INTRO: Eben McBurney Byers was a wealthy socialite, athlete & industrialist that lived around the turn of the 20th Century. Though he claimed some honor by winning the 1906 amateur golf championship, any fame he ultimately received is from how he died. He died from multiple radiation induced cancers because he drank over 1400 medical concoctions called Radithor. He drank deadly mixtures of Water and Radium.
Eben Byers died from eating the wrong thing. Some people die from eating nothing at all. But when it comes to spirituality, I have come to the conclusion that most people eat BOTH the WRONG THINGS AND NOTHING AT ALL for most of the spiritual lives.
We need to eat the right stuff. And our only food is God’s Holy Word.
So here we go…
1. BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful to teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
A. Okay, we are going to assume that. If for some reason someone in the room has a disagreement with that then we can take that up at a different time. The fact that God created a written book out of 66 books that has stood constant criticism over thousands of years ought to be enough.
But in case you want more…
B. A group of mathmeticians picked 8 random prophecies and studied the odds of them coming true. For example, what were the odds of someone picking the city of Bethlehem to be his birthplace like Micah did 700 years before Jesus was born. The conclusion was the chance was about 1 in 300,000. What are the chances of 8 (only 8 of the 100s) of the prophecies coming true. 1 x 10 to the 17th (that’s 17 zeroes).
What does that mean? Here is the scenario…
If you mark one of ten tickets, and place all the tickets in a hat, and thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten. Suppose that we take 10^17 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They'll cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would've had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom (Idem, 106-107).
2. BIBLE IS OUR FOOD
Leaders, this is one of the topics you will teach on. Please take some time to ask some of the following questions…
What’s your favorite meal?
What’s your favorite dessert?
What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving?
If you had one last meal, what would it be?
Do you like to cook?
When was your last meal?
WHEN WAS YOUR LAST SPIRITUAL MEAL?
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PREPARED YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL MEAL?
*The point I am trying to hit home is the transition. Let’s just get them to talk about food for awhile, then quickly transition to a way that will get them to examine their own spiritual eating without them even noticing.
3. WE NEED TO EAT (READ) DAILY
Leaders: this is going to be one of the topics you talk to the youth about. I want you to share your testimony of your quiet time. Now, if you haven’t had one for awhile I do not want to embarrass you. Just admit truth, or don’t share. But as a group I feel we have to have a real serious conversation about our quiet time, or lack of quiet time. And for the record, during the month of April my quiet time was not good. I probably read the Bible less than 10 out of those 30 days for a daily reading. So if you want honesty there we go. But I do also want to admit that those non-reading days were unacceptable and to preach it contrary would be hypocritical.
4. WE NEED TO LOOK AT FOOD (BIBLE) IN 3 DIFFERENT WAYS
A. EAT PREPARED FOOD
Main Point: We Need to go to Church & Attend Bible Studies
Personal Testimony: The 4th Commandment is to Make the Sabbath Holy.
In a nutshell, worshipping the Lord on the Sabbath isn’t really a suggestion, it’s a command. Now I know there are reasons to miss, David ate food when he was hungry that was only designed to be eaten by the priests, but how quick to we miss?
Our church is our first commitment.
B. EAT FOOD WE COOK OURSELVES
Main Point: We Need to Read the Bible Every Day
Personal Testimony: Bible on the Pillow Plan
In a nutshell, the challenge will be to put the Bible on your pillow. Then at bedtime, take one of two decisions. Either A) read the bible OR B) tell God that you simply don’t have time for Him and toss the Bible on the floor. Since we won’t ever do that it will create a regular quiet time. And moreover, that’s what I was told to do when I was 17 years old.
C. MAKE MEALS FOR OTHERS
Main Point: At Some Point, We Need to Prepare Bible Lessons for Others
Not, I am wired a bit different then other people. My occupation is a professional teacher so my passion lies in that field. But, take a look at this…
(THIS IS WHERE I’M GONNA SHOW MY NOTEBOOKS).
Personal Testimony: Show the Notebooks
CLOSE:
A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille.
Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.
Sources:
Biblebelievers.org: Mathematical Probability that Jesus is Christ.
Sumner, Robert L. The Wonders of the Work of God, sermonillustrations.com
Wikipedia.org. Keyword Eben Byers.