Episode Overview: In this episode, Pastor Charlie Mitchell kicks off a new series titled "READ," focusing on the importance of reading the Bible. He discusses the cultural shift away from scripture, the challenges of understanding it, and the reasons why as followers of Jesus, we should be devoted to reading the Bible. He also provides practical advice on how to engage with the Bible effectively.
Relevant Scripture: - Matthew 5:17-18: Jesus affirms the Bible’s enduring authority and relevance.
Episode Highlights:
1. Cultural Shift: Pastor Charlie reflects on the cultural and generational changes that have led to a decline in biblical literacy and engagement. 2. Challenges of Reading the Bible: He addresses the common issues people face, such as the complexity, perceived irrelevance, and difficult passages in the Bible. 3. Reasons to Read the Bible: This section emphasizes that we should read the Bible as followers of Jesus because Jesus himself was deeply connected to the scriptures. 4. Understanding the Bible: Charlie shares how Jesus interpreted the Bible and the importance of approaching it as a cohesive story rather than an encyclopedia. 5. Trust and Authority: Highlights that the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative and should shape our lives and decisions. 6. Proper Interpretation: Stresses the need for proper interpretation to avoid misreading and misapplying the scriptures.
Practical Application: 1. Get a Good Bible: Find a Bible that is understandable and enjoyable to read. Pastor Charlie recommends the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) for its readability. 2. Join a Bible Reading Plan: Participate in a structured reading plan to stay consistent and accountable. 3. Create a Daily Rhythm: Set a specific time each day to read the Bible, whether in the morning, evening, or while commuting. 4. Subtract, Don't Add: Make room for Bible reading by cutting down on other activities, like phone time or TV. 5. Persevere: Stick with the reading plan even when it gets challenging. Use resources like Bible apps to help stay engaged.
Key Takeaways:
1. The Bible as One Story: The Bible is a cohesive story that culminates in the life of Jesus and should be read and understood in this context. 2. Trustworthy and Authoritative: Every part of the Bible is significant and should be respected and adhered to. 3. Need for Interpretation: Proper interpretation is essential to understanding and applying the Bible's teachings correctly.
Conclusion: Reading the Bible is essential for followers of Jesus because it reveals who He is and guides us in our spiritual journey. Pastor Charlie encourages everyone to engage deeply with the Bible, develop a daily reading habit, and rely on the Holy Spirit for understanding and transformation.
Action Steps: 1. Get a good, understandable Bible. 2. Join a Bible reading plan. 3. Establish a daily reading routine. 4. Subtract unnecessary activities to make time for Bible reading. 5. Persevere through challenging passages.
--- Subscribe and Share: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Charlie Mitchell Teachings Podcast and share it with friends and family to help spread the word about the importance of reading the Bible.
Episode Overview: In this episode, Pastor Charlie Mitchell kicks off a new series titled "READ," focusing on the importance of reading the Bible. He discusses the cultural shift away from scripture, the challenges of understanding it, and the reasons why as followers of Jesus, we should be devoted to reading the Bible. He also provides practical advice on how to engage with the Bible effectively.
Relevant Scripture: - Matthew 5:17-18: Jesus affirms the Bible’s enduring authority and relevance.
Episode Highlights:
1. Cultural Shift: Pastor Charlie reflects on the cultural and generational changes that have led to a decline in biblical literacy and engagement. 2. Challenges of Reading the Bible: He addresses the common issues people face, such as the complexity, perceived irrelevance, and difficult passages in the Bible. 3. Reasons to Read the Bible: This section emphasizes that we should read the Bible as followers of Jesus because Jesus himself was deeply connected to the scriptures. 4. Understanding the Bible: Charlie shares how Jesus interpreted the Bible and the importance of approaching it as a cohesive story rather than an encyclopedia. 5. Trust and Authority: Highlights that the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative and should shape our lives and decisions. 6. Proper Interpretation: Stresses the need for proper interpretation to avoid misreading and misapplying the scriptures.
