Spiritual Disciplines-Bible Intake Part 3

16 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.

Review the Spiritual Disciplines

So far we have spent 2 weeks looking at the Spiritual Discipline of Bible Intake. 1st looking at the incredible uniqueness of this God’s Love Letter to us. Then 2 weeks ago we looked at the importance of the Memorization of Scripture. We emphasized that we are really without excuses when it comes to the Memorization of Scripture, adding that Scripture Memory is way more about effort that it is technique.

We looked at the benefits of Scripture Memory, how it supplies the Spiritual Power, how it Strengthens Your Faith, prepares us for Witnessing and Counseling, provides a Means for God’s Guidance, Stimulates Meditation.

Then we discussed the Methods of Memorization. One is we need to Have a Plan, that Writing out the verses is a key, you could even draw out pictures if that would help, we looked at the importance of Memorizing Scripture word for word, have an Accountability partner and lastly that we should Review and Meditate on verses Every Day.

That brings us to next very important part of the Spiritual Discipline of Bible Intake and that is Diving In Deep-Getting Under the Surface. This can be accomplished a couple different ways that we will look at this morning.

First: Slide 3

I. Hearing God’s Word Slide 4

When it comes to the Spiritual Discipline of Bible Intake, this is the easiest. In fact some may even question why this would be considered a discipline, I mean when you think about it, all you really do is show up and listen. The problem is, even showing up on a weekly basis is an often neglected discipline. Despite the fact that Scripture is clear in Hebrews 10:24 & 25

Slide 5

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

As we look over these 2 verses, I want you to pay close attention to the second word in verse 25 “neglecting”. To be honest with you, thats way to weak a word for what is truly meant here. The Greek word means “to totally abandon, utterly forsaken. To give you a good picture of what is at play in this word, let’s watch a video from the movie “The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe” from the Chronicles of Narnia. For those of you not familiar with the movie or book series. Lucy has now made 2 trips through a magical wardrobe into the land of Narnia. After her first trip, none of her 3 siblings believed her perceived tall tale. The next day her brother, Edmund, quietly followed her into the wardrobe and discovered she was actually telling the truth. Let’s watch the scene together.

I believe that scene is an accurate picture of what the author of Hebrews wants you to have when you read “not neglecting to meet together”. Slide 6 The life of the Christ follower is not a stand alone relationship! The fact is,

Slide 7

I. Hearing God’s Word

We need each other!

Not just to thrive, but at times to just survive. Our regular attendance at church is an absolutely necessary Spiritual Discipline. In my view, and this is not just my view as a Pastor, but this was also my view for the past 19 years as business man, in my view missing church should be an extremely rare occurrence. On average over the close to 32 years of marriage for Pam and me, we have missed church less than once per year. Most years we never missed church, and that includes when we were on vacation. We have always understood the importance of being in church on Sunday’s. It has never been a church box to check off on our to do list. Instead it has been something we knew we needed as a part of our growth in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Slide 8

But beyond the fact that we need to be at church for our own well being, we also realize something else that is very important.

Slide 9

I. Hearing God’s Word

The Church Needs Us!

When we skip out on church attendance, not only to we miss out on opportunities to be ministered too and to hear from God, we also miss out on opportunities to minister to others. You never know who God might bring you in contact with on Sunday morning who is going through something right now that you can relate too. They need to hear from you on what God did in your life when you were faced with a situation or trial that they may be facing at that very moment, and if you skipped that Sunday, you miss out on a ministry opportunity, and not only on a ministry opportunity, but also on a huge blessing. There are few things more encouraging than when God works through you to minister to someone else. Especially when He uses the tragic circumstances you have been through to encourage another, assuring them that even in the midst of tragedy, God is with you. He never leaves or forsakes you.

Slide 10

As important as it is to be at church to Hear His Word, just hearing His Word is not enough.

Slide 11

I. Hearing God’s Word

Listening is not enough, we also need to Keep His Word.

