Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response - Understanding How God Speaks

Day One: Gen. 30:1-6 “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. ‘Give me sons, or I will die!’ she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, ‘Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children from you?’ Then she said, ‘Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family.’ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,’ and she named him Dan.

I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY of taking my kiddos to their GiGi’s house every morning before heading off to work. Every morning before leaving, I give each one of them a good-bye kiss. Recently Makenna, my two-year-old daughter, has decided on some days that she doesn’t want her daddy’s good-bye kiss. So when I go to say my good-byes, she’ll scream “No kisses!” and bury her face.

After a couple of days of this, I had an ingenious idea. Since she loves chocolate, and since GiGi always keeps a container stocked with Hersey’s Kisses, I pulled one of the bite-sized chocolates out, held it up, and simply asked, “Would you like a kiss?”

Her immediate response was “Yes!” As she went to grab the chocolate kiss from my hand, I quickly planted a smooch on her cheek. I got my good-bye kiss, and she got her chocolate. Everyone walked away happy. To put it another way, we could say: “Both are happy that Makenna received a kiss from her daddy.”

Look at that sentence. Both me and my daughter would be able to say that it accurately describes the situation, yet we mean different things. I am happy because I got to show my daughter affection before parting for the day. She is happy because she gets to eat a bit of chocolate before breakfast. The point is that we have to know more information before we can understand the fullness of that simple statement.

Reading the Bible require this same type of commitment. There are many things in the Bible that, if pulled apart from the rest of the book, would be very confusing or troubling. A prime example is the passage above. If we don’t understand the historical situation, the type of writing, and the ultimate point of the passage, we will have huge questions surrounding the Bible. In other words, for us to truly understand and apply the Bible to our lives, we must understand the context in which passages are written.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What is context?

▷▷Why is it important to understand the context of a passage of Scripture?

▷▷What can happen if we try to apply Scripture without understanding the context?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response: Understanding How God Speaks

Day Two: Prov. 22:6 “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Prov. 26:4-5 “Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.”

Also read Joel 2:17-21, and Acts 2:14-21.

NETFLIX STREAMING IS AWESOME. With just a few clicks, you can instantly watch any number of television shows or movies. One of the most time consuming elements of the entire process is deciding what to watch.

To help users in the endeavor, Netflix has all of their content categorized by genre. So if you’re hanging out with a couple of buddies and want a good laugh, you simply click over to the comedy section and pick from those options. Interested in learning about real-world events and people? Browse the documentary section. Whatever the mood or occasion, you can search through the genre to find your perfect programming.

In addition, selecting a program using this method helps set the mood and tone. If you’re going to watch a slap-stick comedy, you probably don’t have to pay as close of attention to the small things going on than if you were watching a mystery. The point is, knowing the genre of the program not only helps you choose what you want to watch, but also sets the tone for how you will watch.

This latter statement applies to Bible study as well. Knowing the genre of a passage of Scripture helps set the tone of what to expect, and how to understand, that text. For example, we must understand the book of Proverbs to be a part of what’s called ‘wisdom literature.’ Proverbs 22:6, for instance, says that if parents will teach their children the way they should go, they will remain faithful as they age. Generally speaking, this is the case. More times than not, if a parent instills strong biblical principles in his or her children, they will have a much better chance of being a faithful Christian as they grow older. But that is not always the case. You probably know people who have strong Christian parents but are far away from Christ personally.

If we didn’t understand the genre of ‘wisdom literature,’ we may think that Bible is wrong in these cases. Understanding exactly what this genre is and what it entails, however, let’s us learn and teach these types of passages correctly.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What is a genre?

▷▷Why is it important to know the genre of the Scripture passages we study?

▷▷How can the passage’s genre affect our interpretation of the passage?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response - Understanding How God Speaks

Day Three: Gal. 1:1-7 “Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah.”

I recently purchased a home gym. It’s one of those large machines that allow you to do over 30 different exercises in a variety of positions. I ordered the machine on the internet, and was shocked when it arrived at my house. The entire contraption was stuffed into a box that's less than 8 inches tall! As I opened the box up, I started to see how it was in fact possible. Before starting the construction process, I sought out the owner’s manual.

