CHRIST CENTRED BIBLE SATURATION

The Australia that I was born into was dominated by a philosophical worldview called modernism.

Modernism took hold during the 18th century and it trusted human intellect rather than God to solve the world's issues for us and to discover truth.

There was, however, a general agreement in modernism that there was a right and a wrong and it was universally true and it was absolute

and that objective truth could be known.

But at the time of my, when I was born around 1969, I was born in 1969, but around that kind of time in the 1960s,

the tide was starting to change and quite dramatically.

The worldview known as postmodernism began to emerge and postmodernism believes that there is no objective and absolute truth

that is to be understood and accepted, which ironically is in fact an absolute truth claim.

But that's another point.

Each individual is entitled to create and act on their own truth as they perceive it.

And this entitles them to live and to do whatever is right in their own eyes.

The final court of appeal on all religious and moral decisions is personal desire and opinion.

This view was captured brilliantly by the American moral and social philosopher Abraham Edel when he wrote in his book Ethical Judgment,

It all depends on where you are.

It all depends on who you are.

It all depends on what you feel.

It depends on how you feel.

It all depends on how you're raised.

It all depends on what is praised.

What's right today is wrong tomorrow.

Joy in France, but England sorrow.

It all depends on your point of view.

Australia or Timbuktu in Rome do as the Romans do.

If tastes just happen to agree, then you have morality.

But where there are conflicting trends, it all depends.

It all depends.

Very few, if any, have consciously adopted a postmodern view of thinking and living.

Most have taken it on without thought or without critique

because it's just part of the cultural soup that we've kind of been marinating in for so long.

The rejection of absolute truth sounds great.

It sounds liberating.

It sounds like it brings freedom.

But like any truth claims, there are consequences.

And so for the postmodernists, life has no meaning.

It is simply a game.

You are the only one who cares about you.

There is no story which is universally true.

Every claim to truth is simply a grasp of power.

And so therefore we must trust every claim to truth.

It also believes that there's no order.

Everything is random.

You have only one life.

There's nothing beyond this.

There's no truth.

There's nothing else out there.

And so live this life with a whole heap of gusto.

There's also an ability to say one thing but do something completely different

and not be concerned in any sense that there's an inconsistency with that

or to even feel any shame associated with that inconsistency.

And in the worst case scenarios, there is a complete disregard and rejection of all external authority

which ultimately, left unchecked, leads to anarchy and chaos.

But ultimately our justice system will ultimately hold you accountable

and so postmodernism prepares us for the jails is what it ultimately does.

It's one of the great tragedies of our age that there is a flippant attitude towards truth.

Our culture is drifting in a vast ocean with no solid anchor points

flipping here and there depending on where the tide's taking us at that particular point.

And this is where our core value of Christ-centered Bible saturation is so essential.

It's what our world needs.

It's what we need.

This value, like all of our values, we aspire to hold deep in our minds and our hearts

and for it to drive and to change our passions and our behavior.

And so this value, Christ-centered Bible saturation, is so profoundly more important than

a verse a day keeps the devil away, can't put an attitude to the Bible.

And one of the aims of what I'm hoping to do here today is to awaken in us

a passion for the sheer existence of truth

and for it to shape our behavior as we look at this core value

and what the scriptures and where we get it from in the scriptures.

So here we go.

The Bible makes the claim

that truth is what God speaks

and it is absolute truth

for every culture,

every generation,

every individual.

And the reason why God's word

is absolute truth

is because God is absolute reality,

ultimate reality.

Genesis 1 makes a very significant point

that there was no reality before God.

It says,

In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth

and the earth was formless and empty.

Before creation,

God was.

He stands outside of all things created.

He wasn't part of what was created.

God is from everlasting to everlasting.

He had no beginning and no end.

And the one who had no beginning,

but always was and is and will be,

he's the one who defines all things.

He is.

You remember,

for those of you who remember this,

Exodus 3,

Moses,

the burning bush,

and God tells Moses to get on back to Egypt

and tell Pharaoh,

the most powerful man in the world,

you better pull your socks up, dude,

because God's going to come and smash you.

Got the idea?

That's my,

that's a whole lot of chapters shrunk in a little bit.

And Moses is freaked out by this

because, you know,

what am I going to do?

And he says,

well,

what if they tell,

what if they ask me,

who sent me?

Who should I tell them?

Bob,

Bill,

I mean,

you know,

give us your name.

And God says,

I am who I am.

I just am.

That's it.

That's the best way you can define God.

