1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,702 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,886 where we are proclaiming the truth to the 3 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:08,878 world. In this podcast series, we're 4 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:10,758 going to be looking into biblical 5 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:13,486 words that have great significance to our 6 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:16,318 faith. The name of this series is 7 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:18,854 called the word of the week, where 8 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:21,062 once a week, we will dive deeper 9 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:23,390 into these words that we are familiar 10 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:26,494 with in scripture. So come along with me. 11 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:29,010 Let's study the word of the week. 12 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:32,062 Pastor Josh here, the word of the 13 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:34,894 week is inspiration. Now, we're going 14 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:36,502 to be talking about the inspiration 15 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:39,502 of scripture here in this lesson, and 16 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:40,830 I want us to think about what this 17 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:43,198 means. It means simply this, that 18 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:47,102 God produced the word, that the source 19 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:49,170 of scripture is the Lord himself. 20 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:51,846 Many people oppose scripture by saying 21 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:54,638 that it's a product of man, that it was 22 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:56,310 something that man created and then 23 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:59,392 attributed to God later on. And so 24 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:00,960 what we need to understand is that 25 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:03,704 scripture shows us that the Bible 26 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:07,296 comes from God. And that's why it 27 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:11,528 is important to realize the infallibility 28 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:15,488 of scripture. It's perfect because it 29 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:17,180 comes from God. There's no mistakes. 30 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:20,256 There's no contradictions. If the 31 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:23,726 Bible was a book created by Mandev, 32 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:25,874 it would have mistakes. Why? Because 33 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:29,030 we are all fallible. It would have contradictions. 34 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:31,746 There would be issues when it comes 35 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:33,722 to its teaching, because there would 36 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:36,450 be an imperfection somewhere found 37 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:38,722 in those teachings. But what we know 38 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:41,666 is that scripture is infallible. We 39 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:44,706 know that it has no mistakes. We 40 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:47,378 know that it is perfect. We know 41 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:49,586 that it is trustworthy because it 42 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:52,762 comes from God. The Bible is axiomatic 43 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:55,378 in the fact that it proves itself. And 44 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:57,154 we know that in two Timothy, chapter 45 00:00:00,240 --> 00:01:59,162 three, verse 16, we are told that 46 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:01,618 all scripture, and I always try to 47 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:02,858 emphasize with folks that it says 48 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:04,842 all scripture, not part of scripture 49 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:06,618 or some scriptures or scriptures that 50 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:08,586 we feel comfortable with. It says 51 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:11,338 in two Timothy 316 that all scripture 52 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:15,178 is given by inspiration of God. Now, 53 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:16,666 we heard that word inspiration. And 54 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:18,920 sometimes we can think of an artist 55 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:22,460 being inspired by nature to paint 56 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:26,556 a beautiful picture, or a musician 57 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:29,044 being inspired by something in their life, 58 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:31,372 in creating beautiful music. But 59 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:33,444 that's not what this term inspiration 60 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:36,468 is all about. Actually, this word in 61 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:39,324 the Greek is the phrase inspiration 62 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:42,092 of God. And there's really two words that 63 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:44,892 are put together in the greek thea, 64 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:47,820 which means God and which means breathe. 65 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:50,748 So theop nustos means God breathe. 66 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:52,884 And so all scripture is God breathed, 67 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:57,052 created by God, given from God to man. It 68 00:00:00,240 --> 00:02:58,140 says that all scripture is given 69 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:00,404 by inspiration of God and is profitable 70 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:03,636 for doctrine. That's teaching for reproof, 71 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:05,920 that is showing us where we're wrong, 72 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:09,252 but also for correction, so that 73 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:11,196 we can move away from those wrongdoings, 74 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:13,132 and so that we can walk in that right path. 75 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:15,544 And it says, for correction and for 76 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:17,808 instruction in righteousness. And 77 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:19,904 so we're taught how to walk in righteousness. 