John Gunter: And so I wanna encourage you and if you you're thinking, oh, I forgot to invite, invite next week. Get a book this week. Let let's do this. Let's begin with this and and so, what we're talking about is not just coming to fill the seats. We're not just, hey, we are glad everyone's here.
We love the attendance. It helps the singing. I feel uplifted. We, you know, if I if I showed up and three people were here, I'd think, oh my goodness. I am horrible, right?
And so, we're happy everyone's here but what we're inviting people to is not attendance but a relationship with god. Amen? Amen. How many of you have had your life changed by relationship with god? Raise your hand, please.
Do we not want that for everyone else? Amen. Amen. And what would the world look like if everyone had a true relationship with Jesus Christ? And so, when we've been talking for the last six weeks about the invitation, that's what we're inviting to is is the story about what god is doing in our world because sometimes it is it's hard to figure out, isn't it?
When we talk about upper and lower especially, sometimes it seems clear and the path seems, okay, I can navigate this. But sometimes, it's like some of the Psalms you read, God, what's going on? Where are you? I don't know where you're at. Can you come back to me?
I feel attacked. You know, all the things. And so, we are inviting you into the story but I want I want to be asking this question as we do it and again, we want this to be a deep relationship. A lot of times in church and and what I've experienced in church is I mentioned attendance. That's as deep as we got.
We said, brother, so and so is a faithful Christian only because of where his rear end sat on Sunday morning. But I don't wanna call people to just be in a certain place at a certain time. I wanna call people to be changed. And so as we go through this, I want you to ask the question, what do I expect to happen when I encounter the word of god? You ever thought about that?
A lot of times we think, well, I hope the the message is good this morning. I hope the song leader was good but what do I expect to have happen when I encounter the word of god? I ask you the question last week, do you believe the word of god is living and active? Do you believe that church? Why is it we don't encounter it more?
Or why is it when we do encounter it, we're trying to tell it what it ought to say. You ever come to scripture and you read something? You go, I know good and well. It wasn't there yesterday, right? I have never once read that.
I think it's a translation issue. Yeah? The word of god is living and active and so when we ask, what do I expect to happen when we open god's word? When I open god's word, I hope it is to be transformed. I hope we are open enough to that.
That I come to that asking god to kind of lay me open in that you if something needs to be fixed or repaired, lord, do it. Yes? Amen. Instead of god, this is what you ought to be saying and how I believe it. Yeah?
One of those, I'm closed off. I've I've got a hard heart. The scripture may say, the other one is, okay, this may hurt but boy, I need it. You ever had a procedure you didn't really want to have but you knew you had to have it? Not you, okay, good.
If you all want to bring a recliner, you can, apparently. It's fine. Just raise your legs there. I'll be in trouble now. We're gonna start in Isaiah 55 starting in verse eight this morning.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Do you believe that about God? Sometimes, we try to to tell god what he can and can't do as if he's gonna listen to that and he ought to take orders. But god in the scripture is is really defining, okay?
I know things you don't know. I see things you don't see and that can either be bring peace or frustration, can it? Because I really, well, I think, I really think I wanna see what god sees. Now, I may not. If we could all see your future, we may go, no, no, thank you.
But god defines here, my ways are higher than your ways. I understand things you don't understand. And we ought to understand that about god. We ought to put faith in him because of that. A lot of times we we ask the question about god with a limited vision.
Does that make sense? God, I don't know why this happened. Why won't this stop or whatever and all we have is the information within our brain that we've come up with or what we've observed. But if we knew the whole story, it may be completely different. I I told the story one time, probably makes my wife uncomfortable, but I, started dating a girl.
There you go. I started dating a girl and I grew up in a congregation of the Church of Christ and she was the Church of Christ and I thought, god must have this in the cards for me. Is this, you know, we we attended the the place with a similar name. You hear how goofy that sounds? Now, I want to tell you, that relationship lasted weeks, okay?
Just weeks because it wasn't that. I had a limited vision, a limited limited understanding about everything going on, right? But god sees fully, doesn't he? And again, I wish I saw fully. I I hope I would make better decisions.
How about you? But we try to act and we try to work through the issues of life with our limited understanding and our limited vision. But we live in a time where we have the greatest access to information we have ever had. Anybody at times overwhelmed with that? We have so much access to information.
You know, the technology in our pocket is just astounding. Even from the time when I was in high school. Now, I'm 43. So, for some of you, you're like, yeah, it was like yesterday for you. For my kids, it seems like a hundred and fifty years but even from that time, how many of you remember your your math teacher saying, well, you won't always have a calculator.
Take that math teachers, right? We've got it. What what version of the calculator do you want? Because I've got them all. But we have access to all of this information.