He just simply is.

Now,

if I tried that and said to Isabel,

go and tell those people,

and they say,

well,

who sent you?

And say,

well,

I am sent me.

I mean,

that's just pretty much arrogance on my behalf.

But when you are ultimate reality,

when you're the ultimate being,

you just say,

I am,

I define all things.

My friends,

let it hit you,

the absoluteness of God's existence.

Never beginning,

never ending,

never becoming,

never improving.

Simply and absolutely there to be dealt with on his terms.

Or not at all.

Whether we want him to be there or not,

he is there.

We do not negotiate for what we want reality to be.

No ranting and raving or sophisticated doubt or skepticism has any effect on the existence of God.

He simply and absolutely is.

And if we don't like it,

we can change for our joy.

Or we can resist for our destruction.

But one thing remains absolutely unchanged.

God is.

He's the main thing in life because he's the main thing in the universe.

And he's the main thing in the universe because he's created all that is.

Romans 11,

36.

From him

and through him

and through him

and to him

are all things.

To him be glory forever.

Whichever way you want to come at it,

he is.

And it's all about his glory.

And so,

what that means is,

his reality is created by him,

determined by him,

defined by him.

And when God speaks,

he reveals reality.

He reveals the way things actually are.

Have a look at Psalm 119.

It was just read out to us.

Psalm 119,

Psalms 119:160

verse 160.

It says,

All your words are true.

All your righteous laws are eternal.

Now,

the word translated all there,

in the NIV,

literally means head.

It can mean the head of a body

or the head of a river

or the head of a tribe.

And the same word there

is used in Exodus,

Exodus 30:12

chapter 30,

verse 12.

When you take a census

of the Israelites

to count them,

it's also used

in Numbers,

Numbers 1:2

chapter 1,

verse 2,

which says,

Take a census

of the whole Israelite community

by their clans and families.

In both cases,

what Psalm 119 translates all,

they translate as census.

And what I think,

verse 160 is saying,

is that if you took a census,

a survey,

of the word of God,

then the conclusion

of that census and survey

would be that the sum total of it

is truth.

It is the word of God.

It is true.

The totality of the Bible is truth.

But notice the second half

of verse 160.

All your righteous laws are eternal.

And so it's not just the sum total

is truth.

It's all the individual parts

which are truth.

And so the census would reveal

that the whole and the parts

are all true.

They are true

because when God,

who is ultimate reality,

speaks,

he reveals the way things

actually are.

He reveals reality.

2 Corinthians 3,

2 Corinthians 3:16

verse 16,

says that all scripture

is God breathed.

The whole Bible

is,

comes out

from the mouth of God,

from the ultimate reality.

And when he speaks,

he speaks what is true.

So the Bible

is where God speaks

what is real

and absolute.

Now we haven't quite

got there yet.

We've still got a little bit

of work to do here.

And so far,

we've understood

that God is ultimate reality.

And when God speaks,

he speaks ultimate reality.

He speaks truth.

And truth

is when ultimate reality

and the revelation

of ultimate reality

or the communication

of ultimate reality

align with each other.

That's what truth is.

The opposite of truth

is lies.

And lies

are when reality

and what I communicate

about reality

don't align

with one another.

I'm feeling really rotten

and someone says to me,

how are you feeling?

I'm okay.

Liar.

Reality

and communication

don't align

with one another.

The place where reality

and the communication

and that reality

come together

in the most profound senses

is in the person

of Jesus Christ.

Firstly,

it's because Jesus

speaks truth.

Jesus says this.

John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

Go to John

because we're going to be

lingering there

for a little bit.

So John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

We're going to go to the back

and then move our way forward.

So have that in mind.

John chapter 18

John 18:37

verse 37.

Jesus says,

For this I came

into the world

to testify to the truth.

Everyone

on the side of truth

listens to me.

And Jesus is saying there

that he speaks truth

and if you want truth,

you listen to what Jesus says.

But he says something

even more profound

than that

a couple of chapters earlier

in John 14.

He says this

in verse 6.

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life.

And no one comes to the Father

except through me.

He doesn't just speak the truth.

He says,

I am the truth.

I am where

ultimate reality

and the communication

of ultimate reality

come together

in perfect alignment.

And he could only say that

if he was,

in fact,

God himself.

Which is, of course,

what John chapter 1 says.

John 1 · chapter mention

Flick over to John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

Remember what we've seen?

Ultimate reality.

God existed before

ultimate reality.

Sorry,

his ultimate reality

because he existed

before all things were created.

