Celebration of Disciplines | The Word In Our World
Celebration of Disciplines: Part II
THE WORD IN OUR WORLD
Matthew 4:4 (ESV) 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) 16 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 complete, equipped for every good work.
Time and again, we have played this game called, “Bible or Not.” The main objective of this game is to guess whether these statements are direct quotes from the Bible or not. Let’s try:
"God helps those who help themselves."
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”
“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”
"An honest confession is good for the soul."
"Money is the root of all evil."
“The wind blows whenever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”
How many got six correct answers? If you at least got four out of six, I definitely consider you very good because the Bible verses in this exercise are not the familiar ones.
I’m sure almost all of us are familiar with the saying, “You are what you eat.” Basically, what this saying is conveying is that our health is so dependent on what we are eating. If we are eating junk food all the time, then eventually, our health will deteriorate. But, if we are committed to eating healthy food, then, we will be enjoying better health.
In comparison, this fact is also very true with our spiritual health. If we neglect feeding our soul and spirit regularly or be careless with intake of God’s Word, we will surely be weak and more susceptible to falling into Satan’s traps. This is the main reason why Jesus countered the Devil during His temptation by quoting these words in Matthew 4:4, ‘“But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” As we probably are familiar with the context of this verse, Jesus was in a 40 day fast. And on the occasion that He was possibly feeling hungry already, Satan showed up and told Him, (my paraphrase version) “Why are you letting yourself starved when you can practically turn these stones into bread?” Well, with the response of Jesus, we can get the sense that we should not only be conscious of what we are feeding our physical body, we should also be cognizant with how well we are feeding our spiritual life.
How many of us are conscious of maintaining a healthy habit of feeding our spiritual lives? Last Sunday, we started our sermon series on spiritual disciplines, which we entitled, Celebration of Disciplines. I hope you did not forget our definition of Spiritual Disciplines. We said, “They are spiritual habits of devotion that are necessary for our pursuit of godliness. The first one we talked about focused on being alone with God. This morning, let’s tackle the topic, “The Word in the World.” I trust that we don’t miss the emphasis on the “World” because our present location also presents the necessity of God’s Word in our lives. Since we live in this dark, broken, and sinful world, the only way we can remain victorious here is by our regular feeding of God’s Word. The question now is, “How can we build this spiritual discipline in our lives?” Allow me to give at least three mandates:
I LISTEN TO THE WORD OF GOD
Let me begin with the story of the prophet Samuel. Remember the time when he was still a young boy living at the Tabernacle with the High Priest, Eli. God started directly speaking to him. The first time he heard God calling his name, he thought it was Eli calling him. So Samuel went to Eli and asked if he was calling him. Of course, Eli told him that it was not him who was calling. So, he went back to his room, wondering who called him. Then, it happened again, so he went back to Eli. To make the long story short, Eli had the suspicion that it was God who was calling Samuel, so he taught Samuel how to respond. True enough, after the third time that Samuel heard the call, he responded saying:
1 Samuel 3:10 (ESV) 10 . . .“Speak, for your servant hears.”
Now, this may be a cute story, but I pray that we all understand how important it is to maintain also the same attitude towards God’s Word. You see, if you are truly believing that the Bible is God’s Word as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV), saying, 16 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 complete, equipped for every good work.
Then, we should be giving it our highest attention every time we have the opportunity to read, mediate, or listen to it. I also want to briefly comment on the part of this passage where it says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” In order to understand the significance of this phrase, we have to compare it with Genesis 2:7 (ESV).7”[T]hen the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
You see, based on this verse in Genesis, our life originated from the “breath of God.” For the Bible, it is the same; the main reason why the Bible is powerful and alive is because it came from the breath of God. With this truth, it is also safe to say that every time we take in the Word of God into our lives, it literally carries the idea that we are taking in a “fresh breath from God.” Pastor Charles Stanley acknowledged this truth when he said:
“We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.”
Now, the question is: “How is our attitude whenever we are listening to God’s Word?” Obviously, in relation to God’s Word, this discipline could actually be the easiest. But, the Parable of the Sower in Luke 18 will enlighten us regarding its challenges. Of course, in Jesus’ parable, we have the “seed,” which is God’s Word. Then, the four “soils” applies to the four types of listeners:
Pathway Soil – They are the ones who heard God’s Word, but because the soil is hard, the Word of God was not able to penetrate it. Instead, the demonic forces took away the Word from them.
Rocky Soil – They are ones who received God’s Word, but the Word did not take roots. In other words, they showed some enthusiasm after hearing, but whatever they heard did not really impact them. Just like the saying, “They were stirred, but not changed.”
Thorny Soil - They are the ones who received God’s Word; they even have displayed some life. But, they proved that they were not genuine believers because they did not go on steadfastly. The cares, riches, and pleasures of life took control, and the Word was suppressed and eventually smothered.
Good Soil – They are the ones who genuinely received God’s Word and allowed it to mold their lives. This submission to God’s Word ultimately led to a more fruitful life.
