Sermon: "The Bible" by Rick Shabi, Nov 28 2020

and every year we observe holy days and the holy days are a big benefit to us a big benefit to us of course they're commanded assemblies by god he commands us to keep those holy days and on those holy days we should be one of the huge benefits is that we remember his plan we pay attention to what's going on in the spring holy days the pentecost all holy days and we remember his plan if we didn't keep those holy days like some people would suggest don't need to happen in the new testament we would probably lose sight of god's plan we would not be thinking about it because when we come to passover when we come to unleavened bread we do think about what jesus christ did for us we do think about what we're supposed to be doing in our lives and it is good it is good for people to have those reminders every year the same thing is true of some of the holidays that we keep in america this past week we just kept thanksgiving and this is a secular holiday but thanksgiving is a good day because it should focus us again on a very noble thing that we can do and that's to thank god and look at what he has provided for us maybe this past thanksgiving since there was a football game cancelled and maybe you didn't have as many people over at your house as you normally would have you took some time to think about all the things that we have physically and spiritually they're just too many to mention and thanksgiving is a good time and a good reminder for us to do what the bible tells us to do be thankful every day i've been doing some of that this year and last week we talked about the benefits of having you and i having grown up or living in america and the things that are are have been of uh an opportunity for us physically and spiritually living in this land there's something else i want to talk about this week something that maybe we overlook and it's something that's so common to us that we don't maybe give it the credence that it's due and i don't mean that negatively at all because i know what i'm going to talk about we all hold important but maybe not to the degree that god would have us you know we all have in our homes and part of our everyday lives is a miracle that god has worked from the beginning of time that he will continue to work right through the time of jesus christ and beyond that we've talked about church history and we've talked about how the people of god and the word of god has been suppressed throughout history there were people in a the catholic church notably during the 12 13 1400s was renowned for stopping anyone and putting to death people who would even own or talk about this book that i'm holding up in front of you the world has been against the bible from for a long time and as we look at the world around us today we see that same thing occurring again it is at one time the most popular book probably in the world but also the most hated book has had that happen down through history but this book this book of the bible is nothing short of a miracle mankind and satan have done everything they can to get rid of this book because it is the only book of its kind that we could ever possibly have there is none like it written by very god himself in it he provides everything that man needs it is the key to everything you and i know everything that mankind ever knows everything that we need is in this book and it is simply a miracle that was ever put together and that has sustained all these years when you think about god and all the detail that he put into creating the earth how everything works so perfectly together all the intricacies of our ecological system how animals inter-react with each other how our bodies work i mean it's phenomenal the time that he must have spent in the detail they did in making this creation a perfect place for us and he had a plan he had a plan that went beyond his physical earth at the same time that he would make sure everything would be would happen exactly the way that he said and on top of that he inspired a book a book that would last through the ages that would be here for the people of the old testament the people of the new testament the people from 100 years ago down through the middle ages and down through the millennium as long as there's mankind exists god took the time to inspire and record every single word in this book and we may think we know it but we will learn as the times the days go ahead there is so much more in this book than we ever have even thought about so today as we're still in the mode of thanksgiving i want to focus us on the bible and i want to look at what the bible tells us about the bible and maybe what we should be doing a little bit more with it because we all know the bible but we have just scratched to the surface people who weren't even in the church before us understood more about the bible and general christian principles that i think you and i do and this thanksgiving i've spent a little bit of time as i mentioned last week looking at what our founding fathers knew and the quotes that i read last week about how they put together you know the constitution in our form of government based on the bible and i've heard that before and over the years i've looked at that but this week i looked at it a little bit more like what does that mean that was based on the bible i know it did because the government until recently the constitution for mankind has worked it has produced it has produced a wonderful land that we live in and it was a place that we could all grow and develop well before i even get into that you know let's look back at the bible a verse that i want to start with that you've probably been thinking let's look at what the bible with the god says about it second timothy 3. ii timothy 3 tells us what this book is about let's begin in verse 14 and lead up to the verses that that we talk about often second timothy 3 14 paul writing to a young minister timothy he says but you must continue with the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from when you knowing from whom you've learned them it's always saying what we often say continue in the things that you've been taught don't depart from them it's truth this word is truth hang on to it know that from childhood verse 15 you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in christ jesus well there's one of the key things in the bible this bible is the road map to salvation in it are the words that can take you from physical mundane only death have we earned life to eternal life and salvation only through this book only through jesus christ only through his word that's there in your lap it's the road map we really don't need anything else except god's holy spirit which he's given us and this book it will teach us everything that we need to know it'll provide everything that we know verse 16 a very clear statement all scripture is given by inspiration of god it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness what more do we need if we know our lives are mortal if we