New Hope Notes
One Thing
Jesus Pure and Simple
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
November 18, 2012 - W1247
I pray that we will ingrain the Word of God into our hearts so that we will not be destroyed by our lack of knowledge of God’s Word.
The Bible is composed of 66 books, and was written over a hundred years by forty authors. It covers hundreds of controversial subjects based on the heart of God. However, there is much opposition to His Word because the enemy has mounted a furious campaign against people reading the Bible. By keeping people illiterate of God’s Word, lives will not be changed and transformed.
Reading the Bible allows us to not become a slave to the ongoing changes and complications of life. Isaiah chapter five says, “My people are in exile because of lack of knowledge.” Hosea chapter four says, “My people are ’destroyed’ for a lack of knowledge.”
Nothing has inspired anyone, or any nation and country, more than the Bible. The power of the Bible has transformed millions upon millions of lives.
The Bible says that God breathed life into His Words and honors them. The Bible says that you will receive the same wisdom that He gave to Solomon if you read the book of Solomon. God also says that He will be ecstatic to give you the ability to make wise decisions when you read about the life of Moses.
The Bible is a collection of stories that was given to us to learn from, and allows us to not repeat the same mistakes that others have made. This is why the enemy wants to keep us ignorant of God’s Word. By doing so, he will be able to keep God’s best out of us.
We must understand that the way we think will shape our future, our eternity – even if it is wrong!
Our nation was birthed from men and women who held a passion for the Word of God; therefore, we must have a basic knowledge of the Bible in order to understand their philosophies. For example, on April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King spoke his last message about the injustices of America. In his speech he said, “I have been to the mountain top and have seen the promise land. As a people we must enter the promise land. I am happy, and I have no worries. I do not fear any man, because my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.” The next day he was assassinated.
King’s speech would be “gibberish” to someone who lacked a basic understanding of the Bible.
You will not understand American history or American culture if you lack an understanding of the Bible. We will also lose our identities if we are not able to recognize revisionists who attempt to mystify history. This is because the foundation of America was built on the Bible.
Teaching the Bible in schools is not unconstitutional. People say it is unconstitutional because they have misinterpreted the law. In 1963, the supreme courts ruled that “public schools may not require (the) devotional usage of the Bible.” ABINGTON V. SCHEMPP 1963. However, in the same ruling Justice Thomas Clark said that it is absolutely fine to study the Bible – we just cannot “proselytize” it.
It’s almost as if our forefathers, who built this monument and our country, knew that efforts would be put forth to keep our children away from the Word of God.“Holiness unto the Lord” (Exodus 28:36).
The Supreme Court building has sculptures of all of the law givers, including Moses holding the Ten Commandments. Parts of Jefferson’s home in Monticello have panels that are inscribed with excerpts from three of his speeches. Although he was not really a Christian, they hold reference to God’s Word. For example, Panel two says, “Almighty God hath created the mind. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments… are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion…”
The Bible also says if you are not knowledgeable about His Word, and forget about Him, then you will go into exile. The prophetic word will then materialize. The Bible says the Lord will have you serve a nation that you do not know. The Bible also says that the alien who is among you shall rise above you. He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He shall be the head and you will be the tail. We will continually work but we will not own our own produce.
This means that foreigners will start lending to us and we will have to borrow money from other nations. Today, every 36 cents of a dollar spent in America is borrowed money from a foreign nation. For example, Gerber is owned by Switzerland. First Hawaiian Bank is owned by France. Japan owns 711. Tommy Bahama is owned by China.
The prophecy of God is happening. We produce many things but we do not own them. All of the money that we spend with these companies goes out of our nation to a people whose language that we do not know.
We can change this by choosing the Lord. The Lord says. “I have set before you this day life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendents by loving the Lord your God, and obeying His voice” (Deut 30: 19-20).
There is one group of people who can stop the elimination of faith in God. This group is the church of the Living God – us. We must read the Word so that we do not go into exile for lack of knowledge. Reading the Word will give you the truth to set you free.
It’s time to get back to the basics of Bible literacy. This book called Jesus Pure and Simple reminds us to get back to the basics. Otherwise we will be “duped” by everybody else’s words.
Today, I want to encourage you to be a people knowledgeable of the Word of God.
Let’s refer to our notes.
Jesus was in the house of Martha and Mary; however, Martha was complaining to Mary and scurrying around doing many things while Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His Word. “But the Lord answered and said “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
One thing is necessary, it’s something that you have to choose because the enemy will try to keep you from His Word.