Practical Application: 1. Get a Good Bible: Find a Bible that is understandable and enjoyable to read. Pastor Charlie recommends the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) for its readability. 2. Join a Bible Reading Plan: Participate in a structured reading plan to stay consistent and accountable. 3. Create a Daily Rhythm: Set a specific time each day to read the Bible, whether in the morning, evening, or while commuting. 4. Subtract, Don't Add: Make room for Bible reading by cutting down on other activities, like phone time or TV. 5. Persevere: Stick with the reading plan even when it gets challenging. Use resources like Bible apps to help stay engaged.
Key Takeaways:
1. The Bible as One Story: The Bible is a cohesive story that culminates in the life of Jesus and should be read and understood in this context. 2. Trustworthy and Authoritative: Every part of the Bible is significant and should be respected and adhered to. 3. Need for Interpretation: Proper interpretation is essential to understanding and applying the Bible's teachings correctly.
Conclusion: Reading the Bible is essential for followers of Jesus because it reveals who He is and guides us in our spiritual journey. Pastor Charlie encourages everyone to engage deeply with the Bible, develop a daily reading habit, and rely on the Holy Spirit for understanding and transformation.
Action Steps: 1. Get a good, understandable Bible. 2. Join a Bible reading plan. 3. Establish a daily reading routine. 4. Subtract unnecessary activities to make time for Bible reading. 5. Persevere through challenging passages.
--- Subscribe and Share: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Charlie Mitchell Teachings Podcast and share it with friends and family to help spread the word about the importance of reading the Bible.
I hope you are having an incredible day so far. And my name is pastor Charlie, and I'm so excited to be opening up the word of God with you this morning. Turn to Matthew chapter five, and we're going to be starting in Matthew chapter five, verse 17. So we're going to spend our time in those few paragraphs following those verses. I'm excited today to talk to you about this new series entitled, Read It's called READ. And, the reason we're doing a series entitled READ is because there's, there's something that has happened in the world. There's something that has happened in the culture. There's something that's happened in our homes and we might not have even realized that it's taking place. I remember growing up, I had to go to Sunday school, a Bible study, vacation Bible school. I had to memorize the Bible. I had to do all of this, this stuff. We were in Bible clubs. I don't know, if you saw the cartoon super book, I had all that stuff cause my mom made sure we went to church. We read the Bible. We heard the sermon, listen to the word, listen to gospel music. But something has changed from what I can recall back in the day to where we are now. Like, you know, I'm thinking about like in my head right now, I have that old song. The B I B L E, yes that's the book for me, I stand up tall on the word of God, the B I B L E. That's a part of me, like that's a part of my life, like it's woven into the fabric of my childhood. And what's crazy is, is if I were to proclaim that, if I were to stand, in, in public, so I would say if I were to go on YouTube where I'm at right now, if I were to go, in culture, if I would go in the streets and be like the B I B L E the Bible, yes, that is the book for me. If I stand up tall on the word of God, everybody in the crowd will probably say, you will surely D I E because it's not the book for us anymore. We have so many more voices. We have so many more influences. We have so many more studies and professors and in, in, in, in books and in teachings and videos that will show us that the B I B ain't. For us. And so in response to that, I just felt like the Holy Spirit was saying, listen, I want y'all to spend time with me, but not just spend time with me in this figurative since I feel Jesus, I like Jesus. Even if you heard last week, I've had an epiphany of Jesus, but I want you. To spend time with me where I have revealed myself. And that is in the B I B L E. So welcome to read our new series on why and how we read the Bible. Now, just some facts on the Bible. Cause I know we all got to get on the same page and I never want to approach this. As if, you know, everything there is to know, cause I know some of you might have grown up in the church, but a lot of you may have not had, you know, this long history like I have with the Bible and maybe you, you just didn't know. So here, here's some background on the Bible. The Bible is the best selling book of all time. Every year it sells around 25 million copies. But word on the street is. It's the best selling book. That's hardly ever, if ever, read. So overall, generationally, culturally, we don't really read and know the Bible anymore. We'll listen to a sermon with some snippets of the Bible in it. We'll, we'll, I mean, listen, have you really read? I mean, when I worked in, Construction. I know a lot of my brothers out here listening right now. You'll, you'll listen to Christian radio as you're working all day long. You know what I'm saying? So you've heard the Bible from great teachers on the radio, Tony Evans and Charles Stanley, and you