The Word of God

Now today we're going to follow on with what we have been speaking of. Turn with me please to 2 Timothy chapter 2. I just want to read at verse number 8 of 2 Timothy 2, remembering that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. I don't know whether you realize we're making history here today.

See, a hundred years from now people will write books about the U.S. history and the politics and maybe the floods and the tornadoes and all those things will find their way into the history books, but what we're doing is making a history of his story and one day it'll all be written. The life of the church in the world and all those things that have happened here on earth, we're involved in something that is really, really important. All the rest of the stuff is trivial.

Most of the children don't like history anyway, but we will always appreciate the history that we're making as a people of God. Adding and allowing, being allowed by God to participate in his work. So how do we conduct ourselves and how do we know what to do? Well, that's why we have the word of God.

That's what the Bible is about. We've spoken of the will of God, which is the call to serve, and that was in the book of 1 Timothy chapter 1. We've spoken of the gift of God and that's the ability to serve and to do what he intends us to do in the same chapter. We've spoken of the power of God that gives us the power to do what God intends, and now we're going to look briefly at the word of God.

I would like you to turn with me to the book of Psalm 119, and I want to just read you a few brief verses because, you know, I read just before, well not just before coming here, but thinking about coming here, I read these words. I'm going to read them to you and see if you know where they came from. This is not in the Bible, but these are words of a man who you probably might have heard of.

As thou wouldst hear me calling upon thee in my prayers, so give me grace to hear thee calling upon me in thy word. Grant that I may hear it with reverence, receive it with meekness, mingle it with faith, and may it accomplish in me, gracious God, the work for which thou hast sent it. That was our first president, George Washington.

He knew the value of the Bible. I'll read you another phrase in regards to the great book. I have only to say that it is the best gift God has given to man.

All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. That was Abraham Lincoln. So as we look back, even though Abraham Lincoln wasn't a church-going man, and he was a praying man and a Bible-reading man, but he didn't ever belong to a denomination, or even though George Washington was a Church of England man, but he was a man who read the Bible and prayed.

I'm just going to read to you why this book is so important. I'm just going to read a few verses in Psalm 119. Just turn to verse 89.

Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. So why is the word of God so important to us as we are involved in participating with God in writing his story? Well, it's firm and unalterable because it is settled in heaven. It is not going to change.

No Congress, no nobody is going to change this word. It is firm and unalterable, and we can count on it because it is settled in heaven. Notice a little bit further down, verse 96.

I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad. This word of God that we have is the knowledge to serve, and so it's not only firm and unalterable because it's settled in heaven, but it is true and reliable because it's expansive in searching, because it's exceeding broad. It covers every scope of life that you and I will ever need to face.

It's here in my hand. I carry it around with me every day. This gives us the knowledge to serve.

Notice a little bit further down in verse 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. So the word of God is firm and unalterable because it is settled in heaven, and it is expansive and searching, covers every part of life because it is succeeding broad, and it is sweet and satisfying because it is better than honey.

I hope you got a taste for the word of God, not just in your lip, but right down here in the depths of your heart and soul. It is sweet and satisfying. Notice down in verse 105.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And so the word of God is enlightening and guiding. It is a lamp and a light, and it does work in these dark days in which we are living as the people of God.

So it's firm and unalterable because it's settled in heaven. It's expansive and it searches us because it's succeeding broad. It is sweet and satisfying because it's sweeter than honey, and it is enlightening and it guides us because it is a lamp and a light.

Notice a little bit further down again in the same, probably in the same page in most Bibles, down to 129. Verse 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful.

Therefore, doth my soul keep them. When something comes from God, you can't get anything higher than that. It is not just divine, but it is full of wonders.

The word of God is divine and wonderful because the testimonies are wonderful. Read down just a little bit farther for another one in number 140. Thy word is very pure.

Therefore, thy servant loveth it. So it sanctifies us. It's pure and sanctifying because it is pure and been tested.

It's been tried. They are very pure. Just reading these so you can get the picture of what you have and I have in our hands before we leave this conference.

Notice down to verse 160. Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever. This word that we have is true.

It's reliable. So I want to talk to you a little bit about that here today because just briefly, you know, I know I spent a bit of time in the porch, but to me it's helpful to get your shoes off and get onto some holy ground before we get into the Bible. A lot of times people take a casual stroll by the cross and tip their head and it's almost like genuflecting in some of these churches where they have statues of crosses, but you and I hold in our hands something that is of more value than anything you'll ever have, and that's the Word of God.

I know this Bible cost a bit. It's a gift from my wife, but it's not just the book. It's what it contains in this book.

The early expansion of the assemblies right from the time of Pentecost produced a need to have for new believers in their salvation experience to have a basis of their faith, and so what we hold in our hand is a compilation of verses or words from God that are contained in the canon of Scripture. Now, I'm not going to go into that, but I just wanted to make that mention because what we have here are things that are called precepts, statues, laws, commandments. They all come from God to enable you and me to live in this dark day, walking in the light.

