Let me begin by reading a couple of verses from Matthew's gospel. This is at the very conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. And the Lord makes it very clear as he concludes his sermon that what he was interested in was people not merely hearing his sermon, but doing his sermon. He says in Matthew 7 verse 24, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. It becomes very apparent, doesn't it, that the Lord was very interested that the people that heard him preach would not merely gather the information that he dispensed to them, but that they would be not merely hearers of the word, but doers also. Of course, we can cross-reference that to James chapter 1 and verse 22, where we're admonished. but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. I've begun a series of messages here in Indianapolis that kind of address this theme, what I'm calling bridging the gap between hearing and doing. And this theme really came to my mind through the influence of another book that I was reading, a book by Dr. Paul Tripp entitled, Do You Believe? The book covers 12 historic doctrines and divides the treatment of each doctrine into two categories. There is a brief chapter which expounds these major doctrines followed by a larger chapter, which then draws practical application to how those doctrines apply in life. We're facing a great challenge in our day when it comes to this matter of bridging the gap. There is a gap in the lives of many Christians between what they hear and how they live. Let me read to you, if I may, just a paragraph from Paul Tripp's introduction. His introduction is entitled, The Dangerous Dichotomy. And it begins, I found myself in yet another frustrating conversation with one of the most theologically knowledgeable men I have known. There was no theological hallway I could walk down with him that he hadn't traversed again and again. He was confident, defensive, and ready for the next debate. The problem was that I was not there to debate him, I was there to help him, but it was nearly impossible to help. I was his counselor. And the reason he needed counsel was that there was a huge dysfunction producing gap between what he knew so well and the way he lived. His marriage was crumbling, none of his children respected him, and his friends found him more than hard to handle. In his home, this master of the theology of God's grace was a man of ungrace. He was known more for impatient criticism than patient mercy. He could exegete and explain the doctrine of God's sovereignty, but in the situations and relationships of his daily life, he had to be in control. He had an airtight Christology, but unlike Christ, he did not love well, serve well, or forgive well. His wife had asked if I would counsel them because their marriage was imploding. He made it very clear that he didn't think he needed to be counseled. To say that there was a contrast between the gorgeous theology and spent so much time studying and the way he lived would surely be an understatement. The author goes on in his book to cite a number of other case examples, similar situations, different people, maybe different circumstances, but all which illustrate the same thing, which is a very large gap between hearers of the words and doers of the words. I can remember reading a blog article some while back that came, I think it was posted by the Gospel Coalition in which an incident was cited and elaborated upon similar to the one that I just read to you. Turns out that article was among the top 10 for that month of articles that have been clicked on because so many people could relate to it. So it certainly brings our attention, doesn't it, to what I take to be a very pressing challenge that we're facing across Christendom, which is the challenge of bridging the gap. What I'd like to do for just a moment or two in the moments that remain here is to look at this matter of bridging the gap, especially as it relates to scripture. If we're going to bridge the gap, we first of all must recognize the reality of such a gap. And here again, I have to point out that it was never intended by God that the Bible be simply a theological textbook, so to speak, and nothing more. Now it is true, I know I have to be careful here, it is true that we do learn our theology from the Bible. Heaven forbid we would learn it from any other source, unless it'd be the book of nature in a sense. But we draw our theology from the scriptures. But having said that, it was never God's intention that the Bible be simply a theological textbook or even a code of conduct manual, for that example. And when the Bible is treated that way, when people just make a hobby out of theology, well, that produces a gap then very often between hearing and doing the word. So if that gap is going to be bridged, we have to face the reality of that gap, first and foremost. Secondly, we must all make sure that we are, in fact, hearers of the words. We can't draw a distinction, really, between hearing and doing, as if we have to pick one over the other. They both have to work together, folks. Which means then, are you hearing the word? Do you spend time in the word? Okay, if I could read again a little bit here from Dr. Tripp, he has this to say, what does it look like to live in light of the inspiration, authority and sufficiency of the word of God? Well, if you really believe that the Bible is the word of God, preserved by God for you, wouldn't it be the most valuable, esteemed, treasured, and well-used possession in your life? Would you not love the moments when you could sit with it, read it carefully, study its content, meditate on its implications, and so on and so forth? And so, we have to be hearers of the word, okay? Those that are hearers only, okay? It's not that what they're doing is wrong, it's that what they're doing is incomplete. And if we're going to be hearers and doers of the word in the right way, then that leads to the final point I'll bring out, which is simply this, we have to internalize the word. The word must be more than read. It has to be internalized. And that, frankly, is the work of the Holy Spirit. And that's what really brings us to prayer. When I say internalize the word, I mean having that word ministered to our heart in such a way that it reaches not only our heads, but it goes to the very core of our being so that we sense the reality of the things that we're reading. And it becomes a means through which we commune with God. So I hope that as you hear the word, you're doing it prayerfully. You speak to the Lord, the Lord speaks to you through his word. And this, after all, is what we're looking to the Lord to do in revival. What happens when the Lord works in revival blessing? people gain the sense of the reality, not just the truth of what they're hearing, but the reality of it. I believe that's what happened when Jonathan Edwards preached that sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. And you've heard the account how people clung to the pews in front of them for fear of dropping into hell. Well, that wasn't because of Jonathan Edwards theological depth of knowledge or oratorical skills. That was because the Holy Spirit bore witness to the truth of the word, brought it home to the hearts of the people who heard it so that they sensed the reality of it and knew not just simply the truth of it. So as we go to prayer today, let's pray for that very thing. Lord, give us the help of the spirit so that we hear the word and hear it in a right way and have it internalized into our hearts. And Lord grant that this may happen on a wide scale throughout our churches and throughout the land in revival blessing. So, amen. Good to be with you folks. And Stephen, I yield the floor back to you.