know,, David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll. So you listen on the radio, you've heard all of that before., maybe if you, you know, you might be a little cool hit, you listen to podcasts., with other churches and sermons and radio and, and, and, and Bible teaching in that. Or maybe, you know, you grown up and you, you listen to and read devotionals. So some of you open up every morning, you spend, you do your quiet time with Jesus and you might have our daily bread. I don't know if some of y'all know about our daily bread or you got my utmost for his highest. And so you, you read and it's got one. from the Bible and then it's got a little, exhortation or some, some encouraging words., here's the new one that a lot of people do. You might even be the one that posts a scripture on Facebook or Instagram every morning, a cool little picture of a mountain and a little river and a deer and a scripture that says, my soul pence after the old Lord and all this kind of stuff. So you might even be one of those. So listen, don't hear me wrong. There's nothing wrong with posting passages from the scripture on social media every morning. There's nothing wrong with reading a devotional. There's nothing wrong with all of those things. But what I'm realizing is more and more That is the full experience of how people are engaging with the Bible and they believe, okay, I've done that. I've checked that box. Therefore, I know what there is to know about the Bible, but you've not really read it. Here's the thing. I don't think. Most of us know how to read the Bible. One writer said, although most Americans own a Bible on average, there's 4. 4 Bibles in each home in America. So if you don't have that many, don't worry. I've got you covered. Cause I found out that we have at least 15 Bibles at my house. So I, I'm covering you if you don't have it. All right. But most Americans own a Bible, but they're intimidated or an uninitiated and how to actually read it. And I need you to know, like, if that's you this is a very complicated, Library of books. It's not just one book. It's bound together as if it's one book. But if you go to the table of contents, this is a complicated library of books, 66 different books and lots of different genres. Styles, tones, literary distinctions. So it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic and it was written like a few thousand years ago in the Middle East and in Africa. So when you open up this Bible, I need you to hear me. When you open up this Bible, you out there looking like Aladdin right now. You know what I'm talking about? You out there looking like a whole new world. This is something different than what we know, and a lot of us don't know how to actually read the Bible. But what about the folks that do know how to read the Bible, but we don't really like the Bible? We might know how to read, I just don't like it. So check this out. If you've been doing the Bible reading plan with us at Epiphany Church, and you're welcome to join right now, anytime. If you've been reading the Bible reading plan over the last couple of weeks, or if you started today and jump on with us, the first day you read the Bible, there's a talking snake. I need you to get that. On day two, you got a family member that kills another family member. So you got murdered on day two. On day three, everybody got erased. So this is a crazy, crazy book. Now, if you're a Christian, I tell y'all all the time, take your Bible hat off cause we immediately go into Bible mode and not think about like, this is some crazy stuff. And then not only do you have the craziness that I really don't understand, don't get, don't really like, it don't make sense to me. It's, it can be very, very, very boring. You got all these cleansing laws. You got genealogies and senses. You got circumcision. You got all kinds of cows and goats and blood and all is weird. So can we keep it a hundred? Can we keep it a hundred? And I need you to be, keep it 100 with me. I know that a lot of you like the Bible and I know y'all are good, godly Christians, love Jesus. The Bible is the word of God and I just love the Bible. It is the, it's where I get my life and my source and my sustenance. I'm with you, but many of us, if we really real, you'll admit that the Bible ain't really your thing. And that's all right. Cause that's why we're doing this together. So I can show, yo, there is much more to the Bible than you might actually think. And then there's this other aspect. You might not know how to read it. That's one reason you might not like it cause you don't get it. And this is complicated. That might be another thing. But then there's those of us who can read it, who can understand it, but we don't like it because we've got beef with what it actually says. So we have a problem with the Bible. So this is what I'm talking about. Things have changed. Things have drastically changed. We can have, like a lot of my friends, peers, people that grew up in the church, they got beef with the Bible right now. Back in the day, it was just assumed that you just agree with the Bible. You know what I'm saying? But nowadays there's a lot more skepticism about what's in the Bible. Our grandparents maybe held the Bible. They held to it. They believed it. They trusted it. If it said it in the word, that's what it meant. But when we read it now, you