002 - What does God say about His Word?

#002 - How does the Bible transform lives today? The Word of God is living and powerful, it is inspired by God and instructs and equips us.  We will be prosperous when we allow it to take root in our souls and govern our lives; this is a promise from God! 

We hope you enjoyed this episode as we learned how the Word of God has the power to change your life!  Stay tuned for our next episode that will explore what the Bible says about God's love for us.

Go to www.TBTWPodcast.com for resources mentioned in this episode.

Transcript

Welcome to transformed by the word, a podcast about discovering how to live your life with gratifying purpose. God created you for a reason and the Bible contains the keys to unlock your transformed life. Now, here's your host, Debora Barr

Thanks for joining me for Episode Two of transformed by the word.

What is it about the Bible that transforms people's lives today?

How in the world can this ancient book make an impact on my life? And what does God say about his word?

These are the questions that we will answer today.

First, I want to give you a little bit of history about the Bible.

The Bible was written over the course of about 1300 years by more than 40 men who were inspired by God to record the contents of the Scriptures.

The Protestant Bible contains 66 books 39 books in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament.

The original languages that the Bible was recorded in are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

And there are a variety of different types of writings in the Bible. There are narrative stories, history, books of law, songs, prayers, poetry, prophecy, and revelation of things to come.

The overarching theme of the entire Bible is God's redemptive work to reconcile humanity to himself through Jesus Christ.

Tim Keller says that the Bible's purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life.

The Bible's purpose is to show you how God's grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from sin and brokenness. Otherwise you would never be able to overcome these.

The Bible is the bestselling book of all time! It has stood the test of time and if you will take the time to read it for yourself, meditate on its precepts and apply it to your life. You will definitely be transformed.

You might ask, how does the Bible transform people's lives today?

Well, I know that when I began to read and apply what God was speaking to me about in his word, things started to change in my own life.

Years ago, I was reading the book of Malachi. This scripture in chapter three, verse 10,

When I came across, it says, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there might be food in my house. test me in this says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Well, now at that time in my life, I had a lot of debt. And I couldn't even imagine giving 10% of my money to God. 

If you don't know, a tithe is 10% of your increase.

At the same time, as I read this scripture, I was beginning to trust God. And I wanted to see if this promise in his word would be fulfilled.

God said in the Bible to trust him in this and so I gave it a try.

I started to give 10% of my income right off the top to my church, before I paid any of my other bills, 

and miraculously, it seemed as though money and provision was being multiplied to me in my account.

In no time I was able to get out of debt and begin to save money like never before.

All because I put into practice what God said in his word.

Now this is only one example of how God began to change things in my life, when I dare to implement what I was reading in the Bible.

Now God says some powerful things in his word about his word.

Hebrews, chapter four, verse 12, says, 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 joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Now I started reading the Bible about, I would say 18 years ago. And I've tried a variety of Bible reading plans, where you're given different passages of Scripture to read each day. Or I've tried reading through different books of the Bible in different weeks and months of the year.

But my all-time favorite way to read the Bible is chronologically. I generally start in January, reading in the book of Genesis, and I end at the end of December in the book of Revelation.

Now, there are different Bibles, where the books are arranged chronologically in time, and you can read through the entire Bible in a year. One of my very favorites is the New Living Translation Life Application Chronological Study Bible

That one also contains a lot of notes, archaeological things and other notes to help you understand what the word is saying. 

Now, I've been doing this consistently for the past 15 years. And what I've noticed time and time and time again, is that when I pray before I begin my Bible reading, and I asked God to open my eyes and open my heart, to receive what he's speaking to me through His Word. It is as if the scriptures jump right off the page and resonates in my spirit.

Now, I could have read that same passage of scripture many times before, but that day, it is as if God is speaking directly to me.

God's word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And God knows what you're going through in your life when you are about to read his word, and often He will speak to us directly from his word.

Now there's another scripture in Second Timothy, chapter three, verses 16 and 17.

And it says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God inspire different men to write down his word. And this passage says that it is profitable to us for doctrine.

Doctrine is teaching or instruction and is profitable for reproof, which means rebuking or disapproval and correction, making sure that we go the right way.

And instruction in righteousness, to know how to live our lives in right standing with God.

Essentially, what that scripture is saying in Second Timothy, is that all Scripture, meaning the whole Bible is God's instructions to us to instruct and teach us the way that we should go. And it helps us to stay in line by rebuking us when we need it and helping us to get back on the right path.

Another scripture in Joshua, chapter one, verse eight says, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.

God promises to make our way prosperous, and that we will have good success in all we do when we meditate in His Word, day and night, and when we do, what is written in it?

Let's take a little bit of time and look at a passage of scripture in the book of Psalms.

Psalm one, verses one through three, reads this way in the New King James Version of the Bible.

It says, blessing is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither. And whatever he does, shall prosper.

This passage of scripture paints an amazing word picture that helps me to know how the how the Word of God nourishes my life.

