The Myth of a Easy Book

Intro

Encourage Eva

Hearing God - can’t prophecy what isn’t in the Bible.

(Say that mom will touch on this more in the future.)

I want to make you hungry for your Bibles

2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV

20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So how do we know WHAT is true?

What is your process of decided what is truth and what isn’t?

Experience example — use an object

Benjamin cheese story — we can’t decide. We have to hear from God.

A truth that is above our truth.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

ONE // All scripture - the whole enchilada

The Old Testament is not “less than” the New Testament

Paul writes to Timothy to “study to show himself approved” what do you think he’s telling him to study?!

The only people that have problems with the Old Testament are the people who haven’t read it throughly with a humble heart

You understand the true grace of God when you read the whole of the OT

The Shred

TWO // Inspired by God. Not a man book, but a God book

These are man’s best ideas.

We don’t need protection from our Bible. Don’t hide from the confusing or messy. Dive in deeper! Ask questions!

If you want to speak what God is saying — you must know what He’s saying through the Bible.

The Bible is God’s self-revelation. Meaning, it’s how he’s allowed himself to be defined - for our benefit.

the Bible must be interpreted. G. K. Chesterton once quipped, “You cannot put a book in the witness-box and ask it what it really means.”

Interpretation means taking the text and finding the underlying principles of it. We do this in lots of ways, but the good news is that it’s not an impossible task. It can be done, faithfully, by you, not just Bible scholars and hip pastors. By anyone. God wants us to hear Him in His Word.

When you receive a wedding invitation, you don’t read for your meaning of the invitation; you read for what the bride and groom mean by the invitation. You don’t ask yourself What does this invitation mean to me? You ask Where should I be and at what time?`

You read it the way it was meant to be read

We have to take a step back and ask ourselves how we are approaching the Bible.

Are we just reading to fix your problem NOW?

Sometimes we are asking questions that the Bible doesn’t care to answer.

Reading in an immediate fashion

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

David and Goliath

let me help you — when you and the Bible disagree, assume you’re wrong and go from there

Can only mean to you what it meant to them

Can’t cherry pick.

Read extensively. Read books not verses.

You wanna talk about hearing God — God will never tell you to do something the Bible says is wrong.

If someone says something that goes against scripture - you can know, throw that out and trust the Bible

THREE // It has the right to tell you “no”

When something is said by the world (or anyone), your first response should be “is that true in scripture”

The Bible is the framework for how God speaks. It’s the primary way He speaks.

So we have to CHANGE our definitions to match Gods definitions.

Love is not love

God is love

I don’t get to define what isn’t mine.

And it’s all Gods… God designed me, made me, understands me and the world

I don’t get to define what justice or sexuality is

I have to follow what He has said

And here’s the thing — WE DON’T STUDY THE BIBLE TO KNOW THE BIBLE. WE STUDY TO KNOW GOD!

We want to know God! And to know him ON HIS TERMS

A lot of us know the melody but don’t know the words

We need to know! You need to know!

The Bible is an incredible God Book

The best way to prophecy over someone — pray scripture over them. It doesn’t have to be some artsy picture of something. — I can be as long as its used to illustrate scripture — but just prophecy scripture

If you are discouraged- read your Bible

Hurting

Feeling lost

Struggling with anxiety

Feeling heart broken

God has already spoken to you and he knows what you need!

Just open it and read it.

Read it humbly and read it often.

Know God through His word!