Rooted Pt. 2 :: Feasting on the Word

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, welcome to the Vine Life Church Podcast. We're in Boulder, Colorado, and we're following Jesus by staying rooted in his presence, growing in his family, and living on his mission so that hearts are awakened with his awe-inspiring love. In this time of social distancing, we're not currently gathering in person, but we invite you to stream the video from our weekend services online. And if we can help you in any way, reach out to us at VineLife.com. For now, here's a short sermon from last week in Vine Life. Again, thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Hi, I'm Jeanette, one of the leaders here at Vine Life, and I'm so excited to continue the conversation that Pastor Luke started last week by kicking off our brand new series entitled Rooted, Grow Deep, Live Strong. It's all based on Jeremiah 17, 5 through 8, which says, Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness and in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when the heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. When I read this passage, it makes me want very much to be that second tree. And so it stirs up a question or two in my heart: what am I really rooted in? And how do I keep my root system strong and healthy? Colossians 2, 6 through 7 answers what we are rooted in. It says, so then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him. So as lovers of Jesus, we are the planting of God, and He plants us right into the soil of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is the rich nutrients that we're pulling from and getting that life and sustenance so that we can grow strong. So, how do we keep that root system strong and healthy so that we can receive all that Jesus has for us? Well, that's what we're gonna be talking about over the next few weeks: spiritual practices that help keep our roots strong. So, how do we root ourselves in Jesus? Well, we're gonna be talking about scripture and the spiritual formation of reading the Bible and the practice of that over the course of our life and encountering the Lord through his scripture and that making really strong, healthy roots. When God is explaining to us spiritual truths, he loves to use metaphors. And here in Jeremiah, he's using the picture of a tree. But later in John chapter 6, Jesus would liken himself to a loaf of bread. He says to his disciples that I am the bread of life, come down from heaven, and would go on to say that unless you eat of my flesh, you have no life in you. So there is an invitation here to eat and consume of Jesus. And when we read the scripture, we are feasting on Jesus, who is the living word. Jesus, when he is about to go to the cross before his death and resurrection, one of the last things that he does is gathers with those who had been following him, those who had been devoted to him over the period of three years of his ministry, and they share this beautiful meal together. And at one point in the meal, Jesus grabs an actual loaf of bread and holds it before them. And he says, This is my body that I'm breaking for you. And he says, I want you to take bread like this after I'm gone and remember me. Remember what I stand for, remember what I've been to you, remember what I've done and what I am doing. And he broke the bread and he said, Take eat. And he passed the bread around, and each disciple grabbed a piece of that bread, took it in, consumed it, chewed on it, let it go down and digest and be the nourishment for their bodies. And so when God, when Jesus is saying that he is the bread of life, this is what he's inviting us to. And yes, we actually practice and remember Jesus by taking communion and eating of the bread, as Jesus asked us to do. But when we read of the book, we are consuming the bread of life because he is the living word of God. He is the word of God manifest. And so the invitation that Jesus gave the disciples that day when he said, Take and eat, is the same for us. He's asking us to take him, the scripture, and eat of it. You know, the disciples, when they were hearing all of this, and Jesus was saying that he was the bread coming down from heaven, they would have linked what he was saying to a story of another group of people that had lived long before them, that were given bread from heaven. You see, there was a group called the Israelites who lived in the desert for 40 years, and during that time they weren't able to make any kind of food for themselves. They were in a wilderness, a barren desert. And so God, being a loving and kind and good father, supplied miracle bread. He called it manna, and it came down from heaven every morning, and they were instructed to go out and collect the bread and take it back to their tent, and they would eat and it would give them all of the sustenance and nutrients that they needed to live and be healthy and vibrant and strong. Now, if they tried to save some of it and keep it for the next day so they wouldn't have to go out in the morning, it would spoil overnight. God was wanting them to get into themselves, the rhythm of going out each day, and every household was responsible to go out. They couldn't rely and ask their neighbor to do it for them. God was requiring that each one would go out and daily get this food. And I think that he was instilling into the rhythm that they were experiencing something biologically in their in the rhythm and the their clock that they were on, that then when they got out of the desert after that 40 years and they were able to make food and they didn't need the miracle manna bread, that they would still have learned something to get the supply and what they needed from the Lord each and every day. And they were each required to. And I believe that that invitation is still before us. And so when Jesus is saying, take and eat, he's saying, daily, daily, every day, there is a supply for you. And what fed you yesterday is not sufficient for today. I have new, fresh bread for you to feast on from me. So come and be with me and let me feed you and give you what you're needing for today. And this invitation like salvation is our choice. We get to choose to do this. It's not something that he's gonna twist our arm, but if we respond, our root system will be strong and vibrant and we will be that beautiful tree. We alone are responsible to eat of the scriptures, but we never ever eat