Importance of God’s Word

Scripture Texts

Heb. 4:12 

 Psalms 19:7-14

Intro: There are many books in this world you can read but no worldly book will do for you what God’s word can. When the word of God was written it was under the specific guidance and supervision of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit is still revealing the truth of God’s word to our hearts today.  God’s word shows us the path to take in this world of confusion. There are many voices speaking to us today but only one voice needs to be heard above all the others. God’s word is the necessary standard for all other hearing and the way we live.

I. King David had learned the importance of obeying and living God’s word. Psalms 19:7 (NLT) The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

 a. The perfect Law of God can change people. God’s word is constantly changing people. It revives the weary soul, those whose souls need rest from the trials, tests, tribulations of this life. The word’s instructions can be trusted to make one wise.  There are many books filled with knowledge, but only one addresses our spiritual needs. We can fill our minds with knowledge, but only God’s wisdom can tell us how to apply God’s word to everyday living.

II. God’s word gives joy to the heart and gives insight for living. Psalms 19:8 (NLT) The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.

 a. Insight is an understanding of the motivational forces behind our actions, thoughts, and behavior.  That is, insight brightens our lives and guides us each day. The word’s instructions, commands, and rules for living are all clear and specific instructions from God Himself on how we are to live. It gives us guidance when we don’t know the way to go or what to do. Joy and guidance fill the soul of one who meditates on the word of God and follows His commands.

III. Reverence for the Lord is pure and God’s word is always true. Psalms 19:9 (NLT)
 Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.

 a. Reverence is here a synonym for fear, for its purpose was to put fear into human hearts. It means to deeply respect God as the One who controls our life. The Law (word of God) is true.... sure, and righteous. It was designed to cause believers to obey God and leads to righteous living. We reverence God because He saved us and adopted us into His family.

IV. God’s word is more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey. Psalms 19:10-11 (NLT)
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. ¹¹ They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

 a. God’s words are more precious than gold, the most valuable commodity in the ancient Near East, the rich man who lost his soul. The values of the Word cannot be computed in terms of gold. But it does have this one thing in common with gold: persons must dig for its treasures. Great wealth is hidden in the pages of God’s Book, and man’s best interests are served by searching for them. God’s words are sweeter than honey, the sweetest substance known in the ancient Near East. Nothing is sweeter than reading God’s salvation message and His words of love, mercy, grace, and compassion toward us who belong to Him. God’s word’s give us warnings of the dangers of folly and sin. God’s word protects us from all evil and its terrible consequences. God’s word brings us a great reward. God’s word gives us the path of life that leads to His blessings and favors.

 V. God’s word reveals our sins and faults. (v:12) Psalms 19:12 (NLT) How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

  a. When we read God’s word is a warning to us. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. The word of God penetrates through our outer facade and reveals what lies deep inside. The metaphor of the sharpest knife pictures the word of God cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires, revealing what we really are on the inside. Nothing can be hidden from God; neither can we hide from ourselves if we sincerely study the word of God. It reaches deep past our outer life as a knife passes through skin. It penetrates to the soul!

  b.   God’s word tells us how to be cleansed from our secret sins. 1 John 1:9 (NLT) But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Conclusion:  David closed with a prayer. Psalms 19:13-14 (NLT)
¹³ Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. ¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

   a. Contemplation of the holy word of God led David to pray for complete cleansing so that he could live an upright (innocent) and acceptable life before God.

      He prayed for God to keep him from deliberate sins. Those he planned in his heart and then carried out knowing it was wrong. He asked to be free of guilt and to be innocent of great sin.

   b. David prayed that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart be pleasing unto God his Rock and Redeemer. There is much to gain by reading, studying and living God’s word. How to live the successful and abundant life is found in God’s word.                    
Invitation: The word of God says that we have all sinned and come short of God’s glory. (Rom. 3:23) The bible says the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Rom. 6:23) Have you asked Jesus to forgive and save you from hell and give you the gift of eternal life? If not now would be an excellent time to do so. Are you daily reading and studying God’s word? Are you daily living for God? If not start today and watch your life to change!

Great Faith

Scripture Text 

Mark 6:6

Luke 7:1-10

 Intro: There are only two times in the bible that Jesus marveled at people’s faith. Marvel means to be impressed, amazed, be surprised and stand in wonder of. There are two kinds of faith that makes Jesus marvel. We will look at those two kinds in today’s message. Take note of which kind of faith you have.

I. Jesus marvels at the lack of faith. Mark 6:5-6 (NKJV)
⁵ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

 a. Unbelief ties Jesus’ hands so that He can do no mighty work among us. (v:5)

 Unbelief or lack of faith prevents Jesus’ mighty working power in our lives. God works by faith!

  b. "Jesus marveled because of their unbelief!" (v:6) He stood in amazement and shock of their total disbelief. They had His presence, His wisdom, and the testimony of His mighty works. They had His power to help them in all their need, yet they stayed away from His meetings. They would not come to Him. In pride, they refused to trust and believe Him. The situation amazed Jesus. Their unbelief was just incredible, but He had to accept their rejection. He could not force Himself upon them, so He left town and travelled to the villages around Nazareth.

