Vision365: Read the Bible Every Day
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Intro:
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Last week, we continued our series entitled [Vision365]. God is calling us to ask ourselves the same four questions every day:
Have I prayed today?
Have I read my Bible today?
Do I need to fast today?
Have I lived for Jesus today?
We’re going to take the next few weeks and look at the need to: pray, read, fast, and live for Jesus. Then, on May 1 we will dedicate 365 days to Jesus as a congregation.
We have established that God is always there. He ALWAYS gives us 365 days a year.
Therefore, we need to pray. Every day and throughout the day we should find time to spend with God.
Now, let’s ask the question, why do I need to read my Bible?
I feel like I am always reading. I have a stack of books next to my chair in the living room. I have a few books on my desk that I am either reading, or plan to read.
I read fairly quick. I actually researched how to speed read and have implemented some of the tips. But within the past few months, I have had to read new books that are challenging.
These are not theology books, research books, or spiritual books. In fact, these books should be the easiest to read— they are children’s books, and they even have pictures!
For the first time ever, I am not reading for myself, but I am reading TO my son:
Now, I have to:
read out loud
read slowly
point at the words as I read
One book has me:
meow like a cat
Howl like a dog
growl like a lion
quack like a duck
and moo like a cow
And it is work. But there is a reason for this. I have always heard about the importance of reading to children, but never paid too much attention, but now it piques my interest.
Studies show that when parents read to a child every day, by the time they are five years old they will have heard upward to a million words.
Studies have shown over the past 150 years literacy rates have risen. More people have a basic ability to read than ever before in history.
But I wonder, what about Biblical literacy?
Do people read their Bibles more than every before?
Is there an emphasis on God’s word more today than in the past?
We do not need statistics or studies to answer these questions. A mere view of our world will give the answer.
Increased immorality
Decreased church attendance
Increased crime
Decreased compassion
Increased division
Decreased dedication
We can see all around us— our world possesses a low view of Scripture. And if we are not careful, the culture will continue to slip its way into the church decreasing people’s dependance on Scripture.
Just as children develop mentally when their parents read to them, the child of God grows when we read the Word of God.
I remember Evangelist Beckie Trammel telling our church when she preached here in 2018, as soon as she got saved she wanted to read the Bible through as quick as possible. She was concerned that the Lord would come back and she would meet all these people from the Bible in heaven and not know anything about them.
God grows us as we diligently read His word.
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Have we read our Bible today?
What an important question. God’s word benefits us greatly. But the point of this series is not to see what WE get out of:
prayer
reading
fasting
living for Jesus
but what does GOD get when we:
pray
read
fast
live for Him?
How can reading our Bible benefit God?
First, let’s establish the importance of God’s word. What is the Bible?
EVERYTHING we read in the pages of our Bible came from God. It is divinely inspired, without error or fault. God provided His word to mature and prepare us for the assignment He has given us.
So how does reading the word benefit God? God has systematically included the importance of His word through every generation.
I want to look at this question with three points, [Depend on the Word], [Declare the Word], and [Devote to the Word].
1. Depend on the Word
1. Depend on the Word
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Unlike us, Moses and the Israelites did not have sixty-six books in their Bible. In fact, they did not have have Bibles, but they did have the Word of God.
God spoke to Moses, and he wrote what the Lord said. The first five books of the Old Testament were written by Moses.
Genesis— creation and patriarchs
Exodus— how they left slavery
Leviticus— the Law of God
Numbers— wanderings in the wilderness
Deuteronomy— preparing the new generation
God always planned to let Moses lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. However, the generation that left Egypt did not have faith in God.
They rebelled against Him. God determined to keep His promise, but the rebellious generation would never go to the land flowing with milk and honey.
Everyone who lived during the exodus had to die before God would give them the Promised Land.
In Deuteronomy, Moses is near death and he prepares the next generation on what to do. He recounts the words of God as revealed through the Law.
He summarized everything they needed to know with two verses:
God is One
Love the Lord with all your heart soul mind and strength
They were to place these words in their heart. They were to depend on these words. Why? Because the described the essence of God and us.
There is NO other God like Him. All Scripture points to this truth. Because He alone is worthy, we are to love Him with everything inside of us.
Moses knew that Israel needed to depend on these words, so he instructed them about the word of God.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
They were to:
repeat them again and again to their children
talk about them when they were at home
discuss them on the road
think about them when they went to bed
quote when they get up in the morning
tie them around their hands
wear them on their foreheads
write them on the doorposts of their house
They took this literally. Eventually, Jewish men would actually wear portions of God’s word on their heads and wrap them around their arms when they prayed.
The point was simple— if they were to make it as the people of God, they would HAVE to depend on God’s word.
Parents needed to knew God’s word so that they could teach their children God’s word. Every generation needed to know there is only One God and we are to love Him with everything in us.
For the most part, the Israelites listened.
God reveals Himself through HIS word. Therefore, we do well to depend on the word. But we also need to...
2. Declare the Word
2. Declare the Word
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
We see that teaching God’s word was important to Moses, but my original question, why is reading our Bible important to God?
Let’s look at this from the perspective of Jesus. Luke tells us about His baptism, which would have been an emotional highlight of his life.
Standing before so many, He saw heaven split open, He witnessed the Spirit descend on Him as a dove, and He heard the voice of the Father speak His approval over Him.
Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit led Him to a new place. It was not a new place of ministry or miracles, it was a new place— the wilderness.
While he was in wilderness, the tempter came to Him. Satan wanted to stop Jesus before He got started.
