Listen Session One

Welcome to our first night of Bible Engagement! I am excited about this new discipleship opportunity taking place on Sunday Nights.

Bible Engagement is going to be a bit different from what we are used to on Sunday evenings.

Although we are a larger group, I am approaching this as a small group growth opportunity. So… with that in mind, I want everyone to gather in the first few rows in the middle section of the sanctuary. Why do this? Because I want us to come together… I want us to close the gap… I want us to learn together in community.

Secondly, we have given you tools to continue your journey in the Word throughout the week. These tools include:

Personal devotions for you to be involved in that we be built off the material we cover each week.

It also includes family devotions for you to enjoy together as a family throughout the week.

The goal is to be GROWING TOGETHER… as a body but also as families in the Word of God.

The Bible Engagement Project is designed to help us become more grounded in what the Word of God has to say.

The Church world is experiencing its own sort of pandemic within its culture… and it is not a medical pandemic like we faced with Covid 19. The problem I am speaking of is a growing issue of Biblical illiteracy. It’s not that people do not know how to read the Bible… the problem is people… believers… do not know what the Bible says.

This is a MAJOR problem. Why? Because our enemy, the devil, will take that issue and have a hay day with it.

How was it that he enticed Eve to eat of the fruit that was forbidden in the Garden of Eden? He twisted the words of God.

How was it that he tried to temp Jesus while He was fasting in the wilderness? He tried to twist the Word of God.

Now… in Jesus’ situation… Jesus knew what the Word of God said AND He knew how to apply God’s Word to life. BECAUSE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE, The enemies attempt to temp Jesus to sin FAILED MISERABLY!

The enemy is STILL using this same trick to pull people away from the Lord. Therefore, it is essential that we know that we know that we know what the Word of God says AND we know how to apply it to our lives.

Our journey begins… with a series called LISTEN. This series is named listen because the Bible is not like any other book.

The Bible is God’s LIVING Word - Its words are not dead, its ways are not dead, its truth is not dead. The Word of God is ALIVE and it brings life to all who LISTEN and APPLY its truth to their lives.

The Bible is also ACTIVE - We are living within the pages of this book. The Bible gives us history of things that happened, but it also tells of things to come! We know the story… we are an active part of the story! And… because the Word is alive… that Word is active within our lives!

Here’s what we need to remember: John 1:1-4 gives us some insight regarding the living and active Word.

John 1:1–4 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Jesus IS the Word! As this Word comes more alive in us… Jesus is becoming more alive in us. The more we know this book, the more we know JESUS!

This book, this living and active Word… is the inspired Word of God. God desires to speak to us tonight and every day through His Word. He wants to guide us, direct us, and help us every time we open this book. So when we open this book…we need to be prepared to LISTEN to what He is telling us.

In the days, weeks, and months to come, I pray you will come ready to listen and looking forward to what the Lord wants to say to you! This part of the journey… coming together, worshipping together, discovering together, and praying together… is essential in our growth in the Lord.

Growing in community is something that has been happening since the earliest days of the church. Acts 2:42-47 reveals a group of believers who were doing and experiencing amazing things in the Lord… and… they were doing and experiencing these things… TOGETHER! They had a STRONG sense of community among the believers.

Tonight, we begin with a short video clip that will lead us into our study. And as the clip is playing, I want you to consider this question:

Have you ever experienced a time when you were reading the Bible and God spoke to you through His Word?

PLAY VIDEO CLIP - Listen Volume 1

Beginning a New Journey

Can you imagine… what it must have been like… to be one of the disciples that experienced and witnessed Jesus’ ministry on earth… watch Him suffer… watch Him die… and watch Him being placed in the tomb? Can you imagine the heartache they must have experienced?

They had been on a journey with Jesus… and it was amazing journey at that! And then… it all came to a crashing halt.

These guys thought that Jesus had come to restore the kingdom of Israel. They had hoped… that the Messiah would end the oppressive Roman rule. They make mention of that in the story in Luke 24:13-35 and in Acts 1:6. When Jesus did not overthrow the Roman government and when He was crucified… they were a bit shocked and dismayed by what had taken place.

Things did NOT go as they ha planned. Ever been there… in a position when just when you thought everything was coming together… everything rapidly and uncontrollably seemed to fall apart?

It’s not a good feeling to experience. It’s not a good place to be. Things had not come together like these guys hoped it would. They were disappointed… they were heartbroken. As they traveled to Emmaus… Jesus even appears to them after being resurrected from the grave… and they do not recognize Him. Look at the story with me

Luke 24:13–18 NIV

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

These guys are so preoccupied with their feelings that they cannot see Jesus standing right in front of them! Scripture says their faces were downcast - the original word used here means to look somber, appear downcast or gloomy.

Not only do they have a “gloomy” appearance, their attitudes are pretty rotten as well. When Jesus asks them what’s up… they respond sharply and with frustration. “How can you not know what happened?” And what I find to be sadly interesting is: THEY WERE TALKING TO THE ONE THAT IT HAPPENED TO!

The disciples were so preoccupied with how they felt and with what they perceived to be the end of the journey that they missed the fact that Jesus was there… HE WAS RIGHT THERE! And He had come to join in on the discussion.

These guys had failed to hear what Jesus had come to do. Their personal bias skewed their understanding of redeeming work of Christ.

Verse 21 of Luke 24 reveals that bias. THEY HAD NOT BEEN LISTENING. Had they been listening, they would have realized that the journey they were on had not come to a crashing halt… IT WAS JUST BEGINNING!

Here’s what we need to understand… if we want to hear from God… if we TRULY want to hear what the Word is trying to tell us… then we need to get US out of the way!

Church, there are a lot of distractions and biased point of views that can keep us from hearing the Word of God clearly.

