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"DAILY BIBLE READING (I)"
Why We Need To Make It A Habit
INTRODUCTION
1. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of our country, once
stated...
"So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my
children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that
they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable
members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to
read through the Bible once every year."
2. George Muller, who established many orphanages throughout England,
said...
"I believe that the one chief reason that I have been kept in happy
useful service is that I have been a lover of Holy Scripture. It
has been my habit to read the Bible through four times a year; in a
prayerful spirit, to apply it to my heart, and practice what I find
there. I have been for sixty-nine years a happy man; happy, happy,
happy."
3. Both of these men spoke of the habit of Bible reading...
a. This is a habit which many great people in the past engaged in
regularly
b. Many people still do so today
c. But I fear that if the truth were known, fewer and fewer people
have developed the habit of daily reading the Bible
1) Many have probably never read the New Testament from beginning
to end
2) Even fewer have never read the entire Old Testament
4. And yet, I agree with:
a. Patrick Henry, who said: "The Bible is worth more than all other
books which have ever been printed."
b. Charles Dickens, who wrote: "The New Testament is the very best
book that ever was or will be known in the world."
5. For this reason, I have one objective in this lesson and the one to
follow: TO ENCOURAGE EVERY PERSON TO DEVELOP THE HABIT OF DAILY
BIBLE READING!
[To help motivate us all in this regard, I wish to point out WHY it is
so important to develop the habit of daily Bible reading...]
I. BECAUSE OF THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD TO SAVE - Jm 1:21
A. GOD'S WORD SAVES US BY PRODUCING FAITH - Ro 10:17
1. Without faith it is impossible to please God - He 11:6
2. Without faith in Jesus we cannot be saved - Jn 8:24
3. The Word Of God was written to produce such saving faith - Jn
20:30-31
B. GOD'S WORD SAVES US BY CAUSING US TO BE "BORN AGAIN" - 1Pe 1:
22-23
1. Jesus stressed the necessity of being born again - Jn 3:3-5
2. The rebirth involving water and Spirit comes when one has
received the "incorruptible seed" of God's Word; in
particular, the gospel - 1Pe 1: 23-25; Jm 1:18
C. GOD'S WORD SAVES US BY KEEPING US SAVED - Ac 20:29-32
1. Paul frequently spoke of this value of God's Word (especially
of the Old Testament)
a. To the Corinthians - 1Co 10:11-12
b. To Timothy - 2Ti 3:14-17
2. It is the lack of God's Word which has always destroyed the
people of God - Hos 4:6
II. BECAUSE OF THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD TO COMFORT - Ro 15:4
A. GOD'S WORD COMFORTS US THROUGH THE "HOPE" IT GIVES - Ro 15:4
1. Paul speaks in this context of the Old Testament
2. Even it provides assurance of our hope because it tells how
God always keeps His promises
B. GOD'S WORD COMFORTS US THROUGH THE "HAPPINESS" IT GIVES - Ps 1:
1-3
1. Happiness through the stability and nourishment it provides
2. Note that this happiness comes to the one engaged in daily
Bible reading! ("day and night")
C. GOD'S WORD COMFORTS US THROUGH THE "PEACE" IT GIVES - Ps 119:165
1. With such inner peace, nothing causes them to stumble - Ps
119:92-93
2. As Robert E. Lee has said: "In all my perplexities and
distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and
strength."
[Much more could be said about the value of God's Word, but I want to
stress another reason why everyone should develop the habit of daily
Bible reading...]
III. BECAUSE WE ARE CREATURES OF HABIT AND TIME
A. AS CREATURES OF HABIT...
1. We either have good habits or bad habits
2. If we have not developed the GOOD habit of daily Bible
reading...
3. Then we have developed the BAD habit of NOT reading the Bible
daily!
B. AS CREATURES OF TIME...
1. We are subject to the limitations time places on us
2. As illustrated by James, our time on earth is brief - Jm 4:14
C. AS CREATURES OF BOTH...
1. If we have not developed the GOOD habit of daily Bible
reading...
2. Our time on this earth will one day catch up with us
a. We will have spent our lives on this earth without
utilizing the benefits provided by daily reading of God's
Word
b. Many will have to face God having never read through His
Word ONCE!
CONCLUSION
1. This lesson is being presented to you at the end of another year...
a. Did you develop the habit this year?
b. If not, see how time has once again passed you by, and you have
yet to read the Word of God upon which your soul's salvation
depends!
2. As another year is about to begin, and many resolutions are being
made, I want to encourage you to make DAILY BIBLE READING one of the
top resolutions on your list, so at the end of the next year things
will be different
In the next lesson, I will offer suggestions as to HOW to make DAILY
BIBLE READING a habit...
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Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2009
