Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 662 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text

-- Brother Thomas: Well, Praise the Lord! I thought of a verse of scripture that I hope the Lord can help us with. Hosea chapter 4, and verse 6--Hosea chapter 4, verse 6. The Lord says through this prophet concerning His people, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

May the Lord help me to just elaborate here for a few minutes, digress or whatever you want to call it, on what it means to have that Word in the proper and the fitting time. It makes a vast difference. You know the Word of God helps you, sometimes when you don't see any place of help. Everywhere you look, you see nothing. You see despair. You see disillusionment, discouragement.

I was thinking about David. You know, David was having a terrible time and the people had just about rejected him. He was afraid they were gonna stone him and he was left alone, almost alone. And the Bible says that he, "...encouraged himself in the Lord."

( congregational amens ).

So it makes a difference. A lot of times you have to do that, and the Word is a great resource. "...The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder...and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Praise God! There's power in the Word.

( congregational amens ).

If it's God's Word. Now many things are called God's Word that's not God's Word. I believe the devil uses it. In fact, he did when he tempted Christ. Jesus used the Word on him and so when he saw that Jesus believed in the Word, he decided he'd try that on Jesus. But he was misusing it, misapplying it. And the Word rightly divided is what we need--the Word of God. The Word of God will help you when you're down.

( congregational amens ).

The Word of God'll show you the way when you don't know the way. You don't know whether to go straight, to the right, to the left, or back up. But God's Word will help you.

( congregational amens ).

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." God's with you!

( congregational praise ).

The Lord wants to bless you! He wants to strengthen you! He wants to lift you up! Praise God! I'm thankful for the Word of God. I don't know what I'd do without the Word of God, for that's God speaking to me.

( congregational praise ).

And when the Spirit of God takes it and quickens it to me at a time of need, time of trouble, time of despair, it lifts me up. I know it's God because it does something for me. It's better than a transfusion. It's better than anything else that's in a meal because it'll last forever. And God's people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. If there ever was a day that we need to have His Word in our heart, it's now.

( congregational amens ).

It'll help us as we face the things that's coming on this earth. And it's not going to get any better. It's gonna get worse. But praise God, we're the victor, because we're on the right side!

( congregational praise ).

We have Him. If you have Him, you have everything that God has! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! It's true. "...Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts..." Sometimes we get a hold of things now, and they're real so far as we can see, and then worry about 'em. That don't help nothing. Just leave it where it's at. God...you think you may know, but God does know and God's gonna take care of it.

You need to get the Word in your heart. How many verses of scripture can you quote? How many? Can you quote a dozen? Can you quote a word when you need it? You need to live by the Word. That's what Jesus said. "...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." And you live by it. That's your life...not what you feel, it's what God says about you. Hallelujah!

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...." God help us. The Lord actually can minister to you through His Word--something you've committed to memory, something you've gone through, something you know about. And when it comes it's just like a...oh, what a refreshing it is. What a strength it is. It lifts you up and I'm gonna tell you the devil's attacking a lot of us.

I know I've suffered here recently the worse case of depression I've ever suffered. I couldn't get no peace, no way. My wife knows it. I was so miserable. I don't know what was wrong. Have no way...it was no special thing, no significant--nothing that I can put into words, just plain depression. But God's Word will bring you out of it. That's the only thing that will bring you out.

( congregational amens ).

And the devil, he's smart. He can attack you through things that you've never dreamed of. He's eager to disillusion you. He's eager to do something to make you despair. He is the master of despair. But God is the master of deliverance.

( congregational praise ).

God is the master. God 'is' deliverance! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! What helped Jesus there in the 4th chapter of Matthew? What helped Him when the devil come?

-- Congregation: The Word.

-- Brother Thomas: Absolutely. That's a good place to go. Let's go over there, 4th chapter of Matthew. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." Now isn't that something? That almost seemed like God was working against Himself. But He needed that temptation--He needed it.

Let's go over to Deuteronomy. Go back there. Just a minute. Deuteronomy chapter 8, and verse 2. "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

God wants us to know that. If He didn't bring you to these places where you had to really and truly live by the Word--if He didn't put the condition, the situation there where you had to put it out and stand on it, you would never learn. It's like muscles. If you don't exercise 'em, they dry up.

( congregational amens ).

