March 16, 2022 • 27 mins
The meaning of the Bible is not some big secret that God is daring you to discover. Jani’s son, Gavin, shares how God makes His Truth accessible to all His children. We also talk about helpful ways to read the Book of Judges.
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Jani Ortlund (00:02):
Welcome to He restores my soul with Janney
Ortlund, where you can findencouragement for your busy life
through God's renewing mercy.
Hello, everyone. Welcome back toour discipleship series. We've
heard from many of you, and wethank you for emailing us,
(00:23):
letting us know how it's going.
We hope that you'll continue tomeet with a friend or two and go
through this series together.
Today, I want you to go to thewebsite before you begin, and
copy off two worksheets that arefound right on our website,
(00:44):
under Podcast 147. Copy offenough copies for each of the
members in your group to have acopy of, "My Weekly Schedule."
Copy off the Romans 12 (01:00):
9-21 worksheet found there. You will
need both of those in yourgroup. So go ahead, pause the
podcast, go to the website, andmake enough copies of each of
those worksheets.
Then leaders, if you have agroup of more than one or two, I
(01:24):
want you to take little post itnotes, or little pieces of
paper, and copy off thesereferences, hand them out to
your group members, and havethem look them up, so they'll be
ready to read those verses tothe group. Here are the
(02:43):
references I want you to haveready: Psalm 38:3-8, James 1:15,
John 8:34, Romans 6 (02:52):
16, 20-23, Psalm 32:5, Psalm 107:13, Psalm
107:14, and Acts 4 (03:09):
11-12.
Leaders I want to speakpersonally to you. I hope that
you find these lessons helpful,but not restrictive. I hope that
(03:31):
you'll see what I do in mydiscipleship group, and then add
to it what you want to do withthe ladies God has called you to
disciple. There might besomething you want to teach
them, more that you would liketo add, or something you would
like to take away. Please,please, feel free to do that.
(03:54):
Now, today, I want us to startwith accountability. I want us
to take more time on ouraccountability this week, and
try to make sure that no one inour group is kind of slipping
through the cracks.
First of all, think about yoursix quiet times this past week.
(04:15):
We say six quiet times, becausewith the read through plan that
my group is doing, there are nospecific Bible passages to read
on most Sundays, and we use thatday for catching up, or special
work on Bible memory, or specialprayer time. So for your six
(04:37):
quiet times, ask where yourgroup is individually in their
Bible reading. I wonder ifyou're on a reading plan
together. Ask for a volunteer toshare how she is doing with this
part of your assignment. Goahead and pause the podcast now
and discuss your quiet times.
(05:00):
Next, choose someone, draw aname from your little basket of
names if you do as I do, bywriting everyone's name down and
keeping it together in a basket.
Draw a name for someone to sharethe verse they are meditating
on, and if or how it has helpedthem this week. Pause the
podcast and share about yourverse meditation.
(05:28):
Now, I want to encourage you allin your Bible reading and
meditating. I'd like to readfrom a post, one of our sons,
Gavin wrote. Gavin's a pastor inOjai, California. The post Gavin
wrote is entitled, "What Kind ofa Thing Is the Bible?" You can
(05:51):
find a link to the whole articleon our website at
herestoresmysoul.org. I think itmay encourage you in your Bible
reading. I hope it will. It'sencouraged me, and not just
because he's my boy, but becausethe words have been so helpful
and true. Here's a small part ofwhat Gavin writes.
(06:16):
“The Bible is strikinglydown-to-earth and honest. It has
books on sex and what we wouldcall existentialism (Song of
Songs, Ecclesiastes). It is aspractical as can be imagined:
“whoever blesses his neighborwith a loud voice, rising early
(06:37):
in the morning, will be countedas cursing” (Proverbs 27:14). It
is also as honest as can beimagined: “I am weary with my
moaning; every night I flood mybed with tears; I drench my
(06:58):
couch with my weeping” (Psalm6:6).
