My name is Daniel Swanson. I got to teach here a little bit last year.
! It was so much fun, and I really learned a lot.
So it's kind of cool to dig into Scripture, dig into what other people are saying,
and to kind of approach you guys and be like, okay, this is what I've learned.
So, what do we mean Nathan came up here and said, we're talking about bibliology tonight?
There's really like five things that goes under that when we talk about bibliology.
We say that we're talking about the authority of Scripture, the inerrancy of Scripture,
the clarity of Scripture, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the necessity of Scripture.
Don't be intimidated by those words. Those are like kind of long and lengthy,
and the reason why is because there's more than three syllables. That's why.
The two pitfalls that you could really fall into when you hear that is, okay,
it's time for me to check out I'm smarter than you because I can say words and I know what they mean or whatever.
You know, this is boring theology because words like this, like authority or sufficiency or inerrancy,
whatever these words, you know, they're just kind of lengthy, and I think that's why we get intimidated.
An example of that is, has anyone here been to like a UGA graduation or a Georgia Tech graduation?
Okay, so a couple things that happens is there's this thing that there's like this phenomenon that happens
when the whole crowd is listening as they're calling up the degrees and like,
here comes James Hood with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Engineering.
And like the whole crowd goes, ooh.
Ooh.
Or, here's one from Georgia Tech, a Master of Science in Quantitative and Computational Finance.
And finally, a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering.
Which, I mean, you could sum up all those different degrees in different ways,
but they just sound really smart, and they are.
But why do we use big words so that we can understand principles of Scripture?
So these words are important.
So I'm going to explain them real quickly what we're going to be talking about tonight.
So when I say God's authority, so the authority of Scripture,
what I say and what Christ's family affirms is that we're saying,
we believe that the Bible is our highest guide and truth.
The second one, you don't have to write all these down.
I'm going to kind of come back to them.
We say the inerrancy.
We say it's completely free from error or fault.
And then clarity.
We say we believe that the Bible is able to be understood by everyone regardless of your intellect or social standing.
Fill in the rest.
The necessity of the Bible.
We believe that the Bible is necessary to know God, His salvation, and His will.
Sufficiency.
We have everything we need to know about godly living from the Bible,
and nothing is absent from it that we need to know.
So does that make sense?
Like head nods.
Like what we just said, those words, okay?
This is what we're talking about tonight.
Those are big claims when you think about it.
What other book do you know makes those claims?
Not many.
What's a bigger claim is if those claims are actually true, right?
Like it's a big deal.
Those are bold and I would say audacious claims.
But if the Bible is correct and the Bible is all those things,
then man, the Bible should be anything but mild.
It should be anything but another book that we have on our coffee table.
So what are my goals for tonight?
Where do I want to see us going?
I really hope that after tonight we walk away,
every single person here walks away swelled up with joy
because of your passion and love for the Word.
Maybe for some of us that's brand new.
Maybe for some of us that's renewed.
Maybe you've come in here and you've been to Bible studies.
You've participated in Bible studies on campus or whatever is in your own time,
reading books or reading Scripture over and over again.
But it's run dry.
I pray that tonight you really walk away renewed.
And if you've viewed the Bible as something that is just another book,
that tonight your view of it would be raised.
That we would look at the Bible as something completely unlike any other book that we have.
You know, I hope that the foundations of your faith are solidified
so that your confidence in the Word increases.
So when we're taking this Word and we're talking to people
and we're saying why it's so important for you to follow the Word
and for you to know Christ
is because our confidence in that the Bible is inerrant,
just as one example, is so true.
And we know that in our hearts.
And I'm like, yes, I know that this book,
and Clay kind of talked about that last week.
You know, what we're saying when we say that it's inerrant,
that man didn't bring in his faults
and he didn't bring in his mistakes
and all the things that we do into this book.
Like, that's a big claim.
Finally, I hope that you leave tonight with a craving to read
and to study the Word
because you realize that it's important as your daily food.
Like, I mean, like if you've ever gotten to that point
when you're so hungry that you get hangry.
Does anyone know what I mean by that?
Like, you get so, you're like,
do not talk to me right now.
I'm starving.
Like, last night we were at community group
and I did not say a word.
I was so hungry.
And I just can't, like, I don't have the energy to, like, say anything.
So some people, I get angry too,
but I mean, like, I'll just shut up.
So, but that's what I'm saying is that, you know,
that when you go through a day and you're like,
man, I have not spent good time on the Word.
I haven't meditated on the Word.
And it hasn't meant anything to me today.
And it makes all these claims to do so.
And I haven't done that.
And because of that, I feel so empty.
