Here’s what I want to say to you today: How many of you love the Word of God? How many of you believe that the Word of God can change your life? How many of you want the Word of God to work inside you today? Well, let me start by telling you this: God’s Word does not override your thoughts.

The Bible tells us that before the earth is filled with rain that brings forth the purpose for which the Word was sent, there must first be a forsaking before a filling can take place. I realized that, many times, God has wanted to speak to me, but I didn’t have the room to receive it.

Let me ask you again: How many of you want to receive a Word from God today? I do. I don’t just want it, I need it. I don’t need a treat after my sermon, though it would be nice, but I need God’s Word. I need it for my dysfunction. I know you might be feeling like you’re in a higher state of spirituality right now, but I still need God’s Word in my life.

I need God’s Word for direction. I truly do, because I don’t want to waste my time making decisions that I’ll spend more time cleaning up later because I didn’t seek God’s guidance first. How many of you have wasted days because you didn’t get God’s direction for your life? Some situations could’ve been avoided if you’d prayed first.

To receive God’s Word, we must sometimes forsake our own thoughts. God’s Word is free, aren’t you glad? You don’t have to pay for it. Isaiah 55 even says, “You who have no money, come.” But it will cost you something: your thoughts, your will, your opinions, your preferences. It costs you everything.

I love God’s Word. I’ve loved it since I was a child. Even when I didn’t understand what the preacher was saying, it felt different than everything else I heard. Sometimes I’d fall asleep during the sermon, but when I woke up, I still loved it. Now, as I grow older, I value it more and recognize that God’s Word will come to me in different ways, through different people, at different times in my life.

The Bible tells us so much about itself. The best way to understand the Bible is to read what it says about itself. At the same time, God’s Word is abundant, but our lives can feel so lacking. I read something recently that caught my attention, though I usually don’t trust everything in the news. But this one seemed accurate. It was from the L.A. Times last year, discussing a state prone to droughts. If you live in California, you might relate. In February 2019, they reported that California’s wet winter brought an estimated 18 trillion gallons of rain. But much of it just went down the drain.

The writer quoted Mark Gold, who said that when you see the Los Angeles River only 50% to 70% full during a storm, you realize that more water is running down the river into the ocean than Los Angeles would use in a year. He called it a waste of water supply, especially in a state that’s so concerned about droughts.

I don’t know much about environmentalism, but I’ve been preaching God’s Word long enough to know that some of you have an “18 trillion gallons” of notes in your sermon notebooks. You know who you are. Now, some of you are just tuning in, and you didn’t expect to watch church today, but you’re here. Others of you have so much truth, so much of God’s Word stored up, but what are you doing with it? What am I doing with it?

I want a revelation. “God, speak to me today. Show me today.” And He has, and He will, and He does. But so much of it… as the article says, the systems can’t handle it yet because they don’t know what to do with the overflow.