“The Cure for the Common Cold” part 1 (Getting warm with your Bible)
Brian A. Moon
Story – I grew up in the church, I mean every time the doors were open I was there… I have heard all kind of great sermons and been to all of the youth camps and came back so “on fire” for God after each one but I never really kept any kind of consistent passion for God until my senior year of high school. I was really having a hard time deciding what to do with my life and one night at youth group I had a pastor friend of mine challenge me to get my nose into my Bible and read. I thanked him for what I thought was lame advice, I knew the Bible, I had gone to church all my life, but that night I opened it up and began to read, and then the next night and then the next night and on and on I went. It was amazing, I found myself actually wanting to read my Bible, and the tough questions I was facing all seemed easy now. I was seeking God through his word and I found an amazing love for him that I had never had before.
So what does that story have to do with anything, well let me ask you a question and then maybe it will make more sense… How many of you have been “on fire” for God at some point in your life, I mean so on fire that you were ready to charge hell with a water pistol…
Only to then find yourself back to normal in a few short weeks or months. All of us have had these times when God was all we could think about, and getting out there and doing some kind of ministry was all we wanted to do. It might have been that initial salvation process in our life, or maybe a youth camp, or mission trip, or some powerful church service or event, but we were “on fire”!!! Tonight we begin a new series called “The Cure for the Common Cold” and no, we are not going to be talking about how to cure a virus that causes us to sniff and cough, But instead we are going to tackle that virus that causes us to lose that fire and passion for God. How do we keep that fire that burns for God on these special events to stay all year round? This is what we are going to be talking about for the next 4 weeks. The answer to our dilemma might be found in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Some quick background into this verse reveals that John, the author of this book, is writing down a vision from God and records this message for a church in Ephesus:
Revelation 2:4 – 5 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” NRSV (italics mine)
Notice that last part, “and do the works you did at first.” You see this church had lost its love for God that it once had, much like the problem we have encountered from time to time, and look at the solution there, They were to do the works, or things, that they did when they were first discovering this love for God. Now fast forward to us today, when we find ourselves not so hot for God we should go back to certain things that we did in the beginning, or should have done. Things like reading our Bibles, praying, giving of ourselves, and hanging out with other believers. These are known as spiritual disciplines and just like an athlete trains, these are our tools for training. The result will be a passion and fire for God that will last! The first thing we are going to look at is reading our Bibles. Some of us have grown up in the church and have a clue as to what this book is that people call the Bible, And some of us have no clue as to what the Bible really is, all we know is second hand information. Even some of you that have grown up in the church may only have second hand information about the Bible; you might not have ever picked one up for yourself in your life. But it does not matter, as of tonight we are all on equal ground, we all have something we can learn about the Bible!
Some of you may be thinking, “Oh great we are going to be talking about the Bible, it is so boring…” In fact a Bible publishing company did a survey to see why Americans did not read the Bible and the results were:
They did not have enough time
It was too hard to understand
It did not relate to their lives
When I see these results I am not shocked, think about it for a moment, If I knew it did not relate to me today, and I could not make sense of it, then of course you would not find time for it. It is obvious that most people do not know how it relates to them today, and they have not been taught how to make sense of it, But that is going to change hopefully for you tonight. Then you will see this book for the amazing gift that it is, instead of that boring Bible. A good starting place for this is at the beginning so:
What is the Bible?
The Bible is not “a book” singular, but instead it is 66 individual books that have been what is known as canonized. No, that doesn’t mean they put them in a cannon and shot it off, but it means that these are the books that have stood the test of time as the true Words of God. Multiple groups of people of all different nationalities and backgrounds in many diverse locations have all separately come to accept these 66 books as “The Bible.” It is separated into 2 main sections, The Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Old Testament deals with the creation and the fall of man, the flood and the ark, the patriarchs or faithful men that God chose to become his people and the nation of Israel, Moses and the Egyptians, a promiseland and kings, prophets and exile, return to the promise land and the promise of the Messiah, or Savior. The New Testament deals with the promised Messiah or the birth of Jesus Christ and his life, ministry, and death. It contains the history of the early church and the end of time. Throughout all of these places and people there are some main themes that come out of the story of the Bible, Just like a quilt is made up of many patches of material so the Bible and its diverse books all come together and make a single unit with themes like:
God and his sovereign plan for our world and humanity.
