All right, we are looking this morning, and we are on the next to the last chapter that I'm gonna do. This is chapter 13 this morning. We'll do chapter 14, Lord willing, next week, and then there'll be a wrap-up lesson. But we're looking at A.W. Pink's book called The Doctrine of Revelation. And I know you all know it, but just in case anybody's listening, it has nothing to do with revelation in the end times. It has to do with the revelation of God in the Scriptures. We noticed the last verse of the hymn that we sung this morning talked about God's Word revealing Him to us. That's what we're talking about, and about the authenticity of that revelation. And I think we can't help but see that as we've worked through these different things that he's pointed out. I will say, because Andy's not here, so I won't embarrass him, but I've said a couple times that I can't follow Pink's outline, right? You guys remember that. And I said, yeah, it's like, and he starts on G this week. And Andy came to me after the last service. He says, you realize that's because he didn't write a book. He wrote a series of articles, and then an editor later took those series of articles and put them in a book, and I said, yeah, I vaguely remembered that, had totally forgotten it, and it makes sense as to why the book itself is not organized the way you would expect somebody to organize a book. So anyway, I'll get that out of the way there that Andy straightened me out on that. So we come this morning, we've been looking in particular at reasons or evidences of the Word of God itself as to its origin, as to the fact that it is a unique book and that it is in fact the revelation of God. And last week, you remember, we looked at what we referred to as the unique contents of the Word of God. The uniqueness, the uniformity of it, if you will. And so we looked at the doctrine of the Word of God, the precepts of the Word of God, and the promises of the Word of God, and how they are unique in their presentation of these things. And so we carry that idea on this morning, And as usual, it'll either be really short or really long. We're going to look at its unique scope and style. And my concern is there's eight things to look at. So a couple of them I've kind of really skipped and gone light on it with the notes. We'll see how that works out. But the unique scope and style of the Word of God also testifies to the Scriptures being the revelation of the true and living God. And so from its unique content, we move to the Bible's unique nature. It is what we would call, it's a timeless book. both individually for us as individuals and corporately as a church. And I had started and actually took it back out of the notes to say, and nationally or culturally, but I think we lose sight sometimes of the fact that our culture is nothing but what the individuals make it up to be. And so a lot of times, and especially when we start getting into the areas of like politics, we start talking and saying, oh, the culture's terrible, blah, blah, blah. It's not the culture. as if it's some nebulous thing over here. It's the people that make up the culture. And so it should be a reminder that we can impact that culture. We may not be able to change it by fiat, but we absolutely can live in a way that impacts the culture that we live in. And sometimes that may be as limited, and I don't mean that in a negative way, but as limited as your family. Does your family culturally reflect what the Word of God teaches? It is a sad testament that many families don't, and so we should be very aware and very conscious of that. So the Word of God is a timeless book, both individually and corporately. We would do well to dwell in it and to revisit it frequently. We talked about this last week. It's the mold that we take and press ourselves into so that we look more like God. I was reminded, as Denise and I traveled down to Virginia Beach and back, we had a chance to catch up on some podcasts that people have recommended. And one of the ones I listened to on the way back was Tucker Carlson interviewing Russell Brand. If you don't know who that is, that's okay. But Russell Brand is an English liberal hippie. And pretty much that's the way he describes himself. He's very eloquent at times. He can just go on and on and on. But the interesting reason that he was being interviewed by Tucker Carlson was because they've come to know each other and truly appreciate each other, even though at one time they would have been on opposite ends of the political spectrum, if you will. And what they talked about, and the reason I'm mentioning them is this. Both of them have publicly made professions of faith in Jesus Christ recently, as in the last couple of years. Now, I recognize they're both Catholic, as far as I understand it, but I still was shocked at what they were talking about on a national platform, and in front of them, in this case, an audience out in Arizona that was in the thousands. as to their relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and both of them gave the reason because they'd started reading the Bible. And that is a good indication that maybe they're on the right track. Somebody asked me after I was telling