Abiding in His Word

Good morning, Watermark. It's good to see you all here this morning.

Last week, we started looking at what it means to abide in God,

and this week we continue in the same passage.

So I hope that you've been enjoying the Bible reading plan

and have been abiding in God's Word.

Today's reading comes from John chapter 15, starting in verse 1.

John 15 · chapter mention

We read,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away,

and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Abide in me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers,

and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit,

and so prove to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,

just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be full.

This is the word of God.

Great, thank you.

So let's pray together as we come and consider this passage.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit,

we come before you this morning.

We come to your word because we need you.

We need your word to speak to us.

God, we want to encounter you, the living God, in your living word.

And so, Father, this morning we don't come just to hear ideas.

We don't hear just for a prep talk, just to get us going for another week.

We come to, in our weakness, in our shame, in our joys, in our trials,

we come to you, the fountain of life, the fountain of living water.

We come because our souls are dry apart from you,

and you alone can satisfy us.

So, God, I pray, won't you open the eyes of our hearts to behold wonders in your word.

God, won't you help us to see what you want us to see.

Won't you both challenge and encourage us.

And most importantly, Jesus, come and speak to us this morning.

We pray this in your wonderful and your gracious name.

Amen.

Thank you, Celeste, for reading.

Well, as Celeste said, we are spending a couple of weeks in John 15,

this very wonderful, very famous passage of Scripture,

where Jesus essentially tells us that the source of life,

the source of the abundant life, is found in Him.

He says that we are not the center of our lives.

Jesus is not an accessory to our lives.

He is the source and the root of the abundant, the flourishing life.

And that life, we only flourish as we come to Him

and embed our lives in Him, as we are united in Him.

The word He uses is abide in Him.

And so, verse 4 and 5 is kind of the main idea of this passage.

Jesus says,

Abide in me as I abide in you.

As a branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit, or she it is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

And Jesus says He's not just like a branch,

one of the many branches in our lives.

We've got a financial branch and a religious branch and a family branch.

He's not just an accessory to our lives.

He is the source of life, and we find life as we embed ourselves in Him.

And in many ways, we've said that as a church,

we feel like the Scripture is so important for us this year.

This year, what are we going to do this year?

What are we going to give ourselves to?

There's so much of this year which is beyond our control.

We're not able to predict.

Who knows what the next 12 or 18 or 24 months looks like.

But the one thing we can do, if you're a follower of Jesus,

the one thing we must do is be abiding in Christ,

rooted in Christ, finding our life in Christ.

And so today and next Sunday,

we're going to kind of drop that down a little

and get a little bit more granular and say,

okay, well, what does that actually mean?

What does that look like?

And it's not going to be extremely practical,

but it's hopefully going to be one level down,

a little bit more granular.

And in John 15, there's two things that Jesus tells us.

We're going to look at one of them this week,

one of them next week, okay?

So, but before we dive in, let me ask you a question.

Whose voice has most shaped your life and your worldview?

What word that somebody has spoken to you or spoken over you

has most shaped your life and the person that you are today?

It could be for positive or for negative,

a word of encouragement, a word of criticism,

a word of a parent, a teacher, a friend.

Whose word, whose voice has most shaped your life?

And in what way in particular has that word

made you the person that you are today?

As you think about that, John 15, Jesus says,

abide in me as I in you.

A branch cannot bear fruit in this that abides in me,

and neither can you.

But then look at what Jesus says in verse seven.

Jesus tells us what that actually means

and what that looks like.

He says in verse seven,

let me just get it in my Bible here.

Sorry.

Jesus says,

if you abide in me and my words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

So how do we abide in Christ this year?

Or to use the imagery from last week,

how do we not just plug our lives into Jesus now and then

for a quick 20 minute recharge,

but rather embed the circuit board of our lives into Christ

so that he is the one that's sustaining us and carrying us?

How do we do that?

Jesus says,

one of the ways we abide in Christ

is by abiding in his word.

You see that?