In his book “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” Donald Whitney writes “Merely listening to God-inspired words is not the point. The purpose of all methods of Bible intake is to “keep it,” that is, to do what God says and thereby develop in Christlikeness.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (pp. 23-24). NavPress. Kindle Edition.

In Luke 11:28 we read: Slide 12

Luke 11:28 ESV

28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

When you are at church on a Sunday morning listening to the message, you should constantly be searching for what it is that God has for you that morning. If you are listening with a desire to hear from God, He will speak to you.

By the way, can I let you in on something that practically every pastor has experienced, most of the time on many occasions? All of the sudden they will hear that so and so is upset with them because that individual felt a recent message was written to specifically target them. Now I am not saying that type of thing never happens, but I will tell you that the times it happens are extremely rare. Can I tell you what is usually taking place in those situations? Slide 13 We have a God Who knows all things, Who knows you better than you know yourself, knows your struggles, knows your sins-even those sins that you always thought were hidden sins, knows where the enemy is attacking you. That all knowing God then directs the Pastor as he prepares the message and the words you hear are from God to you.

So next time you get to thinking that the Pastor has specifically targeted you in a message, rather than getting angry with him, think to yourself, alright,

What is God’s specific message for me, and what do I need to do now?

Slide 14

I. Hearing God’s Word

What are other ways I can discipline myself to hear from God?

Really in this day and age the opportunities to hear from God’s Word are endless! As well as the available time. Bring a bluetooth speaker.

There are endless apps on your smart phone that can open the door for you to hear from God multiple times throughout the day. Currently I have 10 different apps on my iPhone that give me access to incredible Godly men and their messages, one of which givers me access to 10 or more on that one app. I will regularly start a message as I am getting ready in the mornings, then I will turn on one of my bluetooth speakers or my earphones and listen as I get ready for the day. I never mow the lawn that I am not listening to messages, and when you have more than an acre to mow, well that’s a lot of sermon time! There are also many different Bible apps that will literally read the Bible to you out loud. And when you’re driving to work, or school or to events or whatever, rather than turning your radio to music, which much of the time puts thoughts into your mind that are anything but godly, find one of the many stations that play messages from Godly leaders. I cannot tell you how many times I have made it to my destination and ended up setting in the car from another 10-15 minutes because I wanted to finish a message. And don’t forget podcasts! Slide 15

The point is, Slide 16

We have no excuse not to Hear from God.

Slide 17

That brings us to the next way we hear from God.

Slide 18

II. Our personal time in God’s Word. Devotions & Quiet time.

This is easily the most neglected of the Spiritual Disciplines. According to

Slide 19

The Barna Research Group, Less than 20% of professing Christians read their Bibles every day.

Slide 20

As bad as that is, it gets even worse! Slide 21

23% of professing Christians Never read their Bibles!

Slide 22

Where do you fall in The Barna Research Groups survey?

Where do I fall in The Barna Research Groups survey?

Interestingly, even with research data like that, you know what one of the top reasons that people site when they leave a particular church? I’m just not being fed.

That’s kind of like complaining to your friends about the chef at the restaurant you ate at last Sunday because you found yourself hungry again on Saturday. Do you mind if I let you in on something very vital to your growth as a Christ follower? If you are depending on the Pastor on Sunday to provide you enough spiritual food to last you through the week, your in serious trouble. There is a term for this, it is called Spiritual Co-dependency.

Spiritual Co-dependency takes place when you expect someone else to do for you what you should be doing for yourself.

Please know that I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on any of you. Slide 23 What I want you to understand is that your spiritual growth is far more dependent on what you do each day of the week than on what your pastor brings as the message on a Sunday morning.

Slide 24

My spiritual growth is far more dependent on what I do each day of the week than on what my pastor brings as the message on a Sunday morning.

With these thoughts in mind, let me give you some direction on what you can do to establish your own Personal Devotions or Quiet Time.