With these four kinds of hearers, what kind of a hearer would you be categorized with? I trust that we will be honest enough to determine, so we can make the necessary adjustments in order to be a good soil. Jesus ended this parable with this serious exhortation:
Luke 8:18 (ESV).18 “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Clearly, the Savior allows us to understand that if we have listened carefully to His words, then, we will receive more truth. But, if we carelessly listened, then, we will lose the truth that were given. For those of you who tend to be careless in listening to the Word of God, please know that it would be a big loss on your part if God takes away His Word from you. You know why? It is because, according to the Bible, faith in God only comes from hearing the Word of God:
Romans 10:17 (ESV) 17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Since it is only by faith in Christ that we get saved and grow in our relationship with Him, then, without it, those who are careless in hearing the Word will definitely be hopeless forever.
II LEARN THE WORD OF GOD
The next mandate for this discipline is learning the Word of God. It is truly a great blessing that God allowed His words to be written because they become readily available for us to learn and study them. And in addition to their availability, there are also thousands and thousands of study materials accessible to help us to learn them comprehensively. From Study Bibles, Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, Commentaries, and Bible Software Programs, you name it; God has provided every possible means for us to elevate our understanding of Him, His ways, and His will. Today, if the believer still remains ignorant, it is definitely the fault of the person.
Now, for those who are really interested to learn, let me suggest three fundamental steps to maximize your studies of the Bible:
1. Read the Bible.
Reading the Bible is certainly the very first step in learning God’s Word. However, this discipline is quite a challenge among many believers in the U.S. Last year, around July, Lifeway Research published a study regarding Bible engagements. One of the subjects in their study was about Bible reading among Americans who attend Protestant churches. Here are some of the results they gathered:
32% say they read the Bible personally every day.
27% say they read it a few times a week.
12% say they only read once a week.
11% say they read a few times a month.
5% say they read once a month.
1 in 8 (12%) admit they rarely or never read the Bible.
It is very unfortunate to see that even among professing believers, the discipline of reading of the Bible is still lagging behind. This morning, I hope to challenge all of you to make time and choose a Bible reading plan that works for you. I can assure you that it will surely be a channel of blessings in your life. In fact, if you read Revelation 1:3, you will find the Lord making a promise of blessings to those who commit themselves to keep reading it:
Revelation 1:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
Are you consistent in your Bible reading today? Take to heart that it is to your advantage to read the Bible.
2. Reflect on the Bible.
In addition to reading, we can also learn the Bible by reflecting or meditating on the Words of God. Perhaps, we are more familiar with the idea of meditation, which goes beyond merely understanding the Scriptural verses you read. With meditation, we begin to think of specific ways to apply the passage we have read.
This discipline is so important in our lives that God has to command us to do it:
Joshua 1:8 (ESV) 8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
What is really interesting in this passage is how God has attached success in life and our meditation of the Bible. Many do not associate the two, but if you really think about it, God is simply saying that by meditating on His words, we can receive sufficient guidance on how we can be successful in all of our pursuits in life. This blessing of success is consistent also with what we find in Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV): 1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
Listen, when you read these verses, especially verse 2, they clearly convey that a person who makes time for the Word of God is truly blessed!
3. Remember the Bible.
Thirdly, we must also make an effort to remember key verses that can help us navigate this challenging life we live in. The Psalmist put it this way:
Psalm 119:11 (ESV) 11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
This verse is a very practical way to use the Bible, right? In other words, we don’t forget some of the things we have learned from the Bible. We can even commit to memory some specific verses applicable to our challenging times. For example, when you are anxious, what’s a perfect passage to quote? – Philippians 4:6-7; when you are under stress – Proverbs 3:5-6; when you are angry – Ephesians 4:31-32; when feeling weak – 2 Corinthians 12:9. There are so many other verses that God has given us that can be very useful in all our ups and downs of life.
I know being intentional in memorizing Scriptures will require more work, but it will be all worth it. Remember Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:1-11, while He was in the wilderness, and the Devil tempted Him to sin. Jesus totally defeated his attempts by quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures. Check out the passage, specifically verses, 4, 7, and 10. All these verses were introduced with the phrase, “It is written.” This phrase showed that they were direct quotes from the Scriptures. Now, if this discipline worked for Jesus, it will surely work for us as well.
So, if we have the desire to learn the Word of God, we must be willing to commit to these three disciplines - read, reflect, and remember them. All of them are equally important!
III LIVE THE WORD OF GOD
Learning the Bible is never the end goal for the believer. It is always living out what we have learned from the Bible. James said it best in his letter:
James 1:22-24 (ESV) 22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”
When you examine these verses, the main emphasis is on the doing of the Word of God. In order to do this effectively, we need to constantly relate the truth we have learned into our lives. Dr. Howard Hendricks, a renowned professor of Dallas Theological Seminary, provided some guiding questions so that we can adequately relate the Scriptures into our lives. Here are they:
Does the passage show a sin to avoid?
Does the passage show a promise to claim?
Does the passage show a prayer to recite?
Does the passage show a command to obey?
Does the passage show a condition to meet?
Does the passage show a verse to memorize?
Does the passage show an error to identify?
Does the passage show a challenge to face?
I would say that if we diligently ask these questions whenever we have the privilege to learn the Bible, we would never miss the proper application of the Word of God into our lives.
For me, it is amazing to realize that through the Bible, the Almighty God, the God of the universe, and the Creator of the world, has given me the privilege to get to know Him and learn how I can intimately relate with Him. I just cannot take His Word for granted. As I close, I hope to challenge you this morning to see the Word of God as a priceless treasure given to us by God. We should give time to it, obey it, and let it be our guide every single day of our lives. If we keep it close to our hearts, I know we would be able to keep God closer to our lives.
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana