July 9, 2017 - Never Read a Verse

Good morning. Welcome to Hillandale. So good to have everyone here. And so glad to see all the fellowship during the greeting time. I'm beginning a new sermon series this morning and the title of this morning sermon is never read a verse now, hopefully as we go along that title will make sense. But for now you just have to live with the conflict that that title may put in your mind. We may have all heard the story about the gentleman who was doing his daily devotions and his habit and devotions was simply to open the Bible and put his finger on a verse and say there's a word for the Lord for me today and the first passage she opened up said then he went off and hangs himself from Matthew 27. So he said that can't be right and flip to another passage and they found this one Luke go and do likewise any thought that can't be right the third time's a charm. And so we flip the Bible to another passage if you found what you do do quickly. Oh, no, this is this is a bad day for me now. Some of you may have heard that before but it illustrates all the way. We handle the word of God. Sometimes we just kind of arbitrarily open and find a verse and hope to get some sort of inspiration for the day the problem with the way in which many of us preachers included The Habit we slip into of the way we handle scripture is twofold. One we read Bible verses in isolation. Now part of the blame for that falls on the church and preachers in Bible Publishers versus verse numbers were added in 1551. So if you did not realize it verse numbers were not placed there by the Apostle Paul or by the Holy Spirit. They were all written as letters. They were written in paragraphs. There was a flow of thought but with good intentions to make it easier for us to find a reference portions of scripture and 1551 a publisher add versus all throughout the scripture so that you could say go to John Chapter 3 of the chapters were also added those are not inspired by the Holy Spirit or God and the headings were also added by the publisher of those are not divinely-inspired and so in order to help us find the right passage will say go to John chapter 3 and then go down and look for verse 16. But that lends itself for us to slip into this habit of isolating versus and reading them just as one little independent discrete nugget of wisdom in the Book of Proverbs is written that way but all of scripture is not Proverbs and the challenges. Sometimes we treat all of scripture as if it's proverb we take each little verse and treated as its own little industry or its own little discreet portion or wisdom and that can get us into trouble in the way. We handle scripture the second mistake that we often slip into his we look for private personalized word from the Lord. Now, let me just say from the beginning when I prepared this sermon there were many times in which I went I do that I do that. So I'm with you when there's portions of this sermon when you may say hey, I don't like that that that's the way I do stuff and you're telling me that's not the way to do it, but it's good to be open to correction. Amen. It is it's good to have an ever-growing Spirit and the Never open mind and so even as I corrected myself as I went through some of the study this week, I think some of us may stay but wait a minute. I've been taught this by pastors or I've done this for years. I know all of us. I mean, we If we're honest we would admit we've all just pulled a verse out of context like a fortune cookie and said that's a warm fuzzy feeling for me today. That's a word from the Lord. We've all fallen into that mistake and I suspect we've all done this where are devotional agenda becomes I'm looking for the sort of private personalized word from the Lord. Now, let me make something clear. So listen to me, please. I am not talking about reading scripture and realizing what the scripture in context is addressing especially applies to us. That's a good and right thing and what we should be doing. So there are times in which you're studying a passage and you're studying it in context and you realize hey, here's what Paul is saying about this truth and that's really holy spirit's kind of prick my heart that's been convicted me. I'm going to apply that to my life. That is a good and wonderful thing. Okay, I'm not talking about that. What I am talking about is discovering a secret meaning not original to the author or the text as a special Holy Spirit message from God. That's the dangerous path that we sometimes get on WE flip open. We find a verse we isolated storms context and we say ahh, there's a word little in of the lord gave me this verse and it just answered that question. I had if we're not careful we end up not being led by God and by scripture but instead being led by our own emotions or the things that we hope we will hear in response to some of the questions that we have. I heard a pastor share share a true story of being told about a Christian woman attending church on a regular basis involved in the life of