Amen. Well, good morning. Oh, trust and obey. There is no other way. There are some songs that you will be humming the rest of the day. Isn't that one of them? We can trust beloved because God has preserved his word for us and we know how to obey. because God has preserved his word for us. So let us open that word this morning as we break from our series of last things for the 4th of July. Beloved, open your Bibles with me to the incredible and the inspired, the authoritative, the inerrant, the infallible, and indeed the historical book of Nehemiah. Many thanks, of course, to Brady for leading us in worship, for raising our affections toward heaven. Most of you already heard that Diana's surgery went well. She is recovering well, and we look forward to her wonderful presence and the sound of her piano being back with us soon. Indeed, with many families out for the fourth today, we look forward to their return as well. Many of you know that this pulpit's ministry and the theology and the preaching style has been greatly influenced by many wonderful men, but none like the Prince of Preachers, the venerable Charles Spurgeon. And though many reading his works today would think that his style was very high and lofty, it was not so. In fact, Spurgeon was known as the people's preacher. He spoke their language. He preached to the other side of the railroad tracks. His audience were chimney sweeps and refuse collectors, simple merchants and laborers. Most of the 5,000 people who would attend the Metropolitan Tabernacle on the Lord's Day would have calloused hands and worn clothes. Spurgeon made the Word of God accessible to the everyday stable worker. And what many may not know is that the religious elite of London, meaning the Church of England and even the Baptist Association of that time, they hated Spurgeon for that. They loved having their elite positions of religious pomposity. They loved feeling like they had something of a Gnostic secret hidden knowledge that the little people couldn't be trusted with, that they were the gatekeepers to dispense this high and lofty knowledge. They often spoke in Latin and liturgical language that merely went through the motions of pompous religious ceremony. But never did they inflame the hearts of their hearers toward God's Word. Much of Christendom and churches in Spurgeon's time, they performed worthless acts. devoid of true teaching and preaching that changes lives. They hated Spurgeon for how he preached. And he stood almost completely alone for the majority of his ministry, even having his own family members vote to kick him out in the end. Well, just as today the church movements of Spurgeon's day clamored for popularity and status and influence, and yet Spurgeon hit back saying, quote, that very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors, close quote. In other words, if the world is applauding you and applauding the message that's coming from your pulpit, watch out. You have a problem. There is no fellowship of light with darkness, 2 Corinthians 6.14. The world is at enmity, it has at war with God. Scripture says they hate God, Romans 1.30. And yet the church somehow thinks that we will have this approval and acceptance and applause. Why should we even desire or crave such a thing, beloved? Scripture says you are an alien. You are a foreigner. You are a sojourner. You are a traveler. You are not of this world. Your citizenship is in heaven. We love our country this 4th of July, but your true passport says heaven. If you are born again, your DNA has been changed. You are a new creation. You've been given a new heart with new desires and new affections. And your desire is for the sincere milk of the word. Know this, Harrison Hills will never have the programs of a megachurch. We will never have the glamour and the financial prosperity that are lavished on those ministries that gently tickle the ears with soft and soothing speech. And we are most content with that. If you wish to feed the sheep, the world will hate you. If you wish to entertain the goats, they will love you. And thus Spurgeon encouraged his congregants saying, quote, do not go. where it is all fine music, grand talk, and beautiful architecture. Go where the gospel is preached and go often." And that is our highest aim this morning. Amen? Amen. Well, as you've seen now by our sermon title, we're breaking from our series and last things to return to an exciting and often asked about topic in our congregation. Now, it was almost three years ago that I preached this very message as a newly installed pastor here at Harrison Hills, and many have shared that it was this message that was such a catalyst for them growing in their faith, growing in their love for God's word and understanding of the preached word. Now today, as I look around our church, even with numerous family members gone for the fourth, very few members of Harrison Hills today were here when this vital message was preached. We were a small flock of around 22 people. And today, the long timers of Harrison Hills will tell you we have now almost an entirely new church. The hard truth is that any pastor who is committed to expository preaching, they know that they will lose approximately half of their congregation when they first go in. Expository preaching brings the refining fire of the word and it exposes the hearts and the motives that may have lay hidden for years. It is an uncomfortable transition for a congregation and exacts a heavy cost at the beginning. My mentor in ministry, Dr. Brian Payne, when he