Gospel Fluency - Week 6
Gospel Fluency • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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- So for the last month and a half we have been talking about Gospel fluency.
- We’ve been talking about how to share the Truth of Jesus in the midst of real, everyday life.
- And today we are going to talk about God’s story, our story, and how they both can go together and be an important part of bringing the message of Jesus with us fluently wherever we go.
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- And so let’s begin with God’s story.
- Specifically, let’s talk about the Bible.
- The Holy Scriptures.
- The Jewish and Christian holy writings.
- For followers of Jesus, one of the most important things that we need to do, if we are going to grow in Gospel fluency, is read the Word of God.
- Know the Scriptures.
- Memorize the Scriptures.
- Love the Bible.
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- Many see the Bible as a bunch of disconnected stories, and perhaps it’s the confusion surrounding the Bible that causes struggles and doubts and questions.
- Because the way that a lot of Christians approach and talk about the Bible actually pushes people farther away from it (and from Jesus).
- We weaponize bits and pieces here and there (just the stuff that says what we want it to say, not the stuff that challenges the messiness of our own lives), and we fail to understand the story of the Bible in its proper context.
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- And while it is true that the one “book” we call the Bible is actually 66 different books written over thousands of years, there is one main story from start to finish.
- And it’s hard to be fluent in the Gospel, if all we ever hear are little snippets or ideas about the Bible.
- The Gospel message is not just a quick look at a few verses in the Bible. It is all a part of a larger story of God’s incredible plan of redemption.
- And this plan is laid out throughout the entire Bible.
- The whole Bible is the Gospel – the Good News that God has come to rescue and restore humanity and all creation in and through the person and work of Jesus.
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- Every part of the Bible either points forward to Jesus or backward to Jesus, because He is the heart of the story.
- Jesus is the centre of the story.
- From the beginning to the end, the 66 books and countless stories and characters all serve to show us how desperately every single person needs to be saved.
- And the main purpose of the Bible is to reveal that Saviour to us.
- And so I am saying nothing new, nothing unexpected today, when I say that all followers of Jesus should be reading their Bibles.
- To be clear, all Christians should be reading all of their Bibles.
- The entire thing (not just pieces here and there).
- That’s not new advice, but perhaps that well-known advice isn’t enough on its own.
- So let’s take it a little deeper.
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- First of all, don’t just read the Bible, invite the Holy Spirit to lead you through the Bible.
- Invite the Holy Spirit to teach and reveal Jesus to you in your times of reading.
- Before we read, we should ask God’s Spirit to open our eyes, our ears, and to soften our hearts.
- While we are reading, we should maintain that listening attitude.
- After we are done reading, we should reflect and pray, asking God’s Spirit to once again shine His light on anything in our lives that He wants to as a result of what we’ve read.
- And then, we need to always, always, always remember the One who the entire Bible is about.
- The One who it all points to.
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- When we read the Bible, we should always be looking for Jesus.
- At one point during Jesus’ life He is butting heads with the religious leaders.
- Actually, that happened a lot of times.
- But, in this specific instance, the religious leaders are harassing Jesus because He continues to disregard their Sabbath rules.
- They have even begun brainstorming, scheming, and planning, looking for a way to get Jesus out of the picture once and for all.
- And so Jesus confronts them.
- He’s got some things He’d like to say to them.
- And, a part of what Jesus wants to say to them, is this:
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- John 5:39-40
o “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
- Don’t miss this.
- Religious leaders (good, reputable church people) are using their Bibles to reject Jesus.
- They are using their Bibles to show why they think Jesus is a fraud and won’t believe a thing that He says.
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- And Jesus says “the Scriptures point to me”
- “Your Bible is all about me!”
- The Jewish Bible (what we call the Old Testament) points to Jesus.
- This is similar to another thing that Jesus said.
- Although this time, it was after Jesus had been executed.
- Jesus has risen from the grave, and He comes up to two of His followers who are walking to the village known as Emmaus.
- But these followers don’t recognize Jesus.
- And so they start telling Jesus, all about what had happened to Jesus (not knowing that they are talking to the Man Himself).
- And underlying all that they have to say, is this sense of confusion.
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- Luke 24:19b-23
o Jesus, the man from Nazareth… was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel…
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o Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!
