Getting Unstuck: Pathway #1 - The Bible
Our verse this morning is from the book of Nehemiah chapter 8 verses 1 through 8 and agrees and all the people gathered as one man into the square and they told Ezra The Scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So every other priests brought the law before the assembly both men and women and all who could understand what they heard on the first day of the seventh month and he read from it facing the square before the Watergate from early morning until midday in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And as for the scribes do it on a wooden platform that had made for that purpose and besides he stood Matt the liar Shima and Anaya Uriah Hill tire and Messiah on his right hand and pedal Alia Michelle Melton Jaya has to assume hesperidina Zachariah mechoulam on his left hand and Ezra open the book in the sight of all the people he was above all the people and he opened it all the people stood and Ezra bless the Lord and the great God and all the people answered. Amen. Amen lifting up their hands. And they bow their heads and Worship the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also just you are my name is Vijaya Misha Joseph and Thalia the Levites help the people to understand the law for the people remained in their places. They read from the from the law of God clearly and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading May our Lord and savior and his Blessing to the reading of his word.
Thank you Evelyn. It was pointed out to me when I was assigning what text. I was going to be preaching from that. I also made Evelyn read the Matthew genealogy, and so I don't know if I will ever get Evelyn to read text again for us, but we love you. Thank you.
This morning we're going to start the first of says I said six sermons on different areas that the the Lord can use to grow Us in as disciples. We really want to make an intentional effort to be able to grow in Christ is it's the intentional process of growing to be more like Jesus. And so we want to take a look and say well what is the Bible have to say on these different topics the little different than normal in that often times? I have one text and I preach just threw that one text and we're done this morning. We are going to much more briefly look at seven different text. So if you have to copy the Bible with you, you're probably going to want to keep it open because we're going to be moving around a bit. We are going to put everything on the screen so you can follow along there as well if that's more helpful for you. This is not a This is not a full list of everything. The Bible has to say on this given topic but it's representative of how the Bible speaks about itself. And that's we're going to do this morning or you look at how how the Bible speaks about itself. You may be asking why why the focus? Why here? At some point in our Christian lives all of us get stuck. We just reach points where we feel like I'm not not growing anymore. We get into habits we get into patterns that were comfortable with but they might not be patterns and habits that are actually helping us grow. And so by looking at these different areas and really seeing what the Bible has to say about it. We're hoping that God will use his word to help get us unstuck. And that's really what our goal is to be able to move ahead and in our walk with God and and looking being more and more like Jesus himself. So let's pray and then we'll dive into the passages for today.
God again, we thank you this morning that we get together around your word that we don't have to wonder and guess what you are thinking you inspired people to write it down and you gave us wonderful things like poetry and history. All sorts of different ways you expressed yourself in the word and I thank you that it all points to the great reality of who you are who you are for us in Christ in the great and do that. You are bringing about through him. We pray you be with us help us understand your word. Well by your spirit this morning that we would be encouraged and changed by it. We pray this in Jesus name.
So what makes the Bible so powerful a minute. It has been an amazing Book for a very long time sitting on best-seller lists consistently.
Churches like ours we read from it every single Sunday. We don't change which book we base everything from it's all here. So the question is why why is it so special? And why does it have such a powerful effect on people? Will answer the second question. The reason it has such a powerful effect on people is it's not just a book written by men. They can move us at times cuz God gives people with the ability to write very moving things. But the word of God is the word of God. It is him working through human authors to communicate with us, and it's so powerful because he's buying it. Not only does he just give us the book. He gives us a spiritual Illuminating help us understand what it is that he's actually saying to us. If we know it and we understand it. That's the beginning of what changes are hard knowing and understand the Bible is key to True Heart change if we don't know what God saying. It's very hard for him to change us according to his word. This passage in Nehemiah is is very helpful for understanding this the people had not had the law read for a long time. They had been missing out and it was found it was discovered cuz they were coming back into the land again, they found the copy of it and they were excited to get together and hear the word of the Lord again. And so they all gather around and answer the priest brings out the book of the law of Moses.