know that we we are here and god wants to give us eternal life he tells us where it is it's in the bible it's not in all the self-help books in the store it's not in the tv broadcast that you might listen to it's in the bible that's where the answer is this is the book that god has given us that he gave to all of mankind miraculously painstakingly and lovingly verse 17 he gave it to us that the man of god may be complete don't need any other outside you need the bible you want to be complete do you want to be what god wants you to become he gave us this book that the man of god may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work every good work everything he wants us to be if we learn this bible and that takes a lifetime not just one or two readings through and not even maybe 10 or 15 readings through but a lifetime of legitimate detailed learning if we do that god says this book will be what we need one chapter back in 2nd timothy 2 verse 15. he tells us be diligent i think wednesday on the bible study we talked about the word diligent when you see the word diligent pause i ask myself am i diligent am i digging into this the way that i should be or am i just kind of cursory reading it but not applying it not really fully understanding it not delving into it be diligent that means hard work put effort into it be diligent to present yourself approved to god who doesn't want to be approved to god i hope no one here wouldn't say i don't want to be approved of god but i hope all of us realize that as we are today you know god would approve what we're doing and where we're going but we're not where we need to be yet be diligent to present yourself approved to god a worker not just a reader a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth rightly dividing it looking at it from the bible's aspect looking at it the correct way understanding what it is that god wants us to have that takes time that takes effort that takes god's holy spirit the world will tell you don't waste your time and the world will say there's a better way we don't need what the bible says those things that they say and the judgments they make on people and their lifestyles that's for old times that's not for today and yet we know better we know better mankind will always go apart from the bible but mankind will always go the opposite way of god his nature romans 8 7 he's it's enmity against god so he's going to resist god he's going to resist the bible he doesn't want to say of what the bible says it's more and more what do i want and mankind will always always try to eliminate the bible and put it aside but god is always there to make sure that it exists let's go back to jeremiah 23rd jeremiah 36. interesting little story in jeremiah 36 this is near the end of the kingdom of judah before god sent babylon in to conquer them they had departed from god 40 years jeremiah had been re had been preaching to them and warning them but they just went on doing their own things and here in chapter 36 we we see uh the king being read the words of god let's pick it up here in verse 22 i guess 21 36 yeah chapter 26 verse 31. the king sent jehuty to bring the scroll and he took it from elijah the scribes chamber and jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of the princes who stood beside the king so it's kind of like they were having a bible reading the this scribe brought the bible out the scroll out he started reading it to the king they were all gathered together there the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month with the fire burning of the hearth before him nice setting right kind of peaceful just let's read the bible together and it happened verse 23 when jehuty had read three or four columns that the king cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth sitting there peacefully reading and then then the king decides i don't want to hear this don't hear this at all take the knife cut it in two throw it into the fire well it's not like our bible is today right if we if that someone does it to that we go out and buy another bible not so in the time of not so in the time of jeremiah and the king these things had to be painstakingly transcribed so it's like here's the king doesn't like what he's hearing i don't want to hear that stuff get rid of that book get rid of that book i only want to hear what i want to do find me a book that agrees with me i don't want to agree with that book now so he thought he got rid of it we come down to verse 27 it says the king had burned the scroll with the words which baruch had written at the instruction of jeremiah the word of the lord came to jeremiah saying the book was gone and god says take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which jehoiachin the king of judah has burned well he thinks that he outsmarted me the book is burned but you get another scroll i'm going to give you the words all over again mankind can think he can stop the words of god but he cannot he cannot stop them and he cannot get rid of this book and you shall say verse 29 to jehoiachim thus says the lord you've burned this scroll saying why have you written in it that the king of babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause man and beast to cease from here i don't want to hear that get rid of the book therefore thus says the lord concerning jehoiakim he shall have no one to sit on the throne of david and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night well god exacted his punishment on them the point being the word of god continues it will not mankind will not be able to do away with it down through the middle ages attempt after attempt after attempt after a tent even at the risk of people being burned at the stake being beheaded being tortured the word of god always existed they couldn't put an end to it jesus christ himself said back in matthew 24 in the olivet prophecy at another time in history where mankind will want the bible gone we don't want to hear it we don't want to hear christianity that's an enemy of the state that's the opposite of what we want people to preach that's the opposite of what we want we we want people to believe and so get rid of it and christ says in chapter 24 in the elevate prophecy in verse 35 he says heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away they will always be there just like jesus christ is with us forever god's word is always there it will not disappear from the earth it will be with us day and night just like it's day and night in our homes it is literally the word of god that he has preserved for you and me when we ask why doesn't god speak to people today god does speak to us today it's in the bible it's how close and how diligently are we listening to those words i suppose we think if god would come down and he would thunder out his voice to us and say the same things that's written in the bible we might pay attention but if we're diligently paying attention to the bible if we're diligently searching it we're gonna we're gonna be able to ferret out those