The Assurance of God's Word

Introduction

The Word of God, as we know as the Bible, is the most phenomenal book ever created. It has withstood being destroyed. It has overcome ridicule. It’s words are true, accurate, and totally reliable. It is hands down the best book we could ever read, study, or meditate in it. It is the Book of life for life! It is our instruction manual for humanity. Last week we saw it gives us truth and we were able to build a case for it, see the character in it, and ultimately how the the Word of God points to the Christ in whom we can find forgiveness and the redemption of sins!

We heard the words of the prayer of Jesus in John 17:17:

John 17:17 NIV84

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

This week we are going to look at the assurance of God’s Word. Again, looking at a passage from John’s Gospel, we will see how the emphasis of the Bible points to Christ and from these verses, we will see how the Bible is relevant, revealing, renewing and right.

Jesus has been teaching His disciples and the crowd. He has just fed the 5000 with five barley loaves and two small fish. The Bible tells us there in John 6 that the 5000 were fed and there were twelve baskets of barley loaves that were leftover. Jesus knows that the crowd is looking for more miraculous signs and want to make Him king by force. Knowing this is not God’s plan, Jesus withdraws from the crowd to a mountain by Himself. The disciples get in a boat and set sail for Capernaum without Jesus. The Bible says that a strong wind began to blow and the waters grew rough. They were three and a half miles out to sea when they saw Jesus walking towards them on the water. He gives them the comforting words, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” They took Jesus into the boat and immediately reached their destination. The crowd had watched the disciples get into the boat and knew that Jesus had not gotten in the boat with them. So when they saw Him on the other side of the lake they were a bit perplexed.

John 6:25–35 NIV84

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

The Word of God makes know the work of God. We can have great assurance in God’s Word to make known to us what the work of God should be. I love that word assurance. It means “a statement or indication that inspires confidence.” It is a guarantee or a pledge. In other words, it can be counted on as truth and counted on to provide direction and hope. Today, as we continue the series called “It is Written,” we will see the assurance of God’s Word and the fact that is relevant, it is revealing, it is renewing and it is right.

It is Relevant

Many today believe that the Bible is an ancient book that is certainly no longer relevant to today’s society. If that were the case, then God would have contradicted Himself. God’s word is everlasting and knows nothing about being irrelevant.

Isaiah 40:8 NIV84

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

The Word of God knows no time. It has no beginning nor end, therefore it is forever. And because it is, it is relevant to us each and every day. That reminds me that the Word of God is also relevant because it is fresh.

Lamentations 3:22–23 NIV84

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

What a promise from God’s Word! By the way, that promise comes from a book that was relevant to the times in which it was written which was 586 B.C. That’s a promise that is over 2500 years, and it is still relevant!

God’s Word is relevant also because it is fitting.

Psalm 147:1 NIV84

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

We simply respond to God by being confident that He says who He says He is! How fitting it is to praise Him!

What a Mighty God we have and we can be assured in the relevance of His Word.

It is Revealing

I find it very interesting that while the Word of God is relevant, it is revealing. It reveals to me the love that God has form me, that what I was still a sinner, Christ died for me!

Romans 5:8 NIV84

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

There were many since the day of Christ living and being on this earth that have claimed they were the Christ. For example. after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, we learn about a false teacher named Theudas came along.

Acts 5:36 NIV84

Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.

I love the way this affirms God’s word as it is revealed to us. Affirm means to state or assert positively and to maintain as true. Something cannot be affirmed if it is false. False teachers will come to nothing. They may make some noise and they may even make us doubt. However, when it is all said and done, the Word of God revealed to us always affirms itself.

In that affirmation, there is also acknowledgement. To acknowledge is to affirm with some guts. It is recognizing the existence, truth, or fact of that which has been affirmed. An example of this in scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 14:37.

1 Corinthians 14:37 NIV84

If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.

A true test of one who claims to follow scripture is one that acknowledges that scripture is from God. There are so many things these days that claim to have insight from God. I saw a thing the other day about the bracelet that someone claimed to be from God. When the person wore the bracelet, they experienced great wealth, success and prosperity. However, when they did not, they lost everything. So they got another bracelet, put it on and immediately got back all they had lost. Now that is quite compelling, but the thing that made me raise my eyebrow was that the promoter said is was a gift from God. So for $19.95 plus shipping and handling, you could have this wealth producing bracelet. The only problem is that there is nothing in God’s word that says “wear a certain type of bracelet and you will get wealth.” The Word of God reveals through acknowledging and it is quite clear. Therefore, we can understand that the Word of God will also announce what is revealed.

I had a friend that died recently who was a phenomenal communicator of God’s Word. One sermon he preached, was on the different translations of the Bible. He said there was one Bible that announced God’s word better than any other. In fact it made God’s word loud and clear. Got any idea which translation he mentioned? It was the AMPLIFIED Bible.

Isaiah 42:9 NIV84

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Because God reveals His word to us, we can be assured of how it be used in our lives.

It is Renewing

Part of that assurance comes through our being renewed. I grew up watching my Dad fix things. If something was broken, Dad had an incredible way of renewing it by repairing it. It may have needed a new part or two, but when it was repaired, it was as good as new. Nehemiah chapter 3 is one of the greatest chapters in the Old Testament. It paints the picture and details how the wall of Jerusalem in repaired. Different families and tribes worked together in the instruction and ordinances of the command of God. What a beautiful illustration of how God makes little repairs to make us complete.

In my life when I have completed a repair, I feel revived. Our country needs a revival. Our church needs a revival. I am not talking about a week long meeting of preaching and teaching, I am talking about our hearts being renewed because we have read and studied God’s word and therefore changed our attitudes. By the way, if we change our attitude we will change or altitude!

The Word of God tells about being renewed through being revived in many places.

Psalm 19:7 NIV84

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The prophet Hosea actually gave us an order of how God’s word renews us. He said in Hosea 6:2:

Hosea 6:2 NIV84

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

We can have the assurance of God’s Word because the prophecy of Hosea did come to fruition. Jesus suffered a criminal’s death for the sins of you and me. He hung on a cross, nailed and naked, as He suffered and died. He could have said, “That’s enough, I have paid for their sins.” But He did more. He restored us completely to a Holy God so now we can live in His presence.

We have the assurance of God’s word because it is renewing. Aren’t you glad?

It is Right

Yet, we can be assured of God’s word because it is right.

Psalm 33:4 NIV84

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

That is not a political statement. It is a moral statement. I saw driving through our town this week, a pickup truck with a flag advertising the political right. The flag had very offensive language on it and I was appalled that someone thought it was ok to wave such an offensive banner. I could not help but think that person would show up this morning in a local church. However, I wonder if he would remove his offensive flag or if that church would rally behind it. There is right, and there is wrong. The Bible clearly helps us understand that and how to apply it in our daily lives.

The Bible gives us insight into what is proper, purposeful and what should take precedent. I have lumped all these together to make this one point. We have the assurance of God’s word to do what is right, and what is right is simply this:

Romans 13:9 NIV84

The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Do you love your neighbor as yourself? How can you do it any better? You can do just that by and through the assurance of God’s Word. The Bible tells me that this blessed assurance comes to me through Jesus. What does it tell you?