The Word Of God
Psalm 119:11 says
"I
have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you". This is a key to living a new life in Christ. We must read the word of
God and learn to live our lives according to the word.
The Word reveals to us the person of Christ,
in order that we may
measure our conduct and character against His and allow God to shape
us into true reflections of Christ. God’s Word is a powerful,
cleansing, delivering agent.
The one who merely hears the word quickly forgets it; only the
one who acts on the word and continues in it is truly
blessed. God’s Word is the perfect law of liberty. It does not
enslave us to the bondage of legalism, but frees us from the tyranny
of sin, allowing our soul to be transformed from glory onto glory.
Bible memory verse:
'I
have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that
they would hold me back from sin'
(Psalm 119:11).
WHY
IS READING THE BIBLE SO IMPORTANT?
The
Bible is the inspired Word of God:
'For
no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet
himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these
Godly
men who gave them true messages from God'
(2 Peter 1:20-21).
What do the following scriptures say to you?
2 Tim 3:16-17
'All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work'.
Acts 1:16
'Brothers,
the Scripture had to be fulfiled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago
through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for
those who arrested Jesus'.
John 6:63
'The
Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have
spoken to you are
Spirit
and they are life'.
See also:
John 6:30-33.
What this scripture is saying is that
'You
must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the
Messiah. Give us free bread every day,
like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As
the Scriptures say, 'Moses gave them bread from heaven'. Jesus then
replied that it was not Moses who gave it to them. ‘My Father did’.
And now He offers you true Bread from heaven. The true Bread is a
Person - the one sent by God from heaven, and He gives life to the
world. Jesus Himself.
John 6:48-51
“Yes, I am the Bread of Life! When your fathers
in the wilderness ate bread from the skies, they all died. But the
Bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am
that Living Bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone eating this
Bread shall live forever; this Bread is my flesh given to redeem
humanity.”
It is important that we understand that Jesus and the word are one and
the same.
John 1:1 says ‘In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God’.
John 1:14
goes on to say;
‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth’.
These scriptures are, of course, referring to Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ (the Word of God) is revealed in the Bible, is the focus of the
Bible, and ministers His Life through the Bible. See John 6:68
Here the apostle Peter says to Jesus “you
alone have the words that gives eternal life”.
It was in fact The Lord Jesus who spoke into
being the whole of creation: Psalm 33:6
'By
the word
(the word who became flesh)
of
The
Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his
mouth'. The whole of creation is being sustained by the word of God: ‘The
Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After
He had
provided purification for sins,
He sat down at the right hand of
The
Majesty in heaven’. (Hebrews 1:3)
As Jesus was resurrected from the dead and lives
eternal, so too his word. ‘For the
word
of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart’.
(Hebrews 4:12)
Psalm
119:89-90
'Your
word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the
heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you
established the earth, and it endures'.
Psalm
18:30
'As
for God,
His
way is perfect; the word of
The
Lord is flawless.
He
is a shield for all who take refuge in
Him'.
We can see from these verses that the Word of God lasts forever, is as
relevant today as it always was and will always meet our needs. Do
not confuse needs with wants, God knows our needs better than we do!
What effect will reading the Bible have?
Psalm 119:11
'I
have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that
they would hold me back from sin'.
2 Timothy 3:16
'The
whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to
teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our
lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right'.
James 1:18
'And
it was a happy day for Him when he gave us our new lives through the
truth of His Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in
His new family'.
(see also 1 Peter 1:23).
Psalm 119:105
'Your
words are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me and keep me from
stumbling'.
A
treasury of promises, ministering faith and the life of God to His
people:
We MUST hear GOD'S WORD to receive essential FAITH. Therefore:
1).
We must read the Bible daily (Psalm 119:96,97, Acts
17:11)
2). We must study and search the Scriptures (2 Tim
2:15,
Heb 5:11-14)
3). We must know, believe and obey the Bible (2 Timothy
3:15)
4). We must use the Word as a weapon against our enemy the devil:
