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Malachi 3:8-11

⁸ “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ¹⁰ Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.”

QUESTION & ANSWER #1: What is a “tithe”?

Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated “tithe” in the Bible mean, “a tenth.” It refers to a tenth of all with which the LORD has blessed a person!

In the Old Testament, the Jews actually brought about 22% to the Tabernacle/Temple, but they were living in a theocracy so they had to fund both the work of God and their government.

QUESTION & ANSWER #2: Why do Christians tithe?

According to Malachi 3:8-11, tithing is an act of _________________!

According to Romans 14:23, tithing is an act of __________________!

According to 2^nd Corinthians 8:1-3, tithing is an act of ______________!

According to 1^st Corinthians 16:1-2, tithing is an act of ___________________!

According to 2^nd Corinthians 8:8-9, tithing is an act of ______________!

According to Matthew 26:6-13, tithing is an act of __________________!

QUESTION & ANSWER #3: When and Where should Christians tithe?

According to 1^st Corinthians 16:1-2, Christians should bring our tithe on the ___________ day of the _____________!

According to Malachi 8:10 and 1^st Corinthians 16:1-2, Christians should bring our tithe to the ___________ of _______!

QUESTION & ANSWER #4: Why is there so much ignorance and confusion about the tithe!

People don’t like to be preached to about money!

Preachers don’t like to preach to people about money!

Therefore, many people are ignorant about what God says about money!

Evangelist Greg Laurie points out:

“The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions — more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.”

Answers.com points out that:

– Jesus talked about money more than He did Heaven and Hell combined.

– Jesus talked about money more than anything else except the Kingdom of God.

– 11 of 39 parables in the Gospels talk about money.

– 1 of every 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke is about money.

QUESTION & ANSWER #5: What would happen HERE if all of our people faithfully tithed?

– We currently have 154 people attending our church of which 100 are adults who are either working or retired.

– What could the LORD and what would the LORD do through us (and for us) if all of us were 100% faithful to HIM with the money HE puts in our hands?

Amen!

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

Acts 2:42-47

⁴² “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Last week, we looked at several Scriptures that describe HOW God provides for HIS people. This coming Lord’s Day, as the Lord allows, we will look at several passages that explain HOW HE provides for HIS Church and HIS Kingdom work!

I will try to do this by answering a few key questions…

First, according to Matthew 16:13-19 God provides for HIS Kingdom work by gathering HIS people into Local __________________!

Second, according to Malachi 3:10 and 1^st Corinthians 12:4-7, God provides for HIS Kingdom work by the _________________ of HIS people and by giving them Spiritual ______________ to carry out the work of the Church’s various ministries!

Third, God provides for HIS Church and HIS Kingdom work by commanding HIS people to do three specific things in relation to their Local Church:

(1) According to Hebrews 10:24-25, God’s people are commanded to _______________ their Local Church!

(2) According to 2^nd Peter 2:1-3 and Jude 3-4, God’s people are commanded to _______________ their Local Church!

(3) According to Acts 2:42-47, God’s people are commanded to ___________________ their Local Church!

Of course, since this is biblical, it is a failure-proof way for God to provide for HIS Church and Kingdom Work; except for the fact that, HE has chosen to put this work into the hands of HIS people who often fail to keep HIS commandments!

God has graciously given us a blueprint for Local Churches to do HIS Kingdom work and to carry out HIS will in the world.

Whether or not we obey is up to each of us individually!

I hope you will read over and think through these verses, see if you figure out a logical answer for each blank, and thereby prepare your mind to hear the Word of God this coming Sunday…

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

¹¹ “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, ¹²  lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴  then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ¹⁵ who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, ¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. ¹⁷ Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ ¹⁸ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. ²⁰ Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

One of the many ways by which God reveals HIMSELF in Scripture is through the use of the Names HE gives to HIMSELF. Each of these Divine Names reflects something about HIM that HE desires HIS people to understand.

For example, when HE encounters Moses at the Burning Bush, HE reveals HIS Name as, “I AM THAT I AM.” That is, HE is the One True Living and Self-existent God!

