Give Me the Bible

How To Study Your Bible

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

Home

Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000045


00:20 Good evening and welcome to Give Me The Bible
00:23 with Pastor Kenneth Cox.
00:25 Tonight's subject is a very
00:27 important one: it's How To Study Your Bible.
00:31 You know, I know that Pastor Cox knows how to study the Bible
00:35 because I've had the fortune of staying in his home
00:38 and even the fortune of sitting nearby when he was
00:41 working on a sermon. I've seen him study the Word of God,
00:46 and I will tell you, he's one of the most efficient
00:48 and organized human beings that I've ever known.
00:51 And you're going to learn something tonight.
00:54 So be sure that you sit by and watch this program
00:58 or you listen by radio and that you call a friend
01:01 and invite them to join in listening tonight as well.
01:06 By the way, some of you have asked about this entire series.
01:10 There are going to be sixty presentations
01:13 when it's all over: 12 months, 5 presentations each month.
01:18 Each of those 5 presentations are on a subject.
01:22 And these are available by DVD.
01:26 Now, these are large DVD sets
01:28 and they cannot be given away, you understand that.
01:31 But if you'd like to find out how you can secure one,
01:35 call 1-888-747-1844.
01:42 Now even I can remember that number!
01:44 So... and I'm not real good at remembering phone numbers...
01:47 but 1-888-747-1844.
01:52 Call that number. Talk to one of the operators
01:55 who are people just like you
01:58 and they will help you to find
02:01 out how you can secure this
02:03 and how you can use it as a tool
02:06 of witnessing to your friends and to your neighbors.
02:09 And especially some of the prophecy series.
02:12 This one is Five Have Fallen,
02:15 and it talks about the end times
02:18 and signs that have taken place already
02:21 and some things that are still to happen.
02:24 And you'll want to get this series.
02:26 Right now we're going to enjoy some music -
02:28 as we do every night.
02:30 And tonight it is Dona Klein who's going to be playing
02:34 on the organ for us a beautiful number entitled
02:38 Inside Those Pearly Gates.
05:05 Thank you, Dona. Appreciate that very much.
05:08 And welcome to each of you.
05:10 Welcome to all of you that are watching by television
05:14 or listening by radio. Very glad to welcome you
05:18 to Your Bible and You.
05:21 We've come down to the last presentation on this series
05:26 of Your Bible and You.
05:29 And so we're studying tonight
05:32 How To Study Your Bible.
05:34 What's the best way to study
05:36 your Bible? And I might mention
05:38 that if you've got pencil and paper...
05:40 it's a good night for it if you have it
05:43 because we'll be sharing some things that I hope will be
05:46 helpful to you. Our next presentations -
05:50 next series, next month -
05:52 is entitled The Elijah Message.
05:58 The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi,
06:03 the last chapter, last verse
06:07 says "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet
06:11 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
06:14 And he shall turns the hearts of the fathers to the children
06:18 and the children to the fathers
06:20 lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. "
06:24 So what we're going to be looking at
06:26 is what's the Elijah message?
06:28 What did Elijah have to say?
06:30 When is he coming back?
06:32 It says: "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet. "
06:35 When is he coming back?
06:36 What does it mean by the great and dreadful day of the Lord?
06:40 Those are some of the subjects that we'll be covering
06:43 as we talk about The Elijah Message.
06:46 A very important one, particularly for people that are
06:50 living today because it's talking about
06:54 right down the time that you and I are living.
06:57 So we hope that each of you will be sure and tune in
07:01 next month as we talk about The Elijah Message.
07:05 Now tonight: How To Study Your Bible.
07:11 I'm going to share with you to start with
07:14 principles, OK?
07:17 And I really consider the principles more important
07:22 than how to study the Bible.
07:24 OK? So we'll share those with you.
07:28 And then we're going to look at ways to study your Bible.
07:31 And just an effort, folks, to make this book
07:34 more meaningful to you, more enjoyable,
07:39 and also something that will bless you in a special way
07:43 spiritually.
07:44 We talked about that in our last presentation:
07:48 what the Bible can do for you.
