Jesus 101 - The Bible

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Welcome!
You have joined an incredible family both by joining the Body of Christ and by being part of this amazing church.
introduction:
Been in ministry for over 30 years
Pastor Dallas & I have been close friends since we were 10
I’m honored to be here.
How many of you are new believers?
Getting saved is only the beginning of your life with God. Not the end.
You’re not “done” just because you got saved.
You now have access to all of God’s promises, blessings, fruit, and power.
And the enemy wants to steal all of it from you.
These next 3 weeks, i’m going to equip you with some basics to help you succeed in walking with God, and stop the enemy from stealing what God has for you.
Tonight we’re going to talk about the Bible, why it’s so important in your new life with God, and how to read it.
First though, you need to understand 2 concepts that essential to being a Christian. Every week, i’m going to spend a few minutes going over these 2 concepts and show you how the Bible, Prayer, and Christian living helps you with these 2 things.
Two essential concepts in walking with God are:
Being righteous
Abiding in Christ
The first is what the Bible calls being “righteous.”
To be righteous means you are a moral, good person, and you don’t owe anything to God. Essentially, if you’re righteous, it’s kind of like being perfect.
There are only 2 possible ways to be righteous:
Through your own efforts (making up for your past sins).
Jesus making you righteous by His grace.
All of humanity, and every other religion in the world, is on a quest to do number 1. Everyone is trying to prove they’re a good person. They’re trying to earn the title of “righteous person.”
Who here would like to be a good moral person, who doesn’t owe God anything?
The thing is, the Bible says the wages of sin is death, so none of us can be righteous because we have all sinned. So in reality,
There is only one way we can be righteous: by Jesus making us righteous.
Why? He died for us! Jesus lived a perfect life, then died and said we can believe in Him, and His death will apply to us, making us righteous.
John 3:16 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Christianity is the only belief system in the world that gives you a different way to be righteous besides earning it through works.
You might not realize it, but
When you got saved, Jesus transformed you!
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
You are a new creation!
Raise your hand if you are a new creation!
As long as you believe you are righteous, and it’s because of Jesus, not your efforts, you are totally right with God!
Even though you owe death, you don’t have to pay death because Jesus’s death applies to you!
You were evil, but now you’re righteous!!!
Never call yourself evil again!
Everyone in this room is a righteous person, and it’s because of Jesus!
Everyone say, “I’m righteous because of Jesus!”
Now here’s the thing, the Bible says the enemy is always prowling around like a lion.
1 Peter 5:8 NKJV
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
It also says his goal is to steal, kill, and destroy.
John 10:10 NKJV
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
And that’s the first role the Bible is going to play in your life!
The enemy is going to come after you. He wants you to believe you’re evil, not righteous. Or, he wants you to believe you’re righteous on your own, without Christ!
Satan will do anything he can to convince you of one of those things. Don’t let him do it!
- If he can convince you you’re evil, it brings a wedge between you and God. You feel unworthy. You feel like you can’t pray. You feel like you can’t go to church.
- If he can convince you you’re righteous without Jesus, you become prideful. You treat others bad. It’s terrible.
Satan will never stop trying to convince you of one of those two things.
When you believe all day long that you are righteous, not evil, and it is because of Jesus, not your works, that’s called Abiding in Christ.
John 15:4–5 NKJV
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
As long as you abide in Christ, you will see your prayers get answered a lot! You’ll walk in peace and joy. You’ll become a more patient, loving, and kind person.
That’s why Satan wants to attack you. He wants to steal all of that from you.
Lead everyone in saying, “I’m righteous.” “And it’s because of Jesus.”
The enemy will come after you, and you cannot defeat him without the Bible.
What is the Bible?
It’s simple to think of it as one giant story.
What are your favorite Bible stories?
When it comes to seeing Scripture as a story, we can see that the Bible is a collection of historically God inspired documents that tell the story of God on a rescue mission to save his creation.
It’s a big rescue mission. Bigger than the avengers, or top gun. It’s a rescue mission. But out of all of the stories in the bible,
The most important story to understand that clearly shows this rescue mission is the story of Jesus. The scripture I read earlier, John 3:16, tells that story.
God sent his son Jesus, to save a hurting, sinful, lost people by dying on a cross for those sins. And by dying on the cross, Jesus gave us access to have a relationship with God, by simply repenting of our sins and believing that Jesus is the son of God.
We don’t have to die to be right with God because of Jesus!
Because God is a holy God, he can’t be around sin. Sin has to be paid for, so God became human to pay for it himself. People will ask? Why did Jesus have to die? Why couldn’t God just say peace out to our sin and just let it go. He couldn’t because then he would be a corrupt judge. Can you imagine a judge, just saying, you know what that person committed that crime? Ehh let him go. God can’t do that because he’s perfect. But instead of us paying for our sin, He did. Amen.
Who’s grateful for that tonight?
The Bible is not just a story, it is the Inspired Word of God
2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Yes it was written by men, but the Holy Spirit guided them. The wrote the words of God.
Why is the Bible Important?
The Bible brings TRANSFORMATION to my life, not just INFORMATION to my mind.