The primary audience is notscholars, but ordinary people
without theological training. Itis not first and foremost a
textbook or a curiosity to bestudied, but as a divine Word to
(07:23):
be received and obeyed. Thisdoes not mean the Bible is not
profound or that it should notbe studied with rigor. But the
overwhelming majority of peoplewho have read the Bible across
the ages have not had any kindof formal training, and the Holy
Spirit seems to have inspired akind of book that accords well
(07:45):
with this fact. The Bible is notintimidating and opaque, like an
obscure scholarly conference;but inviting and humane, like a
kind neighbor.”Gavin says there's a major
implication, and this is it: “Prayer and spiritual desire are (08:02):
undefined
just as important as scholarlytools (if not more so)." He goes
on to write,“We should never give the
impression that our brains arethe primary way to get the
(08:24):
Bible’s message. Of course, ourbrains play an important role,
and scholarly resources can helpwith that part of it; but it is
always ultimately the state ofour hearts that determines
whether we understand the Biblein the most important way it
needs to be understood. HenceJesus is always saying, “he who
(08:47):
has ears to hear, let him hear;”not, “he who has a brain to
understand, let him think.”I like that. You see why I love
this article that Gavin wrote.
He goes on to say,“My sense is that too many lay
Christians get intimidated bythe mass and depth of biblical
(09:10):
scholarship available to us.
Commentaries and Study Bibles,for instance, are great
resources, and there are so manyof them around. Compare what is
available to us to what wasavailable in the average library
of a medieval monastery and it’sembarrassing and overwhelming.
(09:32):
Sometimes it is also paralyzing,and so it is good to remember
that you can usually get themain point of the Bible simply
by reading the Biblethoughtfully, humbly, slowly,
and carefully. People like JohnBunyan got a pretty good
(09:53):
theological education from doingjust that. And it is nothing
short of amazing how muchscholarly treatment of the Bible
ends up making obscure what theBible intends to make clear. I
would rather read the Bible withan imaginative 5th-grader who at
least remembers the biblicalstories and distinguishes the
(10:16):
good from the bad than with aPhD who is over-specialized,
under-curious, and asking allthe wrong questions.
Don’t think of the Bible’smeaning as some esoteric secret,
available to the experts. Godhas put his truth on the bottom
(10:39):
shelf. His target audience isnot scholars but peasants and
farmers and maids. Scholarlyresources can help, but the most
important thing is a humbleheart and a spiritual appetite.”
(11:00):
That comes from Gavin's article,"What Kind of a Thing is the
Bible?" You can find the link onour website.
Now I'd like to pray for us allright now as we seek to read our
Bibles. Will you pray with me?
“Lord, thank you for making Yourtruth accessible to people like
(11:25):
us. People who don't have thetime and money, and sometimes
even the interest, to invest ina rigorous theological
education. Help us to come toour Bible humbly. Increase our
appetite for true spiritualfood. Teach us what it means to
(11:45):
read your word slowly andcarefully. Oh, how we thank you
for this treasure, in your Word.
In Jesus' name, Amen.”Oh, may the Lord bless your
Bible reading.
Now, I'd like you to review, ormaybe you want to take some time
to perfect Romans 12 (12:07):
9-21. I hope you're hiding these words
in your heart, storing them upfor when you need them. Either
say your verses together, orpass out the Romans 12 worksheet
that you can find on ourwebsite, and take time to fill
(12:28):
it in and then correct it. Maybeyou could send one of those
worksheets home with the ladiesif they would like to review
their verses at home.
Next, discuss the next portionof your book that your group is
reading together. Go ahead andand pause the podcast and do
(12:48):
that now.
Finally, how did praying overyour friends' weekly schedule
go? I hope you found thathelpful to kind of think through
their schedule each day and prayfor them that way.
Let's head into our worship timenow. As part of our own personal
(13:14):
worship, and our group worship,we hold God's words very dear to
our hearts. I know notes that myRay has written me or or words
he speaks over me are very dearto me. He's traveling this week
as I'm working on this podcastand recording it, and text
(13:37):
messages he sends to me are soprecious.
