ALL IN the Word of God
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Are you in?
Are you in?
I am excited for this study, both for the content and the opportunity we as a church family have to engage with God’s Word together.
As we are talking about being “All In” perhaps the most important place for us to focus is on God’s Word.
We talk a lot about reading the bible, learning the bible, studying the bible…but what is so important about it?
Why is the Word of God so important?
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The Word of God...
The Word of God...
The Word of God...
The Word of God...
1) Is alive and working in us.
1) Is alive and working in us.
1) Is alive and working in us.
1) Is alive and working in us.
“Living and active”
It is not a disconnected story that you can’t relate to.
It is not a dead word or and ineffective word.
Story Book
The Word of God is
The Word of God is LIVING
Though written 2000 years+ ago, it is as true and relevant today as it was then.
Academic Journal
A science book from 1960 would be considered dead today, only a mark of where we were, not where we are.
But God’s Word speaks to us today.
The Word of God is ACTIVE
There is a supernatural activity that God’s Word performs on our minds and hearts.
It is active, at work, revealing, shaping, transforming, and remaking us as we engage with it.
Why else would you sit in a church service a number of times and hear a passage with no affect, and yet one time it seems the pastor has your name written on the top of his notes.
Why is it you can read a passage and a peace or understanding seem to take over.
Why is it when you are talking to someone and you are able to share God’s truth with them and you have no clue where it came from?
It is because the Word of God LIVE and WORKS!
2) Penetrates to the deepest places of our lives.
2) Penetrates to the deepest places of our lives.
3) “Pierces to divide”
3) “Pierces to divide”
“sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing...”
God’s is compared to a sharp, two-edged sword, which would not just piece the skin and ricochet off the bone, but would pierce through the bone into the marrow.
God’s Word will pierce deeply in us to reveal the depths of who we really are.
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
The issue the author is challenging is unbelief.
If you are going to enter the rest of God, you must battle unbelief
We battle unbelief through the Word of God.
“discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
3) Reveals the truth of our thoughts and motives.
3) Reveals the truth of our thoughts and motives.
“discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart…exposed…”
The Word of God opens our eyes to truth.
This is not condemnation, it is good news.
God’s Word reveals, where our thoughts, feeling, actions, motives, and intentions come from.
Each of these things are are rooted in what we believe.
Sin is rooted in unbelief
Righteousness is rooted in belief
The issue the author is challenging is unbelief.
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
If you are going to enter the rest of God, you must battle unbelief
If you are going to enter the rest of God, you must battle unbelief
We battle unbelief through the Word of God.
The Word of God “discerns, judges, the thoughts and intentions of the heart”
3) Powerfully and effectively changes us.
3) Powerfully and effectively changes us.
4)
4)
“all are naked and exposed to the the eyes of him to whom we must give and account.”
Engaging with God Word will change us
It is “Living and Active”
As it cuts to the deepest recesses and reveals our hearts,
It cuts to the deepest places of our hearts
As it cuts to the deepest recesses and reveals our hearts, we are forced to respond as we stand exposed in front of the Lord.
we are forced to respond
In belief or in unbelief
It reveals our thoughts and intentions
In sin or repentance
It exposes us to God
God’s Word has the power to effect change in us.
In submission or denial
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Peter is saying that our conversion as Christians is through the Word of God.
Engaging with the Living Word
Engaging with the Living Word
But the power of the Word of God is not just in salvation, it is in transformation.
When the Word of God is truly heard, and genuinely received into a heart that has been prepared by God, that Word becomes a spiritual seed that produces transformation in our hearts.
“I have read the bible and it hasn’t done anything for me.”
You will not have a profound thought or experience every time you read the Bible.
Every conversation with your best friend is not life changing either, but it is essential to foster a healthy relationship.
The discipline of “engaging” with God’s Word is more important than how much or how often you read.
Our intentions play a huge part the impact of God’s Word.
If you are reading in order for God to be happy with you, then your intentions and motivations are wrong.
You are probably not paying attention to God as much as just checking a box.
You need others to help
I am an out loud thinker, meaning I process my thoughts out loud. I can’t just think quietly or I will explode.
Often the best way for me to understand a passage is to hear someone else talk about it, ask questions about it, or even just read it.
Some of the craziest interpretations of scripture have come from one guy locking himself in a room to study the bible by himself.
Cults and sectarian groups have started like that.
Often the most engaging times in the Word are going to be in community.
The fact remains, ANY engagement with the Word of God opens you up to transformation, empowered by the Spirit.
Engaging with the Living Word
Engaging with the Living Word
1) Get a readable translation.
1) Get a readable translation.
ESV, NIV, NKJV, NLT
Get a bible you can read and understand.
Understand the difference in translations.
2) Find a reading plan.
2) Find a reading plan.
A daily guide for reading that you can follow.
One that guides you throughout the bible.
Something you can track and be held accountable to.
3) Keep a journal for thoughts and questions.
3) Keep a journal for thoughts and questions.
Write out reflections to have from your reading.
Write down questions as you are reading to ask someone or research later.
4) Connect with others in community.
4) Connect with others in community.
The bible was written to communities to read and understand together.
We are not designed to understand God’s Word outside of community.
The church has ALWAYS gathered together to learn and grow with one another.
We need others to answer questions, hold us accountable, and pour out what we are learning.
5) Dive in deep.
5) Dive in deep.
Learn the structure.
Read a commentary or two
Make connections
Memorize and meditate
Are you ALL IN?
Are you ALL IN?
Today we have a tangible way for you to respond.
In the lobby there are sign up sheets for you to plug in with an in home Bible Study Group.
You are already thinking of excuses of why you can’t sign up and I am sure SOME of them are valild
But I want to challenge you to step out in faith, push all your chips to the middle of the table, and to write your name on a sheet THIS WEEK.
This is an opportunity for each of us to engage with God’s Word in community.
It is an opportunity to engage with God’s Word in a way that WILL change you and change US.
Spend the next few moments praying over the sheet in your bulletin for which group you will sign up to be a part of.