decides to do it today, then he's making this text and this truth void. And that goes against his character. God didn't send anybody back from the dead to write a book or to go on some Christian network talk show or to go around the nation and be a speaker at some conferences and things. God, that's just gullible. I hate to say it or to be so sharp with it, but it's stupid sheep that buy that.

[14:37] Ignorant sheep, ignorant of the scriptures that pick, you know what they want? They'll ignore what God says and has said and has preserved. They'll ignore that and be attracted to the fantasy or they'll be attracted to the mysterious, the sensational. That's what they want. They'll turn away their ears from the truth. The Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 4.

[15:07] They instead, they are instead of being rooted and grounded in the faith. They chase the sensationals and believe everything. God declares here that the written word of God is more persuasive than the spoken word. It's more persuasive even when the source is a supernatural source.

[15:30] So by the way, that's impossible for God to go against his word. The Bible says God that cannot lie, he cannot and will not contradict himself or his nature. He will not go against his word.

[15:42] And so you can just, those, that category of people coming back from the dead or from hell or whatever. I don't know if you ever, I've listened to a few people try to convince me and everything they would say that they read in a book that sounded just like heaven, sounded just like what I know of heaven.

[16:02] That was their evidence that this is true because it matched the Bible. Like, well, gee, where did they get those ideas from? It's not original. They got it from the scripture or they sat down with somebody who knows the scripture and embellished upon there.

[16:18] And what about the person himself? While we're on it, we got a little bit extra time. Why not? What about the person himself that comes back from the dead that had an experience? So I met a, I went to, I got a call to go witness or to see a man who was in a hospital in Maryland, in Bel Air, Maryland.

[16:37] And he was dying. They said he had just a week to two weeks to live. And it was somebody in the church, some relative, such and such, whatever. And so I drove, it was about a 45-minute drive. And I went to the hospital.

[16:50] I never knew who in the world this guy was. Just barely knew the person that, the condo just had the name and just the connection to say, this is so-and-so sent me or wanted me. And so I walk in and find this man in the hospital.

[17:01] And he's laying there. And I remember talking to him a little bit and just introducing myself and just kind of being kind of right to the point almost saying why I'm here because I know you're about to die and I want to make sure you know where you're going.

[17:13] And just that, just initially when he perceived who I was, what I was here for, he kind of, you know, just, I could tell he didn't want to hear it. And so I just, I realized I'm not going to back off that easy.

[17:24] I drove down here for this, you know. I'm not going to waste my whole day just to get shut down. So I thought, okay, no problem. And just backed off and tried to make small talk and found out what he did for a living.

[17:36] And we talked that a little bit and had a little connection there. And just found some common ground. He softened up. We started talking for a good 20 minutes. And then I was able to bring the conversation subtly back around to life and death, heaven and hell.

[17:51] And the man said this. He said, he admitted that he didn't know where he was going to go. He admitted that he'd never been saved and didn't really know much about that. But he thought that he'd be all right.

[18:01] And here's what he had it based on. A friend of his or somebody close enough that he was kind of grasping for here had told him that he had a vision.

[18:13] And in his vision, that as far as in his death, he saw light. He saw, he wasn't his actual death. It was like I had a dream.

[18:24] And in my dream, I died. But in my death, you know, I was going through this portal and I saw this light. It was so bright. And I got closer and closer to this bright light. And as I almost got to the bright light, boom, I was alive or awake again.

[18:37] And to his friend, that was him dying and going to whatever positive energy, God maybe. So he was dying on his deathbed feeling like if my buddy was that way, he's no better than I am.

[18:54] I'm going to be all right too. I hope. I think, you know, that will happen to me here shortly. And that's what he was basing it on, this dream that his buddy had. Again, his buddy wasn't dying. It was just a dream or a vision that he thought he had.

[19:07] And so I just thought, man, this guy, like what do you do with that? How do I tell him, you know, your guys, your friends doing drugs or, you know. So here, so anyway, long story short, if I can, I just, I said to him, I've had dreams before too.

[19:26] And I'm sure you have. And I've had dreams where I could swear I was getting stung by bees. And those bees were stinging me. And I even started kicking, kicked Carla a few times because these bees were all over me.

[19:40] I remember just flailing around. You know what? I thought I was being attacked by bees. There was another time. And I remember as a kid, this was so vivid to me as a kid, I was in my church running from these bad guys, whoever they were.

