Studying the Bible to Know God More.

Steve Gentry

[0:06] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:07] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] This is your first time here. [0:09] My name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church, and as always, I am thankful [0:13] and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:15] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to 2 Kings chapter 22.

[0:19] We’re going to be starting in verse 8 this morning as we continue on our series about [0:24] goals where God wants us to go. [0:28] That’s really the point of this series is not to kind of set these goals that are immeasurable [0:34] and just big ideas for things for us to pursue. [0:37] Rather, they are measurable outcomes to the actions that God desires to be in place in [0:44] our lives for the commands that He has said we need to obey so that we can actually measure

[0:50] not just personal health, but really the health of the culture that we are forming as a church. [0:55] We started with worship because everything flows from worship. [1:00] Everything is about worship. [1:02] God is in this to bring Himself glory. [1:05] Every act of casting vision or living a vision that the Bible gives us is to bring God glory. [1:13] Last week, of course, we talked about the issue of connecting with others for the purpose

[1:17] of discipleship. [1:18] This is not something that you can isolate yourself and accomplish, but rather God has [1:23] called you to be in relationship with other people so that you can both be and make disciples [1:28] of Christ. [1:30] Today, we’re going to talk about the Bible. [1:32] We must have a vision for studying the Bible for the purpose of knowing God more.

[1:39] There’s the action of studying the Bible, but what’s vital about that action is that [1:42] you understand the purpose for which you do it, and the purpose is so that you can know [1:47] God more. [1:48] The Bible serves as a foundation for everything in the Christian life. [1:54] It’s how God has chosen to make Himself, His history, and His purposes known to us, but [2:01] we do not simply study it as an academic text.

[2:05] We do not simply study it for inspiration in our lives. [2:08] There’s a purpose behind which God calls us to study His Word, and that purpose is that [2:14] This is specifically how God has chosen to give us knowledge of who He is, knowledge [2:20] of what He has done, and really knowledge of what He wants us to do in our lives. [2:25] Quite frankly, you cannot grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ apart from the study of [2:32] God’s Word.

[2:32] It’s impossible, because this is how God has chosen to make Himself known to us. [2:39] And before I read the text, I want to start into number one, and that is, number one [2:43] this morning, to know God is to know the Bible. [2:47] To know God is to know the Bible. [2:50] God is there, and He has not been silent about who He is. [2:54] I don’t believe that you can overstate or even overestimate the power of the Word of

[3:01] God. [3:01] Now, just to kind of get everything straight before we get into it, today is not going [3:06] to be a sermon in which I will so much defend the validity of the Bible. [3:10] I’ve done that in different environments. [3:13] Those teachings are available on the website, so if you want to learn more about why the [3:17] Old Testament is God’s Word, there’s a teaching for that.

[3:20] If you want to know why the New Testament is God’s Word, there’s a teaching for that. [3:23] We’re not going to be talking about that today. [3:25] Rather, I want to address the importance of the activity of the Bible, both in your personal [3:32] life as well as in the life of the church. [3:36] I want to begin kind of laying the groundwork for that in 2 Kings. [3:40] In 2 Kings chapter 22, there’s this narrative about the power of God’s Word in the lives

[3:46] of His people, but before I read it, I want to give you the context of what’s actually [3:52] happening in this narrative. [3:54] From Rehoboam forward, Israel for many generations had had wicked kings, and these wicked kings [4:01] had taken Israel to a place where they were worshiping idols, they were not worshiping [4:06] God, and then they were so wicked, in fact, that they lost the Scriptures. [4:11] No one had gone to the Word of God, not even the High Priest, for so long that people

[4:17] had forgotten it even existed. [4:19] The law that had been passed down through Moses was not even a memory to many people, [4:24] but there was a young king, his name was Josiah. [4:26] He actually became king in Israel when he was 8 years old, and he had a very wicked [4:30] father, and since his father was the king, he became king upon his wicked father’s death. [4:37] And this child, Josiah, had heard the stories and had seen the temple, and he decided as

[4:43] he grew up that the temple had served a very important place in Israel’s history, and [4:48] so it needed to be rebuilt, it needed to be returned to its glory, and so he commissioned [4:54] a team to go and rebuild the temple. [4:58] And as the High Priest, Hilkiah, was rebuilding this dilapidated structure, they actually [5:04] found the law of God, and that’s where we pick up in 2 Kings 22, 8. [5:11] It says, starting in verse 8,

[5:28] The text doesn’t say he read it. [5:31] It says he gave it to someone else, and they read it. [5:33] Shafen the secretary read the book of the law, and Shafen the secretary came to the [5:38] king and reported to the king,

[5:57] Verse 11.

[6:03] And Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam the son of Shafen, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, [6:08] and Shafen the secretary, and Asiah the king’s servant, saying, [6:12] Go inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of [6:17] this book that have been found. [6:19] For great is the wrath of God that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not [6:25] obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us.

