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Well in our Scripture reading today
Jesus is being tempted in the desert
By the devil
Jesus' temptation
Points to the fact
He was both divine
and very human
this encounter of wills
begins with an issue of food
perhaps because Jesus was
so hungry
in response to the devils tempting him to make his own supper Jesus declares that what
is most important is not the feeding of one's stomach with bread but the feeding of one's
soul
with the word of God
that's what real life
And eternal life
Are all about
let's begin by looking at the book of Matthew
please open up your Bibles and pull out your message outlines and follow along
As I begin reading
in Matthew chapter four verse one
Then Jesus was led by the spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil
for forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry
during that time
the devil came and said to him if you are the Son of God tell these stones to become
loaves of bread
but Jesus told him
no
the Scriptures say people do
not live by bread alone
but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God
Today is the last installment
and our series messages about accelerating our
spiritual growth
and I simply believe that
nothing accelerates our spiritual growth better
Than good spiritual habits
A key, a centerpiece in our spiritual habits is
our study, our reading
are memorizing and meditating on the word of God
the reason is, well like our own physical nutrition
we need the good nutrition spiritually
it's a little bit like you know, in the morning when you get up and leave the house
you know do you pick up a candy bar and eat that on the way to wherever you're going
what you might like that it's sweet
it'll give you a nice sugar rush
for a little while but then eventually all that does this make you hungry
makes you crash emotionally
so as you
exit to your house you know what you need to do is take a really good tall glass of
whey protein
on the way out the door with you because that is substantial food
that'll get you from
breakfast to lunch a candy bars not going to get you from breakfast to lunch
that's for sure
and isn't it interesting how at times we
preferred junk food
over something that is truly nutritious for us
spiritually
that's why Jesus says what he says in response to Satan
now don't get me wrong he's not saying you're not allowed to have bread
bread is good for this world but
it won't be any good in the world to come
the bread that's good in this world
and good in the world to come what we really need in terms of spiritual nutrition
is we need to feed on the word of God
we need to consume it
Mind, heart and soul
what's interesting is that we're the ones that have to
take responsibility
for our spiritual well-being
and it's interesting how more and more people are neglecting
their spiritual well-being
look at what the writer of Hebrews says
you've been Christians a long time now
you ought to be teaching others
instead you still need someone to teach you
and the reason we need someone to teach us is simply were malnourished
spiritually
we've been eating
but yet were suffering from the spiritual malnutrition
and the reason for that is we have not been consuming the right word for our life
for how to be in faith with God and how to live our life
how to understand the world that we live in now
and then the world we will be a part of for all eternity
and we're the ones that have to take responsibility now if yor are new today and you need somebody
to teach you, good for you
I'm glad you've come
but there are also some here today that have been around a long long time
yet they're not ready to teach anyone else
and the reason for that is
Biblical literacy is going down and down and down it doesn't matter what
Denomination, affiliation you look at everyone will tell you that
what people know about the Bible how often people
read the Bible study the Bible
memorized the Bible and meditate on the Bible and apply the Bible to their life is going
down down
we've got to take responsibility for our own spiritual health
and nothing will accelerate your spiritual growth
then the Bible
so we have to decide
what's going to be authoritative in our life
what we believe about this
this book
We're the ones that have to make the decision about what we believe about the Bible
because what you think about the Bible
what you believe about the Bible will determine what you get from the Bible
I have lots of books on shelf
and we have to decide is this just the a
book on the shelf
or is it
the book
on the shelf
it is the book on my shelf in my library
Well, not the only one because I have about ten different versions that, pastors ought to have
that. Right?
