READ THE BOOK…DON’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE PART 1

SEEKING GOD THROUGH SCRIPTURE

ISAIAH 55:10-11

Isaiah 55:10-11 (GW) - ¹⁰ “Rain and snow come down from the sky. They do not go back again until they water the earth. They make it sprout and grow so that it produces seed for farmers and food for people to eat.
¹¹ My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. It will not come back to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.”

INTRO:  We are starting a Sunday Morning series this morning, entitled, “Read the book…Don’t wait for the movie.”  This is the first message.  It is entitled, “Seeking God through Scripture.”

We live in a very sight and sound oriented society.  A lot of times great novels are never read, because people just wait until the movie comes out.  But most of the time, the movie never compares to the book.  Why?  Because they have to cut things, change some of the story line and whatever.

Church, God doesn’t won’t us to wait until a movie comes out about the Bible.  He wants us to read it, study it properly, apply it correctly.  He wants us to use Scripture in our everyday lives.  He wants us to desire His book that He has given us like a thirsty man desires water, like a hungry man desires food.

A man inKansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.

You see, this man in this story had a burning desire to get into God’s Word.  He didn’t let his circumstances hinder him from doing this.

Before we get into my points this morning we need to have a little bit of understanding concerning God’s word.  It has all types of literally forms.  Within it’s pages we have history, poetry, songs, legal statutes, wisdom literature, prophetic writings, biographies, gospels, letters, Apocalyptic literature, parables, and genealogies.  It is more of a library than a book.  What makes it challenging it reading and understanding it is that you interpretation of it depends to some degree on what type of literature you are reading.  You don’t interpret something in a law book the same way you would interpret a letter or poem, just as an example.  Even the Apostle Peter admits that some of Paul’s writings are less than simple to understand.  2 Peter 3:15-16 – 15 Think of our Lord’s patience as an opportunity (for us) to be saved.  This is what our dear brother Paul wrote to you about, using the wisdom God gave him. 16 He talks about this subject in all his letters.  Some things in his letters are hard to understand.  Ignorant people who aren’t sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures.  These people will be destroyed.

In light of this, we need to realize that we cannot understand Scripture unless God grants us the ability to do so.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit.  He thinks they’re nonsense.  He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them.  Luke 24:44-45 – 44 Then He said to them, These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you.  I told you that everything written about me in Moses’ teachings, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to come true. 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

If you are truly seeking to know God, the path that you must take on this journey goes through the Bible.  There is no short cut, no other direction.  Seeking God, and knowing Christ is not automatic.  It doesn’t just happen.  It takes more than good intentions and a willing heart.  It takes specific actions and regular spiritual habits.

So let’s get started by answering a very important question.

1.  Why read the Bible?

A.     The first thing to know is that the Bible is no ordinary book.  Its different than any other book, because it is the Word of God.  Not just that it contains the words of God, but that it is itself God’s Word.

B.     This has some implications.

1.      But I want to focus on one main implication this morning.

2.  Reading the Bible has the power to transform us.

Hebrews 4:12 – God’s Word is living and active.  It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet.  God’s Word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions.

A.     God’s Word has power.  It isn’t just ink on a page; it’s living and active.  It does things.  You hear it, and it goes into your ears, or you read it, and it enters in by the eyes, and immediately it goes to work.  It starts to accomplish God’s purpose in you, to strengthen your faith, to give you understanding, to open your eyes to the truth, to draw you to God in love so that you can know Him.  God’s Word always accomplishes it’s purpose in us, whenever we allow it in by reading or hearing.

1.      One of the ways the Word shows it’s power is by exposing what’s in our hearts.  It penetrates deeply into our souls, like a sword, cutting through all the layers of pretense, until it finally gets to the truth.

2.      It also reveals our thoughts and attitudes.  It tears down our façade of religiosity, it strips away the appearance of outward righteousness.  And it shows us whether we truly are what we think we are.

B.     God knows us completely.  He’s not fooled by appearances.  He sees what is in our hearts.  And the more we read His Word, the more we will see the truth about ourselves as well.

C.     You see, the Word’s power isn’t limited just to searching our hearts and revealing what’s there; the Word also has the power to change us, to purify us, to renew us, to transform us.

Romans 12:2 – Don’t become like the people of this world.  Instead, change the way you think.  Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants – what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

3.  The Bible is our authoritative guide for living.

A.     It’s the owner’s manual for human life.  It answers all the fundamental questions like:

1.      Where did I come from?  Where am I going?

2.      Is there a God?  What is He like?  What does He want from us?

B.     Not only that, but it also addresses the kinds of practical issues and ethical choices we face every day.

1.      How you should treat people, including the people who mistreat you.  Dealing with anger.  Raising children.  Wealth and poverty.  Self control.  Husbands and wives.  How to resist temptation, and which temptations you should resist.  Where to find hope and comfort in the midst of suffering.  What it means to love someone.  Discerning truth from falsehood, reality from appearance.

2 Peter 1:3 – God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness.  This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by His own glory and integrity.

     C.  Remember this, true wisdom both comes from God and leads us to God.

Proverbs 2:1-6 – 1 My son, if you take my words (to heart) and treasure my commands within you, 2 if you pay close attention to wisdom, and let your mind reach understanding, 3 if indeed you call out for insight, if you ask aloud for understanding, 4 if you search for wisdom as if it were money and hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God. 6 The Lord gives wisdom.  From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

CONCL:  Finally, how do we go about this?  How do I read the Bible?  Which version do I use?  What time of day?  How much do I read at a time?  Where do I start?  My answer to all these questions is this: it doesn’t really matter.  You can memorize it, listen to it on tape or CD as you drive to work, read a chapter a day or read through the whole Bible in a year or several times a year.  You can use a daily devotional guide.  You can read the NIV, KJV, HCSB, NASB, NLT, God’s Word, or whatever translation that is out there that is faithful to the original manuscripts.  The important thing is to just do it.  Read the Bible.  And make it a regular habit, every day if possible.