First Things First #5
“God Speaks Through His Word” Hebrews 1:1-4
Have you ever found yourself right in the middle of a problem, a storm of life and just the right Scripture pops into your head… at just the right time to comfort, to encourage, or to strengthen?
• I love the account in Matthew of Jesus’ temptation by Satan. In Matt. 4, the former tax collector tells us that Jesus has been led out into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil… and he was hungry!
Read Matt 4:1-11
• At perhaps his darkest hour up to that point, at his weakest, at his most vulnerable… Jesus not only resisted the temptations of the tempter, but he overcame and put the devil in his place!
• And he did it by drawing on the Word of God! “…it is written” he said over & over, quoting from Deuteronomy. Have YOU ever quoted Deuteronomy to the Devil?
• Isn’t it a coincidence how sometimes the right Scripture comes to mind just when you need it the most? Scripture is like that, isn’t it? Can you think of a time when the words of Scripture have particularly encouraged you? Or comforted you? Or given you strength to endure?
• Have you ever found that its just the thing that you needed to hear?
What is it about this book that is so special to Christians?
• As we continue our look at “First Things” this morning… those core principles of our faith, I want us to take a fresh look at the Bible and at the role that it wants to play in each of our lives.
• What is it about this book? Christians believe that it is MORE THAN A BOOK! It is so much more than paper & leather! So much more than a collection of words & sentences & chapters & verses!
• Jesus found in these words LIFE! “Man does not live by bread alone… but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
• In these words are LIFE because they are God’s words… and in Him is LIFE!
• We believe that God speaks through His Word.
So, let me see your Bibles this morning! I want us to do like we used to do in Sunday school and raise them high for me to see. Who brought their Bibles to church with them this a.m.?
• If you didn’t bring yours this morning, why not? Are you planning on just believing everything that I tell you? What if I’m wrong?
• I’ve got to tell you that I’m concerned about the lack of Bible literacy in churches today. We used to be known (in churches of Christ) as a people of the book! If there was one thing we were strong in, it was our knowledge of the Bible.
• That’s one of the things I appreciate the most about our heritage in churches of Christ: our plea to go “back to the Bible” when it comes to faith & practice. But, I wonder if we’re still a ‘people of the book’??
I’m afraid many Christians today are intimidated by Bible study.
• Maybe we’re intimidated by the language… all the ‘thees’ & ‘thous’. We don’t understand it, so we shy away from it.
o But folks, there is really no reason today to be intimidated by the language of the Bible. There are any number of good, very accurate translations in contemporary language that every one of us can understand. They may not sound as pretty as the language of the King James that we grew up with, but what good is pretty language if we don’t understand what it says?
o Translations like the NIV, the NLT, and the NKJ are excellent and they are no less ‘Holy’ than the KJ was in 1611 when it first came out. When it came out it took it about 100 years to really gain acceptance. People didn’t want to put down their old translations to take up a new ‘modern’ one!
o So, the language shouldn’t intimidate us.
• Maybe us preachers have contributed to this intimidation as well.
o We like to talk about ‘hermeneutics’ and ‘exegesis’ and throw around the Greek. We want you to know how much we know and how much we’ve studied.
o Maybe some of us have left the impression that the average guy on the street can’t possibly understand all of the nuances of the text. You should just leave it to the professionals.
• But, you’ve got the same Bible I’ve got & that the scholars have and people have died in order to make that possible.
o A fellow by the name of Tyndale, in 1536, was burned at the stake for the horrible crime of translating the Bible into English and trying to get it into the hands of the common man. That threatened the power of the church hierarchy, particularly the Pope.
o Years before that John Wycliffe had died of a stroke after translating the Latin Bible into English. But that was such heresy that Pope Martin V insisted his body be exhumed, burned and his ashes cast into the river. Every copy of Wycliffe’s Bible was gathered up and burned.
• Folks have died so that you and I could hold our nice, leather-bound copies of the Bible and you don’t have to be a scholar to hear God speak through it!
The Bible is God’s introduction of himself to us. Let’s look at Hebrews 1:1-4.
It has always amazed me that this awesome, amazing and incredible God—creator of Heaven and Earth—wants to know us personally… and wants us to know him.
• That’s why he began thousands of years ago (almost from the very beginning) slowly and progressively revealing himself to his people.
Read Heb 1:1-4
This may sound like an odd text to go to in talking about the Bible, but look at what it tells us.
• God speaks to us! “In the past God spoke…” .
o I’ve not counted but I am told that the O.T. repeats 3,808 times expressions like “The Lord says,” “thus says the Lord,” and “The word of God came saying.”
o The Bible is God speaking to us! One publication of the Bible carried the title a number of years ago, “God speaks to modern man.” That’s right.
o Isn’t it amazing that God speaks to us?
