God Is Working . . .through The Word

"God is working . . . Through the Word"

Psalm 119:89-96

• Do you have a passion for God’s Word? If not, you cannot be all that God is calling you to be!

• Having a passion for God’s word is so important - listen to what some famous

individuals have had to say about God’s word:

- "I am a man of one Book." John Wesley.

- "Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties. Write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives." Civil war hero & former president U.S. Grant.

- "The N.T. is the very best book that was or ever will be known in the world." Author Charles Dickens.

- "Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today--if only we would read and believe." Former president Ronald Reagan.

- "It is impossible to righteously govern the world without God and the Bible." 1st president of the US George Washington.

• God’s word is powerful, as you can see from these quotes, however many Christians in the church today do not have a great knowledge or understanding of God’s word. Just yesterday, in my office, a minister from w/in 2 hours of Lincoln shared his frustration w/ the lack of passion for God’s word in the leadership and specifically the eldership of his church (even has one elder who has to look up page numbers in the front of his Bible because he does not know the location of the various books of the Bible)

• In his book, The Second Coming of the Church, George Barna shares the following:

- The most quoted "Bible verse" in America is: "God helps those who help themselves" - 82% of Americans surveyed in a January 1997 OmniPoll recognized this verse from scripture - one problem - it was uttered by Thomas Jefferson just a couple of centuries ago.

- 40% stated all religious faiths teach equally valid truths.

- 60% claim Satan is not a living being, but just a symbol of evil.

- And the Barna conclusion was this: "while many American Christians may know some of the fundamental truths of God’s Word, fewer than 10% of American Christians actually possess a biblical worldview" (p. 23)

• "Draw Swords" at Moweaqua - Sunday night youth service - Hezekiah 17:7 - some adults are still looking for the book of Hezekiah.

• Our text for today from Psalm 119 states how God is working - through His Word. Notice I did not say "God has worked" (only past tense) - no God is working (yesterday, today and tomorrow) through the power of His written word. That stated, lets look at our text for today

PSALM 119:89-96:

"Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your Faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless."

THREE TRUTHS OF SCRIPTURE:

I. God’s Word is FOREVER.

- we live in a day and time where it appears nothing is forever

- The Roman Empire - looked as if it would never come to an end - it failed.

- In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, Germany was a nation and a military force that seemed destined to rule the world - by 1945, Germany was defeated and Hitler had, in an incredible act of cowardice, taken his own life.

- 1984 - the movie "The Day After" - nuclear threat - USA vs. USSR - we were told by teachers and others - our world will be destroyed. Today, we do not even discuss the threat of Nuclear War, instead, we deal w/ terrorism and acts of terror.

- Today - Air Force generals have permission to shoot down American commercial airlines in American air space - unheard of just one month ago.

- Tomorrow? I don’t know - Two months ago I planned to share about how the Chicago Cubs looked like they were destined for the World Series, but I guess some things actually do stay the same - oh well, there is always next year!

- However, out text today specifically states that God’s Word is forever:

v. 89 - "Your word is eternal"

v. 90 - "Your faithfulness continues through all generations"

v. 91 - "Your laws endure to this day"