An Invitation to Abundant Living
“Lifetime of Learning”
Philippians 4:8-9
Instead of studying for the last exam of their college careers, four seniors spent the night partying in the house they had rented off campus. The next morning they waited until the test would be almost finished, and then made their way to class. Along the way they all put grease on their hands to support the story they were going to tell their professor. The class was almost done with the exam, when all four seniors burst into the room. They reported to the professor that they had a flat tire along the way and could they please retake the test? The professor said that he was a reasonable man, so he scheduled a test date for the following week.
Their plan had worked!
They studied diligently for the next week, making the most of their time. The day of the make-up came, and they were ready for anything. Each senior was placed alone in a separate classroom for the test. The first question, worth 5 points, was easy. The second question was worth 95 points, and it simply read, "Which tire?"
It pays to study
For many people the idea of buckling down to study is about as much fun as visiting the dentist. They strap your legs and arms to the chair as the attending assistant holds your head in her vice-grip locked fingers from behind you and the mad scientist is approaching with the instrument of choice laughing that sinister laugh! Okay, I’m exaggerating. But study is about as much fun as going to the dentist. Of course if you enjoy going to the dentist, my illustration doesn’t work and you need to “get a life”!
Someone wrote, “Many Christians remain in bondage to fears and anxieties simply because they do not avail themselves of the discipline of study. They may be faithful in church attendance, earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed…They may sing with gusto, pray in the Spirit, live as obediently as they know, even receive divine visions and revelations, and ye the tenor of their lives remains unchanged. Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to change us: study. Jesus made it unmistakably clear that the knowledge of the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Good feelings will not free us. Ecstatic experiences will not free us. Without knowledge of the truth, we will not be free.”
It pays to study.
If we will know the truth that will set us free; know the truth that will set our hearts on fire and enable us to experience God especially when we feel desperately disconnected from Him we must
1. Spend time at the table
“Time at the table” is a Newfoundland image. After Sunday night church someone would always invite us out for lunch, lunch being 10 o’clock at night, not that thin bread made with see-through meat called a sandwich at 12 noon! Lunch was a full-course meal of cold cuts a whole chicken, and potato salads followed by apple pie, blueberry tart or some other tasty sweetness with ice-cream! We would eat for an hour or two, followed by another hour or so of conversation in addition to the talking hours between servings! We’d often be heading home at 1 or 2 in the morning! We talked life, we talked ministry challenges; we talked about family and needs. We hammered out theology and faith victories and challenges. Time at the table moved us away from “how are you doing?” and “oh, we’re good” (which is often more untrue than true) to really digging into the things that excited us and things that hurt us; the things that brought us joy and the issues that gave us pain. Why? Because we spent time together and dug into life. It is the difference between casual acquaintance and intimate engagement.
The picture shows us the difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. Reading is a casual acquaintance – a jumble of words, phrases and even stories that ramble through our minds. Studying the Bible is different. Studying is an intimate engagement. It challenges our theology and unsettles our preconceived beliefs. It raises questions that don’t come with easy answers. It stirs our faith and ignites our hearts to believe the impossible and look to the unseen! Bible study draws us into the deep fellowship of sitting in the room with God and hearing the Cosmic Creator say something! Through Bible study He speaks life into our lives; he speaks hope into our situations; He challenges our complacency and comforts our brokenness; He lifts us up and knocks us down to the realities of where we’re at. These only come through intimate engagement. These only come through Bible study.
Bible study takes us deeper in our learning. Bible study unwrap truths and lessons where earlier impressions were only partly received because our minds can only digest morsels of protein and sweetness. Having gotten full we walk away from the table but soon work up an appetite to eat some more!
We must pursue Bible study – an intimate engagement for the knowledge of the truth. Merely giving ourselves to Bible reading – a casual acquaintance with the material and the Author – cannot satisfy a hungry soul. The pursuit of spirituality without study is like wanting a relationship without investing energy and effort into it.
It pays to study.
Just as crystal clear water reflects our image, 2 Timothy 2:14-18 reflects “Time at the Table” and shows us what study might look like (Read 2 Timothy 2:14-18…)
Verse 15 offers a command, not a suggestion. St. Paul orders Timothy, (KJV): “Study to show yourself approved unto God”
By now I’ve emphasized the value of study. The Bible commands that we study because by it we will be fed, nourished and sustained. Now someone is facing a glaring problem. Someone is thinking, “I don’t like study. I don’t know how to study. You’ve put me in a terrible situation.” Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Bible study does not mean scholarly pursuit. It’s not about taking Bible courses at a College or University Campus and being quizzed on what you’ve learned or submitting lengthy assignments. Bible study is a simple process of repetition, concentration and application. These are the lessons that St. Paul highlights in these verses to Timothy.
a. Repetition
2 Timothy 2:14 – “Remind everyone about these things…”
Author Richard Foster in Celebration of Disciplines: The Path of Spiritual Growth says, “We may smile condescendingly at the old teaching method of recitation, but we must realize that sheer repetition without even understanding what is being repeated does affect the inner mind.” In my Training (Bible) College days, my Theology instructor Major Bill Reader came to class every morning and recited our theology lesson. The lesson was, “If a man has a soul – and he does; and that soul can be lost or won for eternity – and it can; then the most important thing in all the world is to win that soul for Jesus Christ.” That was twenty eight years ago. The lesson never left me. I found Major Reader on Facebook and after accepting me as a “Friend” I wrote, “If a man has a soul…” to which another session mate wrote, “And he does…” and so it goes!
