The Word Of God Teaches Us Part 1

Marie Flores looking to Jesus, founder improvement through the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

These words from Psalm 19.

Shed light on the educating power of the Scriptures. Wisdom floods our souls as we sit under its instruction today about how we all can be changed by the word from the church in Chicago. This is running to win with Dr. Irwin clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line after elixir as you talk today about how the word of God teaches us, I guess. Learning is a lifelong process. Yes indeed, learning is a lifelong process but also have to say that I think that you said so clearly what people need to understand that there's a difference between wisdom and knowledge and only the Bible can give us wisdom, knowledge, you can find everywhere. As a matter fact, there are those who have knowledge of the Scriptures, but they lacked wisdom because they are not humble enough to receive what the Bible says this ministry of running to win is heard throughout the world. Specifically, in 20 different countries. All because of the gifts and the support of God's people, would you consider becoming an endurance partner that someone who stands with his regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Of course you need more info.

So here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com and when you're there, click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let us open our minds and our hearts to God's word that indeed we might have knowledge but specifically also wisdom the famous atheist Bertrand Russell was asked by a Christian.

If after you die, you discover that there is a God, and there is eternity.

What just say to God, he said I'd tell him that he didn't give us enough evidence that the Bible indicates that God has given people plenty of evidence as a matter fact there's enough evidence not only to believe in God but to go beyond that and for us to determine what kind of God in which we should believe.

Psalm 19 is our text and I want all of you to turn to it and we need to look at this together this remarkable Saul because what we have in this Psalm is first of all, God revealing himself through his works, and then God revealing himself through his word and were going to begin with the works because there is a connection.

You'll notice it says in Psalm 19 on beginning at verse one the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set the tent for the sun which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy it's rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the ends of them and there is nothing hidden from its heat while what he saying is here in nature and of course were talking about the heavens were speaking about the stellar universe. The stars, they declare the glory of God. You know, astronomers tell us that there are more stars in the sky than there might be grains of sand on this.

Can you get your mind around it and yet the Bible says very casually in the first chapter of the book of Genesis that God created this city created that and he made the stars also. He just spoke and there they were.

Imagine that today they declare the glory of God and you think for example of the sun. The imagery here is that the sun is in a 10 tenets running from one end of the heavens to the other and of course then it hands off its responsibilities to the night and then it comes up again the next day to do its work and what would we do without the sun.

If we were a little closer we get burned up a little farther away, we would be frozen and is in a Jupiter that make sure that the earth stays in a proper relationship to the sun.

I mean the heavens declare the glory of God and you'll notice it says that it may pour forth speech is a silent speech to be sure nobody hears it. It's a good thing that it isn't the spoken language or it would have to be translated, but there is now in the heavens, God is revealing himself and he's pouring out this speech, and he does it to reveal himself, silent speech, but powerful speech in the and what does nature teach us. It teaches us first of all about the total sovereignty of God, the power of God and also the knowledge that God has to be able to do what is done Paul in the book of Romans says that the invisible attributes of God are seen through his creation, namely, his eternal power and his nature, and this revelation comes continually, it pours forth speech.

It's there every single day. It is there when the seasons come and go and universally you can go to the farthest tribe in the world, and it also there you see the stars and you see the sun and you are reminded of the existence of God. Indeed, that he exists. And of course the Bible makes it very clear distinction between the creation and the creator our and other modern pagans today who want to go back to nature. They want to go back to nature.

They need to go further back than that to nature's creator and then of course we have atheists wasn't Ed Dawkins who made the statement does the universe have design. Yes, a designer, no. What sense does that make you know atheists, they don't understand this but logically atheism is totally illogical because even when they build their arguments. They are assuming all kinds of assumptions that could only be true if God existed. They think that their arguments are very powerful.

As a matter of fact, if it takes a mind to understand creation, clearly a mind must be back of creation to have made it. The universe does not have in itself, any evidence that has it has the ability to create itself, nor that it has eternally existed as God has.

I wish I could spend more time on it except to say that there's plenty of evidence out there when I was a boy growing up on the farm and I had lots of time because I was the last of five children by frittered away an awful lot of time, but in the evening. Sometimes I would run under the sky and then wait till your eyes adjusted to the darkness and there you would see these beautiful stars.

I mean I could find.

