SERMON NOTES: HELP ME, I’M STUCK IN LEVITICUS
Principles for Hearing God in Scripture:
1. Recognize the Word
2. Dig for the Word
3. Obey the Word
Title: Help Me, I’m Stuck in Leviticus!
Text: Luke 11:27 – 32
MP: You can and should be hearing the Words of God in the Bible.
Outline:
1. Intro – Response to ‘My Sediments Exactly’
a. Was Leviticus 13 (You have to participate in the text for it to come alive)
b. Better response would been our text this morning – the Sign of Jonah
c. Principles for hearing God’s voice in the midst of Scripture
2. Recognize It (Signs)
a. Signs Not Wonders
b. Don’t allegorize it (Parable of the Loving Father)
c. Exegesis not eisegesis
d. Let your yes be yes and your no be no
e. Jonah had the most direct prophecy of them all – and it worked!
3. Communion is the ultimate expression of that participation / Christ is here / this is my body shed for you…
Back in September, I was preaching a sermon at The Plains – one that I’ve preached here [My Sediments Exactly] in which I challenged them to keep the Word of God flowing them, keeping them clean fresh and open to the Word of God. Afterwards, I got a great question from one guy who said, “Preacher – I hear you. I believe that this is the Word of God, I know it’s the Words of Life – but I’m in Leviticus, and it’s pretty dry. Can you help me?”
Well, he is right. I know we’re supposed to pick and choose our Bible, but let’s just say that if I was stuck in a prison somewhere where we had to smuggle in the Bible and parcel out the individual pages, Leviticus would probably not be the most in demand piece. If you are new to reading the Bible, its like the 64th or 65th book I’d have you read. The Word of God there is mostly a bunch of rules, mostly for the priests, and is mostly minute detail about dealing with diseases and sanitation in a way that, okay I’ll say it – we don’t deal with much anymore. I say Leviticus, because most of the Bible isn’t Leviticus, and even there, there is stuff we do, but let’s face it, we don’t deal with leprosy on a daily basis.
But I had a challenge, so I said, Okay – let’s dive into the driest stuff we can find for a second. I got him to open to Leviticus 13, and I just started reading a few verses about leprosy.
When a man is afflicted with a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, 10 and the priest shall look. And if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. ... 20 And the priest shall look, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. …
That joke only works if you can put yourself in the place of the priest trying to learn all that stuff. Even the boring parts of the Bible can have their humor. We just need to be in that place in order to truly get it.
Now, if I had more time with this gentleman, I would have preferred to have given him a clearer and less dry passage for learning how to read the Scripture. I do, however, want to share it with you, because if you are going to hear from God through his Word, it would be good to know how to do it. This morning, I’d like to share with you some principles that Jesus gave us when it comes to hearing God’s voice. The context here is that a bunch of people think they know how to hear God, Jesus is going to set them straight on how to do it. So, let me read you our text, Luke 11:27 – 32.
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I’ll admit, this text could be a little clearer. But, if we will recognize it, dig into it, and obey it, we can understand it. Indeed, I am going to suggest you that those are three principles that will help us get a handle on any part of scripture.
Recognize It
Let’s begin by just recognizing what Jesus is saying. I think the clearest thing in the passage is when Jesus says, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation looks for sign.’ Okay – so what does that mean? Clearly, Jesus doesn’t seem to think that signs are the things we need, right?
Well, what’s a sign? You sometimes hear the expression ‘signs and wonders and miracles’ and stuff like that. These people who were crowding around Jesus were clearing saying something, “Hey Jesus – give us a sign that you’re God.” They were saying, show us a trick. We don’t want a Messiah, we want David Copperfield.
And Jesus is saying, look – I know my Dad used to miracles in the past, and I’m not saying that he isn’t doing them today, but don’t you realize – these flashy things are really a indication that you guys are so deaf you need something flashy. A miracle is God shouting from the rooftops. You guys don’t need hearing aids. Listen to the still, small voice of my Father. It’s better for you in the long run. I think we covered that pretty well last week, so I won’t repeat myself here.
A sign is also a stand-in – a symbol of something deeper. I think Jesus could just as easily be saying, ‘Guys – don’t try to think so deeply about what I’m saying that you miss what I’m saying.’
Sometimes we approach Scripture as if it is just a puzzle to be solved – a set of symbols that must be “interpreted” to make sense. Sadly, even the Church did this for a while – we thought everything was an allegory. Let me explain what I mean by that.
