Core Values: Christ-Centered Teaching - Luke 24:13-35

[0:00] thanks so much pastor josh for that wonderful prayer my name is eric and if i have not had the chance to meet you i want to thank you for being here today especially amidst the weather my little uh front wheel drive car made it but only by a little bit i went up the hill so i'm glad that you're here thank you for making it out i'm also just have a new perspective of appreciation for being safe and careful in the snow you may notice i have a bandage on my head the lord humbled me a couple days ago actually two days ago in that i was looking for a gas meter on the side of my house and i tripped and fell and hit my head on a rock there's got to be a lot of biblical stories about people hitting their heads there are but thankfully i was all right i ended up going inside getting the towel on my head and realizing our furnace is down that's why i was around the house and the avista guys are driving up to my house right now so i grabbed a towel put it on my head walked out with blood everywhere and said hi my name is eric and let me tell you i've never ever seen two people stare at my forehead longer than that i let me just get this out of the way i'm an idiot i fell down two seconds ago thank you for helping us the furnace is there please go fix it that's pretty much how that conversation went they were very gracious but that's why i have a bandage on my head so i'm grateful to be here my wife told me i need to get stitches i said just grab some duct tape she said no you're getting stitches i went in the nurse is like yeah you need stitches your wife is right so the lord is gracious and we're going to learn about jesus and how we need him so desperately we need him for our sin we need him for our brokenness we need him to shape us new hearts but we also need him for our knuckleheadedness so thankful for jesus today we are in a series looking at our core values as a church and what are core values we learned last week that our core values are really biblical principles that we're taking from scripture and we're saying as a church these are the things that we want to be about and value as a church so that we might accomplish our mission and our mission is right here displaying the light of christ for the glory of god and the good of all so our core values really end up being what we see as the biblical principles for what a healthy church should be and then living those out so last week number one we looked at beholding jesus the first paramount core value is that each and every one of us would look to jesus christ for all things sustenance salvation life but now we move to our second core value and you're going to be surprised here it's also about jesus as much we like jesus at this church so this is christ-centered teaching so i'd like to read really quick our definition of christ-centered teaching and then we'll work through a passage together so christ-centered teaching we believe in a relevant expository teaching and preaching that faithfully interprets and implies the truth of every passage in light of the central message of scripture namely the atoning redeeming work of jesus christ the messiah in him all of god's promises to his people are fulfilled all of scripture points to and exalts jesus christ as the savior of sinners who empowers his church to live for his glory and renown to the transformational power and love of the gospel so if you're in luke 24 we're going to read a fairly big section together pastor josh already read it with us but i'd like to work through it with you to see is it true that the bible prescribes jesus christ and his redeeming work in his life death and resurrection as the central message of god's story i think it is and i hope that you see that this morning too but before we dive into the elements of the text i want to just ask the question what is teaching if the core value that we're operating by as a church and our second one is christ-centered teaching let's talk about teaching real quick well biblically speaking i would define teaching as

[4:00] telling or instructing others with knowledge it's a very general description of teaching that can be applied across the board in the bible but here at lampstand teaching takes place in many forms primarily on sunday yes but some forms of teaching here are more formal like the preaching of god's word by pastors preaching is the proclamation of god's word for the edification of the saints and the heralding of the good news of the gospel but we also have teaching going on in other avenues such as men's and women's bible studies ladies bible studies come in very soon it's in the works and in our children's ministry where we have faithful members of the church that step up to say i will prepare and teach a wonderful jesus christ-centered lesson to our children there's also more informal forms of teaching that happen in the life of the church such as one-on-one discipleship where i want to learn from you teach me general encouragement and exhortation and admonishment that happens in interpersonal conversations on a sunday morning a number of you have already admonished and encouraged me this very morning you have taught me in that but also singing to one another is scripture is called teaching according to paul in colossians 3 we are teaching one another god's truths to each other as we sing these are all forms of teaching so what's up with christ-centered teaching can each and every one of those types of teaching really be christ-centered well i think we have a paradigm that says yes it should be all in all the bible provides a clear command to believers and churches to be about teaching his word but also and specifically teaching the work of jesus christ to one another and to the world so in this passage what i'd love to do is just kind of work it through in three sections the first section here is going to be verse 13 to 24 and in this section verse 13 to 24 is sort of the opening to our narrative what we're going to see is there's two disciples and we don't know one of them is cleopas we don't know who the other one is some people speculate it's his wife or a friend but here's what