Throughout the Word of God, HE reveals HIMSELF to us by these various names.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

Genesis 2:4 (Most Often Used) “Yahweh” (Lord, Jehovah)

Genesis 14:18 “El Elyon” (The Most High God)

Genesis 15:2 “Adonai” (Lord, Master)

Genesis 17:1 “El Shaddai” (Lord God Almighty)

Genesis 21:33 “El Olam” (The Everlasting God)

Exodus 15:26 Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)

Exodus 17:15 “Jehovah Nissi” (The Lord My Banner)

Exodus 31:13 “Jehovah Mekoddishkem” (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)

Judges 6:24 “Jehovah Shalom” (The Lord Is Peace)

Psalm 23 “Jehovah-Raah” (The Lord My Shepherd)

Isaiah 1:3 “Jehovah Sabaoth” (The Lord of Hosts)

Jeremiah 23:6 “Jehovah Tsidkenu” (The Lord Our Righteousness)

Ezekiel 48:35 “Jehovah Shammah” (The Lord Is There)

But, for the purpose of a doctrinal series on “Christian Stewardship” (that I hope to work through for the next 4 weeks) I want to focus on the Name by which God revealed HIMSELF to Abraham when HE commanded him to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar!

Genesis 22:14 “Jehovah Jireh” (The Lord Will Provide)

“So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

After more than thirty years of Pastoral ministry, it seems to me that there are two primary times that God’s people struggle with the calling and opportunity to serve God that we have as “stewards” of the material resources HE has entrusted to us.

The first of these is when things are going well; and, the second is when they are not going well! When things are going well we tend to forget God, and when things are not going well we tend to doubt God.

In spite of our forgetfulness and our doubts and fears, God continues to bless us. So, I want to kick off our series on “Christian Stewardship” with a sermon entitled, “How does God provide for HIS people?”

I believe that HE has revealed six specific ways by which HE provides for us in His Living and Holy Word. Let me challenge you to look up these key verses and see if you can enumerate and understand the ways HE has promised to provide:

Deuteronomy 8:18 – HE enables us to produce something!

Malachi 3:10-11 – HE blesses something!

Luke 6:38 and 2^nd Corinthians 9:6-7 – HE blesses someone!

James 1:5 – HE grants us something!

Proverbs 11:14 – HE provides us with someone!

Psalm 78:23-29 – HE does something!

Throughout the Word of God, HE tells us that a father is responsible to provide for his family; surely we realize that our Heavenly Father will faithfully provide for HIS Family!

I hope that you will take a few minutes read over, pray over, and think over these thoughts as you prepare your minds to hear the Word of God on Sunday!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1^st Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

God, through HIS Word, has a lot to say about labor:

The words, “work” “worker” “workers” “labor” “laborer” and “laborers” occur 518 times in the Bible!

“Labor” = 92x

“Laborer” = 5x

“Laborers” = 8x

“Work” = 374x

“Worker” = 17x

“Workers” = 22x

God has a lot to say about work! We will look at this doctrine under three basic headings:

God has a lot to say about work…

God has a lot to say about “secular” work… and,

God has a lot to say about HIS “Kingdom” work!

There are logical questions that come to mind about this subject, so I will frame my sermon around several of them. Here are the questions and some verses that will help us find the answers.

I hope you will think about these questions and look up the verses as you prepare to hear God’s Word on Sunday!

What was God’s original design for mankind in the area of work?

Genesis 2:15

How did the fall of man affect God’s original design?

Genesis 3:17-19

What is the relationship between labor and God’s provision for the human race in general, and HIS people in particular?

2^nd Thessalonians 3:10

How does our relationship with Jesus affect our outlook on this subject?

Ephesians 4:28

Why does call some of HIS people to vocational ministry and others to volunteer ministry in HIS Kingdom work?

Acts 13:1-2

What does it mean to you that you, personally, have been called into God’s Kingdom work?

Nehemiah 4:6; Hebrews 9:14

But, what if I do not know what I am doing? Does God help HIS people accomplish HIS work?