principles that we need to be living by and i mentioned last week and i'm gonna take a little bit of just a little bit of time here to talk about the constitution again and this concept of our forefathers framing our government based on biblical principles let me read this little quote here from john adams he wrote this in 1813 to thomas jefferson he said the general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of christianity i will avow that i then believed and now believe that those general principles of christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of god it's a beautiful statement isn't it we would all agree with that here's john adams he didn't know the sabbath day he didn't know the holy days he doesn't know what you and i know he never repented he was never baptized in the name well he was never baptized in the true church of god but he talks about the general principles of christianity the things in the bible if you look back at the time in the 17s and 1800s the bible was the primary book that mankind looked at they may not have understood everything but they knew what was in this these pages and they lived by them were they perfect people no are we perfect people no but they lived by them they knew them they applied them into their lives and they applied them as they were forming a new government they built and used the bible as a basis for doing that and as you read that and you see what they did i find myself thinking could i have done that if i was forming a new government would i have understood the bible and been able to ferret out the principles that they did that i would build in to a document that would last for 250 years let's look at a few things just a couple things you could do you know your study on that as well you can be turning back to isaiah 33 but one of the things we all know every child in here studied government and we know in our government we have three branches we have a judicial branch we have a legislative branch and we have the executive branch where the where did the founders come up with that well here in isaiah 33 and verse 22 probably a verse like say a verse i've read many times but it would have never occurred to me that i was building a government and i wanted to pattern it after what god said that right there in the bible i have the three branches of government isaiah 33 verse 22 for the lord is our judge there's your judiciary judiciary branch the lord is our lawgiver we have to have a branch that makes laws there's congress there's the there's a legislative branch the lord is our king we have to have an executive branch there it is but when you read the history based on that verse we live in a land that has three branches of government i was impressed i'll have to say here's people who knew the bible that they could look at that verse and say we need to build that in i don't know that i understand the bible that well yet that i would be able to say i would have done the same thing now with god's leadership and god's god's inspiration yes but that shows they knew the bible they knew it perhaps better than most of us in this room to some level let's look at another one you'll be turning back to the little book of nahum we were in the book of nahum back a few weeks ago we were talking about god's patience and mercy and talking about nineveh and i made the comment a few times about that book of nahum what it is and i'm learning there's a lot in the book of nahum just like there is a lot in the book in the in the whole bible that we may not fully comprehend yet but in our fifth amendment it's the amendment the bill of right in the bill of rights that talks about there isn't double jeopardy you can't be tried twice for the same um for the same crime and as you look at the fifth amendment it will refer you to nahom one and verse nine that based on nahum one verse nine that's the principle in our in our government name one verse nine what do you conspire against the eternal he will make an enter in the utter end of it talking about assyria there as we we talked about affliction will not rise up a second time and the translation of that verse is pretty pretty literal and i looked at that when i saw the reference in it and this from that verse that that that tenets came from that fifth amendment and i read about how this man jerome he he translated the bible into latin back in the fourth century and as he knew the bible as he looked at it he's the one who said what that means is god doesn't try people for the second time of course he added on to it if you repent god doesn't doesn't charge you twice with the same sin if you repent and turn from that sin and so the double jeopardy double jeopardy came into being that you can't be tried twice for the same sin because god wouldn't hold you accountable the second time if you repent that part is in a way implicit in our judicial system but not really spelled out and so from that time it says the legal profession have taken nahum one verse nine and said double jeopardy is has to be part of every law now again i would have looked at that verse and i'm still looking at that verse and wondering how exactly that came up with it but at it does tell me and what i want to draw your attention to is there are principles in the bible to look at principles that you and i might not have even looked at because we might listen and we might feel comfortable what we're doing but are we really delving in to the bible the bible the guidebook to salvation the guidebook that god wants us to be following implicitly if we will be in his kingdom if we will be teaching people what he wants us what he uh yeah what he wants us to learn let's go back to proverbs in proverbs proverbs 1. of course we know this book was written by solomon wisest man outside of jesus christ who ever lived and it was written to his son at least that's what the words are here but as we read through a few verses here in proverbs 1 i want you to take away my son and i want you to put your name into it because we are all god's children and it is god who wrote this book it is his word to us solomon only wrote what god inspired him to write so when we look at it we say my son hear the instruction of your father replace father with a capital or the small letter f with a capital f your father god the father my son hear the instruction of your father and don't forsake the law of your mother the way families work dad is the spiritual head he's the one who sets the tenor for the house he's the one who sets it mom is the one who's supposed to enforce it teach it make sure it happens in everyday life so in in religion we have the same thing god has given us his word he tells us you know it you preach it you live it you apply it church my church of god you teach it you make sure that people understand the word and you live by it and encourage people to live by it hear the instruction of your father don't forsake the law of your mother how valuable is it there'll be a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck you like jewelry