The Sufficiency of Scripture

[0:00] Amen. We'll remain standing. I'll ask Brother Simon to come forward.! We'll ask that in Jesus' name.

[0:31] Amen. Please be seated. I don't want to put Simon on the spot here, but for those that don't know Simon, the Lord touched Simon as the door-witnessing, the door-knocking team hit Simon's door and knocked his door.

[0:47] He trusted the Lord only just really a few months ago. He's been baptised, and now Simon himself is part of the door-knocking team. So, wow, isn't that a wonderful testimony?

[0:58] I'm not going to embarrass you, Simon, but we thank God for what he's doing in your life as really somewhat new Christian, really. And friends, if a new Christian can be so full-on, why not we that are older, as older Christians, older in years, older in our faith?

[1:16] Let's get on with it. Amen. Let's be stirred up to works of service, to do exploits. Amen. Do exploits. Glory. Let's go to Psalm 19, please.

[1:28] Psalm 19. Psalm 19.

[1:44] We'll get there shortly. Let's just pray again. Dear Lord God, we thank you for everyone here tonight, for every soul, those watching also. Lord, for your working in our hearts.

[1:56] We thank you for our sister Pat rejoining us after some ill health. Lord, we thank you for each one that is here, whatever their situation in life. Lord, that we can come as a humble people before your word, and to take heart, and to be stirred up by it.

[2:16] Lord, to be stirred into action, we pray. In Jesus' precious name. Amen. Really tonight, it's a somewhat doctrinal message, you could say.

[2:27] The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. As a church, we stand for the authority of the Bible, that we hold to what's called the sufficiency of Scripture.

[2:40] What is that? We're going to look at what that is, and why it matters, why it counts. It is an important teaching that the Bible is sufficient. This doctrine teaches the Bible is all sufficient.

[2:53] In other words, the Bible is the final authority. In the Bible alone, God has given for us all things that are necessary to understand.

[3:04] Who he is, who we are, and how he has acted in the past, and what he expects from us. So friends, the sufficiency of Scripture, it's a very important Bible doctrine.

[3:17] It's really, it's a doctrine that's under attack. There's some attack to this concept that the Bible is enough. The Bible is sufficient. Nowadays, we see, as any church can be prone to many of these things, and I'm talking with folk, look, and they're saying about, as I say, churches out there, that church, or this church, they're not, they're not right.

[3:43] But I look at, really, our own church too. Say, but for the grace of God. You know, we are just as, potentially at risk as any church, to go flaky, to go soft, to go off track.

[3:57] And friends, we're seeing this so much the more, as we're seeing worldly ideas, we're seeing people, preachers using management and marketing techniques, worldly methods, drawing crowds with entertainment, using what they call extra biblical revelations, or mysticism, psychological techniques.

[4:18] There's all these things out there. And there's some churches, they act as if they need something more, something more than the word of God. It's got to be something more. We've just got to jazz it up a bit, or add to it.

[4:29] So to have something a bit more lively, a bit more kind of appealing. But the word of God, our Lord says, in John 10, 27, my sheep hear my voice.

[4:42] And I know them, and they follow me. Amen. And friends, his voice is all that we need to hear. Truly. And the scriptures are his voice.

[4:55] I know I talked about it last week, you know, have I got a word from the Lord for you? Yeah, it's right here. This is the word from the Lord. We don't need some voice, we don't need some latter-day prophet.

[5:06] You know, we know what kind of trouble that gets people into. As it were, latter-day prophets and latter-day revelations, they can be very flaky and shaky ground. But his word is his voice.

[5:20] And the scriptures are completely and utterly sufficient. That's not to say we can't have exposition and challenge and preaching that exhorts us to works of service and things that may be outside of the Bible, but they're not contradicting the Bible, is the point.

[5:40] Must not contradict the Bible. And I was talking with a friend yesterday about this. You can actually get an inspired King James Version. I don't know if you've heard of that one.

[5:51] Who's heard of that one? It's called the Inspired King James Bible. And it's had little extra bits put in it by none other than the prophet Joseph Smith.

