Let's go to the Lord in prayer. We're going to do our last session on listening prayer today. Let's go to prayer. O Lord God, this is your holy word. We are your servants. Give us understanding that we might know your testimonies. You have prayed, O Lord, sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. Use your holy, eternal, inerrant written word to set us apart to your service and to your glory. Show us now great and mighty things which we do not know. The sower sows the word. Let not your word go out and return empty, but accomplish that purpose for which you are sending it out and for which you have gathered us together. Protect us from Satan who will snatch your word. Protect us from a wrong reaction to difficulties and discouragements and persecutions, which make our hearts hard and unresponsive to your word. Protect us from the world's cares and the delight of wealth and the passion of other interests, which enter in and choke your word. Rather give us good soil, O Lord. Plow now the hard ground of our hearts, that your sown word would send roots downward and bear fruit upwards. Unsheath now the sword of your spirit, O Lord. Cut to the dividing point of bone and marrow, soul and spirit. Judge now the thoughts and intention of each heart gathered here. Spread your word before us as a banquet table, O Lord. Grant grace that we might eat of the rich meat, and drink of the sweet milk of the great doctrines of your word. Give us the heart of the prophet who cried to you. Thy words were found and I did eat them. And thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart from call by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. Oh Lord, we live in a dark and a wicked age. Broad is the way and many are on it, which leads to destruction. Make your word a lamp to our feet. Make your word a light to our path. Show us that narrow way that you would have us run. And Lord, as we run in the paths of your commandments, enlarge our hearts that in loving you, we might be more obedient to your written word. Drop your word against our lives as a plumb line, O Lord. Grant grace that we might see how we deviate from its high and holy purposes. Make Your Word to us a mirror, O Lord. Grant grace that we might not be as those who look and go away and forget, but make us active doers, not forgetful listeners of Your Holy Word. O Lord, because of our fealty to You, Because of our undying love and devotion to your Son, our resurrected Savior, we pledge to you this day our total submission to your holy, eternal, inerrant written word, and we pledge to you our unquestioning obedience to all of its commands. In the name of our Lord and Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay. Ah! How are you, Brother Balogun? Good to see you. Okay. We are looking here today at our last lecture on listening prayer. Let's continue on. We're looking here at our last lecture on error of listening prayer. Now, one of the problems with this practice of listening prayer is that it allows the members of the family to function as individuals. Individuals in their relationship with God and circumvent God's word and God's order and God's roles in the family. It opens up a wide range of errors and deceptions. There's the danger for the husband's Proverbs. Uh, oops. the danger to the husband found in Malachi 2.14. Yet you say, for what reason? Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and wife by covenant. So when you get married, you can no longer think of yourself as a single person. And remember, we were looking at the wheel illustration. We looked at it as how it would be as if we were single. But the rim of the wheel, once you are married, is the obedient couple, married couple in action, not the obedient disciple, because the two have become one. And yet if the husband begins delving in to listening prayer, then he can begin to seeking to discern God's will apart from God's word. And that will always lead to error. The danger to the wife. Proverbs 2.17, that leaves the covenant, the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. Anytime a wife is meditating upon scripture, is praying concerning God's will, it is always in the context of her husband. Genesis 2.18, she is called to be her husband's outbait. And yet the danger to the wife of listening prayer is she begins thinking about her relationship with God, her call, her ministry, independently from her husband. And that is the same danger to the husband, that he begins thinking about his ministry, apart from his wife. And of course there's always the danger to the children because children are to obey their parents. They are not free just to engage in listening prayer and make decisions apart from their parents. Husbands are not free to make decisions apart from their wives wives are not free to make decisions apart from their husbands Children are not free to make decisions apart from their parents The Word of God protects us from this error But if we abandon the Word of God and simply open thought that comes into our minds, then we circumvent these, what I would call, protections. They are the banks of the river that help direct the stream. Brother Bishan, would you read Romans 10, verse 2, please? Romans 10 verse 2. Romans 10 verse 2. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Yeah and this is what happens when we engage in this practice of listening prayer. We begin to have a zeal for God, we're excited, we're hearing, we're getting these impressions, and we begin thinking our will is God's will. And we begin exceeding what is written. Belongen, could you read 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6? Please. I'm not seeing your shared screen. It's blank on my end. I don't know if it's just me. I'm afraid if you leave, I'll lose you. No, don't leave us. I'm not leaving. You can just take copious notes. Okay. All right. Let's hear 1 Corinthians 4.6. Now brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollo for your benefit so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, Do not go beyond what is written. Yes, so we have to remember that. God, people say, well, John, when you don't, when you speak against listening prayer, you are putting God in a box. And I remind them, no, I'm not putting God in the box. God is putting us in the book. We are not to exceed what is written. If it is needful, if it is helpful, if it is useful. It is in the Word of God. Brother Basham, would you read 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, please? 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. God has supplied us with what we need to know. He has given it to us. Belondon, would you please read Deuteronomy 29.29? We don't need more. But that's always the quest, isn't it? More. Changing lines, changing lines. Yeah, that's your Bible pages turning, aren't they? Yeah. I love to hear that sound. The secret is known to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong The secret things are God's. Don't seek them out. The revealed things are ours in the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. But, Belogna, if you go back to your passage in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 6, Why? What does it say? What does the Word of God say is the danger of going beyond what is written? In 1 Corinthians 4.6. Could you read that again, Belonging? Oh! Did I... I may have lost our brother. Okay. Oh yeah, 2nd Corinthians, 1st Corinthians 4 verse 6. Now brothers I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of Let's see, do not go beyond what is written. Yeah, so... Do not take pride in one man over against another. So what is the danger, it says, if we go beyond what is written? What does it say? Take pride. Pardon me? Take pride. Pride, huh, excellent. Go to the head of the class. You are exactly right. It's pride. And people will begin setting themselves against each other. We know that the word of God teaches us that when we are born, we are born, and according to Ephesians 2, 1 and 2, dead in our trespasses and sins. When we received Christ, as you can see from this illustration, we move up to a new spiritual plane, don't we? 2nd Corinthians 517. If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away. All things have become new. By that we have been born again. Then the question is, is there something more? And the answer is always no. Ephesians 1.3 teaches us that every spiritual blessing in the heavenly spheres is ours in Christ. 2 Peter 1.3 teaches us that everything that pertains to life and godliness is ours in Christ. When we receive Christ, the search is over. But what Satan would like us to do, what the devil would like us to do, is spend our time, after we become a Christian, running in circles, seeking those secret things, those higher things, the good stuff. But what does God want us to do? He wants us, in Luke 9, 23, Bishan, could you read Luke 9.23 for us, please? All right, John. Luke 9.23. And he said to all, if anyone come up and let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow him. Yeah. Once we have become a Christian, the search is over. We're not going to look for the storehouses. The storehouses are empty. Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. Now we can lay up things in the storehouse, but because of God's grace, we cannot take withdrawals from them. Otherwise we would be like the prodigal son and squander it. The storehouse is empty. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ. Colossians 2.9. So we don't seek the storehouse. We don't seek that which is not written, which is not given to us in God's Word. Everything we need is given to us through the Word of God. The search is over. Unfortunately, though, Many are not satisfied with that. And they drift into much error by seeking to empty their minds and let whatever spirit happens to be coming along speak to them and equating their thoughts with God's. Because that is the key to listening prayer, isn't it? The Longin, would you read Isaiah 55.8, please? 