As you may or may not know, my dad was a pastor. He served churches in Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware. Dad’s longest pastorate was the First Southern Baptist Church of Dover, Delaware. He was the under-shepherd of that congregation for 27 years. In 1963, when he was about to begin his ministry in Dover, the church asked if he would be willing to live in a parsonage they were building right behind the church. Dad graciously declined saying he preferred that they provide him with a housing allowance so he could purchase his own home and build equity. Plus—dad wanted some privacy for his family—and the parsonage would have made that next to impossible. We would have literally lived at the church.
The wonderful people of First Southern understood and agreed to dad’s request but they continued construction on the house behind the church—planning to use it as educational space instead. When it was done—it LOOKED very good—and for a couple years it served as great space for the youth and children of First Southern to have Sunday School and church training R.A.s and G.A.s.
Who’s old enough to remember those SBC programs?
Well, as I said, for a couple of years there were no problems, but then the building began to literally fall apart. First teachers complained that the doors in the lower level were sticking.
Then one after another windows in the lower level began to crack and break—and when the church brought in construction experts to fix things, they discovered that the source of the problem was the fact that the foundation was crumbling. Apparently the house was built on a former junkyard. The ground was still settling and slowly but surely taking the house along with it. The lower levels soon had to be abandoned and the church continued to use the upper levels for a couple years but eventually even that became too dangerous as the floors began to buckle.
In the end, they allowed the fire department to burn the house down as part of a training exercise. Now—understand—I’m talking about a beautiful home—three or four thousand square feet. I wish I had a picture to show you—but trust me—here in Montgomery County, it would easily cost over half a million dollars. This valuable building was worthless because it’s foundation was built on shifting land. It literally didn’t have a FOOTER to stand on—so it fell.
Whenever I think of this chapter of 1st Southern’s history, I’m reminded of the fact that in order for you and I to “build” a life—we need a sure foundation. We need something firm and unmovable to stand on amidst the storms of life—and that’s what God has given us in the infallible truth of His written Word. Take your Bibles, turn to Matthew 7, and follow along as I read verses 24-29 where Jesus refers to this principle of life-building and says,
24 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 – The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 – But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 – The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 – When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching,
29 – because He taught as One Who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Now, the question I want us to deal with this morning is this: “How can we become more like the wise builder than the foolish one in Jesus’ story? How can we discipline ourselves such that we learn to build our lives on the sure foundation of God’s Word? …or to use the words of this morning’s hymn writer: “How can we learn to stand on the promises of God?”
Let’s begin by looking at a little of the background of this popular hymn. It may interest you to know that, Russell Kelso Carter—who wrote both the words and the music of today’s hymn—Russell Kelso Carter was from around here—he was a Maryland resident—born in Baltimore in 1849. In his journal Carter testifies that he first saw the importance on standing on the promises of God through the example of his Godly parents. However, he rebelled against their loving upbringing and says that even though he attended church and served as a volunteer for Dwight Moody when he conducted revivals in Baltimore…Carter says he was just going through the motions and continued to live a life of sin. He writes,
In these days, my soul cried out for deliverance, and God’s UNLIMITED PROMISES stood out like stars above me…but I wasn’t willing to pay the price.
He did not accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior until he was a student at the Pennsylvania Military Academy—where, while attending a chapel service, he finally took God up on His promise to forgive him of his sins and give him eternal life.
In my reading this week I learned that Carter was an interesting individual with diverse interests.
He graduated from the Pennsylvania Military Academy—part of its first graduating class in 1867 and eventually returned to teach a number of subjects there for several years: chemistry, natural science, civil engineering, and mathematics. He must have served in the military at some point because on campus he was referred to as “Captain Carter.” But MILITARY SERVICE and TEACHING weren’t the only things he did. Carter was also the AUTHOR of several novels as well as a number of textbooks used in his classes. And as we can see, he WROTE HYMNS—and even PUBLISHED two hymnals. By the way, you can feel the “military music style” his hymn. “Standing on the Promises” has got a definite march feel to it—which would make sense for a hymn writer who taught at a military academy! In his journal Carter shares an incident that occurred years after he became a Christian—a miracle that God used to inspire him to trust in—STAND ON—His promises. He writes:
In the summer of 1879, my heart, which had been chronically diseased for seven years, resisting the remedies of physicians, and refusing to grow better even after three years of SHEEP-RANCHING in California, suddenly broke down so seriously as to bring me to the verge of the grave. Kneeling in my mother’s room in Baltimore one night, I made a consecration that covered everything. All doubtful things were swept aside. I meant every word, and have never had any doubts about it since. A quietness came over me and I found the Bible wonderfully open and marvelously satisfying, as it had never been before. Feeling impressed with God’s written promises, I prayed—and was healed by the power of God alone.
