During a church service recently, I was disappointed with the pastor's handling of scripture. He began his sermon reading carefully through his notes, and it was 20 minutes into the message before he made the first (yet veiled!) scriptural reference. When he finally did reference a scripture, a power-point presentation displayed the scripture behind him on the wall. Some of the verses from the Bible he read through all the way, but on two of the longer passages the reading was prefaced with, "You all know this..." and then he proceeded to skim the portion, not reading verbatim or entirely. But do we know these verses, pastor? We might have heard it before, but do we understand it? Do we live in complete submission to the Word, or do we skip a little, and finish the scripture with "blah blah blah?" There was a hint of apology in his voice which said, "I'm sorry this isn't as interesting as what I have to say." He didn't summarize his sermon--just the scriptures scavenged to prop it up.
I am certainly not perfect, for I have been guilty of skimming through verses to read the commentary following. The pastor's mashing of familiarity with understanding and equating it to personal practice is common for believers. We think because we've heard it, we know it. If we know it, we must understand it, right? Of course not! I can hear people speak in a foreign language and perhaps mimic what I heard back to them, but it is not with understanding. I have successfully answered countless math problems in high school and college that I didn't understand. I had no comprehension of the fundamental concepts of how or why the process worked. I couldn't explain it! But like a monkey wearing clothes and riding a pushbike as he had been trained, I copied the process. It should be no wonder a sermon lacks power when we skim over the Word of God which is the employed by the Holy Spirit to be fruitful in our lives.
A habit I find repulsive (because I used to do it, of course!) is when people finish sentences for others. If I sense someone is going to finish a sentences for me I will pause, and then say something different from what was said by my assuming friend. It's how I work on my vocabulary! If we can predict the words of our fellow believers, it follows Christians can get into the habit of doing the unthinkable: finishing God's sentences. Go to any church service on a Sunday (and I have been guilty, absolutely) and observe as the pastor reads a familiar passage. Hushed throughout the sanctuary people can be heard finishing the passage under their breath before the preacher Perhaps out of habit, perhaps to show their Bible mastery, people parrot the Word of God as if they are repeating lines from a movie. When we finish God's sentences, we rob ourselves of the ability to hear God speak because we have stopped listening.
The same problem can be seen among familiar stories in scripture. Because we've heard the story, we think we know all there is to know about it. Last night in Bible study we talked about when the paralytic was lowered through the roof and was healed by Jesus. You may not have considered it, but how do you think the falling debris and rubble affected the meeting inside? As Jesus preached, there was loud scuffling and hammering sounds on the roof. As dust began to rain down, a bang revealed a patch of sunlight through swirling dust as the hole grew wider and wider. Bit by bit roofing material was pulled away and more dirt dropped down on the occupants. Once the hole became large, a body was lowered down through the hole. The meeting was officially disrupted by a paralyzed man suspended in air. Then Jesus spoke. What did He say? I wonder if you can remember what He says. What He says is not what I would expect to hear! If the suspense is killing you, read the whole story in Mark chapter 2.
My prayer is this post would radically change the way you read the Word of God. It should not to be handled casually, like fiction novels, movies, or a video game. Every word is loaded with significance. We cannot afford to take anything God has preserved for us in His Word for granted. We must read critically: not to criticize, but to carefully mull over every detail and apply the lessons personally. How many times have we been guilty of reading, not understanding, but continuing on? We are the loser! Remember how many times the disciples came to Jesus to ask Him to explain what He was talking about? I wonder if we are willing to humble ourselves and do the same. Listen to the words of Christ to His disciples in Luke 8:10: "And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" To us it has been given! But many have not received.
To comprehend God's Word, we need God to teach us. Luke 24:45 tells us that Jesus explained the Word "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures". He has granted us the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all truth. But as long as we are convinced we know we will remain ignorant. Oh that God would unveil His truth before my eyes! May all pride and arrogance due to familiarity be crucified with Christ, that I might humbly receive the crumbs from His table! We need not beg when our God has a seat for us reserved at His table spread with a banquet. I tell you the truth: those who are in the habit of finishing God's sentences remain spiritually starved and wonder why they even bother to open the Bible.