And then even when you talk to not, like, I mean,
you'll talk to non-believers and you say that, like,
hey, you know, Wes, how are you doing today?
Dude, I feel so weird.
I haven't gotten in the Word at all.
Like, I haven't actually spent quality time in the Word.
And that's, like, a reality of our life.
It's not Christian lingo that we just, you know,
say to other people.
But it's truth.
So that's the direction that we're going for tonight.
And I pray, I've been praying that the Holy Spirit would come
and, you know, do all those things.
Because I can't persuade you.
Clay can't persuade you.
None of us can say enough to have that joy for the Word,
to have that reverence for the Word.
Like, we need more than anything right now, right?
That the Holy Spirit would come and teach our hearts
and would open our hearts to receive this truth.
More than anything.
So, the text that we just read, 2 Timothy 3.14,
I'm going to kind of address these things that we talked about
as far as the authority and inerrancy, all those other things.
We're going to, I really believe that a lot of that is found in this passage.
And we're going to go through this passage.
We're going to find those different things.
I'm going to talk about it for a second.
And then we're going to kind of go in a little bit of a similar direction
at the end of the night.
So, picking up in verse 14.
So, he says,
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you have learned it,
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation in Christ Jesus.
Okay, let's stop right there.
Before we even go any further.
There are two things that Paul does.
The first thing is Paul kind of really addresses the clarity of Scripture, right?
Let's look at this text.
He says, okay, Timothy, like the things that you've learned from when you were younger,
from childhood that you've been acquainted with,
these things are going to make you wise for salvation.
He says childhood.
And I think there's different debates on it as far as how old Timothy is.
But regardless, we still know that he says, okay, when you were a young kid,
you were familiar with these writings.
And you were able to understand them.
Which is kind of a crazy statement.
Because when I was a child,
I was dressing up like Robin Hood
and running around the house with a blanket over my head,
chasing my brothers and going to the ER multiple, multiple times.
And Paul is saying that in the midst of all that,
in the midst of all that craziness,
and I've got my mind on a million other things,
you're still able as a child to understand this?
Like, that's a crazy statement.
You know, how often when we're reading the Word
and we come upon like a bit of hard truth,
like a bit of Scripture that's like,
whoa, that's confusing.
What in the world does he mean by that?
Has anyone encountered those verses?
Head nods.
Can I get an amen or something?
Okay.
So, we come across those hard verses, right?
And then, a question I'd really like to ask you,
because I want your wheels to start turning tonight.
And so you just start thinking critically,
not me just telling you things.
That's the most important thing,
is that you're thinking for yourself tonight.
But, my question to you is,
when you do come across those Scriptures,
there's a couple responses,
but one of the ones that are most likely
is that we read it,
we're like, oh, that's confusing,
I might read it one more time,
now I'm going to go straight to a commentary
and see what some other dude says about that text.
Instead of saying, okay,
what do I know about Scripture to be true?
What other references do I have in Scripture
to look this up?
Am I praying over Scripture?
Am I trying to understand this?
Are we just so quick to go to other commentaries
or read other books on that subject?
Like, yeah, there's confusion over Scripture.
Like, sometimes it can be a little hazy
and hard to understand.
But I would actually say that's a good thing, right?
We're talking about the complexity of Scripture.
And Jesus, you know,
oftentimes, if you've read the Gospels,
Jesus oftentimes,
whenever there's someone that comes up and they're like,
I don't understand this,
or he's correcting the Pharisees,
he says over and over again,
have you not read?
Have you not understood?
Has it not been told to you from long ago?
He says that over at least a dozen times.
So he's constantly saying,
okay, the problem with your misunderstanding of Scripture
isn't with the Scripture,
but it's with you
because you're not understanding it correctly.
I want to read to you a quote
by a guy named Brian McLaren.
This is on the complexity of Scripture.
He says,
okay,
if God wants the Bible to be a book
that interests and challenges people around the globe
for their whole lives,
that guides them into life's deep mysteries,
that trains us to see the world
from diverse points of view,
and in so doing,
stretches us not to be so limited
by our inherited point of view,
then of course,
it can't be like a phone book,
a government code,
a high school biology textbook,
easy reference,
fully indexed,
conveniently formatted
for a quick and easy use.
Nor can it be one red book
after which we say,
the Bible?
Oh yes,
I've read that years ago,
implying that we'll never need to look at it
or think about it ever again.
If God wants the book
to be an authentic medium
for spiritual enlightenment
and instruction,
then how can it be a book
that we fully grasp,
have control over,
take pride in our knowledge of,
and feel competent
in our regards to?
Mustn't it be an untamed book
that humbles us,
that entices us,
higher up and deeper in,
that renders us children
rather than experts,
that will soon master us
before we master it?