But what we do can you imagine living in a time where you did not have access to this only only by going and listening to someone? How much would you retain? Because when all they had was this, they also had a culture where a lot of their time was spent sitting around and talking about this. When I'm working, when I'm hanging out close to that society, we continually talk about this. Now, in 2026, we have all the access we need.
We have it in English, in our own language. We can go back. You can learn Greek and Hebrew. You can get access to commentaries. You can do it all.
But how many of us are encountering the word of god regularly? You believe that it's living and active. You believe it has the power to change your life, but yet we sit and we don't encounter the word of God. And maybe even worse yet, instead of instead of encountering the word of God, again, opening myself to what god's word has for me, often what we do is we only surround ourselves with people who already agree with us. You see it a lot on social media especially.
You can join a group. We're Church of Christ here. You can go find you a Church of Christ group and you can surround yourself with people who say very similar thing. And we may share it and put it out there and and I believe it and all this stuff. But is it really encountering the word of god?
I believe too much of our theology right now is coming from social media memes. An image I like, it says something smart or quick or even funny and we share those around and instead of actually opening up the word of god, we begin to form a theology through pictures on the internet. And that's dangerous. And I don't believe that's encountering the Word of God. Now, I think you can encounter the Word of God through all of these means.
But I think over and over what we're doing is we're just surrounding ourselves with people who tell us what we want to hear. And then what? If I only surrounded myself or only listened to voices that already think like me, what I do is I become increasingly confident in that view. Right? And then, as we said earlier, you read that, you go back and you read that scripture that absolutely did not say that yesterday, you are kind of thrown into a little turmoil.
What happened? I thought I believed this. And then we we can't have normal conversations. I wish all of you had been here as we walk through the book of first Corinthians in Bible class. A lot of you were here.
If you were here, raise your hand. Gold star, gold star. A lot of y'all weren't here. Quit raising your hand. First Corinthians is an absolute minefield for preachers because there are so many issues and there are issues you come to and you go, oh, what's he going to say about that?
But II complimented our class because this may be the first class that I've been able to go through with all kinds of sensitive issues and we discussed them. To my knowledge, we're all still friends afterward. We finished this morning. I know Valentin and I are well, before class, are we still? We'll talk about it.
Okay. Okay. It's up in the air. It's complicated, right? Those of us on Facebook, it's complicated.
But again, what does it mean to to to put yourself in the word of god? And again, as we go into the story, we're gonna talk about that. Is god seeing things we don't see and we're trying to work out this life in a way that might be confusing or frightening? Do we have any seniors in here? I think we do.
Yeah, you've got she said no. Yes, you are. Okay, yes, you are. We have seniors in here that are about to change the course of their lives. How many of you remember going from high school to college?
Some of you are too old, I understand. But what a weird time, right? All of a sudden, you you are forced to be at a place for so many years. Seems like it's never gonna end. I'm always looking for that next milestone birthday or something else I'm gonna do.
And all of a sudden, one day, you come to the end in May and they will not allow you to go back in even if you want to. Right? Ain't that a weird thing? I don't wanna be there, but they're making me. Next day, I'd kinda like to go back, nah, you're crazy, you're done.
You are we don't want you here. It may say something about how you acted, but either way. But the the this life is filled with things that can be confusing or frightening or almost impossible to to understand. You ever had a prayer that you felt like hadn't been answered? And you're really wondering why?
God, why haven't you answered this prayer? It feels like something god would be very interested in. Maybe it's something about health or faith or something you know god cares about or you feel he does but you sit and that prayer is unanswered. God sees and God knows and sometimes we just have to have faith and that can be frightening, can't it? That's why we walk together.
But Isaiah reminds us again that God's understanding is different than ours. His thoughts are higher, his ways are higher. We see only part, and God sees the full picture. The next two verses, Isaiah says, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Did you catch all of that? God says, I am going to send out my word from my mouth. It will not return to me empty. It shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Do you believe that church?
Do you believe that god is faithful? That when he says, when I say something, when I put out my word, it's gonna do something. Do you believe? I hear one person that believes it. Do you believe it, church?
Then why not encounter the word of God more? How many of you are busy? I have to be creative with my schedule and how I listen to things. Praise God for audio books and being able to push play on the Bible app. Because if all I was doing was was driving and I couldn't listen, that'd be less time for that.
And so I have to think about, okay, I can be creative with this. Right now, I can do two things at once. And man, I'm already full as it is, right? And my wife absolutely loves it if I'm doing two things while she's trying to talk to me. But we have to be clear.
We are so, we we pack our schedules so much. We have to be creative with with how we do things but I believe god is faithful and if god says, when my word comes out from me, it is not going to return empty. It's not going to just do nothing. And so as believers, we ought to be looking for other chances, other opportunities to encounter the word of god. Now, the thing that can be frustrating is how slowly everything works.