Normally, I think for a lot of us if we were. Looking to celebrate something and God's word. Our first thought would be let's go to something like the Psalms. It's really pretty in encouraging and has lots of great exciting things to say. I don't think most of us would be like, let's read the book of the law.
The amazing thing is all of God's word is inspired. And so the book of the law was as meaningful for them and should be for us as any other passage of scripture and we see the effect it had on them. They gather around now we won't go from early morning till midday. We started a little later and we'll we'll still end on time, but they gathered 4 hours. And all they wanted to do was here the word red. So answer it gets this platform and then he's got guys around him to help him get it out there cuz they didn't have microphones and all that good stuff. They got people out there to help people understand and I got others who go out after the word is red and make sure that you didn't only hear it but you understood what was being said through it. So it's not just hearing the word. It's knowing and understanding that they wanted to make sure that everybody that could understand it hurt it and knew what it meant. So I never said it says they read from the book of The Law of God clearly and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.
Their response to the reading of the word is what I want to point to in terms of understanding the way the Bible says it can move people.
First sex ever blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered. Amen. Amen lifting up their hands. They bowed their heads and worship to the Lord with their faces to the ground. Their response to hearing the word of the Lord was worship and praise. And again take a reading the book of the law and they're responding by saying Queen. Love you. Amen. Let it be so let this happen. This is good.
When we truly understand what the word is and what the the Bible says to us. Our response is one of praise to God for giving it to us.
How does the bible help us know and understand God though? How does it help us know ourselves better? What is the process by which the word of God works? Plus I invite you to turn to Hebrews 4:12 New Testament Hebrews 4:12.
You may be familiar with this first. speaks of what the word of God is Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God is living and active.
This book appears to be printed text in a nice little binder. What makes it amazing is it's not just that it is living and active. what to do well, it's sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces to the division of Soul and Spirit of joints and of marrow and Discerning the thoughts
excuse me, any intentions of the heart
So what is the word of God to how does it change us it gets in to us in places that we could not even easily distinguish. I don't think many of us know exactly where the division of Soul and Spirit is in us. We might even use those words. Did it can pierce the division of spirit to get at what he needs to get a tin us. There's nowhere in our being the word of God cannot affect. And it doesn't just change our actions. Need to notice that it's changing Hearts before it changes actions. We see it right there at the end if the cern's the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The word of God is intended to affect you. As you hear it as you know, it it will change you. But it is not merely change you by making you do different things. It's not as if you read the Bible and it says you should do this and you go. Well, I really don't want to and I never think I will want to but I'll do it cuz the Bible says I should The Bible tells us to do things and then by God's spirit and it's alive and active and gets in the US and actually changes the way we think and feel the intentions and no longer do you go I'll do that cuz I have to do it we go. I'll do that cuz I love to do that. If you love God and in a heart that's been changed by love act differently. So knowing and understanding the Bible is the key to changing your heart because the word actually gets in there and does the job.
Is it possible to read the Bible and get nothing from it? Sadly? Yes. there are a number of academics who do not believe the Bible is true who think it's just a good collection of mythological stories, but they know it real well and they can teach it in a in a university classroom, but they don't think it's true.
Our goal is not just to know the bible really well.
Our goal is to know it and trust God enough to let it change us.
You say well, can we trust more than the academic does can we know that what were reading when we read the Bible is actually true and helpful and good. There are not a lot of books out there that speak about themselves in the course of the book The Bible's a weird book in that sense. It actually makes comments about itself. And 2nd Timothy 3:16 and 17 is a wonderful place where the Bible speaks of the truthfulness and the helpfulness of scripture. 2nd Timothy 3:16 and 17 says all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching for reproof for correction and for training in righteousness why that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work.