55.8 and 9, please. Isaiah 55.8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways. My ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways. I hear that your ways are my thoughts, are your thoughts. I got you up early this morning, didn't I? Yeah. Isaiah, listening prayer, the problem is, if we're thinking it of our own, it's not from God. Our thoughts are not his thoughts. Our ways are not His ways. So where do we go to know the ways and the thoughts of God? We go to His Word. We go to His Word. We know there's a way that seems right to a man, but what's the result of that way? What does the Bible say is the result of the way that seems right to a man? Bishan, would you read Proverbs 14.12 please? Proverbs 14.12 Proverbs 14.12 says there is a way that seems right to a man But its end is the way it ends. How can we trust our thoughts? How can we trust a way which seems right to us? Well, we have to test it from the Word of God, don't we? So why, knowing that our thoughts are not God's thoughts, knowing that our ways are not God's ways, knowing that there can be ways that seem right to us that end in death, why would we want to just empty our mind and equate our thoughts and our ways with God's when God has given us an alternative? What is this alternative? Brother Bashan, read Psalm 119.11, if you would. And Balogun, you will look at Joshua 1.8 for us, please. So let's hear Psalm 119.11 first, please. Okay. Psalm 119.11. The word of God says, I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Now, that's the key to not sinning. It's not emptying, it's filling. Do you see the difference? The protection we have from sinning is not emptying, it is filling. And what are we filling our heart with? God's Word, not our Word. God's Word. And remember, when we studied the doctrine of the Word of God, we studied the fact that it belongs to God. It is His. We are not free to bandy out about. It belongs to God. It is God's Word. Brother Beloged, would you read Joshua 1.8, please? Do not let this book of the Lord everything written in it, then you will be prosperous and successful. Yeah, and are we to empty our minds? No, what are we supposed to do? Fill it up. Yeah, fill it. It should not depart. We can trust We can see how that traps Psalm 119, 11. We don't empty, we fill. I have treasured in my heart your word that I might not sin. It does not depart from our minds. The Word fills our heart. We lay it up. We don't empty it. We lay it up. We don't depart from it. We meditate upon the Word day and night, not upon our own thoughts that we might do according to all that is what? Written not imagined it does not say this book of the law shall be emptied from your mind and you shall open your mind apart from the written word of God and do what you're thinking about. That whole concept is completely opposite and alien to Joshua 1.8 and Psalm 1.19.11. So when we are helping our young disciples or helping our children or helping our wives, or we indeed ourselves are seeking to meditate upon God's word, I like to use the KISS principle. Keep it spiritually simple. Don't make it complicated. I was sharing that with the afternoon group today. If you have a pen or pencil, paper, Bible, that will be enough. It doesn't have to be complicated. So, let me give you, if I might, Two ways of meditating upon the word. You can use this with your disciples or with your children. The first is know, be, do. From the passage, what is something God wants me to know? From the passage, what is something God wants me to be? From the passage, what is something God wants me to do? Now let's go back to Joshua 1.8. Let's everyone turn to Joshua 1.8. Balogun, you're already there. Bishan, if you will. Now I'll ask you a question. Bishan, read Joshua 1.8 for us, please, again. OK. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Okay. Now, from this passage, Ishan, what is something God wants you to know? God wants need to know that when I keep his word, then I can have good success. Okay, that's excellent. Okay, Belonga, from this passage, what is God, what is something God wants you to be? Prosperous and successful. Okay, that's good. All right. And then, Belonging, from this passage, what is something God wants you to do? Meditate on the Word. Okay? Yeah, meditate upon the Word and obey it. See? Now, that's useful. That's 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. Okay? Now, Belonging, would you read Joshua 1, 8 for us? Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Okay, now Belonga, from this passage, what is something you can worship God about? Either thanksgiving or praise. What is something you could thank God for or praise God for? Because He wants me to be... He wants to prosper me and give me success. Okay, good. That's good. I was thinking, God, I want to praise God because He gives us His word. He doesn't leave us to our own devices. So both of those are good. Okay? Now, Bijan, when it says be, a b c what is something well we'll ask ourselves is a adoration from the passage what is something that will cause me to worship b What is something God wants me to be? C. Confess. From the passage, what is something God wants me to confess? D. Do. From the passage, what is something God wants me to do? And E. Express. From the passage, what is something God wants me to share with another? See, and that little acronym, A-B-C-D-E, Adoration, Be, Confess, Do, Express, is very easy to remember. We can teach it to our children, to our wives, to our disciples. So Bishan, let's look at C, confess. From the passage, what is something God wants me to confess? You could say confess or convict. Yeah, so I think for me, God would want me to confess times when I haven't lived up to, you know, uh, meditating on the word of God day and night, especially in the era of hard times, not being able to do it consistently. Oh, I can, I can relate to that. My brother is a minister and he, he's my older brother. And when I was a college student, he warned me, he