II. Jesus marvels at great faith. Luke 7:1-5 (NKJV)
¹ Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. ² And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. ³ So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, ⁵ "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue."

 a. A Roman centurion had a servant very dear to him who was sick. Note that the centurion built the Jews a synagogue. He diligently sought Jesus. The centurion was a very humble man who sought Jesus through the Jews because he did not feel worthy to approach Jesus.

The centurion was a man of faith. He believed Jesus could meet his need.

b. The centurion illustrated perfectly what great faith is. Luke 7:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶ Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

1. Great Faith believes that "God is": that He is sovereign Lord over all. Believing God takes faith. (Hebrews 11:6). All power is subject to Him.

 2. Great Faith believes that "God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him." Faith in Jesus words believes He will use His power in behalf of those who diligently seek Him.

The great faith of the Roman centurion believed God had given Jesus supreme authority over every other power and authority that exists. Philippians 2:10 (NKJV) At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.

Many believers diligently seek the Lord, but the centurion's faith was so much greater than most believers. Why? Because he believed that the Word of Christ was all that was needed. Luke 7:8 (NKJV) ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Jesus did not have to be present for the need to be met. As a centurion, he was under the Roman government’s authority and he had been given authority over men. All he had to do was issue an order and it was carried out, whether he was present or not. He was a sovereign commander. He was saying, "How much more authority you have, O' Lord. Your authority is supreme. Speak the word only, and my need shall be met."

III. Jesus marveled at the Roman centurion’s faith. Luke 7:9 (NKJV)
⁹ When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"

     The centurion was a gentile whose amazing faith stirred the great power of Jesus. 

What a forceful and powerful lesson on faith for all! Jesus said He had not seen such great faith in all of Israel. Jesus embraced and commended the soldier before others. He embraced and commended him for his faith, not for who he was or for what he had done as a soldier. Jesus didn’t even commend him for building the Jews a synagogue, but for totally believing that Jesus was who He said He was, And that He was in command of every situation, circumstance, power and authority that exists.

IV. The results of great faith. The centurion’s servant was healed right then. Luke 7:10 (NKJV)  And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

Conclusion: Believing, that is, true faith, is a rare thing. Not many believe with great faith; yet belief in Christ is one of the greatest qualities of human life—a quality ignored, neglected, and in some cases denied. Often Christians limit Jesus’ power from working in their lives by not believing He is able to deal with their particular circumstance.

Invitation:  Have you put total faith in Jesus for your salvation? Have you confessed your sins to Jesus and asked His forgiveness? If not why not now? If you confess your sins to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness, He will forgive you and you will be saved! Where is your faith level on a scale from 1-10? Jesus always wants to do more in our lives if we will allow Him! We either allow Jesus to work in our lives or we limit Him by our faith! 

Effective Prayer

Scripture Text 

Colossians 1:9-14

Intro: The book of James states in James 5:16b (NKJV) “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” For our prayers to be effective and powerful they must be according to God’s will. These verses before us today are God’s will for all of His church.

When we pray according to God’s will, we can expect powerful results.  (1 John 5:14-15)

I. This is a prayer for us to be filled with knowledge of God’s will for our lives. Colossians 1:9 (NKJV) ⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 

 A. In all wisdom. Wisdom is Knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just    judgment as to the action which is to be taken in a every situation we face in this life. 

     B. In all spiritual understanding. Means skill in dealing with or handling spiritual things!

This knowledge, wisdom and understanding are not for just one particular thing but for all of life. God's will for us involves our very behavior and conduct; it even reaches down into the depth of imagination and thought. Imagine!

Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5)

God has willed a life for us to live and we need to be filled with the knowledge of that life.

II. This prayer is to be able to walk worthy of the Lord. Colossians 1:10 (NKJV) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

 a. We are to be pleasing to the Lord in everything. Is it possible for Christians to please God? Apparently so, for Paul prayed exactly that for the Colossian believers!

 Perfection won’t be achieved in this life, yet believers press on toward the goal of God’s high calling for our lives.

 b. We are to be fruitful in every good work. Knowing something and having the ability to do something are very important, but they involve only head knowledge. The critical point is putting what we know into practice. We are to live out the will of God; we are to practice and do the will of God. Knowing the will of God is of no value until we have committed our lives to do it and produce the fruit of righteousness.

 c. We are to constantly be growing in our knowledge of God. The only way to increase our knowledge of God is to read His word daily. We are to pray for spiritual understanding of His word as we read it.

