READ THE BOOK…DON’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE PART 4

THE WORD IS:

Psalm 19:7-14.

Psalm 19:7-14 (HCSB) - ⁷ The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the  testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. ⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the commandment of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up. ⁹ The  fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous. ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold— than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey— than honey dripping from the comb. ¹¹ In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them. ¹² Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. ¹³ Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be innocent, and cleansed from blatant rebellion. ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

INTRO:  This is our final sermon in this series entitled, “Read the book…Don’t wait for the movie.”  The goal of this series has been to entice each and every one of us to really get into the Scriptures.  This series is for the purpose of seeking God through Scriptures.

So far in this series we have seen two reasons for reading the Bible: (1) Because it has the power to transform us; (2) Because it is the authoritative guide for living.  We also looked at what our response should be when the Word of God is preached.  It should be: (1) Honored; (2) Sought to be understood; (3) Rejoiced over; (4) And obeyed.  The last week we looked at what the wonder of the word is – it is none other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This morning we are going to look at some things that the Word of God is. 

Now before we get into our sermon just a little background concerning this text.  In Psalm 19, the Psalmist praises God for the revelation of who He is through to different modes – nature and the Mosaic Law (The Word).  In vv. 7-14 He gives some positive aspects concerning the Word of God: (1) It is perfect reviving the soul; (2) It is trustworthy making us wise; (3) It makes our heart glad and lights up our eyes; (4) It is reliable and righteous; (5) More desirable than gold and honey; (6) we are warned and rewarded by keeping the Word.

Let me share a few stories of people who understand what the Word of God really is.  When a Soviet official was asked why a study of the Bible was frowned upon in his country, and why those who dared to print and distribute it were severely punished, he replied, "We find
that the reading of the Book changes people in a way that is dangerous to our state!"  During World War II when the Nazis occupied a new territory, they immediately placed all Christians in concentration camps if they made public commitments to the Word of God. They had found that those who clung to the Bible would not compromise their faith or yield to the evil edicts of a godless dictator.  The same type of opposition was manifested during the Boxer Rebellion inChina. A little girl whose father had been murdered because of his faith hid herself in a cornfield to elude her persecutors. She was soon discovered and threatened with death if she
did not reveal where the family Bible had been concealed. Testifying that it was her daily strength and stay, she refused to tell them and was soon cruelly martyred. She chose to die rather than give up that treasure Volume!  You see, the one thing that all these people had in common, other than the suffering and persecution that they endured was they knew that the Bible was something more than just a leather bound book with some good teachings.  It was something that they could suffer and even be martyred for.

Today we are going to see as well that the Word is more than maybe we realize.  Hopefully at the end of this message and series your desire to get into it will be greater.

1.  The Word is inspired.

A.     The Bible is the most unique book ever written.  It is the one book that claims God Himself wrote it.

1.      It may have been written over a period of 1600 years, on three different continents, and by 40 different people.  Yet it truly had only one Author – God.

B.     Here is what Scripture says about itself.

1 Peter 1:20-21 - ²⁰ First of all, you should know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 - This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the message of God, which also works effectively in you believers.

     C.  The word, “inspired,” means, “God-breathed, or breathed out by God.”

2.  The Word is diverse and unique.

A.     Some information concerning the Bible you may not be aware of.

1.      The Bible contains 66 books – 39 OT and 27 NT.

2.      The OT was written in two languages – primarily Hebrew, and a little Aramiac.  The NT was written in Greek – with a little Aramaic in the Gospels that Jesus says.

3.      It has 40 different human authors in a 1600 year span of being written.  They range from kings, statesman, doctors, farmers, shepherds, and fishermen.  Yes all these diverse authors each in their own way present a unified portrait of God’s plans and purposes to the world.

4.      The Bible is more than just one type of literature.  It is several: history, poetry, humor, prophecy, romance, letters, biographies, songs, journals, advice, laws, and stories.

B.     This book is the only true foundation of the faith of the Christian church. 

1.      We may all have creeds and dogmas that we live by, but they must rise or fall in accordance to what the Bible says.

3.  The Word has been preserved.

Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.

A.     The Bible is the most hated of all books.  Why?

1.      Because it reveals the truth about who we are apart from Christ.

2.      It claims to be an authority over people, and people by nature reject authority.

B.     People who have hated the Bible have down through history tried to destroy it.

1.      By outlawing it.  By public book burnings.  By using science to ridicule it.

2.      Cults have tried to pervert it.  By adding their own doctrines or taking away the true doctrine of Christ.

C.     Inspite of all this, the Bible is still around.  Not only is it around, but it is considered the king of all books.  Why?

1.      The printing press came into existence because of the Bible.

2.      The Bible was also the first book ever printed.

3.      Any unknown language that is discovered on earth, people quickly try to get the Bible translated in that language.

4.      It is also the best selling book of all time.

4.  The Word has power.

A.     The Word has power to change lives.

1.      It has the power to take a drunk or alcoholic and give them a purpose for living.

2.      It has the power to make saints out of sinners.

3.      It has the power to restore broken marriages.

4.      He has the power to forgive a murderer and give them hope, even on death row.

B.     Most important of all, every one of us here that have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are into His Word are all evidences of the life changing power of the Word of God.

5.  The Word is filled with promises.

A.     The Promise of salvation.

B.     The Promise of forgiveness of sin.

C.     The Promise of the ever present help of the Holy Spirit.

D.     The Promise of Eternal Life.

E.      The Promise of Heaven.

F.      The Promise of Jesus coming again.

G.     The Promise of Hope – The Bible is all about giving hope to a hopeless world.

CONCL:  One more story.  Dr. Criswell was the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas.  He tells the story of a small NT taken from the breast-pocket of a fallen American Soldier during the war in Vietnam.  A guest preacher was preaching in his church one Sunday and held up that NT before the congregation.  Dr. Criswell notice that light was coming through a section of the Bible.  After service, he asked the guest preacher if he could look and handle the Bible.  He let him.  Dr. Criswell saw where the light was coming from.  There was a bullet hole in the Bible.  He also noticed that the inside of the Bible was stained with the blood of the fallen soldier.  As he was flipping through the bible, he went to the last page and he noticed something wrote on the page.  It read, “On this date, I, Wilton Thomas, made Jesus Christ my Lord and personal Savior.”  This was actually written when He died.  You see, that’s what the Bible is all about.  It was written to amaze us with it’s scientific accuracy, or any other thing – it was written to lead us to a personal knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, the living Word.  Life is all about choices.  Choose this day to be a student of the Word of God.