we know these two disciples are in a heavy deep theological conversation now how many of y'all have ever been in one of these i'm talking hey you remember we talked about that yeah that theology where we disagree a little bit let's get coffee let's do this and you sit down you open up the scriptures maybe a book on the topic and you go into it i've had so many of those over the years with faithful brothers and sisters and i'd love to do that why because it it brings about a curiosity of what god wants for me in my life and as we refine one another towards truth led by the spirit he will do that so here we see two disciples and it seems to be their heart and what they're doing is they are recounting all of the events surrounding this absolutely infamous person at this time named jesus so let's read verse 13 to 24 all at once and we'll see what they are speculating about and that very day two of them were going to a village named emmaus about seven miles from jerusalem they were talking with one another about things that had happened and while they were talking and discussing together jesus himself drew near and went with them but their eyes were kept from recognizing him and he said to them what is this conversation that you were holding with each other as you walk and they stood still looking sad then one of them named cleopas answered him are you the only visitor to jerusalem does not know the things that have happened here in these last days and he said to them what things and they said to him concerning jesus of nazareth a man who was a prophet mighty indeed word before god and all the people and how our chief priests and

[8:03] rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem israel yes besides all this it's now the third day since these things happened moreover some women of our company amazed us they were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman said but him they did not see okay so here's the recounting of the events that the two disciples are talking about and here's what i'd like us to see they're discussing all the things that had happened that we read about in the gospels all of the events surrounding this guy named jesus but here's what happens there's this certain figure that steps into the conversation and says hey i'd like to be a part of this what are you guys talking about and we know it to be jesus but these two are shielded from the knowledge that it is jesus himself if you've ever seen the show undercover boss you might have seen that show or know what it's about and basically what it is is the boss of a company a ceo typically says i want to know what life is like on the main floor with all of my workers so i'm going to go down and disguise myself so i can hear what they're talking about see their experiences it's kind of like that jesus is going incognito here why well i think it's to see what it is that people are understanding about him and about the events of the gospel that have taken place but not only does he want to see jesus has a heart of a teacher how many times the gospels is he called teacher rabbi he wants to teach because he was sent for that purpose to guide people unto truth so here's what jesus does in his incognito nature he joins in the conversation says what has happened tell me i want to hear from you what you think has happened but i want us to notice this really important little phrase in verse 17 they stood still what does it say looking sad why are they sad here's why they're sad it says these are disciples they bought into what jesus was teaching they trusted what he was saying they were along for the ride and now jesus is dead so much so that they are sad as they should be their great savior and messiah the one who did all the miracles who taught all the things about god is now gone but let's go through their recounting of this story real quick let's see how well they did give them a report card even first here's what they say jesus of nazareth who was a prophet mighty in word and deed check a plus nailed it that's correct he's from nazareth this guy came out of nazareth into jerusalem everyone said what who's this guy what good comes out of nazareth well he came on the scene and he proved himself to be a prophet and he did great mighty works both in his speaking his preaching his proclamation but also in his miracles his healings his touch with the people okay that's number one number two they said this the jewish leaders condemned him to death and led him to his crucifixion okay a plus we're on track two for two nailing the story here that is actually what happened that's exactly right number three here's what they say next summarizing and we are bummed because we thought he was the messiah oh darn it okay that one's not an a plus but

[12:13] let's go to the next one and it is the third day what does that mean here's the way that luke is writing this for us to understand at this moment these two disciples do not believe that he was the messiah it's indicated in the text it's implied heavily that oh man all these great things happen but if he was the messiah he would be with us or if he was the messiah he would at least have risen on the third day why do we know that that's their assumption because they say strictly besides all of this even if all of that wasn't true here's what we do now it's the third day meaning these disciples actually listened to what jesus had taught or maybe they heard it from the 12. Jesus said in luke 9 the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised that's in luke's gospel and then again in luke 18 again he doubles this taking the 12 he said to them see we are going up to jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished for he will be delivered over to the gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon and then here it is after flogging him they will kill him and on the third day he will rise twice in luke's gospel jesus doesn't just say tear this temple down and i'll raise it up he says strictly specifically with clarity in three days i rise from death to his disciples this word this teaching has gone through the disciples they've all heard it presumably because now you have cleopas