i guess people back then really like jewelry maybe not as much today it's the pearl of great price it's the thing that we should wear around us it's the thing that we should be living and displaying to the people who we come in contact with that they can see god they can see a way of life that leads to everything that we'll see here that is implicit in the word of god we go to chapter two begins again my son that's you and me my son if you receive my words that's god speaking to you if you receive my words there's that little word if because we all know we can hear words and just kind of shut our mind off to him my son if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you so that you incline your ear to wisdom meaning that's what you really want you're not just filling in filling in some time doing a little checklist patting yourself on the back saying that i've done this or that so that you incline your ear to wisdom and then watch these action verbs and apply your heart to understanding not enough to just read have to delve into it have to look into it have to make it work and ask god to help it work apply your heart to understanding if you cry out for discernment that's not just oh god help me understand i got my 15 minutes before i go to work to read if you cry out for discernment if you lift up your voice for understanding if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures that's the diligent worker in second timothy 2 15. that's the one who applies that's the one who works if you do all that then you'll understand the fear of the lord and you'll find the knowledge of god if that's what we really want if that's what we really want and if we don't really want it then we'll just play at it and we might know some stories but we won't really use the bible for the reason that god gave it to us let's go back to matthew matthew 22. now you've heard me often say that every answer to every problem that befalls man is in the bible i believe that and the longer i live the more i see that it may not be immediately evident to us but when we seek it out we see that there's no financial problem that there isn't the answer to in the bible there isn't any relationship problem that there isn't the answer to in the bible there is no other problem that can't be resolved if we seek out the answer in the bible and we apply the bible there's a two thing reading it nice good read it believe it apply it put the work behind it it's there but you have to diligently seek it in matthew 22 verse 29 well this is this is the occasion where the their sadducees came to christ and they had this hypothetical situation of course the sadducees remember they did not believe in the resurrection and so they came up with a story christ what happens if there's you know seven brothers and each brother dies and the wife marries each one in accordance with the old testament command whose wife will she be in the resurrection well they asked him a question because they wanted to kind of trick him into something but i think his his uh his answer is very no no notable here in verse you know jesus answered and he said to them you're mistaken you're mistaken not knowing the scriptures nor the power of god and then he explains it to them you're mistaken because you don't know the scriptures the answer was there in the scriptures they just didn't know them they had their own idea they closed their minds off to anything that they heard heard we don't believe this we don't believe that got up and left that when someone would talk about the resurrection perhaps and he simply may pointed point to them you are mistaken you don't know the scriptures and how many times why might we not know the scriptures how many times could people say to us you're mistaken you don't know the scriptures now one thing i want to just point out here you know you notice jesus christ didn't chide them for coming up with a hypothetical story that probably was never going to happen he didn't say that's a really dumb question i'm irritated that you even asked me you should know better than that he simply said you're mistaken you don't know the scriptures and then he explained the scriptures and i always encourage people ask the question if you don't know ask it there is no such thing as a dumb question no one's going to chide you for asking a question you might just not know the scriptures and when we have questions we go back to the bible and let the bible talk about it because the bible has the answers we don't need self-help books from off the library shelf we don't need to go there or there and whatever the answers are in the bible if we know the scriptures and that's different than being able to memorize a few verses and say generally this is what's going on it takes a lifetime to know the scriptures and to apply them that's why god has given you and me the time that we have now to to look at the scriptures to know them to apply them and the last eight months we've had a lot of opportunity to know the scriptures and apply some you know go on when jesus christ answered the question to them and there might have been some in the audience that day that thought well these sadducees they should know better than that why are they asking that question but when he was done the way he responded notice it says when the multiturds heard this they were astonished they were astonished at his teaching you gave us the answer from the bible the scriptures have that answer we didn't have to go to this fictional writer and come up with this story or that story the answer is there the answer is there i'm telling you the answer to our problems is here in this book that is a miracle in itself that we have the bible itself many times says that it is truth john 17 verse 17 jesus christ said in his own words sanctify them by truth your word is truth other places he said it as well john 10 35 he said the scripture can't be broken those are pretty strong words those are pretty definitive statements you know what it's up to you and me to prove that the bible is truth it's up to you and me to prove that the bible scripture can't be broken and when we prove that that we have no choice but to live by it and to look into it but if we haven't proven if we just believe what someone says if we've grown up in the church and it's just like yeah they said it you know what we need to learn that the bible is indeed 100 truth it claims itself to be god's the one who said those words and we need to know that to the depth of our being because when we do that should be the motivator that we follow every single word every single word as christ said in matthew 4 4 and as it said back in deuteronomy 8 3 in the old testament but let's look at a few a few verses even in the old testament to talk about that back in proverbs again proverbs 30 and verse 5. proverbs 30 verse 5 every word of god is pure it doesn't say most words every every word of god is pure he is a shield to those who put their trust in him we'll see later who believe in him who put their trust in him don't