her church, and she was married and she was in her mind and active Christian to disciple Bible student Etc. But Not only was she married. She had a boyfriend in addition to her husband, but being a good Christian, she said I need to seek the Lord's guidance on what to do about this dilemma that I'm in that I have this husband and I also have this boyfriend at the same time. And so she searched the scriptures for a word from the Lord to answer her dilemma about what she should do and that she flipped through the scriptures was looking for some sort of words the Lord. This is what she got pieces to for put on the new man. That's what jumped out at her. And that's what she did. And she saw that verse ass it'll just gave me just gave me a verse. I was wrestling with that dilemma trying to figure out what to do. And there was I found it in scripture. She just pulled that right now and many times we kind of function that way now that jumps out to us as very obvious. Incorrect way to handle the word of God, but he also shared because someone heard this door and came to him said you got to hear this story so that there was a young man at church a single young man in the church who had an eye for a single young woman in the church who was part of the worship team and he kept thinking or should I ask her out, you know, cuz he was single she was single nothing wrong with that Dynamic but he sought the Lord and flip through the scriptures and I found this verse in the scriptures Grace be to you now. Guess what the name was of the young lady who sang in the worship team. Her name was Grace and he said well, there it is. The Lord has clearly given me a sign that I Grace is the one for me that I should ask her out. Now the Dilemma is we meet Lee say well that first lady did wrong, but this one were like, well, he didn't really do wrong cuz he's single and she's single there's nothing wrong with Well, they both did the same wrong didn't they? The wrong that I'm pointing out is the way in which they handled scripture. They just arbitrarily look for a verse that confirm what they were hoping to hear or see and pulled it out of context since I there it is. Thus saith the Lord a word from the Lord to me That's the way we slip into this kind of dangerous have it at times. I clicked it, but it didn't go for there we go. Let's look at another verse that can show how this can be even deeper than just the first to illustrations cuz we might write those off as overly personal and not significant but someone could look at acts 16:31 and see this verse they answered believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household. And they could say there it is. I've been praying about my family. I'm the only one that saved in my family. I so want the rest of my family to be saved and I'm going to write today's date in the margin of my Bible right beside that verse and that's a promise from the word of God to me that he's going to save my entire family and I do you see how sincerely someone could take that verse and use it that way but the reality is that's not what that verse is. It is not a promise to all Christian to read that but not only they will be saved but their household to and in the context of early church culture, it doesn't mean what we think it means that because he was saved his household automatically was saved in that culture the leader of the house. I would have come to the rest of the household and proposition then presented them and they would have made the decision to follow or reject, but you can see how well-meaning Christians can take a verse and suddenly it's the other holding onto and they mean well, but they get LED astray by those. Issues of looking at versus an isolation or overly looking for this private eyes verse from the Lord the danger is yours what can happen in this Dynamic? Okay, if if another young man came to that fell and said that's so funny because I got that same verse from the Lord Grace be unto you and I'm going to ask her out to know. What do you think that first guy would say? Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. No, no. No, that was a first for me that wasn't averse for you that was true for me, but it's not true for you. Both of them got this verse of the lord. They're going to ask Grace out and the first guy does not like that at all of that may seem a little wider. But if we make that same illustration with a person asks, what is that young lady shared with me looking here's a promise from God. I wrote down the date not only will I be saved but my household my family will be saved and what if I said, that's a great verse. I think I'll just take that personally my verse to Florida my my family be safe. She might be to say no. No. No, it doesn't work. That way. I wouldn't have my devotion that day. I was praying earnestly about my family and that verse just blow it just lift it off the page as this word from the Lord for me. And so what she suddenly sang She Sang that's true for me right, but it's not true for you. What's relativism?

