1 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,720 We welcome you to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,440 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,840 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,120 be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,000 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,720 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,360 God's Word is Evergreen in power and promise. 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,520 The month of November is the Global Bible Month and to 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,160 celebrate the Bible here at church we are going deeper into 10 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:42,080 what the Bible really is and how we can better spend time in the 11 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,240 world so that we are ready for the world. 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,640 We hope that you relish knowing more about God's Word and that 13 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:55,040 it spurs you on to greater intimacy with God Himself even 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,600 as we get into God's Word. I was just reminded of this 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,960 story. I once heard read about how this 16 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:08,040 couple invited their pastor home for dinner and called the pastor 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,400 home. They had a good dinner when he 18 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,320 left. After he left, the wife tells 19 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:16,040 the husband, you know what I think he stole our silver spoon 20 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,080 and her husband says you're nuts. 21 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,200 Like what's wrong with you? She says, I'm I'm telling you 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:22,840 for real. Our dessert spoon was there and 23 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,560 it's missing it left with him. I think he stole it. 24 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:28,640 And the husband said, you know what, let's just get over it. 25 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,200 It doesn't matter. It's just a spoon. 26 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,040 A year later, they invite the pastor home again. 27 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,880 And they'd grown in a bit of relationship with him now. 28 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,840 So she asked him as he was sitting down for dinner with 29 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,160 them. He said past. 30 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,560 She asked him, pastor, did you steal a spoon last year when you 31 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,600 visited us? And the pastor very sheepishly 32 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,160 smiled at her and said, no, I didn't. 33 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,680 But I did place it in your Bible, right? 34 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,840 Many times. We all have Bibles in our homes. 35 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,120 We have very fancy ones. We have beautiful ones. 36 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,440 We have antique ones. We have generationally passed 37 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,480 down ones. We have our digital Bibles. 38 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,960 We have our audio Bible. And yet the last place that 39 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,320 someone would find us is in the Bible, right? 40 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,440 It's so easy to just get through with our lives without making 41 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,080 time for it. You'll be surprised at how 24 42 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,480 hours sometimes doesn't feel enough. 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,240 But God is inviting us, especially this month. 44 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:28,040 God is inviting us into a space of sitting with Him in His Word. 45 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,600 As a church. We have been meditating on the 46 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:36,360 30 miracles of Jesus that we put together as a church, and we 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,560 wrote that down. And I'm just grateful as I've 48 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,280 been doing it with a couple of friends. 49 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,680 I'm just in awe at how God meets us even today, even today, 50 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,960 because the miracle is in the mundane, as hard as it is to 51 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,040 believe, right? And so even as we go through the 52 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,320 next 4 weeks, we're going to be looking today at what is the 53 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,200 Bible. The next week, we're going to be 54 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:57,720 looking at why we can trust the Bible. 55 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,240 Because maybe you have trust issues. 56 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,600 Maybe someone said, ah, it's written by humans and it doesn't 57 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,360 have any validity. We want to tell you otherwise. 58 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,720 The following week, we look at how we can read the Bible. 59 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,080 If you're someone who struggles with actually being systematic 60 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,400 and understanding for it, for what it's worth, that's for you. 61 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,960 And then on the final week, we look at why the Bible still 62 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,800 matters to us and to the world. It never is out of context. 63 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,400 It's never irrelevant. And so today we're going to be 64 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,440 looking at what is the Bible, you know, and before I tell you 65 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,080 what the Bible is, I want to 1st tell you what the Bible is not 66 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,440 for many of us growing up, I remember growing up, my 67 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,000 grandmother and grandfather, both of them are very prayerful 68 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,600 people. And every time I would walk past 69 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,160 their room or their, their, you know, dining table, their Bible 70 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,640 was always open. That is the memory I have of 71 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:49,720 their Bibles. So when after their time, when 72 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,840 they pass their Bibles over to their children, one of their 73 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,520 Bibles came to my mother. And it's a treasure heirloom for 74 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,520 us. Not because of any, anything, 75 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,240 you know, ritualistic about. It's just sentimentally because 76 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,120 this was the Bible they underlined and scored and prayed 77 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:07,920 through. It's, it was tattered and 78 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,240 frayed. My mum got it rebound just so 79 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,480 that she could preserve it. Right. 80 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,120 So I don't know what the Bible looks like to you, what emotion 81 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,320 it evokes. But I can tell you this. 82 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,160 It's not meant to just be an heirloom. 83 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,360 It's not meant to just be an antique that's left there on a 84 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,680 shelf. It is not a good luck charm that 85 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,680 you just hang on your bag and wish for good luck to happen to 86 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,960 you. It is not a lamp from which, you 87 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,480 know, you rub a genie out of it. You know, every time you touch 88 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,360 it, something miraculous happens. 89 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:39,160 That's not what the Bible is. It's not an emergency manual 90 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,480 that you open up just when there's a system shut down. 91 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,280 The Bible is so much more. And I today want to break the 92 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,840 intimidation behind the Bible. Maybe for you, you look at and I 93 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:50,320 don't even know the books of the Bible. 94 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,360 I don't know, you know, where this book comes or how this 95 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,040 sounds. I don't read the prophetic 96 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,200 books. I don't read, you know, the the 97 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:58,760 Psalms because I don't understand it. 98 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,120 I don't get it. I don't read the episodes. 