add to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar answer from the bible don't come up with your own explanation don't come up your own your own ideas don't add to it if you're going to speculate let it be known as speculation just say what the bible says if we go back to psalms because we know that david he loved god's word spent his time meditating on it back in psalm 12 psalm 12 6 he writes the words of the eternal are pure words pure words like silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times like gold that's how precious it is if we're going to look at something that we look at and compare it gold is kind of the historical gold standard if you will verse 7 you shall keep them o lord you shall preserve them from this generation forever he gave it to the old covenant people gave it to him the time of jesus christ his words when he was on earth are preserved for us the apostles words are preserved for us he'll preserve them forever psalm 18 psalm 18 and verse 30. as for god verse 30 his way is perfect the word of the lord is proven he's a shield to all who trust in him do we know that his way is perfect do we can we say his word is proven the only way we can say his word is proven is if we've proved it if we've lived it if we'd applied it diligently if we are seeking it for the answers in our lives and directing our paths and our behavior and our life according to his word if we do that we can prove it the bible will make many claims about what happens when we apply his word we'll see some of those we'll see some of those do we know that have we lived it are we actively doing that psalm 119 longest chapter in the bible talks about god's word over and over and over in psalm 119 appropriately since it is god's literal word to us psalm 119 verse 160 the entirety notice he just doesn't say your words the entirety every word is this the entirety of your word is truth the entirety can't say well jesus christ didn't mean that jesus christ said do all things that i do and observe them but he didn't really mean that he really kind of meant you don't have to do that anymore after after uh he was resurrected and went to heaven you scratch your head and you think what are these words in the bible the entirety of your word is truth and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever not a different set of laws for the old testament than the new testament immutable as john adams said unchangeable christian principles that are there from the beginning of man all the way as long as there is physical man on earth it's up to us to prove that the bible says prove all things and then hold fast that which is true know the bible live it prove that it really is the word of god and you will know that as you go through your life and you see see god working with that let's go back to jeremiah or forward to jeremiah another interesting verse here in jeremiah about the word of god this bible the scroll that they had back then but the bible that you and i have in our laps today in jeremiah 15. verse 16 jeremiah says your words were found you know you read through the old testament you can see where they you know they would find them oh the word of god is still here he preserved them although even though some of the kings weren't ever looking at him your words were found and he says and i ate them i ate them you know we eat something it becomes us right if we put really good nutritious food in our body it our body kind of enjoys that if we put junk food into our body or junk food into our minds you know it's garbage in garbage out that old saying but jeremiah says i found your words and i ate them they became part of me it's the same admonition we have every spring holy day when we come to the passover and we talk about repenting giving our lives to god and going through the days of unleavened bread and eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth eat those words moses when he was giving the command to israel he said when you eat this when you eat this unleavened bread think about the law is in my mouth jeremiah said i found your words and i ate them now what happened when he ate them and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for i'm called by your name lord god of hosts wouldn't you like to eat something when you're feeling kind of downtrodden depressed sad feeling out of sorts i can eat this and when i eat it there's the joy and rejoicing of my heart wouldn't that be a fantastic thing and god says if you eat his words it'll be joy it'll be a rejoicing of the heart you know today when people feel sad depressed they don't know what to do life looks hopeless all too often they look to little pills oh this little pill i can take that and that'll wait that'll wipe my depression away this little pill will help me feel happy it'll it'll change all these little things in my mind and i'll feel joy we don't need those little pills what we need is the word of god jeremiah says here god tells us here it's his words not mine your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart when we eat when we eat them they become us and so we eat the words of god let's go forward to the new testament colossians colossians 3 colossians 3 and verse 16. verse 16 says let the word of christ when you read word of christ when you read word of god think of the bible it's god it's god speaking to you let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom how does something dwell in us how we put it into our minds we eat them they become part of us let the word of christ dwell in you richly richly there's a nice adjective adverb let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the lord if that's what we're eating when we get together what's on our minds the way of god the word of god rejoicing in his word thinking of things in a spiritual sense and so our conversations and when we're with each other this is the things we do when we see someone needs encouraging pat him on the back and use the words of god what a what a noble thing to do and the bible tells us what to do if we're eating his words if they're becoming part of us if we really are delving into it and letting the bible guide us and direct us to eternity more and more that's what we would be doing in james james 1 verse 21 james 1 21 therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness you know what that means stop eating the works of the flesh stop eating those things that are producing in you filthiness and overflow of wickedness get rid of them eliminate them from your life take them out of your diet if that's what your life is and that's what you feel you're doing you have to stop eating what's causing the filthiness and overflow of wickedness and a lot of that is our own human nature that has to be overcome that can only be overcome with the spirit of god and our determination to overcome it because god looks to see where our heart is therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word the implanted word planted in you part of you you you live by it you think about the