[6:03] Joseph Smith. You know, the Mormons have got their own King James Bible that actually adds prophecies about the prophet Joseph Smith in their Bible. It's shocking.

[6:15] It is shocking. Now, you go to Genesis 50, I think it is, and where it talks about, you know, the Joseph of the Bible, and Joseph Smith has written in his own little bits to say that he would come one day.

[6:29] It's shocking. It's disgusting. It's vile. And then you've got, of course, you've got Ellen G. White with her kind of extra books that are supposedly as inspired as the Bible.

[6:41] You know, there's many Latter-day prophets that come and go and bring these extra revelations. Friends, it's dangerous ground. And we don't want a bar of that.

[6:52] The Bible has been given and it's complete. It's complete for us. We don't need pragmatism. We don't need watered-down words of men, some cultural wisdom, some psychobabble.

[7:03] We don't need some mystical intuitions and positive thinking and some man-centred programs or even political agendas. We want the Word. The Word. That's what we want, and I'm sure that's what you're here for tonight.

[7:16] Friends, there's a famine of biblical preaching, of a biblical illiteracy, and we all need to dig deep into the Word. And I know it's good to sharpen.

[7:28] Iron sharpens iron to get together. I know some of the young fellas got together today for a coffee after church and sharpen one another and have some kind of good, robust interchange, you know, that kind of interplay of bouncing things off each other, talking about the Scriptures together, talking about spiritual truths together so you can grow, and that's how we can not succumb to being biblically illiterate.

[7:58] And, friends, we must uphold the Word of God and treasure it. And we'll get to Psalm 19 shortly, but Psalm 138, verse 2, it says, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth.

[8:14] For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. And that's very significant, is it not? That in the Word of God, he's lifted it even, as it were, above his name.

[8:27] In other words, we should uphold the Word of God and treasure it. And, friends, as we receive the Word of God, as we join in Bible study times, as we hear the Word of God preached, or we might tune in on our electric gadgets to get some MP3s or MP4s and whatever the latest high-tech is, to get the Word in the ear holes.

[8:52] Amen? That's what we need, don't we? To hear the Word of God preached, to gather around it, to hear the voice of God through the biblical text. And God uses the preaching of his Word, as much as the world would count that foolishness, to expose the foolishness of men.

[9:08] As it points to Christ alone, the preaching of the cross, the preaching of the Word, we need that. David rejoiced in God's Word. And here we come to Psalm 19, where we're just going to take that portion from verse 7 through 11.

[9:22] Psalm 19, a word of the Word of God. And we might stand as we read these verses 7 through 11. Feel free to read along with me.

[9:33] Psalm 19, verses 7 through 11. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

[9:46] The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

[9:58] The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

[10:11] Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Amen. Please be seated. It's good to stand for the Word of God.

[10:22] We don't always make that necessarily done as a has-to thing, but it's good to honour the Word of God. I know when the mayor of the city walks into the council chambers, they say, everyone rise.

[10:39] Not because he is any more special or important than any other human, but because of the office that he represents, because of the charge that he has, because of the authority that he has.

[10:50] We stand for this book, don't we? Because it has authority, doesn't it? It has absolute authority. And when the governor general walks in the room and they say, they play the national anthem, and they say, everyone rise, because we're standing for the representation of royalty.

[11:06] We represent, we stand before the Word of the King, don't we? The King of kings and the Lord of lords, and he's exalted his Word above his name. So it's very precious. So we're going to go to Psalm 19 and just unpack these verses we've just read together.

[11:21] Verse 7, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. Think of the law of the Lord. It is perfect.

[11:33] In other words, it's complete. It's sufficient. There's a sufficiency to it. God's Word is comprehensive in that it gives everything for us that we need for our spiritual life and for us to grow in that spiritual life.

[11:48] The Bible records all of the things we need to know about God. God's Word is complete and sufficient for our faith and conduct. You know, it's kind of a standard wording in kind of doctrinal statements, isn't it?

