Celebration Church Podcast
Podcast of Celebration Church
Celebration Church Podcast
What's Really Missing - Tim Timberlake
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What if the biggest thing missing from your Bible reading isn’t a verse—but a Person?
In “What’s Really Missing?”, we journey through Acts 8 and the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. While the Ethiopian had the Scriptures in his hands, Philip helped him discover the One the Scriptures were pointing to: Jesus.
The Bible was never given simply to fill our minds with information—it was given to lead us to Jesus, transform our hearts, renew our minds, and move us toward obedience.
Hey, I'm Tim Timberlake, and I want to thank you so much for listening to the Celebration Church podcast. I hope this message encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and gave you something you can carry into your week. If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to join us live every Sunday at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. on YouTube. We would love to have you there. And if you're ever in the Jacksonville, Florida area, come see us in person. We have a seat saved for you. Thanks again for being with us. We're so grateful for you and see you next time. Also want to celebrate this with you. And so each one of those subscribers represents a household. And what an honor and a privilege to go on this journey of faith with over a hundred thousand of our Celebration Everywhere family members. And so if you're watching online and you're not subscribed, subscribe. If you go back and you watch it later, subscribe. Share the messages with your friends and your family. I believe we're gonna hit a million before you know it. Amen. How many of you here for the very first time? Wave at me, wave at me. You're here for the very first time. How are you? Anyone come over five hours away? Over five hours. Where you come from? You came from the Dominican Republic. Dion. Come on, we can do better than that. Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. I believe God is going to move in this place and speak to all of us, and we're gonna all leave change and transform because of it. And so we're in a very special uh season here at Celebration Church. Um, and I'm humbled by what Jesus continues to do, and I'm glad that we get an opportunity to go on this journey of faith together. Amen. How many of you listened to last week's message by Pastor Petey Bingo? What an incredible teacher of the word of God. Amen. We're blessed, we're blessed, we're blessed to have God's best right here in the house. I'm so honored that we get this opportunity together to lift up the name of Jesus. Amen. Acts chapter 8. We're gonna pick up where he left off last week. We're gonna start verse 35. Acts chapter 8, verse 35. I'll be reading from the ESV translation. It says, Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with the scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. I want to utilize these verses for our subject matter today as we unpack the word of God entitled, What's Really Missing? What's really missing? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this word. I ask that you would speak to us. I ask that you would move in this place and move in us. Allow it to be all of you and none of me. And I ask right now in the name of Jesus that you would heal those that need to be healed, set free those that need to be set free, deliver those that need to be delivered. And God break every single chain that we walked into this place with. And allow us to leave this moment free and free indeed. It is in your name we pray, the name that is above every name. The name of Jesus the Christ, our King. And if you're glad He's still alive and well, one time real loud, can you shout amen? You can take your seats. Have you ever noticed about your life that oftentimes what gets your attention isn't what's actually missing? We notice in this passage of scripture that there is a verse missing. Between verse 36 and verse 38, verse 37 has been removed. This is one of the most talked-about passages in the New Testament because this verse has been removed. If you open most modern Bibles, you'll notice Acts chapter 8 jumps from verse 36 to verse 38 and seemingly does not miss a beat. And people have argued about it, debated it, written books about it, and questioned whether they can trust the Bible because of this or not. But I came to tell you today, you can trust the Bible. You can trust the word of God because the word of God is trustworthy. I don't think the missing verse is the biggest missing thing in this story, though. I think as we read this verse, the real question isn't where did verse 37 go? The real question is what's really missing. It is possible that you can hold the Bible and still miss Jesus. It is possible that you can quote Scripture and still not know about the person you're quoting. It is possible that you can pray and you can worship and still not know the person you're praying and worshiping to. It is very possible to come to church every single week and not be changed and transformed. It is possible to have all the church lingo and language and have your best Sundays best on and still leave the same way that you came because you are not retaining the word of God and applying the word of God and allowing the word of God to change you. I want to encourage you today. Don't just read the word of God. Allow the word of God to read you. See, if the word ain't reading you, then you ain't begin to read the word of God. I'm telling you, on a daily basis, the word reads me to filth. It reminds me that without Jesus, I am