go, yo, did God tell the people of God to like kill everybody, men and women and children? Like, that's kind of crazy. Is the Bible saying that women should be quiet in the church and like not talk? That don't make sense. I like Jesus, but like, what's that about? Yo, what's up with, it's not just as that it's just people in the Bible that's doing crazy stuff. It's like the people of God that God actually wants to use are the ones doing all the bad things in the Bible. So hear me, the Bible is filled with so much of the absolute best stuff in the world. It is filled with incredible poetry. It is filled with incredible prophecy. It is filled with, Paradigm shifting concepts that will change your worldview. If you allowed it, like there's so much in these words that can radically change and shape your life. I mean so much so that it is illegal in a number of countries around the world to this day. People risk their lives to get this book across borders so that somebody can read it. There are people in, in different countries that just have one page and they weep over and they covet and they hold on to the little leaflets, the little sheets of paper in the scriptures and they are sacred to them. People are willing to die to share what is in the Bible. And if you don't know this, the Western societies, Western civilization is built from the ground up on the Bible. Everything that you see that is good and well, and prevalent and prosperous in Western civilization is because of the Bible. But you know, I got to give you the full story. At the same time, some of the, the worst stuff of society in history and in our culture, people say is because of the Bible. When you read this Bible, you're going to see polygamy. One man will take one, two, three, a hundred, two hundred. Solomon has 700 wives, something crazy like a bunch of concubines. You're going to see incest. You're going to see rape. You're going to see sexism. Racism. Murder. Revenge. Abuse. You're going to see all of that. And it's not, I mean, it's not just that it's, it's, it's in here, but it's, it's in the people that we've named our children after that maybe you've been named after. So many of us have our friends and our families, and we live in a culture that doesn't see the Bible as precious. but they see it as a problem. Our culture today does not see the Bible as precious. They see it as a problem. Many of your friends, our peers would say, man, it's outdated. It's irrelevant. And it is harmful and dangerous. We need to move past the Bible. And some of you will react strongly to that. Like, man, we don't believe that, but listen, they have good cause. for that. They, they, there's a reason why they feel that way, but that's not my case today. I'm not here to defend the Bible one way or another in the public sphere. I want us to have a family conversation as we enter into this series called read. Here's what I want to talk about today. Why do we read the Bible? Why do we Read the Bible. Why do we study it? Why do we believe it? Why do we trust it? Why do we live by it? Why do we read the Bible? I want to give you the quick answer right off the top. Here's the deal. We read the Bible because we are followers of Jesus. Some of you might've been expecting a different answer, but I need to say it one more time. We read the Bible because we are followers of Jesus. So there's other reasons why we should read the Bible. There's a lot of good reasons why you should just read the Bible. And lots of people, millions of people around the world and all throughout history, love and have read the Bible. But the reason we read the Bible, the read, the main point of us reading the Bible is because we are followers of Jesus. And if you know anything about Jesus, if you know anything about him, You know that he was obsessed with the Bible. He would read it, he would quote it, he memorized it, he would preach it, he trusted it, he would submit to it, he would pray it, he would live it. So to him, the Bible was an all encompassing obsession that he lived under. It is very likely that Jesus had the entire Old Testament or First Testament memorized. Christ! So from Genesis to Malachi, everything in between at any level, he could articulate off the top of his head, the scriptures, the passages, the nuances in the text. It was his radical obsession. Now you got to remember, because a lot of us will go, yeah, well, Jesus was God. So you know what I mean? Like, don't do that. Jesus was a man and his job, like his day to day job. When we, when we encounter him in the scriptures, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, when we encounter him in the scriptures, check this out, check this out. His job was a Bible teacher. He was a rabbi. And a rabbi means he's a teacher. But what did he teach? His profession was to professionally teach the Bible. So we know that Jesus was the Messiah. He was the son of God. He came, lived, was resurrected. He is the Lord and he is God in the flesh. But when he walked among us, his job, his role in life, his, the part he played in the lives of those around him was to be a Bible teacher. And so as followers of Jesus, we are, I mean, we are apprentices of him. We want to learn to be like him. We want to walk with him. We want to grow with him. So because we want to be like him and grow with him and follow him, what does that mean for