The Secret to Spiritual Growth. We are back
in our Essential series. You know sometimes when we look back on all
that the Lord has done in the Harvest Crusades over the past 20 years people will ask the
question, “Well do you think that all of those people that have come forward when the
invitation is extended our really becoming Christians? Do you think those people really
are saved?” And my answer is, “I don’t know.” How would I know? Time will tell.
I mean I see them making an effort. And I know there are some that walk forward and
have no intention of following through on it. But I know there are many–many who not
only come forward but they go forward spiritually. And I have met so many people over the years
that have not only come to Christ at one of our crusades but are serving the Lord in ministry
today. Some are pastoring churches. Others are on the mission field. So yes there is
fruit. Look here is my job and yours as well for that matter. It is to get the gospel out
to as many people as possible. I am not in the job of converting people. I am not in
the job of saving people. That is not what I do. That is what God does. But my job description
is to proclaim the gospel and then pray that that seed will land on receptive soil. Having said that, if a person does put their
faith in Jesus Christ I do think we can assure them of their salvation. Why? Because the
Bible does. In 1 John 5:10 it says, “Anyone who believes in the Son has this testimony
in their heart.” Romans 8:16 says, “God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that
we are the children of God.” John 5:24. “I tell you the truth. Whoever hears My
word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned for he has
crossed over from death to life.” And then my favorite assurance verse. 1 John 5. “These
things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that
you have eternal life.” It is a beautiful thing where God will give us the assurance
of our salvation. Now if we have really met Christ and He has
really come into our life there should be changes in our lives. Works should follow
faith. Works don’t save us, but they are a good evidence that we are saved. The Bible
says, “It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy
He saved us.” But then again the Bible also says, “Faith without works is dead.” Titus
2:11 puts it this say. It says, “The grace of God has been revealed bringing salvation
to all people and we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and
we should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct and devotion to God, who gave
His life to free us from every kind of sin and cleanse us and make us His very own people
totally committed to doing what is right. That should be the earmark of a believer.
Of a follower of Jesus. They should be totally committed to doing what is right. Not a perfect
person. But one who is trying by the grace of God to change. Hopefully we all want to experience spiritual
growth and success. And we all know people who have been failures in the spiritual life.
Maybe even some of us listening right now would say, “You know I don’t feel that
I am really doing all that well. I know others that have just sort of taken off in their
relationship with Jesus but I still am floundering and I am still struggling and I have never
been able to really get this together.” Well I want to share with you in the next
few weeks some principles that will help you to grow spiritually and will help you to be
successful in your walk with Jesus Christ. Because I believe God can and will change
every person who has come to you. You know on my computer I have a tendency
to open a lot of programs at once. I might have my Word documents opened. And then I
am looking at multiple messages. And then I am opening up a few Bible programs. And
I will have a Web browser open and a few other things. And what happens is when I get all
of these programs open sometimes my whole system begins to slow down. And you know I
realize it is time for a reboot. I need to shut it down and start it up again. And then
everything starts running smoothly. In the same way some of us spiritually maybe
find things are sort of freezing. They are not working. Maybe we need a reboot or a refresh.
Or we need to just say, “Lord I want to start again.” And I believe if you will
apply some of these principles that I am going to be sharing with you that you can see changes
in your life. So here is what it comes down to. Christianity will work for every man and
every woman because simplified Christianity is Christ. If a person says, “I tried the
whole Christian thing and it didn’t work for me” I reject that outright because Jesus
will change any man or woman who comes to Him in genuine faith. It was G. K. Chesterton who said, and I quote,
“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not
tried.” End quote. See that is the problem is not that oh I tried
and it didn’t work. But rather it is more, "Well as I looked at what it really meant
to be a Christian I decided I didn’t really want to do that." Why do some succeed spiritually and others
fail? Short answer. Because they choose to. If you want to you will go for it. If you
don’t want to you won’t go for it. All the follow-up in the world will not change
that. Because if you have a real desire to know God I believe that you will by God’s
grace do just that. Now someone might protest and say, “Greg
it sounds like you are implying that our Christian walk is a result of human effort.” I am
not saying that at all. But I am saying there are some things that only God can do and there
are some things only I can do. For instance Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling.” That doesn’t say, “Work for your won salvation”
because that is already a gift given to us by God. “Work out your own salvation.”
