Good Words For God's Work

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

A man without breath is a man without life. Ask any emergency responder and they will tell you that when someone is not breathing, they cannot live long in that condition. Immediately, serious steps are taken to breathe life into them. Resuscitation efforts always include someone breathing for the person who is not. When the effort is successful, the person who was without breath begins to breathe…and live again.
Often someone may sense their need for God after everything seems to die in their lives. Marriages, family relationships, careers and dreams seem to shrivel up and wither away. Painful realities begin to sink in. And we know that without God in our lives, we have nothing to live for and no purpose to fulfill. I have been salted with this kind of fire. But some of the most painful trials have been after I have surrendered myself to God’s service. It is possible to be so busy in doing God’s work, we can do it without God’s help. We often begin to depend on our abilities and our strategies until we realize that no eternal fruit has resulted from our best efforts. Sometimes a church worship service can seem like being in a room full of artificial flowers. Everything looks pretty good, but it just doesn’t seem real. It doesn’t seem like it’s alive. It’s like a man without his breath.
Paul wrote to a young pastor about scripture being the God-breathed word. Timothy was to learn the importance of knowing that God’s word was absolutely critical to ministry. It is not just a guidebook for church behavior but it is the very essence of God that produces eternal growth. It gives life. And teaches us how to recognize death when we see it.

THE LIVING WORD IS A GOD-BREATHED WORD.

I. THE MAN OF GOD MUST HAVE THE WORD OF GOD. The man of God cannot represent God without knowing God’s word. We can only know God’s will when we know God’s word. Without God’s word we are not God’s man.
II. THE MAN OF GOD MUST HAVE THE WORD OF GOD TO BE ADEQUATE. We are not sufficient to represent God without God’s word. We are not up to the task. The world is too much for us to deal with without God’s help.
III. THE MAN OF GOD CAN DO NO GOOD WORK WITHOUT GOD’S WORD. The man of God can do much work without God’s word. But it won’t amount to much. To do good work, we need a good word from a good God. Good work is that which transforms a man into the image of God.