TOPICAL, “The Word Of God”
By
1. INTRO: For New Year’s Day
messages pastors often teach about New Year’s Resolutions or some topic
centered around getting our perspective back to where
it should be, etc. However, as this day
is the first day of January, 2006, I thought that it might be a good time for
us to have a topical message that will both help us to focus upon the things
that are important for us as a church in this coming year, but also help us to
consider why we do some of the things that we do as a church, and as a Calvary
Chapel church.
2. Calvary Chapel churches are known around the country for being one of
the only Christian groups who teach through the word of God, or teach the full
counsel of God’s word. This is really
what most defines the
2.1.
It is stunning for me to
realize that today in
2.2.
What is worse for me to
realize is that there are so many churches that not only do not teach through
the word of God but actually rarely if ever quote or carefully expound upon
God’s word. Many churches just sort of
refer to scripture or general Biblical truths without actually teaching from
the scripture at all.
2.3.
The most recent new movement
in the Christian realm has been what is called “The Emergent Church,” and these
churches tend to not believe that it is important to convert a person’s beliefs
but rather just seek to change what their people think is important. The pastor then is responsible for sort of
being the cultural tone setter for the church rather than being a Bible
teacher. These churches are known for
turning down the lights during worship and burning candles, however none of
those things are really of any consequence really. These churches came out of the seeker
friendly churches and they have gone beyond just being Bible-lite churches, they actually are embracing truth
subjectively as is seen when one of the “
2.4.
Hopefully after this study
you will realize why we in the Calvarys believe that
it is so important to teach all of the way through God’s word. Hopefully, you will also realize that all of
the good things that God does through the church and Christian’s lives occurs
as a result of the word of God.
2.5.
I want to tell you up front
that what I believe that churches need more than anything today is to teach
through God’s word with in-depth expositional teaching, rightly dividing and
expounding upon God’s word, and applying it to people’s lives.
2.6.
I will also say up front
that I believe that the test for apostasy in the church is how the word of God
is regarded. Churches who do not teach
God’s word or believe in its inspiration and inerrancy are traveling down the
road of apostasy.
2.7.
I want to say one last thing
before beginning and that is that I got most of the ideas for this message from
a chapter in R.A. Torrey’s book, “Power-Filled Living.”
3. God’s power is stored in His word :
A pastor’s or teacher’s personality,
funny stories and anecdotes, etc. will not give the church genuine power from
God. Power from God is only received
from God’s word and through the Holy Spirit ministering that word to us, and,
as we store God’s word in our hearts we will experience the power that is
stored in God’s word.
3.1.
Psalm 62:11, “11 Once God has
spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.”
3.2.
Jeremiah 23:29, “29 “Is not My word like
fire?” declares the Lord, “and
like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
3.3.
Isaiah 55:11, “11 So will My word be which
goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing
what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
3.4.
Hebrews 4:12, “12 For the word of God is
living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as
the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge
the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
4. God’s word alone produces conviction in
people’s lives :
We in
ministry want those who do not know Jesus Christ as well as God’s people
themselves to be convicted in heart as to the truth in God’s word and how that
they should obey the truth, however that conviction has to come from God’s
word. If you try to produce conviction
in people’s lives yourself you will only cause people to come under
condemnation and introduce legalism.
4.1.
Acts 2:37, “37 Now when they heard this,
they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
“Brethren, what shall we do?”” What
did they hear on this day? The word of
God.
5.
The word of God
alone has the power to produce regeneration :
When we share the gospel with people it
is imperative that we share with them God’s word, not just our own beliefs or
opinions, for it is God’s word alone that can produce regeneration in them.
5.1.
1 Peter 1:23, “23 for you have been born
again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through
the living and enduring word of God.”
5.2.
James 1:18, “18 In the exercise of His will
He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first
fruits among His creatures.”
5.3.
2 Peter 1:4, “4 For by these He has
granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may
become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world by lust.”
6.
The word of God
alone has the power to produce faith :
When people are having a hard time
believing God, whether for salvation or just in the details in their life, we
need to lead them to God’s word because we are told clearly there that faith
comes about only from God’s word.
6.1.
Romans 10:17, “17 So faith comes from
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
6.2.
Acts 16:30-32, “30 and after he brought
them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in
his house.”
7. Effective, fervent, and persevering
prayer results only from the word of God
:
When we as Christians pray we need to
base our prayers upon what God’s word clearly teaches us. When we pray the promises from God’s word
then and only then are we assured that we will have our prayers answered according
to God’s perfect will.
7.1.
1 John 5:14-15, “14 This is the
confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His
will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever
we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
7.2.
Mark 11:24, “24 “Therefore
I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have
received them, and they will be granted you.”
7.3.
Luke 11:13, “13
“If you then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?””
7.4.
Acts 2:39, “39
“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far
off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.””
8. The word of God gives the faith to overcome
doubt that we experience:
Since the word of God produces faith in
our lives it also has the power to overcome all of our doubts.
8.1.
