Baptist Basics - God's Word
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God’s Word
Deuteronomy 8:3
3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
(Matthew 4:4)
Pray
Why are we doing a series on Baptist Basics?
Basics are critical.
Illustration - The purpose of Spring Football?
Have all your players go over the fundamentals.
HS and College Football Teams all over the country play Spring football, because fundamentals are so important.
Illustration 2, Parents to Children
-You have to go over with your children why keeping their room clean is important, why school is important, why treating each other with respect is important.
When you don’t cover the basics, you lose the basics.
In this Church we are Christ Followers First.
But Second, We are Baptists.
As Christ Followers and Baptists there are doctrinal distinctives that we follow.
There are other Churches, clubs, and organizations that claim Christ who believe differently than we as Baptists do - especially on todays topic of the reliability of God’s Word.
We as Christ Followers and as Baptists believe that every word of the Bible has been spoken by God to the prophets and Apostles and that every word is perfect and accurate.
Transition - Due to the great accuracy of God’s Word the Bible is trustworthy.
1.God’s Word is Trustworthy
I can base my life on God’s Word
Every Word of God is necessary and trustworthy for the Christ Follower.
Illustration/Example - The Bible is a miracle book
The Bible was written by:
40 authors, Most didn’t know each other.
They lived in different centuries, different cultures, some had different philosophies.
Shepherds, fisherman, doctors, kings, and advisers to foreign Kings.
40 distinctly different authors.
These 40 authors wrote the 66 Book of the Bible.
Part of the miracle of the Bible is its unity.
In all of the writings of scripture the Bible is one.
There is a perfect unity that binds the entire book together.
There is a central message in all of scripture that held true through the centuries.
What is that message?
God is constantly bringing Glory to Himself by saving a people for Himself.
Ultimately final Salvation comes through His Son - Jesus.
Through the centuries and despite the difference of the authors there is miracle thread of focus all through the Bible.
God’s Word is Trustworthy.
Transition - We see this great trustworthiness in fulfillment of prophecies.
There are scores of prophecies that have come true exactly to the letter. Some of these prophecies were made 700 years before Jesus birth.
The Prophets said Jesus would:
-Born of a virgin,
-Born in Bethlehem
-Massacre of children would happen at Jesus birth.
-Of David’s line
-From the tribe of Judah
-Spent time in Egypt
-Preach the Good News
-Betrayed
-Heal the blind, deaf, and lame
-Falsely accused.
-Spit on and struck
-Hands and Feet would be pierced
-His bones would not be broken
-Buried with the rich
-Many more specific prophecies that have been fulfilled.
The Word of God shows it’s supernatural perfection through Prophecy.
No other book like the Bible.
It is trustworthy.
You can base you life on God’s Word.
But how do we know that Bible hasn’t changed through the ages as people hand copied it?
One of several ways we know the Bible has stayed true is by looking at the Dead
Dead Sea Scrolls.
In the late 1940’s, A large amount of scrolls were found in caves near the Dead Sea. These scrolls date to about 300 years before Jesus.
-Previously the best scrolls we had were 300 years after Jesus.
-Now we got to compare the Bible from 300+ years before Jesus, 300 years after Jesus and our Bible today.
-We get to see how much it changed. How it has evolved. How people have added to it.
You know what we found?
-Nothing changed. For 2600 years the integrity of God’s word has been miraculous.
-God’s Word keep’s it’s integrity through the centuries because it is a miracle Book from God.
God’s Word us trustworthy.
I can trust God’s Word to feed me - to nourish my soul.
God’s Word spiritually feeds and nourishes us.
Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 - ...“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Look at the logic in the wording, Man shall not live by bread alone, but man SHALL live by every word the comes from God’s mouth.
Your spiritual living, your spiritual life, your spiritual existence comes from the nutrients of God’s Word.
As a baby depends on his mother for nutrients, so the Christ Follower must depend on the Word of God for Spiritual sustenance.
Question - Do you trust in God’s Word and Do you trust in it for your Spiritual sustenance?
Conclusion - The Bible is so trustworthy you can base you life on it.
Transition - So, we know the Scriptures are trustworthy and the Bible is from God.
We are also know this. God’s Word is our Final Authority.
2. God’s Word is my Authority
What does authority mean? God is King and we do what He says.
He commands and we obey.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,
God’s Word is out authority.
We live in a culture where authority is rejected.
Our culture dislikes authority.
Our own flesh pushes for independence.
We see from the 1st sin in the Garden of Eden that humankind has a bent toward our own autonomy.
