January 12, 2019 "Fulfilling the Word", Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

what makes reading the Bible different than reading The Washington Post hey everyone grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ are resurrected our risen our reigning and our returning Redeemer this pastor Howard John Wesley greeting you from the very strange and unprecedented place and space of the empty sanctuary of the Alpha Street Baptist Church why am I here all by myself well as some of you all know in the DMV were under a winter weather advisory we've got some snow on the way and in Virginia snow means everybody stays at home as a matter of fact it's the safest thing to do on the way here as the flurries were coming down notice the Department of Transportation had the plows out and the trucks and we just wanted to make certain that all of our members were safe and not trying to get in and out of the sanctuary want to let you know that everything that will be missing this weekend will happen next weekend the installation of officers the sharing of our Lord's Supper as well as our volunteer appreciation so if you just move everything back a week we'll be glad to be in this space on next weekend as you know being from Chicago it perturbs me deeply to have to cancel worship service and while I was in prayer trying to make peace with the fact that it was in the best interest of the safety of our members for you all to remain at home began to speak to some of the staff ministers and was the Reverend mark lavrin who put a great idea in my head he basically let me know that even if we can't get people in the sanctuary that doesn't mean that we can't have worship we've got an online capacity and capability that allows us to worship God right here like this so to welcome and greet you electronically as together we gather to hear the Word of God listen we may not have a choir there may be no one in the congregation but there is a word from the Lord and I'm excited to share with you what God has put on my heart as we do gather together I want to begin by lifting up a prayer first and foremost for those who continue to be furloughed by this government shutdown as this thing continues to drag out I'm hearing story and story of family they're dealing with financial stress tuitions debt mortgages is our prayer that not only will God bring a peaceful end to this shutdown but even more so that God would prove himself to meet all of your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus if you are a member of Alfred Street and your father who put some hard times because of this shutdown make certain you reach out to your deacon our church takes seriously our responsibility to care for our own members and I want to extend to you an opportunity to speak with your deacon about ways in which the church can help you through this difficult season also I want to pray for those who are engaged in seek 20:19 our call to corporate fasting in prayer we are a week in and I pray that even in these first seven days you begun to experience some amazing things in spirit and mind in flesh in finance that you're hearing from God in amazing ways you're feeling the power of the Spirit to give you strength over the temptations and the desires and the hunger of the flesh somebody asked me pastor what's your fast like and I said you know what I'm learning to be hungry I'm learning to be okay with not having everything my body wants and I'm learning that I don't die because of it but I get stronger God has been moving in my life and I pray that you feel God moving in yours we look forward to crossing this finish line together in just a few weeks and hear the awesome testimony of the things God has done wherever you are right now around the world wide web would you bow with me and let's go to God in prayer and then we'll prepare ourselves to hear a word from the Lord I I would sing a priest to monic him but I know you'd rather get right into the Word of God rather than hear me render so low so we're gonna go ahead and pray and then we're gonna get into the Word of God would you bow with me wherever you may be mighty God I thank you that even in the midst of snow we can find ourselves in spaces of sanctuary because of the gift of technology that allows us to worship online for gathering in this space tonight for the vision that brought us here for our AV ministry who whether the storm that they might come and prepare worship for those who would log on with us I give you thanks for family and friend of Alfred Street that are connected to us right now and I pray that the same way your spirit moves in worship at Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 9:30 and 11:30 God do it again even now we go into your Holy Word desiring to be fed we've been fasting in our flesh but feasting in our spirit and your word O Lord fills us in ways that food never can you remind us that man woman does not live by bread alone but by the Word of God so tonight oh god I'm grateful for your word today I'm grateful for the opportunity to share what you've placed on my heart in a way to prayerfully will edify those who have ears to receive be with us now will God as we prepare ourselves to feast on the word of God in the name of our Christ and our Savior we do pray amen if you're able once you turn me in your Bibles wherever you may be right now you know for this month of January we're beginning to revisit the Sermon