Good morning. So, first off, I just want to begin by saying uh that it’s truly an honor to be able to be up here. It’s a privilege to stand in the pulpit even for a brief moment this morning. And so your your trust and attention this morning is not lost on me. So for that, thank you. I also want to give quick nod to Doug and uh all the men in the group that meet regularly together. Um it’s been a blessing to me and I hope I hope I’ve been a blessing to the other men in the group as well and just to uh help shape us and form us more like Christ. So this morning we’re going to be focusing on scripture, specifically its source, its profit, and its purpose. So we’re going to start by looking at 2 Timothy uh chapter 3 16 and 17, which says, “All scripture is breathed out by God and 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.” This p passage is foundational for understanding the nature, purpose, and power of scripture. It tells us where the Bible comes from, what it is for, and how it equips us for life. The scriptures are God’s truth breathed out, profitable, purposeful, and fulfilled perfectly in Christ. And because of this, we can trust it, obey it, and live boldly by it. So before diving too deep, I want to share a bit about a key piece of equipment that we use in the army. So for those who don’t know, I am an infantry officer in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. And in this role, I’ve spent countless hours uh what some would say as camping. Um I wouldn’t describe it that way, but that is essentially what we’re doing. And then we’re also navigating uh in the woods quite frequently. In these operations, we have to move undetected through dense terrain. Soldiers will lead patrols as small as four and as big as 150 through uh these woods, sometimes very dense. These could these patrols could be to get us to a location to conduct an attack, establish a defensive position, or maybe just adopt a security posture in preparation to launch for a different uh mission. There are different methods for navigation. One of the big ones is GPS, but GPS can be tracked by enemy forces. So, we train primarily using map and compass. It’s old, it’s analog, uh, but reliable. So, we continue to train on it. So, here’s how it works. Using a map, a soldier determines bearing and distance needed to reach the point to which they are headed. Once the bearing and distance is determined, they then align the compass to the desired bearing and then they shoot at the distance that bearing. They pick a distant object in line with the compass needle and they move towards it. And they repeat this process over and over and over again until they get to their final destination. Now, in dense forest, this can happen dozens of times over one kilometer, constantly checking and re-checking that they are on that correct bearing. And by constantly checking, the soldier confirms that he is still moving in the same direction on this same what we call bearing. And if he goes off slightly, even once, he can slowly veer off bit by bit until he’s hundreds of meters away from where he’s supposed to be without even knowing. So before doing any of this, the soldier must confirm two things. First, the compass must be calibrated to the proper magnetic declination. So, running off of the Earth’s magnetic fields, the compass needs to be calibrated not only for the location, but also the change in magnetic declination over the years between what time they’re operating in now and the map that they are using. Second, like I said, the compass relies on the Earth’s magnetic field. So, any nearby metal can distort its readings. So obviously we carry quite a bit of metal on us when we do this uh stuff. So you have to be careful that your weapon isn’t near the compass, that your watch or even a ring on your finger may not be distorting the needle and pulling you off course. So if a compass isn’t calibrated, a soldier veers further off course with every step. If a metal object pulls the needle, direction is distorted. And if we trust our own sense of direction, we’ll be lost within minutes. At the end of the day, the lives of the patrol rest in the hands of the soldier navigating. They trust him to not lead them into an enemy ambush and to get them to their objective on time, ready to fight. And similarly, God’s word is our compass. It’s calibrated to reality, and if we let culture, feelings, or lies distort it, we will wander. But when we trust it, it keeps us aligned to true north, Jesus Christ. So today’s passage emphasizes three key truths about scripture. One, its divine nature and that it’s God breathed. Two, its practical usefulness. It’s profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training. And lastly, its power to equip preparing us for our life. So we’ll start with first point, its divine origin. Second Timothy says, ‘All scripture is breathed out by God. So the Bible is not merely human speculation about God, but it’s God’s own speech through human authors. Second Peter says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” We can trust knowing that the Bible is not merely written by men, but that God oversaw it all. Jiper explains that inspiration establishes that the Bible is a divine product. Scripture is divinely inspired and that God actively worked through the process and had his hand in the outcome of what scripture would say. Inspired scripture is simply written revelation. Scripture is not only man’s word but also and equally God’s word spoken through man’s lips or written with man’s pen. So scripture is not just some cute stories compiled for us. It is the literal word of God. God speaks in many ways, but his word is the most definitive and reliable source