nothing, but with him, I am everything. It reminds me that I am the head and not the tail above and not beneath. It reminds me that I am the lender and not the bar. It reminds me who I belong to, and it also reminds me that I am his very own. See, when you don't allow the word of God to read you and remind you of who you are, you begin to take on the identity of the world. You begin to respond and react to what culture and society calls you, and who your family and your friends call you, and who people that used to know what you used to do back in the day, what they still call you. But God does not call you those things. God calls you a son and a daughter. And if you don't allow the word of God to read you, and if you just settle for reading the word of God, then you will settle for a lifestyle and a life that's far less than Jesus intended. And so the real question is what is really missing? This Ethiopian eunuch, he's holding the book of Isaiah, but he's still missing who Isaiah is pointing him to. And God sees his hunger, he sees his desperation, he sees his desire to know about him and to know about who Jesus is. And he plucks Philip out of a revival in Samaria and places him on this desert road to encounter this Ethiopian eunuch to provide answers for the questions that this eunuch has. And this is something that we should not just go past and rush beyond. This is something that I believe we need to give focus to because oftentimes we're looking for something in the Bible when in fact we should be looking for someone. It was a person the Ethiopian eunuch had not yet seen. And the moment Philip opened his mouth was the moment this Ethiopian eunuch had an opportunity to encounter the words of Jesus Christ. The big idea of this passage isn't that verse 37 is missing, which we will address momentarily. It is that God never intended his word to eliminate every question you may have. God intended his word to reveal the one who answers every question in his timing, and that one person is Jesus. I want you to hear me when I tell you this. All scripture points to the person of Jesus. Whether you start in Genesis or whether you end in Revelation, it all points to the person of Jesus. And you can open up your Bible on any page. If you keep reading long enough, you'll find Jesus in that passage. It doesn't matter if it's the Old Testament or the New Testament. So if you're settling for reading your Bible for information, you miss an opportunity to get transformed by the Word of God because you're looking for something instead of looking for someone. So Philip, he's left this great revival in Samaria now. This Ethiopian eunuch has traveled nearly 1,500 miles to worship in Jerusalem, but returns spiritually unsatisfied because he goes to look for information instead of look for transformation in the person of Jesus Christ. And he's on this journey back home, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, knowing that he has some answers, but there's other answers he does not have. And Philip meets him on this path. And then comes one of the greatest ironies in all of Scripture. The man reading the Bible cannot understand it. While thousands of years later, we are still reading the same Bible, and this passage in Acts chapter 8 is missing, verse 37, and it brings us to the question: what am I missing? And although our question may be different than this Ethiopian Samaritan, the answer is still the same. Someone in your life must faithfully explain the scripture to you so that your life can be transformed by it. That's why it is vitally important to be submitted to the Holy Spirit so that you can hear the Holy Spirit interpret his word to you. Because there's some things that you're going to read that have to go beyond information, they have to transfer into revelation so that their revelation can create transformation on the inside of you. Hear me. Everyone is changing. The fact that you woke up is an indication that you're changing. Your body is changing. And some of you don't like the change that your body is showing you. So whether you want it to or not, change is inevitable. Transformation, however, is a choice. You have to choose to be transformed by the word of God. You have to choose to have your mind renewed by the word of God. You have to choose to be submitted and surrendered to the word of God so that you can become a disciple of God's word. And so over a thousand years later, we're still asking the same question: what is it that I am missing about the word of God? And it's not that you're missing the scripture, it's that you're missing what Jesus is revealing through the scripture. Verse 35 says, Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with the scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus Christ. He opened his mouth and he began with scripture. Our problem is we open our mouth and we begin with opinion. We begin with I think you should. We begin with I feel like. He opened his mouth and he led with scripture, which teaches us whenever you open your mouth, lead with scripture. Gossip is one of the highest forms of witchcraft. Let me teach you why. Because it changes the image of someone in the mind of someone else. And then you go back and you hang with the person that you were just gossiping about, and you leave this negative image in the person who you now gossip to. That's what makes it witchcraft. You are changing the image of a child of God in the mind of another child of God. And so often we lead with that. And Philip, he opens his mouth and he leads with scripture. I love this because the first century expression of this means that he opened his mouth with great importance and