Hungry

We just prayed that God would take the concerns and burdens. This series is really fun for me because I find myself at the club longer. You’re like, wow, dude, you’re there hours every day anyway. It’s obvious. A lot of young people and I felt really old.

I love you work on a machine where it has you, if you want, put in your personal data. And it usually includes weight and age. And yesterday I put it in because I want accurate numbers when I’m done working out. But yesterday, because of who was around me, I went. I covered the facts.

This person next to me. I don’t think they ever, I don’t, maybe they got bad sweat glands. They did not sweat. And here I’m just a mess. But and anyway, I was thinking bad thoughts toward them.

But anyway, it was, it’s okay. It’s, but it’s got me thinking healthy thoughts. Debbie and I’ve gone to a couple of restaurants recently and I don’t know if this is a new law in Oregon, but they’re putting calories next to entree items. That is wrong. That should not be legal at all.

But it’s changed what I bought or ordered, you know, it’s like, no, okay, give me carrots and celery, please, you know, that kind of thing. But I made a list, I want to tell you about this week. And it’s a list of 10, I don’t know, maybe it’s a David Letterman throwback, but it’s a list of things that we do daily. I want you to think of your list while I share mine. Things we do daily.

I limit my list to 10, but they have in common one attribute. They are good things. Okay. So I tried to avoid the things, you know, eating poorly and stuff like this. So speaking of eating, that’s the first thing on my list.

Eating often, that’s what I put down. Number one, eating and often. And, and that’s at least three meals a day and a few snacks in between. You’re like no wonder you have to be at the club so long. But anyway, number two, sleep sleeping at night.

No naps. I know, I know that’s, but I’m not talking as a doctor, I’m just telling you what’s on my list. And no naps has been, I just couldn’t slow down to nap. That’s all changing though. But anyway, number three, working to live.

As we hear today, people say, but not living to work. It’s kind of a shift. Working to live, but not living to work. Number four, talking. In person.

And on the phone. Talking. Number five, driving. And not just to get places, but to satisfy my man fix because I get there in a man truck. Okay, so that’s a big deal to me and now you know.

So driving. Number six, showering and shaving. Which helps with number seven. Hugging and kissing. Okay, so I’m just putting them together.

All right, they all make sense. And number eight, brushing and flushing. Sorry for the details, but anyway. And then nine, drinking water. La Croix.

And lots of coffee. By the way, there’s a new study out. I can share it with you. I’ll link it to you if you want it. That actually our problem, our health issues today are because we’re not drinking enough coffees.

There you have the latest. That’s the deal. And it does not say tea. It says coffee, just so you know. So, and then number 10, exercising.

So that I can repeat. And go back to number one, which was eating often, right? Okay, so there’s my list. Everything that made my list. Everything.

Not one exception has a single quality that it’s good for me. In one word. The word of our series that began a couple of weeks ago. It’s healthy. Okay, each of those things and probably what you are mentally thinking of when it comes to your list.

They’re good for you. They are healthy. Even the last item, you know, exercise. I, you know, don’t get me wrong. I don’t wake up and go, Oh, goodie.

You know, I get to exercise today. No, I say it this way. Oh, it’s good for me. So I better exercise. A few times I get there and I go, this is kind of cool and I’ll stay a while.

And, but those aren’t all the time. So your list of good things that you do daily, may differ from my list. But get this, if God has his way with you and with me and with us today, I think there’s going to be an 11th item on all of our lists. And that’s seeking God daily. Amen.

So this series aims at that. We’ve called it habits. Healthy habits of the Bible defines them of Christians. In our case, we put these words to it. Healthy is achieving optimal spiritual vitality.

You just don’t want to get by sort of limp along. The goal is better than that. It’s bigger than that. It’s more vibrant and alive than that. And, and I think hopefully today you’re going to sense that.

So things a healthy Christian is has or does to have that kind of outcome. That’s been the purpose of this series. And we’re only in the early innings of this, this sort of journey together. So today, a hunger to spend time with God and please, if you’re writing down notes, circle the word daily. A hunger to spend time with God daily.

Now, while you turn to Psalm chapter one, the first Psalm, if you haven’t turned there already, where we will spend much of our time this morning, let me prepare you for a pronounced contrast. If you read this and go, you know, it seems to me at first blush, there’s a couple of people in mind. One, there’s 150 of them to choose from. This is the very first in the list of Psalm, Psalm one. It is a six verse song.

