We'll be, after hearing this report from Brother Richard on his ministry in Kenya, we're going to be looking at understanding and teaching difficult scriptures. Oh Lord God, this is your holy word. We are your servants. Give us understanding that we might know your testimonies. You have prayed, O Lord, sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. Use your holy, eternal, inerrant written word to set us apart to your surface and to your glory. Show us now great and mighty things which we do not know. The sower sows the word. Let not your word go out and return empty. But accomplish that purpose for which you have gathered us together and for which you are sending it out. Protect us from Satan, Lord, who will snatch your word, making it empty. Protect us from a wrong reaction to difficulties and discouragements and persecutions, which make our hearts hard and unresponsive to your word. Protect us from the world's cares and the delight of wealth and the passion of other interests which enter in and choke your word. Rather, plow out now the hard ground of our hearts, O Lord. Grant grace that your sown word would send roots downward and then bear fruit upwards. Unsheath now the sword of your spirit, O Lord. Cut to the dividing point of bone and marrow, soul and spirit. Judge this day the thoughts and intentions of each person gathered here. Spread your word before us as a banquet table, O Lord. Grant grace that we might eat of the rich meat and drink of the sweet milk of the great doctrines of your word. Give us the heart of the prophet who cried to you. Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy words became to me a joy and a delight of my heart, for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Oh Lord, we live in a dark and a wicked age. Broad is the way and many are on it, which leads to destruction. Make your word a lamp to our feet. Make your word a light to our path. Show us that narrow way that you would have us run. And Lord, as we run in the paths of your commandments, enlarge our hearts that in loving you we might be more obedient to your written word. Drop your word against our lives as a plumb line, O Lord. Grant grace that we might see how we deviate from its high and holy purposes. Make Your Word to us a mirror, O Lord. Grant grace that we might not be as those who look and go away and forget, but make us active doers, not forgetful listeners of Your written Word. O Lord, because of our fealty to You, because of our undying love and devotion to your son, our resurrected Savior. We pledge to you our total submission to your holy, eternal, inerrant written word. And we pledge to you our unquestioning obedience to all of its commands. In the name of our Lord and resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Okay, let's take a look at this. How are we going to deal with difficult scriptures when people ask us questions? I chose Matthew 27, 46 because during the period we call Easter, where we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as our substitutionary sacrifice and for our personal salvation. Through his shed blood, he brought about peace with God. What do we do with verse 46? About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachani. That is, my God, my God, oops, I didn't get the rest of that on there. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So, what do we do with that? Well, there's a number of ways we can approach this verse, this passage. One of the ways is S.Y.I. We could do share your ignorance. Matthew, what do you think? Emmanuel, what do you think? Rennie, what do you think? Uncle John, what do you think? Richard, what do you think? I'll tell you what I think, and then we'll all agree that the Bible is hard to understand, and we'll all go away feeling good about what we think. In fact, what Matthew thinks, I might decide, well, that's a new thought. I'll add that to my thought. That's one way. Another way we can approach this is called the mother bird and that's where everybody sits still sit up straight open your spiritual mouths like a little baby bird and then the teacher will pre-digest the answer to this and you will eat it and no questions no regurgitation you just accept it and go away now you know the answer and or we can be as the Bereans were in Acts 17 11 now these Bereans were more noble than those of Thessalonica for they studied the scriptures every day to see if these things were so that's from Acts 17 11 and That's what we want to do. We want to remember the Word of God is understood and interpreted by the Word of God. Remember that's our working definition from Acts 17 11. So when we look at this We ask ourselves first, what are the definitions of the key words in the passage? That's the first thing we ask ourselves. Now, for me, the definition of the key words in my God, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Are not difficult because we always remember that Interpretation is subject to definition, isn't it? Secondly, we ask ourselves, is it an old covenant or a new covenant passage? Well, this is, we would consider this a new covenant because this is an event that is happening with the inauguration of the new covenant. We are right in the middle of the inauguration of the new covenant where Jesus has presented himself as a substitutionary sacrifice. He is shedding his blood for the remission of sin. Is it historical revelation or is it doctrinal revelation? Well, we are looking here as a historical revelation. Now, when we look at historical revelation, we often ask ourselves, has God the Holy Spirit, has God the Holy Spirit interpreted the historical revelation for us? notice and Let's turn if you will to March 7 19 March 7 19 and Matt with Matthew would you read March 7 19? All right March 7 19 It says, since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled. Okay? Now, from that passage, that statement by Jesus, we would not be able to say that all