[6:32] Now keep in mind that this is a book that they’re all totally unfamiliar with. [6:37] When Shafen reads it, he knows there’s something significant about this book. [6:40] He knows this is an ordinary book, so he immediately takes it to Josiah. [6:45] And when he reads it to the king, he is stricken to the soul of who he is so much so, and [6:52] in this context, the activity of repentance was always shown by the tearing of clothes. [6:59] And so the king was so stricken by the words of the law of God, much of what you find

[7:04] boring as you read in your daily devotions, he was so stricken by the power of the word [7:09] of God that he immediately in that moment knew that he had great sin to repent of. [7:15] But note that his response was, we need to seek the face of the Lord. [7:20] And so he gathered his entire leadership and said, we as an entire people have sinned against [7:26] God. [7:27] We must teach the book of the law and seek the face of God so that we can return to obedience

[7:34] to the words of this book. [7:36] You can perceive just by reading the narrative, the effect that it had on them. [7:41] These were people who had been running off of traditions. [7:44] They had been running off of memories. [7:46] They had been running off of routine, but had actually lost the very word of God that [7:51] had been passed down from Moses to Hilkiah, the high priest.

[7:55] It was nothing more than a relic that he had found. [7:58] To Shafen, it was something significant. [8:01] But once it was read to King Josiah, he tore his clothes. [8:06] He repented. [8:07] He responded to the worth of God, understanding that he had been confronted with both the [8:13] holiness of God as well as the conviction for the sins of himself and for the nation

[8:19] around him. [8:19] And he understood the wrath that they deserved. [8:23] Why did all of this happen? [8:25] It happened because God has chosen the way to make himself known. [8:31] Don’t miss the power of what happened in Josiah’s life. [8:35] The word of God caused him to seek God.

[8:40] The law of God is no mere list of instructions. [8:43] Rather, it is the supernatural work of God to reveal himself to humanity. [8:48] There is power in being confronted with the word and believing it through faith. [8:54] When you do that, you will not be the same. [8:57] You will not live the same life. [9:01] So many attempt to seek God apart from the Scriptures.

[9:06] So many, many even of you, you’re looking for God. [9:10] You want him to do work in your life. [9:12] Maybe you even believe and profess a faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. [9:16] But you want God to work at a level that will be more exciting, will be more familiar, [9:22] will be more based on how you think you are wired, will be more based on what you think [9:27] your love language is, and you don’t want to go to the word of God.

[9:30] So you expect God to work according to your plan rather than according to his plan. [9:36] But God has chosen a vehicle and an avenue through which to make himself known. [9:42] And that avenue is the word of God. [9:46] I very much mean to say that if you are looking for God apart from his Scripture, [9:52] you should not expect that you will ever find him. [9:56] God has designed the Bible to work in such a way that it is the way that he has chosen to make himself known.

[10:05] This is the difference between the animal kingdom and humanity. [10:08] Do you realize that my dogs have not developed a written word to communicate to each other with? [10:16] They can only communicate through grunts and barks and growls. [10:20] That’s about it. [10:21] But humanity was designed by God in such a unique way that very early on in our history, [10:28] we began to develop written communication.

[10:32] Here’s the deal. [10:33] I believe that that is evidence of the image of God in every human life. [10:38] The written word is no mere ability for you to expend on your desires where other people are concerned. [10:45] Rather, the written word was designed because it is the avenue through which God chose to make himself known. [10:52] We do not have to depend on our intuition to find God. [10:59] We do not have to intuit his presence in our lives.

[11:03] We do not have to depend on some emotional movement in our lives for us to be in the presence of God. [11:09] Rather, God has designed his presence to be realized through the written word in the pages of scripture. [11:16] Here’s what Proverbs 30 says. [11:18] The sons write and says, every word of God proves true. [11:22] He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. [11:25] Verse six, do not add to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

[11:33] When you attempt to put God in another place that you don’t want to find him through his word, [11:40] there are things in the Bible that you don’t appreciate, [11:43] there are things in the scriptures that you don’t approve of, [11:45] therefore you want to seek him through an avenue outside of the scripture. [11:49] And so you’re looking for the presence of God in extra biblical sources. [11:52] Maybe you’re trying to form some pluralized religion in which more is accepted than the scriptures will say is accepted.

[11:59] What this text is saying that you have made yourself into a liar [12:04] because you have forsaken the very avenue through which God himself has chosen to make himself known. [12:11] But what does it say about the words of God? [12:13] It says that it is a shield and a refuge. [12:17] Nothing else claims from the scriptures to be a place in which we can find the defense that we need for our lives, [12:26] but also the knowledge to keep ourselves pure, to keep ourselves safe, to keep ourselves on the right path,

[12:33] but the scriptures. [12:34] That’s why it’s very quick to say you need to depend on the words of God. [12:38] They are true. [12:39] When you add to it, when you take away from it, when you push it away, you make yourself a liar. [12:47] According to the scriptures that we see in 2 Kings chapter 22, [12:51] from King Jeroboam forward because he was the first wicked king after the reign of Solomon and the folly of his son Rehoboam.

[12:59] Jeroboam had told the people of Israel, we don’t need God’s words. [13:05] I will make a better way. [13:07] I will make a better path. [13:08] I will make a path that will be more comfortable for us. [13:11] I will make a path that will be more fruitful for us. [13:14] The world will see who we are as the people of God in ways that the Bible is insufficient.

