"Your Word Oh Lord....."

Open with ordination service with Tabitha Webb.

What all has happened from last week at this same time, until this morning? Or to be more specific, from the time that we last assembled together a week ago today and until this morning, what has happened within the Kingdom of Heaven around us?

Did we see miracles and signs and wonders taking place around us?

How many new names were recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life this past week that we know of?

How many broken people/broken lives did we see restored through our prayers and witness this past week?

In what way did my life or your life impact the Kingdom of God, over the course of the past week?

How was the Kingdom of God bettered by our existence within it over these last seven days?

You may have heard the statement before, “The world was a better place because he/she was in it.”

Well, the thought and the thus the question that I ask today is this, “How, or why is the Kingdom of God a better place because we are a part of it?”

What is our mark, our legacy that we are leaving to those who come behind us, in terms of Kingdom significance?

And I do not mean this in any way, shape, form, or fashion in an arrogant manner, as if you or I can actually improve God’s realm, or His existence, just because we are in it!

What I mean is this. The Bible tells us in , that God created us for His glory.

Everyone say, “I WAS CREATED FOR GOD’S GLORY!”

In we read, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Then in , “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ..”

So, putting these passages together, we can see that God created us to bring Him glory! And in EVERYTHING that you and I do,(as His children), we should be doing it for Him and to glorify Him, (to be pleasing in His sight), AND it should be the deepest desire of our heart and soul to do it to the absolute best of our ability, because in everything that we do, we are doing it to please God and honor and glorify Him!

And it is not solely through us that we find God being glorified. The scriptures also tell us, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

Even the heavens around us and the beauty of skies are screaming out that there is a God who created them and all for His GLORY! And every time the atheists and agnostics and Christians and every other religion in the world, looks up into the night sky and gazes at its beauty, they are glorifying God and don’t even realize it!

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Because His creation is so amazing, it captures the hearts and minds of men and prompts them to write about it, sing about it and paint pictures of it and all the while, their spirit is screaming out, “DON’T YOU SEE HIM? GOD MADE THIS!”

And even Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, reveals the Truth of our Lord to us, so as to glorify Jesus and His Father! , “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

So, basically, everything that God has done througout creation, was for demonstrating His GLORY!

So, we are a part of the Kingdom of God, as believers, and everything that we do and say is supposed to bring Him glory, right?

That is our overall goal in the kingdom.

The famed Westminster Shorter Catechism offers this profound statement, as derived from scriptures, “ Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

OK, so if we have the understanding of why we were put here, then it makes it a little easier to give an answer to my question from a minute ago of:

“What all has happened from last week at this same time, until this morning, from a Kingdom perspective?”

“How, or why is the Kingdom of God a better place because we are a part of it?”

“What is our mark, our legacy that we are leaving to those who come behind us, in terms of Kingdom significance?”

Were there new names added to the kingdom role this past week?

Did signs and wonders and miracles happen this past week around us?

Did we see broken lives restored through the sharing of the gospel message?

The only thing that we ultimately can do to enhance the Kingdom of God, is to yield our lives to serving Him and allow His name to be GLORIFIED through everything that we do with our lives!

And this is something that I have mulled over in my mind for the past few days.

If I want to see these things taking place.........if I want to see more and more souls being brought into the Kingdom, if I want to walk in the full authority and power of Holy Spirit and see miracles and signs and wonders taking place all around me. If I want to see this city and county radically saved and set on fire for God and revival in the land taking place..........BASICALLY, if I want to see God glorified through my life, then WHAT DO I NEED TO DO OR CHANGE IN ORDER FOR THIS TO HAPPEN?

Well, if I desire to see God glorified through my life, then I must first desire to see more of God in my life. And if I desire to see more of God in my life, then how do I make this happen?

What changes need to take place......what needs to be cut loose and what needs to be embraced more closely?

And in asking these questions, the most simplistic and straight forward answer of all became clear to me.

God says in the book of James, that if we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.

So, if I desire more of God in my life, He is saying, “I am just waiting on you” and thus I must go after Him!

And the route to God, the path that leads to His presence, the gait, the doorway that I must walk through and remain within to be closer and closer to God, is none other than Jesus the Christ!

In fact, in the book of James, as I just quoted from, says this of our existence within the Kingdom, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

The Word of Truth, is Jesus, Himself!

Jesus declared in , “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:6–7 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

John 1:1–3 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is the WAY to God, He is the LIFE found within God and He is the TRUTH about God and His presence!

says,

John 1:1–2 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

Jesus is the WORD of God and He is the TRUTH of God!

And it is by the Word of Truth that God has brought us forth into His Kingdom, according to .

So, if Jesus is the ONLY way to God and Jesus is the living WORD of God, then what is the vehicle that gets me there and what is the binding source that sustains me and feeds me and helps to keep me there in God’s presence?

THE WORD, the BIBLE!