John 20:31, “31 but these have been
written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and
that believing you may have life in His name.”
8.2.
Revelation 1:3, “3 Blessed is he who
reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which
are written in it; for the time is near.”
8.3.
John 7:17, “17 “If
anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is
of God or whether I speak from Myself.” Jesus teaches in this verse that
unbelief is not a matter of God’s word not being able to penetrate a person’s
mind but rather a matter of him/her being willing to do God’s will in the first
place.
9. The word of God alone gives us victory
over sin and in the spiritual battles in our life:
Jesus when faced with temptations quoted
God’s word and thus the Devil was rebuffed.
Likewise, it is when we focus upon God’s word that we will receive
victory to overcome in the midst of our trials and temptations.
9.1.
1 John 5:4, “4 For whatever is born of
God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the
world—our faith.” What is our faith
based upon? God’s word.
9.2.
Ephesians 6:16, “16 in addition to all,
taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.”
9.3.
Hebrews 11:33-34, “33 who by faith conquered
kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the
mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign
armies to flight.”
10.
The word of God
produces cleansing in our lives
:
Through God’s word we can live in and
experience the mind of Christ which the scriptures tell us that we now have
since we have come to saving faith in Christ.
We can begin to think God’s thoughts and dwell upon those things that
are pleasing in God’s sight.
10.1.
Ephesians 5:25-26, “25 Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of
water with the word.”
10.2.
Psalm 119:9, “9 How can a young man keep
his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”
10.3.
Philippians 4:8, “8 Finally, brethren,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and
if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
11.
The word of God
builds us up :
It is primarily the teaching of God’s
word that a new Christian, and any Christian for that matter, needs in order to
be able to grow spiritually and be used mightily and effectively used by God.
11.1.
Acts 20:32, “32 “And now I commend you
to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and
to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
11.2.
Romans 12:1-2, “1 Therefore I urge you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” What each of us needs is our minds to be
renewed, and what is it that will renew our minds? It is the word of God which we need to read
and study so that does an internal transformation in our lives.
11.3.
2 Peter 1:5-7, “5 Now for this very
reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and
in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge,
self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance,
godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and
in your brotherly kindness, love.”
11.4.
1 Peter 2:2, “2 like newborn babies,
long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to
salvation.”
11.5.
Psalm 119:130, “130 The unfolding of
Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”
12.
The word of God
is able to give wisdom :
The word of God is the manual that God has
given us in order that we might be able to know how to live our lives in this
world as He would have us to live. As
such, it contains all of the wisdom that we need in order to deal with any
situation that we find ourselves in.
12.1.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “16 All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.”
12.2.
2 Peter 1:3-4, “3 seeing that His divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through
the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,
so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
13.
The word of God
is able to give assurance of salvation
:
The word of God is the authority upon
which every Christian can have assurance that when he passes from this life
that he will go to heaven and be with God.
God’s word promises eternal salvation to everyone who receives Christ as
his/her Lord and Savior and continues to abide in and serve Christ.
13.1.
1 John 5:13, “13 These things I have written
to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you
have eternal life.”
13.2.
John 3:36, “36 “He who believes in the
Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but
the wrath of God abides on him.””
14.
The word of God
can bring peace to our hearts and minds :
It is as we come to God and rest our
hearts and minds upon the promises of His word that we can have the peace of
God which surpasses comprehension in our hearts and minds.
14.1.
Psalm 85:8, “8 I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace
to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly.”
14.2.
Jeremiah 15:16, “16 Your words were
found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my
heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord
God of hosts.”
14.3.
Philippians 4:6-7, “6 Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
15.
The word of God
has the ability to produce joy in our lives
:
Every promise of God which we as
Christians cling onto in faith produces joy in our lives. Joy is to be the characteristic in the
Christian’s life second only to love in the list of the fruits of the Spirit
(Eph. 5:22-23).
15.1.
John 15:11, “11 “These
things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your
joy may be made full.”
15.2.
Romans 15:4, “4 For whatever was written
in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance
and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
16.
The word of God
protects us from error and sin
:
The word of God is the one absolute we
have in our lives and it allows us to discern right from wrong and truth from
error. God’s word also keeps us in our
times of temptation and trials.
16.1.
Acts 20:29-32, “29 “I know that after my
departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and
from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert,
remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to
admonish each one with tears. 32 “And now I commend you to God and
to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you
the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
16.2.
2 Timothy 3:13-15, “13 But evil men and
impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become
convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and
that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give
you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
16.3.
Psalm 119:11, “11 Your word I have
treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
16.4.
Matthew 4:4, “4 But He answered and
said, “It is written, ‘Man
shall not live on bread alone, but
on every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God.’””
16.5.
Matthew 4:7, “7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’””
16.6.
Matthew 4:10, “10 Then Jesus said to
him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’””
16.7.
Psalm 1:2-3, “2 But his delight is in
the law of the Lord, And in His
law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted
by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not
wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
16.8.
Colossians 3:16, “16 Let the word of
Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness
in your hearts to God.”