ISAIAH 28:1-132008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 28:1-13

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. Isaiah chapter 28. Now as we start in Isaiah 28, we're starting another section of the book of Isaiah. And this pulpit is crooked. It's driving me crazy. Okay.

That's a little bit better. All right. We're starting a new section as we start Isaiah 28. Chapters 28 through 33 are all proclamations of woes. Over and over, we'll see that word used again at the beginning of the chapter. He'll say, woe to so-and-so. And mostly, he's referring to the nation of Israel. Now, if I may remind you, and this will be important for tonight,

Israel at this time is divided into two nations. There's the northern kingdom, which is called Israel, and it's also known as Ephraim, and we'll find that in the first portion of chapter 28 this evening.

And this is a nation, this is the kingdom that split from the southern kingdom after Solomon had died and his son had taken the throne. And this kingdom, the northern kingdom, never had a good king, never served the Lord, never followed God, because Jerusalem, where the temple was, where they would come to worship, was part of the southern kingdom.

Now, the southern kingdom was known as Judah. And this southern kingdom, the southern part of Israel, was just a few tribes. It was much smaller. And yet here was the center of worship. The temple was there. Jerusalem was there. And the nation of Judah had a lot of people.

had a much better track record with kings. They had some good ones and a lot of bad ones as well. But they were on a gradual decline. Both nations, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, are headed towards destruction.

And so as God pronounces these woes here in chapter 28 all the way through 33, these again are warnings and proclamations of destruction if they will not change their ways, if they will not repent. God is continually calling out to them to turn back, to stop going in that direction because destruction is coming.

That phrase or that word woe simply means sorrow, but it's used as a pronouncement or announcement. It's really the opposite of the word blessed. If you're familiar with Psalm chapter one, you know, blessed is the man. And it goes on to talk about all of the things blessed.

that this man does who is blessed. If you don't walk in the counsel of the wicked, but you delight in the word of God and meditate on it day and night, you will be blessed. There's a blessing and happiness that's coming to you. Well, woe is exactly the opposite of that. It's a pronouncement, not blessed, but woe, sorrow will come to you

who do these things is what God is saying in these chapters. And so he's pronouncing judgment. He's pronouncing sorrow. Woe that is to come upon those who are practicing the things that he'll be talking about. And so let's start it out here in chapter 28 and look at verses 1 through 4. God says, Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower.

which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing. Who will bring them down to the earth with his hand? The crown of pride, the junkards of Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot."

And the glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer, which an observer sees, he eats it up while it is still in his hand.

Here as we begin chapter 28, God is talking to Ephraim. This is the northern kingdom Israel that is in rebellion to God and will be destroyed, taken captive by the Assyrian Empire, the Assyrian army, very soon.

And he says, woe to them. Now he's going to shift subjects or shift focus a little bit later and also include Jerusalem in this pronouncement of judgment and sorrow that is to come. But first he starts with Ephraim. And he says, woe to the crown of pride. It's a phrase he uses again in verse 3, the crown of pride. And the crown of pride is defined as the drunkards of Ephraim.

Ephraim the nation has this crown of pride. What does that mean? It means that they are full of themselves. They are full of pride. Now, if you've studied the Bible at all, you know that God hates pride. He doesn't just dislike it a little bit or, you know, kind of bugs him, irritates him a little bit. But this is something that God hates pride.

He's vehemently opposed to pride and pridefulness in our hearts. In Proverbs 8, verse 13, it tells us, The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. And it goes on to say, Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. This is what God says. He hates pride and arrogance and the evil way. The opposite of that is to fear the Lord, to turn from evil.

And to walk in his ways. Psalm chapter 10 verse 4 tells us that the wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. So here's the psalmist tells us there in chapter 10 of Psalms verse 4. The wicked person is the one who does not seek God. The proud person is the one who does not seek God. Instead...

Of hating evil. Instead of seeking God, the proud person is full of themselves and their own ways and what they want to do regardless of what God says. Now the problem with those who are proud is Isaiah chapter 2 verse 11 tells us that God will bring low all those who

who are haughty and lifted up. All those who are proud, God will bring low. And it says in Isaiah 2.11 that he alone will be exalted in that day. And so the judgment that is coming, the judgment that is pronounced is upon the crown of pride. Those who are full of themselves and specifically those who are the drunkards of Ephraim. They disregard God. They don't hate evil. They don't turn from evil. They don't seek God.

