Ghosted 3

Jamie Spry

Ghosted • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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Intro

We are continuing our series called ghosted

Ghosted or ghosting, if you don’t know, means suddenly disappearing from someone

Texting them, talking to them, then just ignoring them, as if you are a ghost

This is what we do to God all the time

We think that God is far from us, like we don’t see him and assume he is far away

But in reality we are the one that has ghosted God

We flee from Him and then get mad that God isn’t there

Well last week we talked about prayer and how prayer can help us re-align ourselves with God

Prayer is the direct communication with God and allows us to talk and be with Him

Today we are going to hit another fundamental practice of re-aligning with God: Bible reading

Chamber quote

To set the stage for why Bible reading is important I want to share a quote from Oswald Chambers who was a Bible teacher and evangelist

The Bible does not thrill, the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible, and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

He tells us that the Bible does not thrill — it nourishes

Think about that for a moment

It doesn’t thrill, it nourishes

We live in a time period today where we need everything to thrill and excite us

Tik Tok and YT shorts and instagram reels snapchat stories, before that it was vine

All these modes of entertainment are meant to thrill us

We don’t watch TV shows anymore — we watch the highlights on social media

For news people used to read the newspaper and get all the information, then they moved to listening to the news reporter on tv give the highlights of the paper, then they moved to Twitter where they got the news in 160 characters or less, now the they get news in 60s clips

We are looking for things that thrill us, not nourish us

And Oswald Chambers tells us that we need to go to the Bible for nourishment

To give time to it

I love sweets — cheesecake is a special kind of weakness to me. I will always eat cheesecake

I hate vegetables.

I know I’m not supposed to hate things. But I hate vegetables

One of those things nourishes me, and one of those things thrills me

One of those I enjoy, but it isn’t helpful, one of those things I don’t enjoy, but it keeps me from being unhealthy

What we are going to find is this:

To reconnect with God, we must read the Bible

Take time each day to sit down, in the quiet, phone silenced, TV off, and read the Bible

That is how we re-align ourselves to God

We must sit in His word

For some of us, it’s going to be one of the hardest things we do, because we aren’t used to it — we aren’t trained for it — it’s going to be like eating vegetables

But what we find is, it is how we are nourished and equipped for life

Here is what the Bible is said to be:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

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.

It is breathed out by God

It is God’s breath and words

It is how we hear from God

Jesus is called the Word:

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus is the very Word of God

So today I want to give you four reasons you should seek nourishment from the Scriptures

Four reasons you should Study the Bible

The Bible guides us

Here’s the first reason you should read the Bible:

The Bible guides our life

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

One of the most famous Psalms — your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

The idea is that God’s word will guide our life

He will direct us in the path that we should go, if we allow Him

He will point us in the right direction, if we allow Him

So often we feel like we are floundering, like we don’t know where to go or what to do, but Psalm 119 tells us that God will direct our path, if we just sit down and see what God says

John 10:27–28 ESV

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

The Bible constantly equates people to sheep, well in John 10 we see Jesus call himself the Good Shepherd — the one that will protect, guide, and be with His sheep

Here he tells us that His sheep know His voice and they follow Him

That when we are in the Bible we hear the Word of God and are able to follow Him to where He is leading us

If you feel lost or unsure what to do or where to go, seek the Bible — it nourishes us by guiding us in our life

The Bible teaches us

The second thing the Bible does is:

The Bible teaches us about God

God’s word teaches us

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

The second part of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that the Word of God is useful for teaching and correcting

The Bible is the only way we can know about God

It tells us our relationship to God

The Bible allows us to know who God is

1 John 4:7–8 ESV

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.

Without the Bible we would never know that God is love — seeking our greatest good

The Bible teaches us

If we want to be nourished and re-aligned to God we must read the Bible and allow it to teach us about God

The Bible corrects us

The next thing I want to mention is:

The Bible teaches us right from wrong

Psalm 119:11 ESV

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

We are told in Psalm 119 that we should memorize the Word of God so that we may not sin against God

Meaning that the Bible teaches us right from wrong

It teaches us what is evil and what is good

In the OT Israel had the Law — ten commandments plus all the extra Levitical laws — to follow so they didn’t go against God

Jesus when He came on the scene didn’t abolish the Law of Moses, but instead perfected them

The teachings that Jesus gave helped our understanding of the Law

For example:

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

The OT law told people that they should not murder others — Jesus comes in and teaches that not only should you not murder — but you shouldn’t be angry with others

This happens all throughout Jesus’ teachings: You have heard it said (OT law), but I say (expounding on it)

The Bible for us teaches us right from wrong

It explains what sin is — and what we are called to do

For us to be nourished by the Word we must allow it to dictate what is right and what is wrong

The Bible shows us Grace

The last thing I want to focus on is:

The Bible teaches us about Grace

Not only does it show us who God is, what right and wrong is, but it also shows us how we can be back with God

John 14:6 NET

6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the only way we can get to God

The Bible shows us that nothing else can get us close to Him

We are sinful, far away from Him and in desperate need

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are taught that it isn’t us who save ourself, but God who saves us through His grace

So if we want to be nourished and not just thrilled

If we want to be realigned with God we must dive into the Word

We must seek God