Abide in me,

and if my words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

Now,

today we're going to look at this verse

and there's three things that are surprising about this verse.

The first one is the second half.

Look at what he says.

Jesus says,

if you do this,

ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

That sounds like a unusual blank check, right?

Jesus says,

whatever you wish,

ask,

your wish is my command.

Okay?

Second thing that's unusual is,

look at how the first half of the verse

is almost identical to verse four,

except there's one change.

Look at verse four.

Jesus says,

abide in me and I in you.

Now verse seven,

Jesus says,

if you abide in me and my words abide in you.

So what's Jesus saying here?

It almost seems like what Jesus is saying

is that his words are synonymous with Christ himself,

which is an unusual thing to say

and almost blasphemous in some ways.

You think of the eternal,

uncreated,

sovereign God,

the one who spoke creation and the universe into being,

Jesus Christ,

and now Christ elevates something else

almost to the same level as him.

If I abide in you,

abide in me and I abide in you,

now he says,

abide in me and let my words abide in you.

It seems unusual.

And yet,

actually throughout scripture,

this is something we see again and again,

that God says,

what his word does is what he does.

God again and again throughout scripture

almost raises his word to the status of God himself.

Very,

we often quote Psalm 29.

You might have heard it before.

It says,

the word of the Lord breaks the cedars.

In other words,

strongholds.

The next line says,

God himself breaks the cedars.

What God's word does is what God does.

A few weeks ago,

Neil preached on Psalm 107.

Psalm 107 talks about these various scenarios

when people are in a difficult situation

and they cry out to God

and God delivers them.

Look at verse 19.

They cried out to the Lord in their trouble.

He delivered them from their distress.

He sent out his word

and he healed them.

He delivered them from their destruction.

Now the psalmist is not saying

that God sent them a Bible,

but he's saying that he sent them his word,

his word of hope,

his word of redemption.

God revealed who he was

and that delivered them.

It saved them.

It's amazing that scripture

plays such high emphasis

on God's word,

his instructions,

his promises,

his teaching,

what he reveals about himself.

And yet if you think about that,

that actually makes sense

because that's true

of most of our relationships.

If I say to my kids,

please will you pick up your towel

after you shower

and hang it up

so that it dries

and my kids look at me

and say,

nah.

Okay.

Why do I take such offense at that?

They're not just rejecting my words,

they're actually rejecting me.

If you say to somebody at work,

listen,

please don't do this

and then they go

and do that exact thing,

they're not just rejecting your words,

they're showing disdain for you,

right?

In the same way,

Jesus here

says that his words

are so important

because it's one of the ways

that we encounter Christ himself.

Think of Hebrews chapter four,

it says God's word

is living and active.

Part of what that means

is the way that God works

is through his word

but also it's the way

that God presences himself,

the way he reveals himself to us

is through his word

which is why

when we come to God's word

what we hope to do

is actually to encounter

the living God himself

not just read words on a page.

And so Jesus says the same thing,

he says,

how do you relate to me?

To my words,

what it says is actually

how do you relate to me?

And Charles Spurgeon

in typical fashion

says this,

if Christ's words

will not abide in you

both as belief and practice,

you are not in Christ.

Christ and his gospel

and his commands are one.

If you will not have Christ

and his words,

neither will he have you

nor your words.

And so Jesus says,

abide in me

and let my words abide in you.

To be frivolous

or dismissive

about what Jesus says

is to be frivolous

or dismissive

about Jesus himself.

But thirdly,

notice the third thing

that's interesting

about this verse.

And this is what I want us

to spend a bit of time

thinking about.

A few months ago

when we planned

this kind of preaching series,

we thought,

okay, we'll do John chapter 15

John 15 · chapter mention

verse one.

Week two,

we'll do something

on the Bible

and how to have devotions

and long words

and long devotions

because Jesus says,

abide in me

and abide in my words,

right?

But this week

as I started

to think about

and study it,

I actually saw

that's not what Jesus says.

Jesus doesn't say,

abide in me

and abide in my words.

What does he say?