First of all, it says, I'm blessed if I do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, which means if I choose not to walk in agreement with the advice of ungodly people.

In another place in the Bible, in the book of Amos, it says, How can two walk together except they be agreed?

I need to be careful who I'm agreeing with. And walking with to be blessed. I must not walk in agreement with people who are ungodly, who have no regard for the things of God, or the ways of God.

Now, the scripture goes on to say, blessing is the man that does not stand in the path of sinners.

I don't even want to stand in a pathway of sin, or to locate myself in a sinful path.That way, I will not be tempted to sin. I need to stay on righteous paths.

I'm also not to sit in the seat of the scornful What does that mean?

It means adopting a mindset of scoffing or mocking or complaining about the things of God.

So to recap verse one of Psalm one.

I'm blessed If I do not walk in agreement with the ungodly, if I do not locate myself in the sinful path, and if I avoid adopting a mindset that is mocking the things of God.

Verse two says, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law he meditates day and night.

I am to delight myself in God's law, his written word.

The law is written to guide our lives, and to protect us from harm.

I'm to meditate or think about what I read in the Bible day and night. To keep it before me always.

One of the best ways to meditate on God's word is to memorize it.

Over the years I've memorized a great many scriptures, scriptures that speak to me and this discipline gets the Word of God deep down into my heart.

When we memorize the word, it forces us to think about what it is saying to us. And God speaks to us through the word, especially when we take the time to memorize His Word.

Psalm one, verse three goes on to say, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does, shall prosper.

Can you picture a beautiful, large, lush tree by a river?

What do you imagine are some of the characteristics of that tree?

I believe it's green and healthy, because it receives plenty of water.

Even in a drought, that tree has the water it needs because its roots are tapped into a deep water source.

The Scripture says we are like that tree. When we are rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

The Bible actually tells us that Jesus is the Word of God.

If you read the book of John, in verse one, it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Verse 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the Word of God.

Also in the book of John, chapter four, verse 13, Jesus says,

When he was speaking to the Samaritan woman, whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water, springing up into everlasting life.

Now this tree in Psalm one that is planted by the rivers of water brings forth its fruit in its season.

What does that mean for us?

Well, as we continue to meditate on the Word of God, we will mature spiritually, and we'll be able to experience the fruit of the Spirit that is listed in Galatians chapter five verses 22 and 23.

That fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

I don't know about you, but I want those qualities in my life.

This tree in Psalm one, its leaf will not wither because it is tapped into the water of the river, there is no threat of drought.

Now the leaves of a tree are what make food for the tree. They use sunlight for energy to take water from the roots and carbon dioxide from the air to make sugar and starches that the tree then uses for food.

The Bible says to us in Matthew chapter six verse 11. Give us this day, our daily bread.

When we are like a tree planted by the rivers of water, our leaves will not weather either. We take living water as spiritual nourishment from the living word, Jesus Christ, to live our lives in alignment with God's will, each and every day.

Now, the final part of Psalm one, verse three, says, whatever he does, shall prosper.

That is great news! Right there is a promise from God.

It doesn't say that some things we do will prosper. It says what whatever we do will prosper.

But it is a promise that comes as a result of our obedience in what was written before that.

So let's recap. Psalm one, beginning at verse one. Says Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither. And whatever he does shall prosper.

When we align our lives with God's word, we delight in it and meditate in it daily. We will be as secure and fruitful as a tree planted by the rivers of water. And whatever we do will prosper. That is an amazing promise from God.

Now if you don't have a relationship, a personal relationship with Jesus

If you've never surrendered your heart to Him, you cannot claim this promise. Because it is written for those who have a relationship with the Lord.

If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you can do that right now.

The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again from the dead, to take away our sins and to give us the opportunity of everlasting life.

If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus,

you can do that right now. pray this prayer with me, won't you?

God, I confess that I'm a sinner and I need Jesus in my life,

I repent of my sins and I turned to you.

I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.

He was buried and he rose from the dead.

I accept this by faith. And I invite Jesus to be Lord of my life,

to reign and rule in my heart.

Thank you for forgiving me and saving me. Amen.

Now, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, and you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want to hear from you. Please visit my website at TBTWpodcast.com which stands for transformed by the word podcast TBTWpodcast.com. Let me know about your decision for Christ so that I can encourage you and support you.

My prayer for you today is that you will be rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

If you've never read the Bible, I pray that you will begin to do so today. There are so many resources available to get the word of God delivered right to your phone or your tablet. Start reading or listening to the Bible and begin your journey of life transformation.

If you visit my website, you'll find links to recommended Bible resources, some sample Bible reading plans, and a list of some of my very favorite chronological study Bibles.

So stay tuned for our next episode of transformed by the word, where we will begin to explore what the Bible says about Gods love for us.

Thank you for listening to transformed by the word with your host Debora Barr Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Google Play and connect with us at TBTWpodcast.com. Until next time, be blessed.