- So there’s this confusion going on for these followers of Jesus (if you’ve ever felt confused, doubting, or like you just don’t know if you can believe everything you’re supposed to believe about Jesus, you’re in good company).
- “I mean, while Jesus was doing all of those powerful miracles, we had hoped that He really was the Saviour, the Messiah, the Christ.”
- “But then He died.”
- “And the Messiah can’t be dead.”
- “But now, the body is gone.”
- “There’s some talk of angels.”
- “We just don’t know what to make of all of this.”
- And then, even though they still don’t know it’s Him yet, here’s what Jesus says and does.
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- Luke 24:25b-27
o “You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
- Jesus is saying that it is not enough to just be “Bible fluent” or “Biblically literate.” We need to be Gospel fluent with the Bible.
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- Because “all the Scriptures” are about Him.
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- Jesus is the point of it “all”.
- It either looks ahead to Him (the entire Old Testament), it’s directly about Him (the Gospels), or it points back to Him (everything else in the New Testament).
- And so these are words from the end of Jesus’ time on earth, before He ascended into heaven.
- But let’s go back closer to the beginning.
- Jesus said this as He was beginning His ministry on earth.
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- Matthew 5:17
o Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
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- The “law of Moses” and the “writings of the prophets” is a way of saying “the Jewish Bible”
- The Old Testament.
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- Jesus came to accomplish their purpose.
- To fulfill them.
- To complete them.
- Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that came before Him, and everything else after Him is changed because of Him and through Him.
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- And we need to be able to see how every part of the Bible is ultimately pointing to Jesus.
- Jesus is who everything was pointing to, everything is about, and everything revolves around.
- Jesus is the point of every story, the fulfillment of every longing, the completion of everything that is lacking.
- Every character, story, and theme points to Him, because the whole story is about Him.
- But too many Christians have no idea how this area or that connects to Jesus and shows that He is better.
- We maybe see the Bible more as a bunch of disconnected stories, and maybe we know some good life-lessons or application points along the way, but it doesn’t really have much to do with Jesus (at least not until He actually shows up on the scene for Himself).
- But, for Gospel fluent followers of Jesus, we can read all of the Bible in the Light of Jesus.
- Jeff Vanderstelt provides three questions that can be asked about any text in the Bible, that may be helpful in understanding how it points to Jesus.
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- The first question is: How is this person or situation a “type” of Christ?
- Typology is used in theology as a way of viewing things through the lens of Jesus.
- Something is a “type” if an aspect of it foreshadows something we see more fully and clearly in Jesus.
- A few quick examples.
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- Cain and Abel
- These are the first two sons of Adam and Eve, and Cain kills Abel out of jealousy.
- And we’re told that Abel’s blood “cries out”, and it cries out to point to Cain’s guilt.
- But, when we jump ahead to Jesus, His blood cries out for us, but not for our guilt – rather for our freedom.
- This is a “type” of Christ, because when we understand the story of Abel’s blood and Jesus’ blood, we can understand that Jesus is the better Abel.
- Another example:
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- David and Goliath
- Now here is a story that many are familiar with.
- I don’t know a single kids’ storybook Bible that doesn’t have this story in it.
- I don’t know a Sunday school teacher who hasn’t taught this story to kids.
- And maybe we were taught how this story is about how we need to be more like David.
- We need the strength and courage of David.
- But the story of David doesn’t point to me or you, it points to Jesus.
- Goliath was an impossible enemy that David had no hope of beating on his own.
- And we face an impossible enemy (sin and death) that we have no hope of beating on our own.
- But David wasn’t on his own. And we aren’t on our own.
- Jesus is the better David.
- Another example:
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- Esther
- She went before the king on behalf of her people.
- Jesus went before the King on our behalf.
- Jesus is the better Esther.
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- What about Jonah?
- Jonah was in the darkness of the fish for three days, Jesus was in the darkness of the grave for three days.
- Jesus is the better Jonah.
- On and on and on we could go.
- But this is a helpful question to ask when we are reading something in the Bible.
- How is this person or situation a “type” of Christ?
- A second question we can ask when reading the Bible is this:
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- What is the longing or the hunger that is created here for Jesus to satisfy?
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- For example, think about the manna in the desert
- God provided miraculous sustenance.
- God feeds His people supernaturally.
- But it is only temporary.
- It is needed regularly and continually.
