Five Reasons to Read the Bible
INTRODUCTION
A pastor returned to China after thirty years. He tried to find the churches that he had begun, but he found none. He tried to find some Christians and he could find no one. At last he heard of an old woman, so he went to her home and waited for her to come. She worked late into the night. While he waited he wondered what the woman might be like.
Eventually he heard footsteps on the stairs. The door opened, and the woman came in, radiant with inner beauty that shone out of her face. "Are you the pastor", she asked. "Yes", he replied. "Then please pray", she said. They prayed and talked for some time. She had spent twenty years in prison, then she was released and the last ten years she had worked cleaning the sewers. The time came for the pastor to leave, so he asked her if she needed money. "No", she said, "the Lord always provided more than enough for me." "What about clothes?" he said. "No, mine are better than yours", she replied. "Is there anything that you want", the pastor asked. "Oh, yes," she said, "a Bible; mine was taken from me twenty years ago." The pastor promised her he would return with a Bible . . . .
We who have the Bible so readily available tend to take it for granted and don't use it as we ought, or treasure it for its great worth.
The prophet Isaiah was a man whom God used to take deep spiritual truth and make it plain and practical for us. Isaiah 55:10,11 helps us to understand God's word. This passage teaches us five reasons to read the word of God. Isaiah compares the word of God with something that we will all understand. The word of God is like rain and snow. It is like the rain and the snow in its:
I. ORIGIN
The snow and the rain come down from above, where they originate. So too does God's word from the Bible. The writer to the Hebrews calls the Bible the "good word of God." Paul, in Romans, calls it the oracles of God." Peter the apostle says, "know this, that no prophesy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophesy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20,21) Paul says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The Bible is from God, inspired by God, protected by God, and it is God's truth. Like the rain and snow, the bible comes down out of heaven from the Mouth of God. It is not the word of Isaiah or Matthew or Paul, but God's word.
II. WORK
The rain and snow do not just bounce back up to heaven like a ball, but they have a work to do. They water the earth. The word of God also has work to perform. God is pleased to touch the hearts of men and women and children with the word of God. See what the Scripture says in Romans 10:14-17. The work of God's word is to bring the truth to those who have not heard, to give everyone an opportunity to respond to the love of God.
III. OUTWORKING
The rain and snow have an outworking. When the earth is watered there are always results. The earth brings forth vegetation that buds.
The word of God also has an outworking. When the word of God is heard or read there are always results. Jesus told a parable in which He explained the four possible outworkings of the word of God. There is the hard heart which rejects the truth. There is the stony or shallow heart who believes for a little while and then dies. There is the wordly heart who tries to follow both God and the world, and eventually is choked by the world. And finally there is a good and true heart who hears the word, understands it, and produces fruit.
The word of God continues to work after one becomes a child of God, for the word is like a sword, and divides the soul and the spirit, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16)A Chinese man gave a gift Bible to a missionary with the explanation, "Every time I read it, it kicks me."
IV. VISION
The rain and snow, having fallen and caused the vegetation to grow and bud, causes it to produce seed that more vegetation might grow.
The word of God also produces seeds. There have been more books written about the Bible and themes of the Bible than any other book or subject. Even secular books quote the Bible. It has been said that if the Bible was totally wiped out it could be reconstructed from secular literature. The Bible has the potential to make everyone who hears its words a sower of truth, an orator, or a writer, for the seeds of the word are sown every time it is heard or read. The Bible is a book of vision, for it provides for the future.
IV. PROVISION
The rain and snow also provide food and sustenance for the eaters. The word of God is also food for God's children. Food for the mature, and food for the babe in Christ (Hebrews 5:12-14). Peter calls the word pure spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:2). Read Isaiah 55:2,39. The Bible is spiritual food for us. It is the only book that will really satisfy.
. . . . The pastor returned with a Bible in his brief case. He waited and eventually he heard the footsteps of the old Chinese lady. The pastor gave her a large amount of money that had been donated for her from caring Christians. He told her that they had been praying for her; he gave her a lovely new wardrobe of clothes, but she didn't smile once. The pastor thought to himself that she was ungrateful. At last she said, "where is my Bible?" He took out the new Bible and gave it to her. She clutched it to her bosom saying over and over again, "precious, precious, precious."
Next morning the pastor got up early and left. Her light was on, and she was hunched up over her Bible, reading as she had been all night.