[12:02] That the Bible is our rule of faith and conduct. It's our rule of faith and conduct. It is our guide, our authoritative guide.

[12:18] It is complete and sufficient for our faith and conduct. We need nothing more. Now, some would try to add to what the Bible says and say, you've got to do this and you've got to do that. Well, if it's not inside the cover of this book, we don't got to do that.

[12:33] No. But we need nothing more than this book to equip us for our life of faith and service to God. It's complete. Friends, it's complete. It has integrity.

[12:44] And it says here, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. It brings a conversion of soul. It brings a renewing, a reviving.

[12:54] It breathes life. It's the word of life. It's refreshing. It's the bread of life. God's word is sufficient for us, friends, to be saved and to be sanctified, to save people and to build people, to build you in your Christian walk and faith.

[13:10] And it holds all, all that is necessary. It is perfect. It is complete for your spiritual life. It produces spiritual life. It's life-giving. Contrast this with the imperfect, insufficient, flawed reasoning of man.

[13:31] You know, take some science textbooks of maybe 50, 100 years ago and actually, no, we don't believe that anymore. Or, you know, you get it.

[13:42] I know when you go to maybe a second-hand bookstore and you might buy a first aid manual. A first aid manual. And you see what they used to tell people.

[13:53] Say, oh, we don't do that anymore. Or, as in exercise books too. They tell you to do certain exercises. Now, they say, actually, don't do that exercise anymore. It's actually doing you more harm than good.

[14:04] But, friends, this book, it doesn't get changed as in, it doesn't need to be altered. It doesn't need to be corrected as it were. This is the book that corrects us. Amen.

[14:15] And the word of God, it says that it is perfect converting the soul. God's word ministers to the soul. It converts the soul. And scripture, friends, scripture is so powerful that it can transform an entire person.

[14:30] Changing someone into a new person that God wants him or her to be. We can be made a new creation. Amen. Amen. This is life-changing, is it not? Yes, it is.

[14:41] God's word is sufficient to convert the soul, to reveal salvation, to even the most broken of lives as well, such that this book is for you, it is humanity-wide.

[14:56] It is for us, this book. Verse 7 goes on. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Scripture is sure, it is trustworthy, it is reliable, steadfast, dependable, faithful, is it not?

[15:16] Word of God, it's sure, this is a sure thing. This is absolutely, you can have assurance, you can be assured. It imparts wisdom and it can be trusted.

[15:27] Friends, the word of God, it is sure. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Friends, this is actually the revelation of God's man. This is not a revelation of man, this is the revelation of God, true man to man, the word of God.

[15:44] And we know, I know, Peter and I have had some time together knocking doors and it's interesting, it gives me lots of sermon illustrations when you knock on the doors and people give you all these kind of arguments and I'm just trying to think how it went now that something along the lines of, oh, I'm scientific, you know, it's almost like they're higher than the Bible because they've got some, they're intellectual as such.

[16:15] But friends, this actually is what makes wise the simple. This is the wisdom that people need, not man's wisdom, not some intellectual airy-fairy wisdom and, you know, they would discount us and I say, well, Peter's a uni student, I've got a master's degree.

[16:31] No, we're not saying that we're any less academic than the average Joe. It's actually an intelligent thing to know God. It's actually an intelligent thing to believe the Bible and to know this is the truth from God and it does make wise the simple.

[16:46] It gives insight, it gives wisdom and it can be trusted. The sure foundation here which is a foundation that can build our lives, our eternal destiny. Really, here is the wisdom of life.

[16:57] This is what makes wise the simple. And friends, those who reject it are the simple, is it not? They're rejecting the word of God. There's wisdom here, proper understanding of life, of God, of ourself, of others and it is for the simple.

[17:12] In other words, there's no one who can be too simple that they cannot receive it. This is so wide world effective that those who might be the discount as being simple can receive it.

[17:30] In fact, the more simple we get, the better, is it not? Sometimes we get too highfaluting, we can get too high and mighty that actually we just need to simply receive what it says.