In the brief manual, I was provided detailed instructions for putting the machine together, a helpful guide for the various exercises that could be performed on the machine, and a few training tips. This was a very helpful guide. But it was only helpful because I had that particular machine.

If I were to approach you and give you this manual, you’d have absolutely no use for tithe entire manual is written for the purpose of showing someone how to set up and use the equipment. If they do not have the equipment, the manual would do no good.

Just as the instruction manual had a very specific purpose, much of the Bible does as well. If we do not understand the purpose of a specific text of Scripture, we may miss its ultimate point

For example, look at this passage from Galatians. Verse 2 clearly states that this letter was written to the churches of Galatia. Why did Paul choose to write this particular letter to those churches? We see that answer a bit further in verses 6 and 7.He explicitly says that there are some in the church of Galatia that wanted “to change the gospel of Christ.” The purpose of this letter, then, is to help the churches of Galatia understand the true gospel and protect them from false doctrines. If we didn’t have this first section to help us see the purpose of the letter, we’d miss out on much of its rich teaching.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is it important to understand the writer’s purpose of a particular passage of Scripture?

▷▷How does knowing a passage’s purpose help us understand the ultimate meaning of a passage?

▷▷How can we figure out a passage’s purpose?

Week 11/4-11/10 Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day One: Heb. 4:12 “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.”

Also read 2 Kings 22:3-10 in your Bible.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE GOOGLE GOT ITS NAME?

The name Google is derived from the number “googol”. A googol is the number one followed by 100 zeros, or, in scientific notation, 1x10^100.When the founders of Google were looking for a name, they decided upon Google to convey the message that they were searching an extraordinary number of webpages every time someone used their search engine.

So how big is a googol, exactly? Well, for some perspective, the number of electrons in the entire known universe is estimated to be around 1x10^79.Remember, electrons are one of the components of atoms. That means every single atom has at least one electron, and most have many electrons. If you were to add those up for the entire universe, the number would be 1x10^79.Significantly less than a googol.

Why is this important? It will help us to see how incredible the Word of God is. Throughout the Old Testament, approximately 300 different prophecies regarding the Messiah are presented. In the New Testament, we find that Jesus fulfilled every single one of these prophecies. The mathematical odds of all of these prophecies being fulfilled are literally incalculable.

So we ask again, why does this matter? Well, the Bible is the only collection of writings ever to exist that forecast the future with such clarity and precision. Think about it for a moment. The Bible is a single work that was written over a span of 1500 years, by more than 40 different authors, in a variety of locales, in different cultural settings, in many different moods, across three different continents, in three different languages, in a variety of literary styles, and in response to a multitude of controversial subjects. Yet, in spite of this, it tells one central story of God’s redemption of man without a single error or contradiction.

In other words, when we pick up our Bibles, we can be completely confident that we are reading the true Word of God!

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is it important that the Bible tells the truth?

▷▷How does the truthfulness of the Bible impact your daily life?

Week 11/4-11/10 - Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day Two: 2 Kings 22:11-13 “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ‘Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.’ ”

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE GINSU KNIFE? A quick search of YouTube will provide the original commercials of these knives. The maker of these knives claimed they could cut through just about anything without dulling their blades.

On the commercials, you’ll see these knives cut through all kinds of things, including frozen vegetables, tree branches, nails, leather shoes, the bones in T-bone steaks, soda cans, and even the head of a hammer. It takes a pretty incredible (and sharp) knife to slice through all of these objects!

Notice what Hebrews says about God’s Word. It says that it’s sharper than any two-edged sword. In other words, God’s Word cuts deeper than any Ginsu knife could ever cut. It cuts through everything we encounter in this world, and penetrates our hearts. God’s Word slices through our body and exposes the sinful condition of our hearts.

No matter how deep we try to bury our sins, God’s Word cuts through and exposes them. And that is a wonderful thing. By cutting through our entire being and revealing the sins we’ve committed, we can be confronted by the gospel of Christ. The good news of Christ isn’t that He came to save a bunch of good people. The good news is that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8)!