What does that mean?” Another translation would say, “Carry to the goal and fully
complete your own salvation with self-distrust.” And then it continues on and says, “For
it is God that works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure.” So there you have
the whole picture laid out for you.” I am to carry it to the goal with self-distrust
and live this Christian life. But it is God giving me the strength to live the life He
has called me to live. Listen. Only God can do certain things. Only
I can do certain things. Only God can convict me of my sin. Only God can forgive me of my
sin. Only God can convert me. However only I can repent of my sin. Only I can make that
choice to follow Jesus Christ you see. So there is a part that God wants to do and there
is a part that I need to do. But the good news is is that God by the power
of the Spirit has given you everything you need to live the Christian life. 2 Peter 1:3
says, “By His divine power God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” It was Alexander McLaren who said, and I quote,
“He that has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scripture in his hands has all he
needs.” End quote. It is sort of like you have all of the horsepower
under the hood baby and you just need to put the key in the ignition and hit the gas and
watch what happens. It is all there but you have to step out and start applying it. So we come to this life of being a follower
of Jesus and we wonder how to do it. See we live in a culture where you get everything
fast and everything is easy. And then we come to the Bible and we read words we are not
all that comfortable with. Words like discipline. Ooh. Obedience. We read about being still
and knowing that He is God. And we read about trusting God. And we don’t want to do that.
We want to get on that fast track spiritually. We want to know the easy way to do it. You know just like we do in many other things
in life. For instance if you want to lose weight what is that one diet that will do
it overnight. Remember that pill they used to advertise. Take this pill and you will
lose weight overnight. It just melts away. Or how about that ab machine? Remember the
one that you would wrap it around your waist and turn it on and it would do all the work
for you. You didn’t even have to do any crunches. You wake up in the morning with
a six pack. Right. We live in an instant society. We want everything now. I remember in the old days when we wanted
to get music we bought something. Kids listen now. A little history lesson. We bought something
called records. They were recorded on vinyl with little grooves in them. And we would
take the needle and put it there on the record and listen to the music emanating from the
grooves you see. Nowadays you want music you just download it. I read the other day that
the Beatles have remastered all of their music and they are rereleasing it again. And I remember
when the Beatles came out the first time. A long time ago. On the Ed Sullivan Show.
How many of you remember the Ed Sullivan Show? Wow. You are old. Ok. What a curious show
that was. It was sort of like a variety show where they would have you know acrobats from
Russia and guys that would twirl plates on sticks and then this little puppet mouse named
Topo Gigio. Ed Sullivan. “And we have Top Gigio and these four boys from Liverpool the
Beatles.” And you know and Ed Sullivan sort of moved like this. He just. He didn’t.
And he said, “The Beatles. Right there. The Beatles. Where are the Beatles? They are
somewhere. Somewhere.” And then these four mop top lads from Liverpool come along. And you know here we are watching them. We
are in American culture. We have been listening to Elvis and the Beach Boys and they have
their hair all combed down you know. And they speak like this. “We are from Liverpool,
England you know.” It is like they came from another planet. “Hello. I am John Lennon.”
“Hello. I am Paul McCartney.” “I am Ringo. Yeah.” Wow. Everyone is clapping
except this one man on the aisle. “I hated the Beatles then and I hate them now. What
are they in their 70s or what? I don’t know.” But you know we could hardly wait until the
next Beatle record was released. And I was a huge Beatles fan. I never had a Beatles
haircut. I have one now. In my heart. But oh we would get that record. We would put
it on the turntable and we loved it. But now of course we don’t have to wait
for records anymore. We have newer technology. It went from Records. Then we had eight tracks.
And those seem like antiques now too. And then we had cassettes. And then we went to
CDs and then now we have DVDs and we have DVDs and we have Blu-Ray DVDs and we have
BVDDVDs. I don’t know what that is. I guess underwear with a DVD in it. I am not sure.
But then you can just go download it. You don’t even have to wait any longer. There
it is. That is the way we like things to come. And you know there was a time when people
used to actually write letters. Did you know that? Now we call it snail mail. That is an
art that has been lost. Writing a letter. Don’t you think? Or even a card with a signature.