Who wrote the Bible? Holy men who were inspired by a holy God? It's breathed out by god that's literally the term inspiration. Is this the breathing of scripture? He didn't have to sit there and force their hand. He's way more talented than that. He can help them think and process and write in such a way that the very things he wants are the very things they want to write. And we gather them all together throughout a very large. Of time between the Old Testament and New Testament writings. And through a lot of prayer and seeing how the words been used in the life of the church. He said these seem to be ones that we can have a very high confidence in that God spoke through these books. And so you have a collection of 66 books when you open your Bible up that are full of God breathed word.
So you can trust it. Why because you can trust the God who designed it and wrote it? The truthfulness of the word is based on the truthfulness of the god of the word. But you noticed your verse 17 again. It's that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work. It's supposed to do something to the people who read it. It's supposed to change them all the good things that God wants them to do they have the ability to do. You say what is in their natural skill involved in some of the stuff aren't some of the good things that people do just cuz you know, they they have an ability and talent in an area. Yes, I do. Not doubt that there are people who do not believe that Jesus is their lord and yet do things that are very helpful for other people throughout history. There's been lots of people who've done some amazing things.
But God has a plan for his people. He has good works that he has laid out for them that they may walk in them. And so she's not just equipping US with natural skill. He is using his word to come up alongside our natural skill and her spiritual gifting and our desires and our talents and experience in our history to actually equip us to be able to do everything that you called us to you. Say. Yep, he does and some of those things if you try to do them in your own strength, you will fail miserably hot, but his word can equip you to be able to do every good work he lays out for you. So no the Bible understand the Bible and that's the key to the the change in your heart. It allows you to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. second thing the word does
the bible helps us be healthy. Bible helps us both as a as a church and personally to be healthy now, I don't mean by that that if you read the Bible, you can come up with say that The Daniel Plan diet and if you just follow that you'll be healthy. I'm not going there. Okay, I'm speaking of a more holistic health and speaking of being healthy spiritually being healthy emotionally being healthy in the sense of the things that would eat at you don't Bible speaks very clearly on on both the personal and the the corporator church Health that comes from the word. And for this we are going to go to Psalm 119 for two of the three passages because as I mentioned earlier and Noah reaffirmed that this phone is fantastic and helping us understand the word of God and how it works. So Psalm 119 verses 9 through 11.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word with my whole heart. I seek you. Let me not Wander from your Commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 3 short versus but oh how powerful is helping us understand how the word works. There are some young men in this room. I saw you all downstairs came up. Thank you. If you ever have struggled as a young man with figuring out, how do I live a Pure Life? This passage is extremely clear guard your life. According to God's word. Don't try to just struggle your way through it. Don't try to just get some people around you that I'll help encourage you to do good things. Let the word of God guard you. What can't guard you if you don't know what it says, it can't guard you if the Bible sits on your shelf or is the most unused app on your phone that he keeps telling you once to put to sleep cuz you never use it. It's got to be something you engage with on a regular basis for to be able to do that. Now in this case. The psalmist is specifically writing this and and talks about a young man. The great news is it doesn't just work for young man. It works for everyone.
But you cannot keep your way pure you cannot keep your heart whole you cannot win the battle against sin. If the word of God is not present in the battle. I love verse 11 in that sense because it it makes it very clear that it's not something you read and forget I have stored up your word in my heart. I've not just looked at it been like okay now I get it on with the rest of my day. I made your words something that I have in me if it's changed me to the point where when I speak I speak things that come from your word cuz it's a part of who I am. I've memorized passages of scripture that if helped me to be able to fight say I stored your word in my heart that I might not sin against you his goal is I memorize scripture not so that I can tell somebody I've memorised 85 vs this year. No, I memorize it so that I win the battle against sin and don't make shipwreck of my life.
If that weren't enough Psalm 119 continues later on in 97 and 98. He says oh how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment catch this makes me wiser than my enemies for it is ever with me.
Hey buddy, in the course of their day ever come up against some some spiritual enemies that you struggle against you're wiser than them. Why because you have the word of God. It it helps run your life in a way that you make wiser decisions. You are more able to deal with the stuff that comes at you. Then the the lies the enemy which feeds you.
