Jack Graham - The Transforming Power of God's Word - Part 2

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Turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy, chapter 3. This is part 2 of a message that we began last week on «The Transforming Power of the Word of God», the transforming power of the Bible. There was a young man by the name of Larry Schryer and about 30 plus years ago he was tramping across the United States. He was actually a part of the sixty’s generation. You might even call him a hippy. A Jewish man, young man from New York, who abandoned his family, abandoned his faith, his Jewish faith and was on a search for life, a search for meaning all across America. He literally was sleeping on the streets, sleeping in his car, trying to find his way.

And this young Jewish teenager was in a gas station in North Carolina and as he was pumping gas in his old car, he saw pieces of a Gospel booklet; a Gospel booklet meaning a pamphlet, a tract describing the way to salvation; how a person can come to know Christ. Just a few pieces of this Gospel tract was lying on the ground gathering dirt. But he picked it up, led by the Spirit of God. We know this now, but the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit prompted him to pick up the pieces of this Gospel tract and he began to read it. And he began to read scriptures that he had never seen before, Gospel, powerful scriptures of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And as I said, there were just pieces of this tract left, so he went to the owner of the filling station and said, «Who can explain to me more about what’s in this booklet? Who can tell me the rest of the story»?

And the filling station owner said, «Well I don’t know; I can’t tell you. But there’s a lady who lives right up there on the hill; she can tell you more about this if you’ll go and see her». And so Larry Schryer walked to this lady’s house, knocked on the door; showed her the Gospel tract and said, «Can you explain to me what this means»? And that little lady shared Christ with this young man. Opened the Scriptures to him, and Larry believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. He received Yashua as his Messiah and Lord and Savior. He was separated from his wife. He sent her a telegram and he knew that his wife had wanted nothing to do with him because he had so messed up their lives, their marriage. He figured he would never hear from her again.

So he sent her a telegram, back in the days of telegrams, he sent her a telegram. And said, «Have come into an incredible inheritance. Contact me immediately». And she did. And Susan and Larry got their lives together. She received Christ; trusted Him as Savior and Lord. They recommitted their vows and promises to God, they were baptized as believers of Christ, and Larry Schryer ultimately became a pastor on our staff at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, Florida.

Now that story is just one of millions of others. I could tell you one like his. We have a young pastor in our network. He’s pastoring over in North Carolina as a matter of fact. And his father was a factory worker up in Michigan, Detroit, I believe. And he was on a break. He actually was in the stall of the men’s restroom, and saw a similar Gospel tract laying on the ground in the stall of a restroom. His life was falling apart and he didn’t know what direction he should take with his life. He was a young dad, didn’t know what to do. He picked up this tract, he read it, he read the Gospel there, and just a few hours later someone shared with him how he could know Christ. He believed and received Christ into his life and now that young man, father, now in heaven, but he’s the father of a family that followed Christ and has a son who’s preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ every Sunday at a church in North Caroline.

Now I’m just telling you the Bible is the only Book that can change lives like that! The Bible is the Word of God! It makes bad people good, and good people better. It’s the power of God’s Word. We know what it is. We talked about it last time. 2 Timothy 3:16: «All Scripture is given by inspiration», that is, God breathed; breathed out by the Holy Spirit. The life of God is in His Word. All Scripture, every bit of it is inspired. Not just inspiring or written by inspired men, but breathed out by God, «and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, correction, and instruction of righteousness», that the man of God, the woman of God might be thoroughly equipped to all good works. Yes, the Bible, every page is powerful; the powerful revelation of God. This Book is not just another book. Within its pages are life and faith and hope and love.

This is the Word of God! In the Word of God we find meaning and we find fulfillment and forgiveness in the power of God. So when you hold your Bible in your hand, count on the fact that God has preserved for you this Book, this powerful, life-changing, transforming Word of God. You hold in your hand the Word of God! This is God’s Book. And I pray that you will love God’s Word; that you will give thanks every day for the opportunity that we have to know God through His Word. This is the greatest treasure, the greatest possession of your life! Outside of your relationship with God Himself in Christ, your Bible is life’s most precious possession to you. It is the Word of God.

So that’s what we’re going to focus on today. We’ve talked a little bit about inspiration; we talked a little bit about the illumination of Scripture, the preservation of Scripture. But let’s talk about the transformation of Scripture. In Psalm 19, would you go with me in your Bibles to Psalm 19, and we’re going to look at verses 7 through 11. And in it we are going to see six synonyms of the Scriptures. These are descriptors, or portraits of what the Bible is and what the Bible does in this our life. The transforming power of God’s Word. We’re going to read it together.

«The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is», what? «Great reward».

Number one, in verse 8 we discover that your Bible will transform your soul, the Bible transforms your soul. Because there is life in God’s Word. Because there is life, the Bible has the power to convert the human soul, to turn life around. The Bible’s message is the message of salvation. This is what the Bible is all about. And did you know that you cannot become a Christian apart from God’s Word?

You say, «Well, I became a Christian apart from God’s Word. I just believed one day». No, you didn’t. Someone shared with you God’s Word, or as the Holy Spirit prompted you to receive Christ, someone opened the Scriptures to you, just as someone followed up on Larry Schryer when he found pieces of the Bible on the ground, God gets His word to you and anyone who truly wants to know Him. This is how we know the Word of God. We may believe that God existed. We may in creation as we talked about last week, the wonders of His creation, we may believe that God exists, but how do we know this God? Who is this God? What is He like? And how can we have peace with a holy God? You know, it’s so important to know things, but this generation not only wants to know but to know how.

So how do you know the truth about God? The Gospel of Jesus Christ and all of the Bible is God’s Gospel. From Genesis to Revelation this is the Gospel of God. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the Jesus Book, both Old Testament and New Testament. You say, «Well, I don’t read the Old Testament that much». Well, you’re missing the big part of the Bible. Did you know that in the New Testament there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. And all but twelve, I said, all but twelve of the chapters, 260 of them reference the Old Testament! It is the Old Testament that Jesus read and believed. So if you want to read the Bible like Jesus, read not only the New Testament but read the Old Testament as well. Because in the Old Testament we have the promise of His coming, the prophecies of His come, the preparations for His coming.

All the Old Testament is written as examples unto us that we may know faith. And even if you walk into our atrium, our lobby and you see those stain glasses there. Every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is represented there and portrayed there in every one of those stain glass windows is a portrait of Christ, a picture of Christ, an illustration of Christ, a type of Christ. We see Christ in the Old Testament, and if you look carefully, you’ll see throughout those stain glass windows a scarlet thread, a red ribbon that is running from Genesis to Revelation, that shows up at the first of the Book, the beginning of the Book, the middle of the Book, the end of the Book, all of the Book is about redemption.

How man who is separated from God could know and meet God through Jesus Christ by the power of His life. There’s life in the blood. There is the scarlet thread of redemption that runs throughout. «Cut the Bible anywhere,» Spurgeon said, «and it will bleed». This is a bloody Book. It’s about the salvation that is provided for us at the cross by the power of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Woah! That’s so good! Peter put it this way: He said, «We are born again unto a living hope by the Word of God». That’s 1 Peter 1:3. John wrote his Gospel signifying all the Gospels as well all the Scriptures, and he says, «These things are written», God’s Word is written, «that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in believing you will have life in His name».

So what is the transforming power of the Bible? It is the power to save. It’s the power to convert. Making wise unto salvation. Making us wise unto salvation. Then secondly, look at the second part of this verse. It says, «making wise the simple». You know what that means? The Bible transforms your mind, the Bible transforms your mind. Not only does the Bible transform your soul, but the Bible transforms your mind. Look at it again. «Making wise the simple». The Bible is God’s book of wisdom. Wisdom is seeing things from God’s perspective. That’s real wisdom. Scientists tell us that the brain is hard-wired to store information.

