New Levels 2 — Growing In God

The Bible — 2Timothy 3:16-17

We’re in our second week of the new series “New Levels.” “New Levels” is about growing in God. We’re talking about getting back to the basics, the very foundations of our Christian lives.

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Last weeks message was about Prayer Life = Fellowship with God. The anchor verse for that message was found in..

Colossians 4:2 NKJV — Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

We learned that God desires true fellowship through prayer. He desires to have daily conversations with us, and Colossians 4:2 told us exactly how.

“Continue earnestly in prayer” is to Devote yourself to prayer: This means, staying in a constant conversation with God throughout our day.

“Being vigilant in it” is to Be alert. This means to stay awake, be sleepless, stay active, and on guard in your prayer. It means to fight through distractions that come with daily life.

“With thanksgiving” is to pray with thanksgiving. This means to continually express gratitude for all that He has done and for who He is in our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

How many of you were able to practice this New Level of prayer last week. Keep at it. Keep practicing and be consistent.

🙏🏼 Let’s Pray

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Today’s New Level is in ..🎵.. THE BIBLE.

True or False

The Bible is: An instruction manual for our lives.

(T) If you’re looking for answers go to the Bible.

The Bible is: Composed of 66 books, 39 old testament and 27 in the new testament.

(T) And they’re all inspiration of God.

The Bible is: Only a decorative book that looks good in a bookshelf.

(F) Although it might look good in a bookshelf, I’m more than just convinced that it’ll look better in your hands.

The Bible is: The best-selling book of all time

(T) It is estimated that 5 to 7 billion copies have been sold or distributed.

The Bible is: Half true, not every story really happened like its says in the book.

(F) 2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV — All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Through the work, and only through the work of the HolySpirit guiding the hands of human authors the Bible is the True Word of God.

The Bible is: Permitted in every country of the world.

(F) It is NOT permitted in some countries, in fact; it is a dangerous crime to own one in those places.

The Bible is: Read daily in your home.

Hopefully (T) 😅

1. The Bible. What is the Bible?

The Bible is revelation. It’s God revealing himself to us in His Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

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.

The authors of scripture were from different cultures, they had different personalities, they wrote in different styles and at different times, but they were all led the Holy Spirit. The Bible isn’t a collection of empty stories, legends, or fairy tales. Many argue that the Bible was put together in a game of telephone, and others argue that the Bible is corrupt. The Bible tells me …

2 Peter 1:21 NKJV

for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Every single word of scripture is breathed out by Him. The Bible contains the very words of God. It’s the source, the well that will never run dry, It’s timeless, it’s living, and it’s available to you to right now. Don’t try to fill yourself with Sermon clips, Christian podcasts, Christian radio, Christian movies are all great and inspiring, but they all come from THE source; The Infallible Word of God. Imagine trying to live off of free samples from the grocery store. I walked into Hyvee one time and what do you know? They had free samples. They had pieces of steak with a toothpick. So I grabbed one and mmm😋 it was really good, but I didn’t stop there (I grabbed another 😆) It only took one, so I went to the source. I bought steak, some vegetables, and a box to make mashed potatoes. I cooked it all up, served it to my family and myself. That day dinner was delicious.

So what am I trying to say? For everything and anything go to the Word of God.

If you need answers—Go to the Word of God

If you’re looking for encouragement—Go to the Word of God

If you’re tired of the life you’re are living and you don’t know how to turn things around— Go to the Word of God.

If you don’t know who Jesus is and why came down to earth just to be crucified—Go to the Word of God.

For everything and anything go to the Word of God.

As I wast studying today’s message I thought about …

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV 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.

And I had to pause for a moment because there really is a lot to unpack in just these two verses.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is..

Profitable for doctrine—This is talking about teaching. The Word of God is perfect for teaching. The Word is infallible. It is incapable of error.

Psalm 19:7 NKJV The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Proverbs 30:5 NKJV Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

For Reproof (the what)— This is talking about Rebuking. The Word helps us identify our faultiness or sin. It is the conviction that shows us we have walked off the path.

For Correction (the how)—Through correction the Word rectifies the fault. Because of the Bibles correction we can be restored and get back on track.

For Instruction in Righteousness— This last part can be summed up in one word, TRAINING.

The Bible is a library of information and transformation. (X2) The Word of God is not just a collection of facts, scenarios, and stories of Bible characters, It is the Living Word of God. It teaches, rebukes, corrects, and trains us to carry out God’s purpose for our lives. It’s not enough to just be curious about the Word of God.

Have you ever opened up your Bible📖 (like this)

and then you thought to yourself, “yup this is where God must want me to read.” Or does anybody have a Bible app? Some days we forget to read it, but when we do a lot of us might say I’ve done my duty, I read my Bible for today.

Don’t get me wrong all of these things are great, but you might be …..

2 Timothy 3:7

NKJV always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

It’s not enough just to be curious about the Word of God but …

2 Timothy 3:17 NKJV that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

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2. How To Prepare

Be Intentional in your study of the Word of God. Start off with a prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit for understanding so that His Word becomes something practical and applicable.

As you read the Word Observe what’s going on. What does it say? Read a couple of verses before and a couple of verses after. Begin to build a contextual foundation for what you are reading.

The next step is to Interpret. What does it mean? What does it mean in the given time frame that the story was written in. Was it before Jesus or after Jesus? Was it part of the new covenant or old covenant? Ask God for a little more clarity. And if you're going to use Google make sure to look up credible sources.

And the last step is Application. What does it mean to me? How can I apply what I just learned to my life. The Bible is our instruction manual for today. It was relevant back then as it is completely relevant today and forever will remain relevant in our lives. His Word is timeless. He is unchanging, it is the source of our identity, it provides for us a consistent message of redemption.

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV 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.

Observe the context, Interpret with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and finally apply it to your own life.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 NKJV But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, [15] and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.