Being Restored for Christ – God’s Word, Our Manual (Part III)

Sermon Title: Being Restored for Christ – God’s Word, Our Manual

Good News Statement: God restores us by His inspired Word

Summary: All scripture is inspired by the God and is useful for teaching, reproofing, correcting, and training.

Preached: Sunday, November 10th, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): 2 Timothy 3:16-17: Today’s scripture reading comes from Paul’s letter to Timothy, a follower of Paul. In this particular letter, we learn that all scripture is inspired by the God and is useful for teaching, reproofing, correcting, and training. Let’s read from the Paul’s letter to Timothy: Second Timothy, Chapter Three, and Verses Sixteen-Seventeen. May the hearing and reading of this scripture add understanding and meaning to your life.

 

16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

 

The Word of God, for the People of God; And all God’s People said, “Thanks Be To God.”

 

Introduction:

Restoration: the act of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition. The act of restoration involves the process of repairing or renovating a building, work of art, vehicle, furniture, a church, and the list could go on. Restoration also involves reinstating a previous practice, right, custom, or situation. I’m sure many of us here have restored something in our life: whether it be a tractor, an old car, a piece of furniture, something within your house, or maybe you restored a relationship, your faith, your commitment to the church, or even your trust in Christ. Restoration is part of our life; and believe it or not, it’s part of our faith journey as well.

For the next couple of weeks, we are going to think about the concept of restoration through a faithful lens. Through this lens, the restoration upon which we will undergo is not physical, or emotional, nor mental. Rather, it will be a spiritual restoration that urges us to be found amongst the weeds and miry clay, to take inventory of our life and to see what is missing and what is needed to move forward, to remind ourselves that God has provided us a manual to read and study, and lastly the work of restoration is an ongoing process. Like the hundreds of pieces of furniture that I have recovered and restored, and like all the classic cars and tractors that have been restored and appear at car shows and tractor shows, we, too, need to be restored for Christ if we want to follow in his footsteps—preaching his word, saving the lost, comforting the hurting, and being a church mission bound and mission focused. Restoration is part of our faith journey, and today we embark on that journey to be restored for Christ. Do you need to be restored today? Our journey continues by reminding ourselves of the “Manual” that can lead us to being restored: The Bible.

 

Body:

Two weeks ago, we began our journey toward being restored for Christ: the idea that we admit that we are broken, worn-out, tired, and are in need of being mended, healed, and in a sense refreshed and rejuvenated. To help us understand the idea of restoration, we have been examining HotWheels: HotWheels that are missing wheels, have broken windows, bent axels, chipped paint, held together by glue and tape, and HotWheels that have never been out of their original packaging and those placed in cases that are as pristine and perfect as they can be. We, at times, are missing wheels and our paint is chipped, but that doesn’t mean our faith and life can’t become like those cars that are in cases and packages. Just because we aren’t perfect now, doesn’t mean we can’t become perfect later. It’s through restoration in Christ that we become new!

In order to be restored, we first had to let God find us where we are. We had to let him find us in the weeds and miry clay of life: the pain, suffering, hurting, confusion, and grief. Just like the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one lost sheep, our good shepherd, Jesus Christ, will come and search for the one lost soul because without that lost soul the Kingdom of God is incomplete. Jesus will search for you because he needs you to be restored for advancing the Kingdom of God here on here. Additionally, just like the woman in search of her one lost coin—a day’s worth of wages—Jesus will overturn furniture, rugs, and look in dark corners to find us—to find you. Jesus is willing to overturn the world just to find you because through your restoration you will be able to set the world on the right path.

