INTRODUCTION
1. Open your bibles please to Hebrews 4:12&13.
2. Give the title of the lesson!
3. Illustration:
Recently, I read a story with a good lesson for us about the importance of the bible.
There was a Grandfather that lived in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The Grandfather had a big family.
One day one of the Grandfather’s grandsons approached him told him that he had a problem in understanding the bible.
The Grandson said, "PAPA, I read the Bible and I don’t understand it, and what I understand I forget as soon as I close the Bible covers. What’s the use
of reading the Bible!"
The Grandfather wanted to teach the grandson a lesson about the importance of repeatedly going ahead and reading the bible, even if things were not completely understood.
The Grandfather told the grandson to get the basket, from the pile of coal,that they used to carry the heating coal into the house. The Grandfather told the grandson to get the basket and run down to the river and bring back a basket of water to the house.
To please his grandfather, the grandson grabbed the basket, ran to the river and got a basket of water.
The grandson ran back to the house with the water. By the time the lad reached the house the basket was empty.
The grandfather told the young grandson to hurry and try to get back a little faster and see if he could make it back with some water this time. GO REAL QUICK!!!
The GRANDSON ran quickly from the river, the basket was full when he left the river, but by the time he arrived at the house the basket of water was dry.
After his third trip, the boy told his granddad, it is no use, I can’t keep the water in the basket until I get here. Grandpa, it’s useless.
The grandfather looked at the disgusted young boy, and said, "So you think it is useless?"
"Yes! Papa it is useless to try!" the boy replied.
The Grandfather said to the grandson, "BUT LOOK AT THE BASKET, CAN’T YOU SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE BASKET?"
THE SMALL BOY WAS AMAZED, AFTER THREE TRIPS TO THE RIVER, THE DIRTY COAL BASKET WAS CLEAN.
The Grandfather said, " See, that is what the Word of God does to you. As you read, you say you don’t retain and understand it, but your basket [your soul] is cleaned. THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD and cleans up on the inside!
This illustrates the importance of the word of God.
4. In this lesson we will discuss what it takes to show that we really do believe the bible.
DISCUSSION
I. FIRST, HEBREWS 4:12&13 REVEALS TO US WHAT MAN HAS TO DO TO SHOW THAT WE REALLY BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS IMPORTANT AND THAT IT IS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER READING MATERIAL.
1. Let’s read and make comments regarding Hebrews 4:12&13, “12 For the word of God is living and powerful,
(1) The Living God provided his Living Word, not a dead letter. The Word of God, as it lies in our bibles, is just as much alive and living as it was when God breathed it out and gave it to the Holy Spirit and then the Holy Spirit breathed it into the minds of those who wrote the bible.
1) The bible is the mind of God in human language.
2) The Bible is never out of date. Reading the bible or hearing it read is equivalent to us standing in the presence of God and God saying something to us verbally.
(2) “Powerful” comes from the Greek word, from which we get the words energy and energize. The word energize probably brings the picture to your mind of the little energizer bunny that is used to advertize the energizer battery.
1) “Powerful” refers to God’s word being given to man for the intended purpose of motivating man to obey and do what God teaches us to do.
2) Turn to Romans 1:16. Romans 1:16 teaches that God’s word (the Bible) has the power to save a lost person when they have obedient faith. Let’s read Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
James 2:26b teaches that the “belief” must be an active obedient faith: “so faith without works is dead also”.
3) Turn to 2 Timothy 3:16&17. This passage teaches that God’s word (the Bible) contains information that will give direction for our life, once we have been saved from our past sins. Let’s read 2 Timothy 3:16&17, “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine [or teaching], for reproof [which refers to giving rebuke for any wrong teaching or actions],
for correction [which refers to God’s word containing the correct information that we should be living in harmony with],
for instruction in righteousness [which refers to containing instructions that direct us in the right ways to live and worship],
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” [which teaches that the bible has all the information that man needs, to be able to do every good work that God wants man to do].
4) God’s Christians should be just as active and ready to jump and do the work of God, as the energizer bunny.
5) Christians should never runs out of energy or completely retire from doing all that they are physically able to do
2. Let’s read some more from Hebrews 4:12, “and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
(1) The words “division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart” are teaching that God’s word, when respected and honored by obedience will penetrate every part of man’s thinking and desires.
(2) The bible, when read or listened to and obeyed will have the powerful effect of motivating man to separate sin out of our life and replace sinful desires with what pleases God.
3. Let’s read Hebrews 4:13, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
(1) Here, Christians are taught that, not only does God’s word expose man for what man really is and for what man really needs to do, but here the author of God’s word –[God Himself] knows everything there is to know about each individual.
(2) You might think of seeing all the black seeds in a watermelon, once you cut that watermelon open.
(3) As God looks down on each one of us, He doesn’t see us as friends and neighbors see us. They just see us, as we pretend and present our self to them.
(4) God sees and knows us as we really are in motive and attitude.
(5) Because we can’t fool God, we need to respect and honor and obey God and the bible.
4. We began discussion on Hebrews 4:12&13 for the purpose of finding out what that we must do to show that we really belief that the bible is important and superior to all other reading material.
(1) I think that we will all agree that they number one thing that God requires of Christians, for them to show that the bible is true, is for them read and obey God’s word.
(2) To reinforce the importance of obedience to the bible, and it being a way that we show that the bible is important and superior to all other reading material we will have other lessons along this same line.
CONCLUSION
1. The bible is important and we show that we believe that the bible is important by obeying it and living a faithful Christian life.
2. In Mark 16:16 Christ teaches the importance of faith and obedience to the command of baptism and then promises that such obedience will bring salvation to one’s soul.
(1) Let’s read Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
(2) If you need to obey this command, you can show that you believe that Jesus and the bible are important by obeying Jesus’ words.
2. If you need to obey the gospel or if, as a Christian, you need prayers, please come as we stand and sing.
Acknowledgments for the illustration in the introduction, that I paraphrased, goes to preacherstudy.com