Carter never had heart problems again. He retired as a teacher and was strong enough to go to medical school. After graduation, he hung up his shingle and practiced medicine as a PHYSICIAN in Baltimore until he died August 23, 1928 at Catonsville, Maryland. If we could somehow sit in a classroom under the instruction of this teacher/author/hymn writer/sheep-rancher/physician…well I think one thing Carter would stress…is that it is VITALLY important for us to learn—as he did—to build our lives—on the promises of God. I think Captain Russell Kelso Carter would say that to be peaceful and content in life—to REST in God’s character—we must become students of the Bible—God’s promise book. It’s infallible Words must frame our world view. For example Captain Carter might say that, When you face an important decision in life—it’s important to know that God promises TO GUIDE US through those decisions—that as it says in Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Captain Carter would tell us that when we are in the midst of a nightmare—some crisis that threatens to overwhelm, well, at that point it’s vital that we remember God’s promise in Psalm 46 where it says, “God is our refuge and strength—a very PRESENT help in time of trouble.
Therefore we will not fear” …and Romans 8:28 where God promises to WORK in all things for our good. When we are forced to deal with the death of a fellow believer Carter would say nothing helps like remembering God’s promise in John 3:16 where Jesus said, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will NOT PERISH but have everlasting life.”
I could go on and on—because God’s Word is indeed full of promises we can STAND on. As the Apostle Peter puts it they are “exceedingly great and precious.” Dr. Everek Storms writes, “God’s Word promises the believer an amazing array of spiritual, material, physical, emotional, financial, and relational blessings—from eternal life with Jesus in heaven to an abundant life with His people here on earth. The Bible contains, by one count, 7487 of these ‘exceedingly great and precious promises.’”
Well, it goes without saying that to STAND on these 7487 promises we must KNOW them—and not only know them—but know how to APPLY them—HOW to stand on them. We must have an accurate grasp of the commands, principles, and precepts of God’s Word. Unfortunately I have found that many Christians embrace several false, UNBLIBLICAL, beliefs. These ignorant or misled believers remind me of Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:14 where he talked about Christians who are, “…tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” (Ephesians 4:14)
For example, I remember seeing a video on YOU-tube a couple months back. It was a drama that was part of a church service and it showed a Christian teen who was struggling with temptation. In the video, demons hovered around the teen, tempting her to sin. She prayed and asked for God’s help. Jesus came but when He reached out to help her, demons threw Him to the ground.
This spiritual battle between Jesus and a few demons went on for a minute or two with the demons always getting the upper hand…until finally Jesus was able to summon enough strength to come to the girl’s aid. Well, that kind of thinking is TOTALLY wrong. The Bible teaches that the demons tremble at even the mention of Jesus’ name—and that when we ask for His help He gives it. satan and his minions cannot stand up against the Son of God. He is ALMIGHTY! Nothing can stop His getting to a sincere believer who asks for His help.
I’d give other examples—but suffice it to say that this kind of flawed theology keeps believers from STANDING strong in the problems of life. I’m reminded of this Charles Schultz cartoon. As you can see, Lucy and Linus are watching it rain, and it is coming down in sheets. Follow along as I read the captions to you. Lucy sighs, “My, look at all that rain. If this keeps up it’s going to flood this whole area, maybe the whole WORLD.” Linus answers without hesitation, “That will never happen! It says in Genesis 9 verses 7-17, that God will never again flood the earth. And He’s put a rainbow in the sky to prove that His promise is true.” Lucy looks at her and says, “You’ve taken a big load off my mind.” Linus responds immediately, “Sound theology has a way of doing that.”
Well, Linus is right! But, how do we get this SOUND THEOLOGY that Lucy obviously had? How do we learn the Bible well enough that we stand on it’s promises day after day? To use Paul’s words to young Timothy, how can we learn to “rightly divide the Word of truth…” so that we are “…thoroughly equipped for every good work?”
I want to suggest five principles.
(1) The first is very basic. You must have the right TOOLS….
