The Lost Word
A. JOSIAH BECAME KING OF JUDAH WHEN HE WAS 8.
1. A time of rebellion and idolatry of the worst sort.
2. Josiah establishes a great restoration movement (2 Chron 34:1-19).
a. At age sixteen he began to seek the God of his father (vs. 3).
b. At age 20 he purged Judah of its idols (vs. 3-7). – and Israel's.
c. At age 26 he restores the temple.(vs.8-21).
3. Hilkiah finds the book of the law, given by Moses.
a. Contains blessings and curses.
b. Josiah rents his clothes and weeps because they had not kept the law.
4. Huldah's prophecy (2 Kings 22:14-20). Josiah's death – Pharaoh-neco.
B. FINDING THE BOOK WAS A TURNING POINT FOR THE NATION.
1. God's law for them.
2. The pattern for their worship and their lives.
3. It had been lost for two and a half generations. Nobody read it!
C. GOD'S WORD IS LOST TO MANY TODAY, IN & OUT OF THE CHURCH.
D. IS IT LOST TO US?
A. WHAT IS ITS SOURCE?
1. God speaks to us through Jesus (Heb. 1:1-2).
2. Jesus speaks through the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-13).
3. The Holy Spirit speaks through the apostles (Eph. 3:3-5).
4. They spoke, but they are now dead. The speak then through what they wrote
(1 Cor. 2:12-13; Eph. 3:3-4).
5. To reject the word is to reject God.
B. WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
1. The Word, as represented in the N. T., is called the Gospel (1 Pet. 1:25).
2. God's instrument of our salvation (Rom. 1:16-17; James 1:21).
a. It's power is in the information it contains( Rom. 1:17 ).
b. It tells about Jesus( 1 Cor. 15:1, 3 ).
c. It tells what we must do( Titus 2:11-12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17 ).
OUR INSTRUCTION MANUEL.
d. A pattern for life and worship (2 Tim. 2:13).
C. BUT IT MUST BE BELIEVED( Rom. 1:16; 10:13-14 ).
D. AND IT MUST BE OBEYED( James 1:22-25 ).
E. DAVID AND THE WORD (Psa.1:2-3; 19:7-11; 119:11, 81, 89, 97-105, 172).
A. LOST TO UNBELIEVERS.
1. Acts 26:6-8. Seems incredible to some.
2. Doesn’t fit the agendas of others (John 5:38-40; 11:47-48).
3. Doesn't appeal to human reasoning (1 Cor. 1:21-23; Eph. 4:17-20).
4. Doesn't allow submission to earthly passions (Rom. 1:28-32).
5. The tragedy of human teaching (Matt. 15:13-14).
B. LOST TO MANY CHRISTIANS.
1. Choked out (Luke 8:14). "Too many irons …." (Psa. 1:2).
2. Offended by it (Matt. 15:12; Gal. 4:16).
3. Intolerance of the teachings (2 Tim. 4:3-4; Isa. 30:9-11; Jer. 5:30-31).
4. Human philosophies allowed to prevail (Col. 2:8; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Pet. 2:1-2).
5. A failure to see its importance (James 1:18, 21-22).
6. Indifference (Heb. 2:1-3; 5:12).
7. The tragedy of God's people (Heb. 4:6).
A. IT IS THROUGH THE WORD WE HAVE FAITH (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31).
B. DON'T LET IT BE LOST ON YOU.