God as a personal and knowable god.
God as the loving redeemer of mankind.
But if you had to come up with just one theme for the entire Bible you would have to say, Jesus Christ.
The promise of the Old Testament and the hope and salvation of New Testament, Jesus and the salvation that comes through him is what all scripture points to. Also interesting is that the Bible is unique because it took far longer than most books to finish, for example: The Old Testament encompasses around 4,500 years of time, while the New Testament takes up less than 100 years of time. And to make things more interesting the order of the books (Genesis – Revelation) are not in chronological order. There are thousands of other facts and things that are important in a complete understanding of the Bible, but in the interest of time these are the most important for us to get a feel of what the Bible is tonight. The next thing you might ask now is:
Why should I read the Bible,
Is it trustworthy?
Let’s look at the first question,
Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” NRSV
What is the encouragement of the scriptures that brings hope? The main theme that we just talked about, the scriptures point to Jesus Christ and the salvation that he brings, that is the hope for all the ages.
God has given us his very words to instruct or guide us into enlightenment of who He is and how to gain salvation from sin and destruction.
Psalm 19:7 – 10 “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” NRSV
It is through the reading, teaching, and studying of the Bible that we are made aware of our sins and our need for God, And through it we find our hope, we find our reward for following its teachings, we find our salvation in Christ. “OK, I am saved and I know all that stuff about Jesus, why should I read it now?”
Hebrews 4:12 – 13 “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” NRSV
It is through reading the Bible that God leads us into greater Christlikeness. It is through the Bible that we find the things that please God and the things that break his heart. It is through the Bible that we find the standard by which we will judged one day and held accountable to. It is through the Bible that we mature in our Christian walk and get to know the God of all creation on an intimate basis. This is why we need to read the Bible! Charles Spurgeon one of the greatest preachers of all time said this once, “A Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to someone who is not.” When we read the Bible we are made aware of the life that God has for us, and the promises of power, protection, purpose, and provision all become apart of who we are.
“But is it trustworthy” some of you might ask?
The Bible itself speaks to its trustworthiness in 2 Timothy
2 Timothy 3:16 - 17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” NRSV
The word “inspired” here could literally mean, God breathed, so the scriptures become the very word of God. Some of you might see the logical fallacy of appealing to the very source that you are trying to prove for proof, But when you are trying to prove the supreme anything, such as scripture being trustworthy, at some point you must appeal to that source. Otherwise it is not the most supreme. The bottom line though, is that the Bible is trustworthy and when applied correctly to your life, will radically change you into a child of God that seeks him with all your heart. “But what about the Bible being hard to understand, how do I get something out of it?” The final thing I want to look at is:
How do I make reading
the Bible meaningful?
This is the important part of tonight’s message so get ready to pay close attention if you have dozed off…
The first thing that you need to do is NOT go home and find that dusty old Bible that is sitting on the living room table for decoration. It more than likely is a King James Version of the Bible that has language more familiar to Shakespeare than to you and me.
Step 1. Get a good version of the Bible
Here is my suggestion: Go and find, or buy, one of these translations, and if you cannot afford it come and see me after this is over.
New Revised Standard Version, or NRSV
New King James Version, or NKJV
New International Version, or NIV
These versions of the Bible are all more literally based, meaning they hold close to the original languages but at the same time are very readable. If you find these hard to read still you can explore these versions that are less literal for the sake of being easier to read.
New Living Translation, or NLT
Contemporary English Version, CEV
If you have the money I also recommend getting a Study Bible, some good ones are:
NRSV Harper Study Bible
NIV Study Bible
Both of these are available at Christianbook.com for around $31, it is a great investment that will have eternal payoffs!!! Now that you have a good version in front of you, you are ready for step 2.