The psalmist says in psalm 1:19, “Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Thy Law” (Ps 119:18).
Why do we pray to open our eyes? Let me go through four things that you are going to look for when reading the Bible.
Every day, when you are doing your devotions, look for LESSONS TO BE LEARNED.
Every problem that you face will have already been encountered by someone in the Bible. Therefore, they will leave you with clues on how to navigate through your own issues.
For example, in the book of Corinthians, Paul planted a church in Corrine, and speaks to the people about the danger of immorality. This is because Aphrodite was the name of Corrine’s main goddess. Aphrodite is related to the word aphrodisiac which means a heightening of one’s sexuality. Paul said, “Let us not act immorally as some did and 23,000 fell in one day, nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble as some did and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:8-10).
9). We err and make mistakes because we do not know what God’s Word says. We can avoid our mistakes by finding lessons to be learned in His Word.
You have two really good teachers in life – a teacher of wisdom and a teacher of consequences. Consequences demand that you first make a mistake and then you will learn the lesson. Wisdom, however, will tell you the lesson first. This allows you to decide to make the mistake or not. I choose to take the lessons on wisdom, not consequences.
So as you are reading your Bible, look for lessons to be learned and EXAMPLES TO BE FOLLOWED. Learn from examples of those who failed and from those who didn’t fail.
The Bible says, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11).
The incidents that happened in the Bible were written as examples for us to instruct us. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction…” (Rom. 15:4).
PROMISES TO BE ENJOYED. There are over 7000 promises in the Bible. Look for a promise to hold onto whenever you are going through a trial or something hard.
I said that over and over again – and that gave me hope.
Shortly thereafter, I went for surgery, and the doctors put three stents in my heart. I looked for hope, and the promises of God to be enjoyed. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ”. (2 Cor. 1:20). “…He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them, you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Pet. 1:4).
The promises about your future, the promises about your marriage, the promises that He will take care of you – that gives me hope and a confidence.
Lastly, look for JESUS TO BE REVEALED. Look for Jesus to be revealed while reading the Bible, not for things that will give you dogma or doctrine.
Soon Jesus joined them and started walking with them in his resurrected form; however, they did not know that He was Jesus.
The reason why we need to read the Word of God is to look for lessons to be learned, examples to be followed, and promises to be enjoyed. By reading the Bible, God is training your eyes to recognize Jesus. If you do not train your eyes to see God in the Bible, then you are not going to see Him around you. The psalmist says, “Open my eyes that I might behold wonderful things.” WHEN YOU BEGIN TO SEE JESUS IN THE BIBLE, YOU WILL RECOGNIZE HIM IN EVERYDAY LIFE.
If you have a relationship with Jesus and talk to Him throughout the day, you will be able to hear Him and recognize Him. You will hear Him when He speaks into conversations that you have. You will recognize Him when He shows up in situations. He will not be a surprise.
This is why I want you to know about the “Comings of Christ”. If people are waiting for Christ to come, then they will miss all of the “comings” of Christ. They will miss Him every day. People may not know when Jesus shows up and offers them an opportunity; therefore, they may miss opportunities in life.
Let me share with you about a few comings of Christ that happened in my life. I met this guy at the airport coming home from a golfing trip. He told me that his daughter enjoyed going to New Hope for many years, but moved to Canada. I said what about you? He said that he didn’t go. However, God arranged this meeting for me to talk to him so that he could be reminded that God is waiting for him. Another situation of God showing up happened when I bumped into this woman outside of our condo, and we prayed for this woman’s husband who had stopped walking. Two weeks later she came up to me and told me that her husband had started walking again.
This is why reading the Bible is so important. It allows us to understand the context of our culture. Without the Word, we will lack knowledge and go into exile. History will also be rewritten and we will lose our identity.
We must be a people of knowledge. We are the standard, the barometer of this nation. God says the church of the Living God will start or stop everything. So open your eyes and look for lessons to be learned, examples of successes to be followed, and promises to be enjoyed and held onto in times of your struggles. Finally, look for Jesus as you read about Him, and your eyes will become attuned to seeing Him. This will allow you to see Him in everyday life – which is the beginning of changes, transformations, and miracles. Let’s be a people of the Word – one thing, which is the most important of everything.
Discussion Suggestions
· What happens if we stay ignorant of the Word of God?
· How do we train our eyes to see God, and what happens when we do this?
· What are the 4 things we should look for when we read our Bibles?
· Discuss some examples of people who failed, and people who succeeded in the Bible. What can we learn from them?