The Bible Is The Supreme Weapon We Possess For Spiritual Success

Introduction: Expiration dates are printed on just about everything nowadays, even on soda pop cans. One place you will not find an expiration date, however, is on salt. Ever hear anyone say, "This salt tastes old. It must not be very fresh"? Probably not. Salt never goes stale. Jesus said, "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out" (vv. 34-35). If there is no such thing as fresh or stale salt, how could Jesus say this? There are two ways salt can lose its saltiness. One is by dilution, the other by pollution. Put some salt in a glass and add water. Stir, taste, and then add more water. The more you dilute the salt, the less you will taste it. Soon it has no value as salt. Or, take some salt and add to it other things. Continue to mix in things, polluting the salt, and eventually you will not notice the salt. Its saltiness is lost to the pollution. Followers of Jesus are to be the "salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13), but our saltiness can be lost the same way. Our testimony can be so watered down that by dilution it loses its saltiness, or so much other stuff can come into our lives that our testimony is lost due to pollution. Stay salty-that is what Jesus wants. Do not let into your life things that will dilute or pollute.

Greg Laurie writes in his book, “Why Believe?” something like this. There are four things that are true of all humans: 1. No none no matter if they are wealthy and powerful or poor and insignificant have emptiness inside. 2. Every person is lonely that nothing on this earth can satisfy. 3. Everyone feels guilty for what they have done. 4. Everyone faces death and is afraid of it. USA Today ran a poll among its readers with this: If you had to ask God a question what would it be? “What is my purpose in being here?” “Is there life after death” or “How long will I live?”

the bible is The supreme weapon we possess for spiritual success

Paul wrote to Timothy these words 1 Tim. 1:3-7 “That way you could order certain people to stop teaching false doctrine and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions rather than promoting God’s plan, which centers in faith. My goal in giving you this order is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith. Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to useless discussions. They want to be experts in Moses’ Teachings. However, they don’t understand what they’re talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.” We have found out in these past few years in the wars we have fought that it is the ability to handle our weapons right that bring the victory. We can have superior weapons but if we do not use them correctly the war we engage in could be lost. One time in history was when the Defeat of the Spanish Armada. The Spanish Armada was a fleet of warships that attempted to destroy the English fleet in 1588. The English defeated the Armada, however, by sending small boats set afire to float among the Spanish ships as they lay at anchor off the French coast near Calais. About 60 English ships sank two Spanish ships and damaged over 50 more. The crippled Armada then sailed back toward Spain, but heavy winds wrecked many more ships. Out of the original number of 130 ships in the Armada, only 67 returned to Spain. So to win we must use the weapons we are given in the right way. Jesus lived here in this world and was attacked by the Devil to do wrong. I want to show what He did to resist the Devil and to help us incorporate in our lives these so we can have spiritual victory. The greatest weapon to use in our life is the Word of God. COL 3:16 “Let the Word of God richly dwell within you.” It is the Bible that must direct our thinking, saturate our hearts, and guide our wills. We must make all that we intend to be to be brought under the authority of the word of God. God’s call to us is to be trained in His word and to use it expertly. If we do not know the Word we can not use it and can be hurt spiritually. Let us follow Christ in His use of the Word in four ways; 1. Jesus was familiar with the Bible. 1. So we might ask, how did Jesus have Bible knowledge? He grew up in a godly home with two devoted parents. A boy I was with this week said it was not good just to worship and act like a Christian on Sunday but that you needed to worship everyday. He said his mother reads to them from the Bible and plays worship music at their house. We see that Mary possessed a deep knowledge of the Bible when she gave a response to the angel that told her she was to bear the Son of God. She quotes from 27 O. T. references. LK 1:46-55. Jesus grew up with a strong schooling from the Word of God in his house. 2. Jesus learned as he listened and interacted with the teachers of his day. He went to the temple when he was twelve and was so into discussion in the Word that he forgot he was to go home with his parents and they left without him. From LK 2:52 we read that Jesus grew in understanding of God’s Word and increased in wisdom. We recognize that good judgment; insight and understanding come as we are in the Word of God and not necessarily from age or experience. 3. As Jesus ministered we find that He used the Word of God in all He did. He started by using IS. 61:1. he was in the temple and when asked to read he turned right to this passage for he knew where it was. On one occasion Jesus healed a leper and used the teaching in Lev. 13:49, 14:2 to let the cleansed leper how he was to respond. One time Jesus was asked about God’s view on unbelief with the need of repentance and He used the example of Jonah. After His resurrection he explained to two men all that the Scriptures said about Him in the old testament as He walked along the road with them. He knew the Bible well enough that He was able to tell people He fulfilled all that the law and prophets said. JN 21:25 “Jesus also did many other things. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the world wouldn’t have enough room for the books that would be written.” 4.To become mighty in Scriptures will make one to become mighty in God. Because Jesus knew the Word the Devil was no match for Him. Billy Graham stated that if he were to only have three years to preach he would spend two of them studying and learning the Bible and one year in preaching. What part does the Bible play in your life today? If we do not know it we can not use it. What do you need to do today to become better equipped with the Bible? 2. JESUS committed TO MEMORY THE BIBLE.