And obviously the MAIN tool you need is a Bible…but I encourage you to use a “tool”— a Bible — that is written in language that is not only an accurate translation of the Greek or Hebrew…but easy for you to understand. Finding this kind of tool is not a problem because these days we are blessed to have dozens of good Bible translations to choose from. In fact I have found that it is best in my study not to limit myself to one tool—but rather use a couple different Bible versions…a good literal translation and a good paraphrase. Most scholars agree that the most literal…the most accurate version available now is the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION. It’s based on the oldest manuscripts. To show you how literal the NASB really is—we used it in seminary to check our translations of the Greek and Hebrew. I don’t read from it in my sermon text very often—because it is almost too literal so it doesn’t flow as smoothly as you need a text to do—so I use the NIV. But for literal—word-for-word accuracy—I go to the NASB.
My favorite paraphrase of the New Testament is THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH by J. B. Phillips. I think he puts the Scriptures in easy to understand words and phrases without straying from the literal meaning of the text—which is something you have to watch out for in paraphrases. You see, they are not literal translations—but rather their wording is based on the opinion of the paraphraser—so you must be careful because they can at times lead away from the truth God intended.
Now–these TWO—the NASB and PHILIPS—are my preferred tools—but as I said there are a lot of good ones out there. When it comes to translations, there’s the NRSV and the TEV and the NIV. Paraphrases are equally abundant: The New Living Bible, The Message, so, pick two and use them in your study of God’s Word.
Now—when it comes to Bibles, some Christians continue to use a very OLD tool—the King James Version. I love this version myself—since it is the one I grew up on—but we have to remember that it was designed as the best translation, not for our day and age, but for the people who lived in the 17th century. Even today it has a beauty and a rhythm that is not found in other versions—but the KJV does not use the words we use so it is hard to understand in several places. And because of that—using it as our only “tool” can make it hard for us to understand God’s promises. Here’s an illustration of what I’m talking about.
When the KJV first came out Sir Christopher Wren was made the architect in charge of the rebuilding of London after fire of 1666. His most ambitious task St. Paul’s Cathedral which took 35 years to complete. After work was completed the reigning monarch at the time, Queen Ann, was escorted through the building. When the tour was complete Wren breathlessly awaited her reactions to his architectural labors. When she finally spoke she used three words to describe her opinion of what she saw: She said, “It’s awful—It’s amusing—It’s artificial.” Now to us those are three rather derogatory words to use when describing a church building—but in those days…awful meant “awe inspiring,” amusing meant “amazing,” and artificial meant “artistic.”
So, Queen Ann was paying Wren high compliments indeed—but compliments we don’t understand unless someone “translates” them into our vernacular. I share this to help you see how important it is to study from a translation that uses words that you and I DO understand…since the meaning of words change so much overtime.
A second item to have in your “Bible study tool belt” is a good CONCORDANCE. I say this because there will be times when you need to find a verse that deals with a certain subject—a SPECIFIC promise…and a concordance lists all the words that appear in the Bible and where they can be found. These days you don’t have to lug a concordance around because thanks to the Internet, you can have a complete concordance in every known version easily accessible in your study. I use the Bible Gateway site in my study.
Another important tool is a good COMMENTARY. Just be sure it is written by someone who has a healthy respect for the Scriptures—someone with solid theology. I personally have found that purchasing SETS of commentaries is usually not a good use of my money. I say this because it’s like eating at a smorgasbord where there is always a great quantity of food but the quality is less than you would want to find. I think it’s better to purchase commentaries on individual books written by Christians you respect. For example, I like Herschel Hobbs’s commentaries on the four gospels and Charles Swindoll’s commentary on the book of Philippians. Don’t worry about purchasing commentaries—because here at Redland we have a church library that is well-stocked. Just check one out!
One final tool I recommend is a NOTEBOOK…a journal…to use in writing down your thoughts as you read the Bible…your observations…your questions…and the prayers that come as a result of your study.
So…use the right tools when you study God’s promise book—the Bible.
(2) The second thing you need when studying the Bible is…the right ATTITUDE.
One reason I say this is because many people fall into the prideful habit of reading Scripture for the wrong reason. For example:
- Some do so to APPEAR spiritual—when they should read with an attitude of humility.
- Some read the Bible for information when it should be read for transformation.
This is an important principle for us to heed because people who read the Bible with the wrong attitude…in the wrong way…for the wrong reasons, can actually be damaged by their reading. Philipp Spener talks about this and writes:
How may Bible readers do harm to themselves? Here is how: If they read the Scriptures without sincere prayer and the purpose to obey God, but only to get knowledge…if they do not observe what is useful for their edification, but only what they can use for their glory and against others…if they despise what the Scriptures state simply and what is easy to comprehend…if they take up only difficult passages, about which there is much dispute, in order to discover in them something unusual and to make a show before others…if they use what they have learned with pride and for their own glory…if they think they alone are wise, obstinately refuse better instruction, …love to quarrel and receive nothing from others with modesty.