Ephesians 4:10-12

Why do so many people promise to get involved in God’s work but never seem to actually get involved?

Matthew 21:28-31a

Everyone hates to waste time and effort. How do we know that the time and effort we put into the LORD’S work will not be wasted?

1^st Corinthians 15:58

One-thousand years from now, will it really matter if we were involved in God’s Kingdom work?

Revelation 14:13

What if we work hard in the LORD’S work but no one notices what we are doing?

Matthew 5:16

There are lots and lots of things that need to be done in HIS Kingdom work; so, how do we know which of them is the most important?

Matthew 9:35-38

I realize that this is a lot to read and think about! I hope you will take some time to think through this as you think about how the Word of God fits into our busy and everyday life!

As Tom Rains often says, “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

James 1:22-25

²² “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

As we come to the final sermon in this series, I want to begin by reminding you briefly of what we have seen over the past six weeks…

1. Over the past six weeks we have determined that God has sovereignly chosen to reveal to humans HIS existence, HIS nature, and HIS will. HE did this through a process we call, “Revelation” and that Revelation of HIMSELF came through the divinely decreed means of Creation, our Conscience, the Content of Scripture, and through Christ!!
2. We have determined that through the process of “Inspiration” we have the very Words of very God given in human language to human authors who perfectly wrote what God would have written had HE simply written them down HIMSELF.
3. We have determined that through the process of Preservation God worked throughout history to preserve HIS Word which HE has given to humans in human language and through human authors.
4. We have determined that through the process of Canonization God enabled men and women to rightly understand which writings HE had inspired and preserved and therefore ought to be included in the Canon of Holy Scripture!
5. We have determined that through the process of Translation God equipped and enabled men and women to transfer HIS revealed, inspired, preserved, and canonized Words from the original languages in which they were given into additional human languages
6. Last week, we determined that through the process of Interpretation God gives HIS people (by the in-dwelling presence and work of the HOLY SPIRIT) the ability to both understand and rightly interpret the intended meaning of HIS Words!
7. This coming Lord’s Day morning, as the LORD allows, I want to help you see how we are to apply God’s revealed, inspired, preserved, canonized, accurately translated, and rightly interpreted Words to our everyday life!!

Among the most helpful KEYS to rightly applying the Scriptures is being aware of the four different “purposes” God has for giving us HIS Words:

– Some of HIS Words are “Prescriptive” – “Thou shalt”

– Some of HIS Words are “Proscriptive” – “Thou shalt not”

– Some of HIS Words are “Descriptive” – “How things are”

– Some of HIS Words are “Illustrative” – “Deeper, or more practical understanding” (Metaphor, Simile, Parables, etc.).

We will break down our Text for the week, (James 1:22-25) and see how the many different phrases contained in these four verses reflect these multiple purposes!

As the Lord allows, I intend to close out this sermon and the series by applying four critical realities to the understanding and application of our Text.

I trust that you will find this exercise in Biblical Application to be helpful both as a practical application of James 1:22-25, and as a pattern for applying all of the Scripture to all of your life.

As Tom Rains always says… “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!”

Amen.

Nehemiah 8:5-8

⁵ “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. ⁶ And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. ⁸ They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

2^nd Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

One of the obvious truths about the Believer and Your Bible is that you need to know how to “rightly handle” or rightly interpret it! The old axiom is true that; “The Bible says what it means and it means what is says” but, there are some parts of this ancient document that needs some level of thinking and knowledge of the times in which it was written to come to fully – and accurately – understand what it actually means.

The science of interpreting a written document is called “hermeneutics.” It is named for Hermes the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. It is well named since when you labor to interpret the Bible you are literally reading “a message from God.”

There have been hundreds of books and scholarly articles on the best means by which to do this work. I had two or three different classes over the years on this subject. I recent looked again at some of my books and some recent articles to refresh my thinking. But, as is often the case, I do not find them very helpful. While I got all of the education I could possibly afford, I have found that much of it was aimed more at an academic level rather than being able to present Biblical theology to its intended audience: everyday Christians in a local Church!

