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Maximize Your Daily Bible Reading · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Well, you believe that the Bible is powerful, good, you
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  Speaker 1: resolve to read it daily, wonderful, But why does this
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  Speaker 1: commitment to daily reading sometimes feel so powerless and actually
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  Speaker 1: changing me? Today? On Aspestor John, we study a classic
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  Speaker 1: sermon clip where John Piper helps us out with some
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  Speaker 1: keys to reading the Bible. Well, a sermon clip. I
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  Speaker 1: know we haven't done this in years. A sermon clip,
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  Speaker 1: but I love this clip because it looks at daily
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  Speaker 1: Bible reading from all sorts of angles. Listeners to the
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  Speaker 1: podcast will know that John Piper preached through the entire
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  Speaker 1: Book of Romans in two hundred and twenty five sermons.
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  Speaker 1: The series took him eight years and eight months to complete,
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  Speaker 1: spanning the spring of nineteen ninety eight to the end
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  Speaker 1: of two thousand and six, and all two hundred and
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  Speaker 1: twenty five of those rich messages are collected online under
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  Speaker 1: the series title the Greatest Letter Ever Written, Most Epic
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  Speaker 1: John Piper Sermon Series Ever recorded. One I know many
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  Speaker 1: of you have listened to in its entirety. As you do,
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  Speaker 1: you'll come across a bunch of little nuggets along the way,
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  Speaker 1: like this one where Pastor John gets into the topic
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  Speaker 1: of how we ensure that we get daily benefit from
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  Speaker 1: our daily Bible reading. Topic arose in the Roman series
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  Speaker 1: in a sermon title let Love Be Genuine on Romans
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  Speaker 1: twelve nine appreciate on November twenty one, two thousand and four.
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  Speaker 1: Here's Pastor John.
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  Speaker 2: Let's begin with some thoughts here now from Romans, about
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  Speaker 2: how to read a text like this in a way
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  Speaker 2: that changes us deeply. There are thirteen exhortations in just
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  Speaker 2: verses nine to thirteen.
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  Speaker 3: So suppose you get up in the morning.
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  Speaker 2: And you set yourself, like a good Christian to read
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  Speaker 2: your Bible before you head off to work.
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  Speaker 3: It's a good idea you should do that.
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  Speaker 2: So you set yourself maybe to read a few chapters,
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  Speaker 2: or let's say Romans twelve is included. May take you
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  Speaker 2: three minute to read through Romans twelve, which means that
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  Speaker 2: you give maybe fifteen seconds to these thirteen commandments, thirteen exhortations.
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  Speaker 2: Let love be genuine and poor what is evil, hold
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  Speaker 2: fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.
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  Speaker 2: Outdo one another in showing honor. Don't be slowful in zeal,
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  Speaker 2: be fervent in the spirit, Serve the Lord, Rejoice in hope,
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  Speaker 2: be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, contribute to
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  Speaker 2: the needs of the saints. Seek to show hospitality. Thirteen
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  Speaker 2: in five verses. You've read them, fifteen seconds on them,
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  Speaker 2: close your Bible, pray off to work. How many of
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  Speaker 2: them can you even remember? I mean, are you now
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  Speaker 2: fired up and totally engaged and renewed in all thirteen
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  Speaker 2: new areas of your life? Is that the effect of
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  Speaker 2: reading the Bible in the morning. It doesn't work like that,
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  Speaker 2: does it? So what are we supposed to do? Because
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  Speaker 2: Paul didn't write that just to tickle our ears. He
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  Speaker 2: didn't just write those things for nothing to happen. He
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  Speaker 2: really means all thirteen of those exhortations.
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  Speaker 3: To become reality.
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  Speaker 2: And as we read them to become more and more reality,
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  Speaker 2: and as we preach on them to become more and more.
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  Speaker 3: Reality, they aren't just there.