And so it's a pronouncement of woe because judgment will come. Pride comes before destruction. And Isaiah is pronouncing here that destruction is coming. Now, he also says in verse 1, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, meaning that it's not lasting. There's glorious beauty there in Ephraim. And this is what is so interesting about what God is doing here. He's saying, look, you guys, there is glorious beauty here.

Ephraim, the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom, they were God's people. There was still, even though they had been in rebellion against God, there was still glorious beauty there. There was still something that God would have loved to salvage. There was still something of worth. There were those that God loved. In the same way today, you and I, God loves us.

There's glorious beauty, even for the proud person, even for the person in rebellion against God, there's glorious beauty. But what God is saying here is that for those who are proud, the glorious beauty is a fading flower. Now, guys, when you go out and get your girl some flowers, how long do they last? A couple months? A couple years? No. How long do they last? George knows. He bought his wife flowers. Good job, George.

A couple days, maybe a week if you're lucky. They don't last very long, and that's what God's saying. There's glorious beauty here. There's something worth salvaging, but it's not going to last very long, guys. He's telling them, look, guys, the time's running out for you to turn. The time's running out for you to repent. Your glorious beauty is as a fading flower. He goes on in verse 2 to say, Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one.

Now, I believe this is talking about Jesus, and we'll talk about that a little bit more in detail in verses 16 and 17, because it goes on to say, "...like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with his hand."

God says, look, woe to you. You're full of pride. You have the crown of pride. You're drunkards. You're disregarding God. You're not seeking God. And I have a mighty storm that I'm going to bring. And my hand is going to bring you down. You're going to be wiped out. You're going to be destroyed because pride goes before destruction.

Again, in verse 3, he calls them the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, and they will be trampled underfoot because only God will be exalted and everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, will be brought low by God. He again talks about the quickness of what is going to happen. He talks about the fading flower again in verse 4, but then he talks about the first fruit before the summer. Now,

Next time Pastor Tom comes down in June, I encourage you to hang out with him for a little bit, especially when he first gets here. And if you're able to, take him to Cardenas right down the street.

Because he gets so excited about the fruit. And you walk in there with him and he starts just like singing and dancing. And he gets so excited because he doesn't get much fruit in Japan. And he's like, I can't even believe it. Man, it's 99 cents for a pound of oranges. And he just gets so excited. He starts buying all these things. And he eats them up right away.

And that's what he's talking about here. The observer sees the fruit, the first fruit. It's like, oh my goodness, they're ripe. It's ready to go. And it says that he eats it while it's still in his hand. It doesn't last very long. It's gobbled up pretty quickly. In the same way, God is saying, hey, for you who are full of pride, your glory, your beauty, all that you have of value, it's going to perish. It's going to pass very quickly. It's not going to last very long.

Now the choice is yours. You can have the crown of pride or you can have the crown of glory. Look at verse 5. In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and to die of him of beauty to the remnant of his people. For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment and for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. So the choice is ours. A crown of pride. We can be full of ourselves.

Not seeking God. He's not in our thoughts. We don't pay attention to what He says. We don't live according to His guidelines. We don't love Him and seek Him. Instead, we choose our own way. That's the crown of pride. Or we can choose the crown of glory. The crown of glory is for the remnant of His people. That's the small few that are His, that love Him and turn to Him. There's a remnant. There's a select few. And for them, God will be the crown of glory.

God's saying, look, destruction is coming. Woe is coming. Judgment is coming for the proud. But for those who trust in God, for those who look to God, for those who fight the battle for God, he'll be to them a crown of glory. And so you can take your pick. The crown of pride, which will bring you destruction, or the crown of glory, that God will preserve you. Look at verse 7.

But they also have erred through wine and through intoxicating drink are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink. They are swallowed up by wine. They are out of the way through intoxicating drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth. No place is clean. So now we have a beautiful picture that's painted here, right? It's a picture full of alcohol. Alcohol.

