The Standard of Truth
Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne
Last week we talked about fake news, and I showed that the problem with our society is that there is no standard for truth. It changes day to day, year to year, and there is no solid ground upon which our society is built any more. But we are not engaged in a political war, not even a social war, we are engaged in primarily a spiritual war, and we need spiritual truth to stand upon! Last week I posed the question; by what standard do we as Christians have to live by?
WHAT IS OUR STANDARD OF TRUTH?
The obvious answer is that Christians stand without hesitation on the Word of God. In a world that considers it unsophisticated to affirm the inerrant and authoritative Word of God, we embrace it.
The Bible is our confidence, and we value its reliability. The truth of the Word directs us to Christ, and it is truth that has stood for millennia, and still stands today, despite what society may say. If we absorb God’s truth from His Word into our lives, we can withstand the shifting sands of modern immorality. The question is, how do we do this? How do we get it from our Bibles, phones, iPads to our spirits?
Last week it was pointed out to me that simply reading the Bible is not enough. Our hearts must be enlightened by the Spirit of God. The Bible is not just a read; it’s got to be a revelation. So today I want to explore way in which each one of us can absorb God’s Word into our hearts, minds and spirits. As Jesus said…
John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
HOW CAN WE ABSORB THE WORD OF GOD?
A measure of truth is useless if we do not know what it is, and importantly, apply it. We say the Bible is God’s Word, but if we do not know it and live it, we might as well read the obituary in the newspaper, they both have the same amount of life.
Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible, and the definitive Psalm on the Word of God. It contains ten different names for the Word of God: word, law, saying, statutes, way, commandments, path, testimonies, precepts, and judgments. Each name indicates what the Word is and how we should respond to it.
Here are six main ways we can absorb the Word of God into our lives, into our spirits.
1. HEAR THE WORD
We can listen to God’s Word. When King Josiah found a copy of the Law of God, he made the whole city stand and listen to it being read, and this brought about a revival.
2 Kings 23:2
And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
We can hear the Word of God in sermons like this, or free Bible versions like YouVersion will read the Bible to you. Try reading the Bible out loud, there is power in the spoken word. There is no excuse for not listening to the Word of God, but…
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Just listening to the Bible or a good sermon is meaningless if you fail to do what it says, and that’s where being involved in a church, and especially in discipleship can hold you accountable, and can translate the teaching you hear into the life you lead.
Psalms 119:24
Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counsellors.
What do you do with wise counsel? Listen, and then do what it says.
2. READ THE WORD
I believe that reading the Bible every day is a great habit to develop. The writer of the longest psalm in the Bible was caught up with the wonder of God’s Word, and how you can apply it, and he wrote…
Psalms 119:18
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Have you ever read something in the Bible, and it has jumped out at you? That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you from God’s Word. When was the last time you discovered something wonderful on your own from the Bible? The Bible says that there are special blessings for those who hear and read God’s Word.
Revelation 1:3
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Read it in your quiet time every day and read it to others. Read it in your time of prayer. Begin at the beginning of a book and work your way through it. Read it using our Bible Reading Plan. The more you read the Bible, the more you learn to love it, and the more it speaks to you.
3. STUDY THE WORD
What’s the difference between reading and studying? It’s a piece of paper and a pen, or in my case, an iPad. You can begin by asking questions and writing things down. Pray, with the psalmist…
Psalms 119:33-34
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
When you begin to write what you are learning, you will start to apply it and make a major move toward maturity. I use several study Bibles, and if you have an online Bible, like YouVersion or Olive Tree, they often have free Bible commentaries.
Reading is simply not enough, diving in deep and studying is where you can mine the gems of wisdom in God’s Word. I always pray and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten me, because absorbing the truth of the Bible is not simply reading or even studying, it is a spiritual deposit.
4. MEMORISE THE WORD
Psalms 119:9-11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
I have never seen a serious student of the Word of God who was not also memorising sections of the Scriptures. You might say, “Oh, I’m not very good at that.” Can you remember your phone number or address? Could you learn one verse per week? Sure, you can! That’s more than fifty a year. You’ll be amazed. Nothing gives you confidence in moments of need like the memorised Word.
This is where the Holy Spirit can quicken verses to your mind, giving you guidance in your circumstances. I have memorised hundreds of verses, and the Holy Spirit brings these to mind almost every day, in amazing situations and applications.
