F&L 4/7 - Meeting with God - Study the Word pt 2

Cory Mansfield

Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

0 ratings

· 14 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

1. 4/7 - Study part 2

2. 5/7 - Memorize

3. 6/7 - Meditate

4. 7/7 - Prayer

Recap

2 Assumptions

1. Possible to meet with God

2. We should meet with God regularly - even daily

We gave a Biblical theology of meeting with God. We showed from the Scriptures how God has met with his people throughout redemptive history. We have seen how Jesus, God incarnate, took time to be alone with the Father. We read his prayer in . We see this great, intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.

It is my strong desire. It is a passion that we would be a church that would seek God together with others, during Sunday services, in Community Groups, in Bible Studies, in families. And that we would be a people who seek God on our own time, early in the morning, throughout the day, late at night. I want this class to become a part of the culture here at Spring Run so that we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we value meeting with God both corporately and individually.

Then the 2nd week, we talked about something that Donald Whiney calls, Bible Intake.

Bible Intake

These are 5 ways in which we can take in God’s Word:

Bible Intake

Hearing the Word

Reading the Word

Studying the Word

Memorizing the Word

Meditating on the Word

So during the 2nd week we spoke about Hearing the Word and Reading the Word. We talked about different ways to listen to the Word. We established a biblical theology on the value of hearing the word spoken to us. We talked about listening to sermons here at church. Listening to the word through a Bible App, or Dwell. Listening to sermons throughout the week using Sermon Audio. We then spoke about the importance of reading the word for ourselves. We talked about different ways to do that. Read a Proverb a day. Read 3 chapters of John a day and you’re done in a week. Read through the Bible in a year. Follow a reading plan.

Then last week we started our discussion on Studying the Word. We talked about how hearing and reading the word can give us breadth. They can give us grand, sweeping views of the Scriptures. But study, studying the Scripture is different. If hearing and reading gives us breadth, the studying gives us depth. It slows us down. And the key take-a-way from last week was that the only requirements you need to study the Bible are:

Study the Bible

1. Humble heart

2. Bible (pen and paper)

Before we dig in for this week on a continuation of study, we have some key verses for our class:

Key texts for our class include

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 17:17 ESV

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Matthew 4:4 ESV

But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Pray

Meeting with God through Studying His Word - Part 2

Last week, I tried to rush through a story. I want to read the story again so that we can all get a good understaning of what study really looks like.

Show Picture of Fish

The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz; by the Student

It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects.

“When do you wish to begin?” he asked. “Now,” I replied. This seemed to please him, and with an energetic “Very well,” he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol. “Take this fish,” he said, “and look at it; we call it a Haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen.” With that he left me, but in a moment returned with explicit instructions as to the care of the object entrusted to me. “No man is fit to be a naturalist,” said he, “who does not know how to take care of specimens.”

I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground glass stoppers, and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge, neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half-eaten by insects and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the example of the professor who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish was infectious; and though this alcohol had “a very ancient and fish-like smell,” I really dared not show any aversion within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed, when they discovered that no amount of eau de cologne would drown the perfume which haunted me like a shadow.

The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz 183I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground glass stoppers, and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge, neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half-eaten by insects and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the example of the professor who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish was infectious; and though this alcohol had “a very ancient and fish-like smell,” I really dared not show any aversion within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed, when they discovered that no amount of eau de cologne would drown the perfume which haunted me like a shadow.

In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the professor, who had, however, left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate it from a fainting-fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of a normal, sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but return to a steadfast gaze at my mute companion. Half an hour passed, an hour, another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face—ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view—just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour, I concluded that lunch was necessary; so with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free.

On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish; it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my fingers down its throat to see how sharp its teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me—I would draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the professor returned.

“That is right,” said he, “a pencil is one of the best eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet and your bottle corked.” With these encouraging words he added—“Well, what is it like?” He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed gill-arches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, fleshly lips, and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fin, and forked tail; the compressed and arched body.

When I had finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment: “You have not looked very carefully; why,” he continued, more earnestly, “you haven’t seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself. Look again; look again!” And he left me to my misery.

I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish? But now I set myself to the task with a will, and discovered one new thing after another, until I saw how just the professor’s criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly, and when, towards its close, the professor inquired, “Do you see it yet?” “No,” I replied. “I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before.” “That is next best,” said he earnestly, “but I won’t hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish.”

This was disconcerting; not only must I think of my fish all night, studying, without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be, but also, without reviewing my new discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities.

The cordial greeting from the professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw. “Do you perhaps mean,” I asked, “that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs?” His thoroughly pleased, “Of course, of course!” repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed most happily and enthusiastically—as he always did—upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next. “Oh, look at your fish!” he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour he returned and heard my new catalogue. “That is good, that is good!” he repeated, “but that is not all; go on.”

And so for three long days, he placed that fish before my eyes, forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. “Look, look, look,” was his repeated injunction. This was the best entomological lesson I ever had—a lesson whose influence was extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot part.

When it comes to studying the word, I want the words “Look, look, look” to steadily be on your mind. Don’t gloss over the text. Look, look, look.

RC Sproul says this in his book, Knowing Scripture:

“It is important to note that the theme of this book is not how to read the Bible but how to study the Bible. There is a great deal of difference between reading and studying. Reading is something we can do in a leisurely way, something that can be done strictly for entertainment in a causal, cavalier manner. But study suggests labor, serious and diligent work.” - R. C. Sproul - Knowing Scritpture

Jeremiah 15:16 ESV

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

"Just as no one else can eat and digest your food for you, so no one else can feed on God's Word for you. You must interact with the text yourself, absorbing its truths and letting God engrave His truth on your heart and mind and life."

