Turn to your neighbor quick and just place your hand on your neighbor this morning. Could you do that for me?
We're just gonna pray for one another.
Holy Spirit, we recognize...
We recognize that you are here.
Just pray for one another. You can agree with me, but just pray for one another. Just just bless one another.
I'm not asking you to prophesy over each other. I'm not asking you to give words of knowledge.
I'm just asking you, yes, the general prayer. Just bless one another this morning.
Father, we recognize that your spirit is in the room.
Father, we recognize that it takes a body to accomplish, to bring forth your kingdom,
to bring forth your word. It takes a body.
So Lord, we thank you for one another. We thank you that you would join us together as members of one body.
That we have one goal set in front of us. It is to love you well. It is to obey you well. It is to know you and to make you known.
Holy Spirit, I'm asking you that as the scriptures are read today and as the word is being spoken, that you would wash over us according to your word.
That you would wash over us by your word. That you would settle things in our hearts.
I pray for a spirit of revelation. I pray for a spirit of revelation and knowledge to rest on us this morning.
In Jesus' name. If you agree with me, would you say amen? Can we get the house lights back on so I can see all the beautiful faces?
If you have your Bibles open up to Isaiah 66, you notice that I'm down here on the floor, right?
Okay, there's a reason, but I'm not going to tell you why. That's all I'm going to leave you with.
Isaiah 66. We've been walking through this for some time now.
And Isaiah 66 is the prophet speaking by the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God desiring to create a dwelling place.
Or let me rephrase that. Of God wanting to rest and to dwell among his people.
And I've touched on this already for a few Sundays now, but this scripture in Isaiah 66 verses 1 and 2 has a twofold meeting to it.
And what I mean by that, it has both, though it's in the Old Testament, it has New Testament language to it.
So it's very beautiful. And we've walked through where in Isaiah, God says on this one, I will look.
In other words, he pays attention to, he gives favor to, he is moved by, he is captivated by on and so forth.
All these things that I believe we as Christians don't realize that we have the ability and the access to some of these things.
I mean, to say that you can move the heart of the Genesis one God.
Personally, I haven't heard many pastors or preachers talk in that regard.
And the reason why I believe is that we're afraid because we're, we're like, well, what do you mean?
And it's like, yeah, that's how deeply God loves us that we can actually move his heart.
We can move the heart of the God that created the, the universe.
The, the chasmos, if you want, if that's even an English word, the chasmos, the cosmos, the chasmos.
I like that better. I never took English in school, the chasmos.
I'm going to use that now.
But see, Isaiah 66 gives us three things of on whom God looks and we went, we walked through that he looks on those who are poor.
And this is not, this is not financial poverty. This is not, okay, we got to be bankrupt.
We got to have zero dollars in the account. Then God will look at me.
This is not what the prophet is talking about.
This is not what God is actually talking about through the prophet.
But in the context of Isaiah 66 verses one and two, when he's saying on this one, I will look who is poor.
It's poor in spirit, in other words, fully dependent on God.
Then he talks about being contrite.
And contrite is to have a contrite spirit.
The best way I can tell you is to throw yourselves at the mercies of God.
That everything that I have is because of him and what he did for me.
There is absolutely no credit, friends.
There is absolutely no credit that I could take of the things that I have in God, but because of God, I have them.
Literally.
Even my obedience is because he first spoke to me.
I can't take credit for obeying God.
We can't take credit for obeying him. Why?
Because unless he speaks to us, what are you going to obey?
What are you going to obey? What are you going to listen to?
What are you going to be moved by unless God speaks to you?
So even in that facet, I can't take any credit for my obedience.
We as Christians, we can't take any credit for our obedience.
That's being contrite.
I'm throwing myself at you, God, at your mercies.
I'm throwing myself at your goodness, at your love, at your kindness, on and so forth.
And the third one is trembling at his word.
And I'm going to try to get through it here today. I'm going to try.
We're in this series of what revival is.
And to tremble at the word of God, I touched on it last time I spoke.
But to tremble at the word of God in the context of Isaiah 66,
the Hebrew translation or the meaning of it is holy, awe and reverence.