It’s quite short. And you are, you and I are presented with this contrast between two people. And the intent here in God’s word is that you’ll see yourself either as one or the other or in a process of becoming the other. Okay. The two, I’m giving you big hints here, are presented here as the godly and the wicked.

So you can see why I would say you might not be fully in the column of godly as we’ll see in a moment, but you, you’re kind of done with that other area, that other pathway called the Bible calls wicked. You say to yourself, you know, that’s, that’s a pathway that is too bumpy and too hard and too painful. And it really isn’t a sustainable long term. I got to be somebody different than that. Maybe you were inspired by somebody that is different or is becoming different and you go, that is for real in their lives.

I used to know them when they were quite a heck raiser. You know those kind of people? I just got to tell you, I had a man years ago who knew me when I was in high school. And I worked at a gas station and I kind of, I had most people faked out, but I was kind of off the rails at times. I was, you know, I don’t know what it was, but in those days as a mechanic and a garage, you know, it’s kind of cool to smoke and, am I okay?

Thought my voice just disappeared. It’s kind of cool to smoke and to be kind of crass and edgy. And as far as I knew, no one knew. My dad has sensed corrected me and said, ’cause he’s fairly omniscient. He knows all things.

And said, “Dad, Steve, you know, you didn’t shock me. “I knew where you were going. “I knew how you were living.” But I, kind of the time to follow that path ended for me. And a large part of that was my experience during a couple summers at a camp called Tadmore.

Many of you know about that camp. And while I was there, I saw people that were living in an attractive way. Seriously, I didn’t, I wasn’t obvious taking notes on them and going, “Wow, you’re cool.” And I wanna be like you. But it was just a sense that there’s a piece in their lives.

There’s wholeness there. There’s, there’s, that’s, they just, it’s working for them. And I’m kind of bumping along over here. Again, no one really knew this. ‘Cause I was pretty skilled actor, but I saw it for real in their lives.

And I had to come back a second summer because I thought, “That’s really good.” And I did, and they were still doing that. And I said, “You know, that’s enough for me. “I’m convinced. “I’m persuaded.”

And y’all, I’m 40 years removed from that. And I’ve never looked back. Please don’t hear me say that I got it all together and I’ve never had a fumble along the way. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m saying, I don’t ever wanna be on that other path.

I want this path until the finish. Amen? And I hope that’s your conclusion is you and I look at this together. So there, these two people, they’re presented side by side. So it’s convenient for us so that we can compare and contrast.

So let’s do that. Blessed is the one. Psalm one begins. Who does not walk in step with the wicked? Over here, this first path I described.

Or stand in the way that sinners take. Or sit in the company of mockers. But whose delight is in the law of the Lord. Consents, we just move to another path here. And who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do, do prospers. Not so the people on the other path, the wicked. They are like chaff. They are the ones where the wind blows and it blows them away.

And the wicked will not stand in the judgment day when it comes. Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous in the presence of the living and holy God. They won’t. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. But the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Do you see that contrast? I tried to punctuate it as I read it along the way. So let’s lean in a little bit. Let’s lean in and learn a little more than just a quick read of this. Okay, hungering for God is a daily habit.

If you want to write something down, write this first principle down. Because if hungering for God should be on our list as a daily good thing as I’ve described it this morning. If we all agree with that, then the Bible is making a couple of very important statements to us who want hungering for God daily to be on my list of good things. And the first is this, be careful about your daily contact with the other side. The wicked world we live in.

Okay? Be careful about your daily daily contact with the world. And we’re told why. It has the potential to cause a compromising effect to come into your life and to your commitment to Christ. Now some of you might want to stand up and say, yeah, but what about Mark two that talks about Jesus being a friend of sinners.

It’s been used as justification for a long time, but it’s not at all persuasive or convincing. He was friend of sinners. He was also God in the flesh. And secondly, he had a clear and undistracted purpose in being on that side in the friend of sinners category. He was careful for sure.

But the Bible and the vast majority of the Bible, the effects are profiled as we just read here in Psalm one. Be careful that you do not walk. Would you circle that word in verse one? Do not walk. Do not stand and do not sit.

You can see all those words again together and they’re stated in the negative. Do not walk with. Do not stand among and do not sit in. Would you watch me for a minute? So if you’re walking with, okay, that means we would say today, hanging out.