And of course, I'm hoping youwill remember some of the words
I've shared with you. 2 Peter1:15 is one of the verses I
think about when I podcast orwhen I disciple. It says this,
(13:58):
"And I will make every effort,so that after my departure you
may be able at any time torecall these things."
But other than a lovers words tous or a leaders words to us,
God's Word is so much moreimportant. Colossians 3:16 says,
(14:23):
"Let the word of Christ dwell inyou richly, teaching and
admonishing one another in allwisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs withthankfulness in your hearts to
God.”Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly. To dwell means tosettle in, to live there, to
(14:44):
inhabit your heart richly. Biblememory will fill your hearts
with wisdom, and with a song,and with thankfulness. Who
wouldn't benefit from that?
Or think of 2 Timothy 3 (15:03):
16-17.
Listen, as I read these verses.
"All Scripture is breathed outby God, and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, forcorrection, and for training in
righteousness, that the man ofGod may be complete, equipped
(15:27):
for every good work."Did you hear that? All scripture
is breathed out by God. It saysif His words are His very
breath, you're very close toHim. When you can feel His
breath, think of it. When youhave His words, in your heart,
(15:49):
and on your tongue, it's as ifyou're breathing out His very
breath. His words areprofitable, they're rewarding,
they're worthwhile, they'reproductive, they're valuable.
They provide teaching andcorrection, leading us in the
right paths of life. They helpus to be competent and ready for
(16:12):
any good work the Lord mightbring our way. Oh, we want to
learn these words.
Or think about in John 14 (16:21):
26, where Jesus says, "But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whomthe Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,and bring to your remembrance,
all that I have said to you."We need the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father has sent, to help usrecall; to remember what we
(16:44):
memorize.
Now we've spent several weeksmemorizing Romans 12:9-21.
together. This, I think, wellfor my group, it's going to be
the last week. Leaders, if youneed another week or two, go
ahead and take it, but for mygroup, it's going to be the last
(17:06):
week we do this memory worktogether. And so I would like
for this coming week, for all ofyou to choose a short passage to
memorize individually, not as agroup, something you would like
to hide in your heart to storeup, to be able to recall, to let
(17:29):
dwell richly in you. And thentake the next several weeks to
memorize those verses and saythem to be each other. Now,
leaders, pause the podcast andspend some time in prayer,
asking for guidance for whichpassages your group should
(17:51):
memorize, and for God's help inbringing to remembrance, what
you've learned. And after yourprayer, take a five minute
break.
Welcome back. Now I want to goto our teaching time. And I'm
going to teach briefly on thebook of Judges because that's
(18:13):
where we are in our Bibleread-through right now. And I
want you to know that some ofthe thoughts I'm expressing and
sharing with you, I've takenfrom the notes in the Gospel
Transformation Bible, publishedby Crossway. The Gospel
(18:34):
Transformation Study Bible.
In my group, as I said, we're inthe book of Judges in our
reading through the Bible. Iwant you to think through the
cycle of Judges with me. You mayhave already thought about this
cycle, when we were discussingour brief Old Testament survey.
(18:56):
But keeping this cycle in mindwill help you as you read
through the book of Judges, orwhen you read it in the future.
The cycle is (19:04):
sin, slavery, supplication, and salvation.
Now, what I'm going to do,leaders, is give part of the
(19:25):
cycle, and the verses thatyou're to read for that. So
you'll pause the podcast, readthe verses, any questions or
discussion, go ahead, and thengo on to the next part of the
cycle.
The first part of the cycle issin. Pause the podcast and read
Psalm 38:3-8, and James 1 (19:46):
15.
The next part of the cycle isslavery. John 8:34 and Romans
6 (20:05):
16 and 20-23. Read those verses now
The next part of the cycle issupplication, crying out to God.
Read Psalm 32 (20:25):
5, and Psalm 107:13. Aren't you glad we have
a God to cry out to?
Supplication was that part ofthe cycle.
