44 Preaching/Teaching: Acts 17:Eat this Book

A Vision of Feasting: God’s Word

EOS-We must grow in 2025 in our hunger and application of God’s word.

Our vision as a church is taken directly out of Jesus last words. We want to be a church that makes disciples.

This is a great vision but the way we are going to accomplish this vision is by growing.

Does anyone with kids here have one of those measuring sticks for your kids.

When your kids are young you see them everyday, and they usually seem the same. Then all the sudden one days you are like you have grown. And you are like wow you just got bigger.

That is a lot of time how growth is, it does not happen overnight. But when you see the growth it is like wow that is awesome.

God wants all of us to grow in our faith.

We talk a lot about four different areas to grow.

The Bible can be summed up into a great command.

Matthew 22:37–39 (NASB95)

And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

“This is the great and foremost commandment.

“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Start with this quote:

This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object; our good is its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

Where do you eat?

What does your diet consist of?

Do you eat healthy?

Do you eat a lot of junk?

If you are trying to stay healthy physically as important as working out is, eating is easily just as important if not more important.

As important as where you eat physically, where you eat spiritually is even more important, it will, literally determine your eternity.

What I have found it is easy for us as CHristians to eat a lot of junk.

It is easy for us to crave facebook and Twitter more than the word of God.

it is easy for us to binge watch our favorite TV shows and have a little appetite for the word of God.

We have turned to junk food instead of the word of God.

How well do you know God’s word?

Do you know it better than you did a year ago?

Do you know it better than you did when you first became a follower of Jesus?

I had a scholarship to a Christian College, I wasn’t a follower of Jesus at the time and early on I decided to follow Jesus and I knew nothing of the Bible. My only interaction with the Bible was I tried to read it once as a kid and I started in Matthew and there was this big genealogy. That is a really big word for those of you who do not know what that is it is a long list of names of people. And I did not even make it through the first chapter.

My knowledge of it was so bad that I had a failed attempt to cheat on a Bible quiz, that I would later confess to my teacher about.

But I got to know this book because I spent countless hours with the God of this universe. I went from someone who did not know it at all to someone who made it a personal love letter from the God of the universe.

How well do you know God’s word?

Have you read it?

I have read this book front to back cover 15+ times

Have you memorized it?

I have memorized over hundreds of verses

I am not telling you this to be impressed with me I am telling you this so that you will know anyone can no this book.

And before you say you can’t do this…

The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for a theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom” St. Jerome

1. We must grow in our hunger for God’s word because it is true.

Psalm 119:160 (NASB95)

The sum of Your word is truth,

And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.

Did you know Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible and it is all about God’s word. It goes through the Hebrew Alphabet and each letter he praises God.

We live in a culture that does not value truth. But even though truth is not something that is celebrated in our culture it is something that our culture needs.

If you had cancer would you want to know the truth so you could be cured or would you want the Dr. to lie to you and say you are okay.

Recently Nate was here and I dropped him off at the airport and he calls and he says dad what gate do I fly out of, now I know what you are thinking he should be able to get his own gate. We are getting there. But what if I told him A5 instead of the right gate C21. He needed truth in that moment and God’s word is true.

How do we know it is true-

Internal Evidence

All over the Bible it claims that it is the word of God. I can give you a lot of Scriptures but it makes if you read the Bible it makes it very clear that this is the word of God.

Psalm 19:7–11 (NASB95)

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

As you read these verses you can hardly say anything except what an amazing book, this surely is the word of God.

For instance, Psalm 19:7-11 declares that the Bible is indeed the Word of the Lord and names six perfections with six corresponding transformations of human character which the Word accomplishes.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB95)

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

External Evidence

Now if you were to talk to someone who is not a follower of Jesus and you said the Bible is true, and they said how do you know, and you said because the Bible says so, they are going to look at you and say well I don’t believe the Bible.

The Bible also has external evidence.

Here are just a couple:

A. The continuity of the Bible-

One of the most amazing facts about the Scripture is that though it was written by more than forty authors living over a period of about 1,600 years, the Bible is nevertheless one book, not simply a collection of sixty-six books. Its authors came from all walks of life, kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, physicians, statesmen, scholars, poets, and farmers. They lived in different cultures, in different experiences and often were quite different in character. The Bible has a continuity which can be observed from Genesis to Revelation.

B. The publication of the Bible-

Although skeptics, like the French infidel, Voltaire, have often predicted that the Bible would be obsolete within a generation, and even twentieth-century authors have predicted that the Bible would soon be a forgotten book, it continues to be published in increasing numbers in more languages than ever before.

C. The Historical Accuracy of the Bible

Amount of documents that they have and the sights that confirm the placed did really exist.

D. The Prophecy of the Bible-

illustrations from more than a carpenter of the odds that the Bible is the Word of God.

2. We must grow in God’s word because it fulfills our deepest longings.

When we eat junk food it gives us instant gratification. But the older you get it does not help you at all. Dr. Pepper is my weakness it feels so good when it goes in, but when I drink primarily water I feel so much better.

Augustine says, our hearts are restless until we rest in the.

Blaise Pascal says that there is a God shaped vacuum.

Are you hungering after God’s word or are you settling on junk food.

God’s Word Sustains us

Matthew 4:4 (NASB95)

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”

What is even more significant than physical food is spiritual food.

God’s Word Satisfies us

Psalm 19:10 (NASB95)

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

If I told you there was 50 million dollars in the building, and if you could have it and you could do anything you had to too find it, what would you do? The Psalmist says God[‘s word is greater than gold, and not just gold but fine gold. He tells us that he wants this more than he wants money.

But not only is it greater than money he says it is also sweeter than honey. Now who in here has a sweet tooth. My wife loves cheesecake. Man I hate cheesecake but for really specially occasions we will go to the Cheesecake Factory. She will get some kind of cheesecake that I have never even heard of. But you know what I like at the Cheesecake Factory-Linda’s chocolate cake. When we go it is a glorious experience. The Psalmist was saying Honey is like the Cheesecake Factory. And as good as those deserts are, God’s word is sweeter than that.

Do you really believe that. I believe this. There are times I live like it and there’s are times when I do not live like I believe this, but this is what the very word of God says. When I first became a believer I was in college far from home and some Friday nights I would just stay in my dorm room and spend time in God’s word with God. Those were some of the sweetest times z for me, and I just enjoyed it and I got to know God better. It was so satisfying. Just like all of us here there have been some other difficult times and IU wonder if God brings us through those so that we will go back to him and be reminded that he is the satisfying of our soul.

We just looked at two huge reasons why we need to grow in God’s word in 2025

Because it is true and it satisfies our deepest longing.

Now let’s look at how we can grow in God’s word

Have the hand illustration Sheet

Hear it-

One of the things I have loved lately is how my kids will take notes during the message and bring them to me. hearing the word of God is so essential. One of my prayers for my kids is when they hear preaching, and not just me preaching they will heck it to the Bible to make sure that it is right. I actually pray that my kids will be Bereans, who were the Bereans do you ask:

Acts 17:11 NASB95

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Paul was preaching and they still did not just retake it because Paul said it, they heard it and then they said is this what the Bible says.

Study it-

Did you know you can actually study the Bible. No let me restate this we are supposed to study the Bible and really dig into it to see what is says.

Have a study bible up there maybe Ryrie study Bible

Memorize-

How many scriptures have you memorized.

If I asked you how to be saved could you show me what the Bible says about that?

Could you tell me a verse on the atonement, about how Jesus died for us?

What are some other topics.

Meditate

Read-