Believers are well-armed for spiritual conflict through the Word of God, which is presented as the "sword of the Spirit." It begins by highlighting Israel's failure to fight despite being armed, as recorded in Psalm 78:9, and then explores the divine authorship, profound depth, and absolute dependability of Scripture. The core lesson emphasizes that while the Bible contains challenging passages, its vital truths are clear and accessible, urging believers to engage with it. The message concludes by stressing the immense spiritual and practical value of knowing the Word, warning against neglecting its treasures.
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Thank you for coming out tonight. Pray the Lord will bless the word to your heart. Just a word please about my books. They are three that are a sort of a trilogy. The grandeur of Golgotha. A closer look at the cross. the gladness, or rather the glory of His rising, the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection in Him, and the gladness of His return.
I'm sorry that the first of these is out of print at present. Perhaps if there's sufficient fresh or put upon the publishers, they might come out with another one. I hope they will. Now I've got two here tonight and they'll be on sale. They're just half a dozen of each tonight back there, but I have some more here in our room. The glory of his rising, I'm happy to say that it has received very favorable commandation on both sides of the Atlantic.
Devotional studies which should draw the soul to Christ, said the harvester of England, deeply penetrating spiritual book, the King's Business, which is the official organ of Bible Institute of Los Angeles, clarity of insight and understanding, rich in fact and strong in appeal, Bibliotheca Sacra, which is the organ of the Dallas Theological College. Now these sell for three dollars each, but inasmuch as this is the bargain time of the year, I'm selling two of these for five dollars.
Mr. T. Ernest Wilson reminded me the other day that part of the agreement with the publisher is that we don't reduce the price. But even publishers have sales now and again, don't they? So perhaps it might be allowed for authors to do the same. So these will be to provide always at the back of the chapel. Now some of you are not prepared. Some of you may have asked your wife for the money yet. But they'll be on sale this week. Thank you very much. Now, we are considering together all this week studies in the Psalms.
We began with that yesterday morning and yesterday evening. And I propose that every evening of this week we center taking as a starting point a text from Psalms seven to eight. Shall we turn to Psalms number seventy-eight, please? And every night we shall take a theme suggested by this text. Then each morning at ten o'clock, in the will of the Lord, some other subject, such as we have taken yesterday, for our meditation, for those four mornings.
psalm seventy eight and verse nine the children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turn back in the day of battle the children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows, turn back in the day of battle. You'll notice in verse forty-one, we also read, yea, they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.
We might talk on that some morning. And you'll notice in verse fifty-seven, It says, But turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bull. Now, this Psalm is one of the Asaph Psalms. As I said yesterday, the Psalms are written by a number of different persons. Most of them come from David, so they're often called the Psalms of David.
But that's a mere convenience. Some at least one or two come from Moses, some from Asaph, some from David, some from Korah, the sons of Korah and so on. This is one of the Asaph's songs. Asaph was a man appointed for the service of praise in the court of David and contributed some of the songs composing the Psalter.
Now, in this Psalm, Asaph charges the children of Israel, whether they were in Egypt, or whether they were in the wilderness, or whether they were in the land of Canaan, he charges them with downright disobedience, and rebellion and the like. And three times over he charges them with turning back. Now the one which is before me tonight is the first of these in verse nine. The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying balls turned back in the day of battle.
Now, it wouldn't have been so bad, let me say, had they not been well-armed. But the Word of God says they were well-armed. They were armed and carrying bows. And yet, in spite of being so well-equipped, they turned back in the day of battle. Asaph seeks to show, that the response of Israel to all the power and blessing of God was poor. They had a poor response to all the mercies and overtures of God.
Now I inquired of myself some time ago, how well are we armed? For our conflict today, our conflict with the world, our conflict with the flesh, and our conflict with the devil, how well are we armed? And if we are well armed, why is it that so often we turn back in the day of battle? Now, I propose therefore this week that we inquire how well we are armed for our conflict.
I'm going to speak tonight that we are armed, first of all, with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. That will occupy us this evening. Another evening we may think about the Holy Spirit of God with which we are equipped in a way not known before in any other dispensation. And then we're going to see that we've got an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And we shall speak about the advocacy of Jesus Christ our Lord. And that we have a throne of grace to which we are invited to come for grace and help in time of need.
And then that we are endowed with special talent. according as the Lord in his wisdom has distributed to us all. And then each of us shares in common a pound with which to trade during the absence of our Lord. And then we're going to see finally that we have the special ministry of those appointed by our good Samaritan who said, Take care of him.
And whatsoever thou spendest more when I return, I will repay thee. The gifts to the church. for our care in our warfare. Now you'll notice it once then that this opens up a great broad subject. It may be, I might get into trouble for saying this, I don't know, but it may be that these subjects will be so big that we might even, you know, we might even preach to Nine o'clock sometime. Maybe nine-thirty. Maybe ten.