them this, they said, well, do you think they're saved? I have no idea. With celebrity conversions, it is best to be quiet and watch. You can name the names of the people that over the last five years even have come out as they're suddenly Christians, and within a couple years, they're gone. They've gone back to the lifestyle that they were in. And Russell Brand talked about this. He talked about the fact that he felt the loneliness that the right wasn't going to embrace him. He was this crazy liberal. But his liberal pals, especially his Hollywood pals, as soon as he started talking about Jesus Christ and the Word of God, they wanted nothing to do with him. And so there was a cost to him for that. But the point is, both men said, We started reading the Bible. Dr. Carlson said, I read it through for the first time. And he says, I was shocked. He said, the things that people had told me it said were so opposite to what it said. And I just heard that. Tim the Toolman Taylor, in case you don't know who Tim Taylor is. Same thing. He's publicly stated recently that he started reading the Bible. And again, I don't know what that means, but my point is, and the illustration here was, we do well to not underestimate the impact of reading the Word of God. Now why do I say that to a congregation like this where I know you all read the Word of God? because we can forget that. We can become so familiar with it that we don't stop and think about the value of what we have in our hands. And so don't take the Word of God for granted. Don't think, well, I'll get to it tomorrow. I've read it all week. I don't need to read it or look at it or whatever. And so make sure that we see the value of it because of, in fact, its unique scope and impact, I think, on people. So, the first of eight things we're going to look at, and you'll see, hopefully you'll go through these a little quicker than you might be thinking I'm going to. First of all, the depth of the Word of God. I was reminded of this recently for a different reason, but basically what Pink said, and you're 100% on here, the works of men age poorly, but the Word is eternal. We outgrow the works of men, the writings of men, both mentally and practically, but not the Word of God. And I was reminded of it because I reread a book that I had read as a young person, basically probably would have been in high school, that I thought was just one of the greatest books ever written. And I reread it recently and I went, huh. I don't know why I was all excited about that. I don't know what the appeal was. It was a good book. But the point is it had aged, and it had not aged well. And so we contrast that, the works of men, to the Word of God that does not age. It does not age poorly because it is eternal and what it teaches is eternal. And so we will never advance beyond the word, either spiritually or intellectually. Some of you who are getting up there in years like I am, year after year, decade after decade, you will continue to discover new treasures and personal growth from the word of God. And that's one of the blessings of God. And as you are older, you'll testify to that. And to some of the younger folk that are maybe just a few years down the road, you can say to them, keep reading, keep digging. I use the illustration that I noticed Andy took it, and I think you already had it, right into the services last week of the idea of digging in a mine. digging for something precious. Oh, I found a little diamond. I'm going to keep digging. Maybe there's more. I'm going to just keep looking. I'm going to keep working and seeing until I've gotten everything that I can out of it. The Word of God is like that. It has a depth that is just incomprehensible. But of course, think of why it's the revelation of an incomprehensible and infinite God. A lot of people worry, what are we going to do in heaven? Well, I'm going to tell you what we're not going to do in heaven. We're not going to lay around with our favorite dog fishing. I'm sorry if that was your plan, and I don't think it was. But that's not heaven. Heaven is spending eternity knowing God better and better and better as he reveals himself to us. And the Word of God is a taste of that. It's a hint of that. And so it treats the most exalted subjects, God, and man's relationship to Him. There's nothing more exalted than that. To know God and to know what our relationship is to that God. The focus is always on God and is working among men. The viewpoint of the Word of God is God's viewpoint. It's not man's viewpoint. And it's from the revelation of God's nature to man. It's always from God. It is beyond the ability of men to conceive of or to comprehend what is revealed in many places in Scripture. And so it's a testament to the nature of the Word of God, as to the depth of the Word of God and the revelation of God in it. Ever greater and greater mysteries abound in the Word of God. And what do they do as we read those things? They shouldn't cause us to say, well, I don't know. I can't believe that because I don't understand it. Instead, the mysteries of the word of God should humble us. And as they're revealed to us and as they're shown to us, they should enlighten us. Romans 