III. This prayer is to be strengthened with all might. Colossians 1:11-12 (NKJV) ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

 a. According to God’s glorious power. One can hardly pray a more wonderful prayer. To be made strong with God’s power is to be given incredible strength—it was God’s glorious power that created the universe and that brought Jesus back to life.

 b. It’s the power to be patient and longsuffering. Patience is the ability to stand firm against opposition without giving up; it is often used in describing one’s dealings with difficult people and circumstances. Endurance is the ability to continue toward a goal regardless of the obstacles; it is often used in relation to difficult problems. Both are needed, and both come from the empowerment of God’s glorious strength. God's power gives us a spirit of joyfulness through all the trials and tribulations of life. We have joy knowing we are doing God’s will and pleasing Him.

 c. It’s the power to have Joy. Joy means an inner gladness; a deep seated pleasure. It is a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful and rejoicing heart. It is a cheerful heart that leads to cheerful and rejoicing behavior. We can be joyous because God has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. We have to be prepared, that is, qualified and made fit before we can receive the inheritance. Man is not qualified or fit to receive anything from God, especially an inheritance. God has qualified us for the inheritance through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. What have we inherited? We are heirs of salvation and eternal life. We are heirs of the promises made to Abraham, the promises to inherit the world and to be a citizen of a great nation of people. We are heirs of God’s glory, grace, love, and righteousness. We are heirs of God's very special favor. We are heirs of an immortal and perfected body that shall be given us when Christ returns. We are heirs of God’s kingdom.

IV. We are to thank God we have been delivered. Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV) ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 

 a. From the power of darkness. We have been delivered out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness and evil. We have been bought back from Satan’s control by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for man. He took the penalty of sins and bore the punishment Himself on the cross. (Isaiah 53:5 ) He was able to do this because He was the Perfect and Ideal Man, and as the Ideal Man, He stands for and represent all mankind. He took the keys of death and hell away from Satan. We have been transferred from spiritual darkness into the kingdom of Christ.

      b. Into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

  1. We are to thank God’s Son Jesus that we have redemption through His blood. Our sins have been forgiven. They are not going to be forgiven, they have been forgiven. We have been transferred from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God by Jesus Christ.

We now live for Him we show our gratitude.

    Invitation: Have you been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom by Jesus Christ? If not now is the perfect time! Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. Invite Jesus to take charge of your life. If you have been saved, will you pray this prayer for yourself and the church? It is time for us to take prayer seriously! We have not because we ask not. (James 4:2)

Freedom

Freedom

Intro: As of July 4, 2016, the United States of America is 240 years old. The Declaration of Independence from Great Britain was approved by the thirteen colonies on July 4, 1776, at which point the United States became a country. As of April 30, 2016, the United States has a total resident population of 323,730,000, making it the third most populous country in the world. The total number of Americans killed in all U.S. wars to defend America’s freedom is over 1.1 million. Today, out of a nation of over 323 million people, 1.3 million Americans are in active duty military, and another 1 million serve in the reserves, according to the Department of Defense. We are free as a nation today because someone was willing to put their lives on the line for us.

I. Jesus said the truth sets us free and keeps us free. (John 8:32-36) The pilgrims, as you will recall, were Christians fleeing Europe in order to escape religious persecution, and they literally began their stay in their new land with the words, “In the name of God, Amen.” America was indeed founded by bible-believing Christians and based on Christian principles. When they founded this country, the Founding Fathers envisioned a government that would promote and encourage Christianity. Freedom cannot survive without it!

   All but two of the first 108 universities founded in America were Christian. This includes the first, Harvard, where the student handbook listed this as Rule #1: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

    In 1777, Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase bibles which were to be distributed throughout the 13 colonies! And in 1782, the United States Congress declared, “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools." Yes the truth of God’s word has been instrumental in the freedom we enjoy in this country.      No other religion except Christianity is compatible with our constitution.

         In No other country with a religion other than Christianity are you            allowed freedom of religious expression. You will be terminated! 

    II. We are a free and blessed nation as long as we give God His rightful place.           (Psalm 33:12-22)

 a. This verse expresses joy over being part of God’s elect people, recipients of His loyal faithful love. God has had His hand on this nation from its very beginning and for 240 years He has kept this nation free through His Son Jesus Christ.  The psalmist then stated that God sees all people from His exalted position in heaven (His dwelling place). (v:13) He created each one of us with His hands and sees even our inner thoughts. (v:15) God does not save the self-confident. Those who look to a king (government), or human strength, (man’s wisdom) or a horse (military might) cannot find deliverance. (v:16-17) This nation will not be saved by any work of mankind. Rather the Lord saves and preserves those who trust and hope in Him (vs:18-19) “God saves those who “fear” Him and hope in His mercy. Those who wait for Him, rejoice in Him and trust in His unfailing love. (vv. 20, 22) What the Christian flag rep. keeps what the American flag rep. free.

Conclusion: There are other religions coming into our nation on a daily basis. They have the freedom to practice their religion but we are never to support them or put their religion on the same level as Christianity. All other religions will send you to hell. We are to actively try to help them come to know the truth about Jesus or else they are eternally doomed. We are to tell everyone that Jesus is the One and Only Son of God come to earth to live a perfect life, be crucified on a cross and then be resurrected as payment for our sins.  (John  3:16)

Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can give us the things we need for this nation! All else will fail!

Invitation: Do you know for sure you are going to heaven when you die? If not today is the day to make sure before it’s eternally too late. Jesus said He is the only way, truth and life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. (John 14:6) Ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your life and save you from the penalty of your sins and give you a home in Heaven right now.