“ABC”

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos

Pulpit Series Volume 21, Issue 06   May 15, 2011

In terms of study methods, you can study someone else's study or you can study the Scripture for yourself.


Instead of reading resources about the Bible, read the Bible. Lay aside your preconceived notions, pet interpretations, ready references, study notes, sermon tapes and read the Scriptures as for the first time.

Even subheadings can take away from your discovery.

And before you opt for the ABC method (Already Been Chewed) consider: "Knowledge that is self-discovered is stored in the deepest part of the mind and remains the longest in the memory. There is no jewel more precious than that which you have mined yourself."

Research shows that we learn more and retain more, the more actively we are involved in the learning process.
        1. 20% Of what we read
        2. 30% Of what we hear
        3. 50% By watching a demonstration
        4. 70% Combining #2 and #3
        5. 90% Combine #4 with writing out what you learn

• I hear and I forget
• I see and I remember
• I do and I understand

The Bible is our primary Source

and the Holy Spirit is our primary Teacher.

I John 2:27 (The Message) “Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and Him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.”


 John teaches that the Spirit of God, Who lives in each believer, is our personal, private tutor. Yes, God has given us pastors and teachers for our edification I Corinthians 12:28 but remember that they are in addition to and not a substitute for the Holy Spirit.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you.”  John 16:13-14

Isaiah 54:13 “They shall be taught of God”.

A verse in Acts 1 caught me in a strange way: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” Could it be that Christians can become so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.

As long as we stand gazing up into the heavens, we will be ineffective.

Is it possible that we have become so engrossed in our program called Church - that we have forgotten to actually be the church? Have we lost Christ in the temple? Is Jesus hidden from view?

“And if our gospel be hid - it is hid to those who are lost!” I Corinthians 4 “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, should shine to them.” That is why we must be actively living out the gospel! I Corinthians 9:22 “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Paul’s greatest objective in life was .... to save some!

As a Christian - just what is your objective in life?

We don’t need more hospitals, or schools, and we certainly don’t need more church buildings. But there is a great need for God’s children to live out the full unadulterated gospel of Christ! Without the gospel our good deeds are just good deeds. Our good deeds must bring attention to the gospel!

I Corinthians 9:19-23 “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. All this I do for the gospel's sake.....”

Colossians 2 (Message) “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ, the Master; now live him.

You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out: quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.


Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in Him, so you can see and hear Him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.


When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in - insiders - not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.

If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.


When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive - right along with Christ!


Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come...the substance is Christ.


Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.


So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice.


They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.”

Psalms 51:10-13 “Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from your presence; do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore the joy salvation; uphold me with your free spirit....then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to God!”