Eat The Word

A world full of takes can still leave a soul empty. We turn to Revelation 10, where a mighty angel plants one foot on sea and one on land, to ask a simple but defining question: who gets to be right when we disagree—our feeds or our Father? Before history resolves, God speaks, and that speech carries authority wide enough to claim every inch of creation and close enough to form the habits of your day.

If this episode strengthens your resolve to put Scripture first, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review with one concrete step you’re taking this week to “eat this book.”

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening, Prayer, And Context
• 3:30 Reading Revelation 10
• 6:40 A Year Grounded In Core Practices
• 11:05 Drowning In Opinions, Starving For Truth
• 18:00 Scripture’s Authority Over Us
• 24:20 Has God Truly Spoken?
• 30:30 Universal Scope And Wise Restraint
• 35:00 Daily Rhythms Of Consuming Scripture
• 39:50 Eat This Book: Beyond Fast Inspiration
• 44:50 Conviction’s Bitterness And Healing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:20

Everyone shoveled their driveways and plowed their yards and was able to get here after the snow and the cold. And no, just because I'm from New Hampshire, I don't like this weather. Please asking me that. It's partly part of the reason we're in Kentucky was to escape this weather, and the fact that it's here is bothersome to me. We're going to be in the book of Revelation today, Revelation chapter 10. Revelation chapter 10, and I will pray for our time. Lord God, this morning we pray for our nation. We plead for peace. I pray for every man and woman who right now has to put on a uniform and has taken a vow to serve and to protect our nation. I pray for their safety. I pray for their families. I pray for the men and women who right now are working in our jail. I pray for their safety. I pray that you might bless them somehow today, Lord. And Lord, we pray for our community. We ask for peace. We ask that every single person who is held captive to addiction would be set free. We pray that every single person who deals addiction would lose their freedom and see justice. But even in that justice that they might find you. Lord, we are beset upon all sides with addiction and crime and homelessness. Help us, Lord, to be a lighthouse. Help us to show Christ to a darkened dying world. And we confess that our minds are often crowded with noise, whether it's headlines or feeds or opinions and just constant distraction. We've given our attention to voices that cannot give life. And we have neglected the voice that created and sustains us. Forgive us for being quick to scroll and slow to listen, eager for updates but slow to prayer. Turn our hearts from what merely informs or agitates us, and lead us to hunger for that which is true and eternal and good. And we pray for our church, Father, for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit even today. Awake the sleeper, encourage the worker, strengthen every heart that follows you, and help us as we read your word to be changed by it. May we not just hear the words of a mere man, but may we hear from you by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen. Revelation chapter 10. I'm going to read the whole thing. Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he called out with a loud voice like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded, and when the seven thunders sounded, it was I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down. And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven, and he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, and there would be no more delay. But that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled just as he announced to his servants the prophets. Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, Take and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter, and I was told you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. This is God's word to us. Well, we are kicking off 2026 with a series of messages dedicated to the basics of our faith. Pastor Mick began this work over the last few weeks talking about living on mission. Here I am, Lord, send me. We continue for the next four weeks considering the basic practices of the Christian life. Without a doubt, the world has gone sideways, and we know that it's not finished going sideways. Just when things seem to calm down and life feels a little more peaceful, something else happens and people, Christians, seek answers and stability. People chase the next thing, looking for guidance from social media or influencer pastors or the latest trending voice. And on the other side of that search, they typically find themselves emptied and perhaps even more unsettled than when they began. That's why my goal is to walk through together these four fundamental practices of the Christian life. And these are not new ideas. These are not something I created. They are fundamental practices of the Christian found throughout the New Testament and, of course, throughout church history. These things that I that if we do them with consistency, they ground us in truth and steady us in life. And they are consistent, measured study of the Word of God, consistent and dependent prayer to God, Christ-centered worship, and generous service, or in short, word, prayer, worship, and service. If we give ourselves to these four practices, then no matter what is thrown at us in life, we might struggle, we might have down days, but we will always be standing on the solid ground that is the Lord Jesus Christ. When these practices are put in place with consistency, they steady us no matter what is happening within us or around us. And we begin in the book of Revelation. Revelation has an unfair reputation for being a difficult or a chaotic book, but it's it's neither, it's not chaos at all. It is communication. Before God brings history to its final resolution, he speaks. That is, in the clearest sense, what