Gospel Fluency & Scripture

amen This summer we've been doing a series on gospel fluency and I love that that concept the idea of becoming fluent in the gospel. It's not just said that we need to know the gospel. That's a starting place at but we want to be proficient in the gospel. We want to be skillful in the gospel. The gospel is not something that it's not a box to be checked. It's not something that we begin our Christian walk or Christian Life with and then move on to something else the gospels that the air of Christianity that we breathe like the gospels the environment and Christianity in which we walk the gospels the lens by which we are to see and understand reality. I'm so sorry. It's not enough to just know a phrase or a word. I mean when you're learning another language, that's how it starts. You start with some vocabulary. You learn a couple phrases here or there, but but to be fluent in another language, it needs to become a part of you and needs to shape the way that you think needs to affect every area of your life. So it becomes so natural such a part of you. It moves to that level of the subconscious. You're not actively thinking about it. It's just there. As part of that process we introduced a few weeks ago this this idea of a of a fruit to Route concept it just a simple Paradigm the help us apply the gospel to our lives in different areas, but they do simple what our lives bear fruit. Sometimes it's good fruit. Sometimes it's not so good for it. We have experiences in our lives in the future. It processed simply helps us take those experiences and gets us to the gospel. So I got it off your on one-sided experience, right? What am I experiencing was that tell me about who I am.

What do I see God doing in that? And who do I see God As in that experience, so if I'm feeling angry if I'm feeling impatient if I'm feeling greedy walk through that process. Here's the fruit, but that fruit comes from somewhere. That's what this process helps us. Get down to the root. What what's going on within me? What am I believing? It's causing me to produce this kind of fruit. Once we can see what's actually going on at the root of it. Then repentance begins to happen. We moved to the gospel and say, okay. What does the word of God say God actually is what does the word say that God is doing what does the word say that we are? What does the word say that we should be experiencing? Then we start with the fruit of sin. We moved to the root of it. We apply the gospel and it moves to the fruit of righteousness.

But a great process not an easy process, it's simple but not simplistic. It can be very challenging to identify the root of the fruit in our lives. In fact, I think there's many times in many ways in which it's impossible for you to do that by yourself. That we are by definition blind to our blind spots. Very often it takes the community of God's help us move through that process and we're going to move in just a few weeks into it from gospel fluency the gospel community and talk about how the gospel should shape and build our relationship.

this morning has I want to just go to hear why why are we doing this? What why are we trying to grow and gospel fluency? Why should we use on a fruit to root process or anything like that? Why have we spent so many weeks here as a community and a family talk about this and I think the simplest answer is that we we need it anybody here done growing. Anybody here achieved Perfection anybody here think you've got it all figured out any here. Anybody here not struggling with sin?

I got I took a note of that. Someone will be contacting you.

They're coming to take me away.

Why why?

because we need it because

because we so often desire thing. That we think will help us. But in the end only hurt us. I bet my great proverb. There is a way that seems right. To a man or a woman it seems good. It it seems right. It seems like it's going to give you what you want. But in the end it's result is. Why do we need the gospel? Because our hearts crave and desire things that hurt us rather than help because starting a walk with Jesus is exactly and only that they starts and there is a beautiful process of transformation and grow since being remolded and shape into the image of Christ and you cannot shape yourself into the image of Christ. Only Christ can shape you into that and that's something that's dumb by your will or your effort alone. It's something that Grace empowers you to participate in

Have to grow in the gospels mentions called a couple of weeks ago Thomas Chalmers. The only way to break the hold of a beautiful object upon the the soul is the show at an even more beautiful. That's really what that whole fruit to root process is about that's what gospel fluency is about. It's about learning to see and to recognize that God is the greatest greatest accomplishment God is the greatest destiny that you could ever Point your life towards. There are so many things in this world that offer us satisfaction and significance. There are so many false promises in this world that say they'll make us happy. They give us what we want but at the end of the day They fail God never fail. Do we have to learn to fight Desire with desire? When our desire for Jesus outweighs our desire for sin, we experience freedom from sin. What when our desire for Jesus is greater than our desire for self-contentment in an easy life. We will jointly sacrifice in service to the k. the freedom that's described in the New Testament of the Gospel is a freedom from

