Walk With Jesus | Bible Warfare | Darren Rouanzoin

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"Here as in Heaven."

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Intro/Outro: 00:06

Welcome to Garden Church Podcast. We're in a series called Walk with Jesus. This series is about learning to cultivate a passionate love with God. Joy.

Darren Rouanzoin: 00:18

We're in a new called Walk With Jesus. This is a series on how to walk with Jesus, taking, teaching you how to build a life with God right now, to take what can become just theoretical in regards to discipleship to Jesus. And we're trying to help you build and practice a way to live everyday ordinary life with Jesus. So last week I made this case if you missed it, that the doorway, bless you, the doorway into the life of God is through your attention. That attention fuels desire and desire direct your behavior.

Darren Rouanzoin: 00:55

And as we build rhythms of life with God, we need to bring our attention to him. So what do we do with our attention? That's the question we're gonna kinda answer over the next couple of weeks. We know very well that the context we find ourselves in, the discipleship we have is found in a culture of deformation. And if we're gonna be effective as resilient disciples of Jesus, we have to learn to be transformed.

Darren Rouanzoin: 01:19

And so Paul writes in Romans chapter 12, I'll put it up there, we're gonna stay in Matthew 4. He says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good and pleasing and perfect will. So Paul says don't be conformed to the pattern of this world. That phrase in the Greek, conform to the pattern is to take on the form of something else.

Darren Rouanzoin: 01:46

It means to to shape one's behavior after. And Paul says that we can live in this world and not be formed by it. That's the challenge for our discipleship to live in this world, we're not escaping this world. I know so many of us wanna move to Idaho and have some chickens, but we live in Southern California which I would argue is one of the biggest cultural formation machines in the world. We export our cultural formation to the world.

Darren Rouanzoin: 02:16

We influence the narrative of the world in Southern California, and Christians keep leaving this machine rather than learning to not be conformed by it and transform around it. I believe that this is gonna be an amazing state that holds up the values of the kingdom of God. And that where the tide has gone one direction, it's gonna come the other way. I mean, it's inevitable at this point seeing how much deformation is happening. That those that have been deformed by culture will look for those who have not and that will be an evangelistic moment where we say let me teach you how to live.

Darren Rouanzoin: 02:55

And it starts with Jesus. So how can we live in this chaotic cultural deformation machine we call society or Southern California without being conformed by it? That's the question I wanna answer today. You with me? Alright, so Jesus is always gonna be our model.

Darren Rouanzoin: 03:12

So can we go to Matthew chapter 4? Let's go to Matthew 4 and let's read this narrative together. It's from, it's the temptation narrative of Matthew 4. Now I have to warn you that as I was preparing this sermon, last night, I was just reading through Matthew again and praying before bed and I turned to my wife and I was like, babe, I wish this could be a multi weekend series because it's so rich. And I really believe there's something so beautiful for all of you in this.

Darren Rouanzoin: 03:43

So I'm gonna pray, Jesus, would you just release the word this morning? May we be good soil in your name. Amen. Verse 1, it says this, then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness. He was led by who?

Darren Rouanzoin: 03:58

The spirit. So he's led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for 40 days 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. And Jesus answered, it is written, man should not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Darren Rouanzoin: 04:22

Then he the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the son of God, he said, throw yourself down for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered, it is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him into the high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you.

Darren Rouanzoin: 04:53

And he said, if you will bow down and worship me. He said, away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended him. The word of the lord. You've heard this story before, Jesus tested in the wilderness.

Darren Rouanzoin: 05:14

Couple of things before we jump in context. This comes after chapter 3 where Jesus is baptized in the waters of the Jordan, the holy, the heavens open up, the spirit of God descends on him like a dove, he's filled with the Holy Spirit and a voice from heaven has said, is heard, this is my son whom I love with whom I'm well pleased. This is affirming voice of the father. This is my boy. This is my boy, whom I love, my beloved, right?

Darren Rouanzoin: 05:42

Validated, affirmed in his identity before he could do anything good or useful at all. And then he's led by the spirit that filled him into the wilderness by the spirit to be tempted, to be tested. Now that word tempted or tested, in the Greek means to entice to sin or to get caught to catch somebody but in a mistake. So he's being set up, right? And Craig Keener, a New Testament scholar says, the temptations represent Satan's attempt to derail Jesus from his messianic mission by tempting him to use his divine sonship for personal gain and to bypass the suffering servant role.

