Rooted in the Word, Part One

I had a birthday last week, and one of the best things about that birthday was the love letters I received from my girls.  Here’s a couple lines from Courtney’s: Happy Birthday to the first man I ever loved! I love you so much Dad and I will always and forever be your little girl!  And a couple lines from Kayla’s: Thank you for the countless ridiculous jokes that keep our family joyful, for the example you set for us in following Jesus, and for being there when I need you the most! Love you!  It’s funny how much a few words can bring such joy and love to your heart.  But what was so fun about this birthday is that I talked to both my girls a day or two before my birthday so I could sing them a little ditty that goes like this:  “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four.” Since I couldn’t sing that on my birthday.  And so what does Becky do?  She made this for me.  Let me read it to you:

“I will still need you, I will still feed you, when you’re sixty-four!  Happy birthday.  Mine forever more.”   It’s great to get love letters.  But with the advent of face time, texting, and Facebook, writing or receiving love letters is becoming rarer and rarer. But here’s the deal.  I don’t know of anyone who isn’t thrilled to receive a love letter, a love note or even love text.  There’s just something life affirming to know that someone took the time to express to you how much they love you.

That’s why I’m so thrilled that we’ve come to the place in our “Rooted” series where we get to look at what it means to be Rooted in the Word.  For the Word of God is many things:  It’s a revelation of God’s heart and character; it’s a record of God’s Story with His People; it’s an instruction manual for living God’s Way; but above all else it’s God’s Love Letter to humankind.  It is truly an amazing book.  It’s so popular thatover 100 million Bibles are sold or given away for free every year. A whopping 3.9 billion copies have been sold over the last 50 years.  The average American home owns more than three Bibles.  I saw a video last month on Facebook where a group of Chinese students were given a delivery of new Bibles.  They are so exited to open them.  Then one of the students speaks, and says in tears, “These are what we needed.”  Then another student, “This is what we need.”  And then the room goes completely silent as each student opens their Bible and begins reading.  That’s what happens when you get a love letter from God.  It’s like what Augustine of Hippo said so long ago: “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”

So today, we are going to open up God’s Love Letter to us, I’m going to try to unpack what it reveals to us. So, if you brought your copy of God’s Word with you, let me encourage you to find to Hebrews 1:1-2, where we will begin by looking at what God speaks to us through His Word.

God Speaks    Look at verses one and two with me:  In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2

The first thing we note from these verses is that God has spoken. So we can say that The Bible expresses God’s Word He has revealed His thoughts and desires to us through His Word. Isaiah tells us why God needed to speak to us. He writes: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow comedown 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.”  Isaiah 55:9-11

We see three of powerful truths here. The first: God’s mind being infinite, perfect and full of pure truth, is not comprehensible by our finite minds.  If we could comprehend all of God’s thoughts, we would be greater than God.  So, as finite, created beings, His thoughts are beyond us.  There is no way we can climb the heights of heaven and explore the mind of God, so God speaks to us so we can know His thoughts and ways.  That’s one reason God has spoken – so we can know Him.  Anyone who opens this book has the potential to learn who God is, know God’s thoughts, discover God’s ways.  God doesn’t want to remain a mystery.  He wants to be known, so He has spoken to us through His Word.

In fact, Isaiah records God saying that He sends His Word like He sends the rain and snow to water the earth and make it flourish.  Which reveals second truth:  God sends His Word to help us flourish and bear fruit. David affirms this truth in Psalm 1, saying: Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3  God speaks through His Word to help us flourish and bear fruit.  But the question for us is this: Do we know what we have here? Do we take delight in it?  Do we meditate upon it and get it into our lives? Two weeks ago I spoke to you from God’s Word how God would have us walk by the Spirit, by keeping in step with the Spirit, by letting Him lead.  This is how we do it, by delighting in the Word, meditating on the Word, so that the seed of God’s Word has an opportunity to blossom and grow in our lives.  If you are not thriving spiritually, it’s not God’s fault.  He’s sent you His Word to help you flourish and bear fruit.  What a loving thing to do.  But there’s more.

A third truth about God’s Word is this:  God’s Word is powerful and will accomplish His will. It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  How cool is that? You start getting God’s Word into your life and God will start working in your life. He promises this.  God’s Word doesn’t just let you in on His thoughts, it doesn’t just help you to flourish and bear fruit – It actually changes you! It will accomplish what God wants for you.  And what is that?  What does God want to accomplish in your life?