and this other disciple saying we know that he said he would raise on the third day and lo and behold it is the third day woe is us oh did they how how they did not see and then finally their last piece of the message is some women claimed to have been told he was alive even though they didn't see him that counts kind of sus and then some of the disciples went to the tomb and they also didn't see him you can see the doubt coming through in other words we all hopefully have an experience with reading comprehension jesus throughout his ministry taught all of these things about what would take place prophecies and here's the reading test read the book and then when you come into class on monday i want you to give the report of what you read or what you heard in this case well these disciples came in and they nailed the first couple chapters and then and then in chapter five he went over there and did that thing and i don't really remember the rest of the story that's kind of what's happening here how does jesus react to this well here's the second phase of our story jesus condemns their disbelief and teaches them the whole redemptive story of god this is verse 25 26 and 27 let's do these three verses together and he said to them oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken was it not necessary that the christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory and beginning with moses and all the prophets he interpreted to them and all the scriptures the things concerning himself here's jesus heart i am a teacher and i see these disciples and they they can't figure it out they're confused they're foolish even how many times have i said i would be raised up i would be killed crucified and that i would raise from the dead for their good and their benefit and yet they still don't believe me but not only that here's what jesus says they don't even believe the prophets guys you've had thousands and

[16:15] thousands of years of people coming onto the scene sent by god to say there's gonna be a messiah and here's what he's gonna look like we're gonna go through a lot of prophecies here in a minute but here's what jesus is saying how have you not seen this it's been laid out have you ever seen a good mystery movie i'm talking a movie where you watch it the first time and you're completely caught off guard for the reveal at the end for me this movie is the prestige if you've ever seen that movie it's one of my favorites if you haven't here's your assignment alongside with the applications at the end of the sermon go watch the prestige but i won't spoil but here's what i will tell you you watch that movie the first time and by the ending you are completely blindsided i was maybe some of you were trying to figure it out and then the second viewing your favorite mystery what does that usually look like oh i i know how this is going so i'm going to look for all of the little oh there it is he said it there oh you see that right that's right oh that's the second third fourth viewing of that mystery movie all of a sudden everything makes sense it's kind of like what's happening here except jesus is not impressed that they didn't figure it out the first time but here's how loving jesus is he is going to guide them and direct them anyway okay patient i'm going to be patient with you and i'm going to now teach you every step of god's redemptive story and so what jesus does in one verse we're told in verse 27 we are told that jesus gives the first christ-centered sermon in history their first redemptive teaching that connects all of god's word together climaxing in the work of the messiah himself and here's what he says beginning with moses and all the prophets and there's a key word here notice verse 27 says that he interpreted to them now if you're a good bible student and you've studied the bible at any length you know what the word interpret means it's where you take the text you find the original meaning and then you explain it in its original meaning and intent and with all of the background to say this is what they're saying to us it's good interpretation here's what jesus is doing all right let's go all the way back we're going to go to moses we're going to go to the prophets and we're going to see a little later we're going to go to the psalms and i'm going to go through the bible and i'm going to teach you interpret for you very clearly because they weren't getting it how it all points to me what an amazing sermon this must have been as they were walking here's where i want to nail down to us that the bible teaches clearly that jesus christ is the pinnacle of scripture he's the keystone of the biblical ark that holds all things together now i use the word keystone here intentionally you can put up that picture that first one a keystone is the middle piece of a roman arch now the romans were incredible with their architecture they made concrete that still stands to this day looking absolutely perfect i've been to italy i've seen these arches here's how the romans built their arches first they would build a wood frame and then they would stack stones up gradually along the wood frame the wood frame is doing the holding but here's what would happen once they got it to where the last stone which is the keystone the middle one that holds everything together once that was ready to be placed they would then place it slowly and then take the wooden frame out to see if it holds and if that keystone was laid properly all of the other stones in the arch hold perfectly together strong sturdy last for literally thousands of years and they