was first called to Fisherville Baptist Church in Louisville, he taught Christian preaching at Southern Seminary. He was a consummate expositor of scripture and truly one of the most gifted men I ever sat under. That congregation was around 200 when he came, and that was quickly whittled down to 100. in short order, cut in half, and oh, did the deacon boards, and oh, did the trustees wail. Cut in half, we're gonna go broke, we're gonna go broke, pastor. Pastors call this a backdoor revival. It's kind of like a bootcamp at first, breaking down first to build them up later, and a lot are gonna tap out. Those who just wanted to play church are gonna tap out. The goats are no longer entertained, they will tap out. Those wanting their ears tickled, they will tap out. But soon you will have a strong core left that has dug in deep and now they want to become soldiers. Changing the palate of a congregation that was not used to systematically dining on the deep truths of God's word is a painful process. Those who came to church with other motives, the word exposes them. Those who came for a social country club are exposed as the preached word becomes central and everything else fades to second place. The truth is that an expository congregation is an uncomfortable place if one seeks to keep their heart hidden. If one doesn't desire to grow, or perhaps is a weed amongst tares, never actually born again. Scripture says there are many of those. How many of Jesus parables and of apostolic teaching speak of the unconverted that live in and amongst the flock of God? There are many. making the preaching even more vital. When the Word of God is made central, it does a work. It's not the preacher. It does the work. For the Word of God is living and active, Hebrews tells us, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and of discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. When that is enumerated and lifted up, it weeds out the players pretty fast. Well, as a new pastor, then, of course, it fell to me at the outset to articulate my philosophy of ministry and my method of preaching to a very anxious and back then a very wounded congregation. Being confessionally Baptist and Baptistic in my theology, we are known as being a people of the book. And it was and is part of my calling to reinvigorate and refresh a congregation's desire and love for that scripture. Now, all over scripture, we see guidance and we see counsel as to what a pulpit ministry is to look like and how that flows out into how we do church and what biblical preaching is to entail. Now, that's not to say that pastors don't all have unique personalities and styles. Of course they do. But within our style and personality, a choice has to be made. How are we going to approach this text called the Bible that God has given us? How are we going to study and teach and preach it? I've already used the word expository and exposition in our introduction, and while many of you have sat under this preaching, you recognize the word, and you certainly know our approach to scripture, which is line by line and verse by verse, you may not understand why. Because it's not anything like you ever heard growing up. It doesn't sound like the preachers on TV. Explain what I'm hearing, pastor. Well, simply put, saints, to exposit the text, to preach expositionally means to explain the Bible, to explain what you are reading. What does it mean? To exposit literally is derived, it comes from the verb simply meaning to explain. Much like Philip coming alongside the Ethiopian eunuch and asking him, do you understand what you are reading? And how does the eunuch respond? How can I, unless someone explains it to me? That is what we labor and endeavor to do every Lord's Day. So with that, beloved, let us look to our text today. An incredible text, Nehemiah chapter 8. And in this incredible scene we've come upon, we see Ezra the scribe, Ezra the priest. We will see here painted a picture of a congregation. And watch what's taking place, Nehemiah 8, 1 through 8. That's a bit of a lengthy text with quite a few names, but hang in there and picture, if you can, this scene in your mind's eye. And all the people gathered as one man at the square, which was in front of the water gate. And they said to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women and all who could understand when listening on the first day of the seventh month. And he read it from before the square, which was in front of the water gate from early morning until midday. Don't ever complain about long church. In the presence of men and women, those who could understand and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium, which they had made for that purpose, and beside him stood Mattityah, Shema, Ananiah, Uriah, Melchiah, and Messiah at his right hand, and Padiah, Mishael, Melchijah, Hashem, Hashbaranah, Zechariah, and Meshulam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, while lifting up their hands. Come on, Baptists. Then they bowed low and worshipped Yahweh with their faces to the ground. Also, Yeshua, Benai, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akub, Shabbatai, Hodiah, Messiah, Kaleida, Azariah, Jezebel, Hanan, Peliah, the Levites. were to provide understanding of the law to the people while the people stood in their place. Now listen to this, beloved. Listen to the saints, verse eight. They read from the book, from the law of God, explaining and giving insight, and they provided understanding of the reading. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the gift of the word. Lord, we thank you for the gift of the preached word. Lord, that thereby we might grow. And Lord, by that, we might be saved. Lord, if you had not sent a preacher, how would they hear? Lord, we're so grateful for this text. We ask that you would go before us, that you would give us conviction concerning this, even as Ezra had. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Well, this is an incredible scene, right? The picture in our mind's eye of the people gathered and the arms raised in worship, and Ezra taking to the wooden podium, and Ezra read from the book, from the scriptures, explaining and giving insight, providing understanding of the reading, meaning Ezra was an expositor of the text. Meaning what? Meaning that the point of that law, the point of the scripture that he read, was the point of his message. And he explained it to them that they might understand what was written. My calling, if I'm to be a faithful expositor of scripture, is to read the text word for word, and explain that text, if not word for word, then thought for thought, and to apply it to my congregation in 2023. And not only do we do this word for word and verse by verse and whole book by whole book, we'll discuss why later, but this means from a 35,000-foot view that the meaning of the text is the meaning of the message. The point of the sermon will be the point of the text. Now this might sound elementary to your ears. It may sound like common sense, especially if you've sat under this pulpit for any amount of time. But it's actually not so common. In fact, most churches in the United States, and de facto around the world, in fact are not expository churches. The vast majority of pastors are not expository in their ministry. In fact, we often find with pastors that would define themselves as expository, they in fact are not in practice. Understand, beloved, all preaching tends to fall into one of two categories, either expository preaching or what is known as topical preaching. Now, most preaching today is that genre known as topical preaching. Now, the difference between the two could not be more stark, but to put it very simply, the difference between topical and expository preaching is a matter of choosing what or who is in the driver's seat of your sermon. What is central? In topical preaching, the pastor is going to pick or choose a topic. Say health, marriage, anger, sex, laziness, you pick. Sermon series headline being what? Five Sundays to Being a Better Father, right? This would be a topical style. So the topical preacher is going to start with a chosen subject and then he's going to go hunting through the Bible looking for verses to support what they want to say about that particular subject. And you're going to have stories and anecdotes that are woven together to surround this theme, rather than to surround a section of scripture. Now in this case, the pastor and the topic are in the driver's seat of the sermon. The pastor is going to drive this sermon wherever he wants to take it. And he can cherry-pick verses to support that theme. And he can do that because there's no structure that binds him to any text. He's free to float above the scripture like an eagle and swoop down and grab any fish that he likes, plucking out isolated verses with no context. So this raises a question. What would be the problem with taking perhaps 20 random verses on being a better father from throughout the Bible? Pluck, pluck here and a pluck, pluck there. Well, anyone here who has a background in real estate knows something. I bet you can tell me the three rules of real estate. Location, location, location. Guess what? Every verse has a location, location, location. It first has a location being in the broad context of redemptive history, right? In the overall Bible. And focusing in on it, it has a context in its genre. Is it prophecy or is it poetry? Is it narrative? And if we focus in even further, this verse has a context in its book or its letter. And then all the way zoomed in, there's context even in the verses that are directly before and directly after. This individual verse has a location. It has a street address. Consider a house in Lanesville, Indiana. Let's call it 1,000 square feet. Let's say it costs $200,000. And I bet you can picture right now what that house looks like in your head. Well, many of you know that we used to live in Hong Kong for a few years. What a different world. If someone had a 1,000 square foot apartment in downtown Hong Kong, that would be $20 million and look very different. So I can preach on a topic of 1,000 square foot houses But if I don't mention the context, if I don't teach its location, location, location, am I giving you an accurate view of that house? Could it actually look like and be valued at something completely different than what I'm telling you about? It sure can. It's said, beloved, in theological circles that a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text. Now, let's slow down and break that apart, because I think I guarantee you I just lost people. A text, meaning a verse of scripture, without a context, meaning without explaining the street address of that verse, is a pretext. That means a justification for a proof text. A proof text is being something that a preacher takes out of context to make a point that the text does not mean to make. A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text. And where does that lead? What winds up happening to this congregation? I'll tell you what happens. They