on the Mount which is located in Matthew chapter 5 6 & 7 I would encourage you to read all three of those chapters of your devotional reading today I want to pick up where wherever marketin Minister Barbara left off on last week and that is in Matthew chapter 5 beginning in verse number 17 Matthew chapter 5 beginning in verse number 17 reading this evening out of the New International Version of God's Holy Word Jesus says do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them for truly I tell you until the heaven and earth disappear not the smallest letter not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven for our tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law you will certainly not enter into the kingdom of heaven today as we get into the Word of God want to talk to you about fulfilling the word fulfilling the word it's really important as we begin this new year that we reconnect ourselves to what we believe is the core foundational principles what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and that is to mimic the life of Jesus and to obey the messages of Jesus and the most concentrated place where we see the message and the teaching of Jesus is given to us here in Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus has gathered his followers together to share with them some principles some teachings some parables to help them understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and here we pick up where Barbara and Mark left off last week teaching about the Beatitudes and about our commandment to be the salt and light of the earth and as Jesus picks up in the end of chapter 5 there's something he teaches there that I believe has been overlooked by the body of Christ for so long it's one of the most critical teachings of Jesus and it's going to challenge how we read use and apply the Word of God so if you got pen and paper and get ready to take some notes what I'm gonna teach tonight may challenge you may cause you to think may cause you to have some conversation may cause you to have some questions go ahead and email those questions in to Alfred Street dr. Judy would love to answer your questions I'm just joking Reverend Hawkins will answer your questions let's get into the Word of God in the concluding part of Matthew chapter 5 Jesus is trying to prepare us to understand how we live faithfully in the world and you're going to see that part of what he addresses is how we use the Bible it has been said by several scholars of Scripture and history that the Bible is the most dangerous book in the history of humanity think about that for a second the Bible is the most dangerous book in the history of humanity certainly we can go to the Bible and find some amazing things for our lives and the pages of Scripture we find the possibility of new life in Christ and the amazing things that God has in store for us when we say yes we find promises that hold us together while trials and storms are trying to pull us apart in the Bible we find stories that model for us what it means to walk by faith and not by sight God's Word teaches us about God's expectations for how we ought to relate to God and how we ought to interact with one another but history has proven that the Bible can be used in some other very destructive ways as well the Bible is dangerous because in the wrong hands and in the wrong heart the Word of God can be used to justify evil in God's holy name as a matter of fact I would suggest to you that if you look at any atrocity in the history of humanity look at any evil we've enacted against one another look at any systemic oppression and I guarantee you somewhere somehow someone has attached that evil to something written in the Bible let's begin with slavery you know that slavery was justified by those who said the Bible says and reminded us that slaves ought to obey their masters they went to Genesis and lifted up the curse of ham suggesting that dark-skinned people's were damned by God to be slaves on the face of the earth the Bible's use to justify slavery look at the oppression and the abuse and the silencing that women have endured in the body of Christ and you'll find some Bible in there you'll find someone quoting to you Paul saying women are to keep silent you'll find people running back to the creation narratives in Genesis 1 2 and 3 as suggesting that Eve was the secondary creation and therefore is subordinate to Adam her husband that reminds you that Eve was the one who first ate of the fruit and then gave it to Adam and therefore she is responsible for sin in the world and must be punished there those who remind you that Paul said wives ought to be subject to their husbands and the oppression and the silencing of women has been supported by the Bible the Holocaust had biblical support there are those in the German Church and the Third Reich who looked at all the instances where Jesus seemingly had issue with the scribes and the Pharisees they looked at the tension in the book of Acts and how the Jews were responsible for the persecuting of the church and the crucifixion of Jesus and they therefore believe that Jews are to be exterminated eliminated off of the face of the earth because the Bible says American allegiance to the funding of Israel and the Zionist movement regardless of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory has biblical support from those who remind us that the promised land was given to