99 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,840 Maybe you're on that place. But I want to just leave a few 100 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,720 things with you today. I want you to remember that the 101 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,720 Bible was not written to us, but it was written for us. 102 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,880 It was written to a different time, to a different people, in 103 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,000 a different culture, with different languages and 104 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,800 contexts. But it is written for us so that 105 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,600 we can be transformed and formed by it right from the first page 106 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,920 to the last. It's about Jesus. 107 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,600 You may not hear his name Jesus in the first half of the book in 108 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:34,680 the Old Testament, but it's all about him. 109 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,480 There are shadows of Jesus throughout. 110 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,160 There are two testaments, the Old and the New. 111 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,320 And a testament is basically a covenant. 112 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,200 It's, it's a promise between God and his people. 113 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,480 And in the Old Testament, God's promise was to bless and redeem 114 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,040 the world through Israel. And in the New Testament, God 115 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,640 fulfills that promise through the coming of Jesus. 116 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,680 And Jesus didn't just come for the people of Israel, He came 117 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,240 for the whole world, right? And he redeemed the whole world 118 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,160 and he created his church. He set up his church, and 119 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:05,760 redemption continues through the church. 120 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:08,520 So what is the purpose of the Bible? 121 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,920 If you're asking me what is, what is the big deal about it? 122 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,360 Well, if you had to get to know someone you know, in the old 123 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,320 days when someone was getting to know someone and fall in love, 124 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,920 letters were written. They would write letters saying, 125 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,160 you know, professing their love, telling about their everydays 126 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,400 they would post it and the other person would wait in 127 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,920 anticipation for the letter to reach that mailbox. 128 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,400 Today, in the times of e-mail text messages, it's much faster. 129 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:40,960 The point is this, the Bible is like a love letter. 130 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,600 It's a love letter from God to His people, and it's basically 131 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,280 where He reveals His heart for them. 132 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,800 If you don't read the Bible, you will never know God's character. 133 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:51,240 You will never know God's love for you. 134 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,960 You will never understand the intents of God's heart. 135 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,280 The second thing is it unfolds God's plans. 136 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,560 Many times we look at redemption like it's a clean and straight 137 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,960 line, but redemption is, is basically God's humanity 138 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:11,880 touching our messy humanity, God's divinity piercing through 139 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,680 our brokenness and bringing His glory through. 140 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,160 And redemption looks like that. And, and when you read the Bible 141 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,720 in, in all its fullness, you find that God used ordinary 142 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,600 humans like us, with messy situations like us, and did 143 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,240 amazing things through them. So it unfolds God's plans for 144 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:33,320 redemption, and it also invites us today to be shaped by it. 145 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,160 The Bible is not something that keeps you far at arm's length. 146 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,240 It invites you in. It draws you in. 147 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,080 You know, you can't help, but when you're reading the Bible, 148 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:43,680 you get engrossed in those stories. 149 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,640 You can't help but go deeper and say, God, what do you want me to 150 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:49,320 know from this? This worked for David. 151 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,160 This worked for Daniel. But what about me? 152 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,320 Lord? It invites us in. 153 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,600 So I want to leave three things with you about the Bible, which 154 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,640 I hope you will Mull about. If you're someone who's, you 155 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,440 know, doubting whether you even want to read the Bible or you 156 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,760 feel you have so many doubts about the Bible, I feel like I 157 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,320 want to just centre it on this. First of all, the Bible is 158 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,040 unique. Why is it unique? 159 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:18,080 Well, even though you have 66 books in one book, it was 160 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,880 actually written by so many different authors, almost 40 161 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,560 different authors, right? And these were 66 different 162 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:30,520 writings spend over 1500 years on three continents, Asia, 163 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,240 Europe and Africa. So they were written in these 164 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:39,000 different places by 40 different authors over 1500 years, right? 165 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,720 made-up of different languages. It was originally written in 166 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,520 Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and then they were compiled and put 167 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,720 together. It's made-up of poetry, 168 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,000 prophecy, history, letters, laws and biographies. 169 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,160 It is written by people who are ordinary as farmers, hent 170 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,760 makers, shepherds, fishermen. And then there was also the 171 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,160 elite. There were doctors and 172 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,760 philosophers and priests and kings who wrote it. 173 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,360 Such a mixed number of writers, such a lot of different 174 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:13,920 historical perspectives, such different literary styles, and 175 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:19,240 yet somehow they just fit. And so the Bible is so unique. 176 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:24,000 The second thing is the Bible is a God breathed collection of 177 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,880 writings. So like I said, so many authors 178 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,280 putting together all their thoughts and creating one book 179 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,480 that was brought in as the 66. They make the Bible up. 180 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,320 The interesting thing is in two Timothy 316 says all scripture 181 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:44,480 is God breathed, meaning the very breath of God was put into 182 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:46,800 these people for them to pen down these writings. 183 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,840 It was not ordinary. It was not written by their 184 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,520 will. It was written by the spirits 185 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:55,400 prompting, and because of that, if it was just a human writing, 186 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,600 it would inform you. But because it's the Spirit of 187 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,440 God, because it's the voice of God, it transforms you. 188 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,040 Isn't that amazing? When I work on a piece of 189 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,720 writing, it's my voice throughout. 190 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,960 There's a cohesive sound of my voice in the entire book. 191 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,240 How is it possible that when you read the Bible, even though it's 192 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:21,080 been written and breathed over by so many writers, it has one 193 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,320 cohesive voice? That's because of the breath of 194 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,080 God upon it. And the third thing is it's a 195 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,560 unified story. Like I said, it's unique. 