November 8, 2020
Colossians 3:14-17
Last week we started a new series on discipleship skills. I want to give you a toolbox of practices that will help you through the pandemic and beyond. These are things, that if you put them to work, will allow you to persevere, and maybe even thrive, when others around you are not.
Here is what we know. Since the pandemic began, the divorce rate is up 20% in Ontario. The domestic abuse rate is up, but experts are unsure by how much because it is harder to access services – especially if you are stuck in the same house with abuser.
A rise in addictions has been reported. People who were struggling with addiction issues before, are really struggling now. People who were struggling with mental health issues before are finding that those issues are exasperated by the pandemic. There has been a rise of addictions issues among seniors during this pandemic.
Now there is a flip side. People who were stressed out because of the busyness of life have found some space to breathe. People who had a work life balance that was unhealthy, have suddenly found themselves in a healthier place.
It has been a weird time. But I see this time a moment of opportunity. If you are in a difficult place, then this is an opportunity for God to teach you and help you to grow to be more like him. If you are in a place where you have more space in your life, then this a time when you can push into God.
So, this morning I want to continue on from last week. Last week we looked a Praying the word of God to receive what you need from God. Again, I will refer you to my blog on the Asbury website to remind yourself of the 5 steps of praying the word of God for peace, for comfort, for joy.
This morning I want to continue on with the theme of praying the word of God. However, the direction will be a little different from last week. I want to teach you how to pray the word of God to hear from God.
As you probably know, there is a number of great reasons to read scripture. The Psalmist says
Psalm 19:7–8 (NLT)
7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
The word of God revives the soul, it makes you wise, it brings you joy, it gives you insight for living. Those are all great reason to read scripture.
But, if you are like me, more than anything, when you are reading scripture, you want God to speak to you. Now what you need to understand about scripture is that there are 66 books written by over 40 different authors. We believe the scriptures were inspired by God, which means nothing that is in the bible that he didn’t want in the bible and nothing was left out of the bible that he wanted in the bible.
But here is the thing about scripture. It was written in history, inspired by God, but it was written to people or groups that lived in history. Paul wrote his letters to different churches. Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts to a guy named Theophilus. So, God used those authors to speak to those people.
Now some of the scripture obviously applies to us. When Paul wrote to the church in Colossae
Colossians 3:16 (NRSV)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
He is obviously giving instructions that are relevant for all Christians of all times.
But when Jesus was giving instructions to the disciples as they were just learning how to do ministry – it was just meant for the twelve.
Mark 6:7–9 (NIV)
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.
Go do ministry and wear sandals. I could wear my Birkenstocks today – but it is usually not a good idea in November.
Later on in his ministry Jesus said this to his disciples,
Luke 22:35–36 (NIV)
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Two different time to different instructions.
When it comes to the word of God, we believe that God inspired it. But it was written by specific people to other people. The way to interpret the bible is to understand what the author meant and how it would have been heard by the people who first received it – and after discerning that we ask the question – so what does that mean to us who share the same faith now.
It is important to get this. I heard the story of someone who was trying to get a word from God so he flipped open his bible and picked a verse at random and he read “Judas went out and hung himself.” He thought to himself – that is not very inspirational. So he flips open the bible again and he picks a verse at random and it says – God do thou likewise. That is not how we are to use the word of God.
I have one more piece to add to this before we get to the skills portion of this message. The one thing we have going for us as we approach the bible is – if you are a believer in Jesus, then God’s Spirit dwells in you. The one who inspired the bible in the first-place, lives in you, and he can lead you into all understanding now.
In fact, what the Spirit of God will often do is repurpose that which was written a couple thousand years ago, and use it to speak directly into our lives in 2020. He loves to do that. God loves to use his word to speak directly into your life.
The question is, how do we position ourselves to hear God speaking to us from his word?
If you want to hear God is to adjust your posture towards scripture.
POSTURE
You have to decide who has authority in your relationship with scripture. Are you judging it or will you let it judge you?
Often times people will go to scripture and they say, I will take this, but I won’t take this. I get there are matters of interpretation. I get that there are things that we don’t understand. But if you want to hear from God as you are reading scripture, you have to put yourself under the authority of scripture.
The second thing in posture is, do you want to hear God’s voice. Are you willing to say Lord, I want to hear whatever you have to say to me?
There are some people who don’t believe that God is good – so they are not sure they want to hear from him. But Let me tell you he is good, and he has your good in mind.
APPROACH
You can’t speed read scripture and expect to hear from God. There is a place to speed read scripture if you are trying to understand the big story of scripture. But generally speaking you will need to read slowly if you are going to hear from God.