Is that quote
kind of registering with you guys?
Thinking about,
okay, yeah,
scripture is really complex,
definitely.
But,
I think that's a good thing
because we serve a complex God.
You probably don't live
a nice, neat life.
You probably live a very messy life
like I do
where you have,
you know,
heartbreaks here,
failures here,
successes there,
confusing times there.
And the Bible,
like,
kind of goes along
with that same pattern.
Like,
it's not this easily
formatted book
that we can fully grasp
just upon reading it once.
And I would say that the word
is remarkable
because it's simple enough
to be understood
by a child
yet complex enough
to be studied by a scholar
and has the ability
to make that scholar
feel like a child.
Paul also kind of says
in this text,
like,
going on,
so he says,
you know,
you were acquainted with it
from childhood.
And then he says
that it's sacred writings.
So,
so Paul is
immediately doing something
and he's taking it
off the list
of the New York Times
bestseller list
and he's putting it
in this completely
different category,
right?
Like,
this isn't,
you know,
up there with
how to win friends
and influence people.
Like,
this is a completely
different book of its own.
The second thing
that Paul does
in this text
is he points out
the sufficiency
of scripture.
So,
he says,
but as for you,
continue on what you have
learned and have firmly
believed,
knowing from whom
you learned it
and how from childhood
you have been acquainted
with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you
wise for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
You know,
like,
the big question
that comes behind
sufficiency
of scripture being
sufficient for us
is the question of
is scripture enough
for us to know
what God wants us
to think or do?
I'm actually going to have
a little bit of participation.
Can I have someone
turn to Proverbs 30
and read verses 5 and 6?
Yeah.
There we go.
That's it.
Yeah,
that'd be great.
Okay.
That's such
such a big claim.
He says,
every word of God
proves true.
He says,
he's a shield
to those who take
refuge in him.
Such big claims there.
I guess my question is,
you know,
scripture telling us,
okay,
don't add anything
to this.
You don't need
anything else.
Okay,
scripture is enough.
You know,
it's kind of,
there's kind of
some bad signals
that get sent.
Sometimes that we think
that in order to be
a scholar of the word,
to completely,
fully understand the word,
you need to go
where?
After college?
Yes.
Okay.
I'm not saying it's bad,
but I'm just saying
that we kind of get
in this mindset
that the only way
you can be a scholar,
that if you have
a real question,
the person you go to
is Nathan.
And the thing is,
is that,
man,
if you know anything
about history
and how the church
kind of fell into
this time of
the pre-reformation,
so we were becoming
illiterate,
or we were illiterate,
and we were asking
for other people
to interpret scripture
for ourselves.
When the Bible
is so bold enough
to say,
you read me
and you interpret me
for yourself,
see if what I'm saying
is true.
And then,
I mean,
what other books
can say that?
You know,
we have books
like the Book of Mormon
that has added
on to scripture,
or we have books
like the Watchtower Bible,
and it's adding on
to that,
taking away.
You know,
books that claim
that the Bible,
what they're really saying
is that the Bible
isn't enough to know
what you need to know
about salvation.
That can go down
to a million other things,
too.
Like,
okay,
what are those gray areas
where God,
you know,
hasn't specifically
told us about.
But God's Word
is saying,
no,
I've given you enough.
I've told you
exactly what you need
to know.
Do we approach it
in that way?
Moving right along
to the second verse
in 2 Timothy.
So,
picking up in
verse 16,
Paul says,
all scripture
is breathed out
by God
and profitable
for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training
in righteousness.
righteousness.
So,
in right there,
he's kind of saying,
okay,
scripture is breathed out
by God.
So,
the word that we're
using there
is inerrant.
We're saying that the word
is free from error.
That man hasn't
added his own
twist to scripture.
That for his own
advancement,
he's added things.
We say that
this book is literally,
it's the word of God.
a really cool passage
that I want to turn to
because I don't have
a ton of time
to really go over
all these things.
But,
I want you all
to turn to
numbers 23
really quickly.
Really quickly.
Okay, so the situation while you guys are turning there,
this is the Old Testament, so God's people, the nation of Israel,
they're wandering through the wilderness.
They haven't yet come into the Promised Land,
and they're going through certain countries on their way to the Promised Land.
And so they go through this certain area,
and they ask this king named Balak if they can go through.
And Balak says no, because he wants to wage war against them.
So what Balak does is he consults this guy named Balaam,
who's kind of a mystic of sorts.
Balak is saying, okay, what I need you to do for me, Balaam,
is curse the people of God.