07:50 And we talked about what it'll do for you, but you need
07:53 to get into the Word.
07:55 So that's what we're going to look at tonight.
07:57 And we hope that it will offer to you some practical
08:01 suggestions on how to study your Bible.
08:05 Well, we've enjoyed this series having Joe Pearles with us.
08:10 He's blessed my soul.
08:13 And he's going to sing a wonderful song tonight
08:16 entitled The Lamb.
08:37 So many times I've strayed away
08:43 from Jesus.
08:47 As a lamb that leaves the flock
08:52 without a care.
08:57 Then the time soon came when I'd gone too far
09:02 and stumbled.
09:07 And the last time that I knew
09:11 He'd take care of me.
09:16 I'm the lamb that the shepherd
09:21 left the flock for.
09:26 I was out in the cold
09:31 all alone.
09:36 So in need when Jesus found me;
09:41 He put His arms around me.
09:46 And I'll never be
09:49 alone anymore.
10:05 I was out in the cold
10:10 all alone.
10:15 So in need when Jesus found me;
10:20 He put His arms around me.
10:25 And I'll never be
10:28 alone anymore.
10:45 Now I'm back where I belong
10:49 and I'm so happy.
10:54 I can hear the shepherd's voice
10:59 all the time.
11:04 And I'll follow in the path
11:09 where He may lead me.
11:14 For this shepherd - Jesus -
11:18 is a friend of mine.
11:24 I'm the lamb that the shepherd
11:29 left the flock for.
11:33 I was out in the cold
11:39 all alone.
11:42 So in need when Jesus found me;
11:49 He put His arms around me.
11:54 And I'll never be
11:57 alone anymore.
12:03 So in need when Jesus found me;
12:08 He put His arms around me.
12:13 And I'll never be
12:16 alone anymore.
12:22 Oh no, I'll never be
12:26 alone anymore.
12:55 Heavenly Father,
12:58 We come to You this evening
13:02 as we open Your Word
13:04 asking for Your presence.
13:07 Lord, send Your Spirit.
13:11 May it illuminate our minds.
13:15 May our eyes be open.
13:18 May we have ears that hear.
13:22 Give us understanding, Lord,
13:26 that as we look at Your Word
13:31 we may understand how to communicate with You...
13:37 to be drawn into Your presence.
13:40 Bless each one here.
13:42 We ask in Christ's name, Amen.
13:51 Well as I mentioned, I'm going to start out talking about
13:55 principles because there's principles in understanding
13:59 the scripture that make a great, great difference.
14:02 And if you do the principles right,
14:05 how to study it will just kind of fall in place.
14:08 So it's real important that you get the principles right.
14:11 And the first thing I'd like to mention to you
14:14 as far as I'm concerned, if you're going to study God's Word
14:17 you need to be in the right frame of mind.
14:21 Be in the right frame of mind
14:24 if you're going to study God's Word.
14:26 And one of the best ways to do that
14:29 is to take time in the morning.
14:33 Get into God's Word before all the pressures of the day
14:36 come and all the things that you have to do...
14:39 Get into God's Word in the morning.
14:41 And if you're having trouble
14:43 being in the right frame of mind...
14:44 In other words, if you got out of the bed on the wrong side
14:48 of the bed, well get back in bed and get out on the right side.
14:51 But you need to be in the right frame of mind.
14:56 If you're all out of sorts and angry and stuff,
15:01 you're going to have a hard time understanding God's Word
15:05 and having it do you some good.
15:07 So approach the Lord early in the morning.
15:11 And one of the best ways to be in the right frame of mind
15:16 is to spend some time in prayer.
15:19 When you get up... in fact, I pray even before I get up.
15:25 I pray just laying right there in bed.
15:28 In fact, that's what it tells you to do in the 4th Psalm.
15:31 That you pray in your bed.
15:34 It says "while on your bed. " And I just talk to the Lord
15:37 then and, you know, communicate with Him.
15:41 It says to talk to the Lord and pray to Him then.
15:45 And then it says: "be quiet. "
15:47 Just, you know, be quiet and listen...