Step 2. Find the time
As we talked about in the beginning, people just don’t make time for the Bible, but now that you are somewhat familiar with it, and know why we should read it, now you must make the time for it, you must make it a priority. There is a wide range of advice on this subject, some say only in the morning, some say at night, but here is my advice to you: Find the time in the day when you are at your best. Some of us are morning people, some blossom in the afternoon and then some are night owls. You know which you are, lets say you are a night person… Set aside a time every day that you know you can have 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time and make that your Bible time.
Write it on a calendar, or planner if you have to, but set that time aside as sacred. Now sit down and get comfortable, not too comfortable that you might fall asleep, but comfortable enough that you won’t be squirming every 2 minutes. Maybe a desk with a lamp, or a dinning room table, or a comfortable chair in a well lighted area, just find a quiet spot that you can claim as yours. Don’t try to find a new spot everyday, make that chair or table your private Bible reading area. Now that you have a good version of the Bible, and the time and the place you are now ready to open the Bible up and begin.
Step 3. Reading and finding meaning
The mistake that many make is to open up the natural beginning of the book and start, this is again NOT what to do with the Bible. Remember I said that the books are not in chronological order, well they are not even in any order that will gain you anything by reading them as they are. Start with these books instead of Genesis and read your way down the list.
New Testament Books
James
1 John
John
Luke
Philippians
Galatians
Ephesians
Old Testament Books
Proverbs
Esther
Jonah
Psalm
Genesis
After you read through these books you can work your way through the rest of the New Testament and then the Old Testament books. Now that we have a book to read, how do we read it?
1. Pray and ask God to speak to you.
John 16:13 – 14 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. NRSV
As Christians we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to us to help us in things such as this.
2. Don’t read for quantity, but for quality
The goal of reading the Bible is not to get through it in a month, but instead it is to conform ourselves to the message of scripture. This takes time and this is the way the Bible should be read, SLOWLY!
“Imagine for a moment that you have just received a hand written letter from a dear friend who lives at a great distance and from whom you have not heard in a long while. What would you anticipate about this letter… Eagerness for news could tempt you to devour each page as quickly as possible, yet the sheer delight of spending precious time in your friends company might compel you to slow down, savoring the words, phrases, and images written specifically for you” – Marjorie J. Thompson (Soul Feast)
Just like if someone wrote you a love letter you would take your time and enjoy it, take your time and enjoy reading the Bible. Don’t try to read an entire book in one setting, but instead read a verse or two, maybe a chapter at most. Begin your reading where you left off the day before and read until a word, a phrase, or a verse jumps off the page and captures your attention.
It is a word that seems to speak directly to you and your situation. That is your word from God. Take a moment and read it out loud a few times and then write it down or underline it.
3. Finding the meaning
Biblical scholars have argued and debated how do you find the meaning of a scripture for years and have yet to settle on the way to it. But here are some things you can do with your word from God that you have now obtained.
Read your word in its overall setting in Scripture: what clues are there as to what was going on during this time, what did the verse before and after this say?
Ask questions of your word: Who was this written to, why was it written, who wrote this?
How is my life or situation similar to this word: how does this apply to my life?
Finally, it is up to God to impart divine understanding and to show you why this word from him is meaningful. Maybe you need comfort or hope, maybe you need correction or direction, maybe you need guidance or wisdom, and maybe you need this for someone else… Take what you have learned now and write it down as a prayer to God, include the word that he gave you from before in this prayer. That’s it, you did it!!! You have read the Bible and gained something from it. A quick word of caution before we end tonight, there might be some times when you are not getting much out of what you are reading, don’t worry this is natural. God speaks to us at different times, but don’t give up! Keep reading and trying, God has gone to great lengths to give us this Bible and he wants to speak to you through it.
Prayer Time -----------------
God we come to you tonight eager pilgrims on a journey through your word and we ask for clarity and insight as we partake in your word. Help us to have the desire to get into the Bible and read it with diligence. Thank you for this precious gift. Make us more like its message. Amen.
