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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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NOW THAT I’M SAVED, HOW DO I GROW AS A CHRISTIAN?
2nd Peter 3:18
Ephesians 4:15
Introduction: When a person gets saved, it is the greatest change that will ever occur in their lives. 2nd Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
You will notice a difference yourself. It is partly because someone as mean as the devil has moved out and someone as sweet as Jesus has moved in.
Another term for being saved is the term that Jesus used with Nicodemus. It is the term being born again. That is exactly what happens when you get saved. You are born again. When you are born again, you are a newborn babe in Christ. Spiritually you are a baby. Just as a newborn baby needs certain things to grow, the same is true about a man or a woman who is just gotten saved.
There are four basic elements in the Christian life to help you grow in Christ. It is similar to the four tires on a car. If one is flat, you can still go but not as fast and not very far. The four elements are thus:
I will be expanding each of these areas in the weeks ahead. There are several other important truths that I will be teaching on also that will help you in a great way to grow deeper and stronger in the Lord Jesus. One of them is the area of tithes and offerings. Doctor Lee Robertson says that tithing is a subject that reveals your heart. The other one is the confession of sin since you have been saved. As a Christian, you will still sin. There is nothing in the bible about sinless perfection. Let me give you a few verses on the subject. We will expand this also at later time.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
I realize that are some that have been saved for a number of years. I want to encourage you listen anyway. You may hear something that will help you too. This will be a good review. In any type of learning, you learn more with constant reviewing. You can ask my sons who graduated from Boot camp. They were constantly reviewing the material so you could recite it in your sleep.
For the new Christian, these messages will be a vital importance to you. I don’t know everything in this Bible. But this one subject is what has been drilled into my head of the past thirty plus years. I have constantly learned more and more on this subject for than thirty plus years.
Today we will be looking at the first of these essential elements in the Christian life. It is the reading of your Bible. Why is essential to your Christian life? So you can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is not some ordinary book. It is really a library of sixty-six books. It took fifteen hundred years to be written. It has over human authors. Most of them never met each other. I have said all that say this- this Bible is not my opinion or my thoughts. This Bible is the Word of God. In it is the life you and I need to live for Jesus.
“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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
What place should the Bible be in my life? It is God’s love letter from the Lord. It is the good news from a far away land. It is extremely high in the Lord’s sight.
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
No other book should be more important or informative to the child of God.
A. The Bible discovers sin and convicts us of it. It is impossible to get saved outside of the Bible. Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
B. The Bible helps cleanse us from the pollutions of sin. I will cover this more when we get to the message of the confession of sin.
C. The Bible imparts strength. You are no match against the devil. The Bible is your strength against his devices, desires and dirt.
D. The Bible instructs us in what we are to do. This is to keep use from that we should not do or be. Let’s suppose that there were landmines in the floor of this church and I knew where they were. I could guide you to safety if you listen to me. The same can be said of the Bible.
F. The Bible makes our lives fruitful. We learn about the fruit of the Spirit from the pages of this book. So we are a greater witness of the Bible if we get to be more fruitful.
G. The Bible gives us power to pray. You will not believe how much better you can pray after a time in the Bible.
This shows how functional the Bible really is. It has all the elements to make a rich man or woman in the Lord Jesus Christ.
A great scientist and medical doctor, Howard A. Kelly (Professor of Gynecology at Johns Hopkins University from 1889 through 1940), was also an avid student of the Bible. He once said: "The very best way to study the Bible is simply to read it daily with close attention and with prayer to see the light that shines from its pages, to meditate upon it, and to continue to read it until somehow it works itself, its words, its expressions, its teachings, its habits of thought, and its presentation of God and His Christ into the very warp and woof of one’s being."
For your devotional reading and study of the Bible, here are several important, practical suggestions:
1. Begin your Bible reading with prayer.
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
2. Take brief notes on what you read. Keep a small notebook for your Bible study.
3. Read slowly through one chapter, or perhaps two or three chapters or perhaps just one paragraph at a time. Don’t get in a hurry. After reading, ask yourself what this passage means. Then reread it. Think about it for a while. This process is like a cow chewing her cud.
4. It is often very helpful in finding out the true meaning of a chapter or passage to ask yourself the following questions, and then write the answers in your notebook:
a.
b. Who are the persons revealed in this passage: Who is speaking? About whom is he speaking? Who is acting?
c.
d.
e.
f.
g. Is there any promise for me to claim?
i. Is there any instruction for me to follow?
Not all of these questions may be answered in every passage.
5. Keep a spiritual diary. Either in your Bible study notebook. Write down daily what God says to you through the Bible. Write down the sins that you confess or the commands you should obey.
I cannot stress enough that you make this a daily task. I have a few suggestions that will help you in your perservance in reading your Bible.
1. Begin each day in the Word. If you are not a morning person, make that time that is suited for you.
2. Set aside a definite time for study. In other words, make an appointment with the Lord and keep it.
3. Get alone in an undisturbed quiet place.
This is definitely not the living room with the television staring
you in the face or where your computer is. My mother's favorite
place when I was growing up was the kitchen table. How will
you know the beauty of Psalms 46:10, which says (“Be still,
and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I
will be exalted in the earth.”) and read it in a place
that will help speak to your heart.
Conclusion: I was thinking about what this Bible would do for you if you read it. Let me give you six thoughts on this line of thinking.
1. The Word of God keeps us from Sin
The Word of God shows us what sin is and tells us to stay away from it. When the Word of God is in your heart it is easier to stay away from sin.
”Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
2. The Word of God lights our way
It is very difficult to get around in the dark! When you walk in a darkened room, you hit your feet on different thins and can injure yourself. The same concept is true spiritually.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
3. The Word of God enlightens Us
Paul tells Timothy that the scriptures he has been taught from a Child are able to make us wise through faith in Christ Jesus. 2nd Timothy 3:15
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
4. The Word of God instructs Us
We see that the Word of God instructs us and makes us complete or mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works! 2nd Timothy 3:16-17
“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 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
5. The Word of God purifies us
Obedience to God's Word allows us to purify our souls, that is, it allows the sin that separates us from God to be taken away!
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”
6. The Word of God frees us
The truth of God's word allows us to get away from what different men teach and to get down to what God wants us to know His Word! The truth will set us free from sin!
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
A young man was concerned over the fact that he did not seem to be getting anything from his Bible time. He went to his dad and expressed his concern. The dad took him to take a bushel basket down to the creek and get a basket of water. He did what his dad said. Of course when he returned, there was not any water in the basket. His had him go again and again there was not any water in the basket. After the fifth or sixth time, the boy told his dad that he did not want to be disobedient but you cannot get water in a bushel basket. His dad told him to look in the basket and see how much cleaner the basket was.
This is the same when we read and reread our Bibles over and over again. Our minds and lives will be cleaner and cleaner.
A wise man once said this and I try to put it the flyleaf of every Bible that I give away. “This Book will keep from sin and sin will keep you from this Book.”
When reading your Bible, take the right portions to help sustain your Christian life. For those who have difficult in reading only a few verses or a chapter will do. But most of us need much more than that.
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