bible when something comes up you search the scriptures or something will be coming to your mind that the holy spirit or you ask god i know the principles there lead me to what it is that you want me to know i know it's there in the bible and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls look how important that word is it's able to save your souls what else what else besides the word of god is able to save our souls but it has to be implanted in us it has to be implanted in us in john 6 jesus christ talked about his word he says in verse 63 of john 6 it's the spirit which gives life the flesh prophets nothing the words of what i that i speak to you the words that are preserved for us right here that are given to us today the words that i speak to you they are spirit and they are life their spirit and their life life now life eternal life health physical life spiritual life their spirit and their life let's go back to proverbs see what god is words for us in the book of proverbs would say you know one thing i can say with surety is that none of us know all the principles that are hidden in the book of proverbs you know god's word is a digest it isn't voluminous we don't you know come in with wheelbarrows full of books where god explains everything but the precepts are there we have to dig them out and as you read the proverbs it does very little good if you read three proverbs and don't dig into what each one of those little verses mean because each one of them has a principle and hidden in there that god designed for us to dig them out are the keys to life and salvation proverbs 4. let's look at verse 20. here we go my son that's you and me my son give attention to my words pay attention to him wake up sit down don't just roll your eyes fall asleep think i heard all this before what am i wasting my time for my son give attention to my words incline your ear to my sayings when you're reading the word of god be alive be awake be alert ask him that you can pay attention to it don't let them depart from your eyes keep them in the midst of your heart ah read them eat them let them be part of you for they are life to those who find them their life the word of god it's life they are life to those who find them again the impetus being on what we do with what god has given us they are alive to those who find them in health to all their flesh health to all their flesh health spiritually health mentally healthy emotionally health physically all the answers are right there all the answers are in the bible we just look at physical health we know what physical health is right when when when god brought israel out of egypt what did he tell them if you obey all the words that i give you if you apply them how many times did moses say if you diligently and carefully preserve them if you believe them if you apply them i won't put on you any of the diseases from egypt he said that do we believe it do we think that he said those words back then but they don't apply today do we think that god doesn't heal or that he can't if maybe we learn what he is looking for that he tells us in the bible what needs to happen in our lives for him to heal who are we what do we do what do we look to do we put our trust in him do we see him as our shield as we've read several times well we talked several times you know in the past i won't say about several times but a few times about health laws that are in the bible we know the health laws are there we know that god tells us here's what you eat and it goes beyond just clean and unclean animals or clean and unclean meats we apply the principles of what's good for our body and today in the land that we live in there are many things that should be considered unclean to us if we're really looking at it even though we can't specifically say they're unclean in the bible we we've look at the principles and we can apply those into life and say oh you know what that's probably departing from what god's health principles are sometimes it's hard to depart from those things you know when we got when we were called and when we when we when we were called and we repented and we started coming to church it was hard to give up some things wasn't it god didn't say you know call repent just kind of living your life the way you used to live it just keep doing the things that you used to do many of the world's churches tell us that just keep doing what you used to do but go what did god say in our spiritual life no get rid of the filthiness get rid of the get rid of the wickedness all that is part of the past don't do that anymore that takes effort on our part that takes a cognizant i can't do that anymore same thing in the physical when we read what god has to say for us you know if we you know today it's very easy to do what we want to do and go take a pill this pill will be the answer to all my problems i can keep doing what i've been doing i cannot bother exercising i can eat whatever i want i can just take this pill and that'll solve everything that was in the bible is that trusting in him is that applying the words of god to our lives i'm not saying don't do it i'm saying we grow and we learn and we learn to live by every principle of god you know i somehow just don't see that in the kingdom in the millennium on every street corner there's going to be a cvs i don't think i'm going to just be able to walk down the street to walgreens and do whatever i want to do or you know i don't know if there is a place of safety a place that god will take his people to i don't know that he's going to say man i've got to make sure that there is something right there that they can get their stash of medicine i don't think he needs it i think he can heal us i really do and i think we're going to be learning the way to do it the way he said to do it because he doesn't say these words emptily he says i'll heal all your diseases if you do what i say if you dig into this book and live my life and live your life the way i've given it to you to live we can say the same things about the emotional problems that people have mental problems and today it's so easy in a world of psychotropic uh drugs just take the pill and i can wipe all my thoughts away that's not i mean it might be okay to do that to get yourself in order i wouldn't even say that the answer is with god the words of life are in the bible we already read about joy and rejoicing they come from reading the bible maybe instead of running for a pill we run to the bible maybe we run to the bible and seek out the words and see what we're doing and turn to him in psalm 107 going back a few chapters here in the book psalm 107. and verse 1. and we don't want verse one let's look at verse um 17. verse 17 psalm 107. fools now what fools mean here is that they know of god but they don't really pay attention to his word they know it but they don't apply it fools because of their transgression and we know that when we sin and when we keep continuing in that way our mind gets closed off we just close our minds to god sin separates us