How to Find Inspiration and Hope in God's Word - Pastor Mark Finley

recently the world has experienced a life-threatening pandemic termed covet 19. millions of people were infected with tens of thousands of deaths during this time one of the greatest needs of medical professionals was personal protective equipment or ppe ppe refers to protective clothing helmets gloves face shields goggles face masks respirators and other equipment designed to protect medical professionals from exposure to infection or illness because covet 19 is airborne it was critical for medical professionals to have the necessary protective equipment during the crisis there was a shortage of personnel protective equipment in some areas so many health care workers physicians physician assistants nurse practitioners and nurses contracted covet 19 although these medical personnel were extremely busy serving others they were not immune from the virus they needed personal protective equipment to survive there is another deadly pandemic pandemic has a virus that's even more fatal than the coronavirus sins virus has infected the entire human family and we're on the front lines of the battle each one of us during sins pandemic also need ppe personal protective equipment if in our busyness we neglect our personal protective equipment we're likely to be infected with the virus of sin if in our frantic rush through life we don't take time to care for the spiritual part of our nature we may contract a spiritual disease that's deadly and fatal the apostle paul's counsel the apostle paul wrote for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places therefore take up the whole armor of god that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 and 13. the armor of god is our ppe our personal protective equipment against the virus of sin when medical personnel professionals entered a coronavirus patient's room they would not think of entering without some type of protective gear on every day we enter the evil ones territory where millions are being infected by the virus of sin and we're not immune to enter unprotected is spiritual disaster with god's armor on we can thrive in life's toughest toughest times it's his protective equipment in times of trial what is this protective equipment divinely given to us by god in this conflict between good and evil the apostle paul gives us a hint in second corinthians chapter 10 verse 4. for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in god for the pulling down of strongholds what are these weapons of god how can we be prepared spiritually for the crisises we face in our own personal lives what is the source of our spiritual strength what resources has god given us to fight the virus of sin one of god's choice weapons is his word scripture reveals quote the word of god is living and powerful and sharper than any two-ed sword piercing even to the division of soul in spirit and of the joints in marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. the bible is the living word of god through the ministry of the holy spirit it becomes alive in our hearts and changes our lives other books may be inspiring but god's word is inspired other books may enlighten but the mind but god's word not only enlightens us it transforms us god's creative word the inspired word of god contains life-changing principles the creative power of the word of god illuminates our darkness it changes us when god spoke the word at creation our planet came into existence he created this world by his all-powerful word the psalmist states quote by the word of the lord the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth for he spoke and it was done he commanded and it stood fast psalm 33 verse 6 through 9. god's word is a creative word what he says is so even if it were never so before because his word is so powerful that it creates what it declares the audible word proceeding from god's mouth created tangible matter you and i can declare what is but god can declare what is not and what is not appears when god speaks because his word makes it so speaking about abraham and sarah's conception in old age paul states this remarkable truth quote god calls those things which do not exist as though they did romans 4 17 before sarah ever conceived a child god's word had declared that she would become pregnant in old age this divine pronouncement became a reality because god's word has the power to accomplish what god declares here is a marvelous life-changing truth the creative power of the spoken word is in the written word the power of the word brings light into darkened minds the power of the word quenches thirsty souls and feeds hungry hearts it recreates the soul in the image of god it strengthens us in the battle between good and evil when jesus was tempted in the wilderness he met satan head on with these words it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god matthew 4 verse 4 the ancient scriptures the holy bible nourishes our souls its teachings satisfy our deepest longings just as the body is sustained satisfied and strengthened by healthy nourishing food our souls are sustained strengthened and satisfied by the word of god but this leads us to another vital question is the bible merely an inspiring book like many other inspired books or is it truly a divinely inspired book given to us by god if the bible is god's divine revelation to all humanity then we neglect its teachings at the peril of eternal loss if this bible is simply an inspiring human document then it has little power to radically transform our lives so the question of the bible's inspiration is critically important in fact it may be a matter of life and death let's examine the evidence the inspiration of the bible the blazing palestinian sun beat mercilessly down on a young arab boy hurting his few sheep in a