A Sermon Preached by Pastor Paul on January 15, 2012
Title: "Living the Life With The Scriptures"
Text: II Timothy 3:16-4:8

We are back to preaching through our year-long series on discipleship we are calling "Living the Life." And last week we began our two-week focus on the Scriptures, and the role of the Bible in helping us to live the life of discipleship.

Last week we talked about that famous passage in the Book of Hebrews which our banner proclaims, that "the Word of God is living and active, and is sharper than a two-edged sword." Today I want to take you to another of the famous passages in the Bible that talks about what the Scriptures are, and it is found in Paul's second letter to Timothy 3:16.

As Paul writes this letter to his young protégé Timothy, he is coming to the end of his life and ministry, and he is giving Timothy a charge to carry on the work of disciple-making after he is gone. Listen to what he says to Timothy.
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So here is the Apostle Paul coming to the close of his life. He says the time has come for his departure, he feels he has finished the race and kept the faith. And now he is passing the baton of ministry and disciple making to his protégé Timothy.

And at the heart of his charge to Timothy is the exhortation to remember the Scriptures that Timothy himself had been taught since infancy, and use the Scriptures for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training others, and preach the Scriptures again and again.

And do so, Paul says, because the Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and because all Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

My friends, this is one of the best passages in Scripture for teaching us what the Scriptures are, and for teaching how they are meant to be used by people who are seeking to live the life of discipleship and pass that life on to others.

So let's just take a look at the very practical, down to earth things that Paul says here about the Scriptures.

1. First, Paul tells Timothy in verse 15 that the Scriptures are able to make a person wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is what I focused on last week as I told you the story of my conversion, and how the reading of the Bible itself was like a sharp, double-edged sword in my life. Just reading the New Testament when I was 17 years old and far from home in Germany, changed my life. God's word in the Scriptures pierced through my defenses and deep into my heart and soul. It convicted me of sin and led me to faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul says here, that is what the Scriptures are first and foremost all about. They are the recorded history of God's great plan of redemption, and they are meant to lead us to the One God sent to save us, Jesus.

The whole purpose of this book, and the whole purpose of the over-arching story contained in this book, is to make us wise for salvation through Jesus Christ.

So the first thing the Scriptures are meant to do in our lives is to bring us to Christ, who will save us from sin, and make us His disciples.

2. Now then secondly, once that salvation has taken place in our lives like it did for me in Germany 37 years ago, the Scriptures then begin to re-shape our lives in this life-long process we call sanctification or discipleship.

And Paul says here in verse 16, that the Scriptures are God-breathed, and are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness -so that growing disciples of Jesus can be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Do you hear that? It is God who breathed these words in the first place, and God who continues to breath through these words now so that they form and shape our lives as disciples.

Paul says the Scriptures "teach us." And in this passage Paul reminds Timothy how the Scriptures
had shaped his own life since the time he was born. Back in chapter one of this letter, Paul had reminded Timothy of how he had first learned the Scriptures from his mother and his grandmother. They had been the first ones to teach Timothy the Scriptures and shape his young life by the word of God.

And here in verse 10 Paul reminds Timothy about how Paul's own teaching of the Scriptures had shaped Timothy's adult life. Now Paul is urging Timothy to pass that same teaching on to others.
"Teach the Scriptures," Paul says. "That's what they are for!"

And what is it that the Scriptures primarily teach us? Well, primarily they teach the content of this discipleship curriculum we are doing this year.

The Scriptures teach us who God is and what He is like.
-They teach us who we are as humans, and why we are here.
-They teach us the nature of sin, and why the world is so messed up.
-They teach us God's rescue plan, and how He works to redeem us of that sin.
-They teach us how to accept that rescue and become followers of Jesus, the Redeemer.
-They teach us of the blockages that stand in the way of our growing as disciples, and how to get rid of those blockages.
-They teach us how to build our lives on a new foundation.

You see, the content of all we are learning this year is the teaching of the Bible. The Scriptures and what they teach are the central core of a life of discipleship.

3. Now Paul goes on to say that the Scriptures are also useful for rebuking!

And this is true, too. A rebuke is a reprimand for bad behavior. And as we read the Scriptures they not only teach us about the nature of sin and why the world is so messed up. They also convict us of our own personal sin and point out exactly how we ourselves are messed up.

