Devotional
for the Week 11 February 2008
Sermon
Title: Worship Centers on God’s Word
Scripture Text: Psalms.119:105,
John.5:39-40, 2 Timothy.3:16-17
Worship
is our response to God. In worship, God reveals Himself
to us, His attributes, desires and plans and our response
should be one of gratitude, faith, love and hope.
In today’s passages, we learn that our mindset about
the Bible should change. The Bible should not be seen
simply as ‘Bible as text’ but rather, a dynamic
communication between us and God. It demands a response:
There
are several things one can learn about the Word of God
and how it relates to us.
1.
The Word of God is central in worship
The book of Psalms is Israel’s worship and prayer
book! When we read the Word of God, we are reading out
God’s revelation and communication with man and
man’s response to Him. In the Protestant Church,
high value is placed on God’s Word. God’s
Word is central to worship. This is readily seen in our
prayers, hymns and songs, scripture reading, sacrament
and order of worship, all of them are based on God’s
Word.
When we look at our own Methodist heritage, we see that
John Wesley himself recognised the utmost importance of
the Bible when he uttered:
“I want to know one thing about the way to heaven:
how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has
condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came
from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give
me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I
have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo
unius libri.”
“homo unius libri” means “man of one
book:. John Wesley was declaring that for him, he would
be a man of one book – the Bible!
2. The Word relates to living
The Word of God is not simply a reference guide to the
standards of holiness. In Psalms 119 v 105, a response
is demanded from us. The Word is a lamp unto our feet
and this means that just as the Word of God guides and
reveals God’s thinking to us, we too must obey and
trust God, turning away from everything false.
In John 5 v 39, Jesus accused the Pharisees of head knowledge.
They studied the scriptures diligently thinking that study
alone will get them eternal life. However, they failed
to apply the scripture because if they did, they would
have come to Jesus, they would have trusted, obeyed and
followed Jesus.
When there is heart knowledge, lives are changed, decision
and values become God centered and you will accept Jesus
as your Lord and Saviour.
In 2 Timothy 3 v 16, it is made clear to us that all scripture
is God-breathed and meant for instructing, pointing out
our wrongs and errors and seeks to transform us. We need
to apply God’s Word to our everyday life.
3.
A simple method to relate Word to life
How do we relate God’s Word to our life? We must
first have a right attitude to God.
We must read God’s Word. When we read God’s
Word, we should observe everything, even the small points,
so that we will be able to put everything into context.
Ask who is the passage written to? Under what situation
is the passage written? Where is it written? When and
for what purpose was the passage written? For example,
was it to encourage the readers who may be facing trials?
Was it for instructing in Godly living or was it assuring
the readers about the end times?
Next, ask what does the passage mean to you? At this point,
be honest about yourself and your situation. Lastly, ask
how you can apply the lesson taught to your life.
If you do not know where to start, try starting at 1 Thessalonians
5 vs13-22. This passage has many lessons which can be
applied to Christian living.
Prayer
Response:
Thank you God for today’s message of applying what
we read in the Bible to our lives. I pray that as I read
the Bible, you will help me be observant and understand
the context in which the passage was written. Help me
to have the right heart attitude and to come humbly before
you, asking for your help to change me so that I may be
righteous and holy just as you are.
Devotional
based on message by Rev Lim Jen Huat