Eat This Book - Jesus Says Series

What you consume shapes who you become. Just like physical food fuels your body, the things you feed your mind and soul shape your thoughts, emotions, and direction in life.

In this episode, we begin a new series called Jesus Says where we explore the power of God’s Word and why Scripture must be the primary voice guiding our lives.

We pray this message encourages your faith, deepens your prayer life, and helps you gain a greater vision for life in Christ. Share this episode with someone who wants to grow deeper in God’s Word.

To learn more about Vision Church or discover how you can partner with our ministry, visit www.ourvisionchurch.com.

Go with God and be blessed.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

How many already getting God's word? That's good. Hey, what we're gonna do is we're gonna read, we're gonna start a brand new collection of talks today, a brand new series called Jesus Says. How many of y'all have ever played the game Simon Says? When I was a kid's pastor, we used to play that game all the time. Uh and it was so fun. Because kids, like, y'all, if you ever do kids' ministry, y'all may never realize them kids lie a lot sometimes. You're like, I'll be like, Simon says stand up, and they'll like, they'll stay seated, and then they'll stand up like three minutes later. I'll be like, well, you're out. And they're like, no, Pastor, I'm not out. Like, you lied, you didn't see me. I'm like, uh, how many of y'all know if we want to get the fruit of what Jesus wants for our lives, we need to do what Jesus says. Uh, and so today we're we're gonna be starting this series that's gonna help us discover what are some of the things that Jesus says that we are called to, what are some things Jesus says about himself, what are some blessings that he's spoken over our lives, what are some boundaries he's given? What are some things that Jesus is saying for us and through us? And so we're gonna read a lot of scripture at the very start. We'll start with 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, which says this, all scripture. Somebody say all scripture. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. Somebody say, What is right? Psalm 119 and 18 says this open my eyes to see. Vision church, I pray that God would open your eyes to see the wonderful truths in God's instructions. Last verse, we've read it recently in our teached us to pray series, Matthew chapter 4. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command the stone to become bread. And Jesus said answered him, It is written. Somebody say, It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone. And so today, uh, here's what Jesus is saying to you for the next 30 minutes as we're together. Jesus is saying, Jesus says, Eat this book. Eat this book. Somebody say, Eat this book. Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, we love you. So, Father, I do pray. Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, Jesus, not into temptation. Deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Y'all ever been hungry, like really, really hungry, like hungry, hungry, hungry? Uh, some of y'all are like, I'm hungry right now. Hurry up the sermon, I got lunch plans, let's go. Uh, I've man, there's times when I've been really, really hungry. You know what's harder than being hungry is having to do something that is really, really difficult while you're very, very hungry. Like if somebody's like, hey, I want you to walk across town and I want you to do it hungry, I'm like, I will walk across town only if there is a McDonald's on the other side of town. Like, that is the only, I'm not even the biggest McDonald's guy, but I'm like, hey, if I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat, y'all. Uh, and I'm gonna, here's what I've figured out about eating. Uh, how many of y'all realize remember the saying that says, you are what you eat? Man, we are what you eat. Uh, and I love that statement, uh, because like we had uh date night for the married couples uh this past Friday. Uh and right now I am cornbread and um well, I'm cornbread and a little bit of pork barbecue and a little bit of chicken barbecue and a little bit of sauce. Like your pastor committed a little bit of gluttony on Friday night, so I just want to repent publicly in front of y'all. Uh man, here's what I know you are what you eat. Uh, and in our culture, there are so many people trying to feed you the wrong things. Man, in our culture, people are trying to feed you anxious news, people are trying to feed you fear, fear mongering, people are trying to feed us lies. And if we're not careful, if we keep eating from what the world is trying to feed us, eventually we will become what we eat. If you keep on taking lies, you will become a liar. If you keep on taking anxious thoughts, you'll become anxious. If you keep on taking things that are difficult, you will become difficult. If you keep on taking hurt, you might even become bitter. And Jesus, I believe, is calling us to a place where we are eating out of his word instead of out of the world's word. And so here's here's my question for you. My question for you is this what are you hungry for? Are you hungry for hope today? Are you hungry to find a hope where you can look to the future and know that your future is not in question? Your future is not something you're wondering about, your future is something that is assured. Can I tell you, if you are