[19:58] And it was almost dark, very dark hallways. And that church had a big sanctuary, but it had lots of hallways all around. And I was, I knew that place like the back of my hand. And I ran and I ran into the bathroom and I thought, oh no, I'm stuck here.

[20:09] And so I went around and dove under a stall and I just about got out and he stabbed me in the back and I felt it. And I, in my bed, I, you know, that whole deal.

[20:20] Because that dream was happening and it was so alive and real to me. When I woke up, I was breathing heavy. I was sweating. Just a kid. And I said to the man, I was like, we both experienced dreams that we felt at the time where we, we, we, we woke, woke up and just, that was way too vivid.

[20:38] And I said, you cannot stake your eternal soul on a, somebody's dream on even your own dreams. You can't do that.

[20:49] So I was able to take, he had, I had his attention. I was able to take him to the word of God and said, this is what we go by. If there's a God in heaven and he gave us his word, we're going to, I'm going to listen to what he said, not by what my buddy said or not even what my own mind thoughts say.

[21:06] I can't do that. I've got to go by the judge. And so I was able to talk to him and lead the man to Christ. As far as I could tell, he went for it and, and it was a good, good time.

[21:21] Glad I was a little persistent there and patient and didn't walk out on him when he didn't want nothing to do with it. But you know what it was? It was the, it was the scriptures that were more persuasive.

[21:33] Now that guy even thought he had a dream. And when these people think they have dreams and visions and, and even believe they went to heaven, I don't care what they believe. I'm not buying their book and don't bring it up to me.

[21:45] If you do, if you got them at home, keep them at home, burn them, read this book. Let's move on and get to second Peter chapter one. So the written word of God by way of influence, it's more persuasive than the spoken word.

[22:01] One more category for you tonight. This is second Peter and chapter number one. The written word of God's more personal or is superior.

[22:19] That's the study. It's superior to the spoken word, not only in the categories of authority and accuracy and influence, but also now in longevity.

[22:30] The written word of God is more permanent than the spoken word. Take a look at second Peter chapter one. Look at verse 16. Peter speaking of a past occurrence in his lifetime, an experience that he had.

[22:46] Verse 16, for he says, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. What's he talking about?

[22:57] He's talking about Matthew 17. We call this the Mount of Transfiguration. It's Mark 9, Luke 9. I'll give the account of when he took Peter, James, and John up onto that mountain to pray and he was transfigured before them.

[23:10] The Bible says his face did shine as the sun and his raiment was white as the light. And then Moses and Elias peered before him in glory and they talked and spoke of his future passion.

[23:22] Verse 17, he says, for he received from God, the father, honor and glory. When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

[23:33] And this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mount. So Peter has seen something with his eyes. Verse 16 were eyewitnesses and he's heard something with his ears.

[23:46] He heard the voice of God, the father speaking and declaring to his son words that Peter heard and understood. Now, as far as human experiences go, what could be more certain than seeing it with your own eyes?

[24:04] That's what we say. I got to see it to believe it. Peter saw it with his own eyes and he heard it with his own ears. He experienced it. What could be more certain than a perfect or a human experience like that?

[24:19] I'll tell you what. The written word. Look at verse number 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy.

[24:34] I was an eyewitness. I heard it with my ears. But we have a more sure word than that. Why is the written word more sure than the spoken word or than any experience or eyewitness account that Peter could give?

[24:53] I'll give you a few thoughts. One of them is because memories fade. I don't care how old you are. Memories just vanish at some point. They disappear.

[25:04] Of course, the older you get, the harder it is to hang on to that memory and keep it right and keep it clear and keep it accurate. Memories fade. And along with that, details of that experience that you witnessed with your eyes, heard with your...

[25:21] Details blur. They tend to change. When there's an incident involving the police, their protocol is to immediately fill out a report.

[25:36] Write it down. Write it down. Written word. Because of longevity. It's more permanent than the spoken word. They fill that out immediately and that document carries weight.

[25:48] The human tendency over time... Now, I know we wouldn't do this, but the human tendency is to embellish. You ever tell a fishing story?

[26:01] After about 20 years of that story, I bet you that is a little bit more involved. I had a friend, a guy that's... He's... Sadly, he's losing his mind now, but he was such an animated talker about catching fish or hunting deer or whatever.