great intentionality because he had something to say. Did you hear that? He had something to say. How many times have you opened your mouth and you have not been filled with something to say? See how quiet it is in here. Because we like to talk, but we don't like to listen to hear what we should be talking about. I wonder how many arguments you could avoid if you led with scripture. I wonder how many beds you would stay out of if you led with scripture. I wonder how many relationships would be spared if you led with scripture. He opened his mouth and he led with scripture. And he told him the good news of Jesus Christ. He doesn't end with Isaiah, he ends with Jesus. Luke intentionally says, Philip began with Isaiah because the point is not simply explaining prophecy, but showing how all of Scripture and how all prophecy is the fulfillment in Christ Jesus, according to Luke, chapter 24, verse 27. And this Ethiopian's greatest problem was not that Isaiah was difficult to understand, it was that he had not yet met the person Isaiah was talking about. And you can read about the person, but it takes on a completely different life when you meet the person you've been reading about. That's why I encourage you to read the word for yourself. Study the word for yourself. Don't take my word for it. Read your Bible. Sit down with your word, open it up, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal himself to you through the Holy Scripture so that you know when you come to church it is confirmation from what you've been hearing all week. If you're only getting revelation from service, then you're not spending time with the Holy Spirit. Because service is a gathering to confirm the revelation that you've received from the Holy Spirit and your personal and private time. Point number one is this every chapter that doesn't move you toward Christ eventually becomes another chapter you've mastered but never allow it to master you. I know that's a mouthful, the team's gonna leave it up on the screen for a little bit. If you're a slow writer, pull out your phone, take a picture of it so that you can go back to it later. Every chapter that you read that has not mastered you will not be retained by you. If it's not retained by you, it will not transform you. See, you get impressed by how many verses you read a day. They don't impress God. God is not impressed that you can read the Bible cover to cover if you can't remember any of it. No, no. He's impressed by what you retain about him, by what changes and transforms you, by what renews your mind. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. If you read it and you forget it, it is of no blessing to you. And so people ask me all the time, how much scripture should I read on a daily basis? As much as you can retain. Can I get a good amen on that? The greatest danger isn't reading the Bible without understanding every verse, it's understanding every verse without ever meeting the Jesus every verse reveals. And you can be fluent in scripture while remaining a stranger to the Savior. That's why you can close your Bible and curse somebody out. That's why you can leave a gathering like this and give the cops a hard time as you leave the parking lot. That's why you can read the word of God, you can weep and worship and not talk to the person beside you during service. Because you are gathering information and not being transformed by the revelation of the word of God. You're reading words on a page, but you're not reading the person behind the words on the page. This Ethiopian eunuch has a desire, he has a desperation, he has a longing to be transformed by the Word of God, and he understands I am missing something. And the thing that I am missing, I don't have the ability to understand and know how. So God sends Philip across his path to allow him to know you're not just missing something, you're missing someone, and the someone that you're missing is Jesus. Let me introduce you to him. The Bible is never given merely to fill your mind, it was given to surrender your heart. The tragedy isn't an unread Bible, it is a Bible that never leads you to worship God at a deeper level. Some of you got these great Bibles, big, bold, font. Got your name inscribed on it. And you read and you think to yourself, what I'm reading is about me. No, what you're reading should point you towards the one who changed you. Should drop you on your knees and bring you to a place of humility where you understand if it had not been for the Lord on my side, I know exactly where I would be. But because of his grace and his mercy, covered me, saved me, keeps me, lifts me. I have life and life worth living. Understand this about the word of God. Your knowledge of this Bible, your knowledge of these words, your knowledge of these scriptures, it may impress people, but only Christ transforms you into becoming who it is that He desires for you to be by the renewing of your mind through these words that you read. And so every page of Scripture whispers one name louder than all the others, and that one name is Jesus. And every single page from cover to cover, it whispers the name of Jesus. And you can be transformed by the power of Jesus if you apply and retain the words that you read. Verse 36. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? I want you to see this because Philip never commands baptism. The Ethiopian requests it. Baptism comes in the New Testament. So Philip led him from Isaiah to the New Testament, and we have to assume he's taught him about repentance. He's taught him about faith. And he's taught him about baptism. And because now this information has been transferred to revelation, he has a desire to take the next step of faith after now following Jesus. And that's how faith works. Faith always pushes you to take the next step. How do you know when you're following Jesus when you got enough faith to take the next step? And for some of you, the next step is baptism today. For others of you, that next step is the infilling of the Holy Spirit. For others of you, that next step is to begin your tithing journey. Whatever that next step is, you know you're following Jesus when you take the next step of faith. And the Ethiopian eunuch, he's taking this step of faith, and he asks the question What prevents me from being baptized? This is an important question for this eunuch to ask because Deuteronomy chapter 23, verse 1, it excludes eunuchs from full participation in any assembly that Israel holds. And now this eunuch has an encounter with a man who is teaching him about Jesus, teaching him about repentance, teaching him about holiness, teaching him about baptism. They come across the body of water, and this eunuch says, Why not me? What prevents me from being baptized? Look at me for a second. As long as you have Jesus, what What is preventing you from taking the next step? There's nothing that disqualifies you from taking the next step with Jesus as long as you got him. There's nothing that disqualifies you from his best as long as you got him. There's nothing that tells you that you cannot go on a journey with Jesus as long as you are following him. What is stopping you from taking the next step? I'll tell you what's stopping you from taking the next step, and it's not the devil, it's you. Touch your own self. Say it's me. It's me. I know it's me. It's me. I and the reason I know it's you because you love you some you. You love you. You love you. You look in the mirror, you tell yourself, I love me, I love me, I love me. Don't we look good today? I love me. You love you, but there's one that loves you more than you. He knows every increment, intimate detail about your life. He knows your makeup, he knows your hiccups, he knows your hangups, he knows your sin. He knows you better than you know you. He knows what you're gonna do tomorrow. You don't know what you're gonna do tomorrow. So if he knows you that well, why not spend time with him so that he can tell you the plans and the purpose that he has for you? And that way you know there's nothing preventing you from becoming who he desired for you to be. And another way of asking this question that I believe the eunuch is asking is will God reject me too? People have rejected me. I'm not fully a man in the eyes of most people because I'm a eunuch. Will God reject me too? And God will never reject you. Aren't you so glad that his word says that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God? Nothing that can separate you from the love of God. Which means if you feel separated, just go back to the last place you experienced them. Because he hasn't left you yet. But the good news is you can re-establish that relationship right where you left him. So the gospel does a great job throughout all of the New Testament answering this question for us will God reject me too? And the gospel answers this with overwhelming grace. This overwhelming grace that Jesus provides to us reminds us that we do not belong to ourselves, we belong to Him. Our life is not our own. We have been bought and purchased with a price. And the price that we have been bought and purchased with is the life of Jesus Christ. He exchanged his life for yours, and you are the only one hanging on to your life when he has a better life for you to grab a hold of. Answer is no. And what we don't see in this text is verse 37. Most modern translations omit this verse. It is absent from most Bibles today. Because it was also absent from the strongest Greek manuscripts. One theologian explain it is likely entered into the text later as an early baptismal confession before eventually becoming part of some manuscript traditions. And so, although it may not be in your Bible, I want to read to you what verse 37 says. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest be baptized. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This should not weaken our confidence in Scripture. This should embolden us to know that even the scriptures that have been taken out for whatever reason still points back to Jesus Christ. The translations may have refused the text. But even the scripture that is removed identifies Christ as the Son of God. It invites us to examine our own hearts. What areas of our lives have been removed that still should reflect the glory of God? What relationships have been extracted out of our lives that still should reflect the glory of God? What seasons have changed and we have now entered into a new season, but those seasons still should reflect the glory of God. The scripture says, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This perfectly reflects the theology taught throughout Acts. Faith precedes baptism. That doctrine doesn't depend on one verse, it echoes throughout the entire New Testament. And so, although 37 may be redacted from your Bible, let me assure you, the Bible is still true, and you can still trust the Bible because all scripture points back to one person, and that one person all scripture points back to is still the person of Jesus Christ. Point number two is this: the greatest proof that the Bible is trustworthy isn't the absence of questions, it's the consistency of Christ after every question is asked. Christ is consistent. I'll say it again. Christ is consistent. The word of God teaches us that he's the same yesterday, he's the same today, and he's