Here’s the second message of our series on the word of God! This one explores how God’s word helps us to thrive. Check out the next previous message further down on this blog and look for the upcoming two closing messages to this vital series.
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THE BOOK OF LIFE—Thrive By It
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Ezekiel 37:1-10 “The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’ 4 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”’ 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’ 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
4 Ways God’s Word Brings Life to You
- The written word of God gives understanding.
Ezekiel 37:3 “He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’”
Job 32:8 “But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.”
1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”
Luke 24:45 “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”
- The written word creates order.
Ezekiel 37:7 “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”
Psalm 33:6 “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”
Genesis 1:2-3 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
- The written word of God grants strength.
Ezekiel 37:8 “I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.”
Exodus 15:8-10 “By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.”
John 20:22 “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
- The written word of God brings life.
Ezekiel 37:10 “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
2 Peter 1:20-21 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.”
Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”