1 Tim 3:14-16 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. 
	Last time, we looked at the admonition of the Apostle Paul to Timothy to teach and to live the Word. It is imperative that we come into an increasing understanding of the need for hearing the Word taught, for reading the Word, and for allowing the Holy Spirit to develop within us a complete response to His Word. We must seek to have instilled into us a desire to know more and more about the Lord as revealed in His Word. We must seek to have a heart that will forever feast upon the Word of God. It is the living, breathing, life-giving expression of the heart of God’s love that works mightily within us. It must never be taken for granted. 
	As well, we need to consider the teachers of the Word that God has called into service to His Body of Believers. Two of the better known examples of these teachers of the Word are detailed in Acts 11:22-26. And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 
We see the work of God as declared in the lives and teaching of Barnabas and Paul. They were called into the ministry of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. They were so enthralled with Christ and with His Word and with the love of God indwelling them by the Holy Spirit, that those to whom they ministered became known as Christians for the first time. They were preaching and teaching and living forth Christ. Notice how that intense instruction of the Word resulted in the designation that we still cherish today, Christians. We are the followers and disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the living Word of God.
	As the teaching of the Word, by Paul and Barnabas, was so fruitful in Antioch, the Holy Sprit soon set them apart for an even greater challenge. They were chosen to teach the gentile nations who were in such desperate need of the hope and salvation of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 13:1+2 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 
	This is key to the successful ministry of the Word of God. If we are so attuned to the Lord, if we are desirous after the things of God, He will meet that need and meet it in ways and means that are far beyond our thoughts and ideas. Paul and Barnabas loved the Word and loved to proclaim it. They were very versed in its precepts and its doctrines, probably the most educated of the early teachers. However, they were not seeking the things that pleased themselves. They were set on that which would please God in their teaching and ministry. In that course of life, God chose them to take the Word to all the known world of that day. They were brought forth, by God, into the world to declare, in victory, the hope, and the life, and the joy, and the love, and the salvation of Jesus Christ. They did not hesitate to answer that call.
	Keep in mind, as learned as Paul was in the Word, it was through the trials, and the difficulties, and the strains, and the stresses, and the imprisonments that the Word became His life. It was in the harrowing challenges of the ministry of the Word unto both Jew and Gentile that God opened the reality of Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Paul was able to understand that, although he was well versed in the Word, there were far greater depths of Christ to be plumbed from it in the course of his walk on this earth. 
As Paul writes in, Eph 4:11-13 concerning the provision of God for the teaching of the believers, And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. We are to seek after the increasing knowledge of the fullness of Christ in our lives and in the church of believers. We are individually and corporately in need of the teaching of the Word to such an extent that we absolutely realize that we need Him all the more, every moment of every day. 
One key aspect of this learning and teaching process is that we need to read the Word. God’s Word is not just something that we realize is important, yet file away as too demanding to read. We can’t just set it aside because we do not want to deal with its translational and grammatical difficulties and its depth of revelation and development of character. Yes, it is a very heavy and hard read, for those who understand that vernacular, but it still needs to be read. Because it is the Living Word of God, it is as difficult and hard to deal with as is life itself. As life is filled with joy and sorrow, heartaches and triumphs, love and hate, hope and despair, death and miraculous recovery, so is His Word. It is imperative that we read it every day, as it is our sustenance, our spiritual bread in the rigorous course of this earth’s sojourn. It is not enough to simply listen to it being taught in Bible Study and in sermons. It needs to be ingested, chewed, considered, and valued as the precise substance of our spiritual life. We should find that when we do not read God’s Word, we sense a complete lack of spiritual awareness. There should register within us an absolute lack of spiritual and even physical nourishment and energy to deal with the course of the day.
We are to read it individually and to consider it before the Holy Spirit for His guidance and for His opening of each word into our lives. As well, it is vital that we read it in our assembling together in the Lord. We read it together in order to honor God by cherishing His every Word of Scripture. We share together in its life and its admonitions, its comfort, and its challenges. We read it together for our full development into the knowledge of the Lord at work. His Word meets every need. His Word gives every source of comfort. His Word teaches us how to corporately bring our sacrifices of praise and worship unto Him.
The people of Israel realized this and submitted themselves to reading as a community, that which was Holy unto God. Ex 24:7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!" Notice that in reading the Word together, they came into agreement with the ordnances and the Spirit of His Word. They made an agreement together to live according to the Word. Everyone was together as the Word was read and each one was willing to give him or herself over to the Lord for His purposes in obedience to the Word. They urged each other on to that which the Lord’s heart desired. They saw that it was good and they wanted to obey God. They chose this course of living unto God, together, as a whole.
In addition, there is no leeway for age or for maturity within our gathering together in the reading and the sharing of the Word of God. As we read in Joshua 8:34+35, Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them. Notice, they were not broken down into learning levels and into age brackets. They were all together as the people of God, young and old, women and men, children and even the strangers were brought into the assembly to hear and to receive the Word of God. 
As an aside at this point, this is something that needs to be recognized and practiced within the community of the church today. When the Word is read, it is read for the entire assembly, not just the few. Today, we have the luxury of having Bibles that we can bring and as the Word is read, we can follow along. Everyone should have a Bible as we open our hearts together before the Lord. Everyone should be in attendance and be considered as part of the whole in the reading of God’s Word. 
The Holy Spirit so loves us that He takes us where we are and He opens His Word as we hear it to meet our needs and our desires after Him. Physical age in the Lord is meaningless. It is the heart and the seeking and the desire that the Holy Spirit will meet, no matter what the reading level. It doesn’t matter what the cognitive development of the reader, everyone will receive if everyone seeks to read and to hear God’s Word. Children can hear the Word as clearly as Adults. They may not be on the same comprehensive level of understanding, but they can still receive God’s anointed blessing in His Word as they are encouraged to listen and to cherish that which is Holy to God. They will learn as the Word is discussed and digested together in the home and in the fellowship.
This creates a grave responsibility within the Church for the care of our young ones. Parents must read and value the Word in the homes and spend time together with their children in discussing and seeking to understand His Word. They must bring them into the gathering of the church, and develop the sense and responsibility to turn the full attention of their family continually to the Lord, just as should be true in every day situations. 
Likewise, the fellowship has the responsibility to encourage these families, to love them as their own. The children are all our children in Christ. The struggles of the parents are our shared struggles. Do not let a family commotion distract and disconnect our hearts from the heart of God in His Word and Praise. Do not make the rambunctious child a source of amusement and attention. Rather, be a godly support within the body. Be willing to hold that child and envelope that child in our constant love. Encourage the parents in the tremendous task of love that is before them. Give ourselves to help and to maintain all the attention upon God in whatever manner will best express the heart that seeks for the Lord to fully bless these young families. They need all the love that we can give as any parent can attest. Read, study and live the Word for the sake of these beloved ones as we welcome them into the fellowship of Christ.
Another vital realization is that it is in the House of the Lord that His Word should especially be honored and heard. Jer 36:8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house. It should never be an issue to read the Bible in Church. There should never be a hesitation to read His Word before anyone who is in attendance. It must not be watered down nor should it be trivialized in any manner. It is God’s House. It is God’s Word. It is God’s Holy Spirit who opens it. It is God’s Son Who is proclaimed throughout its text. And, it is God’s Body of Believers who receive the nourishment of the living bread of life as it is shared together. There is no issue of compromise to appease any of the sectors of today’s society. It is to be read and proclaimed and honored as the only Truth and Life. It is our guidebook of behavior, instruction, praise, and worship. Within it we have our spiritual history, our songs of worship, our declaration of Jesus Christ, our hope of all God’s Promises, and our eternal salvation in His Love. It is never outdated in its truth and revelation of God and His interaction with His creation. We see ourselves in the story of the tribe of Israel and in the development of the New Testament Church. The letters of admonition are as accurate in our lives today as they were when they were written.    
	Our Lord Jesus Christ is our key example of the importance of reading God’s Word together in the assembly of believers. In Luke 4:14-19, we read, And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." That passage is found in Isaiah 61, verses 1+2.
	The Word decrees Jesus as the Christ. He is the gospel, the Good News of God’s salvation at hand. He has released us from the prison of sin and set us free through His spiritual life indwelling us. We are no longer captives to the oppression and the chains of this age. We are released from our debt of sin and we join in the chorus of the Gospel of Our Lord, the favorable year of the Lord. We immerse ourselves in Christ when we immerse ourselves in the Word individually and corporately as His Body.
	The Apostle Paul gave very specific instructions as to the fact that the Word should be read and considered together in the assembly of the church. As but one example, Col 4:15+16, Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. And when this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. 
	Let us give thanks to God for His Word and for the teachers whom He has placed within our midst to bring forth that which is God’s heart for His people. Never be ashamed of the scripture, hiding it away so that others will not see us reading it. Rather, be the living testimony unto others of the joy and the sustenance that is ours as we spend time in the Word. Show forth our growth into Christ as we seek after the Holy Spirit to open His Word ever more clearly every day. Recognize that because we need the Word, God has given it to us through the inspiration of His Holy Spirit. The Word and the teachers of the Word are gifts from God. It is all for the purpose of our growth into the perfect and spotless bride who will bring eternal glory to her husband, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. Amen.

Today’s Benediction   2 Sam 22:26-31 "With the kind Thou dost show Thyself kind, With the blameless Thou dost show Thyself blameless; With the pure Thou dost show Thyself pure, And with the perverted Thou dost show Thyself astute. "And Thou dost save an afflicted people; But Thine eyes are on the haughty whom Thou dost abase. "For Thou art my lamp, O Lord; And the Lord illumines my darkness. "For by Thee I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. "As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Amen.