He defines everything.

Beginning of the Bible.

Before anything was made,

God was.

John chapter 1,

John 1:1

verse 1.

In the beginning

was the Word.

Now the Word

existed before anything was made.

And the Word was with God

and the Word

was God.

He was with God

in the beginning.

Verse 3.

Through him,

that is,

through the Word,

all things were made.

Without him,

nothing has been made

that has been made.

And so the Word

existed before

anything was created.

The Word

made everything

and the Word

is God.

That is,

the Word

is ultimate reality.

The Word

is absolute truth.

Then down

into verse 14,

we see something

startling.

this Word

became flesh

and made

his dwelling

amongst us.

And we have

seen his glory,

the glory of the one

and only

who came from the Father

full of grace

and truth.

And so the question is,

who then

is the Word

who is God,

who existed

before creation,

who created everything

and is full

of grace

and truth?

Well,

let's not

deliberate on that.

Let's go to verse 15.

John testifies

concerning him.

He cries out,

saying,

this was he

of whom I said,

he who comes

after me

has surpassed me

because he was

before me.

Verse 16,

for the fullness

of his grace,

we have all received

one blessing

after another.

Verse 17,

for the law

was given

through Moses,

grace and truth

came

through Jesus

Christ.

You see,

Jesus doesn't just

speak God's Word.

He is

the Word of God.

He is

the center,

the high point

of God's

self-revelation.

It's where

reality

and the communication

of ultimate reality

come together

in perfect alignment.

And Jesus

himself

endorses

the message

of Psalm 119

Psalms 119:160

verse 160

which says

that all of God's

Word eternal,

all his righteous

laws are true.

When Jesus

himself says

in Matthew

Matthew 5:17

chapter 5

verse 17,

do not think

that I've come

to abolish

the law

and the prophets.

I've not come

to abolish them

but to fulfill them.

I tell you the truth,

until heaven

and earth

disappeared,

not the smallest

letter,

not the least

stroke of a pen

will by any means

disappear from the law

until everything

is accomplished.

You see,

the main reason

that I wrestle

with the Old Testament

is because of the

ringing endorsement

that Jesus gives

of it as

the Word of God.

And so,

the sum

of truth

that I want

St. Paul's

to embrace

is the 66 books

of the Bible

with Jesus

as its center.

And that's what

makes his core value

called Christ-centered

Bible saturation,

so important

for us.

Jesus is the center

of God's

self-revelation.

And this is not

just essential

for us,

it is essential

for our world.

The Bible

is the way

that God,

the ultimate

and all-important

reality,

reveals himself

to us

with authority

and with clarity

today.

And if God

is more important

than anything,

then the Bible

is more important

than anything

but God.

And so,

we need,

as far as I'm

concerned,

to be saturated

in it.

Not the

minimalistic

type of Christian

that thinks,

like I said

before,

a verse a day

keeps the devil

away.

Saturated,

drenched through

with the Word

of God.

Truth,

clarity

of reality,

because everything

that we face

is touched

by the Bible.

It is either

touched directly

because it's

in the Bible

or it's

indirectly touched

because the

Bible shapes

the attitudes

and criteria

in which we

deal with it.

Now,

I have no doubt

that there are

plenty of things

that we need

to know about

in this world,

but the Bible

will be the sun

in the solar

system of all

that we learn.

It gives light,

it gives perspective,

it gives meaning.

Its truth

needs to permeate

everything.

It is not one

amongst many books,

it will be the

central book,

the all-permeating

book.

The other truths

are dark planets,

the Bible is the

light-giving sun.

All other truth

claims will be read

in the light of this

book,

all other things

will be judged

by this book.

All things will

find their meaning

in the world view

which is built

by this book,

which means that

this book,

the Bible must

be known first

and known better

than anything else

if you want

a firm foundation

in the way

things actually

are.

And if not,

we are like

a boat,

a drift

at sea,

tossed about

by every wave

and storm

and latest idea.

my friends,

this core value,

this truth

is so essential

in a world

that wants to

invent its own

truth

and with all the

consequences that

go with that.

And let's be

frank here,

what I've said

right now

ain't so popular

in our culture.

And so how

can this world

come to know

the truth

and be joyfully

confident in it?

How can they know

ultimate reality

and absolute truth?

How can they know

that the Bible

is true?

How can they

come to know

that Jesus

is the centre

of God's

self-revelation?

