Pursuing Knowledge in Changing Tides

Gena Mccown
What is knowledge? The dictionary defines it as facts, information, and
skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or
practical understanding of a subject. Knowledge is what we acquire
throughout our life experiences, it is gained as we move our way through
school or training, or something we seek when we are interested in a
particular subject or taking on a new hobby.
Knowledge is easier to acquire today than ever before, as we have access to
the internet. You can pay for online courses or even watch youtube tutorials
for free. You can become virtually an expert on any subject that interests you.
We even become more knowledgeable as we consider our purchases, because
now we can do the research on items before we buy them. By the time we
are ready to put our cash on the line we can know every detail of the
company history, endless product reviews, and even find the store that has the
best price.
Knowledge is not only impacted by our life experiences and education, but
also by simply growing and maturing. We learn more information over time,
we have greater access to information as we get older, we can comprehend
more complex concepts too. In addition to giving us knowledge, this also
gives us wisdom as we can see the big picture of life through a lens that has
been polished and fine tuned by our experiences. The scripture key us into
the importance of both knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge is also impacted by our changing world, there are things we have
to consider as part of our daily lives that our parents or grandparents wouldn't
have had on their radar. Our children will ask us questions that our
grandparents would shudder at. At work, we will have to address certain
topics that would have never been brought up in the workplace before.
As I began to research this topic, the pursuit of knowledge in changing tides...
I was stopped in my tracks.
Has the world really changed that much? Or, is the changing tide how we are
responding to the world?

Ecclesiastes 1:9 reminds us that : What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
In fact there is not a single subject that we deal with today, that isn't
mentioned in the bible. From the common topics of premarital sex, drinking
and even tattoos... to the more controversial subjects like transgenderism,
homosexuality, and abortion. We can learn about corrupt religious leaders
and government politicians. Social and humanitarian topics like adoption,
homelessness, illness... and includes crime, injustice, courts of law,
discrimination, and so on.
We are hard pressed to find anything that we face today, that is not addressed
in the scriptures somewhere.
If the problems and topics of today's world are in the scriptures, the good
news is that the scriptures also contain everything we need to address them
from a Christian perspective. If God's word applied then, it would certainly
apply today. So then, why would Christians be at odds with each other over
these subjects... if God's word is very clear?
The argument is that the world has changed, but the scriptures indicate that is
not so. I would argue that it is the response of people who have changed and
it is rooted in a lack of knowledge of the scriptures. We do not need to
pursue knowledge because times have changed, and we need to learn to
respond to them. We need to pursue knowledge because man has changed,
distanced through time and progression, distracted by the temptations of the
world, and too busy to root himself in the Word of God.
No longer are we sitting around the living room at night, family scattered
across the floor, reading from the word. No longer are we meeting at church
several times throughout the week in order to fellowship and learn among our
family of believers. No longer are we walking an every day life with our
sisters in Christ. In fact, in many areas Pastors have shortened their message
to less than 30 minutes because that is all the body can handle before their
attentions are turned.
Over the years, talking with women at events or in small groups, I will often
hear women state that they don't have time to read their bible. They are too

busy with all of the various commitments that they have ahead of them. Yet,
they will comment that they make sure to read their devotional, or the
scripture that is emailed to them daily, or check into an app they just
downloaded or listen to a podcast of a sermon while at the gym or running.
While I am certainly not saying that any of these things are bad or not
beneficial, I would caution that they should never replace our direct pursuit
of knowledge in the Word itself. We should always begin in the Word, and
turn to these other resources as an addition to our personal study.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads:
All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteouness, so that the man of God will be
adequate, equipped for every good work.
If knowledge is facts, skills, and information obtained through experience
and education, then biblical knowledge is the information we obtain through
our direct study of God's Word. Biblical knowledge is gained via our
experiences as we fellowship and study among a body of believers. Biblical
knowledge is honed as we put into practice what we learn into our real life.
Biblical knowledge will help us navigate the world and our calling, as our
tides change from a world-in view to a bible-out perspective.
Instead of trying to understand God from our changing perspectives as we
encounter an unchanged fallen world, we can instead see the world from the
unchanging perspective of God.
The knowledge of scripture, direct knowledge, is an indispensable tool in
navigating our faith, our life, and our world.
Knowledge of the Scripture will reveal 3 important things.
1) Knowledge Reveals Who God IS
We've all heard someone say, that's not MY God or MY God
wouldn't allow... or MY God would be ok with .... When we are
removed from the scripture it's easy to mold God into what we think he
should be, based on our limited information and our personal opinions.
Once we get into the Word, and really search for God's character we must

