Shape Your Life w/ the Word of Life

Intro

I want to start out tonight with a few questions.

How many of you have an idea of what you want to do for a career?

How many of you are going to school for that career?

How many of you wish you could, instead of going through at least 4-6 years of schooling, be handed a textbook…that with the promise of reading it…would grant you the ability to know everything you would need to know to fulfill that mission/career?

I’m gonna guess some of you know where I’m going with this. But in case you don’t, let me make it clear.

All of us who claim to be believers are given a purpose, a calling, a mission in life. In fact, we call it the great commission.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Not only have we been given the greatest mission we could possibly ask for…but we’ve been given instructions in how we should conduct ourselves while doing it. We call it the great commandment.

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

So we’ve been given this great commission, and this great commandment…much like we’ve been called towards a career by the Lord…what do we have to equip us? You don’t get a college degree in the great commandment, you can’t certify someone as having completed the great commission…so what do we have?

Well…we have this. *hold bible*

This right here…is everything we need.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So this…right here…is the thing that will allow us to be complete for every good work. Will allow us to be trained in righteousness....will allow us to be taught, and corrected....will allow us to fulfill the great commission in the spirit of the great commandment.

So we are suppose to be talking about spiritual disciplines right? Why am I bringing up how complete, and important scripture is?

Because the word of God…these scriptures…the bible…is the foundation in which all of the disciplines flow from. You can’t meditate upon a word you do not know, you can’t fast without filling the void of food with the wisdom of God revealed in scripture, you can’t memorize his word without reading it, the same for meditation.... you can’t be in fellowship under biblical teaching without the bible providing the “biblical” part of biblical teaching…and so on.

So…this is a little important okay?

And before we dive into our word groups tonight, which we will do tonight, and the next two weeks…I want to just let you know what we are covering.

So tonight…it’s all about God’s word. Meaning..tonight is all about pumping you up for how awesome the bible is. Pumping you up for how fulfilling it is. With the goal being…that you will read it…or read it more.

That’s the Spiritual discipline we are covering tonight. Reading. God’s. Word.

That’s what your scripture with your group will be about tonight…the awesomeness of God’s word and what it is able to do in your life.

The hope and prayer…is that you walk away tonight with a desire to be in God’s word more this summer. And maybe…with a plan to be in God’s word more this summer.

Once you’ve begun reading God’s word…we will focus on two more disciplines revolving around God’s word. The next one is next week, and will be the spiritual discipline of meditation. Yes, you heard me right. Christians meditate as well. Not only do we meditate…but it’s a crucial spiritual discipline to incorporate into your relationship with God.

That’s the second week. And our third week will be on memorization. Meaning, the important of memorizing God’s word…and the practice of memorizing God’s word.

So that’s the next couple of weeks…but let me wrap up tonight going back to our first discipline. Reading God’s word.

I get it. It’s hard on multiple levels for many of you.

Whether it’s a time thing. Or it’s overwhelming. Or you don’t know where to start. Or you don’t understand it. Or you get sidetracked. Or you think it’s boring....or whatever reason…being in the word in a consistent fashion is difficult.

So…I want to just give you a couple quick encouragements when it comes to growing in the spiritual discipline of scripture reading.

There are different kinds of scripture reading. You don’t have to…and you shouldn’t …do just one kind of reading.

The best way to categorize the types of bible reading are to put them into two different categories. 1) Raking 2) Digging.

Explain the two categories.

So…there are two types.

2. You’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed or getting off track. For just as much as it’s a spiritual discipline…its a spiritual plane of attack for the enemy. The things that are meant to sustain us in the Christian life are the things that will be attacked and fought for in spiritual battles.

3. Make it manageable.

4. Don’t do it alone.

5. There are many reliable resources.

We have several podcasts on reading God’s word, and apps that we use, if you check them out…Centered. Committed. Confident.