Bible study involves the simple discipline of repeating on a regular basis verses or passages that need to be locked in your mind for future reference and strength.
May I drop a word in your mind? I am not too familiar with this word. I’ll never use it in another sentence outside this presentation. It is the word “Psychocybernetics”. It simply means the act of repeating certain affirmations as Foster explains. For example if someone has low self-esteem they would systematically repeat “I love myself unconditionally”. Foster explains scientific truths how the inner mind is trained and “will eventually respond by modifying the behaviour to conform to the affirmation.”
We know the effects of repetition. In 2003 the video game Grand Theft Auto III was believed to have inspired a copycat crime where in June of that year 18 year old Devon Moore shot and killed three police officers.
Advertising is a powerful social forum that controls our impulses and choices. While we roll our eyes at the interruptions to our show, advertisers are actually reeling us in and manipulating our thinking and decisions.
Bible study includes the simple act of repetition and to that Paul speaks of the added value of
b. Concentration
“Study to show yourself approved unto God” (verse 15) is translated another way as “concentrate on doing your best for God.” (MSG).
One of the best examples to help us understand the power of concentration is a magnifying glass. If you held a magnifying glass a few inches from an object you can burn the object by allowing the sun’s rays to pass through the convex lens. The reason you can do that is because the rays are concentrated as they converge on one spot.
When we concentrate so that we converge our energies of doing, thinking and behaving as acts to God, we shake and shape the course of things. Talk to anyone who believes God is directing them to something specific or a certain task or response to a given situation and you’ll see someone walk through a situation where before they would not have dreamed of finding themselves. There are no barriers, limitations or restrictions to the desired end result.
A concentration strategy is offered by St. Paul in Philippians 4:8-9, today’s text. (Read verse 8…)
Bonnie Thurston and Judith Ryan in Sacra Pagina say that verse 8’s “think about such things”, “means ‘meditate on’ or ‘mull over.’ The invitation/command is literally to fill the mind with these virtues. Paul is an astute psychologist and knows that the greatest area of sin is that of thought, and so he gives alternatives to sinful or even useless or trivial or petty thoughts.” These virtues are not spiritual in themselves. They were very common to Greek philosophy and life. Paul borrowed them for believers in their spiritual quest.
Richard R. Melek Jr. provides insight in “The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. He shows how the verses before verses 8-9 speak to those occasions when peace is missing and troublesome circumstances interrupt the normal flow of events. Melek reveals how “Paul organizes his thoughts to address the need for a peaceful environment. The cultivation of the proper environment brings with it the God who is peace.” When we “think about such things” and “put into practice” what we’ve learned the God of peace will be with us (Verse 9).
Finally Paul highlights the third lesson of Bible study which is
c. Application
Many years ago when I was a minor hockey player our coach pushed us every practice with repetition and concentration. We had to perform drills of stick-handling the puck, passing the puck and offensive plays of position and defensive tactics. When game time came we put the repetition and concentration to work where it mattered (application). Our proficiency determined whether we won or lost. If we knew how to apply the repetition and concentration of practice we could win games.
The lesson is simple. We learn through Bible study and grow and prosper through repetition, concentration and application. An example will help. Tithing is a natural response for a lot of people in our church because they are familiar with the Bible’s teaching on financial giving. It starts out as a repetition – giving every time I get paid. It is not easy at first because it is a different process and practice. One sticks with this game plan by concentrating on the Bible’s teaching about financial giving to the church and so we remember our responsibility to God. By practicing applying learning tithing becomes as natural as breathing air until you don’t have to think about it anymore – it just happens.
This process works for abstract situations as well. Did you know you can direct issues of depression and worry to a large degree? MDs Frank Minirth and Paul Meier wrote, “Happiness is a Choice; The Symptoms, Causes and Cures of Depression”. They offer not only advice but an antidote to help deal with depression: “Meditate on positive thoughts” (citing Philippians 4:8 as a source). Minirth and Meier continue: “We have often encouraged people who catch themselves worrying to say, “Stop, relax; anxiety is a signal to relax, so relax.” We then encourage them to go over and over a verse (repetition) like Philippians 4:8. Anxiety is usually a signal to become more anxious, but by a simple technique of behavior modification the brain can be conditioned to use anxiety as a signal to relax. There is no better place to find positive things to meditate on than the Scriptures.”
Behaviour modification leads us to relaxation and peace as supported in Philippians 4:9…
WRAP
Study is a lifetime commitment of
- Intimate engagement with God through Bible study
- Process of repetition, concentration and application
- Making it work!
