Jesus the Intellect and Heart Changer.
Read John 6
Over the past 4 years I have learned so much about the bible. Moving to Greensboro became a huge opportunity for me to get connected with some other people who loved scripture and believed in its authority. Beth and I wound up moving to a neighborhood in NC in which my pastor, associate pastor, small group leader, and volunteer/guest services person all live. Just from my neighborhood, I had access to some men of God who loved their bibles. Not soon after, I discovered Contemporary Christian Music, and that totally revolutionized my life. Singing the Word of God was brand new to me; I went from loving some Jay-Z to worshipping with Jeremy Camp in my car. A couple of years ago I then got connected to guys like Mark Driscoll, John Piper, David Wilkerson, Matt Chandler, Andy Stanley, Greg Laurie, Billy Graham, John MacArthur, DA Carson, etc. These guys are world wide bible teachers and have some of the greatest ability to both preach and teach the bible with its practicality and theology.
That being said, I have learned so much the past 4 years. My brain is in bible overload which can be a very positive thing. However, today my pastor dropped this line and practically kicked me in the throat. "Reading Scripture isn't an intellectual exercises, it is a transformation opportunity." At that moment, God punched me in teeth. Ouch.
The bible is full of truth. It is practical, applicable, helpful, and knowledgeable. However, it is not meant to give you more information. It is made to pierce your heart like a double edged sword and change you. If my heart isn't daily being challenged and changed, than I am missing everything that the Lord wants to do in me.
Look at all the scriptures in which Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees. The Pharisees are supposed to be God's people. They are the bible guys, the ones who memorized the bible, the Holy ones, the ones with access to the Father. Yet, Jesus constantly was telling them that they don't know God. In John Chapter 6 Jesus tells them over and over again, that they don't know the Father. How can that be? They knew more of God's scripture than anyone else in their time, but yet they don't know God? They had all of the knowledge and information of their day and yet their hearts were never changed. In fact, the opposite was true, their hearts were hard, so hard that they would be willing to kill Jesus to hide their pride. Sick isn't it.
I need a heart transformation. I do not need more information if it will not change my heart. I have found that the more information that you retain, without it effecting your heart, the more critical you become of other people and their views. God, change my heart to reflect yours.
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