God’s Word Produces Hope – Romans 15:4
Part 3 of 4 in the series, “A Time for Hope”
We’re in the series on hope and so far we’ve established two things that bring hope.
First, we found out that persistent prayer produces hope. Jesus told us “don’t quit praying!”
Then last week we were reminded that staying closely connected to Christian community through the local church helps us remain hopeful.
Those first two principles remind us that our relationship to God and our relationship to one another must be cultivated in order to remain hopeful. You can’t fudge on your prayer life, and neither can you give up on getting together with other Christ followers and stay filled up on hope.
The cosmic tug of war goes on in these two areas because they are so vital to our hope. Satan will do anything he can, tell me any lie he can, to keep me away from God and other Christ followers. He wants me hopeless. He wants me to give up. And with all of the challenges to my hope bombarding me every day I’ve got to have a constant supply of hope.
The third source of hope is the Bible – the Word of God - the Scriptures. Consider what Paul said to the Christ followers of Rome during the first century.
"And the Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope." Romans 15:4 (CEV)
I often ask you to circle a key word or phrase of a Bible verse. In this case just circle that entire verse! That’s what we’re going to cover today: “The Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope.”
Surveys indicate that 43% of all U.S. adults do NOT read the Bible during a typical week. (Church Leaders Intelligence Report, 6.13.07) That’s a heartbreaking statistic. It’s sad because this means that one of our greatest sources of hope is neglected by a lot of people.
“The Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope.”
That’s a powerful statement. I can have hope, real hope. I can be encouraged about my life no matter what is going on around me. I can enjoy a positive, productive, happy life if I have hope, and one great source of hope is the Word of God! But if I don’t frequent the pages of the Bible I am not plugged-in to that source of hope.
One man went to a bookbinder to have his well-worn New Testament rebound in leather. He loved it so much and he was so accustomed to reading this particular New Testament and he had so many notes written in the margins that he just couldn’t stand the thought of giving it up for a new one. So he had it rebound.
When the job was finished, the binder explained that he wasn’t able to get all the letters to the words “The New Testament” on the spine, so he abbreviated with the letters, “TNT.”
How appropriate!
God’s Word is a powerful source of hope! My relationship to God’s Word determines my level of hope in life. As my hope is challenged every day, all day long, I have at my disposal a powerful resource for replenishing my hope – the Bible – the Word of God!
So the only question for me is how can I effectively make the Bible a part of my daily life so that I will always have the hope it gives me? With that question in mind we’re going to quickly cover THE STEPS TO FINDING HOPE IN GOD’S WORD.
THE FIRST STEP IS TO CHECK MY ATTITUDE ABOUT THE BIBLE.
There are a lot of biases about the Christian Scriptures that are founded on ignorance and misunderstanding. A lot of so-called experts on critical analysis of the Bible talk about the Word of God as if they understood it.
One off-the-wall example: Thomas Cahill in his book, “Gifts of the Jews,” makes fun of those of us who still believe that God inspired the Bible. (Page 245) He rejects the stories in the Bible that don’t reflect his concept of God. [That’s easy to do – form your own concept of god and then tear it down.]
He pokes fun of stories like the Jews being miraculously fed by God’s manna for forty years in the wilderness. He says, “manna…was probably white edible insect secretions to be found on the branches of some rare Sinai plants.” (Page 133)
If that weren’t so sad it would be funny.
Why is it more credible to believe that hundreds of thousands of Hebrews lived off of insect secretions for forty years than to believe that God provided for them miraculously?
I’ll stick with God performing a miracle. Cahill’s concept of God may not allow for it but it has everything to do with God’s self-revelation of Himself in the Bible. I’ve dared lots of people to read the Bible with an open mind and open heart and see if it isn’t a miraculous heaven-sent book.
When people approach the Word of God with faulty biases it hinders them from ever seeing what food from heaven it really is! Their pre-conceived ideas keep them from enjoying such tremendous hope from God.
But that’s not the saddest fact about people not being blessed by the Word of God because of their wrong attitudes! The troubling thing is how many of God’s people have biases against the Word of God!
Biases like, “The Bible is good on Sunday but I don’t need it the rest of the week.” Or, “The Bible is useful for finding out how to get to heaven but it won’t help me learn how to be a better parent. It can’t help me on the job or in my finances, etc.” Not true! The Scriptures provide hope for every area of my life!
1Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. 2 Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord, and they study it day and night. 3 They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. Psalms 1:1-3 (GNT)
Circle that phrase “they study it day and night.” That represents a proper attitude about the soul food that is found in the Bible.
This doesn’t mean you have to cloister yourself away in some monastery and take a semi-vow of silence while you chant or sing hymns in Latin. That’s another attitude about the Bible that needs adjusting. Don’t be so afraid of something that’s so wonderful. This scripture is simply pointing out that God’s blessings will come to your life if the Bible, God’s Word, is a constant source for your way of thinking.
It’s a natural cause and effect formula. If you feed on the foolishness of the anti-God contingent as this Psalm suggests in verse one, your life will follow what you feed your mind and heart on.
If you get all your financial advice from Wall Street and pay no attention to the Word of God you won’t have hope. You may have a lot of “stuff” but you won’t have hope without the Word of God.
If you feed on pornographic web sites you might enjoy "the pleasures of sin for a season," but your life won’t be filled with hope. It will be filled with lust and exploitation of other human beings. Your life will be focused on using people instead of loving them. There’s no hope in that.
If you follow the lifestyles of America’s entertainment industry you might have glamour and glitz but you won’t have hope. Hope comes from God. And God communicates to us through His Word.
But if you engorge and enmesh yourself with the Word of God every day as verse 3 suggests, then you’ll be “like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up.” You will, “succeed in everything you do.”
One preacher stood on the street corner proclaiming the Good News about Jesus to anyone who would listen. A man approached him that looked like he had lived on the streets forever. “Can I help you?” asked the preacher. “I think you can,” said the vagrant. “Would you like me to tell you about Jesus?” “No.” “Would you like for me to pray for you?” “No.” “Well if you don’t want me to tell you about Jesus and you don’t want me to pray with you then how is it that I can help you?”
“You can give me your Bible.” “Why would you want my Bible if you have no interest in knowing about Jesus?” “I noticed that the pages of your Bible are very thin. I can use the paper to roll cigarettes.”
Instead of being offended like a lot of preachers might have been, a sudden burst of wisdom entered the preacher’s mind. “I’ll give you the Bible on one condition. I want you to agree to read a page of the Bible before you smoke it.” The vagrant agreed, took his new Bible, and left.
The preacher thought he had seen the last of him but he wasn’t worried about the Bible because he knew he could get a new one. And if the man didn’t read the pages before he rolled them into cigarettes at least the preacher knew he tried.
Several months passed and the preacher was once again on the street corner proclaiming the Good News about Jesus. A man came up to him neatly and nicely dressed and said, “You don’t know me do you?” “No, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before in my life.” “Yes you have. I’m the man to whom you gave a Bible four months ago on this very street corner.”
The preacher couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. “What happened? Tell me what happened?” “Well, I smoked Matthew, and then I smoked Mark, and then I smoked Luke – and then John smoked me!”
You say, “I don’t have time for the Bible every day.” That’s another attitude about the Bible you need to check. You may not actually say that out loud but if you neglect reading from God’s Word every day you are going hungry spiritually just like you would be hungry physically if you didn’t eat food every day.
What do you have time for? Even if you dedicated five or ten minutes to studying the Word of God every morning and every evening it would radically alter your life. It’s ironic. We’ll spend our last dime and last minute on the latest resource on success and by-pass the one thing that has a proven track record. We’ll devote hours to our favorite TV shows, our hobbies, our recreation, and then we can’t find time to let God talk to us.
And check the attitude that says, “I can’t understand the Bible.” Jesus said this: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.” John 14:26 (GNT)
Every Christ follower has a teacher living inside of him or her! The Holy Spirit is there to help you understand God’s Word. If you have made a faith commitment to Jesus, asking Him to be your Savior then you have the Holy Spirit. With patience and consistent study the Bible will become more and more meaningful to you as the Holy Spirit guides you from the inside out!
So the first step in taking advantage of the hope found in God’s Word is to check my attitude. If the bookmark in your Bible isn’t moving every day you have to ask yourself “why not?” Something is keeping you from a tremendous source of hope! You need to repent – you need to change your mind about your daily need for the Word of God.
THE SECOND STEP IS TO USE THE BIBLE.
After you’ve made sure you have the right attitude about the Bible then use it! Get in the habit every day of asking yourself, “What does God’s Word say about this?” If you have a question about a certain situation – use the Bible. If you need help parenting – use the Bible. If you need wisdom in dating – use the Bible. If you need encouragement – use the Bible.
