MESSAGE
FROM THE
WORD
40 DAYS OF PURPOSE AND THE BIBLE
II Timothy 2:15
SERIES: 40 Days of Purpose Message # 2
When a building is constructed, the single most important step taken by the contractor is to make sure that the foundation is laid properly. If the foundation is strong and solid, then the building will likely be in good shape. We have some neighbors who noticed several years ago that their doors and windows were not closing properly. They called in a structural engineer and discovered that the hill upon which they lived was settling. Upon further examination it was learned that the houses had been build on an old garbage dump and as the refuse was now decomposing, the land was sinking. When the ground sinks, the foundation falls apart.
The Bible compares the church to a house and states that the foundation is already laid. Paul writes, 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-11 The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ. As we begin our preparations for the “40 Days of Purpose” Campaign in September, I felt it was important to explain why our congregation is participating in this national movement. The primary reason for our involvement is because it fits into our mission’s statement. Just as The Purpose Driven Life book begins with the question, “why am I here”, every congregation must ask itself the question, “Why do we exist”? To answer that question, our mission statement proclaims, "FAITH CHRISTIAN CHURCH SEEKS TO BRING PEOPLE INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST BY STUDYING HIS WORD, ENJOYING HIS PEOPLE, PRACTICING HIS PRESENCE AND CARING FOR OTHERS". As we began several weeks ago, we saw that the purpose of this ministry is to make sure that every person has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The question must be asked, “how do we go about that task”? The answer is to follow the example of the church in Acts 2. We read ACTS 2:26-46 As we implement each aspect of their ministry, God can then move on the hearts of people to draw them unto Himself. That’s our goal. It is never to make our church bigger, but to fulfill the words of Jesus who said JOHN We are told by Luke that the early believers gathered to “STUDY THE APOSTLE’S DOCTRINE…” The church met to find out what the Apostles believed about the Old Testament. As the church expanded, it began to include the apostle’s writing in the New Testament. We read 1 THESSALONIANS 2:13; II PETER 3:14-16 We believe that God wrote His word in the Old Testament through His priests and prophets and in the New Testament through His apostles and their close associates. By stating that, we are aware that this places us in the minority position in our nation. While many claim to believe the Bible, it is only because they haven't studied it enough to know what it says. Quickly, let me give you several beliefs that our society has accepted as alternatives to God's word.
One alternative is mysticism. This is seen certainly in the New Age Movement and in religions such as Scientology. It is also seen within the church in many charismatic circles. Whether it is inside or outside the church, the philosophy is the same. It is an attempt at plugging into God apart from a scriptural precedent. We need to come to God through some experience outside of what is rational. What this says is, “The Bible is a fine book, but you need to go beyond the pages to find truth”.
A second alternative is science. We certainly see this in the debate over evolution verses Intelligent Design. The solution for injuries is stem cell research. The solution for STD’s is finding a cure. The problem with AIDS isn’t an improper lifestyle it is insufficient funds for research. The problem with violent young men isn’t a father home to raise them; it is Ridlin or some other drug. Whatever the problem is, science will find a cure. This says, “The Bible is a good book, but it is out dated. We can solve our problems ourselves”.
A third alternative is psychology. Let me say at the beginning that I do not oppose psychology. The term means "study of the soul". Every believer should be a psychologist. However, modern psychology is far different. Modern psychology seeks to study the soul while rejecting God. This is why so much of the solutions of modern psychology involve activities opposed to God's word. Over the past few years we have seen modern psychology accept homosexual behavior as normal, state that boys are just like girls and their aggression needs to be medicated, declared that spanking is child abuse, concluded that children are worse off with a father in the home, and argued that the primary cause of STD’s among teenagers is the abstinence movement. That is not just nonsense, it is evil. When you read a study that just seems to defy common sense, go with common sense.
The modern psychology movement has sought to discern why people are like they are by denying God and the result of sin. When you reject God and His plan, what do you do with guilt? You either deny its existence or deal with it by medicating its symptoms. Hence the incredible rise in medicating children. The Bible is filled with admonitions to seek counsel. This is a good policy. However, the psalmist stated, PSALM 1:1-3 If you seek counsel that denies God and His word, don't be surprised if you end up with all sorts of dysfunctional behavior. This says, “The Bible is alright, but it is really simplistic”.