• The irony is that he used men to do it. “…through the prophets”
o The O.T. prophets (who wrote down these words) were used by God as his mouthpieces.
o From Moses to Malachi, God raised up men through whom he spoke his word. And they wrote it down… But, it was no doubt that it was HIS word. (I.e. Not the prophets’ opinions or suggestions.)
o The N.T. is clear about this. In a number of places where it quotes the O.T. it attributes the words to God. For example, what David said in Psalm 2:1-2
(1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. NIV)… Peter quotes in Acts 5:25-26 and says it was, “by the Holy Spirit.”. Another example: Ps. 95:7 is quoted in Heb. 3:7 and again, attributed to the Holy Spirit.
o So what the prophets wrote down were God’s words… not their own.
• One of the things that I most appreciate about Scripture is its great diversity and variety. “…at many times and in various ways.”
o Have you ever thought about the diversity of Scripture? Its like a beautiful mosaic made up of all kinds of different shapes & sizes & colors… but coming together to give us one picture and to tell one grand story!
o From the adventure-filled narratives of Genesis to the beautiful poetry of Psalms… from the legal and ethical language of Leviticus & Deuteronomy to the apocalyptic imagery of Daniel and Revelation… the Bible is rich and diverse in language and form! Wonder why that is?
• A couple of weeks ago I took Celeste to the art museum for our anniversary. We lived in Chattanooga for 7 years and I had never gone near the Hunter Art Museum. She always wanted to go, so we went. Now, I enjoy pretty pictures as well as the next guy, but I can’t say that I ‘get’ a lot of what is supposedly ‘art.’ There was a modern art room where one of the pieces was a huge canvas that the artist had stood on and simply emptied a can of red paint.. then smeared it around with her feet and hands. I went home thinking about selling some of the kids finger paintings I could go home & sell. I just didn’t ‘get’ it. Now, take me to a history museum where I can read interesting stories about significant events.. and I can get in to that! I love the space museum in Huntsville.
• Isn’t it interesting how we are all so different? For some of us we really get into art or poetry. For others, its history or science.
• Is it any coincidence that the Bible is filled with all of those… and even more?
• Its almost as if God knew we would all be different… all have differing personalities… and that different parts of Scripture would connect with us in different ways.
o This variety also tells us something about the author, doesn’t it? He is not JUST a rule-maker and law-giver. He also loves telling a good story, whether its sitting us up on his knee to tell about the obedience of Noah or the faith of Abraham’s. Through the Psalms we see his heart. Through Revelation we see his severity.
o He has revealed himself in so many different ways… But they all point us to the same God… a loving Father who sent His Son to be his ultimate revelation!
• God speaks for all time, through Jesus! “…but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son.”
• Folks, as important as this book is, I hope that we don’t worship a book! If we turned Christianity into the worship of a book it would be to horribly misunderstand its purpose and to terribly pervert its intention!
o Its purpose is to show us Jesus! The book is there to tell us about God’s ultimate WORD… the WORD made flesh… not paper & leather, but flesh! (John 1:14)
o Don’t misunderstand: We are a conservative, Bible-believing church. But it is Jesus that we worship this morning… not a book! God has spoken to us through Jesus and it is Jesus that we follow! It is Jesus whose name we wear as Christians!
• Now, why do I belabor that point? Why is it important to make this distinction?
o I’m afraid many folks have come to treat the Bible as some sort of ‘good luck charm.’ We think treating this book with respect is the same thing as treating God with respect. That is not necessarily the case.
o Just because I set a Bible on my coffee table, doesn’t mean that I’ve invited God into my home.
o Just because I’ve memorized a few psalms doesn’t mean that I’ve allowed God to dwell in my heart.
o Just because I carry it to church doesn’t mean that I take God with me wherever I go.
o Just because I own a Bible doesn’t mean that God owns me!
o There is so much more to it than that!
Remember those old E.F. Hutton commercials? “When E.F. Hutton talks… people listen!”
If God speaks thru His Word… then I want to listen, don’t you?
• I want to do more than just ‘hear’, I want to ‘listen.’ Those of you who are married know the difference, right? I ‘hear’ everything my wife tells me… I can even repeat it back to her verbatim most of the time. But, she tells me sometimes I don’t ‘listen’ very well.
• But I want to listen to what God has to say and put it into practice in my life!
• In trying to teach the boys to ‘listen’ to me, sometimes I’ll ask them, “Have you got your ears on?” Are you hearing me?
• Have YOU got your ears on? What has God been speaking to you through His Word lately? Have you been spending time trying to listen?
• I’m convinced, listening is what Bible study is all about… it isn’t so much about us mastering the Bible as it is about allowing it to master us!
If God speaks thru His Word… then I want to listen and DO what He is telling me to do!
• We can’t hardly talk about the Bible without talking about 2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV
• Notice the purpose of Scripture according to Paul… “so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
• i.e. the point of the Bible is not for us to just know more… but also for us to be able to DO more.
• Has your time listening to Scripture changed you? Has it prompted you to greater service in the kingdom? How so?
• We can study the Bible all day long, but if it doesn’t result in greater service to God then we’ve missed the point!
What has God been trying to say to you through His Word?
• Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.
• Draw near to me and I will draw near to you.
• Love one another as I have loved you.
• Turn around, you’re headed the wrong way! Repent!
• Be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
What is he saying right now? Have you got your ears on?
Are you listening? What will you do about it?
