In this sermon, the preacher shares his excitement about receiving a message from the Lord in just two minutes. He feels privileged to share this message with the congregation and the young people attending Bible school. The sermon focuses on the importance of truly hearing and receiving the life-changing message of God's Word. The preacher emphasizes the need to approach the Word of God with reverence, allowing it to melt our hearts and bring about transformation. He encourages the listeners to receive the Word with delight and to let it change them. The sermon references the story of Ezra reading the book of the law to the people, highlighting their reverence and weeping as they heard it. The preacher also mentions Psalm 1:1-3, which speaks about delighting in the law of the Lord.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA, PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Yes, Father. Hallelujah. Our hearts lift up to Thee this morning, God. Precious, wonderful God and Father. Precious Savior Jesus Christ. Sweet and Holy Spirit. Our hearts lift up to Thee this morning, this Lord's Day. Hallelujah. We do bless Your Holy Name, God. We come with thanksgiving and gratitude. We enter into Your courts with praise and thanksgiving. Oh God, we long to enter in more reality, Father. We could in our own sensings be before Your very throne. Lord, we come boldly this morning, not by our own works of righteousness, but by the blood of Jesus Christ we come boldly and enter in. Yes, we come boldly and enter in before the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Oh Lord, come visit us this morning, these Thy people. Come Lord, sanctify this meeting with Your presence and Your Word. We may all go home and know without a doubt that God has spoken to me today. God, we trust every part of this meeting today into Your care. Have Your way, Lord, in every way. Just prevail on us by Your Spirit, God, that this service would be according to Your will. We pray this all in Jesus Christ's Holy Name. Yes, Father, that Name which is above every name, that Name, Jesus, Jesus Christ the Lord. In His Name we pray, Father. In His Name we ask You to rebuke the powers of the enemy this morning. In His Name we ask You, Lord, to bind every evil lying spirit and confound the plans of all that is evil here today, God. And give Your Spirit free course, Lord, Your high and holy Spirit free course in the midst of Your people. Thank You, Lord, for hearing us in Jesus Name. Amen. God bless you. You may be seated. Well, greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus this morning. All you students, welcome to Bible School. We've been waiting for you. We've been watching for you. We've been praying for you. God bless you, each one of you young people. God bless you this morning. I wonder how many of you young people are here for the first time. You've never been to a Bible School. This is all new to you. How many of you are here like that? You're here for the first time. Put your hand and arm up. Keep it up just a minute here. Alright. Amen. Amen. God bless you. Don't be afraid. The Lord has rich blessings for all of us all week long. I assure you of that. And I want to welcome all the rest of the visitors also here. There's probably some moms and dads that are here this morning. You brought your young people. God bless you. We thank you also for coming. And any other visitor that's here. We feel honored to have you here this morning. I'm going to give a little bit of the order of the service. Since it's going to be a little different today. And it seems like it's different pretty often around here. But this morning is another one of those mornings. The Youth Africa Team returned on Friday evening. Many of us joyfully received our loved ones back into our homes. After six weeks of being away. They are sharing at Ephrata right now. And then they will slip out of the doors over there and come over here. So, we're going to have the main message first this morning. And there will not be a children's lesson. Then we will turn the time over to the young people from the Africa Team. To share some songs and some challenges and some testimonies. Then we also have a little send off here this morning. Brother Ricky Dunn and his family. They're leaving us. They've been here for several years. They were off to Haiti for a couple of years. They've been back here serving here in the church as a cell group leader. And now they're moving up to Vermont. And all the Vermonters said, Amen. We're sad about that, but we're happy about it also. So, we want to have a little send off for them. Just gather up in the front and pray for them as a congregation. And send them off to Vermont to build the kingdom up there. So, that's a little bit the order of the service. And we'll see what else the Lord does as we move through this meeting. The Lord has given me the privilege of having the message this morning. I don't often do that because I'm speaking all week long. So, I'm usually pressed out of measure to prepare the messages for the sessions during the week. But God graciously gave me a message a couple of weeks ago at our prayer meeting. It's kind of exciting, you know, when that happens. Sometimes a preacher works very hard to get a message. You might wrestle for hours before that thing comes forth. And all of you preachers know what I'm talking about. And any of you who have done any speaking at all, it doesn't always come easy. But a couple Saturday mornings ago, the Lord just flooded me with the sermon for this morning. Point one, point two, point three, point four, point five, point six, point seven. Just like that in about two minutes. I just wrote them down as fast as I could. So, when you already have the seven points, it doesn't take a long time to get the sermon. So, I feel privileged this morning that I can stand here before this Sunday morning crowd, brothers and sisters in this congregation, and also all you young people that are going to Bible school and share the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord this morning is this. How to be changed. How to be changed. Anybody looking for some of that? How to be changed. Changed. This is one of the most powerful words in the Bible. Changed. To the searching, the seeking, the longing heart. That word is pregnant with hope and encouragement. How to be changed. You know, there's a tract that I have loved and used for twenty years. Maybe you know the tract. Maybe you've seen it. It's got a beautiful little picture on it. It's got a picture of a caterpillar and a picture of a butterfly on the front of the tract. I've used it for twenty years with much effectiveness and delight. The name of the tract is, You Can Be Changed. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. For the searching heart and the seeking soul, that is good news, my brothers and sisters. You can be changed. I remember walking through the New Holland Fair, crying out those words as I walked, trying to get people to take a tract out of my hand. And if you've been to the New Holland Fair, you know what it is. It's Vanity Fair 2005. Everything that Vanity Fair in the world could have is at the New Holland Fair. And you get a lot of sneers, and you get a lot of snickers, and you get a lot of harsh words when you walk through the New Holland Fair saying, You can be changed. But you know, every now and then, that word changed rings a note of joy in a seeking heart, and someone will come over and reach out and take that tract out of my hand. Hallelujah. Yes, to the seeking heart, that word changed is pregnant with encouragement and hope. You can be changed. But how can you be changed? That's the question this morning. Changed. It is one of the brightest, inspiring words in the New Testament. You won't find it in there a lot, but you will find it in there. And it is for all of us, every one of us. As we sit here today, yes, it's true that it is the teachable moment this morning for all of you young people, for me to tell you how to be changed. But I thought about it as I prayed and pondered and prepared early this morning. That word is just as important to every single one of us, moms and dads and all the rest that are in this room. Because that's what we want, isn't it? Oh, if we ever get to the place where we become complacent and satisfied, and we're settled down, and we're okay the way we are, I'm telling you, we are in a dangerous place. I want to be changed. I don't want to stay the way I am. I'm not happy with where I am. Do you hear me? I'm not happy with where I am. May God change me this week is my prayer. The word means just what the picture on the track displays. Did you know that? That's why they put that picture on that track, because that's what the word means. The Greek word is metamorphal. Metamorphal. It's where we get our word, it's a scientific word, metamorphosis. That is the scientific word which describes the total change of nature from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Metamorphosis. It's a supernatural change, by the way. To change a caterpillar into a butterfly takes the supernatural power of an almighty God who made it. Metamorphosis. You'll find it translated two different words in the New Testament. One is the word changed. And the other one I like even better is the word transformed. Amen? I like that one even better. But they're the same in the Greek. You can be changed. Basically, this word metamorpho means this. To change the form or nature of a thing. To totally change the nature of a thing. That is what metamorpho means. Is that the kind of heart we have this morning as we gather together on the Lord's Day? Oh God, would you totally change me? I remember the words I read there in the Old Testament in the early days of King Saul when the Bible says that Samuel poured oil upon Saul and on his way home after he was anointed by Samuel the prophet, on his way home he stopped where there were some prophets prophesying, and the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he prophesied, and it says that day he was changed into another man. Hear those words, my brothers and sisters. Oh, this morning my heart cried to God for that very thing. Change me, Lord, into another man. Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, we find the one place, one of the two places where this word is found. Romans chapter 12 verse 2, Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. As I meditated upon that text, I saw two words that stood out to me. One was the word conformed, and the other was the word transformed. And it was very interesting as I looked at the two of those, because one of them is a very natural word, and the other one is a supernatural word. Which one would you like this week? That word conformed simply means, don't let the world push you into its mold. Be not conformed, pushed into the mold of the world. That's not a supernatural thing that takes place, my brother, my sister. That is a natural thing that takes place if you allow your heart to be influenced by the world. You will be pressed into the mold of this world. It doesn't take anything super special for that to happen. All you have to do is coast along and it will happen. But the other word says, but be ye transformed. Now that's a supernatural word, isn't it? Transformed, metamorphosed, changed into entirely different nature. That's supernatural work. Praise the Lord. And the Scripture even tells us how that takes place there in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2. By the renewing of your mind, hallelujah, by the renewing of your mind, you can be supernaturally transformed. That's what God tells us. Oh, that's a simple text. We all know that verse. We can quote it this morning, can't we? That caterpillar can't make himself into a beautiful butterfly. He can't do it. He must enter into God's method if he wants to be transformed. God has a method. Caterpillar, just crawl up there on that little branch and start weaving yourself a little cocoon and bring all that silk tightly around your little caterpillar body and make it tighter and tighter and tighter until all you