revelation is, isn't it? God speaking. Revelation is God revealing something to us. And chapter 10 reminds us of something that the church, I think, in every age is tempted to forget. That God governs his world by his word, and God sustains his people through his word. This year, the world is gonna shake. It already has. Judgment's gonna loom. If the Lord doesn't return, then suffering is gonna stretch on. And if the conspiracy nuts are to be believed, gravity's gonna shut off sometime in September for 10 minutes. Stop sending me these things, please. It'd kind of be cool, I guess. Anyway, we need and we'll need endurance, we'll we'll need obedience, and we're gonna need bold witness in an increasingly hostile world. But God does not save us and then set us aside without support or resources. God saves us and then sets us apart. And with the indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit, with his people and the church especially, with his revelation, he gives us the Bible. He gives us the word of God. God prepares us to endure by giving us his word, and then he calls us to receive it fully. So let's break this down into two big pieces today. Let's start with the authority of the Word of God. Look at verse one. Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, his face like the sun, his legs like a pillar of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. And he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. And when he called out, the seven thunders sounded. Friends, we need authority in our lives. We need that which is true. We need something that is completely true, something firm enough to build our lives upon. The greatest challenge of our moment, it's not that we lack information, it's that we are drowning in information. Our culture is drowning in information. We are surrounded by endless voices and headlines and opinions and interpretations, and in this flood, it has become increasingly difficult to know what is actually true and what is just loud. Our media environment, whether it's social media, cable news, print journalism, podcasts, online commentary, is saturated with confirmation bias. I can often tell how someone leans politically simply by where they go to get their news. We want to be right, and we want validation for our opinions and for our viewpoints. We naturally search for, interpret, and accept information that confirms what we already believe. And we dismiss or distrust anything that challenges us. This bias does not lead us toward wisdom, it hardens our position and it distorts our judgment. We stop asking, is this true? Because we're consumed by asking, does this agree with me? So in a world like this, truth truth seems to become tribal. Opinion right now is king. That's why the news never seems to get better. Because it seems like every story is filtered and framed and spun to reinforce a narrative, a story, rather than to reveal reality. Over the past several years, I have been asked more for my, and this is since COVID, I've been asked for my opinion or current take on current events more than at any point in my life. And I appreciate people coming and asking me this question, but sometimes I'm not sure whether they want a biblical perspective or if they just want to know whether I agree with them. So I asked them, do you want to know what the Bible says? Or do you want me to agree with you? I came to terms with something a long time ago. My opinion on things, especially the latest news, is relatively meaningless. My opinion on the latest news is relatively meaningless. If we agree, it changes nothing. But if we disagree, nine times out of ten it shuts the conversation down. Human opinion, mine included, cannot carry the truth that our soul desperately needs. What we can do, however, is reason together under a higher authority. We can open the word of God together, and we can allow the scripture to confront, correct, and shape us. Now we can nod and say, Yeah, that's right. But it's easier said than done. Because unlike our opinions, God's word does not shift with culture, with polling, with personal preference. It doesn't flatter our biases. The word of God does not cater to our assumptions. It stands over us. The word of God stands over us, not alongside us. The Bible doesn't exist to echo what we already think, it exists to renew our minds and to reorient our lives around what God has already said. I mean, that's exactly what Paul said, means when he said that in Romans 12, right? Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The world disciples us. There's three things that the world does to disciple us. It's with repetition, and lately with outrage, and now with affirmation. The world disciples through repetition, outrage, or affirmation. Scripture transforms us, however, by truth. Only then Paul says will we be able to test and approve what God's will is. That means we must begin with the settled conviction that the Bible carries authority over our thoughts. The Bible carries authority over our politics. The Bible carries authority over our instincts and our preferences. So the question is not whether Scripture agrees with us. The question is whether we are willing to submit to the Word of God. Too often we approach the Bible as consumers rather than disciples, asking it to affirm our opinions, justify our instincts, or validate preferences. When Scripture aligns with what we already believe, we celebrate it and we use it against those who might oppose us. But when it confronts us, we explain it away. We soften its edges or we ignore it altogether. Friends, whether you're a Republican, Democrat, or libertarian, this is what the people who are representing you in Washington do to you all the time. Jesus said, and then they use whatever party line. But then when Jesus said something that they don't disagree they don't agree with, what happens? That's what happens. I trust most politicians about as far as I can throw them. Amen, somebody. One exclusion. Because I love it. But the Bible doesn't exist to sit in judgment under us. It stands in judgment over us, right? Friends, here's a here's a hard truth that many people resist. If you disagree with the word of God, you are wrong. If you disagree with the word of God, you are wrong. Now this is this is gonna go on social media, and I'm gonna get canceled for saying that. But I don't care anymore. Because there's gonna come a day I'm gonna stand before God in judgment, and he's gonna say, Did you preach truth? And I'm gonna say, Well, there were people there that I knew disagreed with me politically, so I had to soften the edges. No. If you disagree with the word of God, you are wrong. Somebody. To submit to Scripture means we allow God's word to correct us when we are wrong. Let me say that again. To submit to God's word means that we allow it to correct us when we are wrong. We allow it to restrain us when we are proud. We allow it to humble us when we are self-assured and redirect us when our thinking has been shaped more by culture than by Christ. How does the Bible have this kind of authority over us? Well, the modern skeptic will tell you it's if there's any part of it that the modern skeptic doesn't like, they will simply say, well, it was a human book. It was written by flawed people, and it has limited perspectives. Or has God truly spoken? And if God has spoken, why does he speak the way that he does? Friends, the Bible, listen, the Bible is the most closely studied, transmitted, translated, critically examined collection of writing in the history of humanity. There is no other book, there is no other work, there are no other words that have been more critically studied and examined than the Word of God. For centuries, it's been scrutinized by scholars and uh across cultures and languages and worldviews and believers and skeptics, rigorous disciplines, there's textual criticism, there's archaeology, there's linguistics and history and uh literary analysis, and no other work has generated anything close to the volume of manuscripts and commentaries and critical editions and peer-review research and sustained academic debate than the Bible itself. Every line of the Word of God has been weighed, compared, challenged, and defended across thousands of years. This matters because the authority of Scripture is not rooted in blind faith or intellectual isolation. The Bible has stood under relentless examination and continues to invite it. When I hear a skeptic say, I am going to study the Bible to prove that it is wrong, I back up and I smile, and I'm like, please do. Because when you look through history and you look to some of the greatest skeptics in history who have gone and studied the scripture, what has happened? They have come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than collapsing under scrutiny, the Bible has been preserved with remarkable consistency and depth. Even as scholars have openly debated variants and sources and historical settings, the more archaeologists dig, the more the word of God is validated as true. We would expect the exact opposite to happen. So the result is not a fragile or sheltered book, but one that has endured the most intense scholarly attention in history. But it continues. To shape theology and ethics and culture and lives around the world. From the very beginning, God has chosen to work through humans. He invited humanity to name the animals, to cultivate the earth, to rule over creation alongside him. And throughout scripture, through the prophets and the poets and the kings and the apostles, God consistently reveals himself by working with human partners and through human partners. We see this clearly in the work of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1, the Bible says the Spirit of God hovers over the face of the deep, this personal life-giving presence of God bringing order out of chaos. But what's amazing is that is the only place in the Bible. This is one of the few moments in the Bible where the Spirit acts alone. Because from then on, whenever Scripture speaks of the Spirit's activity, it's always in and through people. God's word becomes visible, audible, and active through human voices and through human hands. This is not a flaw in the process. This is God's design. So the words of Scripture are genuinely human words written in real languages in real moments of history by real people. And yet they're also God's word. They're God breathed, carrying God's authority. God's authority doesn't bypass human authorship. It actually works through it. It is authoritative because that is the way that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. When we submit to Scripture, we're not submitting to human opinion. We are submitting to the living God who speaks with clarity, sufficiency, and purpose. This is exactly what we see here in Revelation 10. John sees this mighty angel descending, and the imagery is overwhelming. It's designed to communicate divine authority, divine glory, and the weight of these things. So when the angel places one foot on the sea and one on the land, the message is clear. God's word has universal authority. There's no corner of creation, there's no culture, no nation, no individual life that lies outside of the rightful claim of the Word of God. John is commanded to seal up what the seven thunders say. We don't know what the seven thunders said. And this restraint teaches us a crucial truth about the authority of the Bible. God has not revealed everything to us, but he has revealed everything we need to know him. God has not revealed everything to us, but he's revealed everything to us that we need to know him. The Bible is not a scientific handbook, although it's scientifically accurate. Scripture is not given to satisfy every curiosity or fuel endless speculation. It's given to make us wise for salvation and faithful in obedience. We don't live by hidden knowledge. We don't live by private revelations. We don't live on spiritual novelty. We live by revelation, clear, sufficient, and God breathed, don't we? Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. If that is true, then consuming the word of God must be a daily practice, not an occasional habit. This means setting aside regular time to study Scripture thoughtfully, to not rushing through it, but listening to it. It means beginning and ending our days shaped more by God's voice than by our phones. Can you imagine standing in a pulpit like this in 1985 and saying you're being shaped by your phones? Anyone remember 1985? Everyone's like, uh it's out my it's at my house, it's on the wall. But today we're shaped by our phones. It means we read the word of God with a plan. We pray through it, what we read, and we allow God's word to linger in our minds throughout the day. It means we sit under the preaching of the Word of God with attentiveness. And we talk about Scripture in our homes and we return to it with when decisions or fears or conflicts arise. Authority only shapes us when we place ourselves under it consistently. We live in an age that's obsessed with opinion. But the authority of God's word stands as our anchor. Spiritual maturity is not found in having the strongest opinion or the loudest voice. It's found in submitting mind, heart, and life to what God has plainly spoken to us. Alistair Begg always says the main things are the plain things. In the Bible, the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things. Revelation 10 reminds us what the church does. The church does not need new words. We need renewed trust in the word already given and the humility to live daily under the authority of God's word. So aside from authority, the second thing that we need to understand is the mission of this book. Look at verse 9. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said, Take and eat it. It'll make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it'll be sweet as honey. The word of God is never given for private enjoyment alone. The word of God is entrusted to us for proclamation. The church does not exist to guard the word like a museum artifact, but to herald it as a royal decree. So, what's the mission of this book? Well, the first thing that we see here, it should be consumed. The word of God, the mission is that it would be consumed. Take and eat it. And I love this verse, take and eat. That's the command. Now, you're like, well, I don't have a knife and fork. This is a metaphor. We're not going to read this literalistically. We're going to read this as it as apocalyptic literature. He says, take and eat. Consume. I mean, we consume news, we consume social media, we consume entertainment. Believer, first and foremost, we must consume the word of God. Eat this book. The word of God is meant to be taken in, not just admired or referenced or consulted occasionally, but received deeply so that it becomes part of who we are. So to consume the word means we do more than just read it for information. We receive it as nourishment for our souls. I mean, food must be eaten and digested and internalized, and it gives life and strength. Scripture must be read and heard and embraced so that shapes our thinking and our desires and our decisions. This isn't Wendy's, man. I ain't a long-haired redhead. God's word is not fast food for quick inspiration. Wendy's a long-haired redhead, right? Did I say that right? God's word is not fast food for quick inspiration. It is daily bread meant to sustain us over time, forming us slowly, forming us faithfully. And I've had people over the years say, hey man, you just got to give me something quick. Give me something quick that can do some change in my life. I don't have anything quick that can, you you, you can't grow on a Twitter version of the Bible, can you? You can't grow on just a little boop and then, hey, oh, hey, I'm good now. I got my one verse. And there are people, there are people that have been in the church for years and years and years who've memorized two or three verses, and that's all they got. But we need to consume the word, the entire word, and have this humble engagement with it regularly, scripture, reading the scripture faithfully, listening attentively when it's preached or when it's taught, and meditating on it prayerfully. Now, meditation is not emptying our minds, it's filling it with God's truth and turning it over and over and over and over again. And asking, what does this reveal about God? How is God revealing something to me? What do I need to do with this? And we don't read it as critics standing over it, but as learners sitting under it, asking the Spirit of God to illuminate what He's already given to us. And that takes time and attention and submission. And to consume the Word also means we allow it to do its work in us. God's word is living and active. It confronts sin, it comforts the weary, it corrects error, it calls us to obedience. When it's not consumed, it doesn't, it'll remain abstract or even theoretical to us. And when that happens, it doesn't produce any fruit in our lives. Consuming the word means we let it become the authority that governs our lives. So that over time our instincts are formed by Scripture, our conscience is calibrated by truth, and our lives reflect Christ. And that's the second part is the second part of the Word of God. The mission is to transform us. So it's to be consumed, and then it is to transform us. What did John say? I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach, it made my stomach bitter. Again, this is a metaphor. John didn't literally eat the words of the scroll. He mentally assimilated them, he believed them, he wrote them down. Something very similar happened to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They did the same thing. And they did that to pass it on to others. And it's passed on to others down to this day. So to be transformed by the word means we don't just taste it, we take it in fully, even when it unsettles us and our worldview. Scripture does not always go down easily, does it? When God's word exposes our sins or challenges