That's what we do. So a doctrine, for instance, if we were to read it in various places in the Scripture, we would read in Deuteronomy that a doctrine is a weighty saying that is given to us to regulate moral conduct. That's what the Bible says doctrine is or teaching from the Bible.

Doctrine is also the teaching by precept. That means a verbal explanation of the Word of God by one who can be trusted. That's why parents need to pass on truth to their children.

It's a doctrine that we teach our families. Doctrine is also teaching by public presentation like we're doing here at this conference, but teaching nothing but the truth of God because the truth of God is what brings results. That's what doctrine is, according to 1 Timothy chapter 4. And in Titus, doctrine is a careful, applied instruction in biblical truth that's carried out oftentimes one-on-one.

You, brethren, need to understand that in order for those who follow you to pick up and follow, there needs to be those who will commit themselves to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So in a proper appreciation of the Bible, the Word of God is essential for growth and maturity in the Christian's life. Many life issues can be dealt with very quickly and very effectively by simply applying what God has already told us in the Bible.

We don't have to go to some of these, not whoever sells the books, but we've got to be careful with so-called Christian books today, especially those that are counseling and those kind of things. Actually, a lot of them are just a repetition of secular psychology with a few Bible terms in it. Watch out for those kind of things.

Here's where God speaks to us, not through some... Okay, we'll leave that. I had a few words, but I realized sometimes my humor catches up with me, and I've got to watch that. But to complicate the will of God that's revealed in the Bible is really an act of unbelief.

And at its very best is disobedience. And so we have to make sure that the Word of God is hidden in our heart as a lamp under our feet and the light under our path. And then we will be able to experience the sanctifying results of the Word of God as we leave this conference later on today or tomorrow and go back to carrying out our work of fulfilling a history for God.

His story is being done in the state of Iowa. It's being done down in Mexico. It's being done in India and Nepal.

It's being done in all over the world. The Word of God is going forth. And it has... All of those philosophies and opinions have no value at all unless it is on the biblical foundation.

And remember, it's settled in heaven. It is not going to change. Now, I know people... I'm not going to talk about varieties of Bible versions and all that.

You just read whatever you can read. If you don't know how to read very good English, if thee and thou really hooks your toe, I don't know what's the big hassle on these or those, but I mean, thee means you. Thou means you.

But anyway, if it's a problem to you to read that, just get a Bible and read it. That's all. And you read it and apply it, and it'll work because it's the Word of God.

It's quick and powerful. And the Holy Spirit will take this book and reveal to you the infallible God. And when you get God into your life every day, then you'll know how to live, and you'll be a person who has joy, and your life will have a purpose, and you'll know why you're here and where you're going, and when you die, everything's fine.

I'm just going to mention a few things, though, that I think might be a brief help. Precepts. Those are truths that are stated.

For instance, perhaps the single passage in the Bible that explains the gospel most clearly is Romans chapter 3. And those precepts, that's what a precept is. It is a truth that is clearly stated. And so whenever you think about the Bible, in that particular statement in Romans chapter 3, probably from verse 18 or 19 to verse 26, what happens there is there are seven basic fundamental gospel truths that are in that little section of the Bible.

And in that is precepts that are written so that we can clearly understand the gospel that we preach. The doctrine of the gospel is one of those unchanging truths that is fundamental in every nation, in every culture, every people. It does not change no matter where you are.

Don't ever change the gospel, because you can't. What you would end up with is another gospel. And God forbid from God's people who gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that we ever get hooked on some other gospel, the gospel that we preach.

So I just wanted to mention to you that precepts are truths that are stated. But also in the word of God, we have more than precepts. We have what we oftentimes, and you'll hear it from brethren, and they're called principles.

Now, sometimes people use that word kind of carelessly, a bit not right. A principle is a truth that is applied. It's not something that's foreign to the Bible, it's a truth that is applied.

It might not give you everything in one little passage of the Bible. But in order for you and I to know what we are doing, to know the word of God in our service, we have to learn to apply principles. That's one of those things that are, say, between the clear positives and the clear prohibitions.

Sometimes you have to use your God-given, Holy Spirit-guided, sanctified common sense, and that's a principle. That's a principle. God expects us to use the intelligence that he has given us to apply, like there's some of these borderline cases, you know, like should you buy a John Deere or a Mahindra? You say, Mahindra? Well, of course you wouldn't have, but that's the one in the world that's most sold all over the world.

More Mahindras than John Deeres in the world. They make them over in India. Well, you say, Mahindra? I mean, this is John Deere country.

Well, so what difference does it make as long as you can get your corn in the ground? The machinery isn't what counts, it's what comes out of the ground that counts. So the machinery that you use, that doesn't, that's just common sense. I wouldn't buy a Mahindra here because I don't think they have a dealership.

You wouldn't have to go very far to get your John Deere fixed. I'm back in the days when you used to push the clutch back and forth like this. Started doing that when I was four.