He says, for they also, and now it seems that Isaiah is pointing towards Jerusalem, towards the nation of Judah, changing focus from Israel, the northern kingdom, to the southern kingdom. As he says, they also, referring to the remnant of his people, those that have remained faithful to him. And yet, among that nation, the nation of Judah, there are also those who have erred through wine. In fact, it's the priest and the prophet,

that have erred through intoxicating drink. The priests and the prophet are the ones who are involved in this debauchery and drunkenness. They've erred and it says they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. Now, that is what alcohol does. Alcohol blurs your vision and impairs your judgment, both literally, physically, practically. That's why drunk driving is outlawed and it's so dangerous.

I read a statistic, I think it's every 31 minutes someone dies as a result of drunk driving because it impairs your judgment and blurs your vision. But it also happens spiritually. Drunkenness is prohibited by the scripture because it causes you to err in vision and stumble in judgment. You're going to make bad decisions. You're not going to see clearly the way of the Lord. You're not going to see what God wants you to do.

It's going to lead you astray because of drunkenness. And the end is really disgusting. All the tables are full of vomit and filth. No place is clean. Now, may I remind you, this is the prophet and the priest. This is so that we would get an understanding of the state of the nations at that time. There was great corruption all throughout. Can you imagine coming over to my house? There's vomit all over the table. The whole place is a mess.

Because I had been living in drunkenness. It would be disgraceful, a shame. And this is the state of the nation at that time. Not only is their house a mess, they're erring in vision and stumbling in judgment, but they also are mocking God. In verse 9 and 10, this is the drunkard speaking here. And here's what they say. They say, Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?

For precept must be upon precept. Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Line upon line. Here a little, there a little. This is what the drunkards are saying. This is how they are mocking God and his messenger Isaiah. They say, whom will he teach knowledge? He is referring to Isaiah. Who is Isaiah going to teach? Essentially, they're saying, look, his message is only fit for those who are just weaned from milk.

Little tiny babies. That's who Isaiah's message is for. His message isn't to us. It's not sophisticated enough. It's not intellectual enough. It's not. Look at what his message is. It's precept upon precept and precept upon precept and line upon line and line upon line and here a little and there a little. In essence, saying his message is too simple. Isaiah, you're killing us with this message.

Just going back and, okay, let's read the word. Okay, let's read the word a little bit more. Okay, let's read the next line. And let's look at the line after that. And let's look at a little bit here and a little bit there. Isaiah, you're killing us because it's too simple. We don't want to hear those things. That message is only fit for the newborn babes or those who are just weaned from milk. They begin to mock and scoff against God, His word and His message through the prophet Isaiah.

And here's the thing. And this happens all the time. Remember the characteristic of these people? We're talking about the crown of pride. They don't seek God. They don't turn from evil. They don't hate evil. They're full of their own ways. And so God's ways, they're just too simple. And there's a great danger for you and I. Now, you might be sitting here and saying, hey, I'm not a drunkard. But when we are full of pride and we reject God's word,

We're in great danger. When we mock, although we might not do it as openly as they are doing it, when we don't take heed to God's word, when we don't invest ourselves in God's word, we will not grow.

There's a great danger in our life. In 1 Peter 2, verse 2, he tells us, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word. Now, these people are mocking and saying, no, you know, your message is just for the newborn babies. And Peter says, hey, just like a newborn baby, crave and desire and seek after the pure milk of the Word. This is what you and I need.

Now, Peter goes on to say that you may grow thereby, telling us that you and I as Christians grow the way that we mature spiritually is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little. You know, if you read the Bible all the way through, it doesn't automatically make you a complete and mature Christian. You read a passage once through, you don't get everything out of that passage that God wants to give you.

It doesn't work that way. It's not microwave spiritual growth. Let me just microwave Isaiah chapter 28 here. And man, I got it all figured out. I got it all understood. And okay, I'm done there. And let's go on to the next thing. No, it's here a little, there a little. God teaches us a little bit here. As we go precept upon precept, line upon line, as we go verse by verse, chapter by chapter, He teaches us a little bit. And what He teaches us today is important and builds upon...

The things that he wants to teach us tomorrow. And it prepares us for the things he wants to teach us for the next day. In order for you and I to grow as Christians, we need to desire the pure milk of the word. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. The drunkards were mocking it. It's too simple. There are those who mock Calvary Chapel. There are those who mock those churches that will take the Bible and go verse by verse and chapter by chapter. And there's a great danger there.