the love of the world to the love of God, which then actually allows us to love the world in a right way. We need the gospel. I thought Danny did a marvelous job the last couple weeks examining the role of prayer and gospel fluency. What do you think about that fruit to Route process when you think about becoming fluent in the gospel? Of course, there is absolutely significant in that process of evaluating where we're at and learning to see where God is at. The prayer lose our minds off of ourselves and our impossibilities onto God and His possibility. Remove the fairing. Things blow up things don't go as planned. We have incredible means we have weaknesses and insufficiency. We come to God. But what happens when we do that we come to him with all of our needs all of our burdens. I don't see how this is going to work. This can't happen. I can't do this. What happens in that process of prayer as it were moved outside of ourselves and our limitations and our focus is moved toward and he's absolutely absolute lack of limitation.

If It Moves us from our self him changes our Focus this morning as we think about gospel fluency and the word, of course, it's just as essential. Just as natural scripture. fills our minds with God's perspective of Who We Are and most importantly who he is. There's some important nuances in in that sentence scripture fields are mine.

with God's perspective

of who we are and who he is. It doesn't say scripture tells us what to do. Sometimes scripture tells us what to do, but that's not its primary wrong, but the main purpose of scripture. Is to reveal who God actually is and in understanding who God actually as we find an understanding of who we actually are. because because doing what we do flows out of identity Who We Are precedes doing not human doing The most important thing about you is what you think you are in the most important thought you'll ever have is what you think God is. The word of God reveals who God actually is and in doing so reveals who we actually are. General Revelation just creation just the beauty of this morning reminded me. There is a creator. I can't see the beauty of this Earth and Ponder the magnitude of the universe and not see an ultimate cause not see a Creator creation testifies that it comes from somewhere and someone that's all it Pelzer. It doesn't tell us what's he like is impersonal is he engaged? Is he involved? What does he expect? What's the point? What's the purpose General Revelation tells us. Yes, there is a God. Yes. There is a Creator special Revelation or scripture the word of God tells us who he is.

And oh how we need that.

And oh how easy? it is to miss him and I get your Bibles. Would you go to John chapter 5 with me going to be up here on? the screen singular

the genius is in the middle of a conversation with the religious leaders of the day the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and

They are the religious Authority that the religious community. They claimed to have insight into who God is they claim to be God's people they claim to know the heart and the will and the wisdom of God. That's who Jesus is talking to the people that say we know who God is and we know what that's like

In the midst of this he gives them a stinging rebuke. and for us a significant challenge He says listen says you search the scriptures. Because you think that in them. You have eternal life.

Jesus saying you have an idea. that the word of God Scripture It's some sort of. Some sort of magic book. Some sort of mystical Revelation that if you study it correctly if you get the facts right if you passed the doctrine exam. If you memorize enough of it if you engage in if you speak you get it, right that somehow you can take this book. And and with this book you can get yourself eternal life.

It's not that they're not acknowledging God in that. May God made them and God made the word but now God's not even in the picture. I just got to take the word and I got it. I got to figure it out. I got to I got to get through the I got break the Bible Code. I got to get the right version. I got I got up maybe I better learn Greek and Hebrew maybe I I'm going to I'm going to dig into the word and and because I'm going to dig into the word now. I'm going to find eternal life like it's some mystery hidden within the work.

You said you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but it is very that bear witness about me. Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. That's amazing claim one of the most startling and significant claims of Jesus and his self understanding of deity in the new tide everything that's written in the stars is actually revealing me. You search the scriptures because you think they have life with the scriptures don't have life. The scriptures are not the end. There's a means to the end the scriptures don't reveal some Secret To The Mystery of Life and eternal life something that you can gain on your own the scriptures reveal Jesus and when you get Jesus, You get lie.

Jesus is very very clear here misunderstood what this book what this Revelation is all about. And because you misunderstood that you can't see what it's actually all about and if you were even see it. So you don't want to come to me anyway.

what one of my favorite stories in the gospels takes place in Luke chapter 24, this is on the day of Resurrection

road to Emmaus Jesus shows up with these two guys. They're leaving Jerusalem on the way to Emmaus. They're walking along and all the sudden Jesus shows up for a little Sunday stroll.