the Jews and the Bible reminds us that we ought to pray for Jerusalem manifest destiny where immigrants came to America with no wall and were able to come and remove Native Americans from their own land slaughtering and killing them by the thousands and justified it by saying that America was the Promised Land and God had brought the immigrants out of the exodus and Egypt out of Britain that we may come to this new land and dominate and occupy the beating of children biblical spare the rod spoil the child violence against LGBTQIA brothers and sisters biblical because that's an abomination that needs to be wiped off the face of the earth blind allegiance to government authority there are those who suggest that we ought to support everything this president wants because the Bible says in Romans 13 that we ought to subject ourselves to the elected officials over us and I even experienced it myself a few years ago another pastor came to me and said to me that I have no business pastoring a church because I've lived through a divorce and the Bible says that a man who cannot rule his own house or not be a ruler in the body of Christ all of that because of what the Bible says the Bible can be used to bring life and speak death the Bible can free and the Bible can oppress the Bible can bring hope and the Bible can be used to bring despair the Bible can help and the Bible can hurt one of our professors recently said something to me that I passed on to you he said the three most dangerous and deadly words used by any Christian are these three words the Bible says because typically what follows from that is a very strong opinion about the way the world ought to be the Bible says and it is that use of the Bible that Jesus focuses on here in the bulk of the 5th chapter of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus has gathered his together and according to verse number 20 here's his goal his goal is to make certain that his followers and his disciples have a righteousness that exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees don't miss it Jesus wants those who follow him who listen to him you and me to be certain that our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees allow me to teach Bible for a moment the scribes and the Pharisees were the religious rulers of Jesus day so 2019 translation I want you to have a righteousness that exceeds religion I want you to have a righteousness that goes above what you hear all the time in church I want you to have a righteousness that plays out in ways that the scribes and the Pharisees don't even live by I want you to exceed the scribes and the Pharisees and to do that this is what Jesus says stay with me right here in Bible he says do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets I've come to fulfill them right there Matthew 5:17 look at what Jesus says I didn't come to abolish law in profits I've come to fulfil let's see the law when Jesus makes reference of the law he is citing something that his hearers knew and that was that the law was a direct reference to the first five books of the Bible the Torah the Pentateuch the laws of Moses Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy so when Jesus says I didn't come to abolish the law he's saying I didn't come to destroy Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy now the prophets that's a little different for Israel than it is for you and I when you and I think of prophets we go to our Bible we think of the five major prophets and the twelve minor prophets but an Israelite custom prophets were divided into two sections of Scripture the former prophets were the books of Joshua all the way to Kings and the latter prophets were Isiah through Malachi going to survivable pass to us even by yourself in the sanctuary that the prophets were the books of Joshua Kings and then the books of Isaiah to Malachi so when Jesus says law and prophets he's talking about Genesis through Deuteronomy Joshua through Kings and Isiah through Malachi that is the bulk of the Hebrew Bible the Old Testament so modern translation Jesus says when I didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets I didn't come to destroy scripture the Bible the Word of God because the law and the prophets were the Bible of Jesus days jesus said I didn't come to destroy the Bible watch it I came to fulfill it matter of fact do me a favor find someone next to you and if you're there by yourself touch yourself and say fulfill fulfill fulfill the word fulfill as Jesus uses it in the original Greek language here's what it means it means not just a complete it means to add weight to something it means to take that which was shallow and put some substance in it to take that which was not full and bring it to its full measures so Jesus I didn't come to destroy Bible I came to put some weight on the word you've heard from the scribes and the Pharisees and in order to do it Jesus does something that is almost unavoidable to see in Scripture we stopped our reading in verse number 20 but if you keep on reading through the rest of the check you're gonna find that there is a pattern of what Jesus says and how he says it to instruct us on how to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees that you simply cannot miss it is a pattern that you may not see if you just read verse by verse but if you take a step back you'll find out that there's a pattern that Jesus uses in what he