And let me tell you,

there's a temptation

here for us

to rely upon

intellectual arguments

that prove

that God,

that Jesus

is God.

and there are

so many

great arguments,

so many

external reasons

as to why

we would credit

Jesus

to be

the Son of God.

But the

external

evidences

are not

decisive

in and of

themselves.

I'm not saying

you shouldn't use them,

I'm saying

they're not

decisive

in and of

themselves.

You see,

the Pharisees

didn't conclude

that Jesus

was God

the Son

when they

saw

enough

evidence

in the

miracles

of

Jesus.

They were

literally

metres

away

when

Jesus

called

Lazarus

out

of

the

tomb.

A bloke

that they

themselves

had buried

four days

earlier.

They knew

he was

dead.

They were

metres

away.

Jesus

called

Lazarus

out of

the tomb.

He walks

out alive

and what

do they

do?

They

immediately

plotted

to kill

Jesus.

Instead

of going

God,

we were

wrong.

They

saw it.

The

evidence

was

there.

The

external

evidences

were not

and are

not

decisive

in and of

themselves.

And there's

only one

thing that's

decisive in

people seeing

truth.

Matthew

Matthew 16:13–17

16

verses

13

to 17.

When

Jesus

came to

the

region of

Caesarea

Philippi,

he asked

his

disciples,

who do

people say

the son

of man

is?

And

they

replied,

some say

John

the

Baptist,

others say

Elijah,

still others

Jeremiah,

one of the

prophets.

But what

about you,

he asked,

who do

you say I

am?

And

Simon

Peter

answered,

you are

the

Christ,

the son

of the

living

God.

the

conclusion

that the

Pharisees

didn't

come to

when they

saw

Lazarus

walking

out of

the

tomb.

What

does

Jesus

say to

him

in

verse

17?

Blessed

are you

Simon

son

of

Jonah

for

this

was

not

revealed

to

you

by

man

but

by

my

father

in

heaven.

My

father

opened

your

eyes

to

see

glory

is

what

happened.

When

God

the

father

opens

the

eyes

of

your

heart

you

will

see

and

you

will

know

the

facts

are

not

decisive

in

and

of

themselves.

It's

like me

trying to

explain

to you

that

this

chocolate

is

sweet

and

tastes

pretty

good.

And I

could

explain

it to

you by

reading

you some

of the

facts

that the

ingredients

are

sugar

and

cocoa

mass

and

vegetable

fats

and milk

fat

and this

contro

in it

and

a bunch

of other

numbers

and stuff

like that

and I

can

explain

to you

and say

those

things

combined

at the

right

sort

of

way

produces

something

that

tastes

pretty

good.