(A # of the items below, from slide 24-43, come from Adrian Rogers post on Crosswalk.com from June 30, 2005)

Slide 25

The Proper Time-First Fruits

The first thing you need to do is establish a specific time and I suggest you add this specific time to your schedule. This needs to be a guarded time, don’t give the Lord your leftovers, and don’t try to find time-make time, and make it a priority. That brings a question to mind,

What is the best time?

Well to a certain degree, you have already answered your own question! The answer is-Your Best Time.

Slide 26

The Bible repeatedly talks about First Fruits. Ask yourself the following question:

Slides 27 & 28

At what point in the day am I at my Very Best?

If that time of the day is available, choose that time.

Statistically for most this will be first thing in the morning. If that is the case for you, then you’ll need to do a couple key things. First, you may need to get to bed a little earlier because secondly you will need to get up a little earlier than normal. If this means you need to turn off the TV a little earlier, or shut down Social Media earlier, then do it.

Give yourself enough time in the morning for this to be a quality time, otherwise this would hardly qualify as a First Fruits quiet time. Also, do whatever you need to in order to make sure you are physically alert, finding a time when the cobwebs are out of your mind and you can think clearly. For me, that means I need to make sure I have enough time to take a shower and have some breakfast and coffee,

Slides 29 & 30

The Proper Place

Then pick The Proper Place, go to a quiet room where you don’t have to be worried about interruptions. Jesus regularly found a nice quiet place to get away for His time with the Father, We need to Follow His example.

Before you start, you will need The Proper Provisions.

Slides 31 & 32

The Proper Provisions.

In order to get the most of your Quiet time you need the proper tools.

Slides 33, 34, 35 & 36

What are the proper tools?

A good Readable Bible with margins wide enough to write some notes down.

Quiet time Journal.

Next let’s look at

Slides 37 & 38

The Proper Procedure.

Now we move into the meat and potatoes of our time. First of all,

Get still & quiet.

Slides 39 & 40

We read in Psalm 46: 10 to:

Psalm 46:10 ESV

10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Sit down in your favorite chair in your quiet place and spend a few moments focusing your mind on the Lord, Who He is, what He has accomplished in your life, think, and I mean really think-you are actually in the presence of the Mighty God, the Creator of the Universe, Who willingly sacrificed the life of His Own Son because of His love for you. With that in mind take your Bible, His Love Letter to you, and open it.

Perhaps at this time pray a simple prayer. Often times my prayer will go something like this: Lord Jesus, I love You today! As I open Your Word, I am asking that You will speak to me in a special way this morning. I have read Your Word many times, would You open my eyes to see something that perhaps I have never noticed before? Would You open up the eyes of my mind that I would understand Your Word, and would You open the eyes if my heart that I would apply what You show me today to my life, that I might be changed by our time together? I pray this in Your Holy Name, Amen.

If this is new to you, may I suggest starting in the Gospel of John, or maybe with Pauls Epistles, which begin in Galatians. Don’t worry about covering a large amount of territory, they key is not quantity, its quality. As you are reading, if something key catches your attention, stop and write down your thoughts in your journal. Let’s say you are in Galatians and you read in verse 1

Slide 41

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

As I read that verse, there are a couple keys I notice right away.

Paul was an Apostle. That means he was hand picked for a key role in the early church.

He wasn’t picked by men, he points out very specifically that he was chosen by God Himself, through Jesus Christ, Whom God the Father raised from the dead.

That’s pretty significant, so I am going to record this in my journal. This is my habit as I read through His Word.

As you are reading, ask

Slide 42 & 43

5 important questions:

Is there a command to obey?

Is there a promise to claim?

Is there a sin to avoid?

Is there a lesson to learn?

Is there a truth to carry with me?

As you are going, record what God gives you. Don’t worry about impressing anyone with fancy words or anything like that. This isn’t for publication or to impress other people. It is your personal thoughts from God’s Word.