Isaiah 30:21
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
5. MEDITATE ON THE WORD
Meditation is forcing your mind to focus your full attention on something. It’s like a cow chewing the cud. As she does that, she is enjoying her food for the second time. When you meditate on Scripture, you go back over it and enjoy it again and again. The psalmist said to the Lord…
Psalms 119:27
Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
When we meditate on Scripture, we learn to take God seriously, and also not to take ourselves too seriously. We chew things over, dwell on them, talk with our friends and family about what God is saying.
6. OBEY THE WORD
You can read, you can study, you can meditate on the Word of God, but you will only have true revelation of God, and you will only move into the destiny the Lord has for you by obedience.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
When you learn and study and obey the truth of God’s Word, He can guide your way.
Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
There’s no lamp brighter. No matter who your enemies may be, no matter how large the difficulties you face, God’s Word will get you through. God’s Word becomes the foundation for our faith. It’s the truth that never changes. It’s the rock upon which we stand.
There’s a huge tendency today to be disobedient, then blame God or others for the result. Charlie Kirk said, “The victim mindset is parasitic for your soul,” so be obedient and trust God for results.
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
In the armour of God of Ephesians 6, the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It is the only offensive weapon in the armour, because with it we can attack satanic untruths. But you must understand, it is not simply something we read, it is a weapon the Holy Spirit uses to transform our lives, and it cuts deep.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Bible is not dead, it is alive by the Holy Spirit, and it is active. It actively penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. But what does that mean?
We know a sword can cleave joints and bone, and in the same way the Bible can separate or cleave your soul and spirit. Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. The Bible can transform your mind, cleaning it up, focussing it on Jesus. It can direct your will; it can make it obedient to Jesus; it can calm your emotions and brings them under to influence of the Holy Spirit. It penetrates your entire being, if you let it in! If you are at the mercy of your mind, will or emotions, the Bible can divide your spirit from dependency on them.
KNOWING THIS BOOK
And it discerns the thoughts and intentions or attitudes of the heart. When you open your spirit to the Word of God, your thoughts and your intentions are totally laid bare.
Knowing this Book makes a difference in your emotions, in your reactions, in how you view life, in how you handle difficult people. It makes a difference in how you handle stress, emotions and relationships, on how you anticipate the future, and whether or not you worry about the past. You need this Book open regularly so that it will shape your thinking, guard what you say, and guide what you decide. It’s not just a book; it is inspired truth! In my quiet time I read this…
Proverbs 22:17-18
Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,
for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
THE ULTIMATE TRUTH BOMB
We live in a world of constantly changing standards, but God’s Word is the ultimate truth bomb. It has stood forever, and it will stand forever, long after Facebook and woke dies!
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Matthew 24:35 (Jesus said)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The challenge to us today is to make God’s Word a central part of our lives. We can take Jesus’ promises to heart and make them the foundation of our lives because they are eternal.
Our minds, which are constantly bombarded with the world’s unbiblical ideas, need to be renewed so our lives can be transformed.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
When you try to change your actions without changing your thinking, you only do a temporary, patchwork job. If you want to fix what you do, you must first fix how you think about what you do. A transformed mind, a renewed mind comes through the study and application of the Word of God. Finding God’s will for your life involves filling it with His Word, His wisdom.
HOW WILL YOU HONOUR GOD?
Reading and studying God’s Word honours Him. But you cannot honour God if He isn’t even in your life. Some of you have shut Him out, walked away, run your life your way, without His eternal wisdom and guidance. Today He is calling for you to listen and say, yes, Lord. Come and learn my wisdom. Come and accept my salvation.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Will you commit to learning His Word? Will you say yes to your Lord?
Abraham said YES when the Lord told Him to go without knowing where.
He said YES when God told him to sacrifice His son.
Moses said YES when God told him to go to Pharaoh to ask him to let the Israelites go free.
Joseph said YES when God told him to forgive his brothers.
Esther said YES when Mordecai told her to go to the king to save her people.
Mary said YES when an angel came to her and told her she would be carrying God’s Son.
What will you say? God is calling you to stand up for Him, to learn His ways and commit to serving and honouring Him. You can say whatever you want. What will you say?