15:51 because some of us are so busy
15:53 we never stop to listen to the Lord.
15:55 Listen to what He has to say.
15:57 So take some time to do that.
16:00 But pray, and if you will pray
16:04 it will help you understand it.
16:07 And I'll assure you, it's well, well worth praying
16:11 in the morning. Five minutes of prayer in the morning
16:15 saves 1/2 hour of confession at night.
16:19 OK? So take the time to talk to the Lord.
16:23 This is what the scripture says:
16:40 So it's very important that I pray.
16:43 As far as I'm concerned, you should never sit down
16:47 to study the Word of God without praying.
16:50 Asking God to give you understanding
16:55 to help you know what it's talking about.
16:57 Have you ever had this experience where you've
17:00 read something and you came across a text
17:03 and you just didn't understand it?
17:06 Huh? You ever have that?
17:08 And, oh, a few days later... a week or so later
17:12 you were reading in the same area and came across that
17:14 text and you didn't understand it.
17:17 And some time later you read it again.
17:20 Still wasn't clear.
17:22 And then one day you're reading it and all of a sudden
17:25 you understand it.
17:27 It's clear. You ever have that happen?
17:29 Well that isn't because you got smart.
17:32 That's because the Holy Spirit guiding, leading you,
17:37 directing you. That's why you and I need to pray.
17:40 We need to get into the Word
17:42 and understand what it's talking about.
17:44 And the Holy Spirit which God gives to us as we study
17:49 the scripture... it helps us understand.
17:52 It illuminates our mind, opens up the Word of God.
17:56 That's what it does for us.
18:12 It's the Holy Spirit that gives us knowledge.
18:16 Gives us wisdom. Helps us understand that.
18:19 So by all means, one of the principles you need to
18:21 understand is if you're going to sit down and study God's Word
18:25 take time to pray first
18:28 and ask the Lord to guide and direct you in understanding it
18:32 so that you're going to have the support - God's Spirit -
18:38 as you read His Word.
18:39 OK. All right, so that's one principle you need to put down
18:43 and you need to understand. Another one is
18:46 you've got to search the scriptures.
18:49 You've got to search the scripture. You can't
18:53 just give it a casual reading.
18:55 That isn't the way it comes.
18:57 That isn't the way you learn. That isn't what stays with you.
19:00 You've got to spend some time in it.
19:03 This is what it says:
19:12 So... I need to read the scripture and I need to dig
19:18 in it. You understand what I mean by that when I say dig?
19:23 You need to get in and search it, study it.
19:27 Make sure you follow. Folks, this is truth.
19:31 You understand that?
19:34 This is truth,
19:35 and truth will always stand investigation.
19:40 You don't have to worry about that.
19:43 That was one of the greatest reliefs I ever found
19:47 when I was no longer afraid of what I was going to read.
19:52 It was truth... and I could read it and accept it
19:55 and believe it.
19:56 And the more I dug into it
19:58 the more it stands up.
20:01 So take time; search the scripture.
20:04 It'll help you immensely.
20:21 They accepted the scripture with all readiness.
20:25 They were ready to seek the Word of God and to search it
20:30 and they opened up their hearts.
20:32 Let me tell you something...
20:35 I told you this the other night.
20:38 The scripture won't do you any good
20:42 in the head.
20:45 It won't do you any good in your hand.
20:48 Won't do you any good in your pocket.
20:51 Won't do you any good on the shelf.
20:53 It's only the scripture in the heart that does some good.
20:57 That's what it's saying here.
20:59 With all readiness they accepted it.
21:01 They searched the scripture to see if the things that
21:04 Paul was saying was so.
21:07 So you and I need to search the scripture.
21:10 We need to make sure we under- stand what it's talking about.
21:13 The thing that people get into trouble about
21:16 is they don't take time to dig.
21:19 See, there's all kinds
21:24 of nuggets of gold in here.
21:27 OK? And you've got to dig them out.
21:30 I was talking to an old minister one time
21:33 and asked him where he got some of those things.