[20:18] still stand today jesus christ is the keystone of scripture what do i mean by that the old testament is the frame that sets everything up and that frame builds and builds and builds and builds and finally it's ready okay we just need the last stone and here's what happens jesus comes onto the scene as the messiah as the keystone and he falls into place and all of the bible all of a sudden now stands as one beautiful perfect unit that's who jesus is in scripture he's the keystone of god's redemptive story therefore if we isolate any part of scripture away from the redeeming work of jesus when we read it when we study it when we teach it if we don't look at jesus or it doesn't lead us to to ponder the messiah i really truly believe in my heart of hearts it's like ripping a stone out of the arch it all immediately collapses this hasn't always been a conviction of mine actually the lord has worked this into my life in the last 10 years to convict me that the bible is about jesus it doesn't mean that we can't read sections of scripture without without being able to to clearly be able to see jesus and apply him in the text but it does mean this that if we isolate any part of scripture and we don't get back to the gospel or don't get to jesus as the fulfillment of all scripture it will lead us actually potentially away from god this is why over how many thousands of years the scarlet thread of scripture has been used as a term that christ redeeming work goes back and forward into every page of scripture it clarifies all that god has spoken and puts it into its proper context i want to show a quick picture here this was um this was developed by a guy named chris harrison it's a very famous picture at this point what you're looking at right now are all of the cross references echoes and beyond in scripture what i mean by that is every line that you see the left is genesis the farthest book on the right is revelation every line you see is a direct cross reference to another part of the bible that is gorgeous what does this teach us look at the massive arcs look at these giant lines that go all the way to the top notice where this is guess what books these are gospels and romans are right there and acts all of those giant arcs are going all the way back to genesis exodus leviticus numbers dude what i thought we're spanning like thousands four thousand years here we are and yet the bible remains in perfect consistency perfect fluidity completely and utterly inerrant all of it working together and what does this picture teach us it shows us that god is sovereign he's in control of his word and he is sovereignly ordained and fine-tuned his scripture the very words of life and salvation that we receive he sovereignly tuned this to all come together in christ all of it reveals jesus and points forward to him that's an amazing picture so here's what i want to do i want us to actually look at the rest of this section we're going to read it and then we will continue to understand christ-centered teaching let's look at verse 28 so they drew near to the village to which they were going and he acted as if he were going farther but they urged him strongly saying stay with us for it is toward evening and the day

[24:18] is now far spent so he went in to stay with them and when he was in table with them he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight and they said to each other did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road while he opened to us the scriptures and they rose that same hour and returned to jerusalem and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together saying the lord has risen indeed has appeared to simon then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them the breaking of the bread and i'm going to read the next few verses follow along with me real quick and as they were talking about these things jesus himself stood among them now amongst all the twelve and additional disciples and said to them peace be to you but they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit and he said to them why are you troubled and why do you doubts arise in your hearts see my hands and my feet that it is i myself touch me and see for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that i have and when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet and while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling he said to them have you anything to eat and they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate it before him now notice this then he said to them these are my words that i spoke to you while i was still with you that everything written about me in the law of moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled last verse then he opened their minds and the scriptures jesus doubles down again to the new group of disciples and here's what he says the second time repeating it listen the old testament your scriptures that you have and you know the law the prophets and then the third section now he's adding the psalms all of that pointed to me and i'm going to show you that right now by teaching you so let's understand this hopefully as quickly as we can when jesus summarizes the old testament for them it was their hebrew bible of the time he says three divisions law of moses prophets and psalms this makes up what we call the tanakh today and the tanakh is made up of these three sections law prophets and jesus says psalms otherwise known as the writings in hebrew circles okay these three sections of their bible hebrew bible is largely in reference to all of the scriptures in other words here's what jesus is doing when he references these three things he's saying the whole bible every ounce of scripture that you have all of it points to me torah this torah torah is genesis exodus leviticus numbers deuteronomy makes up the law notice this in the book of deuter in the book of luke jesus quotes from the law of moses this is really important in luke chapter 4 when he's being tempted in the wilderness and here's what he says he reminds the devil of these three scriptures deuteronomy 6 it's the lord your god you shall fear him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear deuteronomy 6 16 you shall not put the lord your god to the test deuteronomy 8 3 man does not live by bread alone but by man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the lord did jesus just quote from the torah the law and say hey all of these things look i'm fulfilling them and i'm doing them he's fulfilling the law just by quoting it in luke let's go to the next section let's go to the prophets now the prophets in the hebrew bible makes up the books of joshua judges all the way through chronicles called former prophets and the latter prophets which are the ones you might be more familiar with isaiah jeremiah ezekiel and the 12 minor prophets these make up the prophet section here's what jesus does in luke chapter 4 right after the temptation he gives his first sermon in luke and here's what jesus says in his first sermon