It's common to in modern psychology and help to talk about the idea of how you speak to yourself and you need to speak good things to yourself either in the Old Stuart Smalley sort of way. I'm good enough. I'm smart enough and people like me, right it's this weird sort of inner dialogue. They encourage you to have I would encourage you not to go there. Now that does not mean that I'm saying what you should do instead. It's just say I'm a horrible person all the time. No, that's not it just things you should be speaking to yourself is God's word the promises of God that you continually recall to mind are the things that define Who You Are
Your union with Christ if you are a Believer is the single Central identifying thing for you and the Bible speaks of it clearly from mind yourself. Keep bringing it up. Stay healthy by continuing to let the word of God speak to you throughout the day.
What about the church? How does the church gain Health from God's word? Well in Acts 6 there was an event that went on there was some food distribution. That wasn't happening. Well as we normally read acts 6 in the beginning here because it's the time when many people would say that the office of Deacon was first created.
But I want you to read it again with me in light of the idea of how is this good for church health? summary acts 6 verses 3 through 5
Therefore Brothers pick out from among you seven men of good repute full of the spirit of wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty. This was the duty of feeding the widows. We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word and what they said, please the whole Gathering and they chose Stephen A Man full of faith in the Holy Spirit and Phillip in for Coruscant can or and timid and permanence and Nicholas the proselyte of Antioch. You see what happened here.
The word of God the ministry of the word was going to get threatened by something else that was going on. But in order for the church to survive and grow strong, it needed some people who could focus their time on prayer and the ministry of the word because the ministry of the word would keep the church healthy. So they distributed other jobs to other people to make sure that there were those who had time to focus themselves on prayer in the ministry the word
I am honored that you guys pay me. Allow me to provide for my family and my work largely consists of being in the word into French.
So, thank you. But it's not just the fact that I'm freed up.
It's the fact that the word can then go forth Lord willing and Powerful ways. So that the church as a whole can grow. I mean we are weird, right we sit around for 30-40 minutes and listen to one person talk from one book every single week. Why because God uses that to build Health in US? He uses it to unite us together around the great things in his word so that we don't go through life alone. We go through it with him and with each other with the word strengthening us for the task.
So knowing and understanding the Bible the key to getting unstuck to having your heart changed its it's Central to personal and church Health. Lastly. We're going to go back to Psalm 119 again and talk about the effect that having been in the Bible has on us. We looked at a little bit Nehemiah write the people's response. They worshipped.
Psalm 119 who read this is our call to worship this morning. Let me read it again for you 169 through 172. Let My Cry come before you oh Lord give me understanding according to your word let my please come before you deliver me according to your word. My lips will pour forth praise for you. Teach me your statutes. My tongue will sing of your word for all your Commandments are right. She sure how the psalmist is responding to the word here. The word changes him so that he loves differently that he worships differently because of the word and it doesn't just happen by chance. Notice what he says Let My Cry come before you let my plea come before you this is someone in the psalmist here who understand the need to call out to God. God I need you.
I need to understand I need to be delivered.
Lord would you do that?
But you notice his next response is is not Lord. Would you do that by sending me some big sign written in the sky. Would you would you send me some sort of in a special miracle that happens right right here so that I'll see something amazing and trust you. Would you would you do some fantastic thing that no one else would believe that I know that you're going to deliver me and that you're going to help me know. he says Do this for me please according to your word? He says let's let your word be what helps me understand let your word be what delivers me.
We have to understand that the context here right if I am trapped in a hole in the ground. Simply reading the word of God will not get me out of a hole in the ground by Deliverance is very physically needed. I would need someone to come and get me. However. I need the word of God when I'm in that whole why because otherwise I could lose hope I could lose confidence that God could see me through I could begin to think that God does not see and care. I want to have the word he encourages me and strengthens me and says it's going to be okay no matter what happens to you. I'm here with you. I never leave or forsake you sent that to us twice in his word. Never going to leave or forsake me. So I'm okay. Even as I await somebody physically to come along and pull me out.