Because it's the mockery that comes from the crown of pride. Let's move on. Verses 11 through 13. It says,

Verse 11 is quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 21 as a reference to tongues as a spiritual gift. Remember on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered together and the Holy Spirit came upon them.

They began to praise God. And they caused such a commotion that a crowd rushed around them. And it tells us that everybody heard what they were sharing. They heard the gospel message in their own language, in their native tongue. The gift of tongues supernaturally at work. With stammering lips and another tongue, he will speak to this people. God is saying of his people, they are so full of pride and full of themselves. With these signs, with these wonders.

With born again Christians speaking to them in their own language. Saying, this is the rest which may cause the weary to rest. What did Jesus say in Matthew chapter 11? Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy and light. Come unto me all you weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest.

Hebrews chapter 3 and 4 promised and prophesied about, no, not really promised and prophesied, but talked about the rest that was promised and prophesied about in the scriptures and said they never entered into it because of unbelief. They never heeded God. They never sought after God. And so they didn't enter into the rest. And so there still remains today a rest for the people of God. The message that they're giving there also in verse 12 says, this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear.

In Acts chapter 3, Peter is talking to another crowd and he says, repent and be converted that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. There's a message of rest, a message of refreshing, but it comes from seeking God, from the one who will not have the crown of pride, but the crown of glory because they look to God and trust in God. The proud person mocks the simplicity of the message.

The intellectual and proud person says, well, it's not so important. I've read that before. I don't need to read it again. I've heard that message before. I don't need to listen to that. There's no need for me to spend time reading through on my own, line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept. Why do you think that's repeated? Look again at verse 13.

The whole block is repeated, but each line in the block is repeated as well. Precept upon precept, and then what does it say next? Precept upon precept. And then line upon line, what does it say next? Why do you think that is? Because here's how God speaks to us. Here's how God causes us to grow. Here's what we need. We don't need the most intellectual message that we've ever heard in our lives. You know, as you listen to Chuck Missler, and he blows your mind with all these things,

Those things are great. That's cool. As Dr. Mace Baker and I were talking, he said, yeah, I love listening to Dr. Chuck Missler. He said, but that would be a horrible diet. It's a nice supplement. It's a nice dessert. Cool things. Yeah, blows your mind. Awesome. But what causes us to grow? Precept upon precept. Precept upon precept.

The simple reading, line upon line, verse by verse, looking at and repeating and going over and hear a little bit God teaches us and then later on a little bit more He'll teach us and He teaches us a little bit at a time as day by day, diligently we walk with Him. As day by day we spend time with Him. As we look at this line and then He prepares us for the next line and then He prepares us for the next line. It's a gradual growth, just like a baby crying.

And milk. Mom doesn't breastfeed and then the baby wakes up the next morning, a 12-year-old kid. It doesn't work that way. No, it's a little bit here, a little bit there. Three, four, five, six times a day for a while. And as the baby grows, then they begin to eat different things and are able to prepare for themselves and feed themselves. That's the idea. That's the maturity that God desires in each one of us.

But it requires precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line. Here a little, there a little. The drunkards, the crown of pride, are rejecting Isaiah's teaching. They're a mess. Their lives are a mess. Their house is a mess. Their table's full of vomit. And they say, that message is too simple. It's not for us. That's only fit for little babies. We're spiritual mature. We've been around for a long time. We know the law inside and out.

We don't need you to read us the law, Isaiah. We know the law. Look, we're the priests and the prophets. What a sad thing for a Christian to get to that place. I don't need to read that. I don't need you to read me that. Sometimes people come for counseling and say, well, let's look at what the scripture says. I already know what the scripture says. What do I need to do? Precept upon precept, line upon line. We need the word of God. We need a regular diet of his word. We need each day to learn his precepts, to read his lines regularly.

He gives us a little here, a little there. As the children of Israel, we've been reading about in Deuteronomy, as they were going into the promised land, God said, I'm not going to drive out all the inhabitants all at once. I want to give you the land. Every place you step your foot, that's yours. They're in the promised land. It's yours. It's all given to you. And you're going to drive them out. But I'm not going to drive them all out at once. Little by little. So that the land doesn't overcome with

wild beasts and thorns and thickets. It's how God works in us. Now, it requires patience on our part. And we'll talk about that a little bit more on Sunday as we look at the hardworking farmer. Things don't just grow up overnight. It requires patience. A little bit here, a little bit there. As we looked at the athlete on Sunday, one of the things that was really speaking to me, but I didn't have an opportunity to share on Sunday, was if you think about an athlete...