the same forevermore. Aren't you glad he does not change his mind? Aren't you glad he still believes in you when you don't believe in you? Aren't you glad he still has faith in you when you are faithless in him? Aren't you glad that he has a hand that is unchanging? And as long as you continue to trust him, that hand remains faithful to cover you and keep you and lift you and position your mind in perfect peace when it is stayed on him. The greatest proof that the Bible is trustworthy isn't the absence of questions. Hear me, you will always have questions. And you may not find the questions and the answers in the word of God that you have questions too. But as long as you trust Jesus in his timing, he will bring truth to the questions that you have. Whether it's in this life or in the next. Why even create it? Why? Why was a tree in the garden? You knew we were too weak. Why was it in the garden? These are answers that we won't get on this side, but we'll get on the other side if he so chooses to give them to us. This is what I've come to learn. A lot of us are not asking the right questions. And so, because you ask the wrong questions, you arrive at the wrong conclusions. If you arrive at the wrong conclusions, you'll perceive the wrong thing. And if you perceive the wrong thing, you will eventually see the wrong thing. So don't get stuck on the questions you have. Ask God, what questions do you want me to ask you? And listen. And when he gives you a response, ask him the questions that he has given you the unction and instructions to ask because those questions are questions that he has a desire to give you answers to. Some of y'all are asking God a question, why ain't I married yet? And you really don't want to know the answer. You already know. Because you're not becoming who he wants you to be. See how quiet it gets? Y'all talk to me. No, I'm telling you the truth. Ain't open your word in a month, but you want God to give you his best. What does that work? You ain't been faithful on your job, but you're praying God will give you a raise. You're praying for a promotion. You should show up late every single day and leave early. Take an hour and 30 minutes for lunch. You're not a good steward. You don't want to hear that though. Truth never becomes weaker because someone examines it. Only lies need darkness to survive. Scripture is not afraid of your questions. God is not afraid of your questions. Jesus is not afraid of your questions. The Holy Spirit is not afraid of your questions. Our Heavenly Father is not afraid of your questions. He welcomes them, but He will only answer them when He has a plan to. And when it is in His plan and intention that answers the questions that you may have, then you'll get the answers that you have need of. I need you to understand this. The Bible has survived kings, critics, fires, prisons, skeptics, because truth always outlives every generation that tries to bury it. So you can still trust Scripture even though there is a scripture that has been removed. Why do I still trust Scripture? Because Scripture tells me the truth about its biblical heroes. See, when you read a comic book, the comic book never tells you about how many times that that hero fell. It never tells you about how imperfect that hero is. Superman had kryptonite. Whoop-dee-doo. It didn't tell you Superman was like David. He had a lust issue, continued to be led by his flesh. What book would you read that would just air out all the dirty laundry of your heroes? A book that is true that wants you to see that if God can use them, he surely can use you. How do we know scripture is true and we can trust scripture? Because ancient rulers commissioned stories that magnified their greatness that never talked about their weakness. A book interested in self-promotion would have hidden Noah's drunkenness, Abraham's deception, David's adultery, Peter's denial, and the disciples' pride. Instead, the word of God preserves them because all of us can identify one of these weaknesses in Scripture that we struggle with today. And if we don't have someone that we can turn to in our weakness and in our low moments, and in the valleys and in the graves of our lives and say, I need help for the things that I'm struggling with, then we're all hopeless. And so I still trust scripture because scripture it preserves tension instead of erasing them. The Bible doesn't erase difficult moments, it highlights them, and then above that, it elevates the name of Jesus Christ and expresses our dire need for it. The Bible's unity is not found in a plot, it is found in a person, and the person that all of Scripture points to is always been and will always be Jesus. And people often say there are over 40 authors and 1500 years written that bring the Bible together, and all of that's true, but something deeper is happening in the Word of God. The prophets don't merely agree on ideas, they they cover the ideas across hundreds of years and three continents that focus on one man. How many scholars about another subject do you know can all agree on one thing together? The Bible is not 66 disconnected voices harmonizing by accident. It is 66 witnesses testifying to the same Christ. He is alive, he is well, and he is mighty to save those that desire to be saved. Why do I still trust scripture? Because every generation has tried to erase it. Every generation has tried to silence it, yet every generation has unintentionally preserved more evidence for it. Thousands of years and thousands of attempts to destroy the Bible have resulted in more manuscripts, more translations, more archaeological study, and greater ability to compare the text thanks to