We’re rubbing shoulders with. We’re having a good time with. And then, let’s borrow this. When we walk and stop, there’s this prolonged time that comes into play, does it not? It’s when you stand among.

When you’re more than just casually passing, you become sort of one that stands among and then even more so the next word sitting in the mid-stop. You see the progression here? The Bible didn’t mean to knock things off the stool. The Bible is saying, those things represent my statement. Be careful about the way we live in the world that is predominated by wicked.

If you say, well, Steve, that’s kind of harsh. No, it’s reality. If we’re questioning statements like, that, then we have a whole lot of further exploration to do when it comes to what is righteous and what is not. And more of that is coming in the next couple of moments. Because here’s back to my point, the point of Psalm 1.

Together, they describe the impact of becoming increasingly aligned with and influenced by people that have no connection to God. Now, let me give you the other side a little bit because I said the Bible has plenty to say about this. So if you were to take time and go to Paul’s words, you would find him saying this, do not be misled. Now, I wish you could stop reading, but it’s a short verse. If you ever read that in the Bible, the assumption is it’s possible to read it and blow right by it, okay?

Or to read it and dismiss it or discount it. The Bible saying, don’t be misled, misled about what? That bad company corrupts good character. Oh, it’s not that bad. No, the Bible just said, it’s a risky thing.

That’s risky stuff. Okay, you’re with me so far? So that’s Corinthians, but then you go to the persevering or the words and they hit with the Joel of James. The Joel comes, I don’t know how it hits you when you read, you adulterer. It’s not exactly how to win friends, right?

If somebody looks at you and dresses you down with that salutation, hey, adulterer, what are you talking about? What? He tells why. Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? Evidently, he assumed that some went, now that’s easy to read and let’s move on.

So he repeats and says, wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me say it again, if you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Hard stuff. Am I saying that be allergic to the world? Don’t be around the world, of course not.

We need to be salt, we need to be light, but we need to be careful that that doesn’t become a form of our identity where we once walked with, now we stand among and we’re now living in or sitting with. So be warned that walking can lead to standing which can result in sitting in the company of the world. That’s the first principle that we’re talking about here in Psalm 1. The second principle flows very quickly. Be committed, it’s the positive now, be committed to daily contact with God.

Would you look at verse two again? Because he tells us how in case that’s on your lips. And you meditate on his law day and night. So let’s start with that. You delight in God’s word.

You take a different view than just it’s good literature. It’s kind of a moral compass. It’s a little bit like I had you pray on purpose with that sense that that chair near you, you take a different view than just it’s good literature. It’s kind of a moral compass. You or next to you is occupied this morning by Jesus.

Would it be a game changer for you if in this moment you heard his voice? Would there be this sense of wow, I’m taking pleasure in actually hearing God’s word. I think it would and that’s why it’s called blessed in the beginning of Psalm 1, the beginning of the Psalm. It’s better captured in the words of the joys. Of being that person who delights verse two in the law of the Lord.

We really think of it this way. If we really believe that every time we open our Bible and read our Bible, we’re hearing the very voice of God. How would that change? How we live that moment? How we experience that moment?

How we live that morning? And that day. How we operate at work. I just came from spending time in the presence of God. I actually heard his voice.

I want you to think right now of somebody that you’re close with. Maybe it’s a spouse or a child or somebody, but it all works. Of when you’re speaking tender, incredibly intimate words to them. Very personal words. Chances are you’re not going, hey, hey, hey, Trevor.

Hey, Carissa. Hey, Debbie. Debbie. No. No, they go against what I just said, don’t they?

They’re kind of shocking a little too loud even now. Hey, Debbie. Sure looked nice. Hey, Debbie. What are my kids?

Hey, how are you doing right now? It’s so close. When you say it that way, it’s not just the voice of God we’re listening to. Can you imagine the breath of God? You can say, wow, that’s sweet.

I hear and I smell the breath of God. Really, if we really believe that we’re hearing the voice of God, the very voice of God, would it, would it likely? I think increase my desire to spend time with him. How many think that’s true in your life? It is in mind.

I can go through this mechanically and miss it all. But it changes it when I’m, when I’m delighting in God’s word. Secondly, notice meditating on God’s words, reading and reflecting on what God is saying to us. You can’t do that on the fly. You really typically cannot do that on the fly.

You’ve got to, you’ve got that time with him where you, you read it and then you reflect. Is this just jumping around right now? So are you guys having a hard time following me? Oh, let’s sing. It’s all right.