[13:20] The law of God cannot make that happen. [13:23] And from Jeroboam moving forward all the way to Josiah, we had generation after generation of wickedness, [13:31] generation after generation of danger, generation after generation where worship was minimized in Israel [13:38] to the extent where the temple of God was in ruins and needed to be completely rebuilt. [13:43] But then Josiah recovers the word of God and Israel begins a path of growth and obedience to God through the reign of Josiah. [13:54] Why?

[13:55] Because Josiah was faithful to the word of God and he brought people’s attention to the word and no other place. [14:04] It was through the sufficiency of the law of God that this repentance came and it was from no other source. [14:11] Friends, do you understand the grace that the word of God is into our lives? [14:16] It is a grace that we don’t have to look for God simply by following our own intuition. [14:22] We don’t have to pray to a nameless God hoping that someone is there. [14:28] We don’t have to muster up enough wisdom to figure out if he’s there, to figure out if he’s listening.

[14:36] God, in his grace, in his sovereignty, has started the conversation by giving us his word. [14:44] We go to the Scriptures and we see that God has reached out to us rather than being wrathful against us in our sin [14:52] to the point where he looks at you and says, just figure it out yourself. [14:56] What condemnation would it be for you to just figure it out yourself? [15:00] Rather, in his grace, God has been sufficient. In his grace, God has been specific. [15:06] God has made himself known through the words of this supernatural book

[15:11] so that the mystery of whether or not God is there, the mystery of whether or not God is a singular being, [15:20] can be fully unveiled to us. And this is because of the love of God. [15:25] You see, friends, when we neglect God’s word, we neglect God’s ways. [15:31] When we neglect God’s words, we neglect God’s ways. [15:34] In Romans chapter 1, starting in verse 19, the apostle Paul offers the reality [15:39] that part of being a human is realizing that there is something greater than us.

[15:45] Starting in verse 19, it says, [15:46] For what can be known about God is plain to humanity, that’s what he means by them, [15:49] because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal powers, [15:56] divine nature has been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world [16:00] in the things that have been made so that they are without excuse. [16:04] Paul is saying there, when you go outside, you look at the wonder of creation.

[16:10] When you see all that technology has shown us in the medical profession [16:14] about the wonders of biology, about the wonders of the human body, [16:18] about the wonders of how intricately the design of humanity is and how expansive our universe is [16:24] and how intricate the design is where things are so specific in the way that they exist [16:29] on the reality that as a human being, I am born and I am able to understand [16:33] that even if I define them differently than other people, there is such a thing as right.

[16:38] There is such a thing as wrong. Morality exists. [16:41] What Paul is saying right there is by the nature of us understanding those things, [16:47] it begs the question, where did it all come from? [16:51] It points us to a source. It points us to something beyond. [16:56] It points us to something greater than us. [17:01] And that something, of course, is the very reality that there is a God.

[17:06] But it’s insufficient to tell us exactly who he is. [17:12] It’s sufficient to reveal to me he’s there and I need to find him. [17:17] It’s sufficient in telling me that when I do that which is wrong [17:24] because I have a conscience, I’m responsible to getting that right. [17:29] I’m responsible to someone who made right, right, and wrong, wrong. [17:35] But it’s insufficient in telling me who he is.

[17:38] In God’s grace, he reached out and penned through men the book [17:44] to let me know he’s there, he’s not silent, he’s a person, [17:49] he is the God of the Old Testament, he is the God-man Jesus Christ, [17:55] he is the God from which everything that exists finds its being and its purpose. [18:02] And I can only know that through the written scriptures [18:07] in the 66 books of the Bible itself.

[18:12] Imagine the love, imagine the grace of a God who wants us to know who he is, [18:18] but he also wants us to know how we can get it right. [18:23] Imagine how unloving a father would be if he spent all of his children’s lives [18:30] expecting them just to figure him out. [18:32] He even throws in a couple of lies here and there to throw him off the case. [18:37] One year he says his birthday is in November,

[18:40] the next year he holds it against them when they forgot that his birthday was in March. [18:44] Imagine how unloving a father would be if he refused to reveal himself [18:51] to the people that he held accountable to having knowledge of himself. [18:56] We would not like that guy. I wouldn’t let him be a member of this church. [18:59] We would excommunicate him because he’s mentally and emotionally abusing his family. [19:04] But God has not been that absentee and that abusive father

[19:10] that many of us treat him like he is. [19:13] We look to God and we say, why doesn’t my life make sense? [19:18] We look to God and we say, why won’t you reveal to me your will? [19:23] We look to God and we say, why won’t you help me be more emotionally healthy? [19:27] We look to God and we say, why won’t you show me what I’m supposed to do [19:32] with everything that’s happening in my life?

[19:35] And God says, friend, I already have. [19:39] I’ve shown it to you in the Word, but you have neglected to know the God [19:46] who lovingly revealed himself to you. [19:49] In great grace, God inspired men to put pen to paper [19:53] and record his every word for us to read [19:57] and for us to know that he has not been silent.

[20:01] Friend, I’ll tell you, God has told us who he is. [20:04] God has told us what he expects. [20:06] God has told us what he is doing. [20:08] God has told us where all of creation is going. [20:12] He wants us to know him. [20:16] Israel ignored God’s Word to their own destruction.

