How To Be Blessed By The Bible Series

A. In America, Bibles are everywhere.

ILLUSTRATION:

You can find them in doctors’ offices, prisons, and motel rooms. They’re available in all sizes, shapes, translations and versions, leather bound or paperback. Every year the Bible OUTSELLS every other major book. It is reported that 93% of Americans have a least one Bible, and most own more than one. Yet, one study revealed—90 million American have never read a single verse in the

Bible except for what they have read on social media.

B. What’s even more disconcerting is the LACK of BIBLE KNOWLEDGE among Christians.

ILLUSTRATION:

George Barna’s RESEARCH GROUP conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and

here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible. (Now, remember these are Christians.)

• 48% could not name the four Gospels. (What are the four gospels?)

• 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ twelve apostles.

• 60% of American Christians can’t name even five of the 10 Commandments.

• When asking graduating high school “Christians” over 50% of them thought Sodom and

Gomorrah were husband and wife.

• 61% of American Christians think The Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.

C. Needless to say, today’s Christian families and churches are producing a lot of ILLITERATE Christians

when it comes to BIBLE KNOWLEDGE.

1. We need to spend more time READING and STUDYING God’s Word.

a. 1 Peter 2:2- “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk {God’s Word], so that by it you may

grow up in your salvation.”

COMMENT:

We cannot become MATURE Christians without DIGGING into God’s WORD and

APPLYING it to our lives.

b. Parents and Grandparents, your children and grandchildren need to see you studying your Bible.

COMMENT:

They need to know that God’s Word is IMPORTANT to you. They need to see you READING it and hear you QUOTING it, and making REFERENCE to it in your daily CONVERSATION.

When your children come to you with a PROBLEM they are facing in SCHOOL or with the NEIGHBOR KID down the street, take them to the Bible to find a SOLUTION. Let them see that God’s Word is PRACTICAL and RELEVANT to what they are going through TODAY, and not just some ANCIENT BOOK that really doesn’t APPLY to them.

ILLUSTRATION:

There was a boy who spent a great deal of time at his friend’s house. Every time he came for a

visit he saw his friend’s grandmother studying her Bible. Finally, he asked his friend about it, “Why is your Grandmother always reading that Bible?” He answered, “I don’t know for sure, but I think she is cramming for her finals.” (The END is coming, so let’s start CRAMMING for our

FINALS!)

2. James presents three RESPONSIBILITIES that we are to have regarding God’s Word.

MESSAGE:

I. HEAR THE WORD OF GOD- vv. 19-20 (READ)

COMMENT:

Although James’ admonition can refer to any relationship, in the context he is talking about our RESPONSIBILITY towards God’s Word. If we want to get the greatest BENEFIT from God’s

Word, then there are three things that James said we must do:

A. “Be QUICK to LISTEN.”

1. This was especially important to the FIRST READERS of James because they had no New

Testament Scriptures—virtually all COMMUNICATION of the Gospel was orally.

COMMENT:

Believers met together in HOUSES to hear preachers tell the story of Jesus and His saving GRACE. Good LISTENING SKILLS were crucial to their spiritual NOURISHMENT.

2. This same ADMONITION is especially needed in the CHURCH today.

ILLUSTRATION:

We live in a world of 15 second TV commercials and 5 second sound bites. We are being transformed into POOR listeners. Psychologist Paul Tournier has said that the majority of our conversations—even between couples—are “dialogues of the deaf.” This affects not only our

RELATIONSHIPS, but our SPIRITUAL LIVES.

If we have developed limited ATTENTION SPANS, our times of Bible READING have to be ROUGH GOING. The DEVOTIONAL PRAYER of modern man is, “SPEAK to me Lord,

you’ve got FIFTEEN seconds.”

Not only is Bible STUDY in trouble, but can you imagine how difficult it is for PREACHERS to PRESENT a SERMON that holds everybody’s ATTENTION for 25 to 30 minutes. In the first century 3 to 4 hour SERMONS were commonplace. If I tried that, I’d be

STONED.

3. The point is simply this: we must make a CONSCIOUS effort to overcome our listening problems.

COMMENT:

Turn off the television and spend more time delving into God’s Word, get involved in a Small Group Bible Study, attend Sunday School. Come to CHURCH prepared to LISTEN attentively to a MESSAGE from God’s Word. Let God SPEAK to you though His WORD, and

LISTEN! (I JUST HOPE THAT YOU WERE LISTENING NOW!!)

B. “Be SLOW to SPEAK.”

ILLUSTRATION:

As you know, I grew up in a very LEGALISTIC fellowship of BELIEVERS known as the NON-INSTRUMENTAL Church of Christ. Those within that fellowship are known as people who LOVE to ARGUE Scripture. There are TRADITIONS and PRACTICES that we do in this church that I would have said 35 years ago as a rookie preacher, that YOU would be LOST for doing. The most obvious is WORSHIPPING with an INSTRUMENT. I would have ARGUED with you and POINTED OUT what I believed were supporting Scripture to CONDEMN you. I wouldn’t have CARED what you had to SAY or what Scripture you wanted to QUOTE, because