The Purpose of Scripture
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Hi, welcome to Insights. I'm Pastor John
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and I'm in the position of re-recording.
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Seems like a a volume didn't come up.
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You know, this has been a tough week.
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Um,
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going through dealing with the uh memory
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in remembrance of 911 and then the day
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before that the assassination of Charlie
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Kirk. A lot of people have been hurting
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and have been in the situation of trying
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to deal with this. But today I want to
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talk about understanding the purpose of
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scripture. What is the purpose of
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scripture? It says, "All scripture is
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given by inspiration of God and is
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profitable for doctrine, for reprove,
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for correction, for instruction in
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righteousness, that the man of God may
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be perfect, truly furnished unto all
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good works." So the purpose of scripture
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is
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the first thing is it teaches sound
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doctrine. It brings reproof and
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correction. It trains us in
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righteousness and it equips us for every
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good work. So we're going to take a look
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at this today and see what we've got
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going here. Um
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2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scriptures
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given by inspiration of God and is
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profitable for doctrine, for reprove,
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for correction, for instruction and
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righteousness, that the man of God may
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be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
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all good works.
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Have you ever tried to build something
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without instructions?
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The proc the pieces look right, but
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without guidance, the final result is
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shaking, incomplete. Life without
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scripture works the same way. Many
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people try to navigate life with their
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own wisdom, but end up lost or
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frustrated. God has not left us without
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direction. He's given us his word, the
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perfect manual, not just for survival,
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but for living in his purposes.
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Paul's final letter to Timothy was
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written from a Roman prison. In it, he
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urges Timothy to remain faithful amidst
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growing false teachings and spiritual
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compromise. The apostle reminds him that
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scripture is not the invention of men
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but inspiration of God. Literally, it's
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God breathed.
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This means every word carries divine
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authority and purpose. The Old and New
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Testaments together reveal God's nature,
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his redemptive plan, and his will for
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his people. Unlike other writings, the
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Bible is timeless, eternal, and
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powerful. It's meant to instruct,
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convict, transform, and equip believers
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for their calling.
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Um
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there's a statement made by many people,
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one which I have subscribed to myself,
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which is God doesn't call the qualified,
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he qualifies the call. When he calls
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you, he equips you. He transforms you.
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He renews your mind. He gives you a
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message to share with people with
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conviction.
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Every Christian has to wrestle with this
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with the question, why has God given us
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scriptures? The Bible is not a
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declaration for our shelves or a book
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reserved for preachers. It is God's
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voice to all who believe. Uh the
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psalmist said, "Thy word is a lamp unto
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my feet and a light unto my path."
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That's Psalms 119:105.
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The word is both light for guidance and
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a sword for battle. That's Ephesians
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6:17. To truly understand its purpose,
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we must look at what it accomplishes in
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our life.
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So the first thing is the Bible teaches
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sound doctrine.
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It reveals God's truth, God's plan, and
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God's will. It protects us from false
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teachings and anchors us in Christ. John
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17:17 says, "Sanctify them through thy
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word, through thy truth. Thy word is
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truth." Just as a compass always points
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north, scripture points us to the
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unchanging truth of God.
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Study the word not only to know what you
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believe, but why you believe it. That's
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just as important.
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The principle is God's word is the
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foundation of all truth in a world of
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deception.
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And you need God's word to shine that
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light in there to to reveal what you're
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seeing and what you're in principle to.
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The word of God, it brings reproof and
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correction.
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Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God
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is quick and powerful and sharper than
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any two-edged sword and is a discerner
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of the thoughts and intents of the
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heart. The word of God exposes sin and
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sets us back on the right path. It
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corrects us. It's a course correction.
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It brings us back into the center where
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God leads us. Jesus said, "Straight is
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the gate narrows the way that leadth
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unto salvation." So, we need to make
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sure we stay on that straight and narrow
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path. It's like a mirror. When you've
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been out working and working in the yard
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or whatever, you get dirt on your face.
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You look at a mirror, you see a dirty
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face, and you wash your face. That's
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what the word of God does. It shows us
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our reflection of who we are and what
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we're doing. It reveals the stain of sin
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that we can't see. And the only way that
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you can see that is through the word of
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God. Don't resist conviction.
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Let God's work confront wrong attitudes
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and actions that will lead you to
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repentance because God uses his word to
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lovingly discipline his children. It's
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not a threat. He's trying to give you
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course correction. He's trying to keep
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you going in his ways where you can do
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what he's called you to do. The Bible's
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a guide for holy living and spiritual
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growth. It trains us in righteousness
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and righteousness is right standing with
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God. Unbroken fellowship with God. And
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so it's important that we understand
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that God has a specific way he expects
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us to to live and he gives us those
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expectations written in the word. This
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is uh Psalms 119:9 says, "Where with all
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shall a young man cleanse his way by
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taking heed thereto according to thy
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word." It's God's word that does this.
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It's God's word that instructs us in
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righteousness. An athlete trains daily.
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They're out there, they're practicing.
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Uh soldiers, same thing. They carry
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their equipment. They go out there and
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they practice with their with their
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weapons and they practice carrying their
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gear and they practice and practice and
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practice
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so that they're able to effectively use
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the weapons that they have.
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If you're struggling, practice small
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steps of obedience, truthfulness,
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humility, forgiveness, allowing
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scripture to mold your character because
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at the end of the day, that's that's
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what makes you a Christian. It's your
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character and your integrity. Your
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character has to be based on God's word.
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The Bible doesn't just inform us. It
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transform us transforms us into the
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likeness of Christ.
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The word of God, the scriptures also
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equips us for every good work. It
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prepares us to serve him faithfully and
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effectively.
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James 1:22 says, "Be ye doers of the
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word and not hearers only, deceiving
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your own selves." There has to be
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actions behind the words. A soldier
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never enters battle without armor.
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Scripture equips us with wisdom,
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strength, and courage for the tasks
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ahead. Let every sermon of Bible study
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move you toward one action of service or
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obedience.
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Scriptur is the divine equipment that
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empowers us for ministry, service, and
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daily life.
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Uh
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Ephesians 6:17 gives us that in
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Ephesians chapter 6. It lists out the
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armor of God. We're supposed to put all
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those pieces on, but we need the
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scriptures to be able to fight the
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battle against our our own mind and
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against the the activities that the
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enemy brings against us.
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The Bible's not a mere collection of
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ancient writings. It's God's living word
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breathed out. It's powerful and
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purposeful. It teaches truth, convicts
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of sin, and trains in righteousness, and
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it equips us for every good work. The
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question today is not whether the word
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has power, but whether we whether we
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will submit to it. If and you have to
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ask yourself this question.
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Will you allow scripture to be more than
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words on a page?
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Will you let it be God's voice guiding
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your life?
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So I want to pray with you. Heavenly
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Father, we thank you for your word which
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is pure and eternal. Forgive us for
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neglecting it or treating it lightly.
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Create in us a hunger for the scriptures
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that we may know growth in truth,
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holiness, and readiness for every good
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work. write your word upon our hearts
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that we may walk in obedience and bring
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glory to Christ the living word in Jesus
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name. Amen. So you guys have a great
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week and I will see you guys again next
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week. I will be uh
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I will be broadcasting from moral bay
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next week because I will be on vacation.
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But we'll see you next week. You guys
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have a great week. God bless you.