11.33 says this, Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. That's the depth of the Word of God. In the second place, and at some point in here I'll get lost as to which ones I didn't number them, but the second place, the simplicity of the Word of God. Although the Word of God is profound, it is very plain and clear. Despite it being full of difficult doctrines or hidden prophecies, on practical matters and duty, it is clear to anyone who reads it. There is no IQ level that you have to have achieved in order to be able to read the Word of God. There are certain works of men that you might read them and say, I don't begin to understand that. You know, the works of Einstein. If you don't have the mathematical background to be able to follow what he's doing, you're probably not going to come out of it with a whole lot of understanding. Other works are complicated because they're just nonsense. And so don't let the philosophers fool you. A lot of times, they're just writing out of their ignorance, and so you can't follow it, and you can't understand it, and there's no point in it. But the Word of God is not like that. As exalted as the subject is, as deep as the Word of God is, yet it is clear to anyone that reads it. Its precepts are explicit. and it is suited to the capacity of all of us. No matter how smart or how not so smart you are, the Word of God can speak to your need and to what you need to hear. Psalm 19, verse 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. God graciously accommodates himself to our limitations and to our language. This is why a lot of times you'll see in scripture that it talks about, like, say, the arm of the Lord. God doesn't have an arm. He's a spirit. Why does it use that kind of language? He's accommodating himself to us so we can relate to the God who is utterly beyond our comprehension except as He reveals Himself to us. John 14 and verse 1 says this, let not your heart be troubled. This is Jesus speaking. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. So you see again, are there mansions? Are there physical mansions in heaven that we go to? No, think about it for a second. When you die, what happens? Your body and your spirit are separated. You're not going to a physical mansion in heaven. Your spirit is going to be with God, or it's going to the punishment that will eventually be eternal. But what is this? It's an accommodation of language. We can quickly think about what mansions are like, and that there are many of them, and that there is plenty for each of us. None of us have to worry about where we're going to be. These things are revealed to us by God. And interestingly, in the simplicity of the Word of God, man's inclination to impress is absent. You think about the writings of men, especially autobiographies, where men are trying to present their best side. And sure, they'll tell you some of the bad things that have happened or things that they think will enhance their reputation. But for the most part, they are trying to impress you. Otherwise, why buy their book, right? Nobody writes a book to not sell it. And yet in the Word of God, that inclination to impress is absent. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 4, he specifically says this, And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. You see the purpose of Paul speaking the way he did? He didn't want followers of Paul. He wanted followers of God. And so he didn't speak in such a way as to puff himself up, but instead to send us and to focus us on God. And that's the Word of God as a whole is like that. The Gospels in particular, plainly state the life of Christ and chronicle the wondrous things that he did while he was on earth as just a matter of simple, unvarnished truth. You think about that as you read through the Gospels. What's recorded is in some ways unbelievable, unfathomable, and yet they're recorded in sort of a matter-of-fact way of here's what happened, here's the things that occurred. And so it is very much a simple book revealing the God who is behind it. It is also impartial, and this is one I would probably have too much time on, so we'll see how we go here, but it's important, I think, in our day and age in particular. Consider the culture that was then prevalent during the New Testament time in particular, and the presentation of the New Testament in that time. Women were merely property. You may not like that, you may react against that, but that's the way it was. Men basically traded in women the way you traded in cars. Slavery was widespread. Again, you may not like that, but it's the way it was. Despotic kings or emperors reigned. You may not have liked it, but you didn't get a vote in most of that. They did what they wanted. That's the culture that was prevalent at the time of the Word of God. So first of all, as an aside, the idea that the Word of God isn't culturally relative today is absurd. Okay? And the people that make that argument, usually to do something they want to do, women pastors, it's the big one, They make that argument based on, oh, it's not relevant to our culture. Are you kidding me? Look at the culture that it was introduced into. It makes our culture look like a bunch