I praise God that we can familiarize ourselves with something so precious as God's Word. We can hold it in our hands and learn truths that we do not deserve to utter, much less realize! We can think about it all the day, and read it upon our beds at night. But may it never, ever, become familiar to us. May we never lose the wonder, excitement, and power of God in His Word. One would never expect to see nuggets of gold lying in the street. We must dig for them, and God will show us how to mine His truth. It is more precious than the universe itself, for God's Word shall never pass away.
I am certainly not perfect, for I have been guilty of skimming through verses to read the commentary following. The pastor's mashing of familiarity with understanding and equating it to personal practice is common for believers. We think because we've heard it, we know it. If we know it, we must understand it, right? Of course not! I can hear people speak in a foreign language and perhaps mimic what I heard back to them, but it is not with understanding. I have successfully answered countless math problems in high school and college that I didn't understand. I had no comprehension of the fundamental concepts of how or why the process worked. I couldn't explain it! But like a monkey wearing clothes and riding a pushbike as he had been trained, I copied the process. It should be no wonder a sermon lacks power when we skim over the Word of God which is the employed by the Holy Spirit to be fruitful in our lives.
A habit I find repulsive (because I used to do it, of course!) is when people finish sentences for others. If I sense someone is going to finish a sentences for me I will pause, and then say something different from what was said by my assuming friend. It's how I work on my vocabulary! If we can predict the words of our fellow believers, it follows Christians can get into the habit of doing the unthinkable: finishing God's sentences. Go to any church service on a Sunday (and I have been guilty, absolutely) and observe as the pastor reads a familiar passage. Hushed throughout the sanctuary people can be heard finishing the passage under their breath before the preacher Perhaps out of habit, perhaps to show their Bible mastery, people parrot the Word of God as if they are repeating lines from a movie. When we finish God's sentences, we rob ourselves of the ability to hear God speak because we have stopped listening.
The same problem can be seen among familiar stories in scripture. Because we've heard the story, we think we know all there is to know about it. Last night in Bible study we talked about when the paralytic was lowered through the roof and was healed by Jesus. You may not have considered it, but how do you think the falling debris and rubble affected the meeting inside? As Jesus preached, there was loud scuffling and hammering sounds on the roof. As dust began to rain down, a bang revealed a patch of sunlight through swirling dust as the hole grew wider and wider. Bit by bit roofing material was pulled away and more dirt dropped down on the occupants. Once the hole became large, a body was lowered down through the hole. The meeting was officially disrupted by a paralyzed man suspended in air. Then Jesus spoke. What did He say? I wonder if you can remember what He says. What He says is not what I would expect to hear! If the suspense is killing you, read the whole story in Mark chapter 2.
My prayer is this post would radically change the way you read the Word of God. It should not to be handled casually, like fiction novels, movies, or a video game. Every word is loaded with significance. We cannot afford to take anything God has preserved for us in His Word for granted. We must read critically: not to criticize, but to carefully mull over every detail and apply the lessons personally. How many times have we been guilty of reading, not understanding, but continuing on? We are the loser! Remember how many times the disciples came to Jesus to ask Him to explain what He was talking about? I wonder if we are willing to humble ourselves and do the same. Listen to the words of Christ to His disciples in Luke 8:10: "And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" To us it has been given! But many have not received.
To comprehend God's Word, we need God to teach us. Luke 24:45 tells us that Jesus explained the Word "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures". He has granted us the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all truth. But as long as we are convinced we know we will remain ignorant. Oh that God would unveil His truth before my eyes! May all pride and arrogance due to familiarity be crucified with Christ, that I might humbly receive the crumbs from His table! We need not beg when our God has a seat for us reserved at His table spread with a banquet. I tell you the truth: those who are in the habit of finishing God's sentences remain spiritually starved and wonder why they even bother to open the Bible.
I praise God that we can familiarize ourselves with something so precious as God's Word. We can hold it in our hands and learn truths that we do not deserve to utter, much less realize! We can think about it all the day, and read it upon our beds at night. But may it never, ever, become familiar to us. May we never lose the wonder, excitement, and power of God in His Word. One would never expect to see nuggets of gold lying in the street. We must dig for them, and God will show us how to mine His truth. It is more precious than the universe itself, for God's Word shall never pass away.
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