We’re working it out in the back. There’s, I’m going to avoid jokes. Okay, we’re just working it out. So thank you. Thank you guys.

Appreciate that. But meditating on God’s words. Would you look back at verse two? He meditates. Notice he delights.

Then he meditates on God’s law day and night. It’s more than fast food. It’s pondering. It’s reflecting. It’s contemplating.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. You know where that’s found? Romans eight. Now you can just read that and let’s move on. Or you can say, wait a minute.

What if I really mess things up? Nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Okay, well, what, what if I act like I’m not even, I don’t even care? Nothing can separate you from the love of God. You see where it goes?

It’s like, and then go personal. Nothing can separate you, Steve, from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It’s a changer. That’s what it means to meditate on God’s words. And that’s why we’re told to do it.

See the words again? Day and night. And may I say, it’s not without result. The next verse lists several outstanding benefits, verse three does, of doing these very things, delighting in the law of God and meditating on his word. I count four of them.

Look at verse three again. We’re compared here to a tree planted by streams of water. Okay? The qualities you might know of a tree, but I’ve got another descriptor to add to that. And that would be, I want you to think of a tree in Moppin, Oregon, by the disheuts.

Anybody know what I’m talking about right now? Okay. So Moppin is pretty ugly. My apologies to people that live there, but all around it’s dead and brown pretty much up in the hills. And there’s a time in the year you go there, but not to raft because it’s, you know, 30 below zero and you’re rafting the disheuts.

Doesn’t make sense. But in the summer, if you go there and it’s been dry long enough, it’s dry and sort of dead looking up. But what am I talking about when verse three says, we are like trees planted by the streams of water. Because right next to the disheuts, it is gorgeous green. And there are trees there lining both sides of the riverbed.

And they are having the time of their lives. It’s still dry and hot and arid and desert-y all around. But you’ve got this river here. Now let’s come back to the image that we’re given here. This person’s like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose leaves do not wither.

Whatever they do, they prosper. So let’s break it down. They’re fruitful, right? Is that not what it means? They are nourished there on a daily basis.

They are this tree that’s planted by the streams of water. I love looking down from airplanes and seeing, I don’t have any idea where we are, very little points of reference, but I go, wow, there’s this pretty barren down there except I see this strip and it’s like the disheuts image. And those trees are by streams of water. In this case, the disheuts river. It’s bountiful and they are fruitful because they’re nourished and fed on a daily basis.

Notice they yield fruit in their season. And their leaves do not wither. That means they’re healthy. And they’re healthy regardless of the pressures and the culture or the climate around them. Those same trees live in the same area where there’s sagebrush and it looks dead.

It’s not like they’re in another part of the region. They’re real close. If plants could look and talk to each other, maybe a plant could speak tree talk. You know what I would say? Lucky.

‘Cause why? ‘Cause we’re too far from the stream. But the trees would go, man, this is good. And we’re healthy regardless of the pressure or the heat or the winds that hit us. We don’t droop and die.

‘Cause we’re planted by the stream. By the word of God, that’s what this image is meant to kind of cause you and I to see. Do we droop and potentially die if we’re not near the stream? Absolutely. That’s exactly what the Bible is saying.

And then notice finally, I love this word. All of us can define it as we wish, but whose leaves do not wither. Whatever they do, they prosper. In every part of our lives we enjoy, would you look at me right now? This is prospering.

Does that mean a fat paycheck or a bigger bank account? You know me well enough to know I’m not going there. But it may be. Prosper is prosper. It’s like pinch me stuff, live in the dream.

I’m prospering in every part of my life. That’s why it says whatever they do. Do you see how much is in this short six verses? People who hunger for God and seek Him daily are compared to trees and other places in the Bible too. Do we have this up yet guys?

Okay, let me just tell you about these. Psalm 92. Let me read it. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

This is Psalm 92 verses 12 to 14. They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and they will stay green. Not a great picture.

Psalm 92. He understands that. Jeremiah, he’s the persevering prophet. You want to read words of a prophet that did his job for 40 years and saw nothing positive. His job was over.

You know when? When Jerusalem fell and they were exiled to battle. How’s that for a career? But he said this, blessed are the ones who trust in the Lord whose confidence is in Him. Quoting Jeremiah 17, 7 to 8.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. Are we there? Perfect, thanks guys. It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green. It has no worries.

Hakuna Matata. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. What a great picture. Is that cool? Do you like that?