end up consumed with whatever the pastor's favorite pet topics happen to be. The congregation is prevented from receiving the whole counsel of God free from the whims and the preferences of the preacher. Their wholesale knowledge of scripture winds up being jumbled bits of knowledge that are piecemeal together. And beloved, the long-term effects of a steady diet of this type of topical preaching has yielded in part a crop of professed evangelicals. Now, we saw in our state of theology message about a year ago where we have 52% of churchgoers professing that Jesus is not even God. Now, sadly, this style, this topical style, makes up the majority of preaching in the United States. This would make up 99% of preaching in your megachurches. Shallow topical preaching is an overwhelming factor in why we are seeing the theological and the biblical illiteracy that is raging through our churches. It is diluting and destroying the whole picture of the gospel message through piecemeal topics. One author writes, quote, unfortunately the appetite for serious preaching has virtually disappeared among many Christians who are content to have their fascinations with themselves encouraged from the pulpit, close quote. That's not a ringing endorsement. Now, I can imagine a question at this point running through your minds. I could see some of the wheels turning. Pastor, if topical preaching is so deficient, why do so many do it? If the overwhelming results are an illiterate flock, why would any pastor do this? I don't know how many of you are familiar off the top of their head with what is known as the Corinthian error. defining Paul's challenge with the very cosmopolitan church at Corinth. They told Paul that he had to be smooth, that he had to be a great orator if he were to stay relevant in Corinth. If he had influence with the culture, he had to do ministry a certain way. And Paul says, stop. No. I am determined to know nothing among you but Christ and him crucified. Oh, Paul, Paul, Paul, they'll laugh you out. They're not going to listen to you with that. We here in Corinth are high and sophisticated, you see. You have to be able to match wits with them. You have to be winsome and lofty. Paul went full Spurgeon on them. Better yet, Spurgeon went full Pauline. Paul lamented that this illiterate congregation had stagnated in their spiritual growth. That he couldn't give them meat and potatoes. He still had to bottle feed them with milk. They were not growing because they did not desire to sit down to the pulpit and hear Jesus Christ and Him crucified. to have Ezra open the law and explain what it means. They desired five topical Sundays to a better you, done with flash and great order, in a great stadium. The topical preacher is giving the masses what they want, and it pays. He is giving them what sells. He is giving them what they think tastes good, regardless of the nutritional content. Now coming from Fisherville Baptist Church, which I mentioned already, you know, given our location in Louisville on the southeast side, a little hint, we often were frequented by visitors from a local megachurch. And some were just coming to check it out, but some were coming because they were newly born again, and they were starting to grow in the Lord at this megachurch, and they were starting to notice that the topical sermons were no longer cutting it. These believers were hungry, and they wanted meat, not milk, milk, candy, candy, milk, milk, candy, candy. But it was amazing to watch and listen to these two types that would come to visit from this megachurch that was only a few miles away. The first group, those that were just coming to check it out and snoop around, they would walk out of that service, mind you preached by one of the best expositors of the word I know, who would give John MacArthur a run for his money. They would walk out of that brilliant exposited message and go, yuck, what was that? Do you guys eat Brussels sprouts every week like this? I'm used to getting delicious candy every week. I get to leave feeling good on my sugar high, and I gotta tell you, I don't feel good at all after having heard that. But the second group, soundly saved and born again, that are somewhat surviving in their topical world, because even candy and milk have some vitamins and sustenance in them. But we're anemic. We're not being fed. And they can't explain it, but they have this ravenous craving for a thick, juicy steak. And that second group is always a blessing to watch, to watch them grow as they're exposed to the riches and the depths of God's word, consuming it ravenously on a dish prepared by the God who speaks. Now, I'm not attempting to paint topical preachers as charlatans or hucksters, not at all. But they are, however, chasing a misguided attempt to be relevant to a society by using persuasive and palatable words, by tickling ears. You won't hear the word sin. You won't hear the word hell. You won't hear the word repentance. They strive and strain for relevance all while holding the most relevant, most timeless book in the world in their hands. Beloved, you cannot make the Bible relevant because it already is. but they long for influence in society and in culture. And they aren't wrong. The world, the masses, they'll say, hey, five Sundays to being a better father? Who could argue with that? You know, I'm not really into all that God stuff, but I could sure use that. The true irony in this topical model is that the only way the church is going to influence and impact the culture and society for