that we have. Now that is all good and everything, but let’s be realistic. Lots of humans have had their hands all over it, long span of time. So how can we actually trust the reliability of the book we have now? So I I won’t dive too deep into this but if you are interested I would suggest um looking to uh Wesley Huff who is a young biblical scholar uh very he dives very very deep into uh biblical manuscripts uh so it can be a little bit heady but if you’re interested go check out Wesley Huff. So just a couple things uh historically that can show us the the reliability of scripture. So over 5,800 Greek New Testament manuscripts have been found and over 20,000 others in other languages. So this is far exceeding any other ancient work. The next uh the next the next book with the most manuscripts that have been found is Homer’s Iliad, which is approximately 2,000. So it absolutely dwarfs the next biggest ancient manuscript. And then most New Testament manuscripts are within a century of the originals. And other classical texts have larger gaps of nearly a thousand years. So who I mentioned Wesley Huff, he states that the New Testament documents are not only historically reliable, they are in a class of their own. The sheer number of manuscripts and the closeness in time to the originals and the agreement across copies gives us more confidence in the New Testament than in any other ancient work. Lee Strobble, the author of the case for Christ, adds, “If you were to stack up all the evidence for the New Testament, it would tower above the evidence for any other ancient text. The case for its reliability is not just good, it is overwhelming.” So, some of you may have seen this. It’s pretty popular, but in the top left there, it’s a it’s a rainbow chart. On the bottom, you probably can’t really see it, but it’s all the books of the Bible. And then the lines between the books are showing all of the cross references within the Bible itself. When I look at this, I very clearly see supernatural uh authorship of the Bible. There’s over 63,000 cross references within the Bible. And if that doesn’t show that God had his hand in knitting it all together, I don’t know what will. So, like I said, this is by no means extensive, but I encourage you uh go look into Wesley Huff stuff. Uh Lee Stroble, it’s a movie, too, so you don’t have to read a book if you don’t want to. Uh but the historical evidence combined with scriptures divine origin clearly shows that we can trust God’s word. Like a compass aligned to the proper magnetic declination, scripture is reliable, consistent, and trustworthy. If we doubt the compass, we veer off course. And if we doubt scripture, we lose direction in life. So secondly, it’s practical usefulness. Second Timothy says profit. It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. There’s four ways uh in this passage that the scripture highlights is or sorry that the scripture highlights that it is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Starting with teaching, this is instructing us in God’s ways. Deuteronomy says the these commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children when you lie down and when you get up. Psalm Psalms says that your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Scripture teaches us to make wise decisions in life and in our relationships guiding our daily decisions with God’s wisdom. I would say one aspect that the Bible teaches that is counterintuitive, but if you read the Bible makes sense is giving. charity giving from your own life does not make sense to the human mind I would say on its own but reading scripture it is very clear and uh makes very clear sense as to living charitably second it is good for reproof so this is exposing sin and errors says for the word of God is living and active judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart scripture convicts us when pride pride, anger, laziness, or selfishness take hold, helping us to recognize areas where we need to change. It allows us to evaluate motives in difficult situations and redirects our actions before harm is done. For me, I know I can be fast with my tongue, and this can get me in trouble in many areas, but uh especially in my marriage with the person I spend the most time with. Uh it’s easy to know when you’re wrong. Uh if you raise your voice or get very vis visibly angry, it’s very easy to be like after the fact like, “Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have done that.” But what I find is much more common is the snide remarks, being short or sarcastic. Uh those rear their ugly head far too often. But daily involvement with the word will show you that the power of will show you the power of the tongue and how everything you say and don’t say affects those around you. Third, it’s good for correction which restores and redirects us. Psalm 119 says, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Scripture can restore relationships and can heal broken habits and reorient us towards God’s priorities when we drift. It helps us to apologize, to reconcile, and to make amends when we’ve gone astray. Not only can this expose our own relationships, but most importantly, it helps us reorient towards God. When we wrong one another, it strains a relationship. And likewise, if we live in constant rebellion against God and his teachings, who are we to want a relationship with him, let alone ask for something from him? Regular time in God’s word will keep us in line with his will. Lastly, it is good for training in righteousness, shaping us to be like Christ. Titus 2 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, and it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Scripture teaches