They've got all these victories, and I've seen them do a lot of things,
but I need you to curse them so that there's some type of spiritual force that's applied here.
And so Balaam gets a word from God where God says,
no, the people of Israel that you think that you're about to curse,
those are my people.
And so Balaam tells Balak, the king,
I can't curse God's people.
God has revealed this to me that these are his people.
He's revealed that to me through his words.
And so Balak gets frustrated at that,
and he says, no, I need you to curse them.
You don't understand.
And this is what he says, which is super interesting.
18.
So remember, Balaam is not what we would classify as a believer,
or in that time, he's not a part of the actual people of Israel.
He's not a Jew.
So Balaam, in verse 18.
And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
rise, Balak, and hear.
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
God is not man that he should lie,
or a son of man that he should change his mind.
Has he said and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken and will not fulfill it?
That's a super cool passage, right?
You have this guy who's not,
wouldn't call himself a Christian,
or, you know, at the time, a believer,
in the one true God.
And yet he says,
don't you know, Balak, that God doesn't lie?
His words are true.
We can trust them.
That comes out of a mouth that doesn't worship the same God
as Israel did at the time.
That's remarkable.
So we're saying that it's completely free from error,
and the word is attesting to itself and saying,
you can search me, but you won't find errors.
You can think you have contradictions,
but I'll prove you wrong.
History has yet to disprove the Bible.
How many other books do you know of
that can do the same thing,
that can say the same thing,
that can say, you know,
we're consistent with history,
with archaeological finds,
with reason, with logic,
with all these things.
You can search me all you want.
You can exhaust yourself,
and I promise you, you will come up short.
That's so huge.
What other book do you know that does that?
Right?
And this is the Bible that you have in your lap right now.
The fourth thing that Paul does,
he attests to the authority of Scripture.
So, he says,
all Scripture is breathed out by God,
and it's profitable for what?
For teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training in righteousness.
Again, I'm kind of asking the same question,
but what book do you submit your life to,
other than the Bible that says that?
You know, what book says,
I'm good for teaching,
I'm good for you to reprove your friends,
to correct your friends,
for training in righteousness.
Like, why should you,
tell me why you should submit your life to this Bible,
to this book.
Why should you allow your life,
your decisions,
your direction in life,
why should you let all that be influenced by this book?
Right?
Why?
I mean, so what we're saying is that,
okay, if this is not God's Word,
then you all are wasting your time right now.
If you are basing your life direction off of the Word,
and it's not God's Word,
then you're wasting your time.
But,
if this book is God's Word,
then you're not wasting anything,
but you're gaining everything, right?
Like, you're gaining everything.
If someone can turn to John 17,
verse 17,
and read that.
That's going to be my text on this point.
I'll do it.
Verse 17?
Verse 17.
Give everyone one second.
So this is Jesus' context.
Jesus is praying to His Father
right before He's about to be crucified.
And this is what people would call
the high priestly prayer.
Let's pick it up, Lauren.
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
Okay.
Whoa.
That could,
you could be reading Scripture
and then completely miss that.
Because it sounds so nice.
But it's,
it's an insane claim.
When you think about that.
Okay.
So,
Jesus says,
sanctify them in your truth.
Your word is true.
No.
He says truth.
So,
true is an adjective,
and truth is a noun.
So,
He's saying that your word
isn't described by truth.
It's not,
it's not an attribute of true.
It is truth.
It is our ultimate,
highest authority
that we submit to everything to this
because this book is truth.
Does that make sense?
It's not an attribute,
but it's the actual definition.
And Jesus is claiming that.
He's saying that,
Father God,
your word is truth.
That's such a big claim.
And it's outrageous
that we accept that
so mildly.
Like,
we should have a couple reactions to it
other than like,
because if,
because if I said that,
I was like,
my word isn't true.
I'm not saying true things,
but I promise you
it's the definition of truth.
You guys,
hopefully,
would run me out of this building.
Right?
I mean,
like,
that's such a big claim.
And that's why
Christ gets crucified,
because He's saying
these crazy things like this.
But if He's true,
then He's worthy
of all our worship and praise.
Lastly,
He says,
okay,
that same text
in 2 Timothy 3,
17,
He says,
that the man of God
may be complete,
equipped for every good work.
That it's necessary.
That's kind of one
that we need to stress too,
is that we're saying
that the word of God
is necessary.
You know,
how do you come about
knowing God's will
for your life?
That actually is a question.
How do you know
God's will for your life?
Yes,
that's a question.
Okay.
So,
the word of God.
No,
that's gone.
I'm getting rid of,
I'm doing it with a hand motion.
It's had its run.
So,
the word of God.
Matt,
you're saying
it's the word of God.