[20:21] Do not make that mistake. [20:24] Many are making that very same mistake today. [20:26] Maybe you are. [20:28] Maybe you are looking for God in places that he isn’t [20:34] while he has been so obvious in his Word. [20:38] The reality is, number two, this morning,

[20:40] you need to know the Bible more than you think you do. [20:43] You need to know the Bible more than you think you do. [20:46] Some of you depend on someone else [20:48] for your knowledge of the Scriptures. [20:51] What if they are lying to you? [20:53] I’ll be honest, I get up here every Sunday

[20:55] and I tell the truth. [20:57] I try to teach the Scriptures as true as possible. [21:00] For some of you, I could come up here and tell you [21:01] the sky is green and you wouldn’t know the difference. [21:04] You wouldn’t know. [21:06] Well, the beauty of God’s Word is that it’s been written to everyone.

[21:09] There is no elite group of Bible scholars [21:13] that we all have to depend on. [21:14] They’re helpful. [21:16] I try to be as helpful as possible. [21:18] But God has made his Word attainable to everyone in the world. [21:23] But the neglect of God’s Word is something that is true

[21:27] in so many people’s lives. [21:30] And it is always rooted in pride. [21:33] Friends, what leads people to neglect something [21:36] as vital to life as the Word of God? [21:39] Well, I’ll tell you, ultimately it’s pride. [21:40] That was the case for Israel.

[21:42] They thought that they had a better vision [21:44] for what was ahead than God had. [21:46] They thought that they had a better intuition [21:48] about what they needed than God had. [21:50] They wanted to be free from God’s oversight, [21:56] but all that they brought on themselves

[21:57] was the folly and slavery of destruction. [22:01] For those who do not believe the Gospel, [22:02] understand that your refusal to submit to Jesus [22:06] is an obvious form of pride. [22:08] But the greater danger is that there are religious people [22:10] that claim faith, yet neglect God’s Word.

[22:14] That is how false forms of Christianity are formed. [22:17] That is how false versions of Jesus are conceived. [22:21] That’s the reason you can go to five different churches [22:24] in the Richmond area and potentially find [22:26] five different definitions of who Jesus is. [22:29] Five different personalities that Jesus has claimed to inhabit.

[22:32] One of them is Jesus. [22:34] The rest of them are humanity’s forms of Jesus. [22:37] Sometimes we form a picture of Jesus [22:39] by looking in the mirror at ourselves. [22:41] We say things like, Jesus couldn’t possibly. [22:44] What we mean is, I couldn’t possibly.

[22:48] You can’t imagine a God that would act any different [22:50] than you naturally act in your own life. [22:53] What foolishness would that be? [22:54] I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, [22:56] but sometimes I’m pretty stupid.

[22:59] Sometimes I sin. [23:01] Sometimes I do things that aren’t right. [23:03] Sometimes I say things that don’t make any sense. [23:05] Sometimes I’m sure I’m right about a memory I had [23:09] and then my wife lovingly corrects me. [23:12] And I realize, I must have been wrong.

[23:15] But the reality is, do not trust that you naturally [23:21] in your own disposition, in your own default instinctive nature [23:25] can form the correct version of Jesus Christ. [23:29] What would be a lot easier is if you go to the primary source. [23:33] But so many of us are trying to forecast a vision of Jesus [23:38] that just meets standards that we’ve made up

[23:41] because it’s more palatable to us and the people around us. [23:45] While God has been loving enough to actually show us [23:47] who Jesus is and what Jesus is like. [23:50] That’s of course what happened in Israel. [23:52] They began to form false versions of religion. [23:55] Then Jesus Christ himself came, exposed,

[23:59] and showed that the reality of the Old Testament [24:01] was actually the Word of God. [24:03] And then began the march of the New Testament to show us [24:07] what God’s vision and what God’s purpose was for all of life. [24:11] In 2 Timothy chapter 2, starting in verse 15, [24:13] we read this because it presents this command for life.

[24:17] Do your best to present yourself. [24:19] Now, I love the ESV, but that is not, in my opinion, [24:23] the best form of what do your best means in the original language. [24:28] It’s actually more accurate to the Greek word to say [24:31] work diligently to present yourself to God as one approved. [24:36] A worker who has no need to be ashamed.

[24:39] How do you do that? [24:40] By rightly handling the word of truth. [24:43] That means that it doesn’t happen by accident. [24:47] You cannot take your Bible and put it right here [24:51] and absorb it like a wireless charger charges your cell phone. [24:54] It doesn’t work that way.

[24:55] You’re not going to get anything coming through here. [24:57] You’re just going to look about as dumb as I look right now. [25:00] Alright. [25:01] You have to actually open the book. [25:03] You have to actually read the words. [25:05] You have to actually learn what reading is all about.

[25:08] You see, reading is this wonderful thing [25:10] that God invented for us to know His word. [25:12] How foolish do we have to be to neglect it? [25:14] I’ve heard so many well-meaning people. [25:16] Now, I’m not trying to make fun of you if you’ve said this before. [25:19] I’m just doing it.

[25:22] But I’ve heard so many people make statements like, [25:24] I’m just not a reader. [25:25] I’m just not a reader. [25:26] What you’re doing right there is you’re treating [25:31] your lack of desire to read as a static reality. [25:37] Excuse me, as a dynamic and ongoing reality

[25:39] rather than the static reality it is. [25:41] You don’t have to stay that way. [25:43] You’re choosing to be that way. [25:45] But understand that God has given every human being this amazing. [25:49] Now, don’t get me wrong. [25:50] There are some people that are a lot smarter than you and me.