discipline, self-control, and integrity, forming character that reflects Christ in the workplace, the home, and in the community. It reminds us how to respond to temptation, how to persevere in hardship, and how to grow spiritually over time. It gives us what we need to become more like Christ. John Calvin explains that the usefulness of scripture consists in this. It instructs us in truth, reproves us when we heir, brings us back when we wander, and trains us for a holy life. Without it, we would be like untaught children or soldiers without weapons. God gave us his word to guide us, and ignoring it can lead to wandering. Or maybe we even half-hazardly open our Bibles, not truly paying attention to what Christ is trying to tell us. Without the word, we would drift towards our own understanding. do the most convenient thing, not necessarily the right thing. How many times have you read something in scripture and thought, “Ouch, that was mean.” I know I have. And God’s word, it’s because God’s word is strong and convicting. We must not only read it, but listen to what God is saying to us. So in the army when navigating in the forest we we have what we call guard rails and back stops. These are just prominent natural features like woodlines, bodies of water, roads or dramatic changes in elevation. These are used to realign as we navigate. Guardrails tell us when we are off our bearings side to side and back stops when we have gone too far and we’re past our objective. We can get off track and we know that if we’ve hit this road or that river, then we’ve veered too far right and gone too far and we need to determine a new bearing as we are off our original one. Similarly, the Bible can provide guard rails and back stops in our life, not as a means to keep us locked in, but to be able to get where we are going. God’s word can tell us, “Hey, this is off track.” But how can we expect to know this if we are not in his word? I wonder if we think for a second, what would our life look like without God’s guardrails and backs stops? Would we be living for ourselves, completely absorbed in our own emotions, anxious, confused? Whose morality would we be subscribing to? Because we’re going to subscribe to somebody’s. Or maybe the more scary thought is that our life wouldn’t be that different at all. Like a soldier who doesn’t notice his large metal watch right beside the needle as he’s navigating. We may be drifting to the side without even knowing it. But if we know what guard rails and back stops we have in life, we can recognize when we are off track, recalculate our bearing, and step off in the right direction. So third, scriptures purpose and equips us for every good work. Second Timothy says that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work. So scripture teaches us it reproves us, corrects and trains. But why? To equip us for life, service and holiness. So what exactly is a good work? Uh God’s word shows us uh three things or helps us to do three things. acknowledging God’s grace, doing his will, and doing all that we do for his glory. So, first acknowledging God’s grace. This is recognizing that every ability and opportunity comes from him. Paul says in first Corinthians, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. Though it was not I but the grace of God that worked that is with me. We need to give God credit at work and in all aspects in life in relationships. We need to notice where his blessings appear small and large. Our talents, health, opportunities all flow from him. It also trains us to do God’s will. This is obeying what he has revealed uh to us. Micah says, “He has told you, oh man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.” In John, Christ or Christ says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” We need to make good decisions, extend mercy, pursue justice, and speak truth in spheres of influence. This could mean standing up for someone, choosing honesty over convenience, or sacrificing personal comfort to help someone in need. God’s will is not always easy, but it is good. And God’s word reveals much of his will for us. And lastly, it directs us to do everything for his glory. So, we need to live so that our actions point towards God. In Matthew, Christ says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.” Excel in the small and large tasks in our life as acts of worship. Helping neighbors, mentoring others, caring for family, or even just day-to-day chores. Even the way we speak to our spouses, colleagues, or children can reflect God’s character. But Paul says in Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Good works flow from salvation. They do not earn it. They reflect God’s grace. And Christ’s obedience on the cross shows us the ultimate good work aligning with God’s aligning perfectly with God’s will. My wife and I used to live in Kingston, Ontario, and there’s an organization there uh in the surrounding areas called Nightlight. This organization aims at addressing what they call relational poverty. They would simply open their doors a few evenings of the week and allow volunteers and guests to play games, cards, or just enjoy a coffee together. This ministry created bonds with people in the community who had no other connections, outcasts. Kingston always had enough beds and enough food for those who needed it. But all these people lacked humans who cared about them. This ministry was born out of volunteers who recognized what God had blessed them with, who wanted to do his will in their lives, and all of it to bring him glory. These people cared for those who had no one to care for them. Relationships that started over a game of Uker would end up being relationships that would go to the doctor’s