The Amazing Race: The Word
A recent survey by George Barna sought to discover American’s attitudes about and usage of the Bible and found that a majority of each of the 4 generations believes that the Bible is a sacred or holy book. The younger the person though the less likely they are to read the Bible. In particular, less than 20% of all Americans read the Bible each day. Interestingly, none of the four generations were particularly likely to say they aspired to read the Bible more as a means of improving their spiritual lives. Why is that? Here’s the top ten reasons
1. The Bible is just another book. The younger you are, the more likely you are to believe this
2. The Bible was written so long ago that it isn’t relevant to me.
3. The Bible is so hard to understand. I don’t know how to read the Bible and understand it
4. I usually end up just feeling guilty when I read the Bible.
5. I need a pastor or Sunday School teacher to explain the Bible to me.
6. I have some real doubts about the reliability of the Bible because it's full of contradictions, at least that's what I heard.
7. The Bible is boring to me.
8. Time. Between job, family and life, I just don't have the time for the Bible.
9. I have other things that if I am going to read I prefer instead of the Bible.
10. I don’t see the need to read it on a regular basis
In this sermon series called The Amazing Race, we’re looking at the disciplines for training in the Christian life. And as Methodists, the study of God’s word has always been central to our understanding of following Jesus and growing in our faith. The Bible is the very foundation of our faith. Ravi Zacharias tells of an experience of lecturing at Ohio State University. As he was being driven to the lecture, they passed the new Wexner Art Center. The driver said, ‘This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality.’ The building has no pattern. Staircases go nowhere. Pillars support nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect life. It went nowhere and was mindless and senseless. I turned to the man describing it and asked, ‘Did they do the same thing with the foundation?’ He laughed. And then he writes, You can’t do that with a foundation. You can get away with the infrastructure…..(but) once you start tampering with the foundations, you begin to see the serious effects.” We know about how important a strong foundation is to the future of a building. The foundation for us as Methodists is God’s Holy Word and the pilings upon which it stands are the timeless truths and claims of the Bible.
So why do we need to read the Bible? The first reason is to discern the will and the leading of God for your life. There are two dimensions to the word. The first is what the Bible calls Scripture. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You are in error because you do not know the scriptures. And because you don’t know the scriptures, you’re missing the power of God.” You'll never know the power of God if you’re not disciplined in the scriptures. Here’s the problem: a lot of us think we know the scriptures. I hear people quote all the time stuff they think comes from the scriptures. How about “God helps those who help themselves.” No, it’s not in the Bible. It’s in Poor Richard’s Almanac. If you’re not disciplined in the scriptures, then you’re going to be basing your life on godless myths and old wives’tales.
Christmas is the time of year when we get things with instruction manuals we have to read. I hate to read instruction manuals. I abhor it. Is there anyone else like me? But with the growing complexity of technology, you have to read the manuals if you’re going to get the full benefit of what you’ve bought. What did Jesus say? You are in error because you do not know the manual of life. You think you do. But your life is like your VCR, it’s still flashing 12:00. Because of the complexity of life and all of the inaccurate philosophies with which we’re bombarded like “Everything happens for a reason”, we have to daily download the right ideas and truths about God. Having the right thoughts and attitudes about God affects everything we do. Because everything you think, say or do is driven by what you believe. So it’s essential to have the truth of God in you. Otherwise, I’m living off half truths and myths.
The second dimension is 'The Word of the Lord’ which is God’s personal word to you in this moment. This is where it gets exciting. This is where it leaves Sunday School and now becomes relationship – when God has a word for me in this moment. In 2 Samuel 7:4-5 it says, “That night, the Word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: 'Go and tell my servant, David, ‘This is what the Lord says . . .'” and God said, You’re not the one who’s going to build God’s temple. Your son, Solomon, will ultimately build God’s temple.” When you begin to study the scriptures, you'll learn to recognize the living word of God that will come to you through the scriptures which is God’s specific word for you in your life at this moment. How many of you have felt that you have experienced a Word of the Lord in your life? How many of you would like to? Then begin reading the Word.