have is your little head sticking out the top and you just keep right on winding that thing up there until your head is covered. And there you sit in the darkness of that cocoon and you wait there and you wait there and you wait there and someday, all of a sudden, you will begin to crack open that cocoon and out will press out of the top of that cocoon a beautiful butterfly with beautiful colors on it and after a few moments of exercising yourself and getting that blood to flow into those newly formed wings, you will fly! Anybody want to fly? Anybody willing to get in that cocoon? It is the same for us. What is God's method for us? By the renewing of your mind. By the renewing of your mind, you are changed, my brother, my sister. God's sanctification process is directly related with how we receive the Word of God. You see, it has to do with what we do with this book. It has to do with that. All this week, it has to do with what we do with this book. I remember. Oh, how well I remember the first day of my Christian life. I remember that day. I woke up the first morning of my new Christian life and took that big black Bible that my dear aunt gave me and opened it up. Now you have to understand, this was no special book to me before that day. I was an atheist. I didn't believe in God and I didn't believe that this book was the Word of God. But after I was born again by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God bore witness in my heart when I opened up this book that first day of my Christian life and I knew this book is the Word of God. And I looked at it. And I treasured it. And I thought to myself, this is the Word of God. Pages and pages and pages. Chapter upon chapter upon chapter. It's all the Word of God. I'm going to find out what God thinks. You know, that bent of the sail of my heart has guided me for now almost 33 years. It has guided me. God's sanctification process is directly related to how we receive the Word of God. And it will be, for all you young people, all this week long, God's sanctification process will be directly related to how you receive the Word of God. Now that can be exciting. Amen? That's exciting. I think about the parable of the sower this morning. Jesus describes four different kinds of soil, which are four different kinds of hearts. All these four kinds of hearts, they all receive the precious seed. Every one of them. Each of these hearts are present here today. Those four different kinds of hearts that Jesus mentioned in the parable of the sower, they are all present in this room this morning. I guarantee it. They're here. There's the careless heart. I could care less. I could care less. But I'm here, because my Dad made me come. The seeds fall by the wayside on the careless heart. And the birds, picturing the devil, comes along after them and snatches those precious seeds right out of the careless heart. Number two, there's the hard heart. The seeds fall on stony ground. It's a hard heart. Oh, the seeds are there, and the seeds are precious. They fall into a hard heart, and they grow just a little. Oh, they're received with joy, the Bible says. Oh, good. It's Bible school time. We're going to listen. They're received with joy. But because the heart is hard, because of needs in the heart, the seeds land. They grow. They grow. They spring up just a little. Just enough to make you think everything's going to be okay. But afterward, the seed, the plants that the seed grew, they wilt when you get back out into the real world. Then there's the filled heart. That's the seed that falls on thorny soil, where there's lots of weeds. The filled heart, filled with all kinds of other things, and maybe you just came today to put in your time, and you've got all kinds of other things on your mind, and you've got your plans, and you've got your dreams, and you know where you're going, and you know what you're going to do. But it's good to go to church on Sunday, and you're here, and you're doing your duty, and you're here and you're listening. The Word of God falls on your heart also. But all those other things that are in that heart are weeds. And we all know that weeds grow faster than other seeds do. And you take all those precious words, and you go your way, and your heart is so filled with so many other things that the weeds grow faster and choke out the Word. And lastly, there's the good and the honest heart in this room. That's the seed that falls on the soft, loose soil. Oh, that's precious soil as you well know. You know, when you have soil like that, you can pretty much even just sow it right on the top and run a rake across it, and up will come beautiful plants. Why? Because it's loose and all broken up about that deep. The seeds grow quickly and bear fruit, and ye know not how it grew. Hallelujah. That's right. You know not how it grew, but you look back over your life, and you realize, I've grown. Maybe some of you, this is the second or third year you come to Bible school, and you look back over the years, and you say, I have grown. I am not the same person. Yes, that's right. You have changed. You have changed. How we receive the Word of God will directly affect God's sanctification process. And thus, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, at the end of that parable, Take heed therefore then how ye hear, Jesus said. Take heed therefore then how ye hear, because how ye hear will affect how ye are sanctified in the weeks and months to come in your life. Now all that is introduction. Introduction. Just looking at the basic principle to see how important it is that we receive the Word of God in a right way. How then can you be changed? How then do you receive the Word of God so that you can be changed? I'd like us to begin reading in Acts chapter 17. One of my favorite verses in the Bible. Acts chapter 17. Paul is chased out of Thessalonica and flees to Berea. And like Paul always did, when he got to a new place, he went to the synagogue. And when it was time for visitors to speak, he stood and spoke. And he preached to them the Word of God. It stood out to Paul and to Luke and whoever else was with him as they traveled there at Berea, how these people at Berea received the Word of God. It stood out to them. He says in chapter 17 and verse 11, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so. Now, Paul is lifting up the example of these dear people and how they received and how they responded to the Word of God. They were more noble than those that were at Thessalonica. And if you read the testimony of the Thessalonians, they received the Word of God pretty well. But Paul says these people were more noble yet than the Thessalonians were. I studied that word received. Beautiful. It means to hear with an ear and accept with the heart. Amen. That's exactly what we want to do all week long, isn't it? That's what we want to do this morning. To hear with our ear and accept with our heart. Or may I say it this way, to hear with these ears and to hear with these ears also. That's what God wants us to do. To hear with our ears and to hear with our hearts. By the way, if you don't hear with the ears that are in your head, you will not hear with the ears that are in your heart. So you have to tune in. And then the word readiness. Beautiful word. Look what it means. Readiness and eager willingness. And eager willingness. I get a picture of a bunch of people sitting on the edge of their seat. Their eyes are open. Their faces are open. They're interested in what is being said. They are looking into the face of the one who's speaking. They are grasping every word they can. They are listening intently. The Bible says they are zealously forward. You know, that's kind of a negative word today. You know, think, well, he was kind of forward. It means he was kind of pushy. Now, if they were a little forward, if you ask me, they were a little pushy. Well, that's the way these people were about the Word of God. I mean like a bunch of little piggies pushing in there to get everything they can get. They were forward, pressing in with all readiness. Not some readiness. All readiness. An eager willingness to hear and do. Now, that's what God wants from everyone of our hearts, isn't it? I mean, we're not here just to put in our time this morning. We're here to hear the Word of the Lord with an eager willingness. I want to hear what God has to say to me this morning. It doesn't matter who you are in this room. It doesn't matter where you're sitting in this room today. If you came with a heart that was in all readiness, you will go home with something that will change your life. You will. How many times I've heard the testimonies of people at the end of a service who came to the meeting in a bit of a desperate heart with a prayer and a cry to God saying, I had a rough week and I need to hear from you today. You know, when someone comes like that, you know what kind of a testimony they give? They will stand and say at the end of the message, whatever the message is, they will stand and say, I came crying to God that God would meet my need and I can't believe how God met my need. It was as if God spoke to the minister and told him what to say to me. That's readiness of mind. Amen? And not only that, but they didn't stop with that after they sat on the edge of their seat and listened to the words of Paul. Then they went home and said, hey, let's see if these things be so. Get out your Bibles. Let's search it out. And after they were home, there they were looking down through. Look at that verse in Isaiah. And look at this one over here in Zechariah. And this one too. And look at this one. Yeah, they went home and searched the Scriptures. Not going to just sit there and take it in and say, okay, that's what Brother Denny said, so that's it. No! You go search it out and see if it be so. That's the way they were. And I want you to notice that in verse 11, they haven't done anything yet. It's just their attitude toward hearing the Word of God. But because of this attitude, look what takes place in verse 12. Therefore, many of them believed. Also the honorable women which were Greeks, and of men not a few. Because of this attitude, transformation took place. Brother, sister, it is the same for us today. This is how transformation takes place. So, how are we changed? Turn with me over to James chapter 1. We'll look at another one. James chapter 1. How can you be changed? Receive the Word of God with meekness. Receive the Word of God with meekness. James chapter 1 and verse 21 says, Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. And we'll come back to that first part of the verse there a little later in a point. But I want you to notice, He didn't just say, go hear the Bible. First He says, Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. Listen to those words. But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. The engrafted Word is the powerful Word. The engrafted Word is the Word that is able to grow in your heart and change your life. That's what the engrafted Word is. It is able to effect change in you. And because it is able to effect change in you, God says, Receive it with meekness. And that word meekness simply means humility. It means lowliness of heart. It means a humble yieldedness. That's what God wants us to do. God wants us to come that way this morning with a humble yielded heart to the Word of God. Why? It is able to save your soul. It is the engrafted Word. I mean this seed, when it falls into a tender heart, will change our lives. Do you believe that? Do you? I know you shook your head, but do you believe that? It is able to change our lives. Now some have taught, I feel wrongly, some have taught that that little phrase, Save your soul, that's just talking about one of the three parts of your being. You know, we are spirit, soul and body. And the Word of God is able to save your soul. Just that one part of your being. But I don't believe that's what God is talking about here in James chapter 1. No. That's the same word as what you find in other places in the Bible where like it says, What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Now that really changes the perspective on this book called the Word of God, doesn't it? This book called the Bible is the engrafted Word. It is seed. It is lively seed. It is pregnant seed. It has everything in it that is needed to change your life and save your soul. You say, God already saved my soul. Yes, He did. But He is also saving your soul today. He is. Another verse which comes to my mind is also in James where, in James chapter 5 and verse 19, James says, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him. Convert him? The one who erred from the truth. Erred from the truth? Was in the truth and erred away from the truth. Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. Dear people of God, this morning let us receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. In other words, God said, Come lowly to the Word of God this week. Come lowly to the Word of God. Come humbly. Come yielded. Come given up in your heart to the Word of God this week. It is able. And that word able is dunamis. It is powerful to save your soul. Number three, how can I be changed? We need to receive the Word of God with hunger. Turn over to 1 Peter 2.1 With hunger, we are to receive the Word of God. Now, this may be difficult to receive the Word of God with hunger. You know, A full soul loatheth the honeycomb. The book of Proverbs says, The full soul loatheth the sweetest thing you can taste on earth. Honeycomb. But listen to the Word of God. Receive the Word with hunger. 1 Peter 2.1 and 2 Again, I want you to notice God is dealing with the heart. He is encouraging us to deal with the heart as we deal with the Word of God. Look what He says. Wherefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, and all hypocrisies, and all envies, and all evil speakings, Amen, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby. Notice again, that God is dealing with issues of the heart first, before He tells us to come and receive the Word of God. I want you to get that. Young people, that one is for you. You know, you can tag along all week long and finally catch up on Friday. You can do that. Many do it. But my encouragement to you is, get in there today. And whatever is not right, get it right. You will get ten times more out of the Bible school. Ten times. No doubt. So, lay aside malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies, evil speakings. And, as newborn babes, or like newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word. How does a newborn babe desire the milk, mom? All you moms in this room, how does a newborn babe desire milk? Girls, you've watched. Dads, you probably watched too. How does a newborn babe desire milk? Have you ever seen one desire it complacently, carelessly, lazily? If you have a baby that's responding that way to mother's sincere, rich, vitalizing milk, what is that mother going to do with a baby like that? She's gonna start looking for some sickness somewhere, because that's not normal. And if you find yourself sitting here this morning, ho-hum, ho-hum, looking out the window, wondering when this guy's gonna get done, so he can get on with something else, you're sick! But you don't know it. I'm telling you, you're sick. You better get to a doctor. You can't go on like that very long. Ask any mom how long she would let her babe go like that. See, before the Word was seed, now the Word is food, protein, vitally, full of nutrition and strength, that which causes us to grow. That's the Word of God, that ye may grow thereby. To hunger for growth is to hunger for milk. To hunger for growth is to hunger for the Word of God. Those are synonymous. That's why that baby is hungering. That baby wants to grow. That's why that baby is growing. Because that baby is hungering for milk. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled, the Bible says. Isn't that a precious promise? They shall be filled, the Bible says. I thought about Josiah's day, as I looked at this portion of Scripture. You remember Josiah's day? Josiah, he was a young king. He took over when he was young. When he got a little bit older, he ordered that the house of God would be restored and rebuilt and refurbished for the glory of the God of Israel. And they gathered a lot of money together, and they started working on it. And as they began to work on the restoration of the house of God, they found the book of the law underneath a bunch of dust and rubble in the house of God. We don't know how long it lay there. Maybe 50 years. The king before Josiah was Manasseh, one of the most wicked kings that Judah ever had. And he reigned for 50 years. Maybe that book lay there for 50 years, and all of a sudden, some of the priests found this book underneath the dirt and the rubble. And they picked it up and dusted it off and began to read and realize what it was. Whoa! This is the Word of God. And they went to the king and told the king and said, Oh, king, we have found the book of the law. And great wrath is upon us. The king said, Bring that thing over here. Read it. How do you think the king sat in his chair that day? Do you think he was just kind of, Hmm? How do you think the king listened that day? I think he sat up on the edge of his throne. I don't think he was sitting back with his arms on the big arms of his throne feeling like a big king. I think he sat up on the edge of his seat and listened while those priests read to him the Word of God. You know what? Sometimes I think we need to lose the Bible for about 50 years so we can find it in the dirt and the rubble somewhere and pick it back up and read it fresh and new and say, Whoa! Look what the Bible says! Because we take it so for granted. We read it. We go through its pages. We look into its truths and do nothing about it. Well, that little finding of the Word of God under the dust and rubble in the temple turned into a powerful revival that shook the whole nation of Israel. Hallelujah! Do it again, Lord! Do it again! Do it this week, Lord! Do it this week! Receive the Word of God with hunger. With hunger. Number four. Receive the Word of God with an open face. 2 Corinthians. You know that verse? You should. I've given it to you so many times. 