looking for hope, you can find it in this book. Some of us are hungry for power. We're walking around saying, John, I feel powerless to overcome my past, I feel powerless to overcome sin. I feel powerless to overcome my trouble. Can I tell you, if you would get into this book, you will become what you eat, and this book is full of power. Some of us are looking for peace, peace of mind, peace in our relationships, peace in our culture. We're looking for peace, and we are looking around, we're seeing, man, there is anything in our tight day and time but peace. But can I tell you, when I get with the Prince of Peace in the book that is written, I will receive peace. You gotta get in the habit of eating this book. Uh and here's my encouragement for you uh if you follow Jesus, he'll take you to the greatest life. But you but but you will never know the will of God unless you know the word of God. I want to talk to you for a few minutes today about why we as believers need to make sure that we are getting into the word of God. Uh in John chapter 15, which is a chapter that's not gonna pop up, Jesus tells us that we should abide in the vine because without him we can do nothing. Y'all ever have had to produce fruit without a tree? Like, like, like here's what I see some Christians doing when we're hungry and we haven't had God's word, we haven't been in the presence of God, we haven't been with people of God, and y'all ever have to be patient for somebody? Like, like every once in a while, like this was happening to me. I was coming to church today. I was driving to church, which, in case you're wondering, that's when the devil attacks me the most. I was driving to church, and the road on Route 1 is the speed limit is 55 miles per hour. And let's be real, that means we all are sinners and we do 60, 65. And I was behind this person that for some reason decided on this Sunday, the day of our Lord, that they were gonna do a 35 mile per hour leisurely drive to work. And I was like, that must be the devil in that car. And it was worse, because like, you know, if it's only one car, you do the thing where you pass them, but then there was like three cars in between me and them. I was like, I can't pass all y'all and be safe and all that. Uh, how many of y'all know I needed a little bit of patience in that moment? Uh, we all need patience. There's things that we talk about at church all that that we you're being asked to produce. Some of us have to be patient at work, some of us have to be loving with our family, some of us have to be faithful to our spouse. And if we're honest, there's times and places and situations where we are trying to produce something, but we are hungry and we don't have the sustenance or the power to make the thing that God is asking us to do happen. Can we be honest to say that sometimes living the Christian life is difficult? Sometimes living the Christian life is inconvenient, sometimes living the Christian life is hard because I have to produce righteousness when I'm living in an unrighteous world. I have to be patient with people that are annoying the mess out of me. I have to be forgiven to people that are hurting me. So here's the question: if God is asking me to do a hard thing, then how am I supposed to do that hard thing? I want to propose to you today that the best thing that you can do as a believer is you better keep eating this book. Because when you eat the book, you'll have the strength you need to accomplish the thing that God has called you to. If you follow Jesus, he'll take you to the greatest life. Listen, if you are a person that you're seeking hope, you're seeking purpose, you're seeking life, you're seeking joy, I want to encourage you to get in the book. Because here's what I know I know the world has a solution for how to engage life, but how many of you know the word has a solution for how you want to get an engaged life? God has a word for you in every single situation. But um, whenever pastors talk about the Bible, we assume that everybody's gonna walk out this door, just kind of open up a book and just do I want to give you a couple of reasons why sometimes it's hard to get in the Bible. And yes, as a pastor, I'm admitting sometimes it's hard to get in the Bible. Can we all be real about that? Like, I just did an announcement for 6 30 a.m. morning time, and some of y'all were like, Amen, Pastor, we need prayer. Amen, Pastor, we need to love God. Amen. Ooh, 630 though, I don't know about that, Pastor. Are you sure the Holy Spirit is even awake at 6 30? Can we be honest that sometimes to make the best things in life happen, you gotta go through a difficult moment. Sometimes it's not about you are not gonna get to the point of delight until you walk through the valley of discipline. Sometimes you gotta do something on purpose, and there are some reasons why it's hard to start the discipline of reading God's word consistently. One of the criticisms that people sometimes give about the Bible is this is that the Bible is outdated. Pastor, that book is 2,000 plus years old, written in another country I've never even heard of, in a language that ain't even English. Like, can we be honest and say that it's the year 2025? We got Chat GPT now, we don't need the Bible. But when I read the Bible, here's what I'm seeing. Uh, one, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So when I open up the scriptures and I see the person of God and I see the things that He's done, and I