196 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,360 Yes, it is God breathed. And because it's God breathed, 197 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,320 it's just like one thread holds it all together. 198 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:42,720 And the thread is Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. 199 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,520 The connecting point is Jesus in the garden. 200 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,240 There was the the situation of the creation, you know, the 201 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,760 perfect setting in Eden. There was the fall, and 202 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,600 immediately after the fall there was a substitution that was 203 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:00,280 done. There was animal sacrifice. 204 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,240 They were clothed with skins and sent out. 205 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,400 And that set up the entire Bible for what was coming next, right? 206 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:12,000 Jesus is foreshadowed in that because his sacrifice was more 207 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,160 than adequate. Any animal sacrifice will never 208 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:17,400 do, but Jesus is ultimate substitutionary sacrifice 209 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,600 covered it all. And so Jesus is literally he is 210 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:24,120 there throughout. He's the need for Jesus, the 211 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,720 need for a Redeemer, screams and shouts throughout the Old 212 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,280 Testament and continues into the new when he arrives, right? 213 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,560 The the beautiful part of this unified story is it that it's a 214 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:39,320 story of where God reveals himself as this triune 215 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,040 godfather, Son and spirit, right? 216 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,240 And he talks about a covenant relationship. 217 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,960 It's not ritualistic, it's not rule based. 218 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,840 It's one out of love where the Father, where God the Father 219 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,760 makes a promise to his people to be with them should they choose 220 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,320 to obey him and love him. You know, and this beautiful 221 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,240 relationship grew over time, But unfortunately, of course, there 222 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,280 were so many missteps along the way. 223 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:11,680 And so God's redemptive plan never left God's story of love, 224 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:16,320 redemption, restoration, all of it panned out in Jesus. 225 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,000 You know, when I was just going through this, there was just so 226 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,440 much content to look at. And I'm thinking, God, what do 227 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,160 we, how do we teach about your word? 228 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,640 We always teach from your word, but how do I teach about your 229 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:29,240 word? Right. 230 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,960 And I was looking through what the reformers, the guys who 231 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,880 broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and said we need 232 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,440 to go back to the basics. So Martin Luther and the other 233 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,760 reformers came up with the five solas, right? 234 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,240 What are the five solas? They talked about sola 235 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:52,000 scriptura, sola fide, sola christus, sola gratia, and sola 236 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,520 solidio Gloria, which is basically only by scripture 237 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,920 alone, faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone, and for his 238 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,520 glory alone. OK, what does this mean? 239 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,280 What had happened somewhere along the way is the scriptures 240 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:12,080 had been taken by the by the priestly clan and it had been 241 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:14,360 owned solely by them. The common man didn't have 242 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,320 access to it. So the common man was at the 243 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,680 mercy of the religious order to give them instruction about the 244 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:26,240 word and because it was not in local tongue, they couldn't even 245 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,400 read it. There was a huge divide between 246 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:33,520 the clergy and the lady. And what was happening was the 247 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,200 people were actually going down this road of just doing rituals 248 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,240 as directed by the church. They were just, you know, doing 249 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,960 a bunch of things that felt right, that were being taught to 250 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,880 them. But there was no proof that it 251 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,080 had biblical basis. And so at a point of time, I 252 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,240 think it was in the 1400s, when Martin Luther and others stepped 253 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,240 up and said enough is enough. We're going back to the 254 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,360 Scripture. Sola scriptura is a very simple 255 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,240 phrase, but what does it actually mean? 256 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,840 It means this. The Bible is a supreme 257 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,520 authority. It is sufficient and it is 258 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,320 clear. All three of these points are 259 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,160 essential to the people of God because you know and you have to 260 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,040 understand this, it is the supreme authority. 261 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:20,960 Many times over, over, over centuries, the Bible was 262 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,480 discarded as the authority over a nation, over, you know, 263 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,640 decisions that leaders were making. 264 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,160 And it was made in the flesh and then attributed to an act of 265 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,880 God. So it completely distorted, it 266 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:38,080 confused the common people, when in reality it was not looked at 267 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,440 as the supreme authority. Now, even before you take it to 268 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,560 a leadership level in our own lives, the Bible must be the 269 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:48,000 supreme authority. Many of us don't even consider 270 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,120 the Bible's opinion on anything related to our lives. 271 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:52,920 It's part of one part of our day. 272 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,000 It's closeted, left there. We move away, we get into our 273 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,000 day. We don't actually see how what 274 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,280 we learnt in the Bible transforms how I live my life. 275 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:05,160 The second thing it says is it's sufficient. 276 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,160 So what happened in in the early days of this kind of this 277 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,600 Reformation movement was the reformers had to say, hey, we 278 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,440 don't need to supplement or complement anything to the 279 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,800 Bible. This is adequate. 280 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:21,640 We don't need to add our rituals. 281 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,920 We don't need to add our own, you know, interpretations to it. 282 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,280 That's not needed. The scripture is adequate. 283 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,520 It's sufficient. And then he said the scriptures 284 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,520 are clear. Now, you may agree with me when 285 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,840 I say it's not always clear. There are some scriptures that 286 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,640 are so difficult to understand. But they said the reformers said 287 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,680 the passages that were difficult to understand did not threaten 288 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:50,600 the sufficiency of Scripture. Instead, the unclear parts of 289 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,360 Scripture were to be interpreted in the light of its clear parts. 