remote area by the dead sea it was just another ordinary day in his life each morning he led the sheep in search of a few morsels of food across the burning desert saiyans he had no idea that this day would change the world when one of his sheep wandered away into a cave he attempted to scare it out by throwing a stone into the cave to his surprise he heard the breath taking sound of breaking pottery thinking he had discovered some valuable hidden treasure he raced home to tell his father what they discovered in the cave that day was far more valuable than some ancient nobleman's riches there on the shores of the dead sea in 1947 the dead sea scrolls were discovered the clay jars in the cave held a valuable treasure they contained the oldest bible manuscripts of the old testament in existence these scrolls were written by the qumran community approximately 150 years before christ these people were called the essenes they spent hours hand copying the bible to ensure accuracy their copying laws were extremely strict some of the world's most outstanding bible scholars and specialists in ancient biblical languages have poured over these manuscripts for decades these ancient scrolls eloquently testify to the accuracy and reliability of the bible in addition to the dead sea scrolls there are numerous other copies of the old testament manuscripts from the early centuries and beyond when all these manuscripts are compared there's a remarkable harmony testifying to the accuracy of the transmission in addition to the old testament copies there are more than get this 2400 new testament manuscripts from the first to the fourth century the bible has been copied and recopied more than any other single book in the world the accuracy of these copies testifies to the bible's divine inspiration from generation to generation down through the millenniums god's word has been accurately passed from one generation to the next from the bible's first book genesis to its last revelation it answers the deepest questions and speaks to our heart's deepest needs the bible was written during a 1500 year span by more than 40 authors many of these authors did not know one another they lived in different places spoke different languages and were products of different cultures yet each one writing under the inspiration of the holy spirit presents god's eternal plan for the human race clearly there is no contradiction on these main themes of scripture there is an amazing unity of thought and purpose throughout the bible the scriptures reflect the thoughts of a divine mind in 3 000 places the bible writers declare quote and god said or something like this and the lord spoke or phrases similar the bible writers believed they were inspired by god and the internal evidence within scripture reveals that the messages are of divine origin the fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies reveals the truthfulness of scripture there are approximately 31 000 verses in the bible and a little more than 8 000 of these more than 25 percent contain prophecy these prophecies are amazingly accurate revealing the names of nations and world rulers they reveal minute details of the life of christ in advance here are just a few examples christ's biography was written hundreds of years in advance jesus hometown of course was nazareth but 700 years in advance the prophet micah predicted the messiah would be born in bethlehem you find that in micah 5 chapter 5 verse 2. a decree of caesar augustus brought mary and joseph to bethlehem the exact night of christ's birth this is remarkable nazareth is a city in galilee in the north of israel bethlehem is about 90 miles to the south in judea this is just one of the amazing prophecies relating to jesus birth life death and resurrection the book of numbers written 1500 years in advance predicted that a star would rise in the east as a sign of the messiah's birth you can find that numbers 24 17. christ's ministry is described in detail in isaiah 61 verses 1 to 3. his death including his crucifixion is outlined in advance in psalm 22 about a thousand years before it happened remarkably enough even the betrayal price of 30 pieces of silver is foretold by centuries before it occurred in zechariah chapter 11 verse 11 and 12. the old testament prophecies reveal the rise and fall of nations the destiny of kings and rulers and the future of our world with minute accuracy the prophet daniel predicts the rise of the four great nations that would dominate the middle east and rule the then known world in babylon media persia greece and rome including the breakup of the roman empire you find that in daniel 2 chapter 7 chapter 8 in matthew chapter 24 jesus gives startling predictions of the last days that are now being fulfilled these are just a few of the prophecies that clearly demonstrate the reliability truthfulness and divine origin of the holy word of god the bible's main purpose the main purpose of the bible is to unfold god's eternal plan of salvation the bible contains history but it is not primarily a history book the bible touches on science but it's not a scientific textbook the bible provides insights into you the human mind but is not a treatise on psychology although god's word touches on a variety of disciplines it is first and foremost a revelation of god's will revealing god's eternal truths to humanity the bible answers the three great questions of life why am i here where did i come from and what does the future hold it provides hope and courage for each one of us the central theme of the bible is jesus the prophets of the old testament testified of him each book of the bible is a revelation of his love speaking to the pharisees jesus declared you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they that testify of me john 5 39 the old testament speaks of the christ who