Scritpture - Revealing God's Heart

Recap

Last week we spoke on the importance to move from an attitude of speaking about or at God, and moving toward a life of hearing and conversing with God. If the whole point of the universe is to dwell with God then it’s only right that as we grow we should be seeking to rid ourselves of the distractions of this world and listen closely for God’s voice through His various ways of speaking and then be quick to obey.

Then we spoke on that the primary way that God speaks is through the revelation and glorification of His Son Jesus.

Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Every way that God speaks should begin, go to, through, and end up with Jesus at the center. If not, than we can be assured that it wasn’t of God.

We looked at all of these different ways through the eyes of a couple traveling on the way to a village called Emmaus and they were met by Jesus.

Luke 24:15 ESV

15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

and in this story Jesus draws near to them and they hear and experience the voice and direction in multiple ways and today we want to zoom in on the first way which is found in verse 27

Through Scripture

Luke 24:27 (ESV)

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Conversation w/ Jenna about pet adoption

Whether the question is “Why should we adopt dogs?” or “Who should I marry?” or “Where did all this come from?”, all of these things can in some way, shape, or form be answered sufficiently through the study of scripture. The Bible is ultimately how we as humans know what we know.

Without it we wouldn’t have a basis to some of the most basic truths that we operate under every day

Logic

Science

Morality

All of these things reliant on their being a God and that God chooses to reveal His nature through the scriptures so that we may know Him.

Through all of the conundrums and twist and turns of life the Bible is a constant North Star consistently pointing us toward the right way. Or, more correctly, the right Person.

Isaiah 30:21 (ESV)

21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

This is why when Jesus was with the couple decided to open the Scriptures to them. He doesn’t just pop out of thin air (which would have been pretty convincing). He takes extra time to expound upon how it all lines up through scripture.

2 Important things we learn from Jesus’ emphasis of scripture with the couple

Jesus’ looks to the Bibles authority to prove His legitimacy. (Jesus relies on the Bible for His authority, Fast in the wilderness)

Jesus gathers the entire contents of the Bible around Himself. (Jesus reveals to us that the Bible is all about Him)

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

This cements why it’s so important to for us tune our ear to God’s voice through Scripture and for us to train ourselves in the practices of hearing it rightly. So let’s dive in.

Firstly here’s some significant facts about the Bible

66 books (History, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy)

40 authors (Kings, Scholars, and Fisherman)

3 languages

over approx 1600 years

Approx. 100 million copies distributed annually

One unified story that speaks to every culture, race, generation. Because it all points to Jesus.

And today even we see it still speaking to us today.

Dads Heart Surgery

And isn’t it interesting that this book that has captivated not just the hearts of a few but the majority of human civilization is barely partaken of. The God of the universe has written for everything that we need to know in a book and yet we regularly neglect

The YouVersion app offers 2,062 versions in 1,372 languages for free and research shows that 78% of Americans own a physical Bible, only 9% percent read it regularly and during Covid that number dropped as much as 7%. When everyone had more time.

“We revere the Bible but don’t read it. It is the best selling, least read book in America.”

-George Gallup Jr.

The greatest gift of God is often either rejected outright or treated as if it is of little worth. But if we really began to study the Bible, we would be impressed with the proper value of this gift. It seems ludicrous that we have to exhort people to study the Bible.

—William Wilberforce

So why the neglect? Most of us have never been taught how to read it in a way that we can study it in an intellectual way and then also interacting with it in a way that cause our hearts to burn within us. The reality is that the Bible is very long, very old, and very different.

This week we will talking about approaching the Bible with our heads. Then next week we’ll talk about the heart.

There are two very helpful ways to approach the scripture that give us some techniques to discover the meaning of what we’r reading.

The first would be the term EXEGESIS (You don’t have to remember these terms)

- critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.

This practice is vital to understanding what God originally intended for the original author to say to the original audience.

“The bible was written for you, but it wasn’t written to you.”

Understanding the cultural context is vital because (as stated earlier) the bible was written a long time ago, by many authors, from very different cultures, and through many different genres.

Here are some examples why context is key.

Psalm 17:8 ESV

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

Ephesians 5:25 ESV

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Colossians 3:21 ESV

21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Here are some important questions that you can ask yourself while studying to ensure that you accurately get the meaning of any biblical text.

Who is the author?