290 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,520 Isn't that beautiful? So there's so many parts of 291 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,400 Scripture which are clear to understand, which we understand 292 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,360 right off the bat. They said use that to then 293 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,800 understand the unclear parts. And the truth is, on this side 294 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,360 of eternity, we will not understand everything. 295 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,200 There's a bunch of things that are going to remain mysteries to 296 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,680 us. The Sovereign Lord above us 297 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:16,360 knows everything, but we will not. 298 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,720 So what little we do get revelation on, I think it's for 299 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,280 us to cherish, to Mull over it and to live in that space. 300 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:27,800 And I love that. Eventually the reformers also 301 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:29,640 involved writers in that process. 302 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,320 One of the writers who came alongside them was William 303 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,640 Tyndale. William Tyndale was a, he was a 304 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,280 writer, he was a philosopher, he was a, he was a thinker. 305 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,280 And So what he started doing was what these reformers were 306 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,680 talking about. He started to work on it 307 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,560 practically. He took the Scripture, he took 308 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:49,680 the New Testament, he took the Old Testament. 309 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,880 He began translating it into the common tongue of the people 310 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,880 because this was his desire. He said I want the scripture to 311 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,000 be available even for the plough boy. 312 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,400 Who is the plough boy? A stable hand. 313 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,079 And that touched me because the Word of God is for everyone. 314 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,880 It is for everyone. Today we have it in more 315 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,079 languages than before. Still there are many who don't 316 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,079 have it in their languages. But the fact is the Word of God 317 00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:15,599 is for everyone. It is not just for the clergy, 318 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,359 it is not just for people of high standing, it is not just 319 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:21,280 for the philosophical, it is not just for the theologically 320 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:22,640 sound. It is for everyone. 321 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:26,800 It is for everyone. And so he decided that the lay 322 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,480 people needed to be fed with the Word so that when a preacher 323 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,360 preaches, the lay people have the Bible and can double check 324 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,360 what they were teaching on, they can hold them to account. 325 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,600 That was what he did and Tyndale believed it so firmly he worked 326 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,600 on it. He was expelled out of his 327 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,480 country. He went to A, to another nation, 328 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,800 worked secretly there, got the Bible printed and pushed it out. 329 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,480 Unfortunately, William Tyndale died for this. 330 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,040 He died because of his efforts to get the Bible translated. 331 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:57,800 But he did his job in his lifetime. 332 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,120 He did his job. Why am I telling you this? 333 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,400 What we have is the Bible is precious. 334 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,720 The blood of the Saints are on it. 335 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,080 People who, you know, slaved away just to get that on print, 336 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,040 just to translate it into your language. 337 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:16,120 Even today, if it's in your language, there's some people to 338 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:21,320 thank for that, people who took a risk to put it in your hands. 339 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,520 My objective today, my objective, I just have a very 340 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,200 simple objective. My objective today is to get you 341 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,520 to fall in love with the Bible. Maybe you fell out of love with 342 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,800 the Bible for a time. I want you to fall back in love. 343 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,240 You are not always going to read what you like. 344 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,320 It is going to convict you. It is going to challenge you, 345 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,240 but it will transform you. The Word of God is something we 346 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,000 need, we cannot do without. So why do you and I need to 347 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,480 develop a love for the Bible? First of all, it's powerful. 348 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:57,120 It's powerful 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. 349 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,840 All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, 350 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,880 rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 351 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,120 It's powerful to bring change. That's the first thing I want to 352 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:09,680 leave with you. Why should you love the Bible? 353 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,000 The truth is, all of us need to change. 354 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,000 Am I right? All of us, we might think when 355 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,080 my spouse needs to change first, then I will change. 356 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,960 All of us need to change and the Word of God is powerful to bring 357 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:27,160 change because the Spirit of God who is breathed upon it when we 358 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,000 start reading the word begins his transformative work within 359 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,360 us. It says over here how Scripture 360 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,760 is God breathed. It is useful for teaching, 361 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:43,080 rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 362 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,480 Now the interesting thing many times is we think that this is 363 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,320 to build it on someone else. But the more you read the word 364 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,520 for yourself, you find it teaches you, it rebukes you, it 365 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,240 corrects you, it trains you in righteousness. 366 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,960 So it's powerful to change you. Before I even impose it on 367 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,240 someone else and change them, I want the word of God to do its 368 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,000 work in me. The problem so many times is 369 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,960 that we tend to, you know, put our views, our opinions, our 370 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:18,360 ideas, our family background, our, our traditions, you know, 371 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,320 we tend to bog it down on our lives. 372 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:25,440 We tend to stick it on others. But here it's allowing God's 373 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,840 word to do the job. It's. 374 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,320 As simple as even when in our parenting, sometimes, you know, 375 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,240 we try to put our thoughts in our children's head. 376 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,760 We try to influence them. But I'm finding that the more I 377 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:38,640 read the Scripture, God is changing me. 378 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,520 And the more they read Scripture in their own little, each of 379 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,760 them read a bit. I know God's going to work 380 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,880 through that. And the, the belief that it's 381 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,200 powerful to bring change starts with me. 382 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,080 All of us need change. I need change. 383 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:58,040 God is going to bring it. We need to stop putting our 384 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,320 opinions, crushing people with our rituals, our traditions. 