The Scriptures rebuke that sin in us. They point out the sin, they name it, and then they proclaim God's condemnation of it.

And it is that conviction of sin that the Scriptures produce in us, and that feeling of guilt and condemnation, which convince us of our need for a savior. And thankfully, the Scriptures also tell us of the Savior that we discover we need. The Bible doesn't rebuke us because God likes rebuking people. It is not God's greatest joy to be wrathful about sin.

God's greatest joy is when sinners repent and turn from their sin and accept his salvation and forgiveness. The purpose of the rebuke is to call us to repentance and to faith in the Savior.

That's what happened to me in reading the Scriptures in Germany all those years ago, and it has happened again and again as I have continued to read the Bible ever since.

The Word of God convicts me of my sin, and rebukes that sin, and calls me to repentance and faith. This is what the Scriptures are meant to do.

4. And then Paul says that the Scriptures are useful for correcting.

You see, the Bible doesn't only point out sin, but it also points us toward a new way of life. It correct us. It puts us on the right path. It directs our steps. The Psalmist says, "The word of God is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path."

You see, on our own we humans walk in our own ways, and follow whatever paths seem right to us. But from the time of Adam and Eve right on down to today, following our own will and deciding to do things our own way has gotten us into trouble.

The Bible gives us the course correction. Turn around, it says. Don't walk in that way, walk in this way. Follow Jesus, the Bible says, He is the way, the truth and the life. Let Him correct your thinking, and transform you by the renewing of your mind. Let Him correct your relationships and teach you how to live as a member of His family. Let Him correct your values and priorities so that you begin to care about the things God cares about.

The Bible teaches us these things, and corrects us from the inside out.

5. And finally, Paul says the Bible is useful for training us in righteousness so that we will be fully equipped for every good work.

Righteousness is simply a word for living a right life. And training is what anyone does who wants to learn to do something well.

An athlete trains to be able to play their particular sport.
A musician trains to be able to play their particular instrument.
A policemen or firefighter train for the duties they will face.
A plumber or electrician or nurse train for their jobs.

Reading the Bible is one of the training disciplines we have for learning to live a right life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

It is the regular reading of the Bible that enables the word of God to begin to dwell in us.
It is the regular reading of the Bible that gives the Holy Spirit the material He needs to work with to begin to transform us.
It is the regular reading of the Bible that begins to build a kind of "muscle memory" in us, so that we begin to routinely do things that Jesus said were right.

Do you know about muscle memory? Megan has practiced playing scales on her flute so often, that she doesn't have to even think about her finger positions for the various notes she sees on the page in front of her. She sees the note and her fingers automatically go where they have been trained to go. Muscle memory.

Well, the more we read the Bible, and the more we allow it to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us, the more we simply begin to do routinely the things Jesus said were right to do.

And I am not saying we will ever get perfect at living the life of discipleship. One of the primary things we learn more and more routinely to do is repent. We simply learn by repetition and practice to repent more quickly when we stumble and fall and mess up. Repentance becomes a way of life.

So this "right kind of life" that Jesus calls us to walk in more and more is not a life of never sinning, and always being perfect. No, it is a life of repentance, and faith, trusting more and more in Jesus' and less and less in myself.

The regular reading of the Bible teaches us that this is the life of following God, and trains us to actually start living that life.

And it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, and patience, and discipline. Just like it took years of practice for Megan playing scales on the flute. The regular reading of the Bible trains us in right living. It is at the core of growing as a disciple and learning to "live the life" of following Jesus.

So we read the Bible individually, and we read the Bible together in community. We preach the Bible, and pray the Bible. We stand under the Bible and invite the words of God to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us. And we go forth into the world where we live, inviting the Word of God to dwell in us richly, and inviting the Spirit of God breathe that Word of God into life in us to equip us for every good work.

************************************************************************************************************************************ A Sermon Preached by Pastor Paul on January 29, 2012
Title: "Dynamic Prayer: How Does God Answer Us?"
Text: Luke 11:1-13

We are continuing today in our discipleship series called, "Living the Life," and our focus last week and this week is on prayer.

Prayer is the way we talk to God as we are living out a life in relationship with Him. Prayer is the communication link between disciples and the Master. It is through prayer that WE stay connected to Him, and through prayer that HE is able to direct our steps, teach us, convict us if necessary, and also forgive us, encourage us and empower us.

