Getting into God’s Word (1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/6/2013
Welcome. I hope that your New Year is off to a good start for you. And there’s nothing better you could be doing on the first Sunday morning of 2013 than worshipping with God’s people. And I don’t think there is any better place to do that, than right here at the Grove. I hope that’s the experience you have as we worship together each week. Because we’re glad you’re here.
For 65 hours one October several years ago, students at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, read the Bible aloud at a crossing in the heart of the university campus. Standing under a tent and reading into a microphone in 30-minute shifts, they read from Genesis to Revelation.
Erica Wothen, a senior student and member of His House Christian Fellowship, led more than 200 students in the event. Erica said, “We came together to read the Word. We didn’t worry about what we would say or do. We just read and watched God move.” (Christian Standard, January 2011).
As each year begins, millions of Christians resolve to read the Bible through—maybe not in 65 hours, but in a year or two. And there are lots of reading plans to help you accomplish that goal—there’s the One Year Bible, the Daily Bible, the Bible in 90 Days. There’s even one from Ransom Fellowship called the Bible Reading Program for Slackers & Shirkers. A lot of us probably fall into that category.
I read of a minister who was visiting one of his members. The lady of the house, wanting to impress the pastor, said to her little girl, “Honey, go get the book that Mommy loves so much,” pointing to the large family Bible on the shelf. The little girl ran over to the shelf and returned carrying the new Sears catalog!
Many of us have more Bibles at home than we can count. In fact, more than 100 million Bibles are sold each year. In 2009, the United Bible Societies gave away 431 million copies of the Bible throughout the world. In the same year, Gideons International distributed more than 79 million Scripture copies worldwide. That is 150 copies every minute. Since the invention of the printing press, at least 12 billion Bibles have been published and distributed. To get some feeling for the enormity of that figure, their publication would take nearly 9 million tons of paper, which would fill approximately 495,240 railroad cars, or a train 4,716 miles long. That’s a lot of Bibles!
But just because we have a Bible or ten on the shelf at home, doesn’t mean we ever really get into God’s Word. In 2002, the Barna Research Group conducted a survey of self-identified Christians and here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible:
• 48% could not name the four Gospels.
• 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ disciples.
• 60% of American Christians can’t name even five of the 10 Commandments.
• 61% of American Christians think the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.
• 71% of American Christians think “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse.
George Barna said, “Americans revere the Bible, but by and large they don’t know what it says.” So, how about you? How much time do you spend with your Bible? Do you get into God’s Word every day or at least every week?
The Bible is the most incredible, influential, and life-changing book ever written. But it only works when we get into God’s Word and let his Word get into us.
Over the next few weeks, I’d like talk about what makes the Bible so special. And I want to start this morning with the nature of the Bible.
• THE NATURE OF THE BIBLE
What sets the Bible apart from any other book ever published is that the Bible contains the very words and thoughts of God. In fact, this is what the Bible says about itself: “All Scripture is inspired by God and 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. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT).
Let’s start with that first phrase, “All Scripture is inspired by God.” What does that mean? Another translation says, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (NIV). It means that the Bible is unlike any other book because it comes from the heart and mind of God.
Peter describes it this way, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NLT).
The Bible is so unique because it was co-authored by God and man. The Bible, like Jesus, has a duel nature. It’s both fully human and fully divine, just like Christ. It had roughly 40 human authors over a span of 1600 years. During that time, God’s Spirit moved through the prophets, apostles, and other writers of Scripture in order to reveal God’s message to mankind. While the personalities and proclivities of each inspired writer are clearly evident in their writings, the remarkable reality is that God has spoken!
The Bible is God’s book and God’s voice.
And because the Bible is God-breathed, it is essentially God’s autobiography. It tells us who God is, what he has done, and what he likes and dislikes. It also tells us who we are and what we can be; which brings me to our need for the Bible.
• THE NEED FOR THE BIBLE
A.W. Tozer expressed it well when he wrote, “The Holy Scriptures tell us what we could never learn any other way: they tell us what we are, who we are, how we got here, why we are here, and what we are required to do while we remain here.”
Let’s look again at 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which says, “All Scripture 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” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT).