says how he says it and I want to argue to you that that pattern is meant to teach us something can I show you the pattern here's the pattern verses 21 through 48 six times this pattern happens jesus says you've heard it said he then quotes a scripture and then he says but I say unto you don't miss it three movements you've heard it said he then references a scripture that that crowd had heard because they heard it from the scribes and the Pharisees and then Jesus says but I say unto you and then he gives an interpretation that is meant to fulfill the interpretation of the word that the scribes and the Pharisees left shallow passivity so Bible tonight watch it is right here in your Bible verse 21 you've heard it said then he quotes Exodus chapter 20 verse 13 about murder and then verse 22 Jesus says but I say unto you and he gives another interpretation of the word verse 27 you've heard it said he then quotes Exodus chapter 20 verse 14 about adultery then verse 28 he says but I say unto you and he gives weight to the interpretation of Exodus chapter 20 verse 31 it has been said he then quotes a scripture from Deuteronomy 24 verse 1 about divorce and then verse 32 he says but I say unto you and gives an interpretation to fulfill it verse 33 you've heard it said then he makes reference of not a scripture but a common saying of the Pharisees about swearing and making promises and then verse 34 he gives another interpretation to fulfill it and says but I say unto you verse 38 you've heard it said then he quotes the scripture an eye for an eye which comes from Exodus 21 Leviticus 24 and Deuteronomy 19 and then he turns right back around in verse 39 and says but I say unto you verse 43 you've heard it said then he quotes a scripture from Leviticus 19 about loving your neighbor and hating your enemy and then he fulfills that Scripture by putting weight on it giving it a different interpretation in verse 44 saying but I say unto you I hope you see that pattern I hope you have not missed it it happened six times that is intentional you are supposed to recognize that pattern because it doesn't happen once twice or three times it happens six times you've heard it said here's a scripture let me fulfill it by giving you a different understanding so that your understanding can have some weight behind it what Jesus is doing is taking an interpretation and use of Scripture by the Pharisees and scribes and putting more weight on it so that it can be fulfilled and we can live really according to what God was saying he's contrasting what was written how the Pharisees read it and how he reads it don't miss this Jesus takes a scripture and paints a portrait to contrast how some people have read it and how he reads it and I would argue with you that that pattern that shows up six times in it Jesus is trying to press a message to about how we use the Bible Jesus wants us to think about how we implement Scripture how we quoted how we use it in the world because if we do the same thing the scribes and the Pharisees did we don't have a righteousness that exceeds them but to exceed this Pharisees and the scribes to exceed the religion of the day you've got to handle the Bible differently than the world does for things that pattern teaches us I'm only gonna get into two tonight we'll do it the next two next weekend because we believe already we're gonna be in church no snow no snow touch somebody say no snow next week we're gonna be here in church two things I want to share with you tonight that that pattern teaches us write these down get ready to discuss them they're gonna make you think in ways you may not have thought before the first thing it teaches us is that all scripture is interpreted by the ones who read it all scripture is interpreted by the ones who read it in each instance Jesus lifts up a verse of scripture that everyone knows and then he contrasts how some have read it and how he reads him same passage to different readings he says you've heard it said but I say same passage is read differently the reason the same passage can be read differently by Jesus than the scribes and the Pharisees is that both of them interpret the Word of God differently the Bible is always subject to interpretation so whenever someone comes to you and they say those three words the Bible says what they're really saying with you is their interpretation of what the Bible says now it doesn't mean it's wrong it doesn't mean that it's right means that it is an interpretation of how they understand the Word of God the reason the Bible is subject to interpretation begins with understanding a question I want to ask you a question what makes reading the Bible different than reading The Washington Post what makes reading the Bible different than reading becoming by Michelle Obama what makes reading the Bible different than reading any other book in the world why is that you go back to the Bible time and time and time again to read stories that are thousands of years old you would never do that with the Washington Post's you would never go get a Washington Post from 17 days ago and read it over and over and over and over again because you've gotten everything you can get out of it why is it that we go to the Bible time and time and time and time and time again believing that there's a new word there the simple answer the Holy Spirit that when you read Bible you are engaging God through the Holy Spirit who comes alongside