2
Timothy 3:14-17 The Work of the Word
I
met a sweet sister in the Lord – this wed nite after the evening Bible study.
A) It was her first time
here – she brought her grand daughter to the Children’s ministry.
B) She was absolutely amazed
that we had a midweek service and that so many pp were here to study the Bible.
C) She came up to introduce
herself and said – I just want to commend you for being brave enough to have a
midweek service
1) She continued – There are not many
Churches – around here that Have a midweek Bible study. I commed you for your
Bravery
D) I Knew that we were one
of the few Churches in N. County to have a Sunday evening service –
1) But I didn’t know that we
were one of the only ones to have a Midweek Bible study. But it is true! –
There are not many Churches
that do.
I
thought about her words the next day: An act of Bravery!
A) It is just what we do –
Here at CC we study the Bible Chapter by Chapter / verse by verse – working our
way thru
B)
Not an act of Bravery: But then I was reminded of
the words of the Prophet Amos – said – days were coming – Famine for the Word
of God. Amos 8:11
C) Clarified: Not a famine in it’s availability. The famine is
not that People will be without Bibles –
1) No, the Famine would be in the hearing
of the word
D) Paul tells us here in
Chapter 4:1-5
I charge you
therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and
the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in
season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will
heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the
truth, and be turned aside to fables.
We
are living in that day and age! – Famine in the hearing of the word of God.
A) I am thankful to be a
part of a Church where pp gather all week long to Study, to seek the Lord!
B) I feel blessed and proud to be your Pastor!
C) Now in our study of 2
Timothy we looked at Ch.3 in it’s totality last week
1) We briefly touched on
V.14-17 last time.
D) In these verses Paul lays
out a-5 fold description of the Work of God’s Word
I
want us to come back to that today: Consider some important aspects of the word
of God
A) My prayer as we go thru
this, that we might – appreciate even more the affect that God’s word has on
our lives
B) And that our passion to
study it/ to know the word would be ignited even more
14 But you must
continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from
whom you have learned them, 15 and that
from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of
God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Now
Paul tells that the Bible is given to us
by inspiration of God.
A) Literally “All Scripture is
God-breathed.” “All Scripture is breathed into by
God.”
B) Doesn’t contain the Word
of God – It is the Word of God !
1) Love letter / Guide book/
instruction manual
A woman was sitting next to her first grade daughter during
morning worship one Sunday, … looked
down at her open Bible. In a low whisper, she asked, "Did God really write that?"
"Yes," Susan quietly whispered back.
Looking
down at her moms Bible again, the little
girl said in amazement, "Wow! He
really has neat handwriting!"
C)
Not quite what it means -
2
Peter 1:20-21
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a
matter of one's own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act
of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. NASB
D) All 66 books / all 1,118
Chapters/ all 774,746 verses All 3 Million 500,000 and
34 words are all inspired & Living
1) Every word /Every verse/Every Chapter/
Every Book - INSPIRED BY GOD !
Here is what is amazing about it’s inspiration: Most of you
know but for the few who don’t –
A) The Bible was
compiled over a 1500 year period.
Genesis to Revelation. 1500 years
B) Written in 3 different
languages: Hebrew/ Greek/ Aramaic.
1) 3 different continents
C)
40 Different authors from various backgrounds: Kings/ Farmers
1) Doctors/ Fishermen.
2) Sheep herders and
Military Generals
D) And yet it points us to
one thing: How to be right with God – by believing
in His Son Jesus Christ.
1) Central message.
E) Think about that – One
controversial subject: 10 pp here in
But
on the most important subject of all – How to be saved 40 different authors –
1500yrs / 3 Languages/ 3 Continents - ONE
MESSAGE
A) Salvation in one name,
the name of Jesus.
B) And that is what Paul reveals
to us here in v.15 – The first work of the word – able to make you wise unto
Salvation
C) The word of God describes
for us the condition of the human heart!
1) It shows us the
Condemnation of Sin – Reason man feels guilty – We
are guilty. Sinners – fallen short of God’s standard.
D) Man is lost – Man is
doomed – But God made a way to be saved.
1) Revealed that way in His
word
John 5:24
"Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who
sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed
from death into life.
Roman 10:17 So then faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Philippians
Called The word of life- It is
characterized as that which gives life.
Psalm
19:7, "The law of the Lord is perfect,
"Converting the soul."
It
has the power to convert.
A) Problem today however– we
read in the beginning here of Ch.3 because men in the last days would be Lovers
of self / Lovers.. money / …Pleasure
B) They don’t want to hear
the word – they don’t want to hear the truth.
1) John 3 The word is like a
light – Exposes men’s deeds –
C) Because men loved
darkness – They rejected the light – didn’t want to hear the truth –
D) That is what Amos ment
when he declared – There would be a famine
concerning the hearing of the word
E) Hosea put
it this way: “My people are destroyed for lack of
Knowledge because they have rejected Knowledge.” Hosea 4:6
1) It is not that they
didn’t have it – They rejected what they did have
But
for every person who Humbles himself in coming to the word of God – admitting
their sin – turning to Christ
A) The word is able to
provide the way of Salvation – Forgiveness – freedom from Guilt / shame – Make
a person completely new
B) Totally right with God –
Assurance of Salvation
C) That is too narrow,
People say!