I like that picture. I want that to describe my life. I’m not quite yet old, but I’m getting there. Where does this say that? I thought it said that, but I just had a…

I guess I’m older than I thought. So, there you go. So, back here in Psalm 1, there’s a thud that happens in verse. And it reminds us of the stark contrast introduced by these words because that’s what he’s talking about. Blessed are those who walk a certain way and others that don’t will not experience the blessing.

They won’t bear fruit. Back in verse four, not so the wicked. Do you see those four words? Not so the wicked. It’s an emphatic statement in Hebrew.

What’s not so? Everything that’s been said about the godly in the previous verses does not describe the wicked. Everything that was said about the godly in verse three planted by the stream and so on and so forth does not describe the wicked that picks up here in verse four and following. In other words, godly people are blessed. Not so the wicked.

Godly people delight and meditate on God’s word, not so the wicked. Verse three, it’s just all right there. Godly people are like trees, not so the wicked. That’s the contrast that we’re meant to get. Godly people are healthy and prosperous, not so the wicked.

So, we have a couple of moments. I want to give you a final example. Two of them, of people who sought and seek God daily. To both, seeking God was intensely personal and a daily part of their lives. First one I’m thinking of is David.

He was a king, a great king. Aside from Jesus, he was the greatest king in Israel. And David, in case you didn’t know, wrote 73 of the 150 Psalms. So you learn a lot about what he’s about. In those wonderful words.

But check this out. He says this. And all the words I wish we had another 20 minutes. One thing I asked from the Lord. I don’t have a long list.

I got it broken down to one. What is that, David? This is the only thing I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. All the days of my life. Every day of my life.

To gaze. This is why I’m wanting to dwell in his house. And then he tells us why. He’s not just this superstar saint. He goes, you know why?

Because in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe. How many know a day of trouble this last month or one coming up in the next week? Okay, good. So you get that’s not good. But you get what he’s saying here.

For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe. He will keep me safe in his dwelling. He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me up on a high rock. So good. That’s what David was after.

And notice he says, I will do this daily. I will do this daily. He wants a daily dose, not an occasional, not a Sunday dose, not a sermon and a song and go your way and we’ll see you in three weeks. A daily dose. Tomorrow’s Monday.

It’s the start of my week with God alone. And that’s what it needs to be for all of us. If we want to be this kind of have this kind of experience with David. The other example of a daily God seeker. This is David is my dad.

And dad, I got a minute still. Another preacher went long, but I’m going to have you stand you to just stay right there. And he’s not quite as old as David. But I say that with great affection. But I’ve watched a watch your life.

And I’ve seen you were the obvious choice. I like to bring somebody or have somebody stand up and tell how this all matters and makes a difference in their lives. And you know, so I guess I’d ask you the question data side from, you know, listening to your son’s sermons on a daily basis till they had to throw that out then. But you’re clarifying. What is it about your daily practice?

I mean, talk about that. I had a lot of questions down here, but your daily routine with God. Well, I appreciate the fact that you asked me a share, particularly on this subject. In 1952, I married my dear wife. 1954, she was taken into the hospital, not expected really to live because of the cancer and surgery that she had.

Our first born came that year. I was in seminary. I was serving as an assistant at a church. First Covenant church here in Portland, different than our doctrine, but I clarified it with them. And then I was going to seminary.

And I found myself so bogged down that some guy came to me and had the dacity of saying, “Have you been in the Word today?” And I could have cleverly word him. It was a fellow that I have forever forgiven because he kept saying every time he saw me at church, “Have you been in the Word today?” And I would have to say, “Well, yeah, I’ve been in the Word.” No, no, no.

He says, “Have you been in the Word today?” And so I finally, to get him off my back, I would get in the Word today. From then on, my life was changed. And I say that not in any way bragging, saying it with deepest appreciation and a loyalty to our Lord. Because from that moment on, I began a path that has led me into the Word on a daily basis and without apology.

One of the most great things I’ve ever been involved in was a group of young people called Caravans for Christ program. We started at my church and we took him to all over the world. And everyone that went would have to go through a whole study of the Word of God. And then I would say to them, “I don’t care how many times you get in a Bible study, what I’m concerned about, have you been in the Word of God today? Have you ever had me do that with you, see?

– I sense you’re doing it right now. (audience laughing) – And so I started with every kid and probably 800 kids. Kids have gone out. I get still, they now have their own grandchildren through them. And yet they will say, “The last thing I remember you ever saying to us, “have you ever been in the Word today?”