21:36 He said: "Oh, I just study the scripture. Pull it out by
21:38 the hair of its head, you know. "
21:40 And he just... into the Word of God... digging.
21:43 And that's what you and I need to do.
21:46 As gold, I need to look for it, search for it.
21:49 It'll make a great, great difference as you do.
21:53 OK? All right.
21:56 A little at a time... I'm giving you principles.
22:00 Take a little at a time.
22:04 All right. Listen to this... what the scripture says:
22:27 He told these people: "You should be eating solid food.
22:30 You should be teachers now... but you're not
22:32 and therefore you're going to have to drink milk. "
22:35 In other words, they weren't ready to take the solid word of
22:40 scripture. And so if you're just starting...
22:43 If you're just starting to read God's Word,
22:45 you can't jump in and take great gobs of it, folks.
22:51 That's not the way it works.
22:53 That's not the way you study trigonometry, is it?
22:57 You don't get into the middle of the book and get into the
23:00 heavy theorems and all that.
23:01 You've got to start a little at a time.
23:04 Same thing is true with the scripture.
23:06 You've got to take a little at a time to understand
23:10 what it's talking about.
23:21 That is how you study the scripture.
23:24 And as you begin and you study a little of it
23:27 and more of it and more of it you can eat more of it.
23:30 That... that's what it takes.
23:33 I run onto these people... I hear them say:
23:35 "Oh, I'm going to read the Bible through. "
23:37 And they start out to read it
23:41 and they get through Genesis and Exodus and they bog down
23:44 in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
23:45 And that's it. If they make it to Ezekiel
23:49 and so forth, that does them in.
23:50 You know. No, they're trying to take off too much.
23:54 You need to take a little at a time.
23:58 As you do that, then it will open up
24:01 and you'll begin to understand God's Word.
24:05 So the principle is:
24:06 don't try to take too much of it at one time.
24:12 Probably this one thing keeps more people
24:17 from understanding it than any other thing that I know.
24:22 You have to be willing to follow what the scripture says.
24:27 There's a lot of people that read God's Word
24:30 but if it crosses them then all of a sudden
24:36 they're ready to... Maybe they're like the lady,
24:38 you know, the preacher was preaching and she was
24:40 amen-ing him.
24:41 And he would say something that she agreed with
24:43 and she would say "Amen! "
24:45 And boy, said something else and she said "Amen! "
24:48 And then all of a sudden he said something that cut her
24:51 right to the heart. And she said:
24:53 "Ooh wee, he's quit preaching and started meddling. "
24:55 See? And that's the way some people feel like is there...
24:59 But when you're reading the Word of God, folks,
25:02 I've got to be willing to accept what the scripture says.
25:06 And it won't help you if you don't.
25:11 If I'm going to throw up resistance,
25:13 I'm going to harden my heart,
25:14 the Holy Spirit can't do you any good.
25:17 But I've got to be willing to accept it.
25:34 In other words, if I'm willing to do God's will
25:38 then I can know what the doctrine is.
25:41 In other words, what the Bible teaches.
25:48 See I find out that I've got to be willing to listen;
25:53 I've got to be willing to accept the Word of God.
26:10 Talking about the people of Christ's day.
26:13 And they couldn't... they read the Old Testament with a veil.
26:19 In other words, they weren't willing to accept what it said
26:23 and the revelation. It's still true today.
26:25 There's many people unwilling to...
26:27 and as a result they don't understand it.
26:39 That opens their eyes; they begin to see,
26:43 understand the Word of God.
26:45 And so you and I must be willing
26:49 to accept what the Word of God tells us.
27:04 I can't be like the fellow... I was studying with this family.
27:08 And we were studying the scripture together
27:13 and there was a knock on the door.
27:15 They went to the door, and a friend, evidently,
27:21 this gentleman was there and they invited him in.
27:23 And he sat down and we... after a little bit
27:26 continued our study.