alone. Because when we put our trust and give our heart to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to be a helper. And part of his job is to reveal the truth and help us understand what it is we're reading. In 1 John 2 27 says, Holy Spirit's anointing teaches you about everything, it is true and is no lie. Just as it is taught you, abide in him. And that abiding points me right back to Jeremiah 17, that tree that's rooted in Jesus, right by the stream. And it says its roots reach out to that stream. The water is the living water of God, his Holy Spirit flowing from the throne room right into our hearts. And so Holy Spirit is there when we are feasting on the word and spending time with God through the scripture to bring us revelation, and it's not only an intellectual thing, but what Holy Spirit is bringing to us and inviting us into is an encounter with God. It's beautiful. So it's it's not meant to be like reading some sort of training manual, it's an encounter. It's like sitting down and having dinner with God when we open up the Bible. So, what does this time look like? What can it look like? Let me give you some ideas of ways in which I spend time in Scripture because it doesn't always have to be the same every day or in every season. God's creative, and so the way in which we're studying and spending time with Him and His Word can look different at different times. One way that I like to spend time is doing Lectio Divina. That's a monastic practice where of scripture reading, meditation, and prayer. So what it might look like is reading the scripture once, reading a passage, and then pausing and just soaking it in, much like you would marinate a piece of meat and get it all juicy and flavorful before you're gonna eat and feast on it. So I read the passage and then I pause, let it marinate, and then I read it again, and this time I'll pause after, and then I'll begin to ask questions. What is stirring up in me? What am I curious about? And then I leave space for Holy Spirit to bring that revelation and bring encounter, and then I read it again, and now I'm I start to journal the things that the Lord is showing me, and oftentimes something that I read a month ago, now He's He's connecting the dots for me, and it can be really fun and exciting writing all this information down and and and journaling about the encounter that I'm having so that I remember in months to come when I look back and read about how the Lord met me on that particular day through that scripture. And then I read it one last time, and this time I take what I've been reading about and I turn it into prayer, and I let it be the fuel for the things that I'm bringing before the Father in our time of prayer and talking with one another. It's beautiful. So Lectio Divina, that's something that you can research a little bit more online about. It's been going on for a long time, and it's a great way to encounter the Lord. Aside from journaling, as I mentioned, you might write a letter taking the concepts from the passage and putting them in the letter from God to you or you to God. That's fun sometimes. Um also create a little special place. Maybe you have a chair that you say, This is where I'm gonna go. This chair is gonna be my chair where I sit and read, and you get your yummy drink and your favorite little cup, and you have your fluffy blanket, and you and you get all cozy and comfortable, and this is where you've set aside time for the Lord. But maybe you're in a sleepy season, and that wouldn't be a good idea because you might start um snoozing instead of reading, and so the flip side is what the Lord is calling you to. And you need to get up and hold the Bible in your hand and start pacing in the room and and say the words out loud because sometimes when I hear myself saying the scripture, something stands out to me that I I passed over when I simply read silently to myself. So get up and move around. I like to study the Aramaic and the Greek. I like to look at commentaries of what other people are saying about their time in scripture, and you can, there's all kinds of resources out there. One that I like to use that's free. You can also download onto your phone or just go to their website, blueletterbible.org. You can actually click on every single word and it'll show you the Greek and the Aramaic, and there's lots of opportunity to go down wonderful bunny trails with the Holy Spirit on that website. So studying the Greek, studying the Aramaic, and listening or reading commentaries, um, you can always imagine yourself in the story. Maybe you're reading about David, maybe you're reading about Queen Esther, and you you put yourself in the story and imagine what would it be like if I were David or if I were Esther. Sometimes something I like to do is imagine that I'm like one of their friends. And is there something that I could have said or something that I could have done that would have changed the story and changed the trajectory of what happened, especially when they make a bad move, right? So putting yourself in the story that can be fun. Um draw or illustrate a scripture. Now I love to do this. I have a little area in my closet that is reserved for prayer and scripture study. And when I have a scripture that's just really impacting me, or I'm having an encounter with the Lord, I love to take it and either just write it out and put it on my wall or to illustrate it. And when I come into that prayer space and I look around the walls that are now covered with stuff, it's each one is like a memorial stone, reminding me of the encounter that I had with God. And I might forget, I might forget that you know, this one particular scripture he was talking to me about a month ago, and and when I see it, I'm reminded, oh yeah, we were in this beautiful place and had this conversation, and so I might pick it up again and and begin to talk with the Lord and pick up the conversation right where we left off. And I have an example of one of my cards. So this is Matthew 22 verse 37 that says, Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with every energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you. And so I I created this. This is something that I pray over my kids. I want them to have fiery, passionate hearts and be alive and bright and that for their minds to be on the thoughts of Jesus. And so you can, if you like art, or even if you don't, sometimes just drawing it