But now we will just shoot off a quick email. Let me ask you this. Have you ever been mad
at someone and typed up an email and hit send and realized you shouldn’t have done it?
So you are on Google search engine. How do I pull back an email I sent? Answer. You can’t.
Idiot. No. How about this? Have you ever typed an email
to a friend talking about someone else and accidentally sent it to the person you were
talking about? Oh no. So you send an email to them. “I was just kidding.” Oh. But even emails seem slow now. You have to
wait so long. So we just text one another. And even that seems slow. So now we are going
to just read each other’s minds. That is the next technology that is coming along. But my point is simply this. In a culture,
in a society, where we get news on demand, when we get information in real time we come
to the Bible and say, “Ok what is the fast way to do this?” And we learn about discipline
and obedience and applying ourselves to these truths. It is hard for some of us. We need
to change our way of thinking. So that brings us to principle number one
of being successful spiritually. This is so simple and so basic some of you will say,
“Well duh.” But at the same time there are so many people that don’t do this. Principle number one. If you want to be a
successful Christian you must read, study, and love the Word of God. Let me repeat that.
If you want to be a successful Christian you must read, study, and love the Word of God.
Joshua 1:8 says, “The Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth. You shall meditate
in it day and night that you may observe to do all that is written in it. And if you do
this your way will be prosperous and you will have good success.” Years ago a young man named Billy Sunday received
Christ into his life. An older believer gave him some advice he never forgot. He said,
“William there are three simple rules I wish you would practice and if you do no one
will ever write the word backslider after your name. Number one. Take 15 minutes every
day to let God talk to you. Number 2. Take 15 minutes every day to talk to God. And thirdly.
Take 15 minutes every day talking to someone else about the Lord.” Simple advice. Fifteen
minutes to let God talk to you. Fifteen minutes to talk to God through prayer. Fifteen minutes
to tell others about the Lord. But how does God talk to us? God speaks to
us primarily through the Word. This is not something you outgrow. You don’t get beyond
this. Psalm 119 says, “I love Your commandments. All Your words are true. All Your laws will
stand forever.” It is an application to God’s Word on a regular basis. It was Spurgeon that said, and I quote, “Nobody
ever outgrows Scripture. The Book widens and deepens with out years.” End quote. That
is true. You don’t outgrow your need to study the
Bible anymore than you outgrow your need to eat food. “Yeah I used to be in the whole
eating thing. Every day. Three times a day. Sometimes even with snacks I would eat. But
now you know I don’t need that anymore. I have moved beyond that.” Come on. “Oh
yeah. I used to breathe with the best of them. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I am not into
breathing anymore.” Listen. If you are not into breathing you are not going to be into
living. And in the same way if you are not into the
regular study of the Bible you are going to find yourself crashing spiritually. It is
not enough to just go to church on Sunday and Wednesday and read good Christian books
and listen to great Christian radio broadcasts. Those things are all wonderful and have their
place. But nothing will ever take the place of you opening up your Bible and reading it
every single day. I am telling you the truth. God will speak to you through the Bible. You say, “Well Greg I am not much of a reader.”
Ok. Well then learn to become one. All right. “I never read that much growing up.” Neither
did I. I remember the first time I went to church and heard the pastor say, “Turn in
your Bibles to Romans chapter 3 verse 1.” I was like, “What? What page number is that?”
It would have been more sense if he said, “Turn over to you know channel 4. Not chapter
4.” I never really read at all. But as I began to open up God’s Word it began to
change my life. I remember when I received my first Bible.
It was right after I had accepted Christ. I accepted the Lord on a Friday on my high
school campus. And I really wasn’t quite sure what I had done. All I knew was something
radical had happened to me. But no one followed up on me. No one explained to me what it meant
to be a Christian. So when I got back to school on Monday morning some guy sees me across
campus and yells out to me, “Brother Greg.” And I looked at him and, “Oh it is one of
the Jesus freaks. Why is he calling me brother Greg you know? He was really loud. He had
a big old cross hanging around his neck. And he came over to me. “Brother Greg. Praise
the Lord.” I am standing there thinking, whatever. I mean ok what am I supposed to
say to praise the Lord. “Praise the Lord.” Ok. Good. You go ahead and do that if you
want to. “Bro.” Yes. “I have something for you.” “Really. What’s that?” “It’s
a Bible bro.” And he pulls out this big old Bible. Much bigger than the one I am holding.
