And great God, you are the one who gives food to all creatures on earth, but you're also the only one with spiritual food. So we ask for it now, not only that we would receive it, but that it would actually be profitable for us, nourishing to us, delightful to us, and only you can make that happen. So God, we pray that you would, even now, amen. Well, if you're just joining us, we've started going through a series on the disciplines of grace. spiritual disciplines. These are the positive spiritual activities that the Bible prescribes for believers, calls us to pursue, that we might grow in godliness. We began this series with a look at 1 Timothy 4, verses 7 to 8, and where we saw a double charge from God, through the Apostle Paul, to us believers, regarding the need for spiritual discipline generally. If we are Christians, then we must choose to follow the Bible, not man's myths. And we are to train ourselves like athletes. We must invest our time and hard effort in pursuing godliness. Knowing the results, the outcome is that we will experience life, joy, and true profit, both now into eternity. Now I've identified four main disciplines of grace, really whole categories in which we could fit a number of other spiritual disciplines, and those four are the disciplines of the Bible, of prayer, of the church, and of evangelism. We started looking at the discipline of the Bible last time, and we were exploring why. Why we must apply hard effort in learning, knowing, and practicing the Bible. We saw from Deuteronomy 8.3 that man does not live by bread alone, but on all that comes out of the mouth of God. And where do we find that? But in his word. If we want to grow in godliness then, we must be regularly feeding on these words from God's mouth, all that has been recorded in this amazing book that we have called the Bible. This Bible is God-breathed. It is sufficient. It is commanded. It is our delight. We looked at these together. The Bible is our necessary and enjoyable food from God. We need it for spiritual life. But now, if I may extend this Bible as food metaphor just a little bit, in a way I think that is appropriate, We must admit that when it comes to food, such food does, let me say good food, probably true about food in general, but good food particularly, such food does not automatically appear before us ready to eat. Though God has graciously supplied the ingredients for many good meals in our world, we must actually go and gather those ingredients. We must prepare them and combine them skillfully. And then we have to sit down and actually eat the prepared food in a appropriate way. I mentioned to you at the end of the last sermon how God provided the miraculous and delicious food of manna for the Israelites in the wilderness. But consider how God provided that food. He did not just drop baked cakes of manna into the Israelites' mouths. Rather, God dispersed the manna around the camp as a fine flake-like substance. And Israelites themselves had to go out, they had to work, to gather, to combine, to bake, and then eat that manna. There is a similar principle at play when it comes to the food of the Word of God. If you really want to feast on this miraculous food from the Father, then you must certainly expend time and effort to gather it, to prepare it, and then eat it. Of course, you need to know how to do these steps properly. Consider how a failure to prepare and eat physical food appropriately affects the results. When you're missing ingredients, skipping steps in the recipe, or eating with your hands, which you're supposed to eat with a fork and knife, the meal is often less enjoyable, less nutritious, even sometimes inedible, even though the ingredients themselves are good. I submit that much of the frustration that people experience, even Christians experience when it comes to the Bible, it comes not only from a failure to understand what the Bible is, but also a failure to pursue the Bible properly. Brethren, we now know, based on our previous study, why we should pursue the food of God's word, but how should we do so? Well, unsurprisingly, where can we find the answer to that question? In the Bible, in God's word, which is what I'd like to look at with you this morning. This is Disciplines of Grace, the Bible, part two. but we're gonna focus on the how. Like last time in exploring this part of the question in terms of the discipline of grace of the Bible, we are gonna be considering scriptural teaching on this topic generally, not just focusing on one passage, but rather than providing all the verses for you on the screen like I did last time, I'm gonna ask you to turn to certain main passages connected with each sermon point, and I'll just mention the other ones to you. So don't expect the verses on the screen. I see the Bible's teaching on this topic, the how of the pursuit of the Bible, fitting into six main principles, and those will form the points of my sermon outline today. We're looking at our six principles from the Bible to maximize your soul's feasting on the Bible. Six principles from the Bible to maximize your soul's feasting on the Bible. And we'll start by looking at a first principle from Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six, six to nine, that's page 191, if you're using the Pew Bible. What is this first principle? Number one, the Bible requires multifaceted pursuit. The Bible requires multifaceted pursuit. So Deuteronomy 6, verses 6 to 9, this text is part of Moses' exposition of God's law for the generation of Israel that's actually going into the promised land. Remember, the first one disqualified itself, the second one's going in. But they need to know God's word and how to follow it. So Moses gives them the book, the Sermon of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 6.4 introduces the famous Shema, which is still recited by many Jews today as a daily prayer. It says, Hear O Israel, the Lord, that is Yahweh, is our God. Yahweh is one. This is a grand truth. But our text, just a couple verses later, it gives us some practical instruction regarding this truth. And instruction about many other important parts of the Torah, Moses wants Israel to understand these commands and understand how to make those commands find their way deep into their hearts. So we get this instruction in Deuteronomy 6, verses six to nine, and we can read that now. Verse six. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. We can note a strong emphasis here from Moses on the importance of God's word. These commanded words, Moses says, they shall be or they must be on your heart. They need to find a deep place there. It should be there all the time. But how are the Israelites going to make that happen? In one simple way? No, rather in a multitude of ways. Israelites are to seek in a comprehensive, multifaceted way to get the truth of the Bible in front of them and into their hearts. And note some of the ways listed just in this passage. Moses says, teach these words to your children and talk about them all the time, any occasion, all occasions. Even put little reminders where you can see them. Put scripture on your head, on your hand, even on the gate of your house. Now those last three examples are likely just illustrations of how pervasively the word of God should appear in the Israelites' lives. Those are not specific commands to be literally obeyed, and if you don't do that, that's a sin. We actually see similar phrasing in another place, Exodus 10, nine, where God talks about putting signs on their head and on their hands, but that's in reference to the Passover and the teaching about what God did with Israel in that event. So these weren't to be taken literally, at least the last few, they were illustrations. But of course, by Jesus' day, many Jews had kind of missed the main point of Deuteronomy 6, 6 to 9, and they had literally put Bible verses in boxes on their hands, on their heads, and on their doors, while neglecting to take what the Word actually says into their hearts. We are not to make the same mistake. We must pay attention to the main point, the essence of Deuteronomy 6, 6-9, and take a multifaceted approach when it comes to feasting on God's word that we might grow in godliness. Now what does a multifaceted approach to the Bible look like? Does the Bible show us? Indeed it does. For the sake of time, I can really just briefly mention what are the different facets of a a comprehensive approach to the Bible. I've got 10 of them, and these will come at you kind of fast, so stay with me. First, most importantly, and perhaps most obviously, multifaceted approach includes you should read the Bible. Read the Bible. There's nothing like feasting directly on the word of God via the excellent translations of the Bible we have into our language. It's readily available today. In doing this, not only will you experience the joy of discovery yourself, you personally are studying God's Word. But also, like the noble Bereans in Acts 17.11, you safeguard yourself against being led astray. And what others say about the Bible, because you can examine it for yourself. You should read the Bible. Second, listen to the Bible. Yes, listen to the Bible. Throughout much of human history, most people could not read, afford, or had access to the Word of God. But they could listen to it. They could hear it being read by others. God actually commands the public reading of Scripture for the church in 1 Timothy 4.13. And so, certainly we do that here, but even when you are not able to sit down and read with your eyes, you can still benefit by hearing the Word of God read. Of course, whether you're reading or listening, you need to make sure you can actually focus on the words if you're really going to receive any benefit. If you think you can multitask with some complex task and then listen to the Bible, that's not going to work. You're not going to get profit. So make sure you can focus. Read the Bible, listen to the Bible. Third, meditate on the Bible. That is, focus your mind to think purposefully about what it says. This often happens as you read or as you listen, but it can happen also independently of that. We saw together last time, God commanded Joshua in Joshua 1a to meditate on the law of God day and night. Psalm 1 says, or Psalm 1 says also that if a man is to be blessed, walk in righteousness, he meditates on God's word continually. So we must do this. We Christians must find time to think deeply purposefully about sections of scripture, or about certain things in our lives or in the world today, and connect those to what the Bible says. Meditate on the Bible. Now, meditation can appear in a number of the other ones I'm about to mention. It can combine with them. A fourth facet of our approach to the Bible should be to pray the Bible. Pray the Bible. Why do I say that? Well, many parts of the Bible, most notably the Psalms, they are written as model prayers for believers. They're things we are actually to say and pray. And praying the words of these prayers, or even just the truth as the various parts of the Bible, it enables us to meditate worshipfully on what the word of God says, bring it more into our hearts. Not to mention it helps us pray well. A fifth way to feast in the Bible is to talk about the Bible. Talk about the Bible. And this we did see in Deuteronomy 6, didn't we? When you talk about what God's word says with fellow believers, even with the other people here in this church, or even with unbelievers, you are able to meditate on it more. You are able to refine your understanding, take it more into your heart, explore its application. And that's exactly what God wants for you. That helps you, that helps the person you're talking to. Talk about the Bible. Sixth, memorize the Bible. Memorize the Bible. The psalmist in Psalm 119.11, he declares to God that the psalmist treasures or hides or stores up God's word in his heart so that he might not sin against God. This is not mere reading, this is not merely thinking, this is his knowing it in his heart, memorizing it. Not only does memorizing portions of the scripture help us to enjoy it, meditate on it, but it also is for our protection. It will serve us well during times of temptation and trial, just as it served our Lord Jesus. A seventh facet is to sing the Bible, sing the Bible. It's interesting, both Colossians 3.16 and Ephesians 5.18-19, they command believers to sing God's