That tells us
God's will for our life.
What about salvation?
How do you know,
how do you know
that you know
that you're saved?
Question.
You know what it is.
You know what the steps are
because of the word.
Okay.
Yeah.
And I'm not going to,
I'm not going to ask this
for an actual response,
but,
do you know passages
that tell you that?
That you know
that you're saved?
What passages,
what promises of God
are in scripture
that you're like,
hey,
when you're around,
I mean,
I'm just going to use
Jay Whetstone
as a good example of this,
but when he's around Muslims
and,
you know,
he says,
you know,
well,
hey,
do you know
where you're going to,
you're going to spend
eternal life,
where you're going to be
in the afterlife?
And,
I'm trying to correct me
if I'm wrong,
but your dad says
that they always say,
ah,
no one knows but Allah,
right?
And then Jay says,
but I know.
I can tell you
where I'm going to go.
Like,
I mean,
we're surrounded by
that kind of terminology
all the time,
but it kind of loses
its punch.
That you can say,
I know that I know
that I know
that Christ is the way,
the truth,
and the life,
and that if I believe in him,
if I'm trusting him,
if I'm walking,
I'm in faith in him,
that I get to spend
eternal life with Christ.
Muslims cannot say that.
And a lot of people,
if you press them hard enough,
can't.
But,
you can say,
I know scripture,
but I have a question for you,
redundant,
but do you know that scripture?
If someone said,
what promises of God
are you clinging to
for eternal life?
And,
you know,
would you be like,
oh man,
I know it's in there somewhere,
like,
if you'll just give me
like five minutes,
I'll find it.
But is it like,
no,
like,
I'm clinging to these promises,
and these promises
are giving me joy
and confidence.
So,
just be thinking about that
tonight and right now
as far as,
you know,
do I know
these passages
that God gives me promises
for that I can cling to
and say,
man,
I know I'm saved
like what you're saying.
And I know what God's will
is for my life.
Those are such big claims
and no one else can say that.
But you have the word of God
which allows you to say that.
Okay.
So,
this is what scripture
says about itself.
Right?
That's what bibliology is.
That's bot.
So,
what the word says
about itself,
we know what the word
says about itself.
We're saying that
it's authoritative.
It's clear,
it's necessary,
it's sufficient,
and it's authoritative.
What are,
what do other men say
about the Bible?
I'm going to start
with personal words
from the Bible
and I'm going to
kind of move outward.
If y'all would return
to Psalm 42,
can someone read that for me?
Not the whole thing,
I promise.
Verse 1 through 3,
please.
Yeah, go for that.
Matt Chandler constantly
give people grief
for putting this,
these words on like
nice paintings
or coffee cups.
So,
I kind of have to do
the same thing.
But,
this is such,
when you're really
reading this,
like,
what is the psalmist,
what is the guy
who's writing this saying?
He's saying,
like a deer that is
so dehydrated
that it feels like
it's about to die.
He's saying,
my soul pants
for you,
God.
So,
there's this deep thirst
for the word of God
that David has.
He's so thirsty
for the word.
He's like,
like,
you don't understand,
like,
I'm going to die.
Like,
that's how far away
I feel from you.
Man,
isn't it kind of scary
when you,
like,
realize that
you don't feel
anything anymore?
Like,
things that should
convict you
don't convict you.
Words in scripture
that one time
had a huge punch
now are like,
you read it
and you're like,
ah,
yeah,
like,
as a deer pants
for flowing stream,
so my soul pants
for you,
oh God.
Like,
that is so sad,
man.
It happens to me
all the time.
I feel like,
man,
Lord,
like,
I know your word
is supposed to have
more of a punch to it,
but it's just been
so domesticated by me.
Another one is
Matthew 4,
4,
you guys can just
write that one down.
But,
so,
in the scene,
Jesus,
who is about to start
his ministry,
is in the desert.
And then Satan
comes along,
he's been fasting
for 40 days,
I've never done that,
could not do that,
I would never say a word
for 40 years,
I'd be so hungry.
And,
Satan comes along,
and so he starts
tempting Jesus.
He says,
if you're really God,
turn these stones
into loaves of bread.
He said,
do you not know
that God's word
says that man
does not live off
of bread alone,
but off of every word
that comes from God's mouth.
So,
Jesus,
like,
I like,
I can't even,
it's hard for me
to really put it
in a sermon
because it's just like,
it makes it kind of plastic,
right?
But,
I mean,
like,
this dude,
Jesus,
has been
without food
for 40 days.
I can't do that,
man.
It's so,
that's insane for me
to even wrap my mind around.