After being found, God invites us to take an inventory of our faith and life. God, through Jesus feeding the four-thousand, tells us that taking an inventory not only helps us understand and witness our own needs and the state of our own faith, but it allows us to open our eyes to the needs of the people around us and the state of the church.  When we take an inventory of our life—what is working and not working, what is good and bad, where are we today and where should we be tomorrow—we need to know the reason for our inventory, the reaction of our inventory, the resources we have related to our inventory, and the result of following through with our inventory. Through reason, reaction, resource, and result, our inventory of faith becomes the next stepping stone to being restored because it allows us to see what we need, what is missing, and how God is working in our life. Once we take that inventory, then it’s time to put the pieces together. And the only way we can properly put the pieces together is by following some sort of manual—some sort of instruction.

Let’s face it: everything you own has some sort of manual or instruction booklet (and most of the time we don’t read them!). The stove in your kitchen has a manual; the fridge in your garage has a manual; and the microwave on the counter has a manual. The phone in your pocket or hand has a manual; the iPad the kids use has a manual; and the watch on your wrist has a manual. The clothes you are wearing have instructions on how to properly wash them. The tractor in the shed, the mower in the garage, and leaf blower begging for a break this time of year all have manuals. When you learned how to drive, you were given or at least studied some sort of manual advising you the proper way to drive on the road. As a pastor, I have a manual called The United Methodist Book of Discipline that I am compelled to follow.

Furthermore, what kind of HotWheel collector would I be if I didn’t have some sort of manual related to HotWheels? In my hand are two manuals specifically related to HotWheels from the years 1968-1999.  The Complete Book of HotWheels: 4th Edition, written by Bob Parker, provides images of HotWheels from 1968-1999 as well as other specialty items: such has themed cars, watches, tracks, cases, and Santa Claus climbing out of a racecar. The second half of the manual lists what are called “variation guides” which highlights the name, number, category, color, interior, paint, logo, and value/worth of each car.

The other manual that I have is a Field Guide written by Michael Zarnock. The Field Guide, much like Parker’s book, provides images and pricing of each HotWheel from 1968-1999. This book breaks my father’s heart every time he looks at it. For example, some of the my dad’s HotWheels, if not played with, would have some worth today that they didn’t have back then: his 1971 Boss Hoss would be worth $250, his 1968 Custom Corvette would be worth $400, his 1968 Custom Mustang would be worth depending on color anywhere from $450 to $1,400, and his two Snake Rail Dragsters would be $1,250 each. Most of the HotWheels that I own range from $2.00 all the way up to being several hundred dollars in worth. The most expensive car listed in the Field Guide is a Funny Car for $3,500. And if you have the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, you can cash that in for $5.00! Whether it’s a manual about an object or thing or something you collect or even an occupation, life is composed of hundreds of manuals!

Since we have been using HotWheels as an illustration to help us think about restoration, I believe it is to our best interest to consider the one manual that sits in a glove-box hidden under piles of napkins only read when a new light appears on the dashboard: The Owner’s Manual of your car. The importance of proper vehicle maintenance is no secret. Every owner’s manual has a section entitled “Maintaining Your Car,” which provides an upkeep schedule designed to assure optimal performance and longevity. Periodically, the oil and air filter should be changed, the tires rotated, the undercarriage lubricated, and various parts routinely replaced. The list goes on and on, and people who want to maintain their cars conscientiously heed such advice.

But maintenance is the key to more than optimal car performance. It’s also essential to optimal human performance. And if a car needs an owner’s manual to define proper maintenance, so do we. Fortunately, we have one—the Bible. This owner’s manual provides a “Maintenance Law” which tells us how to maintain a level of peak performance in our lives through a wisely designed upkeep schedule. But the problem is that many people do not take advantage of its direction. The Barna Research group says that 93% of Americans own a Bible, but only 12% read it every day. Only one in seven read it at least once a month. God has given us a manual, but how often do we use that manual for our own maintenance, to increase our worth, to grow our church, and to restore our faith. Today, let’s consider the manual that God has given us to restore our life for Christ.