Christ is by moving away from what the world has to offer and not toward it. The lost person desires the worldly things. They desire it. And there is nothing more embarrassing and heartbreaking than watching the church trying to outworld the world. Trying to out-entertain the world, trying to out-motivational speak the world, trying to out-light show the world, it's not going to happen. We impact the culture not by putting on a lame imitation of what the world provides and does very, very well, mind you, but by offering an alternative that can only be found in Christ. We are distinguished by our love for one another and by our obedience to Christ, by loving our enemies, by being people who are committed to living by biblical precept. That is what calls and appeals to those whom God is drawing by his effectual and irresistible grace. Now, as a general consideration, and certainly in the life of the church, as we said in our opener, if the world is applauding you and is rewarding you with accolades, we need to check our GPS. We definitely made a wrong turn somewhere. Dr. Albert Mohler writes, quote, when preaching retreats, a host of entertaining innovations will take its place, close quote. So we spoke earlier about a choice that needs to be made for the pastor. There's a fork in the road for every minister of the word. And this is a major fork and one that has eternal consequences for their congregation, for their depth and growth as believers, that of being a topical or an expository preacher. Meaning will the text be subject to the preacher or will the preacher be subject to the text? Will the preacher impose himself onto the text or will he allow the word to be imposed upon him and to change him and serve it to his congregation? Let me briefly say, now it seems that I've completely demonized topical preaching. Let me toss out a caveat for you in your back pocket. There is a place, albeit a very limited place, for topical preaching in the church. Like what? Like right now. Ironically, you are listening to a topical sermon right now. And sadly, you're also getting to observe about the same amount of scripture that goes with a topical sermon. For that, I apologize. There are times where it is appropriate. While book by book exposition should be the primary content of our diet, that's our meat and potatoes, there are times, such as national tragedy or major events, Maybe a significant event in the life of the congregation, something that's looming large in our city or society that call for the preacher to step away from the next verse that he would have preached and divert temporarily to address the pressing events or issue of the day. So that's my caveat for topical preaching. We're not a slave to the next word in the next verse, no matter what's happening in the world that we live in. Pastors have an obligation as well to address the circumstances that congregations face. Okay, so if not topical or very limited topical, why expository preaching? Why does this preacher slice and dice every word of this Bible? Why do we preach word by word, verse by verse, book by book, expositionally? Well, there are many beautiful reasons, but let us summarize the biblical case with the most compelling truths. The most compelling. The first being this. Expositional preaching places the Word of God as the centerpiece of the message, meaning the text of Scripture is in the driver's seat. Pastor is not in the driver's seat, and thank heavens. Do you really want to know a mere man's opinion concerning the words of life? Or do you want to know what the Word of God has to say? Why listen to a man speak when we have a God who speaks from His Word? And as a pastor, I must submit myself to the bounds of scripture. As an expositor, I am captive to the next word and to the meaning of that next word. A reminder of Paul's writing to the church at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 4, 6. Listen, I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us, listen, not to go beyond what is written. We are held captive to the text. We're not interested in the whims and ideas of men, even eloquent men. The moment I've left the text, I'm out of my lane. I am unprotected. And when we are out of our lane, an accident or a ditch is coming. Do not go beyond what is written. Why? Why does Paul warn us to not go beyond what is written? Because when preaching retreats, when fidelity to the word recedes, something will take its place. It creates a vacuum. In this case, second part of verse 6, that none of you may be puffed up in favor, Paul says. Some versions say arrogance of one against another. So Paul is saying that if the word recedes, if the strict boundaries of the text are ignored, if you go beyond what is written, it will create a vacuum, and you will be filled with the knowledge of the world, which will yield pride and arrogance. That's what Paul is saying. Even if it's the musings of your pastor, Things that are unscriptural will creep in. The text is and must remain central. Deuteronomy 8, 3, we read that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. And the psalmist affirms this in Psalm 119, 105, that your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. So expositional preaching places the Word of God as the centerpiece of the message, and it commits to not go beyond what is written. We do not gather around a topic of being a better father, though that is a result of knowing the Word, isn't it? We gather around the Word. We observe the structure and the centrality and the sufficiency