you and wants to press on you what God is saying that that happened in the Washington Post that that happened in Michelle Obama's book only in the Living Word of God does the Holy Spirit engage your heart and mind to move you from what the Bible said thousands of years ago to what the Bible is saying to you right now that when you read the Bible you are not just reading what was written you're listening for what's being said stay right there pastor then when I go to the holy word of God the Holy Spirit couches up next to me the Holy Spirit begins to help me understand how what was written in 500 BC has implications for me in January of 2019 the Holy Spirit speaks to us based on where we are and what we're going through so that when you read the Bible and then you begin to understand it the Holy Spirit is helping you interpret it so that what you've read and now you understand when you speak you speak from your place of interpretation you speak from your place of understanding that the Holy Spirit has given you based upon who you are and what God is trying to speak to you as you read in God's Word every time you open the Bible God's trying to talk to you God's not trying to talk to your neighbor when you read God's trying to talk to you when you read God's not trying to talk to your spouse when you read God's trying to talk to you when you read and when you share that that's your interpretation not right not wrong but what God was speaking to you now if you understand and agree and maybe you don't that's fine but if you understand and agree that all Scripture is interpreted by the one who reads it then you have to understand that you cannot subtract the interpreter from the interpretation who reads it affects what they read your individual interpretation is always governed by who you are what you're going through what your life experiences have been what God's agenda for your life is and because in every moment you step in scripture you are in a unique place your interpretation will be unique which is why you and I can read the same passage and walk away with a different understanding because we're two different people in two different places with two different calls and two different things God is doing the interpret terror infects the interpretation but it was simple way my dad said always gauge what you hear by who it came from everyone is different which means the Bible can speak differently to us even though we're both reading the same passage okay you're not feeling me let me give an example today all of us in this area heard the same weather forecast snow now if you're from Virginia or anywhere south of Virginia you interpret snow very differently than I do you interpret snow as meaning go by all the water you can shut the house down and you ain't leaving ain't coming to church I'm in this sanctuary all by myself because of the way you interpret the word snow but I'm from Chicago I was raised in the blizzard of 1979 we never shut school down in Chicago you know what you did you shoveled the driveway you put on your snow suit mama put them boots on you and you made your way to school because you never shut down my life has an experience of never shutting down because of snow so even though we both heard the same forecast you interpreted it differently and applied it differently than I did I was not inclined to cancel church I said if I'ma be there somebody else can be there that's just how I roll snow doesn't stop me but everyone doesn't hear snow the same way where we've come from our background our experiences shape how we interpret what we hear and what we do based upon what we hear all I'm trying to tell you is that the interpreter infects the interpretation so when David says in Psalm 27 if my mother and father forsake me the Lord will take care of me an orphan will hear that differently than someone who's been raised by both parents when the Bible says yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me a cancer survivor hears that much differently than a teenager who's never seen a sick day in their life a woman who is the survivor of rape and sexual molestation she's going to read the rape of Tamar in Genesis much differently than a man with male privilege people with slavery and their ancestry read slaves obey your master much differently than the descendants of slave owners those with the conservative mind will read the Bible differently than a mother whose son is openly gay and she's decided to love him because that's her son our background and experience affects how we read scripture not only in conversation with others but even within ourselves have you ever read a passage of Scripture going back to it a year later and God spoke something totally different to you not contradictory but something new something you never saw before because you're in a different place and God speaking directly to you so they'll give an example if you ever come to church and I read the scriptures for the sermon that you've heard me read for a sermon before don't ever assume that I've been lazy and I'm about to preach the same sermon no God speaks through the same passage in different ways y'all all we have are sixty-six books and we couldn't preach the totality of the Word of God if we had a thousand years the same books the same words have not changed but every time we go God reveals something new because all Scripture is interpreted by the one who reads it now before we