Then close your time with prayer. Pour out your soul to God. Don’t worry about sounding churchy in your prayers, God is perfectly capable at understanding your every day lingo. To be honest, I don’t get the impression God has ever been impressed with the Thees, Thous and Thines in prayer. If you are pouring out your heart and soul to Him, I believe He is brimming with excitement.

Can I ask you to do one more thing?

Begin to share with others out of your quiet time.

Adrian Rogers wrote: Slides 44, 45 & 46

“God did not make us to be reservoirs; He made us to be conduits.” Adrian Rogers

Tell others what God is showing you through your time in His Word. This accomplishes many significant things.

It gives you an opportunity to review in your own mind what God is teaching you.

It gets you comfortable sharing with others.

It can be a great encouragement to those you share with. Let’s say, for example, you happen to be sharing with a friend who is secretly struggling with deep anxiety, overcome with many of life’s worries. And that morning you were in the Book of 1 Peter chapter 5. A verse that really ministered to your heart today was 1 Peter 5:7 which says; “casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” As you share with your friend, it dawns on them that they have been holding on to their anxieties and worries, they can’t remember the last time they have given these things over to God. Now, because you took the time to share with them, they spend some time in prayer, casting their anxieties on Him being reminded that He cares for them. Without even realizing it, God opened up the door for you to do a work of ministry in their life. I believe that God gives us opportunities like this all the time, but most of the time we miss out on them because we don’t take the time to share. Not only do we miss an opportunity to minister, we also miss out on an opportunity to be blessed because of our sharing. There are few things more encouraging to me that when God gives me the opportunity to be used by Him to minister to someone who has really been struggling. The next significant thing sharing your time in God’s Word accomplishes is:

It can challenge one of your Christian friends, who has not been spending time in God’s Word to establish this habit in their own life.

What about the spiritually dry periods in life when we may struggle getting into God’s Word?

Perhaps a few of you out there have had the habit of a daily time in God’s Word in the past but recently you quit or backed away, it just hasn’t been the same lately for one reason or another that you can’t seem to pinpoint. Let me share with you from my own experience when I have been faced with similar periods. As I look back over my life at those times when I have really struggled spending time in God’s Word, the # 1 reason has been sin in my life. I’m not talking earth shattering sins, but they were sin’s non-the-less. Do you remember a few weeks ago when I shared with you the story My Heart Christ’s Home? These sins were like the part of the story where I talked about that closet. I had pushed them back and refused to deal with them. But they were always there with their accompanying stench. And with them came some guilt. It is hard stepping into the presence of God when there is hidden sin in your life. The Bible says in Psalm 66:18; Slide 47

Psalm 66:18 ESV

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

There are times we need to take Jesus to that stench filled closet and ask Him to clean it out for us! He lovingly leads us to repentance and removes our guilt and we are able to approach His Word clothed not in our own righteousness, but in His. I have discovered that when that takes place I have a renewed excitement opening His Word.

When God laid on my heart to do a sermon series on The Spiritual Disciplines, I marked out this mornings message as perhaps the most important of all of them. You see, Slide 48 I believe that the Spiritual Discipline of our time in God’s Word, is the key that unlocks all of the other disciplines.

The Spiritual Discipline of our time in God’s Word, is the key that unlocks all of the other disciplines.

As I close in prayer this morning, I’m going to do something I have not done here before. I am going to stop praying out loud and go to my knees up front. Perhaps you have been particularly challenged by the message this morning.

It could be that you have never committed to a daily time in God’s Word before and you want to change that this morning. The time of silence in the closing prayer is your opportunity to to commit to changing that from this point forward.

Or maybe you’ve got a closet item you need to deal with, one that has greatly affected your ability to have a quality time in God’s Word each day. The time of silence in the closing prayer is your opportunity to bring that area before God with an attitude of repentance.