385 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,200 Bring it back to this place. Sola scriptura. 386 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,920 Is this in line with the Word? Is this in line with the world? 387 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,440 It will be with the Word or with the world, because when it is in 388 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,880 line with the Word, it will change my life. 389 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,120 When you're making a decision in your marriage, get to the Word. 390 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:24,080 You're making a decision for your children in your parenting, 391 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,160 get into the world. You're making a decision for 392 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,560 your job, get into the world. I tell this to people every day 393 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,800 of the month, if you can read 1 proverb in addition to whatever 394 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,360 else you're reading. The proverbs are just rich with 395 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:40,760 wisdom, especially for anyone who is doing anything with life. 396 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,920 If you're working or you're even a stay at home mum, it makes 397 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,600 sense for you. The proverbs are so powerful. 398 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,400 Every day if you make time for the word it will change your 399 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,280 life. Too many of us are just stuck in 400 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,720 this rut of thinking I'm great, they are the problem. 401 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,080 I would urge you today to go back to this place of saying 402 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:01,960 God. Maybe it's a me thing. 403 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,960 I will get into the word because I need to change. 404 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,040 The second thing is it's a life right? 405 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,920 Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. For the Word of God is alive and 406 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,440 active, sharper than any double edged sword. 407 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,680 It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and 408 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,840 marrow. It judges the thoughts and 409 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:28,400 attitudes of the heart. The Word of God is alive and 410 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,320 active, so it brings things to life constantly. 411 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,520 Isn't that amazing? See, all of us have areas in our 412 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,440 life that need resurrection, am I right? 413 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,480 We saw that all of us need to change. 414 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,800 All of us have spaces in our life which are completely dead, 415 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,840 rotting, decaying, having no breath of life in it. 416 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,760 God wants to breathe life into that space and it's beautiful 417 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,720 because it says the word of God is like a double edged sword. 418 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,800 What does a double edged sword do? 419 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,800 A double edged sword is is designed to draw blood at some 420 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:05,040 point of its contact, meaning it's so effective there is no 421 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:07,680 way it will not leave some impact on the person it touches. 422 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,720 One of these the writers in commentary wrote this. 423 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,920 He said the church's mandate is to wield, not blunt this 424 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,560 God-given sword, letting both edges accomplish their gracious 425 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:26,200 work convicting the world and sanctifying the Saints. 426 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,200 I want to take it further. I mean, it's a double edged 427 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,360 sword. We use it against the enemy, we 428 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,720 wield it against him because it's the sword of the spirit, 429 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,000 the word of God, but it also convicts us of sin. 430 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:40,920 Many times we're going into battle with the enemy with the 431 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,200 sword and we're using all these verses at him. 432 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,240 But I am living an unrepentant life. 433 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,200 I could have unconfessed sin in my life. 434 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:52,120 So as I I work through, you know, fighting the enemy on my 435 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,560 knees, I'm also asking the Lord, Lord, work on me, change me, 436 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,120 Lord, reveal hidden sin in my life. 437 00:23:58,360 --> 00:23:59,840 So it's such a double edged thing. 438 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,720 It has a two way process. And the beautiful thing is that 439 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:09,720 the word of God being the weapon that it is, it, it divides 440 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,360 things that we don't know any division, for example, soul and 441 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,800 spirit joints and marrows, meaning it is so precise, it is 442 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,640 so incisive, it is so deep. This past week when I was 443 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:28,560 unwell, I was just lying down and just, I didn't have the 444 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,040 energy to get up and read the Bible. 445 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,360 So I was just playing the audio Bible and listening to it. 446 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,160 And there was many times in during the week when I actually 447 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:40,960 experienced the deep grief of unanswered prayers, of feeling 448 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,080 like God didn't come through, like I needed him. 449 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,600 And as I let the tears fall, I realized that that was the Holy 450 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,040 Spirit's work. Because, you know, in our 451 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,640 run-of-the-mill days, we're just running at, you know, 300 mph. 452 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,040 We have to get all these things done, sort out stuff for the 453 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,480 kids, you know, travel, come back, do this and that. 454 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,000 We don't have time sometimes to just sit with God and say, Lord, 455 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,040 I'm so tired. Lord, you, you didn't hear me on 456 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,800 this one thing. Lord, why is this still like 457 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,040 this? To feel the grief of certain 458 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:15,200 things, to heal and move on. We need to rest because the 459 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:19,920 Spirit of God through the Word of God comes in to divide soul 460 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,040 and spirit. Because if the spirit and soul 461 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,960 are not discerned, if you're not able to detect, OK, this is a 462 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,320 broken heart problem. This is not my, my spirit sense 463 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,120 telling me to do something. This is me basically God saying 464 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:35,600 hey, you're hurting, you're grieving, heal and move on. 465 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,680 So many times we confuse what we are feeling. 466 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,880 We make our feelings the centre of everything and we say, well, 467 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,040 God told me to do this. Maybe not, maybe not. 468 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,120 Maybe it is because your heart is aching, maybe it's because 469 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:52,200 your body is waning in strength. Maybe you have just not rested. 470 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,800 And sometimes God forcibly puts us on our back and says I want 471 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,520 you to rest. I want you to enjoy my presence. 472 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,920 You don't need to do anything. You don't need to overthink, you 473 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,120 don't need to be even talking too much to me. 474 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,840 You just lie down. You rest, enjoy me. 475 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,920 There are seasons when the Spirit of God will use His word 476 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:17,280 actively to show us what we're feeling, what we're thinking, 477 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,520 whether it's in alignment with his Word, whether it's in 478 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:23,400 alignment with him. But throughout, but throughout, 479 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,880 the Word of God is engaging with us to bring us into deeper 480 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,280 connection with Jesus himself. That's the beautiful thing. 