I read a story about a drunk guy who was spotted by a police officer looking for something. The drunk was down on his hands and knees and explained in slurred speech to the police officer that he was looking for his wallet. The police officer inquired, “Well, where did you lose it?” The drunk motioned with his hand as he replied, “About half a block that way.” The confused and amused policeman asked, “Well, why are you searching here then?” The drunk replied, “There is no street light down there!”
We’re a lot like that sometimes. When we have questions about life, or trouble comes our way, or relationships fall apart, and we lose our way—sometimes we look for answers in all the wrong places. We turn to Dr. Phil or the latest self-help book, instead of turning to God’s Word.
One of the reasons this book has endured throughout the centuries is that it dares to tackle the toughest questions about life. What happens after I die? Is there a God? What do I do with my fears? The Bible answers all of life’s most important questions and concerns. The Bible says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV).
More than just a biography about God, the Bible is a guide for our lives. In this life, we walk through a dark forest of evil. It’s all around and sometimes within our own hearts. But the Bible can be our light, illuminating our hearts and lighting our way so that we don’t stumble in the darkness. It reveals the entangling roots of false values and philosophies. It shows us what is true and helps us realize what is wrong in our lives. When we live our lives by the light of God’s Word, we’ll be able to see clear enough to stay on the right path.
Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, once said, “There is no other book so various as the Bible, nor one so full of concentrated wisdom. Whether it be of law, business, morals, etc… he who seeks for guidance may look inside its covers and find illumination.” That’s why we need the Bible—to find illumination, to discover light for our path.
But this passage in 2 Timothy not only speaks of the nature of the Bible and our need for the Bible, it also speaks about the nourishment we can get from the Bible.
• THE NOURISHMENT FROM THE BIBLE
The last little bit of those two verses say, “God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17 NLT). In other words, God uses his Word to enable us to go out and do good in the world. God’s Word nourishes and strengthens our spirits. Jesus put it this way: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV). Just as our bodies are sustained and strengthened by the bread we eat, our spirits are nourished by God’s Word. Peter also touched on this when he wrote, “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 NASB).
Now some people expect the Word of God to hit them like a jolt of adrenaline each time they read or study it. Although the “jolt” may hit us periodically, the benefits of God’s Word act more like vitamins. People who regularly take vitamins do so because of their long-term benefits, not because every time they swallow one of the pills, they feel new strength surging through their bodies. They develop a habit of consistently taking vitamins because they believe—in the long haul—vitamin supplements are going to have a beneficial effect on their physical health, resistance to disease and, general well-being. The same is true of reading the Bible. At times it will have a sudden and intense impact on us. But the real value lies in the cumulative effects that long-term exposure to God’s Word will bring to our lives.
Earlier this week I heard of some parents whose oldest son was heading off to college for his freshman year at Duke University. Before he left, they gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began e-mailing them asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible—but he still needed money. When he came home for Christmas break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. “How can you say that?” the boy asked. The father leafed through Bible, then held it upside down as sixty-six $20 bills flitted to the floor—one for each book of the Bible.
I doubt that you’ll find $20 bills stashed away in your Bible, but the spiritual treasures contained in each of those sixty-six books are worth so much more. Just as our bodies need a balanced diet, our souls require a steady diet of Scripture. Our spirits cannot survive without the Word of God. God sets us a banquet. He offers us 31,173 nutrient-rich verses about himself and encourages us to feast! We nourish our hungry souls when we devote a balanced and generous amount of time to feasting on the truths of Scripture. It doesn’t take long to notice the change. The Bible is life-giving—it revives every famished heart and breathes resurrection power into dry and weary souls.
Conclusion
Charles Stanley once told of a woman who received a lengthy letter from her fiancé who had just left for basic training. Her family and friends teased her because of her utmost care and frequent reading of the letter. She read it over and over. She even had it memorized after a while. What made this letter different from all her other mail?
She was in love with the author.
And the author was in love with her.
That’s my prayer for you when it comes to the Bible—that you would learn to love the author with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and realize how deeply the author loves you! Next week I want to talk about how you can know that the Bible really is from God—has God spoken?
Invitation
I want to invite you to get into God’s Word this week. Start at the beginning, open up to your favorite chapter, or find a Bible reading plan that you like—it doesn’t matter how you do it. What matters is that you get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into you. If you need help with that, then come talk to me while we stand and sing.
