"God's Great Book"

i am learning to live [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Laughter] [Music] is [Laughter] [Music] i'm learning to pray [Music] is [Music] [Music] i'm learning to pray [Laughter] good evening good evening welcome again to the midweek wednesday night bible class bible study for the southside church of christ here in orlando florida i am so glad i'm happy elated thankful grateful i am to uh join you in this exhaustive study of god's book called the bible we pray trust and hope you've had a good week thus far as we launch headed toward fall we want to continue to pray for the hurricane season certainly praying about the delta variant and all those who have been affected and we received the news sad news that brother tony adams passed away on past saturday in gainesville florida uh brother of dr jerome adams younger brother who had uh kidney transplant so was immuno suppressed and uh res contracted the delta variant and passed away praying for the family at this time continue to follow us join us uh congregate with us uh as you have been so diligently for a year and a half on our facebook page our youtube channel our website and our app tonight beloved let us study a subject that i think is important to be reminded of periodically and that is uh god's great book the bible i'll talk tonight about god's great book the bible some of you may be aware and some may not be aware that the word bible simply means book bible that word means book it is so powerful and so impactful and influential it's just called the bible or it's called the book and uh tonight we want to accent the point that is god's great book in this book we call the bible we get to see god's love we get to experience and see god's care and concern for humanity it's a love book it's a it's an autobiography if you will it's god's handbook uh the bible exhibit god's power and his deity no wonder the song writer him that greek the greek hymnologist said that song how great thou art certainly that's god and it's revealed in his book the bible the bible reveals god's mercy god's grace and i would offer tonight that all we need to be all we can be is revealed in this book called the bible we serve a great god he provided us with a great book so we can become a great people and you and i can live great lives then we could have a great destiny and go to a great place let's un-package this suitcase tonight let me start uh cutting up this food so you can chew it tonight uh two umbrellas we operate on tonight how great is the old testament and then we look at how great is the new testament which incorporates god's book the bible uh it's a powerful book it's uh dissected into two great divisions as you know the old testament and the new testament 39 books in the old testament 27 books in the new testament that comprised the canon of the scriptures 66 books we'll find a common thread which is god's book is great in the old testament angry in the new testament when you look at the old testament you'll find that the book the bible is a guide for true happiness according to psalms chapter one verses one through three what i love about the bible is it gives us the analytical evidence and proof that if you follow god and christ you can obtain true happiness that is an inexhaustible quest and thirst that seemingly all homo sapiens have is to find true happiness and if you live long enough you find it's not in money it's not in things it's really not in people it's not in status and gravitas and education true happiness don't get me wrong those things material things monetary things can pacify us oh lord yeah they can pacify us but only a relationship with god can satisfy us some people stop and content with pacification and they never obtained satisfaction and so according to psalms chapter 1 verses 1-3 god provides and the word provides true happiness when you obtain and maintain the virtues of god and you relish the word of god folks that's when you find true happiness that's why and it surpasses as paul would say later all human understanding because see people who are not of faith can't understand how you can be so content so happy and so grounded when you don't have as much things as they have because things never make people happy people jump off bridges with things people suicide with bridges people agonize and complain can't sleep at night even with all the world's possessions so true happiness this is how great this book is it allows us to obtain and maintain true happiness according to psalms 19 verse 7 the eighth clause not only in the old testament we find true happiness the bible said the the book this great book converts our soul it makes us transformational if you follow it it'll convert your soul now i'm not telling my savior's soul it's the difference between converting and salvation this book changes your objectives changes your directions and changes your destiny not only that in this old testament now i'm just going to have to give up after a while just so many things about this great book the bible certainly uh 25 minutes won't allow me uh to uh dissimulate all of them but these are some things that you'll find that substantiate my thesis tonight which is god's great book is the bible you know what else the bible does in psalms 19 verse 7 the b calls it makes the simple wise it makes people who are lower case become higher case even those who don't have stature and gravitas and education and when when you can't separate your verb from your predicate when you have not matriculated from a prodigious or prestigious university or college the bible the word of god can make simple things and peace simple people wise you know what else the bible does it rejoices the heart according to psalms 19 and 8 the eighth clause the word of god makes the heart happen oh you know as well as i know there are a whole lot of things that make the heart sad but the word of god can make the heart happen ain't that good news not only that psalms 19 verse 8 to be clause it enlighten the eyes it gives us vision the word of god all this is inculcated in the word of god that's why i say again and again and again this is god's great book called the bible it enlighten the eyes it gives us a sense of vision and direction psalms 19 verse 9 to 8 clause it endures forever you can't stamp this out you can't kill it you can't hinder it the uh paul was saying the new testament you can't do nothing against the truth only for the truth i love the fact that it's an enduring word it's an everlasting word this book is a eternal book it's truths never change it never becomes antiquated uh it never becomes uh stagnated it endures forever then the psalmist goes on in psalms 19 verse number 10 and 11 it declares that the words of god this book the bible is more desirable than silver and gold and that is sweeter than a honeycomb oh my god not only it is precious materially it is tasteful and palatable uh sweet to the uh heart and sweeter the bible said than a honeycomb now i know nowadays we got all this confectionary