Darren Rouanzoin: 06:27

So what is about to transpire, I'm gonna break this down, is the very thing he was just affirmed in his identity and the very thing he was handed now as the Messiah, the vocational responsibility to now go and be the Messiah is what's at stake. And the enemy comes in an opportune time to drag him, to entice, to pull him away from these things. He says, the tempter comes and says, if you are and he will always come after your identity first. How many you know this? That the greatest tactic the enemy has, he has very few things.

Darren Rouanzoin: 07:05

He has fear and lies. He also has other powers that he uses in this world that have been defeated on the cross but he's still operating with some power. How many of you know the sickness and death are not fully finished yet? Do we know this? There's still suffering in poverty.

Darren Rouanzoin: 07:21

We know that evil is still functioning right now until Jesus comes back. So we live in this time in between. But when he comes to tempt you, it's always first a desire that you might have. James talks about this that there's desires that are distorted inside of you that have not yet been aligned to the desires of Jesus for your life. And then when he comes, he pulls on those desires, which is why it makes the case I made last week, your attention fuels desire.

Darren Rouanzoin: 07:52

What are you feeling your desires with? If you're just scrolling through life, those things that filter your attention, that fill up your time will become things that draw you towards disobedience with Jesus. So Satan comes to tempt him and he starts with his identity. Why is identity so important? We talked about this.

Darren Rouanzoin: 08:11

It's the foundation for all of your life. If you can get the foundation off, everything else will go the other direction. If you are the son of God, prove it. Prove it by a different means. Prove it by a means outside of radical obedience to your father.

Darren Rouanzoin: 08:31

You've already received sonship. You've already received the affirmation of who you are. Now, take that in a moment of weakness. How many of you are weak when you miss 1 meal, not 40? Days of meals.

Darren Rouanzoin: 08:48

Like in a moment of weakness, Satan comes to him and begins to pull him in a different direction. And the first thing is he says, turn these stones to become bread. If you are the son of God, prove you are what God has already named you. And the first temptation is some scholars say is about self sufficiency. Turn the bread, turn stones into bread and he challenges Jesus' primary, the way Jesus will function for the rest of his ministry is on radical dependence and obedience to the voice of the father.

Darren Rouanzoin: 09:26

He only does what he sees his father doing. And in this moment, use what God has given you to provide for your own means. Use what God's given you to make your own provisions. Take matters in your own hands. This is why I often say and you've heard this before that success becomes, your greatest threat to obedience.

Darren Rouanzoin: 09:50

How many of you are dependent on God when you don't have the job you want? When you don't have a job and you don't know where rent's coming, you're all of a sudden your prayer life is activated and on fire. But then as soon as you got it, a couple of weeks go by you say I don't wanna lose that kind of dependence, but then it's gone, right? Cause you don't need to pray for daily bread. Do you see what Satan starts with the small stuff?

Darren Rouanzoin: 10:15

Let's start with the hunger. Let's start with the immediate thing that's blind. If you've ever fasted, which by the way, this assumes fasting, we'll talk about that later. But if you've ever fasted, it's for me, it's very hard to think about anything else other than food. It's like a countdown clock until the time I can eat.

Darren Rouanzoin: 10:36

Some people call it spiritual. For me, it's not spiritual at all. It is a discipline, right? It's a leg day. You don't show up for that one.

Darren Rouanzoin: 10:47

It's inconvenient and you're gonna be sore for 3 days. You know, some of you I don't know, maybe maybe that works. Jesus must learn like Israel that life depends not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God, NT Wright says. So this is an interesting statement because there's something else going on in this chapter. I'm gonna hit on it, but then we'll talk about how do we resist con forming to the pattern of this world.

Darren Rouanzoin: 11:15

That's what I'm getting after, we'll get there in a second. Jesus responds in verse 4, it is written man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He takes the temptation to take matters into his own hands to be self sufficient. And he responds with Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3, which says, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word. This is about the narrative of Deuteronomy, which Pastor Jordan a couple weeks ago talked about this for Jesus to pull in the narrative of Deuteronomy is to take the purpose of the whole book into the reason he's living obediently.

Darren Rouanzoin: 11:50

He's identifying with the book of Deuteronomy which means he's identifying with something else, the story of Israel who was in the wilderness for 40 years. And the reason they were in, the wilderness for 40 years was to remain and learn dependence upon God because they rejected God immediately after that. He freed them in Exodus and they had to learn to be dependent on God. They weren't gonna just go be a nation that's blessing all other nations until they learn to become the kind of people that form their identity from Yahweh, that learn to obey Yahweh. And so Jesus in the testing of the wilderness scholars would say, he's identifying with Israel.