[28:21] he quotes from isaiah 61 and he says this the year of the lord's favor the spirit of the lord god is upon me because the lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim liberty to the captives jesus just said in his first sermon ever yep uh isaiah was talking about me here i am i'm fulfilling this okay well there's the fulfillment of the law according to jesus the fulfillment of the prophets let's go to the psalms now the last section the writings of the psalms make up psalms proverbs job song of psalms ruth lamentations ecclesiastes esther daniel ezra nehemiah these are all the writings they call them and here's what jesus does in luke chapter 20 he defends his divinity to the sadducees who are saying are you really god and here's what jesus says he quotes from psalm 110 he says this um in that psalm you're talking about david being the the referent actually it says this the lord says to my lord sit at my right hand until i make your enemies a footstool is he talking about david is he saying the lord said to my lord or is he talking about someone else sadducees aka here's what jesus is saying that's me psalm 110 is about me i'm fulfilling the psalms furthermore jesus says that all of the old testament points to him he interprets it in light of himself how did jesus fill the law of moses or in other words how did the law of moses point to jesus is that really what it did well there's a sacrificial system in the law of moses that literally operates on the assumption of the atonement of sin through sacrifice of blood hebrews tells us that was fulfilled by jesus the sacrificial lamb slain for you and i the eternal sacrifice never to happen again how about the law talking about holiness and righteousness being achieved through law keeping jesus did that where no one else could the feasts and festivals passover is a feast where jesus is the sacrificial lamb that was slain to cover the sins of god's people that his judgment might pass over the believer just as it passed over israel when they were in egypt through the blood of a lamb on the doorpost how about the feast of unleavened bread as israelites left egypt with haste taking bread that was not leavened as the lord told them utterly dependent on for the journey so too jesus is our unleavened bread whom we are delivered by and sustained with it fulfilled that past that that feast how about the first fruits another spring feast as israel was to bring the first fruits of their harvest to the priest to sacrifice him to god so to jesus was the first fruit of resurrection life offered up to the father who will be resurrected to us one day in the same pattern of jesus he's the first fruits how about the feast of booths as israel lived in the tabernacle tends for a week to remember their time in the wilderness after the exodus when god cared for them so too jesus will one day tabernacle with us his people in eternity living among us and feasting with us that could go on and on pentecost trumpets atonement all of it here's what jesus is saying the old testament the law points to me okay what about the prophets we talked about this again jesus is the true and better joshua who brings god's people into the eternal promised land jesus is the only true judge who can deliver god's people from their sin jesus is the only true king of israel from the line of david to outdo and outlast all other kings how much time do you have we could go on and on isaiah 7 born of a virgin isaiah 9 ministry to begin in galilee isaiah 11 descendant of david micah 5 2 he'd be born in bethlehem on and on and on the prophets spoke repeatedly for thousands of years that this guy will come he'll be of nazareth he'll be born in bethlehem he's going to be the son of the lord most high he's going to do miracles he's going to ride to jerusalem on a donkey all of these and hundreds more are in the prophets

[32:24] and i would assume based on the text that jesus is walking through maybe not every one of them but he's walking through so many of these that the disciples are probably just going holy cow the mystery is no longer mystery y'all the messiah and we're on board can you imagine being here for this sermon how about the psalms the last one jesus is the wisdom of god first first christians chapter one proverbs he's our wisdom jesus is the only source of satisfaction in life ecclesiastes points to that jesus comes from the line of ruth as the one true kinsman redeemer even ruth was about jesus how about daniel well daniel predicted the coming of god's eternal kingdom which is ushered in by messiah jesus again we could go on and on and all of the psalms that talk about the messiah to come being fulfilled in jesus but what does all this mean for us at lampstand here's what it means we're going to follow jesus pattern and we're going to teach him and we're going to not apologize for being a gospel preaching gospel centered church because that's who jesus is he's about redemption he's about looking at the story of god from cover to cover and saying all of this is about god redeeming his people by forgiving their sins through the coming of a messiah who loves us us so that's what we're going to preach you're going to hear a lot about jesus here of god's word and that means subsequently we love the story of jesus because that's what god's word is about first corinthians 2 you can put this up there listen to this paul is going to the corinthian church that's really messed up they got a lot of issues doctrinally and elsewise and he comes into the church and here's what he says and i when i came to you brothers did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of god with lofty speech or wisdom y'all ever heard a good sermon i've heard a lot of really good sermons where there's all sorts of application there's incredible knowledge and i'm just eating it up and god can use that don't get me wrong but here's what paul just