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  Speaker 2: So we need help for what to do with the
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  Speaker 2: Bible so that the Bible becomes powerful changes us. Right,
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  Speaker 2: This isn't written for nothing, So to get help, turn
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  Speaker 2: with me to chapter fifteen. I asked the apostle Paul, Paul,
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  Speaker 2: you got any help for us here on how to
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  Speaker 2: read chapter twelve? And Paul said, yes, it's here in
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  Speaker 2: verses fifteen and sixteen of chapter fifteen. On some points,
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  Speaker 2: I have written to you very boldly by way of reminders.
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  Speaker 2: Stop there, Just realize that the Bible for veteran Christians
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  Speaker 2: is mainly repeat. I will never read a new thing
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  Speaker 2: in the Bible. I've read the Bible dozens and dozens
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  Speaker 2: of times, every word of it over and over again.
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  Speaker 2: I'll never see a new word in the Bible. I
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  Speaker 2: pray that I will see new reality, new truth, new power,
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  Speaker 2: new implications, but the words I've seen them all over
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  Speaker 2: and over again. Reminder, don't ever begrudge a small group,
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  Speaker 2: a family devotion, a Bible reading, a sermon that is
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  Speaker 2: sheer reminder of what you already know. Because God has
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  Speaker 2: things in those old familiar truths that you never saw yet,
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  Speaker 2: things to change in you haven't been changed yet.
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  Speaker 3: So just be aware.
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  Speaker 2: The Bible is mainly reminder for old Christians, and that's
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  Speaker 2: crucial for living the christs life. So Paul says, I've
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  Speaker 2: written to you very boldly by way of reminder because
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  Speaker 2: of the grace given to me.
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  Speaker 3: So know that the Bible is a gracious gift.
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  Speaker 2: Paul was graced to write it for us, don't neglect
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  Speaker 2: it verse sixteen. To be a minister, have this grace,
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  Speaker 2: to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles.
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  Speaker 2: That's us mainly in the priestly service of the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: So that here comes the reason for writing this down
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  Speaker 2: and doing this ministry. Why do we read Romans twelve
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  Speaker 2: so that the offering of the gentiles, so we're now
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  Speaker 2: treated like a worship offering, should remind you of Chapter twelve,
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  Speaker 2: verse one, present your bodies to living sacrifices.
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  Speaker 3: Which is your spiritual service of worship.
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  Speaker 2: We are being offered up by the apostle Paul as
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  Speaker 2: worship to God, as we're transformed into the image of
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  Speaker 2: his son, God's Son, so that the offering of the
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  Speaker 2: gentiles may be acceptable. So Paul has written Romans so
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  Speaker 2: that you and I would become more acceptable. Is that
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  Speaker 2: word acceptable, Renie Bells from Chapter twelve, verse two, be
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  Speaker 2: transformed so that you may prove it is acceptable, embrace
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  Speaker 2: the will of God acceptable. And when you do that,
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  Speaker 2: this is happening. The offering of the gentiles verse one,
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  Speaker 2: offering worship verse two transformed to prove it is acceptable.
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  Speaker 2: This is happening by the writing of Romans. So when
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  Speaker 2: you read it, this should be happening. And then comes
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  Speaker 2: the all decisive phrase, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 3: You know and I know, reading.
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  Speaker 2: The Bible has zero effect on our lives apart from
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. If in fact, we try to do
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  Speaker 2: the Bible without the Holy Spirit, we become colossal legalists
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  Speaker 2: touting our own moral resolve. I can do this, watch me. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: what we need is the Holy Spirit. So now I
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  Speaker 2: have drawn out of these verses three things that help
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  Speaker 2: me read Romans twelve, life changingly. I want to be
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  Speaker 2: changed by these messages. I want to be changed by
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  Speaker 2: verse nine. Let love be without hypocrisy. I want to
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  Speaker 2: be less hypocritical After I read that phrase, How can
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  Speaker 2: I do that? What will make the difference for a word,
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  Speaker 2: a little phrase to suddenly have life changing powerful power
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  Speaker 2: to make me less hypocritical, more free and authentic and
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  Speaker 2: genuine and real in my love?
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  Speaker 3: And here my three guidelines for how to read that. One.
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  Speaker 3: Pray as you read, because.