The Big Dipper always easily the little dipper was more difficult to find, but wouldn't take but five minutes and I'd be on my knees worshiping God absolutely overcome by the immensity of God. Let me tell you something very clearly, God is not hiding himself from man men are hiding themselves from God. The heavens declare the glory of God and we could say so much more about this atheists in against a full God of light. By the way, Bertrand Russell, whom I referred to earlier when he came to the end of his life, someone said, what is the secret of happiness. He said happiness is the ability to accept the fact that this world is terrible. Not a very good and is it but you know when we think of creation. It tells us about the power of God. The immensity of God.

But what it doesn't do is to tell us about whether or not this God is interested in us, whether or not we can relate to him whether or not he's trustworthy nature can be very cruel. We never guess from nature that God love the world, look at the tornadoes look at the tsunamis. All of these things that happen in our fallen universe and nature tells us about the immensity of God and something about the nature of God, but it doesn't help us too much when it comes to asking the bigger personal questions of life. That's why when you begin in verse seven here of what what David now does is he transitions from the works of God to the word of God. I think I'm gonna just take out a moment and answer some questions. Some people may say is it legitimate to look into the Bible to find out what it says about itself and of the Bible says it's inspired, how do you know it's inspired.

It says it's an wired you put it that way. It sounds as if it's circular reasoning, but in another way, it is perfectly legitimate for the Bible to speak to its own identity. You can do that, even in a court of law.

You can defend yourself. More than 1500 times, directly or indirectly, the Bible claims to be the word of God. One of the things you cannot say. And people say it all the time and don't understand how illogical it is one of the things you cannot say is you know the Bible is a is a very good and helpful book, but I don't believe that it's the word of God a good and helpful book with at least minimally. 1500 lives only it's a good book is a fraudulent book, what would you say to somebody who writes a biography of Winston Churchill and says Churchill came to me saying and then he fills in the blank menu discovery never met, Churchill would you say well you know it's essentially a good book. All of those references to the prophets, you know the word of the Lord came to me saying now it is legitimate to allow us to take a moment to find out what the Bible says to itself about itself. Now your Bibles are open.

I want you to notice that the word God does not occur.

Beginning in verse seven.

You see, God is Elohim. He is the creator, but beginning in verse seven, you have the word Lord, which when capitalized refers to Jehovah. Now we discovered that God is the covenant keeping God. Now we discover that God is God wants to relate to us. Now we learn that God, the creator becomes God the Redeemer, and now we begin to understand in David's mind. He gives us about six references or descriptions of the word of God. Six different ways that you can say it and then beyond that, what he does is he gives also the benefits of God's word and by the way, because it's the word of the Lord, the commandments of the Lord, the precepts we should not be surprised that he gives to the word of God. Some of the same attributes to God himself. Of course we know that man wrote to the Scriptures, but they were so moved by the Holy Spirit that God preserve them from error and gave us what we needed to know about him and our relationship with him in such a way that in the original manuscripts. Of course, when we discover is that there is inspiration and the breath of God to God.

Read the Bible says and the result was his word. Now David was thinking primarily of the law. He didn't even have the New Testament we know so much more than David and yet with all that notice what David says about the word of God. Now today I'm speaking to hundreds of you who have decided to take the 40 day challenge of listening to or reading through the New Testament in 40 days and you say to yourself, you know I did it for a week and it's not working very well and we want to ask a good old-fashioned American question what's in it for me when I'm I going to get out of this.

What is the ROI return on my investment. I'm spending 1/2 an hour a day doing this so what am I going to get out of it what today we can answer that question as we motivate you to keep going no matter what. All right, let's look at these six descriptions of the Bible which would also be descriptions really of God. First of all, we find that perfection the law of the Lord is perfect. Verse seven reviving the soul by perfect, we mean complete.

Now God could have created more worlds. He could've created more planets. He could've created more stars but so far as we know this is of course what he intended to do is what he did and the universe is complete. He could have given us says 70 books in the Bible instead of 66.