see the things that He provided, the healing He did for somebody else, the breakthrough he provided for somebody else, the instruction he gave to somebody else, can I tell you, because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, I can read in this book and what he did for somebody 2,000 years ago, I can trust that he can do for me today. You gotta have that confidence in you. But not only is God the same yesterday, today, and forever, how many of y'all know human nature has been the same for a long time? Man, when I read the scriptures and I see spiritual leaders, I'm not even talking about political leaders. Can we keep it in the church house for a little bit? If you have not been paying attention in the news recently, it's like the Lord has been cleaning house in his house. And pastors have been getting exposed, and congregants have been getting exposed, and corrupt people have been getting exposed. And here's what's crazy about that. Sometimes we're like, God, what happens? I was reading in the book of 1 Samuel this past week and my devotion times, and every leader I read was dysfunctional. And I saw how God still was moving in their lives and through their lives and through the nations they were leading, even though I didn't trust the person. Can I just encourage you today? If you're looking at culture, uh in most of the biblical times, some of us today were struggling with wars and rumors of wars. Most of the time in the Bible there were wars and rumors of wars, and God was still bringing his hope, God was still bringing his encouragement, and God was still stirring revival in spaces that we didn't expect it to happen. Man, there was um in the Bible there were false prophets. In the Bible, there were people struggling to raise their kids. In the Bible, there were people that were being unfaithful to their spouse. In the Bible, there are people that were lying, cheating, murdering, stealing, doing all those things. John, this is the most encouraging sermon you've ever preached about how people are bad. Can I tell you, here's the good news about the bad. If you are struggling with somebody that's bad, or you're struggling with your own bad, the Bible can remind us that the same God who is able to save them, redeem them, give them a new purpose, give them a new destiny. Can I tell you, God is still able to do the same thing for you? You need to know that the Bible is not outdated because God is still the same and we are still the same. Well, some people say, Well, John, I trust that the Bible isn't outdated, but let's be honest, the Bible is corrupted. Some people would say, Man, like, hey, like, there's even some religions today that are popping up that are saying we love the Bible, but we have like our own little uh follow-up to the Bible that we want to attach at the end, and uh, we want to take out this verse. Can I tell you, if you edit the Word of God, you'll never get a clear picture of who God is? And so I want to encourage us to uh one of the things that people always question is, man, this book from 2,000 years ago, how can we trust that it's true? Well, the Bible is 2,000 years old, but when you look at antiquity, if you're trying to get a clear picture of a good book, uh, there's some books that we trust are accurate that have uh 10 copies, 15 copies, and we go, and what they do is they'll try to find a copy from someplace like uh France or England, and they'll find the same copy from Turkey, they'll find another copy in Africa, and they'll go, okay, they're all the same, so we can rely on. So we in scholarship, like I know this is like super college-level education educational for y'all, uh, but in in scholarship, if you have like 50 copies, 60 copies, you're like, man, this is a really reliable document. Uh, as I was getting ready for this message, I did the research, and there are nearly 24,000 copies of the scriptures from those times. Which means we can look back and we don't have to doubt about, man, has it changed, has it shifted, has it been used, has it been corrupted? Can I tell you the word of God? And I wanted you to know this that that number isn't just a stat, that number is a miracle. That is God saying he's gonna preserve his word so that when you and I open this book, we can trust that the same God who spoke to them is the same God that is speaking to us. Well, the Bible, Pastor John, the Bible may not be corrupt outdated, it may not be corrupted, but if you were honest, you'd say, the Bible is confusing. The Bible is confusing, like, especially depending on the translations that you read, because some of y'all are like, and I'm not making fun of the King James, but some of y'all old school King James, and you're like, thee, thou shalt not die in what like like I don't talk, like I don't talk that way anymore. Uh, and I I think one of the reasons why some of us find the Bible confusing is because we use a translation that's not helpful to us. Here's here's why we have a bunch of translations. How many of y'all know language changes over time? Like in the in the in the 1800s, there was a cuss word that was very, very popular that people were not allowed to say. If you said this, people would consider it an impolite thing for you to say. It was one of the worst cuss words that you could say. You know what that word was? Pants. Language changes over time, and so that's why we need new translations. Here's what a good translation does a translation goes back to the original