[17:41] And you see, sometimes those that others would count as simpletons, as people that might be lacking upstairs, they receive it and thank God they're saved.

[17:55] You don't have to be some brainy mind to get this book but the simple who do receive it are made wise. Wiser than the world would reckon.

[18:07] The good news is friends, this book is such that it makes wise the simple. In other words, it's for the ordinary people. It's for the guy down the road. It's for the man whose brain is foggy with smoking ice or shooting up or who is lying in the gutter drunk and paralytic that no one is beyond the reach of the message of this book if they would simply receive it.

[18:37] This book is not reserved for the privileged few. In old time, in the dark ages, there was only those who were kind of academic, kind of the highly trained, the priesthood of the day.

[18:55] They knew the book. They had access to the book and the common people never had the book. Then God opened through the reformation the printing of this book, the language of the common people.

[19:08] In Gutenberg and Luther, the Luther Bible in Germany and of course Wycliffe and Tyndale, the word of God in the King James, it was mass produced and the common people could hear the word in their own language.

[19:22] Friends, that's what God wants. He wants the man on the street to get this book and it's like, was it Spurgeon said, he wants the plow boy to be able to get this book and to take it in and such that if we have ears to hear, God can speak to the most simple and make them wise.

[19:39] Verse 8, it goes on, the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. These are statutes. In other words, they're precepts, God's rules laid down for us.

[19:51] Now, sometimes we don't like the rules, do we? The driving rules, the fines that might be incurred by rules that we might not like, but whether we like it or not, these are God's rules.

[20:07] It's not like they're optional. They are God's rules. There's rules here. And they're laid down for us because God wants us to have that which is right and to recognise that which is wrong.

[20:18] This word right, it speaks of someone who's on the true path in the sense that the word of God gives us a path to walk, gives us a way to go. Through that difficult maze of life, the word of God is right.

[20:32] It's the right way to live. It's the right way to believe. It's the way, the way, the truth and the life. It's the best way. The statutes of the Lord are right. This is the right way to go.

[20:43] Young man, young woman, this is the way to head that course for life, to stay that course, to go this right way. The statutes of the Lord are right. It's the right thing, the right path to take.

[20:55] And it says it's rejoicing the heart. Rejoicing the heart. Friends, God's word, it brings great joy. The joy that this book gives to the soul.

[21:07] This is a joy that's not some passing emotional high from drink or drugs that then leaves you with a downer, with a hangover.

[21:21] this book is joy unspeakable. The message of this book is joy beyond compare, joy without comparison. This is a joy and gladness that is out of this world and out of this life time zone.

[21:36] This joy that we have from this book brings joy to the heart such that there's a joy inside of us and there's joy in heaven. There's rejoicing amongst the angels when someone trusts the Lord of this book.

[21:50] There's joy to the heart it says. It brings joy to the heart. That's verse 8 how it talks about the word of God. It's rejoicing the heart.

[22:02] The heart is the control centre if you like of our lives isn't it? And we want to get that right. The rejoicing of the heart. When your heart gets changed, when your heart gets touched that the old stony heart is taken out and the living remade heart, the free fashioned heart, the heart after God comes in, there's a joy that comes deep down inside of you, in the very core of your being, the joy of knowing the saviour.

[22:29] Nothing beats that. And divine truth is that source of truth and lasting joy and gladness. Verse 8 continues, the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes.

[22:42] It's saying here that this book is a commandment. Again, this is, actually, that's, we should take heed of commandments, shouldn't we? We should actually take notice when something is a commandment. In other words, this is not a book of suggestions.

[22:56] This is a book of commandment, the commandment of God. He commands us. It's not optional. And, friends, what it's saying, if you really nuts it out, is this is the final authority over all matters of faith and conduct, as I've said.

[23:12] In other words, what it says goes. And to treat it lightly, there's eternal consequences for that. Some would discount this book and count it just another book amongst many books.

[23:27] But this book is the one book that is beyond compare. You know, there was one preacher that was dying, I think it was at Wesley or someone, and he said, bring me the book.