Ravi Zacharias tells of ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of my interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I returned home. We did not know if our paths would ever cross again. Seventeen years later, I received a telephone call. ‘Brother Ravi?’ the man asked. Immediately I recognized Hien’s voice, and he soon told me his story. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals and the Christian faith. He was restricted to communist propaganda, and the daily deluge of Marx and Engels began to take its toll. ‘Maybe,’ he thought, ‘I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe the West has deceived me.’ So Hien determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith. The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. As he cleaned out a tin can overflowing with toilet paper, his eye caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, ‘Romans, Chapter 8:28.’ Trembling, he began to read, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . . for I am convinced that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Hien wept. He knew His Bible, and knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender. He cried out to God, asking forgiveness, for this was to have been the first day that he would not pray. . . . After finding the Scripture, Hien asked the commander if he could clean the latrines regularly, because he discovered that some official was using a Bible as toilet paper. Each day Hien picked up a portion of Scripture, cleaned it off, and added it to his collection of nightly reading. . . . What his tormentors were using for refuse could not be more treasured to Hien.” Eventually he was released from prison and fled to Thailand. Today he is a businessman in the United States, a radiant Christian and a living testimony to the power of God’s Word and its transforming power. In the worst possible place, under the worst possible circumstances, the Word of God became the living Word for him.
For many the concern is knowing whether it’s a true word from God or not. How do you know that? Other people will let you know if it’s wrong. Also if it contradicts scripture, it will be wrong. God’s personal word will never contradict The Word. As you grow in maturity in your relationship with the Lord, the Word of the Lord is going to become significant in your life. That’s personal directive.
Here’s a second purpose of the word in our lives: life course correction. Mike Slaughter tells the story a family reunion and six of them taking a boat out 26 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. They hit this spot over an old wreck where they were over a school of amberjack. And within ten minutes, we pulled in four amberjack. But then all of a sudden, it stopped. Nothing. Not a bite. So, the owner of the boat said, “Guys, we’ve got to move the boat. We’ve drifted.” I couldn’t tell we’d drifted. We had drifted over 100 yards away from the wreck where we were just fishing. And then he writes, “This is how most Christians lose spiritual vitality or quit catching fish in their faith. It’s not through some major tsunami crash and burn. It’s through this subtle, slow drifting away.”
The discipline of The Word makes me sensitive to the things that disturb God and are cancerous to my own life - like greed, lust, and selfishness. It teaches me not only what is right in the eyes of God but what is wrong too thus creating boundaries for us.The word acts as a mirror which allows me to see myself as I really am and at the same time to see what I could become.
So what is the amount of your Bible intake? Are you a diligent student of the Word of God? I hope that this week you will have more intake from the Word of God than just what we read here together at church. For many people this service is all of the Bible they will come in contact with all week and they think it is sufficient. What would you think if I told you that every week for the rest of your life you could only eat on one day a week? Of course I would allow you to eat as much as you want that day, but you could eat no other day except for one? Do you think that day would fill you for the whole week and provide you with the energy to make it through the week, every week for the rest of your life? Then why do some do it with God’s Word? No matter how much time and energy you put into your Bible study time throughout the week, I want to challenge you to take it up a step. If you are not studying the Bible daily, I challenge you to find a time to open up the Word of God and study it. If you are reading every day, I challenge you to do a little more, find a little more time. We lead such busy lives, and I understand it may be hard to find that time, but it is necessary for good spiritual health and training for the challenges which lie ahead in following God’s will for your life and in us working together to accomplish God’s vision for Gretna UMC of “Connecting diverse communities to a lifestyle devoted to Jesus.”
It may require time and even sacrificing some things, but it is worthwhile. I have never heard someone at the end of their life complain that they spent way too much time seeking to read, understand and apply the Bible to their lives. It is always the opposite. You can never take in too much Bible.
Wayne Hudson tells the story of Ben who had left the East Coast 8 years earlier to head out West in hopes of making his fortune. It was 1898. He wasn't rich, but he had accumulated over 300 acres of good land and built a comfortable farmhouse on it. He raised wheat, corn, and all of his vegetables. He had managed to build his herd of cattle to over 200 head. Having accomplished all of this in only 8 years, he decided that it was now time. The ad that he placed in the New York newspaper said, "Wanted: A good woman willing to be a pen pal. Marriage is a possibility for the right woman." Before long, he began receiving letters from Molly. Their correspondence soon turned into love for each other. Now, here he stood in the Kansas City train station waiting to finally meet her. When the train arrived, there were a lot of women getting off. Suddenly, he yelled, "Molly -- over here!" She looked his way, walked over to him, smiled and held out her hand. She said, "How did you know who I was?" He then reached into the back pocket of his overalls and said, "From these here letters." "But there are no pictures in them." He dropped his head a bit and said, "Oh yes there are! There are lots of pictures in your words." You see, he had spent hours reading every word -- looking for every little clue that would tell him who Molly really was. He had fallen in love with he words -- words that had painted her portrait. God's precious word paints a vivid portrait of who he is. When we fall in love with His Word, we will not only come to know Him but fall in love with Him all over again.