Abide in me

and let my words

abide in you.

You see the difference

between those two?

They're very similar,

but there's a difference.

What is Jesus saying?

Jesus is not just telling us

to do more stuff,

to be more disciplined,

to be more devoted,

to if you normally spend

five minutes in devotions

and not to spend

ten minutes in devotions.

Jesus is not just telling us

what to do.

He says,

let his words,

which means his teachings,

his instructions,

his promises,

but most importantly,

his revelation

of who he is,

let that so reside in us,

so abide within our hearts,

as the psalmist says,

to hide it deep

within our hearts

that it shapes

our worldview,

our life,

our motivations,

our responses to situations.

It shapes our hearts.

Jesus doesn't just say,

spend more time

reading my Bible.

He says,

let my words,

in other words,

let who I am,

abide in your heart

in such a way

that it shapes you

and the person

that you become.

So Jesus is not just calling us

to be better disciplined.

He's calling to let Christ himself

to reside in us

so that he shapes our life,

our worldview.

His voice becomes

the most powerful

and shaping voice

in our lives.

So to come back

to the question

we said earlier,

whose voice,

whose word

has most shaped you

in your life?

whose word,

whose voice

has shaped your worldview,

how you see the world

and how you see yourself?

Maybe for some of us,

it was a parent

or a grandparent,

a teacher,

maybe a caregiver,

maybe a sibling

or a boss

or a friend.

Friends,

whose words

have you taken

so deeply into your heart

that they've lodged

in your heart

and shaped the way

that you see the world

and see yourself?

for positive

or negative.

Maybe some of us

had a parent

who,

when we were younger,

said to us,

you'll never amount

to anything.

Or maybe you had a teacher

who called you lazy

or stupid

and you took that

deep in your heart

and it shaped the way

that you saw yourself.

Friends,

maybe it wasn't

anything specific

that somebody said.

Maybe it was just

a set of circumstances.

Maybe you went to

boarding school

at this young age

and you always

had to fend

for yourself.

And so the word

that shaped your heart

is nobody will ever

be there to protect you.

You're going to have

to fend for yourself

in this world.

Maybe it's just

the worldview

of Hong Kong's performance

and comparative culture

that deeply resides

in our hearts.

In order to be considered

not a failure,

a success in life,

you have to do something

that proves

that you're better

than those around you.

And so this word

drives you.

It drives your work performance.

It drives the way

you relate to others.

It drives you.

This word

that drives you.

Friends,

you see,

most of us here

are followers of Jesus

and yet what Jesus says here,

you can wake up

every morning,

have a devotion,

tick that off

on your list

and go off to work

and yet have some

other word

that's driving you

because something else

is the word

that's abiding

in your heart.

There's something else

that drives

your motivation.

It's what really

shapes your sense

of self-worth,

your behavior,

your relationships,

your idea of what

a successful life

looks like.

It's not who Christ is

and what Christ says

in his word.

It's what your boss says.

It's what your colleagues say.

It's what your parents say

or your teacher

or sibling

or a friend.

And you know

that it's possible

to live

driven by a word

even in reaction

to a word.

And so maybe

you're here this morning

and you said

I will never be

like my parents.

Do you see that

that word

is still controlling you?

It's the word

that's driving you.

And whatever I do

I won't be like my brother.

I won't be like my sister.

Jesus here says

that the way

to abide in Christ

is to have his word

abiding in our heart

to be the word

that shapes our lives

and permeates

our worldview

and who we are.

When I was growing up

my dad used to

say to me

and my brothers

fairly regularly

used to say

I want you to know

there's nothing

that you can do

in the entire world

that will stop me

loving you.

I may be angry

I may be disappointed

but there's nothing

that you can do

that will stop

my love for you.

Well for about

10 or 15 years

I never really

put that to the test.

And one day

when I was 18 years old

I was in boarding school

I was in my final year

of school

and I did something

really stupid

at school

and we were caught

and I was grounded

in the boarding house

for a month

I was a prefect

at school

and that was taken away

for the rest of term

and all the privileges

were taken away

and I knew

I had to go

and tell my dad

about what I had done.