So, thinking through all that I have learned on this subject over the past 30+ years of ministry; I have boiled it down to 5 Basic Rules that I believe you will find to be helpful. At least, I hope to do so! As I often do, I formed the outline of the sermon by asking myself some key questions. The points you will hear on Sunday – as the Lord allows – are the answers to these questions.

The questions are:

First, Who is actually the Author of the Old and New Testaments; and, do we have some form of practical access to the Author and, if we do have access to Him, how does that work in our day-to-day lives?

Second, since God gave us the Bible through the vehicle of human language, how does that fact factor in to the process of interpreting the Bible?

Third, every study I have ever seen on the laws of hermeneutics talks about “context, context, context!” Exactly how does one determine the context of a written document and are there pitfalls to avoid in applying this rule?

Fourth, since it is true that there are NO contradictions (or any other form of error) in the Holy Scriptures, how does this truth impact the way in which we rightly divide the Bible?

Finally, can the Words of God mean different things to different people? Even if you are able to rightly discern what a passage meant to the original audience; how can you know what that passage means to you, personally, 2,000 to 6,000 years after it was written?

Let’s face a monumental truth: the Bible is useless to us if we do not read it; rightly understand it; and apply it to our life!

The goal of my life and ministry in general, and this sermon in particular, is to help you make it the most useful thing in your life! I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There are some commands in the Scripture that immediately capture our attention and immediately beg a further question. This “Great Commission” passage is one such text.

The question is simply this, “If the gospel is to be taken into the entire world, how can people who speak other languages understand it?” The obvious answer is that the Word of God must be translated into the words of every language on earth.

After the conquest of the known world by Alexander the Great, Greek became the language of education and business and then of everyone under the influence of Greece. This is why the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Koine (common) Greek around 200 BC and why the writes of the New Testament wrote in that then pervasive language.

Over the years, the Bible was translated into Latin and then just prior to the Reformation it was translated into English, German, French, and other European languages. This is no coincidence; putting the Word of God into the language of ordinary people was one of the necessary causes that brought about the Reformation as people could finally read what God had said for themselves!

The same reality exists today. One of the greatest and noblest works on earth is translating the Word of God into the languages of the peoples who do not yet have it!

Our focus for this coming Lord’s day will be on the process of translating the scriptures from Hebrew, Greek, and Latin into English and how we can have confidence that our English Bibles accurately reflect the words of the Original Manuscripts in the original languages.

Of course, not every translation is a good one. Many are flawed and some are intentional perversions designed to support a previously held point of view rather than being designed to be faithful to the text.

In fact, the men who wrote the New Testament recognized this. For example, Mark occasionally translates Greek words into Aramaic for the benefit of his readers. A clear example of this is Mark 3:14-19

¹⁴ “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach. ¹⁵ and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸ Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

In verse 17, Mark defines the word “Boanerges” by explaining what the word would mean to an Aramaic reader.

We are both commissioned and commanded to take the Word of God to all the world, so we must get the Word of God into the languages of the world – and we must do so accurately.

In our modern world, the process of translating the Bible has come to be done in four different ways. These differing ways have differing goals; so, which process one uses is dependent on what they want to accomplish.

There is a great problem here… To some people, the process of translating the Bible becomes an emotional rather than a theological or technical issue. People get wrapped up in their “favorite” translation – even to the point of determining that their favorite is the “only” legitimate translation. May God grant that we avoid that error.

The right goal for a translation is to accurately transfer the words of the original document into the receptor (new) language. I want you to understand at least the basics of these four different methods and what they produce:

First: The Process of “Complete” or “Word-for-Word” Equivalence.

By this process, the very words of the original languages are (as much as is possible) translated into the receptor language.

Every effort is made to literally match word-for-word from the original languages to the receptor language.

The goal of a “Complete” or “Word-for-Word” Equivalence Translation is to simply re-create the original documents in the receptor language.!

There are five Major English Translations widely available today that have been translated by this process: King James; New King James; American Standard; New American Standard; and the English Standard Version.

This is, by far, the best way to produce an accurate translation of a document!