truth to one another as part of necessary encouragement and exhortation, as well as praise to God. So we are to sing. And when we sing or listen to the Bible's words set to music, the Bible's truth set to music, we find again an important way to meditate on the words of God, on the truth of God, even to feast upon it. Eighth, we should teach the Bible. Teach the Bible. And this also appeared in Deuteronomy 6, 6 to 9 specifically. Though not all are called to be formal teachers in the church, each one of us in our mutual ministry in the church or in our families, maybe you are a leader in your family, you must purpose to teach God's truth. Teach it to others. And not only will you help others grow in doing this, help them put the word into their hearts, but the process of teaching will also help you know God's word better and take it to heart. As they say, the best way to learn something is to teach it. Ninth, a ninth part of our multifaceted approach is to read or listen to good teaching on the Bible. This is kind of the flip side of what I just said, read or listen to good teaching on the Bible. Now I know there are some Christians who insist that they will not read Christian books written by imperfect men and women, they will only read the Bible. Well, of course, the Bible itself should be our top priority. But let us not forget Ephesians 4, 11 to 13, that clarifies how God designed the church, that God even gave skilled teachers to the church to build up the church in a fruitful and equipping understanding of the Bible. So refusing to learn more about God or about God's word from gifted teachers is like rejecting a specially prepared dish that God gave just for you. You reject that nourishment. You reject that delight. Don't do that. Read or listen to good teaching on the Bible. And then finally, 10th, listen to the Bible preached. listen to the Bible preached. I put this in a separate category. Certainly it fits with what I just said from Ephesians 4, 11 to 13. But 2 Timothy 4, 1 to 2 and other exhortations regarding preaching make clear from the Bible that no Christian diet is complete if it does not include faithful Bible preaching. God has gifted qualified teachers to the church, not only to explain God's word, but also to authoritatively and passionately apply it to our lives. This is what preaching is meant to do. It is unique in that aspect. It cannot simply be duplicated by personal Bible reading. To grow in godliness then, and to feast on God's word, you must subject yourself to the regular faithful preaching of the Bible. Now, that's my 10. Maybe I forgot one. I know that list was quick. If we wanted, we could do a sermon on all of these or each of these. But don't miss the main point. We need a full diet of God's Word if we are to grow in godliness. And that includes a multifaceted approach, all of these things. You must not say to yourself, I get all my Bible food in the Sunday messages. That's good, but that's not enough. Or, I don't need the church. I get all my food from my personal Bible reading. Personal reading is good, but that's not enough. You need a comprehensive approach if you are to avoid malnourishment. And we have felt or we know people who are spiritually malnourished because they're not doing these things. They don't go to a church that's preaching the Word of God, or they don't read the Bible. Beware of the bare minimum mindset in Christianity. I've warned you against this already in our series. If you really want to grow in godliness and enjoy getting to know your Lord Jesus more, then you should be pursuing the Bible in a multifaceted way. And there are so many free, cheap, and available resources for us today to do this and to do this well. And if you want direction in that, I can direct you afterwards. So that's the first principle. The Bible requires a multifaceted pursuit. The second principle for maximizing your soul's feast on the Bible comes from Psalm 119. Let's go back to that great Psalm, Psalm 119, where we will see number two. The Bible requires prayerful pursuit. The Bible requires prayerful pursuit. The verse from Psalm 119 I'm directing you towards is verse 18. This is page 624 if you're using the Pew Bible. Remember that Psalm 119, that longest psalm, is a public prayer song in the Bible that is all about meditating and celebrating the Bible itself. Meditating on and celebrating God's word. We see a particular prayer, actually a famous prayer, that the psalmist prays about God's word in verse 18 of this psalm. So Psalm 119, 18, look at those two lines, it says, Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law." Consider how poignant this little prayer is. The psalmist testifies that there are indeed wondrous things in God's law, God's word. Remember, he's just talking about the Old Testament that was written up to his time, but it's true about the whole scripture. He says there are wondrous things, but with this prayer for opened eyes, what is the psalmist acknowledging about himself? Well, namely that even though he fears God, knows God, is spiritually alive by grace through faith in God, nevertheless, he is still dependent on God and God's spirit for beholding any more truth in God's word. He cannot force it. He needs God to give it to him. Without God graciously opening the psalmist's eyes, the psalmist will not be able to behold more of the wonderful things that are there in the Word of God. And this is no isolated sentiment from the psalmist. He actually makes this same prayer throughout Psalm 119. It's in the two verses that surround the one we looked at and also many others in this psalm. I'll give you a few of the other ones. Psalm 119 verse 34, he prays, give me understanding that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. Verse 66, teach me good discernment and knowledge for I believe in your commandments. And verse 135, make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes. We don't want to miss the message that comes via the psalmist repetition in this psalm. If he, the spirit-led author, found it appropriate to pray humbly, dependently, and even desperately for God to open the word to his understanding, then certainly we should too. Don't expect, my brethren, that