- But then Jesus arrives on the scene and says that He is the Bread of Life.
- And Jesus says that if we will come to Him, we will never hunger again.
- Jesus is the better manna.
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- Or, in a similar way, think about the sacrificial system.
- Animals were sacrificed to pay the penalty of sin.
- But the sacrifices weren’t perfect, and the priests offering those sacrifices weren’t perfect.
- So they had to be done, over and over and over.
- Regularly repeated, regularly needed.
- But then, we meet Jesus, and one of the first things said about Jesus is by his cousin John, who says Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
- Jesus is the better sacrifice.
- And so, we see these pictures, these longings and hungering, that Jesus alone can fully satisfy.
- And then, a final question to consider that we may find helpful:
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- What is lacking in this story that only Jesus can fulfill?
- Have you ever read something in the Bible, and you just weren’t sure why it was there?
- Something that just seemed wrong?
- Maybe even evil?
- Have you ever read the Bible and thought to yourself “why is this in the Bible?”
- If not, then you probably haven’t actually read it (or at least not all of it).
- Because there is some dark, confusing, stuff in there.
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- And this is where it is always helpful to remember that when it comes to what is written throughout Scripture, not every “is” is an “ought”.
- Not everything that happens throughout the 66 books that were compiled later is there to tell us that we should copy that behaviour ourselves.
- And this is when it may be helpful to ask: what is lacking in this story that only Jesus can fulfill?
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- A great example of this is the story of the Judges.
- After Israel enters the promised land, before they have kings like Saul and David, they are in this in between stage where they have judges.
- And the judges only arrive on the scene due to a continual cycle of disobedience and sin.
- And even some of the judges don’t actually seem that great when you read the full stories of them (sometimes maybe we tidy up their stories when we use them in kids’ Bible storybooks).
- Because many of them are not heroes.
- They are fallen, imperfect leaders.
- And the entire book of Judges makes you ask “can things ever get better?”
- “Is there any hope for freedom from this continual downward spiral?”
- But their story (this dark period in ancient Israel’s history) is meant to point us to Jesus.
- Because the very last words of the book tell us this:
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- Judges 21:25
o In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
- But Jesus tells us this:
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- Matthew 16:24-25
o If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
- Judges shows us what happens when people do what they think is right.
- And Jesus says give up your rights, give up living your own way, die to yourself, and allow Him to live through you.
- Jesus is the better judge.
- And so as we read, we look for Jesus and how things point to Jesus.
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- We look for ways that everything tells us how He is better.
- He is better than everything that came before Him, and everything that comes after is all about Him.
- And so, it’s at this point that I want us to pause and remember Jesus together, through the act of communion.
- Because the story of the Bible, the message of God’s redemption plan, reaches its peak when Jesus’ body is broken, and His blood is shed.
- Jesus is the better sacrifice.
- Jesus is the better priest offering the sacrifice.
- Jesus is better.
- And communion is a time for all followers of Jesus to come together, and to remember Him and His sacrifice that brings us life (and His life that puts death to death).
- And if you are here in person, or watching online, and you are following Jesus (even if right now at this very moment you are hearing about God’s story and you want Jesus to become the “better One” in your life, then today can be the day for you to surrender yourself to Him and follow Him each and every day).
- But whether today is the first day, or you’ve been following Jesus for a long time, we come together as followers of Jesus to remember Jesus, and to proclaim the power of His death until He comes again.
- ***Take communion
- And so, with all that we’ve talked about today, that’s God’s story.
- But what it does it have to do with our story?
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- What if we switched the heading here like this? Would it still apply?
- For those of us who want to be Gospel fluent, we want to follow Jesus and grow up in Jesus (being able to speak His Truth in His Love), it’s not just when we talk about the Bible that we should talk about Jesus.
- It’s also when we talk about ourselves.
- If the entire Bible is about how Jesus is better, then how do our lives show that Jesus is better?
- We are meant to be the supporting character in our story of Jesus in our lives. But too often we make Jesus the supporting character.
- Maybe you’ve heard a testimony like this (maybe some of us have shared testimonies like this, and that’s ok if we have, this is just a challenge to approach it differently next time).
- But have you ever heard a Christian share the story of how they became a Christian, and they gave a lot of time – most of the time – to their life before Jesus even entered into the picture?