Darren Rouanzoin: 12:34

Where Israel failed, he will succeed. Where Adam failed, Jesus will succeed. He is the fulfillment, the culmination of all of history in a moment. And he takes the the tempter's temptation and he spits back the word of God. Deuteronomy 8 chapter 3, I gotta learn to be dependent.

Darren Rouanzoin: 12:55

Isn't that amazing? He just combats it with scripture. He anchors himself into the story of Israel and he will be the successor. He will be the fulfillment of Israel. In all things by the way.

Darren Rouanzoin: 13:07

Matthew 4:5, you guys with me? The story continues. Verse 5, Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point and he says, throw yourself down and then now the devils quotes Psalm 91. How many of you know Satan knows scripture? Look at what he does, He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Darren Rouanzoin: 13:36

The second temptation to which Jesus exposed was the temptation to be spectacular. Famous, to go viral. To throw himself down from the temple and have the angels catch him in mid air. And he writes as the second temptation is to be the wrong sword of Messiah. One who bases his work on showy miracles, compelling power or political power.

Darren Rouanzoin: 14:03

So do you see, so Jesus will perform miracles, would you agree? And he will cast out demons and regularly, he will do things and say don't tell anyone. Because the way of His kingdom is slow, is hidden, is quiet. It's a faithful, long obedience in the same direction. He could have put on a show to grow a mass audience, to do large things famously as fast as possible.

Darren Rouanzoin: 14:32

But that's not the way of Jesus. That's the way of the world, the way of empire. Isn't it interesting? Let me say that one more time. Large things famously as fast as possible.

Darren Rouanzoin: 14:46

Does that not sound like what success looks like in the American church today? And yet we haven't been trained in the kingdom to see that's not how the kingdom operates, but we celebrate it, we vote for it, we consume it, we buy it, we tell everyone about it because that's the way we've been trained to identify success. We need to learn to identify the way of the kingdom. Otherwise, we will miss how Satan's tactics are at play. You with me?

Darren Rouanzoin: 15:16

The temptation for Jesus is to use his anointing from God for personal glory and fame. When he comes to what? Glorify the father. Satan tries to manipulate Jesus in order to manipulate God, to use his power for personal public approval. And Jesus refuses, which is again modeling for us what it looks like to live faithfully in this world as followers of Jesus in quiet humility and trust in God.

Darren Rouanzoin: 15:50

Not just trust in God's promises endgame, but in the way He taught us to live. Like not just to justify the means to get to the ends, but to live the way of Jesus in the means in order to get his ends. You know what I'm talking about? But notice how Satan uses scripture versus how Jesus submits to scripture. This is the big insight I want you to lean in on.

Darren Rouanzoin: 16:19

Satan uses scripture and Jesus submits to scripture. Psalm 91, would you go to Psalm 90 1? I wanna take you there. Remember I said this last week as a good reader of the word, when you get a reference, you don't just read the little bit of quotes that are in there, you read the whole story. But in this case I think Satan was being intentional.

Darren Rouanzoin: 16:40

So Satan quotes Psalm 91 verse 11 and 12. He says, he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Look at the very next verse. You will tread on the lion and the cobra, you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Darren Rouanzoin: 17:04

Do you think he omits that last verse on purpose? It's a direct reference to the tempter, the serpent. That there will be a time when God will raise you up. When will Jesus be raised up? He's offering an alternative to what Jesus already knows is coming.

Darren Rouanzoin: 17:27

Every temptation is a shortcut for Jesus. Every temptation is to step aside from the suffering to experience glory. Only Jesus knows the only way to true glory is through suffering. Each temptation is a way for him to leave the cross behind and still get the ends, but he won't do it. But I wanna go back to to Satan for a second because I think for many of us, we don't really get what's going on.

Darren Rouanzoin: 17:52

We're learning how do we as disciples learn to navigate the cultural deformation that's happening as we live in culture and not be conformed by it. I wanna speak to that in a second but notice that Satan affirms part of the text and disregards the other verse. He uses scripture for his purposes rather than submit to scripture. Satan uses scripture to tempt Jesus. Satan manipulates scripture to validate his purpose and pleasure.

