I heard a well delivered message on listening to God speak through His Word. The passage used was James 1:19-25. Verse 19 says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. The passage goes on to say, “Humbly accept the Word planted in you”. Verse 22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says”.
The Pastor then took “Humbly accept the Word planted in you” and ran it through the “soils” in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. He mentioned he was a big fantasy football fan. He said, “If I am setting in church and am thinking about which player I should play on my fantasy football team this Sunday while God’s Word is being shared, I am letting the “cares of the world” block me from hearing what God wanted me to hear. I have let Satan “snatch” the Word that was “sown”. How often we are distracted when God is trying to get our attention.
That made me think about how easy it is to be “doing the right thing”, like going to church or reading the Bible, and yet we are simply going through the motions. My favorite song writer, Michael Card, wrote about our weekly tradition of going to church and said, “We weekly go and coldly mouth the words”; a scary thought. We are not really listening to what God has to say to us. In fact aren’t we often filled with pride because we “already know the right answer” and we look around in judgment of others? How do we hear what God is saying to us if we don’t listen?
For years I struggled to find a Bible Study method that would help me understand what God was saying through the passages I was reading. The best Bible Study method I have ever found is the Inductive Bible Study method. It teaches three steps; Observation, Interpretation and Application. This simple process has revolutionized the way I attempt to understand Scripture.
Observation is typically accomplished from reading, but there are also video presentations that use scripture word-for-word. However we choose to accomplish Observation, it is critical to hear what scripture says, not pass it through the “filter” of what we currently believe. Keep an open mind to allow God to challenge our thoughts and guide us into a deeper understanding. I once heard a famous pastor say on a radio program, “Don’t let scripture confuse you. We already know what we believe”. That is a scary statement. It assumes we have nothing left to learn.
Interpretation happens when we seek to understand who was saying what to whom and in what situation. Do we know who the writer was? Do we know who their audience was? Some books are easy, like Paul writing to the Church in Corinth. Others like Hebrews are less clear. Also we must interpret the “word pictures”, references of their time in history (like shepherds and sheep) or parables (stories with a hidden double meaning), to allow us to interpret what the writer was saying. However, the one thing we can be certain of is scripture is for believers. If you or I are hearing it or reading it, that passage is specifically for us. We need to listento what God is saying to us; not look around and judge others.
Probably the biggest missing element to most Bible Study is Application. I feel like many people read scripture and get the message in theory, “God loves the world so much He sent His Son”, but don’t know how to apply the theory to their everyday lives. This causes people to ask questions like, “How can a loving God send good people (our perception of good) to Hell?” instead of accepting His definition. The application comes when you understand the rest of the thought, “Whoever believes in Him will be saved”. If someone thinks “believes in Him” means you believe He existed, like Abraham Lincoln existed, your application will be completely different from those that know “believe in Him” leads to a changed life and a surrender heart; a bond servant.
Let’s take a very familiar passage, the 23rd Psalms, and think through it inductively.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside still waters
He restores my soul
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name sake
Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death
I will fear no evil for You are with me
Your rod and Your staff they comfort me
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Probably your “observation” of this Psalm has been happening for years. Being such a familiar passage of scripture, we have read it, heard it read and have heard some of the verses quoted over and over. Probably the most quoted verse is “walking through the valley of the shadow of death”; often a reference at funerals, although it actually is not referencing death specifically.
I wonder how many have stopped to “interpret” the Psalm; who was saying what to whom. We know David wrote this Psalm to his Lord, but as you look at it, David changes from third party (He makes me, He leads me, He restores me) to second party (Your rod, You prepare, You anoint) to first party (I will fear no evil, I will dwell) as the Psalm moves on. It is like he was writing down his thoughts about his Lord to share with others, then turned to speak to Him directly and then turned it into a prayer of gratitude.