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The Bible is our source of faith!
That’s why it changes us. Remember, our job is to believe. We must believe that we are transformed. That belief is called faith. We have to go to the Bible to understand what to believe.
That faith transforms us. When you believe you’re righteous, and transformed, you act like it! If you believe you’re evil, how will you act?
Who here has been transformed?
Study done by the Center of Biblical Engagement showed that Christians who read their Bibles at least four or more times a week experienced the following benefits:
- Alcoholism = dropped 57%
- Sex outside marriage = dropped 68%
- Pornography = dropped 61%
- Gambling = dropped 74%
- Loneliness = dropped 30%
- Anger = dropped 32%
Reading the Bible at least four days a week also made it more likely for the average Christian to engage in evangelism and discipleship:
- Sharing faith with others = 228% higher odds
- Discipling others = 231% higher odds
- Memorizing scripture = 407% higher odds
You Can’t Say God is ABSENT when your Bible is CLOSED.
God’s voice often SOUNDS most like his WRITTEN word.
Many, many times people want to know what God wants for them, but He’s already written it in His Word!
If someone tries to lie about your friend, you would say, “no, that doesn’t sound like my friend.” Why? because you know what your friend sounds like!
How can you know what God sounds like if you neglect His Word?
Bank tellers know counterfeit bills by handling real bills all day.
It’s not just about KNOWING the Word; it’s about LIVING the Word.
James 1:22–25 NKJV
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
When we Obey God’s Word, it strengthens our relationship with Him.
Obeying God’s Word leads to a Blessed Life!
Protection - Psalms 119:11
Psalms 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”
Direction - Psalms 119:105
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path”
Provision - 1 John 3:22
1 John 3:22 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
How do I Read Scripture?
ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT TIME.
No set time = the enemy will steal your time.
For me, i set a timer for 25 minutes, and I do nothing else but read the Bible during that time. I turn off all distractions and do it.
ENGAGE IN GOD’S WORD
6 Different ways to engage in God’s word:
Read a devotional book
(make sure it has scripture and doesn’t just refer to scripture)
Read a bible plan on YouVersion Bible App
Over 32,000 bible reading plans
Read a chapter of the bible a day
Ex. Proverbs has 31 chapters Ex. Mathew has 28 chapters
Choose a book in the bible
Ex. Book of James (read chapter a day, a verse a day, a section a day, etc.)
Study a person in the Bible Study a topic in the bible
EXPLORE WHAT GOD IS SAYING
Explore the context, read slowly, and ask questions
My challenge:
A seed a day!
Matthew 13 tells the parable of the sower.
The seed is the Word of God!
Get a seed every day. Write it down.
Exercise:
S.O.A.P STUDY
SCRIPTURE - Choose a portion of scripture from the Bible.
OBSERVATION – Observe the context, passage before / after, and 3-5 words that stick out to you (what God’s saying)
APPLICATION – Apply what God is saying to your everyday life, your here and now.
PRAYER – Pray what God is saying into your life and circumstances. Ask God to help you.
Complete S.O.A.P exercise together in circles
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
Step 1: write it out
God can bless you even in hard times; meets us right where we are at; no matter what you are walking through God is with you.
OBSERVATION:
Look at scripture before: V7 – “Each of should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Look at scripture: V8 - “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that I all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Words that stood out: at all times, all that you need, every good work, abundantly, God is able, you will abound.
Look at scripture after: V9 “As it is written, “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteous endures forever.””
APPLICATION: (Take what God’s word is saying to you write down how you can apply it.)
Ex. Reminder that even though you’re growing through challenges, God is still able to bless you and give you all that you need.
Ex. Reminds us that we can have peace and know that in every good work, God will be there and bless you.
Ex. There are things in my life that may not be working the way I want them to work, and we can be tempted to say God is not there and is not working, however, through this we see God is the one and is able. Pray and rely on God.
Group Activity Verses
-Have each group do SOAP Exercise with the following scriptures. After, have groups share to the rest of the class what they learned by going through the SOAP model. Assign a scripture to each group.
Romans 12:2
Romans 8:28
Phil 4:13
After this do a quick Q/A time about the bible
PRAYER:
Pray for what God just revealed to you.
TRANSITION - I wanted us to do this together to show how easy it is to explore God’s word. We do not need to overcomplicate reading God’s word and let that to stop us from diving in.
We need to dive in see what God begins speaking to you. It is so important for us to recognize this:
Don’t allow Your CIRCUMSTANCES to speak LOUDER than God’s Word.
Some of us today are allowing our circumstances, your thought life, and what is happening around you, to speak louder than God’s word, and that is a mistake.
We need to turn the volume up of God’s word in our life, and we do that by reading and studying God’s word.
Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
CONCLUSION
You want your life to be in line with what God has for you and it starts right here, with reading the word of God. The bible.
Let’s Pray
God we thank you for your word. Jesus we thank you for what you’ve done, making a relationship with God available to all. Holy Spirit, thank you for speaking to us and helping us to live according to God’s word. Would you help us to have a fresh passion for your Word, and a fresh understanding of why and how we should activate it within the daily decisions of our lives. We love you.
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