would come and the new testament reveals the christ who has come all the bible testifies of jesus in scripture jesus is the dying lamb the living priest and the coming king he is the one who justifies us sanctifies us in one day will glorify us jesus is our forgiving merciful compassionate life-changing savior and lord jesus is the great miracle worker he's the life changer jesus added quote that the words that i speak to you are spirit and they are life john 6 63 the holy spirit takes the principles of god's word impresses them in the recep in receptive minds and makes us new christ is at the center of all scriptural teaching and so as the apostle paul states so clearly quote if anyone is in christ he is a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new second corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. the bible is not merely a to do manual on how to construct a christian life consider some of the scriptural symbols of the word including light fire a hammer seed and bread these varied images have one thing in common they reveal the power of god's word to change our lives the word of god is like a light that guides us through the dark valleys of our lives it's like a fire that burns within our souls it is like a hammer that breaks our hard hearts it is like seed that grows silently and produces the fruits of the spirit in our lives it is like bread that nourishes our spiritual hunger symbols of god's word the psalmist david declares your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path psalm 119 verse 105 he also adds in verse 130 the entrance of your words gives light it gives understanding to the simple light always involves the removal of darkness if you were on a dark path at night without a light you may easily get off the path it wouldn't be uncommon to stumble and fall into a deep ravine without a light a powerful flashlight would make all the difference the word of god lights the pathway of the followers of christ it guides us home jesus is the light of the world who lights up our darkness through his word you read about that in john chapter 8 verse 12 when we share the word of god with others it dispels the darkness that satan has enshrouded their lives with and lights their pathway to the kingdom of god my wife and i live about a mile from our living hope 7th avenue church often after an evening program we'll walk home our journey takes us through a tree-lined path through the woods that's not lighted we've walked that path in almost total darkness at times and it's difficult to keep on the path you kind of wind her up wander off and we have found by experience that having a flashlight makes all the difference when the light illumines the path the walk home is quite pleasant without the light we are groping in darkness jesus longs to get us home so he's provided his word as a lamp to light the way in jeremiah chapter 23 verse 29 god's word is compared to both a fire and a hammer it's compared to a fire because it consumes when we read the word of god the fire of god's word burns within us consuming error like gold refined in the fire the dross is consumed the refining process is not always pleasant but it's necessary to remove the dross in our characters god's word is also likened by jeremiah to a hammer the term hammer may seem to be rare to be used to describe the bible hammers nail things together they also smash things the hammer of god's word smashes hard hearts to pieces think of the dramatic changes that took place in the lives of the demoniacs the roman centurion the thief on the cross and a host of others throughout the new testament the word of god pounded away at their hard hearts until they were broken by the hammer of love in one of the more common symbols in scripture the bible is compared to seed in luke chapter 8 verse 11 jesus states the seed is the word of god there is life in a tiny seed when the seed of god's word is planted in the soil of the mind it produces an abundant harvest in the life jesus often used the symbolism of seed to describe the growth of his kingdom the word of god scattered like seed throughout the world will produce a bountiful harvest jesus expands on this theme in one of his farming parables and he says and i quote and he said the kingdom of god is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground and should sleep by night and rise by day and the seed should sprout and grow he himself does not know how you can read about that in mark chapter 4 verse 26 and 27 the word of god may seem commonplace buried within the mind it may seem to be covered under the clouds of sin but if it is cherished it will spring forth into new life it will radically change our attitudes our conversation our habits and our lifestyle seed is life-giving we may not see the seed growing but it's growing in our minds to produce though it's life-giving results the bible also uses the term bread to describe the word of god jesus said i am the bread of life john 6 35 he adds man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god matthew chapter 4 verse 4 bread is the staff of life throughout the ancient world and one of our planet's basic foods it is as essential for our diets as most other things that we place into them it is an essential dietary item an individual can survive a long time on only bread and water by using the illustration of bread jesus is declaring that he is essential for life in his well-known bread of life sermon that followed the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand jesus declares whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life john 6 54. this seems to be a very strange statement what could jesus possibly be talking about obviously he was not talking about literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood by feasting on his word his teachings become