YouTube video 22qRuxx_VP0

[applause] >> If you really, really believe that, do you? I think we ought to praise God who never stops working. >> [applause] >> Never.

>> [applause] >> Praise the Lord. We greet everybody this morning here, and we have people in the other buildings on campus, at Lake Park, at Wilmington, and actually they're watching all over the world, and they like it when we recognize them. So, we recognize you this morning, and we recognize all of you for being in God's house today.

>> [applause] >> The song before this one, He knows my name. That touches me. I heard a great message last night in another country.

And the the preacher said, Zacchaeus, a tax collector, >> [music] >> nobody liked him. He was short, but he was a tax collector, and that just added to it. Jesus came to Jericho.

He was surrounded by taller people and poorer people, and Zacchaeus was interested in Jesus, >> [music] >> but he couldn't get to him, and nobody liked him to let him through. So, Zacchaeus climbed up in a tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And he was shocked when, as the crowd came by, he heard a voice out of the crowd saying, "Zacchaeus, come down here, for today I'm going home to have lunch with you." Wait.

Jesus knew his name. There is another time that a man named Philip brought a man named Nathaniel to Jesus. And Nathaniel looked at Jesus and Jesus said, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is >> [music] >> no guile." And Nathaniel said, "How do you know me?" Jesus said, "I knew you when you were sitting up under a fig tree." Let me tell you something.

>> [music] >> Jesus knows your name. Jesus knows where you are. And I said it at the early service.

You may be up a tree or you may be under a tree, but Jesus knows exactly where you are. I think old Nathaniel was under that fig tree because he was confused and depressed. And I think Zacchaeus was up that sycamore tree because he was empty and needed an answer.

And Jesus met all of the needs. Hear me today. There is not a human being in this world that Jesus cannot satisfy.

I don't care what your problem is. Jesus can solve it. And he can do it right now on the spot.

Can anybody say amen to that? Amen. We thank you now, Father, for your word.

We bless you, praise you, thank you, adore you, lift you up, and thank you for what you're going to do in these coming moments. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Everybody said amen. Great. You can be seated.

Smile at somebody on the way down. Every morning I cannot remember a time in 56 years that I have not awakened with this thought. Sunday's coming.

And I want to feed the people. That's what I'm called to do. I'm a pastor.

Not a day goes by that I don't ask the Lord to help me to be a better pastor. A more vigilant shepherd. More compassionate.

Above everything, I want to feed the flock. That drives me every day of my life. Feed the flock of God.

The other side of that is that you have to eat. You have to receive it. And God gives us something in the first Psalm.

And I think I've probably over all these years read that first Psalm Oh, I I don't even want to estimate. Hundreds of times. And every time I read it, I get something new out of it.

That's what I'm going to talk about this morning. The word of God, you never get to the bottom of it. You never find a scripture and say, "Well, that's the end of that." Because it has no depths.

You cannot get to the bottom of truth. So, I'm going to ask you to read this first Psalm with me down through verse number three. I have some things marked here that are extremely important.

So, are you ready? I They're going to put it on the screen. I'm asking everybody to open your mouth and make a noise.

Read. Ready? Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. You've read it. Did you see this?

There is an absolute guarantee that if I do something, everything else will be prosperous. It's there. I just read it to you.

This is God's word. Again, this is not a proverb, this is a promise. The promise is to people who want to be blessed.

And those who are blessed don't do certain things. Blessed is the man who doesn't run with sinners, who doesn't take advice from the lost, who doesn't get direction from the blind, who doesn't associate with the foul mouth and the negative. Blessed, happy, fulfilled is that man who says to the world, "You don't have a thing I need." And I will not associate with those things I do not need, and I don't need people who want to lead me down the wrong path.

Blessed is that man. But, it also says this man's delight is in the word of the Lord. Now, you know, I can get kind of hyped up, and I can start talking really fast.

So, I'm going to put a bridle on this morning cuz I want you to get this. I mean it. I want you to get this.

His delight is in the word of the Lord. Delight. I use some illustrations this morning.

Golfers will work hard 4 and 1/2 days a week so they can spend 5 hours on a golf course regardless of the weather. I'm one of them. I'll play in the rain.