is this the book
for life is it the book for faith
how to be in a relationship with God
We're the ones that have to make that decision
is it God's word to us
notice will Paul says as a compliment
to the church at Thessalonica
he writes we thank God continually because
when you receive the word of God which you heard from us
you accepted it not as the word of men
but as it actually is
the word of God which is at work in you
who believe
Paul is saying you took
what we said to you, what the Bible says and you made it authoritative in your life
as it should be
you took at not as some opinion or some idea of
human beings, but
and inspired piece of revelation
God revealing himself to us
God giving us the directions we need for faith
and living life
something is authoritative in your life
some of the unreliable sources of
authority that we
rely on in life
Well, one is culture that's an easy one to
have to be our
authority
well everyone is doing it
and so if everybody's doing it must be
right
here we have a choice we can either be like a trout or we could be like a salmon
if we're going along with the crowd were really like a trout if you're a trout fishermen you can
usually go back to the same place and they will still be there
but as Christians were to be salmon we're to be swimming upstream
from where the culture is
as we take the Bible seriously the way we live our life is
at times diametrically opposed
at least significantly different
than the way everybody else lives
because the way everyone else lives they're living in accordance
with the authority of the culture
do not follow the crowd in doing what is wrong
you know what's interesting is we gained that conformity
oftentimes in adolescence
it's a key time when we need to be loved and accepted and
it's easier to be loved and accepted
if we look like, act like, sound like everybody else
or at least everybody else in our group
and it's interesting how we often don't grow out of that
it becomes our defining element
of faith and practice
and we don't grow pass it even when we're sixty, seventy, eighty years old were still
doing it because everybody else is doing it
if it's not culture, it's tradition
living by tradition, living in the world you know we've always done it this way
it has to be right
if we've always done it this way to stop doing it the way we've always done it is to acknowledge
the fact that the way that we lived our lives
the way grandpa and grandma lived their life the way that our great-grandparents lived
their life
Well, if it wasn't wrong it was at least less then best
and it's not only the
the tradition of our family of origin but at times there are
traditions in churches that well
don't draw us to God they keep us at arm's length
the beads, bells and smells of traditional churches I like to call it
it can keep us away from God
It can position this so that we forget the fact that God loves us personally
and he wants to carry on a personal relationship with us
you have let go of the
commands of God and you're
holding on to the
Traditions of men
A third unreliable sources is our intellect Oh those scientists
All the philosophers
Intellect, reason
That is the source. isn't it?
Of true understanding
of true enlightenment
uh...
I think
that what I believe
is reasonable
therefore it must be right
my line of reasoning is very logical
make sense to me
and isn't it interesting that
really when you break it all down there's only two philosophies in life
it's interesting the Bible mentions both of them
if we believe in Christianity we're going to live our lives very differently because we
know that this life
is not the real life
the real life
is yet to come when we die
and fully in the presence of God
and if we don't believe the events in the realities of
this
next week
in terms of the history
and the content
of holy week
the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
then there's really only what other logical way to live
you should
Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die
that is a reasonable way to live your life
it reflects that
the bankruptcy of atheism
in the short sightedness of so many philosophies ideas and thoughts
let me ask you this
have you ever been sincerely wrong
Oh yeah
you thought something was in a certain way but you discovered to find out that
my logic, my reasoning, my intellect wasn't correct
was incorrect
here's what the Bible says there are ways that seem right unto mankind
but in the
and they lead to what
to death
we're all going to die
the only question is when we die are we going to resurrect or not
that's why Easter Sunday is so important
the third way that uh... fourth way that we
we rely on
something less than the best, for sure, is our emotions
well it feels so good it's got to be right in you've said that to yourself
we've all said that to ourselves, right?
well it feels so good it's got to be right
and for you know in that moment
it is right
is good
it will sustain you for a short amount of time
but is really our emotional state
authoritative
let me ask you this question how many of you have
moments where you had
bad days
have you ever had a day
a when your emotions have led you in the wrong direction and negative direction an unhealthy
direction
we all have
how inconsistent
our emotions are
how inconsistent
our emotions are
and so how can our emotions
really be authoritative in our life
at that time there was no king in Israel and people did whatever they felt like doing
Boy, is that our culture today
everybody's doing whatever feels good to them in the moment
and we all know that
well feeling fade
feelings are fickle
and so they don't make a reliable source for living our lives
the word of God says very clearly if you want to be a relationship with God and you want to
know how to live your life on a daily basis
in a healthy positive direction
if you want to spend eternity with God this is your book
this is your book
if you're right and second Timothy three sixteen and seventeen
you'll find of verse of scripture at that
couple of verses that says that this book is inspired by God
and that it's very good at describing
how life is
how we live life
sometimes we do the right thing sometimes we do the wrong things
when we do the wrong things the Bible even helps us
direct us back to the right things we ought to be doing
and in the end God uses this to accelerate our spiritual growth
because this is what equips us for every good thing that God has planned for us, who
wants to miss out on that?