Things like trying to line up the Word with the politics of this day. When we read the Word of God with a political point of view, we are trying to weaponize the Word and use it against the opposing party. Can I tell you something… the Word was not written to support the Republican party, the Democratic party, independents or liberals. The Word was given that we might break free of man’s ways and embrace the ways and truths of our Lord and Savior!

The Word is not given to support any one person’s personal preferences, opinions, agendas, etc. The Word is God’s special revelation to us that reveals His love, His character, His plan, HIS STORY to all who would receive… LISTEN… and believe!

The disciples were in a position where they could not recognize Jesus… because they placed themselves in that position.

Their preoccupation was causing them to miss out on His presence.

What happens next… is pretty amazing.

Called Out by the Word

Jesus calls them out! Jesus doesn’t hold back in His response.

This is one of the things I absolutely love about Jesus - He tells it the way it is. He doesn’t play games, beat around the bush, or placate in order to appease. He simply tells the truth. Look at His response in Luke 24:25-27

Luke 24:25–27 NIV

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Jesus takes them back to the beginning. Jesus guides them with what? THE WORD OF GOD!

Jesus doesn’t give a basic explanation… HE GIVES THEM THE WORD. He reprises the truth that these guys should have already known.

IF they had truly listened to the Word… perhaps they would not have been downcast as they were. IF they has listened to the Word... perhaps they would have understood the redeeming work the Messiah had come to do. IF they had listened to the Word… perhaps they would have realized the man talking to them was the resurrected Savior of the World!

And it is easy for us to look at this situation and say, “Silly disciples! How could you have missed this!” Yet believers miss this ALL THE TIME!!!

We become fixated on a moment… and forget what the Word of God says

We become anxious in a situation… and forget what the Word of God says

We become tempted by the enemy… and forget what the Word of God says.

We become tired and weary… and forget what the Word of God says.

And… it isn’t until we have a “Road to Emmaus” experience with God’s Spirit and/or Word that we get back on the right journey again!

Here’s what we need to remember:

God is STILL the God of the impossible. It says that in His Word!

God is STILL our provider and protector. It says that in His Word!

God is STILL our refuge and strength. It says that in His Word!

God is STILL giving rest to the weary and life to our souls. It says that in His Word!

God is STILL speaking to us through His Word! The question is… are we listening to His Word OR are we listening to preoccupations, biases, agendas, etc?

God WILL call us out through His Spirit and Word and it is a calling out that I openly welcome in my life.

I do not want to miss out on what God has in store for me… nor do I want anyone in this room to miss out on what God has in store for you.

Sometimes, God has spoken to me in moments when I am alone with Him in His Word. Other times, God has spoken to me while I was exploring the Word with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

THIS IS WHY I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW APPROACH WE ARE LAUNCHING TONIGHT.

Bible engagement gets us in the Word together as the body of Christ. It gets us in the Word together as families across the heartland. And… it gets us in the Word together on an individual basis. ALL FOR THE SAKE OF HEARING FROM GOD!

And look what happens to the disciples when they hear from Jesus on the Road to Emmaus.

Luke 24:30–35 NIV

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

The eyes of the disciples were opened and they recognized Jesus for who He was. As Jesus gave them Scripture, their hearts burned within them - the power of God was moving within their souls.

I see it like bringing a fire back to life. So long as there are a few coals… that fire can be restored to a burning flame.

First, you have to have the right fuel - in this case, that fuel was the Scriptures that Jesus shared with the Disciples.

Secondly, you have to have air or wind - in our case, that wind is the wind of the Spirit, God’s Holy Spirit, who helps us to understand and apply His Word to our lives.

What we see happen here is God fanning the faith of the disciples back into flame! Their journey had been reduced to smoldering ashes but once the Word was present again, those ashes were made into a fire once again!

And there is one more things I want us to see in this story before we pray. There is something significant that happens BEFORE their eyes are opened and we cannot overlook it.

The Significance of the Breaking of the Bread

Luke records that it was after Jesus broke the bread that the disciples eyes were opened. Breaking of bread in this case referred to the table fellowship they were experiencing. That mention tells me… these guys were again back in community with the Lord.

On the road, they felt alone. On the road, they were downcast because Jesus… per their understanding… was no longer with them.

In their minds… they had gone from having it all… to having nothing. The journey with Jesus… had come to and end… until it hadn’t

I find it significant that their eyes were opened as they shared a moment of community and fellowship. I do not see this as a coincidence.

Jesus… had given them their “daily bread” in the form of the Word as they traveled to Emmaus. Now He gave them bread in this moment of fellowship, just as He had done at the last super.

My point is this: there is something special that can happen when we come together in community and fellowship in the presence of Jesus.

I have had my fair share of “ah ha” moments in my time of personal study and reflection, but I have also had incredible moments in the Word in a community setting when God absolutely moved in ways only He could move!

Listening in community has a way of drawing us in… TOGETHER… to what the Lord has in store. We gather together to encourage one another, to help and pray for one another, and to spur one another along in love in the ways of the Lord.

Maybe you’ve been struggling to hear from God in recent days or weeks. Maybe the Bible hasn’t been reaching you like it has in the past… maybe the Bible has been sitting untouched for too long.

God is in this place… His Spirit in fellowship with us. Not only do we need to recognize His presence, but we must also position ourselves to listen.

We are going to open these altars and I want us to bring our Bibles, to look at Luke 24 in its entirety, and listen to what the Lord might be wanting to tell us.

And… as He speaks, I want you to write down what He is telling or showing you. And then lastly, I want you to pray… I want you to talk to God… and then listen some more.

Let’s receive from God what He desires to pour into us through His Word and Spirit.