us? That, that the Bible should also be our obsession and whatever his relationship was with the Bible, that should be our relationship with the Bible. That should be our ultimate goal. However, Jesus viewed the Bible. That's how we should view the Bible. However, Jesus trusted the Bible. That's how we should trust the Bible. So let's look at the text this morning, Matthew chapter five, which is the first biography of Jesus in the New Testament. We're going to look at how Jesus engaged with the Bible. We're going to look at how he engages with it, and we're going to learn a few key things as we journey together reading through the Bible. Here's what it says in Matthew chapter five, verse 17. Don't think that I came to abolish or get rid of, set aside, disrespect just forget about the law or the prophets. That was, that was the first century Jewish way of saying the Bible. Don't think I've come to get rid of or abolish the law for truly. I tell you until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a law of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. So I need you to see not one dot. Over the top of that I not one cross of the T, not one comma, not one drop of ink. Am I coming to disrespect or disregard? And matter of fact, not one letter of it will go away until all things have accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these com commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does. Jesus does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So here's a few things I want us to learn this first week as we engage with the scriptures. Number one. First thing I want you to see from this text is to Jesus. The Bible is the story. It's a story that reaches its pinnacle in his life. Jesus said in Matthew five, I have not come to abolish and come to get rid of. I ain't come to set it aside. I have come to fulfill the scriptures until all things are accomplished. So I abolish, I fulfill, and I accomplish. Jesus didn't read the Bible like we do. Typically many of us would read the Bible as if it's like an encyclopedia or a reference book. So we, we need a topic. We got a topic in a, in a lot of our Bibles. There's, there's these sections where you can look up a word and then just go to where it is in the Bible and it's gonna give you some understanding of where that takes place. But, but, but he didn't read it like a reference book or an encyclopedia of truth. He saw it as one story. From Genesis to Revelation, he saw it as one story that reached his apex in him, in his life. So you can read it like an encyclopedia or a reference book, but listen, that's not the way Jesus read it. He read it as a story where he is the main point and character. So a lot of times we get confused about the Bible. Why does it do that? Why does it say this? What's going on here, and I need you to understand that it's one. Seamless story that God is telling about God himself, about us and how he is working in human history. So I, you know, I'm a movie fan. And so one of the big ways I can just illustrate this is There is a movie franchise that many of us have seen that is called Avengers. The Avengers. It's something like 20 something movies, 20 something movies in total. But I need you to understand it is telling one story. So even though there's all, there's Ironman one, two, and three. There's Thor one, two, and three. There's Guardians of the Galaxy. There's Ant Man, ant Man, and was there's, there's Hulk. Then there's all these different things. There's all these different stories going on. Black Panther. There's all this stuff going on, but it's one overarching story. And the Bible is likewise. It's one story, but the main person ain't Tony Stark in Iron Man. The main pinnacle of the story is Jesus. And you'll miss it if all you're doing is picking and choosing different aspects because you'll never understand the full arc of what is going on. The second thing we see from this passage in Matthew chapter five is to Jesus. The Bible is trustworthy. Look at verse 18. Look at verse 18 real quick. It says it like this for truly I tell you. So he's like, listen, for real, I'm trying to keep a 100 with y'all for real. Listen to this. Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter in Greek, that's iota, or one small stroke of a letter, not even a comma, will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Jesus is saying every single drop of ink is legitimate and he takes it seriously. So what I mean by that is, listen, that is the highest level of respect that you can pay to the Bible. That is the best possible view you can have of the scriptures. He's saying everything in here, every little thing is significant. for us. And we need it. And I trust, Jesus is saying, I trust the Bible every, every inch of it. So check this out. A lot of times when we're having conversations or we read something, we'll encounter something that's in the Bible. And then because we don't understand it, we don't get it. Or we misinterpret it. We'll say that something is wrong with the Bible and Jesus does the opposite. Whenever he faces a complex issue, whether it's the Pharisees or Sadducees or this person or that person, and they try to challenge him on what the Bible says, what Jesus does is he never calls the Bible into question. He says that the person has misread, misunderstand, hasn't read, doesn't know the Bible. To him, the Bible is the ultimate authority in his life and he does not want to deviate from it. It is us that needs to be shaped around it. To better understand it. Third thing we see in this passage Matthew chapter five to Jesus, the Bible is the authority. Look at verse 19. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. Did you catch that? If you break one of these commands, disregard one of these commands, soften up on any one of these commands, you will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Our translation here in the CSB says breaks one of the commands. I looked at the NIV and the NIV said it, said it like this, whoever sets aside one of these commands. And so in other words, whoever breaks Relaxes, ignores, these commands will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. How do we break these commands? We'll go to something like this. Here's our rationale, man. It's 2021 that listen, that ain't legitimate for us. That's some old outdated books. So I can do whatever I think is true and right to do. Cause this, they don't know what they talking about. And that was for them. That's not for us. That's breaking. Or if you ignore what the Bible says, it go by going something like this, man, I know what the Bible says. I know it says I shouldn't do this, or I know it says I should do this or that, but you know what? I, I'm just, I ain't going to do that. That's, that's, that's ignoring what the Bible says. But a lot of times we'll just relax what the Bible says. Man, I'm a man, like I'm a human being, like you got to understand I need what I need. I got to do what I got to do. So I understand Jesus and all that, but I got to do me. So we'll, we'll put aside and relax what it says, or we'll say, well, God knows my heart. He understands. I mean, he know I don't want to do it, but he know my heart. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to do it. And all of these, God is saying, you'll be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. So in Jesus's view, in Jesus's understanding, we are supposed to come under the authority of the Bible. You catch that? To understand the Bible means to stand under the authority of the Bible. That means that I don't supersede the Bible. I'm not above the rule of law. I'm not above that. I submit myself to the will of the Bible because that's what Jesus does and asks me to do. But here's where it gets a little tricky. Here's where it gets tricky and we're going to have a little bit of fun. It gets tricky because Jesus wasn't some closed minded, didn't know how to read the Bible type of dude. He wasn't some uncritical, unsavvy reader of the Bible either. Look at verse 21, verse 21, Matthew 5, 21. You have heard it said to our ancestors, do not murder. Okay. Now check that out. He's going, you heard what the Bible said. Check this out. Whoever murders will be subject to judgment. That's his interpretation of what needs to be understood from the Bible. So he's, he, okay, he's going to do it again. If you ain't catch that, he's going to do it again. Look at the second verse. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother or sister is subject to judgment. Look at verse 27 and 28. You've heard it said, you've heard in the Bible, you've heard your parents tell you, you heard your grandma and them say who you've heard and said, do not commit adultery from the Bible. That's in the Bible. Don't commit adultery. That's in the 10 commandments. But I tell you everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart. And so Jesus is going, That's the proper interpretation of that commandment. Let's keep going because this is fun because I want you to be able to see like you have to not just read the Bible and go, okay, that the Bible says it. Therefore, that's what it is. No, you have to do the work of interpreting the scriptures. Well, Look at verse 33. He says it again. Again, you heard it said that to our ancestors. So you heard your mama say, you heard the preacher say, you heard this say, you might've even read this in the book. You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oath to the Lord. That's in the Bible. But listen to Jesus interpretation. But I tell you, don't take an oath at all. He's interpreting for us what is meant in the text. He's I'm going to keep going. You have heard it said in the Bible, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. How many of us have heard that? If they took your big wheel, go back out there and you punch them in their mouth. If they hit you, hit them back. That's what's in the Bible. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Okay, let's see what the Bible says. But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. So what's happening? What's happening in this, in this passage? Is Jesus wrong? Is he saying the Bible was wrong? Is he, what is he saying? Jesus is calling out all these popular sayings and beliefs from the Bible in their day. But he's also saying y'all have misread and misinterpreted the intent of what was being said. So y'all got all these views on violence and marriage and sexuality and divorce and whatever children and yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. So you've got all of these views about these different things, but I need to help you interpret rightly what the Bible is saying. If Jesus is showing us that the Bible is in constant need, I need you to hear me right now. pay attention to me. The Bible is in constant need of rereading and proper interpretation in order to get back to what the biblical text is actually saying. That's why there's so much confusion. That's why, because we don't do, our culture changes, things change. The world is different than his world, but he's saying the Bible is consistent, but you've got to learn how to read that thing before it leads you into error and danger. Some of you may have grown up hearing this old school slogan. And I know I heard it in church and Bible school and whatever. The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it. The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it. But I don't know if Jesus would roll like that. I don't know if Jesus would even affirm that. Statement. Because what it doesn't take into account in that little pithy saying is that it doesn't take into account that you are doing the work of interpretation when you read it. So you can't just read it and then believe it. You've got to interpret what is being said so you understand it and then rightly apply it and believe it. And far too often I see people jump from, I read it right here, And then they apply it to their life, or they read it right here and then they go, I can never apply that to my life because it does not apply to me. So without doing the hard work of interpretation, so much stuff can go wrong. And I'm fearful that many of us, and listen, I'm not, I'm talking about out in the world. I see it every single day on social media, on TV and conversation out in the streets. Everybody done took the Bible and used it for whatever they want to use it for. And I, it's sad because people have not actually read it. And then not only that out there, but in the church, there are so many of you that are living with these different things in your mind, but because we've misread it or been taught wrong, we live in bondage or fear or doubt and all these different confusion because we've misinterpreted what the Bible is actually saying, but don't misunderstand me. Am I saying that you need to go to seminary and get a Ph. D. to doggone read the Bible in the morning? No. Am I saying that you need to know Greek and Hebrew to actually understand the Bible? No. But what I am saying is that it takes a little bit of skill and experience and wisdom to To read it well. And so that's why I want to invite us to reading the Bible together. Why? Because for Jesus, Jesus said the whole point of this Bible is to reveal who I am. And what I've come to do and how you play a part. But then not only that is trustworthy. You can trust this book. You can trust it with your children. You can trust it with your life. You can trust it with your finance. You can trust this book. And not only can you trust it, it should be the final authority in your life. But like Mark Twain said back in the day, the Bible is both the poison and the and the cure. The Bible is the poison and the cure. Why? Because some of the greatest things in history have come as a result of the Bible, and some of the worst evils in history have been committed because of the Bible. My God. The Bible was used to justify slavery against our ancestors, but it was also the reason we found our freedom. The Bible was used to justify murder, but it was also the reason that peacemakers that put their life on the line to end every single war. So what does that mean in the wrong hands with the wrong interpretation of Bible can be dangerous. One pastor said it like this. He said, listen, given the Bible to some people is like giving a teenager the keys to the family car. You have to be careful because it can be dangerous. Peter, one of Jesus disciples, he would later write in his book, 1 Peter, he said, Some people twist the scriptures to their own destruction. And I don't want that to be any of us. So I'm saying, man, listen I'm not saying it's just a small group of people that need to read the Bible or just a pastor needs to read the Bible or just a priest or a bishop needs to read the Bible. I'm just saying, listen, let's get some wisdom on how to read it, reread it, and understand it for today. So, let me recap real quick. The Bible is one story that reaches its climax in the life of Jesus. The Bible is trustworthy, and not one iota is insignificant to Jesus. And we are to live under the authority of the Bible, but wrestle with understanding it and applying it rightly. Therefore, knowing the Bible and reading and rereading the Bible are essential to actually living well. The whole call, so here's my heart on this, my whole call to you to read the Bible as a series is because it's all about following Jesus. I want us to follow Jesus and follow him well. And so because we are followers of Jesus, we read the Bible. Let me leave you with this in closing. I read a book called Unbreakable, real short book. You can get it for like 5 on Amazon. It's called Unbreakable by Andrew Wilson. Here's what he says in one of the opening chapters of the book, and it's, it's brilliant. Here's what he says. Our trust in the Bible stems from our trust in Jesus Christ. The man who is God, the king of the world, the crucified, risen and exalted rescuer. I don't trust in Jesus because I trust the Bible. I trust the Bible because I trust in Jesus. Did you catch that? I don't