Alive and well inside the church. Inside the lives of well-meaning Brothers and Sisters in Christ ride. Only getting a circle open the Bible. We pass it around. Here's the passage for a study and we stay well to me this verse means

the Great American individualism

We are so obsessed with our self and our own individualism that we the only way we imagine truth existing is if I affirm it. Truth is no longer in the text. It's no longer in the author's hand is no longer the intention of the profit or the poet or the novelist instead. I read it and I decide what it means because guess what baby? I am the center of everything. We don't see it so bluntly but subtly that comes into your life and all of us wheat God-fearing Christians who love the Bible suddenly find ourselves using it in such a way that were just well, what does this verse mean to me or to me? This verse means and suddenly we are the authority And then we wonder why don't I have the power of God in my life. Why am I not seeing transformation? Why isn't my marriage changing white am I not being blessed the way scripture says I could be blessed. And the answer sometimes is because we're not actually following God. We're not actually following the word. We've been subtly deceived into going into the word and finding what we want to find in the truth is if we're not careful. We're just following our self. We're just following. Our own wisdom is not always as blatant as the woman who said I've got a husband and a boyfriend put on the new man. There we go. I got my answer to my dilemma. Sometimes it's much more subtle, but it's still present in our life because we operate with their own desires and presuppositions. And sometimes we read those right into the passage itself and Come Away with a meeting. That's not there. Now again, I'm not talking about when you make a qualification. I'm not talking about application the same properly understood biblical Truth May apply differently. So there's times and Mitch Tom a teaching his class or wonderful biblically sound truth about a passage of scripture and one person hears it and says boy, not that I'm really I know I got to ask on convicted that's something I've got to do on that and another person hears it and the way they apply it is very different. And so there is that individualization of application, but the truth is universal. There's this one true that that scripture is saying if we're not careful, we have the meaning of averse change for every reader.

Pastor Bob around the circle to me. This verse means to me this verse means a just are so much a part of the culture. We live in that relativism just becomes the way in which we handle truth.

The Bible teaches that there are no private interpretations of scripture. Did you know that? 1st 2nd Peter chapter 1 verses 20 21. He says first of all you must understand this that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. Is that fairly clear? And this is in contact. Please check now that he's preached the sermon where I'm proof texting and pulling out versus and you go back later and say well that's not what I was talking about exactly what he's talking about. He's talking about false teachers in the church is more effective chapter division here is unfortunate because these are the last two verses and chapter one, but really his thought are these do versus and go right into chapter 2 and continue to talk about false teachers and false prophets inside the church and hors de combat false teaching inside the church. He makes this point first of all, you must understand this that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation and then he continues because no prophecy ever came by human will but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Do you see what he saying about scripture God intended scripture to say what it says. It was purposeful. It was intention God's intentional. God was behind the writing of scripture. He inspired those authors to write scripture and there was a message a perm Right. Henson agenda and a good sense that were he had something he was going to share. So it's not up to you and I had to take scripture to take that first and take any little single sentence or even will phrase and simply interpret it for herself to me. Whatever. We want it to me and that week or that year that day. There is a meaning to the text from the author God almighty. And he inspired as Folk through the writers that way secondly the bet the Bible teaches that we are to be diligent in our study of scripture in order to handle the word of God actually look at what Paul says in 2nd Timothy 2 Timothy be diligent. Work hard other translations say to present yourself approved to God as a Workman who does not need to be ashamed accurately handling the word of Truth. You know, there's a passage in the New Testament where the lawyer comes to Jesus and says what must we do to get eternal life and Jesus says how do you read the scriptures and all your answers and Jesus says you have said correctly. Jesus said to him you have said correctly. What does that mean? What does that assume and imply that there's a correct understanding to how you read the scriptures and there's also an incorrect understanding and Jesus affirms you have said correctly. You've handled you interpreted those scriptures properly. And Paul is saying to Timothy here work hard be diligent so that you're someone who handles the scriptures accurately. Now that's a burden on all of us not just the preachers and it's going to become an ever-increasing burden because I believe more and more our culture will speak to us things that aren't true and we will have to know why they're not true and we'll have to know why scripture teaches that they're not true and will also have to make amends for a lot of things that we've said are true that aren't in Scripture. The church has sometimes preached and proclaimed things that simply aren't true. Because we missed used scripture now as a little bit of an aside and I don't want to go down this path too long. But there's there's the question that says.