push that too far and getting into dangerous waters that is not meant to suggest that you can open your Bible go in your prayer closet read get an understanding and walk out saying that's me that's its story over this is what the Bible means because this is what God said to me because the second thing this pattern in Matthew 5 teaches is not only that all Scripture is interpreted by the ones who read it but it says so secondly that all scripture to be fulfilled must be read in dialogue and in conversation let me say that again that all scripture that is interpreted must also be read in dialogue and conversation in order to be fulfilled watch what Jesus does he says his crowd you've heard it said they are used to hearing what the scribes and the Pharisees have said and Jesus says to them but I say unto you and gives them another interpretation to let them know that the voice of the scribes the Pharisees is not sufficient to fulfill Scripture that you need to hear another voice you need to hear another interpretation you need to see another perspective you need something to supplement and complement what you got on your own because in order for it to be fulfilled it has to be supplemented with other voices the fullest interpretation of Scripture comes not only from your all reading but when you allow yourself to hear from others what you may not have heard in reading by yourself let me repeat that the fullest interpretation of scripture comes when you allow yourself to hear from others what you may not have heard yourself in your private reading the Bible warns us about the danger of interpreting the Bible all by your self some of the most dangerous interpretations have come from people who read the Bible in isolation from other voices and other perspectives and thought they had God all figured out all by themselves so Peter says to us in 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 20 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 20 Peter says that there's no prophecy of private interpretation which literally means you can't understand the Word of God all by yourself it's possible for you to open up your Bible go in your prayer closet read a couple verses have an understanding walk out passionate and convicted about what you believe and you be misled I know that's tough to swallow it's possible and history is proven people have read a couple verses and have been misled on what they thought give you another side or the scripture Romans chapter 10 verse 1 through 3 I'll give it to you the howard john wesley translation brothers and sisters my prayer for israel is that they would be saved for i know that they have a passion for God and a zeal for God and a heart for God but they're ignorant they don't know the Word of God and because they don't know they've not been able to subject themselves to the righteousness of God because you can be passionate you can be convicted you can even quote the verse and maybe just maybe you're misled so Jesus says in order to correct that in order to prevent you from going way off to the left by yourself you've got to be in community where you hear other voices and perspectives that help you understand the words of God so Jesus comes and takes the interpretation of the scribes and the Pharisees and adds his own so that that crowd would not only hear what the scribes and Pharisees said but they would hear what Jesus said he wants them to be open to hearing another perspective your reading of Scripture cannot be fulfilled if you don't also listen to other voices and sister-brother one of the saddest things to see in life is a Christian who's read a couple verses who think they know what they believe and are unwilling to hear another perspective one of the saddest things is to close your ears to new knowledge and understanding about the Word of God that was the problem with the scribes and the Pharisees they thought their interpretation was definitive they thought their interpretation was the only way to read it they thought their application was the only way to be right so Jesus shows us in the end of Matthew chapter 5 you've got to hear other voices Jesus comes and he adds his voice his interpretation now here's the tripped-out part you ready Jesus is the Word of God made flesh and the Word of God is interpreting the Word of God hope you got that the Word of God is interpreting the Word of God so Jesus has taken the understanding of the scribes and the Pharisees does it listen I know they meant well I know they read well but their reading is not as informed as my reading because I'm the word interpreting the word Jesus wants us to be open to interpretations and readings that help fulfill our understanding because they may be more informed than yours that's why in verse 19 Jesus talks about teachers and teaching the word because watch this you not only need to read your Bible you need to be taught your Bible you don't just read it you need someone to teach it so open up your eyes so I'm going to give you some history and background some of their talk to you about context and culture some to help you understand the original languages some of the helps you paint a bigger picture that's why church is so important because in a good church you don't come every week and hear what you already know know in a good church the Lord says I will give you a shepherd who feeds you with knowledge and understanding in a good church you've got some