Now I know that there are those who are hearing this message right now and whose minds are instantly thinking something like, “This is not revelatory! I already know that we should read our Bibles!”

You’re exactly right. I dare say, most any Christian will acknowledge the benefit of the Bible, or the need for it in their lives, for spiritual health!

Yet, consider this. We all know that eating lots of sweets, and fried foods and chips and sodas and pretty much all fast foods are not healthy for our physical bodies and that a balanced diet and exercise are needed for our natural, physical health, RIGHT?

Well, how many of us can say that we stick to this recipe for health, in out natural, physical bodies, on a consistent and regular basis, even though we KNOW that it is right and necessary?

Even though we can see and measure the results of our decisions for our health, we still do not do as we should. (At least not consistently!)

Well, how much more easy then do you think that it is to NOT do something that we can’t measure and tangibly and visibly observe (our faith and walk with the Lord), that is built through feeding on the BREAD OF LIFE, the LOGOS, JESUS CHRIST, the living, breathing WORD OF GOD?!!!!!!

DO you see what I am saying?

If we don’t do what we know is right, in the natural/physical state, that which we can observe and measure, how much easier is it then, to NOT DO what we can’t see and observe in the spiritual aspect of our lives?

It is like the apostle Paul said in , “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”

Consider this statistic from this past July, in the most recent Barna study on the state of the Bible in this country.

Overall, about half of Americans are “Bible users”—that is, they engage with the Bible on their own by using, listening to, watching, praying or using Bible text or content in any format (not including use at a church service). THIS SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD, RIGHT? I mean, about half of Americans are “Bible users”........WOW!

Then you look at what this means and it changes - “Bible users” refers to those who engage the Bible at least three to four times a year (48%).

How in this world can the Body of Christ thrive and spread the gospel message and be able to make a defense for the reason for the hope that exists within them, if they are only cracking the Bible’s covers, 3-4 times/year?!!!!!

Now, one area that continues to thrive in the realm of Bible interaction, is that of electronic media (i.e. smartphones and tablets).

In fact, this past year, the YouVersion Bible app for phones and tablets, was downloaded over 300 million times!

Every second of last year: the Bible app was opened 144 times per second, 532 chapters were read per second, 10.8 verses were shared per second, 1.2 plans were completed per second and 42.3 highlights were created per second!

And I love that this kind of tool is available to allow the average Christian to always have the Bible available at the fingertips when needed! AMEN?!!!

But still, flipping open an app and spending a few minutes reading a plan so as to check the DONE box, is not quite the same as getting into and really READING and STUDYING the Bible!

Because, many times, (not every time, but many), this is done for convenience sake, where we have pushed our time with God and in His word, to the bare minimum and the mobile app is all that we can do!

And this is what I am wanting to stress to you this morning. Developing a hunger and a desire for the living, breathing, WORD of GOD!

This is not a book. (Pick up BIBLE and hold it)

This is a book. (Hold up a book)

I can read this book 100 times and I will know the outcome and have the same resulting feelings at the conclusion of it.

I pick up and read the Bible and it speaks to me differently each time, depending on what Holy Spirit is trying to teach me, or remind me of.

A book is the works of mankind for mankind. It is inspired by men, written by men for other men and its end result leaves the reader with some sense of accomplishment and joy, (hopefully), for having finished it.

The Bible, in contrast, was penned by 40 different authors, over the span of about 1,600 years (with many of the co-writers never knowing each other, or having any knowledge of the others) and yet it is consistently accurate throughout all of its doctrine and without contradiction.

The Bible is the most sought after and most read book in the world. Look at this study that was done a few years ago. (SHOW SLIDE) IF you look you can see that "Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung" came in second with 820 million copies sold, and "Harry Potter" came in third with 400 million copies sold, but over the last 50 years, the Bible has sold over 3.9 BILLION copies!

Interestingly enough, the Bible is also the most shoplifted book around the world, from different online sources that I viewed.

Hopefully the people that stole the Bibles end up reading Exodus 20:15 that says, “Thou shalt not steal”!

The Bible, was penned by men, but not written by nor inspired by men.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God” and then penned by men.

A book my get in your head, but, “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” of the reader!

And whenever I hear someone share about a book that they have read and say something like, “This book totally changed my life”, I am like, “WOW! Wait until you get a hold of the Bible man. Or rather, wait until the Bible gets a hold of you!”

There is nothing else like the Bible, PERIOD! It has perplexed and inspired the greatest minds in every generation. Atheists and believers alike discuss it and read it!

In fact listen to this, “Larry King, the iconic television host, was interviewing American philosopher, educator, editor, Mortimer Adler. Adler was the Editor-in-Chief of the Great Books of the Western World.” A 52-volume collection that is recognized as one of the most significant publishing feat in history.