accept God for who HE has established himself. We must embrace the loving
God, just as much as the just God. Forgiveness is just as much of his nature
as is judgment and discipline. We must love the Old Testament God as much
as the New Testament Jesus... because they are one.
When we read the scriptures, we see who God is from beginning to end.
We are able to see His perspective on sin, the fallen world, the need of
redemption. We learn of His love for man at the same time we feel His wrath
when man goes awry. We can see evidence of gentle redirection and that
strong hand of rebuke.
So, we learn of God's character and nature, and we also learn his
consistency as we look at each of the verses in light of the book, and each
book in light of the overarching story of the scriptures. From Old Testament
to New Testament God doesn't change, His laws are still His laws, His view
of sin is unchanging. His promises are not broken, hope is strung from
Genesis to Revelation.
Third, in addition to revealing His character, and His consistency, we
are shown repeatedly how God changes men and women. As God revealed
himself to man, his Word, his law, men were able to commune with God and
have a relationship with Him, as they knew what God's expectations were of
man. They knew Him, because they knew His Word. They trusted God,
because they knew the history of how God came to the rescue of His people,
and they were able to trust His promises for the future. After Jesus' ministry
on earth was over, His miracles were conveyed to new believers through the
sharing of the Gospels, and the testimony of His followers show how they
were transformed by their encounter with the messiah.
2) Knowledge Reveals Who God IS NOT
Just as much as scripture will reveal who God is, it also reveals who
God is not. When we are knowledgeable about WHO God is, WHAT his
character is like, and HOW God views and deals with sin... then it becomes
easier to identify false religions, teachers, and individual beliefs that are not
in alignment with scripture. False religions, teachers, and prophets are
warned about in the scriptures and we are told that they will rely on our lack
of knowledge. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to test everything against the

truth, so that we know what is good and what is not... what is true and what
is false. If we ourselves do not know the scripture, or where to look in the
scriptures, how can we test what a television preacher, popular author, or
religious personality says for truth? In the same vein, how can we test what
other well meaning Christians share with us as from the bible?.
Not everyone who shares misinformation or misinterpretations from the
scriptures is doing so from a malicious heart. We have people who are
genuine believers, but who are not familiar with the scriptures. They will
quote things that are often NOT from the scriptures or out of context.
Their intentions are good, but their execution lacks knowledge. If we
ourselves are not well versed in the scriptures, how do we know if their
account is accurate?
The more familiar we are with the scriptures, the easier it becomes to
identify false doctrine. Even if we are uncertain about their exact quote, if we
know the nature of God... we can often discern that their words don't fall
within the nature or Character of God. Then when we get home or have
access to a bible, we have enough familiarity to begin to research the
statement on our own.
Knowledge is not just about knowing the scriptures verbatim at the drop
of a hat in every conversation, but is also in the ability to FIND the
information if we are uncertain.
3) Knowledge Reveals God's Will for Man
We are navigating a fallen world. Human nature, and I think
particularly in the case of women, we want clear directions on what we
should and shouldn't do. We want to know what is ok, and what isn't. A clear
path that is laid out for us. I believe this is why many women flock to the
Proverbs 31 scripture on a wife of noble character, because it basically
sounds like a to do list God's prefect woman.
However, as women, we need to be careful that we don't relegate
ourselves to the pink scriptures. These are the scriptures written about
women, wives, mothers. 2 Tim 3:16 tells us that ALL scripture is profitable,
which means there are lessons for women to learn from cover to cover.
If we want to know what God wills for our life, we need look no further