preachers and some Sunday School teachers and some deacons who helped you understand the Word of God more deeply than you do all by yourself have you ever had the experience of walking in Alfred Street and a passage was read that you thought you understood and whoever was preaching myself dr. Judy someone else they opened your eyes to something new it's just what God is doing with Jesus in the end of Matthew chapter 5 I'm trying to open you to see some stuff you could not have seen and thank God for sound and solid and stable teachers of the Word of God that your reading might be fulfilled not only must you read in dialogue with other voices but finally you've got to read in conversation with other scriptures who said it again that in order for my reading to be fulfilled I have to read it in dialogue with other voices and in conversation with other scriptures Jesus at the end of Matthew 5 doesn't just use one verse he uses six well actually he uses five and quotes one from the scribes and the Pharisees then even in the Bible that that's why he says you gotta look at all the Bible because there's some stuff you're hearing that ain't even in the Bible there's some stuff religion promotes that's not even founded in God's Word that's why you've got to read it in conversation with more than just one scripture beloved you cannot build a doctrine a theology a belief and a perspective on just one verse some of the most dangerous teachings and the history of Christianity are those that are based on one or two verses and ignore everything else the Bible has to say about it some of the most dangerous theology has been proposed by lazy Christians who don't do the work of reading the Word of God from Genesis revelation and not getting stuck in just one verse the Bible is bigger than just Leviticus 18 the Bible is bigger than just John 4 the Bible is bigger than any one passage and in order to handle the Word of God correctly and for it to be fulfilled you've got to do the labor of holding one verse in conversation with others because you know what I wouldn't sit on a one-legged chair if it only had one leg I wouldn't sit on that if I were you if it only had two legs I wouldn't sit on that if I were you the most stable of chairs has at least four legs that's why in Deuteronomy you'll find that when an Israelite was brought to court they could never be convicted on the testimony of just one witness because one witness is not enough to establish truth one verse is not enough to establish truth we've got to do it the Word of God in its entirety so if you want to read slaves obey your master read it in conversation with Exodus when God hears the cries of his people in slavery and decides to bring them out how can you justify slavery when God brought Israel out of slavery if you want to say women are not have authority in church in order to be silent read that verse and conversation with all the women did in the life of Jesus how the women funded the ministry of Jesus how the women opened their houses to the life of Jesus how the women were leaders in the early church how the women were the ones who proclaimed that Christ has risen from the dead if Mary and Martha had not come back from the grave telling the disciples Jesus was alive then they would never have known you got to read it in conversation if you want to tell me that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of sexual sin I want you to read that in conversation with Ezekiel 16 where God says why Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed if you want to tell me I should submit myself to government authorities because they won an election i'ma remind you of all the times God removed wicked Kings out of Israel and all the times God sent prophets to stand in Kings ears and tell them they were misalign with the word of God I'll tell you about Elijah standing in front of a hab telling a em you're dead wrong and God is not pleased with you you've got to read it in conversation fulfilled reading understands that all reading is interpreted and all reading should happen in dialogue with other voices and in conversation with other scriptures amen god I thank you for the gift of your word which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths that word is sometimes difficult and complicated to understand and even more difficult and complicated to apply and to share in the lives of others Lord as we hear your teaching on the sermon of the mount remind us that we've got to balance what we've heard said with what you say to understand that all reading is interpreted and the best fulfilled readings happen in dialog in community and in conversation with the entirety of your word may this message bless us until we gather together again next week to pick back up right here in Jesus name Amen it's pastor Wesley greeting with the love of Jesus Christ grateful for this opportunity to share and teaching the Word of God with you even here all by myself I look forward to seeing you all next weekend until then may the Lord God bless you real good we'll see you then

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Keywords: Alfred Street Baptist Church, 2019, Fulfilling the Word, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, #pastorhjw, #fulfillingtheword, #snowedin, #asbc, #snowstorm, #governmentshutdown, #shutdown

Id: sAkoJTi5oTM

Length: 49min 59sec (2999 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 14 2019