Always Abounding - Spring 2020
TEENS A TO Zby Dr. Steve DamronWe have taken asa theme for the2020 year, “Letthe word of Christdwell in you richly”from Colossians3:16. I preached anopening message toour church on thispassage. It was interesting to note thatthe word “dwell” in the text has the idea oftaking residence. This is what the Word ofGod should do in the life of a believer. TheBible should not be a guest or somethingthat feels awkwardly out of place; instead,the Word of God should be able to come inand take residence in the home and life ofa believer. The following few paragraphsare from a book that I recently finishedentitled Teens A to Z. This section is theletter B which stood for “Make the BiblePreeminent.”As we begin looking at the importanceof the Word of God in our homes, let’sfirst consider some familiar typologies forthe Word of God. The Bible is comparedto a sword in Ephesians 6:17, “And takethe helmet of salvation, and the swordof the Spirit, which is the word of God.”The Word of God is a weapon that hasbeen given to us to defend our homes. Asfathers, we are not left helpless in guidingour young people as they face this wickedever-changing world. We can equip andtrain them in the right use of the Sword ofthe Lord.The Bible is also compared to atwoedged sword and a probing instrumentin Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of Godis quick, and powerful, and sharper thanany twoedged sword, piercing even to thedividing asunder of soul and spirit, and ofthe joints and marrow, and is a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart.”Most are familiar with this verse. TheBible is a living and powerful book whichis such an encouragement to those rearingchildren. The Word of God is alive, and itis relevant to any time or season of ourlives. It is sharper than any twoedgedsword, indicating it can penetrate theheart more than the body. How far will theBible probe? All the way to the soul andspirit and to the joints and marrow, whichmeans the inmost recesses of the mind.The Bible is also mentioned as acrushing hammer in Jeremiah 23:29, “Isnot my word like as a fire? saith the LORD;and like a hammer that breaketh the rockin pieces?”A woman had often been urged byChristians to receive the Lord. In spiteof their persistent efforts, she continuedto harden her heart. One day she threwa Bible and several tracts someone hadgiven her into the blazing fireplace. Oneof the leaflets fell out of the flames, so shecast it in again. A second time it slippeddown, and once more she put it back in.Again her evil intentions were frustrated.The third time, however, part of it becamescorched. That night, when the fire haddied down, she picked up the portion thatremained and exclaimed, “Surely the devilmust be in that paper for it will not burn!”Out of curiosity she began to read thepartially destroyed tract. Because it wasa message on salvation, it brought deepconviction to her heart. Finally, through8 | ALWAYS ABOUNDING
that half-charred leaflet, she was led toChrist!The Word of God can mold and makea young, immature boy into a strong, bold,reliable man. It reminds me of a blacksmiththat would take a useless piece of metalor iron and mold it into something useful.This is the power of the Word of God. Ourhomes should be saturated with it, and wemust strive to implement the Bible intoevery area of our homes and lives.Referring to Titus 1:9, “Holding fast thefaithful word as he hath been taught, thathe may be able by sound doctrine both toexhort and to convince the gainsayers,” letme give an illustration from a pastor fromyears gone by:The other day I received communicationfrom a lawyer who said that a very largeproperty owner had discovered that a verysmall piece of property belonged to himand not to the small proprietor in whosepossession it had remained for a very longtime. The matter seemed a trifling one.We had a conference, and there came thesteward with the lawyers. He was furnishedwith maps, and, putting on his spectacles,examined them with great care. Why? Itwas a small matter to him, but becausehe was a steward he was expected to befaithful. And when he found that this smallpiece of ground belonged to his lord, hewas determined to have it. So let me say,as stewards of the gospel of God, we mustnever give up one verse, one doctrine, orone word of the truth of God. Let us befaithful to that which has been committedto us; it is not ours to alter. We have but todeclare that which we have received.Titus 1 lists the qualifications of apastor. One of those qualifications is tobe faithful to the Word of God. You willnotice in this text that he is taught theWord. The application is very good forparents of young people. As we grow inour knowledge of the Word of God, thenwe can implement it into the lives of ourown children. Here are three importantareas that we should implement the Wordof God in our lives.1. We should study the Word of God.As parents and authority in the lives ofour young people, we need to be studentsourselves of the Word of God. A “do-as-I-say and not-as-I-do” attitude will ruin ayoung person in this area of the learning ofthe Word of God. Our young people shouldsee us reading, studying, and memorizingthe Word of God.Consider this verse in Romans 15:4,“For whatsoever things were writtenaforetime were written for our learning,that we through patience and comfort ofthe scriptures might have hope.”Notice that the Scriptures are givento us for learning. What have you learnedfrom the Word of God over the past fewweeks? Remember that I Timothy 3:16tells us all Scripture is profitable and is forour instruction.What are some of your favoritepassages? Have you learned from theWord of God? According to the text, wecan learn so that we can have hope. Thisworld does not offer much hope; butpraise the Lord, I can go to His Word andfind hope for today.2. We should “soak up” the Word of God.What exactly does this mean in the lifeof a young person? As a parent, I shouldbe listening, reading, memorizing, andassimilating the Word of God. In otherwords, my whole life should be permeatedwith the Word of God. When someone isin love with sports, it is easy to tell; and itis easy to tell when someone is in love with(cont., pg 10)www.fairhavenbaptist.org | 9
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TEENS A TO Z
by Dr. Steve Damron
We have taken as
a theme for the
2020 year, “Let
the word of Christ
dwell in you richly”
from Colossians
3:16. I preached an
opening message to
our church on this
passage. It was interesting to note that
the word “dwell” in the text has the idea of
taking residence. This is what the Word of
God should do in the life of a believer. The
Bible should not be a guest or something
that feels awkwardly out of place; instead,
the Word of God should be able to come in
and take residence in the home and life of
a believer. The following few paragraphs
are from a book that I recently finished
entitled Teens A to Z. This section is the
letter B which stood for “Make the Bible
Preeminent.”
As we begin looking at the importance
of the Word of God in our homes, let’s
first consider some familiar typologies for
the Word of God. The Bible is compared
to a sword in Ephesians 6:17, “And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Word of God is a weapon that has
been given to us to defend our homes. As
fathers, we are not left helpless in guiding
our young people as they face this wicked
ever-changing world. We can equip and
train them in the right use of the Sword of
the Lord.
The Bible is also compared to a
twoedged sword and a probing instrument
in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God
is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Most are familiar with this verse. The
Bible is a living and powerful book which
is such an encouragement to those rearing
children. The Word of God is alive, and it
is relevant to any time or season of our
lives. It is sharper than any twoedged
sword, indicating it can penetrate the
heart more than the body. How far will the
Bible probe? All the way to the soul and
spirit and to the joints and marrow, which
means the inmost recesses of the mind.
The Bible is also mentioned as a
crushing hammer in Jeremiah 23:29, “Is
not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD;
and like a hammer that breaketh the rock
in pieces?”
A woman had often been urged by
Christians to receive the Lord. In spite
of their persistent efforts, she continued
to harden her heart. One day she threw
a Bible and several tracts someone had
given her into the blazing fireplace. One
of the leaflets fell out of the flames, so she
cast it in again. A second time it slipped
down, and once more she put it back in.
Again her evil intentions were frustrated.
The third time, however, part of it became
scorched. That night, when the fire had
died down, she picked up the portion that
remained and exclaimed, “Surely the devil
must be in that paper for it will not burn!”
Out of curiosity she began to read the
partially destroyed tract. Because it was
a message on salvation, it brought deep
conviction to her heart. Finally, through
8 | ALWAYS ABOUNDING
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