of kindergartners. And so why is that the case? Because the teachings of Scripture have no bias, and they require obedience from the least to the greatest. All men are bound by the same laws, the same punishments, and the same promises in the Word of God. There isn't a different gospel if you're over here at this level versus you're over here at this level. The rich aren't given an easier way in. Or, I've heard, it's not like Disneyland where you can give them a lot more money and they'll give you a fast pass. Nope. Everybody stands in line. Everybody waits the same way. Everybody for the Word of God has the same law applied, the same punishment, the same promises. Romans 3.21 says, but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed. being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." What a blessing that is. You can talk to literally anyone in the world and give them the same testimony, the same gospel. Why? Because the gospel doesn't care who you are. And God doesn't care who you are when it comes to your sin and you're being separated from him. All receive the same offer, Romans 10, 13, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And all need to hear the same message. Mark 16 verse 15, Jesus said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. No qualification of who they are. No qualification of you're at this level or you're that level. And just as an aside, America is a little unique because for hundreds of years, we've kind of been built on this idea of a huge middle class. There are very few rich people, there are very few poor people, and there's a lot of people in the middle that are doing okay. That's not the rest of the world for the most part. The rest of the world is often full of people that are extremely very rich and a whole lot of people that aren't. And so, you see, it doesn't matter what you're used to. It doesn't matter what the culture that you're in comes from. You come to Christ and you believe the same things that each one is told. And in fact, the things of this world are often a hindrance. Mark 10, 23, that says, then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. I mean, stop for a minute and say, what a warning that is for us in our prosperous society. You may think, well, I'm not rich. You're rich beyond the wildest imaginations of most of the world. You got up this morning in a comfortable home. If you're like me, you stuck your nose outside and said, brr, like, hey, summer's gone, I hate it. And I went back in where it was warm and comfortable. I got food based on what I felt like eating and would carry me through the morning from a variety of things that I could choose from. Got washed, shower, hot showers. I miss hot showers the most if there's ever an apocalypse. I love a hot shower. Got dressed, clean clothes, stuff hanging. I had a choice of things, which color shirt, what color pants, which shoes match. Went out, got in the truck, drove up here with the air on, had the heated seats on, my back was hurting a little, and arrived here in comfort, took out our meals that we're going to eat later. Do you see the prosperity that we have as a society? Do you appreciate that? Do you thank God for that? That's the blessing of God on us. But do you recognize as you're praying and as you're reading the Word of God and say, don't let that hinder me from serving and honoring you. Don't let the things of the world distract me to where I forget or don't make time for the things of God. We are a prosperous society and God has greatly blessed us. And we are also one in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3.26 says, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And we often get this idea, because people attack us, of saying, oh, you don't let women do this, or you don't let children do that, or you don't do this, or you make the men do that. And get into the idea that religion is drudgery. and that it's a, oh, it's a terrible time. We happened to go by one of our neighbors this morning. I have no idea what he was thinking, but we went out, obviously dressed up, carrying the cooler to throw in the truck, and he was out walking the dog, and I know he's gonna hang around for the day and enjoy his day, and it's possible that he had the thought that others have expressed to me at times, oh, there, those people go off to church. That's so sad they have to go to church like that, as if somehow we're the ones that are not enjoying life. But instead, we enjoy life as it was intended because we are all sons of God. And then what does he go on to say? He says, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. What a foreign concept in our day. in the day of the Romans? In any age. Do you see the timelessness of it? Do you see the impartiality of the Word of God? Now, it doesn't mean... I'll just say this just to make sure we're clear. It doesn't mean that men don't have different roles than women, and that children don't have a responsibility to obey and to be under authority until the proper time, and that the church isn't organized in a certain fashion, and that we don't have leaders, and that we don't just get together and sit and wait for something to happen. But it does mean