[23:39] And I imagine he had a library of books, but there was only one book that he really needed. And when you're on your deathbed, friends, there's one book you want to make sure that you've got a hold of that, that message of that book.

[23:54] Friends, when we consider scripture as commandments, we should take it such that this is, actually this is serious, this is important, this is needful for me.

[24:09] And I know, as I sometimes have referred, and I know I touched on it last week too, that as I did mention, through my courting days, that I was removed from my sweetheart for seven months, as a kind of compressed course I was doing in Queensland, and Julie was here, and we corresponded through that time, and she would send me love letters.

[24:39] We were courting, we were knighting, as it were, then shortly got engaged, very quick engagement, three months, and got married. So that was when I was 19, I was full of wisdom at that age of course, and we know that we corresponded through that time with these love letters, and of course Julie, she hates me saying this, but she used to write on the back of the letter, S-W-A-L-K, who knows what that means, sealed with a loving kiss, and then she would sprinkle perfume on it, she's going red now, but of course I would do the same to her, and I would sprinkle a bit of aftershave on mine, but I was at Bible school at the time, and the Bible school principal used to have a go at me, and the teachers, when the letters addressed, oh my sweetheart darling Andrew, came to the Bible school post box, and I used to get a bit of ribbing from my fellow students there, but there's a sense where, you know, there's that love letter, isn't it, this is the love letter, is it not, from the lover of your soul, doesn't that matter, the one who loves you, who loved you such that he gave his blood, his life, shed, for you, this is his love letter, so, oh, shouldn't we, like I would have, you know, like I would have rushed to the post box, oh, is there another letter, and of course there was a letter just about every day, and that says, we've got to get the love letter and read it, and I've got to read it really carefully too, it's very important to read that love letter, is it not, the one who loves you has written you a love letter, called the

[26:27] Bible, amen, so, the commandment of the Lord is sure, pure rather, enlightening the eyes, and friends, it's pure, this is a pure word, in Psalm 119, 140, it says, thy word is very pure, therefore, thy servant loveth it, thy word is very pure, thy servant loveth it, amen, love that word, love it like a love letter, it's pure, God's word is clear, in other words, it reveals eternity, the destiny of man, and brings spiritual understanding, Spurgeon says of its purity, no mixture of error defiles it, no stain of sin pollutes it, it is the unadulterated milk, the undiluted wine, there's no mixture here, friends, it's pure, the word of God is pure, and you can know that, as much as some would print some with all these little margins, as in,

[27:28] I mean, the King James has marginal, as in, alternative readings, but there's not the sense of, well, this might not be in there, actually, I know this is pure, I know it's pure, and we could talk more at length on that, to put that argument to you, if you're not of that persuasion, but it's pure, it's clear, it's bright, and God's word, it's full of gracious truths, and it says there's an enlightening of the eyes, an enlightening of the eyes, in other words, brings light, it illuminates, it brings light to the eyes, now, it's been said, the eyes are the window of the soul, and even like a little pet dog, knows when the master looks at it, whoa, they can read what the eyes are saying, there's that sense where the eyes show, and friends, there's an internal joy that comes out of your eyes as a believer, is there not?

[28:22] The word of God, and he turns that spiritual light on, and the light bulb goes on, as such, that the word of God, it brings light, it's these shocking, radiant, startling beams of light, and we see the light, the word of God, it literally gives light, it shines, and it becomes light, and God turns that spiritual light on, and friends, shouldn't we be lightened, enlightened, I know a dear brother of mine was talking to me recently, it was talking about how John the Baptist was a burning and shining light, you know, Christians want to shine, but they don't want to burn, yeah, good one, I like that, worth writing that one down, isn't it?

[29:08] It'd be a burning and shining, not just shining, but burning, a burning and shining light, we've got to be willing to burn for God, burn brightly, amen, and so there's that joy that radiates, it enlightens the eyes, it means it gives light, it shines, and then we go on verse 9, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring, forever, this is a holy book, it's a holy Bible, this is holy, is it not?

