23. Ezra: Live By God’s Word

Heavenly Father, grant us to know you, and love you, and rejoice in you. And if we cannot do these perfectly in this life, let us at least advance every day, taking a step with you, until we come to the end of this life and enter into perfection. Let the knowledge of you increase in us here, that we may know fully there. Let the love of Christ grow more and more in us every day here, that we may love perfectly there. Let our joy be great and full in you here, so that those who see our joy will be drawn to you, and find their home in your eternal kingdom. We know that you are a God of truth. And we offer our hearts and our wills to your today in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Introduction

Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies… “So many people live with a great big gap smack dab in the middle of their gospel…” Salvation past… Salvation future… What about salvation present?

How do we live the Christian life? How do we live the way Jesus lived?

I put up a shed without laying a good foundation, and within a couple of years it was leaning so badly I worried it would fall.

To live Christianly, you must build your life on a strong foundation, like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The Christian life is built on four foundation stones.

Jesus, the cornerstone (Acts 4:11-12)

Prayer || The Spirit

Scripture (Matt 4:4) || The Word

Fellowship || The Church

Subject: How do you build your life on God’s Word? How do you stand on the promises of God?

Key Verse, Ezra 7:10

Set your heart to study God’s Word. Be the kind of person who is growing in your understanding of the Bible.

Explanation

You can’t follow Jesus if you don’t know the way.

There are many ways to have a regular diet of God’s Word.

Read the Bible

Read a devotional

Listen to sermons and podcasts

Listen to an audio Bible

Join a Session or Bible study

Some people say, “I tried reading the Bible but I don’t understand it. I can’t pronounce all those weird names. And I don’t remember it.”

That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ve “stored it up” in your heart (Ps 119:11). God will bring it out of your heart when its needed.

Illustration: We had unexpected tomatoes, strawberries, and cucumbers in our garden this year.

Application: Tips for Studying the Bible

Read and discuss it together.

Start small—a “verse of the day.”

Three simple questions.

What do I see about God?

What do I see about the world?

What do I see about myself?

Set your heart to do God’s Word. Be the kind of person who does what the Bible says.

Explanation:

The Bible is meant to be practiced, not just studied.

Christians who know a lot about the Bible but whose lives don’t reflect Jesus.

Christians who follow Jesus’s example of compassion and care for the poor but who reject the Bible’s authority over their personal lives and moral choices.

Don’t just listen to, learn, or even love God’s Word—but live God’s Word. (James 1:22-24; 4:17)

Illustration: “God will only reveal as much of his Word as you’re willing to apply.” ~ Dr. Adrian Rogers

Application: Wisdom not applied is folly. Knowledge ignored is ignorance. Failing to do what you know is right is sin.

Set your heart to teach God’s Word. Be the kind of person who shows others how to follow Jesus.

Explanation: “But I’m not a teacher. That’s not my spiritual gift.”

There are some things all Christians should do, but to which some Christians are called to do as a ministry.

For example, faith (see 1 Cor 12:9).

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Matthew 28:19–20 (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Application: Everybody can teach somebody how to take a step with Jesus.

Systematic theology vs. “Show them how you obey Jesus”

How do you obey Jesus? How do you live the Bible?

One of my practices is listening to sermons or teaching of the Bible because I need to be taught God’s Word (not just study it but be taught it).

Who are you teaching?

Conclusion

Jesus didn’t just die for your past or your future but for your present. Are you living with the power of Christ now?