The Healthy Church Loves God's Word

OPEN - , “Speak Jesus”

Speak any foreign languages? Need to learn and practice to do it well.

To many, speaking Jesus is just as foreign

QUESTION: Do you love God’s Word? Really, not a rhetorical question.

QUESTION: How can a believer NOT love it, embrace it, be in awe of it?

Through Scripture, God has been linked to His children through His Word. Spoken and Inspiration-driven Written.

He expected, and still expects it to be central to life.

- OT example

and - NT examples

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God - :17

The WORD is of central importance - OR IS IT?

Too many Christians, churchgoers, simply do not know the Bible

How do we expect them to live it, if they don’t know it?

(Knowledge puffs us, )

“Churches today are filled with children who have never grown up to be adults” (Chan)

We need to grow, mature, and it starts with the Word

So…to be Healthy, How Should We Interact with the Word? is our main theme today.

1) Trust it.

Bible = God’s Word = TRUE (v. 151); the sum total of it is true (v. 160)

We are to BELIEVE God’s Word (v. 66); Word is RELIABLE (v. 42)

ALL of it is true - every word, all fully authoritative (God inspired it that way)

2) Study it. (beyond trusting it, be a student of it)

LEARN it (v. 73)

MEMORIZE it (153) - we should develop a monthly memorization plan

If it’s all really true (and it is), we are to be diligent studiers of it

“Thy Word is a lamp...” good, but dig deeper, let His word dwell, richly dwell,

Believers are commanded to know it, so we must study it to know it -

No OSMOSIS - Bible under the pillow

You say you want to know it, but you can’t, you don’t know how, you’re not smart enough - WRONG!

3) Use it. (from trusting, to study, and once you know it, USE it)

People think they follow, do good and some “right” things

But lack wisdom, fail to incorporate God’s Word into the action

Many don’t share, b/c they don’t really know, or they are unsure - people need our goodness, but more than that, they NEED JESUS, and we need to tell them. It starts when we USE God’s Word.

God’s Word is so useful

Counsels us (v. 24)

Strengthens us (v.28)

Source of life (v. 156)

So if we live (and we ARE alive), it must be according to God’s Word

Learn it, so you can use it

Use it, so you can teach it to the next generation

- His Word is all-sufficient, every situation

Can turn to God in His Word, and ask for help - the answers to all we need are there

His Word is ALIVE - powerful, active -

4) Be Excited by it.

God’s Word should prompt EMOTION

example - fear vs. perfect love

Rejoice over it (v. 162)

APPLYING THIS TODAY: Some use Bible like medicine, have to take it when you’re sick (mechanical)

Then we expect an “instant” fix

When we are sick, we take medicine, and then stop when we feel better - often the Bible is used no more than that, because people are not excited about its power

Fail to recognize God at work in His Word!

PERHAPS - more like regular healthy diet, PLAN to be healthy, and then work and stay at it

(This is a missing piece for Christians today)

IF YOU LOVE GOD, YOU LOVE HIS WORD

It’s how He reveals Himself to us, over and over, and we naturally grow closer

Can’t guilt people into immersing in the Word, it’s just what people who know God, who hear His voice, do

5) Obey it. (The others all lead to this one)

(Trust, Study, Use, Be excited by, and then OBEY)

For what reason?

A) Love for God (from God’s perspective, life is much better when we obey, His Word is for OUR good)

Love, based on what He’s done:

Salvation - How do we know? (From His Word, we trust, study…)

Gospel message - His Word takes us from Creation to Crucifixion - READ it

Some really need this part, and it takes a trust in His Word

Sanctification (life as a Disciple) (We use His Word, and are excited by it…)

His Word takes us from the Resurrection to Creation

READ IT - it’s how we live through this life

B) Jesus was obedient to the Word - fulfilling the Law

So we could live by faith

His perfection is imputed to us, we trust Him and claim Him as Savior and Lord

ALL THIS - So next generation can follow

Babel - 3 generations after Flood

US - it only takes 1 generation (and there is a generation missing in the church today)

Our children’s ministries are CRUCIAL (we need re-boot, re-start)

Parents need to teach this

We must know it to teach it - and not be children ourselves, but grown-ups

This has always be supremely important, for parents to learn and pass it down

ME, PERSONALLY - I will promise to make sure you have opportunity to learn God’s Word, as much as the church can do - This is God’s demand for me, and I take it very seriously

Practically Speaking - HOW?

Read, let’s start there

September - Gospels in 30 days

October - December, NT in 90 days, chronologically

15 minutes a day (72 hours for all Bible, 15 minutes = 288 days)

Re-read - never stop, actually

- Study. Why? To be useful, and so you can “rightly divide”

Lots of FALSE out there; you can’t know the lie/false if you don’t know the truth (and don’t just believe me)

- Bereans

15 MINUTES - REALLY, WHAT ELSE IS MORE IMPORTANT

Churches today - filled with children who have never decided to grow up

People have sat in church for 10, 20, 30 years, and have never learned or been taught the basics

Plenty of blame - BUT…It’s time we grow up, grow healthy!

NT - believers were expected to, it was assumed they had working knowledge of Scripture

Paul’s last words of writing, to Timothy in - PREACH THE WORD

He trusted Timothy to TRUST, STUDY, USE, BE EXCITED BY, and OBEY God’s Word - and teach it

God has entrusted me, you, the CHURCH, to do the same

A Healthy Church Loves the Word

Do you? Do we?

Speak Jesus

Trust Jesus, Study Jesus, Use Jesus (let Him be your strength), Be Excited by Jesus, Obey Jesus

Then…SPEAK JESUS!