technology. And so opposition has never weakened the word of God. Opposition has strengthened its stance in the lives of those that apply it and retain it. And so you can trust scripture. I will always trust in the Bible. Because the Bible always tells me the truth. I will always trust in the Bible because it always reveals Christ. I will always trust in the word of God because the word of God always exposes the sin that is in my heart. I will always trust in the word of God because the word of God has survived every attack. The word of God has survived every government. The word of God has survived every king. The word of God has survived every Dylan. The word of God has survived every season and every mountaintop and every valley. And so I will always trust the word of God. I trust the Bible because dead books don't produce living life. I trust the Bible because every time I open this book, every time I open this precious word, every time I open this sacred text, I open it and I don't just find words, I find Jesus. Let me remind you, as long as you have Jesus, everything will be alright. You can keep the Book of Mormon. You can keep your Quran. You can keep Hare Krishna's book. You can keep the book of the Church of Scientology. Give me this. Give me the unadulterated, unfiltered word of God. Give me this. If I got this, everything else would be alright. If it begins with man instead of God, keep it. If it can't exist without Jesus, I don't want it. If it entertains my flesh but never transforms my heart, I don't want it. If it promises crowns without a cross, I don't want it. If it changes my behavior but never changes my nature, I don't want it. If it gives me religion without redemption, I don't want it. If it makes much of me and little of Christ, I don't want it. If it offers inspiration without salvation, I don't want it. If it produces fans instead of disciples, I don't want it. If it grows my platform more than my prayer life, I don't want it. If it costs me nothing to follow, I don't want it. If it never caused me to repentance, I don't want it. If it can't be explained without the Holy Spirit, I don't want it. If it glorifies gifts more than the giver, I don't want it. If it leaves Jesus as an option instead of the only way, I don't want it. If it is built on the opinions of men instead of God's word, I don't want it. If it celebrates truth but refuses to obey it, I don't want it. If it produces an applause but never produces holiness, I don't want it. If it seeks to make people more comfortable rather than convicted, I don't want it. Just give me Jesus. And if I love Jesus, then I also love his word. Because he is the word. In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God. So you can't have Jesus and not have his word. You can't love Jesus and not love his word. Any other thing that you have that is contrary to the word of God, I don't want it. If it can live without Jesus, I don't want it. If it ends with me, I don't want it. If it begins with me, I don't want it. If it has not revealed God to me, I don't want it. But if it was spoken by God, fulfilled in Christ, sealed by an empty tomb, and conformed and confirmed by the Holy Spirit, give that to me every single time. You can present that to me every single day of my life because I know whenever I engage Scripture, led by the Holy Spirit, transformed by the power of Jesus Christ, my life will never be the same, and I don't have the ability to change my life, but the word of God truly does. So I can still trust his word. Acts chapter 8, verse 38 says, And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. The royal caravan stopped, schedule stopped, prestige stopped, notification stopped, applause from people stopped, power stopped because one soul has encountered the true and living power of Jesus Christ. The man who once stood outside the covenant now publicly identifies himself with Jesus Christ. Notice what Luke emphasizes in the text. Not Philip, not the water, not even the confession, obedience. Faith immediately became evident because of obedience. How do you know when you're a disciple of Jesus Christ? When your faith immediately becomes evident because you are obedient. How do you know when you're growing in the things of God? When your faith immediately becomes evident because you are obedient. You may not like it, you may not even want to do it, but you're obedient. Make no mistake about it. The Bible is going to tell you to do some things that you don't want to do, but you still have to do them anyway. That's how you know the word of God is true. What book would tell you to be faithful to one person the rest of your life? What book will tell you to take a portion of the money that you think you work hard for and return it back to God? What book will tell you to not curse someone else out when you feel like it? What book will tell you that there's only one way to the Father, and that is through the Son, Jesus Christ? Only the Word of God will tell you these things. No man could write these things. That's how we know it is divinely inspired by God Himself. Point number three is this when Jesus truly changes your heart, obedience stops being an obligation and becomes your first instinct. Not only do I have an obligation to serve Jesus Christ, I have an obsession to serve Jesus Christ. I'm obsessed. I can't get enough of him. Every single time I talk to him, I want to talk to him more. Every single time I'm in his presence, I just want to dwell there. I want to linger in his presence. I want more of him. I I am needy when it comes to Jesus. It's not an obligation for me, it's an obsession. I am obsessed. I cannot get enough of who he is. I