This demonstrates an important reason for studying the Scriptures. As we learn more and more about who God is, we see the impossibility of becoming like Him on our own. The Bible shows us how desperately we need a Savior!

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What does the Bible reveal about our hearts?

▷▷Why is it so important to realize the sinful condition of our hearts?

▷▷How has sin affected the world as a whole?

▷▷What can we do to overcome the sinful condition of our

Week 11/4-11/10 - Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day Three: Heb. 4:13 “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.”

Also read 2 Kings 22:14-20 in your Bible.

I HAVE AN INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP with snakes. I am absolutely terrified of them, yet am incredibly fascinated by them all at the same time. In the real world, that means if I encounter a snake, I run in the other direction as fast as humanly possible. But, if I’m protected by plexiglass at the zoo or stumble upon a snake show on Animal Planet, I’m enthralled.

This fascination has led to the watching of many television programs of people getting bitten by venomous snakes. Once bitten, the need for anti-venom quickly becomes apparent. Once the person can get to the hospital and the anti-venom is injected, the person begins down the road to recovery.

Compare this to the human condition. We’ve all been bitten by the poison of sin. Sin has entered our hearts at birth and colors everything we do. It moves throughout our body and soul, destroying everything in its path. Fortunately, God has provided the ultimate combatant to sin: His only begotten Son. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again in order to forgive us of our sins. In other words, He is the perfect treatment to all the sin in the world.

But notice a key element in the process of recovering from a snakebite. The existence of anti-venom is not sufficient for recovery. The anti-venom must be injected into the person. In this instance, the syringe is the instrument that enables the anti-venom to enter the bloodstream and begin its healing properties. The syringe itself doesn’t heal the person, but it makes it possible for the anti-venom to do its job.

In many ways, this scenario parallels with the Bible. Christ alone is the solution to man’s problem of sin. But the Bible is the tool that enables us to see both our sinful condition and point us to the ultimate healer and redeemer, Jesus Christ.

That is the main thrust of the entire Bible. Yes it is entirely true. Yes it points out our sinful condition. Yes it tells us about the world, morality, history, and a multitude of other things. But above everything else, it allows us to encounter the life-changing truth of the gospel.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is the Bible important?

▷▷Does owning a Bible do anything for you?

▷▷How does the Bible communicate the gospel to the world around us?

Week 10/21-10/27: Redeemed Response - Trusting the God Who Speaks

 Day One: Acts 7: 2-5 “Brothers and fathers,” he said, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him: Get out of your country and away from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land you now live in. He didn’t give him an inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.

Finish the story by reading 6-16 in your Bible.

HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED A GIFT and had no clue what it was?

A few years ago some of my cousins gave my grandmother a Nintendo DS and the game Brain Age for Christmas. When she opened the package, she had no idea what she had been given.

After letting her sit there with a confused look trying to figure that contraption out for a bit, my cousins finally explained the gift. They let her know that it was a portable video game system, and that the game Brain Age was designed to help stimulate brain activity. Since the potential of losing her mental sharpness is one of my grandmother’s greatest fears about getting older, the game was a great gift. After she figured out what it was, she was greatly appreciative and has used it regularly.

Notice that last part. She could only truly appreciate and use the gift after she figured out what it was. The same thing is true with the Bible. If we do not know it, we cannot appreciate it, apply it, trust it, or proclaim it.

Look back at our passage. Stephen knew the Bible. In this brief passage, he quickly traces the history of the Christian patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the midst of the discussion, he even stops to quote Old Testament passages. The implication is clear: Stephen knew the Word of God!

What about you? Do you know the message and stories that are contained in the Bible? Or is it one of those things that just takes up space on your shelf? In the next few days we’ll look at the importance of trusting and proclaiming God’s Word. But here’s the kicker. If you don’t know the Word of God, it’s going to be impossible to truly trust and proclaim it.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷How often do you read God’s Word?

▷▷What can you do to make sure you spend time in God’s Word on a regular basis?

▷▷Will you commit to reading your Bible daily? Why or why not?