And I was a little nervous

I knew there'd be consequences

I knew he'd be

pretty cross

but the one thing

I knew

was that for 15 years

he'd been telling me

there's nothing

that you can do

that will ever

make me question

my love for you.

And so while I had to

I can still remember

walking to my dad's study

one night

and telling him

what had happened

and one thing

I knew

I never for a second

guessed his love

or his commitment

or his affirmation

for me.

It's a word

that shaped my life.

Well you can imagine

what I try

and tell my kids

once a week

I try and tell my kids

Sierra, Shiloh

I want you to know

there's nothing

that you can do

that will stop

our love for you.

I want my kids

to be rooted

and grounded

in this word.

But actually

more than just

my love for them

I want my kids

to be rooted

and grounded

in who Christ

says about them

and Christ's word

for them.

And so one of the ways

that we do this

is I take my kids

to school every morning

in Light Ucock

and so we catch

the MTR

at 7 o'clock

from Admiralty Station

and go up to Light Ucock

and we've got 20 minutes

on the train.

And we don't do this

every day

but a couple of times

a month

we run through

this little routine

and I ask my kids

a bunch of questions.

I say

Sierra, Shiloh

what is the gospel?

They say

the gospel is

Jesus died

and rose again

that I can be forgiven

and included

in his family.

Sierra and Shiloh

who loves you most?

God loves me most.

Who loves you second most?

Mom and Dad

loves me second most.

Sierra and Shiloh

who does God the Holy Spirit

say you are?

One who is washed and cleaned.

Who does God the Son say you are?

One who is righteous and forgiven.

Who does God the Father say you are?

One who is loved and adopted.

Sierra and Shiloh

who are you?

I'm a sinner saved by grace.

And Sierra and Shiloh

what is grace?

God's undeserved mercy.

And what can you do

through his grace and power?

Hard things.

And so a couple of times a week

a couple of times a month

we run through this question.

And the reason is this.

Because I know at school

they're going to have difficult days.

A kid's going to be unkind to them.

They're going to bomb out

on an assignment.

Some teacher's going to give them

a bad grade.

Something's going to go wrong.

They're going to do something stupid

and face the consequences.

And in that moment

I want my kids

to be so rooted and grounded.

I want a word

that's abiding in their hearts.

It says

there is a God who loves me

and there's a mom and dad

who loves me.

And who am I?

Yes I'm a sinner

but I'm loved by grace.

And I can do hard things

by his grace and power.

Friends

but is that not true of us as well?

Friends

things are going to happen to us.

You're going to get overlooked

for a promotion

three years in a row.

Right?

You're going to apply for that job

and you're going to get turned down

for the tenth time.

You're going to fail an exam

at university.

Your boss is going to shout at you.

Things are going to happen.

Life happens.

What word is residing

and abiding in your heart

as you go through

the stuff of life?

Jesus says

there is a word

that you need

that's going to abide

in your heart.

If you're going to abide

in Christ this year

you need more than

just a five minute devotion.

You need his word

abiding in your life

and in your heart

shaping you

to who you become.

And maybe something

really good happens.

Right?

It's not only bad things.

Maybe you get

a double promotion.

Maybe you get

a huge bonus

and you got more money

than you know

what to do with.

Maybe you inherit

millions of dollars

from some family member

you didn't even know existed.

And now suddenly

you are the king

of the town.

How is that not going

to change you?

How are you not going

to become pride

and self-reliant?

You need a word

that's residing

in your heart.

You need to abide

in Christ.

You need Christ's word

to abide in you.

Jesus says this.

Jesus says

we'll never abide

in Christ deeply.

He'll never become

the source of our life

and the real stuff of life

the real matters of life

until his words

become the predominant

shaping voice

in our life.

The most active ingredient

that shapes who we are

and how we see the world

and see ourselves.

Jesus said

that if the son

sets you free

you are free indeed.