Second: The Process of “Dynamic” or “Thought for Thought” Equivalence.

This is a process whereby the “thoughts” conveyed in the original language are translated into the receptor language.

While this process can occasionally be useful with more difficult phrases, the translations produced by this method are far less accurate to the Original Documents than the “Complete” or “Word-for-Word” Translations.

Popular “Dynamic Equivalence” Translations available today would include the NIV of 1984, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Third: The Process of “Paraphrase”

Whereas the previous two processes of translation are the work of a large group of Biblical and Linguistic Scholars working together, a Paraphrase is usually the work of a single scholar who wants to translate the original words in a way that – in his personal opinion – best reflects the way it would be stated in his or her contemporary culture.

Such a rendering is simply “one person’s opinion” and as such is a very poor way to translate the Bible!!

The three most popular English language paraphrases in use today are “The Living Bible” “The New Living Bible” by Ken Taylor, and “The Message” by Eugene Peterson.

Eugene Peterson is a godly man and the late Ken Taylor was as well; but, the process of paraphrasing itself cannot produce a reliable translation.

Fourth: The Process of “Perversion”

The last category I want you to think about today is an intentional perversion. That is where a person, or a group of people, set out to change the wording of their so-called “Bible” to fit their teachings.

Practically all of the Cults do this and the “New World Translation” of the Jehovah Witnesses is one of the best known of these perversions.

I would also caution you that the latest versions of the NIV: the TNIV and the NIV2011 deliberately change the gender of several words to push their egalitarian agenda. This is a perfect illustration of what it means to pervert the Scriptures!

So, here is the main thing with which I want you to understand about the process of translation:

God has decreed that HIS Word be taken to and shared with all of the peoples of the World.

In order to accomplish the “Great Commission” HIS Word must be translated into the languages of the people groups of the World.

There is a process available whereby HIS Word can be accurately translated into the languages of the people groups of the world and that process is called, “Complete” or “Word-for-Word” Equivalence.

By the Grace of God, we have those FIVE TRANSLATIONS available today in English that have been translated by this process and provide us with an absolutely reliable rendering of the Original Manuscripts in our language!

Those FIVE TRANSLATIONS are: The King James; The New King James; The American Standard; The New American Standard; and, The English Standard Versions.

Let me encourage you to get one or more of these Translations and Read Them “Through and Through” and “Over and Over!”

I hope to see you Sunday morning with a smile on your face, a Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

Matthew 5:17-18

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Has it ever occurred to you that Christians are “betting our eternal souls” on the accuracy of a translation of copies of copies of copies of copies of a set of documents that were written between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago in languages that no one on earth still speaks today?

Well, that is exactly what we are doing!

How on earth can we do that?

Easy. We know beyond question that a “complete equivalence” or “functional equivalence” translation of the Hebrew and Greek Manuscripts enables us to have a Christian Bible that is a fully preserved and a rightly canonized rendering of the Original Manuscripts of the very words of very God!

Thankfully, there are five such translations available in the English language today: The King James; the New King James; the American Standard; the New American Standard; and, the English Standard Versions all of which were produced through this process, and each of them provides us with a fully reliable rendering of God’s Words!

We are further assured by the discovery in the late 1940’s of the Dead Sea Scrolls which verified the accuracy of existing Old Testament documents; and, by the 5,600+ Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament that have been discovered.

In all of these documents, there is not a single verse that brings any doctrinal teaching into question; and comparing them with one another allows us to understand the wording of the Original Manuscripts with a reliability that exceeds 99%.

In addition to all of this empirical evidence, we have the “Ultimate” evidence of the words of Jesus in our text today!

Jesus said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

I am thankful that God preserved this multitude of ancient documents so we can physically see and mathematically calculate the fact that we can indeed reconstruct more than 99% of the Original Manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures; but, if all we had was the promise of Matthew 5:17-18, that would certainly be enough!

Beloved Ones, we have the Word of God! God revealed it, inspired it, preserved it, and led men to rightly understand which Books ought to be part of the Christian Bible.

Now that we have it, what ought we do with it?

