22 Sep How God transforms us

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ⁵ As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.

2 Timothy is possibly the last of Paul’s letters that we have in the Bible. Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison, waiting for his execution. So he wrote this letter at the end of his life. And he wrote this letter to his protégé, Timothy. We know that whatever someone said before their last breath carries with it extra weight of importance. And when I read these verses, I can’t help but think that Paul is not only speaking to Timothy, but he is speaking to the reality of our days and ages. Listen to what he said. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Did you hear that? Paul predicted a day would come where people would not like to hear the truth being preached. They would prefer to hear a sermon that suit their own passions and they would turn away from the truth and wander off into myths. I read this and thought, “Huh, Paul must be a fortune teller. Because he got it spot on!”

I’ve spent all of my life in the church. I’ve been around church long enough to know that many people in the church do not like to hear the truth. They like to hear message that tickle their ear. Let me prove it to you. According to you, what makes a good sermon? You would say: funny; interesting; relevant; applicable; useful; touching. Do you know that you can have all of those without teaching the Bible? In fact, many churches today undermine the Scriptures. Some said that the preaching of the word had become irrelevant in the church. Rather than focusing most of our time in studying the word, the church should focus more in music and singing, drama etc. Some churches tried to change the word of God. They said that the Scripture is out of date and need to be updated to fit the context of our culture. Some tried to remove everything that is supernatural about the Bible. Some tried to twist Scripture to satisfy their sexual appetite. Some decided to pick and choose the attributes of God in the Bible. Our culture love to talk about the love of God but they hate to talk about the wrath of God. They said that the God of love cannot be the God of wrath.

But let me tell you what I say. I say they are wrong. Do not believe the lie that we need to make the Bible more relevant to our days. The Bible is always relevant. It is the very breath of God. God wrote it. Everything in this world keeps changing. Philosophy of church keeps changing. Method of ministry keeps changing. Music trend keeps changing. Church growth movement keeps changing. But let me tell you what never change. The word of God. Today we live in day and age that undermine the word of God. But this is nothing new. The word of God has been constantly under attack from the very beginning. People tried to attack it. People tried to change it. People ripped out pages that does not make sense to them. But I have a good news for us. All those attacks come and go but the word of God remains. Why? Because it is the very breath of God. The Bible is the word of the eternal God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Everything else come and go but the word of the eternal God remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

That is why Paul is saying to Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:5 – As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. The context of this passage is that Paul is warning Timothy of false teachers within the church. These false teachers do not preach the truth of the word of God but they preach what sounds good to people’s ears. And not only that, but many in the church would prefer to hear what sounds good rather than what is true. False teachers would not have a platform unless there is a false church. So Paul is warning Timothy of the danger of false teachers and false church. And now Paul is saying to Timothy, “As for you Tim, do not follow those trends. Do not preach what the false teachers are preaching and do not preach what people want to hear. But always speak the truth, endure the suffering that comes with preaching the truth, continue to preach the gospel and point people to Jesus, and fulfil your calling from God.” Preaching the truth of the Bible is of primary importance in the life of the church because only the Bible has the power to transform our lives.

Tonight we are looking at a passage from the Bible that teaches us what the Bible says about the Bible. It is possibly the best passage that teaches us on the power of the word of God to transform us. We are going to look at: Unity of the Bible; Power of the Bible; Preaching of the Bible. And then I will give you three applications at the end.

Unity of the Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-15 – ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

How many of you love Marvel’s universe? I am a big fan. Do you know that they made over $2.79 billions US just from Avengers Endgame? That’s billions with 12 zeros. It is crazy. But here is what’s cool about it. Marvel universe managed to make 21 movies that lasted for 11 years, from 2008 to 2019, that tells one big story and all these small stories culminate in Endgame. It is extremely brilliant. But how many of you realise that we have something far more amazing than marvel’s universe in our hand? It is a book that tells us of God’s universe. This book is written by 40 authors, 66 different parts, over the course of 1500 years, and they all tell one big story. And that story is not about you finding your destiny, nor you chasing your dreams. The one big story of the Bible is not about us but about God who revealed himself to us through the person of Jesus Christ. Let me show you.