[29:38] The word of God, it draws us to that reverential awe of God, to reverence our God, to worship him, to uphold him with that holy fear, this is a fearful book, in the sense that we should tremble at the word, in the sense that the Lord commands those who would tremble at his word, in the sense that we don't treat this trivially,!

[30:19] and we can easily get soiled without meaning to, the contamination from the world, you know, if you're not careful, you're going to get contaminated with COVID, you've got to watch it, it's all around you, and it's invisible, you could be sat next to someone who's got COVID tonight, you know, there's a sense where, I'm just trying to illustrate the point that there's impurity and there's germs all over this place, this is just filled with germs, but in the sense, spiritually speaking, the world's like that, isn't it?

[30:55] You know, it talks about being, keep yourself unspotted from the world, the world is full of sin and corruption, but in contrast, this book, it is clean, clean, and it's eternally perfect, it says it's enduring forever, forever, so the word of God is eternally perfect, as our Lord says, not one jot or tittle, I'm going to pass away, says my word, it's forever, and it's permanent, it's unchanging, some are trying to change it such that they're actually ripping whole bits out of it, now the Reader's Digest Bible, that's a shorter read for you, if you want one, friends, you don't want to make it shorter, you want the whole thing, amen, not changed, and it's revelation for every generation, such that when I'm long dead and buried, and there's grass growing out of my grave, that this book will stand, and it'll still be relevant, this revelation is always relevant, some would think we need relevance, well there's nothing more relevant than this book, this is absolutely relevant, and it never will cease to be, it's always up to date, it's never outdated, it never needs alteration because it is eternal, and scripture has always been and always will be eternally perfect and sufficient, verse 9 goes on, the judgments of the

[32:22] Lord are true and righteous all together, it's saying these are judgments, friends this book is full of judgments, in other words ordinances, divine verdicts, from the bench of the supreme judge of the earth, this gives us God's decisions, and decisions and judgments yet to come, God's standard for judging, the life and eternal destiny of everyone, and this comprehensive righteousness, it says, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous all together, such that the Bible's truthfulness, it produces a comprehensive righteousness, they are true and righteous all together, in other words, what it's saying is, the Bible speaks what is right, it produces what is right, it's completely and absolutely just and right, so we don't judge by situational ethics as it were, in other words, by whatever the government policy of the day might be or whatever the philosophies or the fads of reasonings of man of the time, this is actually what we go by, this is the rule of faith and conduct, a rule, in other words, it's a straight measuring stick and it's also called a plumb line, isn't it, in Amos, it's like a plumb line, in other words, it goes straight up and down, this is straight up and down and when you're building a house and you're laying those bricks there in your back yard and you're building that structure, you want to make sure you've got a straight edge and this is the plumb line.

[34:06] Don't deviate from it, in other words. It's absolutely right, true and we read on verse 10, more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much, fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

[34:25] lean tongue, you can imagine he's got gold under his mattress there at home, he's been piling it up, stockpiling it and he's got all this gold there and it's fine gold but friends this book says this book is much more valuable than all of lean tongue's gold even though he's a very wealthy man and this is the reality is it not?

[34:55] Word of God and now I heard sister Jen is keeping some beehives and she's got how many beehives? Just a few, was it 12 or something?

[35:07] And she was talking about the wax and I imagine she's got the lovely honeycomb and friends this is sweeter than Jen's honeycomb, it's sweeter than Jen's honey and the value of the word.

[35:20] Friends this is what it is, isn't it? Value of the word. This word is worth more than gold. We can spend a lifetime amassing gold and what's that going to be at the end of your life that you leave it behind?

[35:32] There's nothing really to show for it at the end because it's gone. But the word of God is much better, much more important than earthly wealth and much more than the earth's greatest pleasures.

[35:50] As we consider, I love having a honey sandwich. I almost, I can't just taste it. When I leave church sometimes I think I've just got to go and get that bread and butter, just put some nice thick honey on it.