Take a parable like the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s a really simple story about a boy who rejects his father, but his father still loves him. Well, some people want to attach meaning to every minor detail, and find Jesus in places where I expect Jesus himself would have been surprised to find himself. They might seize upon the pigs that the young man was feeding and launch into some tirade about the tyranny of gluttony and then rail about the morality of loose women, since, well, the Prodigal spent time with them. Maybe the corn husks represent the lack of filling-ness that such a lifestyle represents. Could you argue these points? Maybe. But what is this story really about? It’s about our heavenly Father who loves us no matter what we do. There’s no allegory there – it’s plainspoken truth.
Well – Bill and I and just about anybody who has been to seminary has taken a class called ‘Exegesis.’ That word means to pull out as much truth from the Scripture as we can in order to see it plain. I used to joke and call that class ‘Eisegesis’ – to put stuff back into the Scripture. Don’t do that. It’s like trying to stuff Jello into a turkey. Definitely not Good Eats.
Now, Jesus does use parables – stories – to drive home truth, but his truth is simple. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “‘Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’” He was a plainspoken man who would tell you straight up – say what you mean and mean what you say. Jesus does that, Paul did that, the prophets did that: throughout Scripture, there is nothing but plain and simple truth.
Indeed, Jesus told his disciples that his sheep would know his voice. Very few sheep have sheepskins, if you catch my drift. But they can still recognize the plain, simple truth that is the Word of the Lord.
Now, I will allow that some truth is more plainly set out in some places than others, but it is accessible to you if you’ll just read it.
When Jesus said that he was just going to give the same sign that Jonah gave to Nineveh, he was really saying the same thing. I know that in Jonah, we always focus on the whale. I mean, let’s face it, it was a spectacular miracle. But remember – that miracle was only given because Jonah was turning his back on the plain and simple Words of God. Indeed, the only person who saw that miracle was probably Jonah himself. Nineveh is in *Northern* Iraq. The fish didn’t spit him outside the city walls. He had to walk.
No, the sign of Jonah was a very simple message preached very simply. Jonah has all this adventure, walks up to the city, and then says, ‘Thirty days and Nineveh will be destroyed.’ That’s the sign of Jonah – a simple warning that you can do with what you like. God be praised, Nineveh decided it liked to repent, and so they did. But you can’t ascribe it to the flowery and clever preaching. Jonah just said, “Guys – you’re toast.” But the Word of the Lord convicted the hearts of the town such that they repented – much to Jonah’s disappointment I might add – and we found out that God was merciful.
The message is very simple. But you know, Alton Brown likes to say that just because something is simple doesn’t always mean it’s easy. Indeed, the simplest dishes are the ones were every little detail gets noticed – if it’s done right – but enjoying a good steak doesn’t require scientific analysis. It is simply savored and digested, completely taken in and absorbed.
Dig for It
Sometimes you have to work to get those details, and that brings me to my second point – in order to recognize the Word of the Lord, it behooves you to dig. Digging to understand what the ‘Sign of Jonah’ means will mean that you needed to go back to the Table of Contents and find that book named Jonah. But it’s definitely doable.
In our passage, Jesus references another Bible story – the Queen of Sheba coming to visit Solomon. Here’s a very rich and wise woman who travels a very, very long way, just to meet a man whom she hears is also very wise. She spent the time to understand. And here Jesus says, look – you guys are a lot closer than Sheba, and I’m a lot wiser than Solomon. Don’t you think you could spend a little bit of work to understand this yourself?
I hope you think of me as maybe a travel guide to Scripture – don’t let me be your chauffeur. Once a week, it is my hope that I can expose you to some of the beautiful and interesting sights in Scripture, but I shouldn’t be the full ride.
Some people want to treat the Bible like a magic talisman or an oracle. They’ll play a game I call ‘Bible Roulette.’ They’ll open their Bibles randomly and point to a verse and think that’s the Word of the Lord for them. They treat the Bible like a giant Ouija board. My friends, I can imagine someone doing that and ending up in the verse that says, “Judas went out and hung himself.” That person would probably want confirmation, do it again, and hit “Go and do thou likewise.”
No, learn to use your Bible effectively. If you are planning on drilling for oil or digging for gold, you aren’t just going to dig a deep shaft the first place you lay your shovel. You’ll take some time to get a sense of the land, and you’ll study the pieces that seem to be most appropriate. You can do that with Scripture too.
I can tell you that you can do this. I would suggest that if you have never done so, you should read through the Bible in a year, to get a general overview of the book. Get yourself a readable translation like the NIV or ESV or something that was printed within, say the last 100 years – and just read it through. Take a high level look and see who Solomon really was, who Jonah is.