27:28 As we continued our study and going through it
27:31 he said: "I don't believe that. "
27:34 And I said: "Well, that's OK. "
27:38 Said: "We live in a country where you can believe
27:41 different if you want to and that's your privilege. "
27:43 He said: "Well, I just don't believe that at all. "
27:46 I said: "That's all right. "
27:48 He said: "Well, I don't think that's right. "
27:51 And I said: "Well, can you show me something different? "
27:54 Said: "You know, if you don't believe that,
27:57 show me something different in God's Word. "
28:00 And he said: "OK. "
28:03 He said: "You show me
28:05 where that's taught in the scripture. "
28:07 And I said: "OK. "
28:09 And I said let's turn over here to the book of Isaiah.
28:11 He said: "Just a minute. "
28:14 He said: "I don't accept anything in the Old Testament. "
28:17 He said: "The only thing I go by is the New Testament. "
28:20 Said: "That's all I go by. "
28:23 And I said: "OK, that's fair enough. "
28:25 I said: "Let's turn over to the gospel of Luke. "
28:27 He said: "Just a minute. " He said: "Now Matthew, Mark,
28:31 Luke, and John were all written about Jesus' life
28:35 up until His death. "
28:36 And he said: "But what I take is what took place
28:39 after His death. "
28:41 So he said: "That's what I go by is just what took place
28:44 after His death. "
28:45 And I said: "OK. "
28:48 I said: "Let's turn over here to the book of Revelation. "
28:51 He said: "Just a minute. "
28:54 He said: "Now this book of Revelation, " he said,
28:56 "that's all kinds of symbols and that kind of stuff. "
29:00 And he said: "Nobody understands that book. "
29:01 He said: "That's just theories and visions and stuff
29:05 nobody understands. " He said: "I don't go by Revelation. "
29:08 I said: "OK. "
29:10 I said: "Let's turn over here to the book of Hebrews. "
29:13 He said: "Just a minute. "
29:15 He said: "Now that book of Hebrews, " he said, "that
29:18 was written for the Jews. " He said: "I'm a Gentile
29:21 and I don't go by what's written... "
29:22 When he got through, that's all I had left.
29:24 Now you can't, folks, you can't
29:28 understand God's Word that way.
29:30 You've got to spend time in the scripture.
29:34 And as it says: "ALL scripture
29:36 is given by the inspiration of God. "
29:39 And if you're going to understand this book
29:42 you've got to take the whole thing
29:43 from Genesis to Revelation.
29:46 That's what... what you have to do.
29:50 So don't start in, you know, dissecting the Word of God
29:54 and saying "Well, I'll accept this and I won't accept that. "
29:57 You've got to look at it all.
29:59 And if you look at it all it all comes together
30:03 if you just look at the whole thing, all right?
30:06 So take the Word of God. Spend time with it, study it.
30:11 It'll make a great, great difference.
30:13 All right.
30:24 Well, the scripture is very clear on that.
30:27 This is what it says:
30:42 Yes, a preacher can help you understand God's Word
30:47 because that's what he's spent his life doing
30:49 is studying God's Word.
30:51 So, yes. He can be an assistance;
30:53 he can be a help to you.
30:55 But there has to be guidelines for that.
31:01 Never, never, never
31:04 permit somebody else to think for you.
31:10 Now dear friends... all of you -
31:13 those of you that are here, those of you that are watching
31:14 by television and listening by radio -
31:16 God gave you a mind, and you need to use it.
31:22 You know, and don't let somebody else think for you.
31:26 If you have a question about God's Word
31:30 and you don't understand something about it,
31:33 get into the book.
31:34 Study it. Search it out
31:37 until you know in your heart what it has to say.
31:42 That's what you and I need to do.
31:44 In fact, this is what the scripture tells us:
31:55 When it talks about the law and the testimony
31:58 this is the law and the testimony, folks.
32:01 And it says if... if it doesn't speak in accordance with
32:04 the Word of God, there's no light in them.
32:07 So, yes. A minister definitely can help you,
32:10 and that's what he should do.
32:12 That's what his purpose is.
32:14 That's what God called him to do.
32:16 But he must teach you in accordance with the book.
32:21 That has to be.
32:24 That's a principle that you need to understand.
32:27 He has to guide and lead you as the book teaches.