cannot get enough of who I'm becoming in his presence. I cannot get enough of the things and the plans and the purpose that he has for me when I find him in the text. And when I see his faithfulness, I'm reminded great is thy faithfulness, oh God, my Father. And when I am obsessed with Jesus above every other thing, every other thing becomes so small and he becomes so magnified. Some of you are not obsessed because you're obsessed with your idols. You're obsessed with your relationships. Your relationship will get helpful. Healthier and stronger if you become obsessed with Jesus. Your marriages will get stronger if you get obsessed with Jesus. My wife knows she's second in our relationship. Because she knows my first marriage is to Jesus. She understands that. She knows that. She knows I'm a better husband when I spend time with Jesus. I'm a better father when I spend time with Jesus. I am a better person when I spend time with Jesus. I am a better man when I spend time with Jesus. I make no apologies for spending time with my first love. And because I am obsessed with him, he is also obsessed with me. Make no mistake about it. When you long to spend time with him, he longs to spend time with you. And he longs to share with you the mysteries and the desires of his heart. And there's a reason some of you don't know who he is, is because you don't have a desire to learn who he is. If you had a desire, you would spend time with him. Obedience feels like freedom. Boundaries are a good thing. Boundaries are a good thing. When Christ becomes your greatest treasure, your greatest obsession, obedience no longer feels like losing. It feels like freedom. What I love about the Bible is that the same grace that saves you also teaches your feet to follow where your mouth has confessed. This Ethiopian eunuch has questions, but he has the word. He has concerns, but he has the word. He has a desire, and he has the word. And God plucks Philip out of a revival happening in Samaria and puts him on the path of this Ethiopian eunuch. This Ethiopian eunuch asked the question, how can I understand? And many of you are asking that same question today, and the answer for both of us is the same. Someone must faithfully open the scriptures for us. Notice what Philip did not do according to the text. Philip did not remove every mystery from the Ethiopian eunuch's mind. He revealed the Messiah to him. Did you hear what I said? If you grab a hold of the revelation of Jesus Christ, it will help you with the questions that you have, whether you get the answers to them or not. After every manuscript is examined, every footnote is read in your life, every single nook and cranny is discovered. Will it model and reflect Jesus Christ? Or will it model and reflect your will, your way, your wants, your desires, your selfishness, your ambition, your ego, your pride? Notice what the text says. Philip opened his mouth. And he led with Scripture. Starting in Isaiah, ending with Jesus Christ. And there's something so significant about seeing Jesus in Scripture over yourself. See, a lot of us have main character syndrome. We like to think we Jesus Jr. Jesus walked on water so I can walk on water. No, no, if you find Jesus in every scripture, he'll show you who you are. You are not David in the story of David and Goliath. You're not even there. Jesus. You're not Adam or Eve in the creation story? You're not there. I tell you who is. Revelation, you're not riding back on a white horse. From beginning to end, you can find Jesus in the Word of God. Because Jesus is the center of every story, of every person, every narrative written in these sacred scriptures. So my question to you right now is what are you missing? What are you missing? What are you missing? Better yet, who are you missing? You may got your word. You may even have your pen and your notepad. But do you know who Jesus is? Do you trust his word? Do you believe his word? Are you a student of his word? Are you a disciple of his word? I have no desire to steward a large church of people that don't engage with the word of God. I have no desire to steward a large church that's used to the pastor entertaining them. I have no desire of watering down the gospel of Jesus Christ to draw a crowd. Make no mistake about it. If it's just three people here, I'm going to teach the same way. If it's 3,000 up in here, I'm going to teach the same way. Because I know Jesus. I know what he saved me from. I know what he's delivered me from. I trust his word because his word has been proven to be trustworthy in my life. I know who I am without him and his word, and I know who I am with his word. Therefore, I trust his word. I still trust the word of God. Every empire that tried to bury this book is buried. The book is still breathing. I still trust the word of God because every single change in my life, every single turn in my life, every single obstacle, every single giant, every single mountain that I had, it was this word that took me over and bought me out and gave me solutions and gave me peace when I could not find peace. It gave me hope when I could not find hope. It gave me the answer I needed in the person of Jesus Christ when all others had turned their back and forsaken me. The word of God had never left me. His presence never left me. His person never left me. He was with me on the mountaintop. He's been with me in the valley. He's been with me in seasons of plenty, and he's been with me in seasons of great need. He has never left me. And the good news for you is that he will never leave you, nor will he forsake you.
SPEAKER_00He'll be with you throughout all seasons of your life. So you can trust his word.