 

Movement One: The Bible – Facts about the Best Manual

Here are some random facts about the Bible. For starters, the Bible is the inspired word by God given to His chosen people to record for future generations. The Protestant Bible has 66 Books: 39 Books compose the Old Testament and 27 Books compose the New Testament. There are approximately 1,189 total Chapters in the Bible (929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament), 31, 102 individual verses (23, 145 in the Old Testament and 7,957 in the New Testament), and about 783, 131 words in the entire Bible. Furthermore, the longest Book in the Bible is the Book of Psalm with 150 Chapters and the shortest Book in the Bible is the 3 John with 1 Chapter and 15 Verses. The longest verse in the Bible comes from Esther 8:9 and the shortest verse is found in John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” The name “Lord” is mentioned more than the name “God.” And between the Old and New Testaments there are about 3,000 cross references that show up in both Testaments proving that the Old and New Testaments exist to work together and not separately.

Beside numerical values, studies have shared that people are split when it comes to how they view the Bible. Some people choose not to read the Bible because they think the Bible is archaic and out of date and speaks to another generation, people doubt the credibility of the Bible, people simply do not know how to read the Bible meaning they struggle with understanding the history, figurative nature, or even the setting of the Bible, and some people choose not to read the Bible because they do not have time to read the Bible. It takes about 80 hours to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation: if you read four chapters—not books—a day, you will read the entire Bible in one year.

On the flip side, it has been proven that reading the Bible teaches one about God and His plan for your life, teaches about history, provides spiritual strength and helps maintain an emotional balance, helps process the voices of culture, and provides guidance in decision making. Additionally, reading the Bible decreases loneliness, anger, bitterness in relationships, and feeling spiritually stagnant. Furthermore, reading the Bible increases peace, memory skills, discipleship commitment, and the confidence to share your faith.

The Bible is more than just a book of words strung together to create a story. The Bible is our manual that equips us, trains us, and sends us out into the world fulfilling God’s purposes in our life. The Bible is the manual of our discipleship upon which the church grows and lives. Hebrews 4:12 describes the Bible as living and active.[1] However, do we treat the Bible that way? Do you see the Bible as something that is alive and active in our life today? Do you simply see it as just another book on the shelf or a book that gives us Beloved Instructions Before Leaving Earth? Let’s take this a little further…

 

Movement Two: The Scriptures Are Inspired…

First of all, notice that the Scriptures (all of them) are inspired and breathed out by God. Notice from our text, Paul tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (v. 16a). Scripture is God-breathed, God-inspired, and God-encouraged: it means its origin is from God.[2] The Bible is literally God’s breath, God’s wind, God’s words, God’s spirit being given to us, received by us, and lived out by us.[3] That’s what Paul means here by the inspiration of the Scriptures. He is saying that God has breathed His character into Scripture so that it is inherently inspired: it is God revealing himself to us. If the Bible is not inspired by God, then there is nothing inherently special about it.[4]

The Bible is inspired by God meaning that it has power, it is a divine Source, and is useful for God’s people. Above of all else, it is our source of salvation, our hope to see tomorrow, and our way through the unknown, through the darkest of valleys, through the moments of life that seem unfair, and it is a promise of unconditional love in the form of grace that sees us and hears just as we are: tired, worn-out, broken, confused, lost, and possibly joyful and happy.

The Bible is “the word of God [that is] 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” (Hebrews. 4:12). If Scripture is breathed out by God, this bears obligation on us as Christians. If it’s inspired by God, then it’s the most valuable thing we have. Just if we found the location to some buried treasure, because of what the Scriptures are, we are compelled to value them, pursue them, and study them. Do you realize that the Scriptures are alive because they are inspired by God? Do you treat the Bible as breathed out by God? If you want to be restored, then be inspired by the word of God: let it change you, let it find you, let it shine hope in your life, and let it be something that is active in your life today and every day. Let the Bible be the source of your breath in all that you day and say.

 

Movement Three: The Scriptures Are Useful

Secondly, the Scriptures are useful. Paul says in the latter part of v. 16: “[The Scriptures are] profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Paul says that the Bible is profitable. If the Bible is inspired by God, then it is surely useful—simply because of what Scripture is implies that it is useful in one way or another. Thankfully for us, Paul didn’t leave us wondering why the Scriptures are useful. He spells out four ways in which the Scriptures are useful.