said, John, be careful of the barrenness of the busy life. because I can get so busy in the ministry that I forget to spend time with God. So I wrote that in my Bible, my quotable brother. Beware of the barrenness of the busy life. Now there's nothing wrong with being busy. Working hard is a Christian virtue. There's nothing wrong with that. But when it squeezes out our time with God then I have to confess it excellent thought Bishan okay then we have do we've already looked at that so let's look at E express Belanga what is something here that God would want you to share with other people in Joshua 1.8 I don't know how to meditate on the world day and night. Ah, excellent. That's exactly right. Well done, Balagan. So you see, what we've done here is just a little workshop. And if you teach these two meditation skills, This is the basic one, no be-do, and then they can go on to the ABC method. They are equipped to have a daily quiet time for the rest of their lives. This is also a good tool if you're ever asked to share a devotional or lead a short Bible study, is to take a passage and break it down like this and share it with others. So these are not mine. These were given to me as a young Christian. I think I probably attended a workshop with the navigators on meditation when they were teaching people how to meditate upon God's word. And they have stood me in good stead over the years. You see, we meditate from the Word of God, not simply thoughts popping into our mind. Now let's think about this, because this is our marriage covenant emphasis of this series that we've been doing, about meditation, the Word of God, and the family. Now there are passages in Scripture which I feel should shape our meditations and application of God's Word. As husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, we cannot think in terms of meditation independent from these passages. The reason is we have become one with our spouse according to the Word of God, and we are stewards and have responsibility for our children. So let's take a look at these. Bishan, would you read 1 Corinthians 7, verse 4, please? I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 7, verse 4. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. So we just can't, when we are meditating upon scripture, we cannot think simply about ourselves, can we? As a husband, I have to think about Eleanor. As a wife, she has to think about me. Now, that's very important. Because I have known situations where the husband has felt like God is calling him to do something, and the wife has said, well, God hasn't called me to do that, as if she's free to go in a different direction. And I have also known situations where the husband has said, I think God's calling me to go to the mission field, but his wife is too infirm to go to the mission field. So he just goes without her. And in both those cases, I rebuked and corrected the wife, but I also rebuked and corrected the husband. Husband just can't have a quiet time and engage in listening prayer and decide God has called him to leave his wife in the United States and go to the mission field. No, absolutely not. And a wife cannot, through listening prayer, have decided that even though her husband is being transferred to somewhere else with his job, that she's going to stay in her church and minister. She can't do that. Another instance I saw was of a university student who, through listening prayer, decided he was going to leave school and become an evangelist. Well, did he check with his pastor? Did he check with his campus representative? Did he talk to his father? Did he check with his peer group? Does he have the gift of evangelism? Is God blessing? Where's his money going to come from? Where's his support going to come from? But he simply bypassed all of the checks and balances of authority over him on the basis of a thought he had in his mind. Bishan, I'll ask you to read again 1 Corinthians 7, 32-35, please. Since you're already in chapter 7 there. 32-35, I want you to be free from anxiety. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the unmarried man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife. and his interests are divided. And a married or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is anxious about the worldly things, how to please her husband. Now, if you are married, can you be single-minded? No, you can't. No, you can't. You have a wife. Now, if you want to be single-minded, don't get married, no problem. But once you are married, you have the responsibility of your wife. And when you have children, you have the responsibility of your children. And I tell these men, you know, if you want to go to Birmingham, England, and get your doctorate, and then go do your post-grad work in Washington, D.C., and then you want to do an internship in Cape Town, that's no problem, but don't get married. Because if you get married, you can't go anywhere without your wife. Not for any length of time. How can you be her spiritual protector How can you be her spiritual leader and not be there? And it's the same for the woman. If she's single, she can be concerned about the Lord. She can be holy in body and spirit. But if she's married, she has to be worldly. Doesn't she? Concerned about the things of the world and how she may please her husband. So she is not