Why is this the case? It could be because they have been given many things without exerting any effort themselves whatsoever. Therefore they can not really appreciate the sacrifices that have been made to make it possible for them to have those things.
This explains why they do not think the way older people think. For example-
Illus: A father had been growing more and more exasperated because his college-aged son persisted in borrowing his clothes. One evening the youth appeared dressed for a date. The father asked,
• “Isn’t that my tie you are wearing?”
• “Yes sir, I...I guess it is,” said the son.
• “And isn’t that my shirt?”
• “Yes, Sir.”
• “And isn’t that also my belt?”
By this time the father was really exasperated, and said, “Will you kindly tell me what you are wearing that for?” The son said, “Well, gee wiz, Dad, you don’t want your pants to fall down, do you?”
It is a known fact that many teenagers do not think the way adults think because many of them have had so much given to them and they have never had to sacrifice to get anything. However, this is not only true for the youth of our nation, it is also true when it comes to God’s children. This is why immature Christians think differently than mature Christians.
Illus: You and I have an English Bible in our hands primarily because of a man named John Wycliffe. After studying the Word of God, he came to these six conclusions (errors of the Catholic Church):
1. The holy Eucharist, after consecration, is not the actual body
of Christ.
2. The Church of Rome is no more important than any other
church.
3. Peter had no more power given to him by Christ than any
other apostle.
4. The Pope has no more power than any other priest.
5. The gospel is enough for any man, without the rules of men,
which add nothing to the gospel.
6. Neither the Pope nor any other Church official has the power
or right to punish transgressors.
John Wycliffe came to those conclusions after he had studied the Word of God. He knew that men would have to have a Bible they could read in order to discover the truths he had discovered from God’s Word.
Wycliffe eventually lost his job and salary at Oxford and he was ordered to stop preaching against the Catholic Church. His teachings and followers continued to grow even though there was strong opposition. He was considered a heretic by the Catholic Church for his actions.
Those who opposed his efforts in preserving the Word of God literally burned him at the stake. Because of Wycliffe’s great sacrifice, we have the English Bible.
Many have given their lives so that we might have a copy of the Bible in our possession today. I hope that when you look at that Bible in your hands, you will look at it in the same way you look at that flag. That is, knowing that many have given their lives for It.
Yes, many great men and women have paid a tremendous price so you and I may have the precious Word of God to “feast” on daily. The problem is that many of us are not “coming to the table to be fed.”
The writer of Hebrews tells us that (4:12), “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
However, It can only be powerful in our lives as we receive It. Paul told us that the Thessalonian people were receptive to the gospel of Christ. They were willing to receive the Word of God as being God’s Word.
I would like to show you three things we must do before we can receive God’s Word.
I. WE MUST APPRECIATE THE WORD OF GOD
Look at 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
They recognized this Bible that we hold in our hands for what it really was--THE WORD OF GOD. This Bible should be treated with sacredness.
Illus: We should teach our children, at an early age, they may take story books and lay them on the floor, but not this book. Why? Because this book is the Word of God.
The Bible, that I hold in my hand, is the most unique book in the world.
Illus: You can go to the largest library in the world, and out of all of the millions of books on the shelves there is not a book in any library that can come close to the uniqueness of this book. The Bible is:
• Different in Its origin than any other book.
• Different in its character than any other book.
• Different in its contents than any other book.
• A book for which men and women have died.
• Where millions have come to find the way to have eternal life.
There is no book that is close to what this Book is! THIS IS THE INSPIRED, INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD.
This Bible does not contain God’s Word--IT IS GOD’S WORD!
That simply means that God spoke it, wrote it, and revealed it. From beginning to end, the Bible is the work of Almighty God.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED! Some would have you believe men wrote the Bible. I beg your pardon. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
If we are to be a biblically receptive people, we must appreciate that the Bible is truly the Word of God.
The way a Christian treats his Bible shows how much he appreciates the Lord Jesus. Let me explain what I mean by that.
Illus: According to john 1:1, 14, Jesus is the LIVING WORD, but this Bible, that I hold in my hands, is the WRITTEN WORD. In essence they are the same.
• Both are bread (cf. Matt. 4:4; John 6:48).
• Both are light (cf. Ps. 119:105; John 8:12)
• Both are truth (cf. John 14:6; 17:17)
• Both were conceived by the Holy Spirit. (Lk. 1)
• Both Christ and the Word of God will live forever. (Ps. 119:89; I Pet. 1:23,25)
Our entire view of God and His Son is tied directly to what we understand the Bible to be!
The devil knows before he can change the views of people and damn their souls for eternity he has to do away with the Word of God. He is constantly attacking It. He has found he can not do away with it so now he seeks to deceive by watering it down in the form of modern versions, some of which rob Christ of His deity.
This attack on God’s Word is not only taking place in pulpits of churches across this land, but also for some time has been taking place in the secular schools in this country. All across this nation students who believe this Bible to be the Word of God are being mocked.
Illus: Martin Luther saw this dangerous trend coming. In the sixteenth century he said, “I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of Hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.”