And then the final part of thecycle is salvation. Oh, our
saving God. Psalm 107 (20:45):
14, and Acts 4:11-12.
Sin, slavery, supplication, andsalvation. I wonder where you
(21:07):
are, in this cycle today, inyour own walk with the Lord.
Think it through.
In the book of Judges, we seethe people of God languishing
because of the lack of godlyleadership. All of this book
prepares us for Jesus, ourperfect leader, the final judge
(21:30):
and King to end all earthlyjudges and kings. It points us
to our need for him.
Think through some of the themesand judges with me.
First of all, here's the themeand judges. It's the importance
of telling the story of God'sredemption to the coming
(21:51):
generations. Listen, as I readJudges 2:10, it says this:
“And all that generation alsowere gathered to their fathers.
And there arose anothergeneration after them who did
not know the Lord or the workthat he had done for Israel.”
(22:14):
Oh, isn't that sad? We must tellthe story of God's redemption to
the coming generations. That isour responsibility. If not, they
will cycle down into sin andslavery.
Another theme we see is asubtlety of idolatry and
(22:35):
compromise, and the seriousnessof drifting from the Lord.
A third theme we see in Judgesis this. God's willingness, Oh,
I love this and his delight touse fallen unwilling, weak
people, even as leaders toadvance his kingdom. That gives
(22:59):
me hope, doesn't you, we see somuch failure in the book of
Judges both of the people andfailure of their leaders. But
God is king, and he will notallow his people to self
destruct back then, or today.
From beginning to the end ofthis book, we see Israel's need
(23:22):
for godly saviors, and the needfor God to provide those saviors
for them. He's done that for usthrough Jesus.
let's never be surprised at howGod will work. Judges recounts
unexpected persons and theiractions delivering God's people
(23:48):
in unexpected ways.
Now, leaders, I want you topause the podcast and share your
prayer requests, and then comeback for your next assignment.
Here's your assignment. Haveyour six quiet times and
(24:10):
meditate on your versethroughout the week. Perhaps you
need to find a new verse tomeditate on. That's great. You
don't have to keep the sameverse for a whole year. I
sometimes do other times I'llchoose a new verse every few
months. Sometimes I'll only havea verse for a couple of weeks
and then a new need arises. Buthave a verse that you're
(24:32):
meditating on. That gives youfocus for Bible memory, which
we're going to begin to work onnow. Each week I want you to be
women who are working onmemorizing God's Word, storing
it in your heart. Try to havechosen an individual passage
that you want to memorizebetween now and June 1.
(24:56):
Then discuss how much you'regoing to read. We're going to
work through Bonhoeffer's LifeTogether, we're going to try to
finish it, I'm not sure, we'llbe able to but leaders, you
decide how much you're going toread, and then exchange the
“Weekly Schedule” papers youhave, and pray for that specific
(25:19):
person as she goes through herweek. Leaders, we've found in
our group, that it's helpful forthe person who wrote the
schedule to snap a picture ofit, or for me to make a copy of
it, I have a printer right nearwhere we meet, so that both the
person who made this calendarand the person who's praying for
(25:41):
that person has exactly the sameweekly schedule in front of her.
Sometimes, even though I writeout my weekly schedule, I'll
forget something I've put onthere. So you might want to do
that as well. And then finally,hand each member a blank “Weekly
(26:01):
Schedule” paper and have themfill it out for the following
week to bring back to exchange.
Oh, I wish I could reach out andhug each one of you today. I
know the Lord can. He connectsus through this microphone,
isn't that wonderful? I praythat these discipleship podcasts
(26:28):
are restorative to your soul. Ipray that they are lifting you
up. I'm asking the Lord thatthey would not be burdensome,
but they would present you new,fun, exciting ways to love
Christ and learn how to love hisfamily. May the Lord Jesus
(26:51):
Christ restore your souls thisweek.