It is a collection of 517 essay’s representing the most significant achievements in literature, history, philosophy, and science. On any theme you can find out what any of the great thinkers, philosophers or writers had to say about a particular topic.

Larry King asked, “Mr. Adler, I was looking through the Great Books of the Western World to which you were the Editor-In-Chief. Can you tell me why the longest essay is on God? Great themes history, law, ethics, knowledge all of this, but God is the longest essay in your compilation. Can you tell me why?”

Mortimer Adler did not hesitate for a moment. He said, “Larry, it’s very simple. More consequences for your life follow from that one issue than any other issue you can think of. What you believe or disbelieve in God has everything to do with how you live, why you live, how you orchestrate your life and what your values are.”

Mortimer Adler did not hesitate for a moment. He said, “Larry, it’s very simple. More consequences for your life follow from that one issue than any other issue you can think of. What you believe or disbelieve in God has everything to do with how you live, why you live, how you orchestrate your life and what your values are.”

Speaking of Larry King, allow me to introduce you to another Larry right now.

Show Larry the Cactus picture!

This is our cactus, Larry the Cactus. (Technically, it is our youngest daughter’s cactus, which she named!)

Larry, has the tendency to begin to droop and fall over and that is why you see the chopsticks standing there that he leans on.

However, we have found, that when you keep Larry the Cactus in a direct source of light, he will stand up straight in the face of the light.

If he is leaning to one side and you place him in direct light, then he will begin to straighten up and lean towards the light!

The light is the source of strength that holds and sustains Larry the Cactus.

We, as Christians, are just like Larry. We need to be exposed to and standing directly in the LIGHT at all times, so that we are healthy and spiritually straight and upright and with our heads lifted towards God in heaven!

Jesus, is the LIGHT of the world and as long as we stay in Him (a.k.a. abiding in HIS WORD) and His glorious presence, then we are spiritually healthy and able to walk upright in this world, because our spirit is drawn towards the Light of the World and within it, we find our strength!

In fact, in the middle of the Bible, within the longest chapter of the Bible, , (which is incidentally about the blessings of loving the Word of God), we read that God’s word is “lamp to our feet and a light to our path!”

tells us that, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Where else can we go for our strength and our eternal life, but to Jesus, the Word of God!

Where else can we go for our strength, but to Jesus, the Word of God!

In fact, it was Peter, in , that said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.”

Just something interesting that came to me this morning as I was reading over this and writing some.

John, is the 4th gospel in the Bible. The number 4 refers to “creation”, Biblically speaking.

The opening verses of John starts with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

The 4th gospel, (4 referring to “creation”) starts out talking about the creation and says that the Word of God is the Creator!

Something else that caught my attention as I was reading the passage in early this morning, of Peter’s declaration that Jesus’ words give eternal life, is this.

Look in with me, if you will, or just look up at the screen.

John 6:66–68 NLT

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.

I never noticed before, until this morning, that this passage starts off with those who turned away from Jesus.

Coincidentally, this passage about those who turned from Jesus, is !

Now this is a coincidence, as chapters and verses that we recognize, did not come into play for centuries after this passage was penned by John, who, coincidentally enough, was the apostle whom the Lord gave the vision and the words of the book of Revelation and the number 666!

Can I share one more interesting thing dealing with the number 66 and Bible with you?

There are 66 books of the canonized Bible that we have. There are 66 chapters in the book of Isaiah.

Interestingly enough, there are 39 chapters in the Old Testament and 27 chapters in the New Testament in the Bible.

Well, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah speak much of judgement and the last 27 chapters speak much of reconciliation and redemption.

Much like the 39 books of the OT deal with judgement and law and the 27 books of the NT speak of salvation and GRACE!

The amazing says much about the “word of the Lord”.

The Word of the Lord stands firm, eternal in the heavens.

The Word of the Lord revives the reader and build them back up.

The Word of the Lord encourages us when we are in sorrow.

The Word of the Lord restores our lives after grief and loss.

The Word of the Lord is our source of joy and our source of hope.

The Word of the Lord becomes the light that guides us and shows us the direction that we take in our walk with the Lord.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in , .

Psalm 119:9 ESV

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

Psalm 119:11 ESV

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

The only way that we can keep our lives heading in the path of righteousness, is if we read and study and follow the Word of God!

The Bible is standard we live are to live by, it is the plum line that we use in building our lives. It is what we are to set everything in our lives in accordance with: our marriages, our children, our jobs, our ministries, our churches, our governments, our money, our talents, our prayers, our heart, soul and minds.

Use illustrations by Ravi Zacharias on aligning with an immovable object (the moving car and the clockmaker)

Use illustration of Bill Johnson and the preacher who was told to cut the 100 2x4’s to 8’ lengths. Bill said that for 2000 years we have been using the previous generations as the standard of measure for the current generation, instead of Jesus, the Word of God!

The Bible is the most precious gift that we hold in our physical possession.