out can be fun. Um so drawing and illustrating, um, writing on post-it notes. Maybe you don't have a space where you can put a post-it note in a in a prayer room, but you can you can stick a post-it note in a place that's visible to you that you frequent, like the inside of a kitchen cabinet or the visor in your car. You can even take dryer race and write scriptures on your mirror. And then when you're brushing your teeth and you're doing your hair, it's not so much for memorization, although that's great if you want to do that, but it just reminds you, oh, this is a conversation I've been having with the Lord. Because our hearts, even though God is with us all the time, we often pull away and forget. You know, we get distracted by things. And so when we when we put these reminders all around our home or in our workspaces, it it pulls our hearts' attention back to the Lord and reminds us of ways that we have met with him. And once again, we're we're feeding. Maybe it's not the hearty meal that we had that morning, but it's it's a taste, it's a nibble, we're grazing as we go along our day and feeding from him. I think the Israelites understood this, and even the Jewish people today have incorporated this idea of not only studying scripture, but participating with it in a way that they're embodying what they're learning and what the Lord is showing them in Scripture. And so I we're gonna end this time talking about Deuteronomy 6, 4 through 9. It says in that scripture, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts, impress them on your children. Talk to them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads, write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. That scripture, when it starts, it starts with the word hear. And in Hebrew, that word shemeh means listen, but it also means obey. So right away at the top of this passage, God is saying hear. They're saying hear. And it's an implication of yes, understand, comprehend, listen, incline your ear, but also let it be incorporated in you in such a way that you embody it, that you respond to it with action, with obedience. And God here is saying, I want you to love me. I want you to love me with all of your strength, with all of your soul, with all that you have. And when we love, it's a choice, right? We're giving ourselves to something. So rooted believers that are disciples of God, rooted disciples, are devoted disciples. So if we want to have these roots that are strong and vibrant, it requires, the bar has been set, it requires a devotion. And God is saying these commandments are to be on your heart because it's first and foremost a heart issue. All those things that I was saying of things that we can do, if we're just doing them out of duty, that's not what God's wanting. It's just actions that have no real meaning and substance to them. But when our heart is engaged, that is what the Lord is looking for. He's not looking for duty, he's not looking for scripture study and spending time with him in his word to be that of duty, but of devotion. And then we get this picture of impressing it upon their children, and they're talking about it when they wake up, and they're talking about it when they sleep, and they are talking about it when they're going out, and when they're coming in, when they're standing up, when they're sitting down, and you know, there's a lot that you can pull from as parents, but for all of us, we're getting a picture that what we are feeding on in the morning is not something that's left in the morning, but it's what carries on with us throughout the day. So no matter what we are doing throughout the day, we are we are still engaging, we're still feeding off of that which we ate that morning. And it's infiltrating everything, even our sleep. And then God is saying, tie them on your hands, bind them on your foreheads, write them on the door frame of your house. Your gates. Now, the Jewish people, even today, take this quite literally. And they have leather straps that they will start wrapping from their elbow and go all the way down to their wrist and place it a little box at the end of the leather, and in that box will be scriptures. And then they will do take another strap and they'll tie it around their head, and right on the forehead will be another box that has the scripture in it. And then over the doorposts of their homes, they will put another box, and on that box is the word that we said for here in the Hebrew. And inside that box is scripture, and it'll have the Ten Commandments in it. And when they go through that doorway, they will put their fingers to their lips and then they will touch that box. And as they are doing that, they're expressing to the Lord, I love your law, I love your ways, God, I love who you are. Now, I'm not saying that we all need to start wrapping leather around us, but there is something beautiful about embodying it that way. And that takes time, that takes dedication. And they they took this scripture in Deuteronomy and they actually pray it every morning and every evening. They teach it to their children, they get it in them, they memorize it. And we can we can engage in and practices with scripture reading that help us embody it, but it means nothing if our if our heart is not engaged. So when I read, tie the commands on your hands, I have to ask myself, am I spending time in God's word in a way that my heart is open to receive what the Holy Spirit has for me? So that everything that I touch is left with the imprint of God. The things that I put my hands to, when I let go, do they do they have the substance that God Himself was there? And when I read bind them on your foreheads, I have to ask myself, am I allowing the scripture to reframe me, to reshape my mind, and help me think not my thoughts, but my thoughts surrendered to God, and his thoughts become my thoughts, and my mind becomes the mind of Christ. And when I read, write them on the doorframe of your houses and your gates, I have to say, my heart that is the gateway to my eternal home. Is it open to the Lord for Him to come in and enter and be able to touch my deepest desires in my heart? And that is the invitation that God has for us to read his word, and so that we, like the psalmist in 119.11, can say, I have stored up your word, God, in my heart. So I bless you today and every day following to take time to feast on his word, to do what Jesus has said, take and eat.