and pulls out the truth of God, stays faithful to what God said back then. And so I want us to get in the habit. Some of us are intimidated for that reason. Uh, but I also want to share some resources with you. Uh, one of the resources I want to share with you is this thing called the Bible Project. Somebody say Bible Project. The Bible Project is this uh group of people, and what their goal is, is to make the Bible as simple for you to understand as possible. It's a bunch of little YouTube videos that you can check out or go on their website. I think we have a video of what it looks like. Uh and you can go in, and what they do is they'll literally walk you through a book of the Bible. You want to read about Ephesians and how messed up those people were, they'll teach you that about that. They'll teach you about the Old Testament, the New Testament. That's such a great, great resource that I want to encourage you to go into. I'll watch a video of theirs before I read a book of the Bible because it's genuinely such helpful information. Uh, because it shows me the whole scope of what God is doing. Um, and it teaches me about the individual individual books. But we we want to provide that resource for you, but we also want to provide an in-house resource for you. Starting this one Wednesday, we are gonna be doing this thing called soul food. Somebody say soul food. Uh, one of the things that's big on our hearts when we started the church was we want our church to be Jesus focused and Jesus over everything, Bible-based, spirit-empowered, multi-generational, multicultural, and we have a big heart to grow in biblical literacy. So I don't want to just teach you God's word, I want you to know God's word. And so we're starting this small group every Wednesday at 12 o'clock noon. Uh, why 12 o'clock noon? Because we're already praying at 6 30 in the morning. And how many of y'all know sometimes when we're trying to do something at night, them kids start acting crazy and you're like, I ain't got time to go out one more time. Uh but man, do me a favor. If you're at lunch, if you're eating something, man, pop it open. We're gonna be reading the book of Galatians together, talking about God's righteousness, how he's pulled us out of sin. And we're gonna teach you how to read God's word for yourself as you go that there. Uh, here's what I would say about the Bible being confusing. Uh we live in a culture now where you can Google everything. But somehow, some way, it's we'll we'll Google how to change the tire on our car, we'll Google how to fix the remote on our TV, we'll Google how to get the latest internet passage, we'll Google how to make it to our favorite restaurant, but somehow it's too intimidating to Google how to get in the Word of God better. And I want to encourage us if the best thing that can change your life is the Word of God. So get into the book and eat that book. So the Bible is confusing. We want to help you with that. And the last thing is that the Bible is boring. Somebody say boring. Right now, my kids are in a season where they've started like watching TV and playing video games on the weekends and stuff, and we have our way of dealing that as a family. But the fastest way my kids get into trouble right now is if they like my son will be like, This is boring. And I'll look at him, and he's holding a switch too with a bunch of video games in it. He's got all the toys that he's played with all morning long, and there's a giant TV with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in front of him. And I'm like, Lord Jesus, I yeah, patience is the right word, Chris. I'm like, like I repent of the thoughts that I'm thinking towards my son right now because I'm about to walk across that room. Can I tell you? Some of y'all, some of y'all, some of y'all uh you love drama, you like, you like, I love a good drama pastor. Like I I'm watching all the shows. Some of y'all are like watching like you love your soap operas and your your uh like what's the the Love is Blind show and you love like uh The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I have a sermon about those. That's gonna be for a couple weeks from now. That's uh like you love all those shows. Can I tell y'all, if you want drama, read the Bible. There are some crazy things that happen in the Bible. People hooking up with people, and you're like, why are you doing this? People betraying people, stabbing them in the back, bringing them, like all this stuff is happening, and I'm like, like, there's portions of the Bible that I probably won't teach, not because they're not truthful, but because this is the multi-generational church, and there's kids in the room. I'm like, hey, read that part later, because that's an R-rated part of the Bible. Some parts of the Bible are full of trauma, some parts of the Bible are full of action. Uh right now I'm reading through uh first and second Samuel, so I'm watching the conquest, I'm watching David go out and slay Goliath. There's there's a story about a guy that, like, this is the craziest story. I gotta remember what his name is. Somebody shout it out to me if you remember it. But he's gotta go in. And back in the Bible days, uh, they didn't think that people could be left-handed, so they never checked for swords on the on the right side. So they check for swords on the left side. So this guy walks into this palace, they check his left leg for a sword. There's no sword there, so they let him in. The