The Next Awakening - Loving Scripture more

One of my prayers as I prepare and as I preach each week is that God would make His Word alive and exciting for you. Scripture is much more than just helpful stories and sayings we can hang our hat onto. Scripture is truth. Scripture is a glimpse into the character of God - how much he loves His creation and how much He despises sin. I heard someone say - If you want to hear God speak to you, read His word.

We are at #3 on Jonathan Edward’s list of signs of true revival. He wrote this list for the church to be able to differentiate between a true work of God and something that might be an attempt at imitation. Edwards was preaching in Massachusetts when revival in the church broke out and then the awakening of the culture around them. Tens of thousands came to Christ and hundreds of churches were planting in New England during this time.

Here is this list:

When esteem for the true Jesus is raised

When Satan’s kingdom is attacked (sin and worldly lusts)

When people come to love Scripture more

When men are led away from falsehood to truth (sound doctrine)

When there is an increase of love to God and man

Today we’ll take a journey through God’s Word and sample some passages from both the Old and New Testament to see the benefits of God’s Word. Then we’ll take a brief passage and I’ll give you a quick overview of a way to study God’s Word. We’ll do this in the order it appears in the Bible - First passage Joshua 1:8-9

Joshua 1:8–9 NIV

8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Moses who led the nation of Israel out of Egypt is dead. Joshua is now the leader. God speaks to him and encourages him to remain firm in the instructions God had given Moses - to do everything written in the Law. Then God tells Joshua that he is to not fear because God will be with him. It starts with the word, and from the word comes confidence that God is with us and we don’t need to fear.

Let’s turn to Psalms…1

Psalm 1:1–3 NIV

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

Can you see the picture in your mind of a tree that is feed and watered by a life giving stream? That is us when we plant ourselves in His word. We are a strong fruit bearing tree. We prosper in our walk with Him.

In Joshua, the Word gives us courage, now the Word makes us fruitful…turn to Psalm 119...

This entire chapter is about loving God’s Word, His Law, His precepts, His commands. If you like homework, read this Psalm all the way through each day this week. I’ll just read a few verses starting in verse 97...

Psalm 119:97–100 NIV

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.

God’s Word gives us wisdom and understanding. Psalm 119 is pretty much a thank you letter to the Lord for providing the Law. Is that how you feel about God’s Word?

The Bible gives us Courage, makes us fruitful, gives us wisdom, turn now to the New Testament book of John, chapter 8.

John 8:31–32 NIV

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Most translations say word instead of teaching, but it is the same meaning - the things that Jesus spoke to us. If we will hold on to them and be disciples, we’ll know the truth and be free.

I think there are times in the Christian church’s history where we have made Christianity about rules and regulations. Without realizing it, the church leaders traded one form of bondage for another. People became so obsessed with checking boxes that they may have missed what it means to be a follower of Christ.

The more I read God’s word, the more I realize just how much he loves us and how much I love Him. This love doesn’t make me want to obey rules, it makes me want to spend time with Him. As I spend time with Him, the rules aren’t the focus, He is. When He is the focus, the rules just seem to be followed.

I’m starting to get into wood working a little more. One of the keys to woodworking is to cut straight lines. I have drawn a line on a piece of plywood with a straight edge and then tried to follow the line with my jigsaw. My complete focus is the line. Unfortunately, it is not easy to control a jigsaw and cut straight. It’s just like trying not to sin when only looking at the law.

But if I take the time to put a guide along the line and just rest my saw against that guide, stay touching the guide with the saw, the line is straight. When I use the guide, my focus is not the straight line, but I can check the line every so often to see that I am in the right spot. There is a freedom to just cut that isn’t there when I don’t have the guide.

God’s Word gives us courage, makes us fruitful, gives us wisdom, and freedom…two more passages…Turn to Hebrews 4

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God’s word exposes our intentions. I hope this doesn’t discourage you. We all have work to do in the area of intentions or motivations. It takes time for our thoughts and attitudes to change. The more we are in God’s Word, the quicker this change happens. As with most change, it can be uncomfortable, we may even resist, but there is payoff in the change - Courage, fruitfulness, wisdom, freedom…This is the result of loving scripture more.

I remember when I got my first pocket New Testament from a Gideon standing on the sidewalk outside of my high school in 9th grade. It was orange and he handed it to me as I was getting on the bus. (The Gideons will be presenting on November 28th)

I opened it up and tried to read it, but I had a hard time knowing where to start or even what I was reading. If you feel that way, you really need to sit with someone and have them show you a few things in the Bible and even read with you to start. My recommendation to someone who is just starting to pick up a Bible is to read the Book of John. We have these great little study books that will help explain some of what you are reading if you would like one.

Let’s do a brief Inductive Bible Study of a verse in John. Before we get to the verse, I want to give you an overview of the inductive Bible study method. It has three steps:

Observation - What does it say?

Interpretation - What does it mean?

Application - What does it mean for me?

In Observation we ask the 5 W and 1 H question. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

In Interpretation we are looking for context - what was said just before or after? Is there a cultural thing happening? What is the author trying to say? I find it helpful to read 3 verses before and 3 verses after.

Finally, we apply this to our lives today. All scripture is useful for today, useful for your life, useful for how you see the world around you.

OK, let’s do this with John 3:16...

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Observation - Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

Who - God, the world, his Son, whoever

What - God loved the world. God sent his Son. Belief = eternal life

When - eternity

Where - the world

Why - Because He loved

How - By sending His Son.

Interpretation

Just before this, if you read several verses before, Jesus was just talking to a teacher of Law Nicodemus. He didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about. John used the interaction Jesus had with that teacher to show us how much God loves us.

If we keep reading, John tells us that Jesus didn’t come to condemn, but came to save, but there must be belief.

So what is John trying to say? Simply…God loves the world and because of this love, He was willing to send Jesus to come and make things right between us and Him. Whoever believes in Jesus, what Jesus did, what Jesus taught…that person will not perish, but have eternal life.

Application - What does it mean for me?

Sounds like the whoever in this verse could apply to me. I have to make a decision - perish or have eternal life. To not perish, I need to believe in Him - in Jesus.

What does that mean to believe in Jesus? Here is where it is helpful to be studying with someone else. They can help answer questions you might have, and if they don’t know, they can help you find the answer. Many times you will find these answers in other passages of scripture. This question What does it mean to believe in Jesus can be answered in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

So there are 2 parts to being saved or as John put it - have eternal life:

Declare Jesus is Lord - this means to give Him control of your life. To allow Him to speak to areas of your life…and

Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead - To be saved, we have to trust in the work Jesus did. We deserve to be punished for our sins - that punishment is death, but Jesus took our place and died for us, but in ultimate victory over death, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again. Our belief in this finished work results in eternal life.