trust the, I don't trust in Jesus because I trust the Bible. I trust the Bible because I trust Jesus. I love him and I've decided to follow him. So if he talks and acts as if the Bible is trustworthy, authoritative, good, helpful, and powerful, I will too. Even if some of my questions remain unanswered or my answers remain unpopular. I like that. I like that. Hear what I'm saying. We don't believe the Bible because the Bible says believe the Bible. The Book of Mormon says that. The Quran says that. All kinds of books say that. Many books claim to be divine and proclaim the truth. Many books do. But we believe the Bible because we've had an epiphany of Jesus. We believe the Bible because we've had an encounter with Jesus. And Jesus said that the Bible is scripture. So I read it and believe it. That's why we read the Bible because we're in relationship with Jesus. And that's why I'm calling us to read. Here's a couple parting words for you if you don't have one, get yourself a good Bible. You might have one in your house. You might've had a bunch of them. Word on the street is there's one pastor that said there'll be the greatest dust storm in American history. If every Christian blew the dust off their Bible at the same time. So you might have a Bible already, but here's what I want to tell you. Get a good Bible if you don't have one and get a Bible that you actually like and understand. A lot of you might have King James, New King James, and it sounds very holy and divine and angelic in language, but you can't understand it. So I'm saying, get a Bible that you can actually understand. Typically I preach from the Christian standard Bible. Why? Because of its readability and its understandability. for people. So I'm saying, listen, get you a Bible. We use the CSB, you can get the ESV, you can get the NIV, whatever. Get one that you like, get you a leather one, get you a nice one, but get you a Bible that you like and enjoy. All right. Now that you can understand. Second, join the Bible reading plan. We don't try to put a lot of pressure on you I don't try to put a, like, burden you down with a bunch of stuff that you got to do every day. But I'm telling you this. You need to read the Bible. And so join with us as we go through the Bible reading plan together. Get the app. Download a copy on the website, whatever you got to do, listen to it. And a lot of y'all going to call me, man, passenger. Can I listen to it? Can I read it? Do I have to get however you want to read it? Read it. I don't care. You can watch a video of the Bible if you want, but just go through it together with us. All right. And don't make a bunch of excuses. Just man, listen, read it together with us. We family. And I want us all on the same page. Here's where it gets tricky. Create a daily rhythm for reading the Bible. So sometimes I'll listen to the Bible as I'm driving in the car. You can do that easily. Sometimes you can set up a time in the morning. Some of you might do that. Your morning time, your morning devotional time. Do that, whatever. Set a daily ritual. Come before God with your Bible. Quiet place. Put your phone away. And spend time reading the Bible. Here's where it gets,challenging. Don't add, subtract. So what I mean by that, a lot of y'all, I'm asking you to make a big commitment of reading the Bible 15, 20 minutes a day, however long it takes you to read a few chapters every day. Right? That's a big commitment for a lot of us, I understand. But don't try to squeeze this in with all the other stuff you got going on. Subtract something else. Subtract something else. You're already busy. So don't try to add something. Subtract something. And so it might mean less phone time. It might mean less TV. It might mean I don't watch as many movies. It might mean I don't watch this or I go to bed a little bit later. I go get up a little early. Listen, subtract something and add this. Pastoral care for you. Persevere. Stick with it. We're going to hit some bumpy roads in here as you're reading it throughout the year. It's going to be rough. You're going to get to Leviticus, Deuteronomy. You're going to be all like, man, what are they even talking about? That's why we picked the Bible reading app we did. That way it'll help you stay engaged and it will help you to understand what you're actually reading. But don't give up. Just keep reading. The best way to understand how to read the Bible is by reading the Bible. Let me pray for you. Jesus, I thank you that you've given us the word of God, the scriptures. They are complex. It's a different world than what we're used to. And it's complicated. It's weird. There's all kinds of stuff, but God, you've not just left us by ourselves. You've given us the Holy spirit and you've given us friends and community. and teachers and resources in the internet. You've given us a ton of stuff to help us to understand the Bible clearly. So God, I pray that you would open up our hearts and minds, and I pray that you would do what you said in your word. You are the living word of God, and that you can make this happen. the word of God be sweeter in our mouths than honey. So God, I pray that you would help that to be our reality, that the word of God will become sweet in our mouth so that we may gain understanding and that we may walk joyfully in your ways. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