Well, that’s the next thing we see that the Bible reveals for us: The Bible reveals God’s Story  And the reason the Bible reveals God’s Story is that He wants to include us in His Story. And the key Scripture that unfolds the story of the Bible is found in God’s call to Abram in Genesis 12, where God said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.          

“I will make you into a great nation,and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earthwill be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3

God spoke to Abram and gave Him a number of promises. First, God promised to  make Abram into a great nation.  Abram obeyed and God gave him a son, Isaac, and from Isaac came Jacob, whom God gave the name Israel. And from Israel came the twelve tribes.  And today the nation of Israel is known as the people of God. Theire story makes up the Old Testament.

God also promised to make Abram a blessing, and to bless all the peoples of the earth through Him.  So this is where we come into the story.  God prospered Israel and grew Israel into a great nation.  And out of Israel came the Chosen one, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, who was born into the world to redeem the world. And the New Testament records the fulfillment of God’s promise:He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Galatians 3:14

So the Bible reveals how you and I can be included in the ongoing story of how God is redeeming mankind. It is through the promised seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ.  The moment you put your trust in Christ you became part of God’s Story.  God’s promise to Abram was fulfilled in you. For God’s Word says: If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

That’s why God has spoken. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 That’s why God’s Word is such a powerful love letter to us.  For Word of God has one overarching purpose: The Bible points to Jesus as the Hero of the Story

You see, some people make the Bible out to be book of rules, but they miss the point. Everything in this book points to Jesus.  Even in Jesus’s day people missed the point of God’s Word; especially those who claimed to know God’s Word.  To them this is what Jesus said about God’s Word, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5:39-40  Jesus is the central character of God’s story.  Jesus is first introduced to us as the promised offspring of Eve that will crush the head of the serpent.  He is next spoken of when God promises to bless the nations through Abram.  Jesus is the offspring through whom every nation will be blessed.

Then, when the Prophets came along, they speak of a King who would come and reign over Israel.  The most well known prophecy came from Isaiah: For to us a child is born,to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. Isaiah 9:6-7  And so Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  And with his arrival came the arrival of the kingdom. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”Mark 1:15  And so the four Gospels tell the story of God’s Son all leading to up to his death and resurrection.

Then following his resurrection and just prior to his ascension, Jesus commissioned His followers to make disciples of every nation. The book of Acts records their witness of Jesus.  Soon Churches are planted throughout Antioch, Ephesus, Colossea and Galatia.  Churches are started in Greece and Italy: Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth and Rome. And the New Testament writers begin writing letters to these Churches, and they’re all about Jesus and the new life we have in Him.  And what did these writers all have in common?  They were all eyewitnesses of Jesus or got their information from eye-witnesses of Jesus.   As Peter said, For we did not follow cleverlydevised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and gloryfrom God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.  2 Peter 1:16-18

And Paul wrote these words, “Dear brothers and sisters,I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”  Galatians 1:11-12

And John wrote nearly the same thing: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to youwhat we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4

Which makes such a compelling argument – that from cover to cover, Jesus is the central figure in God’s story. This is why we are a church about Jesus.  This is why we proclaim that forgiveness of sins is found in Jesus, hope is found in Jesus, peace is found in Jesus, life is found in Jesus. Jesus is not just the Hero of God’s Story.  He is the Story!

That’s why Jesus said, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. Jesus is the Word that goes out from God: He did not return to Him empty, but accomplished what God desired and achieved the purpose for which He was sent. For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18

So you see, the Bible, God’s Living Word, is not a book of rules, but a roadmap to a relationship with God. That’s what the Bible is all about.  God wants you to know Him, God wants your life to thrive and bear fruit, God wants to include you in His story. That is why God has spoken through His Son; and why the Bible is God’s love letter to you.

God has spoken through His Son. And His message does not change. As Augustine said so many years ago, “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”  And God still speaks today.

So let me ask you:  Have you heard God’s voice?  Do you know He loves you?  Do you know what He wants for you?  It’s all here in His love letter to you: the greatest, most powerful, life-changing book you will ever read: the Word of God.

This is the book that can help you know Jesus. This is the book that can change your life.  This is the book that can renew your faith.  This is the book that can set you free.

What a gift.  May we become a people of the book; a people who delight in His Word so that we might flourish, bear much fruit and truly know Him who loves us.

Let’s pray.