Paul tells us that Timothy is someone who is familiar with the Scripture ever since his childhood. And we know from Acts that Timothy is actually half Greek and half Jew. His dad is a Greek and his mom is a Jew. We do not know what happen to his dad, but we do know that Timothy did not learn and believe the Scripture because of his dad. It was Momma Eunice and Grandma Lois that educated Timothy in the Scripture from his childhood. And now Paul is telling Timothy, “I want you to continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed.” Why? Paul gives two reasons. First, because from whom he learned it. With another word Paul is saying, “Continue to hold fast to the Scripture because of your momma and grandma.” It does not mean that momma and grandma are always right but there is something about momma’s and grandma’s life that should make Timothy very slow to forsake their teaching. There is something about their life that reflects the truth of the Scripture. So when they told Timothy to pray, they not only say it, but they also get on their knee to pray before God. When they told Timothy to read Scripture, they not only say it, but they also read it for themselves and teach the Scripture to Timothy. There is something about their lives that verifies the trustworthiness of the Scripture. Parents, this is what your children and your grandchildren desperately need today. Your children not only need to hear you tell them to prioritise God, but they also need to see you prioritise God in your daily life. The church needs parents and grandparents who live out the Scripture.

The second reason Paul gives Timothy is that because Scripture is able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This is interesting. What Scripture (or sacred writings) does Paul have in mind? Yes these sacred writings can also include some part of New Testament letters that is already in existent at that time, but it is predominantly speaks of the Old Testament. Timothy grew up being taught the Old Testament. Momma Eunice would have told Timothy the story of David and Goliath. How a young shepherd boy slayed a giant because of his faith in God. Grandma Lois would have told Timothy the story of Gideon and how Gideon and his 300 men courageously defeated tens of thousands of Midianites without a single casualty.

But watch what Paul says. As amazing as those stories are, they are not the point. Lots of times if we are not careful, we think of Old Testament characters as the holy version of Marvel Superheroes. But they are not. There is only one hero in the Bible and that hero is not Abraham, David or Gideon. That hero is not you either. So praise God for Momma Eunice and Grandma Lois for teaching the Old Testament to Timothy. But then came Paul. Paul showed Timothy what the Scripture is all about. Paul is clear that everything that Old Testament teaches culminates in one person. The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation shouts out one name, Jesus Christ. Genesis is about Jesus. Leviticus is about Jesus. Esther is about Jesus. Proverbs is about Jesus. It is one story that makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. It is the story of redemption. How sin has damaged God’s good creation and God is restoring humanity and creation through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Sin has created uncross-able gap between God and humanity but Jesus came to close that gap. He took the wrath of God upon himself and offers us free forgiveness by putting our faith in his work. Today if you put your faith in Christ, you are no longer the enemies of God but children of God. You are not under the wrath of God but the love of God. There is no life apart from Christ. This is the one story of the Bible. It is the story of the gospel. And Paul tells Timothy to hold firm to the truth of the gospel.

Power of the Bible

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

These two verses are probably the best two verses in the Bible that describes the power of the Bible. Paul begins by saying “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” Just think about it. Whenever you speak, you need to breathe out your words. Right? You can’t utter words without breathing out. The words of God in the Bible is the result of God breathing out. Do you know what happen when God speaks? The universe came into existence and danced at his words. Just as God spoke the universe into existence, God breathed out his words in Scripture. This is extremely powerful. Maybe this will help.

In the book of Ezekiel, we have a story where a prophet by the name of Ezekiel was brought by God to the valley of Dry Bones and was commanded to speak to the dry bones. We need to understand that God brought Ezekiel to this valley for a purpose. God was not bored and had nothing to do and decided to play a prank on Ezekiel. The Lord God wanted to show Ezekiel what God would do in the near future. So God asked Ezekiel a question, “can these bones live?” You have to love Ezekiel’s answer. He knew that what God was asking was humanly impossible. They were dead and dry! Logically speaking, it is impossible. There is no mathematical equation that can even give the slightest chance of probability. But Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Translation: “God what I see in front of me is an impossibility. But if there is anyone who can make the impossible possible, it’s you. So, you know.” Then the Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to these dry bones. Look at what happened next.