But these matters, in a sense, are basically innocent in themselves, but can be good or evil according to Bible principles. Like when should you plant your crop? Well, any of the women probably around here who would start planting your garden would say 24th of May. Get your potatoes in the whatever.

Most people have a time, or the full moon. That doesn't make any difference, but the principle is that whatever we sow, we reap. That's a principle.

So sometimes these things that cause confusion among people, I can recall a time when people had long beards, men. And if you didn't have one, you weren't really all that spiritual. Then I can remember a time when their people said no hair on the face.

And if you had any, you weren't spiritual. Those things are not really, really involved at all. The principle is glorify God in your body and spirit, which is his.

And always do that. That's the principle that you live by. But then there's also not just precepts, that's truth stated, and principles that are truth applied, but there are practices of the Bible that is truth that is lived out.

Both the body of Christ and your assembly and our lives, we are being brought from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, in which God's intention is that we lack nothing of the fullness of Christ. And that will happen when we see him. But this process in the Bible of practicing truth in a biblical way is called perfecting, or being made perfect, or becoming mature.

That's one of the practices that happens. So to step ahead to spiritual mature, I get to stay behind, to step ahead to spiritual maturity happens when the Word of God is lived out in my daily life and is practiced in all areas of my life. Do you do that? Honestly, God is your witness.

Do you do that? Do you practice and carry out the Word of God in daily living? And again, maturing indicates how that works out in our life. Those of you who are young, by the way, I learned how to read before I went to school. And by the time I got, my father, whenever the youngest one came into our home, and father, we started at five o'clock.

He'd hit a saw, bang, and everybody wakes up at five o'clock in the morning. And we would go and do our barn chores and come in and have our breakfast. And every morning before the school bus came at seven, we had Bible reading and father prayed.

And every youngest one that came in, the place we would sit after we ate breakfast was my father's right knee. And he had the Bible out. We all had Bibles, but he had the Bible out and everybody read two verses.

And we learned words like God and Jesus at the same time as we learned mama and daddy. When we could talk, you know, children can see as well as hear when they're little. And it's surprising how impacting a simple word like G-O-D stands out and you never forget it.

So by the time I was of an age to go to school, my birthday came at the wrong time. And I was always wanting to go. And I lived in one of those places where you had 18 kids in eight grades and one teacher for everybody.

And I wanted to go, but couldn't go. So finally, just after Christmas, mother was fed up with me, I think. And she said, you come to the school with me.

And we went over to the little schoolhouse and we walked a mile and a half and went over to the school and she sat down by the teacher and she said, look, my son is so anxious to be in this school. She said, would it be all right if he just sat here? He won't make any noise. I'll make sure he won't make, could he just sit here until his brother and sister come home? And that lady was kind of a keen lady that we'd known our life.

And she said, sure. So she, I sit in there and one day she brings out the first grade reader. Can you read this? Oh, a piece of cake.

So I read first two pages, just like I'm reading the Bible to you. And then she turned to the back of the book. Can you read this? And I read it.

She got second grade reader. Can you read this? And I read it in front of the book and the back of the book and third grader, she brought reader. She brought out and I read that.

She brought out the Bible. I could read that. And she said, boy, she said, you know, I maybe shouldn't do this, but I think we'll start you in the third grade.

So I got in and out of school pretty quick. You know why? Because of the word of God. Somebody in our house, my mom and dad believed in the word of God.

Now you teach your children from the Bible. Now I know, I know everybody reads the palm, not the palm, but you know, the palm pad or everybody got their computer, but let them open a book and hold it on their hand and see in the beginning, God, isn't that interesting? And you'll be surprised how much your children will start to enjoy. But now you never hear anything.

Now for a lot of kids, all you see is their face down going like this at dinnertime, but don't let them do that. You get them into the Bible and say, look, if you're going to do that, it's not your friends. You're going to talk to you.

You can do that with you. Read the Bible. Well, that'll stop that pretty quick, but get them into the word of God.

That's practicing practices are truth. That's lived progress. Oh, time's over.

Okay. I'll just give you these and we'll stop. Remember what you hold in your hand is the expressions verbally from the eternal God who made the world with his power.

And the first sound heard on earth was, let there be light. And we've got it. Not just the sunlight.

We got the entrance of God's word gives light. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. So the scriptures that you hold in your hand and this word scriptures are simply the words that are in the Bible.

That's the expressions of God to you and me. They are precepts that are stated. There are principles that we need is truth applied.

Practices of the Bible is truth that is lived. Progress is truth that is maturing and peace is truth that's experienced. I find great joy in reading anything, but particularly now in reading the Bible.

The reason is because I know the person who wrote the book and I love him and he's my father. My mom used to write poetry and I got a stack of papers that deep of poems that she wrote. One of them she had an epic called looking unto Jesus and she wrote on that poem for 40 years probably looking unto Jesus and then she would go on and she loved Jesus.

You have and I have the expressions of our father that we hold in our hand and can get into our hearts and can mold our lives. This is the knowledge to serve.