I want us to notice two aspects of this temptation:
Satan tempted Him three times, once using God’s word
Jesus overcame temptation all three times, EACH TIME declaring God’s word.
First temptation, turn these stones into bread. You are hungry, God won’t mind if you feed yourself. Jesus’s answer:
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
IT IS WRITTEN. Jesus overcame temptation by declaring God’s written word. Where was that written, Deuteronomy 8:3
Second temptation, worship me and I will give you this world.
Jesus’s answer:
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Where was that written, Deuteronomy 6:13
Third temptation, throw yourself down from this high place:
10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
This time, Satan decided to quote Psalms 91:11-12. But Jesus knew he took the word out of context and replied, IT IS WRITTEN, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.
Where was that written, Deuteronomy 6:16.
I want us to notice something, yes, Jesus overcame temptation by declaring God’s word. But where did He go?
He went to Deuteronomy. Remember what we just read, Moses told them to teach their children God’s word.
Every generation from Moses forward made sure to teach their children the Word of God. When Moses issued this instruction, he could not see the future.
But God did. He knew eventually, Jesus would come, born of a virgin named Mary who was married to a man named Joseph.
Jesus was born 100% God and 100% Man. Joseph had the responsibility to TEACH Jesus God’s word.
Think about that, Joseph was to teach God’s Word to the WORD, to Jesus. But he did, because that is what good faithful Jewish men did, they taught their children to depend on God’s word.
And it worked— when Jesus faced temptation, He overcame by declaring the WORD of God.
If the Son of God needed God’s word— how much more do we need God’s word?
3. Devote to God’s Word
3. Devote to God’s Word
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
We see that Moses instructed the Israelites to depend on God’s word. Generations followed his mandate. Even Jesus depended on God’s Word when He declared IT IS WRITTEN.
What then should we do?
We NEED to devote ourselves to God’s word.
Devote means to, give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause).
Why should WE devote EVERY DAY to time in God’s word?
Notice the words of the writer of Hebrews, he shows us that God’s word is alive.
Remember, the Scripture is God-breathed. Whenever we read our Bible, it is as though God is breathing spiritual life into us.
When we have a situation that seems dead, reading God’s word will bring life.
When we need direction, reading God’s word will show us just what to do.
When we need help, reading God’s word will provide the assistance that we need.
But here is one aspect of God’s word we need to remember— sometimes it hurts. By that I mean, there will be times in reading our Bible that we will see our wants, needs, or desires do not always align with His word.
Instead of twisting the word to suit our opinion, as many often do, the word which is alive, is also powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword.
I have found that if I am reading the Bible and something I read stings a bit, God is trying to get my attention.
Maybe I am reading on forgiveness and someone I have not forgiven comes to mind— pay attention.
It could be that I am reading on patience, and I remember how I have been short with someone— pay attention.
Perhaps I read about temptation and then think of areas where Satan tempts me— pay attention.
Devoting ourselves to God’s word is one of the best decisions we can make, for Scripture changes us. =
Close:
Have I read my Bible today?
Have I depended on God’s word today?
Have I declared God’s word today?
Have I devoted myself to God’s word today?
I have something to confess. Preaching this is much easier than living this. Last week, as I studied for this message, I came home and told Bekah what I planned to preach today.
For twenty or so minutes I really emphasized, we HAVE to read the Bible. Moses gave the instructions and Jesus followed them, we need to do so as well.
She encouraged me and listened as though it was the best message ever. A few hours later we got ready to go to bed. Normally reading our bible is the last thing we do each day.
I came to bed without mine. Bekah asked, are you not reading tonight? I answered, my ear hurts to bad, I think I need to get to sleep.
Then I thought of this question, have I read my Bible today? I went to the kitchen, got it out of my briefcase.
Bekah answered, you changed your mind? I told her, Jesus went forty days without food and faced severe temptation and still depended on God’s Word. I can make it through one chapter.
The word of God changes EVERYTHING.
As people, spouses, parents, and followers of Christ, we NEED God’s word.
I have grown concerned that our society no longer places a premium on God’s word. Sadly, that seems to have slipped into much church culture.
But what would happen if people would commit to reading and teaching God’s to their families?
I shared this story a few years ago, but I want to revisit. There was a man named Dimitri who lived in the Soviet Union. He grew concerned because the Communists destroyed their local church.
After some time, he told his wife he felt that he needed to teach his children scripture and stories of the Bible. She was thrilled and soon his family participated in learning the Word.
The neighbors came and the crowd eventually grew to 125. The KGB arrested him and for seventeen years he was imprisoned all because he believed in Jesus.
He shared that two things got him through, every day he would sing a song to the Lord.
But the next thing he did was rather peculiar. If by chance he found a piece of paper and pencil, which was rare in prison, he would write all the scriptures he could on the front and back.
Then he would take it and place it by the small window in his cell as an offering to the Lord. Every time he did that, the guards would catch him and beat him.
His commitment to God’s word brought severe persecution, but it also opened the door to the supernatural power of God.
After being lied to by the guards that the his wife was dead and his sons were left destitute, he reached his breaking point. He told the guards he would renounce his faith the next day.
That night, his wife, who was still alive, and his sons felt led to pray for their father. The Holy Spirit let him see and hear his children and wife praying for him.
The next day he refused to deny Jesus. The guards beat him once again. Soon after, he was released and returned home.
How important is God’s word?
There are people willing to lay down their lives for the word. Why? Because the word of God is dependable. We have power of Satan when we declare the word.
Therefore, I believe God is calling us to DEVOTE ourselves to become people of the word.
Jesus promised:
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
His word remains true forever. And God will stand by His word.
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
We NEED God’s Word— every day.