And most of the time when we talk about prayer and teach about prayer, our focus is on how WE talk to God. How does one pray? What do we say to God when we pray?

But today I want to put the focus on the other side of the conversation: How does God talk to us? What does it mean for us to listen, and hear His voice? I mean really, how does God answer our prayers? How does He direct us, convict us, encourage us?

Well, let's listen to what Jesus teaches His disciples about this in Luke 11:1-13, as He teaches them about prayer.
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So this passage begins with Jesus Himself praying. He Himself is talking to God, and listening to God. And the disciples see this direct communication between Jesus and His heavenly Father all the time in Jesus' life. And as apprentices who want to learn to do what their master does, they ask Jesus here in verse1, to teach them to pray.

And so Jesus begins as we so often do, by teaching His disciples the kinds of things they should say to God in prayer. He says in verse 2, "When you pray, say" this... "Father, hallowed by your Name.." and you know the rest.

Jesus teaches them to approach God as their father, and to talk to Him simply and straightforwardly. This is not a complicated or wordy prayer. It's not eloquent. Jesus is simply teaching them the kinds of things it is entirely appropriate to say to God and to ask of God.
-Give him praise, Jesus says. Honor His name.
-Ask for God's Kingdom to come.
-Ask for His will to be done.
-Ask for your daily needs to be met.
-Ask for forgiveness for your sins.
-Ask for His help in forgiving those who sin against you.
-Ask for help in the face of temptation.
-Ask for protection from the evil one.

All these are appropriate matters for us to bring to God in prayer. And then Jesus tells a little story about banging on your neighbor's door at midnight because you need a loaf of bread for a visitor who just arrived and is hungry. Prayer is like that, Jesus says. You have a need, and you go to God and bang on His door at any time of the day or night. If even your neighbor will reluctantly get up and help you in the middle of the night, if even just to stop your banging, well, how much more will God help you when you ask for His help?

So then Jesus concludes the teaching on prayer with the exhortation to ask, and seek, and knock on God's door.
-For those who ask will receive, He says.
-Those who seek will find.
-To those who knock, the door will be opened.

For if earthly fathers, though they are sinful, know how to give good gifts to their kids, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

So, you see our side of the dialogue of prayer is to ask, and seek, and knock. Our side is to simply approach God as a loving Father, and bring Him our needs, and ask for His help.

And Jesus says God's side of the conversation is to answer us and to respond.

And my question today is, "How does that happen?" How does God answer our prayers?
And it's not a theoretical question. I was talking to a guy a couple of weeks ago who asked me point blank: "So in this discipleship thing we are supposed to be growing in apersonal relationship with God, right? Well, how do I have a personal relationship with someone I can't see or hear or talk to? I mean, I have tried praying, and I do a lot of talking, but I don't hear anything back from God."

Have any of you felt the same dilemma as you've tried praying and developing a relationship with God? We all have, right?

And there isn't a nice, pat, simple answer to the question, because God Himself is a bit of a mystery to us, and the way God reveals Himself to us is multifaceted.

1. Sometimes God answers our prayers with action. We pray for a need and He delivers. This past summer we were worried about our church's finances and our inability to support David's salary past December. We prayed as a church, and not only did you members increase your giving, but God provided a full time job for David that began in September. We prayed. God answered with action and provision.

We see this all through the Bible, and we see it happen in our lives again and again. When it does happen, it increases our faith that God really is there, and really does hear us when we pray, and really does respond to our asking, seeking, knocking.

But God's actions aren't always instant responses, are they? We started praying at the end of June, and David's job came about in August. When the Israelites cried out for deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the Bible tells us God heard their prayer and acted, but it took a while before Moses showed up on the scene and said, "God sent me."

And there are other times when we pray, and nothing seems to happen at all, right? Gloria Pothier has shared with the church that she prayed for her son, Sean, for 30 years. He has now come to faith in a wonderful way, but that's a long time to wait for God to take action, isn't it?

But taking action is one of the ways in which God does respond to our prayers.

2. Now secondly, God sometimes answers us verbally. In the Bible, God speaks verbally to His people a great deal. He would speak to Abraham, and to Moses, and to David, and to Solomon. He would speak to the prophets and tell them just what to say to His people verbally.

And ultimately God spoke to us verbally by sending His own Son, Jesus, into the world. He is the living Word of God, and His life and His words, His death and resurrection, they are all part of the way God has communicated His great redeeming work to us.