that's like saying you don't want to celebrate Christmas
we don't want to miss out on any good thing that God has planned for us
and for that to be the norm in our lives
this book needs to be a are authoritative source when it comes to
faith in God
and how to live out our life
why do I believe the Bible is authoritative
just a couple of
of things
number one is the unity of the Bible
the Bible was written by a over forty authors
yet it has a unique even spectacular harmony to it
especially given the fact that it was written by over
forty authors
think about it for a moment take yourself back to your high school or college biology
class
you've got a class project there were six of you and the group
can you imagine
all six people go do their own thing have no conversations with one another
then they come together the day that their project is to be presented in class and amazingly
so it all fits together
now you know what the chances of that are slim and none and slim just left town
that would never happen in a class project it wouldn't happen in a class project with
five or six people
can you imagine the the statistical probability
of the harmony of the Bible given the fact that was written by more than forty
authors
that is an exceptional unusual special unity
the second reason I believe the Bible is authoritative is
archaeological evidence
that the places and the dates of the Bible are true
now not every place and not every person nor every date in the Bible has been validated
through some archaeological discovery
but there has not been to date
an archaeological discovery
that contradicts what's in the Bible
and numerous in the thousands
of discoveries have occurred that affirm the truth
that is in the word of God
The places, the dates
even some of the people in the Bible
and what that points to is this is truly a historical
book
it is historically accurate
what it has recorded has truly occurred
and so it's not just
one person's idea
it's not even
not even
forty people's idea
but it is very much a historical account of what took place
in their time
A third reason why I believe it is eyewitnesses
The Bible was written by people who were really there
really saw what took place
they were there when
Jesus healed the lame person
they were there when the Hebrew people
went across the Red Sea
they were there when
Jesus was crucified
all historical facts
historical facts written down by eyewitness and you should know that a few
if not all of those that authored the new testament
were copious notes takers Luke was probably the most dominant one
you know Luke was a guy that after he spent the day would Jesus he went home and instead
of turning on e_s_p_n_
he would get out
paper and pencil, so to speak, and he would make notes about what he experienced that day with
Jesus
and that practice was not an exceptional practice it was a very common practice to journal if
you were
someone of importantance, someone of
educated background
and many of the disciples were well educated
Someone we not at all
isn't it interesting
but eyewitness accounts
not secondhand not third-hand
another reason I believe the Bible is authoritative
is the prophecies that have been stated and fulfilled in the Bible
the prophecies that the Bible contain are very real, genuine and specific
and over two thousand
of the prophecies in the Bible have come true
they've been fulfilled
And now again, what's the statistical probability of that happening
we're not talking one or two we're not talking about the generalizations that you read
when you get your horoscope
or your palm read
Real, genuine, specific
James Kennedy says
over two thousand
that's very unique to say the least
and then finally I believe that this book is a powerful book
it is
the most powerful book
you know that it was
the very first book printed in the world
you probably know that the Bible is the best-selling book in all of history
it has been translated and into over
thirteen hundred different languages and dialects
more than any other books
that points to it's power but what points to it's power even more than that is the
the reality that it
transforms lives
that it will
tranform our life if we will allow it to be authoritative in our life which means we
need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it and apply it to our life
And as we do let's just see if it doesn't make
transformational difference in our life
I've met many a person who knows a lot about the Bible
but I don't see it have an impact on their lives
and the difference
is whether or not they truly think it's authoritative in their life
now I hope some of you're at least asking
Well, it's Palm Sunday why is he preaching about the authority of the Bible on Palm Sunday
Where are palm branches I'll say that now because you'll send me emails anyway
Where are those palm branches
I'll tell you why I chose to do this message today
I believe that
this next week in history
is the most important week in all of history
I believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important
historical
spiritual and personal event in all of history
now I'm not fooled
I know that they're people who will
celebrate Easter because
some people in the culture of celebrating it
Oh, we get to go to brunch
special brunch
some of us will do that by tradition well that's what we always do it Christmas and Easter
we go to church
and don't misunderstand me at least come twice
Some of us will say well it's possible, you know
I'll entertain the idea at arm's length
and they'll read the Bible and the passion story about passion week and they'll read
it only from an intellectual perspective
Oh, maybe there's something to learn
Some will do it just because it's fun
all the Easter baskets
gathering with family, its feels so good to do that it's you know it's so much
fun to come to church
On Easter Sunday, you know the only problem is that preacher talks about the same thing
every year
what's very interesting to me is that when we allow the Bible to be authoritative
the end in itself
you know what means
start to emerge in our life it becomes our culture
it becomes our tradition
it becomes our intellectual reason for a life and death
I'm almost done
Dennis do you need help?
you get him out of his seat and lay him on the floor he'll feel better
it is warm
so now I'm going to pray
Lord, I pray that your healing hand
would be upon a choir member
Lord, also
We're thankful for all that you do for us
Lord be with us in this week as we celebrate all that
you did for us
And bring us back again
next Sunday to celebrate
your great resurrection on our behalf
and so we pray these things in your name. Amen
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