How many of you love to see, things happen quickly? Like I decide something, let's get it done, right? Yeah. I've I've told you guys before, it was weird. You know, moving down here, I I'm from rural Southwest Arkansas, and you could order Amazon and it might be there in two days.
And then I get down here and it's like, you want it later today or what? We're on the way. We probably have it on the truck. We can drop it off. And and that is fantastic but it also feeds into instant gratification, right?
I want it now. I get it now. I'm used to getting it now. I'm used to having it my way, the whole Burger King thing. I I want it now and what can be frustrating is like the the scripture says, for as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout.
That takes time, doesn't it? If you plant a seed today, you put it in the perfect soil and you water it, you don't see instantly, soon, plant. Well, I'd love to. And like I've told you before, I'll I'll I'll do all of that stuff. I'll water.
I'll make sure it's not drying out too much and I'll see that first sprout and I'll take a picture and send to Heath McCartney. Look, I didn't kill this one. It's it's still alive. But things take time, don't they? Have you ever encountered scripture or let's say it this way, have you ever encountered encountered a part of your life where all of a sudden, something from scripture came pouring into your mind when you needed it?
That when you read it or when you encountered it the first time, that might not have been the time for which that scripture you know, had the most meaning for you. But then when you went through the thing or the issue or whatever, all of a sudden, here we go. And I'd love to say, hey, I read this chapter this morning and it changed my life in so many ways. But the truth is, change takes time, doesn't it? Now, that shouldn't be, well, I'm me and I'm never going to change.
But the faith in saying that, yes, just like the water that comes down and brings forth life, just the way God works that out, God is working on me. He is changing me. And much of the work happens before we ever see any result, doesn't it? But we continue on and we encounter the word. Notice it says, it accomplishes his purpose.
He says, god says, that which I purpose. God can see it all, and he knows what you need. Do you believe that? Do you believe God knows what you need? Yeah.
But how many of us, again, are out here trying to do it on our own? Not encountering scripture but working on my own. I'm not talking about you ladies, but I'm a man. I'm strong. I can handle this.
That's how we act, right? But that's what we act. And instead of going to God, I've confessed this all how many times I've been in this church. I'm a fixer a lot of times, and it embarrasses me how long it takes me to think, Oh, I need to pray about that. I've tried to fix.
I've been frustrated. I'm wondering why, and I realized I haven't even taken this to my father in heaven who can see all the things and knows all the things I need and yet here I am and I imagine god. I don't know how you imagine god but I imagine god looking down and going, John, He's probably laughing at me half the time at least, right? Because I continue to try to do it myself instead of coming to him. Alright.
Isaiah tells us that god's word accomplishes his purpose. Paul helps us see this in a in a little bit different way as he talks to to Timothy in in second Timothy chapter three. Paul says this, but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from your childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Now, trivia time. What scripture was Paul talking about when he wrote that?
Old or New Testament? Old Testament. Testament. He just said, Timothy, the New Testament, he said, what? The sacred writings, the Old Testament is what he's saying.
He's saying, this brings you which you are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is breathed out by god. It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of god may be complete, equipped for every good work. Amen. Thank you.
Do you wanna be equipped? Do you wanna be ready? Have you lived life long enough to know there's something gonna happen, right? I'm gonna take that as a wink. How about y'all?
Well, wish I could've said I planned that. I did not plan that. Thank you, Lord. Listen, I got chill bumps with that. I'm just saying.
Stuff is gonna happen, right? But he is faithful. And so when we read this and we think, man, I wish I'm equipped because how many situations do you go into and it's just overwhelming. I feel unequipped. And what this is not saying is that you're going to have all the answers for everything.
Everything. But you're gonna be faithful to a God who does know, who is able, who is capable. And I'm no longer leaning on my own understanding, I'm leaning on him. Yes. And when I finally quit trying to fix everything and I give it to god, how do you feel?
My feeling is like this. I'm so glad I did because my faith says that he can handle all of that. I don't know how. I don't know when, and that's frustrating, but I know my God is faithful. He can cover it and if I hold to his word, I'm going to have this.
Again, how does he say it? That you, sacred writings are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. These things that that god says are are god breathe. Now, as you encounter scripture, you're going to come to things sometimes you go, I don't I didn't agree with that before today. Does does that matter at all, church?
Or does encountering the word of god and having it change you matter? Yeah. And that's what I think Paul's getting at here. Hold to the word of god and see how it changes you. Isaiah said, god's word accomplishes his purpose.
Paul shows us that these purposes directly interact with our human lives and he is able and he's going to change your life. And so beginning next Sunday, we're gonna intentionally place ourselves within the story. We're gonna begin in Genesis. And like I said, we're gonna end in Revelation. And I want everyone of you to read it.
