Can I use it notes

“Can I use it?”

Making sense of the Bible

Message notes

Introduction:

The Bible for many has become a book that sits on your shelf and is hardly ever pulled off. For others it is something you pull out on Sundays. For some, it is something they turn to only in times of desperation. For others, like the movie clip it is viewed as something like homework. You get points for trying. And yet for others it has become a guide to life.

There are a lot of reactions to the Bible. Here is s a safe place to have a bible. No one would question you if you are carrying one. But carry one in the “real” world and you get mixed reactions.

Go to a coffee shop and pull one out and try to watch people’s reactions.
Read one on a plane and out of the corner of your eye look at the person’s face next to you.
I remember in High School I took a trip to DC…

People have a variety of views on the Bible and typically it their view is based on whether or not they view they Bible as relevant. “Can I use it?” is the question we want to ask today.

When it comes to the practical nature of the Bible, many other books testify to this by the fact they are written based on the Bible.

Illustration

Books on my shelf.

I have some other helpful books that might be on your shelf:

Systematic Theology
He Still moves Stones
Sex begins in the Kitchen

All of these are good books. All of these books are based on the teaching of the Bible. It is common for these books to be consulted even before the Bible. They may be more accessible, but if these books take the place of the Bible then we have lost something. The Bible was designed to be the most useful book of them all.
The bible speaks to all of life topics.

So we want to ask the question, “Can I use the Bible?”

Is this ancient book relevant for our 21st century lives?
Does it hold wisdom for our daily lives?

I suppose the easy answer is yes. I can’t imagine a teacher getting up her to say otherwise. But I also want to ask another question, “How do we use it?” If it is useful to our lives, how do we make use of it? If you are asking that question today, then I think you will stay awake.

Today I want to be clear that I am speaking to the person:

Who’s been away from church and now returning
Who is just now discovering Jesus for the first time and wondering, what’s next.
Who has been a Christian for some time and needs a refresher/reminder.

Big Idea: The Bible is relevant to your life no matter what stage you are at on your faith journey, because the Bible reveals God and His ways to us.

Other people and other books tell part of the story, but they all point back to this book.
A book that has been around for centuries, even formed over centuries and yet the purpose is as fresh for today as it was when it was being written:

We need something to help us understand God and His ways. And there is no other source that does it like the bible.
One of the dangers is that we read a lot of books about the Bible but don’t really invest the time in the Bible.
The truth is that most of us on our own, mess up our lives. We need help.
All of us have opinions about God and His ways, but most of them are probably wrong, not dead wrong, but wrong enough to guide us in the wrong direction. We need direction.
That is where the Bible comes in. Some people have said that they would believe in God if he would only speak to them. He has. Here it is.

More specifically, the Bible is not just about God’s ways, it’s about Jesus. From beginning to end.

When I talk about the Bible’s usefulness today it’s only as useful as it helps you love and follow Jesus.
The Bible addresses a wide range of topics: marriage, death, work, sex, it covers it all. Essentially it tells us how to have the best life possible. Yet, what we learn is that the best life possible is found in following Jesus. All of the topics covered in the Bible are only important to the extent that they help follow Jesus.

Approaching the Bible

1. Explore

a. Intellectual challenges

b. Moral guidance

c. Spiritual uplift

I have not departed from your laws,

for you yourself have taught me.

I gain understanding from your precepts;

therefore I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 119:102,104

· Primary purpose/outcome is information

· Practice: Use a concordance

· Danger is that we only use the parts we like.

2. Apply

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

-2 Tim. 3:16-17

The approach here is to take in large sections of scripture always with an eye to apply what you are reading.

It could look like reading through the Bible in a year. But not just reading to get it done. But reading to see what God is saying to you. All of scripture is helpful to apply. Some of it takes more work than others, but it is still applicable.
One of the biggest challenges in reading through the bible is concerning yourself more with focusing more on what God could be telling you through a passage then about “catching up” if you get behind.

This approach recognizes that the Bible in its entirety is inspired by God and it has something to say about God and His ways that we need to know.
The main distinction I am making here from the previous approach is that in this approach you are starting with Scripture and letting it guide the application as opposed to starting with the need and finding scripture to meet it.
Primary purpose/outcome is formation

You are allowing God to use scripture to guide your thoughts and actions. You are being formed into the likeness of Christ through Scripture.

This is where you could begin to face some challenges. Because like I said earlier we all have these notions about what God and His ways are like, and apart from the Bible we are mostly wrong. So as you read Scripture with the intent of formation you will encounter passages that force you to decide, am I going to live under my own authority or will I make the Bible my authority? It’s not that most things in the Bible are hard to understand, we just don’t like some of it.

Mark Twain

Practice: Read large sections and apply
Example:

“I am reading chronologically and have been reminded that God uses imperfect people for great things (although we are all imperfect). For instance; Abraham misleading Pharaoh about his wife (Gen 13: 10-13), Abraham taking things into his own hands and not trusting God (Gen. 16: 1-4), Isaac's misleading men that Rebekah was not his wife (Gen. 26: 7), Jacob's deceit (Gen. 27), Moses an unwilling servant of God (Exodus 4: 13), etc. It reminds me that God can use me.
Also, The description of Job's situation is a good reminder to me that "bad" things that happen to me on this earth are not necessarily happening because I have done something specifically wrong or that God is punishing me , but that God's purposes are greater than mine and even though I may not understanding why certain things are happening, I have to trust that God is in control.”

This is just one example from a Suncrester writing on The Bible Journey blog about the Bible’s impact on their life. The cool thing here is that he didn’t go looking for this. God brought it to him and is forming this truth in his life.

3. Internalize

Retell Rev. 10:8-10
The idea here is that Scripture is more than just a tool, it becomes a source of life. You take it, and internalize it so that it becomes a part of who you are.
Primary purpose/outcome is transformation
Example –

Kathy – “One of my favorite verses in the Bible is John 3:16. This is the first verse that I ever memorized as a child and is so clear about how much God loves us - no matter what.

1 John 3:1 also helped with my identity in life. I am a child of God and He loves me. Both of these verses have been such a comfort to me growing up and maturing into an adult.”
Sheila and having kids – Psalm 127:4-5

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

· Practice: Meditate on one passage/verse through a day/week/month

His delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:2

Conclusion:

No matter what stage you are at in your faith journey, the Bible is relevant to you.

Never read: begin with John (free Bible)
Trying to get into it: read through in a year always with an eye to apply
Want to go deeper: Take a passage with you through the day

· Josiah uncovering God’s Word

· Are you hungry?