Darren Rouanzoin: 18:22

He quotes scripture while distorting the context and the meaning for his own purposes and outcomes. Satan uses scripture as a tool for power, and this is a form of religious spirit by the way, which is always born in the heart of Satan. Good intentions are the way, the road paves to hell. I'm sorry. Good intentions, the road to hell is paved by good intentions.

Darren Rouanzoin: 18:52

I got you. Jesus submits to scripture Even when he has power to do something else, did Jesus have power to turn stone into bread? Who spoke the cosmos into existence? Who is the word of God? Did Jesus have power to turn stones into bread?

Darren Rouanzoin: 19:13

Yes. He had the ability to do it, but did not operate. Chose to limit his power based on the boundaries of the word of god. The word, the living word, restricted his activity based on the boundaries set by his father. He limits His use of power.

Darren Rouanzoin: 19:39

He limits His anointing based on the restrictions and the purposes of scripture in order to fulfill the word of God. To fulfill the heart of God for His mission. He limits his freedom to serve God. Isn't this amazing? It's all connected to scripture by the way.

Darren Rouanzoin: 19:58

How many of us in this room use scripture like Satan? Maybe this will help you identify where you are. Do you submit like Jesus or do you use it like Satan? You use scripture to validate your own choices in lifestyle without submitting to the context or the authority of the whole word. There are some of you think you can manipulate a text in order to validate the lifestyle you have.

Darren Rouanzoin: 20:26

That's a form of false teaching, that's satanic. I'm not just talking about big issues we all know of, I'm talking about the small issues. Like we affirm parts of scripture while neglecting or outright rejecting the other parts. We love to cherry pick our scriptures that work for our life. So we will condemn a specific lifestyle that we disagree with, meanwhile we will reject the things that are concerning our life.

Darren Rouanzoin: 20:54

Like like we love, you know, to pray like God bless us with wealth. He knows the plans he has for me, one to prosper us. Meanwhile, as we accumulate that wealth, we refuse to be generous to the poor or to call out the sin of of idolatry and greed in our own lives. We love to pray, you know, oh God give free me from anxiety, let me live without worry, but we we refuse to stop looking at women with lust in our hearts. It's the same sermon by the way.

Darren Rouanzoin: 21:28

We love scripture when it backs up our conservative political beliefs, but we fail to love our enemies. That's satanic according to this story. Hey, you don't have to take my word for it. Go read it by yourselves. Most of us have learned to use Scripture like Satan rather than submit to the authority of Scripture like Jesus.

Darren Rouanzoin: 21:52

Can we move on or you guys wanna, how many of you brought your Bibles today? Let me just see, like, how many of you just This is the only time you touch it? Gosh. Why is it so hard to convince the church to love the word of God? It shouldn't be a thing.

Darren Rouanzoin: 22:22

Of course we're bringing our Bibles. We have to learn to live like Jesus. Okay. Let's move on. I'm gonna I'm not gonna get out on time.

Darren Rouanzoin: 22:38

I have I have a lot more to say, but maybe we just sit for a second. There there is this thing that we need to repent from and it is that we have been using scripture for our own benefit rather than submitting to the authority of the text, to the authority of the word of God, and we think we're gonna be blessed by cherry picking it. It's not gonna happen that way. We have to be lovers of the word. We have to learn to love to submit.

Darren Rouanzoin: 23:02

Thank you God that there are boundary lines that I can learn to navigate the chaos because without these boundaries that are ancient by the way, given to us by the creator of this thing called the world, it would be absolute chaos. Oh wait, that's what we see. And so how are we gonna know what's true and what's not when this when Satan quotes scripture? How are we gonna know what's true or not when Satan knows scripture? How many of you know he was quoting scripture and didn't know that the very next verse had to do with his own demise?

Darren Rouanzoin: 23:41

Isn't that crazy? Love the word of God. Let's we'll come back to it. Number, verse 8. Let's keep going.

Darren Rouanzoin: 23:48

Again, the devil took him on the very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said, all this I will give to you. Did Satan have the power to give that? Yes. Who was ruling the world?

Darren Rouanzoin: 24:03

Satan. Why? Because Adam handed it over when he sinned to Satan. When did it come back to humanity? After Jesus' resurrection, Jesus takes it back and then He what?

Darren Rouanzoin: 24:15

He commissions His disciples. Do you guys know this is good theology. You guys are with me on this? Let's have good theology. Did Satan have the power to give him the kingdoms?