Here’s the basis for this step.
“16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful (circle “is useful”) to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses (circle “uses) it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
Scripture is useful! God uses it! He uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
The Bible is the world’s most practical book and its such a shame that a lot of people only see it as a book of musty theology. Put it to use in your relationships, on your job, in your business dealings, in your recreation. There shouldn’t be an area of your life outside the influence of God’s Word.
USE THE BIBLE!
One young man studying for the ministry believed in this step. He wanted to have a Scriptural basis for everything he did. He felt he was on solid ground if he could quote a Bible verse that approved of his actions. And this practice served him well until he met and began to fall in love with a girl on campus.
They dated quite a few times and he really wanted to kiss her but he couldn’t find a Bible verse that gave him the green light. So, true to his conscience, he’d walk her to her dorm each night, look at her longingly and say “Good night," then quickly turn and walk away. This went on for weeks and all the while he was searching the Bible trying to find one verse to okay kissing his sweetheart goodnight.
But he couldn’t find one. He did come across one verse in Romans that says, “Greet each other with a holy kiss.” But when he went to one of his professors to check it out he was told the verse had to do with a first century social custom at churches and had nothing at all to do with dating. So in his mind he still didn’t have any biblical basis for kissing his girlfriend.
One evening he walked her to her dorm again and started to bid her goodnight and quickly walk away when she grabbed him, pulled him toward her, and planted a big kiss right on his lips. At the end of the kiss the young man grasped for air and stammered, “Bible verse, Bible verse.” The girl grabbed him a second time, and just before layin’ another one on him she said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Find out how the Bible applies to your problems, to your questions, to your decisions, to your needs. Then use it!
If the Bible doesn’t directly come out and address the issue you’re concerned about then study the principles of the Bible and find the ones that apply to your situation. The principles of God’s Word are tremendously useful.
Take the two biggest principles of behavior in the Bible. An expert in religious law came to Jesus one day and said.
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)
Take a lot of issues in which you need direction in your life and those two principles will go a long way!
But the Bible is filled with many more useful principles. I need to learn them and then use them. As I do my life overflows with hope! I have confidence that I am living God’s way and that He is going to bless my life!
Here’s the next step for laying claim to the hope in God’s Word. After I’ve checked my attitude about the Scriptures and then decided to use them in my daily life I follow this step.
THE THIRD STEP IS TO HIDE THE BIBLE.
Of course I don’t mean by that “put it in a secret place.”
Here’s a well-know verse of Scripture that explains what I am talking about. The Psalmist said:
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalms 119:11 (NLT)
Hide the Bible in your heart. Why is that important?
It’s important because sin is the thing that messes me up when it comes to God’s blessings. Sure, God is gracious and merciful and He blesses me even though I don’t deserve it - but He can bless me even more when I am more faithful to His instructions.
The reason hiding the Bible in my heart is important is because it helps me overcome my sinful urges.
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Circle that verse. Underline it. Memorize it.
But we’re talking about more than just Scripture memorization here. Hiding God’s Word is more than just memorizing it. Sure we ought to memorize Scripture. But to hide it, especially in my heart, means that I give it a place of highest esteem.
When I say something or someone is "in my heart" or "on my heart" I’m expressing a very intimate and sentimental attachment to it.
When I say my wife Deb is "in my heart" or "our children" or "our grandson is in my heart," you know that I am expressing a deep love and affection for them.
That’s how I need to feel about the Word of God. It’s not just that I am getting into the Bible – it’s that the Bible is getting into me.
Hiding God’s Word in my heart is a pre-emptive strike against sin.
Either this book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.
Hiding the written Word of God in my heart begins by hiding the Living Word of God in my heart. Jesus is the Living Word of God.
"The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us." John 1:14 (CEV)
A soldier by the name of Wilton Thomas was killed in the war in Vietnam. When his personal affects were brought home his New Testament was found to have a bullet hole right through its middle. In the back of the testament was an inscription: “I Wilton Thomas take Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.” Then it was signed and dated by the hand of the young man.
That is what the Bible is for. It is not just a book of good moral stories or a history book or book of great literature. The Bible tells us how we can know God through a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ.
I need to not only hide the written Word of God in my heart. I need to hide the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, in my heart by making a faith commitment to Him as my Savior.