Who are the recipients?

Who are the main characters involved?

What is happening in the text?

What is the author intending to communicate?

What are the keywords in the text?

What important comparisons and contrasts do you see?

When do the events take place?

Where do the events take place?

By asking yourself these questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of scripture and illuminate your path.

You don’t have to become a bible scholar or learn the biblical languages.

I would strongly encourage you to get a study bible and some commentaries and perhaps look into a study method (like the inductive method) that highlights the questions above.

The second term to remember when making sense of the Bible is HERMENEUTICS

Think of it as using a type of glasses that you can use to look at the text to see the meaning of a particular text.

Some argue that there can be many hermeneutical lenses that one can use to interpret scripture. But i argue (with many others) that you only need one.

Christological Hermeneutic

On the road to Emmaus Jesus gives us the primary way to interpret scripture which is to see it through the lense of Himself.

All the Law, All the poetry, all the history, all the prophets, it all points to Jesus

Law of Moses

In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent.

In Exodus, Jesus is the Passover lamb who takes away the sins of God’s people.

In Leviticus, Jesus is the great high priest who intercedes for us.

In Numbers, Jesus is the water in the desert. Our living water.

In Deuteronomy, Jesus is the coming prophet who is greater than Moses.

History

In Joshua, Jesus is the commander of the Lord’s army, defeating our ultimate enemies.

In Judges, Jesus is the true judge, delivering us from evil and injustice.

In Ruth, Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer.

In 1 & 2 Samuel, Jesus is the greater prophet and priest.

In 1 & 2 Kings, Jesus is the greater king.

In 1 & 2 Chronicles, Jesus is the son of David who comes to reign eternally.

In Ezra and Nehemiah, Jesus is the one who restores worship and protects His people.

In Esther, Jesus is our advocate. Putting His life on the line to restore us to royalty.

Poetry (The Psalms)

In Job, Jesus is the mediator between God and man.

In the Psalms, Jesus is the holy one who would never see corruption.

In Proverbs, Jesus is the personified wisdom of God.

In Ecclesiastes, Jesus is our true meaning.

In Song of Solomon, Jesus is our faithful and devoted love.

The Prophets

In Isaiah, Jesus is the suffering servant.

In Jeremiah, Jesus is the weeping Messiah.

In Lamentations, Jesus is the one who assumes the wrath of God on our behalf.

In Ezekiel, Jesus is the Son of Man.

In Daniel, Jesus is the one in the fire with us.

In Hosea, Jesus is the husband who stays faithful to us when we betray Him.

In Joel, Jesus is sending His Spirit to His people.

In Amos, Jesus delivers justice to the oppressed.

In Obadiah, Jesus is the Judge of those who do evil.

In Jonah, Jesus is the greater missionary who pursues the undeserving with mercy.

In Micah, Jesus is the one who casts our sin into the sea of forgetfulness.

In Nahum, Jesus proclaims a future world with peace beyond our imagination.

In Habakkuk, Jesus is the one who crushes injustice.

In Zephaniah, Jesus is the warrior who is mighty to save.

In Haggai, Jesus restores our worship.

In Zechariah, Jesus is the pierced Messiah, pierced for our transgressions.

In Malachi, Jesus is the son of righteousness who brings healing to His people.

No wonder the couple on the road hearts burned within them. They were drawn even closer to Jesus. specifically through His Word.

Practices

1. Try to read the Bible 4 times a week

Research shows that mental health dramatically improves upon reading 4x per week

2. Reading the Bible out loud

Whether you read it out loud or you listen to one of many audio versions available, it may benefit you to hear it out loud on a walk or in the card, or while cleaning the house

3. Write in your Bible

This might aid you in interacting with the Scriptures. Write thoughts or questions in the margins. Find a highlighting system to bring the Word alive to you visually. We recommend the Inductive Method Highlighting System

4. Live out your Bible

This is something that we should all be striving for, however maybe you come a cross a text that has an immediate application that you feel drawn to. Do it!

Luke 3:11 ESV

11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

Maybe then you could donate some clothes you don’t have use for to those in need.

Questions to keep in mind while reading the Scriptures.

What is the context of this passage?(A study Bible will help)

How do I see Jesus in this passage?

What questions does this passage make me want to ask God?

How are these verses relevant to me today?

What is God saying to me through this passage?