of the Word with no substitutes. Secondly, expository preaching approaches the Bible in the way that God has put it together and given it to us, book by book. Expository preaching sets the stage for God to speak for himself. Consider, beloved, if you received a letter from a loved one, how would you read it? Would you read the letter as they had presented it? Would you start at the beginning and read it through? Would you allow them to speak for themselves? Of course you would. God gave us the Bible in the way he chose to give it. He designed it in the way he chose to design it. Now, could he have, in his infinite wisdom, chose to format it differently? Could he have chosen to communicate his truth to us in a completely different way? Of course. But this is how it was given to us. And that means it is best understood in that same way. It was given book by book. And each of these books have its own genre. And they're an intricate piece of redemptive history that must be understood as they were delivered. Now this may sound confusing for some. But rest assured, beloved, you already exposit texts in your life every day. Every day. Imagine you receive a birthday card. Call it from your Aunt Betty. Now you know who your Aunt Betty is, you know why she has sent you a card, you understand the relationship with Aunt Betty, and now you know where she lives, you know how long it's been since you've seen her, and you especially know that she lost Uncle Henry that year. And as you read the card, she tells you that the house feels a little lonely. And you fully understand why, right? When she tells you that she loves you, you understand your relationship and your history that gives that love color and meaning. You have exposited, for lack of a better word, that birthday card. You understand the meaning of Aunt Betty and what she's written to you. But what if you just ripped open the card? You didn't look at who it was from. You went straight to the middle of the card and you read the sentence, the house feels a little lonely. Would you have the same understanding? Would you? This is why we must preach how we do. This is why the word must be presented as God has presented it to us. So remember, second point, expository preaching approaches the Bible in the way God has put it together and given it to us, book by book. Now notice third point. Expository preaching gives listeners confidence that the preacher is speaking with God's authority and not their own. As we work through a book or a letter, you know that your pastor has not guided you to a place in scripture to make a point. He's not steered you toward his pet project or favorite topic. I am arriving at this text right along with you. The next verse is the next verse given to us by God in the order in which it was received. And in this way, not only is the preacher speaking with God's authority, because it's his word. But fourth point, expository preaching does not allow the congregation or the pastor to skip over difficult subjects. I don't get to avoid the difficult doctrines. Hell, sin, God's anger and wrath, homosexuality and gender, gluttony, lust, greed, all topics that empty pews. I am compelled and you should demand the whole counsel of God be preached. I have no right to sidestep the difficult things. Paul writes in Acts chapter 20 that he was innocent of the blood of all because he declared the whole counsel of God among the Ephesians. Now what if Paul had not declared the whole counsel of God? Well, the implication is that he would be guilty, negligent homicide of his congregation. You likely have family members or friends who have attended church for years and they have never heard these difficult topics addressed. They can't even articulate the gospel to you. They've been in a pew for 20 years. How can we think biblically about a certain issue if we do not know what God has to say on the matter? To sidestep the difficult passages is pastoral malpractice. Expository preaching takes the discretion out of the hands of the preacher and back into the hands of the God who speaks. Now, the true irony for the topical preacher, beloved, the true irony, is that when we preach expositionally, every topic will be covered. That's the irony. Every topic will be covered. We don't risk missing a bit. In fact, we're taking it just as He's given it to us. If we don't cherry-pick apart God's Word, we will receive the whole counsel of God in the order He gave it by a preacher who's held hostage to it and whose greatest fear is to stray from the author's original intent. I'm shackled to this pulpit, shackled to this Word. Not only that, but the truth is, beloved, I don't know every need in my congregation. I can't look out and say, yep, we need to preach on laziness. But God knows the needs of the congregation. He knows the struggles. He knows what's hidden in the dark. And the word of God is living and active, isn't it? It's sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joint and marrow, and discerning, not the pastor, the word, discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Jeremiah 23, 29 says the word hits like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces. I cannot discern every exact need, but the Holy Spirit can. And if we exposit the whole counsel of God, every need is going to be touched. Every life is going to be ministered to. One of my favorite expositors, Dr. John MacArthur, told of a day when he sat down with the express purpose to write down what he intended to be 10 consequences of non-expositional preaching. Meaning, what's gonna happen if I don't preach expositionally? By the time he got up from his desk, he'd written 63. 