I've played in sleet. I've played on ice. I don't want to play in the wind.

I just want to play. It's a delight. And everybody that knows that game or is addicted to that game understands that you kind of make arrangements.

You plan things to get to do that. Why, there are various hobbies in this room or in [clears throat] those rooms. Some of you uh like to decorate.

Some of you like to buy and sell. Collect stamps or coins. Goodness, I could just Some men love to go to Harbor Freight.

Lowe's. I love little tools and tape measures and little knives and really big thick socks that I'll never wear. Never, but they're cheap.

And who knows a blizzard could come. And so if you have a hobby something you arrange everything else so you can get to it then you might just be able to understand what David is saying right here. The man who is blessed has found an addiction to the word of God.

He has found that the word of God satisfies like nothing else. It's not a hobby. It isn't something that may wax and wane over the years.

The word of God is his delight. He makes plans for the word of God. He makes time, effort, and energy are given to the word of God.

And in his word he meditates day and night. Think of it. He meditates day and night.

This is not a forced thing. This is not like the stringent rules of Islam or some other religion where they make you learn it and you're punished if you don't. No, this is a delight.

And when you learn to meditate in the word of God, it becomes even more satisfying and delightful. Now, in the Bible you can we we learn you can hear the word. You can read the word.

You can study the word. But there's a dimension that very few people get to. And it's called meditation in the word.

Today, many people all over the world will hear the word of God. Somebody from a pulpit or some podium somewhere will uh read a scripture, they will preach. And those people will hear the word of God.

There are others who will open a Bible and they will read it. And their Bibles are all marked up. And they have favorite Then there are people who study the word of God.

That means it is a a concentrated effort to get information. They want to learn. Whether it's the geography of the Holy Land or the archaeology of mankind or the the history of the world, on and on.

They they crave it. And I'm one of those. I I think everything you learn only adds to the truth of God's word.

The thing about those is that it's superficial. The study does work. You can surround yourself with books and tapes and your Bible.

And you can spend time doing it. But again, far too many times it's for information. There is a spiritual thing that goes on with meditation.

It it's not for information, it's for strength. It's something the prophets did all the time. Jesus meditated in the law of God, even though he was the word of God.

Paul meditated. They gave themselves to the scriptures. There's this thing called meditation.

And it's when you are not trying to gather a lot, you're taking something small and getting all that you can out of it. So, here's what the word meditate means in Hebrew. It means to utter.

To speak. Listen to this one. To mutter.

To groan. Which means when you get to that level called meditation, you take a verse or a word, and you say it. You utter it.

You groan it. You mentally and spiritually massage it. You're not trying to move on to something else.

You stay there until it says something to you. I do this almost every day of my life. I'm not saying you have to do it.

This is what I have to do to pastor, to feed, and to shepherd. I get up before the sun does. I don't turn on a light.

I don't open a book >> [clears throat] >> for a long time. I will sit. I will take one verse of scripture, and I will say it over and over.

I will say it different ways. I will emphasize different words. I will stop on a word and contemplate it.

And as I do that, this this meditation is doing something down inside. Let me tell you why it's important. His delight is in the law of the Lord, in his law he meditates day and night.

That does not mean that you are constantly walking around during the day quoting scripture. No, meditation takes it down into your soul and your spirit. You know, we've been taught through scripture that the Holy Spirit prays through us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The Holy Spirit never stops praying. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS PRAYING RIGHT now to Jesus. Jesus is interceding for us to the Father.

He never stops working. The Holy Ghost is praying in every one of us right now. The Holy Ghost is also enlarging the word in our hearts.

The word that we have brought in, that we have decided to understand. And he says, "When you do this day and night, the Holy Spirit is causing this to be a part of your living." And the person that does that will be like a tree. There it is.

He shall be like a tree. He didn't say a bush or a vine, a tree. Steady, strong, sturdy, able to withstand the winds of life.

Planted by the rivers of water. God did the planting. You're not up and down and in and out, but you're planted.

And your roots go deep. Let me do this again. I've taught it so many times.