- They just went on and on, providing so much detail about their sin and their life before Jesus.
- And then Jesus just shows up as a small blip on the radar.
- And then maybe the testimony continues on from there, and it goes on and on about how they are trying really hard to live a good life for Jesus (failing to talk about how Jesus has already lived the perfect life for them).
- The truth is that sometimes during a Christian testimony, you hear a lot about sin, self, and self-effort.
- But you hear very little Jesus and even less Good News.
- If I tell you about myself, and I sound like I’m the hero of the story, that is bad news. Because I’m no hero.
- I will let you down.
- I will let my family down.
- I will let everybody down.
- But, if I can tell you about myself, and how Jesus is the hero of my story (and He can be the hero of your story too), then that is incredibly Good News.
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- So, if we go back a few weeks to when we looked at the Gospel story, this is what we looked at.
- We saw the Gospel story under these main four headings, of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation.
- And this can also be a way to way through our own testimonies and stories, in a way that highlights Jesus as being the true Hero of the story (showing that Jesus is better).
- So, for example, I might begin by talking about my own search for identity and meaning.
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- Like you probably have, I have wondered “who am I, and why am I here?”
- What is my purpose?
- What will give me meaning, a reason to wake up in the morning, to make me feel significant.
- And, for a significant part of my life, I believed that these questions would be answered in popularity.
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- I have always used the word “shy” or “introvert” to describe myself and my past, but lately I’ve been challenged that perhaps there’s a more accurate word that would describe how I’ve felt for significant parts of my life.
- I mean, make no mistake about it, I am still what my wife describes as an “outgoing introvert”, where by God’s grace I can speak to you and we can have a nice visit over lunch.
- But, later on, that will leave me drained and just wanting to be left alone re-watching Brooklyn 99 on Netflix.
- But, as I think back on my life, what I often blamed on being shy or introverted, I think maybe should actually be blamed on something else.
- Being insecure.
- I needed people to like me to feel like I was worth anything, but for a long time I was too insecure to actually put myself out there and allow people to get to know me.
- I feared their rejection so much that I wouldn’t even put myself in a place where they could reject me (but that also meant I put myself in a place where they couldn’t befriend me).
- And so I believed that my identity and purpose could be found in friendships and popularity, but it only left me feeling broken, burdened, and lacking.
- Like there was something wrong with me.
- Like I needed to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, in order to be who I thought people wanted me to be.
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- And then I met some people, who in spite of everything they were facing, and the odds that were stacked against them, spoke about a relationship with Jesus as if it actually made a difference in their lives.
- As though this Jesus was actually real enough to help them through what they were facing.
- And I wanted that for myself.
- I knew enough to know that I wasn’t going to fix the problem myself, that I couldn’t save myself from my issues, I needed help.
- And I prayed “Jesus, if you can help me the way that you’ve helped my new friends, I’ll give you my life.”
- And I still struggled (and still struggle) with insecurity and looking to others for validation and identity.
- But, when I stay close to Jesus, He’s already given me my identity, as a Child of God, made in the image of God.
- That was true of me when I was at my lowest, and it’s true of me when I feel my best.
- My best days and my worst days don’t change who I am, why I am here, or what my purpose is.
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- Because Jesus gives me the grace, the strength, the transformation I need (through the power of His Holy Spirit), to stop living for myself, and instead die to myself so that He might live through me.
- He empowers me to live in a way that loves others but doesn’t need their approval to know who God has called me to be.
- Because He is making me into who He has called me to be – a brand new creation.
- And one day I’ll see Him face to face, and no matter how popular or unpopular I was at any given moment, I will find all the acceptance I need in Him.
- This is a quick example (and one that you will have the chance to go through yourselves this week with the Now What content).
- But this is the main idea for today:
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- The story of the Bible points to Jesus.
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- And, not only that, but our story also points to Jesus.
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- They work together to show that Jesus is better.
- So, in our journey towards Gospel fluency, we need to learn how to read and study the Bible in this way.
- And, as we’ve said time and time again throughout this series, don’t make this a solitary thing that you do by yourself.
- Of course we should each be spending some personal time privately reading the Bible and getting to know God better.
- But read the Bible with others.
- As families, with friends.
- Join a Bible study.
- Start a Bible study.
- Get together and grow closer to Jesus through the Bible, in community.