63 consequences of non-expositional preaching. You'll be pleased to know I will not delay our July 4th lunch. If we smell that grilling already back there, I won't go through them all. But three large takeaways were this. Number one, a failure to do expositional preaching usurps the authority of God over the soul. Who alone has authority over the souls of men and women? You? Speaking of the pastor, are you the one who determines what needs to be said to your congregation? Are you the one that determines what needs to be said to the lost? Are you the one that determines and are you sovereign over the souls of those who've come to worship? If you don't open the word of God and let them hear the message of God, you've usurped his authority. And secondly, it usurps the headship of Christ over his church. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 says, And gave him as head over all things to the church. It doesn't say he gave him as head of the church. It says he gave the one who is head over all things to be head of the church. Now from Rome to the Church of England, kings and popes have attempted to usurp Christ's role as the head of the church as far back as we know. But they are not. Christ is head of the church. And as one author put it, quote, if he's the head of the church, then he must speak to his church. Close quote. A failure to preach expositionally usurps the headship of Christ over his church. And finally, third, a failure to do expositional preaching hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has one tool by which he does his saving and his sanctifying work. What is it? The Word of God. John 17, 17. Sanctify them by thy truth. Thy word is truth. The Spirit uses the word as the means of sanctification. So if we fail to proclaim, fail to teach, fail to exposit the Word of God, we usurp the authority of God, we usurp the headship of Christ, and we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. Meaning this is nothing short of an all-out assault on the Trinity. No pressure. But guess what, saints? I know that everything we've talked about this morning is really putting the pastor on the hook, and no doubt I am. I have a calling, a responsibility. I am chained to the pulpit in the text. I am compelled to preach the next verse. All that is true, but you don't get off that easy. While it is my calling and my duty to be a faithful expositor of the scripture to you, it is your job to be faithful expository listeners. If we begin in James 1, you might recall that James leads off his exhortation to corporate worship by telling the believers to open their ears. Open their ears. Remember, they had no letters in front of them, no leather-bound Bibles with highlighters. They had to listen intently. They had to be expository listeners. Saints have often said that the pastor should not be the only one working hard on a Sunday morning. The load is equal. If you don't feel that way, you're doing it wrong. In the first century, if you were a poor listener, you would wind up spiritually destitute. If you were a poor listener. There was no Bible. You had to listen. Nothing has changed. We are to show up eager and ready to listen well to God's Word. Beloved, how many in here are lovers of great coffee? I know that I am. I sure am. In fact, I know we have a number of coffee connoisseurs in our congregation, the greatest of which is not here today. Some are such lovers of it, they even roast their own here. Throughout the years, they have no doubt developed a refined taste for good coffee, for that lover of good coffee. There's no substitutes or knockoff brands once they've acquired that taste. For many of you this morning, you've tasted expository preaching, and you'll have nothing else, and that is wonderful. Your palate has been made alive, and your spirit has been quickened by the depth of God's Word, and praise the Lord for that. And for those that are newer to it and perhaps even struggling to engage or to follow, be encouraged that a regular diet of drinking in faithful expository preaching will develop a mind and a heart that's able to recognize, that's able to desire and to crave the rightly divided word of truth, to receive it with joy, the word that was once for all delivered to the saints. We can sing and declare with the psalmist, how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Beloved, I pray as we prepare to go and celebrate with one another over lunch, to thank the Lord for our country that we love so dearly, that we will go forth with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for his word and a commitment to learn of it, to drink of it, to swim in it with all urgency and joy. He is the God of the Word. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this Word. Lord, we thank you that you have given it to us, that you've kept it, that you've preserved it. And Lord, that you've given us preachers to deliver it. Lord, we know that it is all of you And Lord, we thank you that you have taken the most incredible form of delivery and you've taken it out of the hands of the preacher and you've put it in your words. Lord, we know that you are a God who speaks. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would cement these truths in our heart. Lord, that you would give us great conviction concerning this. Lord, that we would desire the sincere milk of the word. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.