The Word of God

This week at Vacation Bible School the kids learned about the Word of God, the Bible. Why did we pick this topic? Why not pick a fun story from the Old Testament. Why talk about some dusty old book that no in America seems to be reading anymore.

We picked it because their destiny lies in what they think about this book and the truth that it contains. Where these kids spend eternity, whether it be Heaven or Hell, rises and falls upon their belief in the Words found in these pages. This is not only true for our kids, but it is true for all of us. This book, God's Word to us, is the revelation of our salvation. This book has the answers to your deepest questions and your deepest need. This book is the primary key in unlocking the joy your so desperately long for.

The verse that we used to start our week at Vacation Bible School is Pslam 119:105, I will use to start today.

• Psalm 119:105 - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
  
  

The Bible is God's Word.

• 2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is breathed out by God“
  
  

Scripture is the breath of God. It comes straight from his mouth. The question is , do you believe this? Do you believe this book is God's book? We love to call the Bible God's Word, but do we actually believe in our hearts that this is Words that come from God?

Think about this. If this is really God's Word this means that when you read the Bible you are standing before the throne of your Creator soaking in his presence and wisdom. This means that the words on these pages are not like any other words you have ever come in contact with before. For these words are from a being who is Holy, all powerful, all knowing, and unchanging. If this book is the Word of God, then this book has power. For it was God's Word that created the heavens and the Earth. God said, let there be light, and their was light. It was God's words that brought something from nothing.

I am guessing that if you truly believed this book is the breath of God, you would read it more than you eat food. It would be your daily bread. It would be the source of your life. It would be what you used to nourish your soul when it is famished and longing for satisfaction. If you believe this book was God's Word you would say things like Jesus did in Matthew 4:4.

• Matthew 4:4 - "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
  
  

I am guessing that if you truly believed this was God's Word, your Bible would be tattered and torn to pieces because of your persistent studying of it. For this book would hold infinite value in your life. It would become your refuge in times of trouble, your weapon in times of war, your shelter in the midst of the storm, your lighthouse in the darkest night. That is, if you truly believed this book is God's Word.

Our problem is that we don't believe that this book is the breath of God, at least not as much as we should. We see it as just another book on the shelf. We see it as an archaic, historical book that our grandparents built their life upon but it holds little relevance to us in this age. We see this book as something for pastors and priests, but holds no value for the common man. No, Satan has done an excellent job of keeping the lamp of God's Word turned off in our homes.

Satan's desire is to keep you as far away from this book as possible, for He hates the Word of God. Why? Because he knows it power. In Ephesians 6:17 we are told that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Bilbe is our weapon by which we do battle against the schemes of the devil. Satan would rather you be unarmed when he shows up at your house tonight to tempt you.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, not only does it say that all scripture is breathed out by God, but it also says:

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.“
  
  

Satan does not want well trained, competent soldiers of Christ who actually know how to go an make disciples. He wants uneducated, sinful, untrained, incompetent, and unequipped weaklings who have no chance of every actually going and making a single disciple. Satan does not want you to stand in the light of God's Word, he wants to hide you away in the shadows of this world and slowly lull you to sleep in the arms of His deception. Misery loves company and Satan wants Hell to be full.

Therefore, since the beginning of creation, Satan has declared war on the Word of God. The very first attack was not on Adam and Eve, but on the Word of God. The first words out of Satan’s mouth in the beginning of human history was, “Did God actually say…” And Satan has not changed his strategy. Why? Because it worked then, and it works now. Satan is working overtime attempting to keep you from knowing the truth that is in God’s Word.

In Mark Chapter 4 Jesus tells a parable about four soils and the seed that is sowed on the four soils. The seed in the parable we are told is the Word of God and the four soils are: 1) the path, 2) the rocky ground, 3) the thorns, and 4) the good soil. Listen to what he says about the seeds that are sown on the path.

• Mark 4:14 – “The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. “
  
  

Satan wants to pluck every Word of God out of your life before it every takes root. He wants you to be oblivious to God's Word. So let's talk about a couple ways Satan does this.

One of the main ways he has done this is to whisper the lie into the ear of this nation that the Bible was written by men independent of God. That it is not God's Word but man's word. To those who believe the Bible is man's word, I ask, have you ever read it? Have you ever opened up the pages and seen what this book says? Have you ever considered the reality of this book and the miracle that it is that I hold it in my hand today?