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

Pastor Lanny

16 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Scriptures are the means by which God has determined to reveal to human beings HIS existence, HIS Nature, and HIS will. HE provides this “revelation” of HIMSELF by enabling men to both know and write the very words God would have written if HE had chosen to physically write them HIMSELF!

“Revelation” is God making HIMSELF known to mankind; “Inspiration” is God enabling men to write that Revelation of God in human language!

This coming Lord’s Day, as the LORD allows, I will bring our next Sermon in the series about the Believer and Your Bible. I have already attempted to impress on you that the Bible is the most important thing in your life as a Christian. In fact, no one can even become a Christian apart from the work of the Word in their life!

In the first two sermons, I have tried to establish that the Bible is the Word of God; it works effectively in the life of the believer; and, it has four main attributes: necessity; authority; clarity; and sufficiency.

This coming Sunday, I want to begin looking at the seven-step process of getting this revelation of God from the mind of God to the mind of HIS people.

That process is… (1) Revelation; (2) Inspiration; (3) Preservation; (4) Canonization; (5) Translation; (6) Interpretation; and (7) Application!

I will attempt to do the first six of these two at a time, and then take a final sermon in the series to teach about the all-important work of applying the Word of God to our everyday life!

There are several ways by which God reveals HIMSELF to humans including Creation, the Conscience, the Content of Scripture, and the Person of Christ. Occasionally, God reveals HIMSELF through a supernatural phenomenon such as a “Burning Bush!”

BUT, GOD usually and normally reveals HIMSELF to humans through the words of the Holy Scripture!

We will take a careful look at our text in 2^nd Peter 1, as well as several other pertinent Scriptures, and see what we can learn about these two vital processes of “Revelation” and “Inspiration.”

I hope you will read over, think over, and pray over these verses between now and Sunday as you prepare your mind to hear the Living Word of the Living God!

As my friend Tom Rains loves to say, “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV)

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1^st Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (Emphasis mine…)

The most important thing in a person’s life is whether or not they repent of their sins against God and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

That is #1. Period!

Second only to that is their relationship to the Word of God! As the LORD allows, this coming Lord’s Day I plan to begin a series of 8 sermons about the relationship between one who is trusting in Jesus and HIS eternal Word – the Christian Bible.

While this will be a new series of new sermons, I will basically cover the same areas that I covered from January through March of 2007 while I was serving you for the second time as Interim Pastor. The series must have gone well because three weeks after I completed this series of lessons you graciously called me to serve as your Pastor-Teacher!

Following this first, Introductory, message I will embark on an exposition of what the Scripture teaches about itself; how we received it; and, how it works in our life.

But, first things first…

Our Text for this first sermon (1^st Thessalonians 2:13) points out clearly the two issues all believers must both face and settle: First, what is the Bible? “it really is the Word of God…” and, Second, what does the Bible do? “the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

The Bible is the Word of God!

The Bible accomplishes God’s will by the work that it does in the life of the believer!

Period!

Again, only your personal relationship with Jesus Christ is more important to your spiritual and eternal health than your relationship with the Word of God!

God, Who Himself created humans, could have chosen to communicate with us in any way HE chose. For His own plan and purposes, HE decreed that HE would communicate with us through human language; and specifically, through the written (inscripturated) Word.

First, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Revelation.

Second, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Inspiration.

Third, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Preservation.

Fourth, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Canonization.

Fifth, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Translation.

I certainly realize how controversial this area of doctrine is; but, I honestly think this will be one of the most helpful sermons I have had the privilege to preach in our Church. I will give tons of evidence to show you “The 5 Completely Reliable English Translations” and why that is so.

Sixth, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Interpretation.

Seventh, we will consider the Christian Doctrine of Application.

As we work through these seven foundational Bible Doctrines, I trust that all of us will understand more fully than ever before the relationship that God wills for us to HIS Holy Bible.

Finally, I will close the sermon with a five-fold direct application of these doctrines in a practical format that will help you focus on and remember why and how to “hide God’s Word in your heart.”

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

Pastor Lanny