- It will help us become Gospel fluent.
- As we close, let me wrap up with these words from Timothy Keller:
o Jesus is the true and better Adam, who passed the test in the garden. His garden is a much tougher garden and his obedience is imputed to us.
o Jesus is the true and better Abel, who, though innocently slain, has blood that cries out, not for our condemnation but for our acquittal.
o Jesus is the true and better Abraham, who answers the call of God, who leaves all the familiar comforts of the world [to go] into the void, not knowing where he went.
o Jesus is the true and better Isaac, who is not only offered by his father on the mount but who was truly sacrificed for us all. While God said to Abraham, “Now I know you truly love me, because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me,” now we, at the foot of the cross, can say to God, “Now we know you love us because you did not withhold your Son, your only Son, whom you love, from us.”
o Jesus is the true and better Jacob, who wrestled and took the blows of justice we deserve so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace that wake us up and disciple us.
o Jesus is the true and better Joseph, who is at the right hand of the king, and forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his power to save them.
o Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and mediates the new covenant.
o Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses, who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.
o Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
o Jesus is the true and better David, whose victory becomes the people’s victory though they didn’t lift a stone to accomplish it themselves.
o Jesus is the true and better Esther, who didn’t just risk losing an earthly palace but lost ultimately the heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life but gave his life, who didn’t say, “If I perish, I perish,” but, “When I perish, I will perish for them . . . to save my people.”
o Jesus is the true and better Jonah, who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in. He’s the real Passover Lamb; he’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.
o Jesus is better.
o Jesus is the better.
o He is the better Adam, the better Noah, the better Abraham, and the better Moses.
o He is the better ark, the better manna, the better water, and the better wine.
o He is the better temple, the better priest, and the better sacrifice. He’s the better spouse, the better parent, the better son, and the better boss.
o Don’t settle for substitutes. Don’t try to be a substitute. Jesus did better than anyone or anything. Jesus does better than anyone or anything. And Jesus will do better than anyone or anything.
o Jesus is the better everything!
o Don’t look elsewhere and don’t give one another anything or anyone else. Remind one another of the truths about Jesus in a gospel-fluent community. And be reminded yourself as you submit to others speaking into your life and experience that Jesus is the better.
o Give one another Jesus. He’s better.
- Close in prayer
- (*) Now What?
- Benediction:
- Leviticus 9:22-23
o After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.
- Numbers 6:22-27
o Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:
o ‘May the Lord bless you
o and protect you.
o May the Lord smile on you
o and be gracious to you.
o May the Lord show you his favor
o and give you his peace.’
o Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”
Scripture:
- John 5:37-44
- Luke 24:13-34
- Matthew 5:17-20
- Judges 21:25
- Matthew 16:24-26
Prayer:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide you every time you open your Bible. Pray for wisdom, discernment, and divine revelation about how the text you read points to Jesus.
- Pray for wisdom to understand to a greater degree how Jesus is the hero of your own personal story. Pray that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear how He is “better” in your life (yesterday, today, and tomorrow).
Discussion/Reflection:
- When you read the Bible, do you find it easy or difficult to see how a passage points to Jesus? Why? Growing up, did you tend to view the Bible as one main story, or as a bunch of disconnected stories that didn’t really go together?
- How might someone be able to read the Bible and miss Jesus? How might someone be able to be “Bible fluent” without being “Gospel fluent”? What might that look like (what “fruit” might be produced in the life of someone like that)?
- Thinking back to testimonies you have heard (or perhaps even thinking back to times when you shared your own testimony), can you think of a time when someone did a great job of showing how Jesus is the better Hero of their story? Can you think of a time when someone did a bad job at this?
- What do you think Christians should do (or do differently) when they have the opportunity to share their story with someone else?
Now What Next Step:
- Using the Gospel message outline (see lifecentreweyburn.ca/gospel for several possible outlines), write out your own testimony in a way that is Gospel focused.
- It doesn’t have to be long, but make sure you write about at least three different things:
o 1) Your life before Jesus.
o 2) The “turning point” when you came into a real relationship with Jesus.
o 3) The difference Jesus has made (and the difference He is still making).
- Once you are done, get together with someone else and share your testimonies with each other. You can do this with one other person or with a group of people. Encourage one another closer to Jesus by sharing how He is the hero of your story.