But then to add insult to injury it wasn’t just big but it had a cross on it. That’s
fine. But it was made out of popsicle sticks glued together. “Bro. Here.” And I am
going. “Oh. Popsicle sticks on a Bible. Thanks a lot. That’s great. Really great.”
And so I just wanted him to go away. I was embarrassed. I didn’t know what to do. I
didn’t want to carry the Bible publicly. So I had this jacket on and I shoved my Bible
my new Bible with the popsicle sticks in the pocket. And it didn’t fit so I ripped the
pocket open and shoved it in there so no one would see it. And I hadn’t seen my old friends for a few
days. And I had accepted Christ. But I didn’t want to tell them. But I didn’t know what
to do. And so I went over to their house. Now I am going to be honest with you. We used
to go over their house at lunch time during school and we would get loaded. That is sixties
vernacular for coming under the influence of drugs ok. And then we would go back and
hallucinate the rest of the day. That is having some fun now. Ok. But it was a miserable life.
But that is what I did. Because I didn’t know any better. I hadn’t seen these guys
since I had accepted Christ. So I went over to the house and I had my Bible. And I wasn’t
going to take that in there. So there was a planter out in front of my friend’s house.
A little hedge there. Some bushes. I took my Bible out and shoved it in the bushes.
I hadn’t hidden the Word of God in my heart but I was good at hiding it in bushes you
see. Then I walked in. “Greg what are you doing?” “Nothing.”
“Where have you been?” “Nowhere.” What has been going on?” “Nothing.”
They are all looking at me like what is wrong with you. Then one of them said, “Hey you
want to get stoned?” I said, “No.” “Why not?” “I just don’t want to.” “Greg
what is wrong with you?” “Nothing.” They are all looking at me. And all of a sudden
the front door opens up and here is this guy’s mother holding my Bible up in plain view.
With popsicle sticks. “I found this in the bushes. Who does this belong to?” Thinking,
“What? Does this woman search the bushes?” She has kids doing drugs in her house and
she is finding Bibles. What is wrong with this picture? She holds up the Bible with
the cross in popsicle sticks for everyone to see. And somehow everyone in that room
knew that Greg and that book went together. They looked at the Bible. They looked over
at me. I said, sheepishly, “That’s mine.” One of my friends said, “Greg what is that.”
“It’s a Bible.” “A what?” I said, “It’s a Bible.” “A what?” “A BIBLE.
A BIBLE.” I grabbed it. “It is my Bible.” With the popsicle sticks. One of my friends
said, “Oh,” in a mocking tone, “Praise the Lord brother Greg. Are we going to be
Christians now?” “No. We are going to hit you in the mouth. That is what we are
going to do.” See I hadn’t read 1 Corinthians 13 yet. This was all new to me. My friends.
“My friends” in quote started mocking me and laughing at me. Making fun of me. And I made a discovery. I realized that they
weren’t my friends. And I also realized that this is the Word of God and I want to
find out what it has to say. And I started reading it. And I was amazed at how it resonated
with truth. How it spoke to me. How it related to what I was facing as a 17 year old kid
back in 1970. And you know what? It will still resonate with a 17 year old kid in 2009. Or
a person who is 78 years old. Or whatever your age. Or whatever your background. Or
whatever your literacy rate is. The Word of God is the Word of God. If you want to grow
spiritually you need it in your life. This is the user’s manual you have been searching
for. The very word Bible says it all. Bible. B I B L E. Basic Instructions Before Leaving
Earth. So start reading it and see what it has to say for you. That brings us now to Psalm 19. Psalm 19 is
about the Word of God. It tells us five important things we need to know about the Bible. Things
that will help you in your spiritual growth. And I would like to read verses 7 to 11. “The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making
wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment
of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than
gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by
them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.” Let’s pray. Father as we consider the power
of the Word help us to see it and hear it with new eyes. Give us a hunger and a thirst
for what You will say to us through Scripture. Your inspired Word to each of us. We ask it
in Jesus’ name. Amen. Ok. What do we learn here? It says the Law
of the Lord. Understand that phrase Law of the Lord is a Hebrew term that is used to
define Scripture. So we could just as easily put in the Word of God or even the Bible.
