The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

2 Timothy 3:12-17"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convicted of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have know the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

     I’m going to be doing a little bit of role playing this morning. The setting is a family home. It’s Sabbath morning and a family is getting ready for church. I’ll portray the man of the house most of the time, then I’m gonna switch to being the wife and back and forth some. Please know in advance that I am not going to try to be “politically correct” here and I do not intend for this to be making a statement or general assumptions about male/female relationships. This will be more like a parable and I hope that you take it as such.

(Man)Honey, you and the kids ready to go to church? (Wife) I still can’t find Johnny’s shoes. (sit in easy chair)(open Bible to beginning) (seem bored) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…seven days, (snort) probably more like seven years (rip several pages out) The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. (chuckle) Who got out of the Ark to measure that I wonder? (Rip more pages out)(turn a few pages) The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah…But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Like that could really happen. (rip)(look at watch) Honey? What’s taking so long? (no answer) Honey? (quietly) Maybe she became a pillar of salt.  I heard that. (Wife yells from upstairs.)(skim through ripping as you go) River becomes blood, ten plagues, Israelites cross red sea, wander in desert for forty years, eat “bread from heaven” drink water from a rock yada, yada, yada, (rip, rip, rip) Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and she said…(shake head) sounds like a TV series to me. (rip) (Judges 16) Esther, Now there’s a made for TV movie, Normal everyday girl becomes queen and saves a nation from annihilation while hanging the bad guy. (Laugh) I bet they’d get Brandi to play Esther. And what is this book called Song of Solomon even doing in here? This is the Bible, for Heavens sake! (look at watch again) Honey, I‘m waiting. (wife) Suzie spilled milk all over her nice new dress and she won‘t take it off to put on the old one. (man) So what’s a little spilled milk, we don’t want to be late again for Pastor Bob’s sermon on Trusting God. (Go back to reading) Daniel, now there’s some interesting reading, nothing believable, but at least it’s interesting. Like those three Hebrews, or was it four? And how about them hungry lions? How come nothing like that happens today? Man in woods faces bear, bear backs down and walks away, man comes home to wife and four kids, and lives happily ever after. The bear visits every other weekend, and sends birthday cards to the kids. Yea okay! (wife) Okay honey, we’re ready…hey what happened to your Bible? Oh I was just taking out all the things we don’t believe anymore now that we’re grown ups, you know all that old testament stuff. Well we’ll have to clean up this mess later. If we don’t go now we won’t get our seats. You know how the Billingsly’s like to sit in our row if they get there first.

     Why do we come to church every week? Is it to catch up on all the latest gossip? Show off our new cloths? Or is it to hear God’s word being spoken? What does God's word mean to you?  How many of you have or ever have had a car?  Did it come with a little book like this one? What did you do with this little book--throw it in the garbage?  Who wrote the owners' manual for your car?  Was it the people who made the car?  Do you have a page in this book that talks about what kind of fuel your car uses?  Have you ever considered putting in your fuel tank anything other than what your book calls for?  How about sugar--Is sugar good for your car's gas tank?   This book, the Bible is God's "owner's Manual" for us.  I'd like you to turn to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verses 15-20.  What is God saying to us here?  "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statues, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land in which you possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear and are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordon to go in and possess.  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Why do car manufacturers write owner's manuals?  Why does God give us an "owner's manual"?  Duet 10:12-13  "And now, Israel, (and we are spiritual Israel) what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today FOR YOUR GOOD?"  Why?  Because it's for your own good!  Those of us that have had children know that we don't just make up rules to be petty, but we make them because we were kids once and we know what kinds of problems kids get into and we want something better for our kids.  God is the same way.  Again in Duet. chapter 7 verses 12-15 "Listen to what God told Moses to tell the People: "Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments and keep and DO them that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.  And He will love you; He will bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of our land, your grain, and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.  You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock.  And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you."  God equates our relationship with Him to a marriage.  How many of you have ever dated?  Did you spend long hours just talking with that person, getting to know them?  If someone had told you that you could only spend one day a week with that person wouldn't you have tried to cram as much time as possible on that day with that person?  And when the day was over, were you glad that "that's finally over"?  Didn't you, instead, look forward to the next time that you would be able to spend with him/her?  God's laws are like our marriage vows.  God says If you love me, I don't want you hanging out with other "gods".  I don't want you to create images to these other gods, I don't want you to use my name as if it were a bad thing.  When I married Art I took the Sutton name, now everything I do reflects back on the name "Sutton".  God continues his law by stating that he wants to spend a whole day with us every week, besides the daily phone calls, just to hear his voice.  Did you ever just sit on the phone with your girlfriend just to hear her voice?  God says that because of our committed love to each other He wants us to treat others as if they were special.  Because they also were made by Him.  We are not to hurt them in any way, or lie about them or steal from them or even covet what they have because unlike human parents God really does love all of His children the same and wants each of us in heaven one day very soon.

      Did you know that “The 66 books of the Bible were written on three continents? In three languages. By about 40 different people including:(kings, shepherds, fishermen, priests, and a physician). Over a period of about 1500 years. On the most controversial subjects. By people who in most cases had never met. By authors whose education and background varied greatly. And yet all 66 books maintain harmony with each other…as if written by one great mind. And indeed it was.” 2 Peter 1 verse 21 “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy spirit.” Critics of the Bible have tried to say that certain “historical statements” in the Bible are not accurate but archaeologists have uncovered many discoveries that have proven the history of the Bible as accurate. The principles and the prophecies of the old testament as well as its history holds for us today as much relevance as it did for the Israelites in Jesus day and it blends perfectly with the new testament. In fact Jesus himself quoted the old testament and it is from the old testament writings that we know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah just like He claimed to be.  We can't pick and choose which parts of the Bible we wish to follow Just because we feel like it.  God expects us to follow the entire Owner's Manual and when we do, He promises us His blessings.

I D Y I O A G J Y K F O E E J N L M E N X

G E E B C H I L D F A N S V O T U H C E O

T S B N I S H M Z U I U N I A R J H O V I

Y R U N R G Z Y G R S O T L L E R O P L I

L O G R U A M L T E I C Q A X I T K W O Y

T W H O E P E C J T E R C E S K V O H L N

S P R Z U P O L U R L I R T P L J P D O K

K H A P D D R C R Y K G G O O D T O I I D

T X O M J L E O S S N H S Q W L G T D Q E

F H N M U S C K O B O T D S Z C C C A A V

U J V S R H R N C F W E E H D U G O U G I

R P P E E O Y O A Z I O R Q R E J N X G E

N O P E W E V I L G N U U T Q L G T J K C

I W A R F C N T K B G S S A G B E I O U E

S M R U A F A A K N O N S I V A Y N U T D

H C H T L M S R C I I E A F S T D U U C Z

E C K P G M E I C T O S G I X I F E J E E

D U N I R O I P B R L S U B N F D C B F T

W A L R A H M S P Q A S I Y B O V L E R C

C N S C B W H N R E F F U S R R L K Q E F

H B E S I M T I W A X E S A X P Y V H P N

assured	holy	reproof
child	inspiration	righteousness
Christ	instruction	scripture
continue	Jesus	suffer
correction	knowing	throughly
deceived	learned	wax
doctrine	live	whom
evil	men	works
furnished	perfect	worse
godly	persecution
good	profitable

2 Timothy 3:12-17