[26:16] I mean, if you... If he went out and had a 10-minute experience, he could tell that story in two hours and you'd be on the edge of your seat the whole time. And he'd have a hat on and his hat would be this way and that way and he'd just be...

[26:28] His hands going the whole time. He's so alive. It was so much fun listening to that guy talk. But don't tell me that those stories don't tend to evolve toward a little bit more excitement over the time period.

[26:39] It's true. The written word of God, though, is permanent. It's more permanent than the spoken word. Speakers die, the source.

[26:52] They die. They disappear or in the sense of you have no access to them, but the written word works. Now, let me take you back to Ezra, to our example last week and run this a little bit further and show you this again in this same setting.

[27:07] Ezra chapter 1. Let me show you here an example of how the written word is more permanent than the spoken word. Ezra chapter 1.

[27:23] And look at verse number 1. And remember now, this is after 70 years, at the very least, 70 years for these folks in captivity, for God to start moving and sending them back into their land.

[27:41] It started with the building of the temple and then with Nehemiah, the walls of the city of Jerusalem. So, this is just being initiated with King Cyrus.

[27:52] Verse 1. Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying...

[28:11] And you can take a look there at what he says. We'll see it show up a little bit later. Where he says that God charged me to build him in house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. And he asked for men to go do it and send them on their way.

[28:26] So, thank God that he did. And it's a good thing he did put it in writing. I'll show you why. So, these people take off in chapter 1 and chapter 2 and chapter 3.

[28:37] And in chapter 3, verse 10, the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord. And they start praising the Lord. This is actually happening. The foundation's laid.

[28:48] Now, it's time to start building upon that. And they're singing by chorus. They're giving thanks. And some of the older ones are pitching a little fit there because it's not what they thought it should be or could have been or was.

[29:00] And then in chapter 4, we are introduced in verse 1 to the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin. And as we saw last Wednesday, these adversaries show up and they weaken the hands.

[29:12] In verse 4, the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, troubled them in building and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose. And so, they're getting in the way, getting in the way.

[29:23] And they even write back, and I'll just rehash this briefly. They write back to a different king now telling him, hey, this needs to stop because you're the one that's going to lose out.

[29:35] This is a rebellious city. They've had strong kingdoms in the past and you better check it out. He checked it out and said, yeah, you're right. And so, he caused the work to cease in verse 21. I give you now commandment to cause these men to cease.

[29:49] And so, the work is ceased. It's suspended, as a note has here in my Bible. And it goes for a good 15 or better years that the work stops. And you've got two prophets mentioned in chapter 5, verse 1.

[30:00] It's always interesting to read Haggai and Zechariah and see how their prophecies correlate to this time frame. And these two guys are preaching to these Jews and telling them to get up and get back to work.

[30:12] God's with you. Now, come on. Finish the work that you started. Build the house. And so, they get after it. They start building. And then, they get the attention of these others in the land again saying, what are you doing?

[30:25] Who told you to build? Why are you building? And so, they send back to the king. And now, this is their defense is to say that we were given permission by King Cyrus to do this.

[30:40] So, they write back to Darius and say, find out if this is right. Now, look at chapter 6 and verse number 1. Then Darius the king made a decree.

[30:51] And search was made in the house of the rolls where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Akmatha in a palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll. And therein was a record thus written, quote, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of the king.

[31:07] The same Cyrus, the king made a decree concerning the house of God of Jerusalem. Quote, let the house be built. Quote, the place where they offered sacrifices and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid to heighten and gives all the way down.

[31:20] And so, they say, hey, this is true. They found record of it. They found evidence. And look at verse number 7. It says, let the work, then this is what the governor or the king then proclaimed because of that.

[31:34] Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover, the king at that day said, I make a decree what you shall do to the elders of those Jews for the building of this house of God.

[31:47] That of the king's goods, that is the taxes, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men that they be not hindered. I'm going to pay for it, the king said when he found this writing of Cyrus.

[32:00] And said, yes, absolutely, let the work go on. You know what? The spoken word of Cyrus would not have outlasted his reign. He was dead and gone. But when search was made and found out that that mighty, powerful king made a decree, they still honored it long after his death.