78 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:22,288 After we are told where we're wrong 79 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:24,128 and where we need to change, then 80 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:25,432 it says in the next verse that a man 81 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:27,888 of God may be perfect or complete, 82 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:30,080 mature, thoroughly furnished unto 83 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:32,912 all good works. And so what we're 84 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:34,520 told is that we have to see scripture 85 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:36,776 from the concept of this being a 86 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:39,740 message from God, his literal word. 87 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:42,730 And so one thing that we could think 88 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:44,498 about here as we listen to this and 89 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:47,002 as we meditate upon the truths of 90 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:49,338 inspiration, is that we have to know 91 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:52,266 that the source is from God, that 92 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:55,250 the source is perfect, that the content 93 00:00:00,240 --> 00:03:57,682 is perfect, and that it's profitable 94 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:00,434 not just for our daily living, but for 95 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:02,626 teaching us how to live, teaching 96 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:04,794 us where we're wrong, teaching us how 97 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:07,520 to fix that, teaching us how to stay 98 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:09,616 in that path, and ultimately teaching 99 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:11,384 us what the truth of the gospel really 100 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:14,480 is. Romans 1017 says, faith cometh 101 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:18,000 by hearing and hearing by the word of 102 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:20,776 God. And so we know that there is 103 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:23,136 this source of scripture which is 104 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:26,544 God. And we know that as the source 105 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:29,168 being perfect, the message is perfect. 106 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:31,984 And this message has power to change 107 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:36,096 our lives. Hebrews chapter four tells 108 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:37,808 us this truth. And I think that this 109 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:39,104 is so important to understand. It 110 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:40,832 says, for the word of God is quick. 111 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:43,500 That means alive. The Bible is alive. 112 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:46,896 It's a living book, and it's powerful. 113 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:49,040 So powerful, it has the power to change 114 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:51,232 us. It has the power to convict us. 115 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:54,048 It has the power to comfort us. Now, 116 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:56,272 we know that ultimately, it's the 117 00:00:00,240 --> 00:04:58,738 power of God in his word. But it 118 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:00,754 says that, and it's sharper than 119 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:03,842 any two edged sword, piercing even to 120 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:06,122 the dividing asunder. That's of soul 121 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:08,506 and spirit and of the joints and 122 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:10,282 marrow, and is the discerner of thoughts 123 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:12,762 and intents of the heart. This speaks 124 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:15,834 of is the convicting power, the pointed 125 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:19,538 convicting power of the word. It 126 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:22,954 can divide the soul and of spirit, 127 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:25,688 of joints and of marrow. It's discerning 128 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:27,580 the thoughts and intentions of our heart. 129 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:29,064 I think that this is so important 130 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:30,944 for us to understand, because a lot of times 131 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:32,368 we think that change can come in 132 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:35,336 our lives without the word, or that 133 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:37,112 conviction will come without the 134 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:39,552 word. And we know that the Holy Spirit 135 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:41,152 is ultimately the one doing the convicting 136 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:43,376 and the comforting. But we know the 137 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:45,912 heart of God. We know his will for 138 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:49,144 our lives when we adhere and follow 139 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:52,162 scripture. Another passage of scripture 140 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:53,586 that we can go back to when it comes 141 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:55,378 to this idea of the source is two. 142 00:00:00,240 --> 00:05:58,498 Peter, chapter 1, second Peter, chapter 143 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:00,186 one. And you could start in verse 144 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:02,170 number 19. This is Peter speaking 145 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:03,402 through the inspiration of scripture. 146 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:04,930 And he says, we also have a more sure 147 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:07,074 word of prophecy now in context. 148 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:08,850 What is he talking about? He's talking about 149 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:11,002 the glory of seeing Jesus on the 150 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:12,610 mount of Transfiguration. And then 151 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:14,650 he shifts gears and he says, but 152 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:17,030 we also have a more sure word of prophecy. 153 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:20,336 Whereunto ye do well, that ye take 154 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:22,616 heed, meaning it is good for you 155 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:24,536 that you listen to this and obey 156 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:26,448 this as unto a light that shineth 157 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:29,488 in a dark place until the day dawn and 158 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:31,304 the day star arise in your hearts. 