Starting to verse 13. It says that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about 7 miles from Jerusalem and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. Well, they were talking and discussing together Jesus himself Drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Alright, this is going to be interesting.

What's Jesus up fear? Coyote hide himself from them.

I said to them. What's what what y'all talkin about? What's this conversation that you're holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still. looking sad I just had a gut punch. That made hope that Jesus was the Messiah and they were there and witness Jesus died.

One of them names cleophus answered him. Are you the only visitors Rue slum who does not know the things that have happened there in these days.

He said to them what things? What happened? At least I didn't walk concerning Jesus of Nazareth a man who was a prophet Mighty and deed and word before God and all the people and how are chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucify him.

We had hope. The key was the one to redeem Israel besides all these things happen more over some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tumor early in the morning and when they did not find his body they came back saying They are even seen a vision of angels who said that he was a lie. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But him they did not see they tell Jesus what just happened to him. ice tray I don't know about you if you never heard this story before I don't know what you would expect. I'm not sure we would expect what actually happens at part of Migos James going to go.

What Jesus actually rebukes them?

He said to them off or foolish one.

flow of heart

to believe all the prophets have spoken.

They're so confused. They're so dismayed. They're so distraught their hearts are sad because of the events that just happened and Jesus is like

How to cut it take you to kiss how many prophets do we have to send how much more do we have to let you know this is exactly what God Said was going to happen.

And if I could take any walk in the history of walks, this is the walk I would want to be on. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory Jesus says and beginning with Moses and all the prophets.

He interpreted to them in all the scriptures. The things concerning himself the Bible study of all Bible studies.

Of course, the scriptures of this time is the trolley the Old Testament.

Jesus took those parts of the Bible that you don't want to read. I said hey there actually important. They all point to me he explained and illuminated and it showed them and interpreted and revealed. He was reviewing Jesus.

What an amazing conversation that would have been?

So they drew near to the Village to which they were going he acted as if he was going farther, but they urged him strongly saying stay with us. We're just how far spent so he went in. To stay with them when he was at a table with them. He took the bread and blessed it. And broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

God's ways are not our ways. This is amazing to me. Since Jesus has shown that he gives it some in that moment. They're like

I love this next verse they said to each other. Did not our hearts burn within us. While he talked to us on the road and while he opened to us the scripture.

May I suggest? That when we read the scriptures when we engage God's word. That's what we want to happen. That's our goal. When we Engage The Scriptures, we want to see Jesus and when we see Jesus.

changes it fills us it all lines us. It challenges are they reviewed such Comforts us it moves us.

I'm not saying. That gets to happen every time. I've spent my share Bible study. We're just seems dry. It seems boring. It seems repetitive are difficult. I'm falling asleep on my Bible before.

What troubles me? How often dye and how often many of us? Don't read and engage the scriptures with this goal at all. What we're looking for a a trick looking for a McDonald's drive-thru, we want that quick fix or I got this trouble. So I did something wrong. I got to get out of it. I'm going to go to the scripture.

What I'm looking for Jesus without looking for him to reveal God's not looking to experience and encounter and worship the Living God.

We want to use him and his word to accomplish our agenda and meet our needs in the way. We think they should be mad.

The scripture gets us to Jesus. What these texts with John 5 and Luke 24 scream to me is that there are wrong ways to read the Bible.

But you can become a master in a knowledge of the Bible and miss the main point and if you missed the main point you miss everything.

Scripture is to get us to Jesus. We need to understand a few things that scripture is not first of all scripture is not Magic. It's not magic. It's not an incantation book. It's if it's not you don't get to open it up right in the end and there's some mystical process and and you get to quote a verse and just by saying that verse out loud or memorizing it or repeating it a magical is going to happen. That's not sure where although I know many people that try to make it work that way.

