Sunday Sermons
Enjoy Your Bible
There are many passages in Scripture which clearly proclaim the enjoyment that comes from reading, studying and mediating upon God's written thoughts:
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"I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches" (Psalm 119:14).
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"I shall delight in Thy statutes" (119:16).
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"They testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors" (119:24).
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"Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it" (119:35).
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"And I shall delight in Thy commandments, which I love" (119:47).
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"For Thy law is my delight" (119:77).
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"Trouble and anguish have come upon me; yet Thy commandments are my delight" (119:143).
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"They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:10).
Why people miss the joy
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"What is enjoyment? Essentially, it is a by-product: a contented, fulfilled state which comes from concentrating on something other than enjoying yourself. If enjoyment, as such, is your aim, you can expect to miss it, for you are disregarding the conditions of it. Pleasure-seeking, as we learn by experience is a barren business; happiness is never found till we have the grace to stop looking for it, and to give our attention to persons and matters external to ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). In this case, Bible study will only give enjoyment if conforming to our Creator in belief and behavior, through trust and obedience, is its goal. Bible study for our own pleasure rather than for God ends up giving pleasure neither to Him nor to us" (God Has Spoken, J.I. Packer, p. 9). We see this with the Berean's, who enjoyed the process of Bible study, not because they were looking for mere intellectual stimulation, but rather because they were simply wanting to find the truth, "to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11)
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Sadly many people in the denominational world have been told that the Bible is fallible, it contains errors, and it is too confusing. Such false ideas have moved people to thinking that the Bible is not worth reading, or it is full of pitfalls which only the most learned can hope to avoid, and it is really too hard a book for ordinary Christians to study from and profit.
"Liberal theology, in its pride, has long insisted that we are wiser than our fathers about the Bible, and must not read it as they did, but must base our approach to it on the 'assured results' of criticism, making due allowance for the human imperfections and error of its authors. This insistence has a threefold effect. It produces a new papalism - the infallibility of the scholars, from whom we learn what the 'assured results' are. It raises a doubt about every single biblical passage, as to whether it truly embodies revelation or not. And it destroys the reverent, receptive, self-distrusting attitude of approach to the Bible" (Packer p. 21). There is a lesson here that we must learn: one can never escape from absolutes. I really only have the choice of accepting that the Bible is the absolute truth (John 17:17), or what is absolutely true is the opinion of those who say that the Bible is not the word of God.
When I trust in my own opinion or the opinion of others, instead of what the Scriptures teach, it is easy to fall into the trap of "censuring our predecessors for being too definite and dogmatic, and complimenting ourselves on being open-minded, flexible. We must, however, be careful here. It has been well said that if you open your mind wide enough a great deal of rubbish will be tipped into it" (Packer pp. 30-31). The joy of learning can quickly vanish when one realizes that they have spent a lifetime learning - but learning nothing for certain and never arriving at the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).
What God offers
"I hold the heady doctrine that no pleasures are so frequent or intense as those of the grateful, devoted, single-minded, whole-hearted, self-denying Christian. I maintain that the delights of work and leisure, of friendship and family, of eating and mating, of arts and crafts, of playing and watching games, of finding out and making things, of helping other people, and all the other noble pleasures that life affords, are doubled for the Christian - the Christian tastes God in all his pleasures, and this increases them, whereas for other men pleasure brings with it a sense of hollowness which reduces it. Also, I maintain that every encounter between the sincere Christian and God's word, however harrowing or humbling its import, brings joy as its spin-off" (Packer p. 8). I believe the writer is correct in his assertions and I would offer the following passages as evidence that the Christian actually does enjoy the wholesome things of this life far more than the unbeliever:
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"For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?" (Ecclesiastes 2:25).
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"I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
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"Let him who means to love life and see good days..." (1 Peter 3:10).
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Then there is the basic premise that since God is our Creator and we are made in His image then obviously we will find the most enjoyment in living in harmony with the will of our Creator.
The Unexpected Pleasures
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The Pleasure of Purity
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word" (119:9). There is a wonderful sense of self-esteem, liberation, freedom and self-respect when one is actually living a wholesome lifestyle. It is amazing how good you feel when there is nothing to feel guilty about - and trying to ignore guilt, deny it or hide from it does not work (Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked flee when no one is pursuing"). In addition, purity increases personal boldness and confidence (Proverbs 28:1 "The righteous are bold as a lion"). It is amazing what you can face when you know that you are right with God.
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The Pleasure found in Correction
Even though many people live a entire lifestyle that involves avoiding confrontation or rebuke, the Bible recommends correction and listening to the truth even when it hurts. "Reprove a wise man and he will love you" (Proverb 9:8). The love might not be immediate, but it does come over time. Consider again the Bereans (Acts 17:11). "Their joy came from finding what they sought - even though it must have cut across their previous ideas, and brought them a sense of sin and shame and helplessness that they had not known before. So for us: what brings joy is finding God's way, God's grace and God's fellowship through the Bible, even though again and again what the Bible says - that is, what God in the Bible tells us - knocks us flat"(Packer p. 9). I know that some people in the world are absolutely astonished as to why anyone would want to attend a church where some of the message was critical of how one was living. They are probably even more amazed how anyone could not only stay and listen, but actually stay, listen and enjoy it! Yet this is precisely what we see in mature Christians. Often they will tell a preacher, "Give it to me straight". The reason Christians can thrive on teaching that the world considers "negative" is that they understand what they are hearing is "the truth", and it is only "negative" as long one is being stubborn and resisting what is obvious. The truth is not offensive to the Christian because the Christian understands that the rebuke that is coming from God's word is coming from the same God who loved us and gave His Son for us (John 3:16).
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The Joy of Certainty
Paul noted that many people are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), and often that is a self-chosen lifestyle. People at times prefer to be tossed and here and there because it has relived them of the responsibility to ever settle on anything for sure. It is a hollow kind of joy - because soon they are chasing after something else. Even though some people may resent the Bible laying down absolute and eternal truths, I find the follow advantages to embracing God's written wisdom:
- I am freed from following human opinion (Psalm 119:24).
- I am freed from following my own limited wisdom.
- If the Bible is the truth, then everyone else is in subjection to it, that means that all men are equal and on the same level.
- I no longer have to depend upon trial and error living.
- I can avoid a lot of common mistakes.
- I can give my loved ones and children final and absolute answers instead of an unstable and unreliable "I think" or "I feel".
- Guessing about life and being open to everything might seem fun for a while when you are young and single, but it isn't any fun once you marry, have children, grow old, and are facing death.
- It keeps you from wasting your life chasing false dreams (Psalm 119:37).
- It keeps you from being taken advantage of by others.
- Only with the truth do you have any real freedom (Psalms 119:45).
- You will discover a new respect that comes from others. People may not always like that you speak the truth or adhere to God's word, but they know they can depend upon you. They know you will not try to flatter them, and they can get an honest answer from you.