First, For Teaching. Paul first says that the Scriptures are useful “for teaching.” This is one of the most fundamental uses for Scripture. Paul says that Scripture “was written for our instruction” when he wrote to the Romans (Romans. 15:4). This is because of what Scripture is. Because it has been breathed out by God, because of its content, it has this fundamental use of instructing us. The word of God teaches us how to live godly lives, and it summons us to go out into the world teaching others about the Good News (Matthew 28:18-20).

In fact, another word for teaching here is doctrine. For example, what we believe about God, ourselves, the world, and eternity is all informed by Scripture. As believers, we need to make sure that we are being informed and taught by the Scriptures. If we are not studying the Bible regularly, in our personal lives and in the local assembly, how can we expect to recognize the teachings in which God is trying to reveal to us?  If we don’t teach the scriptures and allow the scriptures to teach us, then how can we truly become restored?

Second, For Reproof. Secondly in this list, Paul says that the Scriptures are useful “for reproof.” Reproof is best defined as a criticism for a fault. This too, is one of the fundamental uses for the Scriptures. Paul could be referring to a reproof that exposes the false teaching of the heretics that Timothy was dealing with, or he could be referring to the rebuke that Scripture has on our personal lives. But either way, Scripture does both. Scripture can serve as reproof for doctrinal errors, or it can show sinners like us our many failures, and show us what we need to do about it.[5]

If we’re honest, it’s not very pleasant when God points out what needs to change in our lives. But that is one of the functions of God’s word, and if we ignore reproof we are fools—if we listen to reproof we “gain intelligence” (Proverbs. 15:32). Allowing God to offer reproof through His scriptures upon your life, is not a bad thing: it’s a positive thing. It’s a positive thing because God is using His words to help you steer away from sin and toward changing  your life, to letting go of things that are weighing you down. Malachi 3:7 tells us, “Return to me, and I will return you, says the Lord of hosts….” Through reproof, we are restored because we are made whole by God. Scripture changes us, if and only if, we let it truly speak to us.

Third, For Correction. Paul says thirdly that the Scriptures are useful “for correction.” The Scriptures not only rebuke our wrong behavior, but they also point the way back to godly living by correction. Once the Scriptures have convicted us and rebuked our sinful behavior, then they aim at the goal of recovery. After the Bible reveals our sin and the deep things of our heart, then it works to repair us and build us up again. Again, no one likes to be corrected, but praise God that not only are our wrongs revealed to us, but we are shown how to stay on the “way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5). When you are convicted of sin, do you search the Scriptures for ways to overcome it? Do you search the Scriptures and allow the Scriptures to search you in order to be corrected when you are in the wrong?

Again leaning on the words of Malachi, through correction we return to God. I am not perfect. You are not perfect. We are not perfect. We all make mistakes, say the wrong thing, jump to conclusions before we know the facts, separate ourselves from the church because of different reasons, and ignore those who truly care about us because we feel as if we don’t need them. Every follower of Christ is in need of some sort of correction. The Church wasn’t built on perfect people, but by people who sought a restored life in Christ to become perfect. For example, Abraham was old, Joseph was abused, Job went bankrupt, Moses had a speech impediment, Gideon was afraid, Samson was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah was young, Jacob was a cheater, Jonah ran from God, David was a murderer, Peter denied Christ three times, Matthew was a tax collector, Paul persecuted Christians, Martha worried about everything, and some of the disciples fell asleep when Jesus needed them to stay awake.[6] All these persons were far from perfect, but their imperfections didn’t limit them from experiencing the saving grace of God. They were able to receive God’s correction and be made whole by His word. If you want to be restored, know that your past is your past and that God is still working in your life today.