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  Speaker 2: If the Holy Spirit is the one who takes the
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  Speaker 2: Bible and applies it to us, so that it really
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  Speaker 2: produces an alteration in our whole demeanor, and our way
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  Speaker 2: of seeing God and our way of treating each other,
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  Speaker 2: then we should ask him. So when you read, you
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  Speaker 2: pause and you say, oh, Holy Spirit, come make this
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  Speaker 2: real in my life. Do whatever you have to do
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  Speaker 2: to make me humble, to make me authentic, to make
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  Speaker 2: me loving.
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  Speaker 3: That's the way you pray. It's real risky.
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  Speaker 2: Last night, just before we walked into the service, a
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  Speaker 2: band of us, several of us is scathered around in
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  Speaker 2: the choir room downstairs downtown where I preached this last night,
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  Speaker 2: and we said, and there were muhs and amen's all
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  Speaker 2: around as I said, Lord, whatever it takes, death, loss
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  Speaker 2: of job, cancer, whatever it takes, take away my hypocrisy,
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  Speaker 2: whatever it takes in this church, whatever it takes, do it.
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  Speaker 2: Because we want to be real, We want to be Christian.
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  Speaker 2: We want these words in Romans twelve to become reality.
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  Speaker 1: We don't just.
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  Speaker 2: Want to speak words and have love being word only
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  Speaker 2: and not indeed and not in heart. So pray that's
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  Speaker 2: number one. Pray as you read the Bible, do.
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  Speaker 3: This in my life.
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  Speaker 2: Number two, look away to Jesus as you read the Bible,
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  Speaker 2: as you read Romans twelve, and you hear, let love
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  Speaker 2: be without dissimulation.
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  Speaker 3: That's the old King James word. Or let love be
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  Speaker 3: without hypocrisy.
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  Speaker 2: That's a good literal translation, let love be genuine ESV.
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  Speaker 2: When you read that, say to yourself, no way, I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to pull that off. I am a born hypocrite.
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  Speaker 2: I love the praise of other people. I know I'm
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  Speaker 2: not perfect. I'm always putting up fronts. I want to
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  Speaker 2: be a loving person, authentic. I don't want to play
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  Speaker 2: it love. Therefore I look away from myself. I look
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  Speaker 2: away to Jesus. He was born and died to forgive
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  Speaker 2: all my hypocrisy. He modeled for me the perfectly transparent life.
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  Speaker 2: He has now taught me and given me a goal
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  Speaker 2: to aim at. And he is my satisfaction, my forgiver,
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  Speaker 2: my model, my treasure. When you look away to Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: that satisfaction that comes from Him is the ground and
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  Speaker 2: root by which you become free from hypocrisy.
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  Speaker 3: So that's number two. Look away in faith to Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: not to yourself.
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  Speaker 2: Number three, Slow down and meditate on these words. I
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  Speaker 2: know this is tough because on the one hand, you
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  Speaker 2: hear a message coming from this pulpit. Read the Bible,
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  Speaker 2: Read the whole Bible, get your discipleship journal reading plan,
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  Speaker 2: and read the Bible all the way through in one year. Well,
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  Speaker 2: you're on a lickety split pace to get through the Bible.
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  Speaker 2: And here I am telling you, now, slow down and
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  Speaker 2: meditate on the first half of verse nine, verse of
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  Speaker 2: chapter twelve. Now what in the world are you supposed
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  Speaker 2: to do? Read through the Bible or meditate on verse nine?
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  Speaker 2: What do you want me to do?
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  Speaker 3: And the answer is both. And I don't know how.
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  Speaker 3: I just know I've got to read the Bible fast.
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  Speaker 3: I've got to read the Bible slow.
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  Speaker 2: Because if you don't read the Bible fast to get
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  Speaker 2: through it in a year or two, you can't get
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  Speaker 2: the big picture, you can't get the whole terrain. And
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  Speaker 2: yet if you don't slow down, here's the analogy. This
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  Speaker 2: analogy has been with me ever since the first jumbo
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  Speaker 2: jet was made. You can remember that most of in
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  Speaker 2: your lifetime, right, the first jumbo jet with a big
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  Speaker 2: hump on the front out.