If you haven't gotten a book, please get one. We can get one for $5 apiece. We'd love to put one in your hand, so we're we're encountering this together. But what I don't want us to do, I grew up anybody grew up in a church where we counted, daily Bible readers? Anybody do that?
Yeah. And it it almost felt like a spiritual maturity that I read a scripture every day. And often what that looked like was, oh my goodness, I almost forgot to read the bible, Jesus wept, right? Got it. Let me check that off.
And so as we go through the story, what I don't want you to be asking is, did I finish the chapter? A better question might be, how is god wanting to change me? How is god revealing himself through this chapter this week? Because that's what scripture is. We've had some interesting views on scripture but what the whole of scripture is, is god revealing himself to us.
This is how god is. This is how god acts. This is how god loves. That god is love. What is god revealing about himself?
What am I learning about the people in the story? What is he showing me about myself? Sometimes, we need that, don't we? You ever had an outsider, you know, maybe it's a close friend or something say something that that as soon as they said it, everything becomes obvious. Oh, yeah.
That is true. It was right there in front of you but you need somebody else to say it. That's how scripture acts sometimes. All of a sudden, you read a story about Paul or whoever that stuck their foot in their mouth, you go, oh, I do that too. Or I'm that same way.
What do you notice? We don't wanna simply go through these thirty one weeks and say, hey, I read a bunch. We want to read through these thirty one weeks of scripture and come away changed. Because God says, When I send out my word, it never returns empty. So you may not be seeing it in your daily life.
You may be saying, John, I I just don't see the growth. Well, guess what? Get on the bus. You ever seen a kid? You see a kid start growing up and it's been couple months and you see them again, you go, how did that happen?
They've sprouted up. Now everybody that was there with the kids all through those months didn't notice a thing hardly. But as you come back, you see it, and that's the way growth is. A little bit at a time. I'm getting some now, and so all you need to do is be faithful.
Put yourself in a position to encounter the word and allow God to work. And so next week, we are going to start this journey beginning in the very first chapter of the book. And that will be the story in Genesis. We're going to see creation. We're going to see the fall.
We're going to see promises. We're going to see failures. We're to see Abraham. We're going see David. We're going to see Jesus.
We're going to see the church. We're going to see this vision from Revelation that we're going go, what was happening there? But all through this story, we're going to encounter God, and I hope that you're there with us. Before we read the first chapter, remember the promise God gives through Isaiah. My word shall not return empty.
So if you're on the fence, if you're wondering why should I do this, why not? Encounter the word, see if God is faithful, and I'll tell you that he is. In thirty one weeks from now, I think you'll be saying, I'm closer to God than I was. I'm closer to my brothers and sisters than I was. I hope that you'll sign up for a small group.
If you have that opportunity midweek, I'd love for you to sign up. We've got three great groups that think you'll love, mine being the best. But each one of these is chance to encounter the Word again, to be around others who are encountering the Word and having lives transformed. That's what it's all about. I can't wait to see what God does with this church over the next thirty one weeks.
Because I've seen what God has done over previous periods. I've been here for times where you go, Woah, it's stiff in here. And they feel angry, only because they were. But now I feel a different feeling. I feel like there's an openness.
I feel like there's love. And I can't I I I'm not even trying to fathom what God wants to do with this because I think it's far greater than anything I can imagine. Amen. Amen. And I wanna be thankful to be along for the ride.
How about you? Thank you for being here. Let's pray together. Our father in heaven, god, we thank you. Lord, we thank you for your grace and your mercy.
Lord, I I wanna thank you so much for this church. I wanna thank you for the spirit I feel within this congregation right now and we, lord, we would be remiss if we didn't give you all the credit, all the praise, and the glory for this. God, that you can work in ways that we never fathom. Lord, that you you continually work within our lives changing us sometimes in in small ways that we don't even see but lord they show up and lord I've seen that right here in this place and lord as we prepare to to open your word lord to go through thirty one weeks to covering this covering your word so quickly. Lord, would you again be faithful to us and we know that you will, Lord, to to change our lives.
Lord, help us to be to be strong. Lord, if there's still someone on our heart that we've been praying for, that we're afraid to ask. Lord put a way in front of us lord open up a conversation that we're allowed to enable to put a book in someone's hand and an arm around them and say let's let's study the word together. Lord and and lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the way it convicts us.
We thank you for the way it encourages us. We thank you for the way it comforts us at times, lord, when we need it the most. Lord, help us to get out of our own way. Help us to be people who lean on you first. Lord, that that we're first to pray or we're first to to go to your word and not to ourselves.
Lord, that we will just lead with love no matter what we do. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.