Fourth, For Training in Righteousness. Finally in this list, Paul says that the Scriptures are useful, “for training in righteousness.” The Scriptures are designed to train us in godly living. Training involves the action of teaching a person to acquire a particular skill or type of behavior. The idea here is that Scripture, by its teaching, rebuking, and correcting functions, trains us to live “in righteousness”: to seeking out and saving the lost and to making disciples for Jesus Christ.  All of these uses for Scripture are intermingled and sometimes overlap, but they are all for training us in righteousness—putting us through a spiritual workout program to develop godly muscles for being under pressure from sin, and having the strength we need to carry out the commands of God. God’s word, the Bible, offers us the training we need in order to be who God needs us to be and to be the church God has built us to be.

Set aside time each day to study the Bible. Get books that will help you understand the Bible. Once you start getting into the word and allowing the word to get into you, you will begin to notice that you are becoming exactly who God wants you to be—more like His Son every day through the ministry of the word of God. If you want to be restored for Christ, then you must be willing to go through the training: reading and studying His word.

 

Movement Four: The Scriptures are Equipping

We’ve seen that the Scriptures are inspired by God, and we’ve looked carefully at the four individual uses for Scripture, so now let’s look at how the Scriptures are equipping. Listen to Paul in v. 17, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Paul tells Timothy here about the purpose for which God intended the Scriptures to be useful. Paul tells Timothy that all of these uses for Scripture serve one chief purpose, for the spiritual maturity (of the man of God).[7]

The idea here is that the Bible is able to help us meet the demands that God places on us—to equip us with what we need to be “complete [and] equipped” for God’s purposes. This means that the Bible enables us to be capable of doing God’s work. In other words, we have all we need in the Bible to do God’s work in the world, to be obedient to His commands, for the Bible makes us complete as believers. But secondly, Paul says that the uses of Scripture are for the Christian to be “equipped for every good work.” Similar to being complete, this means that the word of God enables us to meet all the demands of godly and righteous living. How can we expect to accomplish the job of godly living without our equipment, the Bible? How can we expect to know how to do God’s work without God’s word?

God has equipped you and equipped this church to do something specific, to be someone and something unique, and to equip others for the work of God. God has given you what you need in order to live your best life. God has given this church—you and your gifts and talents—what it needs to live today and make plans for tomorrow. The word of God has equipped you, through His word, to make sure that his breath-inspired word remains, always and forever, alive and active in your life. To be restored for Christ is to realize that God is putting the pieces together and equipping you to do His work on this earth.

 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are many manuals in our life that tell us what to do and how to do it, but those manuals are no match for the manual God has given us. Much like Bob Parker’s and Michael Zarnock’ books, God has a picture of you in His book and next to each picture is a list of your gifts and talents, your failures and success, your concerns and your joys, and your worth and value. Essentially, who God made you to be. We must value the Bible because of what it is—and if we truly value it, we will take the time to study and read it as we become restored. 

I read story from comedian Jeff Foxworthy regarding someone’s Bible. The man inherited $70,000 and went out of control with crack, booze, and women. He stopped going to work and lost his job. He lost his home and was living in a series of low down motels. All his belongings were in a few suitcases and a backpack. The only possession he still had from his childhood was a Bible his mother had given him, which he kept in his backpack. In the Bible was an inspirational love letter from his deeply faithful mother.[8]

In time, he lost the suitcases, and eventually the backpack containing the Bible from his mother. Drugs had taken over his life and he was living on the street. A year and a half later a man hired him to help remodel an apartment building 100 miles away. In the corner of a room there was a pile of stuff, including a dusty pile of books. One of the books was the Bible from his mother; the letter was still inside! A year and a half later, and 100 miles from where he lost it. As the man told Jeff, “If God is chasing me this hard; I’m going to stop running.” The man has been clean for 8 years and has helped hundreds of guys get off the street and make a new start[9]. Are you allowing the Word of God, the Bible, to find you? Are you taking time to find the Word of God, the Bible in your life? Are you making sure that your Bible is not just another book but is something that can save your life?