Heidi Howerton (26:58):
Thank you for joining us today. This podcast
is generously funded throughrenewable ministries. If you
would like to discover moreabout Gianni and raised ministry
or make a donation, visit theirwebsite at renewal
ministries.com. If you have aquestion for Danny or would like
to learn more about thispodcast, please visit our
website at He restores mysoul.org
Welcome to He restores my soul with Janney
Ortlund, where you can findencouragement for your busy life
through God's renewing mercy.
Hello, everyone. Welcome back toour discipleship series. We've
heard from many of you, and wethank you for emailing us,
(00:23):
letting us know how it's going.
We hope that you'll continue tomeet with a friend or two and go
through this series together.
Today, I want you to go to thewebsite before you begin, and
copy off two worksheets that arefound right on our website,
(00:44):
under Podcast 147. Copy offenough copies for each of the
members in your group to have acopy of, "My Weekly Schedule."
Copy off the Romans 12 (01:00):
9-21 worksheet found there. You will
need both of those in yourgroup. So go ahead, pause the
podcast, go to the website, andmake enough copies of each of
those worksheets.
Then leaders, if you have agroup of more than one or two, I
(01:24):
want you to take little post itnotes, or little pieces of
paper, and copy off thesereferences, hand them out to
your group members, and havethem look them up, so they'll be
ready to read those verses tothe group. Here are the
(02:43):
references I want you to haveready: Psalm 38:3-8, James 1:15,
John 8:34, Romans 6 (02:52):
16, 20-23, Psalm 32:5, Psalm 107:13, Psalm
107:14, and Acts 4 (03:09):
11-12.
Leaders I want to speakpersonally to you. I hope that
you find these lessons helpful,but not restrictive. I hope that
(03:31):
you'll see what I do in mydiscipleship group, and then add
to it what you want to do withthe ladies God has called you to
disciple. There might besomething you want to teach
them, more that you would liketo add, or something you would
like to take away. Please,please, feel free to do that.
(03:54):
Now, today, I want us to startwith accountability. I want us
to take more time on ouraccountability this week, and
try to make sure that no one inour group is kind of slipping
through the cracks.
First of all, think about yoursix quiet times this past week.
(04:15):
We say six quiet times, becausewith the read through plan that
my group is doing, there are nospecific Bible passages to read
on most Sundays, and we use thatday for catching up, or special
work on Bible memory, or specialprayer time. So for your six
(04:37):
quiet times, ask where yourgroup is individually in their
Bible reading. I wonder ifyou're on a reading plan
together. Ask for a volunteer toshare how she is doing with this
part of your assignment. Goahead and pause the podcast now
and discuss your quiet times.
(05:00):
Next, choose someone, draw aname from your little basket of
names if you do as I do, bywriting everyone's name down and
keeping it together in a basket.
Draw a name for someone to sharethe verse they are meditating
on, and if or how it has helpedthem this week. Pause the
podcast and share about yourverse meditation.
(05:28):
Now, I want to encourage you allin your Bible reading and
meditating. I'd like to readfrom a post, one of our sons,
Gavin wrote. Gavin's a pastor inOjai, California. The post Gavin
wrote is entitled, "What Kind ofa Thing Is the Bible?" You can
(05:51):
find a link to the whole articleon our website at
herestoresmysoul.org. I think itmay encourage you in your Bible
reading. I hope it will. It'sencouraged me, and not just
because he's my boy, but becausethe words have been so helpful
and true. Here's a small part ofwhat Gavin writes.
(06:16):
“The Bible is strikinglydown-to-earth and honest. It has
books on sex and what we wouldcall existentialism (Song of
Songs, Ecclesiastes). It is aspractical as can be imagined:
“whoever blesses his neighborwith a loud voice, rising early
(06:37):
in the morning, will be countedas cursing” (Proverbs 27:14). It
is also as honest as can beimagined: “I am weary with my
moaning; every night I flood mybed with tears; I drench my
(06:58):
couch with my weeping” (Psalm6:6).