So in other words, God is saying, if you tremble at my word,
if you are in holy awe of my word,
of what I have spoken and what I have written, remember,
the word of God is not just written. The word of God is still actually being spoken today
for those that did not know.
Maybe you're new here and you're like, well, God only speaks to me once in a while.
That's not God's problem.
You know what I like to tell people, and I've learned this in my own life as I grow in the Lord,
that God actually speaks far more than we recognize that he does.
Ah, you didn't hear me.
God actually speaks far more than we recognize that he's speaking.
I've learned that as I grow in the Lord, I'm taking a little rabbit hole because somebody needs to hear this.
I've learned that as I grow in the Lord and my seasons change and I mature in the things of God,
he'll actually begin to talk to me in a different way, and here's why.
Because the voice of God is not just limited to this is the only way that he talks.
So as seasons change and as I mature in the Lord, you can walk through a season of learning a facet of his voice
only this way. And the reason why you've been in that season for 10 years is because you're too stubborn to learn the way he talks.
I'm not being mean. I'm being completely honest with you. I'm talking about myself.
He wants to expand the way that he speaks to us because in the expansion of the way that he can speak to us,
gives us the ability to now have a revelation of who he is so that we can now have greater faith.
Now we can be stretched to a measure and know him in a greater way. Does that make sense?
And in knowing him, you love him more.
If I was to trickle down, what is God really after? You're ready for this? He's after wanting to be known by his people.
Ah, you didn't hear me. I'm telling you. If I was to trickle down it to like the core things, God desires,
and this is a big statement. There's little statements within it,
but the big statement, like the umbrella, is God desires to be known by his people.
He desires for his creation to know who he is.
So trembling at his word is having complete holy awe and reverence to the scriptures and to the spoken word of God.
But let me just hit on the scriptures really quick.
There is a question that rolls around in the churches, and I say churches, I'm making that plural, because it's amongst the Christian people.
You don't know there's countless times, there is countless times that I've had people come to me,
not just in this church, but in the church that I previously pastured at, and people that my wife and I have mentored.
This is a question that countlessly gets asked to me, and it's pastor.
Why do I have a hard time to read my scriptures?
Why is the Bible boring to me?
How can I cultivate a life to be consistent in reading my scriptures of being in the word, of studying the word on and so forth?
I have come to a conclusion of why people ask that question.
You ready for it?
It is evidence that we are not yet dead to ourselves.
You want to know the ultimate truth of why people struggle with not reading their scriptures?
Is because for us, not just to read this word, but for us to understand this word, we got to be dead to ourselves.
Let me give you an example.
How many of you here are sports people? You love sports, okay?
How many of you here are car people? You love cars.
How many of you here are fashion people? You love fashion.
My hand is up. I like fashion. It's awesome.
How come pastor disagrees with me? That's okay.
You'll see him. You'll see him in a pair of pants one day. I promise you.
His 70th birthday is coming up. He doesn't know what's coming.
Cat's out of the bag.
How come we can read sports magazines? How come we can read car magazines, fashion magazines?
All these different things. We can read them and we have no problem.
We understand everything. We like what we read. We can read it for hours.
Countless hours. We read it. Why? Because those magazines don't require us to die to our flesh.
The things that we scroll through, the binge scrolling, the reason why we do it for countless hours,
it doesn't cause our flesh to die.
But it actually enhances our flesh to live.
And if you want to go medical and scientific, the dopamine increases in us.
But when it comes to reading the scriptures and more than just reading them as a chore,
but understanding them, you literally have to take your flesh, crucify it,
die to it as Jesus said, those who lose their life shall what? Find it.
The reason why a majority of the Western world, and the reason why I say the Western world is because this is where I live,
the reason why a majority of the Western world in churches specifically,
why we don't read our scriptures is simply the evidence of how selfish we are.
That is the evidence of the state of the church.
We are not yet dead to ourselves that our approach to the scriptures is this is the living word of God.
This is my mana for the day. This is my food. This is my daily bread.
If I don't read these scriptures, I am starving today.
To tremble at his word is to have that type of revelation.