[32:19] So much so that this king said, I'll pay for it. I got you covered. And off it went. You know what? The written word of King Cyrus, long after he died, carried authority.

[32:33] Because it's superior to the spoken word. It carried the power. It also carried the accuracy, exactly what he told them to do, when and where.

[32:44] And now they know for certain exactly what was told and had been decreed. And it also carried the influence, like we saw tonight, more persuasive that the king did that.

[32:55] And then we see in longevity as well, the written word, more permanent than the spoken word. Without a doubt, the written word is superior.

[33:07] Superior to the spoken word. And just we'll close here in a moment. But what good is the spoken word anyway after it's spoken? After it's moments even after it's spoken.

[33:21] Think about a courtroom scene. And think about a lawyer or a prosecutor, whoever it is. And as they're going, someone gives a testimony. And it's their words.

[33:34] Remember, by thy words thou shalt be justified. And by thy words thou shalt be condemned. And it's their words that they're testifying to the court as a witness. And so the person's just going on and asking other questions and talking to the jury and saying, wait a minute, exactly what was that you said?

[33:55] Can we have it read back? And they'll read back, word for word, what the testimony of that witness was.

[34:05] The witness doesn't even have to be there anymore. It could be days later. The spoken word, the man heard it with his ears. But when he's trying to build his case or put some things together and make a point, wait a minute, I can't say exactly what it was that you said.

[34:20] I don't have the details down, but it's been written. And because it's been written, the spoken word just comes and goes. But when it's recorded, it lasts.

[34:32] When it's recorded, there's longevity. It's more permanent than the spoken word. It's more accurate, more persuasive, more power. The written word of God is securely preserved for generations, for centuries, for millennia, but as God says, forever.

[34:50] And so God chose the written word to preserve his truth far beyond the spoken word. One more verse, and we'll quit here. Look at Psalm 102.

[35:00] Psalm 102 is just a, this has other application, but this hits the spot very well. Psalm 102.

[35:14] And notice verse number 18. Psalm 102.18. The written word of God has longevity.

[35:39] The written word of God, the very purpose of this exact spot here is for the future. God, he knows what he's doing with the written word.

[35:50] He was right on to give us the written word. What man sometimes sadly wants is a vision, something supernatural, something else.

[36:02] And I think I'm trying to prove to you the written word is far superior than the spoken word. Now, I'll close with this thought. I told you Sunday that my wife's a good preacher, and I'll stand by that.

[36:18] When we left last Sunday, last Wednesday, she made a comment. She's like, what was it? She said her name's written, written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

[36:31] And I'm glad that it is. And I thought, ooh, go ahead, sister. That's good right there. My name's written down. I looked up those verses. A couple spots where it refers to it being written down are some saints in Philippians whose names are in the Book of Life.

[36:49] I thought, thank God. It's more permanent. It's written. It's more powerful because it's written. It's more accurate. It's in there. I hope your name's written in the Book of Life.

[36:59] I hope you know that. It's recorded. It's settled. Praise the Lord. You can't lose that. He's not erasing that. All right, so let's close in prayer. God, thank you for the written Word of God.

[37:12] And, Lord, that's the emphasis tonight. That's all we have from you. And so, Lord, may it be precious to us. Help us to study it, to read it, to never neglect it. God, help us to fall in love with that book.

[37:26] I pray that you'll speak to our hearts through it. I pray that you'll draw us to it. Help us to realize just how powerful that book is. And then, Lord, give us an appetite for it.

[37:39] Give us a taste for how good it is and how helpful it is for us. And, Lord, this world has the entertainment, and it has the supernatural stuff they claim and they pretend.

[37:52] And, God, we know better. We don't need it. But may we act upon what we do know. May we read that book. I thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[38:04] Thank you for tonight. And, Lord, I pray that the words tonight would be edifying to each one. I thank you again for another opportunity just to get together on a Wednesday night. Please bless all that's done this week. And, God, I pray that if the world took a little piece of anybody this week and got them down in any way, I just pray you'd restore unto them the joy of their salvation.

[38:24] Let them leave here rejoicing in Christ. And bless our fellowship as we leave. Bless those kids and those teens and the fun that they have with the pinata thing.

[38:35] And, God, just draw us to Christ and a fellowship in him. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. We're done. You're dismissed. Lottery tickets are still.