Learning from the Master
We all have different eating habits. Some of you have two meals a day; others have 1 or 3 meals a day; some like snacking throughout the day—chips, peanuts, candy etc. Some like Karen Carpenter and others are starving herself with her anorexia. What if you don’t eat? What happens when you just eat once a week and snack the rest of the time? You become unhealthy, gaunt, emaciated and terribly ugly with sunken cheeks. “Yet many of us eat spiritual food by going to church just once a week and then snack on tidbits the rest of the time. The Barna research tells us that 80% of American Christians read their Bibles less than once a week.
There is an old proverb that says that if you give a fish to a hungry man, he will live for a day; but if you teach him to fish, you will feed for life.” The American Journal of Medicine says, “The health of America will not be determined by what people can get doctors to do for them, but what the doctors can get the people to do for themselves.” The same is true spiritually, we need to come to a point where are able to feed ourselves, because the health of the church is founded upon this. It is okay to be fed all the time if you are a child. But if a 20 or 30 person needs to be fed, something is seriously wrong. Learning to feed yourself is a sign of maturity.
1 John 2:26-27 (NLT)
I have written these things to you because you need to be aware of those who want to lead you astray. [27] But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to live in Christ.
One of my favorite pianist during my time was Richard Clayderman. He could play both classical and popular songs without any difficulty. It was by listening to his music that set my heart on fire for playing the piano. Just imagine one day if he would say to me—Monsieur Andre, would you like me to teach you how to play the piano? I would wake up early in the morning if I have to. After a while, 6 months later, when I play the piano, people who know Clayderman’s music will say—I know that playing, where have I heard it before. I know, I know—they style, the intonation, the cadence, is the sound of the master himself. You sound just like the master.
Can you imagine if the master of the universe himself, teaches you everyday, giving you the wisdom of the ages. What would you say to that?
The insights that you will get will be different than if you were to be taught by some other Christian or pastor. Many of us come to church of ICF, and we hear tidbits of truth here and there. And when we talk about our faith, bits and piece of the tidbits come to mind. I see this all the time in Bible studies—I know I know I know, the pastor the other day said this or that. I think the Bible says something like…; what’s happening here? There is no confidence or first hand experience with the word of God. But if God teaches you directly, if you know something, you know something because God taught you that himself. You meet some people and they speak the word of God with confidence, why? Because God has directly deposited His truth in their hearts. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew: flesh and blood did not reveal that truth to you—in response to who do you say that I am.
Jesus says, I will personally mentor you, everyday. I will speak my truth directly into your heart. So that if you have been with me long enough, people who hear you will say: I know that style—that is something Jesus would say. You are just like the master. That is what happens when we allow God to speak to us through the Bible every day.
SO WHY IS THE BIBLE SO IMPORTANT?
Because we don’t have enough wisdom to become the husband, wife, Christian, friend, minister that God wants us to be on our own. You don’t have enough wisdom to live a victorious life, or even a successful Christian life on your own.
So how do you get wisdom?
There are a couple of ways. One of them is the most popular one: it is called experience. You put your hand into the fire. Ouch, fire hot, hand soft, hand in fire painful! After that you will put your hand into the fire again. Or I have met people who have been in prison for crime and they say—I learned a lesson—I will never steal again; I will never drink when I drive again; those are great lessons, and if it takes 5 years to learn that wisdom; you can only learn about 10 lessons in this life; Life is too short to become wise in this way. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just go around trick or treating from each person’s experience and put that gem and wisdom into our heart.
That is why we read the Bible.
Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV)
When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight…
Doing Daily Devotions…
1. GIVES US WISDOM BEYOND HUMAN YEARS.
Psalm 119:100 (Msg)
I've become wiser than the wise old sages simply by doing what you tell me.
But there is a better way. Learn from other people’s mistakes, but don’t suffer their pain.
It is full of testimonies. We learn from:
David:
Absalom:
Peter:
Asa: Start well, and end badly…
And other lessons:
Reading the Bible helps us to grow deep and to understand the things that we wouldn’t have been able to understand before. These include not just the acts of God, but the ways of God. By reading, we begin to see and understand God’s heart behind His actions.
We’ll learn and understand that sometimes God hides His blessings from us because our character is not ready to receive it. He’ll hide His promises until our maturity is greater and until we can hear, understand and accept it. It could be that we’re filled with pride or, even worse, be filled with fear so that we forfeit our God-given assignment.
2. GIVES YOU MATURITY.
Romans 12:2 (Msg)
Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Devotions and knowing the word of God gives you a strong anchor when the winds of life comes. People will say an do things that will go against your current. OR when circumstances go opposite of your expectations. Will you collapse? Only Biblical maturity will keep you standing.
If I am easily discouraged or easily offended. I know that my spirit is in shallow ground. I know that I have not done by devotions and spent my time with God sufficiently.
The first two eternal benefits of daily devotions is that it will give you wisdom beyond your years and it will also give you spiritual maturity. The final benefit has to do with prayer. What is prayer? Do you think that a holy person is one who is able to pray the hardest by talking the loudest? Of course not! It’s actually hearing from God, not just hearing myself complain or talk the whole time.
3. LISTENING IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAYER.
2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NLT)
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. [17] It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
When I returned to Singapore a few years ago, I sought out an old pastor friend of mine who I really respected. I talked about less than 10% of the conversation; I asked questions and clarified and took down notes so that I would forget. In fact, I honored him by taking down notes. Why? So that I could remember them and recall them—as well as to indicate how important the lessons were.
Learn to journal
Jeremiah 30:2 (NLT)
"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah.
God tells you to write down, or journal, what He is telling you. This will help you more than I can ever say. Just remember that your journal is not a diary; it is God is speaking to you when you put aside an hour a day for devotions.
We are starting something new at ICCSD. We call it the 20/20/20 Vision.
We used an acrostic, SOAP:
Scripture - finding a scripture out of passages we read for that day and writing it down.
Observation - taking a couple of paragraphs and observing just what it says.
Application – writing about how we may apply what we’ve just learned (the revealed truth) to our lives.
Prayer - writing out a prayer asking the Lord to help us apply it to our lives. We also write how thankful we are for the power of His Word.
The last thing that I would do is flip to the table of contents and title the entry of the scripture with the date and the page. Manuscript notation (writing out full sentences) is preferred rather than heading notation because a year from now when I go back and read it, everything God taught me will come flooding back, including the very heart of the lesson… even the prayer.
When doing devotions you are hearing God’s Word, writing it down and applying it to your life. Even if you miss a day, keep coming back to it because there’s victory when you’ve filled out an entire Bible bookmark. By journaling everyday you’ll have fertile soil in your heart and when God plants a seed, a tree starts to grown and fruit beings to be born.
Joshua 1:8 (NLT)
Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.
- This sermon is inspired from Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope in Hawaii.