[36:06] Something that kind of just, get that kind of feeling for it. This is much more to be designed, much more precious, much more important and it'll do you much more good and more than all the earth's greatest pleasures, whatever they be, whether it's honey for you or something else, but nothing beats the word of God.

[36:23] Verse 11, Moreover, by them is thy servant warned and in keeping of them there is great reward. Friends, in keeping, in taking them, your servant is warned.

[36:35] We should be warned. There's warning in this book too. And there's warning because we need warning. We need spiritual protection. We need to edify, exhort, rebuke.

[36:48] We need to have that protection from God because there's many spiritual dangers around us. We need to receive warning and to get the word of God is the source of greatest profit, really, isn't it?

[37:00] The great reward and riches. Someone has summed it up like this about the profit for your soul. Notice the T words here. We teach God's word because it enlightens.

[37:11] We trust it because it is true and righteous. We treasure it because it is more to be desired than gold and we may even taste the word as 1 Peter 2 verse 3 says.

[37:23] And really, we can see this word can be written in our hearts such that it's portable too, that we can actually have it without having it in electronic media or in print media.

[37:38] We can have it in the heart media. Just thought of that one. That's a good one, isn't it? We can have it in the heart media. Hide it in your heart. That's what we need to do, don't we? But hide it in the, as it were, the hard disk of your heart.

[37:51] Hopefully you've got a soft disk in your heart as a Christian. But his word is enough, isn't it? His word is enough. That's the point. And we should be able to understand. And the word of God, it should be understood by the great majority of people.

[38:04] Because every believer should study the Bible for themselves. It's not like you need to have some important person, some teacher to teach you.

[38:14] The word of itself is sufficient. In the sense if you're marooned on some desert island and you couldn't tune into the broadcast from the Pope in Rome, you're not going to miss out on anything.

[38:28] And you certainly wouldn't miss out on anything even if you did tune into the Pope. Because friends, you don't need some man to interpret the book. Now we've got people that come knocking on your doors and they have to have the Watchtower magazine to interpret the Bible for them, to tell them what to believe about the Bible.

[38:46] But we are not such a people. Amen? We don't need some God's organisation, as it were, the Watchtower, or some Pope from Rome, or some great theological teacher necessarily to inform us as much as there might be some value in study and receiving different expositions of the Word.

[39:08] But ultimately and absolutely you as an individual believer have the sufficiency of Scripture. That's the point that I'm making tonight. And friends, we've got that faith once delivered for the saints that Jude talks about.

[39:23] His Word is sufficient. Sufficient for you. And really this runs contrary to much teaching that's around today. A son would kind of jump on this bandwagon and I used to jump on it.

[39:35] I've got to confess I was on the bandwagon in some measure. To think, well, we've got to have some additional revelations. You know, if there's some prophet coming, we've got to go and hear him.

[39:49] Some evangelist coming. Some apostle coming even. That we should go and hear what they have to say. Some visions, some words of prophecy, some insights.

[40:01] Friends, that can get right off track. Right off track. I can see that very clearly. That there's no such a thing. God's Word stands complete. Comprehensive.

[40:12] And that the canon, as in the 66 books, is complete. There's no adding to it. There's no adding to it. And it stands comprehensive. Absolutely.

[40:24] We don't need some revelation of men. We need God's glorious revelation. And more of this. That's what we need. More of the Bible. More of that.

[40:34] To study it. To obey it. Friends, the Bible shows us the way to be saved. Paul told Timothy, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

[40:55] This book is able to make you wise unto salvation. This tells you how to be saved. You can get this book without any human commentator or assistant and you can get saved from this book.

[41:08] Faith cometh by hearing by the word of God. It gives us the answers to vital questions. Our Lord Jesus says, search ye the scriptures. Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me, says our Lord.

[41:23] Search the scriptures. Paul says, 2 Timothy 2.15, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, lightly dividing word of truth.