Ezekiel 37:7-10 – ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Did you see what happen? The dry bones came to life and became a great army. How? Through the proclamation of God’s word. This is the Old Testament version of walking dead. When Ezekiel spoke the word of God, the breath of God entered into dry bones and they lived. The breath of God infused life. This is the power of God’s breath. And now Paul is saying to Timothy that all Scripture is breathed out by God. Which mean that every part of Scripture has power to gives us life. And pay attention to what Paul says. Paul says “All Scripture.” The word all in the original language means all. It means that every book in the Bible, every sentence in the Bible, every word in the Bible is God’s breath. Yes the Bible is written by many different human writers but all of them are inspired by the same author, God. That is why we don’t have to pick and choose what we want to believe in the Scripture. We can trust the Bible for what it says. God does not breathe out lies.

Paul then lists out how the Bible is profitable for us. First, the Bible teaches us. The Bible teaches us the truth and what God is doing in history. Truth is not relative but absolute. You never have to edit the Bible. The Bible does not need correction.

Second, the Bible reproofs us. The word reproof means to convict. All of us are prone to wander from God and live according to our own desires and God has given us the Bible to keep us from wandering too far. It’s like teaching someone how to drive. Teaching a person how to drive takes lots of patience and guts. I remember helping one of my best friend, who shall remain unnamed, learning to drive and I had my right hand in the hand brake the whole time. Every time she drifted toward one side of the lane, I would nicely say, “You are drifting.” And if she did not hear me, I would yell “You are drifting!” This is what the Bible does. When we start to drift, the Bible warns us.

Third, the Bible corrects us. I love it. The Bible not only tell us that we are in the wrong path, but it also show us the right path. It not only tell us “that path leads to destruction” but it also tell us “this is the path that leads to life.”

Fourth, the Bible trains us. In order for us to live the life that God desires for us, we need to receive training in righteousness. If you ever receive training in anything, you know that training is not fun. Training requires lots of repetition of the same thing. I remember when I first joined Body Pump class. I’m not sure how much weight I should put on my bar to begin. So I look to my left and right and see how much weight these ladies put on their bar. 90% of the people in the class are ladies. So me being a manly man that I am, I make sure I put more weight on my bar in comparison to these 40/50 years old ladies. And let me tell you, it is a very bad decision. I almost die halfway. And to save me from embarrassment, I pretend that I am sore from my previous workout. But I don’t think it works. Somehow I can hear those ladies laugh at me in their head saying, “This guy is a moron.” But after about six months, I can proudly say that I manage to keep up with those ladies. Not beat them, just keeping up with them. What happen? I become better at it. How? Through lots of repetition. Through training. God trains us through the Bible.

Fifth, the Bible equips us. The purpose of the Bible teaches, reproofs, corrects and trains us is so that we may be complete, equipped for every good work. This is the purpose. God wants us to be ready to do good works. And in order for us to be ready, we need to be equipped. We do not want to enter a fight without the right equipment. Imagine playing tennis with a ping pong paddle. There is no way you can do it. Likewise, God does not want us to be unequipped to live out our daily life. As Christians, you and I will face many situations in life where there is no clear direction. Can we be honest and admit that even the Bible does not have the answer for many of our specific needs? “Who should I date? Billy or Bobby? Which job should I take? CBA or Westpac? Should I stay in Sydney or go back to Indonesia? What should I do when my kids is giving me headache? What should I do when I am majoring in a subject that I absolutely hate?” The Bible does not have specific answers but the Bible equips us with all the right equipment to do good works.