The primary audience is notscholars, but ordinary people
without theological training. Itis not first and foremost a
textbook or a curiosity to bestudied, but as a divine Word to
(07:23):
be received and obeyed. Thisdoes not mean the Bible is not
profound or that it should notbe studied with rigor. But the
overwhelming majority of peoplewho have read the Bible across
the ages have not had any kindof formal training, and the Holy
Spirit seems to have inspired akind of book that accords well
(07:45):
with this fact. The Bible is notintimidating and opaque, like an
obscure scholarly conference;but inviting and humane, like a
kind neighbor.”Gavin says there's a major
implication, and this is it: “Prayer and spiritual desire are (08:02):
undefined
just as important as scholarlytools (if not more so)." He goes
on to write,“We should never give the
impression that our brains arethe primary way to get the
(08:24):
Bible’s message. Of course, ourbrains play an important role,
and scholarly resources can helpwith that part of it; but it is
always ultimately the state ofour hearts that determines
whether we understand the Biblein the most important way it
needs to be understood. HenceJesus is always saying, “he who
(08:47):
has ears to hear, let him hear;”not, “he who has a brain to
understand, let him think.”I like that. You see why I love
this article that Gavin wrote.
He goes on to say,“My sense is that too many lay
Christians get intimidated bythe mass and depth of biblical
(09:10):
scholarship available to us.
Commentaries and Study Bibles,for instance, are great
resources, and there are so manyof them around. Compare what is
available to us to what wasavailable in the average library
of a medieval monastery and it’sembarrassing and overwhelming.
(09:32):
Sometimes it is also paralyzing,and so it is good to remember
that you can usually get themain point of the Bible simply
by reading the Biblethoughtfully, humbly, slowly,
and carefully. People like JohnBunyan got a pretty good
(09:53):
theological education from doingjust that. And it is nothing
short of amazing how muchscholarly treatment of the Bible
ends up making obscure what theBible intends to make clear. I
would rather read the Bible withan imaginative 5th-grader who at
least remembers the biblicalstories and distinguishes the
(10:16):
good from the bad than with aPhD who is over-specialized,
under-curious, and asking allthe wrong questions.
Don’t think of the Bible’smeaning as some esoteric secret,
available to the experts. Godhas put his truth on the bottom
(10:39):
shelf. His target audience isnot scholars but peasants and
farmers and maids. Scholarlyresources can help, but the most
important thing is a humbleheart and a spiritual appetite.”
(11:00):
That comes from Gavin's article,"What Kind of a Thing is the
Bible?" You can find the link onour website.
Now I'd like to pray for us allright now as we seek to read our
Bibles. Will you pray with me?
“Lord, thank you for making Yourtruth accessible to people like
(11:25):
us. People who don't have thetime and money, and sometimes
even the interest, to invest ina rigorous theological
education. Help us to come toour Bible humbly. Increase our
appetite for true spiritualfood. Teach us what it means to
(11:45):
read your word slowly andcarefully. Oh, how we thank you
for this treasure, in your Word.
In Jesus' name, Amen.”Oh, may the Lord bless your
Bible reading.
Now, I'd like you to review, ormaybe you want to take some time
to perfect Romans 12 (12:07):
9-21. I hope you're hiding these words
in your heart, storing them upfor when you need them. Either
say your verses together, orpass out the Romans 12 worksheet
that you can find on ourwebsite, and take time to fill
(12:28):
it in and then correct it. Maybeyou could send one of those
worksheets home with the ladiesif they would like to review
their verses at home.
Next, discuss the next portionof your book that your group is
reading together. Go ahead andand pause the podcast and do
(12:48):
that now.
Finally, how did praying overyour friends' weekly schedule
go? I hope you found thathelpful to kind of think through
their schedule each day and prayfor them that way.
Let's head into our worship timenow. As part of our own personal
(13:14):
worship, and our group worship,we hold God's words very dear to
our hearts. I know notes that myRay has written me or or words
he speaks over me are very dearto me. He's traveling this week
as I'm working on this podcastand recording it, and text
(13:37):
messages he sends to me are soprecious.