If I don't read the scriptures today, I'm starving.
You know, God asks us to fast, but nowhere in the scriptures do I find God asking us to fast for reading his word.
When you find it, let me know.
When you find the scripture that God says, don't read my word because, well, I'm asking you to fast from it.
Please text me, call me, ask me for coffee. I'd love to pray for you.
I'd love to pray with you, for you, and really understand what Bible you're reading.
If our view of the scriptures could be just like we view our food.
If you don't eat today, you're starving. Your belly's rumbling.
I'm going to tell you from my own life, when I miss a day of reading the scriptures, I can feel it in my spirit.
I can literally feel my spirit churning of you're missing something today.
There is something that you're missing today.
And see, on these type of people, God looks because this is a facet of trembling at his word.
God says, I will look on these type of people that when they look at my scriptures at where life is found, by the way,
for those that did not know, every answer to your life lays within this book.
Everything that you need for life, you're having trouble raising kids?
Read Proverbs. It says, don't spare the rod from a child.
You're having marriage problems? Read Song of Solomon.
You're having issues at work with your boss? Just read what Paul wrote about being a bond servant.
Any troubles you literally, are you broken and in pain? Maybe you've gone through something?
Read it. It's all right here. Literally, literally, every answer you need for life is right here.
So now my question is, why do our Bibles collect dust if we actually believe that?
Do you see the lack of trembling at his word? And then we say, God, look at us.
God's like, I would if you do what I've already said to do, because on this one, I will look on him who trembles at my word.
I'm trying to look at you. I'm trying to give favor. I'm trying to be where you're at,
but you're not even doing the basic fundamental things that I've required of those who want me to look at them,
to be moved by them, to be captivated by them. You following me this morning?
To tremble at his word, is to know that if he said it, it is so.
No, literally. In our full Pentecostal circles, we're so quick to quote that.
And I feel like we've been conditioned in that in such a way where we say it on autopilot.
There is no... there is no heartfelt intention behind that phrase anymore, I feel like.
I'm not saying everybody, but as I just gaze on the full Pentecostal circles,
not just our church, just in general, if he said it, it's done, it's good.
But do you really believe that?
Because when it comes to trembling at his word, that's what it means to tremble at the word of God,
if it is written or if it is spoken. In other words, let's go...
If you were here for the Covenant Partner Meeting, if God has spoken already
that I am asking you to build that building for the generations,
if God has already said that I will provide the resources, I will give you that which you need,
is the road going to be easy? Of course not. And do you know why it's not going to be easy?
It's not that it's God's problem, it's because we lack in faith.
That's why the road is not going to be easy.
But if we actually believe that that's everything that God has said,
then trembling at his word is letting it settle in our hearts and we're unwavered.
Let me read to you a scripture to confirm what I'm saying.
This is 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 24.
It's in your New Testament, if you have your Bibles.
1 Peter chapter 1 verse 24.
Listen to what the Apostle Peter writes.
I love this. He actually quotes the Old Testament.
He says,
All flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers and its flowers and its flower falls away,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
To tremble at his word is to read this scripture and to literally let it sink so deep into us
that generation after generation will pass away.
And though we have not yet seen the fulfillment of God's word in that generation
or in this generation or the third, but we know that God, your word is going to come to pass.
Because men is like grass and their glory is like flowers of the field.
The man, the grass withers, the flowers fall, but the word of God,
the word of God endures forever.
It continues. There is no end. It comes fulfills that it creates new.
It comes fulfills, then it creates new and it's ongoing.
The word of God is ongoing. There is no end to the word of the Lord.
There isn't.
You know, when we read the scriptures in Joel, I was reminded of it this morning when I was with the Lord
and I was talking with him this morning.
And the prophet Joel, Peter quotes it in Acts, but Joel, the prophet Joel prophesies and he says that in the last days,
I will pour out my spirit.
I will pour out my spirit. In the last days, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, is what the scripture says.
And I was talking with the Lord about that and he was, the Holy Spirit was just speaking to me.
And he said, son, he said, I just want you to know that I'm not, I don't move
according to your emotions.
I don't move according to, to even what you say.