than His Word. If we want to know what stance we should take on

controversial issues, we need look no further than His Word. If we are
concerned about the division that happens among believers, we can find unity
when we come to agreement based on HIS word... not our opinions or our
interpretation of scripture based on our preconceived opinions.
It begins when we look that WHOLE story of scripture, recognizing that
it is not a collection of books about US, but the overarching story of God's
story. It is about HIS creation and HIS redemption. It is where we see HIS
plan unfolding before us. We begin our pursuit of knowledge by looking for
God, evidence of His will, and His character.
It continues as we then look to CHRIST, so that we can see the Old
Testament pointing us toward the Messiah, the Gospels revealing the Messiah,
and then the rest of the New Testament continuing HIS work, not the work of
man.
It concludes where we then see how WE FIT into that plan, not how that
plan fits into our lives. When we have the knowledge of the Lord, we can
begin to handle anything that life throws our way because we can turn the
scriptures for guidance. How did those who were in God's favor respond in a
situation like this? How does God speak of this circumstance? How did
Jesus react to this particular issue in his time? How did His disciples
respond based on how He influenced them? What things are we warned
against? What specific instructions are we given? How are we to respond to
specific obstacles and obstacles?
So, how do we pursue knowledge? The Bible. We become students of the
Word. I've been teaching from the book Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin
for some time now, and she goes over the principles of how to study the
scriptures. The points I want to close with today are loosely pulled from that
book...
First, we need to come to the Lord in PRAYER. Before we open that cover,
we need to pray that the Lord would give us the ability to put our selves aside
and see the scriptures from His perspective. We can pray for conviction,
clarity, guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. We can also pray that God would

help us to prioritize the reading of His word, help us to avoid distraction, and
to have focus while we study. We can pray for the Lord to remove
interruptions and give us the ability to interpret the scripture as we read it.
Author, Jen Wilkin states that prayer changes our pursuit of knowledge to
the pursuit of God himself.
Second, we must make the SCRIPTURES our first resource in this pursuit. If
you have only 5 minutes, then make the intentional choice to go to the
scriptures instead of the devotional, email, app, or podcast. It should be your
first step in the process. We must also accept that the study of the scriptures
will not be a neatly packaged 365 study plan, but instead a lifelong pursuit.
We will build upon knowledge as we dig deeper, when we begin to look at
the whole picture, learning more about the people who wrote the various
books, what was happening in history, what the geography was like, etc.
The more we know His word, the more we know who he is.
From the book Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin reminds us that the heart
cannot love what the mind does not know. How can we love God, or trust
God when we don't know Him? Everything that we need to know about
God is revealed in His Word.
Third, we will build a circle of believers that we can talk scripture with. An
opportunity to share what we have learned with each other will allow us to
become the iron that sharpens iron. We learn from each other, building up our
knowledge, becoming a larger database to pull from. A safe place to ask
questions where you can trust that the answers are based in truth, but also
have the ability to test those answers for yourself. This circle of believers
also becomes a group that helps hold each other accountable to not just the
pursuit of knowledge but how to apply that into our lives... speaking truth in
love to each other.
I encourage every woman here to grab her Bible and pursue God through His
Word. Learn the truth for yourself, learn to test what others claim to be
gospel truth, and build an intimate relationship through God as He reveals
himself continually through his Word. If you are interested in learning more
about studying the scriptures for yourself, on March 15th I will be leading a
new small group, where we walk through the book Women of the Word and
put the study process into practical application. This study will be during the
day, at Panera Bread. Information is on the TC3 Small Group menu on the

website, or app. I will be taking a break from the study over the summer, but
it will be available again in the fall.