Level Up 1 - Bible Reading
Level Up • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
To end off the Summer we are starting a new series called Level Up!
This series is designed to help you level up your faith!
Each week we will be looking a different spiritual discipline and break down three key things
Why is it important
What does the Bible say about it
How can I do it
The first week we are looking at Bible reading
Why is it important
Why is it important
The first thing we need to address is simply why is reading the Bible important?
Which sounds funny, but think about it, why is it important to read your Bible?
You’ve probably been told all your life to read your Bible
Shoot I’ve even told you to read your Bible, but have you ever thought about why you should
Or why it’s important?
I want to give you three reasons why you should read the Bible
The Bible shows us who God is
How would you know about God without the Bible?
How would you know the characteristics about God if it wasn’t for the Bible?
A lot of people claim to know God, claim to know that He is good, that He is creator, but how do you actually know about God?
That come from the Bible
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
We know that God is light, goodness, perfection, and there is no darkness, evil, or sin in Him
He is the very image of perfection
The very image of light
But how would we know that without the Bible?
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is love, and we only know that because of the Bible
Without the Bible, there is no way for sure to know that God is love
How do we know what God’s love means? The Bible
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3 tells that God’s love for us was immense
He sent Jesus into the world to save us from our sins
He sent Jesus His only son as a sacrifice for you and for me, that is love
Not to accept our sins as okay, but to save us from them
Without the Bible we wouldn’t know who God is, we wouldn’t know anything about Him
People come up with ideas about God all the time, but you can’t actually know God without the Bible
The second thing is this
The Bible teaches us what we are to do
If we know who God is from the Bible, we must then learn what we are to do in response to who God is
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Paul tells us that all Scripture (the Bible) is profitable to us
That it is of great value to us
It is useful to us
He said that the Bible is good for teaching, correcting, and for training in righteousness
It teaches us about God
It corrects us from our sinfulness
And it trains us to be better
The Bible also tells us what is evil, what we are not to do
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
What is evil? What is sin?
It’s the works of the flesh
It’s any sexual immorality
It’s putting anything before God and making it an idol
It’s having constant fits of anger
It’s causing divisions between people
It’s anything that goes against God
How do we know this? The Bible
Matthew 5-7 is the sermon on the mount where Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, how we are to live our lives
What we are to do
The Bible instructs us on how we are to love one another, it tells us who we are to love, and what that love looks like
The Bible tells us how we are to live in relation to God
And the last thing it does is this
The Bible tells us how to get to heaven
Everything in life is telling you there is many ways to get to heaven, many ways to make it to the after life
But the Bible tells us something different
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It tells us that Jesus is the only way
That His death, burial, and resurrection are the only way to get to heaven
It’s not being a good person
It’s not trying to be better
The world will tell you that you just have to be a good person
That if you love people and accept people you’ll get in
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The Bible however tells us that the greatest thing you’ve ever done is a filthy rag
That you cannot get close to God
It’s impossible
It’s just Jesus and believing in Him
That is the only way to get to God
The only way to get to heaven
And we only find that out through the Bible
That’s why the Bible is important
It tells us who God is
It instructs us on what we are to do
It tells us how to get to heaven
What does the Bible say about itself
What does the Bible say about itself
What does the Bible say about reading the Bible
Listen to what Paul says about the Bible
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Paul tells us that the Bible is God’s Word
Literally that it is the words breathed out by God put onto paper
Paul creates a new word here to describe the fact that the Bible is the very word, or breath, of God
Not only that but Paul also tells us that this breath of God is useful for is
It is helpful
That it is useful and good for us
If it’s God’s word we should want to read it, to connect with God
Hebrews tells us this about the word
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It is described as a sword
The only thing that can cut deep to the heart
The thing that can incite real change, and fix problems
Revelation tells us
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
That blessings come from God, and from reading His word
If you want to be blessed you need to get into the word and hear from God
God is the author of every blessing, and every good thing, but they come through His words
What does the Bible say about itself?
It’s the literal Word of God, given to us, and it is useful!
It’s the sword that can cut to the heart and incite life change
And its the source of all blessings
How can I read it?
How can I read it?
Or better yet, how can I understand it?
Because the answer how can I read it is simple. You read it
It’s basic really, not easy, but basic
You know it is good for you, so do it
You know that you should read the Bible, you know it’s important to read your Bible, you know it’s helpful to read the Bible, so do it, read the Bible
But how do you understand it?
That is the better question
Listen to this story from Acts, it gives us three big ways on how to understand the Bible
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
Philip is full of the Spirit, seeking and trusting God
While following God, the Lord leads him to a place where a man is reading the Scripture
He is studying the Bible
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
The Eunuch was reading the Bible, like he is suppose to, yet he didn’t know or understand what he was reading
He asks Philip to explain it
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
Philip then proceeds to explain to the man what he was reading
He breaks down how it is important and what it means
So much so that the man understand and believes in Jesus and gets baptized!
How do you understand the Bible?
Pray
You need to pray
Seek God and ask him to help you understand it
The Eunuch was seeking God, that’s why he was at the Temple
Philip was praying and being led by the Spirit, that’s why he made it to the Eunuch
If you want to understand the Bible pray
Pray before you ever dive in
Before you ever pick it up pray and ask that God would lead you and guide you
That his Spirit would move and show you
The next thing,
Go to the temple/church
The Eunuch was on his way back from the temple where he was worshipping God
No doubt he heard about the book of Isaiah and that’s why he was reading it
Where do you hear the most about the Bible, church
Where is there access to commentaries, study Bibles, and any other resource you might need? Church
Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, small groups, grow groups all of them are designed to help you understand the Bible better
But just like the Eunuch you got to put in work
We can offer small groups, offer grow groups, I prepare a message every Wednesday night
But if you aren’t prepared yourself you’ll never get anything out of it!
It’s on you to put the work in
Lastly,
Ask questions
If you are reading the Bible and you come across something that you don’t know - ask questions
Seek answers from people that know
Ask me
Ask your parents
Ask your small group leader
Ask questions
That’s what this eunuch did
He sought out the answers to his questions
That’s what you need to do
If you want to understand the Bible, ask questions
Ask people who are farther along in their faith journey than you are!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Reading the Bible is one of the very first foundational pieces you can do as a Christian
It’s how you learn about God
It’s how you see what you are supposed to do
It tells you about Jesus and how to get to heaven!
The Bible is a sword, the only thing that can make any difference in your life
And how do you understand it?
Pray
Go to church
Ask questions