that as we worship together, each of us is one in Jesus Christ, and there is no distinction between us. There is also the comprehensiveness of the Word of God. The Word of God is a complete rule of life, and I'm just gonna barely touch on this, because I think we've touched on this before, but it is a complete rule of life. The design of the Word of God is to influence our character and our conduct. It is a user's manual for living life. A lot of people say, oh, I got a kid now. I wish it came with a user's manual. There is one. You just ignore it. You want nothing to do with the Word of God when it comes to raising your children. But it's there. There is one for what kind of a life do I live? What kind of a job do I seek after? What's my role in life? All of those things are in the Word of God. It is comprehensive. It is a user's manual that is full of explicit instructions for our relative duties. Does it say do this job or that job? Of course not. What's it say? Do all things to the glory of God. That may mean there's a job you can't take because it's not going to be a job you can do to the glory of God. But go back to the Word of God, because you remember the men and women that came to God and said, I've been saved. What do I do now? I'm a soldier. What am I supposed to do? Oh, you should desert, run to Canada and not be a soldier anymore. No, you should be a soldier for God, which means don't mistreat people. Don't be abusive and a bully because you've got the authority because you're a soldier, a Roman soldier. I'm a tax collector. That's the lowest of low. What should I do? Stop being a tax collector? No. Do your job honestly. And if you've cheated people, pay them back. You see the practicalness of the Word of God? The problem is, that's the hard way to do things. It's easier to say, oh, I just won't be a tax collector anymore. No, you haven't solved the problem, which is, you probably were in that business in the first place because you got to make extra money. And so you need to deal with that. So the word of God gives us instruction and direction for our duties in life. Any person in any situation, Pink says, and I quoted it because it was just, you couldn't say it better. It is milk for babes. It is meat for the strong. It is medicine for the sick. It is relief for the weary. It is consolation for the dying. Every situation you find yourself in in life, the Word of God can address. It is a store of true wisdom if you will hear it and obey it. And again, you have to read it, you have to be in it. It is concise. The Word of God is comprehensive and yet compact. Think about this for a minute. It is a complete library of 66 books that can be carried in your pocket. If you were at the Rockingham County Fair or one of the other places where the Gideons are giving out New Testaments, well, they're little tiny books. You literally can take them and tuck them in your pocket. I've got one on my shelf that I thought about bringing it, but I was like, you guys are big guys, you don't need picture illustrations. I've got a Bible that's about that big and it's about that thick. It is the entire Old and New Testament, and yeah, the print's a little hard for us older people, but it is the entire Old and New Testament with cross-references and a concordance in the back and maps. And it's all together in a little book. It is amazing to think about the conciseness of the Word of God, what it conveys to us, and yet it's not 55 books that are in an encyclopedia. All of that in 66 little books that you can literally carry in your pocket is an amazing fullness, yet it is not excessive in length. Think of all that's contained in the Word of God. Everything from the origins of man, to redemption, to practical godly living. It's all covered. And yet, it's also, and this leads into the next thought, it's reserved. Human writers tend to expound at length with great drama and sensationalism and write hundreds and hundreds of pages. And instead, the scriptures are concise and sufficient. And keep in mind, they're concise and they're sufficient for our salvation, for our redemption to God our Father. Much is left to the mystery of God. while at the same time meeting all the needs of man. We often wish, I think, at least I know I've done it at times, we often wish that the authors in the Bible had told us more to satisfy our curiosity or our laziness. We don't want to dig through it and have to study out the truths. Why couldn't they just have organized it better? But instead, they give us precisely what we need, no more, no less. So we don't have author's biographies. We don't have a long exposition of like the nature of demons. We don't have hardly any record of Christ's youth, his first 30 years on earth. And there's like, I wonder what this was like. I wonder what that was like. None of that is recorded for us. Why? It's not what God's revealing to us. It's not necessary for us to be reconciled to God. But the word of God is also frank. It is full of frankness. The recording of the faults and sins of the children of Abraham is very contrary to the nature of man when they record something. So in the scriptures, we see success is always attributed to Jehovah, sin and