Darren Rouanzoin: 24:24

Yes. So he could have received what was eventually gonna be his inheritance, but he would receive it without what? The cross. Do you see the the beauty of our Jesus? If you will bow down and worship me, he says, away from me Satan for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

Darren Rouanzoin: 24:56

Deuteronomy 613, again, every time he responds with scripture, every temptation Satan tries to bring, he could've spoken a new revelation. He doesn't speak a new revelatory word as the word of God. He goes back to Deuteronomy and he quotes the scripture to combat the temptation. How many of you are struggling with temptation in your life? I'll be the 1st to say, I struggle with temptation.

Darren Rouanzoin: 25:22

Okay, there's 12 of us, great. If you're watching online, we got a holy church here, let's go. Come on, we're gonna teach you how to do this. Man, how many of you using Jesus tactics? The third temptation is to become the ruler of the world by the wrong means by worshiping the devil instead of God.

Darren Rouanzoin: 25:45

Jesus resist the temptation to be powerful. He resist the temptation to use the world's powers, the world's ways. He finds the other way and his path is one of service and humility and one of suffering. And Satan says, you can have all the glory without the suffering. And he says, no, I will not shortcut this.

Darren Rouanzoin: 26:05

He wants to justify the means to get to the ends, but Jesus knows that the cross is the means to the ends. And the cross is not the ends, it is the way of life for Jesus the whole way. Every step he takes will be one step closer to the cross, which brings about the greatest revelation of what God looks like. Self sacrificial love. What is the purpose of life?

Darren Rouanzoin: 26:31

Self sacrificial love. I talk to people all the time who are not Christians that have happiness as their goal for life. It will not work without Jesus at the center. When they asked me, what do you think the purpose? What's the center?

Darren Rouanzoin: 26:47

I said, self sacrificial love. That is Jesus. That is the center of what makes everything else work. You take that out, it will go chaos because your happiness is individualistic. It's a form of expressive individualism.

Darren Rouanzoin: 27:01

What happens when my happiness is rubs up or challenges your happiness? It won't work, but when you get to Jesus, all of creation will function the way it was supposed to be. And gee And the same tries to pull this away, and Jesus was not conformed by the pattern of this world. He remained faithful to his identity and his vocation as the suffering serve it. Jesus resist all temptations.

Darren Rouanzoin: 27:25

He resists all forms of sin and he succeeds where Israel failed. He succeeds where Adam failed, and he shows us how we can succeed following his way. But notice, the role of scripture in Jesus's life. How do we do this? Scripture is warfare.

Darren Rouanzoin: 27:49

Scripture for other fans of other franchises is defense against the dark arts. You're welcome. You don't need to learn about all the other things, you need to learn about the thing and you will be enough. Scripture is a defense, But the right understanding or the proper understanding of scripture is also an offense against Satan tactics. Because how will you know what is true when Satan quotes the book of life, but tries to use it to manipulate.

Darren Rouanzoin: 28:24

He tries to use it to validate that decision outside of God's boundaries. It's scripture, but it's distorted. Do you see what I'm getting after here? Like if the world is running that way, and Satan's taking our book and quoting it to manipulate, how will we ever know? Let me speak to this for a second.

Darren Rouanzoin: 28:51

I wanna just show you some facts. Scripture was scripture formed Jesus. Scripture and Jesus 10% of Jesus' recorded teachings in the gospels are old testament quotes and illusions. So 10% of what he spoke was old testament. Jesus studied scripture in his youth.

Darren Rouanzoin: 29:06

Jesus went to scripture in his weakness. Jesus preached scripture. Jesus claimed scripture pointing to him. Jesus corrected bad theology with scripture. Jesus fulfilled scripture.

Darren Rouanzoin: 29:17

Jesus quoted scripture before his death and after his death, and when you, he says in John chapter 5, you study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very scriptures that testify about me and yet you refuse to come to me to have life. What I wanna say about the Bible is the Bible reveals God to us. It is a book about God, is a book about truth, is a book about life and everything in it. The Bible speaks to us about who we are and what God is like in a world filled with information or disinformation, why not be immersed in what is true and full of wisdom and a source of life?

Darren Rouanzoin: 29:57

So to answer the question, how can we live in a chaotic cultural deformation machine we call society without being conformed by? The answer is in found in the model of Jesus. We need to be formed by scripture. If scripture played such a vital role in the life of Jesus, it should play a vital role in the life of his disciples. How do you learn to allow the word of God to form your souls, not just inform your mind?