And our faith needs the trial. It's good for us. It doesn't hurt us. And we need to live by the Word of God. Hallelujah! In our relations with our family, our wife, our children, our relations with our neighbor, and our brother and our sister in Christ in the church, we need to live by the Word.

Don't make any difference how you feel or what the case is, just go by what you know is right by the Word and God'll bless you. God is on your side and He is a partner with you in this. That's His Word and He's watching over it. And when you obey it, He takes knowledge of it. That's God.

And so, God's people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Do you have His Word? You need to know there's life in it--life in it. And it's health to all our flesh. Praise God. The Word of God...quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It'll get...permeates your regular being. It goes to the center, to the very core.

God's Word is alive. It's a living thing! You see this electricity here in these lights? They got a switch somewhere. If that switch is turned off, you've got no light. And I'll tell you, the light of God is His Word and when you quote it, you're drawing that Life in your life. It's for your good. And He wants you to learn to live by it, because you draw the life of God into your being, no matter what the trial may be. No matter where you're at, or what you're going through, God's Word will help you. Hallelujah! Praise God.

( congregational praise ).

Hallelujah! Supposing God hadn't given us these things. Just think about it. Look at this now. In verse 5 of Romans, chapter 4: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Now that means you believe and God counts it for righteousness.

Do you know many people today don't know what to believe? Do you know these people that's wondering everywhere, one believing this, one believing that, they don't know what to believe. Praise God! If they've got the Word, they've got God and that's all. They have to have the Word! You need the Word of God more than you need anything else. Hallelujah!

"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." Think about it now. God sees your faith and He puts to your account the righteousness from that. It's imputed to you. It's placed to your account. Don't worry. God sees it. And He sees what you're believing in and what you're trusting in. And you can trust Him and tell Him, Lord, I believe in this. I'm trusting in this.

That's what David is talking about that describes "...the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Now let's ponder that for a minute. God will not charge us with sin. He'll not charge you with sin. That don't mean you won't have some. That don't mean you won't do something wrong. I don't want everybody to stand up in here and say they don't sin.

( laughter ).

I'd rather you be honest. I don't mean now for you to take advantage of God's goodness and I don't believe you will. But realize this one thing, you're saved because Jesus died for you.

( congregational amens ).

You're saved because He paid your sin debt. You're saved because He died on that cross. And when He said, it's finished, it was finished. Your sins in total was paid for. They were paid for. And today the salvation you have, comes to you as a result of what He did. You can thank God for it. You don't have to beg God to save you.

( congregational praise ).

If you are a sinner and lost...and you may be here, and as many as we have here, it could very well be some that's lost. You don't have to beg God to save you. You oughta thank Him for it, and stand on that Word.

( congregational amens ).

Hallelujah! All hell can assail, but if you're standing on that Word, you can quote this scripture to yourself, to the devil, and to the Lord, and to somebody, if they need it. The Word of God does something for us. It's quick--it's quick. It's sharper than any two-edged sword, even to you and to those you quote it. It's yours.

I remember one time I was sitting in the barber shop and I've done a little few outlandish things, I guess, and these barbers they were...I was just sitting over there, you know, I wasn't getting no haircut. This was a time whenever they'd shave you and the fellow I was with, he was laying back in the chair and the guy was shaving him. And they got to telling jokes and they'd laugh, you know about those jokes. I knew they was filthy jokes and I just sit there.

And I had a little pocket Testament. I took it out of my shirt and I just quoted this scripture. I just remembered the scripture. And I said, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." And that fellow got quiet. They all got quiet, then he stooped down and said, who is that fellow. He said that's a Baptist preacher.

( laughter ).

But anyway I felt like doing something and I felt good when I did what I did. I give the devil a black eye. If they don't learn anything, they'll learn one thing. They sure don't want to do things in front of everybody. Praise God! But the Word of God is what did it. That Word. Hallelujah! Just remember to learn to live by the Word. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." That's our life. That's what we're here for.

( congregational amens ).

That's what we're here for! That's why we want to hear from Phil, from me, and others. It's because we need this Word. It's got all of the vitamins, the protein and everything else we need. Right here in the Word. It's not what we feel. It's not what we think. It's what God's Word says.

( congregational amens ).

Just remember that. It's not what your fortune teller says. I don't need to go to a palm reader. I need to go to the Word. Hallelujah! Just commune with God, talk to Him and then get the Word. May God bless you.

( congregational praise ).

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