I feel so dumb

Yesterday I listened to a sermon about the atonement called "Christ's Completed Atonement" from Dr.Alan Cairns (maybe somebody knows him) which I downloaded at sermonaudio.com and I could only marvel. I could have read the same passages which he talked about but I would never have gotten these insights.
This drags me down. Am I too dumb or what? When I listen to such a sermon then everything becomes so tangible but if I had read these passages alone I would not have understood much. I also wouldn't have gotten all these ideas. This is really great.
Why do I not have this wisdom and understanding? If I understood the bible so well then reading would also be fun.

God gifts us all differently. With growth, I think we all will have more insight into Scripture, but maybe not the insight you are hoping for here. At specific times we have more discernment and knowledge that is clearly given by God. The more you read Scripture, the more understanding you'll have.

Praise God for expository preachers at whose feet we can sit and learn.

I have heard Dr.Cairns personally several times . He is passionate and always very direct . I always pick up new insights in Scripture from preachers "live" or in book form . They have devoted their time and energy to a given subject , and with the Lord enabling them they can drive home points that we didn't see before .

Never stop learning and listening to preachers and preacher. Rick Warren says (I know that's a curse word around here ) "All leaders are learners. When Leaders stop learning, they stop leading."

The people we listen to, the books we read help us learn what the Scripture says and gives us insight that we need to be able to preach God's Word with conviction and insight. Then we pass it on.

Remember what paul said in 2 Timothy 2:2 - That which you have learned from me, pass on to faithful men who will pass it on to others." If it was commanded for Timothy to pass on to others what Paul had taught and done, it will be okay for us to pass what on what others have taught us.

But it's so frustrating when you see what insights others have. I am not even scratching on the surface while they are digging so deep. If I could preach like that and explain everything like that then maybe others would also convert and get saved.
When I listened to this sermon it was really scary how he explained the seriousness of sin. It was really impressive.
I could never talk like that or preach like that. I think that this ability is from God. I wish I had this understanding and could grasp all these things. Isn't it all about understanding? I wish I could just download all this knowledge directly into my brain and understand everything or get a revelation about the whole bible.

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
But it's so frustrating when you see what insights others have. I am not even scratching on the surface while they are digging so deep. If I could preach like that and explain everything like that then maybe others would also convert and get saved.

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Hi there. You need to understand and remember that other peoples' salvation is not about you and your intellect or wisdom. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul, who is probably considered by many to be one of the greatest preachers of all time:

1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

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1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The important thing to understand here is that it is not about you and your intellect or wisdom. It is about the power of God working through the lives of mankind through the preaching of the Gospel.

If you would like to have more understanding about the things of God, the best advice I could give you is to spend more time reading his Word. Also, don't be down on yourself because you don't know as much as another person about the Bible. I liken it to this:

I teach band. I don't expect my beginners to know as much as my high school students. I don't expect my High School students to know as much as a college student. I don't expect a college student to know as much about band directing as a 20 year veteran band director. Nobody starts out on top.

Consider the following scripture:

11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

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1 Corinthian 13:11

1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

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1 Corinthians 3:1-2

13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

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Hebrews 5:13-14

Joseph Botwinick

[ May 25, 2006, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: Joseph_Botwinick ]

You're right Joseph about getting people saved.
But isn't it still all about understanding things? If understanding things was not important then we didn't even have to listen to a pastor who explains things to us. The more you understand the better. The more you understand God and his sacrifice and all these things the more you can also love him. Isn't it amazing when you listen to a sermon and get insights which you never had before? It's as if a door was opened which you didn't even know existed. But the problem is the more I learn the more new questions I get. If I get one answer then I already have two new questions about this answer it simply never ends. I'm always trying to understand how something works and since I'm so pedantic even if I think I finally understood something it only takes a while and then I find new questions about the same thing.
You suggested reading the bible but the problem is that when I read the bible I don't get any insights. I only get new questions. This cannot be normal. A christian should understand the bible, shouldn't he? If I cannot understand it without commentaries and sermons then I don't know what to do.

They did not "Get the ability overnight" and neither will you.

Imagine if while doubting and rethinking each of their views -- they suddenly could preach and teach like a seasoned Bible scholar instead of having to take the "long road" of learning - spending time "Dying daily" etc??

Reminds me of that song "I come to the Garden Alone".

In Christ,

Bob

Yes. But the problem is how am I supposed to even start if I don't get any insight from the bible?!
This is like trying to become Mr.Olympia and not being able to put on even 1 pound of muscle mass. This was I don't make any progress.

disciple,

It is normal to ask questions and for the answers to those questions to lead to more questions. This is the learning process. You should be happy that you are not at a point in your life where you know everything. I don't believe we will ever have a full understanding of God and eternal questions until we see him face to face. Consider the following scripture:

12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

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1 Corinthians 13:12

I am not saying that you should not seek wisdom and understanding from Scripture, or even from Godly pastors. I am saying that you should put it in perspective. It is not the end all be all of Christianity and witnessing. God can still use us despite our flaws and short-comings. Just ask Moses, David, Peter, Paul and countless other totally depraved sinners who were saved by the grace of God.