But you know

how the son

sets us free?

He gives us a word

that cuts against

all the lies

and the untruths

of the world.

And so the world

tells you

if you're ready

to be successful

you've got to get

that promotion

you've got to get

that job

you've got to hit

the status of society

and you become

a slave to that word.

Jesus says

I've come to set you free.

How?

By giving you another word

that says

your life is found in me.

Friends,

sometimes the world

tells you

you'll never amount

to anything

or your teacher

says something

or your colleague

says something

and you're a slave

to that word.

Jesus says

he's come to set you free.

How?

By giving you another word.

The word says

that your life

is found in him.

If you are to abide

in Christ

and to bear fruit

you must let

his word

abide in you.

Now

one of the best places

to see this

in scripture

is to go to

Psalm chapter 1.

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

If you've got

your bulletin

in front of you

you'll see

on the other side

of the scripture

reading is Psalm 1

and turn with me

there quickly.

I want us to

look at it.

Psalm 1 is amazing.

It's the first

of the Psalms

but it's not

the first of the Psalms

by chance.

It's the entry point

into all of the Psalms

and the way

that we read

and understand

if we listen

to the message

of Psalm 1

we really can listen

to all of the Psalms

but Psalm 1

compares

the life

that is shaped

by two different voices

and so look at

what he says

verse 1

he says

blessed is the man

or the woman

or the student

who walks

not in the

counsel of the wicked

nor stands

in the way of sinners

nor sits

in the seat

of scoffers

but his delight

is in the law

of the Lord

and on his law

he meditates

day and night.

Here we have this

Psalm 1

really is a sustained

contrast between

two lives

that are shaped

by two voices

two words

the voice

of those

that know God

or the voice

of God's word

and the voice

of those

that don't know God

and it's not just

knowing God's word

it's having God's word

deeply penetrating

our life

and shaping

our life.