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  Speaker 3: Can they do that? A two decker plane? Unbelievable? I
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  Speaker 3: remember that.
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  Speaker 2: So I picture this thing flies about five hundred and
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  Speaker 2: sixty miles an hour, and he was really high, you know,
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  Speaker 2: thirty seven thirty eight thousand feet, and I pictured it
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  Speaker 2: flying over Florida and all these orange groves, and you
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  Speaker 2: look down and you could just almost see the whole
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  Speaker 2: Florida and there's an orange grove, and you say, wow,
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  Speaker 2: that's an amazing orange grove. Very nourishing really tastes good,
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  Speaker 2: really gives me energy. Wrong, it doesn't you just and
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  Speaker 2: that's the way we read the Bibles. But it's good
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  Speaker 2: to see Florida, it really is. It's valuable to see
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  Speaker 2: Florida in the Bible. But if you never land that
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  Speaker 2: thing in Orlando, and don't go to Disney World, go
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  Speaker 2: to the orange grove and just start walking through the
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  Speaker 2: orange grove. Here's verse nine, first half of the verse.
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  Speaker 2: And you pause under the tree and you pick that
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  Speaker 2: one and you look at that's a beautiful thing.
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  Speaker 3: Let love be genuine.
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  Speaker 2: I wonder what that means.
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  Speaker 3: Would I love to be like that?
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  Speaker 2: I want to be like that.
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit, please.
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  Speaker 2: Kill the disease of hypocrisy in my life. You gotta
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  Speaker 2: slow down, you gotta meditate, You got to ask what
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  Speaker 2: does it mean?
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  Speaker 3: How does it relate to my life?
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  Speaker 2: How does it relate to the other parts of Scripture,
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  Speaker 2: and all the while praying, Oh, make a difference, make
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  Speaker 2: a difference in my life. So those are my three guidelines,
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  Speaker 2: which I think are implied in Chapter fifteen, Verses fifteen
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  Speaker 2: and sixteen, word and spirit word verse fifteen, Spirit verse
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  Speaker 2: sixteen of Chapter fifteen. We read the Bible, we pray
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  Speaker 2: for the spirit, we savor it, we linger over it.
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  Speaker 3: We look away to Jesus. The reason looking away to
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is so crucial is because.
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  Speaker 2: The Holy Spirit, according to John sixteen fourteen, is given
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  Speaker 2: to glorify Christ. So if you read the Bible with
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  Speaker 2: view to doing it in your own strength, the Holy
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  Speaker 2: Spirit will keep his distance from you. If you read
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  Speaker 2: the Bible looking away to Jesus and saying, Jesus, I
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  Speaker 2: want you to be magnified, I want you to be
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  Speaker 2: displayed and the kind of loving person I become, the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit kicks in with power because he's there to
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  Speaker 2: magnify Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, so many great reminders and Bible reading principles here.
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  Speaker 1: Pray for the Holy Spirit's help when you read, look
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  Speaker 1: away from yourself and to Jesus, trusting his power. Slow down,
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  Speaker 1: meditate on the words, asking how they apply to your life,
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  Speaker 1: and remember the Bible as mostly a reminder, so be
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  Speaker 1: patient as God works. Read broadly to get the big picture,
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  Speaker 1: but also slow down on key verses to internalize them,
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  Speaker 1: because true life change through scripture comes only by slow
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  Speaker 1: going down, praying for the spirit's help, looking to Jesus
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  Speaker 1: to magnify him. There's a lot to think about here
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  Speaker 1: in the Principles Pastor John laid out. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: joining us today. If you have a question to ask
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, find a link to email us and find
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  Speaker 1: our complete episode archive at the same place ask Pastor
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  Speaker 1: John dot com. Pastor John is back into studio with
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  Speaker 1: us for the first time in twenty twenty six. That's
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  Speaker 1: up next, a brand new episode with Pastor John in studio.
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  Speaker 1: I can't wait of Tony RANKI see you on Thursday.