[25:53] Alright. [25:54] It’s just the way it goes. [25:55] Some people have gifts that I don’t have. [25:57] Some people have Lamborghinis. [25:59] I don’t. [26:00] I resent them for it.

[26:01] I deserve it. [26:02] But they’ve got it. [26:03] That’s just the way life pans out for some of us sometimes. [26:06] People got nicer stuff. [26:08] Well, some people got nicer brains than you got.

[26:12] They’re going to be able to retain knowledge at a quicker level. [26:15] They read a paragraph once. [26:17] They understand everything that happened in that paragraph. [26:19] They’ve memorized it. [26:20] You read a sentence ten times, and you still aren’t getting it. [26:23] But the reality is that doesn’t change the fact that God has given each of us the ability to learn written language.

[26:33] And He’s also given us great advancements in our understanding of how the human brain works to give people tools so they can become better readers. [26:43] But here’s the deal. [26:44] If you refuse to read, you are refusing to receive the revelation of God. [26:49] How foolish do you have to be to do that? [26:51] How foolish are you to refuse to receive the revelation of God? [26:58] The only avenue through which you are going to be able to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ, friends, is that you submit yourself to learning God the way in which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

[27:14] You pursue a life in which you can rightly handle the word of truth. [27:22] What’s the word of truth? [27:24] Friends, it’s the Scriptures. [27:26] It’s the word of God. [27:27] The ultimate humility before God is to admit that you don’t have all the answers. [27:34] But some of you will say, well, I don’t have all the answers.

[27:37] But then you’ll treat them as though the answers aren’t available. [27:40] The answers are available. [27:42] It’s in the word. [27:43] You do not have all the knowledge, but you can get it. [27:46] You need God to give you the knowledge. [27:49] And He does that through the Bible.

[27:52] To reject or neglect that is sourced in pride. [27:57] Followers of Jesus live considering the reality that we will stand before God and we want to know God as much as we possibly can before that. [28:09] The path toward that is to rightly handle the word of truth. [28:12] Now, I’ll tell you, that’s not just casual reading. [28:16] That’s not just treating the Bible like it’s chicken soup for the soul. [28:20] You have to study the Bible.

[28:23] You need to place environments in your life in which you are taking time to diligently study the Bible. [28:29] And I will tell you, there has never been a better time in history to study the Bible. [28:35] Never been a better time in history. [28:37] It’s on your phone. [28:38] It’s on your tablet. [28:39] It’s on your computer.

[28:40] There are free Bible study tools available on so many websites. [28:45] If you got a little cash, you can buy Bible study tools to help you grow in your knowledge. [28:50] Friends, I’ve got a Bible program. [28:52] I had to take Greek and Hebrew while I was in seminary. [28:54] I loved Greek. [28:55] Hebrew is like Klingon.

[28:56] All right. [28:56] It’s not a real language. [28:58] It’s weird. [28:58] But the key is I have programs on my computer where in less than 30 seconds I can have it all up on the screen. [29:06] I can have every definition there for what used to take me hours in the library. [29:11] I resent college students today.

[29:16] I don’t want to hear one complaint from any college student that exists right now. [29:21] When I was in college, I was having to go through cobwebbed halls, pulling books off the stacks that hadn’t been opened in 20 years, blowing the dust off of them. [29:32] And I would have a stack on a table while I wrote a research paper. [29:36] Now I go in my office. [29:38] I’ve got all those books open in about 30 seconds on my computer. [29:42] It’s an amazing time to be alive.

[29:44] Yet the excuses for biblical illiteracy have never been greater either. [29:52] Friend, we live in such an information rich world. [29:56] Yet you are wasting it on trying to find gossip about celebrities in the scores the last night’s game. [30:04] The word of God is wide open to us. [30:08] Yet we are neglecting it day in and day out. [30:12] It requires and yes necessitates diligent study.

[30:18] I mean, friends, imagine we are told there is a God. [30:22] He is there. [30:23] He’s given us his word and we just need to go to it. [30:27] Yet we respond as though putting effort towards understanding it just isn’t worth the work. [30:34] How foolish, how blind, how deceived are we when we treat the word of God with anything other than ruthless pursuit of gaining every ounce of knowledge we can possibly get from it. [30:49] We must be people of the book.

[30:51] In Islam, for centuries, Christians were referred to as the people of the book. [30:59] For a long time, many faiths have referred to followers of Jesus. [31:03] And throughout Baptist history, we have made the claim and the ideal that we are people of the book. [31:09] Our faith is guided by the precepts of God’s word. [31:14] But the question must be asked. [31:17] And I will ask it.

[31:18] Is the Bible enough? [31:20] Is it sufficient? [31:22] Do we need more than God’s word? [31:25] On 2 Timothy chapter 3, I think it presents us with the answer to that question. [31:31] I want to start with two lesser known verses. [31:34] Then I want to go to what is the famous section of that text.