SPEAKER_01You can trust his word because his word is trustworthy. It's trustworthy. It's trustworthy. You can trust his word. It's trustworthy. His word is trustworthy. You can hang your hat on the word of God. You can hang your life on the word of God. He will never fail you because he cannot fail. That's the difference between Jesus and every other false God. He has never failed. Never. He's never failed. He has never lost a battle. He has never, never been defeated. He is the only one that has remained undefeated throughout all of eternity. And his desire for you is that you would never lose, more importantly, that you would never die. And the word of God says, Oh death, where is your sting, oh grave, where is your victory? When you are in relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never experience death. So I still trust His Word. Because His Word is trustworthy. When my body has been in pain, I'm leaning on the Word of God. And guess what? I got stronger. The pain may have never left, but I got stronger because of the Word of God. When my mind was confused, it was His Word that gave this mind clarity.
SPEAKER_00When my mind was cloudy, it was His Word that removed every cloud from my mind. When my life was headed upside down, it was the Word of God that turned my life right side up. So I still trust the word of God.
SPEAKER_01I trust His Word. Because this book doesn't hide broken people. It explains why broken people still need Jesus. I still trust His Word because this word doesn't get smaller the more I examine it. It gets larger the more I examine it. I still trust His Word because every single time I open up His Word, His Word breathes life into my lungs. It opens my eyes to see things that I normally would not see. It opens my ears to hear his voice when life has muffled my ears and opens my heart to receive what it is that he desires for me to receive. I've read many books in my lifetime, and none of them have transformed me the way the word of God has transformed me and changed me and renewed my mind. I've read many books before, but none of them healed my body like the word of God has healed my body and restored me into a right relationship with Jesus Christ. I still trust his word. Why do I trust his word? Because his word kept me when I couldn't keep myself. His word lifted me when I didn't have the strength to lift me. His word lifted up my head when my head was drooped low and it reminded me. I look to the hills from which cometh my help because my help comes from the Lord. I still trust his word because his word tells me that I'm being a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. I still trust his word because his word tells me that I'm a son of the Most High God. I still trust his word because his word tells me that I'm going to prepare a place for you. If it were not so, I wouldn't have said, and I still trust his word because his word never lies to me. It is sharp like a two-edged sword, cutting away at my flesh and reminding me that God is calling me higher because he has more for me than I ever could want for myself. I still trust his word. His words load my mind with the words to think so that I can live, move, and have my being. I still trust his word. Because his word.
SPEAKER_00You wanna know how my number you're heading and not the tumor? The word of God. A bummer and not believe, the word of God. The lemon up the bottom, the word of God. You know how many of you wanna have both and you have me in the word of God. You can depend on the man. Oh God! If you depend on the word of God, lift up your hand, open up your mouth, thank God for the word. Come on, in this room and the motherfucker! Open up your mouth! And thank God for you can trust his word.
SPEAKER_01Seasons will come and seasons will go, but God he says, I'm with you in every season. And if I be for you, who can be against you?
SPEAKER_02No one likes me.
SPEAKER_01Humanity cannot counsel who God has called. He's with you. And he's for you. One more time, can we thank God for the word? Take your seat. Bow your heads, close your eyes. If you're here right now, you've been leading yourself, you've been allowing your flesh to lead you. You haven't been led by Jesus, you haven't been led by his word. You haven't been a student of the word the way he desires for you to be a student of the word. You want to establish or re-establish a relationship with Jesus. Your head bowed, your eyes closed. If you want to know him as your Lord, as your master, as your Savior. I want you to lift both hands right now. In this room, in the overflow, online, put in the chat. That's me. That's me. That's me. Hold those hands high. I want everybody to repeat this prayer to me, Lord Jesus. I repent for my sin. I ask that you would forgive me, cleanse me, wash me, white as snow, redeem me, restore me, renew me. Today, God, I turn away from everything that leads me contrary to you. And I turn in your direction. I thank you for your grace and your mercy that follows me all the days of my life. My desire is that I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. And amen. And amen. Come on, if you're grateful for the grace of Jesus Christ. Oh I said if you're grateful for the grace. Don't blame them with it. If you go thank him, thank him. If you go praise him, praise him. Lift up your voice.
SPEAKER_00How grateful you are. How impressive you are! How humble you are?