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Kindling The Word of God

Kindling The Word of God. Psalm 1:2. Kindling The Word of God. In this day and age, “ tolerance ” is the buzzword that means “ anything is permissible ” . British rock star Elton John just got “ married ” with his boyfriend Dave – Tony Blair even congratulated them.

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Kindling The Word of God

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  1. Kindling The Word of God Psalm 1:2

  2. Kindling The Word of God • In this day and age, “tolerance” is the buzzword that means “anything is permissible”. • British rock star Elton John just got “married” with his boyfriend Dave – Tony Blair even congratulated them. • Two Taiwanese junior high school students got into a fight because of NT$2,000, and one brutally killed the other – he even cold-bloodedly pushed him over a bridge. • We are encouraged to listen to all the different opinions and see the good things in them!! • Choices, choices and choices: what is our first reaction as we walk into an electronic appliance superstore?

  3. Kindling The Word of God • These are all different facets of what is called “postmodernism”, meaning “after modernism”. • There are NO ABSOLUTE anymore! • Knowledge is what we make of it, that is, OBJECTIVE KNOWING IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE. • It is all about INDIVIDUAL FEELINGS. • So, the Biblical God is out of the picture, and the Bible is just a wonderful piece of literature that contains moral values!!! “What is ‘moral’?”…

  4. Kindling The Word of God • Yet, in the midst of this radical relativism, people are searching … • THEY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT SOMETHING – OR SOMEONE – THAT THEY CAN COUNT ON!!! AND WE HAVE THE ONLY ANSWER!! They are more confused than ever!!!

  5. Kindling The Word of God • But to an extent, living in the postmodern age means that there is no way to “tell” people about God or His Word. Where is the beginning of communication, then? WE MUST KINDLE – OR REKINDLE – THE WORD OF GOD!! • Such kindling is not only through head knowledge, but LET THE WORD BECOME OUR LIFE!!

  6. Kindling The Word of God • What is the key to such kindling? But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in His law doth he meditates day and night. (Ps. 1: 2; King James Version) DELIGHT

  7. Kindling The Word of God • The word has the sense of “LONGING”, “PLEASURE”. • The analogy of marriage: what is the difference between newly-weds and a couple who has been married for over 20 years?

  8. Kindling The Word of God • What are signs of a healthy marriage? • Still remember the love languages? Examples, spending time with each other, words of encouragement, touch … - and we do these things NATURALLY. • Another sign: THINKING OF EACH OTHER – NATURALLY!! That is, we don’t say “I spend two hours thinking about my wife/my husband!” • How does the analogy of marriage relate relate to Psalm 1? WE DEVELOP, HAVE A LONGING FOR THE WORD OF GOD – NATURALLY!!

  9. Kindling The Word of God - Longing • “But his delight is in the law of the LORD …” • “the law”: literally “the Torah of Yahweh”, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). • What is the common reaction reading this portion of the Bible? • Looking at the history of redemption, Torah was given to the people of Israel AFTER EXODUS, NOT BEFORE – what does this tell us? Yahweh is the loving parent who cares for His own more than anyone else!! And TORAH IS THE BASIS AND FOUNTAIN OF LIFE!!!

  10. Kindling The Word of God - Longing • God wanted the people of Israel to develop, to have a natural longing for His Word – He wants the same for us: He desires that we long to • Learn more about His Word AS HEAD KNOWLEDGE, but what is more, • To have a heart-felt craving to immerse in it.

  11. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • A seeming unrelated question: what do chocolate, a love letter and the Word of God have in common?

  12. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • Answer: you’ve got to crave for them!!! • What do we do as we receive a nice box of Godiva chocolate, or a letter from our loved ones? WE SLOWLY CHEW THE CHOCOLATE OR READ THE LETTER WITH PLEASURE

  13. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • But, have we ever treated the Word of God with the same attitude? • Get this: a longing for God’s Word should lead to action, that is, WE TAKE PLEASURE MEDITATING GOD’S WORD “… and in His law doth he meditate” (v. 2b)

  14. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • “meditate” carries the ideas of “DEEP” and “REFLECTIVE” thoughts. • GOD’S WORD IS DEEP. How deep? It takes a lifetime and we will never get to the bottom of it!! • “Meaning” and “significance”. • There is A SINGLE MEANING TO THE TEXT, but MANY LEVELS OF SIGNIFICANCE – this takes a lifetime to discern, to experience. Significance Meaning of Text Significance Significance

  15. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • GOD’S WORD IS A MIRROR THAT REFLECTS … • “Magic Mirror on the Wall, Who is the fairest one of all?” says the evil queen in Snow White –is God’s Word like the magic mirror? • What do we do if the reflection shows bad things? WE REPENT WITH PLEASURE, which is sometimes easier said than done.

  16. Kindling The Word of God - Pleasure • The result of meditating on God’s Word “day and night” (v. 2b)? Life Vitality Prosperity (v. 3)

  17. Kindling The Word of God • Maybe we cannot “tell” others about God with words, but we can DEMONSTRATE TO THEM THE POWER OF THE WORD THROUGH OUR LIFE!!! So, …

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