If you’ve done that, I’d suggest every few months, you should tackle a single book. One night, read the whole book through. You can read the big ones like Genesis and Jeremiah and Acts in an hour. You can read the short ones like Philippians or Ephesians in fifteen minutes. Just get the general sense of what it is being said. You’ll actually be better off seeing the forest before you see the trees.
But then, go ahead and dig. I’ll tell you that the more I read of the Bible, the slower I go. Sometimes, I’ll spend a week on just one verse. You better bet I have it memorized at the end of that week. But when you’re ready for that, let me tell you simply to put yourself in that verse. As you are reading, mentally stop and imagine the woman on the camel, regally riding into Jerusalem. Look with her at the Temple, imagine what she is feeling as she has finished coming 1000 miles to see a wise man. What is she thinking? Had she chosen well?
What do you think she is going to do with what she learns from this wise King. What are you going to do with what you learn from the King?
Obey it
And that, my friends, brings me to the real crux of the matter. You see, God is merciful enough to give you only the truth that you can handle. You are his sheep, you can recognize his voice. You are the hands and feet of the body of Christ – you can dig for his truth.
Nineveh was able to handle the simple truth that in 30 days, there city was going to be destroyed. But they also understood the simple truth that God was merciful. They acted on that truth, and their city was saved.
God gives you words, God gives you his truth so that you will act on it. You can apply it in your own life. Application is like applying paint to a canvas. Oh the pastor might have some artistic sense in where to put it, but if the paint doesn’t stick, what good is it?
You are God’s chosen sheep. He loves you and has made a beautiful thing in his sight. He wants to speak those plain and simple words into your heart, and he yearns that you will say them in return. In your own plain and simple way.
But you must participate fully in those words in order to receive them. In a moment, we are going to see how fully God participates in his Truth. So much so that his own body and blood will be plainly put before us. We will take them in and they will become a part of us, just like his Words. The table will be open to all, and the message is plain and simple as it can be. This cup and this bread is given for you for the forgiveness of sins. You will do this in remembrance of me.
Let us pray.
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1. Dig for it (Sheba)
a. Queen of the Sheba came from far away – you have it here
b. Read it through in a year to get the overview
i. Bible Roulette I - Zia (Alpha Course)
ii. Bible Roulette II – Judas went out and hung himself, Go and do thou likewise
iii. like digging for oil the first place you put down your shovel
c. Learn to do a book a month
d. Begin to read devotionally –
i. Ruminate
ii. Gestate
iii. Take time to sink in
2. Obey it
a. Most importantly, you have to act on what you have –
i. Sheba, who really cares? What did she do?
ii. Nineveh repented and that’s the point!
iii. Hear it / Internalize it / Do It
b. Back to my guy at The Plains – what if you aren’t hearing it? Participate it in it with your imagination
c. Exercise your imagination. Let’s do it now
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Meditation Habakkuk 1:1 – 4; 2:1 – 3
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #562
“Be Thou My Vision”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Hymn #184
“Thy Word”
*Responsive Lesson [See Right]
*Hymn #217
“Abide With Me”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
*Scripture Luke 11:27 – 32
Sermon
“Hearing God: Help Me, I’m stuck in Leviticus!”
Preparation Hymn #460
“Let us Break Bread together”
Communion
Closing Hymn #401
“The Church’s One Foundation”
*Benediction
*Congregational Response
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
RESPONSIVE LESSON
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.
If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
By this we know love that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth.
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you.
But as his anointing teaches you about everything—and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you—abide in him.
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
1 John 2:24-25; 3:16-18; 1 Cor 4:20; 1 John 2:27-28; James 1:22-25; John 15:4-5; 1 John 3:9-10; John 15:7-11.
LUKE 11:27 – 32
27When Jesus had said this, a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to him, “How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!” 28But Jesus answered, “Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
29As the people crowded round Jesus, he went on to say, “How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the sign of Jonah. 30In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day. 31On Judgement Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today, because she travelled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon’s wise teaching; and I tell you there is something here greater than Solomon. 32On Judgement Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Jonah!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
11/4 – Extended Service so we can meet Larry Morrison
Tue 11/6 – Don’t forget to vote! Election Day
11/11 – Linda Garrett
Sat 11/17 – Crop Walk
PRAYER LIST
Mike McCauslin, Martha Puryear, Susan Schulz, Warren Lee,
Brandi, Irene Griffith, Cory Keely, David Witt, Larry Morrison, Jeff Coleman, Zane, Bruce, Steve, Long Branch Church