Again, there's lots of illustrations and parallels that we could examine there. But one thing that is important for an athlete is practice. And an athlete needs to keep on going even if they make mistakes. You know, if they're out there on the field and the ball's coming to them, they're out in center field, sun gets in their eyes and they miss the catch. They don't call it quits. I guess it's not for me. I might as well give up. I'm no good at this baseball stuff. No. No.

They'd pick up the ball, throw it back in, and try again. You know, if you're encouraging your kids, playing catch with them. Me and my dad, we used to go play frisbee golf down in La Mirada. There was a frisbee golf course. Man, I was horrible. My dad would always encourage me. It's okay. You had, you know, 48 throws and I had three on that hole. But it's okay. You'll do better next time. Don't give up. You can't give up.

and be a successful athlete. Hey, when you don't make it, when you drop the ball, when you're not quite good enough, you keep practicing, you keep working, you keep seeking to be better. In the same way, for you and I, listen, precept upon precept, line upon line, growth takes time. Don't give up because you stumbled, because you dropped the ball, because you made a mistake. Don't get so frustrated with yourself like, why aren't I over this yet?

Man, I've been a Christian for this amount of time. I should be done with these kind of troubles and struggles. It's not the view that the Apostle Paul had. He progressed the opposite way. Yeah, I'm not worthy to be called an apostle. I guess I'm the least of all the apostles. Okay, now I'm the chief of all sinners. Understand, yeah, you blow it. You mess up. But don't give up just because you're not where you want to be. Because you're not the mature believer or as mature as God desires you to be.

It takes time. And like an athlete, we've got to practice. And what is practice? It's repetition. Precept upon precept. Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Line upon line. Here a little, there a little. We grow as Christians as we digest the Word of God. A little bit here, a little bit there. Slowly, day by day. Precept upon precept. You ever notice you read through a portion of Scripture and

And later on, you come across it again and it speaks to you in a whole different way than it did the time before. And then the next time it speaks to you in yet a different way. And then the fourth time you need to be reminded of the first way that it spoke to you. It's precept upon precept. It's here a little, there a little. It's God speaking to us a little bit what we need each day.

He can't cram down our throats, spiritually speaking, everything that we need to be mature right now. What does it take? There's no shortcuts. What does it require to receive from God, to grow spiritually? A little bit here, a little bit there. Day in, day out. A regular diet. A regular daily relationship with God.

Let's finish off. We'll go up through verse 15 here. In verse 14 he says, Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people, who are in Jerusalem. Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death and with Sheol, we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us. For we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.

Now, the rest of the chapter, we're not going to cover tonight. But God will go on to say, yeah, that's what you think. All of your lies and your refuge and all the things that you think you've protected yourself, this covenant that you've made, I'm going to wipe it all out. It ain't going to last. It's going to be swept away with a great storm, with really a great stone, a precious cornerstone, Jesus Christ there in verse 16.

Here's what God says. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men. Again, referring to the pride of the people who reject God's word. What does he say? Because, because you have had this attitude. Because you have said, we've made a covenant with death and with Sheol we're in agreement. When it comes through, it's not going to come to us. Here's what they're saying. God's quoting them at this point, saying, you think that you can get away with what you're doing.

You think you can not seek me. You can not heed my words. You think you can, instead of hating evil, you can enjoy evil. And you think you've outsmarted me. You've figured it out so that you won't experience any consequences. You've figured out how to mask it and cover it up so that no one will find out. You've figured out how to do it and the repercussions won't come to you. Perhaps you won't get caught.

Or even if you get caught, it won't really matter. It's not a big deal. You've got it all calculated and figured out how you can continue on rejecting God and yet not experience the consequences. This is the state of mind that they were in. They said, it won't come to us. We've made lies our refuge. I've got it set. I've got it all covered. No one's going to find out. I'm not going to get caught. The punishment won't come to me. God's judgment won't happen to me. Under falsehood, we have hidden ourselves.