David Platt puts it all together in these concentric circles. It’s very helpful. Christ – Conscience – Conduct. The center circle, Christ, is what happen when the breath of God enters your life through the proclamation of the word of God. You become a new creation. You are born again. You become a Christian. Conscience is when the word of God transforms your mind. By teaching, reproofing, correcting, training and equipping us. The word of God transforms your mind and desire to think and want like Christ. Conduct is the daily life decision and application of your conscience. Your conduct is govern by your conscience. You always make decision based on your belief and desire. In order to have Christ-like conduct, we need to have Christ and Christ’s conscience. We can’t jump straight into conduct. There is no shortcut. But our mistake is that we often jump straight to conduct. We want to produce Christ’s like characters without having Christ and Christ’s mind. It’s not going to work.

Let’s put all of these into one specific application: “How to choose the right person to date and marry?” Some of you are thinking, “Wait, I thought you are single.” I know, no need to remind me. Friends, do you know that whoever you date has a huge influence in the trajectory of your life? That is why I am extremely concern with whom you are dating. Not because I am jealous because you get to date and I don’t. I don’t want you to date the wrong person because I do not want you to get hurt. But at the same time, I also know my limitation. I can only speak and warn you but I cannot make you do anything. Let’s say that Bob is a guy who goes to RSI and he is close with 3 different girls: Sabrina, Sally and Sisi. So I message Bob, “We need to talk. Let’s go out to dinner.” At dinner, I ask Bob about these girls. Sabrina is a very attractive sexy girl who seems to be out Bob’s league. Bob used to have a big crush on Sabrina. But after Bob became a Christian, Sabrina is attracted to Bob. However, Sabrina has no interest in Christ. She only come to church for Bob. She loves to party and get drunk. At the same time, Bob also get to know Sally. Bob met Sally in MC. They became close friend and they are both ministering in RSI. Sally is a Christ-loving girl, who has been a Christian for many years. Sally is pretty cute but she is not as physically attractive as Sabrina. And the third girl is Sisi. Just like Bob, Sisi is a brand new Christian. They got baptized on the same day and she consistently grow in her walk with Christ. Bob can see many Christ-like qualities growing in Sisi. Sisi is slightly more physically attractive than Sally but not as attractive as Sabrina. These are the three girls in Bob’s life. The question is, which of these three girls should Bob pursue?

Now, I can’t open the Bible and tell Bob the name of the girl he should date. That verse does not exist. I can tell Bob that he should not date and marry an unbeliever and therefore Sabrina is out of the option. But let me tell you what usually happen in this scenario. Bob would say, “You don’t understand Yos. I know Sabrina has many flaws but she really care for me. She’s head over heel in love with me. I think she might be the one. And she is very hot.” And I would reply, “So is hell.” In this case, Bob knows he should not date Sabrina, he knows what the right conduct is, but he will still choose to date Sabrina. Why? Because he does not have Christ’s conscience. It is impossible to sustain the right conduct without the right conscience. However, this story is very different if Bob has Christ’s conscience. Consider what happen if Bob takes the time to build Christ’s conscience through the word of God. This is what the Bible does. The Bible teaches, convicts, corrects, trains and equips Bob for good works. The Bible does not have the name of the girl he should date but the Bible prepares him to make the right decision. The Bible is never intended to be a manual for every circumstance of life. The Bible is not primarily a manual for life but it is so much better. The Bible is a book about Jesus that has the power to transform you to be like Jesus. And this is what we need most in life. What we need most in life is not a manual for life but to be like the giver of life. The Bible has the power to transform you to be like Jesus that enable you to face whatever circumstance you face in life. As we read the Bible, we are being transformed to be more like Jesus. And the more we are transformed to be like Jesus, the more we desire what Jesus desires. Our thoughts and desires are shaped by beauty of Jesus. Our priority and the way we see things begin to change. And once our thought and desire are changed, the way we speak and act begin to change. The way we carry ourselves is different. The way we make decision is different.