But I'll tell you something. I don't recall the last time I was trapped in a hole. Not a common occurrence for me. But I'll tell you there's been a lot of times where I have been struggling with things and felt trapped spiritually felt like my time cannot handle all the things that need to go into it. But I feel like I can't get out from under something that that is in my life that's pressing in on me.
And I don't need someone physically to come along at that point and pull me out of all I need God's word to pull me spiritually back up.
Now the crazy thing there is in the same way that I need a physical person and I need God's word when I'm trapped in a hole. Here's the cool thing. Spiritually. I need God's word. But often times he uses another person to bring that. And so that's where the community aspect of engaging with the Bible comes. You don't have to just figure it all out on your own. You've got another group of people that are with you in this until When Quinn worship Springs 4th. Yes, there are times when you can be sitting by yourself in the car in the shower and you're just praising God full volume by yourself. There's also something really amazing. When say the church gathers on a Sunday morning and we start singing together when we start offering up Worship in song as a group.
some of the most powerful times of understanding just how big God is have come when it been surrounded by other brothers and sisters who were singing Cuz I realized it's not just me. It's all these people and then start to think but man this is the only place and sadness is happening all over God. It's huge. He does that for me so many times through worship together and song. The other time he tends to meet in that way is in prayer that you can pray by yourself, but there's something amazing when brothers and sisters come together and pray.
I've had several experiences where this has happened. I'll just generally give you the idea sitting in prayer in a group. We're going around we're praying and I'm thinking to myself. Okay Lord. I think that this is what you'd like me to pray. I'm so ready Lord help help that guy finish up, please. I got this thing. I need to pray. And I get done in somebody else jumps in and they pray the exact same thing. I was thinking of. What why God, why did you give it to me? And then because he wanted to show me I'm working in all of you. I don't just need you you need them. The Glorious thing the way God works to bring out love and worship when we're together in community.
The Bible does that Forest it is the central thing around which we focus that gives us a point of reference when we pray were praying things because the word of God has spoken them when we sing were singing things that look word of God has spoken them. Bible is designed to grow our love and our worship of God.
so Bringing us all together three main things that were talking about here. Is that the word of God does when you engage with it one if you know it and understand it changes your heart and that change is Springs Health to you both personally and corporate lie to us as a church body and the effect of that change in us. It's a love and a worship of God. So you're busy thing if your goal in life is I would love to love God more. I would love to worship. God more fully. Can I encourage you by saying? engage Bible if you go here you will have what you need for God to be able to move in you to get you to where you want to go. You can get unstuck Through the Bible. Let's go to prayer. I want us to pray for a couple things one. If you're someone who you know, it's January I start that read through the Bible in a year plan again. Can you get the numbers just like it did last year and I'm going to struggle again. Okay, pray now. Pray now for God's help in getting you through whatever plan you're using for Bible reading. If you don't have one we have went out on our website on a resources tab, you can go out there and grab that. It'll help you walk through it. But seek in advance for God to use your time in the word to be a blessing. You don't just have to wait until you open your Bible and then go. Okay, God. Please make this count. You can start praying now about that. secondly because Bible engagement is a corporate thing. Pray about how you're engaged in things in our church where the Bible is Central what I mean by that is this obviously you're here this morning Sunday morning. That's the time that happens. We are meeting downstairs. The next two weeks all of us you thought up together, but even after that's done, we'll still be meeting on Sunday mornings. You can join a group there and get engaged for the word. You could join one of our small groups that meets during the week some of them meet here at church and stuff. He's got questions we can get you information on those different groups. But if you're someone who's struggling right now, if you're stuck at engaging in the word kind of Courage you that that might be a really good path for you to walk down.
thirdly and finally
because no one makes it through this journey alone if you're someone who has been in the word and if it's changed you. Be praying that God might bring someone else along in your life that you could walk with through that part of the idea of a pathway to walk down and said you have such a partner who walks with you down the path. And so could you be that for someone else when it comes to their engagement with the word if you have anything specific we will be up front here and in a few minutes after we're done I will close it in prayer and then we'll go from there.