Ancient-Future Church

Thoroughly Equipped

Sunday June 28th, 2020 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui

2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 4:15

THE WORD

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." II Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

"Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all." 1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV

THE MESSAGE

Meditating On The Word Of God Will Complete And Thoroughly Equipped You For Every Good Work

THE MEANING

1. INSPIRATION
   The word of God is proved and tested. God's breath and His conviction
2. PROFITABLE
   The word of God is "Useful for Training"
3. REPROOF
   The word of God is for Refuting errors
4. CORRECTION
   The word of God is for Correcting faults
5. INSTRUCTION
   The word of God is for the whole training and education of a child (Everyone)

PROFIT AND PROGRESS

How Can I Be Thoroughly Equipped For Every Good Work?

1. Reading The Word of God is ESSENTIAL
2. Read The Word of God to UNDERSTAND
3. Read the Word of God with CHILD-LIKE faith
4. Read The Word of God In Its CONTEXT
5. Read The Word of God EVERY DAY
6. Read The Word of God And Look For CHRIST In It

"Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all." 1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV

How Can My Progress Be Evident To All?

1. Meditating On The Word Of God Is Essential
2. Read The Word of God And Apply It

Get one percent better one day at a time

1. One Day =24 hours
2. Sleep 8 hours a day: 8-24=16
3. 1hr = 60 minutes
4. 16hrs: 16x60=960 minutes
5. 1% of 960= 9.6 minutes

Commit 10 minutes of your day to get better

The word of God gives Life. When everything around you speaks of death, God's word leads you to an abundant and eternal life.
The word of God is calm and confident in a turbulent time
The word of God has wings strong enough to carry you through turbulence
When you chew on the word of God, they create life

The word of God is essential
Reading the word of God is essential
Meditation is essential
Meditation is like making a lemonade

You read, research, and study the word but it is by meditation you squeeze out the juice to make lemonade.

When you discover something precious meditation polishes the new discovery.
Meditation polishes the revelation
Reason submits to revelation
God can defend himself
Advancement, growth, growing in grace is built on the meditation of the word of God.

THE ACCENT OF THE BIBLE

Most people think the Bible is about personal happiness, personal well-being, being with God when you die and being privately moral. But that's not what the Bible is about. The prophets are moral teachers, but what they're talking about is public morality. You can open the books of the prophets anywhere and you'll find them talking about widows, orphans, immigrants and poor people. They talk about wages; they talk about unjust scales; they talk about the greed that skews the economy. They say that injustice will lead to destruction - it's an unavoidable message.

The accent of the Bible is consistently about neighbourliness as it gets expressed in political and economic matters, and the question is: How do we organize our money and our power for the good, for the neighbourhood - locally and expansively?

(1) READ THE BIBLE WITH AN EARNEST DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND IT.
- Do not be content to just read the words of Scripture. Seek to grasp the message they contain.

(2) READ THE SCRIPTURES WITH A SIMPLE, CHILDLIKE FAITH, AND HUMILITY.
- Believe what God reveals. Reason must bow to God's revelation.

(3) READ THE WORD WITH A SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE AND SELF-APPLICATION.
- Apply what God says to yourself and obey His will in all things.

(4) READ THE HOLY SCRIPTURES EVERY DAY.
- We quickly lose the nourishment and strength of yesterday's bread. We must feed our souls daily upon the manna God has given us.

(5) READ THE WHOLE BIBLE AND READ IT IN AN ORDERLY WAY.
- "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable." I know of no better way to read the Bible than to start at the beginning and read straight through to the end, a portion every day, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

(6) READ THE WORD OF GOD FAIRLY AND HONESTLY.
- As a general rule, any passage of Scripture means what it appears to mean. Interpret every passage in this simple manner, in its context.

(7) READ THE BIBLE WITH CHRIST CONSTANTLY IN VIEW.
- The whole Bible is about Him. Look for Him on every page. He is there. If you fail to see Him there, you need to read that page again.

Let me tell you a little secret-whenever you cannot understand a text, open your Bible, bend your knee, and pray over that text; and if it does not split into atoms and open itself, try again. If prayer does not explain it, it is one of those things God did not intend you to know, and you may be content to be ignorant of it. Prayer is the key that opens the cabinets of mystery. Prayer and faith are sacred picklocks that can open secrets, and obtain great treasures. There is no college for holy education like that of the blessed Spirit, for he is an ever-present tutor, to whom we have only to bend the knee, and he is at our side, the expositor of truth