backsliding to the people. because that's the true nature of these things. Man tries to give excuses. Man tries to say, oh, that happened, but it wasn't really my fault. Things happened beyond my control. Whereas the word of God is very frank in its presentation of the records of men. And so, I'll give you a couple examples, because I just was... touched by this one in particular. Moses records his own sins over and over and over. But in particular, Numbers 27 and verse 12 says this, Now the Lord said to Moses, go up into this Mount of Biram and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people as Aaron your brother was gathered." In other words, before the people of Israel went into the promised land, God said to Moses, you go up on this mountain here and you look over there, that's the promised land. You're not going into it. You're gonna die the whole the reference to you will be gathered to your people. You're gonna die Just as your brother was Why? Well, you know, because Moses was old, right? He could have, I'm just old, I can't make it. It's a long journey. No, what's recorded is, for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my command to hollow me at the waters before their eyes. These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. You think about all that Moses did in his life all the good all the miracles all the leading all the putting up with the people of Israel And you think about the fact that God recorded through Moses' hand, that at the very end, the reason he wasn't going into the hallowed land, into the holy land, was because he had sinned against God by rebelling against his command and striking the rock instead of doing what he was told to do. That's not the normal way that men record things. That's the frankness of God in reminding us the standard that we are required to follow and to live up to. And we see the same recording of such lapses of faith in the New Testament by John the Baptist, by the apostles. At one point, John the Baptist sends messengers to Christ, and he says, are you the Messiah, or are we looking for another? I'm confused. I'm in prison. Things aren't going the way I expected. And there's a lapse of faith by John the Baptist. The apostles, certainly the recording of Peter's denying Christ. If you were writing that, wouldn't you kind of maybe leave that out or maybe make it not sound so bad? No, the scriptures record with frankness the sins and faults of the people of God. Why? So that we can learn from them as warnings and so that we can be reminded that we are not perfect. and that we are going to sin. And what's the remedy for sin? Fleeing to Christ. Peter, do you love me? Do you love my sheep? There was reconciliation for Peter. And so we're encouraged by that, that even though we will sin, and if you say you don't, you're a liar. God said that. But we will sin, and there is still reconciliation. But this frankness is not the nature of man. It is in fact the blessing of God to remind us of these things. And then finally, the majestic tone of the Word of God. This is number eight. I know because it's the last one here. The majestic tone of the Word of God. If God is the Bible's author, We would expect what Pink calls a loftiness of tone and majesty of diction beyond all human production. And sure enough, that's what the Word of God is. You read the Word of God, and it has a tone that is different from any other book you will read, including religious books. And yet among the plainness of speech is the loftiness of God. Isaiah 1 verse 2 says, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. Psalm 99 verse 1 says, The Lord reigns. Let the peoples tremble. He dwells between the cherubim. Let the earth be moved. And we see the same testimony to this with Christ, Matthew 7, 28. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. John 7, 45, then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees and they said to them, why have you not brought him? They sent them out to arrest Christ. Why have you not brought him? And the officers answered and said, no man ever spoke like this man. The Word of God leaves us in awe because we are to be in awe of God. Isaiah 40, 22 says, It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. But with the hope and comfort that God reveals to us, Isaiah 40 11, he will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young. That's the tone of scriptures. That's the promise of scripture. Let's close with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Word of God and its revelation to us. We thank you that you reveal both the depth of the sin, which has driven us away from you, as well as the unbelievable salvation that you have introduced to us in Christ. Father, may we indeed be embraced in the shepherd's arms. May we be picked up and carried and led where we would not go, but where you would certainly have us to go. Bless us as we worship this day. I pray that you'd bless both our brother Phil as he ministers to us. Watch over Pastor Andy as he ministers in Carlisle. and be with all our brothers and sisters in the many other places that we know are gathered to worship and to honor your name. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.