But he said, I move according to the word.
Let me say that again to some of you here.
We, we think that when you say something and it sounded good to you, you're like, oh yeah, the Holy Spirit is moving now.
He's doing some things. Friend, I want to remind you this morning, the Holy Spirit does not move because you said something that was great.
The Holy Spirit moves because the Father commanded him so.
Now where the difference is when it comes to faith circles, if we speak what the word says, let me say that again.
If we speak what the word says, what the Father has already commanded, then the Holy Spirit moved.
Not because we said something different. We're just simply rehearsing or repeating what God the Father has said, which then the Holy Spirit moves according to the word.
You following me?
So to tremble is to know that his word endures.
To tremble is to know that the Holy Spirit moves according to what the Father has said, not what Pastor Igor has said, not what some evangelist has said, not what some prophet has said.
But because the word has said it, which allows the Holy Spirit to move. You with me?
To tremble at his word, I'm kind of running through these quick. To tremble at his word is to live a life of repentance.
Man, I wish we should get into a series on that. I think you touched a little bit that you might be going through that, correct Pastor Mary? On morning prayers?
On what true biblical repentance actually is?
In a nutshell, let me tell you what we've been told to. Not here in the church, but as a whole, like the church world.
For us, repentance has become your call to the altar. Everybody sees you. Your sins are exposed. You're now in shame and condemnation.
That's actually not biblical repentance, by the way. That's not biblical repentance.
Repentance actually doesn't produce shame. Listen to me. Repentance actually produces joy.
Biblical repentance produces joy. Remember that.
One of the first things that the Holy Spirit does when he enters a room, Pastor and I were just talking about it this week.
We may even touched on it on the podcast. One of the first things. I'm not saying the only thing or the first thing.
But one of the first things that the Holy Spirit does when he steps into a room, or the way you recognize, and this is according to Acts, is that he comes to convict.
That's how you can recognize that the Holy Spirit is in the room. Now, the next question is what's conviction? I don't have time to speak to you.
You do your own studying. I literally don't have time to teach you today and what conviction is. I can tell you just real quick.
I can tell you the difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation brings you to a dead end. Conviction gives you an avenue out.
That's why biblical repentance produces joy. So now to tremble at his word is to live a life of repentance.
Open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4. Watch what the author writes here.
Hebrews chapter 4, let's go with verse 12.
It reads this,
Notice that it didn't say of the mind, it said of the heart.
So to tremble at the word of God is to recognize that his word, both the written word, the logos and the reyma, the reyma is the spoken.
Am I pronouncing that at least right? Logos, am I? Okay.
Because chasmos, see I like chasmos though.
It just, it sounds, it's got umph to it. Chasmos is like, but chasmos, it's got like umph, it's got that European umph to it.
Yeah, the European umph.
Yes. Alright, let's get serious.
The word, the word of God to live a life of trembling at his word is to recognize that the word of God, both written and spoken, cuts deep.
It cuts so deep that it literally exposes every heart and tension that you may have had that maybe it was, maybe it was out of innocence, whatever the case is.
The word of God and to tremble at it will expose every heart and tension where you're looking at yourself real and raw.
And it causes you to repent. That's what it does.
There has been moments where, where I felt everything was great. I'm doing this and that and the other.
Or like Pastor Verne says, couple three things. We're doing all these things.
And then you get into a place with the Holy Spirit and he begins to touch an area that you thought you were doing phenomenal in.
Your heart was right. It was steady. It was right there. The intention. And then he steps in by his word and he says, son, I've got to change some things here.
And you're like, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't do that. That's condemnation. No, no, no, no. That's not condemnation.
That's actually him trying to purify, refine, mold. He's trying to cause you to tremble.
Because in that refining, in that molding, in that cleansing, in that trembling, what he's actually doing is he's allowing God now to look at you in greater facets.
You following me? Does that make sense? I'm trying to lead you down a path here.
To tremble is to live a life of repentance. I didn't just do it once. I live this life.
I live a life, friends. I live a life of repentance daily.
Daily I let the Holy Spirit, my prayer is what David prayed in Psalms. Search me, oh God, and know me.