a very part of our lives this is what jeremiah meant when he joyfully declared your words were found and i ate them and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for i am called by your name o lord god of hosts we find that in jeremiah chapter 15 verse 16 the word of god like a good piece of whole wheat bread satisfies our hidden hunger have you ever noticed that highly refined products are neither satisfying or filling the word of god is the staff of life it nourishes our souls and of course the scriptures are like a cool draft of refreshing pure water they completely satisfy there is nothing as rewarding as the discovery of the truth about jesus in every teaching of scripture when we discover these wonderful truths about jesus we are blessed beyond measure the indestructibility of the bible infidels have tried to destroy the credibility in the bible for centuries their goal is to use sophisticated arguments to erode faith in god's word yet the bible remains the best seller of all time each year more than a hundred million copies of the bible are sold or given away free guinness world book of records estimates that more than now get this five billion copies of the bible have been printed in hundreds of languages the french philosopher voltaire born in 1694 was a fierce critic of christianity he believed the bible was filled with i'm quoting him absurdities and that society was living in quote he said the twilight of christianity as a prolific writer voltaire wrote twenty thousand letters and two thousand books a significant portion of his writings were an attack on the christian faith in the bible it is reported that near the end of his life he declared that his writings would displace the bible he believed that within a hundred years of his death the scriptures would be a relic of the past and soon forgotten within 25 years of voltaire's death on may 30 1778 the printing presses that had published his works were used for printing bibles in the common language of the people there is another interesting aspect of this story about voltaire daniel merritt is a phd and thd and he's done an extensive research on voltaire and reports that henry trunskin who served as the president of the geneva bible society from 1834 to 1839 lived in voltaire's former residence when the bibles were printed on the presses that previously printed voltaire's books many of them were stored in volterra's home then occupied by the president of the geneva bible society less than a hundred years later what an amazing twist to the story this reminds us of jesus statement in matthew chapter 24 verse 35 heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away isaiah the prophet adds the grass withers the flower fades but the word of our god stands forever isaiah 40 verse 8 the bible has been maligned criticized ridiculed torn apart and burned yet it stands as a testimony to its divine authorship it speaks of grace mercy forgiveness and a new life to every generation the bible's life-changing power the greatest testimony of the inspiration of the bible is its ability through the power of the holy spirit to transform lives completely let me share with you mr chen's story mr chen as an ardent communist was an atheist as far as he was concerned all christians were nothing more than ignorant mindless uneducated peasants one day in 1992 mr chan returned home on leave from his military service and discovered that his wife had become a seventh-day adventist christian from 1991 to 1993 there was a holy spirit revival in northeastern china and in one city between two thousand and three thousand people were baptized each year when mr chen discovered that his wife was a bible-believing christian he became furious his anger boiled over he yelled threatened and intimidated her then his wife developed a very serious eye infection that required surgery he sat by her bed in the hospital for hours each day as she began to recover she started reading the bible with her one good eye and a patch over the other eye her doctor suggested that she rest both eyes but she felt she needed strength from the word of god in desperation her husband said it's bad enough that i have a wife who's a christian i don't want a wife who's blind as well give me that book and i'll read it to you she requested that he read the book of job the more he read the more interested he became he was amazed at job's faith he could not understand how someone going through such difficulties in facing such trials could trust god when he came to the end of job he was further amazed when he read that god turned job's tragedy into a triumph he read words like this and i quote from the book of job and the lord restored job's losses when he prayed for his friends indeed the lord gave job twice as much as he had before now the lord blessed the latter days of job more than his beginning job chapter 42 verse 10 to 12 mr chen continued to secretly read the bible when his wife was out of the room for her doctor's appointments and her treatments soon he could resist no longer and there in that hospital room he surrendered to the claims of christ today he's a christian pastor powerfully preaching the word of god and cherishing the bible he once despised the life-changing truths of god's word made all the difference for mr chan the bible speaks to people of all cultures all backgrounds and languages it presents hope in troubled times for all peoples heaven's call is to spend time with god's word let the beauty of scripture bathe your soul find that quiet spot and allow the holy spirit to move in your life sansa knew the power of the word of god it changed mr chan's life and it can change yours too you

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Id: GnLH0Xi1jpo

Length: 30min 39sec (1839 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 15 2021