You

know

the

best

way

that I

can

help

you

understand

the

sweetness

of

chocolate

is

to

actually

get

a piece

out

and

to

put it

in your

mouth

rather than

just

mine

and go

what happens

is

I explain

the facts

to you

and you

go

oh yeah

yeah

put it

in your

mouth

and you

go

oh

oh

glory

glory

glory

you

see

the

sweetness

of

chocolate

is

self

authenticatingly

true

if

I

take it

out

and I

put it

in your

mouth

and you

don't

get it

I

can't

do

anything

for

you

I

can't

help

you

anymore

the

facts

won't

help

you

there's

only one

thing

my friends

that will

set us

out of

here

aflame

it's

all

gone

now

the

only

thing

that

will

send

us

out

of

here

aflame

with

the

glory

of

God

in

the

face

of

Christ

in

the

word

of

God

is

the

work

of

the

Father

helping

you

to

taste

that

the

Lord

is

good

that's

what

this

passage

in

2

Corinthians

4

1

to

6

is

so

helpful

for

us

so

flick

over

there

it's

essential

this

passage

therefore

starting

at

verse

1

therefore

since

through

God's

mercy

we

have

this

ministry

we

do

not

lose

heart

rather

we

have

renounced

secret

and

shameful

ways

we

do

not

use

deception

nor

do

we

distort

the

word

of

God

on

the

contrary

by

setting

forth

the

truth

plainly

we

commend

ourselves

to

every

man's

conscience

in the

sight

of

God

and

even

if

our

gospel

is

veiled

it

is

veiled

to

those

who

are

perishing

the

God

of

this

age

has

blinded

the

minds

of

unbelievers

so

they

cannot

see

the

light

of

the

gospel

of

the

glory

of

Christ

who

is

the

image

of

God

for

we

do

not

preach

ourselves

but

Jesus

Christ

as

Lord

and

ourselves

as

your

servants

for

Jesus

sake

for

God

said

verse

4

says

that

all

human

beings

are

blind

the

devil

that

is

blind

to

glory

of

Christ

the

devil

combines

with

our

own

corruption

to

cause

blindness

what

are

we

blind

to

it's

not

the

facts

I

want

to

emphasize

this

it's

not

the

facts

about

Jesus

because

the

devil

gets

many

of

the

facts

about

Jesus

right

the

devil

knows

that

Jesus

died

he

knows

that

he

died

for

sin

he

knows

that

he

rose

again

but

he

doesn't

see

any

of

that

as

glorious

what

we

are

blind

to

is

the

glory

of

the

facts

about

Jesus

many

people

including

those

who have

sat

in church

for

years

acknowledge

the

facts

about

Jesus

but

they

don't

actually

treasure

them

they

know

about

Jesus

but

they

don't

treasure

him

they

know

the

Bible

but

they're

not

shaped

by

that

they

haven't

seen

the

beauty

of the

facts

the

compelling

worth

of the

facts

they

haven't

seen

verse

for

the

glory

of

Christ

what

has

to

happen

verse

five

sorry

verse

six

for

God

who

said

let

light

shine

our

darkness

made

his

light

shine

our

hearts

to

give

us

the

light

of

the

knowledge

of

the

glory

of

God

in

the

face

of

Christ

that

is

what

has

happened

to

everyone

here

who

has

put

their

faith

in

Jesus

Matthew

16

16

to

17

is

what

happened

to

you

the

father

has

revealed

truth

to

you

it's

not

because

you're

smart

it's

not

because

you're

eloquent

it's

not

because

you're

clever

than

anyone

else

it's

because

the

father

has

taken

your

blindness

and

helped

you

to

see

that

in

itself

is

a

reason

for

humble

authenticity

but

we'll

get

to

that

in

a

couple

of

weeks

now

that

doesn't

mean

that

we

don't

do

anything

verse

4

says

people

are

blind

verse

6

says

God

calls

them

to

see

and

right

in

between

those

two

is

verse

5

which

reveals

the

means

by

which

God

causes

eyes

to

open

so

that

they

taste

and

they

see

truth

glory

for

we

do

not

preach

ourselves

but

Jesus

Christ

as

your

servants

as

Lord

as

King

as

Master

as

God

as

ultimate

reality

our

job

in

this

world

uncertain

and

wary

of

any

truth

is

to

so

portray

the

truth

of

the

Bible

and

especially

the

center

of

it

the

center

of

it

being

the

light

of

the

gospel

of

the

glory

of

Christ

who

is

the

image

of

God

combined

with

the

prayer

that

God

would

do

his

work

convicting

so

that

people

might

see

Jesus

and

while

we

are

reading

the

ingredients

so to

speak

and

explaining

this

sweetness

of the

facts

God

might

unwrap

a piece

and put

in

people's

mouth

and they

go

Jesus

I see

him

and

if

that

happens

suddenly

all

the

defenses

will

fall

down

and

Jesus

will

be

irresistibly

compelling

as

true

and

beautiful

and

glorious

before

I

became

a

Christian

I

read

the

Bible

back

to

front

four

times

and

I

didn't

see

Jesus

I

heard

one

bloke

preach

one

night

and

I

just

went

oh

it

all

makes

sense

and

it's

not

because

I

read

it

through

the

fifth

time

it's

because

God

just

calls

me

to

see

my

friends

it is

simply

breathtaking

that

God

who

made

everything

controls

everything

as a

person

has

actually

spoken

to

us

it

is

impossible

for me

to stand

up here

and

actually

overstate

that

very

simple

and

basic

truth

God

has

spoken

to

us

we

are

not

left

without

a

knowledge

of

his

will

we

are

not

left

without

wisdom

we're

not

left

without

a

well

of

knowledge

that

will

never

run

dry

we're

not

left

without

a

revelation

of

the way

of

salvation

the way

of

everlasting

joy

he

has

left

us

without

a

way

to

measure

every

single

vital

thing

that we

face

in

life

including

all

of the

alternative

truth

claims

that are

currently

coming

at

us

this

is

simply

priceless

in a

world

with

little

grasp

or

of

truth

or

meaning

or

purpose

or

reality

and I

would

suggest

that if

we

could

awaken

to

this

truth

in

our

life

together

as a

church

just

imagine

how we

would

live

just

imagine

how we

would

navigate

the

complexity

of life

in this

world

the

implications

for our

lives

would be

countless

and

it

would

be

vital

and