from god fools because of their transgression and because of their iniquities we're afflicted we know what afflicted means they hurt could be sickness could be trials could be other things fools because of their transgressions because of their inequities were afflicted god let that come upon us sometimes it's a warning that we look and examine our lives and see what is god doing their soul abhorred all manner of food spiritual food i don't want to hear i don't want to hear the word of god i don't want to hear what he has to say that's mankind's natural reaction right i don't want the bible i don't want to hear what god has to say their soul poured all manner of food and they drew near to the gates of death spiritual death depart from god i don't want to hear it get the word of god out of me get or away from me end this bible i don't want any part of our lives or our system anymore mankind would say and they drew near to the gates of death but they got it a little bit as they were about to die verse 19 they cried out to the lord in their trouble boy when we're feeling down when we're feeling out when we're feeling a lot we're about to expire if we're feeling that we're lost downtrodden about to give up hope or just to get to give up maybe we cry out to god in our trouble and look what he says he saved them out of their distresses he sent his word and healed them he sent his word and healed them he didn't send the pill he didn't send the vaccine he sent his word he sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions when they returned to god when they looked to him and not to themselves and not to the world around them when they looked to god oh that men would give thanks to the lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving we have to give up some of ourself to do what god would have us do nothing sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing so something we can contemplate as we look at the words of the bible god's speaking to us let's go back to hebrews hebrews 4. if you're on the bible studies wednesday we talked about verse 12 at length and i'm not going to labor it here if you're interested you can go back and listen to that bible study but again to talk about the word of god and not talk about this verse i would be remiss because it shows that while the word of god can lead us to physical health and spiritual health verse 12 talks about it all it can it can show us exactly what we need to do in order to become what god wants us to become to heal our spirit our mind body and soul verse 12 for the lord of word of god that's the bible the word of god is living how many times you hear in the world today maybe our young people hear it you know more than those of us who are older the bible is for old old old folks the bible is old-fashioned you can't live by that we've grown out of it that's not that's not us today we can't live in that society it's not for us anymore the word of god is living it's his word it's here he's preserved it it's the way of life it's living it's powerful it's not just some mundane little thing you put over on your shelf if you use it for the word of god is living it's powerful it's sharper than any two-edged sword we talked about how that two-edged sword one edge could lead to life as it cuts out the things that can lead to our death the other edge can put to death the things that lead to our death a two-edged sword that goes both ways and sharper than any two-edged sword doing what you and i can't do but people seek people seek this to be done in their lives it will pierce even to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow you know how detailed that is that's what the word of god can do it can get places that no man can get no knife no surgical knife no pill it can do all that if we know it if we seek it if we learn it if we apply it and it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart how many psychiatrists are in the world today how many psychologists are in the world today you know what they do i've never been to one but i've been in hospitals and i know what they do people talk to them they want to counsel with psychologists and psychiatrists they have the answers they can help me get into my mind they can help me say what it is that makes me tick you know jesus christ is called our counselor he he is our counselor his words are to us the answers are there psychologists will go back into your mind they'll have you talk psychiatrists will too they'll use a little medicine too to help i suppose to make you feel better and they'll go back in your life so you can see what was it that made me this way how did i become this way how did i develop this little thing this sin or this this way of life or whatever it is and maybe you are struggling with something you think i don't know how i ever became this way you know i have a sibling that doesn't have this problem how did i become this way what is it that why am i struggling with this where did it where did it occur the bible the word of god can let you see where it began and you know once you begin once you see where it began you can be you can rebuild from there god can show us where these things started and all of us have had parents and as we grew up as david said he was formed in iniquity and we all love our parents and every single one of us have made mistakes with our children and every single one of them one day my children will say you know what because dad did this and dad did this and whatever but i hope that they i hope that they can get back to it and say oh maybe that was handled inappropriately back then maybe it was the wrong way of dealing with it but now that i know i can tear it out and i can rebuild that's what it is that's what god does he builds our houses he can jo he can go into your heart he can go into your mind and if you ask him he can show you what it is i've done it i have answers to things that i now know where it began and so i was able well i am in the process of being able to cut it out once you know you can eliminate and you can rebuild psychiatrists you can spend a fortune with them you can do it nothing wrong if that's what you want to do or you can talk to god and you can discern his bible you can use his word and it will give you what you need to do you just need to do it and you need to believe in him you know we can even ask what is the intents of our heart none of us want to be here for here for the wrong reason we can ask god just like david did what is it why am i here i hope that i'm here for the right reason that i'm not doing this for any other purpose then what you want me to do because when we're doing what god wants to do we will be happy we will be joyful we will be rejoicing we will be energetic we will be zealous we will be all those things but if we're doing it just because we think we have to or it's the right thing to do but my heart's really not in it we're going to be miserable life's going to continue to be miserable there's going to continue to be chaos everywhere there's going to