[31:37] In verse 14, Paul, the apostle, is writing to a young pastor named Timothy, whom he had discipled, whom he had trained. [31:45] And he says in verse 14, ask for you, Timothy. [31:47] Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you’ve been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. [32:04] Now, I want to pause there before I get to the money verses. [32:08] And I want us to just pause and understand what the apostle Paul is saying. [32:14] I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a room full of young pastors.

[32:16] I used to be a young pastor. [32:18] Some of you still think I’m a young pastor, and it’s never going to change because you’re always going to be 20 years older than I am.

[32:25] But young pastors have young pastor problems. [32:29] There are a lot of things that you didn’t cover in seminary that you are faced with as soon as you get with loving God’s people.

[32:38] And so a young pastor will come and he’ll be like, I don’t think you understand. [32:42] They’re trying to kill me. [32:44] Fifty people just left my church because the carpet color committee voted to change the carpet color. [32:50] And well, Grandma Moses, her son, put installed the carpet and she doesn’t care how many coffee stains. [32:57] And in fact, somebody brought Fido and he peed on the altar and she refuses to let us change the carpet. [33:03] And she’s led a coalition of 50 people to start the right carpet color Baptist Church right across the street from a wrong carpet color Baptist Church.

[33:11] And young pastor comes in and his hair’s all frazzled and he’s got bags under his eyes and he says, well, my family’s starving to death because they’ve also cut my pay by 25 percent. [33:21] They didn’t teach me this in seminary. [33:24] So young pastor comes in and he says, I thought the Bible had all the answers. [33:30] He says, there’s no right carpet color in the New Testament. [33:33] And an experienced pastor just kind of smiles and nods and says, aren’t God’s people wonderful?

[33:42] And I don’t know what Timothy was faced with in this passage, but he was faced with something that was obviously making him question. [33:50] Paul, what if number one, what have you thrown me into here? [33:53] These people are nuts. [33:55] But number two, Paul, where do I go for the answers? [33:59] And sometimes the answers have nothing to do with the specific situation. [34:02] Sometimes the answers are that you’re going to walk into a gunfight, people going to be taking shots at you.

[34:07] And the only thing that’s going to protect you is the word of God. [34:10] And you’ve got to keep doing the right thing for the right reasons, because sometimes the wrong people come in with the wrong reasons and they try to defeat you. [34:18] But like Proverbs 30 says, the word of God is a shield. [34:20] It’s a refuge. [34:22] And Paul looks to Timothy and he says, you’re going to be tempted to think that what you learned as a child is insufficient in an adult world. [34:31] You’re going to be tempted to think that the answers that your mother, Lois, gave you, his mother’s name was Lois, so was mine.

[34:38] But your mother, Lois, gave you when you were a child, you’re going to be tempted to think that you need a more complex answer than the word of God is going to give you. [34:48] You’re going to be tempted when you have adult issues to think that the word of God is not addressing it at the level that it needs. [34:55] Because you’re going to think sociology is so complicated that the word of God doesn’t have the wisdom that you need. [35:00] And Paul doesn’t say go to another source. [35:03] He says, he says, Timothy, do not neglect the sacred writings, because if they made you wise to God for salvation through Christ, they can handle any situation the church is going to throw at you. [35:18] Trust the word of God, Timothy.

[35:21] This is a caution to some of you parents.

[35:25] That you’re going to be tempted to believe that the greatest answers for your children are found in secular knowledge. [35:33] Are going to be found in secular ideologies. [35:35] Are going to be found in secular sources. [35:37] Well, I will caution you that if you send your child and you have the freedom to do whatever you want to where education is concerned. [35:44] But if you’re going to send your child somewhere that doesn’t treat the Bible as though it is a factual book, then you owe it to your children to find a curriculum on the scriptures to teach them at home. [36:00] Because if you raise your children to read textbooks with fact in one compartment and in one environment, and then at home, the Bible is nothing more than chicken soup for the soul.

[36:12] You can expect them to grow up as though this book is not factual. [36:18] This book is nothing more than a collection of fairy tales. [36:22] And on that day, you’re going to come and you’re going to say, what did I do wrong? [36:26] And all that we will say is you didn’t teach them the word. [36:30] You didn’t teach them the word. [36:32] You must teach them the word the same way that Timothy’s parents taught him the word of God.

[36:40] The word of God is more than a textbook, but I’ll tell you, it’s not less. [36:46] The word of God is more than facts, but I’ll tell you, it’s not less. [36:51] This book is supernaturally true. [36:55] This book is sourced in God himself. [36:58] How do I know? [36:59] Verse 16.

[37:01] All scripture. [37:02] Now, I know there’s an amateur theologian here.

[37:10] Excuse me. [37:12] When he says all scripture, he’s talking about the Old Testament, the New Testament. [37:16] You straighten your glasses. [37:18] The New Testament hasn’t been written yet at this point. [37:21] You got me. [37:23] Never thought about it that way.

[37:25] Actually, I have.

[37:28] That’s true. [37:29] The New Testament wasn’t around at this point. [37:33] Paul is referring specifically in this vehicle to the Old Testament, the 39 books of the Old Testament. [37:40] But I will also tell you, and I’ve done this teaching in other environments. [37:43] You can find it on the website. [37:45] But I will tell you that other places in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul refers to the writings of the Apostle Peter as Bible, as scripture, as inspired.