our assumptions or confronts the idols we protect, it feels bitter in the stomach. It wounds us, it humbles us. But then it heals us and it comforts us. That bitterness is not a flaw in the word, it's the evidence that the word is doing its work. Transformation always begins with conviction. And conviction, has anyone in here ever sat under conviction before for their sin? Well, there's three of us. It's not pleasant. But that's how God transforms his people. Not by bypassing discomfort, but by redeeming it. The word of God enters, it disturbs, and then it heals. It ensettles us so that it can remake us. The bitterness passes, and we discover that God's word, though sometimes hard, is always good. Friends, listen to me. This is why spiritual growth is not accidental. Your spiritual growth is not accidental. It must be intentional. And I'll talk to people about their spiritual maturity from time to time, and they'll say, hey, I've been a Christian for 60 years. I can tell you right now, the length of time you've been saved has far less to do with your spiritual maturity than the amount of time and effort you've invested in your spiritual growth. Let me say that again in case I didn't insult you enough the first time. The length of time you've been saved has much less to do with your spiritual maturity than the amount of time you've invested in your own spiritual growth. Amen, somebody. And I'll talk to people about the word of God and they say, well, I've been saved for 70 years. I mean, glory to God. But I've also talked to people who've been saved that long who are spiritual infants, not really walking with Christ. They don't really invest in his word. And you say, Well, you're a Yankee, you don't understand the South. I saw it in the North, I see it in the South. You want to know what's different between the North and the South? The accent. That's it. People are people no matter where you go. So you gotta stop telling me I don't understand people in the South because people are sinners wherever I go. Somebody. You just sound a little sweeter when you do it. Boy, that's that's what, seven insults today so far? I've only been back in the pulpit for just one week. I don't know why the Lord called me to this. Um you have to invest in your spiritual growth. And so what we've done, uh, we have actually built a clear pathway to help every person grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ here at First Baptist Church. No matter where you are in your walk with the Lord, there's a next step that's available to you here. Uh later today, I encourage you to go to this link that's up there, fbchopkinsville.com. You can click right on the FBC pathway right in the middle of the page. There's a super handsome man right there in the middle of the page. You can see him. His initials are Rich Leby, but you click right on Rich's picture and it'll take you right to the pathway. You take a look, you determine where you are on this pathway. There's uh six steps, I think, there. And then just jump in and engage. And I'll tell you right now, if you go out to that uh to that website, it's substance over style right now, because right now it looks like one of those generic cereal boxes that we used to have back in the 80s, but it's evolving, it's very basic. For some of you, you're brand new here. And I'm so so amazing to see so many new people, and you have no idea what's going on or what's what's coming next, and that's completely normal. And so for you, we have a first step lunch that's coming up in a couple weeks, it's gonna be in February. The information's on that pathway. Um, Pastor Mick and I and Angela, uh, some of the elders who are gonna be available, we're gonna be there and we're gonna talk to you about what the church is, introduce ourselves, get to know you, talk about that pathway, talk to you about how you can engage and grow deeper here. So if you've been here for a few months and you're ready to go deeper, if you've been here six months, you're ready to go deeper, and we you really haven't engaged, that's where you do it. For others, you just want to know more about Christianity itself, and we have a brand new Christianity 101 class that's available. It's entirely online. You can take it at any point in time at your own pace. On that pathway, you're also going to see life groups, Wednesday night classes, men and women's discipleship, student children's ministries, serving teams, all part of a larger discipleship. I hate to use the word ecosystem because it sounds very corporate, but it's a it's a it's a discipleship ecosystem designed to help you know Christ, grow in Christ, and live on mission for Christ. And because of this, I can tell you growth at First Baptist Church is not a mystery. I can tell you right now, if you're not growing here, if you're not growing here, it's not because there's nothing available to you. It's because you've chosen not to engage. If you're not growing here, it's because you've chosen not to engage. From time to time, someone will tell me it's happened to me a couple times here, happened to me a couple times in Connecticut, only happened to me once in Vermont. Someone will come up to me and say, I need to go to a different church because I am not being fed. I'm going to another church because I'm not being fed. Let me give you a 100% guarantee. And I don't make guarantees, but this is a 100% guarantee, so I guess I do. And this is exactly what I've told these folks. And people leave churches for various reasons. I have no ill-will against anyone. I mean, if you want to go over to Second Baptist with David, I love David. David's a dear friend of mine. Go to Second Baptist. But this is what I've told these folks. If you're not being fed here, it's not because the table is empty, it's because you're choosing not to eat. Because the food isn't what you want it to be. God has graciously provided his word, his people, and clear opportunities for discipleship. The question is not whether nourishment is being offered, but whether