if you come to God's word cavalierly, assuming you already know everything and it's all really just a chore, don't expect to behold wondrous things in God's law. You will read words, but you will gain no truly profitable understanding. The doors to God's treasure trove will be closed to you, for you are proud in heart. But if you come like the one described in Isaiah 66 too, the person who is humble and contrite, trembling at God's word, well, you're the kind of person that God is pleased. to reveal His wonders too, the wonders of His Word. Ask yourselves, do you indeed believe that there are wonders in God's Word, marvelous truths in both the Old and New Testament, truths about God, truths about this life, truths about how to live righteously before Him? Do you believe that? then pray to God that he will reveal more of those truths to you as you pursue him through his word. You will make your time of study profitable. And when you pray thus, look for God's answer. Don't just say, I prayed it, but God's not going to do it. Pray in faith. Not that God will give you an understanding that is different from the sense of the words on the page. He's not going to do that, but look that he might help you understand the meaning of his word, the significance of it, the applications of it in such a way that it leads to your, it leads to welcome in your heart. It leads to true obedience and worship. Pray that. We need to pray that. The Apostle Paul did, in his letters that he praised for the churches and several of them in the New Testament, he specifically notes how he prays for God's people to grow in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of God's word, specifically that their eyes would be enlightened to really be able to appreciate God's truth. See that, for example, in Colossians 1.9, Ephesians 1.18, and Philippians 1.9-10. And brethren, this is customarily, or this is why we customarily pray before and after the sermon each Sunday. I just did it now. It's the same reason. Not that we can manipulate God with some kind of prayer formula, force him to make the preached word understandable and effective. But we pray because we really do believe what the Word declares, that we need God's Spirit. You need God's Spirit to graciously open your eyes, even to the preaching, so that you might understand, receive necessary conviction, encouragement, transformation, and even salvation. We are a dependent people. So then, as you pursue the Feast of God's Word, it must be in the reverent attitude of prayer. Doesn't mean you can't read the Bible without praying first. Oh no, I didn't pray. Ah, my Bible reading is totally worthless. And just like if you don't pray before eating a physical meal, that itself is not a sin. Oh, I didn't pray before I ate. Oh, what have I done? It's not quite like that. But just as an attitude of dependent and prayerful thankfulness should accompany our physical meals, so an attitude, so the same attitude should accompany our pursuit of spiritual meals from God. We should be praying for God to open our eyes as we pursue his word. A third principle for maximizing the soul's feasting on God's word appears in the passage we read earlier, Proverbs 2. Proverbs 2, verses one to five, where we see number three, the Bible requires diligent pursuit. The Bible requires diligent pursuit. Proverbs 2, 1-5, this is Pew Bible, page 642. Chapter 2 of Proverbs is part of the introductory teaching of Proverbs. It's all about emphasizing the value of wisdom. You heard earlier, wisdom's benefits specifically described, outlined. These are the results of gaining God's wisdom in the fear of the Lord. But what is required to receive this outcome? Wisdom and its benefits look specifically at what Solomon writes in verses one to five here, Proverbs two, one to five. My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding. If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will discern the fear of Yahweh and discover the knowledge of God. Notice from these five verses, Solomon clarifies that obtaining the precious wisdom of God requires a certain approach. And that approach is presented to us in a kind of build-up fashion. In verse two, son, you must first listen and orient your heart toward wisdom. But then, my son, verse three, you must cry out for wisdom. Hey, tell me where to find wisdom, people. I need to know. Wisdom, where are you? Wisdom. And then, verse four, my son, you must search for her, ask for silver, very precious resource, and ask for hidden treasure. Now I imagine that none of us have ever really gone searching for buried treasure. If you have, I'd like to hear about it afterwards. But obviously this is no easy task. This is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. You are going to need to travel. You will need to investigate. You will need to search. You will need to ask people for help. Conduct interviews. You must dig. You must sweat. You must sift. You must endure hot days and cold nights as you toil to find that longed-for treasure. Solomon teaches us here If this is the way that we are willing to search for the treasure of God's Word, the treasure of God's wisdom, going all out to find it, no sacrifice too great, because the treasure is so valuable. If that's the way that we will proceed, then guess what? According to Solomon in verse 5, there is a promised outcome. You will discern the fear of Yahweh, and you will discover the knowledge, even the wisdom of God. And that's a great promise. You, even listening today, you can find and know and live by the very wisdom of the Almighty God. You can experience all the benefits of that. Isn't that great news? But what will be required of you? a heart fundamentally oriented toward that treasure, a mouth that cries for it, and hands and feet ready to do whatever work is necessary to obtain it. In other words, if you want to enjoy the rich feast of God's wise word, you must pursue it diligently. There is no other way. Lazy, half-hearted investigation will not do. If you want the treasure of God's truth, it really is a treasure, then you must treat it like a treasure and pursue it like a treasure. You must be willing to do the diligent, self-denying, digging