481 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,240 It's alive and active because Jesus is the living Word of God. 482 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,680 Therefore, the written Word of God is also alive. 483 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,640 The beautiful thing, you know how I know it's alive, is I've 484 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,320 been reading the Bible, I think since I was about 15-16 years 485 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,280 old. Now at 41, every year I do the 486 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,040 whole Bible as part of justice, my discipline. 487 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:57,040 Every year if I look at my journals, the depth of things 488 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,800 that God speaks through His word is so different. 489 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,360 No two years are the same. In fact, of late I noticed that 490 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:05,920 the the things I highlight and write down are different from 491 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,080 the year before when I went through the same passages. 492 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,120 That is the power of God's work. It's dynamic, it is moving, it 493 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:17,160 is accelerating, it pulls back, it releases, it is so powerful. 494 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,120 So it's powerful to bring change because all of us do need 495 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:25,000 change. Secondly, it's alive and active 496 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,280 to bring things to life constantly because there are 497 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,120 areas in all our lives that are dead. 498 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,920 Maybe you've been feeling very numb as we come to the 11th 499 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,360 month of the year. Lord, it didn't pan out like I 500 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,040 wanted. Maybe parts of your life feel 501 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,120 absolutely lacking in luster. Maybe a relationship ended. 502 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,440 Maybe your health isn't where it you wanted it to be. 503 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,960 Maybe those friendships let you down. 504 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,560 But I want to encourage you that when you read the Word of God, 505 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:58,040 He breathes life through His word into those areas that feel 506 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:02,400 most dead. The problem is, we don't always 507 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,920 wield the word of God like a sword. 508 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:10,240 Many times we treat it like a machete to just hacked on 509 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,720 someone we don't like. We preach at them, we tear them 510 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:16,120 down with the word. Many times we look use it like a 511 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:18,080 Swiss army knife. Have you seen the Swiss Army 512 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,040 knife? Those beautiful little things, a 513 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,400 compact you can keep in in your pocket and they just look so 514 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:24,720 nice. They're in the little leather 515 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,880 pouch. We just post a verse image and 516 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,040 we feel we've done the world a favour. 517 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,040 We are so nice in the way we curate our table with our coffee 518 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,480 mug at our journal and our Bible and say spending my quiet time 519 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,200 with Jesus or this is with a view or whatever. 520 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,480 The point is this curate beautiful spaces. 521 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,200 That's beautiful in itself. Do all of that. 522 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:57,000 But is it all about how we position things and set it up 523 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,720 for a picture perfect moment? Or are we so scrappy about the 524 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,680 word and saying Lord I will just get time with you whenever I can 525 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:07,880 because the Word of God is so powerful. 526 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:13,160 We have to stop using it as a weapon to hack down people and 527 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:14,720 use it as a weapon against the enemy. 528 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:19,920 We have to start using it to convict and bring change to 529 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,440 ourselves before we try to change someone else with it. 530 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,040 We also have to stop using it like a cosmetic add on to our 531 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:32,600 lives and use it for the rugged piece of, of, of beauty and 532 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,760 strength and power that it is. So that's the second thing. 533 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,920 It's a life. So it brings things to life 534 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:42,200 constantly. And thirdly, it illuminates our 535 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:46,560 lives in a Dark World. All of us are living in a Dark 536 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,800 World. This last week I was watching 537 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,560 the news and I was so disturbed, so disturbed by the number of 538 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,200 rape cases in the southern parts of India. 539 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:00,680 In one in the north of India, I just remember thinking God this 540 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:04,920 is so devastating. Thinking of the lives lost, 541 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,200 thinking of the girl who had to make it out alive and justice to 542 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,760 think of what her life is going to look like was so 543 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:14,960 heartbreaking. I don't know her but was praying 544 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,280 so much for her, saying Lord please restore her life. 545 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:23,720 Psalm 1/19 was 105 says your word is a lamp for my feet, a 546 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,440 light on my path. As women in this country, we 547 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,560 don't feel safe. That poor girl was with a man 548 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:32,800 when it happened and a man couldn't save her. 549 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,200 And so you feel like you feel unsafe. 550 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,480 You don't know if you're going to be OK if you don't know if 551 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,680 your children are going to be safe here threatens to overtake 552 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,240 you. But it's in the midst of that 553 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:49,600 that God's word is a light, light to your path. 554 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,680 So the way I picture it is, imagine you had a band with a 555 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:58,040 torch light on it and you switch it on every day and you say, 556 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:00,760 Lord, I'm ready for you. Lead me today. 557 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,360 God's word is like that because the world around you is dark. 558 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,880 We live in a fallen world. We live in a world where evil 559 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:12,440 seems to be ruling the roost. We seem to be in a time when 560 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,480 there is doesn't seem to be justice coming quick enough. 561 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,280 It seems like crooks are getting smarter. 562 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,960 Naive people are getting dumb just like us. 563 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,440 We feel like we could get outfitted anytime, and yet in 564 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:28,880 the midst of this, God is moving. 565 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,040 His Spirit is on the move and for us to be aware of it, we 566 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:33,520 need to be in touch with His word. 567 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,480 The problem is many of us, you know, we use God's word like 568 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,240 this emergency lamp. I don't know those of us who are 569 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,680 millennials, we had this emergency lamp thing in our 570 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,080 homes. So I remember we had this 571 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:49,080 emergency lamp in our home and every time the the current went 572 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,240 off, that's supposed to come on automatically, right? 