You know. Amen. All right. We'll see how well we get on then with this subject. Now, the first thing that we want to think about tonight. is that we are first of all equipped with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Now, I propose tonight to speak about this subject in rather perhaps a unique way for you. It's a good many years ago since I made a study of the three sixteenths, some of the three sixteenths of the New Testament.
And I discovered that in them there is a sort of a sequence in regard to the Word of God. For instance, I'm going to speak from Second Timothy about the authorship of the Bible. I'm going to speak from Second Peter three sixteenths on the ability of the Bible. I'm going to speak from Galatians on the accuracy of the Bible. I'm going to speak from Colossians on our attitude towards the Bible. And I'm going to speak from Romans and Corinthians and John and First John on the answer of the scriptures to our searching.
Have you got that? I've made them all begin with A so that you'll remember that. the authorship of the Bible, the ability of the Bible, the accuracy of the Bible, the attitude towards the Bible, and the answer of the Bible to our searching. So sit back and enjoy the word. And don't look at the clock. But of course, we have to keep within the bounds, if possible. Alright, let's turn then to the first of these in Second Timothy. I just want each of those verses, please, to teach us one thing.
And after I give you the three sixteen of Timothy, I won't tell you in what chapter and what verse they occur afterwards, you'll know. Verse sixteen, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Now this gives us the authorship of the Word of God. This tells us how true the steel is of our weapon.
the Holy Scriptures. How true that steel is, that the Scriptures are divine. Their authorship is from God. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now the Bible begins by telling us about the in-breathing of God. It says that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of lives. The word is in the plural. The breath of lives and man became a living soul. Now this body of ours, man, is constituted as coming from the hand of God perfect in constitution and construction.
because he is the product of the inbreeding of God. Man cannot cease to exist because God breathed his existence into him at the beginning. He is possessed of the very eternity of God as to his being. by reason of the first breath of God. He would be a very foolish person who would presume to improve upon the construction of the human body. We recognize it's perfect by reason of the workmanship and breath of God. Now, in the same way, God breathed again.
And in the second breathing of God, He gave to us the Holy Scripture. which are perfect by reason again of the breath of the Almighty. I heard about a person who said, If I had been God in creation, I should have made some things different. He says, for instance, I should not have put that little tiny acorn on that great big oak tray. And that big, big, heavy pumpkin on such a slender vine. That's not equal. The great pumpkin ought to be on the great oak tray.
And the little acorn ought to be on the little vine. And while he was congratulating himself on his mental achievement, He fell asleep underneath one of those self-same oak trees. You know what happened. When the acorn fell and hit him on the nose, he says, thank God that wasn't a pumpkin. Anyway, the thing is perfect by reason of the breath of God. How nice just to clasp this book to your breast and say thank God for the divine origin of the Holy Scriptures. Amen.
You know the older I grow in this and And Christian evidence has always been a favorite subject of mine. I've taught it for years in the Bible schools. But the older I grow, dear friends, the more I feel like the old woman who said, I believe the Bible, I believe it from generations to revolutions. And so do I. All Scripture is given by the in-breathing of God. It is... divine is authorship is certain now the second scripture is in second peter as also in all his epistles this is peter speaking about paul's writings as also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable, twist, rest,
as they do also the other scriptures. He is a reference again to the word, as they do the other scriptures unto their own distractions. Now here Peter tells us that in the writings of Paul, as indeed throughout the Word of God, there are some things hard to be understood. Not many things to discourage us, but some things to challenge us. Now that's what you are to expect. in a divine revelation. You see? In other words, if this book is divine of necessity, it is deep in places.
You see? If you and I could master the Bible, we would leave the Bible and go in search of something else to engage our intellects. Now, get a hold of this sentence. The mystery element is an essential part of a divine revelation. The mystery element is a designed and essential part of a divine revelation. In other words, if this is divine, the necessary consequence will be. that there always will be some things beyond us.
You see, it will always be like the horizon, ever receding. The more we read it, the more knowledge we'll have. But there'll always be, because it is divine, it will be deep. And I've called that the ability of the scriptures, because while the child is charmed with its simplicity, The most devout scholar is challenged by its profundity. While it is charming the child, it is challenging the most erudite to grasp the meaning of its divine utterances.
Now, again I urge, it doesn't say many things hard to be understood, but so. I heard of a preacher who was eating his dinner on the tray. When the waiter brought the meal, he bowed his head and thanked God for it. I remember I did that once years ago on the train. The waiter brought my meal and I bowed my head and gave God thanks. And when I looked up, he was looking down at me. He says, what's wrong with it? I said, nothing. I was just thanking God for it.