David, having been a shepherd, recognized the similarity between his sheep following him as a shepherd and David following the Lord; his Shepherd. He uses language a shepherd would be very familiar with. Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd and said, “My sheep will hear my voice and follow me. They will not follow another shepherd”. Sheep only follow their shepherd’s voice. One of the great examples God has shown me of His Sovereignty is the fact He created sheep “in the beginning” knowing they would be the perfect example for David to write about in this Psalm and for us to recognize our dependence on the Good Shepherd today. He is amazing. Praise His Name!
We are His sheep-
1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (sheep have what the shepherd supplies, he cares for their wants)
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures (sheep need to be made to lie down to rest)
3. He leads me beside still waters (sheep are afraid to drink from moving water)
4. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me (a rod is used for correction, interestingly used here with comfort)
5. You anoint my head with oil (the shepherd pours oil on cuts and scrapes to sooth and heal each sheep)
6. Walk through the valley of the shadow of death (sheep are afraid of shadows in the deep valleys)
David says “The Lord is my Shepherd”. (The Lord not a lord, the one and only Lord) is my Shepherd and He sees to all the needs of His sheep. Sheep are totally reliant on a shepherd to care for their every need. David then relates what the shepherd does for their sheep to what his Shepherd, his Lord, does for him. He cares for David’s physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment. He guides David’s path. David said even in the tough times he has no fear because his Shepherd is with him. David recognizes correction (rod and staff) as comfort to help him not to go astray. Then David ends the Psalm by praising his Lord; his cup over flows and he will be with his Lord forever.
The next step is application. Can we say the same thing about our Shepherd? Are we totally reliant on His provision? Are we content with what He has provided? Are we able to accept what He allows into our life because we believe our Shepherd will always use it for good? Do we feel correction is comforting? Can we say, “My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love (even in the trials) will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”? Application is the key that unlocks the truth of scripture, if you believe it and apply it.
So I challenge us to let scripture speak. I sense many times we read scripture through our own filter. Our filter made up of what life has taught us or what a Preacher said that lead to what we believe to be true at this current time. I have found if I read a passage without trying to make it fit my current beliefs, it allows the Lord to challenge my preconceived ideas and expand my knowledge of the truth. Many times, I have learned what I thought was true wasn’t, but I do not always get a clear understanding of what the passage does mean. However, I do know that all Scripture is true. If I come across what seems to be a conflict in my mind, I know I simple don’t yet understand. I do know Scripture passages do not conflict with other Scripture passages.
I quoted Michael Card before. He also wrote in a song, “Often the questions tell us more than the answers ever do”. I have found that to be true. If I find Scripture that I can’t quite get my mind around, what it shows me is how much greater the Lord’s understanding is than mine. I also know that if He needs me to understand it someday He will make it clear to me.
Let me give you an example. Near the end of Jesus’ suffering on the cross He said to one of the thieves with Him in Luke 23:43, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise”. However, when the women saw Jesus after His resurrection a few days later, He said to them in John 20:17, “Do not hold Me for I have not yet returned to the Father”. On Friday He said today He would be with the thief in paradise. On Sunday He said He had not returned to the Father yet. How can they both be true?
Is this a contradiction of truth? No because we know that all scripture is true and useful for teaching. The question it leaves me with is what did Jesus mean by today in Luke 23:43? My answer is… I don’t know, but I do know it wasn’t that Friday. This is an example of an opportunity to put down your preconceived ideas and open your mind to what scripture tells us. Scripture also says, “To the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. We see in time. He sees in eternity. Our filter tends to cloud some truths and puts God’s truth in a box of our own making.
Do we let scripture speak? Can we accept that God’s understanding is way beyond ours? Can we be open to believing there are truths that He has not yet revealed to us? Scripture says God’s truth is foolish to man and God’s ways are greater than our ways. We need to not put God into a box of our own design. After all, creating God and His truth in our image is idolatry. We need to let Scripture speak, learn from it and realize we don’t yet understand all of God’s ways.
Christian Life Coach 