Living Church: Hearing God's Word

you're going to be working hard this morning you'll need your Bible there'll be different

parts we'll be looking to because this morning we started a new series which we're calling

Living Church and for the next eight weeks we're going to take a look at one aspect of church life

that specifically relates to our gathering on a Sunday morning so when we meet together like this

there are certain things that we do together at this stage they might be habit to you so when we

come together we we do things like we sing we read the Bible we pray we have tea and coffee

and we share communion and we listen to a talk from the Bible and it's easy as we come along week by

week just to fall into a pattern and a habit and just almost go through the motions and not

understand why we do what we do so why do we sing and why do we share why do we do these things together

and so to help us get the most out of our Sunday morning gatherings we're going to look at one

aspect each week and see why we do what we do and today we're going to start which with what I think

is the most important which is hearing God's word the sermon that's the bit that we're doing right now

but before we do that we're going to pray

let's pray together

this comes from Isaiah 55

as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater

so is my word that goes out from my mouth

it will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it

father as we hear your word

may it achieve your purpose

and may it accomplish in our lives

only what is good for us

may it lead us towards Christ

and may it

make us more like Christ

amen

well go to 2 Timothy then

and we'll look at that passage together

you'll see from our text

that hearing God's word is central

to the gathering of God's people

look at chapter 4 verse 1

in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus

so it's not just us who are here

in the presence of God and Christ Jesus who are here with us

who will judge the living and the dead

and in view of his appearing and his kingdom

I give you this charge

preach the word

this is Paul's final letter that we know of to a young man called Timothy

and Timothy has the responsibility of looking after a church in Ephesus

and his last instruction

his last big command to Timothy

in his last letter is crystal clear

in verse 2

I give you this charge

preach the word

be prepared in season and out of season

correct, rebuke and encourage

with great patience and careful instruction

this is his last instruction

and it is central to the life of this church

until the Lord Jesus

should return

it doesn't inform us that we should be serving tea and coffee

it doesn't say that we should sing

or that we should play music

or that we should pray

not that any of those things are wrong

we are simply reminded

to make God's word central

Paul has already made this clear to Timothy

you can look at his first letter

just back a couple of pages

chapter 4

of 1 Timothy

and verse 13

where he encourages him

again

verse 13 of chapter 4

until I come

devote yourself

to the public reading

of scripture

to preaching

and to teaching

do not neglect

your gift

which was given to you

verse 15

be diligent

in these matters

give yourself

wholly

to them

in fact

he is to teach

this word of God

to others

to make sure

that God's word

is continually taught

so in 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

and verse 1

it says

you then my son

be strong

in the grace

that is in Christ Jesus

and the things

that you have heard me say

in the presence

of many witnesses

entrust to reliable men

who will also be qualified

to teach others

God has clearly

gifted

those within his church

who are able

to teach

God's word

so that God's word

remains central

to the gathering

of his people

and as we'll see

through our study

this morning

it is crucial

to the growing

and the building

up of God's church

now this may be

nothing new to you

and I hope it's not new

however there is a danger

that God's word

can very easily

become sidelined

have a look at

2 Timothy chapter 4

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

back to our text

and verse 3

he's reminding him

to preach the word

to keep it central

because

verse 3

the time will come

when people

will not put up

with sound doctrine

instead to suit

their own desires

they will gather

around them

a great number

of teachers

to say what

their itching ears

want to hear

they will turn

their ears away

from the truth

and turn aside

to myths

you see

rather than hear

what God

has to say

we prefer to hear

what others

have to say

our natural

hearing desire

our ears

are tuned

not to hear

God's truth

but to hear

what we want

to hear

so you can see

how easily

it would be

for God's word

to get pushed

to one side

and it happens

all the time

I listened to

a man called

Joel Osteen

recently

he's pastor

of one of the

largest churches

in America

over 10,000 people

in his church

and he's the most

watched on the