[37:55] The Apostle Peter talks about the words of the Apostle Paul as scripture. [38:00] The Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul talk about the writings of the Apostle Luke as scripture. [38:06] And so we can tell you and I can honestly tell you and safely tell you that on this side of the scriptures, when we read Second Timothy, Chapter three, verse 16, he says all scripture. [38:18] Here’s the deal. [38:19] Post dated. [38:20] He’s talking about the 66 books of the Old and the New Testament.

[38:25] So, yes, Paul is writing and he’s writing about the very words he’s writing. [38:32] All scripture is what? [38:35] They are new stuff. [38:36] Breathed out by God, a word that we have translated to mean inspired is inspired by God, profitable for teaching, profitable for reproof, profitable for correction, profitable for training in righteousness. [38:49] That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [38:54] Now, some of you might say, why do you throw so many words in there?

[38:58] Because he knew that there was this one guy at Timothy’s church that was going to be like, oh, he said reproof, but he didn’t say it was profitable for correction. [39:06] So who do you think you are to tell me what to do? [39:08] And so Paul’s like, I’m going to throw correction in there, too. [39:10] I’m throwing the kitchen sink at what the Bible is. [39:14] First, it’s God breathed. [39:16] These are God’s words.

[39:17] They are infallible. [39:19] They are inerrant. [39:20] They are completely trustworthy and they are completely true. [39:24] Second, he says they are profitable in this world. [39:27] You must believe God when he says that this is where profit is so that you won’t be deceived. [39:34] Third, the word reproves.

[39:37] It warns you of false doctrine and it warns you of false paths. [39:40] Fourth, the Bible corrects you. [39:43] It tells you what to believe. [39:45] It tells you why to believe it. [39:46] And it tells you which direction to go. [39:48] Some of you don’t like that corrects part because you don’t want to be told what to do.

[39:53] Here’s the deal. [39:54] In faith, you need to be told what to do. [39:57] Fifth, it trains you in righteousness. [40:00] Do you want to live right? [40:02] Do you want to be right? [40:04] Well, the Scripture is the source.

[40:06] Sixth, it equips you for every good work. [40:11] If you want a life in which you are investing in good things, invest right here. [40:17] You see, friends, the Bible is sufficient. [40:20] This is the word of God. [40:21] Number three this morning, the Bible fuels the change God desires for you. [40:26] The Bible fuels the change God desires for you.

[40:29] It gets you going. [40:31] Knowing God from Scripture is what leads to real life change. [40:35] I will tell you, the Bible will change your life. [40:38] I hear so many well-meaning, well-intentioned Christians profess that they want to experience God’s movement in their lives. [40:46] You want God to change you into the person He wants you to be. [40:51] That’s good.

[40:53] Yet, you neglect the very source of God’s power. [40:58] The reality is God has designed for His Holy Spirit to work in your life through the illumination of the Bible. [41:06] There is no other source that God promises His power is in. [41:11] Do you know that? [41:13] You go to other sources. [41:14] You don’t have any guarantees, but God gives you the promise.

[41:19] It’s by knowing the life of God that you change to be more like God. [41:23] In Joshua 1, verse 8, we see the wisdom for living a life of worship. [41:28] Joshua looks to Israel and he says, [41:29] The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. [41:32] You shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, [41:39] for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.

[41:44] He says, meditate on the Scriptures. [41:45] The book of the law would then expand to 66 books. [41:49] The Old and the New Testament, it gives the life that God has designed for you to live. [41:54] Yes, there’s a promise in that text. [41:56] That promise is that you will have prosperity. [41:58] You will have success.

[42:00] The Bible has the fuel that you need to follow Jesus. [42:05] We’ve programmed ourselves that we need to look for the real change that we need in other places. [42:11] So many of you struggle in your emotional health. [42:15] You struggle in what your identity should be found in. [42:18] You struggle in where your personality really lies. [42:21] And you’re looking everywhere and you’re believing the lie that you are so complicated

[42:26] that nothing in the Scriptures can address you. [42:29] But the reality is that your problem begins with the fact that you will not submit to God’s ways. [42:37] You decide that you are very unique. [42:40] You’ve decided that your problems are too specific. [42:43] You’ve decided that you are too problematic for God to fix. [42:50] Here’s the deal.

[42:50] God has never met a person more problematic than his power can fix. [42:57] Never. Never. [42:59] The reality is you believe the lie that you know yourself more than God knows you. [43:05] That’s foolishness. [43:06] God knew you before you were born. [43:09] The Scriptures tell us that God chose those who followed Jesus before the very foundations of the earth were laid.

[43:17] God knew who you are before your parents even knew each other. [43:23] God has a greater knowledge of you than you will ever have. [43:26] Therefore, it’s pretty safe and I feel pretty good saying you don’t have any problems that have caught God off guard. [43:34] God has walked with you through every single one of them and He’ll hold your hand through the ones that are ahead. [43:40] He will endure you through anything that life will throw at you. [43:44] But He has revealed the how, the what, the where, the when, the whose through His Word.

[43:51] And a great deal of the problems that you’re having in your life are rooted in a neglect and a refusal to apply the precepts of God’s Word because of your pride. [44:03] Because you refuse to humble yourself before an Almighty God. [44:07] Psalm 119 puts it this way starting in verse 9. [44:10] How can a young man keep his way pure? [44:12] By guarding it according to your word. [44:14] With my whole heart I seek you.