free just to meditate and think of herself as if she was a single woman. And I think that is one of the Achilles heels of the, of the discipleship program that most people have. And I'm not picking on the navigators. I would say it's true also in the church and in most Christian ministries that they disciple single women as if they are going to be single all their lives. and then they kind of go into shock when they get married. Balagund, I see the picture of your wife there. Is she there with you? Yes, she is, sir. Oh, may I ask her to read? Okay. Do you mind? No, please go ahead, sir. Okay. I asked this sister if you would read Titus 2. Chapter 2, verse 4 and 5. I can hear that wonderful sound of the pages turning. anytime i'm speaking in a conference and i hear those bible pages turning i know i'm with some serious people but of course now many people have uh... handheld devices so i hear that less and less but i use a handheld device so i certainly can't complain okay titus 2, 4 and 5 okay titus 2, 4 and 5 then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind and to be supportive to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Now, does it say, so that they may encourage the young wives? Is the word wife there? Yes, sir. Now, let's take a look at that. Read verse four again, please. Does it say wife? Women, yes. That Greek word is Dios. It means just young woman. And so in our discipleship program with these high school and college women and these single women, We have to ask ourselves, are we preparing them to be good wives, or are we preparing them to be independent from their husbands? And I ask the same thing when I'm talking about training men for the ministry. Do we introduce them to the concept that when they get married, they are not going to be functioning single-minded, but their interests are going to be divided. Are we preparing them for the future, or do we disciple and train them with the presupposition that they are going to be single all their lives? That's a good question, isn't it? Okay, Belungum, would you read Ephesians 5.22, please? Oh, by the way, your wife is an excellent reader. Well done. Now, if the young women in Titus 2, 4 and 5 have been instructed in this area, then they'll be able to do this when they get married. It will be an expectation, won't it? They will have been prepared for this. Now, just so your wife will know that I'm not picking on her, I'm gonna pick on you now, Belongin. Read verse 25 and 26. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loves the church, and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, blessing her by washing with water through the word. Okay, now you are to love your wife as Christ loved the church. Your interests are going to be divided. And it would be good for us when we're, like when I was raising my son, and I was seeking to disciple him, when he was in high school and college, I would remind him, That if he desired someday to be a husband, that his interests were going to be divided and he need to prepare himself for that responsible role. It just won't come naturally. So just as it's important to make sure we are preparing the single women for their role as wives, it's important for us to prepare the single men. for their role as husbands. Bishan, we'll go back to you again. Would you read 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2, please? 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2. Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husband, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without word by the conduct of their wives. when they see your respectful and pure conduct. OK. That's when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Yeah. Oh, you also have an excellent reading voice, Bishan. Well done. Oh, yeah. Very clear. So a wife, we should be preparing our wives for this. That she ministers to her husband by her conduct. See, do you see how we connect that? Notice what we have here. That she may please her husband. How does she please him? By respectful behavior. Now let's look at the husband. Malangan, you read 1 Peter 3.7, please. Okay, 3.7. Husbands, in the same way, be considerate with as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as weaker partners, and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. And a husband who is not gentle and loving and does not make his wife a priority can forget about his prayer life. Because she belongs to God, doesn't she? She is what does it say here? A fellow heir of the grace of God. Your wife belonged to God before you even knew her by her creation. He knitted her and formed her in her mother's womb. And then he purchased her with his blood. And now he has entrusted her to you for a few short years. And when you die, she will go back to God. And when she dies, she will go back to God. And God says, we as men are to view ourselves as stewards of this wonderful gift that God has given us a wife. And if we are not good stewards, if we are not faithful, if we don't live with understanding with her, if we do not watch over her and care for her, then God says we can forget our prayer life. We want to talk to God about our health, about our job, about our ministry, about our future, but God only wants to talk to us about one thing. Why are you mistreating my daughter? Bishan, we'll