So which one should Bob pursue? Sabrina, Sally or Sisi? We don’t need to answer this question because Sabrina won’t even make it to the list because now Bob has Christ’s conscience. Because Bob has Christ’s conscience, he no longer see physical beauty as the main criteria for attraction. Listen to me. I am not saying attraction does not matter. You still have to like what you see. You don’t want to have heart attack every time you wake up in the morning. “Oh, who is this? Oh it’s my wife.” But I am saying that when you have the mind of Christ, you are attracted to different things. For those who has Christ’s conscience, godliness is sexy and attractive. Now Bob is free to pursue either Sisi or Sally. Not both. What if Bob can’t decide between Sally and Sisi? Then it is a privilege for Bob to imitate his pastor, if you know what I mean. Now do you see what happen? The same is true about every specific needs that you have in life. In your relationship with one another, in life’s big decision, in work’s conflict, in raising kids, whatever it is that you need, what you need most is to be like Christ. And the Bible has the power to make you complete and equipped for every good works. The Bible is the mean by which God does his works in his people. This is also why it is very important for the church to preach the Bible.

Preaching of the Bible

2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Paul gives us a very high view of preaching. Look at what Paul writes. He charges Timothy in the presence of God. With another word, when I am preaching in front of you, I am not just preaching to you but I am also accountable God. God takes notice of me when I am preaching. And not only that, but also in the presence of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead. Preachers are accountable for what they preach and one day they will be judged by Christ. This is massive. That means I can preach a sermon that has a million likes but if I don’t preach the truth of the Bible, I will be under judgement. At the end of the day, God does not hold preachers accountable for the popularity of their sermon but by whether or not they preach the word. True preachers are not preaching for the applause of men but for the pleasure of God.

The word “preach” was actually a political word and not a religious word. When a king had a message to deliver to his people, he could not simply call a press conference and broadcast his message. The king would send a messenger to proclaim his message. When the king’s messenger arrived in a city, he would read aloud the message of the king for everyone to listen to. To ignore the message of the messenger is to ignore the king’s authority. But it is also very important for the messenger to proclaim the message of the king faithfully and clearly. To misrepresent the king’s message is as dangerous as rejecting the authority of the king. This is what it means to preach the word.

When I prepared for this sermon, I was reminded of my old sermon in 2008. I was still studying in Dallas and I was in Sydney for holiday. My parents told me to preach in Youth service and I had no idea what to preach. But then on Saturday I went and watch Kung Fu Panda and I was very inspired by the movie. So I wrote a sermon based on the movie. I don’t remember much about the sermon but I remember it was funny and people liked it. Or at least they pretended to like it. I made sure to delete all evident that I ever preached that sermon. As inspiring as Po is, the message of the Bible is not to preach Po but preach the word. Because Po cannot transform life but the breath of God can. It means that I have to spend lots of hours studying the verses in order to be able to preach the word of God faithfully. And I am obligated to preach the word in season and out of season. If success come and the church is packed with multitude of people, I am obligated to preach the word. If there is no harvest and many people leave the church, I am still obligated to preach the word. I am to preach the word at all times, not only when I feel like it. It is my responsibility to preach the word and it is God’s responsibility to bring harvest. The preacher’s role is to preach the word that equipped God’s people for every good works.

Applications

Let me give you three quick applications and I am back on my seat. First, the importance of the Bible in home. As we can see from Timothy’s life, Timothy has been acquainted with the Scripture from childhood. His mother and grandmother taught him the Bible. Parents, the main responsibility to teach your kids the Bible does not lie on Sunday school teachers. The main responsibility to teach your children in the faith lies on you. Sometime parents can have this weird idea that having their kids to attend Sunday school once a week is enough to make their kids grow in Christ-likeness. And when their kids turn out like a devil, they blamed Sunday school teachers for not doing their job. Let me ask a question to all the parents in here. How many of you would let your children starve physically? I hope none of you would. You would give food for your children to eat every day. But do you know that Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God? If that is true, why are you not feeding your children the word of God? Parents, do not starve your children of the word of God. And parents, don’t get your priority wrong. Some parents are so busy with preparing their kids for the future. They take their kids to gym lesson, swim lesson, math lesson, chinese lesson, piano lesson, soccer lesson. There is nothing wrong with that. Go and make your kids experts in all those lessons they are taking. But your kids are not going to win the Olympic. How do I know? Because they have your genes. But my question is, are your kids also expert in the word of God? If not, then you have given them good things and yet missed out on the most important thing that your kids need in life.