[44:16] Let me not wander from your commandments. [44:18] I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. [44:22] Blester you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. [44:24] With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. [44:27] In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all your riches. [44:32] I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

[44:36] I will delight in your statutes. [44:38] I will not forget your Word. [44:43] Every aspect of the Christian life, the Word, the Word. [44:47] Skip down to verse 105. [44:49] Aren’t you glad I skipped so many? [44:51] It makes it even more specific.

[44:53] Psalm 119, 105. [44:55] Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [45:01] That means that it’s not just the fuel that gets you going down the path. [45:06] It’s the light that shows you the path. [45:10] Because he’s the God of the path. [45:13] Friends, if you want to follow Jesus, you need his Word.

[45:17] If you want to know God, you need his Word. [45:21] If you want to obey God, you need his Word. [45:24] Friend, I want to study the Bible to know God more. [45:29] Four application points quickly. [45:32] First, create patterns and environments to study the Bible. [45:35] Create patterns and environments to study the Bible.

[45:38] If you just put it on your nightstand and expect it to happen, it won’t. [45:42] You have to actually open it up. [45:44] You have to actually plan towards it. [45:46] You have to actually find time in the day. [45:48] You need to schedule time to be in God’s Word. [45:51] You need to be intentional about it.

[45:53] Secondly, talk about the Bible with other people. [45:56] Talk about the Bible with other people. [45:58] Some of you are waiting until you’re like some kind of Bible scholar [46:02] before you’ll ever talk about a single verse of it with anyone else. [46:05] Here’s the deal. It’s never going to happen. [46:08] You become knowledgeable about the Bible by reading it

[46:11] and then about talking to other people about it. [46:13] I don’t care if it’s over an egg McMuffin at McDonald’s [46:16] or if it’s over coffee at some coffee shop. [46:19] You don’t have to create some environment with New Age classical music playing. [46:24] You’re both wearing a priest’s habit. [46:27] You’re postured to where you’re going to know that you’re going to break out in prayer.

[46:30] And you took your shoes off because you’re on holy ground. [46:33] Some of you are setting these crazy standards for the environment [46:36] that you need to be in to read the Bible. [46:38] You’re holier than Jesus. [46:40] I don’t even understand how this is working in your life. [46:44] The disciples preached in the same outfits they fished in.

[46:48] So you just need to get somewhere with someone and talk about something. [46:54] Open your mouth and say, this is what I learned from John 1. [46:57] Wasn’t that a crazy book? [46:59] I mean, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. [47:01] What does that mean? [47:02] You might learn something.

[47:04] Number three, find daily applications for your study. [47:08] The Bible doesn’t become relevant to your life until your life becomes relevant to the Bible. [47:14] Find somewhere and something every single day to apply what you read in your life. [47:19] But then some of you are like, well, that might break my regular routine. [47:24] Yeah. [47:26] Number four, trust the process.

[47:29] Trust the process. [47:31] Trust the process. [47:32] Some of you all live in fear that you’re going to reach the genealogies.

[47:38] You’re like, well, how am I going to apply that to my life? [47:41] Here’s the reality. [47:42] Those genealogies do exist for a purpose. [47:45] No, you shouldn’t expect the genealogy to fix anything specific in your life in that moment. [47:50] But you should realize that the genealogies give credibility to the history of God’s Word, [47:55] thus showing the validity of God’s Word.

[47:57] They serve a great purpose in the study of the Scriptures. [48:02] Study the Bible. [48:03] Trust the process because it’s God’s process. [48:07] Every Sunday we reflect on communion. [48:11] There should be a packet in the seat back in front of you or in the seat beside you. [48:16] At the top of it has bread that represents the broken body of Christ.

[48:20] The juice in the cup represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. [48:26] Christians believe and the Word has told us that Jesus died on the cross, [48:31] body broken, blood shed to pay the penalty for our sin. [48:37] Friend, if you’re not a Christian, I’m going to ask you not to eat and drink. [48:41] I don’t want you to feel the need to lie and say that you’re something that you aren’t. [48:46] But I do want you to deal with the reality of what the Scriptures tell us.

[48:50] The Scriptures tell us that we were created to worship God with our lives [48:55] and every single one of us, myself included, have failed. [49:00] We have sinned against a righteous and holy God. [49:04] And because of that we deserve for Him to pour His wrath on us. [49:09] But God loved us to the extent that He sent His perfect, eternal Son [49:15] to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross through His death.

[49:21] And then three days later Jesus Christ rose from the dead physically [49:25] proclaiming victory over sin and death to give you a new life, [49:32] to give you a reconciled relationship with God in which you can know His pleasure for eternity. [49:39] If you’re not a follower of Jesus, I just want to invite you in this moment. [49:43] If you will pray to Him and say, Jesus I believe you, please save me from my sin. [49:49] Jesus I believe you, please save me from my sin.

[49:54] That’s the beginning of a conversation that’s going to go on for the rest of your life with God. [49:58] But if you will believe it, He will save you right here, right now. [50:02] It will change your life. [50:05] But if you are a follower of Jesus, eat, drink, proclaim your faith to everyone in this room.

[50:30] Thank you.