And then,
Satan comes and he's like,
you could,
like,
if you know those,
like,
cartoons when it's like a mirage
and it's like,
they're looking at,
like,
a palm tree
and it turns into,
like,
a big slice of pizza
and they're like,
ah!
And,
like,
start freaking out.
You guys know
what I'm talking about there,
that imagery making sense?
Like,
Satan able to do
the same thing to Jesus
and he's like,
these stones right here,
these giant boulders,
like,
this could be,
like,
some wonderful French bread.
And then God,
and then Jesus,
like,
responds with,
like,
what in the world?
Responds with,
don't you know,
like,
man does not live off
of bread alone,
but he lives off
of every word
that proceeds
from God's mouth.
So he's relating
physical necessity
for food
and spiritual necessity
for God's word
almost on the same level.
And,
again,
just a question
I'm trying to get you
to think about is,
can you say the same thing
for yourself
as far as what David's saying,
as far as what Christ is saying?
Can you say the same thing?
Do we feel that?
I think,
something that I find myself
so guilty of
is what happens
is that
Scripture affects me
on an intellectual level
and a theological level,
but rarely an emotional level.
Like,
I know God's truth.
Like,
maybe just as a guy
it's harder,
and maybe some of you guys
can relate to me in that.
But it's like,
I mean,
don't you ever feel that
when you're like,
yeah,
I know this is true,
but there's not,
like one of the biggest things
that you struggle with
is joy in your life
or happiness.
And like,
man,
I mean,
God's word says that
the man who knows
his word
is happy.
It should make us joyful.
But,
I promise you guys,
like,
man,
like,
I have the hardest time
with that.
I have the hardest time
kind of crossing that
theological and intellectual
bridge onto the emotional
where it's like,
it's something that grips me
and like,
keeps me awake at night
to where like,
I have friends
that aren't saved
and I'm like,
totally unemotional about that.
Like,
there should be this sense
of like,
grieving and like,
man,
you don't know God.
Like,
there should be this.
I remember at one point,
like,
my friend,
my roommate
throughout college,
like,
wasn't a believer
and man,
I just remember,
I remember being here
on a Thursday night
and I just went home
and I was just like,
bawling in his room.
I went into his room,
like,
shut the door
and I just started crying
in front of him
and I was like,
man,
like,
I'm so sorry.
Like,
I haven't done a good job
like,
sharing Christ with you.
These things are true
that I see that
apart from Christ,
man,
like,
we're going to spend
eternity away from him.
And that was just something
that's like,
man,
I broke in and cried
in front of my roommate
and I don't,
the same thing doesn't
happen to me anymore.
Like,
that's,
and that's not okay.
At least,
it doesn't happen to me
as often.
So,
what,
another guy,
I kind of want to go
a little bit out of
scripture here.
What are other guys
that have longed
after God's,
what else are they saying?
So,
St. Augustine
or Augustine,
however you want to say,
they're the same.
Okay,
so,
St. Augustine,
he says this quote,
he says,
how sweet all at once
it was for me
to be rid of those
fruitless joys
which I once feared
to lose
and was now glad
to reject.
You drove them
from me,
you who are the true,
the sovereign joy.
You drove them
from me
and took their place,
you who are sweeter
than all pleasure.
They're not to flesh
and blood,
you who outshine
all light
yet are hidden
deeper than any secret
in our hearts.
You who surpass
all honor
through not in the eyes
of men
who see all honor
in themselves.
Oh,
Lord,
my God,
my light,
my wealth,
and my salvation.
If you know anything
about Augustine,
he was basically
what we would classify
today as like
a sex addict.
Like,
man,
like the dude
just had struggles.
And it's like,
and then you hear,
you hear this coming
from a guy
who is addicted
to sex,
he's addicted
to a million other things
and yet he says this,
he says you,
so what are those,
those are the things
that we're talking about
when he says
you drove those
fruitless joys.
Like,
Augustine had everything
he wanted to.
He had everything
he wanted
and he's like,
those are fruitless joys,
I don't even want them.
Like,
what makes people
like Paul say,
like,
all those things
that I had,
like,
all the intellect,
all the prestige,
all those things
I just counted
as a complete loss
for the sake
of knowing Christ.
Like,
oh,
man,
that's like,
it makes my mouth dry
because it's like,
like,
I've walked down
these halls
where there's great
men of scripture
and great men
of faith
who are saying like,
pay attention
to this book.
saying like,
like,
don't you read this book?
Like,
do not pass this.
Don't get caught
going to conferences
and reading
Christian pop books
and being in small groups
yet all the while
missing the word
and not valuing it
and not treasuring it
and not knowing me.
Like,
don't miss that.
That's what they're saying.
It's like,
I can't get past it.