Wait
a second – if they found a cure for Aids – PP will stand in line for days to
get it in order to be cured of aids
A) No one is going to say:
there is only ONE CURE – that is too narrow minded – that is so bigoted
B) I want to be cured by
drinking tomato Juice or Meditating for hrs in the mts- They wouldn’t say that
– no one would
1) Just happy and excited
there is a cure.
C) Well, the entire Human
race has been infected with the Disease of Sin
1) And it is terminal – Soul
that sins will surely die
D) No way around
that – JESUS IS THE CURE
1) God
in His love says I will make it simple for you.
The
remarkable thing is not that there is only one cure – the remarkable thing is that
there is a cure at all.
A) God has given us His word
– so that we would be sure to know that it is the way. Able
to make one wise unto salvation
B) Then after a person is
saved, the word of God has a 4 fold affect upon their lives – it is Profitable
Paul says for Doctrine or teaching.
C) Teaching: What is right –
what we believe – And it is important that we believe the right things.
1) God’s word is totally
sufficient to teach us! – NO need of other resources
D) There are so many resources
and opinions out there that tell us what to believe –
But
the Bible – given to us by God, is an all in one resource
A) It teaches us about God/
Christ / HS / Angels/ death/ life / Satan
B) A Great Book – What the Bible
teaches by RA Torrey – All Scripture
C)
But the Bible is not just a book that
teaches us Theology – It is also a book of Practicality
1) That is where the rubber
meets the road for so many of us. How to live – how
to make it thru life.
The Bible teaches us about
Love/ romance/ marriage!
The Bible teaches us about
Friendship
The Bible teaches us about
Business
The Bible teaches us about
Leadership
The Bible teaches us about
Stewardship
The Bible teaches us about
Parenting
The Bible teaches us about
Social issues: Morality/ Integrity / Equality Homosexuality/
All things that
pertain to life and godliness ……
#3
Reproof = Rebuke
A) The Word that has such a
positive ministry, in teaching building foundation,
B)
But it also has a negative ministry of
tearing things down.
1)
The Word is not just a builder, it is something that rips and tears and shreds
what deserves to be torn.
C)
The Bible has a rebuking ministry, a rebuking effect.
That's
calling people back from error. Confronting sin
D) That
is not politically correct in a society that preaches tolerance.
1)
Truth offends- We need to be confronted
with error & Sin!
Hebrews
4:12,13 Gives us insight into how this happens
“For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and
spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but
all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
A) Here the
writer of Hebrews tells us that the word cuts deeply – It unveils –
B)
Now the picture here is very vivid.
C)
The Word is like a huge sword which is just driven to the core of a person's
being, slices right through and judges the thoughts and intentions of the
heart.
D) It is both an X Ray
machine and Surgeons scalpel all in one
1)
God takes His Word, cuts deep into your heart, lays you open, , right before
God's eyes.
E) And nothing is hidden, He
sees every single thing about you.
It
sifts, it analyzes, it reveals emotions, attitudes and thoughts.
A)
And you've experienced that. As you sit down and read through God's Word and
you read about something...
B) Confronted with a Lack of
love / selfishness / Pride / Bitterness –
1)It has a way of exposing all of those things in
us. It cuts us open – We see ourselves for what we are!
C)
It exposes sin it exposes error – But the Lord doesn’t leave us in that place –
#4
Correction
A) The
Scripture not only exposes sin as to its reality, not only exposes error, but
it has the ability to correct both.
B)
It has a corrective capability. It doesn’t cut us open and leave us bleeding
- what good would that be.
1)
But it corrects
C) The word here, literally
means.to lift you up and straighten you up
D) The Word of God comes
along, it cuts you to ribbons, it slays you,
1)It
exposes false belief, false teaching, confronts sin issues and then the Word of
God picks you up and straightens you up and sets you back on your feet.
It
has the ability to straighten up your conduct, to thoroughly restore to an
upright position,
Romans
12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I
think of Humpty Dumpty, all the
king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
That's
a comment on life. That's a pretty profound fairy tale saying that once you've
destroyed it, it's gone.
But
in God's terms, once you've fallen and crumbled, God's Word is able to pick you
up and put you back together again. That's the tremendous truth of God's
promise.
That's
the restoring ministry of God's Word. And don't we rejoice in that?
"He
that is taken in a fault, you that are spiritual do...what?...restore him in
love."
The
Word has the ability to do that...
#5 And then finally, the Word works in
training in righteousness
A)
Nurture: Instructing a Child - It means to train a child, It's having to do
with educating children.
B) The
Word is able to bring you up, that's what it means, to nurture you, to raise
you, to grow you, to bring you up to maturity.
C)
Complete – Lacking in nothing.
D)
God’s aim in our lives is to bring us to completion.
He
is working on each of us – Like a sculptor – mold and shape you – the word is
His tool.
A) Water soften / knife to
cut / his hands to mold
B) The fiery trial
C) Let the word have it’s
way: Make it a priority
1) Study, dig / Come out Wed
nights
D) Home group -