appointments with them. They would do their taxes for them or just be a voice for them in the community, making them feel known and loved. But this this good work only occurred because those who started this and continue to operate it believed uh that they were equipped to acknowledge God’s grace, do his will and they did all this for his glory. So as we look towards our own lives, how much can we say we acknowledge God’s blessings, do his will and all for his glory? So, I have to confess I often fail to follow God’s will because I think I know better. I rely on my own understanding, my own skills, and my own compass, forgetting about God’s grace. Not always actively, but passively because maybe I haven’t taken the time needed in God’s word. I make decisions. I speak and conduct myself with largely my own wisdom. And often that leads to mistakes, delays, missed opportunities, and fractured relationships. Scripture reminds me that we are not meant to rely on our own instincts alone. We need his word. We need his spirit. Without him, we wander. There’s an up andcoming Christian artist named Josiah Queen. Um he’s just basically like a pop Christian artist, but he has a song called Dusty Bibles in which he says, “You only get this one life with dust on our Bibles, brand new iPhones. We walk with our eyes closed, blind, leading blind folks. No wonder why we feel this way. Without scripture, we are like a soldier in the woods with no compass or map. We wander, risk the mission, and we may even walk into danger. Just as a soldier must frequently shoot a bearing to confirm his direction, so too must we. Regular use of our compass keeps us on course. Scripture doesn’t just inform, it transforms, guiding our decisions, shaping our character, and preparing us for the challenges that we face in the world. So the word of God is God breathed. It’s practical and it equips us. And Jesus models this perfectly. First, God breathed. Jesus trusted scripture. He declared that scripture cannot be broken. He resisted Satan multiple times saying, “It is written in quoting scripture.” He said that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets not to abolish them. Secondly, he knew it was profitable. He used and taught scripture. He opened scriptures to his disciples and to others to teach. He corrected Pharisees with God’s word saying that they were making void the word of God with their traditions. He also summarized the law saying love God and love your neighbor. And that God al Jesus ultimately fulfilled scriptures ultimate mission for which he was fully equipped. Jesus knew that God’s will for him was the cross. He humbled himself even to the point of death. and he completed salvation, saving us and equipping us for new life. Jesus never let his compass drift. He trusted and obeyed and fulfilled scripture perfectly. On the cross, he bore the punishment for our disobedience so that we might be equipped with new hearts, new strength, and new direction. Through him, the gap of sin between God and humanity is bridged. We can now know God’s will by following our bearing. Christ himself who is our true north. And thanks to Christ, our compass always points north. So scripture is God breathed. It is profitable, purposeful, and fulfilled in Christ. I would say the tragedy is not that God failed to equip us, but that we live as if unequipped. We neglect his word and we leave our compass in our pockets and we wander. But Christ changes us. At the cross, he bore our sins and in his resurrection, he gave us new life. Now his spirit equips us to live transformed lives. The word of God becomes internal power, not just external instruction. And it Christ’s work doesn’t just save us from hell. It saves us for newness of life. It softens our hearts and our stubbornness to follow on our own paths and allows us to use our compass, trust it, and follow it. It equips us to love our families, resist temptation, serve the church, and speak truth. It gives us our bearing and sends us on mission. So, I’d say there’s three takeaways from this passage. First, trust the compass. Scripture is God breathed. Rely on it. Even when the world pulls you off course, continue to use it. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me. Use your compass daily. Scripture is profitable. Let it teach, correct, and train you in righteousness every day. Open your heart to what God is telling you through scripture. And lastly, follow Christ’s example. Scripture equips us for every good work, ultimately pointing to Christ’s saving work on the cross and empowering us to live for his glory. So don’t go on patrol without your compass. Don’t fight without your kit. God has given us his word, his spirit, and his son. Dust off your Bibles, trust the compass, follow the map, and keep your eyes on true north. Let’s pray. God, you are good. You have blessed us all beyond what we deserve. You’ve given us so much and we thank you for giving us your word and equipping us. I thank you for your word to us. Thank you for revealing yourself in your word so easily and accessible for us. I ask for forgiveness for when we do not open your word and for when we do not listen to you. I ask that you reveal your will to us and you you show us your our guard rails and backs stops in our life. Show us the ways that we veer off of your will. And I pray that we can open your word and hear you speaking to us. Give us the strength to live for you, that we can acknowledge your grace each day. And that we can go through life listening to you speak and doing your will. I ask that you humble us so that your glory is revealed and that we can live lives that bring you glory. In Jesus name, amen. I’d like to invite Bob up for corporate prayer.