Online Church - God Wrote A Book

Intro:

Me - I want us to take a look at the text found in 2 Timothy. Speaking of text, I left the office the other day on my way to the grocery store. I received a text. It read…

Please pick up some dog food on your way home

Cheryl and I are constantly texting each other and she knew I was going to the grocery store. So I text back…

Heading to grocery now when did we get a dog?

The reply came back…

Thought you were working till 9pm and dog ?

Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t Cheryl on the other end! Mark, how could you not have known it wasn’t Cheryl?

Foundational to my faith is the text of scripture.

When we strip away everything else we find that the Bible is foundational to our faith. The Holy Spirit reveals to us a relational, redemptive God that through Jesus’ finished work at the cross we can now live a life of purpose.

We – We should value the Bible and it should detail and direct our lives but stats reveal something completely different.

A Barna Research Group survey reports that only 10% of Christians in America read the Bible at least weekly. Even that number is probably high because the next question asked did you read it last week? Most people that stated they read the Bible weekly didn’t read it last week.

Arg: Mark, maybe they don’t have a Bible. Really, the average American owns multiple Bibles and has online access to unlimited more. There are 180,000 copies of the Bible sold or distributed daily in the world.

We have to understand the enemy’s strategy. I believe in the past Satan tried to destroy the Bible. I believe now that the enemy is attempting, with great success, to downplay the power and purpose of the Bible in our individual lives.

Let me ask some questions…

Do we truly treasure God book?

Do we fully grasp the value of God’s written Word to us?

Would our perspective be different if we were in the Book on a more consistent and systematic bases?

Would life have more meaning, more power and more purpose?

God: This is not a new struggle. The seasoned, experienced Paul is reminding young Timothy of the value of God’s Book in . Timothy, a pastor, was faced with uncertainty, problems and frustrations. Paul reminds him that the problems are not going to go away. Paul emphasizes the value and victory found in God’s Word. His solution and peace will not come from trying to get the Word into all of these messed up circumstances or the culture. The answer is found in getting the Word into and lived out through Christians.

Because God wrote a Book; Timothy needed it, He needed to read it and he needed to heed it.

I want to remind you that God wrote a book!

Bottom Line - Because He wrote it; I need it, I need to read it and I need to heed it.

Trans: If you are like me then you need to be reminded of these facts! Every Christian should apply 3 revelations that will re-emphasize the role of God’s Word in our lives.

Revelation #1: The Word Of God Reveals The Wonder Of God, So I Need It

16 All Scripture is inspired by God…

16 All Scripture is inspired by God…

2 Timothy 3:16 NLT

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Ex: Just a casual reading of the Bible should cause us to have admiration and be in awe of our wonderful God. Scripture shows us our tremendous need for transformation. God inspired all scripture.

INSPIRED = God breathed out.

It is a metaphor for speaking the words of Scripture. God spoke the word of the Bible and used human agents to write down the Words.

App: Here is the bottom line. The book we hold in our hand does not just contain the words of God it is the Word of God. Paul and Peter along with 38 other authors of the Bible would affirm that the 39 books of the OT and the 27 books of the NT reveal a God of wonder. The same breath that spoke the world into existence, that breathed life into man also breathed the Words of the Bible. I stand in wonder of my creator and that reveals my need for the contents of my Bible. I need it!

Bottom Line - Because He wrote it; I need it, I need to read it and I need to heed it.

Trans – The Word Of God Reveals The Wonder Of God, So I Need It…

Revelation #2: The Word Of God Reveals The Work Of God, So I Need To Read It

…and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

2 Timothy 3:16 NLT

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

2 Timothy 3:16

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:16

true....realize, corrects, teaches

Ex: Remember the context of this passage. Paul is writing Timothy. Timothy is in a world gone wrong. He expresses the need to allow the Word of God to do the Work of God. That he needed to continue to get the Word into himself before he tried to get the Word into his circumstances.

The Word of God is inspecting, correcting and directing my life.

Bottom Line - Because He wrote it; I need it, I need to read it and I need to heed it.

Trans – (1) The Word Of God Reveals The Wonder Of God, So I Need It. It also (2) Reveals The Work Of God, So I Need To Read It…

Revelation #3: The Word Of God Reveals The Will Of God, So I Need To Heed It

17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Ex: God’s will for Timothy’s life was to be prepared and equipped to heed everything that God created and purposed him to do.

Do you know what God’s will is for my life? To be prepared and equipped to heed everything that God created and purposed my to do.

Do you know what God’s will is for your life? To be prepared and equipped to heed everything that God created and purposed you to do.

God’s will for me is not to do the best I can and hope everything turns out okay. God wants me to be like Jesus! He is preparing and equipping me and using His Word to form me into a man of God. Heeding God’s Word is a hugely relational process. The Words on paper are just the menu, God is the meal. It is a relational commission not a one man show. God works through me to accomplish His will for my life.

But I just can’t need and read the Word I have to heed the word. James, the half-brother of Jesus, in his practical letter writes…

App – God’s desire and our destiny is to do His will. This can’t happen a part from us heeding the Word of God. Every time you hear or read a Word from God He is trying to mold and make you into the person He wants you to be. That the purpose of the Book! God didn’t give it to us for just information He wants transformation.

Every time you sit down with your Bible and a pen and paper to read do not get up until you have something to heed from God. Every time you come to church walk out of here and heed the Word of God.

Bottom Line - Because He wrote it; I need it, I need to read it and I need to heed it.

Trans – (1) The Word Of God Reveals The Wonder Of God, So I Need It. It also (2) Reveals The Work Of God, So I Need To Read It. Finally it (3) Reveals The Will Of God, So I Need To Heed It.

Conc - The old and simple adage is true,

“This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”

My goal was to re-emphasize the role God’s Word plays in our lives and how we need to apply three revelations from Paul’s words to Timothy.

I honestly believe that the enemy wants us to downplay the Bible and it role in our lives or distract us with other good biblical things.

I think that getting the Bible back IN public schools would be a good thing. I think that the Bible should be IN governmental decisions. I think that the Bible should be IN culture. BUT I think

God’s priority is to get the Bible IN Christians.

That is why at BCC we will teach biblical truth on the weekends. We will produce TIO Guides and Daily QTs because we need to get God’s Word into us!

Prayer

Closing Comments

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Walk Thru The Bible (Sat Jan 27) (Spring BBI OT Survey)