WE MUST HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR THE WORD OF GOD. Once we have an APPRECIATION, then...
II. WE MUST APPROPRIATE THE WORD OF GOD
To APPROPRIATE means I am taking it for my own use.
Notice what Paul said about the Thessalonians concerning this Bible. Look at verse 13, “...because, when ye RECEIVED the word of God which ye heard of us, ye RECEIVED it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, THE WORD OF GOD...”
That is, these Thessalonian Christians not only heard the Word of God. they took it into their inner being and made it a part of their lives.
Illus: The evangelist, Gypsy Smith, once said, “What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.”
Illus: Too many Christians have become like great aunt Lucy. Great aunt Lucy was losing her hearing and a specialist suggested an operation to help improve it, but she promptly vetoed the idea, saying, “I’m 94 years old and I’ve heard enough.”
The Lord said, in Matt. 13:9, “Who has ears, let him hear.” In other words, use every opportunity you can to hear the Word of God and appropriate it into our lives. Why? Because this blessed book can bring more happiness and peace to your life than anything else on earth.
While we understand that the Lord encourages us to read and study the Bible every time we get a chance, we also need to understand He cautions us not to make ourselves available to all things we hear. Look at Mark 4:24, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” We might say, “Consider carefully what you hear.”
Too often we attend church and hear the Word of God in our Sunday School classes and worship services, then we go home and watch television programs that erase the impressions that have been made on us by the Word.
Illus: If one spends only 2 to 3 hours in the Word each week, but spends 15 to 20 hours watching television, he is appropriating much more evil than good in his life each week.
The Lord would have us think on His Word--”Consider carefully what you hear.” To hear the Word of God properly is to listen to it with the mind-set of appropriating It into my life, and seeing my life change as a result.
Every sermon and every Sunday School lesson we hear, we should listen to with an attitude that says, “What should I do differently in my life as a result of what I am learning from the Word of God.”
If we are to be biblically receptive, we must APPRECIATE THE WORD OF GOD and APPROPRIATE THE WORD OF GOD into our everyday existence. Once we have done those things, then...
III. WE MUST ACTIVATE THE WORD OF GOD
Paul said, in verse 13 of our text, “...ye received the word of God...as it is in truth...which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” The word from which “worketh” is translated is also the word from which we get our English word “energy” or “energize.” We could interpret this verse to read, “...the word of God, which energizes you who believe.”
Now I’m sure some of you probably do not feel like you have much energy.
Illus: It has been said that you know you’ve reached middle age when you try to find out where the action is do you can go somewhere else.
Seriously, the energy that we get from believing in the Word of God does not come from within ourselves--it comes from an outpouring from God! It is not enough to APPRECIATE the Bible, or even to APPROPRIATE It in our lives. We must ACTIVATE the Word of God in our lives because in It is the power to accomplish the will of God.
Illus: In Mark 3:1-5, Jesus commanded a crippled man to stretch out his crippled hand--the very thing the man could NOT DO. Yet that word of command gave the man the power to obey. He trusted the Word, obeyed, and was made whole.
Conclusion/Summary:
In his book, “Forever Triumphant,” F. J. Huegel told a story that came out of World War II. After General Jonathan Wainwright was captured by the Japanese, he was held prisoner in a Manchurian concentration camp. Cruelly treated, he became “a broken, crushed, hopeless, starving man.” Finally the Japanese surrendered and the war ended. A U. S. Army Colonel was sent to the camp to announce personally to the general that Japan had been defeated and he was free and in command. After Wainwright heard the news, he returned to his quarters and was confronted by some guards who began to mistreat him as they had done in the past. Wainwright, however, with the news of the allied victory still fresh in his mind, declared with authority, “No, I am in command here! These are my orders.” Huegel observed that from that moment on, General Wainwright was in control.
Huegel made this spiritual application: “Have you been informed of the victory of your Savior in the greatest conflict of the ages? Then rise up to assert your rights. Never again go under when the enemy comes to oppress. Claim victory in Jesus’ name.” Huegel observed, “We must learn to stand on resurrection ground, reckoning dead the old-creation life over which Satan has power, and living in the new creation over which Satan has no power whatever.”
Our belief in the Word of God is activated when we allow the power of God to take over our lives. Paul said, in 1 Thess 2:13, that the Word of God, “...effectually worketh also in you that believe.” God’s power is released in us as a direct result of our belief.
Illus: A man saw a woman he had not seen in several years. He noticed she was not wearing glasses as she had before and asked her why. She told him she had gotten on a nutrition program and her eyesight began to improve so much that she did not need glasses any more.
This is what the Word of God does for us spiritually. We receive it into our hearts and mysteriously it begins to activate within us, giving us strength to overcome sin in our lives. It is one thing to say that you believe the Bible to be God’s Word. It is quite something else to take It into your life and allow it to transform you.
I. WE MUST APPRECIATE THE WORD OF GOD
II. WE MUST APPROPRIATE THE WORD OF GOD
III. WE MUST ACTIVATE THE WORD OF GOD