573 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:54,360 But invariably we would forget to charge it. 574 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,360 It was my brother's or my job to charge it. 575 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:58,480 We would forget. So in the night when the current 576 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,280 went off, it'll be pitch dark and then they'll be all of us 577 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,560 shouting at each other saying why don't you charge it? 578 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:07,120 You were supposed to charge it. And many of us look at the word 579 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:11,400 of God like an emergency lamp. Oh, I just lost my job. 580 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:12,640 I should probably read the Bible. 581 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,320 My boyfriend's about to ditch me. 582 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:17,560 Let me turn to Jesus. Let's see what he says. 583 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,120 Now, I'm all for turning to Jesus at all times, but the word 584 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:23,880 of God can't be your emergency lamp. 585 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:25,880 It has to be your headlight for every day. 586 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:31,560 Because the thing about lamp for my feet is like, you don't have 587 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,600 a lighthouse kind of source. The word of God is literally 588 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,480 your everyday blueprint. Today when I open the word, he's 589 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,080 going to speak to me for today. He's probably going to speak to 590 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:44,680 me for the month ahead as well, but that depends on me showing 591 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:49,600 up today. Do you eat a meal today? 592 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,760 Eat it enough so that it fills you for the whole month. 593 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,520 You eat enough for today. You need strength for today. 594 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,440 Just like the manna in the desert was provided each 595 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:04,800 morning, we need to be turning to God in His Word every day. 596 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,840 It has to be an everyday thing. Some of us treat the Word of God 597 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,240 like a night light. You know those Night Lights? 598 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,280 My kids have one in their own. It's just a placebo. 599 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,480 That night light is usually hidden by some bag or something, 600 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,120 but they need it on. They need to know it's on. 601 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,640 They need to know there's some light in the room and some of us 602 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,600 are looking at it. Like when I'm scared, I just 603 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,200 need to have it there. If my Bible is close to me, I'm 604 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,240 safe. Some of you in your workstation 605 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,840 have your Bible there. It's just a reaching point. 606 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,360 It is of no use if it's not opened and red. 607 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:42,680 It's of no use if it's not applied. 608 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,240 We need to come to a place where His word is a lamp to your feet, 609 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,520 meaning every step you take the word of God has to be your 610 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,960 guide. You know culture tells you in 611 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,040 this time follow your heart, but when the word of God is a lamp 612 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,240 to your feet, you are saying I will follow His word. 613 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,760 What he says I will do. You might ask me how does the 614 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:08,400 word exactly inform what I say? The word will inform it through 615 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:12,280 the ideas and the concept and the the direction it will give 616 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,800 you. It will give you a framework in 617 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,080 which to operate. It will teach you how to respond 618 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,679 rather than react. It will give you the heart of 619 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:23,199 Jesus rather than being led by your feelings. 620 00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:28,360 It is life changing. So as I conclude I want to leave 621 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,400 this with you. Is reading the Bible enough? 622 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,719 No, it requires action from your end and mine. 623 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,440 I'm going to be reading from James 1. 624 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,520 James, the brother of Jesus, wrote this beautiful book. 625 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:43,600 And I was reading it this week and I was just so touched by how 626 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,199 he's unrelenting about the importance of the word of God in 627 00:34:47,199 --> 00:34:48,679 our lives. He's one of the most practical 628 00:34:48,679 --> 00:34:51,840 writers in the New Testament. He doesn't, he doesn't go too 629 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,760 deep into theology. He's just like, you know, treat 630 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,600 people right, don't show favouritism, you know, don't 631 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,120 talk too much, control your tongue. 632 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,960 He's that kind of guy. But he talks a little bit about 633 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,240 how to live in the world, and I want to leave that with you, 634 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,360 James one verse 18. It says he chose to give us 635 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,160 birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first 636 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:17,680 fruits of all he created. Therefore, get rid of all moral 637 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,920 filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the 638 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,000 word planted in you which can save you. 639 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:26,840 Do not merely listen to the word. 640 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,400 Do so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 641 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:35,160 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is 642 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,440 like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after 643 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,120 looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he 644 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,920 looks like. But whoever looks into the 645 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:48,200 intently, into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues 646 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:52,160 in it, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they 647 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:59,680 will be blessed in what they do. Do you read the word and leave 648 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,040 it and just forget what you read or do you do what it says? 649 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,360 It's the perfect law that gives freedom. 650 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:10,720 If you've been told that it's a book of rules of the all bunch 651 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:15,240 of no's, that's not true. It is the perfect law that gives 652 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:20,960 freedom because like I said, Jesus is shadow falls on the Old 653 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:22,760 Testament completely. When you look at the Old 654 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:26,320 Testament, you realise I'm so glad I have Jesus. 655 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,160 I'm so glad I don't have to do those rituals. 656 00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:30,400 I'm so glad I don't have to offer those sacrifices, that he 657 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:33,640 has done it all. And yet when you look at the Old 658 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,360 Testament, you remember just how frail and broken you are and how 659 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:38,280 much in need of a Saviour you are. 660 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:44,200 And so I would urge you that you would sit in God's Word, that 661 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,640 you would dwell in it, look intently into it. 662 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:51,200 That's what he says. They will be blessed in what 663 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,400 they do. There is a benefit to sitting 664 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:58,240 intently with God's Word. God's Word is as true today as 665 00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:00,800 it has ever been. It doesn't change based on your 666 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,240 culture, based on a political system. 