continue to be all these problems that we fail with nothing ever gets settled down that's a problem time to look into the bible time to give god and listen to his words and not our own words and the words of the people around us who can't help i'm not saying they can't help they understand things that many of us don't understand but the basis is in the bible we go back to psalm psalm 19. psalm 19. i've read this before but i keep coming back to it the words of david again psalm 19 if i can find 19 19 verse 7. the law of the eternal is perfect it's the word of god the bible sitting in your lap the very words that god speaks to us that he's preserved for us the law of the lord is perfect it converts the soul converts means turns us back to god turn life around the law of the lord is perfect turning us back it converts the soul the very being of us the essence of us the testimony of the lord is sure not to doubt it sure it makes wise the simple his statues are right they rejoice the heart his commandment is pure it opens the eyes and when we do it in faith in belief it opens our eyes to how wise and how good and how perfect god's law is the fear of the lord it's clean it endures forever well let's go back to john john 5. i'm going to give you a few more verses just quote them to you but here in john 5 and verse 24 we can talk all about all the things that god's word can do we've talked about many of them it leads to salvation it provides joy it provides rejoicing of the heart it provides patience and comfort that's romans 15 verse 4 and hope lacking hope feeling discouraged feeling there's no way out go back to the word of god your hope will be your hope will be revived in john 5 and verse 24 christ in his own words speaking to us today he says most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life hearing the words is good but you have to believe and that's not that's as i say every time i almost i think that i say the word believe from the bible it's the greek word postoyo it means a deep a belief that changes the way we think changes the way we are makes us go a different way because it is so it is so riveting what god has called us to most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life got to hear the words you can write down romans 10 17 because faith comes by those words as well faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so you apply the commutative principle that you all learned in elementary math faith comes by hearing hearing by the word of god faith comes through the word of god but hearing it that's why you and i are here that's why we keep the sabbath that's why we have commanded assemblies so that we come and hear the word of god we do it the way god said to do it not the way we might want and we don't wander from here to there and whatever we come and be where god wants us to be so that he can teach us and lead us to where he wants us to be most assuredly i say to you he hears my he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me he has everlasting life and he shall not come into judgment but has passed from death into life god already sees us doing that if we're really obliging the bible if we're really diligently seeking it if we're really looking at it and using it for what god intended the only book literally we need is it wrong to listen to sermons that explain it no is it wrong to listen to books that expand on biblical principles no but all we need is the bible in the millennium there won't be endless libraries of hill self hook books there will be the bible that's what people will be taught that's what we will learn from and that's what god will teach us from so this book this book we should be thankful that god has preserved it for us it is his word every time you look at it laying on your table or on your nightstand or in your car realize that's god's word you don't want to depart from it you want it close at hand you want to know it you want to understand it and we spend the rest of our lives learning it i'm going to mention i think when we started the bible studies in hebrews i mentioned that a commentator wrote that you could read the book of hebrews 100 times it's such a it's such a book that's so filled with so many principles of life that you could read it a hundred times and you would learn something new every single time that's the bible as a whole never think i've read it through ten times i read it through fifteen times i know it all we will never in this lifetime know it all god will keep adding god will keep opening as he sees us diligently wanting what his word is it's his word and he will open the minds to it if we keep looking if we keep hearing if we keep searching and we use it for the answers to life that we may look for i want to close in first corinthians 10. first corinthians in a world as we look ahead more and more the bible will become the enemy of the state they're not going to want people who live by the word of god they're not going to want people who pay attention to it they're going to throw it out just like all the religions have down through the end of man there will be a war against the bible a war against people who believe in it we read that in revelation 13 they will be burning they will be martyring people who believe that way who won't give in to the state we'd better know what the bible says we better have proven it so that when that time comes we can stand up and say literally i will die because i know this is the word of god we'd better see it living and alive in our lives we better be learning what he wants us to learn and that only comes from living it from doing it and from and from applying it first corinthians 10 11 is a notable verse all these things it says happen to them as examples all those old testament stories our kids love them they're inspiring to us love reading about noah love reading about abraham love writing about dan daniel and david and shadrach meshach and abed go they were all given as direct as examples to us god painstakingly preserved those for you and me for all of mankind but here in the 21st century for us it's his word to us today all these things happen to them as examples and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come that's you and me beneficial profitable absolutely necessary for every man who has ever lived given to us upon whom the ends of the ages have come it's time to turn back to the bible none of us have turned i hope none of us have turned from it maybe we just haven't counted it as important as it is maybe we're not as thankful for it as we have maybe we've begun to take it for granted it's always there maybe it's time we need to start looking at what god's word says a little more closely and doing it and doing it and counting it for the very miraculous and lovingly preserved word of god that it is

Channel: United Church of God Orlando

Views: 2,109

Rating: 4.8333335 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 52Y9PQLb6bc

Length: 69min 17sec (4157 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 28 2020