Long sermons and revival

Today we will talk about the next step after God's Word is read and heard . . . next it must be taught. Do we hunger for spiritual renewal? We must find a place where God's Word is taught.

Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. (Nehemiah 8:6-8)

It appears that after the people showed their reverence to the words being read to them, that the Levites may have taken smaller groups and taught on the section that Ezra read. In this way they could make the meaning clear to those who were listening and learning.

Much of the Bible is plain to everyone who reads or hears it. But there are some sections of scripture that are hard to get our heads around! That's why God has given gifts to pastors and elders and veteran believers, so that they can help other believers to understand it -- and to apply it to their lives. We have another advantage over believers of yesteryear: we have study Bibles, commentaries, handbooks and more to help us understand and apply the Bible to our daily lives.

Now, to properly apply the Bible, we must properly interpret it. We've touched on this in the past, and we've had some insightful comments from folks who have experienced firsthand the effects of unbiblical teaching. We'll touch on that again today in this post.....
To properly interpret the Word, there are some guidelines that we need to remember. First, we must try to understand what the author meant for the people to whom he was writing. That perspective, coupled with the context of the historical time period, can help us see things more clearly. Secondly, since the Word of God fits together as a unified whole, we need to search for all that the Bible teaches about a subject or concept. . . sometimes that means that we need to do some research on historical events or the customs of the time. Sometimes it means that we need to know something about the original languages, or consult scholarly works of those who understand the words and the grammar. I confess that I belong in the second category, and that I spend a lot of time reading what others have said about the meaning of words and phrases! Searching for all that the Bible teaches will always mean that we interpret verses in the context of the passage or book in which we find it. I'm sure that we have all listened to people who have zapped a single verse out and made it (out of its context, like a fish out of water) say anything they wish!

So how do we know if we are hearing sound Biblical teaching?
First of all, I think it must be accurate. The guidelines in the previous paragraph can help us with making sure of the accuracy of Bible teaching. It takes some work, and some research, but the results are oh, so worth it! How can we have confidence in our Bible knowledge if we don't invest the time? You're right! We can't!
Secondly, sound Bible teaching is clear. It goes without saying that some passages or verses are difficult for us to understand. We need to study with open hearts and ask the Spirit to guide our thoughts. Peter even said that Paul was hard to understand sometimes!

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (II Peter 3:15-16)

The disciples sometimes had trouble understanding Jesus, so they asked for him to explain.
Nowadays, the responsibility of a Bible teacher is to communicate God's truth clearly. I like the story of Martin Luther in the Reformation days . . . . he knew that there were preachers who aimed their sermons at the intellectuals in the crowd. This left the simple, unlearned people neglected - they were unable to understand the truths of salvation and love. Luther said that even though he had over forty different doctors and magistrates in his congregation, he preached to the young people, the children, and the servants. If the intellectuals were not impressed, he said, the door is open; let them be gone!

Thirdly, sound teaching includes applications to our lives. The teaching should make a difference to us. It may inspire us. It may convict us and make us sad. It may encourage us. It may restore our joy. Preachers and teachers shouldn't just gab on and enjoy hearing themselves speak. Their teachings should apply to our lives and make positive changes!

The last thing we can see from our verses today is that the teacher and the ones who are taught both need to be committed to the Word. The teachers must be willing to take time to study and prepare; as hearers, we must be willing to invest our time to hear, to ponder, and to ask God to point out things in our lives that need the application of the Word to make us more like Him.

If we desire true spiritual renewal; if we are hungry for revival; we need to read His Word, to hear it reverently, and to seek sound teaching from the Word.

More tomorrow! Hang in there with me!