Search me, oh God, search my heart. I feel so mature right now, God, but search me and show me where I am immature.
Cut me deep by your word so that I can tremble in a greater facet so that you can look at me.
And show favor so that I can create a dwelling place for you, a resting place for you in greater measures.
Repentance or to live a life of it is not something you just do once.
Biblical repentance is a lifestyle you live just as much as you pray and fast.
And you're saying, well, I don't pray and fast. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. You got the answer.
Repentance should be right there. We should live a life of repentance just as much as we live a life of prayer, as we live a life of fasting.
You're saying, pastor, why are you preaching to us all this, you know, these works? Friends, that's not works.
That's the fundamentals of our faith that we've cast to the wayside because we've been so engulfed with grace, grace, grace, this and that and the other.
No, I believe I am persuaded that Jesus actually commands us to fast. You're saying, well, where are you pulling that scripture from?
I'll give you two. Ready? We want to be like Jesus, right? Don't we want to be like Jesus?
We say the phrase, I want to be like you, Lord. Ask yourself the question or study out the scriptures. What did Jesus do?
He fasted. He prayed. He said, I only do what I see the Father do. And here's the second thing.
Maybe some of you are called into the deliverance ministry. Do you know there are some devils that don't get cast out unless you're a person that is a fasting person?
Did you know that? This is now again, I'm persuaded of this. You might be in disagreement with me and I'd love to sit down and have a conversation with you.
But I believe that fasting is not a suggestion when it comes to the scriptures. Fasting is actually a commandment when it comes to the scriptures.
I'm persuaded of it. For many reasons. It's been my life and my wife's life for many, many years. I've seen what it produces.
I have seen what a life of fasting produces. Not the external stuff, the internal stuff. It weakens my body. See, I'm hitting all these rabbit holes because I feel like there's something there.
But it weakens my body and removes all the flesh things so that I can actually hear God clearly. So that I can actually make some changes in my life.
For when I am weak, I am strong is what actually Paul writes. So to tremble at his word is to live a lifestyle of repentance. To tremble at his word is to love his word.
To tremble at the word of God is to actually love his word.
Psalm 119. Open your Bibles to Psalm 119. Can you put it up on the screen for me? It's the Psalm 119-105.
To tremble at his word is to love his word. Now, how do I say this? So I'm not spending too much time on this, but I want to make it known to you.
Psalm 119 verse 105. In our... now I say our because I'm an American citizen, so I can say this now. In our country, we have taken the word love and in my opinion what I've seen is we've taken the word and I've seen the evidence of it.
We've taken the word love and we've actually diminished what it means to love. Someone or something.
I mean, just notice how it's in our vocabulary and I've been working on myself on this. Honestly, I've been working on myself and I've been catching myself of when I should use that word and when I shouldn't use that word.
But we'll say phrases like this. You're eating something and you say, oh, I love that food. You'll be driving somewhere and you see a place and you say, oh, I love that place.
You'll be doing something like golfing or mini golfing if you're me and you say, oh, I love mini golfing.
But see where we have taken the word love and we've diminished it is we actually have lost what it means to love something.
That's exactly it. Somebody just quoted it. Who said that? You want to say it again? Quote it. What does it mean to love?
To lay your life down for it.
That's it. To love something is to literally, scripturally, biblically, what the biblical meaning of love is, what the word love actually means, it means you're going to lay your life down for it.
Are you sure you want to lay down your life for that McChicken at McDonald's? Are you sure? Just think about it.
Are you sure you want to lay down your life of going out to the mountains? Are you sure that is something that's of that much value that you're willing to lay down your life just so you can have a house where you love to live or you love a place?
Are you sure you're willing to lay down your life for your golf game? Are you sure that is of value? Is that literally where your life is valued? It's that minuscule?
That's how small you actually value your own life that you're willing to lay it down for something that will burn, perish and never be existing again?
So when it comes to trembling at the word of God, it's willing. I am willing. Listen, I am willing and I have and I will and I will continue to lay down my life for the gospel. I am willing.