God so created our minds, our brains, even the hardware of the brain, that we are able to store a wealth of information; much greater than any computer. And based on the information that we have, of course, is the way we think. Not only the brain but the mind and the mind thinks, and therefore, because the mind thinks, we experience life and there’s the psychology of the soul. And did you know psychologists tell us that we pretty much, about 90 percent of us think the same thoughts every day? That’s why some are stuck in a rut, because you’re thinking the same thoughts every day. Some of those thoughts are toxic and unhealthy and you keep just replaying them and replaying them and replaying. You get up and you just go over the same thing every day and your mind just sort of reverberates towards what you’re always thinking about. And therefore, you keep doing the same things that you’re doing, because you keep thinking the same things that you’re thinking 90 percent of the time.

So how can we change the way we think? The Scripture says, «As a man thinks in his heart, so is he». And so how can we change our lives? We change our lives by the way that we think. We stop thinking in the same old way. What Zig Ziglar used to call «stinkin' thinkin'». And we begin thinking in new ways. And what is the new way that we think? We think the Word of God. We think the Word of God by getting the Word of God in our mind, in our brain. I was reading some studies about your brain on certain things. What is your brain like on caffeine? What is your brain like on alcohol? What is your brain like on drugs? What is your brain like on love? And then I began to think: What is your brain like on the Bible? If you want to change your brain, get your Bible in your brain!

Romans 12: 2 says: «Don’t be confirmed to this world, but be transform by the renewing of your mind». That’s why we’re transformed by the wisdom of God. We call this a biblical worldview. This is the wisdom of God. We now view the world differently than the world. We view the world, we view humanity, we view relationships, we view family, we view morals, we view meaning in life all through the lens of Scripture! We think differently. We think Christianly because we have the Word of God in our mind! Think like a Christian and you will act like a Christian. The way you change that 90 percent of the stuff that you’re thinking about is to get the Bible on your brain! And that happens through reading the Scripture, meditating on the Scripture, memorizing the Scripture. Because He converts not only your soul, your heart, your eternal future, but He changes our mind. In fact, the very word, repentance means to change your mind.

Thirdly, the Bible will transform your emotions. The Bible is not only good theology, it is good psychology. Verse 8 says: «The statutes», that’s a synonym for Scripture, «the statutes of the Lord are right», what? «rejoicing the heart». When you are down, when you are discouraged, when you are depressed, when you are defeated, turn to the transforming power, the presence of God in His Word. Because God’s Word, the Scripture will lift you like nothing else because Christ is in His Word.

Number 4, the second part of verse 8. Look at it. It says «The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes». So not only does the Bible convert the soul, does the Bible transform the soul, not only does the Bible transform our emotions, not only does the Bible transform our mind, but the Bible transforms our vision. «Enlightening the eyes». This, of course, is speaking of spiritual vision because through the lens of Scripture we look at things differently. Psalm 119:105, a scripture that hung on my wall as both a boy and as a teenager. I saw it often. Psalm 119:105: «Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. I will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God».

That’s the pledge, that’s the promise. The word of our God is a lamp; it is a light in the darkest days. And in a world in which we don’t know what’s going to happen next, we can’t see through the darkness into the future. We have concerns about the future. We talk about our kids and our students. We are concerned about the kind of world that our young people are going to inherit, are inheriting. And we need to do everything possible to train them up to know Christ because it’s going to be very difficult, not only Christ, but Christ’s words. It’s going to be very demanding and very difficult to stand for Christ in future generations.

There was a pastor who was being interviewed on CNN. That’s a risky thing to do but go ahead and take the Bible there. And the interviewer asked this pastor, said, «When are you Christians going to drag your Bible into 21st century»? Well, actually I’m not trying to drag the Bible into the 21st century; I’m trying to drag you into the first century so that you can meet Jesus! So that we’re not trying to bring the Bible up to speed of the culture progressively; we are bringing the culture to Jesus by preaching the Word of God! And when you can’t see your way through, often through darkness, when you have questions, when you have doubts and you need counsel, if you want to know God’s word, God’s will, know God’s Word. You see yourself, you see God, you see everything through the Bible, «the enlightening of the eye». You see, it transforms life, they way you see life; it transforms your vision.