guy pulls out a sword, murders the king. It says that he this is how action-y it is, to the point the king was very, very large, like you you are what you eat, and he had eaten a lot, and so he was a lot. Uh like leaves the sword inside of him, has to run away. This is the this is literally in the Bible. The guy's like, I can't go out in front, his guards will see me. So it says that he literally jumps out of the latrine to escape it. Did y'all even know that was in the Bible? Man, there are battles in action, and not just battles that have been, how many of y'all know that there are battles that God is still fighting for us? There are battles that are still to come, there are things that God is still doing. The Bible is full of comedy. Uh, if you ever want to get a laugh, know that Jesus had a sense of humor. Man, Jesus would clap back at his opponents. They'd come out and say, Hey, Jesus, what do you think about this? And he would pull something out on them. One of my favorite ways that Jesus talks about humor uh is this, and he would say, they asked him like, Jesus would say, Hey, before you judge somebody else, take the straw out, take the straw, take the plank out of your eye before you try taking the straw out of somebody else's eye. Anybody ever hear that? Now, every time we read that, because we read Jesus in a tone of, well, Jesus was saying and Jesus was talking, and we don't think that Jesus had a sense of humor, because this is what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying, hey, hey, your friend, your friend, your friend, your friend, your friend. Like, who do I need? I need I need help of somebody. Ian, come up here. Come here. Ian's voice my help. Y'all give Ian a hand. It was Ian's birthday a couple weeks ago. He turned 16, y'all. Here's what Jesus tells him. Like Jesus is saying, hey, uh, before you try taking the straw, hold, can you hold that up? Before you try taking the straw, because sometimes we do that. We look at other people, their issues, their messes, the things they're doing wrong, and we're judging them because of the straw that's in their eye. Jesus says, Hey, before you take the straw that is out of your friend's eye, what you need to do is take the plank that is outside your own eye. See, that was whoever laughed over that, that was the appropriate response. Because that's what Jesus is doing. Jesus is saying, Man, like some of y'all crazy. You're trying to, you're judging people like you're like, man, I cannot believe that he cusses a little bit. And I can't believe that he's he plays video games too much. And I can't believe, and like, and we're looking at other people, and Jesus is using humor to make the point that we should not judge others because by the same measure we judge others, some of us have bigger issues than the issues we are judging. Thank you so much. Y'all give me in the hand one more time. The Bible is not boring. The Bible has drama, the Bible has action, the Bible has comedy, the Bible has history, the Bible has prophecy, the Bible has philosophy. And you need to read the Word of God for a couple reasons. Reason number one that I believe I want to leave you with you today is you need to read the Word of God so you can hear about the blessings of God. Some of us are walking around and we are troubled and we are hurting and we are broken and we feel all alone in the world, but we are walking. Can I tell you? It would be so weird. I do not understand how people can be depressed and they're living in mansions all the time. There's times when I see celebrities and I'm like, how can y'all, with your multi-million dollar lives, not have it all together? Can I tell you at some point we are doing the same thing as believers where we call a walk into the house of God and God has given us access to healing, God has given us access to power, God has given us access to hope. God has given us access to purpose, but we're walking around asking ourselves, God, I wonder if you'll ever help me. God, I wonder if you'll ever save me. God, I wonder if you can do anything about this situation, and we forget. And one of the reasons we need to stay in this book is because this book will remind us that the same God who did is the same God who can, is the same God who will. You need to get in the blessing, you need to hear the blessings of God. Ephesians 1 and 3 says this praise be to the God of and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. If you need healing for your body, you can find it in this book. Peace for your mind, you can find it in this book. Protection for your day, you can find it in this book, purpose for your life, you can find it in this book. You don't just need the blessings of God though, you need the boundaries in God. Somebody say boundaries. We need to really change our mindset about how we talk about boundaries. Um one of the things Betty and I talk a lot about, I don't know why we talk about it as much as we do, but we do. We have chickens, y'all. Like chickens. Um we we're not like super advanced chicken razors like y'all. Like you guys have 45. Like, how many did you say you have? 30 chickens? 