God channel

and at the beginning

of his talks

he holds up

his bible

in front of

the congregation

and they all

repeat after him

in a very proud way

that the bible

is the word

of God

and they all

repeat after him

and they all

say how it's

the truth

and how it

should be

listened to

then he puts

it down

and then he

closes it

and then he

begins to speak

to people

about how

they can have

a better

and a more

successful life

how they can

be healthy

and wealthy

he's teaching

what their

itching ears

want them

to teach

the problem

is they're not

hearing God's

word

they are

hearing

Joel

Osteen's

words

but we

don't have

to turn

on the

telly

or go

to another

country

I attended

a church

service

here

not too

long ago

not in

this church

somewhere else

and part way

through it

was announced

that we were

now going

to have

the sermon

and everything

they said

was very nice

it was even

quite funny

but not once

did they

read from

the bible

and not once

did they even

refer to the

bible

we didn't

hear

god's word

we heard

the thoughts

of somebody

else

so as a

church

we make

the sermon

the bible

talk

the main

part of

our gathering

because our

desire is

to hear

what god's

word has

to say

not what

others have

to say

and my job

as you

the people

have called

me

to do

is to

teach

you

god's

word

that is

what i

do

the primary

part of

what i

do

and it's

your job

to make

sure that

i teach

god's

word

you have

to be

alert to

it

to make

sure that

what i'm

saying

is god's

word

and the

way to

make sure

we keep

god's

word

central

is to

give it

priority

so he

says in

verse 5

keep

but you

keep your

head in

all

situations

endure

hardship

do the

work of

an evangelist

discharge

all the

duties

of your

ministry

in other

words even

when nobody

wants to

hear god's

truth

even when

people would

prefer to

listen to

something

else

don't get

sidetracked

keep your

head

and keep

god's

word

central

but the

question we

need to

ask is

how do we

hear

god's

word

how do we

hear his

voice

when we

show up on

a sunday

morning like

this do

we expect

to hear god

speaking to

us in

an audible

voice

i could just

sit down

there

and we

could all

sit and

wait for

god to

speak

is that

what we

think should

happen

or as i'm

speaking right

now am i

saying what

god is directly

putting into my

mind and i'm

speaking it out

is that what's

happening

how does god

speak how do

we hear him

today

well the answer

comes in that

little phrase at

the beginning of

chapter 3

verse 16

of 2

timothy

do you see

it there

verse 16

he says

all scripture

is god

breathed

scripture is

the bible

the book

we're reading

from right

now

but what

makes it

different to

every other

book is it

is god

breathed

that means

that the

bible

is god's

spoken word

written down

through human

authors

so when we're

teaching god's

word we're

also hearing

god's word

peter adam

who wrote a

book about

this whole

subject explains

it very

helpfully

like this

it's on the

screen

god speaks

to us

today

by the

words he

spoke long

ago to

them

that's the

prophets

for us

so that

scripture

is god's

contemporary

word

for us

today

when we

open up the

bible

when it is

read and

when it is

taught we

are hearing

god speak

to us

we can

break it

down very

simply like

this in

three ways

first god's

word spoken

the very

first book

of the bible

introduces us

to a god

who speaks

in genesis

we read all

about that

but more

importantly

when god

speaks

he acts

something

happens

when he

speaks

so we

have this

repeated

phrase

throughout

genesis

1

and god

said

and it

was so

god

said

let there

be

light

and there

was

light

god

speaks

and

something

happens

john

stott

another

well-known

speaker

and author

makes this

helpful

comment

again

it's

on the

screen

for you

god

preaches

and the

world

was made

the word

of god

is proclaimed

in heaven's

pulpit

and all

comes to

pass

the preaching

forms

the universe

the word

preached

is no

empty

word

it

accomplish

what

it

pleases

and never

returns

void

to him

who

speaks

so

throughout

the bible

we're

introduced

to a

god

who

speaks

nearly

four thousand

times

it says

and god

said

or the

lord

said

or something

similar

throughout

the bible

he is a

speaking

god

and when

he speaks

things

happen

his words

are powerful

and effective

but second

god's

word

is written

he's not

only spoken

his word

but his

words are

written for

us today

people were

told to

write down

god's word

to preserve

them for future

generations

for people

like us

so in

exodus

34 27

it says

then the

lord said

to moses

write down

these words

and in

jeremiah

Jeremiah 30:1

30

verse 1

it says

this is the

word that

came to

jeremiah

from the

lord

this is

what the

god of

israel

says

write

in a

book

all the

words

i have

spoken

to you