work that is necessary. Paul similarly exhorted his companion Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, verses 15 to 16. That was near the passage we looked at last time, or two times ago. Paul told Timothy that when it comes to God's word, I'm just paraphrasing a little bit here, Timothy would need to take pains with it. He would need to be absorbed in it. He would need to pay close attention to it. This means work. But if Timothy would do these things, Paul promises Timothy, your progress will become evident to all and you will ensure salvation, both for yourself and for those who hear you. There is a precious outcome at the end of it if you're willing to do the work. Or listen to another word from Paul to Timothy, this one from his second letter, 2 Timothy 2.15. Somewhat famous statement, 2 Timothy 2.15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Say more about that verse in a moment, If you want the approval and a reward that comes from God and his word, what must you do? You must be diligent, eager, hardworking. Now, do you see the implications for us? The exhortation here to us as God's people. There are indeed wondrous treasures in God's word, but you must not simply ask for them in prayer. You must also diligently pursue them. You must work and steady. You must take time and effort to uncover and enjoy what you pray for. It's not one or the other, oh, am I praying or am I working? It's both. As it is with so many things that the Bible calls us to pray for. God, please save this person, but I'm not gonna talk to them. What kind of prayer is that? God, please save this person, and now I'm gonna go try and be the fulfillment of my own prayer. Same thing with the Word of God. Pray, but also seek diligently. God promises that you will uncover treasure if you will pursue Him and His Word in this way. So is that what you're doing? If you're too lazy to do this, too lazy to memorize scripture, too drowsy to pay attention in church, too busy and bothered to read the Bible, then what you're saying is, I'd rather forego all the jewels and gold and treasures of God's Word. I don't want it. Or to use the main metaphor I've brought out today, you're saying, I don't want God's life-giving feast. I'd rather starve. A fourth principle to maximize our feasting on God's Word is evident in the passage I just mentioned, 2 Timothy 2.15. You can turn there if you haven't yet. Principle number four, the Bible requires careful pursuits. The Bible requires careful pursuits. Go into 2 Timothy 2.15, which is page 1191 in the Pew Bible. Give you a little bit more background now. Remember, 2 Timothy is the letter Paul wrote to Timothy shortly before Paul's death, his martyrdom. In this letter, Paul charges Timothy to press on boldly and faithfully in the ministry of God's word because Paul must now depart and no longer take part in that ministry. Timothy will have to be faithful without Paul. In the beginning of chapter two, Paul reminds Timothy about the reward that comes from those who are faithful in the difficult but good work. And then in the second half of the chapter, Paul warns of the negative examples of those who have disqualified themselves from the ministry of the Word by their own false teaching or by their wicked lives. Our verse that we're going to examine is right in the middle of those two sections, those two ideas. Let's read 2 Timothy 2.15 again now. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. We've of course already seen the diligence aspect of this exhortation, but take notice of the last words in this verse. Accurately handling the word of truth. The Greek word for accurately handling, and that's a good translation, The Greek word is ortho-temeo. Ortho means straight, right, or correct. You can see it in words like orthodoxy, right belief, correct belief. Temeo means to cut or divide. So it would be right-cutting, straight-cutting. Interestingly, though, when these two words are combined, the compound can have the sense of cutting a straight path. We actually see this in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, that ancient translation. If you go to Proverbs 3.6 and Proverbs 11.5, it describes the righteous of having a straight path made for them. It's this Greek word, the right cutting, even a path, a straight path being cut. This is the word that Paul uses. And whether he means that specific metaphor or not, Paul is clearly emphasizing to Timothy that there is a right way and there is a wrong way when it comes to handling God's Word. The wrong way does not accurately interpret or explain what God actually said. Rather, it perverts God's message with man's useless and ruinous ideas, which is what you see in verse 14 and verse 16, right before and after the one that we just looked at. This is what the other teachers were doing at that time around sympathy. When man's ideas pervert the meaning, when he forces a meaning instead of what God meant, it leads to shame for that person. It leads to God's disapproval because he has proven unfaithful in his responsibility with the Word. But accurately handling the Word of God is cutting it straight, even cutting a straight path for God's truth. You simply explain what God originally said. You let God speak and not put in your own ideas. You're not careless, but careful in breaking down and communicating God's word. And this kind of accurate handling, it results in approval, freedom from shame, since like a conscientious workman, you prove yourself faithful in handling the word of God. What Paul is really talking about here is proper Bible interpretation and exposition. That is, understanding and explaining God's word. And certainly his charge applies first and foremost to those who are teachers of the Bible, myself included. But they also apply to every Christian, since we are all students, readers, and in a way, teachers of the Bible. If we want to maximize our soul's profit from the Feast of God's Word, we must pursue the Bible carefully. We must make sure we interpret it accurately. Now, how does one accurately interpret the Bible? There's a lot I could say to answer that question. A long version of the answer might come via one of our previous Sunday School