The Bible is perfect. The Word of God is perfect. I mean where are you going to turn in a time
of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Where you don’t know where to go?
People Magazine? Your favorite Web site? The morning newspaper? The evening news? Hardly.
You are going to need something that will give you strength and direction in your time
of need. And that will come from the Word of God. One writer said, and I quote, “One gem from
that ocean is worth all of the pebbles from earthly streams.” End quote. And that is so true. Just a pebble from the
ocean of God’s Word can make all the difference in the world. How many in their affliction
have found comfort from Scripture. One person wrote, “He who rejects the Bible has nothing
to live by. Neither does he have anything to die by.” End quote. And I can tell you from personal experience
I have put the Word of God to the test. Not only through my life but especially in the
last year. I have trusted in what it has said and it has sustained and given me direction
and hope and comfort when I needed it. And you know little platitudes or clever little
sayings don’t do it. But the Word of God does. And I urge you get a good foundation
in this book because it is only a matter of time until hardship will strike you. Affliction
will strike you. Tragedy will strike you. It happens in every life. There are no exceptions.
But if we have a foundation in the Word of God we will be ready for it when it comes.
Don’t wait until then to try to catch up. Get that foundation now. Know what the Bible
teaches. That is why we are going through this series
together that we are calling Essentials. To give you a foundation to build upon in the
Word of God. Because things and trends and theories and philosophies come and go. Things
are in and out of style. But the Word of God is never out of style. It is never out of
date. This morning’s newspaper is going to be lining the birdcage in jut a matter
of time. Or you will find some other purpose for it. Wrap fish in it. Whatever. But the
Word of God will always be relevant. As the psalmist said, “Your mercies are new every
morning.” The Word of God, the psalmist says, is perfect.
That could be translated, “It is whole. It is complete. It is sufficient.” The Bible
is sufficient. I don’t need to add to it. I don’t need to take away from it. 2 Timothy
3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God.” Or literally, “It is God breathed.”
That means that the Bible is God’s infallible Word. The original autographs. That is the
first copies were without errors. There are no mistakes. There are no contradictions.
It is perfect. Even with a recent discovery like the Dead Sea scrolls where an older version
of some writings are discovered we find that they are still the same. The Word of God is
perfect. You can depend upon it. It has stood the test of time. It is God’s gift to us. Number two. The Word of God transforms us.
The Word of God transforms us. Look at verse 7 of Psalm 19, “The Law, or the Word of
the Law, is perfected, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making
wise the simple.” This phrase converting could be translated, “It revives is. It
stores us. It transforms us.” You see when you read God’s Word it will revive you.
It will restore you. It will change you. Now if you don’t need to be changed then
maybe you don’t need the Bible. If you have got it all together and you don’t have any
questions and you don’t have any conflicts and you feel your life is perfect then I guess
you don’t need the Bible.” I also guess you are something of an idiot too. But if
you are like the rest of it and you are aware of your weakness and you are aware of your
inadequacy and you are aware of your need for God then you will be thankful to know
that the Word of God is perfect and the Word of God can transform you and help you to be
the person God has called you to be. But it is not just enough to read it. You
must process it. And then you must obey it. You must do what it says. James 1:22 says,
“It is a message to obey, and if you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. You are
like a person who looks at their reflection in a mirror and doesn’t do anything about
it.” It is sort of like you know you think you
are looking pretty good and you notice people are laughing at you. Why are they laughing?
They didn’t say anything funny. And you go into the restroom and you check yourself
in the mirror and you go, “Oh that’s right.” There is something maybe on your face. A noodle
there from your spaghetti just stuck to your cheek. You didn’t feel it somehow. You pull
it off. Good. Now what if you went in and saw this problem.
“Oh wow. Look at that. That is something. Yeah.” And you just walk out. That is crazy. In the same way I come to the Word of God.
It says something. It exposes an error in my life. It shows me something I need to do.
