How Is Your Connection
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How Is Your Connection?
Rev. Thomas A. West, Sr
November 14, 2021
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2 Timothy 3:16
Introduction:
How many of you love cell phones? How many of you hate them at the same time? Nothing is more frustrating than a dropped call—you keep talking and have no idea that someone else is no longer on the line.
I have that problem almost every day on my job. We have drivers handling service requests in Mountain House and the cell service in that area is horrible. Communications is so bad that my bosses had thought about going back to two-way radios to communicate.
I don’t know how the residents of the community put up with it. It can create a very dangerous or life-threatening situation for not only the residents but the commuters that travel daily through the area.
Some of us feel that way in our walk with God. We have no idea whether He is “on the line” or how to tell whether He’s communicating with us.
Today we’ll take a look at the ways in which God speaks to us.
Our Title for today is: How Is Your Connection?
Our Scripture is taken from: 2 Timothy 3:16
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
Let’s get right to the point. How does our Father which is in Heaven speak to us? How does He communicate with His children?
Well, He reaches out to us in two main ways:
1. The Bible
2. The Holy Spirit
Let’s begin with the Holy Scripture …
1. The Bible.
Scripture is the most powerful and direct communication we have from God.
A. It Provides God’s Point of View
(2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20–21).
If you want to know what God thinks about something, go to the Bible! In His point of view, we get His commands, His promises, and His principles.
Though it’s different in each book depending on the author and the circumstance, it’s exactly what God intends to communicate to us.
B. It Contains Real Letters to Real People.
Many people treat the Bible as a very different book, which is right in the sense that it contains the Word of God.
But, they also get confused because ultimately the Bible is a compilation of literature throughout thousands of years: history, narrative stories, poetry, letters, etc.—all these are somewhat mutually exclusive, but together form the whole counsel of God’s Word.
Think of it this way, we’re always reading over the shoulder of the writers. The Bible was written for us but not to us, so that way it is so important that we understand the context of the Word of God.
Dr. Kevin James always reminds us that Context is King. What this means is that the CONTEXT must CONTROL the interpretation of the passage of scripture.[i]
C. Worry About Clear Stuff Not Obscure Stuff
(2 Pet. 3:15–16).
Peter, an apostle, in these verses refers to Paul’s letters as hard to understand. He also says that ignorant people distort these things.
This should come to us as somewhat of a warning: it’s easy to get caught up in the obscure or difficult portions of Scripture, to fight over those things to the detriment of the rest of the Bible, most of which is crystal clear.
The purpose of the Bible is not to make us theologically smart, but for correction and instruction in righteousness—to change how we live. Titus 3:8–9 says ....
Titus 3:8–9
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.
2. The Holy Spirit.
A. He Provides Spiritual Insight and Understanding (Eph. 1:17; 1 Cor. 2:13).
The Bible tells me what’s right and wrong, who God is, who Jesus is, how I’m supposed to live; the Holy Spirit guides me through living out this knowledge with spiritual insights and understanding.
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Alex Beard, noted in his report, “How Babies Learn—And Why Robots Can’t Compete,” Babies are not born speaking, walking, or able to do much of anything for themselves. They grow and learn by using their senses. Research shows that “one-hour-olds infants can distinguish their mother’s voice from another person’s”[ii]
When we come to Christ, we are infants in our spiritual life. By watching, listening, and spending focused time with God, we too learn how to recognize his voice and walk in his ways.
B. He Changes Us from the Inside Out
(John 16:6–13).
John 16:6-13 says this ...
6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
When you step over the line and give Jesus the steering wheel of your life, He forgives your sins, He adopts you into His family, and He comes and literally invades your life (Phil. 2:13).
C. He Primarily Guides Us Through Our Thought Processes
(1 Cor. 2:10–16; Rom. 8:6–9).
Paul consistently taught that the Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ. It’s not natural for us to see God in everything; on the contrary we tend to look at everything from our own perspective. But as we grow in Christ, our minds are informed by Scripture and guided by the Spirit to have God’s perspective.
3. Wise Counsel.
A. Together We Can Decipher Things We’d Otherwise Miss (Eph. 4:11–15).
Because of our maturity level or sin in our lives, we often misinterpret Scripture or miss relevant passages completely.
The body of Christ works in unison, supporting the other members. You may be in a Bible Study and someone gives you a verse or an insight you hadn’t considered.
This is exactly how the body is intended to operate—not in isolation but in unison.
Proverbs 3:5 gives us this advice or warning however you desire take it …
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;”
B. Isolation Is a Sign of Spiritual Arrogance (Prov. 13:10; Heb. 10:24–25).
If we go through life with the attitude of “all I need is my Bible and the Spirit” it may sound spiritual, but it’s arrogant.
Anyone unwilling to turn to wise counsel is someone who will, sooner or later, make a fatal decision.
Again I refer back to Proverbs 3:5 “Lean not to your own understand. Verse 7 says “DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES”
Listen to this ….
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A teacher wrote an article in The Atlantic lamenting the lack of wisdom being passed down to students in the education system. He writes, “But where are the students getting their wisdom? One might argue that the simple solution is religion—namely, biblical texts. The problem, though, is that I doubt religion is on most kids’ minds.”
Wisdom comes from knowledge that is passed down from previous generations. For a long time, the Israelites were lost without the Word of God, not even knowing all they were missing. Yet the Lord led them through opposition, up to the point that they rediscovered God’s Word.[iii]
Conclusion:
If you ever find that the voices conflict, understand that the Bible is the clearest and should be the ruling factor in any discrepancy (Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 3:15–16; 1 Kin. 13).
God has been gracious enough to give us His Word, to give us His Spirit, and to give us each other to speak to us.
I want to close with this
In the latest version of “Anne” there is a a cell phone company that has the motto .. “Never drop a call”, well God never drops a call, He never fails to hear us when we call on Him and He certainly never fails to answer us.
Here are just a few verses that we can rely on to make sure we have a good connection:
Seek the Lord while He may be found.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
In all your ways acknowledge the Lord
Proverbs 3:5-6 -- 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Praise and thank God for the answered prayer
Psalms 66-17-20 17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. 19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!
My question is … how is your connection?
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[i]“Tools of the Trade” Teaching Ministry of Rev. Dr. Kevin James, New Creation Bible Fellowship, Tracy, CA
[ii] Alex Beard, “How Babies Learn—And Why Robots Can’t Compete,” The Guardian, April 3,2018, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/03/how-babies-learn-and-why-robots-cant-compete.
[iii] https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/the-wisdom-deficit-in-schools/384713/