30 chickens? Man, that's a lot of chickens. Oh, we only have seven, so we're like minor league, they're major league. Um every night, in case you've never had chickens, what the chickens do is they go back into their hoop, they go and roost and they're protected. Uh but a couple weeks ago I came home and uh one of my chickens had been found by a predator. Um and I wish I could be here to tell you that the chicken is in heaven, but them chickens are mean, so I'm not really sure if they're in heaven, to be honest with you. Like, I've never heard them say the prayer of salvation, I've never heard them lift their hands in worship, I've never seen them doing chicken Bible studies, so I'm not sure. Um and sometimes we look at boundaries like they're prisons instead of protection. And there are places where God says, you can't go here, you can't go there. And what God is saying is there are predators in the world that are out to hunt you, and I want you to get back in the coup. I want you to get back in the coup. And sometimes we don't like the coup. Sometimes the coup feels small, it feels uncomfortable, it feels like, man, I'd rather be out there, look at all the free range. But can I tell you the Bible says that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And there are things in our relationships, things in how we deal with our finances, things and how we deal with church, things that I don't there are things I don't let in my mind because they'll change my mind. Because you are what you eat. And so I gotta let God put some boundaries. Remember, 2 Timothy 3 and 16 says this all scripture is inspired by God. And it's useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. One of the things that the Bible helps us is to figure out what is wrong and what is right. The Bible teaches us about the blessings of God, it teaches us about the boundaries of God. The Bible also teaches us, and this is where it kind of flips, about the burdens of God. How many of y'all know Christianity, following Jesus, is not about everything we get, it's about being connected to the God of the universe. And God wants us to bless you, God wants us to provide for you, God wants to connect with you. But how many of y'all know there are things that God cares about that are beyond you? And one of the things that the scriptures teach us is about the burdens of God. I'm not gonna read it, but in James 1 and 27, one of the things that God cares about is the widows and the orphans. How many of y'all feel like churches should be taking care of the widows and the orphans? Anybody agree with me with that today? Here's my question. How are you taking care of the widows and the orphans? Sometimes it's easy to come in and be like, John, you take care of it. And I'm like, I'm loving every widow and every orphan I can, but there's only one of me. What happens when we get together and we unite our strength and we unite our resources, and we gather around the Word of God, and we say, we decide as a church that we are gonna make a difference in this community. Can I tell you it's not just the community that's different, it's God that is leading. God cares about his or the orphans, God cares about the church. God cares about what is happening here today. God cares about the world. When we read this book, we get a idea of the blessings of God, we get a picture of the boundaries of God, we get the blessing of seeing what's on God's heart, what does he care about? Who does he love? God, because you love them, how can I love them? Because you care about them, how can I care about them? But one of the things that we also get when we read this book, when we read this book, is we get God Himself. See, in John 1, it says this in the beginning was the Word. Somebody say the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. What does that mean? It means when I open this book, when I get up in the morning and I read my Bible, and I sit, I'm not just doing here, here's how we can get we can get in the mode of thinking that like this is just my Christian responsibility. Pastor John just finished yelling at me for an hour about how I need to read my Bible, so I'm gonna read my Bible so that God can go away. Like, no, can I tell you it's the exact opposite? When I sit down at my kitchen table and I open up this book, and sometimes I'm reading things, thank you, that was perfect for me. Sometimes I'm reading things that like I don't know and I don't understand and I don't get. Some of us would beg, we'd say, John, I'm coming into church today, and I just need a word. I need I need an encouragement. I need I need God to speak to me, I need God to declare something new. Can I tell you? You don't have to wait to get here on Sunday to get a word from God. You can get a word from God anytime you want. I love to eat, y'all. Like I like it is. I was talking to I talked to Dijon a lot. We're gonna let's have two together, but like I I was telling him, I was like, bro, like I gotta, I gotta start, I'm getting a little older, like I gotta start eating more salads and less steaks and all that. I know boo somebody boot salads is your boot salad. Um lost my train of fuck because of the salad thing. Oh man. Like I gotta, I gotta, I, I gotta like I gotta watch what I eat. And here's what's here's what's crazy about there are things that God is asking us to do, calling us to do, pushing us to do. We're looking and we're going, God, I need, I need, I need fuel to to feel this fire. I need I need your word so I can step into your into the world. And my encouragement for you is this before you get in the world, get in the word. Can I put it another way? Before you get on Facebook, get in his book. Before you before you watch the news, open up the good news. Because some of us are we're eating a bunch of uh my