2 Corinthians 3. And verse 18. I will read verse 17 and 18. How to be changed? Receive the Word of God with an open face. Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. And that word change right there is metamorpho. That's the other place where it's used in the New Testament. We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image even as by the Spirit of the Lord from glory to more glory and from that glory to more glory. What does it mean an open face? What is an open face? An open face is a clear heart. An open face is a yielded heart. An open face is a surrendered heart that has turned to the Lord. And you know as well as I do, when the heart is clean, the face is clear. When the heart is yielded, the face is clear. When the heart is surrendered, the face is clear. When the heart is yielded and completed, clear and right, the face is open. Amen? An open face. When you come with an open face, a miracle of change takes place here. A miracle of change takes place here. A supernatural positive sanctification takes place in your life. Young people, just let me talk to you for a minute this morning. Do you realize that it is the heart of God that He would sanctify you all week long in a positive way? I believe in negative sanctification. You know, I mean, if God deals with something in my life that I need to hit the altar and fall before God and open up my heart and let God deal with that which God has shown me that is wrong, I believe in negative sanctification. But you know, the Bible also talks about positive sanctification. We can be changed into the beautiful, lovely image of Jesus. We will just simply come with a clear and an open heart to a Bible school week like this and come with an open face to behold all week long the glory of the Lord. You can be changed, my dear people. You can be changed. Well, my dear people, God is not saying get perfect and I will change you. All God is saying is this, get real, get clear, get right and surrender and I will change you. That's all God is saying. Hey, think about that. Anybody? Who wants to be changed? Oh, but you don't know me and I kind of do this and I make mistakes and I'm this and I've got two left feet. God doesn't care about any of those things. Do you have a clear heart this morning? You come with an open face and God will stamp the image of His Son Jesus Christ in your heart. Come and gaze on the glory of the Lord and be changed. Number five, receive it believingly. I like this one. Receive it believingly. Acts chapter 10. Let's look over there. Just finding examples of people who took the word of God seriously, look at the beautiful things that happened to them. God is no respecter of persons. What He did for those at Cornelius' house, He will also do for you and me. Receive it believingly. If you want to be changed, receive it believingly. Now, we're not going to read this whole account because it will take too long. Let me give the background so you can see into the heart attitudes of these people at Cornelius' house. Cornelius was seeking God continually. He was an upright man. He was sincere. He was walking in the fear of God and he was seeking God for all that God had for him. That's a good attitude to have, isn't it? And one day while he was in prayer, he saw an angel in a vision and the angel said to him, When you go to a certain place to Joppa where Peter lives or is staying and you ask him to come here, he will give you words that you want to hear. I have heard your prayers. Cornelius told the story to a few people, gave them the vision. He sent someone away. They went to Joppa to get Peter. Peter came back. They shared the whole thing with Peter. And Peter wisely having been prompted by the Lord ahead of time, wisely opened up his heart and his mouth and preached to the Gentiles. First time. No Jew ever preached to the Gentiles before. Now here's Peter here with a whole house full of Gentiles. And Peter preached to these Gentiles that you just put yourself in their shoes. They know this Cornelius. He's their friend. He's an important man. They know he's a just man and a devout man and an upright man. And he saw these things and heard this angel and sent for Peter and now Peter is there. And I mean, they must have been on the edge of their seat that day. Listening. Open. Receptive. With all readiness of mind. Amen? To hear what he has to say. Breaking in in verse 42 of chapter 10. And he commanded us, Peter is speaking, he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be judge of the quick and the dead. To Him, that's Jesus, give all the prophets witness that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. I want you to notice something here. Nobody gave an invitation. Nobody sang a song. Nobody told them to repent. Nobody told them to pray a prayer. Everybody bow your head and we're going to pray this prayer. Nobody told them anything. They just simply sat there receiving the Word of God, believingly. They believed what Peter was saying and if you believe those words, thou shalt be saved. And they were born again right on the spot. Don't put God in a box. He doesn't need an invitation. Amen? And He doesn't even need a prayer. Amen? A lot of times you need a prayer. God doesn't need one, but these people were so open and so sincere and so believing that when they heard those words and the Word whosoever believeth, just like that, their faith united with the Word of God and transformation took place. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the Word. And they of the circumcisions which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter. Amen. They didn't know what to do with that. Wait a minute now. This does not fit our theology. God doesn't work this way. Yeah, that's right. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they Him to tarry certain days. Look at the hard attitude of those people. They were transformed just sitting in their seats. It can happen, you know, if the attitude of the heart is right. Believingly. Yes, the Word of God is quick and powerful. And when the quickening word unites with a sincere believing heart, change takes place. Number six. And I'm moving right along here. How to be changed? Receive the Word of God as a treasure. Let's read in Proverbs for that. Proverbs chapter 2. Yes, Proverbs chapter 2. Receive the Word of God as a treasure. More valuable than any treasure on this earth is the Word of God. Hear the Lord's heart. My son, my daughter, O Bible school students, O brother, O sister, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding, get down below the surface, friend. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, see the attitude of the heart there? If thou seekest her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge more valuable than any treasure on this earth. Why? Because it is able to affect changes in your life that can last for all of eternity and bless you all the days of your life. Imagine with me for a minute. Move the clock ahead a couple of hundred years and now you're in glory. Walking among the purified saints in glory. Standing among the angels and the cherubim. There in the very presence of God and you've been there for a hundred and fifty years. And you think and your mind goes back to a Bible school all those many years ago and the sanctifying work of God in your heart in that Bible school and your heart wells up for the ten thousandth time in gratitude that you yielded your heart to the Word of God at that Bible school and how it changed you and how that change is still affecting you a hundred and fifty, two hundred and fifty, seven hundred and fifty, two thousand years later, you're still being affected by the changes that you made because you opened up your heart to the Word of God in a Bible school back there many years ago. If thou searchest for her as for hidden treasures, you will find the knowledge of God. Paul said it this way of Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. I want to read that verse real quickly to you. In verse 13, he said to them, For this cause also thank we God without ceasing because when ye receive the Word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it, not as the Word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. That's what the Word of God does. And the Thessalonians received it. They took it. They said in their hearts, This is not the words of a man. Yes, there's a man standing up there talking to us, but these are not the words of a man. These are the words of God. And they took it in and it was effectually working in them months, years later. I think of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah after the temple was built or rebuilt and after the order of the sacrifices were reinstated and after the gates and the walls of the city were rebuilt and after the cleansing of Ezra and Nehemiah's day, the Bible says, in the first day of the seventh month, that the people gathered together as one man to hear the Word of God. And they, as one man said to Ezra, Bring the book of the Law. We want to hear it. They saw it as a treasure. They spent hours listening. The Bible says at least that one day that Ezra read in the book of the Law from sun up until midday. That's six hours and the people just listened and listened and listened. The Bible says that when he stood up and opened up the Word of God, he saw the scroll with the Word of God on it. The whole congregation stood to their feet in reverence for the Word of God. It was a treasure to them. They wept as they heard it. In fact, so much so that the priests had to give them a little direction. Because the priests were rejoicing. And if you understand the heart of a pastor at all, you could see why the priests would be rejoicing. Here comes the whole flock, I mean all of them, like one man and say, We want to hear the Word of God. Let us have it. Six hours worth. Next day, more of the same. Next day, more of the same. And the people were weeping as they heard the Word of God. And the priests had to stop them and said, Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This is not a day to be sad. This is a holy day. This is a day to rejoice. Go home and have a feast and give gifts to those who don't have them and rejoice. This is a day of rejoicing. Go home and thank God that you want to hear the Word of God and that you have heard the Word of God. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. They were responsive. This lasted as near as I can tell it about a month. They went on like this. The Word of God. And then responding to it. And then more of the Word of God. And then more response. And more of the Word of God. And more response. See, that's what the Lord is after. That's all He wants. I'm telling you, we could have a revival like you have never known before if we will just take what we hear all week long and respond. Just, yes, Lord. And just yield. Yes, there again. That's the way it was in their day. They read the Word of God to them and gave sense to the Word. And the people rose up and said, Hey, wait a minute. It says we're supposed to be living in booths for a whole week. We have done that for a long time. Let's do it. I like that. I like that attitude. There wasn't any have-to in that bunch. Not any of them. No have-to there. Oh boy. What in the world does God want us to go living in a booth and take a bunch of branches and make us a little booth to live in for a whole week? Why would God want... Nobody had any attitude like that. They heard the Word of God and said, Hey, we haven't done that for years. Let's do it. What do you think? Huh? Yeah. How about you? Let's do it. And they just jumped in and went for it. Oh, the Lord likes that. That's the right attitude toward the Word of God. The Word of God is a treasure. May we not take it for granted. Maybe we need to go into captivity, eh? Just a little sad story for you for a moment here. Some time ago, I got a letter from a sister who is from a different country than our country. And I get lots of letters. And I read them all. But sometimes they stand out to me and