And I see it. If I don’t do it I am like a fool who looks at his reflection in a mirror
but doesn’t heed what I see. And the same is true when I hear the Word of God and don’t
apply it in my life. Number three. The Word of God gives incredible
wisdom. The Word of God gives incredible wisdom. Look at verse 7. “The testimony of the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple.” It is an interesting thing this Hebrew word that
is translated to the English word simple comes from a root that means an open door. It is
the idea of a person who has a mind like an open door. Everything comes in and everything
goes out. You have heard of In-N-Out Burger. It is like in and out brain. You know some
people have a double-double. Some people a single patty. Others are animal style. I don’t
know what that even means. But it goes in one ear and goes out the other. It is the kind of person that would say, “Hey
you know I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I am good with that. I think that
is true.” And then they will also say, “And I also believe in UFOs and black helicopters
and I am certain that Elvis is still alive.” You know they are just sort of open to everything.
“Hey if you want to believe that that is cool. I believe that too. But I also believe
all of these other things.” That is the kind of mind this is speaking of. But the
Word of God can make a person like that, a simple-minded person into someone who is wise.
And thus they can develop a biblical world view. So I will see this world and culture
as God wants me to see it. That is why it is so important to understand what it says. Number four. The Word of God is right. The
Word of God is right. Verse 8 of Psalm 19. “The statutes of the Lord are right rejoicing
the heart.” In Hebrew this means that the Bible has set out the right path for us to
follow. We don’t have to lose our bearings in the fog of human opinion. We don’t have
to let our fickle emotions lead us about. We have a more sure foundation. The Word of
God. That is why it is important to read through books of the Bible verse by verse chapter
by chapter. And as I read these verses I ask myself questions like is there any sin identified
here for me to avoid. Is there a promise here that I might claim? Is there a victory to
gain? Is there a blessing to enjoy? Knowing the Word of God is right. Sometimes people will ask the question, “Well
what do you do if you come to a verse in the Bible you don’t agree with.” Short answer.
Change your opinion because you are wrong. It is simple. See that was called a smattering
of applause what you just did. Smattering. But the point is this. Understand the verse
contextually. Sometimes people take verses out of context. Understand the verse in its
original language. Make sure that the translation you are reading is accurate. That you have
understood what the verse is actually saying. But having established that if what you believe
is different than what that verse teaches you need to change your opinion. The objective
is to conform your thinking to what the Bible teaches not try to conform the Bible to your
way of thinking. We are told in Romans 12 that we are to be transformed by the renewing
of our minds. And the problem we have today is people are trying to change God’s Word
to their lifestyle that they have chosen or change God’s Word to the things they have
decided they want to do. It doesn’t work that way. The Word of God is right. And if
you are not in alignment with it you are wrong. So you need to change. Number five and finally. Keeping the Word
of God makes you happy. That’s right. Keeping the Word of God makes you happy. Verse 8 of
Psalm 19, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.” That is what
that is applying. There is a sense of joy. Luke 11:28 says, “Happy are those that hear
the Word of God and keep it.” Did you know you can have a happy life without sin? A happy
life without sex outside of marriage? A happy life without drugs and alcohol? A happy life
without selfishness? God is not out to ruin your life. He wants it to be fulfilled. The
happiness doesn’t stop when the party is over when you are living as a follower of
Jesus Christ. Now some people have the opposite view. Their
idea is that God is out to make their life miserable and the world is where you are going
to be liberated and have all of the fun. And the very opposite is the case. The world is
going to bring you that misery and that bondage. And it is the freedom of following Christ
and living by the Word of God that will bring true and lasting happiness to you. You have
God’s Word on it. Psalm 1 says, “Blessed or happy is the man who walks not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but
his delight is in the Word of God, and in it does he meditate day and night. He will
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. And he will bring forth fruit in its season.
