7/22/07 - Pentecost 8 - Deut. 30:9-14

THE WORD IS VERY NEAR YOU
- For you to understand
- For you to believe

For the first 2500 years in the history of the world, God’s Word was passed down from generation to generation only by word of mouth. It was never officially written down during that time. It was memorized and recited and passed on. Only when Moses came were the words of Scripture as we know them today recorded in a written format. And that was only the 1st five books of the Bible. As time went on the during Old Testament era, more words of the Lord were written down, but the common person still didn’t have ready access to them. The only places where people could find the scrolls containing God’s Word were in the synagogues. The people heard God’s Word and believed it, but they did not have a Bible in their homes. Even in New Testament times, when more copies of the Bible were around and the letters of the apostles were starting to be distributed, only the richest of the rich were able to afford God’s Word in written word.
Compare those times to today. Each one of us has at least one Bible at home if not 2 or 3 or 4. Almost an entire shelf in the back of church is filled with Bibles. If you lose your Bible - no big deal - you just go to the store and pick up another one. If someone can’t read or they prefer not to, the Bible is recorded in its entirety on cassette tapes or cds. There are concordances, reference books, and biblical dictionaries to help you find what you need in the Bible. There is computer software that contains the Bible with search engine upon search engine. And you don’t even need software. You can get on the internet and find plenty of sites that will allow you to find any word of Scripture, any phrase, any topic in a matter of seconds! The words that the Lord spoke to the Israelites at the end of Deuteronomy are even more true today than they were back then. The Lord said, “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” The Word of God is very near you. For you to understand and for you to believe.
What a blessing it is that the Lord has made sure the Word is so near to us. We have instant access to the Word at any time and in almost any place. I just wish we would take advantage of that. I wish we would seize all of those opportunities. The Lord has given us the Word in such a variety of different ways… Do you realize that Bible class is just as important as the worship service? It is! Bible class is just as important because at a worship service you don’t learn a whole lot about the Word. You learn some things in the sermon, you might learn a thing or two from the readings, but that’s about it. A worship service is mainly for worship. To thank and praise the Lord for what he has done and to receive the forgiveness of sins through the gospel and sacraments. Bible class is where you learn and ask and search and understand the Word. Bible class is where you become better acquainted with the teachings of Scripture and more knowledgeable about what God has to say. Bible class is a wonderful way in which the Lord has brought the Word near to you. There is no substitute for Bible class. Just like there is no substitute for reading your Bible at home.
Reading your Bible to yourself every day is also just as important as the worship service. Because that is where you can stop and pause and look back and search and find out what God is saying. There, in the privacy of your home with the Word of God in your hands, the Holy Spirit works on your heart without distraction and at your own pace. Reading your Bible well gives the Lord the opportunity to open the door to a greater understanding of his glory and majesty.
Reading it well. And hearing it well. And studying it well. If you don’t do those things well then you really aren’t taking advantage of the fact the Word is so near to you. Because even if you do go to church, attend Bible class, and read your own Bible, the question is: are you working at those things or are you just going through the motions? Do you strive to learn and understand? Do you search God’s Word until you find the answer? Are you a real student of Scripture? If I’m honest with myself, I’m usually not much of a student. I’m too lazy. I’m too lazy to dig and search and spend time to mine the depths of the text. And maybe you aren’t as lazy as I am, but I would guess that it happens to you too, doesn’t it? You hear something in the sermon that you don’t quite understand, but you’re too embarrassed to ask me about it afterwards in Bible class and then you never get around to asking at all. You come across a name in the Bible in your daily readings, especially in the Old Testament, and you can’t quite remember who it is, but you don’t want to spend the time paging back and figuring out who it is again. You read a section of Scripture that is a little confusing, but it’s far too much effort to stop and search and figure out what it all means. That’s laziness. That’s spiritual lethargy. That’s not taking advantage of the fact that the Lord has placed the Word so near to you. It is so sad when we have the Word so near for us to understand, but we just can’t find the time.
We can’t find the time for something that is easy for us to understand. The Lord had his Word written down so that we could understand it. He wrote it for you! You don’t need commentaries to tell you what to think. You don’t really need me to understand what Scripture says. You’ll notice in Bible class that I rarely give you the answer. I point you to the passage we just read, different verses in Scripture, examples from Biblical stories… I try to show you that you can understand Scripture yourself. I’m here to help and to point you in the right direction and to speed up the process by giving you the appropriate passage to look at, but I want you to know that you can understand Scripture yourself if you just let Scripture explain Scripture. It doesn’t matter what my opinions are. It doesn’t matter what some scholar thinks. The Word of God is clear and simple enough for any Christian to understand. That’s why the Lord says to us today: “It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” The Lord has placed his Word near you for you to understand and to believe.
Because the fact of the matter is: you won’t be able to explain everything you read in Scripture. The Lord has written his words down so that you can understand what the words say, but that doesn’t mean the concepts will make any logical sense. For example: you understand the words of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, “This is my body… This is my blood.” But that concept is really unexplainable. But that shouldn’t surprise you nor should it effect you. Because the Word of God is near you not only so that you can understand, but, more importantly, so that you may believe.
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The words of God have been written down so that we might believe and have eternal life. Now that’s about as simple as it comes. You can understand those words. And thanks to God’s gracious gift of faith, you believe those words as well. And what comforting words they are! Especially to us who are spiritually lazy! When I come across words like this in a time when my spiritual devotion life is not where it should be - what a breath of fresh air! When I read these words I know that my sins are forgiven, I know that Jesus is still my Savior, and I know that he will still bring me with him to heaven to enjoy eternal life because of faith in his name. That’s why the Lord has placed his Word so near to you. That’s why he has given you ready access to the Scriptures. Because you need to hear it. It is the only thing that will convince you of the Lord’s forgiveness. It is the only think through which he offers that forgiveness to you.
These are some powerful words, aren’t they? These words of Scripture written down in the Bible proclaim to you forgiveness for all your sins. These words of Scripture work faith in your heart to believe it. These words of Scripture convince you of the sure promises of Jesus Christ our Savior. “The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The power of God is contained in these words! The power of the Almighty and supreme Lord! The one who created the expanses of the universe. The one who controls the hurricanes and tsunamis. The one who holds the mountains and seas in the palm of his hand. The one who has formed the intricacies of the human brain. The one who makes the flowers grow and the earth split and life begin. This is the power of God. And this is the kind of power contained in this book.
Open it. Read it. Study it well. Because “the Word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). That means it works, it penetrates, it rips apart, it mends together, it cuts to the deep, it soothes, it comforts, it breaks through the hardest of hearts and brings them to faith. The Word is the power of God that makes people believe. No wonder the Lord has made sure it is near you. No wonder he encourages you to read and hear and study his Word. It is the most precious thing you could ever possess. If you are stripped of your health, if you become bankrupt, if at the end of your life you end up poor, hungry, thirsty, destitute, but you still have the Word, then you have it all! It is the power of God. It reminds you of his love and protection. It grants the peace of mind this world cannot give. It gives you the absolute assurance of perfection in Paradise! Keep this Word near you. Keep it close to your heart. Learn it and live it. The Lord has placed his Word very near to you. Always strive to understand it. And always rejoice that you believe it.
Amen.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” - 2 Peter 3:18



Blessed Lord, who has caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy Word we may embrace, and ever hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.