Not only lies to everyone else, but to ourselves. Because the point is, you can't escape. And God's going to say, that's what you think, but the storm will come. He started out, woe to the crown of pride. There's a choice we need to make. And we need to make it this evening. Will we have the crown of pride or the crown of glory? The crown of pride that we say, I'm going to do what I want. I'm not going to listen to what God says.

I want to live my life my way. I want to be involved in drunkenness. I want to be involved in these drugs. I want to be involved in this immorality. I want to keep living this way. God says, whoa, you're lying to everybody. You think you can escape the consequences. You're lying to yourself. You think you're protected. But the reality is the storm is coming. Whoa to the crown of pride. He says, the glorious beauty is a fading flower.

God never in his word says, you've got a crown of pride there. You really rejected me in a lot of ways, but you know, you got some time. So just go ahead and enjoy yourself. And, you know, maybe in a week or two, you might consider repenting. God never issues us a message of comfort if we're involved in rebellion against him. He says, the glorious beauty is a fading flower. It's not going to last long. Judgment's coming quick.

Don't kid yourself. Don't mistake God's patience for his acceptance. Don't wear the crown of pride. Instead, fear the Lord. Hate evil. Humble yourself and seek the Lord. How do you do that? Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Here a little, there a little. You need to seek God and his word. You need to hear what he says. You need to repent and turn to him.

Now, if you're struggling with something, and you're bummed out and discouraged, if you've got the attitude of the Apostle Paul, I don't know what I do. I don't understand what I do. The things that I want to do, those things I can't do, and the things that I don't want to do, I find myself doing those things. For you, the message is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. God wants to grow you up. He wants to get you past those things.

It's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen instantly. Maturity takes time. It takes a daily, regular diet. It takes a regular and daily relationship with God. And He'll grow you up. And He'll mature you. And He will help you to overcome. He will finish the work that He began in you. But He will do it. So don't give up. And don't run away. If you stumble, if you mess up, if you drop the ball...

Precept upon precept. This is the way it must be done. Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Line upon line. Here a little, there a little. Get back into God's word. It's simple. I know. And it seems simplistic to the person who is full of pride. It seems too simple if we're full of pride. But it's the way that God works. And it turns out to be a stumbling block for those who are full of pride. The Apostle Paul dealt with this in 1 Corinthians 1-2.

You can read through it there. The message of the cross, it's foolishness to those who are perishing. If you say, it's foolish. I have real issues. Reading the Bible is not going to help me. It's a sign that you're perishing. It's foolishness to the one who is full of pride. It's a stumbling block to those who are not seeking God. But to those who are seeking God, desiring the pure milk of the word that they may grow thereby, it's here a little, there a little.

Precept upon precept, line upon line, day by day, growth, maturity, progress, as God develops us into the person that he wants us to be, the Christian that he desires for us to be. I want to encourage you and challenge you this morning or this evening to spend time with God in his word. Never grow tired of sitting through a service, even if it's a passage you've already heard. Never grow tired of spending time on your own in the word of God.

Never grow tired and weary because you fall short. You're going to. You're going to blow it. Keep pressing on. Keep on going. Allow God to do the maturing, growth, the work that He wants to do in you. And it requires day by day, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. And if you're full of pride...

If you're living in sin and your attitude's not like, oh, I'm so frustrated about this, but I got it all figured out. I got it hidden. Nobody's going to know. I'm not going to experience the consequences. I'm not going to feel any effects of this. I've made a covenant with Sheol with death. It's not going to happen to me. I can handle it. Something Christians say often, woe to the crown of pride. The glory is quickly fading. The time is now to repent, to turn, and to get right with God.

The worship team is going to come up and meet us in some worship. And I want to encourage you to spend, as we sing this first song, spend it reading the Word of God. Pick a passage. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, chapter 2. Great chapters. 1 Peter chapter 2. For a little bit of insight into what we'll be studying next week.

Maybe pick up where you left off this morning or yesterday or last week. But just spend a few moments as you worship the Lord in your heart. Read the Word of God. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Here a little, there a little. And let God speak to you and grow you into the Christian He desires you to be. So, let's worship the Lord. Let's read the Word and allow God to do the work in us that He desires to do.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.