I would also suggest that generally, your approach to scripture should be systematic. Spend time going through one book and then go onto the next book. If you are a younger Christian, then spend time in the New Testament. You should go through it many, many, many times before you delve into the Old Testament.
I say these are general rules because there will be times when God will lead you to specific scriptures that are outside your normal reading program.
METHOD
Let me give you a method to listen for the voice of God, the voice of the Spirit. As you reading through a book, take the next paragraph or two. Sometimes a paragraph will be too big, so you will have to shrink it down to a few verses.
Today I want to use Colossian 3 as an example You have already heard it read.
STEP 1 – Ask God to speak to you speak and then Select the Portion of scripture – and read it through to become familiar with the content. If you are reading through Colossian – then as you came to the next day, take a look at how big a chunk you are going to pray through
PRAY
This morning we are going to use
Colossians 3:14–17 (NRSV)
14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Here is what you need to know about God. God knows what you need and he knows the best next steps for you to take. As I look at my life, I see so much to work on, but wisdom and maturity has taught e that I cannot work on all of things all at the same time.
As you come to this portion of scripture, there are so many things that God could say to you through this scripture. It is all true. It is all true for each of us. But I suspect, that depending on who you are and where are in your journey, God wants to emphasize something different to you than he does to me.
That brings us to step two.
STEP 2- Pray and then read it again – looking for a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Part of the advantages of the Spirit of God living in you is that he can cause things to stand out for you. So, we are going to read this through again, and as you read it, what word or phrase stands out to you the most.
Pray
Colossians 3:14–17 (NRSV)
14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Pause
It is always good to pause at the end of reading. Now if we had time and if we were not under Covid restrictions I would ask you to shout out what word or phrase stood out to you.
If you are doing this in your personal devotions, I would encourage you to write down the word or phrase. For now just hold that phrase in your mind.
Step 3 – Read it again – asking God what he wants to show you about this phrase.
Is there something that you need to be obedient to? Is there something that you need to give thanks for? Is there something that you need to confess or repent of? Is there something that you need to remember or take note of for a situation in the future?
God is showing you that phrase for a reason. Ask him to bring that reason to your mind.
Pray
Colossians 3:14–17 (NRSV)
14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Pause
Step 4 – Respond to what he has shown you.
You may be able to do it in that time. You may need to put something in your calendar or on your “To Do” list. But what every it is, respond to what God has shown you.
Pause and Pray
Music underneath.
Conclusion.
Here is what I know, God wants to speak to you. He is good and he is on your side. He wants you to not only know about him, he wants you have a relationship with him.
Sermon Questions – November 8, 2020
Praying the Word of God – Part 2
Introduction
1. What are you celebrating this week?
2. What would you like prayer for this week?
Digging in
3. Read Psalm 19-7-8. What are 4 things that scripture does for us? How does God use scripture to do those four things?
4. Some scripture applies to all of God’s people. (Read Colossians 3:16) Some scripture was meant for a specific time and place. (Read Mark 6:7-9 and Luke 22:35-36) When you are reading scripture, how do you know which is which? (I know this is a challenging question, but give it some thought)
APPLYING WHAT WE ARE LEARNING
5. Practice hearing God through scripture by using Colossians 3:14-17
Remember your POSTURE
God’s word has authority over you
Tell God that you want to hear his voice.
Look at your APPROACH
God slowly through the passage
What Portion of the Bible should you be working through systematically right now?
Method for listening to God
Step 1- Pray – then read Colossians 3:14-17
Once you have the scripture for Then read it once, so you become familiar with it.
Step 2- Pray – Read it again – looking for a word or phrase to stand out to you.
If you are a Christian, then the Spirit of God is in you. He is going to lead you. You don’t need to learn everything all at once. He is going to take you step by step. When a phrase stands out to you, underline it, or better yet write it down. That is God bring something to your attention.
If you are doing this in a group, share what word or phrase stood out to you.
Step 3. Read the passage of scripture again – asking God what He wants to show you about the phrase that stood out to you.
Is there something that you need to be obedient to? Is there something that you need to give thanks for? Is there something that you need to confess or repent of? Is there something that you need to surrender? Is there something that you need to remember or take note of for a situation in the future?
God is showing you the phrase for a reason. If you are in a group share what you are sensing about that word or phrase.
Step 4. Respond to what you have been shown.
You may need to put something on your calendar or your “to do” list. You may need simply to pray into that revelation for the rest of the day. Respond to whatever God has shown you.
If you are open to it, share with the group what you want to do with what you have been shown.