Second, the importance of the Bible in life. Get this right. You must know the Bible. The problem with many Christian today is that they call themselves Christian but they do not know the Bible. If I ask you, “Where is it written “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”?” you would answer, “Proverbs.” Wrong. It is written in the kitchen of our church. It is not a verse from the Bible. Many of you have been Christian for many years and you still don’t know the big narrative of the Bible. You only know bits and pieces that you hear in Sunday school and in sermons. That is why many of you believe whatever the preacher say. But if we believe that the Bible is the breath of God then we must be expert on the Bible. “If we believe the Bible is the word of God, we will do our best to read it every single day at any cost.” – Edrick. If the Bible is the breath of God that gives life, then it has to be our number one priority in life. We have to read it, meditate on it and memorize it. Some of you would object, “But I don’t have a good memory.” Really? What if I offer to give you a $1000 for every verse you memorised? “Jesus wept.” And just like that, you get a $1000. I am sure many of you would start memorising Scripture. But if the Bible is the breath of God, then it is much more valuable than money. Do we believe that the Bible is more valuable than money? If little Rere can memorise Bible verses, there is no reason you can’t. Other would say, “But I don’t have the time.” Last time I checked, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. There is no such thing as I don’t have the time to read the Bible. It is either you make time or you don’t. If you are busy at work and you are hungry, you don’t say, “I won’t have time to eat for the next one week.” You make time to eat and satisfy your hunger. Do we make time to eat the bread of life? Other objection is, “But I listen to lots of Christian podcast already.” Here is what I say. Good Christian podcasts are gifts from God but it is not enough. Listening to a good Christian podcast is like listening to a man brag to you about how beautiful his girlfriend is. Praise God for it but it won’t make you fall in love with his girlfriend. “You know what? After listening to you talk about your girlfriend, I think I love your girlfriend too. She’s amazing.” That’s not how it works. In the same way, listening to a preacher talks to you about the greatness of God won’t necessarily make you fall in love with God. You need to read the Bible and encounter him for yourself. That’s how it works.

Third, the importance of the Bible in church. The Bible must be the central focus of the church. Not the pastors, not some new innovative ideas, not the latest trends, but the word of God. And because the Bible must be the central focus of the church, then the preaching of the word must be the priority in the church. And everything that is preached from the pulpit must be based on the Bible. Listen carefully. Preachers are not called to preach a sermon that is primarily about answering people’s need. Preachers are called to preach the word of God that transforms the people to be like Jesus. My role is to expose you to the word of God and show you the beauty of Christ through it and let the word do its work. The word of God will not fail to accomplish what it sets out to do. It also means that we ought to prioritise church on Sunday. I am not saying that you can never miss church. But I am saying that to expose yourself to the proclamation of God’s word is more important than exam, assessment, work and holiday. Something is wrong with our priority if we can’t even spend 2 hours on Sunday to worship with our brothers and sisters and hear the proclamation of the word of God that can transform us to be more like Jesus. Either you do not believe in the importance of the word of God, or something else is more important for you. Let us fix our priority. Let us swim in the word of God and let the word of God transforms our lives.

Discussions:

1. What does it mean for the Scripture to be “God-breathed”?
2. Why it is important for us to have Christ’s conscience and how do we built it?
3. What is the definition of true preaching and how do you differentiate between true preaching and false preaching?
4. What can we do to prioritise the Bible in our home? Give practical examples.
5. Why does listening to good Christian podcasts and reading good Christian books cannot substitute the need for us to read the Bible? What can we do to prioritise the Bible in our lives? Give practical examples.
6. Why is it very crucial for us to be planted in a Bible-preaching church and not just any church?
7. Explain the importance of weekly church attendance to our growth as Christian.