Here

Psalm 1

the word

law

doesn't just mean

religious rules

and regulations

it means

in Hebrew

the word Torah

means God's

instruction to us

his revelation

of who he is

who we are

in him

how he's called

us to live

our lives

and the psalmist

here says

blessed

or flourishing

or happy

fruitful

abundant

is the person

who takes

on God's word

and delights

in it

who allows

God

who meditates

on God's word

who allows

God's word

into their heart

to shape them

who ponders it

and consumes it

and thinks

about it

Psalm 19

says

Psalm 119

says

the one

who hides

God's word

deep in his

heart

or as Jesus

says

the one

who allows

God's word

to abide

in him

and look at

verse 3

he compares

these two

he says

the one

who's hidden

God's word

in his heart

that his life

is shaped

by it

this person

is like a tree

similar to

John 15

right

and he says

it's a tree

that's planted

by streams

of living water

who yields

its fruit

in the season

whose leaf

does not

wither

in all

that he

does

prospers

what happens

to a tree

that's planted

by streams

of living water

well two things

it's steady

and sturdy

it's not

blown over

in the wind

and the trials

and the storms

because its root

system is robust

but the other

thing is

it's always

alive

because it's

plugged into

the source

of life

Jeremiah 17

has a similar

picture

it says

it does not

fear

when the

drought

comes

when

just imagine

with me

hypothetically

imagine

there's this

worldwide

pandemic

right

and for

three years

life is

interrupted

and school

is online

and church

is online

and community

group is online

and you can't

be community

are you

embedded

close to the

source of life

do you know

how to get

God's word

into you

so that even

when the

drought

and anxiety

and the

fear

and the

heat

comes

you're

still able

to bear

much fruit

Jeremiah

says

he does

not fear

when the

heat

comes

he is

not anxious

in the

year of

drought

his leaves

are always

green

always bearing

fruit

but the point

here in

Psalm 1

is that it's

rock solid

sturdy

when there's

trials and

the storms

come

when hardship

and difficulty

comes

it's not

blown over

now in

verse 3

where he says

he always

prospers

does that

mean that

the follower

of Jesus

is just

life is

always rosy

no trials

no difficulty

not at all

it's saying

that despite

the difficulties

despite the

hardships

when the

hardship

comes

they won't

overwhelm you

because your

roots are

deeply embedded

in the source

of life

and so look

at verse 4

he contrasts

the wicked

he says

the one

whose life

is devoid

of God's

word

are not

so

they are

like chaff

that the

wind drives

away

do you know

what chaff

is

when a

farmer

sifts the

wheat

the chaff

is the

kind of

dry outer

casing

that just

gets blown

away

and so you

can keep

the kernel

it's like

think of

dry leaves

that just

get blown

in the

wind

and so the

psalmist

says here

you have a

tree that's

deeply embedded

its root

system has

gone wide

and here

you have

dry leaves

that get

blown away

in the

storm

and the

point is

that when

the heat

comes

when difficulty

comes

where is

your root

system

what is

abiding

you

what word

is shaping

you

Jesus

says that

to bear

much fruit

we must

abide in

him

and the

way that

we abide

in him

is by

having his

word

abiding

in us

here is a

man a

woman a

mother

father a

son or

daughter

who are

so rooted

themselves in

God's

word that

God's word

has rooted

them even

in the

storms

and so

come what

may drought

or harvest

good times

or bad

feast or

famine

promotion

or job

loss

here is a

person who

has let

God's word

shape them

and anchor

them and

root them

it's the

predominant voice

in their

life it's

their security

their identity

their worldview

now

coming back

to the

first thing

that we

saw that

are strange

in this

passage

do you

see why

Jesus says

if you

abide in

me and

you let

my words

abide in

you ask

whatever you

wish and

it will be

done for

you

do you

see why

Jesus can

say that

Jesus is

not just

saying that

he is a

genie and

he's giving

you endless

lamps to

run

right

Jesus is

not just

saying he

has a

blank check

ask whatever

you want

you want to

go to Japan

this week

just ask him

right

Jesus is

saying that

if you

abide in

Christ and

you let

his words

so shape

your worldview

and who

you are

your identity

your security

your hopes

your fears

your anxieties

you'll become

the kind of

person that

your prayers

are so aligned

to him

that it will

be safe for

him to give

you whatever

you ask

your prayers

will become

the kind

of prayers

that are

the things

that you'd

pray if

you were in

heaven

ask whatever

you wish

and it will

be done for

you

because your

life will

see the

world the

way that

Christ sees

it

your life

will be

shaped by

his word

if you

abide in

me and if

you let

my words

abide in

you you

can be

sure that

your prayers

will be the

kind of

prayers I

love to

answer

so practically

how should

we do

this

what should

we do

well

last week

we gave

you four

things

can you

remember

what they

were

anybody

daily

decisively

honestly

surrenderedly

okay

I was

rebuked this

week for

not having

the word

finished with

an ly

last week

so here's

five more

words

how can we

abide in

Christ's word

and let

Christ's word

abide in us

this week

daily