this is

how god

communicates

with us

god has

taken the

initiative

to make

himself

known

and he

has done

this by

speaking to

us through

human

authors

like paul

that we're

reading from

right now

again a

quote here

it actually

comes from

our website

this does

not mean

that god

dictated

mechanically

to the

authors

rather god

spoke his

words through

their words

using their

different

personalities

and style

in such

a way

that their

words were

simultaneously

his

this is

how god

communicates

and speaks

to us

so when it

comes to

god's word

being preached

the implication

is clear

when the bible

is read

and preached

we are

hearing

the word

of god

god's word

spoken

is god's

voice

heard

when it

comes to

the sermon

to the

time where

we're

hearing

and opening

up the

bible

and going

through the

books and

the verses

when someone

preaches

we hear god

speak

god is present

in his words

we meet him

and we experience

him in his

words

now that should

radically change

how we think

of the sermon

and it should

change how we

think when we

actually open up

the bible

and begin to

read it

it's not

johnny grant

up the front

sharing a few

thoughts that

he's had

through the

week

it's not

telling people

my ideas

that i had

as i was

sleeping

and just

kind of

jotted them

down and

just well

here's what

i think

no

whoever

preaches

is speaking

with the

authority of

god

and this

is on the

screen as

well

whoever

preaches

is speaking

with the

authority of

god

not their

own

authority

but a

borrowed

authority

which is

the bible

now that

means we

have to be

very careful

of people

who claim

that god

speaks to

them

outside of

scripture

they say

god spoke

to me

in an audible

voice

or through

their thoughts

and i've

met people

and i'm

sure you've

spoken to

people

and maybe

you're

somebody

who said

god said

to me

or god

told me

such and

such

what do you

think about

that

will

and i'm

well to claim

god has

spoken to

you

is to

give those

words

an authority

equal to

scripture

you

you

you

you

you

see all

god's

word

is

eternal

god's

spoken

his

word

they've

been

written

down

they're

for all

generations

and they

are to

believe

to be

believed

and

obeyed

so any

word that

we claim

that comes

from god

must equally

be believed

and obeyed

by everybody

because when

god speaks

it's a word

for everybody

that's what

his word

is

now i'm

not saying

that god

can't

speak

but what i'm

wanting us

to be very

careful is

the regularity

by which some

people will say

they hear god

speaking to them

almost on an

hourly and

daily basis

and i think

that must be

treated with

great caution

and care

if we want

to hear god

speak to us

in a contemporary

way about

our present

situation

and the life

that we are

in right now

open up your

bible

and read

it

listen to the

sermon being

preached

and apply it

to your life

that's why we

make god's word

central

when the bible

is read

and taught

we hear god

speak

directly

to us

so what

should we

expect to

happen

when we

hear god's

word

being spoken

to us

well there

are lots

of different

ways we

should expect

god to

work but

i think

here are

two primary

ways

first god's

word creates

life

when we hear

god's word

we should

expect the

creation of

life look

look at

2 timothy

2 Timothy 3:15

chapter 3

verse 15

he says

how from

infancy

you have

known the

holy

scriptures

which are

able to

make you

wise for

salvation

through

faith

in christ

jesus

the hearing

of god's

word

the scriptures

brings

salvation

salvation

is nothing

less than

a new

creation

a new

beginning

a new

life

let me

show you

a couple

of places

where we

see this

the first

is in

ezekiel

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

chapter 37

the page

is there

on the

screen

you can

look it

up

ezekiel

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

chapter

37

here is

one of

god's

prophets

speaking to

the people

of israel

and god

shows them

this vision

and it's

a vision

of a great

big valley

full of

dried up

human bones

scattered all

over the

place

ezekiel

37

and verse

2

he led

me

to and

fro

among

them

and i

saw

a great

many

bones

on the

floor

of the

valley

bones

that were

very

dry

he

asked

me

son

of

man

can

these

bones

live

i

said

oh

sovereign

lord

you

alone

know

then he

said to

me

prophesy

to these

bones

and say

to them

dry

bones

hear

the word

of the

lord

verse

seven

so i

prophesied

and as i

was commanded

and as i

was prophesying

there was a

noise a

rattling

sound and

the bones

came together

bone to

bone and

i looked

and tendons

and flesh

appeared on

them and

skin covered

them but

there was no

breath in

them

verse 10

so i

prophesied

as he

commanded

me and

breath

entered

them and

they came

to life

and stood

up on

their feet

a vast

army

see in