Joseph Botwinick

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
Yes. But the problem is how am I supposed to even start if I don't get any insight from the bible?!
This is like trying to become Mr.Olympia and not being able to put on even 1 pound of muscle mass. This was I don't make any progress.

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I would begin by making it a daily part of your life in learning and memorizing scripture. This has been a real help for me. You might not get it all at the beginning, but God has promised that his Word will not return void. I would also try to find a Godly man (I am assuming you are a male / please forgive me if I am wrong) to disciple you and be like a Paul for you like Paul was for Timothy. The more time you spend in Scripture, learning from Scripture, asking questions about Scripture, and immersing yourself in the Word of God, the more it will make sense to you. I think there is a clear indication to me that God is working in your life because you show an sincere interest in understanding the things of God more. Without the Spirit of God working in your life, you would not even care about these things and you would not care about lacking in understanding. Personally, I find this a very positive thing about you and think you should be encouraged that you are on the right road.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. [a]

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.

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Proverbs 3:5-7

Joseph Botwinick

You know, Disciple, Joseph is quite correct in all his advice in this thread.

I am a 79 year old man and have been a student of scripture all my life. Just the other day, I was reading a quite familiar passage of scripture. I had read it dozens of times. Yet, suddenly a light flashed and one phrase I failed to connect with all these years jumped out at me.

The secret is reading, reading and reading. Even when you don't understand it all, read it. Eventually it will fall into line, and you will get it.

Cheers, and God bless,

Jim

@ Joseph

True, God can still use us even if we have flaws but having a decent understanding of the bible is important also when you're confronted with false teachers for example. I once made a bad experience with such a teacher and I noticed how important it is to really have all your stuff together. I simply adore these bible teachers which seem to understand everything and which see all these connections between different verses and different books and I cannot even understand how they got this understanding. They appear so sovereign and seem to have an answer for everything. This is really adorable but maybe I cannot even be this way because I think that it also depends on the personality of a person. I'm not someone who is sovereign, I'm rather someone who is easily confused and becomes insecure. This is something which cannot simply be changed. I cannot simply say to myself that from today on I will simply be totally sovereign this won't work. People are different. Some people have always been sovereign even as children and it has been this way their whole life and others are rather insecure and it stays this way through their whole life because it's simply attached to them. When you think about this it's pretty frustrating because I feel like even if I try to change it or hide it it's like others can smell it. It's as if it becomes even more obvious when you try to hide it.

@ jim

You're 79? On your picture you look much younger. I would say on your picture you look like 55-60.

So you think even if I understand nothing I shall simply keep on reading? Well, this sounds like a practicable plan. But the question is can I really do this? Can I read and not understand anything and still go on without getting frustrated? This is the question. If I read and don't understand it and only get new questions then most likely I will get frustrated within a short time.

Please don't feel dumb, God has given you a little insight to see things, you should count that as a blessing not as being dumb. We as you put it should all feel so dumb when we learn something new and realize we do not know it all. AMEN

But I feel dumb because I don't understand the bible. I'm biting on stone. I clearly notice this. I don't know what the problem is but it's obvious. When I read in the bible it is not fruitful at all. I don't know what to do against this. When it comes to the bible your intellect doesn't help you at all, at least I feel like this. But maybe I'm simply not good at reading and understanding texts. I don't really like to read and I have never spent much time reading things I only read what I have to read. I don't like reading.

Two things, brother...

1. Just keep reading.

2. Just keep reading.

If you don't enjoy reading anything this is probably one of the reasons. Have you tried any audio Bibles? Some people find it much easier to learn from things from listening to them rather than through reading them.

This page has the Bible in audio for download, but only in King James Version.
Bible Gateway has streaming audio of several versions, including the NIV.

Petrel,

This is a good idea. I really like Bible Gateway. I use it for my daily Bible Reading. I can listen to it while I follow along.

Joseph Botwinick

Hey I agree with you, ten years ago I bought tapes with the Bible read on them. I loved it. After a while I felt a need to open my Bible where it was reading and follow along with it. I have never been so blessed in all my life. It was a new world opened up to me. People could not explain that to me but listening to the Word on tape and than following along with it gave new meaning to all those black and white words. God blesses us so much when we don't understand what we read. You have to find what will help you and then watch the miracle of the Word come alive in your life. AMEN

The audio Bible that Charlton Heston read was great! I'm thinking about getting the James Earl Jones version now, but I can't afford it.