And whatsoever he does shall prosper.” The Psalm continues on and it says, “The wicked
are not so.” It is not that way with the nonbeliever. They are blown about by the wind
like chaff. So I have a choice. I can follow God’s Word
and live a happy and fulfilled life. Or I can disobey it and reap the consequences of
it. If you want to be successful spiritually you must love and study the Word of God. And not only that, but you must memorize Scripture
as well. Psalm 119 11 says, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might sin against
You.” And when I was a young Christian I hid my Bible in the bushes. No I hide the
Word of God in my heart. It is funny how people react to the Bible
isn’t it? You ever pull the Bible out in public. It freaks some people out. It really
does. Especially if you have kind of an old school Bible. You know there are these sort
of undercover Bibles you can get now that they don’t look like Bibles at all. But
when you pull out that looks like this with black leather and gold pages and ribbons they
know what that is. Maybe if you travel you know how people will react. I can think of times I have been traveling,
flying, and you know maybe you get that dreaded middle seat in coach behind the guy who feels
it is his duty to recline for the entire flight. So he is like this. And you are ok you know.
And I am usually seated between two people that fill their seat and then some and so
you are kind of like this. So you pull down your little tray and then you reach down in
your briefcase and you pull out the Bible and bring it up and put it on your tray. And
you know the moment it comes out publicly you will see people kind of go, “Uggh.”
It is like you pulled a snake out. They are afraid it is going to attack them. Sorry.
It is a Living Bible. It is very active you know. I have been doing that joke for about
25 years I am sorry to say. But as long as people keep laughing I will keep pulling it
out you know. But it is true though. People will react because even for the person that
says, “I don’t believe in the Bible” they know there is power in it. I love it
when people say, “The Bible is full of contradictions.” “Really.” “Yes it is.” “You sure
of that.” “Yes.” “Well here is a Bible. Why don’t you show me one?” “Get that
thing away from me.” “No. Just show me a contradiction.” “Well they are in there.”
“Where?” “Uh somewhere.” But it is not just enough to hold the Bible
or talk about the Bible. You need to internalize the Word of God in your life. Colossians 3:16
says, “Let the Word of God dwell in you richly.” Or another translation would say,
“Let the Word of God be perfectly at home in you.” God wants His Word to permeate
every area of your life. No exceptions. He wants it to be a part of your business ethic.
He wants it to be a part of the way you live as a married man or a married woman or as
a single man or a single woman. He wants it to guide you in the way that you raise your
children. He wants it to instruct you in the way that you live your life. He wants it to
show you what your priorities in life ought to be. And you are only going to find it by
studying it and learning it and internalizing it and memorizing it. In closing the Bible is the book that tells
us how to know God and how to get to heaven. It is the roadmap to heaven. And if you are
like me you don’t like to read maps. Well God’s Word is a very simple and understandable
map to read. It is the Bible that tells us that we are separated from God by our sin.
It is the Bible that tells us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. It is
the Bible that tells us that Jesus both died and rose again from the dead. And it is the
Bible that tells us that Jesus stands at the door of our life and He knocks and if we will
hear His voice and open the door He will come in. And in closing if you have never asked the
Lord Jesus to come into your life I urge you to do it now. I mentioned earlier that the
Bible is the instruction manual that we have all been looking for. And if you are like
me you don’t like to read instruction manuals. You buy some gadget or whatever it might be
and instead of reading about how to operate it you just pull it out and start pushing
buttons. And then of course you invariably push one button you were not supposed to push.
And then you go to the instruction manual and the first page says, “Whatever you do,
don’t push this button.” Wow. I should have read this. In the same way we go into life and we say,
“I will just figure this out. I will know what to do.” And you make some mistakes.
And then you say, “Well what do I do now?” And finally you open up the instruction manual
and it tells you you shouldn’t have done this. You should do this. It is the Word of
God telling you how to know God. And if you are not sure if you know God right now and
if you haven’t asked Christ to come into your life you need to do that. And this book
will come alive to you. Now you can read the Bible all day long and if you don’t know
Jesus Christ it is not going to make that much sense to you. You need to have your spiritual
eyes opened to see what it is saying. And that starts with a relationship with Christ. So in closing if you have never asked the
Lord to come into your life to forgive you of your sin why don’t you do that as we
close in prayer. Let’s all bow our heads if you would. Lord we are thankful that You
have given us a roadmap. You have given us an instruction manual. You have given us truth
on the written page. On the printed page. That we can read with our eyes. Truth that
tells us how to know You. And Lord I pray for any person here or listening that does
not yet know You. Help them to see their need for You. Help them to come to You and believe
in Jesus and be forgiven of all of their sins and have the hope that they will go to heaven
when they die.