We please just don't don't mishear me. I may stumble on my words, but I have good intentions and want I want to word here in this moment. Sometimes I believe we have such an idolization of the Bible in the word of God that we treat it almost like the words themself are powerful or magical like Abracadabra ordained can you know inkantation which is really sacrilegious and we almost think it doesn't matter whether I've studied the context. It's the word of God. I can just pull out those magic words and just sprinkling and something's going to happen. That's not true. When we mishandled scripture and we twist the truth of a passage into something else. It is no longer God's word. You see the logic of that if God said something to a prophet don't mishear me. It is inspired. It is in thought I thought of it is powerful because it is the word of God Breathe by God himself scripture says, but if I take those words of God that he spoke to a prophet and I miss use them I misinterpret them. I mishandled a Twist them to mean something that God did not mean just what it no longer has that power as God's word because that's where is not powerful because those letters on a page or somehow magic like the word abracadavre. It's powerful because it connects to the reality of God himself because he said it and it's true. It's powerful because it's real and when I misunderstanding misuse it then I'm moving away from the authority and the power of God's word against sometimes we walk we wonder why we're not experiencing more joy or power and our own life, and I think it's because we've become the authority and we simply read into things. We're no longer stood. Many times we don't sit down in any text as a student. We simply bring what we believe it we interpret we we say well for me. Truth only exist in the recipient in the here. And so that's where truth instead of having a humility that says I'm a student and I'm going to read Shakespeare and I'm going to let him teach me something I'm going to read scripture and I'm going to let it teach me I'm going under scripture. I'm going to let it be the authority in my life. Now again, I'm absolutely saying all scripture is inspired god-breathed authoritative. All right, so I don't want anyone to miss hear me that somehow I'm implying something different but we can miss understand and miss you scripture in such a way that we thwart the blessing that God wants to bring in our life as we are students of the word. Here's a solution never read a Bible verse.

Now you understand what I mean by that never read a Bible verse always read more always read at least the paragraph in which the verse resides. Okay, and maybe the paragraph before that and maybe the paragraph after that and maybe you read enough context that you don't I understand. What part is saying? I'm here. This is what he's saying here. There's dozens of illustrations and we're going to unpack specific packages or excuse me to specific passages in the coming weeks. I shared a few before four years. The verse in Corinthians was used against me as a pastor where Paul says in Corinthians. Everything should be done in an orderly fashion and it was used to me as a pastor to say what that means. Pastor is everything should be done the way in which Christians who pay your salary. We're in this building every week who are long-term members of this congregation. It should be done the way we like for things to be done. It should be our preferred music that the order of the service and I've had people I've had people tell me the reason I'm leaving your church is because you moved the communion and now I have to stay the entire service in order to get communion.

Literally I've had that said to me this is why I'm leaving your church cuz you change the order of service and now instead of being able to leave early if I want to meet and I have to stay I'm going to another church that does communion. Holy way. For the sermon or whatever that is and I have that verse used against me. Look at Seth do things here in an orderly way. Guess what when you read the context of what is talking about? He saying the exact opposite. For decades Christians have cherish that verse as a way of saying things are supposed to be done for the Believers. For the Christians for the church. We like pews would like to be in a certain time in the service and we like this and when you read that passage just what Paul is talking about he's talking about he was worried his fear his anxiety. What if you have unbelievers in your service? He said to be a bumblebee between your service and you do things this way they are going to scratch their head and say I have no idea what's going on here. This is a weird group of people. I am not coming back to this place again. So he says to the to the church and cornith hate do things in such a way that it's understandable for the unbeliever who's visiting your service?