sugar splenda and all this other sugar substitutes nothing wrong with that but back when the bible was written honey was the world's sweetener still is isn't that amazing original things that god provided before man got a hotel but i still the best but my doctor still tells me the best way to sweeten something the most healthy way is to well the bible declares that the word of god is sweeter than a honeycomb and more desirable than silver and gold psalms 119 and 9 declares the bible helps a young man cleanse his way look at all these attributes and qualities and characteristics of the bible oh yeah it's god's great book psalms 119 11 declares it guards the heart against sin it fortifies us it protects us against sin when we allow it to direct us and then psalms 119 verse 97 the bible declares that if we follow this book this great book this substantial book this gargantuan word of god it makes us a wiser than our enemies uh so when you have adversaries and problems and scenarios and situations the bible not your education not your money can make you wiser than your enemies and then the bible says in psalms 119 verse 99 through 100 it makes you wiser than your teachers where else can you obtain information and knowledge and intelligence that makes you wiser than your teacher psalms 119 105 declares that this book the bible is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path it's an illuminator in other words lamp to your feet light to your path they didn't have electricity when david wrote this they use lamps and torches to see their way to feel the weight and david makes the allegory the analogy that the word is a lamp and a light to our path psalms 119 verse 165 i think you're getting it by now this is a great book it provides great peace and folks if you're like me and i think you are man the older you get you seek peace you want peace it doesn't matter what else you have you can have a 10 million dollar mansion but if it's full of hell you will ride around for two hours and won't come home people want peace people need peace people seek peace that's why when people on drugs and pornography and alcohol and other debilitating substances they're looking for some tranquility well let me offer you something tonight that's a permanent uh perpetual chronic systematic high that won't cost you a dime the peace of christ that's found in the word of god oh yeah beloved this is a great book this book called the bible and not only that's the old testament i just scraped the surface of how great it is in the new testament how great is the new testament the new covenant it is uh in the new testament we find out this book is great because it's the living word you see what i like about the book the bible it's a living document it's not it's not um antiquated it's not dead it's not like the latin language that we say now is dead it's not like the american constitution that has to be amended periodically to keep up with the changing of humanity this word is a living eternal word hebrews 4 and 12. you remember that the hebrew writer declares it is quick it's powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword it's piercing the word of god is discerning it's it's a living word it's a sword to defend us uh it's an instrument and then it can heal you or it can cut you that's what a sword would do it's like a knife it just depends on whose hand the knife is in you put a knife or blade in the hands of pookie and ray-ray they'll cut you or kill you you put a knife or scalpel or blade in the hand of a skilled surgeon they can heal you and so the word of god is a powerful instrument it can cut you to heal you or to help you or it can cut you to this uh core and to the bone and do you irreparable harm if you don't follow it it's not only a living word it's a life-giving word uh the word the book the bible uh the pages of inspiration uh it is a life-giving word it can save our souls that a book not save you money not save your health this book can actually save your soul james declares it in james chapter 1 verse number he said lay aside all filthiness and superfluidity of naughtiness prepare to receive with meekness the word of god that can save your soul now it won't save your soul if you don't want to be saved i love that about god god won't make you do anything okay uh but what he was would do through jesus is give you and i the opportunity to be saved but you have to follow this book called the bible you can't be saved independent of what the bible says you just want to do what your grandmother said or what you feel like it's right in your heart no the bible is a living life-giving word that can save your soul not only that save your soul it produces rebirth and spiritual growth according to first peter chapter 1 verse 23 and 1st peter chapter 2 verse number 3. it it not only provides this rebirth of this regeneration but it gives us the emptiness for spiritual growth some people are content with being saved but not growing uh they remain babes in christ way too long they stay on milk and never graduate to meet uh your babies take milk because they don't have any teeth but once a child develops teeth you put them on food and that's how christians ought to be yes when you're added to christ no matter what your biological age is you're still a babe but at some point in some time i can't have a church full of babies uh some of y'all need to be able to go get your own food in your own snack now we tend to babies and not growing folk so this bible this book this great book not only is a living word that can save your soul but also beloved it can provide spiritual growth because it has so much power and the greek word for power and many occasions it's dunamas and dunamas is where we get the english word dynamite it means power uh unbridled power it's power in this book this great book uh called the bible romans chapter 1 verse 16 you might recall paul declared in romans 1 16 i'm not ashamed of the gospel of christ for it is the power of the dunamis of god unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the jew first but also to the greek so folks it's it's it's it's a living book a living word it's a life-giving word and then it's also a life-guiding word this is all in the new testament not only it's a giving word and a living word it's a guiding word it's a ups it's a compass it's a spiritual uh series it will talk to you it'll walk with you it will guide you down this christian journey uh you can be in your house and say alexis play music alexis turn on the light alexis lock the door where in the bible it is a better compass and gps and guide than anything that man has ever known or could ever devise it's a guiding word this guiding word this ups provides and produces faith necessary for our walk with god you when you're walking or driving or flying or shipping anywhere you need a guide you need direction you don't wander meanderingly mannersly through life or through the world you need directions and a guide second corinthians 5 and 7 the bible says we walk by faith