go back to you in Ephesians 6, 1-4 please. Thank you, John. Ephesians 6, 1-4. Children, obey your parents in the law, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land. And when we are, gentlemen, when we are meditating upon the word of God, if we are fathers, we cannot just think of ourselves independently. There are some responsibilities in life that cannot be delegated to other people. And the discipline and instruction of our children is one of those. Children who do not obey are living in a wrong relationship with God. And that becomes our responsibility then in discipline and instruction to ensure that they do grow up as obedient children in a right relationship with God. So do you see how important it is for us to think if we are married, if we have children, to think like married men with children. That's important for us to do that. It seems simplistic, but we live in an age when most pastors preach from the pulpit, when most books on discipleship are written, when most exhortation to Lordship are made, as if everybody who was listening was a single person making these decisions as single people. But if you are married, you cannot make the decision as a single person. And if you have children, you cannot make the decision as if you were a single person. When meditating on the Word of God, one question the husband should ask himself is, how does this passage affect the role of the husband and his marriage? You should not meditate upon God's Word as if you were a single man. You do not have to choose between your wife, your children, and the ministry. Your wife and children are not your only ministry, but they are a crucial aspect of your ministry. People would say to me, how do you balance family and ministry? I don't know what you're talking about. That's like saying, how do you balance leading a Bible study with leading a Bible study? How do you balance discipleship and evangelism? How do you balance adoration with thanksgiving? No, you don't balance them. They are all parts of the pie, aren't they? Your scripture, memory, and meditation passages should include marriage and family. And I hope that they do. So let's go back to Joshua 1.8. Okay. But Logan, I'll ask you to read Joshua 1.8, please. Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. When we think of Joshua 1.8, how would this passage affect your role as a husband, Bishan and Balandin? This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate upon it day and night. But now you're thinking of that not as a single man, but as a husband and a father. What would be the application of Joshua 1.8 to a husband? Well, one of the things I would say is that I would want to be meditating and memorizing verses on my role as a husband so I can be a successful husband. What about How does it affect my role as a father? Well, I will want to be meditating upon it and not allowing it to depart out of my mouth and obeying it so that I could be a good example to my children, that they could see what a Christian gentleman looks like. Well, our knee-jerk reaction, and it is the same for me, is when I read Joshua 1.8 to think of that passage as if I was a single man. But I'm not, am I? We could do the same thing for our wives. How would this passage affect the role of the wife in her marriage? And then it would be important for us to include this in our meditation time. You should help your wife not meditate upon the word of God as if she was a single woman. If you have children in the home, this is your wife's primary ministry. And you know, poor Israel was made to make bricks without straw, weren't they? And men who marry a woman and then expect her to minister as if she's a single woman and minister as if she's a married woman in the home. They're asking her to make bricks without straw. Don't do that, guys. Do not let a pastor, a bishop, a staff leader exercise authority of your wife. Your wife is not your roommate in the ministry. How can your wife put you and your family first if you ask her to put the ministry first under the authority of someone else? So don't do that. If someone came to my wife and said, you know, I was spending some time in listening prayer and I have a word from God for you. You're spending too much time ministering to your husband. I'd say, hey, I have a word of God for you. That is Genesis 2.18, God created Eleanor to be my helpmate, and you stay out of it. In my lifetime, the approach to God's word has been adrift. I can remember when I became a Christian in 1968 and through the early 70s when you would meditate upon the Word of God and you would ask a question, what is God saying in this passage? What is God the Holy Spirit saying? It's God's Word. What's He saying? Then as time moved on into the 80s, people began to ask, what is God saying to me in the passage? You know, this is unique to me. And then into the 90s, what do I feel God is saying in the passage? And finally, here's what God is saying to me from my thoughts and impressions, apart from the word of God. That has happened over a 50 year period. So I really call upon men and women to return to the meditation upon God's word. And not to make spiritual pronouncements or decisions apart from the holy, eternal, inerrant word of God. May God add his blessing to his holy word. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.