159 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:33,520 So the word of God shines light into 160 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:36,048 a dark place. He says, knowing this 161 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:38,688 first, that no prophecy. Now, when 162 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:40,656 we see prophecy, we're talking about 163 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:42,232 scripture, because he says the prophecy 164 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:43,968 of scripture. So the preaching or 165 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:45,940 the proclaiming of the truth in scripture, 166 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:48,372 no prophecy of the scripture is of 167 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:51,280 any private interpretation. Meaning 168 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:53,300 scripture doesn't come from someone's 169 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:55,100 own interpretation. It's coming from 170 00:00:00,240 --> 00:06:57,412 God. This isn't just a man's way 171 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:01,172 of thinking, worldly wisdom contrived 172 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:03,636 in the heart of some fallible man. No, it's 173 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:04,788 coming from God. He says, for the 174 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:07,320 prophecy came not in the old time 175 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:09,748 by the will of man. So the word did 176 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:11,380 not come from the will of man. But 177 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:14,370 I, holy men, men that were set aside 178 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:16,338 for a specific use, that's what that 179 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:19,266 word holy means, set apart. So holy 180 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:22,570 men of God spake as they were moved 181 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:24,410 by the Holy Ghost. This speaks of 182 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:26,950 that understanding of inspiration. 183 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:32,282 And so the source of scripture is it's directly 184 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:34,954 from God. God breathed inspired by 185 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:37,434 God. And so the reason why I want 186 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:39,362 to stress that here in this lesson is 187 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:41,760 because if we think of scripture 188 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:45,308 in any context, outside of being a message 189 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:47,588 directly from God, we can begin to 190 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:50,540 question its value. We can begin 191 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:53,600 to question its application to our lives. 192 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:55,636 And we could even look at two Timothy, 193 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:57,300 chapter three, verse 16, and say, 194 00:00:00,240 --> 00:07:59,348 you know what? I don't really believe 195 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:02,060 that all scripture is given by God. 196 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:03,524 Just maybe parts of it, parts of 197 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:05,156 it that make sense to our society 198 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:07,500 today. And we've seen people go off 199 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:09,500 track when it comes to this. Okay, 200 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:11,484 I will adhere to this because this 201 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:13,280 makes sense in our culture today. 202 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:16,572 But our culture has changed. And therefore 203 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:18,452 this part of scripture, we don't 204 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:20,148 need to take anymore, or at least take 205 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:23,948 as it's read here. I would be very cautious 206 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:25,660 to take that stance when it comes 207 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:29,508 to interpreting scripture, because we 208 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:31,460 could really see that, you know what? 209 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:33,982 Anyone can change anything. Culture 210 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:35,422 changes. I think we can all admit 211 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:36,950 that culture has changed over the 212 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:38,830 years. If you've lived long enough 213 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:43,398 to see decades pass, you've realized 214 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:45,158 that different decades bring about different 215 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:47,534 trends and different mindsets and 216 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:49,606 things that we accept in our culture 217 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:51,758 today. 50 years ago would have been 218 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:54,046 something that would repulse many 219 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:56,718 folks in our culture. But what we 220 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:58,478 can see is that though culture changes, 221 00:00:00,240 --> 00:08:59,822 scripture does not change, and the 222 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:02,052 principles in scripture do not change. 223 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:03,508 The message that God has given us 224 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:06,236 in the gospel and in purity and in 225 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:08,788 righteousness have not changed. And 226 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:10,924 so the way that we can understand 227 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:14,756 that is by going back to the uncompromised 228 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:16,724 truth of scripture, that it is coming from 229 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:18,724 God and that God wants us to understand 230 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:20,292 it. God wants that to change our 231 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:22,084 life. And if we want to grow in faith, 232 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:23,172 first of all, if we want to have 233 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:25,708 a relationship with God in faith. But 234 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:27,092 if we want to grow in faith, as Romans 235 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:29,356 1017 says, faith cometh by hearing 236 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:31,502 and hearing by the word of God. That 237 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:33,638 is why it is so important for you to 238 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:36,010 study the word of God on your own. 239 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:37,694 You know, there are a lot of people 240 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:38,726 that would say, you know what? You 241 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:40,462 can't understand the word. So let 242 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:42,078 me explain to you the word the way 243 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:43,574 that I understand it, and you have 244 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:44,862 to believe exactly the way that I 245 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:46,758 believe. Well, I think that's a danger, 246 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:48,710 because the Bible does tell us for 247 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:50,510 us to have a personal time with God 248 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:51,854 through scripture, to know him in 249 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:53,942 a personal way. Now, there is a time 250 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:55,982 and a place to hear teaching. There 251 00:00:00,240 --> 00:09:57,350 is a time and a place to have someone 252 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:00,274 