And of course, I'm hoping youwill remember some of the words
I've shared with you. 2 Peter1:15 is one of the verses I
think about when I podcast orwhen I disciple. It says this,
(13:58):
"And I will make every effort,so that after my departure you
may be able at any time torecall these things."
But other than a lovers words tous or a leaders words to us,
God's Word is so much moreimportant. Colossians 3:16 says,
(14:23):
"Let the word of Christ dwell inyou richly, teaching and
admonishing one another in allwisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs withthankfulness in your hearts to
God.”Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly. To dwell means tosettle in, to live there, to
(14:44):
inhabit your heart richly. Biblememory will fill your hearts
with wisdom, and with a song,and with thankfulness. Who
wouldn't benefit from that?
Or think of 2 Timothy 3 (15:03):
16-17.
Listen, as I read these verses.
"All Scripture is breathed outby God, and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, forcorrection, and for training in
righteousness, that the man ofGod may be complete, equipped
(15:27):
for every good work."Did you hear that? All scripture
is breathed out by God. It saysif His words are His very
breath, you're very close toHim. When you can feel His
breath, think of it. When youhave His words, in your heart,
(15:49):
and on your tongue, it's as ifyou're breathing out His very
breath. His words areprofitable, they're rewarding,
they're worthwhile, they'reproductive, they're valuable.
They provide teaching andcorrection, leading us in the
right paths of life. They helpus to be competent and ready for
(16:12):
any good work the Lord mightbring our way. Oh, we want to
learn these words.
Or think about in John 14 (16:21):
26, where Jesus says, "But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whomthe Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,and bring to your remembrance,
all that I have said to you."We need the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father has sent, to help usrecall; to remember what we
(16:44):
memorize.
Now we've spent several weeksmemorizing Romans 12:9-21.
together. This, I think, wellfor my group, it's going to be
the last week. Leaders, if youneed another week or two, go
ahead and take it, but for mygroup, it's going to be the last
(17:06):
week we do this memory worktogether. And so I would like
for this coming week, for all ofyou to choose a short passage to
memorize individually, not as agroup, something you would like
to hide in your heart to storeup, to be able to recall, to let
(17:29):
dwell richly in you. And thentake the next several weeks to
memorize those verses and saythem to be each other. Now,
leaders, pause the podcast andspend some time in prayer,
asking for guidance for whichpassages your group should
(17:51):
memorize, and for God's help inbringing to remembrance, what
you've learned. And after yourprayer, take a five minute
break.
Welcome back. Now I want to goto our teaching time. And I'm
going to teach briefly on thebook of Judges because that's
(18:13):
where we are in our Bibleread-through right now. And I
want you to know that some ofthe thoughts I'm expressing and
sharing with you, I've takenfrom the notes in the Gospel
Transformation Bible, publishedby Crossway. The Gospel
(18:34):
Transformation Study Bible.
In my group, as I said, we're inthe book of Judges in our
reading through the Bible. Iwant you to think through the
cycle of Judges with me. You mayhave already thought about this
cycle, when we were discussingour brief Old Testament survey.
(18:56):
But keeping this cycle in mindwill help you as you read
through the book of Judges, orwhen you read it in the future.
The cycle is (19:04):
sin, slavery, supplication, and salvation.
Now, what I'm going to do,leaders, is give part of the
(19:25):
cycle, and the verses thatyou're to read for that. So
you'll pause the podcast, readthe verses, any questions or
discussion, go ahead, and thengo on to the next part of the
cycle.
The first part of the cycle issin. Pause the podcast and read
Psalm 38:3-8, and James 1 (19:46):
15.
The next part of the cycle isslavery. John 8:34 and Romans
6 (20:05):
16 and 20-23. Read those verses now
The next part of the cycle issupplication, crying out to God.
Read Psalm 32 (20:25):
5, and Psalm 107:13. Aren't you glad we have
a God to cry out to?
Supplication was that part ofthe cycle.
And then the final part of thecycle is salvation. Oh, our
saving God. Psalm 107 (20:45):
14, and Acts 4:11-12.