and not by sight you need a guide now if you really need a guide when you can see god knows you need a guy when you can't see we are blind to many things in life but the word of god is a light into our feet and a lamp into our path romans 10 17 says faith comes by hearing hearing by the word of god so where do we get this dear spiritual gps where do we get this guy this compass we get it from the word of god faith coming our faith is built by what we hear and what do we hear the word of god tell me again it's not a great book oh yes it's a great book it's a wonderful book it's an impactful book it's an influential book it's a useful book it it is beneficial to you and i and all that we hear it sometimes we get so uh diverted in church that we forget to focus on the bible it's god's great book it also not only guides us it equips us for the good work of the church ii timothy 3 16-17 i like the fact that the bible gives you tools to go in your toolbox to fight every battle and build every house and the life of your dreams you can't build anything without tools okay equipment proper equipment that's what the bible does it's in a quipper according to ephesians 4 11 and 12 it equips the saints for the good works of the kingdom what i found beloved and you might remember that many people are biblically illiterate now it's it's not a shame to be illiterate i think we all illiterate about something uh but what's really amazing to me the more we become educated even in the african-american precinct we have more graduates from college and have more graduate and postgraduate degrees and professional people and they're still totally illiterate about the word of god so what i'm saying tonight the greatest accomplishment the greatest book the greatest guide and compass the greatest assurance of your success in life is for you and i to maintain integrity with this great book called the bible it we should value this book like it's a great treasure the bible declares about itself it is more valuable than silver and gold which means it's more beneficial to you than money and it's sweeter than a honeycomb yeah so now tonight as we see how great this book is how enormous this book is how gargantuan this book is it should give us emphasis to study this book that's what paul said that uh timothy steady to show yourself approved a workman who needeth not be ashamed rightly and dividing the word of truth because you can misuse this book that's why paul said to timothy that you all are rightly divided oh there are a lot of religious people that divide the bible but they don't rightly divide so when you wrongly divide it you can justify slavery you can justify adultery you can justify anything you want to do when you wrongly divide the bible that's why paul said steady to show yourself approved a workman who needs not be ashamed rightly divided the word of truth the bible so we should study the book but not stop there application is equally important to learning of knowledge many of us know what to do it's the application phase it's like my golf game uh after 30 years of golf i know exactly what to do my trouble is application and some of you know what i mean so you know what you're supposed to eat you know what you're supposed not to eat you know you're supposed to get out and walk and exercise and get your heart rate up every day you know you need to drink at least six to four ounces of water every day you know you're still supposed to abstain from salt sodium and other high levels of sugar it's the application it's not the knowledge it's not the lack of knowledge it's the application of what we know so tonight i'm impressing upon you since we have been provided such a great book next week i'm talking about the uniqueness of the bible this week i'm talking about the greatness of the bible and then next week i want to study and talk about the uniqueness of the bible and so we learn study and apply these principles these concepts these precepts we see that it's a guide that will rule and regulate our lives if we obey it if it's our intention to use this great book for what god uh sent it and made it for all whether it's old testament and new testament we learn the nature we learn uh the power to do the mass of god we learn that god is great because he's got a great book the bible how could a great god not produce a great book that means god is omnipotent god is omniscient omnipotence is power omniscience is knowledge god is omni omni is all god is all-powerful omnipotent god is omniscient all-knowing god is omnipresent that means he's everywhere god is ubiquitous meaning he's everywhere and everywhere at the same time surely you know he's a great god with great intelligence great wisdom great understanding god the bible provides it's a love story god has great love for humanity god according to the bible had great compassion great justice great righteousness great mercy and great grace we ought to have a great appreciation and great application of this great book called the bible it's a lamp unto our feet it's a light unto our path it's a great book the only problem is man's inability a man's unwillingness to read it to study it or be subject to be taught it and then appar upon knowledge of what we've learned apply it it's the application phase i want you to know that when you follow god's great book the bible this is a my parting shot at uh in the class and like since the bible says it's a guide remember those of you who use modern technology once you put directions in your you your gps via your phone your car whatever apparatus as long as you're going in the right direction the gps don't talk to you it tells you when you're going wrong or when you need to turn or when you need to do something different if you're going from here to california and you get on ten probably not gonna talk to you until you get caught so you got three thousand miles go that way okay what we sometimes erroneously do is you think because god is silent that he's abandoning you and he's not there but love when you're going in the right direction the gps has nothing to say but when you need to get off that road to go to another road you need to turn around or there's a beware of something ahead that's when the gps talks often with god it's the same way if you get on the right path and stay on it god good with you but when you're going on the wrong road and neither turn around or dear to the right or left the bible is there to correct you what an exhilarating study god's great book the bible thank you for listening so attentively continue to pray one for another join us sunday morning at the edifice for 11 o'clock live worship and live stream on facebook uh south side facebook youtube southside app and the website god bless you god keep you join us next week as we talk about the uniqueness of the bible have a wonderful

Channel: Southside Church of Christ, Orlando

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Id: 6NYFKUCfGBI

Length: 33min 35sec (2015 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 08 2021