– Amen. – And I say that because I just want you to know what my verse of encouragement is. That I might obey your Word as a Psalmist would say. I’m not departed from your laws, for you yourselves have taught me how sweet are your words through my face. Sweeter than honey to my mouth.

And I understand with a firm understanding from the precepts of your Word. So your Word has now become a lamp to my feet. And a light to my path. And so about 19, if I can take one minute more, and 19, I’m gonna say it ain’t no. (audience laughing) Well, he can’t take it from me.

I hold the inheritance that he’ll get. (audience laughing) – At one point, Dad, here we go. (audience laughing) microphone out of your hand. (audience laughing) – 19, 98, I believe it was. The one year Bible came out, if you haven’t seen one, it’s where you go through the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs every day.

And I was convinced that that was a great pattern for all of us. That was saying a great pattern for all of us as conservative Baptist, because we introduced that book right here, and Nancy, you were probably a part of that. And we had everybody getting buying a one year Bible. I was a salesman of Bibles, because I believed in them. One year Bible, you daily, every day through the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.

It got so that some, we began to see it happening all over Portland, all over Oregon, all over Northern California, all up in Washington, up near Alaska. And then I get this word, will you do this for us? I don’t want to get you in the Word of God. My greatest desire is that it started in 1952 for me when some crazy guy kept saying, “Have I been in the Word of God?” Friend, when we got conservative, Baptist, in the Word, and the Word was in them, we were moving great, movement for God.

And I believe that this church, if we’re not in the Word on a daily basis, we can hear all the great preaching. And I believe we have the best preacher in the world. But I want you to know, because he preaches the Word, we need to follow it daily. Have you been in the Word of God? So I just said, on the way over, I thought, I don’t want to preach.

All I want to ask you, you know what you do? What I would be encouraged. And you just tell your pastor, if you do this, you’re going to say it to your wife or your husband, you’re going to say to a friend, you’re going to stop someone in the hallway and say, “Will you be my partner? Will you hold me accountable to be in the Word of God?” And I give you permission to ask me daily.

Call me on the phone. Have you been in the Word today? Now he’s looking at me. Well, because Steve worked with me up at Tedmore. And he will tell you, every person that ever worked there, every kid that worked there, every morning, there was one thing I’d walk up to him, I’d say, “But in the Word of God?”

And he got so bad that I just I’d say, “Oh, oh yes.” If you haven’t been in the Word, just be honest. You know, God understands it. I don’t understand it. God understands it.

So have you been in the Word of God? So let someone hold you accountable, as you can hold me accountable for the next few years I have. Amen. Thank you, Dad. Thank you so much.

And that’s good. Yeah, for sure. Have you been in the Word today? Yeah. And so have I.

And I held this up kind of quickly. You’ll want to come up and check it out or follow Mom and Dad next door when we break now. And we’re going to change it up here at the end because children’s ministry needs moms and dads to come soon. But here’s the thing I want you to know. He would be happy.

I had other questions that would have been really cool for you to hear. But when I say, “Have you been in the Word today, Dad?” He’s probably been up since 4, 3.34 o’clock. It’s just part of his day. It’s part of his day.

And I’m talking an hour, hour and a half, a couple of cups of coffee or more if God has his way. But it’s really a priority. It’s not just something we talk about. So to that end, I hope if you’re not one of those people that’s in the Word, this is a great way to start. And I have a copy of this, a new living translation, excellent translation.

Very helpful, very readable. But stop him. Stop me. I’d love to. I love your idea of accountability and all that goes with that.

I’d like you to stand with me. We’re going to close our time that way. And Lord, thank you for this time. Thank you for the powerful truth that we have seen in your Word and not just observed in David and ancient, but right here in our presence to hear a man that has for 70 years or more been in the Word daily. And he’s like a firm tree, tree firmly planted, who’s yielding fruit in his season, whose leaves do not wither and he continues to prosper.

That’s the message you want me to share and you want me to hear today. So thank you for blessing it. May it make a difference in who we are for Jesus’ sake. Amen. Amen.

Hey, at the door on your way out, we’ve normally taken offering and I have a finished song. Your zip strips, prayer requests, you can drop those in the plates. You’ll be at the door and also your morning gifts and offerings can be deposited there as well. God bless. Talk to my dad.

Yeah, mom too.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 6,480 words.