explain something to you. But if 253 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:02,754 we rely on somebody else for our 254 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:04,658 intake of scripture completely, we 255 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:06,666 are missing out on the joys and the 256 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:08,402 blessings of being. As it says in 257 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:10,270 that one passage in two Timothy, 258 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:12,386 a person of God, a man of God, a woman 259 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:14,122 of God, thoroughly furnished unto 260 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:16,578 all good works. You know, there is 261 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:17,698 something to be said about digging 262 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:19,538 into the word ourselves and mining the 263 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:21,922 depths of scripture on our own. I 264 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:23,706 know that there is a passage of scripture 265 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:24,922 that is very near and dear to my 266 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:26,642 heart when it comes to the word of 267 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:29,116 God, and that is psalm 119. Psalm 268 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:32,172 119 has a lot to say about the word of 269 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:34,572 God, and I think that it would be 270 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:36,300 a great passage of scripture to study 271 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:38,204 when you are thinking about what 272 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:39,932 it means to study the word of God. Psalm 273 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:42,052 100 1911. Thy word have I hid in 274 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:43,708 my heart that I might not sin against 275 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:46,060 thee. And so there is an importance 276 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:49,044 to memorizing and meditating and living 277 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:51,076 upon scripture, because when you 278 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:52,476 hide God's word in your heart, it 279 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:55,640 allows us to fight those temptations. 280 00:00:00,240 --> 00:10:59,678 The best defense to temptations and attacks 281 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:01,710 in our life is by scripture, by quoting 282 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:03,166 scripture, by living scripture, by 283 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:05,166 trusting in scripture. We even see 284 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:07,526 that example with Jesus in Matthew, 285 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:08,918 chapter four. When Satan comes to 286 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:10,206 tempt him, what does he do? He quotes 287 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:13,130 scripture over and over again. In 288 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:14,822 scripture. We see that there is an 289 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:17,206 importance to setting our hearts 290 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:18,886 on the word and trusting in the truth 291 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:21,782 of God's word. Another passage of scripture 292 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:23,262 was actually in the same chapter 293 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:26,930 in psalm 119, psalm 119 105, it says 294 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:29,506 this, thy word is a lamp unto my 295 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:32,330 feet and a light unto my path. So. 296 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:34,210 So the word of God is the light. 297 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:35,830 We already mentioned that reference. 298 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:38,674 The. The word of God is a light unto our path 299 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:40,226 in a dark world. It can be the path, 300 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:41,650 and it can light the way so that 301 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:43,186 we don't stumble, so that we don't step 302 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:44,810 in traps, and so that we don't fall 303 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:47,546 into the dangers of the wisdom of 304 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:49,458 this world. There's so much more 305 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:50,538 that we could talk about when it 306 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:52,250 comes to this area of inspiration. 307 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:54,802 For the next few lessons here on the word 308 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:56,146 of the week, we're going to talk more 309 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:58,090 about the Bible and more about different 310 00:00:00,240 --> 00:11:59,858 principles of studying the word. 311 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:01,946 But I think that a good place to start 312 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:03,162 when it comes to the understanding 313 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:07,546 of scripture is that idea, belief, doctrine 314 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:11,058 of inspiration. God breathe. The 315 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:14,750 word of God comes to us not as a 316 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:18,490 help book or a guide to doing certain 317 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:21,034 things in our life, a pragmatic way 318 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:25,130 to, you know, basically adhere to 319 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:26,714 so that our life is better. But no, 320 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:29,266 it is the word of God that is directing 321 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:30,682 us in everything that we do in our 322 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:32,570 belief system. So it's not just a 323 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:35,434 suggestion. It is commands from God. 324 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:36,666 And one of the things that we can 325 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:39,154 see when it comes from the perspective 326 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:40,898 of our relationship with God is that 327 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:42,402 God says if we love him, we will 328 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:44,202 keep his commandments. Well, how 329 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:45,570 can we know his commandments to keep 330 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:47,722 unless we know his word, unless we 331 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:49,466 study his word, unless we value his 332 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:51,538 word, unless we put a premium on 333 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:53,498 the word? We even see in the book 334 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:57,602 of acts that it says that the Bereans 335 00:00:00,240 --> 00:12:59,202 sought after the word after they 336 