We Christians forget. Every every life has to have winter in it. Every season has a purpose.

In our seasons of living, we want summer all the time or spring or spring summer, whatever. We don't want winter. I'll tell you I have a problem with winter.

When this time changed, I it's messed me up pretty bad again. I can't stand getting up when it's totally dark. I don't want the sun to go down at 5:30.

It's just I just can't handle it. I need sunlight. Sorry.

>> [laughter] >> I also need therapy. And in and in another way, we Christians don't ever want wintertime, but I I've told you so many times, winter is when roots grow down. And you can't have big flourishing fruit-filled limbs in the spring and summer until your roots have gone down deeper in the winter.

And the winter is miserable, but something spiritual and powerful is happening in your life. And here's the next verse. It brings forth its fruit in its season.

See, that's the deal right there. Not every phase of my life is fruitful. IT'S JUST SEASONAL.

BUT GOD KNOWS when I'm going to need to bear fruit. AND GOD KNOWS WHEN TO let winter come into my life. That's a beautiful scripture right there.

You bring forth your fruit in your season. Your time is coming. I don't know when it is.

You may be in a fruitless time RIGHT NOW, BUT GOD is taking you down deeper. YOU MAY BE IN A FRUIT-BEARING time right now, BUT GOD WILL LET you expand all of that because another winter is on the way. The thing is, you just can't get discouraged because this is life right here.

IS THIS THEOLOGICAL ENOUGH FOR YOU? THIS IS LIFE RIGHT HERE. UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN AND HIGH AND LOW AND GOOD AND BAD.

REVIVAL ALL COMES AND THEN REVIVAL'S needed again. That's Christianity. You don't GET DISCOURAGED.

HERE'S WHAT ENCOURAGES YOU. YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN PLANTED. YOU'RE LIKE A TREE BY THE RIVER OF WATER AND YOU WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT IN YOUR SEASON.

>> [applause] >> AND YOUR LEAF will not wither. Even when there's no fruit in your life, there are green leaves that say, "I'm alive." Did you hear that? That was great to me.

Even when there's no fruit to be picked, green leaves say, "I'm alive." When nothing's happening in YOUR LIFE, THE HOLY SPIRIT SAYS TO PEOPLE AROUND YOU, "He's alive." And that's what we have to adjust to. And having said all of that, here it is. And whatever he does shall prosper.

Did you hear this? You guys have already heard it once. Can you hear me?

Can you hear me in England today? Can you hear me in Peru? Can you hear me?

Whatever you do will prosper. That's a promise if you learn to meditate in the word of God. Not just hear it.

Not just read it. Not just study it, but eat it. [clears throat] Receive it.

Have you ever watched a teenage boy eat a sub sandwich? Or anything, how about that? Have you?

I have some grandsons. In my whole life, I've never seen human beings eat like that. That much, that quickly.

One of my grandsons was on the camera this morning. I remember a couple years ago he came up and said, "Poppy, let's go out and eat sometime." I said, "Where do you want to go?" He said, "Well, don't tell Mom, but I've never been to Burger King." I said, "Mom will never know if you won't tell Grandie." So, I took him to Burger King and he I didn't know they made a quadruple patty, three cheese, uh what else did he get on it? Oh, it was three pieces of bread, triple bacon, plus the fries and everything.

I didn't know they made that. He said, "That's what I want." I said, "Get it." I want to watch you eat it. I didn't get one that big.

I just went along, you know, socially. I just wanted to And while I'm still talking and I've unwrapped it and I put some extra mayonnaise and little hot sauce on it, I looked and it's gone. I said, "Boy, did you even taste it?" And he said, "So good.

So good." I've got some other grandsons that can do that same thing. And what's the point of that? Far too many times we treat God's word like fast food.

You know, in the animal kingdom, animals don't enjoy food. They don't get into dining. They're into killing it, swallowing [snorts] it, and gorging.

Just tear it, swallow it, and go to bed. God's word is so powerful that it takes someone with spiritual skill to understand how important it is to get it inside of you. I'll say this again.

Some people hear it, some people read it, some people study it, but some people have learned to chew it. Because if you want to know the importance of chewing food, Google it. I did.