You see how dangerous it can be to misunderstand her scripture and then to build practice and conviction and bylaws and policy on something that we've misunderstood and we can find it all throughout scripture. Unfortunately, because we're part of the culture we live in where we just don't realize how much relativism is in our blood how much we interpret Things based on what we are assuming before we ever get to the verse. I'm assuming God sees things the way I do in there if I twist out vs. Just right and shine a light on this way. He agrees with me then I can I can I can you know, but that on a plaque and sell it at Lifeway, you know, we talked about this a few months ago when we talked about Jeremiah 29 another passage that soften pulled out of context and Miss used now. All scripture is god-breathed and inspired it understood properly applies to us again. Mr. Me but we have to be diligent and do the work of handling the word of God correctly. I talked about this a couple of months ago when I talked about the real estate rule location location location Greg capullo who's talking about this never read a verse and I'm still in a lot of his material because it's stuff that I would have written that I've been as smart as him and you can pick whichever flavor. My flavor was to talk about the real estate rule location location location. If you'll always apply to real estate real when you're looking at scripture you always look at the context. It'll keep you from getting in trouble in terms of What are things I love about the Christian church. I've been invited by friends just purely friendship Reasons. I'm not bragging or they're just cuz they're friends of mine and other denominations saying hey, you should jump ship. You should join our denomination. We'd love to have you in the it'll be a pastor with us cuz we can hang out and be buddies together. One reason. I can never leave the Christian church is because I believe we've got solid Theology and in one of our theological point that I think is most solid is our conviction to understand scripture in context one of the foundational truths of the Christian Church. The restoration movement was that there's a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament and that we're not under the Old Testament and I love that truth because what it's all about its context. That's the widest contact when you read a passage. The first thing you ask yourself is is which continent is this who's speaking to hoof so that we don't misuse passages. You've heard it freezing forth with a preacher himself will say you don't want to hear it is a malachite and God says if you will give to me, I'll open the storehouses of heaven and I will just pour out blessings upon you

And it's used to abuse the body of Christ in North America. To mix in a little idolatry from the culture and say let's get little Prosperity Gospel go in here. And if you will push the Magic Buttons baby, if you give the right money you say the right scriptures if you confess that use those magic incantations regardless, if your heart is all about you instead of God, and he will do those things. God will just bless you financially or you'll never be a sick a day in your life. That's sort of prosperity and then you kind of go wait a minute. What what did Jesus not understand? Since his life was not one of constant Financial blessing and his life was not one that was always absent of suffering or hardship or difficulty. So you end up seeing how we can misuse scripture we quote Israel in the Old Testament about the wording our enemies and we use it as Americans. Shame on us.

Kmart off Brothers and Sisters in Christ and other nations and we will preach sermons that say oh God, if you could just Crush that other Nation for our enemies and we quote it like it has the authority of gone.

Hang on to this myth that somehow we're life Israel that God specialized America to be Christian and there aren't Christians and other nations are not Christian seeking the fall of the Lord on other continents pristinely so much bigger than any Nation. Amen Any Nation on the face of the Earth in the history of the world. personality trumps we submit to God our citizenship is in heaven CC the way, we miss you scripture can get us in great danger. Look at this verse an errand. I'm not picking on you. I've never heard you do this, but I hear worship leader through this on a regular basis. They quote this verse out of John 12:32. And if I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. Let's just stand and lift up Jesus this morning if he is lifted up He will draw all people to himself ever heard that said from a worship leader. Jesus said these words in John if I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself. And so we stand and we sing and we praise God with the subtle assumption that somehow we're evangelizing by gathering on Sunday morning. We even call it a worship service. Did you serve the Lord this week while yes, I was at the worship service. I'm not sure how singing songs on Sunday morning counts as service, but there's lots of little subtle things in which we slip into our language and our dialogue if you read the verse as a whole it says if I'm lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself for that makes it more difficult to make it about braised. And then if you read the very next verse Jesus explains what he means he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die. So there's no way Jesus was referring to the idea of people Gathering and singing his Praises. He was referring to his death on the cross the gospel itself being the way in which he would draw people to himself. And like I said, it's subtle but suddenly Sunday Morning Becomes the discharge of our responsibility of our relationship with God because I I attended the worship service and we all know if guy is Jesus's live. He'll draw all men to himself. And so that's my part in evangelism. I go to church and I think Ray's and we just hope that somebody talking to my neighbor. What do you mean talk to my neighbors weird? I'm not I mean they make noise on July 4th so loud and their fireworks went in my yard like to add this close to calling the police because I'm sure they were illegal if I'm not talkin to. What you mean love your neighbor as yourself, that's not what that verse means. There's there's another way to say that it means people that I liked already. You see how we wiggle out of the plain meaning of scripture. We pride ourselves on being biblical people who I take the Bible. Literally, I'm not some liberal. I'm a I'm a good solid bible-believing person and I take it if we're not careful we are Very much participating in the relativism of our culture where we interpret based on what we want to be true for us.