667 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,880 It is alive, it's active, it's trustworthy. 668 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:09,280 It will still guide you today as it did another in years before. 669 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,800 If you're someone who just washed your hands off the Bible 670 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,080 saying it's not done anything for me, I would urge you to get 671 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:19,160 back to it today. Be systematic, don't just 672 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,760 randomly open those things and just find a verse and then you 673 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:23,320 know, be like this. I'll take this for my day. 674 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,000 No, let's be educated about this. 675 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:29,840 Let let you know we put so much effort into the other things we 676 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:31,080 do. Why are we not doing it with 677 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,080 God's word? Take time, take a book, create a 678 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,920 journal. If you're meditating on one 679 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:40,080 verse, great, put that verse down, sit with it. 680 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:45,440 Ask God to speak to you from it. The Word of God is meant to be 681 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,800 lived, not to just be read. It's not to be read just on 682 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:50,440 Sundays and then left on the shelf. 683 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:52,560 It's meant to be lived out every day. 684 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:54,120 We're not meant to just study it. 685 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,000 We're supposed to live it in such a way it shapes our 686 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,120 decisions, our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes, 687 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:04,240 everything. You know, recently we were 688 00:38:04,240 --> 00:38:08,440 watching a couple of videos at church about the world, cassette 689 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,600 audios, their outreach, what they do. 690 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:13,800 And as a church, we had supported some of their Bible 691 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:17,440 translations and I was amazed at some things that the old people 692 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,000 were saying. And in one of the things that 693 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,080 they said, bunch of them said the same thing they said. 694 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,920 It was, it's so amazing to hold this record and hear God speak 695 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,640 to us. And you know, when I was 696 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:34,400 listening to that it, it really got me emotional because when I 697 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:38,160 read the word of God every day, I don't look at it as God 698 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,480 speaking to me. I just look at it as I'm reading 699 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,200 the word. But here with these people, you 700 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,480 know, these are people from different tribal communities 701 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:49,720 around the country hungry for God's Word. 702 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:54,880 They have bare minimums, no access to hygiene or education 703 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,480 or health care or any of that. They live on the fringes of 704 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,080 society. But you should see the way they 705 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:06,000 receive God's Word and the way they say Bhagwan spoke to us 706 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,080 when we listen to it, it's God speaking to us. 707 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:11,360 And I want to leave this with you today. 708 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:18,600 Every time you sit with the God breathed Word, the Bible, you 709 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,760 are meeting with the author himself. 710 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:26,640 You can't expect to just meet with him on and off and then 711 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:30,080 expect things to just go smooth and you know your direction. 712 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:34,240 It requires that you fix this meeting every day. 713 00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,560 Every day. Imagine every time you open the 714 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:39,920 Bible, the author sits in front of you. 715 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:46,080 Then with those people we can say, I heard God speak to me 716 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,520 through His Word. It was God's voice. 717 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:54,520 So as you go through this month, my desire for you is that you 718 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:57,680 will fall in love with God's Word because it is powerful. 719 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,120 It is powerful, it is so present, it is so relevant to 720 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:06,120 your today, and it will carry you into your future. 721 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:10,120 We cannot do this life. In days to come, things are 722 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,680 going to get harder globally. If we don't fix ourselves on 723 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:15,440 God's Word, we're going to have problems. 724 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,560 So can I urge you to fall in love with God's Word because it 725 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:24,280 is powerful to bring change. It is alive to bring things to 726 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:28,240 life that are dead, and it illuminates our life in a very 727 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:32,120 Dark World we can't do without. So can I just pray for you? 728 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,640 Father, I just thank you for all that you have done in our lives. 729 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:40,520 And we thank you for your word. We thank you for the 66 books of 730 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:42,960 our Bible. We thank you for breathing upon 731 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,720 the author's Lord and for putting this book together for 732 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:49,160 our benefit. We just pray that each of us 733 00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:53,720 will value it for what it really is and that God we will 734 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:57,200 experience true transformation deep within us. 735 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,920 May your Word reach the ends of the world that Lord. 736 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:04,760 The most remote people groups will receive the Word in their 737 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,840 language. Bless Bible translators, bless 738 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:11,120 Lord the the ones who print the Bible. 739 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,880 We pray that Lord you will bless and keep your body, that we will 740 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:20,440 be centered on your word, Jesus. We thank you Father, for all 741 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,120 that you are doing in US and through us. 742 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:26,240 In Jesus mighty name I pray Amen, Amen. 743 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,520 God bless you. Have an amazing week. 744 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,160 I pray that as we go through the Bible month you will engage 745 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:33,080 actively. You can do a Bible plan. 746 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,280 We are doing a Bible plan as a church. 747 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,120 It's called the 30 days of miracles. 748 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,640 You can do the plan alone or with friends and trust me it's 749 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,360 beautiful to do it with friends. You get to hear their opinions 750 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,320 on things. You can pray for them via text. 751 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,280 It's an amazing experience. Most importantly remember this 752 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:51,680 that whoever finds Jesus finds life. 753 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:55,360 God bless you. Thanks for listening to this 754 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,480 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 755 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:02,200 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 756 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,880 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 757 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:08,640 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 758 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:11,760 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 759 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,520 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 760 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:21,000 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 761 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:25,120 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.