this letter stood out to me. She said... She had an opportunity to be in some of our assemblies. And she sat and heard powerful preaching. I mean, from her perspective, treasured words. Treasured words. Powerful words. She was shocked. When the meeting was over, how quickly everyone just forgot about the message. Started chit-chatting, you know, about everything else. By two or two hours later, nobody was even talking about the message anymore. They were all talking about this and that and this and that. And the news and the weather and all of that. She thought, is this America? Is this how they hear that life-changing message? She couldn't figure us out. She said, in my country where I'm from, when we ever got to hear a message like that, which wasn't very often, we talked about it for days and weeks. We talked about it. We discussed it in detail. We brought it up again and again and we looked back to it, we referenced it, we applied it. Is this how the Americans receive? And I had to say, in my heart, I haven't talked to her, but I had to say in my heart, yeah, that is how we do it. We get so lazy and complacent and just take it all for granted. You know, you can do that this week, young people. You can ride out the week. Have a nice social time. Visit your friends. Make new friends. Good time. Laugh. Hey, we'll do some of all of that. I'm not against any of it, but oh, somehow God could so get a hold of all of our hearts, so melt our hearts before His Word that we fall on our faces before His Word and take it for what it is, the actual very Word of God and let it change us. It doesn't change us because we don't receive it right, brother, sister. We don't receive it right. And lastly, receive it with delight. Receive it with delight. Psalm 1, verse 2 and 3, But His delight is in the law of the Lord. But His delight is in the law of the Lord. Receive it with delight. And in His law doth He meditate day and night. Sounds like that sister, that letter. And in His law doth He meditate day and night. But He, She, who receives the Word like that, shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth His fruit in His season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever He doeth shall prosper. Talk about change. This is change, my brothers and sisters. This is change. But His delight, His pleasure, His relish is in the law of the Lord. His pleasure is in the law of the Lord. And in His law doth He meditate day and night. And in His law doth He meditate day and night. Thy word is ever before me, David said. Thy word is ever before my heart. And whatsoever He doeth shall prosper. Let's go for the gold, young people. A few verses in Psalm 19 and we'll be done here. May God sanctify our heart attitudes concerning the precious Word of God. All of us, all of us. But you young people, this week, David said it this way, expressing his own heart. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Look at that. Way into eternity. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. All of them. Even when a whole city gets swept away by a flood, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than the honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned. And in keeping of them, there is great reward. Great reward. Let's go for the gold. Amen. Thank you, Brother Denny, for sharing that with us this morning. Just a good old disc and harrow going over the garden, preparing the soil for the seed of next week. Amen. May God be glorified. May His Word come forth. I was reading this morning a little bit in a devotional. And it said there, it talked there about when a man is hungry. Young men, especially, are often very hungry. They just, their food just is, you know, they eat a big meal in the morning and by ten o'clock it's gone. And they, when they're really hungry like that, about the only thing they can think about is their food. They're hungry. And when a man is hungry, he thinks about the food. But when he's not hungry, he's not even thinking about food. You hungry? So what are you thinking about? What are you here for? What are you here for? Are you here because you're looking forward for the food? Or are you here because you just want some fun? A good time. Well, may God have His way in our lives. Our prayer and our cry is that God would overtake us with His blessing. And even if we're not hungry here this morning, that He would create in us a hunger and thirst after righteousness. I remember as a newborn Christian, I was hungry at that time. My prayer was, Lord, make me hungry and thirsty for Thy Word. I hungered and thirsted after the Word of God. And the challenge for us as older Christians to continue in that way, to continue to be hungry after the Word of God. Maybe there's someone has a word to share this morning, a testimony or a blessing. Maybe you're here as a hungry seeking soul and you would like to share that. Is there anyone? Raise your hands and we'll get a mic to you. Put your hands way up so the ushers can see it. Is there anyone that has a testimony this morning? And maybe, maybe you're here and you realize that you've never been changed like that. Oh my! It'd be a good thing if you just get your feet and say, I know I've never been changed. I want to be changed. Okay. Stand up. Yes, my name is Caleb and I've come here for Bible school. I just thank God for the message this morning. My heart is yielded to Him. He's promised you more abundantly than I could ever ask or think in my life. He's promised that you were your diligent seeker. And that is my heart's desire. God has full way in my life. Thank you. Anyone else? I was very blessed and encouraged by the message this morning also. My prayer has been that God would change me and my heart just takes hold of that message that we had from the Lord today about that He will hear us when we cry to Him to be changed. So my heart takes hold of that and I bless God for it. And I just pray that He would be glorified this week as we enter into another Bible school and that He would receive the reward for His sufferings. Thank you, brother.