Fuel For Your Life | Representing the Bible (class 4)

important questions you must decide on is this, can I actually trust the Bible? Because whatever you trust, you build your life on. So today, we're going to take a look at the foundation. Hi, my name is Ty, and this is Class 5, Fuel for Your Life in our online digital discipleship course that we're calling, Can I Trust the Bible? Now you didn't ask for this, but I've got to give you one of my favorite facts when it comes to God's Word. The Bible was written by approximately 40 authors over 1,500 years on three different continents in three different languages across dozens of generations and cultures, and yet it tells one unified story, that God is madly in love with you. There are no contradictions when you understand the context, this is the truth. It's a unified story, and I believe that we can trust it. Here's the truth, you can believe the Bible is true and still not ever actually build your life on it, and that difference is going to show up in how you live. So today we're going to answer, why do I need the Bible every single day? I love this thought that you don't just need the Bible occasionally, you need the Bible daily, you need it consistently, and I want to help you understand why. Number one, write this down if you're taking notes. The Word is alive. Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 12, it says something powerful. It says, "For the Word of God is alive and active. It's sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints, and marrow. It judges the thoughts and it judges the attitudes of the heart." I like what the NLT translation says, it says, "It exposes my innermost thoughts and desires." That's kind of scary. Here's the truth. Whenever I read the Bible, the Bible is reading me. See, I like this study that was done about four years ago. They really overview the lifestyles of a lot of different people, some that read the Word

really inconsistently, some that read the Word very consistently, and they found something that I find really unique. People who read the Word one to three days a week, there's really not much of a change in their lifestyle, not much of a change in their thought process, but for people who read the Word four or more days a week. In other terms, when the majority of your week is given to the reading of God's Word, listen to some of these stats that change in your life. Feeling lonely drops 30%, anger issues drop 32%, bitterness and relationships of any kind drops 40%, alcoholism drops 57%, feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%, viewing pornography drops 61%, and sharing your faith jumps by 200%. See the Bible is alive, it speaks, it convicts, and it transforms your life. Number two, write this down. The Word guides your life. I love this scripture in Psalm chapter 119 verse 105, it says, "Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and it's a light to my path." Now this is something that definitely is really my life, and I think maybe you've had somewhat of the same experience before as well. I've found that there's this thought that it's ingrained in the hearts of man, and it's this thought of, "God, show me the way, and then I'll trust you." As I follow God over some time, I've kind of learned that God has got this thought ingrained in his heart, which is, "Trust me, and then I'll show you the way." You don't need to see the whole future, you don't need to see every part of the plan. What you need is enough light for just the next step. Number three, the Word renews your mind. Romans chapter 12 verse two says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Transformation doesn't happen by accident. Not at all. Actually, it happens when you're thinking changes on purpose, and you're thinking changes when you consistently engage with truth. I've got this note from my wife, Daily, and it stays in my wallet.

She gave it to me when we were dating over six years ago. And any time that I have a moment to myself, any time that I've got some free time on my And this whole note tells me of what she thinks about me, how she cares about me, how much she loves me. And anytime I wanna know where my wife stands on how she thinks of me, I can go back, take this note out of my wallet, and give it a quick read. See, in the same way, when I know how God thinks of me, it changes how I think of me, changes my thoughts. And for some of us, your thinking will start to change when you get to read the truths of how God thinks about you in his word. Number four, write this down, the word sustains you. Matthew chapter four, verse four, Jesus says, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Now, Jesus is saying these words recorded here in Matthew chapter four, but he's actually quoting Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse three, which is the words of Moses. And when Moses gives these words for the first time in human history, he is speaking to a people that live in a culture of the world, that everyone is addicted to the eye. What can I see? If I can see it, I can believe it. If I can see it, I can have faith for it. If I can see it, it must be true. And in this pagan culture of that day, Moses gives this word that really calls us back

to the word of God. See, God wants his people not just to be a people of the eye, he desired his people to be a people of the ear, that if you wanted to survive in that time, and if you want to survive right now today, you've got to be someone who clings to the word of God. Your spirit needs this nourishment. And here's the big idea. If you want to live physically, eat some good food, drink some good water, but if you want to live spiritually, read the word of God. When Daily and I first got married, we lived in this small apartment, and we just started putting a ton of plants in the apartment. We thought it was a good aesthetic, you know, bring some good vibes. So we went and got a ton of plants, put them in the apartment, and we honestly were terrible at keeping up with these plants. All of them died, every single one of them. We would put the ones that needed sunlight in the bathroom where there was no sunlight. The ones that didn't need much sunlight, we would put outside on the patio, and they would just get killed by the sun. I mean, we were terrible at keeping care of our plants. So we made a decision. We went and bought all fake plants.

We put fake plants all throughout our house, all out on the patio, and when people would come over, they would compliment the plants. While these look nights, it's a great vibe in here. We would always fist bump each other and be like, "Yeah, we did that, man, come on." Now, what I noticed is that for the fake plants, you didn't have to take care of them. You didn't have to steward them. But for those real plants, you had to understand how they grew and how they grew. Well, you had to water them. You had to give them the right amount of sunlight. You had to nurture them. Now, when it comes to your life, when it comes to your faith, your faith in your life is much more like that real plant. See, faith isn't a moment to be remembered. It's not like a fake plant that we just buy and set up and it's good. No, our faith and our spirit, that's a lifestyle that we live in and it takes healthy nourishment for your faith and your life to grow. And if you want to grow, I would encourage you. You need to nourish your life with the word of God. Last point, point number five, the word produces growth. Joshua chapter one verse eight says, "Keep this book of the law always on your lips.

Meditate on it day and night. Then you'll be prosperous and successful. Growth is not random. Growth is the result of consistent intake of God's word. If you want to grow, come on, you need the word. You wouldn't just eat once a week and expect to be strong and expect to be healthy in the same way. You can't just consume Scripture occasionally and expect to have a consistent spiritual strength in your life. So if I can encourage you, man, get in the word consistently. Here's a short recap for you. The word is alive. It guides, it renews, it sustains and the word of God grows you. Let me give you a quick little challenge. All right, you have for a challenge, here's a challenge. I want to challenge you to set a daily rhythm. Let's just start with 10 minutes in the word every single day. You don't have to be perfect, but man, let's have a goal to be consistent. I'd like to pray for you. God, give us hunger for your word. Let it shape how we think. In Jesus name, amen. If you build your life on the word, I believe that your life will stand. So go out and live a transform life

built on the reading of God's word. (swooshing) (swooshing) (air whooshing) [BLANK_AUDIO]