classes back in 2013. I know that seems like ancient times now. I taught a class on how to read and study the Bible, hermeneutics 101. We still have the recordings online. You can check those out. We've also done a number of Bible survey classes, Sunday school classes, using the Answers Bible curriculum. In that class, even though we were going through specific sections of scripture, we were modeling, we were trying to follow what is proper Bible study and interpretation. That inductive Bible study method. Observe, what is there in the text? What does it say? Interpret, what does it mean? Apply, how does it work out in my life? That's basically it. Of course, the recordings of those classes are online as well. So that's the long answer. You can pursue that at your availability and leisure. But the short answer, which I can try to provide right now, is that faithful Bible interpretation simply consists of close reading and context. Close reading and context. If you want to know what God originally meant in what he wrote through the human authors of the scripture, you must pay attention to the details. The details within the text and the details around the text. What are the terms that you see in the verse or section? What are the tenses of the verbs? What are the transition words, if there are any? You're looking to notice these things. And you pay attention to the details surrounding a given text. What did the author write just before and just after this particular verse? What is the message of this book as a whole? What is the historical occasion of the author's writing of it? Once you've made good observations about the passage's details within and around, then you're ready to start putting together an interpretation as to what its main message is. And after that, you can consider the application, how that truth, how that message you discovered is supposed to work out in your life, because it does work. You just need to discern how. Now, one very common error in Bible interpretation is just taking words out of context. You isolate words from their original setting, you lift them out, and you make them mean whatever you want them to mean. Something convenient to you. The most notorious example of this is, of course, Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, the Him being Jesus Christ. All by itself, this verse can be taken to mean that Jesus is going to enable you to achieve whatever you want. He'll help you reach your dreams. But in the original context, it is clear that that is not the intended sense. Because just a few verses before, the writer, Paul, who is in prison, is talking about how Christ has enabled him to be content in any situation, whether things are going well or whether things are not going well. I've learned the secret to being content, and then he says, I can do all things through him who gives me strength. This is about endurance, this is about contentment, not about getting what you want. Not only is that a deeper message, a more profound message, and a more true-to-life message, that's actually the real message. That's what God actually said. That's God's real food. Remember the principle, there is one true interpretation, though there might be many true applications. Now, because of the danger that comes with out-of-context interpretation, one of the simplest commitments that you can make as a believer to promote more accurate Bible study for yourself is to study the Bible, pursue the Bible like it was written. That is to say, study the Bible in sequence. Study it in sequence. The authors of scripture didn't write down disconnected thoughts or random pearls of wisdom when they wrote the books of the Bible. except maybe sections of Proverbs. Rather, the authors wrote cogent, connected histories, prophecies, sermons, letters, laws, songs. And if they wrote their works in a purposeful sequence, with a flow, with a main message, with a clear argument, and all this according to God's inspiring and inerrant spirit, And it only makes sense that we should read the books of the Bible in that same flow, in the way it was originally written. Start from the beginning of a book and read to its end, and then start the next book. Of course, this is what Pastor Bobby and I customarily do in our preaching. It's because we're trying to practice and to model for you what is proper Bible study. can much more readily see and appreciate the context in this way. And even when I or the other elders preach on a special passage or do a topical message like this one, we strive to make sure that we are understanding the verses properly according to their original context and explaining to you those verses accordingly. Now, of course, there's much more I could say about proper Bible interpretation, But again, I hope you see the main point. God indeed calls us to pursue the Bible multifacetedly, prayerfully, diligently, but also carefully if we want to find a maximum nourishment, enjoyment, and approval. Now you might ask, in my individual study of the Bible, how can I make sure I'm not going off course? I haven't gotten off track. Well, there's a fifth principle for maximizing your soul's profit and feasting on God's word, and we're gonna see this one in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 18, verses 24 to 26, number five. The Bible requires communal pursuit. The Bible requires communal pursuit. Acts 18, verses 24 to 26. This is the Pew Bible, page 1,111. One, one, one, one, one. The Book of Acts is a historical account of the gospel spread to the Gentiles, especially under the faithful ministry of the Apostle Paul. The little section that I've chosen, picked out for you, is a brief aside explaining the appearance of the preacher Apollos. He later plays a key role in some of the churches that Paul himself founded, and Luke, the author, saw fit to include these details about Apollos. But listen to what Luke mentions about Apollos in Luke 18, verses 24 to 26. Luke 18, not Luke, Acts 18, 24 to 26. Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explain to him the way of God more accurately. We'll just stop there. Now, what I'd like to draw your attention to in these verses is this fact that Apollos, a man who was already mighty in the scriptures, being used by God to proclaim the gospel powerfully, he nevertheless received further biblical instruction and even correction from other believers in the church. Verse 26 says that Priscilla and Aquila, and they were a believing couple who were also companions of Paul, they met with Apollos privately and they helped complete Apollos' understanding of the gospel and of scripture. And really what we're seeing at work here is a critical principle for how we pursue the Bible. And that is we must pursue the Bible together in community. must be a communal pursuit. Though we have an opportunity and an obligation to pursue God via the Bible individually, your individual memorization, your individual study, your individual listening to sermons, we are not, however, to become our own popes. That is, authorities all on our own as to what is true. We are not to become our own popes, but neither are we to listen to someone else as a pope. assign authoritative interpretation to some other chosen person, or even counsel of people who will tell us what to believe and how to interpret the Bible. Now, yes, you have shepherds in the church, your elders, who play a crucial part in guiding and correcting, when necessary, your understanding of the Bible. But we are not the only ones who have a part in that. And we ourselves need accountability. The truth is that we all are to help and guard one another when it comes to the pursuit of the Bible. And this, again, is the reality of Ephesians 4, verses 14 to 16. You remember the metaphor there? Each part of Christ's body, the individual members, the different body parts, they're all building up to and ministering to the other parts. so that everyone grows together and everyone is guarded from the winds and waves of false teaching, from misguided understanding. We do not seek the wisdom of God's word alone. We do it together. We do it communally. And this really is just the basic wisdom of the book of Proverbs. What is one of the most obvious things that Proverbs says? There is wisdom in counsel. You will be helped when you get advice, teaching, correction from others. Proverbs 13, 10 is one example. And the guarding aspect of this communal pursuit is not to be underestimated. The apostle James clarifies at the end of his book, James 5, 19 to 20, that a faithful community of interpreters can prevent a member of the body from going off the rails, and they can even rescue his soul when he goes astray. And Christians can certainly go astray. We can all testify of that. You can even go astray through your isolated pursuit of the Bible. You can say, I'm reading the Bible, what could be bad with that? Well, you start to get some erroneous ideas in your mind, you can use the Bible to go astray. We Christians can easily become stubborn, proud, obsessed with our own aberrant interpretations of the Bible. And the results are devastating. Consider what the Apostle John writes in his third letter regarding a certain diatrophies. This is the letter of 3 John verses 9 to 10. You can just listen to me read it. 3 John 9 to 10. The Apostle writes, I wrote something to the church, but diatrophies, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds, which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren either. And he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church." You see, this man, Diotrephes, had become so puffed up in his own mind that he basically tried to start a personal cult. He would not listen to correction, not even from the last surviving apostle. Rather, Diotrephes slandered the apostle John and John's associates. He refused to welcome any believers sent by John, and he forced out of his own congregation those who sought to do so. Diotrephes was a man who was clearly no longer teachable. He was no longer accountable to his fellow congregants, nor to qualified elders. And of course, he then quickly began to hurl himself and those who followed him down the path of spiritual and eternal destruction. I wish I could say that this ancient case was the only one that I know of existing. But alas, even in my own personal experience, I've seen that Christians, many Christians since the days of the early church, have followed in Diotre's steps. Even when I was in Los Angeles for seminary, leading a Bible study at Grace Community Church, I met several people who fit the description of diatrophies. They knew their Bibles well. They had memorized scripture up and down. They were very eager to participate in Bible studies. But if they said something that was an error, that was clearly an error, and someone attempted to correct it, even if it was a pastor or one of the leaders of the Bible study, these persons would not accept it. who do not listen. There is nothing more dangerous to your life and to your soul than becoming correction-proof. When in pride, you are no longer willing to deal honestly and fairly with what the scripture says, but you trust wholeheartedly in your own experience and your own interpretation. There is a proverb that actually captures the state of such a person. Proverbs 26, 12. Proverbs 26, 12. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. And if you know what the Proverbs says about fools, Proverbs declared there's basically no hope for a fool. So how much hope is there for this person? So then, we must not underestimate the importance of pursuing the Bible communally. Not only does it allow us to enjoy God's word even more as we talk about it, share it, instruct, correct, but it protects us from going down a dangerous path. There's one more principle from the Bible I'd like to share with you for maximizing your soul's feasting on the Bible. We're gonna find this last one in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. Number six, the Bible requires holy pursuit. The Bible requires holy pursuit. This next passage is page 1212 in the Pew Bible, 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. We were here recently. I remember Peter's writing to persecuted Christians here, exhorting them to hold fast to the word. I want to point out something new to you in these verses. 1 Peter 2, 1 to 3, let's read them. If I can actually find it myself. 