Well, I would agree with Spener—in all these ways Bible readers DO harm themselves.
Reading the Scripture with the WRONG attitude…taking it out of context…well, it is really worse than not reading it at all. Here’s an example: Have you every known a fellow believer who loves to be critical? They seem to take joy out of pointing out your faults and failures—and they often conclude their critical remarks with a Biblical phrase. They say,
I hate to tell you all this—but I want you to know…I LOVE YOU IN THE LORD.
Think about that—this is a person who has not read the Bible with the right attitude. They’ve ready it PROUDLY—instead of HUMBLY—and have taken a phrase, “love you in the Lord” and made it into a phrase that spiritualizes a LACK of love. As a result this person is in truth far from embracing the kind of love God commands us to express to one another in the Bible.
In his classic book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, John Ortberg tells about a 99-year-old woman he met in Ethiopia who obviously read the Bible with the RIGHT attitude. He writes:
She lived about two hours outside Addis Ababa. She had become a follower of Christ in middle age, and she was both blind and illiterate. She lived in a little hut, where she kept two Bibles on her table—one in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia), one in English. Whenever someone came to visit her, she would ask the person to read. Over time, her favorite passages became so familiar that she could recite them from memory, and if her visitors couldn’t read, she would recite as a kind of gift to them. People came from far away just to visit her. Why? Why would they make that journey for an elderly, illiterate, blind widow? Because somehow in her presence, through her voice, the words ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ ceased to be just words. Those Biblical thoughts had washed over her mind so deeply, so often, that there was simply no way that anxiety-producing thoughts could survive. People flocked to her because it was impossible to hear her say those words without being filled with the hope that perhaps one day they would be as real to them as they were to her.
In short, the reason Bible reading affected this woman as powerfully as it did—is because she read with the right attitude. She read God’s Word because she knew she needed to be changed—and God changed her. Her example reminds us that it is not how much you read the Bible but rather HOW you read it.
Jesus referred to this principle in John 5:39-40 when He addressed the religious leaders of His day and said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on My behalf. Yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” Like many of us, these religious leaders thought their great KNOWLEDGE of the Scripture was proof of their SPIRITUAL greatness. But they never allowed the Bible’s teachings on humility to cleanse their mind of pride, never allowed its teaching on love to purge their judgmentalism….so they did not recognize the truth of Jesus’ teaching. Their wrong attitudes BLINDED them to the Author of the Scripture—even though He was standing right in front of them! Remember, we don’t read the Bible to make us smarter. We read it to open our eyes to the TRUTH. We read it to be more like God and less like the world. Since we live in a fallen world, our minds and hearts are cluttered with false beliefs and attitudes, deadly feelings, misguided plans and hopes and fears. Because of this, as James says, we must “purify our hearts.” James 4:8. And the Bible can do this if we let it. This is what Paul was referring to in Ephesians 5:27 when he talked about Christians being, “…made holy, cleansed by the washing with water through the Word [of God].” To learn how to STAND on its promises—we must read it with the right attitude—an attitude in which we long to cleanse our minds of the world’s flawed philosophies.
(3) The third requirement for anyone who wants to truly understand the Bible is the aid of the right TUTOR.
Before you begin reading the Scriptures take a moment to ask God to speak to you. Then, as you study, anticipate that He will do so….and He will…because Jesus promised that He would. In John 16:13 He said,“The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.”
I can tell you from personal experience that this verse is true. God will meet us in His Word. When I was in college there were several months in which I was going through a time of particular emotional hardship. I won’t go into any details…but it was one of those trials that consumes your every thought. I couldn’t even sleep at night. Week after week my life was a literal nightmare…and one night in anguish I cried out to God for help. I asked Him to help me find peace. In response I felt Him encouraging me to read the Bible. I opened it to the book of Isaiah and my eyes fell on chapter 26:3 where it says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.” As I read those words a feeling of peace rushed over me as God told me through that verse that as long as I dwelled on Him rather than my problem I could have peace. I fell into a deep sleep with my Bible in hand and in the coming months any time fear began to invade my thoughts God brought that verse back to my mind and with it His peace. God met me in His Word. He guided me to understand its truth. He’s done that in countless other ways—hundreds of times in the years since.
So, as you study enlist the aid of the right Tutor. Learn to say with the Psalmist to God,“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” (Psalm 119:105) Remember, Bible study is not just getting to know the Word of God as much as it is getting to know the God of the Word! As the hymn text says, “Beyond the sacred page I seek THEE Lord…my spirit longs for THEE Oh Living Word.”
