What To Do With God's Word

What to do with God’s word.

Jeremiah 23:23-29 23 "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? 24 Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.

25 "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ’I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. 29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" 2 Tim 3:16 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.

Today I would like to talk about the importance of the bible for our lives today:-

I want to share a couple of illustrations:-A lady of society was gazing upon an image she had never seen before in the city’s art museum. "My dear fellow," she said condescendingly to the Curator, "I have never seen this painting before. I find the image shallow and rather crude in appearance. What do you call this?" The curator answered without giving the slightest expression," That madam, is a mirror." The lady’s vision was not very focused.

Losing focus on the Jesus of Scripture blurs our own view—not only of Christ—but of ourselves, as well. The Bible is also a great mirror. We may go to it to observe its content with a critical eye, but in the end, we are under its criticism. (Sermon Central.)

Joel Pankow talking on the scripture we have read from Jeremiah said Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" For those of you who have gone camping, you know how important a fire is at night. On a cold night it keeps you warm. In the dark it gives light. The smoke chases off the bugs. You can grill sausages and marshmallows with fire. You can purify water with fire. It keeps animals away. And it’s also fun just to sit and look at. It’s a very powerful tool. God said, that’s what my word is like! A fire! It’s powerful - it can penetrate your stony soul! It can warm up your cold heart! It can purify you! It can give you light in this dark world! It can distinguish the truth from error! Luther said, If you take the Word away it is like taking the sun away from the earth. If the Word were removed, what would the world be but a hell and a mere realm of Satan.For only the Word keeps a joyful conscience, a gracious God, and all of religion, since out of the Word, as from a spring, flows our entire religion....

I came across this rather wonderful quotation last week from Paul Scherer:-

The whole bible, from cover to cover , is concerned with this riddle............ Whether or not the universe at it’s centre is, or ever was, intelligent purposeful and kind; if it means something still, and means that something intensely; if, as someone has put it, there is a great yawning hole in the middle of things, through which all energy and vision, all lives and prayer and sacrifice, shall be poured at the last and lost or if God is there! These (sixty six) books gather all their things together, fill their lungs and with a mighty shout proclaim that he is!

In our own age we can view a number of serious errors three of which I think will highlight the broad spectrum of problems that are created by the dethroning of the bible in our own age.

One problem is that people are persistently adding to what the bible says or taking away from it with complicated explanations. Liberals tend to do this when they decide to say this does not mean that - it means this. God did not say we can’t sin in this way or that - of course we can - after all is God not a God of love. The homosexual debate is an example of this. The devil when he lied to Adam and Eve questioned God’s word - His big question was - GE 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?" We have to be really careful of that one.