Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction (prayer)

Last week we began by looking at two assumptions we bring into this class: 1) That it is actually possible both to know and to meet with God; and 2) That we should meet with God on a consistent, even daily basis.

As you’ll see on your handout, we said that a quiet time is “part of the day that we set aside for the worship of God, for the reading of the Word of God and for fellowship with God so that we would know Him more, know ourselves in light of Him, and know the world according to His perspective.”

In other words, the quiet time recalibrates our perspective on the world according to God’s perspective on the world, and a key aspect of this recalibration is meeting with God by reading His Word.

And we know that we can meet with God and get close to Him and know Him more because we have a great high priest who serves as our mediator.

We are sinful people.

In our desires and decisions to trust ourselves over and above God on a daily basis, we have committed treason.

We have sinned against the holy, infinite God and we have no right to come into his presence.

He has banished us and thus, we need a mediator to gain access to Him.

Jesus Christ is that mediator for us, through His blood shed on the cross.

He is the perfect sacrifice, paid once for all time.

And so Hebrews 4:16 says:

That’s the key verse for this course.

Today we’re going to talk specifically about two ways to meet with God in His Word.

These are two ways of what Don Whitney calls, “Bible intake.”

We know that we need to be in God’s Word because scripture speaks to that explicitly.

Let’s look at two passages that clearly speak to this point.

The first is John 17:17, when Jesus is praying to His Father.

So, Jesus prays for our sanctification, the daily process of our being made righteous and being conformed to the image of Christ.

Jesus wants us to be like Him.

The means by which He asks God to do this is by the truth.

He could have left it alone there.

He could have stopped and ended the prayer here.

But He didn’t.

He got more specific.

There is no question about what truth Jesus is talking about.

“Your word is truth.”

What is truth?

God’s word.

How are we sanctified?

By truth.

Through truth we are sanctified.

God’s word is truth, so we are sanctified by the word of God.

The entire Bible is composed of this sanctifying truth.

Second, let’s look at a few parts of Psalm 119 (turn there).

This is a psalm of praise and prayer to God from a man who has a high esteem for God’s Word.

The Word of God, his precepts, his testimonies spring up from David in praise to God.

From Psalm 119 we see that God’s word saves and God’s word sustains.

Psalm 119:57-64

Here are five things we learn from just this one section of Psalm 119.

1. God’s word of promise to us is the foundation of our receiving grace from him

(vs.

58 - be gracious to me according to your promise).

2. God’s word humbles us and causes us to look to him

(vs.

59 - When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies).

3. God’s word is more powerful than anyone who would oppose us

(vs.

61 - though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law).

4. God’s word leads us to praise Him

(vs.

62 - …I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules).

There is something circular going on here.

We go to God in His Word because He is worthy.

And when we go to His word He sends us back to praise Him.

Can you see the circle here?

Spending time in God’s Word leads us to praise Him, and praising Him leads us to want to know Him more through His Word.

5.

The Word of God leads us into the fellowship of the church

(vs.

63 - I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts).

So, to summarize, God’s word of promise to us is the foundation for our receiving grace from Him, God’s Word humbles us, His Word is more powerful than any who oppose us, His Word leads us to praise Him, and His Word leads us to the fellowship of the church.

The Bible

Let’s talk now a bit more about the Bible itself.

The Bible is a book written by God about God.

It contains the message of salvation.

It will lead us away from sin.

It will remind us that we are not made for this world.

It will tell us the truth of God.

It is a book about God.

It is not a book we should read simply to try to make ourselves better people.

When we read it, we should ask, “What does this tell me about God?”

About his character?

About his purposes?

As Paul and Silas were preaching in the town of Berea, Luke (the author of Acts), tells us in Acts 17:11 that

Are we like the Bereans?

Do we examine the scriptures daily?

The Bereans are a great example for us, but over and above the Bereans, we are called to follow Jesus.

Many times in scripture it describes Jesus as going out to a quiet place where he could spend one-on-one time with the Father.

These verses:

all describe Jesus getting away from the crowds, even away from his disciples, and spending time alone talking to the Father.

If Jesus needed to spend this time with God, how much more do we need to do it?

Follow Jesus in spending time alone with God.

Being busy is often a real hindrance to spending daily time with the Lord.

We live in a very busy area, and I’m sure that many of you are incredibly busy.

Work, school, family, church, and countless other things vie for our time.

Remember the example of Christ, who gave his life to healing and teaching numerous people, yet found time to be by Himself with His Father.

People flocked to him and yet, he made time to get away.

Question: what is one hindrance for you that keeps you from spending time with the Lord in His Word?

Don Whitney has laid out five ways that we meet with God through His Word.

Five means of “Bible intake,” as he calls it.

You’ll see them on your handout at the top of page 2:

1. Hearing

2. Reading

3. Studying

4. Memorizing

5. Meditating

Today we’re going to look at hearing and reading.

Next week we’ll look at studying, memorizing and meditating.

Hearing the Word of God

There is a scriptural basis for the public hearing of God’s word.