Like,
I keep running into dudes
like this who keep
saying these things
and I keep finding myself
on the other end
of the spectrum
where it's like,
God,
I'm not treasuring
your word like that.
Like,
I need to.
And it's like,
it's haunting.
It's haunting
to have guys like that.
And it's so rough
because I feel like
we're a generation
that's characterized
by 15 minute devotions.
Like,
does anyone else feel that?
Like,
man,
like,
how do we get there?
There's so many
different reasons
that I would say why.
I mean,
you could analyze that all day.
But,
I would say that
a big part of it
is that,
man,
like,
that deep introspection.
I was talking to
John Overton
about this today
and I was asking him,
like,
man,
why do you think that is?
And he was like,
man,
and I agree with him
is that,
you guys know
what introspection means?
Like,
the act of,
like,
looking into yourself
and looking at your soul
and looking at the things
that you care about,
the things that you spend
your money on,
the things that you spend
your time in,
all those things.
And we don't examine ourselves.
We don't spend
the necessary time
trying to understand
those things better
and see where,
like,
God is with all those things.
And it's like,
man,
we just,
isn't it so,
aren't we so characterized
by,
like,
reading the Word
like it's a textbook?
Like,
you have your devotion
and I say that
the poor man's,
the poor man's devotion
is always Psalms.
Like,
if you have five minutes,
it's like,
go to Psalms
and get what you can out of it
because the day is gone.
And it's like,
man,
we spend like 15 minutes
in Psalms
and we read it like a textbook
and we read these words
and like,
okay,
this is what it means,
this is what it says,
I understand that.
But we're not saying,
we're not meditating on the Word
as I think is a big thing there.
Because we're saying
that the Word
is so applicable
for your life.
And I mean every single individual.
I mean,
like,
as a group,
I mean,
like,
you who's come here,
like,
this book is so applicable
for your life,
but it was written
so many years ago.
And that's insane.
That's insanity.
And like,
no other book can claim that,
but yet we spend 15 minutes
in a devotion
and we don't meditate on the Word.
We're not saying like,
okay,
I read the Scripture
and I understand what it says.
Now God,
I'm not going to leave
until you tell me
what it means for my life right now.
What does this mean?
What does this mean to me?
Like,
we don't do that.
It's like,
alright God,
I've got this time
and you're going to have to
make this work in this.
Does anyone here run?
Like,
distances for exercise?
What mile,
who raised their hand?
Okay.
Lauren,
what mile,
everyone else is feeling terrible
since I didn't raise their hand.
I promise I'm healthy.
Lauren,
what mile is it for you
when you get that runner's high?
When you can,
as soon as you get past this mile,
you can just run
like another six miles.
Okay,
three.
Anyone else?
What else?
Just quick shout outs.
Which mile is it
that's like the worst
that you hate?
But you're like,
if I just get over mile three,
what mile is it?
Two?
Okay.
Seven.
Some people are like,
the whole thing!
All of it!
Like,
why am I doing this?
I should be running from something
and I'm not.
And,
um,
but it's like that.
Okay,
so we,
um,
we have that mile
that's like,
man,
what mile is it that
as soon as I get past this mile,
I'm good
and I can just run
and that's when I can start
thinking about things
and that's when it doesn't hurt as bad
and that's when
really the dopamine
starts kicking into your body
and your body starts releasing
these hormones
that makes it okay.
Um,
and,
and really from my own life,
I've found that scripture
is so much like that.
Um,
that as long as I'm approaching
scripture and I'm saying,
Lord,
I need you to teach me something
in 15 minutes,
there's like,
for me at least,
there's very little
that I get out of it.
There's very little
that I,
that I walk away
and I'm like,
man,
like the Lord just spoke to me
so much in that time.
But it's,
for me,
it's like that,
a lot of times
it's like that 30 minute range,
like,
okay,
like as soon as I can get over
that 30 minutes,
like,
man,
it's just,
it's so great after that.
But so little of us
are wanting to put in that time
to really get over that,
um,
apex,
it's so difficult.
I think Nathan even talked about,
like,
when climbing,
like,
getting to that point
where it's the hardest point
in the climb,
but if you can nail that point,
you can get past the whole climb.
Um,
and I would just say that,
man,
like,
I,
for me,
um,
I've found that I've had to be
so patient in the word,
um,
and just approaching scripture
and saying,
Lord,
I'm not going to try to fit you
in my schedule,
but my schedule is fitting around you.
So because of that,
I'm going to go to bed
at 11 o'clock
and I'm going to wake up
at 7 a.m. every day
so that I can spend,
like,
a solid hour
just praying and reading.