said i'm not interested in that unless verse two for i decided to know nothing among you except christ jesus and him crucified when i came to your church here's what i preached jesus jesus jesus jesus and a little more jesus he lived perfectly we could not he does it for us he died sacrificially we should have died for our sin and he rose victoriously where we could never so that we might raise too and in doing that gospel work here's what paul's saying i preached that to you because that's the only thing you need for salvation but here listen up christians who say i've already made a profession i've already baptized that's all you need for salvation that's also all you need in the gospel sometimes i've gotten the comment in the past as this connection has grown and people have bared with me and my preaching over the years some of which here right now i've gotten this comment before the gospel is great and it's the focus of all of your sermons but can we hear something new for a chance i forgot that many times and i appreciate the feedback if you ever have feedback for me in my preaching i welcome it but i will tell you this if that's your feedback i will say back to you with loving kindness and patience in my heart we will never tire of the gospel at this church and we will never stop preaching jesus and we will never need anything new for the gospel is all we need for life and godliness so does christ-centered teaching mean that we can't have biblical or earthly role models that's a big question out of christ-centered teaching the bible is full of

[36:27] examples to follow no question hebrews 11 gives us a list of people who were considered faithful and if you read hebrews 11 right now you're going to walk away going i want to be like all of these amazing people but ultimately i want to encourage us it is a dangerous game to make the goal of our sanctification to be like any biblical character hear me out why because ultimately they fell short in many ways and we're also told in scripture that they serve as warnings to us first corinthians and paul states that the accounts of israel's faithlessness after exodus the events of exodus were given as a warning that the example of god's own chosen people ought to warn us to check our pride and pursue faith in jesus so yes be like david i can say both of these be like david when you read the story of this young boy who says i can take this guy down through god's strength why are we afraid god can do this i'll go it's an amazing story he takes down the mighty goliath by faith with five river stones it's an awesome story be like david yes have the faith to believe that god can do great things but don't be like david in so many other ways so yes we keep the good and throw the bad but also i want to encourage us towards this seek a better example even than david who christ who also sets the perfect example those ww jd bracelets they actually got it right i love that message let's be like jesus and this is not to say we can't have any older role models other than jesus but it does mean that we also imitate that which is christ-like in others paul says to the corinthians imitate me as i imitate christ that's not paul being prideful it's him saying any way that you see jesus in me do that he's actually saying don't be like me be like someone else in other words when you look around the room and you look at your faithful brothers and sisters your parents your friends anyone that you admire that has a great faith imitate the jesus you see in them and this is the legacy that we're called to mothers to your daughters fathers to your sons grandparents to your grandchildren any and all of us to anyone who's looking believe a legacy that your kids can follow of faith in jesus so does this mean that every time we open god's word we cannot look at good examples no it just means this that every time you open god's word and you do your bible study you're going to go into this great beautiful mine of wisdom that is god's word and when you study the bible and you read it you're going to pull out gems you're going to come out of that cave that beautiful cave with all sorts of gems and treasures because that's what god's word holds wisdom for the daily life but here's what i want to encourage you towards here's what christ-centered teaching is about don't ever leave that cave without requiring the one radiant gem that outshines all the others that can always be acquired that's christ he is the greatest possession the greatest treasure you could ever take from god's word but here i want to encourage us this christ-centered teaching isn't even primarily about convincing people to do what jesus did it's about rejoicing in what he did let me repeat that christ-centered teaching isn't primarily about convincing people to do what jesus did it's about rejoicing in what he did we are at our best when jesus is at our center it works like this god does something miraculous for us to save us and give us life and in response we worship him with grateful hearts i was in the drive through the other day a long drive through of cars trying to get coffee and after waiting and waiting getting impatient you know i'm talking about there's like six cars that come on come on come on i get up to the window i make my order and the person i'm kind of impatient okay thank you for the

