RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

Making Disciples – 4
Sammy Tippit: I want us to talk today about the Word of God and the importance of the Scripture in growing in the image of Christ, becoming like Christ. The Bible is so important. The Bible is God’s Word. It’s not just an ordinary book. It’s a book that was inspired of God. In fact, I want to read to you a Scripture verse: 2 Timothy 3:16.
It says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” I’m here with Corey Webb. We are talking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and to be a disciple of Jesus… The Bible is very important. Why do you think the Scripture is so important to being a follower or being a learner of Jesus?
Corey Webb: You know, I look at the Bible, Sammy, as God’s love letter to us. It’s his language. It’s his heart. It’s his plan for our lives. Paul also gave instruction to Timothy, saying, “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…”
Sammy: Yeah. Another thing I think is really important for us to understand is that the Bible describes Jesus as the Word of God.
Corey: Yes.
Sammy: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” How do we know what Jesus is like? We’ve been talking about growing in Christ’s image, becoming like Christ. How do we know what he’s like? It’s in here. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.”
I’ll tell you a little story. I was in Mongolia. I was in a city where there were no Christians at all. I was trying to explain to people about God. They had never even had a Bible at this time. I was trying to explain about God, about Jesus, about who he is and how he works. An old man lifted his hand, and he said, “Sir, I have a question!” I asked, “What’s that?”
He asked, “What does your God look like?” That’s a tough question to answer. I said, “If you want to know what he looks like, there’s a perfect description in this book of his works, his heart, his character, how he works with us and deals with us… You’re going to find it right here in this book.
Corey: That’s good. Right.
Sammy: You and I come from backgrounds that are a little bit different, so let’s get both perspectives. You grew up in a Christian family. I did not grow up going to church or in a Christian family. How important has the Bible been to you all of these years growing up? Has it always been that important to you? Just tell me about that.
Corey: Well, the Bible has been important to me, Sammy, but I think it would be good to say I grew up with religion. I didn’t grow up with a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Sammy: Okay. Now that’s important. Explain that to us a little bit, okay? What does that mean?
Corey: Okay. I was in a home growing up where, I guess some could say, I went to church nine months before I was born. My mom was pregnant and went to church. I learned a lot of Bible stories growing up and memorized some Scripture verses, and when I was in the 5th grade, my sister (a year younger than me) had genuinely prayed and received Jesus as her Savior.
She wanted to take that next step and follow Christ in believer’s baptism. As the one-year-older brother, I was asked, “Well, Corey, Debbie (3:47) is going to get baptized, so do you want to get baptized?” I said, “Well, of course!” I wasn’t going to let her show me up in anything, you know? But no one ever asked me, Sammy, if I had entered into a personal relationship with Jesus. I had not at that time.
It wasn’t until Thanksgiving Day of 1985 that I realized that I didn’t have Jesus in my heart, that I had never recognized the fact that I needed to ask him to come in, forgive me of my sins, and take over my life. So I locked that in on Thanksgiving Day of 1985, and then the Word of God began to make more sense in my life as the Holy Spirit empowered me with the ability to learn God’s truth.
Sammy: What I’m hearing you say is that for a certain period of time, this was just a religious book to you.
Corey: Absolutely.
Sammy: You said, “Okay, this what I do and what I don’t do,” and you found religious things in this book.
Corey: Right.
Sammy: But then when you came to Christ, it became God’s love letter to you.
Corey: You bet. It came alive.
Sammy: Yeah. You know, when my wife and I met each other and wanted to know whether or not it was God’s will for us to be married, we decided the way we needed to find that out was to go to two different schools and be away from each other to see if it was of God or not and it would stay there. So we did, and she wrote me a letter every day. Man, the first thing I did every morning when I got up was go to the post office because I wanted to read those sweet things she had said to me.
Corey: You wanted to see that letter.
Sammy: Like you said, this is God’s love letter to us. Man, when you understand that, the first thing you want to do when you wake up in the morning is say, “Man, I want to see what he has to say. What letter did he send me today?” That’s the difference. Is this what you’re talking about: the difference between relationship and religion as far as the Word of God, the Bible, is concerned?
Corey: Absolutely. This became my hope. This became my joy. It challenged me. It convicted me of things I needed to work on in my life, things I needed to apply.
Sammy: Which is what that Scripture verse we just read says.
Corey: Right.
Sammy: Now if you don’t mind me pointing something out, asking you about it, and letting you kind of give me feedback on it… You said your sister, who was a year younger than you, came to know Christ and had a genuine encounter with him. You were a year older, and you said, “Oh, I can’t let her outdo me.” Does that go back to that same thing we started off talking about regarding this pride and comparing ourselves to others?
Corey: You bet.
Sammy: Religion is rooted in pride.
Corey: It’s rooted in pride. It’s what put Jesus on the cross.
Sammy: Yeah. But when we look at the Bible, we’re not looking at it as a religious book. We’re looking at it as God’s love letter to us that the Holy Spirit breathed through men to speak to us words that are life.
Corey: That’s right. It’s useful to us.
Sammy: Yeah. So the importance is not as a religious book but as a love letter to us to reveal to us who God is. Besides showing us who Jesus is, what else does the Bible do for us? You mentioned one thing about how you’re convicted. It convicts you. How does that work?
Corey: Well, it lets us know God’s plan, his bigger-picture plan. It’s a guide. The Bible says the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. In other words, the Word of God… When we begin to read God’s love letter, his ultimate plan, his eternal plan for our lives, it lets us know where we are. When we recognize where we are, then we know where we aren’t. It also lets us know the direction we’re going in our lives.
Sammy: Yeah. When you say that, it reminds me of another Scripture verse. In Psalm 119, it says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The Scripture not only is a revelation of who God is, but it shows us how to live daily. Now again, there’s a fine line here between religion and relationship.
It’s not a thing where God is banging us over the head, but it’s a thing where God is showing us, “This is my light. This is the way you’re to go.” What I’ve found… I don’t know about you. Give me your thoughts on this. I’ve found we’re living in a very dark world.
Corey: Yes we are.
Sammy: I need a light. This is my light. This is my lamp. What are your thoughts on that?
Corey: Well, I agree totally. It’s the Word of God that lets us know that there is more to this life than what we face right now, that there’s an eternal plan. Life on earth is like the preschool for eternity.
Sammy: That’s a good way to say it. Well, I’ll tell you what we need to do. I want us to talk in just a few minutes here about how we take this book in and make it a part of our lives so it will help us to grow in Christ and in our faith in Jesus Christ. You need the Word of God. I need the Word of God. It’ll help us to become like Christ.