I thought, "Well, I'll just look it up." Wow. There were several pages of the importance of proper chewing and eating slowly and chewing properly. Well, first of all, food tastes better.

But physiologically, chewing breaks it down. Are you with me? The saliva increases, also breaking down enzymes and the nutrients and the minerals and the vitamins.

And while you are enjoying it and your body your body is adjusting to the digestive process, your body is healthier. It's less work on your digestive system. Food, healthy food, is healthier when you chew it.

If you swallow a carrot, it's in you. What? Should I have chosen If you swallow a green bean, it's in you, but because it's still unchewed, it doesn't have much of an effect.

But when you chew it, it breaks down all the substance. And it makes you healthy. And they say it even makes you happier.

There's power in meditating on God's word, muttering, uttering, speaking, saying, groaning. So how does that work, preacher? Cuz I want to read my Bible through this year.

I've heard I've people say, "I've read my Bible through for the last 26 years." What does it say? Well, I've been hearing preaching all my life, but do you remember what was said? >> [snorts] >> I've studied.

I've got all the books. Okay. How much information do you have versus the strength that you have?

And that's the whole point, brothers and sisters. The word of God is supposed to be strength to our souls. David said it's more precious than fine gold and more to be desired than gold.

What What's the whole point? I read You got to get this. I'll take just 30 seconds.

God's word is so precious, so powerful, that you can't afford to play with it. You know, you you can't just be in a noise all the time and in a a hurry and the hustle and bustle and try to get a scripture here and a devotion there. No, we're talking about serious meditation, serious chewing, where you get silent and you get alone and you be still.

And then begin to chew. Chew on the word of God and let it do its work. One of those scriptures that I've chewed for many years and still haven't gotten to the bottom of it is Jeremiah 15 and 16.

Here's what it says. "Your words were found and I ate them." So, you thought I was maybe just messing around with this chewing thing? No, Jeremiah said, "Your words were found and I ate them." First of all, it's telling me somebody was looking for some words.

Somebody was hungry and empty looking for something. "Your words were found and I ate them. They were so precious and powerful to me.

I did not just hear or read, but I ate them. A lot of people use the excuse about the Bible it's is too thick. Uh it's too difficult.

It's too mysterious. Uh can't handle it. Wrong way to look at it.

You see, if I brought a huge chest in here today, a treasure chest, and you know, opened it up and it was full of diamonds and pearls and or if you discovered one in your backyard, that's even better. I I promise you you wouldn't open it up and say, "Ah, this is too complicated. It's too much gold, too many pearls, too many bracelets.

I just CAN'T DO THIS." NO! [screaming] YOU WOULD SAY, "AH!" AND look around, make sure the neighbors didn't know you had it, or maybe [snorts] your spouse. And then you'd start taking out one ring after another.

This is a pearl. This is a bracelet. You wouldn't be saying, "Ah, this is too much.

It's too complicated." You'd say, "I want to touch everything in here. I want to see everything that's in here." And that's why God's word is a treasure chest. Oh, you can't get it all at one time.

You got to open it up and take this piece and chew on it and take this other beautiful thing and let it speak to you. Mutter it, groan it, say it. Yeah.

Yeah, you get in a room. That's what I do. I get in a room and like this, I say, "Your words were found.

Your words. They're not mine. Your words.

Not one word, plural. Your words were found because I'm searching for them. I found them.

And I I ate. I did not read them, Lord. I ate them.

I'm not just hearing them, I'm eating them. I ate them, and your word to me became the joy and rejoicing of my heart. See, that's meditation.

That's chewing. It's not like YOU FINISH YOUR BIBLE READING, it's like the joy level is amped up. And then he said it became the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

Hallelujah. Having God give me nutrients and nourishment and strength brings joy into my life. JOY IS A STATE OF BEING FULL OF GOD'S WORD.

AND THEN EVER SO OFTEN YOU REJOICE. YOU GOT THE JOY, BUT EVER SO OFTEN YOU CAN'T HOLD IT BACK, AND YOU START REJOICING THAT HE KNOWS YOUR NAME, HE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE, HE SAVED YOU, HE LOVES YOU, HE KEEPS YOU, HE'S YOUR GOD, YOU'RE HIS CHILD. YOU JUST CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE.