Another alternative is modernism. This is a predominant view in liberal denominations. The Bible may have spoken, but we need to get beyond the words to “the spirit of Jesus”. We see this in the battle over ordaining homosexual ministers, accuracy in the Bible, and Jewish-Arab conflicts. It says, “the Bible was good back then, but this is a new time”.
A final alternative is diversity. This group says the Bible might have been good for its time, but we have evolved beyond that. Look at the debates going on. Evolution vs. Intelligent design, Supreme Court justices, displays of God in the culture, family roles, Islamic terrorists, and a dozen other issues are being fought out in our culture. This says, “The Bible is alright, but every religion and holy book is equal, regardless of what they teach”.
I do not believe that being old fashioned is the same as being godly. Some of what was practiced and believed 100 years ago was wrong. However, I do believe that every problem in our modern world can be solved by simply putting Biblical values into place. Violence on campus, teen pregnancy, drugs, generational alienation, political scandals, financial woes and stress could all be solved by doing nothing other than practice the Ten Commandments. That is how relevant the Bible is. We do not need to deny God's word to become relevant. With that as our background, why should we take time to be masters of the Bible? Let me give you several thoughts to ponder.
FIRST, WE STUDY THE BIBLE BECAUSE OF ITS NATURE. When you hold the Bible, you do not hold an old book, but one written by the very hand of God. We read, II TIM. 3:16,17 This is a verse many of you have memorized. More importantly, we need to believe what it says. The Bible is inspired by God. It is not inspiring, it is inspired. The verse literally means that the Bible is a result of the breath of God. Just as God breathed into Adam His breath and brought life to Him, so God breathed into authors and caused them to write what He wanted. The Bible was written over 1500 years, in three languages, by forty authors, on several continents, in different cultures, in different social standings and different vocations. They wrote on very controversial topics without contradiction. Take any topic and try that. Take forty scholars writing on medicine over the past 1500 years and see if there are contradictions.
I believe there are many historical evidences that God's word is reliable. Our adult Sunday School class is dealing with some of these issues right now. However, that is not why I believe the Bible is God's word. I believe that the Bible is God's word because Jesus did. Examine the ministry of Jesus and He was always going back to the scriptures to verify their reliability. There is one reason we study the Bible and that is because we believe it is God's word.
SECOND, WE STUDY THE BIBLE BECAUSE OF THE PRESEDENTS. As we examine what we believe about the Bible, it is not a bad plan to go back and look into how other believers viewed the Bible. We read, NEHEMIAH 8:1-9 For years, the word of God had been ignored. God had moved and the walls had been rebuilt. In addition, Ezra was allowed to bring a copy of the books of Moses and began reading to the people. Conviction and revival broke out. When God's word is ignored, chaos comes. When God's word is obeyed, blessings follow.
We also see this in the ministry of Jesus. You will remember that His birth was filled with several fulfilled prophesies. When His ministry began, He was lead into the desert and tempted by the Devil. Three times He quoted from the book of Deuteronomy. He then began His ministry and Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount. We read, MATT.5:18 Not one punctuation mark will be voided in God's word. Do you think Jesus believed in the accuracy of the Old Testament? Every time Jesus was asked a question He answered it by stating, "Have you never read…" In other words, Jesus was saying, "what does the Bible say"?
One of the best examples of this is seen after the resurrection. You will remember that Jesus met with two men on the road and then the Apostles in the Upper Room. Luke tells us what took place. We read, LUKE 24:32,44 His entire explanation for what had taken place was to take His followers to the Bible and say, "don't you remember reading about this in the Bible"? That is a good pattern to follow.
The Apostles constantly referred to the Bible. Peter's sermon in Acts 2 is filled with allusions and specific quotes from the Old Testament. As you go through the book of Acts, the believers were continually referring to the Bible for their beliefs or actions. Let me give you one example. After the first missionary journey a dispute arose over how Gentiles became believers. The church leaders gathered the church together and discussed the issue. Peter gave a report of what God had done and then James took the floor. We read, ACTS 15:13-15 What was James saying other than, "how can we argue with what Peter says, it is exactly what God's word said was going to take place". In any situation, simply look for the solution from God's word and you will be on solid ground.
THIRD, WE STUDY THE BIBLE BECAUSE OF THE BENEFITS. I have to be honest at this point. I like this idea. I am selfish enough to confess that I read the Bible partially because of what it does for me. There is an ulterior motive. However, that is how God designed it. Doing things God's way produces blessings. What are some of these blessings?