Sin, slavery, supplication, andsalvation. I wonder where you
(21:07):
are, in this cycle today, inyour own walk with the Lord.
Think it through.
In the book of Judges, we seethe people of God languishing
because of the lack of godlyleadership. All of this book
prepares us for Jesus, ourperfect leader, the final judge
(21:30):
and King to end all earthlyjudges and kings. It points us
to our need for him.
Think through some of the themesand judges with me.
First of all, here's the themeand judges. It's the importance
of telling the story of God'sredemption to the coming
(21:51):
generations. Listen, as I readJudges 2:10, it says this:
“And all that generation alsowere gathered to their fathers.
And there arose anothergeneration after them who did
not know the Lord or the workthat he had done for Israel.”
(22:14):
Oh, isn't that sad? We must tellthe story of God's redemption to
the coming generations. That isour responsibility. If not, they
will cycle down into sin andslavery.
Another theme we see is asubtlety of idolatry and
(22:35):
compromise, and the seriousnessof drifting from the Lord.
A third theme we see in Judgesis this. God's willingness, Oh,
I love this and his delight touse fallen unwilling, weak
people, even as leaders toadvance his kingdom. That gives
(22:59):
me hope, doesn't you, we see somuch failure in the book of
Judges both of the people andfailure of their leaders. But
God is king, and he will notallow his people to self
destruct back then, or today.
From beginning to the end ofthis book, we see Israel's need
(23:22):
for godly saviors, and the needfor God to provide those saviors
for them. He's done that for usthrough Jesus.
let's never be surprised at howGod will work. Judges recounts
unexpected persons and theiractions delivering God's people
(23:48):
in unexpected ways.
Now, leaders, I want you topause the podcast and share your
prayer requests, and then comeback for your next assignment.
Here's your assignment. Haveyour six quiet times and
(24:10):
meditate on your versethroughout the week. Perhaps you
need to find a new verse tomeditate on. That's great. You
don't have to keep the sameverse for a whole year. I
sometimes do other times I'llchoose a new verse every few
months. Sometimes I'll only havea verse for a couple of weeks
and then a new need arises. Buthave a verse that you're
(24:32):
meditating on. That gives youfocus for Bible memory, which
we're going to begin to work onnow. Each week I want you to be
women who are working onmemorizing God's Word, storing
it in your heart. Try to havechosen an individual passage
that you want to memorizebetween now and June 1.
(24:56):
Then discuss how much you'regoing to read. We're going to
work through Bonhoeffer's LifeTogether, we're going to try to
finish it, I'm not sure, we'llbe able to but leaders, you
decide how much you're going toread, and then exchange the
“Weekly Schedule” papers youhave, and pray for that specific
(25:19):
person as she goes through herweek. Leaders, we've found in
our group, that it's helpful forthe person who wrote the
schedule to snap a picture ofit, or for me to make a copy of
it, I have a printer right nearwhere we meet, so that both the
person who made this calendarand the person who's praying for
(25:41):
that person has exactly the sameweekly schedule in front of her.
Sometimes, even though I writeout my weekly schedule, I'll
forget something I've put onthere. So you might want to do
that as well. And then finally,hand each member a blank “Weekly
(26:01):
Schedule” paper and have themfill it out for the following
week to bring back to exchange.
Oh, I wish I could reach out andhug each one of you today. I
know the Lord can. He connectsus through this microphone,
isn't that wonderful? I praythat these discipleship podcasts
(26:28):
are restorative to your soul. Ipray that they are lifting you
up. I'm asking the Lord thatthey would not be burdensome,
but they would present you new,fun, exciting ways to love
Christ and learn how to love hisfamily. May the Lord Jesus
(26:51):
Christ restore your souls thisweek.
Heidi Howerton (26:58):
Thank you for joining us today. This podcast
is generously funded throughrenewable ministries. If you
would like to discover moreabout Gianni and raised ministry
or make a donation, visit theirwebsite at renewal
ministries.com. If you have aquestion for Danny or would like
to learn more about thispodcast, please visit our
website at He restores mysoul.org
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