Well, this preacher did that. And across the table, a man was eyeing him kind of quizzically. He says, you must be a preacher. Well, he said, it so happens I am. He says, preach out of the Bible, don't you? Why, yes, he said, of course. And you find a lot of things you don't understand, don't you? Oh, no, he said. Some things, not many. He said, what do you do when you come to a thing you don't understand? Well, he said, I do the same thing as I'm doing right now. He said, what do you mean? Well, he says, you'll notice I'm eating fish. He said, I'm enjoying the fish.
Once in a while I come across a bone in the fish. But I just take the bone out quietly and lay it on the one side and go on eating. Let some fool choke himself on the bones if he wants to. I'm going to enjoy my fish. Now that's what to do with the word of God. Go on eating the word of God. Go on enjoying it. When you come to a difficulty, lay it quietly on the one side. You see, when after you lay it on the one side, consult my brother Willie here. He'll tell you your difficulty. But it's axiomatic that the more you learn of this word, your difficulties disappear.
But there always be that challenge because it is divine. And of course I should hasten to say too that some folks say that They get quite offended when they come across something they don't understand and they lay it on the one side. For instance, they say, I started to read the Bible and I hadn't read very far until it says that Cain went out and knew his wife and she conceived and had a son. Where did Cain get his wife? Adam and Eve and himself and the world.
Where did King get his wife? And because God didn't stop to explain where King got his wife, they are mortally offended and give up reading the Bible they say. Now, if they were honest and read a little bit further down the chapter, they would find that according to King himself, there were quite a lot of people in the world. For he said himself, it will come to pass that everyone that finds me will kill me. There must be quite a lot of people in the world. And, of course, the thing is capable of an answer. But keep this in mind. Now, when you begin to read this book, remember that the first two thousand years are covered over in the first eleven chapters.
Two thousand years of human history in eleven chapters. And then when you get to chapter twelve, everything moves slowly. Because God has got to the place that he was aiming at. Now consequently, if two thousand years are comprehended in eleven chapters, God doesn't have time to satisfy our curiosity. Here's another exeomatic thing to write in the fly leaf of your Bible. In this book, what is vital is clear, and what is not clear is not vital. In this book, what is vital is clear, and what is not clear is not vital.
Suppose that God were to start to satisfy our curiosity in everything that we would like. How big would the Bible be? You'd come into the meeting staggering under the load of your Bible. You'd need a trailer to bring it up. You'd lay it down on the special counters provided for each member. and a preacher would say, well, turn to page three hundred ninety-eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine, and on page three hundred and fifty-six, you'll find my text. No. God hasn't got time for that. In this book, what is vital is clear, and what is not clear is not vital.
Thank you. So there are some things hard to be understood. That's because it is divine. And because it's divine, it's deep. Now, Galatians, please. Now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made. He saith not and to seeds as of many, but to thy seed which is Christ.
Now you'll notice the reference to the word of God is under the designation of promises, promises to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made. Now, Peter speaks about exceeding great and precious promises. That's another name for the Word of God. Now this teaches us the accuracy of the Bible. And Paul makes his whole argument turn upon this fact that when God spoke to Abraham, When God spoke to Abraham, he did not say seeds, but said seed.
You see. As a matter of fact, of course, when the Bible speaks of the seed of Abraham, it means one of three things. The seed of Abraham means, first of all, the natural descendants of Abraham the Jew. all Jews, the seed of Abraham by nature. But according to Paul in Romans chapter four, the spiritual seed of Abraham are all they, whether Jew or Gentile, who have exercised the same saving faith as Abraham.
But thirdly and ultimately, the seed of Abraham is Christ. And the Apostle Paul seizes on that, and he says, you know, the Lord didn't say seed as of many, but seed as of one, which is Christ. That leads me to say this, that the Bible as to its authorship, its divine, as to its ability, it is the as to its accuracy, as to its accuracy, it is dependable.
Now this weapon that you and I have in the Word of God is a book which is absolutely to be depended upon in all its statements. Whether it's treating history or prophecy or geography, or topography, or science, or miracles, whatever the Old Testament is treating of, you can depend upon its accuracy at every turn.
There are places in the Word of God where attention is drawn to the fact as to the accuracy of the Bible in respect of number, not plural, but singular, as to voice, not passive, but active, as to tense. Not past, but present. Not I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For he's not the God of the dead, but of the living, you see. When the early editions of Encyclopedia Britannica came out, They said there was no substantiation outside of the Bible for the identifying of Belshazzar.
