Keith Battle - I Pledge Allegiance to the Word - Part 4

All right, this is part four of our series, and the conclusion of the series. I pledge allegiance to the Word. Amen. The Word must be preeminent in our lives, not just during the series, but henceforth. How about that for an Old King James phrase? It will always have first place in our lives so that our lives are governed by the Word of God. Amen. If that is your conviction, I want you to stand with me now; if you can physically stand without harm to yourself. I’m going to read one verse now to set the stage for today’s message. Before I get going, wherever you’re joining us from, put it in the chat and tell two people, «So glad to see you in church today,» just two people. All right, let’s go to the Word of God. This is Colossians 3:16, using the King James Version. It says, «Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.» You may be seated. I’m not going to meditate on this. In part three, I talked about meditating on the Word, and I think it’s important, so I want to address it again. I want to discuss meditating on the Word again because that’s what truly makes a difference in our lives. I’m not going to meditate on this whole verse, but listen to this: «Let the word of God, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.» God is trying to plant it in you; He’s trying to sew it into your life. Let it dwell in you richly! When it dwells in you richly, it has a significant impact. It does a couple of things. First, it gives you more wisdom, and that wisdom allows you to teach and admonish. You’ll be a better teacher and counselor when your life is enriched by the Word of God. You don’t have to be a professional; I’m a strong advocate for mental health treatment and therapy. I believe in seeing a professional therapist, and I have done so in my own life. However, I prefer therapists who don’t just have clinical skills but also have the Word in them. Yes, give me that too! You can have the Word in you as well because you never know when a brother or sister in Christ needs a word from you. When people need a word, don’t just send them to the church, because you are the church. If the word of Christ dwells in you richly, He will give you the wisdom to counsel and teach that person. Admonishing means earnestly counseling and advising someone. So, the Word dwelling in you richly allows you to do that. Another thing the Word does is make you a better worshiper. It says, «Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.» Teaching is not just counseling; sometimes, you can actually teach people through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. You become a better worshiper when the Word dwells richly in you, because you’re not just singing a melody; you also have the message that goes with it. I’ve said this to worship leaders, and I want to emphasize it to our worship leaders: you’ll be a better worship leader when the Word dwells in you richly. Don’t just sound good—minister good! Everyone in our church can sing, but not everyone can minister at the same level because they lack the Word of God dwelling in them richly. When the Word of God dwells in you richly—go back to the verse—you can actually teach and admonish through songs. You have more; some of you know the lyrics, but if you have the logos and the lyrics, you can minister through the song. You can counsel and teach people while you’re singing. It’s imperative that God wants all of us to not just soak in the Word of God but to have the Word soak in us. You know how that happens? The Word of God indwells in you richly through meditation. Everybody say, «Meditation!» Now, meditation by definition—I’m going to go to Psalm 119:97 in a second, but I want to explain to you that meditation, by definition, goes to Psalm 119:97. It says, «Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.» Now, watch this: «I love your law. I meditate on it all day long,» which tells me this: the reason the psalmist loves the Word is because he spends so much time in it. The more your allegiance to the Word grows, the greater your appreciation for the Word becomes. I love it because I’m in it; I love it because I don’t just read and skim over it. I sit with it and think about it, right? He says, «I meditate on it all day long.» Now, what does that mean? What does it mean to meditate on the Word all day long? It doesn’t mean you don’t go to work, right?