Good evening. If you would, open your Bibles
to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter seven. Matthew chapter seven. One of the most difficult things
about preaching the gospel is that when you stand up in front
of people with the intent to proclaim the truth about the
Lord Jesus Christ and salvation in Him, is that I'm the one who's
talking. You're looking at me to tell
you, to teach you, to show you something. Now, I'm not a person
who is short on confidence. I'm a little cocky, I'm a braggart,
and definitely think too highly of myself. When I was a child,
the verse of scripture I heard my mother say to me a hundred
times more than any other was Luke, pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a fall. But when I stand up here, I am
truly scared that the Lord is going to let me do the talking,
that he's going to leave me alone to speak foolishly, that I will
misguide you and that you're going to hear my words. I wouldn't
even attempt to do this if there weren't so many examples in his
word, such as I will not leave thee or forsake thee. With man
it's impossible, but not with God, for with God all things
are possible. And I don't say all this to get
pity from you. I don't say this so that you'll
make sure to pray for me, though I beg of you to do that, and
I need it. I say it all to set up the message. In Matthew 7, look at verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doth the will of my father, which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name have cast out
devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. This passage clearly states that
some of the people who preach in Christ's name are not saved. Anyone who stands up and does
this, that's a very serious thing. I've always thought The way to
identify the difference or tell them apart, those that are or
are not saved, is what's in the message. And that's true to an
extent. But this week I noticed that
the answer is actually in the very same passage. How to tell
these apart. It says, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? The little word in is all the
difference there. Those men were using the name
of Christ to say what words they wanted to say. I don't stand
up here tonight to preach in Christ's name. I stand up here
with a desire to preach Christ. I don't want to use the Lord
as a way to make you believe what I say. I want to say what
the Lord said and tell you to believe him. And I'm not trying
to be cute. I'm not trying to make the little
word in a big deal and split hairs here. This is way too important
for that. Why I'm saying this is that You
don't need to look at what a man wears, how he looks, how he talks. Don't focus on any titles, on
any education, on what school someone went to, or how big a
congregation is, or how ornate or big a robe or an outfit is.
The authority in the message, any message, doesn't come from
any of those things. You need to examine if the message
is telling you what to do or if it's telling you what he's
already done. Make sure the focus isn't on us, or worse, the preacher,
but completely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And look upon the
content of the message, if it comes from the preacher's words
or God's words. John says, for he whom God hath
sent speaketh the words of God. So my goal tonight is to take
a few minutes and talk about why God's word is so important,
why we must use it when we're preaching and teaching, and why
we must believe it. Now, the first reason is because
it's the words of God. Turn over to John 1. This makes me think of when I
tell my children what to do. I tell them to do something then
they look at me and say why and then I give the answer because
I said so This sounds simple that the first reason the Word
of God is so important to us is because it's the Word of God
but very few people actually treat this word that way in John
1 it says verse 1 in the beginning was the Word of And the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was
life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." In Hebrews
it says, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the Word of God. God spoke this world into existence. That's how powerful his words
are. Then God created man in his own image. In the image of
God created he him, male and female created he them. He's
the potter, we're the clay. Once he created us perfectly,
we fell into sin. So where does that put us? where
we are today. We're sinners with no hope apart
from this Creator. As sinners, we must look for
a way to salvation. That's why we look to His Word. Turn over to Revelation chapter
19. Revelation chapter 19. Look in verse 10. And this is John speaking. And
I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, verse
10, see thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven
opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And
he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of
kings and Lord of lords. Our Savior's name is the Word
of God. Those can be interchanged. And
as I continue talking and I say God's Word or the Word of God,
you can translate that as the Savior, as Lord Jesus Christ.
Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. As we read this verse, remember,
we must believe this book is His Word. It's God's Word. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. For
this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when
ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received
it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of
God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." We
can't just believe parts of this book or the things in here that
fit our opinions, but the whole book. And we should thank God,
as they did here, without ceasing, for making us receive it as His
Word. Without Him, we would go about
thinking these were words that crazy people read, that they
believed. We would not understand the importance
of this and how it truly is God's Word. Joshua said to the people,
unto the children of Israel, come hither and hear the words
of the Lord your God. Now, another reason why the Word
is so important is because He gave it to us. Or you could also
say He gave it for us. It was written for us. In the
Psalms, it's written, the Lord gave the Word. Great was the
company of those that published it. God was the one who gave
the Word. But those that wrote it and sent
it out was a great company. And I love that it says, Great
was the company of those that published it. And the word published
it actually translate to announce cheerfully. Everything in the
Bible was written under divine inspiration from God. Everything
in this word is written for his children. Sunday, we heard Eric
preach and he gave an illustration of they had a situation at their
house and in their neighborhood where a criminal, a murderer,
was in their neighborhood and they couldn't find him. And he
was staying up and couldn't sleep and didn't sleep the whole first
night. And then all of a sudden he found a verse of scripture
that said that the watchman has no purpose if the God is not
in it, if the Lord is not with him. There's nothing that you
or I can go through in this world There's nothing that can happen
to us, no situation we can ever find ourselves in, that there
is not a specific verse, chapter, or portion of this scripture
that was not written for that exact moment for our comfort. That's the Word of God. If we
search it, we will find it. And that's a reminder to us to
make sure in those moments when we're in trouble, when we're
in travail, look to His Word. I find myself so often not doing
that, and then I find something later, and it's all I think to
myself is, man, I sure wish I would have found that two months ago.