(4) Fourthly…as you study the Bible you must use the right METHOD.
And there are several things to remember that will help us to do this.
First of all don’t take verses out of CONTEXT. Read what went before and after. People who don’t do this twist Scripture to make God seem to be cruel or a racist. Many men are quick to quote Ephesians 5:25, which says, “Wives, submit to your husbands” as a proof-text that husbands are to domineer over their spouses. But doing so is ignoring verse 21 which says that husbands and wives should,“…submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” I’ve heard of Christians justifying keeping firearms in their homes by quoting Matthew 12:29 where Jesus says, “How can anyone enter the strongman’s house and carry off his property unless he first binds the strongman? And then he will plunder his house.” Now—I believe in our right to bear arms—but in the “strongman” in this text is satan—so this has nothing to do with guns. All this goes to show that to properly understand the Scripture—to rightly divide God’s Word of truth—we must read all of it…not pick and choose verses or phrases to support our opinions.
It also helps to consider the HISTORICAL situation and the culture in which certain texts are written. Doing so helps us to glean the principle that we are to apply to our lives today. This is where a good commentary can come in handy. Another thing…don’t just pick the Bible up and start reading from Genesis. Most people who do that quit by the time they get half way through Leviticus. Adopt a read your Bible through plan that allows you to read it through in a balanced way.
I recommend doing something we did here at Redland a few years back. Purchase a Chronological Bible—one that you can read in the order in which it was written. I believe the one I used said that with only 12 minutes a day it is possible to read the entire Bible in a year. But…go slowly…take MORE than 12 minutes. Don’t just skim the surface of the Scriptures. Take time to absorb the truth. Madame Guyon once wrote, “If you read quickly, it will benefit you little. You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead…you must become as the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You must plunge deeply within to remove its deepest nectar.” Remember, success in Bible study is not measured by the number of pages you read…no, the goal is not to get through the Scriptures…but for the Scriptures to get through to us.
I think that as you read the Bible it is best to immerse yourself in a short passage of Scripture….perhaps just a few verses. Read them slowly as you would a love letter at the height of a romance—or an e-mail your spouse stationed in Iraq! Read it over and over again. Remember, what the mind repeats, it retains. So read it repeatedly. Allow the words to sink into your heart. And…as they do ask God, “What do You want to say to me here? In Psalm 119 David advises us to meditate on the law day and night….and I think this infers this practice of taking small portions of Scripture and dwelling on them until their truth dwells in us.
One way we do this is to MEMORIZE scripture. In this way Scripture becomes a part of the way we think and react to life…part of our programing. So for example…if fear is something you wrestle with…try memorizing Psalm 27:1 where it says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” If pride is a problem for you try, Philippians 2:3 which says,“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”
One more principle to help us learn to stand on God’s promises…
(5) We must USE the Bible in the right WAY…
In our study of God’s word, we must move beyond the question, “What does it mean?” to asking, “What does it mean TO ME?” We must seek to apply the truth of God’s word to our every day lives. This is where Bible study becomes a little less comfortable because we have to actually practice the things we read which involves changing the way we live…giving up sinful habits and thoughts. We may not like this but Bible study is incomplete and really pointless…unless we apply it’s truth…unless as Blackaby says, we adjust our lives in obedience to God’s teaching. So, as James 1:22 says,“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says…is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away immediately and forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but DOING it…he will be blessed in what he does.”
For Bible study to benefit our lives we have to STAND on its promises. We have to apply it’s truths TO our lives.
And you know, the same thing is true of worship. It is pointless for us to gather here each week unless we apply what we learn…unless we respond personally, individually…to what God says. We come now to the time of our service in which we encourage you to do just that. Today God may have told you that you need to commit to personal Bible study…to reading His Word daily.
If that is true then I challenge you to make that a public decision….walk forward and say, “Mark, I am going to study the Bible every day. Pray for me as I do so.” Others of you may feel God guiding you to join this church…to become a part of this spiritual family as we seek to grow and be more and more like Jesus. Some of you may have a SPECIFIC promise of God that you feel convicted to STAND ON. Come forward and tell me about that and we’ll pray together. And then…there may be someone here this morning who doesn’t know God personally. You’ve never asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin and to come into your heart and life as Savior and Lord. You’ve never met the God of the Word…the Author of this book. If that applies to you, then I urge you to make that commitment…and if you do come and share it with me. Whatever decisions you have to make, I invite you to do so by walking an aisle and sharing them with me or Kevin as we stand now and sing.
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.