Even before Adam and Eve had a sin nature, they rebelled by living life by their own wisdom and not the wisdom and guidance of their Maker.
-We want to make our own plans.
-All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.
-We find by our own experience that living by our own wisdom, living our own way leads to spiritual destruction.
A critical part of being a Christ Follower is believing that God has spoken through His Word & following it.
Illustration - Brother in Law and I were an a Mission Trip to the Ukraine. On one of the flights my brother in law sat next to a young woman. He got talking to her about spiritual things. She said she was muslim.
He asked her are you a Muslim (clenched fist)?
Or, Are you a muslim “Iffy hand”.
She would not identify as a Muslim that was strongly committed.
She was more iffy.
You know what he was really asking her?
Are you someone who identifies as a muslim culturally (because of your family or where you were born) , or are you someone who is really committed to your faith?
That is the difference between a real Muslim and a cultural muslim (who is a non-Muslim).
Pause
We see that with Christianity too don’t we.
We have many who claim Christianity, but don’t follow God’s Word.
-For these cultural Christians there is no bowing to God as King,
-There is no passion to following His commands.
My friend, A true Christ Follower is not perfect, but loves the Words of His King.
-A true Christ follower knows the King’s words are wise, loving, meant to guide and be helfpful.
-If you are not making a serious effort to follow the Word of God - you may not have God.
-If God speaking through His word is not the final authority in your life, you need to repent.
-You may not be a Christ Follower.
-And if you are a Christ Follower in rebellion and you do not repent, God will discipline you.
-He will allow your heart and your life to break in a way that causes you to turn to Him.
And if this is you and you need to repent please know this. Every believer in this room has been in your shoes.
-I have had times in my life where God had to bring me to the end of myself before I would listen to Him.
-Can I tell you, it is painful, but God does it out of love.
-Humble your heart now & surrender to Him as your loving King.
Question, Will you follow God and His Word as your authority?
Transition - Not only is God’s Word trustworthy & authoritative, but God’s word is Transformational.
3.God’s Word is alive.
It changes you. It grows you. It causes you to be more like Jesus.
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.
God’s Word is alive. It is active. God’s Word does heart surgery. It changes us.
AND Matt 4:4 Tells us that God’s Word feeds and nourishes us.
What happens when we are not fed and nourished by God’s Word?
-What happens when we starve ourselves from God’s Word?
Example - The same thing that happens to you when you starve yourself physically.
-Division 1 football teams and pro team eat a pre-game meal a few hours before the game. The players are expected to eat several thousand calories each.
-Their energy has to last on an intense level all game long.
-The player who shows up to play and all he had was a bowl of cereal before the game might be good for 1 quarter, but he will run out of fuel. His energy and intensity will lag. He will fail as a player.
The holds true spiritually.
The person who starves themselves spiritual ...
-Gets weak, anemic, physically shrivels, loses muscle mass and strength.
We are incapable of enduring any kind of spiritually demanding situation.
-If you are not feeding yourself spiritually than you will be very susceptible to spiritual failure during difficult spiritual times.
Example-
-And this is why some during the pandemic have fallen away from the Lord.
-Can I tell you. Those who spend time with the Lord. Those who feast on His transforming Word daily. During the difficulty of the pandemic we have seen them grow spiritually.
-While others have fallen away spiritually, those who are feeding themselves daily in their time with God have grown during this trial. Why? Because they have made His word a daily feast.
-Application
Let me ask you...
-How are you feasting on God’s Word?
-Are you reading His Word?
-Are you meditating on His Word?
-Are you listening to His Word?
-Are you taking His Word to heart?
Power of God’s Word to change lives - or the Transformation of God’s Word
Transition - Finally, and quickly, God’s Word shows me how to be saved.
4.God’s Word shows me salvation.
The scriptures tell us this in Romans 10:9
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Are you a Christ Follower?
Like the muslim who was muslim because of where she was born, do you call yourself a Christian because in your mind it’s part of being a country music loving southerner?
or have you given your life over to following Jesus?
Do you fully trust that Jesus paid for your sins, gives you a new identity, and was raised from the dead.
Jesus will change your life?
If you have not given your life to follow Jesus, will you do so right now?
God’s Word leads us to a great salvation in Jesus.
Closing -
Christ Follower -
How are you doing making time reading and meditating on chapters of God’s Word?
How are you doing feasting on the trustworthy word of God?
Will you trust God and His Word?
You can base you life on it.
Pray