I'm not saying that there's not some times where you're in the midst of it you open up the Bible and boom there's this amazing passage. Just what you needed in that moment of saying that doesn't happen, but I'm saying that should not be your Bible study methodology. Remember the story of the guy who was doing that. He's like, okay. I need a word from the Lord today. So we just took his Bible and threw it down on the table flipped it open so I could finger like that went boom for today. You read it and Judas went and hanged himself.

Well, that can't be right. I must have done something wrong. He does it again Eclipse it open to another person. Whatever that go down and do likewise.

Third time's the charm got to be something for me. Whatever that was quickly.

summer Magic

It's magic. It's not an incantation. It's if it's not that it's a revelation of God. It actually requires work and energy and diligence to understand. I think far too often. We bought into an assumption and it's a false assumption that reading and studying the Bible should be easy. Why we have that assumption cuz we're Americans. America everything's supposed to be

Plenty of people on the television and in pulpits right now saying hey, it's easy. But it's not easy. And it's not magic. It takes work. It takes energy. It takes diligence. Scripture is not magic scriptures. Also not a manual. I grew up here in this I've heard this in so many places scripture is is God's instruction manual for life, right God's instruction that you want to learn how to live read the scripture. never really read Leviticus

Distance we are from that culturally and Covenant Ali.

Scripture is not a manual. If it's a manual. It's the worst manual ever. I mean Scott Ikea beat hands down and I can't the worst.

interest rates Laid out there's no diagrams. It's not Emmanuel. Magic. Emmanuel Sanchez full of principles and ideas and philosophies and reveals so much more.

I think this morning but I think we get wrong far too often is that scripture is not man Center.

We often think that it's all about us that we are the center of the story that were the most important thing because we want to believe that about our self. Unfortunately, that's not reality. The word of it's called the word of what again? Not the word a man. It's not the story of man. It's the story of goth are we in attic or spring or part of God's creation with a height of God's creation.

We don't read it to discover ourselves or Manilow. We read it to discover God because in discovering God then we actually discover man. Stop man Center.

But let me give you my first rule. Hermeneutics fancy theological word for Bible interpretation my first and most important rule of reading and interpreting and studying and understanding the scripture. Is this the Bible is written for you, but not to you.

The Bible was written for you. But not to you.

I need you don't get to open up the Bible and go what does God what does God have to say to me today and Discover it in the print. You got to actually go through some steps to figure that out. Because his Bible was not written to you wasn't even written to one end of its first five books were written by Moses to the Israelites. Had a very specific time and place. Daniel was written by somebody else Isaiah was written. So that Paul was writing in prison. Luke was right and wherever he was written a different people different times different cultures different places. It was written to them. Sealed himself in time in culture to other people in other places if we want to understand it. We can't just read it like it was written to cheer today.

Because it was written to them.

I discovered this so clearly when I started to travel and preach the gospel in other places of the world. recognize how ethnic Centric I can really be how I think that everybody should understand everything that I understand. You should have seen all the movies that I've seen so you should all understand the reference is right. So if I'm if I'm talking about in a sermon if I'm talking about the red pill and blue pill what am I talking about? The Matrix some of you know The rest of you felt shame, but didn't want to notice.

In certain environments we can use references everybody's on the same page. Everybody understands it. But if you've never seen The Matrix, it doesn't make any sense to you at all. Half the time when you're reading scripture, they've seen movies that you haven't even heard of.

That's the challenge. Get him to ask you to understand what it's revealing in the contact it takes work and if we don't do that work we miss the point. Let me give you my one of my favorite illustration today. So eight years ago my wife and son and I we moved to Phoenix. It couldn't have been a worse time to move and sell our house in Portland because the pain was so bad in Portland at tank hard. And selling our house became a nightmare. So we went into a process of trying to do a short sale and it was a nightmare. So every month my credits getting dings not for 1 month not for 6 months not for a year. Not for 18 months for about 22 months. It's up. 22 months God I thought you told us to move here. I'm sure that you called us to do this. Why is my house not selling? What are you doing guy now in that time? A lot of people really tried to encourage me and that I had more than one person. Send me a note and send me an email and the end quote this verse to me. Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. Jeremy at this verse is for you this morning. God called you to move down here. He's going to sell your house. God got plans for you. This verse is for you.