this vision

god is

showing to

ezekiel

and to

us that

we are

like dead

dry bones

we're

lifeless

and the

only way

that we

will come

to

spiritual

life

is by

hearing

god's

spoken

word

god's

word

creates

new

life

in

christ

and this

whole theme

is carried

all the way

through

the bible

and it's

completed

very well

in

first

peter

have a

look at

first

peter

again

the page

number

is on

the screen

for you

there

first

peter

chapter

one

verse

twenty

three

and if

you'll

note

these

verses

we

sung

earlier

on

verse

twenty

three

of

first

peter

chapter

one

for

you

have

been

born

again

you

have

a

new

life

there's

a

new

creation

not

of

perishable

seed

but

of

imperishable

through

the

living

and

enduring

word

of

god

for

all

men

are

like

grass

and

all

their

glory

is

like

the

flowers

of

the

field

the

grass

withers

the

flowers

fall

but

the

word

of

the

lord

stands

forever

and

this

is

the

word

that

was

preached

to

you

you

see

peter

here

is

describing

how

people

come

to

faith

in

christ

how

we

receive

salvation

physically

he

says

we're

born

of

perishable

seed

we're

born

we live

and we

die

that's

the

cycle

of

everybody

but

spiritually

he says

we are

born

again

look at

verse

23

by an

imperishable

seed

the

living

and

enduring

word

of

god

so

so

when

we

hear

the

word

when

we

respond

to

it

in

faith

we

receive

spiritual

life

which

is

nothing

less

than

a

new

creation

or

the

way

peter

puts

it

here

it's

like

we

have

been

born

again

we

start

all

over

so

what

should

we

expect

when

we

hear

god's

word

nothing

less

than

the

creation

of

new

life

the

bringing

about

of

salvation

in

people

that's

why

we're

going

to

do

the

Christianity

explored

course

because

it's

only

by

hearing

the

word

that

people

will

come

to

faith

and

follow

Christ

not

physical

life

but

a

spiritual

life

a

new

beginning

and

a

fresh

start

so

that's

the

first

thing

we

should

expect

on

hearing

but

the

second

one

again

go

back

to

2nd

Timothy

the

second

thing

we

should

expect

when we

hear

God's

word

is

the

transformation

of

life

2nd

Timothy

chapter

3

verse

16

it

says

all

scripture

is

God

breathed

and

is

useful

for

teaching

rebuking

correcting

and

training

in

righteousness

so

that

the

person

the

man

or

woman

of

God

may

be

thoroughly

equipped

for

every

good

work

the

hearing

of

God's

word

again

the

scriptures

will

rebuke

will

correct

and

train

so

that

we're

equipped

for

every

good

work

for

the

service

that

God

has

for

us

it

is

nothing

less

than

not

only

the

creation

of

life

but

it's

about

transforming

our

lives

again

let's

see

how

God's

word

shows

us

this

go to

Hebrews

chapter

four

it's

only a

couple

of

pages

on

in

your

bibles

the

pages

on

the

screen

for

you

there

Hebrews

chapter

four

here

we get

an

insight

into

the

transforming

power

of

God's

word

Hebrew

four

verse

twelve

for

the

word

of

God

is

living

and

active

sharper

than

any

double

edged

sword

it

penetrates

even

to

dividing

soul

and

spirit

joints

and

marrow

it

judges

the

thoughts

and

attitudes

of

the

heart

nothing

in

all

creation

is

hidden

from

God's

sight

everything

is

uncovered

and

laid

bare

before

the

eyes

of

him

to

whom

we

must

give

an

account

it's

saying

here

that

the

word

is

like

a

surgeon's

scalpel

in

an

operating

theatre

it

cuts

through

all

those

outer

layers

through

all

the

skin

and

all

the

muscle

and

the

sinew

and

it

divides

and

cuts

deep

till

it

exposes

the

heart

you

see

we

have

an

ability

to

cover

up

what

we're

really

like

and

we

can

pretend

that

everything

is

really

good

with

us

and

we

can

come

and

meet

with

other

people

and

to

everybody

else

we're

fine

but

God's

word

has

this

power

to be

able

to

cut

right

through

the

exterior

and

get

right

to

the

very

heart

of

our

lives

and

expose

and

to

show

us

what

exactly

we're

really

like

in

another

place

it

says

the Bible

is like

a mirror

it

shows

us

it

reflects

to us

who

we

are

as

people

now

that's

very

painful

to have

that

diagnosis

for

somebody

to

peer

into

our

lives

and

to

show

to

show

us

what

we're

like

but he

can

transform

us

to be

more

like

Christ

again

we see

this

if you

go back

to

first

Peter

where we

were

just

now

again

just

go a

few

more

pages

on

the

page

number

is

on

the

screen

first

Peter

just

following

on

from

the

last

verse

verse

25

of

chapter

1

Peter

is

still

talking

about

the

word

of

God

the

only

difference

here

is

he's

begun

to

change

his

metaphor

he

was

talking

about

the

word

being

an

imperishable

seed

and

now

at

the

beginning

of

chapter

2