But the law of the Lord is complete enough for us to know our relationship with him and all of the questions of life are found within its pages. The law of the Lord is perfect and it revives the sole anybody here today you say I revive I had a very hard week. First of all, as we learned last time the Bible and the spirit converts us in that sense we are given life but even after we are given life. What we need is to be revived. We need to be refreshed while the word of God. You'll notice it says it revives the soul and that of course is in verse seven, the law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul by the weight also cleanses the soul may be emphasized that in another message, and then that you'll notice that to the testimony of the Lord is sure sure it's faithful when the word of God speaks clearly, God speaks clearly so if you wonder what God thinks about something you go to the word of God. It is sure it is reliable and you'll notice that it says it makes him wise. Who in the world is simple, well Greek scholars or Hebrew scholars I should say tell us that the simple person. The idea behind it and its root meaning is, that his mind is open, that is to say, it is open and it doesn't know when to close. You know you've met people like that they accept every idea imaginable, and they put all ideas on the very same plane, so to speak, believing that all opinions are equal, which is of course logical insanity and what they don't have is the ability to discriminate to be able to say this is wrong and this is right and this is why knowledge, there can be a plenty, but wisdom is the ability to apply the knowledge and what does the word of God do it takes those who are struggling with their own sense of identity and meaning, and it enables them to become wise, they begin to discern know that this is wrong. This is right. This is the best path.

That's what the word of God will do for you. Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. You'll notice the precepts of the Lord are right, and they rejoice the heart is so I don't get that. I don't know how David could have said this in the Old Testament, with all of those laws. All of the things that are mentioned in the Old Testament. How could David say that he is refreshed and rejoices in the heart, by the way precepts have to do with the doctrines of the Bible. Well even though David didn't know nearly as much as we know when he really needed to meet God.

He knew that he was coming to a God who is merciful and trustworthy. Remember the story, of course, how David committed the twin sins of murder and adultery. And yet, when he confessed his sin. He said restore to me the joy of my cell nation and uphold me with thy free spirit by right spirit. How could. How could a man who made such a mess still find joy well. He found it where you and I find it when we mess up to come to God to be forgiven and to be received.

The precepts of the Lord remind us that there can be joy given by God even in the midst of failure.

Jesus said these words I have spoken unto you, that ye may rejoice. The Bible teaches about a kind of rejoicing that is really not even related to circumstances only the precepts of the Lord can do that because were you vented to go to find hope. Well we have to continue. Notice that the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Today people think to themselves, they are enlightened because they are free. Someone said and I don't know who it is.

But it's a wonderful quote. He said the real object of human beings is not freedom but rather to find out who your master really is because nobody is exactly free. You don't accept God as your master the freedom that you will have is the freedom to live according to your selfish desires and eventually you will be overtaken by sin. And so what David said is the commandment of the Lord is pure, that is to say, it is clear it is not contaminated and it enlightens you it gives you perspective a moment ago I told you about simpletons who who allow everything in and they don't know where the beauty is they don't know where to put it, unless they are made wise by the word. Another way to look at it is a friend of mine said that he lived in France close to Mount Blanc which is really connected between Switzerland and France and he said that there was this house that really faced the beautiful mountain of Mount Blanc and he said the shutters were always close, he could never understand that but there are times when we forget that when we come to the word of God and we are open to its message, it will keep us from being the simpleton we spoke about a moment ago, and it will give us enlightenment and will say to ourselves, where have I been all these years stumbling around trying to make the best of life. Not understanding reality, not understanding what things are about the word of God. The commandment is pure. It will enlighten eyes you'll notice it says it is clean now in verse nine and it says the fear of the Lord. Remember this in context, the word fear is the very say is as synonym for the Bible synonym for the law of God, the fear of God. Calvin the great theologian said we should give the word of God. The same reference that we give the fear of the Lord. Wow, that's an astounding quotation is net that we should give the Bible the same reference as we give God after all it is his word. As we like to emphasize. There is the written word. And there's the incarnate Word, and we need to be able to honor both running to win is the ministry that is listener supported. Now, what makes me excited is the fact that thousands upon thousands of people get to hear God's word and the gospel on a regular basis because of people like you.

I'm holding in my hand a letter from a woman in Florida who writes I'm genuinely grateful that you chose this ministry. I want you to know that your sermons have impacted my life so much as I type this. My eyes are filled with tears and there's a lump in my throat. I don't know you but for 26 years you have impacted my life and she goes on to say that because of this ministry. She is stronger and better equipped will that's what it's all about. As we frequently say helping people make it all the way to the finish line. Would you consider becoming a ministry partner we call them endurance partners that refers to those who stand with his regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Of course you need more info. Here is what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com and when you're there you click on the endurance partner button and I'll be giving you that information again or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 if you are blessed as a result of this ministry, it's because other people have invested in this ministry and now we're inviting you to participate as well go to RTW offer.com.

Click on the endurance partner button or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can write to ask, running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. Next time I'm running to win. Join us for more on the lessons we can learn from meditating on and studying the Bible. Thanks for listening to our series on being changed by the word. This is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church