Observation

Possibility

Go through , or

We spoke last week about Inductive Bible Study. A very simple way to look at this would be to simple ask yourselves the 5W’s and the H:

Who, What, When, Where, Why, How (may not be able to answer all of these every time)

When we answer these questions, it causes us to slow down and absorb the text. To reflect, to consider, to think. Isn’t it so easy to just want to get our daily reading done? To check off a box? To satisfy a requirement? Well study goes against our natural tendency to blow through things. Study causes us to slow down. Here are some other things we can do while we are studying a particular passage:

Ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How

Mark key words and phrases

Look for lists

May be repeated words

when you find keywords, ask the W's and H

Look for lists

Contrasts and Comparisons

Keywords are those that if removed will leave a passage devoid of its meaning

May be repeated words

when you find keywords, ask the W's and H

Possibility

Go through , or

1 Peter 5 ESV

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

, or

1 Thessalonians 5:12–22 ESV

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Interpretation

The second skill of interpretation helps us understand what the verse means.

Here are three basic guidelines that help us in interpreting God’s word.

First guideline of interpretation: remember that context rules

Think about the verse in light of the surrounding verses. As you study, ask yourself: “Is my interpretation of a passage of scripture consistent with the theme, purpose and structure of the book where it is found?” Even though it’s very easy to do, we should never take a scripture out of context to make it say what we want it to say. A good way to keep from doing this is to read the entire chapter or book before you focus on a studying a particular passage or verse.

Second guideline of interpretation: always seek the full counsel of God

Interpret God’s word against other scripture. When you know God’s word thoroughly, you will not accept a teaching simply because someone has used a couple of isolated verses to support their idea. Knowing the whole of scripture is your safeguard against false teaching and false doctrine. This is why we read and study. There are times in our lives when we may not need to sit down and study every verse as much as taking time to simply read so that we can have a good foundation of the broader scope of scripture.

As we discussed last week, a good practice is to read the Bible in its entirety every year so that you’re constantly confronted with the Bible’s full scope. This takes time! If that’s too ambitious for you at this point, a good way to start would be to expand your horizon to include less popular books like Lamentations, Nahum, Revelation or Obadiah. Last fall, Mark preached through Lamentations. It was a sobering and painful reminder of the consequences of disobedience, and yet holds such sweet passages expressing hope in God, as well. Remember – that “all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” Let’s seek to know all of it.

Third rule of interpretation: look for the single meaning of the passage

Always try to understand what the author had in mind when you interpret a portion of the Bible. Don’t twist its message to support a meaning that isn’t clearly taught. While this may be easy to do, and selfishly makes us feel good, it is dangerous to our souls. We need to interpret the Bible as it was intended to be interpreted.

Now Brian Fletcher has developed a course called Gospel Centered Bible Study that we should all go through. His premise is that once we understand the meaning of a text we immediately want to jump to application. But if we do that, we are bordering on moralism, self-righteousness, and despair. What we need to do, he shares, is find the fallen-condition

GCBS Slide

of the passage. See how the passage points to Christ who has perfectly fulfilled the Law and has redeemed us, then put our faith in Christ, and then apply the verse to our lives. This way of doing things leads to humility, and hope.

Take for instance

ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

If we simply go from understanding the meaning of the text to application, then we would say that today I’m not going to be anxious. I’m not going to worry about anything. The problem is that this is a form of moralism. This is where we try to live out biblical truths on our own without the power of Christ living in us. This will result in self-righteousness if we find ourselves doing well, or despair if we keep falling in anxiety, which inevitably we will do. But if we recognize the fallen condition in this passage as anxiety, and then think on the fact that we can’t keep the biblical truths on our own, but need Christ and his redemption, then when we apply to our lives that I don’t want to be anxious about anything, but that I will be apart from Christ’s saving and redeeming work in my life, then we have humility, trusting in Christ, and hope in Christ. I encourage you all to go through the course.

Application

The final piece of studying is application. Knowing what a verse says and what it means should help us to shape our lives around its teaching. We should not be people who gain an understanding of God and then do nothing. Instead, we should strive to resemble those people described in

James 1:22–25 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

This verse communicates to us that application is vital. If we hear the word or read it or study it and don’t do anything about it, we are deceiving ourselves. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” Can you imagine looking at yourself in the mirror every day and then forgetting who you are once you leave the mirror? Let’s not be people who study God’s word and then forget what we’ve just learned, or forget to think about how it affects us. God’s Word should and does change us.

This verse communicates to us that application is vital.

Let's read this verse again and take note of the end of the verse:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Remember

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

If we hear the word or read it or study it and don’t do anything about it, we are deceiving ourselves. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” Can you imagine looking at yourself in the mirror every day and then forgetting who you are once you leave the mirror? Let’s not be people who study God’s word and then forget what we’ve just learned, or forget to think about how it affects us. God’s Word should and does change us.

Question: which of the three steps (observation/interpretation/application) of Bible study do you find easiest or most difficult?

So the study of God’s Word is crucial to our growth and development and walk with the Lord. So let’s practice. And let’s practice with just one questions: Who.

Here is the text of Philemon. Let’s go through it and underline wherever we see it talking about Who the letter is from and Who the letter is written to.

Practice with a passage:

Observe

Interpret

Apply

Related Media

Related Sermons