you are willing to receive it. And I can tell you right now, there's a lot of good churches in this town. But no matter where you go, you're always gonna be there. Alright, skip that. But wherever you go, you're always gonna be there. And if you and if you decide not to engage, you're still not gonna grow. And we need to be we need to be honest about our greatest obstacle, right? Our greatest obstacle is not the culture. Our greatest obstacle is not politics, it's not the pace of life. Our greatest obstacle is laziness. Or a lack of care about our spiritual growth, which is laziness. Growth requires effort. Feeding on the word requires intention. Discipleship means showing up. We say that again. Discipleship means showing up, doesn't it? You cannot grow on your own. You cannot grow on your own. People say, Well, I don't need church, I don't need people, people bother me. Well, I'll join the club. Not you can't grow on your own. And there's the re there's a reason that God puts us in a family with imperfect people because He wants us to grow together in Christ. Amen. Somebody discipleship means leaning in and committing. And submitting ourselves to the rhythms that form us over time. And so this pathway that I've been talking about exists to remove confusion, not responsibility. Discipleship means showing up. We have excellent kids' programs here. Angela's gonna be mad at me. She's up on the balcony, she's trying to hide from me. I want to give Angela a round of applause for all of the amazing work that she does with our children's programs. I can't hear you from down here. She works tirelessly, she's kind of taken on that role last year, but our kids' programs between her and the team she's got around her, just amazing stuff. Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings. But mom and dad, listen to me. We're not a babysitting service. If you're bringing your kids to Wednesday nights, I expect you to come sit under the teaching of the word in our discipleship class. Invest in your own discipleship. Discipleship means showing up. If you're bringing your students next door because you want them to get some Jesus, then you need to come get some Jesus yourself. Or you're wasting their time. Your kids are not gonna grow if you're not growing. God uses ordinary faithfulness week after week after week after week to produce extraordinary growth. The invitation is clear. Step in, take responsibility, pursue the growth that God is offering. The mission of the Word of God is to transform you. Stop telling me how busy you are. I'm friends with you on Facebook. I know what you're doing. I mean, I'm not looking through your windows, but everyone's like, oh, I'm so busy. No, you're not. You're just not organizing your time very well. Well, I can't come to the adult class because that's the only night that Kroger's open during the week. I'm not everyone's cup of tea, I get that. I mean, not everyone wants to sit under my teaching, that's fine. But if you're not growing, if you're not engaging in discipleship classes, you're it's of no value to bring your kids to the other stuff. Because they're not going to grow if you're not growing. And of course, finally, the word of God is to be proclaimed, it's to be consumed and it transforms us, and then it should be declared. John has said, you must again prophesy, this is the very last part. You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. That's why he received the word. John didn't receive it for his benefit, he received it for the sake of the world. He received it in order to share it. So to proclaim the truth of the Bible begins with believing it and submitting to it personally. We can't faithfully declare what we're unwilling to obey. You see, and people ask me, you know, I try to share the gospel, I try to do this, but nothing really works. And so my question is, are you, do you believe it? Are you obeying it? Are you living under it? The authority of Scripture has to shape our minds and our hearts and our lives, and then it will be effective through our words. The Lord is going to use what he uses, and the word doesn't return void, but over the long term, we cannot expect a fruit in our lives if we dismiss the authority of the word of God. We read the Bible not as a collection of suggestions, but as the living word of God. And we proclaim the truth not only with our lips but with our lives. And it doesn't require perfection, it just requires consistency and repentance and humility and obedience. And so when God's people speak God's word and live his word and trust his word, the truth of the Bible is proclaimed not as a theory, but as a life-giving reality. So let me end this way. God hasn't left us to navigate chaos by opinion or volume, but by his revelation to us. The word is given to be consumed until it shapes us and transforms us, even if it confronts us. The invitation, I think it's simple, but it's got a lot of weight. We need to take the word, we need to eat the word, we need to let it do its work, and then we need to go and live it and trust that God will use ordinary faithfulness to accomplish his extraordinary purposes through ordinary, flawed people. Let's pray together. Dear Lord, by your spirit, would you quiet our restless minds and reorder our loves? Help us to lay aside the constant pull of media and take up your word with humility and expectation. Give us discipline to open the scripture and patience to sit under it, and faith to believe you, speak through it even today. Help us to pray, Lord, not as a last resort, but as our first response to seek you before we seek anything else. And make us a people shaped more by scripture than by news cycle, and more attentive to your promises than the anxieties of the world. Let your word dwell richly in us and renew our minds and anchor our hearts in truth. Draw us into deeper communion with you, that we might live wisely. And we ask this for the good of your people and for your glory. And we ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.