GETTING A GRIP ON THE BIBLE
Last 2 episodes focused on the integrity and benefits of the Bible.
Reference facebook, youtube
There are five things that will help you get a grip on your Bible:
Wrong ways to approach the Bible:
Open it to your Car, Baby, tie it to Key; Psalm 91 on a building,Talisman approach
The First Finger – Hearing.
You begin Bible study by attending church where you hear the Word of God taught and preached. This includes both the public reading of Scriptures and explanation of Scriptures. Paul reminded the Romans of the source of their faith, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Hearing the Scriptures will lay a foundation for all future Bible study.
Jn 6v63 It is the Spirit Who gives life [He is the Life-giver]; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever [there is no profit in it]. The words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life.
The degree to which you have the Spirit is the degree to which you have life
The degree to which you have the word is the degree to which you have Spirit /life
- Church
- Websites, Car, Mp3-SLEEP WITH IT,
The Second Finger – Read.
We should read the Scriptures for ourselves. This does not only mean public reading but includes private reading. Paul told Timothy, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:13). 3 Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation (preaching and personal appeals), and to teaching and instilling doctrine. You read the Scriptures to understand them. In the early church, many people were illiterate and could not read. As a result, the public reading of the Scriptures was an important part of the worship service.
The last book of the New Testament promised a special blessing upon those who read the Scriptures. “Blessed is he who reads” (Rev. 1:3). Many Bible teachers believe that promise can be applied to all who read the Scriptures in church assemblies and privately for themselves. But when we read the Scriptures, we should follow the advice Mark gives to those who read the Scriptures. Acts 8 v30 30 Accordingly Philip, running up to him, heard [the man] reading the prophet Isaiah and asked, Do you really understand what you are reading?
“Let the reader understand” (Mark 13:14).
The Third Finger – Study.
Studying involves getting a firm grasp on the Scriptures by diligently investigating the Bible for ourselves. Paul urged Timothy, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15 KJV). Many people find marking or underlining their Bible helps them in their study. Others like to write notes in the margin of their Bible as they engage in personal Bible study. Of course, the real value of Bible study is not the marks you make in your Bible but rather the mark the Scriptures make in your life. When we read, we skim the surface, but when we study, we mine the nuggets. Gold is not found on the surface.
The Fourth Finger – Memory.
It is important to commit portions of the Bible to memory. The Psalmist testified, “Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). One man who recognized the truth of this statement was the nineteenth century evangelist D. L. Moody. Moody had written in his Bible, “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” Memorizing portions of Scripture will help us overcome temptation just as the Scriptures were helpful to Jesus as He was tempted by the Devil (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
End times enemy will contend against the word-Closed country vs Open country
The Fifth Finger – Meditation.– processing of the thought
East vs West. The counterfeit is an imitation of the true one. Investing time meditating on the Scriptures will help internalize the truth of God so that biblical principles become a part of your normal thought patterns.Meditation focuses on God’s word and like ruminant goes over it again and again. Joshua 1 v8 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good [b]success. One mark of the man or woman of God is “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Each of us has four times in a typical day when we can devote time to meditating on Scriptures we have learned. “When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:7).
CONCLUSION
Hear,Read, Study,Memorize. I will focus on these in subsequent lessons. Knowledge must turn to action;I want to help you by sending you a guide to mediating on the scriptutes.WHAT,HOW,WHY.Stay in the word.