It's because I wasn't looking for it. Now, the Old Testament
of His Word foretells of His coming. And many of the prophets
or that great company that foretold of His coming They thought it
was so important to let everyone know that they weren't saying
their words, but they were writing God's words, that a large group
of those men actually start their chapters by saying something
along the lines of, let whoever read it know that it came from
the Lord. They say, the word of the Lord
came to me saying, and they continually say this, In Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, we see how the Savior is here, and we see many passages
that are telling about what He did, and then His words Himself.
And then if we continue, the rest of the New Testament tells
us of what He's done and that He's coming again. But all of
that is given to us. Now, if we continue and say,
why is God's Word so important? We could say, because the whole
thing is about Him. Every single word in the Word
of God is about the Lord Jesus Christ, about God Almighty. He
deserves our praise. Everything in this is to praise
and glorify Him. Nothing needs to be given to
us to make us or make him deserve our praise He is God and we must
repeat as the psalm writer wrote to the end that my glory may
sing praise to thee And that I not be silent. Oh lord my god. I will give thanks unto thee
forever And in judy said to the only wise god our savior be glory
and might dominion and power both now and ever amen Now, I've
shortened those so I can combine them into this. God's Word is
the most important thing in the world. That's because it's God's
actual words, because He gave it to us, and because it's all
about Him. Now, the fourth reason is the
one that we love to hear. It's the one I love to talk about.
And it can be actually told by using the first three reasons.
So listen to me carefully here as I combine these reasons. The
first reason is in God's Word, God's Word, God told us about
ourselves. His Word tell us who we are and
what we've done. Reason two is He gave the Word
of God to us. Now remember I read in Revelation
and we saw in John where it said that the Lord of Lords and the
King of Kings also went by the name the Word of God. So if we
take that out and fix it, reason two actually says Christ gave
himself to us. And the third reason it's all
about him is that God gets the glory. So if we sum those three
reasons, we say this. God told us who we are. Our creator told us who we are
and what we've done. And he gave himself to us as
a savior. And he gets all the glory for
doing it. The fourth reason why do we think the Word of God is
so important to us is because that's where a sinner can find
a Savior. In Luke it says, For unto you
is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Matthew wrote,
Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. Turn with me to the book of Acts.
Acts chapter 4. Acts 4, verse 7. And when they had set them in
the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name have ye
done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to this impotent
man, by what means he is made whole? Be it known unto you all,
and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become
the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved." In Hebrews it says, "...and
being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him." Turn with me to 2 Timothy. 2nd Timothy chapter 1. All these verses continue to
tell us where a sinner can find a savior. 2nd Timothy 1 verse 8. Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved
us and called us with an holy calling. not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made
manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who
hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel." In Hebrews it says, "...for by
one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."
In Matthew it says, For the Son of Man is come to seek and to
save that which is lost. Now turn over to Titus with me. Titus 3. Titus 3 verse 4. But
after that, The kindness and love of God,
our Savior, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. which He shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being
justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life." In Romans it says, "...by whom also we
have access by faith into His grace, wherein we stand and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God." Now go to the book of Ephesians
with me. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of
our of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his
mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion
and every name that is named, not only in this world but also
in that which is to come, and hath put all things under His
feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all."
And then lastly, turn to 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1, and look at verse 18. Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you. who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your
faith and hope might be in God. 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, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. For all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord
endureth forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. I read a lot of scriptures there
because I don't have the words better to express why we look
in this book for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. But let
me finish with one more reason why the Word of God is everything
to a believer and that no man should dare preach anything other
than the Word of God. I started this message with a
concern. with the worry that I always
have that I'll be standing up here by myself and that all you'll
hear are my words and not God's words. I'm going to finish the
message saying the last reason in just a minute or just a second.
And then I'm going to read the passage that goes along with
that from God's word. So turn over to Luke chapter
24. Not that we need another reason,
but the final reason is that we must use the Word of God in
preaching because that's what the Lord Jesus Christ used. Look
at Luke 24, verse 13. And behold, two of them went
that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem,
about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all
these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while
they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. But their eyes were holden that
they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner
of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye
walk and are sad? And the one of them whose name
was Cleopas answered, said unto them, Art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to
pass therein these days? And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was
a prophet, mighty in deed and word, before God and all the
people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him
to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted
that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside
all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished,
which were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not His body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said He was alive. And certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the woman
had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
his glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village
whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone
farther. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for
it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went
in to tarry with them. And their eyes were opened, and
it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread,
and blessed it, and break, and gave to them. And their eyes
were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their
sight. And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within
us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened
to us the scriptures? We'll stop there.