>> [applause] >> HERE IT IS. And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by your name.

That's what I saw in my meditation. What made his word the joy and rejoicing of his heart? The fact that he was called by his name.

Everybody listen to me. I'm going to close. Everybody listen.

If you meditate in God's word, there is one thing you will ever doubt again as long as you live. And that's your salvation. Ever.

You will never allow your past to come up and haunt you because you're full of God's word. "I am called by your name." He said. How did he get to that resolve?

Because he chewed it. He muttered it. He groaned it.

He uttered it. And I'm telling you keep having your devotion. Yes, of course.

Everybody can't take the time that I do. You got to get up and go to work. I just work half a day a week.

But I'm telling you this. When you get to that place that it becomes the joy and rejoicing of your heart you'll have a strength you've never had in all of your life. And what you say will not come out of here or just here.

It will come out of here. Stand with me, please. Now, here's what I'd like to do.

>> [snorts] >> I'm going to ask the back to put up Revelation chapter 1 again. You know, in these days, churches don't have much responsive reading anymore or reading period. People are too busy.

It's too long. They want to hear a message and some music and go. But this is God's word in God's house.

And we're God's people. And the one thing we ought to want more than anything else is what did he say? What does he say?

Let I'm trying to quit and everything about Jesus was scripture. Do you think for one moment he would have gone into that wilderness to be tempted of the devil and then try to logically discuss things with Satan? No.

It is written. It is written. It is written.

Hear me, church. Whatever Satan brings to you, when you say, "It is written." AND YOU SAY WHAT is written, he's got to go. He cannot handle the word of God.

I wish Yeah, you ought to praise God. >> [applause] >> Revelation chapter 1, I'm asking everybody to read aloud again. This is the word of the Lord.

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory, dominion forever.

Amen. Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamus, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, to Laodicea." Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands.

And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice [clears throat] as the sound of many waters.

He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not [clears throat] be afraid. >> I am the first and the last." >> I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.

And I have the keys of Hades and of death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

The word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. Now, [applause] here's what Here's what I'm asking in addition to your uh devotions this week or whatever you do.

Let's all as a church look at this first chapter together. Let's mutter and utter and think and meditate on this chapter this week. If you only do one verse all week long, what does it matter?

Chew it. Let it refresh, encourage, and strengthen you. Amen.

Now, Father, I am so thankful for your word. >> [snorts] >> It's a lamp to our feet, >> [music] >> a light to our path, food for our souls, strength for our weakness. Thank you, Jesus.

[music] Thank you, Jesus. And I pray that [music] your people this week will experience a brand new dimension of your holy word. Go ahead.

>> [music] >> I'd rather have Jesus than silver [music] >> [singing] >> and gold. I'd rather be his >> [music] >> than [singing] riches untold. I'd rather have >> [music] [singing] >> Jesus than houses or lands.

>> [music] >> I'd >> [singing] >> rather be led by his >> [music] >> nail-pierced hands than to be a king >> [singing] [music] >> of vast domain and be >> [music and singing] >> held in sin's dreadful chain. >> [music] [singing] [music] [singing and music] [singing] [music] >> You have everything you need to live this life. You have this.

The Holy Spirit's in you. Jesus is praying for you. The [music] Father knows your name and he never stops working.

When you go out of this building, you don't know what you're going to face, but you will not face it alone. He is for you. And if God is for you, who can be against you?

Praise him one more time and we'll go home. >> [applause] >> Let the wor- You know what? I'm sorry.

I want to pray for our officers. It [music] just hit me. Father, these men and women that put their lives on the line >> [music] >> every day for little pay and little thanks.

I ask you to give them encouragement and strength. [music] Protect law enforcement in this city, our five firefighters, those who serve us, keep us safe, our military. Lord, I just feel an unction to pray for all of them today.

Thank you for their service, their commitment. Thank you that we can sit in here in safety because of their service to us. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. >> [music] >> Love you church. See you next time unless the Lord comes.

>> [music]