It said, now secular history speaks about Nebuchadnezzar and his son, Nabonidus. The Bible speaks about Nebuchadnezzar and his son, Belshazzar. And so the early editions said there's no substantiation outside the Bible for identification of this character, Belshazzar. And of course, when some people read that, they said, well, there you are. You see, the Bible's not dependable. But you know about the turn of the century, the archaeologist was digging over in Babylonia.
and he dug up a clay prism upon which was the ancient cuneiform writing of Babylon. It's a marvelous study, archaeology. I made a study of it many, many years ago. It's marvelous how the long-lost Egyptian hieroglyphics was at last the secret of its alphabet was discovered by a stone dug out of the ground, the Rosetta Stone. And when it came to the kidney, a form writing of Babylon, the key was found in a great rock rising a hundred and fifty feet above the plain away there in Arabia.
And the secret was that here was a message in three languages in the Rosetta Stone, and here was a message in three languages in the Behistun Rock. Well, with that key, they deciphered this clay prison. And they found it was a prayer of Nebuchadnezzar for Belshazzar, his grandson, Belshazzar. And archaeology tells us that Nabonidus was not mentioned in Babylon when Daniel wrote, because he wasn't there. He was out in conquest.
And the last four years of his life he was a prisoner and died in exile. And in his long absence, his son, Belshazzar, was ruling and acknowledged the king. Now, inasmuch as in the Hebrew language, the word for son and grandson is the same. There was no contradiction in the Bible. So when the later editions of the Encyclopedia came out, they corrected the former ones and they said that Belshazzar had now emerged as a figure in secular history as well as biblical history.
Now, I could give you lots of illustrations along that line. I just wanted to say this, dear friends. You can hug this to your breast and you can say, this is divine, this is deep, and this is dependable in all its parts. It's not so easy to prove a scientific inaccuracy in the Bible. Lots of people will give you lots of money if you can prove it. But it can't. Harry Rimmer all his life offered a thousand dollars to somebody who could prove a scientific inaccuracy. A man one time thought he ought to have it and hailed him to court in New York.
But the judge, who was a Jew and had no sympathy therefore for Christianity, throughout the man's case entirely said he had no case against the accuracy of Christianity. the word of God in respect even of saints. All right. We've learned these three things about this weapon of ours. Let's turn to Colossians. Let the word of Christ, there's the word, of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Now this gives us what I call our attitude. You see, men and women, if God has seen fit, that this word should come down to you through a river of blood and a stream of tears, to give us this, men and women too have lived and died. If this book is divine, if this book is deep, if this book is dependable, what should be your attitude towards it? and mine. We ought to know it. The word of Christ ought to be dwelling in us richly in all wisdom.
We ought to know this book. It will be to our eternal loss if we don't. It will be to our eternal gain if we do. We read that there are things in this word that are worth more than gold, yea, than much time gold. You only neglect this book at your pearl. You ought to know what it's about. I heard about a young fellow who went to college. When he's going away, his dad gave him A beautiful Bible in a box.
He says, son, here's a Bible. It will pay you to look into this. He says, well, thanks, Dad. Thanks anyway. And he put it down in his trunk. He went to college. He got into rather bad company. He began to gamble and began to lose. And the creditors began to press him for his debts. So he wrote home and says, Dad, I'm short of money. Would you mind sending me a hundred dollars? But his father wrote back and said, Son, I got your letter. Read your Bible. Nobody thought, what a strange answer. I must not make it very clear.
So he wrote a stronger letter. He says, Dad, I've got into serious trouble, financial trouble. I really need a hundred dollars. Will you send it to me? and how he waited for that letter. And when he got it back, it says, Son, I got your letter, but read your Bible. And the fellow says, My, parents can be so difficult. So he sent a telegram. Father, I'm in serious trouble. Send me a hundred dollars. I may have to come home in the middle of the semester. And his father sent a telegram back. Dear son, got your telegram, but Read your Bible.
On the son said, what's the idea? Why does he say that? I admit if I had read it, I wouldn't be in the jam. I'm in, but I'm in the jam. Why doesn't he send it to me? What does he mean? So he got the Bible out and opened it for the first time. Since he went home, didn't know just where he would open it, but he opened it. And when he did, five dollar bills. turn over a page, another five dollar bill. He began to take quite an interest in the word of God. And when he did, he found his father had placed twenty-five dollar bills. And that's why he said, son, it will pay you to look into this book.
And he said, to think that all this treasure was here, and I never knew about it. And believe me, men and women, believe me when I tell you, there'll be thousands of people who will say, I never knew that there was wealth like that in the Bible. I didn't know there were things that was worth more than much fine gold. And now it's too late. I'm lost other than him. And I had a Bible in my house. And I never opened it. My in God's name. If you've got a Bible in your house and you don't know it, get to know it. It's worth more than much.