[40:31] coffee here's my payment the person in front of you actually paid for you wow changed my attitude like that and here's what i did i sat there and i drove wait no i said all right i'm really moved right now i'm gonna pay for the person behind me and she's like all right you're the sixth person that's done that thank you why i share that story i share that story because i really truly believe that gratitude is the greatest most powerful motivation for living a holy life when someone does something for you that's absolutely amazing it drives us toward action and this is the blessing of christ-centered gospel study and teaching when we see what jesus has done for us it motivates properly through grace everything we're called to do so when i come to david's passage i don't look and say i want to be like david because he's awesome and i want to be like that i want that same faith and maybe even that fame let's let it creep into the heart unfortunately i want to be that famous dude no the motivation for there is not pure the motivation to see the story of david and say you know what david conquered life and that's great and israel conquered the philistines but guess what israel had a new enemy very quickly and david wasn't around to conquer that one but you know what the story of david does teach me is that through god amazing things can happen and here's what it teaches me that jesus christ conquered an enemy just like goliath except for this enemy was far more superior far more dangerous jesus conquered sin and death forever and that's what it points to when i read the story of david it's wow jesus is a better david all of this to say we read the bible with jesus in mind christ-centered teaching doesn't mean we look for jesus under every rock or behind every corner i bet you heard it before david we're looking for jesus in the story of david and goliath here's how we're going to find it how many stones did david have he had five okay five stones jesus had one wound here one here one here feet and then he got pierced on the side boom five stones points to jesus five wounds i've heard before not good christ-centered teaching or study we're looking under where we shouldn't but here's where we do look to christ we look at the old testament and we say this praise god that we have little signposts that point forward to a better a better a better this is the whole book of hebrews a better king a better savior a better judge a better priest a better prophet and it all points to one person so here's some applications for us i hope we can make the road to emmaus is a very clear biblical principle of seeing scripture and watching it point to jesus here's some applications for us first study your bible redemptively what do i mean by that for a very large part of my life i studied the bible without ever considering the one whom it's all about so it'd be like reading narnia and never ever reading about aslan or reading lord of the rings and never ever reading about frodo just doesn't the context of the story makes no sense without those characters i want to encourage us to study our bibles with jesus in mind and just like as these disciples after jesus opening the scripture up to them it says that their hearts burned within them jesus was doing something and their hearts are burning we don't know what this is but we're we love this and our hearts are just feeling the conviction and and the holiness of this teaching so too that happens in us when we read our bibles redemptively how do i engage in redemptive bible study well something that i do is called the gospel stoplight you don't have to use this but i i have three colors yellow green and i highlight the works and acts of god in yellow because it reminds me of his holiness

[44:33] yield is my color there when you see god something on the page say lord you're amazing red is when you stop and see something that can point to the salvation that jesus ultimately delivers through his redemptive work and in green i highlight anything that is an application in the text go and do this so when you see the calls to action you're motivated by grace but also consider the ultimate story of the bible creation fall redemption restoration those are four words that we describe the whole bible by creation is our compass it's our true north it tells us that we're not where we should be fall is our present place on the map in the muck in the mire and redemption is our vehicle on this map jesus is driving that vehicle he's going to take us home and then finally restoration is our destination new creation of jesus start reading the bible and considering those four phases of redemptive of the redemptive story christ-centered bible study ask these three questions what does this passage teach me about sin what does this passage teach me about god and how is this passage shaped by jesus life death and resurrection give those three questions a whirl second apply the work of christ practically if you commit to yourself if you commit yourself to getting to jesus in bible study you'll have an opportunity to apply his work in your life see your sinfulness and repent in every part of the bible see jesus redemption and believe in every part of the bible and see god's grace and praise him and then finally preach christ tirelessly in colossians chapter one here's what paul says christ in you the hope of glory him we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in christ for this i toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me paul just said this we proclaim jesus to present everyone mature and for this i toil struggling with all the energy he gave me in other words tirelessly if we're convicted about jesus and we're studying him and seeing the glory of christ and all of scripture it should also fuel the heart of evangelism and proclamation that paul had every disciple has been given the call to preach the gospel make disciples baptize them and teach them jesus commandments that is your great commission that is my great commission those are his final words to his disciples the last command he ever gave teach others about me and make disciples why because the whole bible is about him no actually sorry that's not enough because the whole universe is centered around jesus and held together by him that is why we teach in this church christ and christ crucified and i want to encourage you this very week to start making some habits how can i see jesus every time i open the text lord thank you for this day thank you for your word lord thank you for jesus showing us in his word that he is the centerpiece of the word but i pray that like the disciples lord who had their ears hearts and minds opened to the gospel through what jesus said lord i pray that our hearts would burn within us too that you would open up our hearts as well as we see you working redemptively through your son jesus help us to magnify the gospel every time we meet we gather we read your word we pray may we see jesus and all of his glory in his name we pray amen