Um,
what is that for you?
Um,
so many times we approach scripture
like,
there's this formulaic method
to how you are
to get something out of it.
Um,
and I think a lot of us
have probably been run dry
by that,
right?
Like,
you've been to a lot of conferences
and you've read a lot of terrible books
that have told you,
you know,
as long as you do it in this method,
read Psalms,
meditate on that,
pray that,
now go into Old Testament,
and I'll go into Old Testament.
And like,
some of those things are,
like,
can be helpful and good.
But I'm just saying,
you know,
what is it when you're approaching scripture
and you're saying,
like,
Lord,
I want to know your word more
and I'll do anything to do that.
So if that's five minutes,
if that's ten minutes,
if that's thirty minutes,
if that's an hour,
I'm going to do that.
Um,
there's,
I know there's a time in my life
um,
when,
like,
especially this past year,
um,
I had so many questions about
what's my direction?
Um,
I feel like a lot of us
are asking that,
you know,
like,
God,
I have no idea what my major is,
or,
you know,
God,
like,
I have no idea what I'm going to do
after college.
Like,
we're asking those questions,
and,
um,
like,
that's,
it's,
especially it's terrible
when it's your senior year
and you're like,
oh man,
what am I doing here?
Um,
our lives.
But,
I got to that point
this whole past year,
um,
and especially over the summer,
I was just like wrestling,
like,
Lord,
what,
what is it that you want me to do?
Um,
and what's my answer?
Like,
yeah,
like,
I read a book,
um,
and it was good,
but it wasn't on the subject of it,
but,
man,
I spent time,
I spent the whole summer
just going through,
um,
the Old Testament,
just being like,
all right,
Lord,
like,
I know that you have something
to teach me here,
and the thing that kept popping up
over and over again
was Israel's reliance on God,
how God is kind of the God
that leads them by,
you know,
fire by night
and smoke by day.
It's like,
man,
that's the God who's like,
all right,
I'm just going to provide
enough for you
so that you trust me today.
I'm going to provide
that manna for you today,
but don't try to hoard it over
because it'll spoil overnight
and you won't have any
for tomorrow,
so you've got to trust me
that I'm going to have
enough manna for you
in the morning.
Um,
that is,
and I just spent time on that
and, like,
meditating on that all the time.
So,
what I'm just trying to say
is that,
like,
man,
when we're approaching Scripture,
I don't want you to let me tell you
how you need to read Scripture
or,
you know,
what you need to move to
because it could be for you
that you're in a time in your life
when you need to spend
the entire,
you know,
next three months
in songs,
repeating the same thing
over and over again
because it hasn't sunk down
deep enough.
Um,
so,
the text that I'm going to
leave us with
is Hebrews 4.
Hebrews 4 says,
For the Word of God
is living and active,
sharper than any
two-edged sword,
piercing to the division
of the soul
and of spirit,
of joints
and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart.
Um,
it's,
this passage is saying
that God's Word
is something that's applicable
for you and your situation
right now.
And I don't know
what that is.
Um,
I can't know
all of your situations.
I can't know,
like,
man,
what is so hard
for you right now
whether that's
making decisions
about careers
or,
you know,
majors
or,
you know,
am I going to get
into this program
or that program
or do I need to continue
in this relationship
or whatever it is.
Um,
but the thing is
is that God's Word
is saying right now
that His Word
is living and active.
Um,
He says it's,
so He says
the soul,
the spirit,
He says the thoughts
which are your heart
and then,
I mean your mind
and then the intentions
of the heart.
So,
He's really saying
that the Word
addresses all these things.
Every thought that you have,
like your emotions,
your deepest concerns,
your deepest struggles
and the things
that you,
you know,
desire most.
There is a God
who knows all those things
and I can't know
all these things
and that's what makes
God's Word
so incredible,
um,
so powerful.
Um,
and so I think
more than anything
we need to be
people that are
characterized by
loving the Word
for,
for revisiting
truths like this.
Like,
man,
what does the Bible
say about itself
that no other book
can claim?
That's in,
that's totally insane
to me.
Um,
so I hope
this increases
your joy,
that it gives you
confidence in the Word
that,
that even tomorrow
morning we're fighting
for that time
of like,
Lord,
I will do anything
to know you more.
I don't care
what the sacrifice
is,
I'll put it down
like,
because I know
that you're the
reason why I get
in the Word,
you're the reason
why I want to
know you more.
Um,
let me just pray
for us real quickly
and Alex,
if you want to
come back up.
Let me just pray
if you want to
let me just pray
if you want to
let me just pray
if you want to
let me just pray
if you want to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
if I need to
let me just pray
!
Let me just pray
!