When we use this first try everything. Graduation cards you're graduating Walters Art work at tattoos.

I can't think of a worse verse. To try to encourage somebody with then this one when you actually read it in context should we try that this morning?

Do that. Thank you.

Go back one verse verse 10. Let me give you a little contact as real has screwed up everything. not once Not a couple of times but over and over and over not over a year or a decade bit over generation. God has been faithful. God has been kind God has been gracious. God has been loving and they have rejected him. and in his words gone whoring after other gods time and time again so much so that he was faithful to his Covenant a promise to bring them into exile. Jerusalem has been destroyed the kingdom is no more the people have been scattered. The King has been slaughtered. The Nobles have been transported to Babylon. The people have been enslaved life is bad for the people of God.

And they brought it upon themselves.

Thus says the Lord. When 70 years how many years is 70 in this room? I me see your hands seven-year-olds. God bless you.

When 70 years are completed for Babylon. I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. Let that sink in.

70 years you're in Babylon 70 years. You hear the jeers. Where's your God? Your dad's powerless. Your God's not doing any concert your God. My dad's bigger than your dad. 470 years they can't offer sacrifices for 70 years. They've got a live under a foreign oppressor speak another language other food being a different culture be in subjection for 70 years. What was God going to do nothing?

At least on the surface.

70 years now the very next verse for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope.

We're so conditioned to read the scripture like it's written to us it when we read that. I know the plans that I have for you. We want to take out you and insert Cheramie.

It's not singular. I know the plans that I have for you my people I know the plans that I have for my kingdom. I know the plans that I have for those that belong to me. It's not just an individual promise. This is God promising to be faithful to his Covenant Community. This is the promise that I made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob not going to forget the promise that I've made to bring about a savior. I'm not going to forget my plans. I'm not going to give up even though in this 70 years. You're not going to see or hear anything from me understand this. I'm not going to get up.

The most of you're probably not going to see it and it happened 70 years later God miraculously work and began to bring the people back and there were a few that remember there were a few that were young and remembered what it was and when they got back. Then celebrate they wrapped.

Does that mean you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord and I will restore your fortunes and gather from you all the nations and all the places where I've driven you declares the Lord. I will bring you back to the place. From which I sent you into exile.

He sent me a verse. I'm trying to sell my house. I'm going to take 70 years.

anime

I might see what we wanted to be about us. We wanted to be magic. We want this quick fix. We want to be able to go to scripture in gold.

How do you reconcile this with the fact that every single one of the disciples were smarter for Jesus? How do you reconcile with the fact that Jesus the head of the church? What's himself killed?

The only way to reconcile it is to recognize that God's amazing plans for you are big enough to include your pain and suffering. So what's amazing is that that birds actually comforted me because I remember when would God told me it's like you're next 70 years. It's going to be okay. Not today not next week not next year, but it's going to be okay because I'm not going to go back on my promise.

So is my house going to sell? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Because whether the house sub, where's my credit gets decimated whatever happened. God didn't give me some silly promise that he's going to sell my house. God gave me a deep promise. That he is in control no matter what my eyes tell me about my circumstances.

But more than that y'all this is a text about Jesus.

Did Jesus went into exile? for you and I

Jesus Took sin upon himself for you, and I Jesus was separated from the father for you and I

Jesus knows what it means to be forsaken to take sin upon himself.

But God will not allow his holy one to see corruption.

God did not leave Jesus in the gray. Just like God brought his people out of Exile God brought Jesus back from the ultimate act Sia and he conquered that and he'll and in the grave and so in those moments where it feels like God's not there in those times in those Seasons where God is silent and you can't see God moving and it's not happening. We look to the scriptures. We see how God has been faithful in the past. We see how it pointed us to Jesus. We see how God was faithful to Jesus. We trust the Jesus is still being faithful to us and we comfort and strength ourselves in Jesus and in the gospel and no matter what we're going through.

We get him.

and getting him it's so much better. and getting those quick fixes

quick tips or idea

we read the scripture. See Jesus because when we see Jesus we get Jesus. when we get Jesus Everything Has Changed