So this book, the Bible, is full of God's verbal communication with us.

And so for us in our day, when we want to hear verbally from God, we need to begin by listening closely to THIS Word. It is here that we learn to recognize the ways in which God speaks. It is here that we learn to recognize the sound of His voice, and the content God consistently communicates.

And it is often the very words of this Book that God will use to actually speak quite personally to us. It is this Word which is sharper than a two-edged sword and which can penetrate our hearts and minds.

Again, I told you a few weeks ago of the way in which just reading the Gospels in the New Testament while I was in Germany, convicted me, and brought me to understand both my sin and the good news of Jesus' salvation.

God spoke this word verbally into my heart and mind. And since then, I have sought to listen to this word, and learn to hear God's voice, and then follow what He says.

3. And this leads us to a third way in which God speaks to us which is sometimes called illumination.
You know how in the comics when a light bulb goes on over the comic character's head? Well, sometimes God responds to our asking, seeking, and knocking by turning on a light bulb in our minds. He illuminates for us a truth that we need to know.

And this may happen in a variety of ways, and at a variety of times. It's like the wise men who saw the star in the East, and somehow knew that it meant there was born a new King of the Jews, and they needed to go and worship Him. How that all came together in their minds from simply seeing a star in the sky, I do not know. But it did. And God led them to the true King Jesus.

Sometimes you will go to bed at night confused and anxious about something, and you ask God for help. Then you wake up in the morning and an idea comes to you with sudden clarity. It's like you discovered the key to unlock the dilemma you were facing, and the anxiousness and confusion is gone. You asked God for wisdom, and He actually responded.

Or maybe it's a situation like Gloria Pothier faced with her prodigal son. Maybe you have a family member who has wandered far from God and far from you, and in spite of all your prayers, nothing seems to have happened to him at all.

But maybe God has actually been working some significant illumination in you. Maybe God has been uncovering deep seated issues in your heart and soul that this estrangement from your loved one has brought to the surface. Maybe there are control issues and God has been teaching you to let go, and relinquish control to Him. Maybe there's resentment and anger issues, and God is calling you to forgiveness and acceptance.

You see, God can illumine things in prayer that we're not even praying about. We're praying that God will fix that person, and God shines a spotlight on us, and says, "Let's start with you."

And I am not exactly sure how God does this, but I have experienced this in my own life more times than I can count. And the only thing I can say is, "God does speak to us." He has a way of making Himself known to us. He has a way of getting His point across.

And it doesn't always happen in our official "prayer time." It doesn't only happen if you have the Bible open on your lap. A moment of illumination might happen while you're driving your car, or taking a shower, or sitting in a meeting at work when you're supposed to be paying attention to the Power Point presentation on sales revenues.

I should also say that such moments of illumination might also not happen in the privacy of your own brain. God might just speak to you through the voice of a friend. Or through one of your kids, or through a co-worker.

In the same way on Sundays at church, it might not be the sermon that really speaks God's word into your soul, but the words of someone's prayer, or one phrase from a hymn, or a conversation in the aisle after worship.

So how does God speak to us? How does He answer our prayers? If I opened up the floor here and asked for testimonies from all of you, there would be a myriad of ways in which the living God has made Himself known: in thoughts, in Words, in deeds done on our behalf.

Because there really is a dialogue going on between God and us. There are two parties interacting in a relationship.

In fact, God is the One who initiates that relationship with us by calling us to Himself in the first place. He is the One who establishes that relationship with us by justifying us in the death and resurrection of His Son, and by adopting us in Christ as his children. He is the One who is sanctifying us by His Spirit, and drawing us into a close and personal relationship, as we learn to grow up in our faith and walk in His ways. He is the One who will ultimately glorify us and bring us to that place where we will see Him face to face, and dwell in His courts forever.

Prayer is the communication link all the way along in that process of growth in the relationship. It is a mystery to us how it actually works. It is a mystery how it is that we can talk to God, and that He can communicate back to us. There is not a simple 1-2-3 formula for hearing God's voice every time you kneel down to pray.

But ask, Jesus says, and you will receive. Seek, Jesus says, and amazingly enough, you will find. Knock, even in the middle of the night, and the door will be opened.

God has a way of making Himself known. And when you ask for bread, He will not give you a stone.
Let us pray.