my my my kids, and I promise I'll stop preaching about my kids at some point, but my kids' favorite things when they get home from school is they're like, Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack? Uh and the problem with the snack is the snack ruins your appetite for the meal. And sometimes the devil's tactic is to just give you a bunch of snacky stuff that don't mean nothing, and you're on Instagram and Facebook and you're watching the. Can I just encourage you? Can you just, can you commit to say, man, before I get in the world, I'm gonna get in the word. Here's why, here's why, here's why. Because first John 1 says it. It says in the beginning was the word and the word of God. And the word was God. So when I get up in the Bible and I open up this book, I'm not just spending time with a dictionary, I'm not just spending time with a glossary. This is not an encyclopedia. This is the person of Jesus sitting at your kitchen table, encouraging you in your walk with him, encouraging your soul, giving you what you needed to take home the world. It might be intimidating, it might be. That's what I love. Some of us are like, it's intimidating. Can I tell you? It's the person of God Himself. You should be a little intimidated. And to walk into the presence and the because this is here's the other thing too. When I read this book, this is the only book that when I read, y'all, it reads me right back. Sometimes when I open this book and I'm mad about a situation, and the book is like, well, it turns out it wasn't their issue, it was your issue. And I'm like, Jesus, amen. This is this is a book. This is not just ink on paper. You need to know that this is the revelation of God for your life. I don't want us to waste it. I don't want us to walk around and the Bible is the most, I'll say this as we close. I'm probably gonna do like 17 closings. So Kia, forgive me. Is it okay if I preach for a couple more minutes? The Bible is and has been for centuries now the most sold book, period. Like everybody else is competing really hard for number two. There are more Bibles in America than there are guns in America. And there are a lot of guns in America. You know what the issue is though? We have a Bible, we bring it to church. Pastor John, this is my Bible. I am who it says I am, I can do what it says I can do. And then we get in the car and we go. And I want to encourage you that you are looking for a weapon to fight the enemy, you are looking for an ability for power to overcome sin. And the power to overcome sin is found not in you pretending, not in you trying harder, but you gotta eat this book. You need fuel in your life. My gas tank runs out every single week, and so I gotta make sure I'm full of the word before I take on the world, and that's why you need to make sure you're taking on. Here's what we do as a church we get in the world, in the word weekly, but you need to get in the habit of getting in the word daily. I remember what I was about to say about salads. Man, I lost my train and fought again. I'm just kidding. How many of y'all eat more than once a week? Like after this, we save some barbecue from the date night thing. Your boy is gonna eat and pass out, it's gonna be glorious. But how many know, even if I have the best meal of my life today, tomorrow I'm gonna wake up hungry. And if the only time you eat is when you come here, no wonder by Wednesday afternoon you're starving for strength, you're starving for the presence of God. You you were in here and you felt hope, you felt purpose, you could, you could close your eyes and it was like God was right next to you, but by Thursday afternoon you're starving for the presence of God. Can I tell you, unless you get in the habit of eating this book, not just on Sunday, but on Monday, and on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, and on Thursday, and on Friday, and on Saturday, then you're not gonna have the strength to need to do what God has called you to. Some of us are going through incredibly difficult things, and some of us have incredibly great callings, and God did not ask you to fulfill that calling on your own. God, Jesus says, He wants you to eat this book. Because it's by eating that book that you'll hear the blessings of God. Some of you have access to resources and callings and anointings. You didn't know God was gonna send you his Holy Spirit to empower you, but you would if you read this book. Some of you are making mistakes about friends, family, relationships, and you would know God's boundaries for your life if you would read this book. Some of you are looking for calling, you're saying, God, I want to be on mission with you, I want to make a difference in my community, but you don't know what the burden is for God because you're not gonna get in the word of God. And most importantly, I just God wants to meet with you. You know, it's not a political statement, but if there were political officials, if the mayor, if the county superintendent, if governor, if the president, if they said, Hey John, you want to have a meeting on Tuesday, you know what I'd do? I'd put in my count. How much bigger is God? How much greater is Yahweh? How much more powerful is his presence? How much more do I need him to move in my life than anybody else? Listen, I don't need to meet with another CEO, I don't need to meet with another politician, I don't even need to meet with another pastor, I need to meet with the one who wrote this book.