Speaking of saving a life, I have in my hands a pocket New Testament that was given to my great-grandfather who came to the U.S. in October 1909 from Greece and who served in the 149th Infantry of the U.S. Army. What is unique about this pocket New Testament is that there is a bullet hole in the cover and a blood stain on the back. My great-grandfather survived this wound because this pocket New Testament slowed down the bullet and absorbed a majority of the impact. The Word of God can save you: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The Word of God can restore your life.

I encourage you today, to not treat your Bible like you treat the owner’s manual for your car—kept in the glove-box and ignored until you need it. Rather, treat your Bible as something you can’t live without, as something that can save you, train you, equip you, change you, and inspire you. Allow the Manual of God to tell you how to be restored. Open your Bible this evening and read what God puts before you.

You have been found, you have taken an inventory, and now the Manual is telling you it’s time to put things together: to be restored for Christ.

Let it be so…

 

 

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, help us to find time to read and study your Word so that we may become inspired to be who you need us to be, so that we can become restored for you and by you. In your mighty name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

This week, I invite you to read your Bible at least once a day. Open up that Manual and allow God to restore you by teaching you, equipping you, and changing your life. Let God inspire you as He breathes his Words into your life.

May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go forth finding ways to be restored for Christ. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

 

[1] The Greek word that the author of Hebrews uses for “living” suggests that the Word is teeming with life. It is living … it is active.

[2] The Greek word for “breathed out” by God is theopneustos, the only occurrence of it in the Bible, meaning that the Bible is divine in its origin.

[3] Think about what happens when you speak. Whether you’re lecturing students, talking with your spouse, or verbally disciplining your children, your words are “you-breathed.” Because when you speak, your breath pours forth speech doesn’t it?

[4] We could say that it is helpful literature, we could say that it is a carefully crafted book of history, poetry, and narrative.

[5] In Jesus’ high priestly prayer, he prays for us and says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17, ESV). Being sanctified means being set apart. Daily it is a struggle to be set apart from sin in our lives, and that’s how Jesus prays for us—that we would be set apart for God. But how is this accomplished? “. . . in [through] the truth; your word is truth” (emphasis mine).

[6] Facebook Post (Jennifer Hillman): God’s broken soldiers: Abraham -Was old; Elijah – Was suicidal; Joseph – Was abused; Job – Went bankrupt; Matthew- Was a tax collector; Moses – Had a speech problem; Gideon – Was afraid; Samson – Was a womanizer; Rahab – Was a prostitute; Samaritan Woman – Divorced; Noah – Was a Drunk; Jeremiah – Was young; Jacob – Was a cheater;  David – Was a murderer; Jonah – Ran from God; Naomi – Was a widow; Peter – Denied Christ three times; Martha – Worried about everything; Zacchaeus – Was small and money hungry; The Disciples – Fell asleep while praying; Paul – A Pharisee who persecuted Christians before becoming one.

[7] This phrase “man of God” can apply to any Christian in general, or it can refer to a Christian leader. But by implication anyway, it will refer to all of us as believers.

[8] I read another story about a man who really valued his Bible. During King Philip’s War, a war between the Pilgrims and Indigenous People during 1675-1676, there were a group of Indigenous People who launched an attack on the Pilgrims. In March of 1676, a group of nearly 1,500 Indigenous People attacked the village of Rehoboth. As the inhabitants of the village watched from their garrisons, 40 houses, 30 barns, and 2 mills went up in flames. But only one person was killed. He was a man that believed that as long as he continued reading his Bible, no harm would come to him. Refusing to abandon his home, he was found shot to death in his chair by the Indigenous People—the Bible still in his hands. That’s someone who really valued the Bible. I wonder if we could say the same about ourselves. Do we really value our Bibles? Do you value your Bible like this Pilgrim man?

[9] https://www.baptistboard.com/threads/jeff-foxworthy-recounts-a-story-of-gods-amazing-grace.121267


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