foods are clean. But God the Holy Spirit adds a comment here, doesn't he? God the Holy Spirit, not the author. Oh, thank you. God, pardon me. The Word of God is understood and interpreted by the Word of God. Now, the Word of God is understood and sometimes we are interrupted by the Word of God when we are teaching it wrong, when we are being a mother bird, but, okay, good. So, historical, in Mark 7, 19, you have Christ's statement, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach and is eliminated. Then God the Holy Spirit, not Mark, some people would say, well, Mark stuck this in. No, God the Holy Spirit adds to the teaching of God the Son, thus he declared all foods clean. Now, we look at this statement, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But God the Holy Spirit doesn't tell us what this means, does it? He just lets it stand. Now there may be other passages of scripture that tell us what it means. So then we ask ourselves, what is the next thing we ask ourselves? Is it secret or revealed? Well, we ask that question of all difficult scripture. If it is a difficult question, we ask ourselves, is it secret or revealed? Deuteronomy 29, 29 says the secret things belong to the Lord, our God. If it is secret, then we stop. And we, with this statement, the Holy scriptures do not say, and I was, um, Interim professor at the Reformed Seminary of St. Petersburg, Russia. I would tell my students that's one of the hardest thing that a pastor can bring himself to say. That is, the Holy Scriptures do not say. Second hardest thing is, I don't know, I'll get back to you. But I think the hardest thing is the Bible doesn't say because there is a wrong conviction that the Bible has an answer to every question. The Bible has an answer to all the questions that we need to know the answers to. So, if it is secret, we say, well, the Bible doesn't say. What did Jesus do during his teenage years? The Bible doesn't say. What did God do before he created the world? The Bible doesn't say. Now, the second thing we say is, if it is a difficult passage, then it's revealed. Deuteronomy 29.29 goes on to say, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. So this passage is revealed. There it is. We have it right there. It's not secret. Once we realize it is revealed, then we can ask ourselves, is it higher? Is it difficult? Is it clearly revealed? Now, in some cases, it's clearly revealed it's just a matter of further study and searching the scriptures. There are higher things in scripture. Isaiah 55, 8, 9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. An example of higher things are parables. Jesus Christ said that parables are not understood. They are given as a judgment on our finite minds and so unless God the Holy Spirit explains the parable They are beyond our understanding. They are higher. It's revealed, but they are higher. Another example of higher things are prophecy. 1 Peter 1.20 says, no prophecy can be interpreted by one's unaided mental powers. 2 Peter 1.20, not 1 Peter, 2 Peter 1.20, which is why so many people embarrass themselves in teaching prophecy. The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation have not changed over 2,000 years, but the dogmatic teaching on what they mean has probably changed 2,000 times over 2,000 years. It's just an embarrassment, continued embarrassment to the Church. So, it's revealed, but it may be higher. If it's higher, then we have to look to the Word of God to understand it. Or it's revealed and it's difficult. 2nd Timothy 3.16, as also in all his letters, Paul speaking of them in things in which, what does it say here, some are hard to understand. Not everything Paul teaches, but God the Holy Spirit says some things which Paul speaks are hard to understand. Does it say they cannot be understood? No. It just means that it's going to take serious study to understand it. Which the untaught and unstable distort as they do the rest of the scriptures. And I know people who don't like Paul's teaching on the doctrine of election, people who don't like Paul's teaching on the role of women in the church, people who don't like Paul's teaching on the standards for pastors in 1 Timothy chapter 3, people who don't like Paul's teaching on witnessing and evangelism, on making disciples, they don't just stop there. They distort all the scriptures. But some people especially do not like the teachings of Paul. And what does the Bible say about people who don't like the teachings of Paul? If you're in a Bible study and, or, or you're in a conference or you're hearing a message and, uh, one of the Pauline's epistles is referenced. And then they speak disparagingly of that, or they say, you know, Paul was a slave of his culture. Paul was a slave of his historical context. Uh, Paul hated women. Paul, you know, was influenced by the fact that he had been a Pharisee. Well, these people are untaught and unstable. That's why they say those things. So you don't have to listen to them. All his letters are given by inspiration. All of them. So, but some things are difficult. So, when something is clearly revealed to us, like, Eli, Eli, lama sabachani, that is, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Well, it may be a higher thing. Or, it may simply be that we need to study it further. It's there. Or it could be something that is known. john first john five thirteen these things i have written to you believe in the name of the son of god so that you may know that you have eternal life there are things that we can just know they are not mysteries i had a man he was in a uh... In a church we belonged to, his father was not a Christian. He knew his father was not a Christian. And he had never witnessed to his father because he was intimidated by his father. Well, his father got cancer. I implored him. Here's your chance as you visit your father on your sickbed, witness to him. But he was too intimidated. He was from a culture