This passage is one of many that that you know.

A lot. I need to shut up here. I'll get in trouble. Let me say just a couple more things. I've asked myself this question again. Honestly, I'm not just saying this cushion. Anybody whose toes are stepped on. I'm not making this up so many times and looking at some of these passages. I thought holy cow. I am a victim of The Wider Christian culture where I just operate with assumption that I can't find in Scripture. Right you realize that. Is there a new testament passage that makes it clear that the primary responsibility of followers of God is to gather in a building once a week and sing worship songs.

Is that a word from the Lord and we got? Yes, Lord, we hear you.

Think about it. I ended up going. I mean honestly in the life of the church if we said we're going to change Sunday morning. People what to do when you're not good. That's that's non-negotiable We Gather every Sunday morning in this building together and we sing worship songs. You have a new testament and fine this abundantly clear teaching that says a primary responsibility of God's followers is to gather and sing worship songs not talked about gathering together talk about communion together talk about studying the word of God together talk about all that happening in homes in the context of relationships. We all know that this context can encourage us to do this and not have to have a relationship. I can come and go here for decades and never have to let anyone know anything about myself. Because I live in North America and individualism is God. I want to protect my privacy. I want to protect my information.

See how subtly our culture kind of slipped in and manipulates. So here's your here's your homework this week. By the way. There is a verse in Hebrews 13:15 that says this is the kind of Praise that God want to be want to look that up your first day with me dissing worship song Aaron by the way, let me let me just make this clear. I love worship. I think we should be worshiping I'm glad we worship. I think it's a good thing that we gather every Sunday. So no one miss hear me, but I'm challenging us to rethink some of the assumptions that we operate with as if my primary responsibility of my relation with God is just charged by coming here for an hour and 15 minutes on Sunday morning Hebrew 13:15 on Pax what God wants for us what kind of sacrifice and praise he wants from us and you can read that this week. So your homework read your favorite verse this week in context now, some of you may read it and say all good good. I'm not a heretic. You know what I thought it meant is what it means. That's what Paul was saying some of you may read it and go.

Let me give you a couple qualifiers here the thing that you've always believed that it said may still be biblically true. You may just need to find another passage. Okay, so don't panic if you read and go back. What is it? When I read the context of it could still be a very good biblical truth. You just need to do the work of saying where do I find this truth unpacked elsewhere in scripture or you might find a deeper meaning to it than you've ever realize that might become a more cherished promise. Then you held up to this moment or you might have to repent I believe something that's not that's good in it to go to scripture this week as students under the authority of scripture God you affirm what you need to affirm. Correct what you need to correct in my life. If you don't have a favor she want to look at you can look at that Hebrews 13:15. You can look up Proverbs 23:7 Colossians 3:15, John 10:27, John 20:29. We will be on the website to this week. These are versus will look at in the coming weeks that do not mean what most of us have always believed they meant We look at the context a little more widely and like the one we refer to of Warships today for not careful. They can be subtle little things the Emissary uses to lead us down a path that's more in line with the culture in which we live and breathe. That is with actually scripture itself. And so the challenge is to be a student of the word where we're letting it be authoritative to us. And that all scripture is a word from the Lord. a scripture Our job is to be a student who is diligent who studies it in such a way that we handled accurately and we let that truth Pierce her heart. I'm going to buy the worship team to come forward as we close. If you've never made a decision to accept Christ as your lord and savior during this song, that's an opportunity. It's not the only opportunity. You can pull me aside after the service. You can call the church during the week come to my office and meet with me. Or anybody that you know, who's a Christian you can call them and say I've got questions. I've got concerns. We just want you to come to know Christ. But if you're ready to make that decision this morning, I'll be in the back and you come to come to me and I love to pray with you and share that decision with others this morning. If you have a prayer concern will be folks both up front and in the back that you can come to ensure your printing. They love to pray with you during this time, please stand as we sing.