To all of the Bible doubters I say with confidence and with full assurance that this is God's Word. It was written by men and inspired by God. Why do I say this? Because the proof is in the pudding. The more I read these pages the more I smell the breath of my Creator. The evidence is overwhelming.

God is all powerful and all knowing and all present and He inspired men to be messengers His truth. The Bible itself is a collection of 66 separate books, written by 40 different men, over a period of 1600 years. God used shepherds, Kings, prophets, poets, doctors, fishermen, Pharisees, and tax collectors to bring His Word to mankind. This alone is amazing. That I hold a book that has parts that were written 3600 years ago is unprecedented.

Despite the age, variety of styles and numerous authors there is a supernatural consistency that runs throughout each and every book that points to one singular truth, our deep and desperate need for Jesus Christ. The consistency of this book is incomparable. It is 66 books, but one Story. It is a variety of men, but one Spirit inspiring them all.

I am always amazed that people struggle with this. Why do people fabricate such a small God? If God can stretch out the heavens with his fingers, then those same fingers can write a book. Not only that but this book testifies that the author is God.

• 2 Peter 1:20 - “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. “
  
  
• John 14:25-26 - "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
  
  
• Galatians 1:11-12 - “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.“
  
  

So is this book the Word of God? I will let it speak for itself.

The next way Satan attempts to keep us from this book is to tell us that it is not relevant to our lives. That there is nothing in this book that matters. It is just a collection of boring stories. This could not be farther from the truth, for as I said earlier this morning, your destiny rises and falls upon the pages of this book. Just as Peter says in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”

In this book God gives gives us the diagnosis of our soul, and the prognosis is not good. In this book God tells us that our hearts are desperately sick. In this book God reveals to us that we are sinners. In this book God warns us of his wrath. In this book God informs us that we are blind, deaf, lost, broken and spiritually dead. In this book that God tells us we are destined to face judgment before a Holy God with nothing to offer him but our filthy rags of unrighteous works. This book is a window into the wickedness of our soul, showing us our depravity and the hopelessness of our state. This book is like scalpel opening up our hearts and showing to us that our condition is fatal.

Having said that, also in this book that we are introduced to the Great Physician who can heal our sickness. In this book we are told of the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the World. In this book God paints a picture of the suffering King who was hung on a cross to purchase a people for His own possession. In this book God bears witness to his obedient Son who loved Him and was perfectly righteous. In in this book the Glory of God is displayed in the face of Jesus. It is in this book we are introduced to the Hero to our Story, Jesus Christ.

Therefore this book, the Bible, God’s Word, holds within its pages the diagnosis of our condition and the cure to our disease. It truly is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. For it points us to Jesus Christ who is the way, truth and the life, and that no one gets to the Father but through him. And off course, Satan does not want you to know any of this. He wants us to be oblivious to the disease we call sin. Listen to what 2 Corinthians 4:4 says about Satan.

• 2 Corinthians 4:4 – “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
  
  

As I said before, Satan wants you blind. His desire is for you to make a make a shipwreck of your faith, and the way he does it is to keep the truth found in the Bible away from you. He wants you to wrongly believe that your religion will save you, he wants you to believe that being a good person will save you, he wants you to believe that walking into a stone building will save you. He does not want you to know the truth as stated in Acts 16:30.

• Acts 16:30 - “What must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
  
  

Satan wants you in Hell, therefore he does not want you to find the door to heaven. He does not want you to know that we are saved by believing in Jesus. But that is exactly what God says all over this book.

• John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
  
  
• John 6:40 - “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." “
  
  
• Acts 10:43 - “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
  
  
• 1 Peter 2:6 - “For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
  
  

So is God's Word relevant to you? Absolutely. It addresses the most important reality in your life, your sin and God's Solution, believing in Jesus Christ. The Bible overwhelming tells you that your destiny rises and falls upon Christ alone. It depends solely on your belief in Jesus. That's it. That is the answer. It is black and white: Faith alone. Grace alone. Christ alone.

At Cornerstone we deeply recognize the power of God's Word. Our desire is for people to be educated, holy, equipped, competent, and able to do the work of God. Our desire is to hand each person the sword of God's Word so that they can do battle against Satan. Our desire is for people to be saved. Our desire is to help people find the door into Heaven, to find the door to joy, and they way we do this is the way God told us to do it, to feed upon every word that comes from His mouth.

So in closing, if you don't have a Bible, we would love for you to take one. If you want someone to read it with you, ask, and we would love to. If you want to study this book, we have several Bible studies that meet throughout the week. But above all, open it up and read it. Let the light of God shine into your life.