where you don't preach or teach your elders. So he would go visit his father, but he never witnessed to him. And after a period of suffering, his father died. And then he shared, he was sharing publicly. Well, you know, I know my father is in a better place. You just never know. Maybe he received Christ earlier in his life, but I know he was a good man. So we just don't know what happened after he died. But I know he's in a better place. But that's not true. He's not in a better place. And we do know that he is in hell. My father, when he died, went to hell. I witnessed to him many times. He rejected Christ and went to hell. This man's father is in hell. There are some things we can know. The witness is this. God has given us eternal life. He who has the Son has this life. He who does not have the Son does not have this life. That's verse 12. Verse 13, These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. But those without Christ may also know that they will spend eternity in hell. So there are things that can be known. Now these things that can be known, it may be difficult to know them, or it may be clearly revealed. Proverbs 30, 11 through 14. For this commandment, which I command you this day, is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven that you should say, who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it, nor is it beyond the sea that you should say, who should cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it. but the word is very near you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may observe it." John 5, 24, "...truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but passes out of death into life. That can be known and it is clearly revealed." It is not hard to understand. So, having seen that, as we consider, is it revealed? Yes. Well, since it's revealed, is it something higher? Is it something difficult? Is it something that we can know clearly? So, let's return to Matthew 27.46. My God, my God, why? My God, my God, let me finish this. Why hast thou forsaken me? Are the definitions of the keywords here an issue? No, they are not. Our interpretation of this passage is subject to the definitions of the keywords in the passage. For me, it's clear. Is it an Old Covenant or New Covenant passage? This passage is clearly intended for Christians. Though the New Covenant has not been inaugurated, this passage deals with the sacrifice of Christ, which makes it New Covenant. Much as Isaiah 53.6 is in the Old Testament, all we light sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but Isaiah 53.6 is clearly, but God has laid upon him the iniquity of us all, is clearly a new covenant passage. Is this historical revelation or doctrinal revelation? This is historical revelation of God the Holy Spirit, of the words and actions of Christ on the cross. It's the words and actions of Christ while Christ was multitasking here. It's the words and actions of Christ while Christ was on the cross. Christ is not teaching here. we are allowed by God the Holy Spirit to witness interaction between God the Father and God the Son. No aside is given to us by God the Holy Spirit to explain Christ's words and actions. Remember we looked at Mark 7, 18. And he said to them, Are you so lacking in understanding, do you not understand that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, verse 19, because it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and is eliminated. And then God the Holy Spirit gives an expansion, thus he declared all foods clean. So, if our finite fallen minds, like the disciples, can't wrap our heads around this statement of God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, leaves no doubt as to what it means. You can eat catfish. You can eat pork. You can eat camels if you want to. You can eat dogs. There are no unclean food. So, perhaps this is higher. For sure it is difficult. In that case, it is important to ask ourselves, what can this not mean? If we don't, if it is higher or difficult, we can ask ourselves, what does it not mean? What something does not mean can be just as important as what it does mean. Richard. When the oil light comes on and you're driving down the road, does it mean you have plenty of oil? Does it mean I have plenty of oil? No. No. If you think it means that, what's going to happen to your car? It's going to stop working. Yeah, it's going to. Yeah. Permanently. If your water light comes on, you have about 15 minutes to find some place to let it cool down and figure out why the water light's on. If the oil light comes on, we're talking in seconds before you stop the car and it freezes up. So it's important to know that when that oil light comes on, that's what it means. It's not flashing, yeah, you have plenty of oil, it's danger. Well, knowing what this passage does not mean can be equally important. So we have this question. What does this passage mean? We are looking at it. What does it mean? How can we understand this? What does it mean? We have this passage in Matthew 27, 46. If you would like to turn to that. So we'll put that here. So we have Matthew 27, 46. And we're trying to understand what it means because God, the Holy Spirit, in the giving of this passage does not tell us what it means. It simply tells us what Jesus said. So we're going, the principle then becomes, how do we know? We can bracket this in with what it does not mean. In other words, our interpretation of what it means is going to have limitations here. What it does not mean. So Richard, would you look up Hebrews 4.13, Emmanuel, James 1.6, and James 2.10? Rennie, if you would look up Philippians 2.8. Aunt Mary, if you would look up John 5.19. And then Greg, if you would look up John 14.10. And we are going to look at what this does not mean. So we'll start here. Hebrews 4 13 Hebrews 4 13 no creature Is hidden from God's sight, but we are all naked and exposed to the eyes of him who must give an answer