It's in my bloodline. I have seen my grandpa. I have seen my uncle. I have seen my father lay down their lives for the scriptures.
It's in my bloodline. I can't. It's like Paul says, even if I wanted to, I can't. It's in me because I love his word.
Because if I don't get his word, I am starving. I am dying on the vine. If I don't read his word, if I don't hear his voice, if I don't hear his word, friends, I'm dying.
So I would rather die knowing that I'm doing it for a greater cause than die knowing that it produces nothing but death.
So to tremble at his word is to literally love his word. It's to love it. It's to lay down your life for it. It's to fulfill it. It's going to cost me everything.
But God, God, I'm doing it because I love your word. I love when you speak to me. I love when you share with me your heart.
I love that God. And that to me is a value or something that is of value and worth dying for.
David writes, or the Psalmist writes here in chapter 119 verse 105. He says, your word is a lamp unto my, your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.
This is what I mean, unless I read the scriptures, unless I hear what he is saying, the, the rama word of God, I am walking blind.
This, this verse right here, when David is saying your word is a lamp unto my feet, what he's actually saying is, my God, I love your word because your word enlightens me and it tells me where to go.
You ever woke up at three o'clock in the morning out of your bed and you stub your toe? I don't want to stub my spiritual toe.
I don't want to walk in darkness aimlessly. Do you know how many people in this world walk aimlessly? Far too many.
So to love his word actually brings me into a place. I'm trembling at it. I'm trembling at your word and I love, I love your word.
So I tremble at it because when I love something or someone, I will do anything. I am laying my life down for it.
It's of enough value for me to look at my life and say, yup, that is enough value for me to take my life, my desires, my wants, everything that I've dreamt of.
Take the American dream, die to it. My God, would we recognize that? Would we take the American dream of the cabin, the boat that when I retire and die to it?
And actually sow a seed that would produce something that is far more greater and inherit in eternity rather than here.
Some of you may have a dream of building your own house. Can I tell you something? Unless God is telling you to build it, please don't do it.
And I'm literally speaking by somebody that's in the midst of building a house. And I have a construction background.
I've ran my own... If God is not telling you to build a house, don't do it. That's my advice for you. Die to that dream.
My wife and I died to that dream years ago. And now God revived it. He said, son, I want you to do it. And I'm like, my God, to love His word is to tremble.
Or to tremble at His word is to love His word. Let's go to verse 162 in Psalms 119. I want to read a few scriptures here.
Verse 162, I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.
Let me tell you something. If you found great treasure, if you walked out right now and then you ran back in and you said, woohoo, I won the power bowl or whatever, the lottery ticket.
My first question would be, you should donate 10% because we're trying to build a church. Awesome.
But you would be joyous. You would be joyous because you found treasure. So to love His word is to look at the scriptures of, I just found treasure.
To love the word of God, remember, to tremble at it is to love it. But the attitude in that is that when I read the scriptures, my attitude and my heart posture should be, I just found some treasure.
I just found treasure that is far more valuable than anything that is on this earth. You know why? Because His word is eternal.
Remember 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 24, men is like grass, there are glories, flowers of the field, the grass withers, the flowers fall, but what remains?
The word, both written and spoken.
Let's read one more here. Actually, you know what? Let's go to the next one so I can wrap this up.
To tremble at His word is, and Pastor, you really touched on it today, so I might bounce off of what you said.
To tremble at His word is to walk and live in the fear of the Lord.
And you hit the nail on the head when you said, the fear of the Lord and obedience go hand in hand.
The fear of God and obeying what He has written and what He has said go hand in hand.
And if we can live a life and walk in a manner that the fear of the Lord is all over it, God promises to look at us, according to Isaiah 66.
God makes a promise, He says, on these ones I will look, He who trembles at my word, and like I'm stating here already,
to tremble at His word is to live and walk in the fear of the Lord.
Let me read a few scriptures that you did not read today yet, Pastor, Psalms 99.
Psalms 99.
The fear of the Lord is clean. Did you read that? You did, huh? Oh, I don't see I wasn't paying attention then.
See, that's all God has you confess publicly right there. See, now that was repentance because right now I'm joyful.