12, 12, where are you? Okay. 1 Peter 2, 1 to 3. Peter writes, therefore, putting aside all malice, and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. We saw before how these verses command us, command believers to desire the word of God like a newborn baby desires milk, and really for the same reason. So we might grow. Baby wants to grow. We want to grow. We want to grow in godliness. But notice now the modifying clause that we see in verse 1. It tells us how we are to obey the main command of verse 2. Peter says, therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Notice the repetition and the inclusivity of this description. The word all appears three times. And also we have five different sins listed, represented. We have malice, which is kind of a catch-all for desiring evil for others. And then deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. Why would a reminder about putting off these sins accompany a command about desiring God's Word? This juxtaposition is not accidental. It is quite purposeful and poignant. What is the implication of these being put together? That if you tolerate ongoing sin in your life, That sin will compete with and ultimately kill your desire for the Word of God. I mentioned to you before that it's odd that we hear this command that we are to desire milk like newborn babes. You don't have to make a newborn desire milk. They do it naturally, automatically. They follow Proverbs 2. They literally cry out for it. Unless there's something wrong. unless that newborn is injured or sick. Then it will stop desiring milk. To get the baby to desire, even to cry out for milk again, you've got to take care of whatever issue is dampening its desire. And the same is true for us. There's nothing that dampens the desire for the Word of God like sin, worldliness, and false teaching. These will make you not want to eat from God's word. Or they will make it so that you get very little out of it when you do try to eat from God's word. Brethren, let's consider the sobriety of this. If you find that after these past weeks, even all your years as a Christian, Even after the message today, that even though you know you should pursue the Bible in a multifaceted, prayerful, diligent, careful, communal, and holy way, that you still really have no desire to do this. You have no prospect of delight in God's Word. If that's the way you feel, if that's the way you are, then you should fear. You should be very concerned. Because that is a sign that something is dangerously wrong in your soul. you must be sick, you must be dangerously distracted, or you might be dead. Because that's the only other reason why a newborn won't desire milk, right? It's dead. It's stillborn. No amount of encouragement or prodding will make it cry out for milk because it has no life to begin with. As D.L. Moody, the 19th century American evangelist, well stated, perhaps you've heard this before, the Bible will keep you away from sin, and sin will keep you from the Bible. And consider the terrible deceitfulness and sinfulness of sin. The longer it deprives you of spiritual food, saying, you don't want the Bible, stay away from the Bible, there's nothing good about the Bible, the longer sin does that for you, the weaker you become. The weaker you become spiritually, which means the harder it will be for you to say no to sin and return to the Bible. Sin is starving you. So you have to beware. You have to break this death spiral of sin, even today. so that you might live. The only way you can do that is by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Say, Lord, I don't want death. I want life. I don't want this sin, this false food anymore. I want you and your food. You have the words of eternal life. If you find yourself in that state, starving when there's such a feast ready for you, in turn, give up sin, the treasures of the world, whatever it is that's causing you not to come to the word of God. That's worthless food that you're pursuing. Jesus says, don't work for the food that perishes anymore, but work for the food that brings about eternal life, which I will give you and which really is myself. Taste and see again that the Lord is good. Pursue Him and His Word as your necessary food, even the most precious food. Find life. Feast on Him and His joy forever. Friends, consider your own approach to the Word of God, your discipline, your pattern. Whatever is distracting you, hindering you, causing you not to take part of God and His Word, it's time to change. It's time to discipline yourself for godliness and to actually take on the spiritual discipline, the discipline of grace that is the Word of God. It will cost you pain, there will be a cost, but there is great gain, lasting gain. Set the new priorities. Come up with a new plan. Maybe you need a piece of paper to write it down. Okay, these are the things that I want to do to actually pursue the Word of God and grow in godliness. Start small. Set realistic goals for yourself. And then as you complete them, add something more. But whatever you do, make sure that you are starting to, or continuing to, regularly feed on the Word of God. This way you will live, and this way you will grow. And if you need specific help or direction in this, what should you do? Ask for help from your brethren, because after all, we're in this together. Let's pray. Lord God, you have put before us your great food. But we don't want to just look at it. We want to take it in. We want it to go down deep within us. We want it to be, even as we saw from Deuteronomy 6, something that is on our hearts, something that changes us, something that we obey. Lord God, we pray that you would grant this, grant repentance where necessary. We know our responsibility is to turn, but we ask you, God, to give the grace that enables that. Lord, let us by faith pursue your word and experience the richness of that obedience. Let the people of Calvary and anybody listening today say, I will regularly feed on the word of God. I will make that happen. I will sacrifice what is necessary to make that happen because my Lord commands it and because it is good for me. Please, God, be pleased to accomplish this work among us. In Jesus name, amen.