Habits: Bible Reading/Memorization Sermon

Spiritual Growth 101: Bible

Title: The Living Word

Question: Has anybody here read their bible every day since becoming a Christian?

The purpose of today’s message is not to make you feel guilty for not reading your bible, or to shame you for how little Scripture you have memorized, that’s absolutely not the direction that we are going with the talk today.

I want this to be an opportunity for all of us to leave with a few more tools in how to pursue the presence of God and intimacy with Him.

The Word of God meets you right where you are. If you’re angry, it meets you there. If you’re selfish, it meets you there. If you’re happy all the time, then you need help, cause ain’t nobody happy ALL the time. Just playin… the Bible meets you weird people there too.

The Word of God meets us right where we are, but it doesn’t leave us the way we are. It is alive, it is powerful, and it has a purpose that will transform us from the inside out if we will let it.

Big Idea: There is no greater comfort and joy than spending time with God in His Word. May this not only be a habit in our lives, but may it be a longing that we cannot contain.

Passage: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 CSB

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Background: This is a letter from Paul to Timothy. Paul is in prison and about to die, and he’s writing to his protege, Timothy.

Main Points: 3 Truths from This Text

1. VALIDATION - “All Scripture is inspired by God”

   1. This is not just for the skeptic in the room. This is for everybody. Surely we’ve all wondered how the Bible came to be, who wrote the bible, how the books were put together, etc. These are all good and normal questions we should be asking.
   2. Our view of Scripture determines our value of Scripture.
      1. If you believe that the Bible is a book of rules, then you probably wouldn’t place it very high on your priority list.
      2. If you believe the Bible has error and is full of lies, then you are probably not going to waste time reading it.
      3. If you believe that the Bible is not relevant for today, then you’re more likely going to turn to more current self help books over the Word of God.
      4. Question: It all really comes down to one question: Is the Bible the Word of God? If the answer is no, then it’s just another book. In your view it may have some good teachings that could improve your life, but it’s still just a book nonetheless. But if the answer is yes, then there’s nothing greater we could do with our lives than read, study, and know the Word of God.
   3. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on these points, but It’s worth looking at a few insights to get you thinking.
   4. 40 different authors, on 3 different continents, in 3 different languages, at different eras of time, independently of one another, over the span of 1500 years, to write 66 books, all with perfect harmony, about 1 man, 1 messiah that would come to save the world.

   5. The Manuscripts

   6. Dead Sea Scrolls

      1. The Dead Sea Scrolls took our manuscripts from 900AD back to as early as about 250 BC. Parts of every Old Testament book except Esther were found.

      2. The Isaiah scroll matched the later Hebrew text about 95%, and the 5% was mostly minor spelling and grammatical changes.

         7. The Disciples & Apostles

      3. According to early church tradition most of the apostles died for this message; James, Peter and Paul certainly did.

      4. All of the New Testament writers were Apostles that learned from and walked with Jesus or they were direct disciples of those apostles.

      5. “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21

         8. Prophecy

      6. Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies (some count over 300).

      7. If you want to look deeper at the probability of all of these prophecies being fulfilled in one man look up Peter Stoner’s book Science Speaks. His odds are his own estimates, but as an illustration it will blow your mind!

         9. #1 Best Seller

      8. Guinness World Records has the Bible as the world’s best selling and most widely distributed book. (Non-fiction book that is…)

         10. THE BIBLE IS A BIG DEAL! And for the younger generation… The Bible is woke! Is that ok? Can I say that?
         11. There’s so much more, but the point is that God’s Word is sacred and inspired.
      9. SATURATION - “teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness”

   7. Time in the word vs. time on Instagram

      1. There’s always going to be something grabbing for our attention that will draw us away from spending time in the Word.
      2. For the benefit of all of those other things, it’s critical that you are saturating yourself in the Word and spending time with God.
         2. Story: When I was being ordained as a Pastor, every member of my council told me the same thing “There’s no substitute for a personal quiet time with God.” “Never neglect that!”
         3. Illust: Bucket of water and sponge
         4. We like to give God a little. A little prayer, a little bible reading, a little relationship, but when the pressure is on, a little is not going to be enough.
         5. When do we usually give God the least? When things are the best right? But what happens when things all the sudden aren’t so great? What you’ve saturated yourself in is what’s going to overflow when the pressure is applied to your life.
         6. Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. - Romans 15:4
      3. TRANSFORMATION - “that the man (woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

   8. The bible was not given for information, but transformation.

      1. The Bible is not a book of rules, although it does tell us how to live. It’s a beautiful love story of God’s redemptive plan for all humanity.
      2. This is a message of total transformation. Grace changes everything.
         2. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12
         3. Not only does the Word of God make us complete, but it equips us for every good work.

Big Idea: Reading and studying the Word of God is not just a daily habit, it’s intentionally building a deeper relationship. Intentional and focused time to know God more and listen to what He’s saying to you. Relationship, relationship, relationship.

Walking Points:

1. Read

   1. SOAP Method

   2. Variety of Bibles and Translations

   3. Memorize

   4. Respond

   5. James 1:22 says “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

   6. There’s several practical ways you can follow through with obedience, but the one I’ve found to be most helpful is by writing out how you will obey either in the form of a prayer or “I will…” statement.

   7. Repeat

   8. Do it again.

   9. Illust: Working out and wanting gains
   10. “Repetition creates reputation” - Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Let’s pray.