[41:35] Study. Of course we know that one, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

[41:47] That the man of God might be perfect, freely furnished unto all good works. Everything is here. At your hands. At your fingertips. Now, that's not to say you can't use some Bible helps, some Bible dictionaries, some good, useful commentaries.

[42:05] It's about exercising discernment as to which ones, but that you essentially take the word as read and just expand your understanding of it. I know we talked on Thursday last about there's some good Bible software and it's completely free called eSword and we would recommend that as a means of putting it on your computer at home such that you can study and interrogate, you can compare, you can dig deep.

[42:37] It's great research there. It's called the eSword, the Bible software program. There's lots of ways we and all this modern technology all around us can help us. We've just got to be careful for the false teachers and teachings that are out there.

[42:49] And God's word, it provides everything necessary for us to understand his plan and to live a godly life. Friends, 2 Peter 1.3 reads this, it says, According to us, his divine power have given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

[43:23] His divine power given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, exceeding great and precious promises.

[43:37] The Lord will bless you as you open his word, as you take it to heart, as you walk in obedience to him. There's a promise here in Psalm 119, verse 1, close.

[43:50] Now read that one for your homework tonight. Psalm 119, before your head hits the pillow. Psalm 119, a blessed psalm, full of the word of God. And it says this in Psalm 119, verse 1, Blessed are they.

[44:04] Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. It's a blessing. You that are undefiled in the way, that you walk in the law of the Lord.

[44:15] Friends, this book, we believe as a church in the sufficiency of scripture, such that this Bible itself is sufficient for us to know all that we need to know about God, who he is and what he wants for us.

[44:30] And as we study his word, the Bible, these truths about him and his plan will help us to live right, to live the life, the best life, your best life now.

[44:40] Really, it is that, isn't it? To know Jesus as saviour and Lord, that is the best life. Not that there's any need for trappings or prosperity, as some faith prosperity preachers would say.

[44:54] No, this is the best. To know Jesus as saviour and Lord, that's the very best, very best life, to know him. And we should search the scriptures because they are they which testify of him.

[45:05] We can test everything by scripture too. So when you're getting these conflicting messages, you're getting all of these, you're getting barraged by different teachings that might be contradictory, that you test everything by the word of God.

[45:20] Test what I say. Test whatever anyone says that you tune into. Does it line up? Is it scripture? Is it biblical? And apply ourselves to study his word, to find out what he says on particular matters.

[45:34] and evaluate all by this, the infallible source, the Holy Bible. And friends, I urge you to that end. And for some might have questions, this is only just touching the surface.

[45:50] If you've got doubts about the Bible, we can have more of an in-depth conversation. I'd love to take that further with you. But friends, to nuts it right down, he makes wise the simple.

[46:03] Sometimes we can get too many intellectual arguments and reasonings that we'll never get the complete answer to this side of heaven. There isn't actually a comprehensive answer for all of the technicalities of the Bible.

[46:22] One day, we'll know as we are known. I like to kind of say, well, you that disagree with me when we get to heaven, he's going to straighten you all out. But of course, no, honestly, I know he's going to straighten me out too because I'm sure there's still some measure of fault in me by no means.

[46:42] Julie can tell you all about them. Friends, honestly and seriously, friends, trust him. Be simple enough to say, yes, Lord, I believe. You died for sinners.

[46:52] You died for me. I believe I'd receive your saving. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your mercy and grace extends to humanity, to this very place, to these very seats, to this very point, to these very souls, that you care about each one such that you've written us all this love letter that you care so much to give us, to share with us.

[47:16] And Lord, yet so often that love letter just lies gathering dust and we don't really care to read it. Lord, forgive us for that. Forgive me for that, Lord. I pray, Lord, help us to be a people who will be students of your word.

[47:31] And we pray if there's any yet to trust you, they'll be simple enough to say, yes, I trust you, and that will make them wiser than the wisest of doctors without this saving.

[47:41] Lord, that we can know that that beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of you as Lord and Saviour. Lord, we pray each one might know that and grow in that. Help us, Lord, we pray.

[47:53] In Jesus' name. Let's pray.