Our Purpose Part 2: Teach The Word And Reach The World For Christ

Our Purpose Part 2: Teach The Word and Reach The World For Christ

4/23/2021 Psalm 19:7-14 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Many of us are aware of the new commandment that Jesus gave us in the gospels. Pastor Kellie preached it as part of our opening series on our purpose as New Life At Calvary Church. That commandment is to love one another as I have loved you. Not as many of us are as aware of the last commandment we have from Jesus. That commandment is found in Matthew, and part of it is to “go into all the world and make disciples and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Our purpose statement says in response to God’s love, our purpose is to love others, teach the word of God and reach the world for Christ. When you hear the phrase, “The Word of God” which of these terms comes to your mind. Respect, Fear, relief, rebellion, peace, guidance, authority, gratitude, restrictions, freedom, direction, hope, judgment, rules, encouragement, helpful, Jesus, Bible, Scriptures.

The way in which we view “the word of God” is going to determine how excited we are about teaching it teach it and how willing we are to take it to the world for Christ. There are two things we have done with the Scriptures that have not done anybody much good.

The first thing we have done is to have exalted the Scriptures to such a high place where they are to be respected, but never opened and read. When I grew up as a kid, we had a big family bible on the coffee table. I never once remember us reading it. In the courts we use to be asked to swear upon the bible it as though it forces us to tell the truth. We are to display the Bible in a prominent place in the church to demonstrate our honoring of the word of God. The best way to honor the word of God is to read it and obey it.

The second thing we have done is claimed that it is so difficult to understand the Bible, we should never read more than a verse or two at a time each day or even each week. How did the devil convince us, the best way to get to know what God wants from you, is to avoid spending time reading the word of God because you can’t possibly understand it?

You are much smarter than you think. You can understand more than you think. You can read 85% of the New Testament and come away with a fairly good understanding of what it is about, especially in the NIV version with a bible dictionary.

Can we be honest and admit, we are lazy and want to do something else with our time. We might even be a little afraid , because God might actually tell us something differently than what we want to hear. You will be amazed at how quickly God will speak to you. God has helped me solve other problems while I was reading the word of God.

Just because we don’t understand the book of Revelation with the beast with 10 heads and seven crowns, is not a good reason to not discover God’s will in the other 26 books in the New Testament which are much easier to understand.

Let me show you how you can easily understand the Word. If you were going to have a confrontation or argument with another person, and you decided to get some direction from the Word of God here is what you might find. In Colossians it says, “forgive one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians, “Do not let any unwholesome word come out of your mouth.” Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” 1 Thessalonian, “rejoice always, pray continually, and in everything give thanks.” How many of you understand how those passages should affect your confrontation or argument.

Jesus promised to give us the Holy Spirit. Part of the Holy Spirit’s job is to lead us into the truth. They Holy Spirit is there to help us read, understand and apply the word of God to our lives.

The Scriptures do more than simply tell us stories. They provide us with a way to view life and a way to view the world. Everyone has a mind that is being shaped by the forces around them. We may think our beliefs are our own, but in reality they are based on information that is passed on to us by others who want us to think and behave in a certain way. I didn’t develop my own view of the world. It has been passed down to me by Christians from one generation to the next who originally got it from Jesus.