WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:09.679 We've been uh today is the last Sunday in our our uh late summer series called The Bible Speaks, and we've been looking at what is the Bible. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:15.279 Russ has walked us through four different aspects about what the Bible is. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:16.960 The Bible is the unique word of God. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:24.800 There is no other book uh like the Bible that speaks with the authority and the revelation of the one true God. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:26.960 The Bible is powerful. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:32.399 The book of Hebrews, the author of the book of Hebrews, says that Scripture is living and active. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:38.240 It's not simply an ancient artifact of the past where we glean ancient wisdom. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:49.439 It is a living word through which the Holy Spirit speaks to us as individuals, as God's people in our current situation and setting. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.799 The Bible's made up of a variety of genres. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:01:00.560 I loved uh the title of his sermon was The Bible is literal, the Bible is figurative, the Bible is personal. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:08.719 Often we can get kind of into these um, you know, one or zero kind of um whatever, bipolar things. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:09.519 Is it literal? 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:10.959 Is it uh figurative? 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.760 The answer is yes, depends on genre, and it's helpful to know that to interpret it well. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.840 Finally, he preached on the Bible as one big story. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:31.519 It it really helps our understanding when we realize that these 66 books taking place over hundreds and hundreds of years, is really authored by one author, the divine author, telling one story. 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:37.439 It's it's the meta-narrative, it's the story that contains all others, including our own. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:44.400 We are taken up in that story and uh asked to live our life within it. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:55.040 The reason I recap these, and the reason these last four weeks have been so important, is they are paramount, foundational for what we were talking about this morning, which is how do we read the Bible? 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:56.400 Why do we read the Bible? 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:01.200 What happens when we read it, and how do we read it well? 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:16.319 The Bible's an incredible gift for all the reasons we've just listed, but pastorally speaking, it's important for us to come back to it on a regular basis because it's easy for us, I think, to take the Bible for granted, right? 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.719 It's it's the most sold book in the world. 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:25.759 We you probably have ten in your house, or if you don't think you have any, I bet you'll find one if you if you search for it. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:27.919 It's easy to buy, free online. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:31.680 We have multiple copies, we can hold it in our hand, we study it. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:37.599 Uh, all of these things can dull our appreciation of it and our understanding of what it is. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.159 And so it's just a great thing to come back, reacquaint ourselves with it. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:46.080 This morning we are talking about how do we read it, why do we read it. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.240 I'm excited about this subject. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.919 Um, but there's four sermons in this one sermon. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:53.919 I'm just I'm just giving you a heads up. 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.439 So each one uh could be longer. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.599 Just just let it wash over you. 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:00.960 Uh take some notes if you want. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.280 It's a bit more didactic than normal. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.360 But let's uh let's jump in here. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.599 Point one, eat this book. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.199 What do we do with the Bible? 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:10.639 We are to eat it. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:15.919 You heard uh the Ezekiel passage read earlier. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:21.280 God tells the prophet Ezekiel to take the scroll and to eat it. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.639 And this is a divine metaphor. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:34.719 It's it actually occurs multiple places in scripture, not just in Ezekiel, where God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll, and he says he took it, he ate it. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:39.599 It was in his mouth as sweet as honey. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.080 Why does God use this metaphor? 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:49.360 Well, I think the author Lanta Davis in her book, Becoming by Beholding, I think she captures the metaphor well here. 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:54.879 She says, the word of God nourishes us with our spiritual food. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:04.639 And in taking and eating it, we allow the scriptures slowly to course through our body and become part of who we are. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:20.959 Beloved, we come to the scriptures, we read the scriptures, whether we hear it read, we hear it preached, or we read it for ourselves, we come less to understand, less for information, and more to be transformed. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.120 Just like that phrase, you are what you eat, right? 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.399 We consume things constantly. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.639 We talk about this on a regular basis. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:36.480 We consume the news, we consume entertainment, we consume information for our work, and and that's fine. 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.439 I I would I do it, we all do it. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:50.319 But what shapes us, what forms us, how healthy are we spiritually, we could uh talk exactly the same way about the food that we eat. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:51.759 I love Chick-fil-A. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.240 I and and lots of food that is bad for me. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:09.519 Um and it's great to have it every once in a while, but if that is my primary diet, I'm I'm not gonna live very long, I'm not actually even gonna enjoy my life very much because my body will be unhealthy. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:16.079 And so, as Christians, our first point is simply this that we are to consume God's word. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:25.759 Or to eat it, to digest it, and even to understand and play with these metaphors to help us better understand what it means. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:36.160 So the first point, read the scriptures, eat the book, consume and commune with the God who speaks. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.079 And we can hear his living and active voice in it. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:45.040 All right, second point, we dig into the word as a meal. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:50.160 So we come, when we read the Bible, we come to know who God is, we are changed by him. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:51.839 But where do we start, right? 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.480 The book can be an intimidating thing. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.120 We just open to page one and start reading. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:09.680 We, you know, we've made this joke before that you know, you begin these reading plans, read the Bible in a year, and you you get to whatever Exodus, Leviticus, and you just hit a wall and you're like, well, that was good while it lasted. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:15.680 Or we know the book of Genesis really well because we've read it, you know, so many times in January. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.439 Um but there's a variety of ways. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:21.040 It honestly, where do you start? 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:22.399 It doesn't matter. 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:23.920 Just start. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:28.000 But but here are some here's some practical uh recommendations. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:30.480 You can follow a reading plan. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:38.319 If you just go and go on the internet and do a quick search, you can find hundreds of plans, which which may make you know it just as hard. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:42.399 Um there, but but there's um a variety of ways to read the Bible. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.319 You can read the Bible in the year. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:52.800 The only thing I would say about that is it's less important how much you read in a sitting that you read it on a regular basis. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:59.839 So reading the Bible through in three years may be better than reading it in a year if you're able to digest it. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.560 But you can read the Bible chronologically. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:12.639 The order of the books of the Bible isn't necessarily chronological, but there are reading plans that will allow you to read through the Bible in chronological order. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.279 There's a book we have in our bookstore. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:20.560 Uh, it's not on the table right now, but it will be again next week, called When You Don't Have the Words. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:25.360 And it's a book about reading through the Psalms on a monthly or a regular basis. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:27.519 And I I read that book a few months ago. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:30.000 I liked it so much, I bought it for our bookstore. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:37.920 But it talks about the benefit of repeatedly going through the Psalms on a regular basis, the prayer book of God's people. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:54.399 I've I think I just finished, today's the 31st, my third or fourth month of reading through all the psalms in a month, and I've already begun to see the benefit of that regular washing, you know, even once a month through these particular psalms. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:00.319 That when an event arises in my life, that the psalm just comes to mind. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:12.639 That by regularly taking it in, being reminded of it, um, the Lord speaks to me out of those comforting and challenging words when the time is right. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:17.680 Now we live in the technological smartphone era, and so there's an app for that. 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:24.079 There are apps like the Bible app is a free one, um, or maybe it's called the U version. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:25.439 I don't love that name. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:31.680 But um it is full of full of reading plans. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.600 They even have themed ones if you're dealing with anxiety or anger, you know. 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:43.759 Go to an app like that and it will um give you some things to uh just Bible reading plans, just to jump in. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:50.159 A second approach is to look at the Bible, look at the books in the Bible, and pick one that you're interested in. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:50.720 Right? 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:56.639 There are um there are incredibly diverse range of things. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:00.320 If you like uh you know apocalyptic writing, right? 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:02.559 The book of Daniel has these crazy metaphors. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:09.200 Whore of Babylon, the book of Revelation, the dragon and the woman and and um you know the whore of Babylon. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.360 How often do we get to say whore in church? 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:15.200 All right, let's talk about apocalyptic writings. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:25.440 Uh you can read Paul's letters to churches 2,000 years ago that remind you that people don't change, that they're dealing with the same types of things we're dealing with today. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:28.320 You can read about Jesus' life through the Gospels. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.840 You can read the chaotic downward spiral of the book of Judges in the Old Testament. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.399 You can wonder why God loves these people. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:40.480 You can read about the life of David in 1st and 2 Samuel. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:47.120 Um, just again, the Psalms, the Proverbs, searching for daily wisdom. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:51.600 You're more likely to read something that you have an active interest in. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.440 So just pick something. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.600 There's no shame in just finding what you're interested in and starting there. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:00.080 Third is memorization. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:13.519 Uh picking verses or passages of scripture and committing them to memory simply by reading them over and over again is a powerful way of taking and storing God's word in your heart. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:26.000 And again, just like I was saying about the Psalms, when the time arises, they are there on the tip of our tongue, bringing us comfort when we need it. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.919 Fourth and finally is listen to the scriptures, right? 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:38.639 For for a majority of the life of the church and even into God's people, Israel, most of God's people have been illiterate. 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:42.320 And so the way that they consumed God's word was through the ear. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.000 They heard it read, they heard it preached and expounded. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:50.480 And so you can find recordings of the Bible free online. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:57.840 You can purchase other ones as well, and you can listen while you hike up the mountain or while you're driving in your car. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:02.399 It's a great way to consume God's word. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.360 So there's a variety of ways to eat this meal. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:10.639 Pick whichever one you're most likely to consume right now. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.240 Point three, enjoy the meal. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.559 We've decided to eat. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.720 We've decided what to eat. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.759 Well, how do we eat it? 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.080 A couple simple methods. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:29.279 Um, if you're if you don't feel any hindrance here, you're happy to just read and consume. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:30.480 More power to you. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:35.519 But some people even stop here and they say, Well, what do I do when I read it? 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:40.639 Here are a couple helpful methods to get you started. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.080 The first is kind of the classic Bible study method. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:49.279 If you were involved in a youth group or a college ministry, this is typically what you're taught. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:54.799 My wife and I were on staff with Campus Crusade, and we taught people, kids this all the time. 00:11:55.279 --> 00:12:00.000 It's three basic steps with a fourth that we add here at Redeemer. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:03.759 Uh, observation, interpretation, and application. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:07.440 Observation, simply, what does the passage say? 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.080 Pay attention to what's in the passage. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:11.440 Second, interpretation. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:12.799 What does it mean? 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:14.240 Is there a deeper meaning? 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:23.120 Is there a spiritual component that is being hinted at or a metaphor going on in the passage? 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:25.039 Why is the passage there? 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.720 And then third, application. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.960 What does this passage have to do with my life? 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.399 Does it speak to, is it call me to faith? 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:33.679 Does it call me to action? 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.440 Does it rebuke me or chastise me or encourage me? 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:41.360 That we believe again that the Bible speaks to us today. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:44.080 But I want to add this fourth one. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:48.240 Um, and this I rarely do this, but I want to point it out because of that. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:49.519 Revelation. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.840 Uh, you know, pastors like to use, you know, cute words. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:55.039 This is a cute word. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:55.919 All right. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:57.279 Revel. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:58.879 That word revel, right? 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.200 When we revel in something, we just enjoy it. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:08.720 And the point, the reason God gave us the scriptures is to tell us the message of the gospel that he dearly loves us. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:09.440 Right? 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.279 That's the that's the bottom line. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:34.320 There's lots of details, there's lots of sin and gore and excitement and joy, but the underlying message is that God loved us enough to take on flesh, to live our life for us, to die for us on the cross, to resurrect a new life, so that by faith we can be with him for eternity in the new heavens and the new earth as his beloved. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:50.159 And so anytime you read, the one of the things we we often miss is if you end every time you read the scriptures or a sermon for that matter with application, it subtly teaches us that what God cares about is really what I do. 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:51.120 Right? 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:52.159 How do I apply this? 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:53.759 Am I living rightly? 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.639 Now God cares how we live, absolutely. 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:01.360 But the way that we live rightly is by living out of God's love for us. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:07.200 So, yes, observe, interpret, apply, but then revel in the gospel. 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:13.360 So this classic Bible study method is primarily about understanding. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:14.720 We want to understand God's word. 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:18.559 And just like getting to know another person, this is vitally important. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:25.360 It's like going on a coffee date and asking questions about the person, learning their history, their experiences, their background. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:31.759 So as we sit and we do this Bible study method, we are getting to know the Lord. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:34.399 What's important is the posture of reception. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:39.200 Like Mary sitting at Jesus' feet and simply receiving what he had to offer. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:46.240 We glean much from coming to the Lord, asking these questions of the scriptures. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:50.639 Now, the second method I want us to look at is called sacred reading. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:15:02.320 And ironically, this is a much older approach to scripture than the classic Bible study method, but it may be new to many of us in the Protestant tradition. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:11.279 Sacred reading or Lectio Divina, in its aim, is less on the mind and more on the heart. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.519 Now, in Christianity, the heart and the mind are never disconnected. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:26.000 They are not opposed to one another, but the emphasis in Lectio Divina is about communion with the God who knows us and loves us. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:32.320 And we come to the scriptures not so much to learn, but as to enjoy. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:36.399 It's a heart-to-heart connection with the Lord. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:41.600 Now, as we talk about this method, we're going to come back to this metaphor of eating. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:50.080 Lectio Divina is often described in four movements or four courses, like a four-course meal. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.480 You pick a passage of scripture. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:54.879 Typically it's on the shorter side. 00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:01.440 You don't want to do whole chapters or whole chunks, but a little passage of scripture, maybe a psalm. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:08.720 And in each movement, we read the passage and then we do something a little bit different with it. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:14.080 The first movement in Lectio Divina is lectio, which means to read. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:16.080 And it's it's like taking a bite. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.879 It's literally taking the food in. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.440 And just like in observation of the previous method, we're simply taking the message in. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:33.279 But here the emphasis is on slowness, eating it slowly, like the slow food movement a few years ago. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:34.799 We want to enjoy the food. 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.720 We want to savor what is on the table with us. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:43.039 And so there is no hurry like when you're going on a date with someone. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:47.919 You're not, you know, you know, you're not just there to gather a bunch of information about this person and move on. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.120 You're here to enjoy time together. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:55.840 The second movement is meditatio or meditation. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:00.480 And this is chewing on the food, mastication. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:07.599 It's enjoying, like the cow that chews the cud, we ponder each word of the passage. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:13.359 We taste its sweetness and we find joy and nourishment for our soul. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:21.279 So again, each one of these is a movement where we read the passage and we take something different from it. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.319 In in meditatio, we're engaging the imagination. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:30.960 We may place ourselves in the story if we're reading an Old Testament or a New Testament narrative. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:37.920 We may uh ponder the wisdom of a proverb or the joy and exaltation of a psalm. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:42.319 But we sit in it in meditation. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:48.799 In the third movement called oratio, this is prayer or oration. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:18:00.480 This is now that we've sit sat and taken in God's word and we've meditated, we've we've listened to God, now in this third step, we speak back to God in prayer. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:08.720 We take what we have received, and in some ways we speak it back to Him in thanksgiving. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:19.279 Because we have been shaped by listening to God's word, now our desires and our prayers will be better aligned with his desires and will for us. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:25.680 Finally, in the fourth stage, contemplatio or contemplation, it's digestion. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:34.880 You ever gone out for a great meal, your favorite meal, and you've you've enjoyed, you've eaten to your full, and then you just sit and you just sigh. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:38.720 Ha! What a good meal. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.119 That's part of the meal. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.119 To enjoy, to digest. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:54.480 Um, as one author put it, contemplation is simply enjoying the stillness of being full of God's goodness and love. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:00.880 Beloved, I I encourage you to try this method if it's if it's new to you. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:08.960 On a Sunday morning or on a weekday when you have time to put aside, to simply be with the Lord through his word. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:14.400 Now we've taken a little bit of extra time on this because I think it may be new to us. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:21.680 But however you come to the scriptures, bring yourself, present yourself open to the Lord. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:27.759 All right, as we're wrapping up, fourth and final point, I want to speak a little bit about interpretation. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:38.319 Russ talked about this a little bit when he talked about genre, um, but this is a little bit of a different angle, and I think it's it's important for us as well. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:47.039 The question is, when we come to the scriptures, whether it's Old Testament or New Testament, right, it is this ancient text. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:52.559 And the question is, how does that ancient text connect to me today? 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:59.200 How do I interpret and understand it for myself, for my life and my context today? 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.039 Let's take an Old Testament example. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.200 You may have heard this one before. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:07.680 We're gonna take the passage of David and Goliath, right? 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:09.759 You're probably familiar with this story. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.160 Israel is facing off against their old enemies, the Philistines. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:21.279 And the two armies are there on the battle, but they're kind of they're kind of waiting to engage in battle. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.920 The Philistines send out their biggest and their baddest soldier, Goliath. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:28.799 And he's huge, right? 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.559 He's described as a giant. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:35.200 Um, and everyone in Israel is petrified. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:41.200 And it's kind of this um, I'm blanking on the word now, but you send out your champion, they send out their champion, they fight. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:44.000 Whoever wins kind of wins the whole battle. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:48.000 And so, but no Israelites want to go out and face this huge giant. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:50.240 It looks like certain death. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:58.559 Well, now young David, a young man who isn't even in the army yet, he comes bringing food for his brothers who are there. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:18.000 And because he's so passionate about his relationship with the Lord, and he's so enraged at this uh you know pagan army and and the insults they're hurling at Israel and their God, and he's he's angry at God's people for being unwilling to stand up, he volunteers to go and face the giant. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:25.839 And without getting into more detail, we know he goes out with simply his sling and five smooth stones, and he kills Goliath. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:30.799 It's an incredible story that you know we refer to today, right? 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.119 A great David and Goliath story. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.400 Well, what does that story mean for you? 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.559 What does it mean for me? 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:49.519 One message that we would often hear is well, David was passionate about God and willing to do courageous and dangerous things for God. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:52.160 Is that what we should be? 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:53.599 Should we be a David? 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.480 Is that why God gave us this passage? 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:59.759 Well, it's true that we should. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:07.359 Be courageous and do things courageously out of faith for God, but that is not why this passage is here. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:13.519 Here is, here's a here's a bit of a whatever. 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:16.160 You'll see, to help us understand. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:19.680 We don't want to go directly from the passage to ourselves. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:24.559 So first we need to understand the meaning of the passage for its original audience. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.920 Why was this passage, after we've read it, which we've just done, we've just recounted it. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:34.160 Second, we want to say, what did this, why was this story given to its original context? 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:40.880 And interestingly, side note, the original audience isn't David and the people of Israel in front of Goliath. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:44.480 It's the people who the story was written down for later. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.480 David was not just any Israelite. 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:54.480 Prior to the story, David has already been anointed as the future king over Israel. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:58.960 God has rejected Saul, though Saul still sits on the throne. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:04.160 And so in this passage, even as a young man, we are seeing that David is unique. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.839 He has been set apart by God and that God is uniquely with him. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:16.559 He is the man after God's own heart, and he is the one through whom God will work through his unusual zeal. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.839 Well, is that uh right. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:28.240 So that's what it meant for the people of God, that God provided a king who would lead and who would save Israel. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:35.759 But now, on the other side of the cross, we Christians know Jesus taught us that all of Scripture is about him. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:46.079 And so if we're gonna rightly interpret any passage of Scripture, we have to ask the question: how does this passage point to or is fulfilled in Christ? 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:56.160 Well, what we know through Jesus' ministry is that he is the perfect son of David who came to sit upon the throne of Israel forever. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.920 And in fact, that throne now encompasses the whole world. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:11.839 Jesus is our rightful king, the king of the whole earth, and he defeats our enemies, the enemies of sin, death, and Satan, while we watch in awe from the sidelines. 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:27.279 So the message of David, the story of David, was sent to comfort and teach Israel something about God, and then through its fulfillment, in the way it points to Christ, it teaches us about God's greater story of the gospel. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:32.240 And then forth and finally, coming from that, we can see what it means for us. 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:38.160 It teaches us that by faith, Jesus is our Savior and King. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:46.960 So rather than teaching us to go out and do courageous things, it teaches us to both worship and put our faith in King Jesus. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:49.200 David points us to Christ. 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:53.759 And we revel in the God who gave himself for us. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:58.079 We put our faith in him, and it is renewed and strengthened. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:06.160 Now, there are two ways that people interpret that lead us astray. 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:12.640 First, we're going to call allegory, and that's when we go straight from the passage to ourselves. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.880 Uh, and maybe you've heard this sermon. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.640 David, when he was confronted with Goliath, he went out and he gathered five smooth stones. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:28.880 Those five stones uh reflect five spiritual virtues, and these are the five spiritual virtues, and you should have those virtues. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.880 Okay, go home and be holy. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:42.160 Now, that may, through the grace of God, be a fine sermon, because those may be true five true spiritual virtues Scripture teaches us. 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:46.720 But that's not what those five smooth stones mean in the story. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.680 That's just a detail in the story. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:26:00.640 When we go straight from the passage to ourselves, even if the message of the sermon may be good, it is a poor use of interpretation and can often lead us astray. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:07.519 Second is when we go from that original meaning to ourselves, and that's often moralism. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:09.039 And that's what we were looking at before. 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:10.319 Be a David. 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:12.400 This is what David did. 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:13.839 You should go out and do it. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:19.839 And say, well, when you're anointed king or queen over Israel, maybe that's something that you can do. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:27.839 But for the rest of us, the scriptures themselves teach us that the point of the story is to point us to Jesus. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.160 So this is quick. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.440 Uh this may raise more questions than answers. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:49.519 But what I want to put in front of us, as we come to the scriptures, as we eat it and as we digest it, there are some simple interpretive rules that scripture itself teaches us that can help you in your own Bible study. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.079 Beloved, God has given us his word as a gift. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:02.720 Just as God became flesh and dwelt among us, he gave himself to us in the flesh, so he gives himself to us in his word. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:10.880 Now the scriptures themselves don't save us, but they tell us about and they point us to the one who does. 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:13.759 The scriptures are God's voice, God's word. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:23.920 And just as in any relationship with people with whom we commune, we have communication, we talk back and forth, we listen, we speak back. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.559 The scriptures are that conduit because it's living and active through the Spirit. 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:39.920 When we come to the Word and we meditate on it, we read it, we ingest it, we digest it, we commune with God, and we are changed into the image of Christ. 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:45.279 If you have any questions or if you need prayer, I'll be down front after this service. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:46.880 So please come and meet me. 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:48.240 Let's pray. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:54.160 Our Father and our God, uh, Lord, what a gift you've given us in the scriptures. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:57.200 We we can often become bored with your word. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:59.039 Lord, we repent of that. 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:00.400 I repent of that. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:06.319 Uh and we can often um neglect it, Lord, and and we repent of that. 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:11.119 Thank ye that you love us in Christ more than we deserve, more than we can imagine. 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:17.759 Uh, and you invite us, you don't guilt us, but you invite us to come and sit with you and to be changed. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:21.200 For that we rejoice, and we say thank you in Jesus' name. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:21.839 Amen.