Key Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-11

“ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts (are higher) than your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Introduction: What we have here are:

God’s thoughts
God’s ways
God’s words

God is telling us something very simple, yet very profound. He is saying:
1.“You’re not Me!”- “ I think differently than you think, and act differently than you act.”
2. “I have a grasp and a design on all events that are infinitely higher than you can ever know.”
3. God rules. He is Lord. He is not just the leader. It is a bigger and more powerful idea. He is saying, “I am the God of all the world.” He has absolute creative rights over what He has designed and what He is doing.
4. What God says goes. The Bible insists that all circumstances and events of the world are determined by the Word of God!

When God says, “Let there be light!” there is light.
The scripture describes all that happens as the fulfilling of God’s word, from changes in the weather to the rise and fall of nations.
“He sends His command to the earth; His word runs swiftly. He spreads snow like wool and scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down His hail like pebbles. Who can withstand His icy blast? He sends His word and melts them; He stirs up breezes and the waters flow. He has revealed His word to Jacob.” Ps.147:15-18

        5. To Jeremiah He says: “The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant…For I am watching over My word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1: 4-11) God formed Jeremiah. Before He formed him, He already had a design and purpose for him. The word came to Jeremiah. The word was put into Jeremiah. And the word was accomplished through Jeremiah because that is what God said He would do.

       6. Psalm 119 – There are many references here that show us how the word of God works in our lives.

Vs. 9- “I want to live according to your word.”
Vs.11- “I have hidden your word in my heart.”
Vs. 16- “I will not neglect your word.”
Vs. 17- “I will obey your word.”
Vs. 25- “I am laid low in the dust, preserve me according to your word.
Vs. 28- “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
Vs. 37- “Turn my eyes from worthless things: preserve my life according to your word.”

7. Tara Freeman- “The Psalmist makes all these promises to God, then says ‘God, you have to fulfill these promises I have made to you, so I can say that You have done it!” This is how the word of God works through us.

I. Increasing Our Confidence in the Word of God

This book is alive.

2 Tim. 3:16- “All scripture is breathed out by God…”
Heb. 4:12- “…for the word of God is living and active.”
3808 times in the Old Testament it is written, ‘the Lord says’, or… the word of the Lord came, or…God revealed” That’s four or times a page in the O.T.
This book is speaking to us. The infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, always present, all-powerful, all-knowing God is speaking to us. The Bible does not argue for the existence of God. It proclaims Him!
Martin Luther: “ The Bible is alive, it speaks to me, it has feet, it runs after me, it has hands, it lays hold of me.”

The Word of God is the book of the ages.

Ps. 119:89- “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
Is. 40:8- “the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Mt. 24:35- “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.” This book reveals to us what is temporal and what is eternal.

The Word of God gives us guidance when we are not sure what direction to go.

Ps. 119:105- “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
We have to let the word be our guide, let it speak to us, lead us, and let it pull us up to a higher place.

The Word of God keeps us alive; it is our spiritual food; it feeds us.

Sometimes God will let us dry up. He makes us spiritually hungry so that we will feed on His word.
Duet. 8:3- (Israel in the wilderness) and He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your father’s know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

E. The Word of God is a weapon against spiritual attack.

Mt. 4:1-11 – Three times the devil tempts Jesus and each time Jesus answers him with the word of God.
Eph. 6:13- “…therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day; having done all to stand firm…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…praying at all times…”
During a severe time of crisis in the church, our friend Terry Virgo listened to all of our concerns and struggles and then said, “What do the scriptures tell us to do? We must get hold of the word of God above our feelings.”
His Word is truth.

John. 17:17- “Sanctify them by the truth, Thy word is truth.”
2 Sam. 7:28- “O sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.”
Truth in the Bible is primarily a quality of a person (Jesus Christ) and only secondarily propositions. Truth means stability, reliability, firmness, sincerity, realistic, undeceived. God is such a person-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “I am the truth!!”

We are to store God’s Word in our hearts.

Deut. 11:18- “You shall. Therefore, lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul…”
Ps.119:11- “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Storing God’s word in our hearts is a process of meditating on, and of reflecting on slowly and over a long time, what God is saying. We need to taste and savor the word like the finest food.
“Our greatest danger, indeed I feel it is my greatest danger, is to read the scriptures too generally, instead of looking into them, listening to every phrase, taking hold of every utterance, asking questions concerning every statement. Everyone of these statements has a rich and profound meaning if we but take the trouble to look for them.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones- “Saved Into Eternity.” From the John 17 series

II. So what are we to do with His Word?

A. Read it* Listen to it being read* Hear it through preaching* Proclaim it to ourselves* Share it with others* Memorize it* Learn the doctrines that the verses are teaching.

B. The result is:

We will rejoice in His Word.
We will be still before His word.
We will grow in confidence because we know who God is for us.
We will overcome.

C. Martyn Lloyd- Jones: “My dear friends, there is nothing for you to fear! You belong to One of whom we are told that all power has been given to Him over all flesh. You are in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ if you but knew it and realized it; and He controls all things. All power is given to Him; thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers are subject to Him, so you need not fear. You and I have but to realize that we are in those mighty hands, that that strong arm is engaged on our behalf, that all flesh is under His power…therefore when you are troubled or perplexed or harassed, and when all things seem to be against you and you despair, remind yourself of His authority…trust in Him, He has so loved you that He has died for you, and His power on your behalf is undeniable.”

III. Why this title is “I have found a book.”
A. 2 Kings 22:8-13 “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.”

It was the book of the law, which had been lost. And after king Josiah heard it and read it, it set in motion a reformation within Israel. Josiah tore his robe and humbled himself before the Lord. Josiah had all the altars of Baal worship torn down and destroyed. Truth came because of “The Book.”
When I was first saved, I read John 1:1-18, and I said, “I have found a book!” From that day I knew that I had found “the Book.” It is the most powerful, gripping, life-transforming book of all books. It is a life-giving book. It will humble you and grip your heart. It will bring you into salvation. Can you say, ‘I have found a book?’

IV. The Word of God is for our salvation.
Romans 10:8- “But what does it say? “The word of God is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Discussion Questions:

Discuss Heb.4:12 . What do these illustrations mean to you, and how does it work on a practical level?

Share a time when God spoke powerfully and personally to you through the word. Give a specific scripture that is meaningful to you, and tell why.

Are you feeding your soul and storing up the word of God in your heart daily? Can you testify “I have found the book!”