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:00,250 heard the preaching. They sought 337 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:01,538 after it. So I would encourage you, when 338 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:03,546 you listen to preaching, and first 339 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:04,586 and foremost, the preaching should 340 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:05,842 come from the word of God. So many 341 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:07,226 times today, we see that preaching 342 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:09,106 does not come from the word it comes from 343 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:11,466 opinions of man or a culture. And 344 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:13,724 certainly we can insert cultural 345 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:15,212 things within our preaching, but it has 346 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:17,148 to be based in scripture. And so the 347 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:18,900 first step is to hear good, solid 348 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:20,332 biblical preaching. The second part 349 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:21,908 of it would be to test that against 350 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:24,412 the word of God, test the preaching that 351 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:26,972 you are intaking to the word to see 352 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:28,692 if the preacher is preaching the 353 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:30,980 truth. And so that's the most important 354 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:32,284 thing that you can do when it comes 355 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:34,156 to deciding whether or not a teacher 356 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:36,956 or a preacher is, is a quality preacher, 357 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:38,828 is to see, does it match up with the 358 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:40,148 word of God? Does it match up with 359 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:42,664 the truth that I am reading? And 360 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:44,112 of course, we're going to talk more 361 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:45,360 about this in the study. But there's 362 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:47,368 the idea of interpretation. So after 363 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:48,704 inspiration, there's interpretation, 364 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:50,248 because some people could say, well, you 365 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:51,216 know what? I believe that this is 366 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:52,816 inspired by God, but I'm interpreting 367 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:56,592 this much, much more differently than 368 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:58,216 you are interpreting this. And so that's 369 00:00:00,240 --> 00:13:59,512 another thing that we're going to 370 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:01,352 study in this series is the understanding 371 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:02,792 of interpreting scripture. So right 372 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:06,208 now, we're studying today the inspiration 373 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:08,504 of scripture, but later on, we're going 374 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:11,032 to study the understanding of interpreting 375 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:14,432 scripture. But we got to start with 376 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:15,576 the beginning. And the beginning 377 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:18,456 is that this is coming from God, the source, 378 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:21,704 God his word. All scripture is given 379 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:24,784 by Theopneustos. Inspiration of God. 380 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:27,512 God breathes. And so I think that 381 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:28,992 that's a good start for our study 382 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:30,512 here when it comes to the word of 383 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:32,112 God. And I hope that you learned 384 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:33,456 Something Today or you were just 385 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:34,656 reminded of something that you already 386 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:37,058 knew about the inspiration of scripture. 387 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:38,666 If you have any questions about this, 388 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:40,098 if you have any thoughts that you 389 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:42,610 would like to share or have clarified, 390 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:45,018 please reach out to me. I can be 391 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:47,362 found at my email address. Josh J 392 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:48,826 o s H Masaro massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.org 393 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:55,946 and you can send me any questions, and I would love 394 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:57,522 to discuss these things with you 395 00:00:00,240 --> 00:14:58,746 and maybe even bring up some of the 396 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:01,250 questions on air during a podcast 397 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:03,926 so that we can clarify this for more 398 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:06,054 people. So hope you have a wonderful 399 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:07,910 rest of your week. Looking forward to 400 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:09,094 hearing from you. Looking forward 401 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:11,102 to continuing to present the word of 402 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:12,934 God and proclaiming the truth to 403 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:14,910 this world. Hope you have a wonderful 404 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:16,822 day. God bless you. Take care. Hey, 405 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:18,262 I really appreciate that you listened 406 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:20,798 to the word of the Week podcast. If 407 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:22,382 you have any questions about the 408 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:24,590 podcast or about our church, Middletown 409 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:26,470 Baptist Church, you can find more 410 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:28,094 information about us on Facebook 411 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:31,040 or YouTube, or you can find the podcast 412 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:34,520 on nbcpodcast.org dot. You can contact 413 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:39,432 me directly at joshmassaro@middletownbaptistchurch.org 414 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:42,016 sta tuned for future word of the week episodes, 415 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:45,160 where we dive deeper into words that impact 416 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:46,880 our life according to scripture. 417 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:48,992 Thank you so much. God bless and we'll talk 418 00:00:00,240 --> 00:15:49,360 to you soon.