Number 4, the Bible transforms your future. Verse 9 says, «The fear of the Lord». That’s a synonym. Though the fear of the Lord means our adoration and exaltation and awe-struck worship of God. The fear of the Lord also is a synonym here for the Scripture. And so the fear of the Lord, the Bible is clean, enduring forever. The Bible transforms your future because the Bible is there when you get to your future. In a world in which everything changes, there is one thing that never changes and that is the Word of God. And Jesus Christ in the Word of God proclaims who is «the same yesterday, today and forever». This Book, the Bible doesn’t change. Everything else changes but not the Bible! And that’s why the Scripture is relevant to every generation. This Book is God’s generational Book! «The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever».

Number 5, the Bible transforms your doubt and fears into faith and fortitude, from doubt and fear. Why? Verse 9 again, the last part. «The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous»! In this life there are not many things that you can know that are true and righteous. What can you believe? What can you trust? You can trust the Bible. You can trust God’s Word. Stake your life, I stake my life on this Book, on the Word of God. That’s why we need to keep fighting the good fight of faith, and according to Jude 3, for the sake of our kids and our kid’s kids, our children and our children’s children, we are to «earnestly contend for the faith». We’re to keep fighting for the faith, and the faith is the Word of God.

Number 5, the Bible will transform your values. Verse 10 say, «More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, more than much fine gold». What do you read every day? «Well, I read the stock report». «I read the sports information». «I read the internet». «I read», what? We devour entertainment. We have a steady diet of way too much amusement and entertainment. So what is getting into our minds? So much of the values of the world are too much with us. Now there’s nothing wrong in reading the stock market and checking sports scores, and caring about those things and enjoying good wholesome entertainment, but what God is saying is none of that compares to the gold of God’s word.

The values of this world, what the world thinks is important, what the world thinks is valuable is nothing compared to the gold, yes, the precious gold and sweet honey of the taste of Scripture! It is better anything money can buy! This Word of God is the inheritance you need to give to your children. Give your children a good inheritance, especially to your grandchildren. But give them the Word of God! That’s the greatest gift that you can give your family. So the Bible, therefore, transforms our values. We’re not living for the stuff the world can provide. We’re living for only what God can provide.

Number 6, the Bible will transform your behavior and your morality, because verse 11 says, «Moreover, by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward». This is why we preach the Bible, the whole counsel of God, including sin and judgment because all that is a warning. We are warned by the Word of God. And God gives us these warning. What kind of preacher would I be, what kind of man would I be if I didn’t tell you the truth, if I didn’t warn you of the judgment that is to come? If I didn’t warn you about the truth of God’s Word. Because this is protected, and there’s great reward in obeying God, in trusting God in His Word. So the Bible is a warning that protects us from sin and the consequences of sin.

So when we say something is sin, it’s not because we hate people; it’s because we love people, and we care about them, and we want them to know the truth. It may be offensive to the world and the world may try to shut us up and shut us down, but God’s Word will not be stopped. And it pleases God. You know, you can please the world or you can please God! And it pleases God when you believe and receive and welcome His word into your life! There’s an old saying back in the day, people said, «The Bible believes it» or «The Bible says it and I believe it and that settles it»!

Well, let me tell you something better than that: The Bible says it and that settles it whether I believe it or not! The Bible is God’s Word and God’s reward for trust and obedience. So keep believing, keep reading, keep meditating, keep thinking, keep studying, keep worshiping, keep teaching, keep preaching, keep sharing the Word of God. Fill your mind with God’s Word, fill your heart with His truth. Get your brain on the Bible. Get your brain addicted to the Bible. It will always be the most influential Book in the world. Why? Because the Bible meets the deepest needs of the human heart, because the story of the Bible is Jesus.