You are Blessed (Author Unknown)
If you own a Bible, you are abundantly blessed. About 1/3 of the world does not have access to one.
If you wake up each morning with more health than illness, you are blessed to rise and shine, to live and to serve in a new day.
If you have anyone on the planet, just one person that loves you and listens to you; count this a blessing.
If you can freely attend a church meeting without fear, then you are more blessed than over 1/3 of the world.
If you pray today or any day, you are blessed because you believe in God's willingness to hear your prayer.
If you pray for someone else, you are blessed because you want to help others also.
If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep; all at the same time; you are rich in this world.
If you have a brother or sister in Christ that will pray with you and for you, you benefit from a spiritual unity, bond, and agreement, which the gates of hell cannot stand against.
If you have an earthly family that even halfway love you and support you, you are blessed beyond measure.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, or some spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the world's wealthy.
If you can go to bed each night, knowing that God loves you, you are blessed beyond measure.
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than about 1/3 of the world who cannot read at all.
If you have never had to endure the hardship and agony of battle, imprisonment, or torture, you are blessed in indescribable measure.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug another person, touch someone on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.
If you can share a word of encouragement with someone else, and do it with His love in your heart, you are blessed because you have learned how to give.
If you have the conviction to stand fast upon His Word and His promises, no matter what, you are blessed because you are learning patience, endurance, and tenacity.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because most people can, but many will not.
Be Thankful to your Lord!
Your Bible is God-breathed
2 Tim. 3:16-17
Paul here explains why we’re to live by the Book. We’re to live by the Book, he says, for three reasons. We’re to live by the Book first because the words of this Book come right out of God’s mouth. They’ve been breathed right out of God’s mouth, and Paul uses one long Greek word to express that whole sentence: that the words of this book come right out of the mouth of God. They’re breathed out from the heart and mouth of God, and that’s why we ought to live by this Book; because this Book has been breathed out by God.
Secondly, we’re to live by this Book because it is the most practical book in the world.
Thirdly, we’re to live by this Book because it tells us how to live with God, here and hereafter. You might be asking where do we get this from. “All Scripture is inspired by God” That’s the phrase where Paul explains that the words of this Bible are the “breathed out” words of God. The words of this Book come right out of God’s mouth.
Then we read“...And profitable for teaching.” This Book is profitable. It’s the most practical book in the world. It’s the most profitable, practical book in the world.
Let us take note, it tells us how to live life with God, so that “the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” This Book tells you how to live with God. Now we want to look at three things together because there’s a world of truth in those three wonderful statements.
I. All the bible is inspired.
First of all, look at Paul’s statement, this triple statement about the nature and qualities and usefulness of the word of God. The first thing that he says is that this Scripture is inspired. Now, we need to stop right there and say that very often when we say ‘inspired’ we mean something different than what Paul is saying here.
This is a statement which says that the words of the Bible are God’s words: they are so much God’s words that we can speak of them as being breathed out of His mouth. They are “God-breathed.” That’s how you could translate that little word inspired in your English Bibles. The words of the Bible are God-breathed, and the Apostle Paul is affirming here that all Scripture is God-breathed. And now notice several things about this: first of all, Paul declares that the entire Bible, not just some Bible, is God-breathed. There are many people who like to go through the Bible with scissors and cut out things that they don’t like, Thomas Jefferson went through his Gospels, and he cut out all the miracles of Jesus Christ, because he said “no reasonable man could possibly believe that Jesus did these miracles. Now, Jesus’ ethical teaching, oh, it’s wonderful, it’s inspired; it’s the most wonderful stuff in the history of the world I love that. The miracles are unrelated to Christianity. I’ll cut them out of my Bible.”
The Apostle Paul says though, all the Bible is inspired. He makes it clear that it’s not just the writers of Scripture that are inspired, or their thoughts that are inspired: it is the words of Bible that are inspired. Notice what he says: “all Scripture.” It’s the little Greek word “all.” All writings, all the writings, every Word is inspired. It’s not just that God moved by the Holy Spirit in holy men, though He did; it is that He caused them to write in various means and ways correctly His message to His people. The Bible is inspired, and the reason that we believe that God’s word is inerrant and without error, and authoritative, is because it is the word of God. Paul wrote, “I thank God that you received my word not as the words of men, but for what it really is: the word of God.” Paul realized that the word of Scripture is the word of God. We have a high view of the Bible as Christians, because the Bible tells us so. The Bible tells us, here’s how you are to think about this Book. God tells us in His word how we’re to think about His word.