Y'all see that? I don't feel shameful. I feel so full of joy. My God.
That's how He does it too. He's like, yeah, gotcha.
The fear of the Lord is clean and during forever. That's the fear of the Lord.
Let me read to you what the word of the Lord is. This is Psalm 126. Okay, so the fear of the Lord is clean.
Psalm 12, chapter 12 verse 6 says the words of the Lord are pure.
The words of the Lord are pure. The fear of the Lord and the word of the Lord go hand in hand.
Just like obeying Him? Because how are we to know what to obey unless He speaks or He writes?
Unless He speaks it and He writes it, what do I know what to obey?
But then He states and He says the fear of God is pure. Yet at the same time, my word is pure.
It's like cousins. It's like Ruth and Anne and Hannah and Johanna. I don't know, just think of some cousins that you may have.
Inseparable. Two peas in a pod. Peanut butter and jelly. Name it.
The fear of God and His word, you can't separate them.
I have not met somebody who walks in the trueness of the fear of the Lord.
That isn't rooted in the scriptures. I haven't.
We have a bunch of fake ones that walk around, but those who truly walk in the fear of the Lord, they are rooted in the scriptures.
They're rooted in them. It's deep. They understand that unless they are in the scriptures, they are dying on the vine.
They understand that. They tremble at His word. You following me here?
Let me share with you a quick testimony of trembling at His word and what it produces.
This is somebody that I know very dearly. I've known this person for many, many years.
And they shared this with me recently. I didn't even know they were going through this.
Now I just want you to know I've known this person for 33 years now.
And I was chatting with them about a week or two. No, I was longer now. Probably a month now. Wow. Time flies.
And we were talking and we got on a subject of being in a place of where...
Let me put it this way. Of hardship.
That's an understatement of what this person was under. It's an understatement.
This person was in a place of hardship and they couldn't turn to their pastor for whatever reason.
And when they were literally at ends meet, they were at ends meet.
They were going to turn to a person that they thought could help them.
And right before they turned to this person to literally spill out all of their guts and tell them all this stuff.
This individual finds out that the person that they thought they could trust and who could help them is literally in the same place as they are.
So this individual was telling me they're like, I completely backpedaled.
He was like, there was no way. He's like, they're almost...
He said it, but I'm like, I don't think they were in it because I know the other person's situation too.
He's like, they were almost in a worse situation than even I was.
So he goes, I backpedaled. He said, I did nothing.
He said, I didn't tell them. I didn't open up to them. He said, this is what I did.
He said every day, he said there wasn't a day that did not go by that I either wasn't reading the scriptures or I was listening to the scriptures audibly.
He goes, this went on for a long period of time.
He's like, there is nobody that I can turn to. I have to go to the word because the word is Jesus.
There is absolutely nobody that... I'm just telling you what this person told me.
He said, there's absolutely nobody that could help me.
There's nobody that I could turn to that could say, hey, you should do this, that, the other.
He said, I turned to what I had my last hope in.
And he said, it was the scriptures.
He said, what the scriptures produced in him. See, this is trembling at the word, by the way.
I'm sharing with you this testimony of evidence of what it means to tremble and what it actually produces.
For a long period of time, it wasn't short friends. It wasn't, oh God, it's been a month.
It was longer than a month. If I'm not mistaken, it was longer than a year.
He said, I read the scriptures every day.
I either read them or I listened to them as an audible book.
He said, every day. There wasn't a day that I did not read nor hear the scriptures.
And what the scriptures ended up doing, it ended up producing a solution for this man.
And I wish this man had enough boldness. I would love to have him come up from the cities and share this testimony.
He said, the only thing that could help me was the scriptures.
Why? Because when we tremble at his word, God makes a promise, I'll look at you.
He says, I'll look at you. And if I'm looking at you, I have favor on you.
And if I have favor on you, that means I'm going to step into your situation.
And that means if I step into your situation, I'm bringing about a solution.
And that means if I'm bringing about a solution, that means life is coming with me.
And when life is coming with me, that means joy is right there.
And where joy is, that means attitude changes.
That means heart posture changes.
