Why is the Bible relevant to me?

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Let’s be honest—the Bible can feel confusing.

It’s a collection of sixty-six different books written in three different languages by over forty different authors spanning multiple genres and time periods.

Some issues in the Bible appear foreign compared to the issues we face in our world today.

So, how does the Bible apply to us? In the next couple weeks, we’ll look at what the Bible really is and how it is vital for us as we follow Jesus.

Group Activity: Interesting Bible Trivia

Optional: Four pieces of paper labeled A, B, C, and D

Place one of the papers labeled A, B, C, D in each corner of the room.

Before we look deeper into the Bible, let’s see how much you know about some of its crazier stories! I’ll ask you some multiple-choice questions from these stories. You’ll answer by going to the corner of the room that corresponds with your choice.

About how many authors were involved in writing the Bible? (A: Less than 10, B: 24, C: 36, D: Over 40)

The Book of Acts contains a story of a young man who fell asleep during a sermon, fell out of a third-story window, and died, only to be raised back to life immediately after. Who was preaching this long-winded sermon? (A: Jesus, B: Paul, C: Peter, D: Moses)

How old was the oldest person recorded in the Bible? (A: 969 years, B: 141 years, C: 200 years, D: 550 years) By the way, his name was Methuselah.

In Numbers chapter 22, God used a talking animal to get His point across to a man named Balaam. What was the talking animal? (A: Goat, B: Lion, C: Cat, D: Donkey) Interestingly, cats are not mentioned in the Bible.

Which of those facts from the Bible was most surprising to you? Why?

Have you ever encountered something in the Bible that was weird or hard to believe? If so, what was it?

Acts 8:38–40 (NIV)

And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

This Book, with so many different authors, was written to different cultures and different people with different issues.

It contains many hard-to-believe stories.

But the Bible is absolutely necessary to show us how to follow Jesus. Today, let’s take a look at why we can trust every truth in this Book. They are directly from God and completely trustworthy.

Let’s begin by looking at an example of just how trustworthy God’s Word is.

The Bible shows us that we can trust God will do what He says.

The Bible Proves God Is Trustworthy

Have you ever heard the word prophecy? If so, what comes to mind when I say it?

The passage we’re about to read is a prophecy about Jesus.

A very simple definition of prophecy is God giving a person a specific message He wants them to tell others.

Sometimes it reveals info that the person didn’t already know about the present. But sometimes it’s info about the future.

That was the case in what we’re about to read. God gave Isaiah specific details about Jesus before He was born and lived on the earth as a man.

Let’s look at the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, written about seven hundred years prior to Jesus’ birth.

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

With that in mind, lets read Luke 1:26–38.

Luke 1:26–38 (NIV)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

We learn that the prophecy given in Isaiah came to pass about 700 years ago

That is like someone saying that I will have a son and he will be called Mercer and he will be the most famous football player ever.

That would have been said in the 1300’s

Read Luke 1:37 “For no word from God will ever fail.””

The angel states the Word of God never fails. What does this verse tell us about God’s Word for us today?

It says that despite what is going on in this world his Word will not fail. His promises will come true

Remember, Jesus was born about seven hundred years after Isaiah prophesied about the Savior to come.

Yet He still fit the exact details of this prophecy and many more.

The Bible is so much more than just an old book.

Let’s take a look at how the Bible is trustworthy, inspired by God, and applicable to our lives.

The Bible Can Be Trusted

Prophecies like Isaiah’s about the coming Messiah are just one example of many in the Bible.

They show that the Bible is both accurate and can be trusted.

2 Peter 1:20–21 (NIV)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This is saying that true prophesy does not come from man, but God

Peter pointed out that the writings in Scripture of people like Isaiah aren’t stuff they made up.

Everything in there came from God’s Holy Spirit.

The Bible isn’t just prophecies, though.

We can also have confidence in it because a lot of it is eyewitness testimony.

Imagine for a moment that a 100 percent verifiable, documented miracle happened at church last Sunday.

The problem is, you weren’t there when it happened. What kind of questions would you have about the miracle?

In order to get the best, most trustworthy answers to these questions, who would you want to talk to first?

The most trustworthy information about an event always comes from the people who were there in person.

The stories in the Bible are no different.

When eyewitnesses testify about an event, it usually adds to the trustworthiness of what they say happened.

With that in mind, listen to how Luke starts off his Gospel account.

Luke 1:1–4 (NIV)

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Bible Is Different from Other Books Because It’s God-Inspired

The Bible is true and trustworthy, but it’s different from any other nonfiction book, too.

While the Bible has over forty human authors, there’s one God who was guiding and inspiring the entire process for each of the individual authors.

That’s why we call it “God’s Word.”

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Who does Isaiah say that the sign will come from?

The LORD

Mary knew that what was prophesied was from God, not just mere human words.

That’s why she knew it would come true (Luke 1:37).

All Scripture is considered the Word of God, from the first word in Genesis until the final word in Revelation.

CLOSING

How should it change the way we read the Bible when we see it as God’s inspired Word for our lives today and not just words and thoughts from human authors?

When we read scripture we can thankfully realize that it was authored by God and therefore can speak to our situation.

Talk about tattoo verse

The Bible tells us about things that happened long ago, like Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah. But that isn’t all it does. God also speaks to us through His Word in a way that directly applies to our lives today.

2 Timothy 3:14–17 (NIV)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Go into how scripture can help us

God is ready to speak to us through His Word, but we often neglect it and lose the benefit of it in our lives.

Though these books were accepted as God’s Word, they weren’t accessible to many people because of language barriers.

The Scriptures were mostly written in Greek and Hebrew. Bringing the Bible into other languages required lifetimes of work as well as political and social challenges.

It’s no stretch to say that people gave up their lives (even as martyrs) to bring God’s Word into languages we can understand.

And the result of their hard work is a trustworthy collection that faithfully passes on God’s eternal message to His people.

Go into how scripture is transcribed

Just like an athlete needs the proper training tools to be successful, believers also need the right tools to become fully equipped for the journey of faith.

One of the most important tools in our relationship with God is His Word.

The Bible is completely trustworthy, inspired by God, and directly applicable to things that we face on a daily basis.

It’s one thing to say that God’s Word is trustworthy.

It’s another thing to put it to the test in your own life. Ask God for the Holy Spirit’s help to apply what we have talked about today and to guide you this week as you develop the habit of spending time with God’s Word.

One of the biggest lessons we can learn from Mary’s response to the angel is her complete trust in God and in His Word.

She knew that God’s Word would never fail her.

Just like Mary, we can put our trust in God and lean on His Word for the guidance we need.

I challenge everyone to engage in 6 personal devotions this week.

What does that mean?

it is spending time with the Lord