Do you know that the very denomination, of which this church is one part, exists because there were men who were committed to make sure that everyone in this church would benefit from teaching of the word of God which viewed the word of God as it ought to be viewed?
There are low views of Scripture everywhere in the world. But what belief about the Bible would you rather adopt? Would you go with the belief of twenty-first century people who are removed twenty centuries from Jesus Christ, or with the belief of those who knew Him? Would you rather go with apostles who knew Jesus Christ, or those who’ve come along in the last twenty years?
Paul is telling you all the Bible is inspired. And of course, Jesus Himself said, “Not one jot or tittle of this word will fail, until it’s all been fulfilled.” And “Lord, Your word is truth; sanctify them in the truth.” Jesus Himself teaches that the Bible is our final authority for faith and practice.
You know, I very much doubt that there are members of The Wesleyan Church who would be willing to stand up and say, “You know, this Bible stuff is ridiculous. Who in the world would want to believe the Bible?” The Pharisees had a high view of the Bible. But Jesus said that they made that Bible void by teaching the doctrines and commandments of men. We have the same challenges today. We can say that we have a high view of this Book, but by our choices, by our attitudes; by our lives we can show that we do not really have a high view of this Book.
Paul is calling Timothy; Paul is calling you and me not just to say that you have a high view of the Book, but to live by the Book! You believe this is the inspired word of God? Live by the Book!
II. The Bible is also profitable.
That means it’s useful, it’s valuable. Note that he says: “All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” In other words, the Apostle Paul is telling us that Scripture is not only God’s very word, but that it’s useful, it’s helpful, it’s profitable. A lot of people will say, you know, it’s the job of the preacher today to make the Bible relevant. Well Paul says, ‘No! It is not the job of the preacher to make the Bible relevant: it already is! It’s the job of the preacher to make sure that he doesn’t make the Bible irrelevant, because the Bible is already relevant! It’s already helpful! It’s already useful! It’s already profitable! The word of God is helpful, it’s useful, it’s profitable; it’s the most practical Book in the world.
Paul says it’s practical for teaching, for instruction, for passing on the truth. He says that it’s practical for reproof or warning; for warning us against the errors that we’re accountable to. It’s practical for correction. It’s practical for training in righteousness, for discipline, discipling and preparing the believer in godliness. The Bible is practical inherently; and the only reason we don’t always think the Bible is practical is because sometimes we’re interested more in other things than God is telling us about in His word. So when we think of the Bible as unreasonable, we need to have a quick heart-check, because this Book is never unreasonable. It is always useful about the first and most important things of life.
IN CHRIST WE HAVE: A love that can never be fathomed; A life that can never die; A righteousness that can never be tarnished; A peace that can never be understood; A rest that can never be disturbed; A joy that can never be diminished; hope that can never be disappointed; A glory that can never be clouded; A light that can never be darkened; A happiness that can never be interrupted; A strength that can never be enfeebled; A purity that can never be defiled; A beauty that can never be marred; A wisdom that can never be baffled; A resource that can never be exhausted.
III. The Bible is sufficient.
Let us take note that this Book is not only inspired and practical, it is sufficient to prepare us for life and godliness. Vs. 17: “that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” In other words, this teaching of which we’re to have a high view is designed not simply so that we will know facts about our Bibles; not simply that we will consent to the doctrines that are taught in the Bible. This teaching of God’s word is designed to equip us for holiness.
God’s truth is for the purpose of leading to holy living, to godly living, to growing in grace. And we really don’t have a high view of Scripture until we love and appreciate Scripture and obey and live it. That’s my prayer: that there will be a day when every disciple in this church does not simply agree to the truth that this is the inspired word of God, but is fully committed in dependence upon the grace of the Holy Spirit to living out that truth. May God change us by His truth?
Lord God, we thank You for Your word, and we pray that we would feed upon Your truth, that we would be directed by Your truth, and that by Your Spirit You would make us to believe and live Your truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