All of these things came from the fact that this person said there was nothing else that can help me unless
I read the scriptures and I dive deep into them.
The posture of I cannot miss a day to be in your word, God. I can't.
Because if I miss a day, I'm dying.
Unless I'm reading your scriptures, unless I'm hearing your scriptures, your word, unless I'm in it, God, I am dying.
If there's one thing that I want you to leave this morning, it is this.
If you are not reading nor hearing the word of God, friend, you are dying.
I'm going to tell you as it is, you're dying.
And I'm not saying that in a condemning way. I'm saying that in a truthful way.
There is life and life in abundance in the word.
And you're saying, why are you such a word person? Because the word is Jesus.
Because he is the spoken word.
That which was from the beginning.
That we have heard. That we have seen. What is it? It's Jesus.
The spoken word of God, the Father was His Son.
Behold, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
We are a church here that is a word and supernatural church.
Let me say that one more time. This is part of our vision book.
We are a church that hangs on two things.
We hang on the word and we hang on the supernatural.
Now let me tell you why I believe, Pastor, you never told me this.
But why I believe God told Pastor Vernon Mary first, he said you are hanging on the word and the supernatural.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but God did not say you're hanging on the supernatural and the word.
You said it first the word, right? Then the supernatural. Here's why I believe that.
You remove the word and you have just the supernatural. You've just entered into some demonic things.
You've got into some really weird things.
You've got into some... I'm not going to name them, but you know them.
Would we be a church that would literally...
And when I say we, I'm talking about we as a whole, would we produce something that even when the babes come and new people come?
Now the babes, I'm not regarding to women, by the way, because some of you are like, which talking about babes?
I'm talking about to those that are in the faith, babes in the faith. That just ran through me.
When I said babes, I just heard it like people are like, which talking about women coming here?
I find it get married, brother.
Not the babes. I'm talking about the babes in the faith.
Would we be a church that would take form after what we're called word of life ministry?
Would we be a people that would love the word of God with such desire?
I can't even think of an English word. I was always going to say a Russian word.
Would we love the word with such tenacity that it would emanate from us?
Because God makes a promise to those that love it in that capacity.
He says, I will look at them.
I will give favor to them if their heart posture towards my written word and spoken word is like that.
That our attitudes would change from it's a chore to it's a privilege.
Would the Holy Spirit help us there? Honestly, would the Holy Spirit help us there?
That we would look at the scriptures as not a chore.
But we would look at it, there is treasure to be found.
Remember what pastor quoted today, one of the fears of the Lord.
Those who fear him, God shares his secrets.
And the fear of the Lord and trembling at it, like I told you, they go hand in hand.
Can we stand for prayer? I'm going to pray for us.
And this is what I'm going to pray for us this morning.
I'm going to pray that your hearts supernaturally would change of how you view the scriptures.
And may you have the evidence that every time you go to read them and you're like, this is hard.
May you be encouraged by that is evidence that your flesh is not dead yet.
And it would encourage you to say flesh, not today. Get behind me flesh.
So Father, we thank you.
Father, we thank you for your scriptures.
Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you that there is life. God, there is life in this book and life in abundance.
There is treasures and secrets to be discovered that we know not yet of.
And Father, I'm asking you as a church and as your people that you have bought by your precious blood that you would supernaturally change the attitude of our hearts as we approach the scriptures.
That you would cast away God. Help us God to cast away the view on the approach of I have to do. This is a privilege that I get to read what God has already said.
Holy Spirit, I'm asking you that you would produce in us as a people that would love your word with such tenacity.
Holy God, with such reverence and on holiness that it would begin to emanate off of us. That we would be a word people.
That we wouldn't just quote the word. That we wouldn't just act like we know it. But we would eat the word as Ezekiel did.
We would eat the scroll and we would become the word itself. We would walk it out. We would look like it. We would act like it.
Help us in that Holy Spirit. I know you're able. Wash over us. Produce in us what you produced in the individual that I shared the testimony about.
Your word does say that you reward those who diligently seek you and we cannot seek you without your scriptures.
Because the very scriptures speak about you God. We love you. We thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.