HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE
Jer. 15:15-21
Morning Meditation 10/29/2013
"O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible."
The prophet Jeremiah's joy in discovering the Word of God, in receiving it and making it his own, was unbounded, as he tells us in verse 16: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts." What an awesome verse for Bible lovers. This has been my experience for over 60 years now. There is nothing that thrills my soul more than to read and study the Scripture. It is my close contact with the unseen God. It is food for my soul. It stirs my expectancy. It delivers me from the fear of the turmoil in this world. It give me perfect assurance when I stand by the grave side of a believer who has passed into the presence of the Lord. I say, "Amen, Jeremiah. I can say with you, 'Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.'" How to enjoy the Bible?
FIRST, WE MUST KNOW IT'S AUTHOR
Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found." Jeremiah did not believe the Bible that he had in his day was just another book written by men. I thank the Lord I have the complete revelation. I am not looking for further revelation. I believe the 66 books of the Bible are in their eternal and final form. But Jeremiah was in the developmental stage of the Word of God. And he was a part of it. But when he found the Scriptures he says to the LORD, "Thy words were found."
The only way to know the Author of the Bible is through Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
You can know He exists without knowing Him. The Psalmist David said in Psalms 19:1-6, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."
A man is a fool who looks at creation and denies a Creator. Psalms 14:1 says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." To deny the existence of God after looking at creation is as stupid as looking at a house and denying the existence of a carpenter. You would not say a man is smart if he did that. However, the so-called brilliant men of this world write text books denying the existence of God and teaching that we came from monkeys and the American Educational System prints the fool's words and teaches them as FACT to the children of America.
There is a Creator and He is described in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." To know God is to believe the truth of this verse. God has made "knowing Him" a simple choice. We choose what we believe. God tells you He loves you and gave His only begotten Son for the salvation of your soul. One must make a choice. One either believes or doesn't believe. There is no neutrality in this matter.
If we are going to enjoy the Bible we must know it's Author. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
SECOND, WE MUST BELIEVE IT IS THE WAY GOD SPEAKS TO US
Being positive toward the Word of God is the way to eat it. Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."
1. Have you found the Bible to be the Word of God? I was in Germany on a mission trip several years ago. I met a missionary to the Turks. He had been there at that time for a good while. To deal with the Turkish people you have to be able to answer questions concerning the Koran. He said the Muslims have so much respect for the Koran that they will not put another book on top of it, or, anything else as a matter of fact. It has been hard for me to put anything on top of my Bible since. I respect the Bible as being God's Word and the is nothing above it.
2. Some think the Bible is out of date and if God rewrote a Bible he would adapt it to our age and culture. Ps 119:89, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Ps 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. The Lord is very clear that His word does not change with time or culture. God has not changed His mind because people have become more tolerant of immorality.
Ps 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. If you are thinking about changing from the use of the King James Bible, I would read this verse real slow and meditate on it. If God has exalted His Word above His name and you accept a faulty translation you won't get to know God better by the change. God has blessed the use of the KJV for almost 400 years. No one will deny that. Any one would be stupid to say that ALL the other Bibles are based on texts (called by them the most ancient manuscripts) that are more than questionable. I would not sit under any preachers ministry who used another bible. You notice I spelled that with a non capital "b". The reason is I don't believe it is the Word of God.
Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them." What does this mean? It means taking in the Word of God and digesting it into your system. Psa, 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
Jesus is teaching this same truth in John 6:54-63, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
1. It is obvious that Jesus is not talking about cannibalism here.. This is not talking about the Lord's Supper either.
2. The context shows clearly what He means. Verse 63 says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Jesus says, "The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit (Spirit given) and they are life (as you take them in).
3. Peter got this message. He said in 1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"
4. This is the reason we say that the Bible is our ONLY rule of faith and practice. Psa. 119:9, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psa. 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
THIRD, WE MUST NOT BE ASHAMED TO BE CALLED BY THE LORD'S NAME
Jeremiah said, "for I am called by thy name, O LORD." The word LORD when found in capitalized letters in your King James Bible means that this is the translation of Jehovah. This is the name God used to reveal Himself to Moses in the burning bush.
Exo. 3:13-14, "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo. 6:3 the LORD explains to Moses, "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
The "I AM THAT AM" is JEHOVAH. This appears to be an unfinished sentence. When Jesus came He finished the sentence.
John 6:35 says, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." One can eat bread. This is Spiritual bread and the bread is the Word of God.
John 8:12 says, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The light shows us the way.
