WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE BIBLE - The Source of Life 7-20-25

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE BIBLE - The Source of Life 7-20-25 

INTRODUCTION

I am preaching a new series.  It’s actually the one I thought I would be preaching following the series on the Book of James.

Restoration Movement 

The famous American author, Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain, attended a Sunday service. He met the preacher at the door afterward to shake his hand. And he told him that he had a book at home with every word he had preached that morning. The minister assured him that his sermon that morning was an original. But Twain was adamant. The preacher asked to see the book. So, Twain sent it over the next day. When the preacher opened the package he found a dictionary. And inside the cover Twain had written, "Words, just words."

What does the Bible say about the Bible?

I.  THE WORD WAS IN THE BEGINNING

Words are the voice of the heart.

Confucius

A. God’s Word

John 1:1 NIV

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

According to the Atlanta Journal "The Ten Commandments contain 297 words. The Bill of Rights is stated in 463 words. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contains 266 words. A recent federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words."

In the Greek, John 1:1 contains 17 words.

Those 17 words, according to one commentary, are the “most compact and pulsating theological statement in all of Scripture.”

Another writer says of the first verse, “…the force of what he says is so staggering that the words almost seem to bend under the weight that they are made to bear.”

Paul Decker, Sermon Central, "What did He Say?", October 17, 2003.

1.  Logos

2.  God’s Word and God

3.  No mystery religion

B.  Word of life

1 John 1:1-3 NIV

“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 you what 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.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1.  From the beginning

2.  Visible in Jesus

3.  Eternal life

C.  Word of light

John 1:4 NIV

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

‭‭ John‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1.  Life gave light to mankind.

2.  The light shown to all mankind.

II.  THE WORD IS THE SOURCE OF LIFE

A.  The Word created all things.

Colossians 1:16-17 NIV

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1.  The Word created all things through him.

2.  The Word created all things for him.

3.  The Word holds all things together.

B.  The Word gave the possibility of eternal life.

The power of words

A woman died and went to heaven but when she arrived at the "Pearly Gates," she found Peter. "Before you can come in, you have to spell a word," he said.

"What word?" she asked.

"Any word?"

"L-O-V-E. Love," she said.

"Come on in. But I was wondering if you'd do me a quick favor. Stand here for a few moments. I'll be right back. If anyone comes, just follow the same procedure."

Peter left and behold here comes her ex-husband. "What are you doing here?,” she said.

"I just had a heart attack. Did I really make it?" he asked.

"Not yet. You have to spell a word," she said.

"What word?"

After a few moments she said, "Czechoslovakia."

Mark Eberly, Sermon Central, October 27, 2008.

John 20:31 NIV

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1.  The Word was given so that you may believe in Jesus.

a.  He is the Messiah.

b.  He is the son of God.

2.  The Word was given so that you may believe in Jesus and have life in his name.

III.  THE WORD IS THE SUSTAINER OF LIFE

Did you know that the average person spends one-fifth of his or her life talking? That’s what the statistics say. If all of our words were put into print, the result would be this: A single day’s words would fill a 50-page book, while in a year’s time the average person’s words would fill 132 books of 200 pages each!

Gordon Curley, Sermon Central, November 29, 2010.

A.  The Word of God sustains all things.

Hebrews 1:3

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

B.  The Word of God sustains us.

Matthew 4:4 - not by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of God

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

CONCLUSION

PREACH THE WORD

I am greatly diappointed in the preachers of today,

With their logic and their ethics, their aristocratic way;

With their science and their theories and their new theology,

Full of everything but Jesus and His love for you and me.

There is plenty in the Bible for preachers of today

If they will but search it pages and for help Divine would pray;

For God’s word is everlasting, it never will grow old,

‘Tis indeed a priceless treasure far more precious than pure gold.

If the Preachers in our Church would preach Jesus crucified,

How through love for us he suffered and through love for us he died,

Then our lives would not be empty as so many are today,

But be filled to overflowing in the good Old Fashioned way

What we need is just plain gospel, just good old fashioned Preaching,

Not Emerson and Shakespeare, or this modern, liberal teaching.

What care we for all their saying, or teaching true and tried?

I want the the dear old story of my Saviour cricified

What we need is consecration in a good true man of God,

With a Bible education, and a love for God’s dear Word;

Who can lead us and direct us to the truth, the Life the Way,

Who brings peace to the soul and body through the burdens of each day/

This alone can save the sinner, this alone can set men free,

Just the precious dear old story of God’s love for you and me;

That is what the people’s needing, that is what they need to see,

The preaching of Bible stories that they heard at mother’s knee.

The Christian Herald

The Word was in the beginning.  The Word is the source of life.  The Word is the sustainer of life.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.