openly

communally

memory

family

five words

to remember

daily

we spoke

about this

last week

the way to

have Christ's

word deeply

abiding in us

is to make

sure that

we are

abiding

in Christ's

word

we said

it earlier

Jesus is

not simply

asking us

just to

tick off

a daily

to-do

list

but he

is asking

us to

daily

start off

our day

by having

Jesus Christ

and who he

is

shape us

and our

worldview

and friends

it's impossible

to have

Christ's word

saturate our

hearts

unless we're

allowing it

to saturate

us

and so here's

the challenge

each day

preferably

each morning

before your

day starts

get up a

little earlier

get into

God's word

and let

who Jesus

is shape

you by

his word

let him

tell you

what is

true and

real

let him

tell you

who he

is

as you

go into

your day

and let

him tell

you who

you are

in him

as you

go into

your day

and so that

as you

walk into

the office

the word

that's residing

in your

heart

is not

you better

not stuff

up today

the word

is my

life is

in Christ

my life

is hidden

with Christ

and my

hope is

in him

and so

every day

start off

the day

letting God's

word

abide in

you

okay

now if you

don't know

how to do

that

ask somebody

ask one of

the elders

ask Celeste

ask a mature

follower of

Jesus

Henry and

Florence

will love to

help you

I'm sure

Colin and

Kristen would

be great

ask somebody

that's a

mature follower

of Jesus

how do I

have a daily

devotion

Frank and

Teresa have

helped hundreds

of people

over the years

get into

God's word

join us on

the watermark

bible reading

plan

okay if you

haven't started

350 days to

go still

you can join

us it's not

too late

get into

God's word

each day

but you've

got to do

more than

that

okay

you've got to

not just

abide in

God's word

you've got to

let God's word

abide in you

so the second

thing is not

just daily

openly

what do I

mean by

that

what I

mean by

that is

you've got

to not

just read

God's word

you've got

to let

God's word

read you

okay

what I

mean by

that is

this

in other

words you

have to

allow God's

word to

challenge you

to examine

you

to question

you

to scrutinize

your life

you've got to

read God's

word and let

God's word

read you

so let me

give you an

example this

morning from

our Bible

reading plan

this morning

if you're with

us you would

have read

Psalm 9

right

Psalm 9

starts off

like this

I give

thanks to

the Lord

with my

whole heart

well just

stop there

am I the

kind of person

that knows

how to give

thanks to

the Lord

with my

whole heart

when life

is good

when life

is bad

when trials

and storms

come

when everything's

going well

when everything's

going bad

do I know

how to give

thanks to

God with my

whole life

well here's

one from

this week

I think on

Thursday

if you're with

us we read

Luke chapter 6

Luke 6 · chapter mention

at the end of

Luke 6

it says this

love your

enemies

do good

and lend

expecting

nothing from

those that

you lend

to

you'll be

like your

sons of

the most

high

who is

kind to

the ungrateful

and to

the evil

when I read

that that

just arrested

me

God is

kind to

the ungrateful

and to

the wicked

and then he

says

you be

likewise

well friends

to read

God's word

openly

means

God

am I

kind

to those

that are

ungrateful

let me just

tell you

I'm not

okay

I don't

have a lot

of patience

for people

that are

ungrateful

but here

God is

saying

Kevin

are you

going to

let my

word

abide

in you

are you

going to

let it

scrutinize

you

why am

I

impatient

with

people

well it's

because

I'm

selfish

and I'm

self-righteous

and I'm

opinionated

and I

think I'm

better than

others

and that

means I

need to

get on my

knees

and I

need to

confess

and I

need to

let Jesus

say

Christ

I'm so

sorry

come and

have your

way in

my life

Jesus

I want

to be

more like

you

okay so

read God's

word

daily

read it

openly

thirdly

read it

communally

you know

up until

500 years

ago

nobody had

their own

individual

Bibles

we only

got our

own

individual

Bibles

when the

printing

press

was

invented

and when

the Bible

was translated

from Latin

into everyday

language

and so

up until

500 years

ago

for most

of church

history

the way

that people

knew God's

word

and got

the Bible

into them

was communally

they'd have

others read

it to them

others explain

it to them

they would

discuss it

they would

debate it

they would

allow one

another to

question them

and so

read the

Bible

communally

in other

words who

in your

life is

showing you

God's

word

opening it

up to

you

but also

questioning

you

you know

in the

18th

century

during the

great

awakening

revival

in

England

John

Wesley

in his

church

he

organized

everyone

in his

church

in what

he called

bands

groups of

four to

eight

people

and they

would meet

sometimes

once a

week

and they

would ask

each other

bunch of

questions

one of the

questions

they'd ask

is

is God

being alive

and real

to you

how are

you seeing

are you

loving people

more this

week than

you were

last week

what area

of your

life are

you're

confessing

but one

of the

questions

that they'd

always ask

each other

is is

scripture

alive and

real to

you

is scripture

speaking to

you

what promises

of scripture

are reassuring

you and what

challenges of

scripture are

challenging you

and so they'd

ask each other