3 Dangers of Passing Little Time in the Word
We are all living in a very unique moment of history. We are daily bombarded with more media and news (fake or true) than any person can truly handle or process. Yet, as Christians we must be people who are fully aware of what is happening in our world if we are to be able to lovingly and faithfully lead our families and all those God has place in our sphere of influence. To not give ear to some media and news would likely render us poor leaders for the name of Jesus. Tuning in to know the latest happenings does come at a cost, however. My prayer is that this short blog post will serve to help you see some of the danger (the traps) of being pulled away from the simple daily reading of the word of God, and that you will be freshly moved to keep the Word of the Lord your main source of input. Here are three dangers of passing little time in the written Word of God.
I) You'll Likely Listen to Other Sources That Are Not Trustworthy
If you're not giving time to the word, you will be giving time to sources that are not trustworthy. Sadly, it's all too common in certain circles today in evangelicalism where the teaching is not so great (feelings might be high, emotions might be high, but the teaching is lousy), that the written word of God is is not properly understood for the treasure that it is. Unfortunately, in many Christian minds today, the Word of God is not sufficient. It's cute, it's nice, it's good, sure! It's inspirational, but it's not sufficient. And so what happens? They go to other sources... People put aside the Word of God. I see it all the time. Everywhere where there is talk about so-called prophecies and visions and revelations, there is one common thread. The Bible is set aside, or when it's read, everything is taken totally out of context. People seek a special revelation, something new. Brothers and sisters, the written word of God is a special revelation! It's alive. It's inspired by God Himself; breathed out by God. It's also accompanied by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a special revelation! Let it be your treasure. Let it abide in you. You cannot exhaust the study of the Word of God. Brilliant minds have come before us in the history of the church, and they spent their days mining the Word of God. I really appreciate Calvin, for example. He died young, having often only slept about four hours a night. He was just in the Word all the time, and he still didn't exhaust it. He didn't give us his commentary on Revelations, and a couple other books as well. He didn't quit arrive. With all the time he spent in the word, he still didn't get enough time to go through it all. Most of it he went through very thoroughly, however, and his commentaries after all these years are still some of the best. The point is - we cannot exhaust the written Word of God. Live and abide in the word!
II) Satan and the World Will Be Your Guide
If the Word of God is not guiding you, the world and Satan will guide you. To see where that takes you, we have a clear picture today. All you have to do is look at the radical left agenda in America today. You want to see where putting aside the Word of God and being led by Satan and the world takes you? Look at the radical left agenda. They can't even identify what a man and a woman is anymore. It's all up in the air. You can't go to Harvard and get a degree in medicine, unless you bow the knee and say, "Yes, there's no longer men and women. Now there's whatever you want to be today; there's infinite possibilities." If you want to be in their program, you have to deny real science and bow the knee to their new teaching. There's no longer women who give birth, there's people who give birth... Little children understand there's something wrong here. The animals look at us and think, "You really don't get it? You don't know how this works? It's not that complicated." Being led by the world and by Satan results in total confusion and lawlessness. We need the Word of God to illumine our path. Sadly, today we have the blind leading the blind, and it leads to self destruction. Do not be lead to destruction. Abide daily in the written Word of God.
III) It May Be You Are Not Born of the Spirit of God or Your Heart Is Slowly But Surely Hardening
Hebrews 3 teaches us about the danger of a hardened heart. A hardened heart is a possibility. If time in the Word is not a priority for you, I would encourage you today to examine yourself. Are you truly saved? Do you really know Jesus? Or do you know of him? There is a difference. You may confess Jesus Christ, but do you possess Jesus Christ? There is a difference. Consider your life today. When we are truly saved, we cannot go long without the Word of God. It's food for our soul. 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, "Desire the pure Word of God, like a baby desires milk from his mother." We need the Word of God. It feeds us. "Man is not made to live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." That's a reality. If you can live without the Word of God, there's something wrong. I lovingly encourage you to find out what it is. We read of the hard heart, it's a terrible place to be. We don't want that. The hard heart is not sensitive. It's not hearing. It's not responding. It's lacking proper affections for the Lord. Proverbs 28:13-14 we read this, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." If you are hardened in heart today, you're in sin. If you confess it and forsake it, you will obtain mercy. "Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity." Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it's promised you will fall into calamity. I don't desire that for you. If your heart is hardened, turn from your sin, fear the LORD, repent, you will receive mercy. Come back to the Lord, trust in the Lord, let your heart be made new and be made right.
May the Lord draw you closer to Him as you consider these three dangers and your walk with Christ. Our relationship with Christ is often revealed through a look at our commitment to being in His Word. In the next blog post, we'll be looking at some practical helps to being and remaining a people of the Word.
Written by Jesse Schreck
Taken from the Missions Incorporated podcast Episode 259: Listen to Him! | sermon
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