Darren Rouanzoin: 30:25

Couple of thoughts on the Bible and then I'm gonna give you practice and we'll pray, okay? Number 1, well first I'm gonna answer a question, what is the Bible? You ready? You can write this down. The Bible or scripture is God speaking His truth to us in human words.

Darren Rouanzoin: 30:40

The Bible that we the Bible we have that we affirm, we have this in our belief systems at the garden. I'm just gonna read it, I'm gonna put it up there. At Garden, we believe in the inspiration of the 39 old testament and 27 new testament books of scripture. That both the old and the new testament are the infallible word of God in all matters of life and doctrine, that the Bible is completely relevant today for every area of the human experience because it is living and active, That the Bible is the final authority for faith and lifestyle. It is believed, practiced, trusted, and hoped in.

Darren Rouanzoin: 31:14

The Bible is the final authority on all matters to which it speaks in. So we believe the compilation of this divinely inspired writings that shares one continuous unified story is worthy of submission to. This is so controversial. This is probably the most controversial thing I've ever said in our culture. That we will submit to this word.

Darren Rouanzoin: 31:40

So 40% of it is story, 33% of our Bible's poetry, follow all of you poets out there. 30% is poetry. The rest is letters and stuff commands weighing in single digits 20%. The Bible is the word of God. The Bible is written in human language to human beings.

Darren Rouanzoin: 31:58

So this is so important because I will hear bad teaching go, this is God speaking to you. Yes, that is true, but it came from a person to a group of people at a specific period of time, in a specific language, for a specific purpose, for a specific context. And for us for it to be God's word to us, it needs to be God's word to whom it first went to. Does that make sense? Because otherwise we can just read this without interpretation, make blanket statements that cause a lot of damage.

Darren Rouanzoin: 32:27

We've done this in history like justify slavery, right? Justify conquest. You read some parts of Deuteronomy and it's archaic. It's crazy. You're like, this is the Bible?

Darren Rouanzoin: 32:43

In its context, it was so progressive in in pulling culture forward. But I wanna say the Bible never is progressive in pulling culture forward outside of God's original intention. How we doing? I'm I'm like digging trenches right now of theology. So, the Bible is not first God's word to us, it's first God's word to those whom it came originally.

Darren Rouanzoin: 33:14

Also, anybody who reads the Bible for meeting interprets it. So that's that's a whole other conversation. In the fall, I'm gonna teach you how to read the Bible class. Does that sound good? I love the Word of God.

Darren Rouanzoin: 33:25

I wanna help you be great readers of the Bible, but let's start with what we're after. How do we get it in us? Alright, it's not about knowing it. It's not just about having a theology of it. It's about getting the word in us.

Darren Rouanzoin: 33:42

So transforms us. Does this make sense? So how do we read scripture as formation? So I wanna teach you scripture as formation. So these are all various practices you can do and I want you to practice all of them at different time.

Darren Rouanzoin: 33:54

Can we do that? Number 1 is we read scripture daily. Last week in the Sunday night service, I was talking about some of you need like 5 minutes with God and then I scoffed at myself and I said, I think you need to give God more than that. You can't have a walk with Jesus if your quiet time is only 5 minutes. Again, caveat, if you have par if you're parents of little ones right now, you're gonna spread it out throughout the day, but at most of us, we can do that more than 5 minutes.

Darren Rouanzoin: 34:21

Please open your life up. If you are a disciple of Jesus, look, if you're not a disciple of Jesus, if you're like a consumer Christian, just take this message and go to brunch. I'm cool with that. If you're a disciple of Jesus, come close. I'm a grab your face like that movie and say stay here as long as you can.

Darren Rouanzoin: 34:40

And I need you to get this, read scripture every day. There's so many ways to do it, but read scripture to be formed not informed. You can choose a short passage of scripture every single day, just read a little bit, alright. You can do lots of different things. So you can read a little bit of scripture, you can do what we call inhale, read the Bible in a year.

Darren Rouanzoin: 35:01

Some of you are like, that's a lot. Some of us read the Bible in a month. Look, it's based on your level of commitment in the season of life, but also an invitation to what God's calling you into as far as a discipline and practice. But at the baseline, read Bible, read the Bible everyday. You good?

Darren Rouanzoin: 35:21

Can I just see, like, see some hands? Let me know some of you will read the Bible every day. Thank you. Alright. Worship, you're good.

Darren Rouanzoin: 35:30

Come on up.

Intro/Outro: 35:36

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