The first blessing is salvation. It is the scriptures that reveal our need for salvation and then opens our heart to hear the message of salvation. We read, II TIMOTHY 3:14 God has placed in His word the power to open closed hearts and to fill it with the desire to know Him. This is why Paul wrote to the Romans ROMANS 1:16 If you have someone who needs the Lord, don't argue with them or debate with them, simply give them the Bible and let God do His work.
The second blessing is growth. If salvation is the birth process, then growth is the maturity process. We love babies, but we do not want them in diapers for twenty years. Peter writes to a group of believers and says, I PETER 2:2 It is the word which brings growth. If you are stagnant in your Christian life, it may be that you have slackened or never begun a walk through the word of God.
The third blessing is conviction. Most of you might not think of this as a blessing, but it is one of God's greatest gifts to His people. We read, HEBREWS 4:12 It is God's word that points out our flaws. You may ask, how does that become a blessing? Let me give you a comparison. What if you never experienced pain? Some might see that as a blessing. It isn't. Pain is what causes us to quickly remove our hand from the fire before being burned. Pain is what causes us to react if we cut ourselves. Without pain we would be in situations that could cause permanent damage and not ever seek to remove ourselves from them. Guilt is to the conscience what pain is to the body. When we feel conviction it is usually because we have violated one of God's rules. It is designed to cause us to repent so we can be right with Him.
The fourth blessing is joy. I like this one. We read, REVELATION 1:3 We think of Revelation as a difficult book to read, but it is the only book which promises joy to the one reading and heeding. It is as we read the Bible that we understand how He operates in our life and how we should behave.
The fifth blessing is wholeness. We looked at psychology earlier and this is seeing it from a positive. We read, ECCLESIATES The phrase, "this applies to every person" is translated "for this is the whole duty of man" in the KJV. Another translation could well be, "for this brings about wellness to man". The issue is that fearing God and obeying His word causes the believer to be "whole". The psalmist wrote, PSALM 19:7 God's word "restores" the soul. It takes that which is broken and repairs it. Over the last 2000 years, millions of hurting, broken people have been restored by simply reading God's word. This is why modern psychology is so ineffective. Rather than study the soul and use God's word as the healer, doctors deny God's word and prescribe medication, shock treatment, or isolation. There is a place for those, but it is not to bring healing.
A sixth blessing is life. I do not mean by this the number of days between birth and death. I mean the quality of life. Jewish psychologist Victor Frankl called it, Man's Search for Meaning. That is a great definition of life, having found your reason for living. Jesus said this, JOHN 6:63; Man searches for meaning and finds it in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. These are why we study God's word. It is our source of strength, power, healing, comfort, conviction and hope. As we plumb its depths, we see God more clearly and learn to love Him more.
FOURTH, WE STUDY BECAUSE THE BIBLE IS A BOOK OF LOVE. If your mate was overseas or your child was across the country at college and you received a letter from them, would you toss it in a drawer and say you will read it later? I think you would rip it open and read it again and again. That is the nature of love. Love seeks to communicate with the one loved. God loves us so He revealed Himself in a written form. From that, we can discern what He is like and what He wants us to do. In light of this, what should we do in regards to God's word?
First, we should love His word. We read, PSALM 119:97,127,165,167 This is a love letter from a father to His children. This is a big indicator of your relationship with God. If you love Him, you will want to read His love letter to you.
Second, you should learn His word. Paul wrote, II TIMOTHY "Study" is the key to anything you want to do well. If you want to paint, you have to study great painters, if you want to learn an instrument, you must practice and learn. Foreign languages are learned by studying hard. There is no short cut. To learn about God we must study His word. How do we do this? Before anything else, there must be the commitment to pay the price. Anything good has a price attached to accomplishing the task. Make the commitment to learn His word.
Third, share what you learn with someone else. You never master a craft until you can teach it to someone else. You might think that you don’t know enough. There is someone who knows less than you do. Find them and teach them.
How does all of this fit into “The 40 Days of Purpose”? At its heart, this campaign is a Bible Study. It is disguised as a contemporary move to find relevancy in a best selling book, but it is a study on what God has to say about our purpose in life. You will learn many verses. You will memorize several verses. You will study many verses.
This is the commitment we have made, to make God's word a priority in our lives and in the lives of our people. It needs to be a priority in your life as well.