32:42 What is that telling you and me?
32:44 That's telling us that this book is perfectly capable
32:49 of interpreting itself.
32:51 What we have to do is we have to spend the time in it
32:56 so that we can see it interpret itself.
33:00 Now there's people that approach the scripture this way.
33:04 And that is, they have some idea in their mind...
33:09 They have an idea in their mind
33:11 and then they go to the scripture trying to find support
33:14 for their idea.
33:16 That is not the way you want to approach scripture.
33:20 You're there to find out what it has to say
33:24 not what you think.
33:25 And so you need to come to the Word of God
33:29 with an open heart, an open mind,
33:32 to see what the Word of God is telling you.
33:35 And as you read it and it will, like it says, reveal itself
33:41 to you, then you and I must have hearts that are open
33:44 to accept it.
33:46 Accept it. And sometimes... sorry...
33:50 but sometimes what you learn is hard.
33:54 You know. There's sometimes it just cuts right directly across
33:59 and I have to be willing to accept it.
34:03 You see, that's part of the sword of the Spirit, folks.
34:07 And unfortunately, it's a double-edged sword
34:12 and it hurts going in and it hurts coming out.
34:17 See? But I have to be willing
34:20 to let God do His work in my life.
34:24 And it's only as I spend time in this book
34:29 that He can speak to me and talk to me through His Spirit
34:34 and He can bring about those things that need to be changed
34:38 in my life. And so part of studying scripture
34:43 is not... is not just studying a particular subject.
34:50 Part of studying scripture is getting into it
34:53 and seeing what I need to learn
34:57 and what changes need to take place in me
35:00 so that I become more and more like Him.
35:04 That's what it's about.
35:06 So take the time to study the Word of God.
35:09 Those are principles that you need to apply in your life
35:14 and particularly as you study God's Word.
35:17 So, how do you study your Bible?
35:20 OK. If you'll take those principles - apply them - then
35:24 you can study your Bible and you'll get something from it.
35:27 OK? So let's see how to study your Bible.
35:33 To begin with... you need a Bible dictionary.
35:36 Get you a good Bible dictionary.
35:41 A Bible dictionary will clarify words.
35:44 It will clarify places.
35:46 It will tell you things that you need to know
35:49 when you're reading your Bible.
35:50 If you read something and you don't know what it is,
35:54 you come across it and you don't know what it's talking about,
35:56 you need to look it up.
35:58 You need to understand what it's talking about,
36:01 and a Bible dictionary will help you that way.
36:04 So there's lots of them out there.
36:06 Just find you a good Bible dictionary and use it,
36:11 because it's one thing that you're going to need
36:13 in your study of God's Word.
36:15 The other thing that you need in the study of God's Word
36:19 is what's called a concordance.
36:22 There's a couple concordances... one called Strong's,
36:26 another one called Young's.
36:28 A concordance is a book that will give you
36:33 a word that's mentioned all the way through the scripture.
36:38 In other words, if I wanted to look up the word faith,
36:43 I can look in a concordance and it will give me all the texts
36:46 in the Bible that uses the word faith.
36:48 And so I can take that and I can begin to put together
36:53 what the scripture has to say about it.
36:56 That's what a Bible concordance does for me.
36:59 And you need a Bible concordance, and so
37:02 find you a Bible concordance that you can use
37:05 that will help you understand
37:08 what the scripture is talking about.
37:10 Then you need a Bible that is a good translation.
37:15 OK? Be careful!
37:19 Don't get some of these Bibles where they've left out
37:22 portions of scripture.
37:25 You need to get a Bible that's a good translation
37:28 and use it for your study.
37:31 It may not be one that you particularly want to use
37:36 just for reading.
37:37 But you need to have a study Bible that you can study
37:42 that will help you
37:43 in understanding God's Word.
37:45 Those are some of the things -
37:48 mechanical things - that you need to have if you're going to
37:52 take the time to study God's Word
37:54 and find out what it's talking about.
37:56 OK. What are some of the things to study?
38:01 Well, one of the things I enjoy most is biographies.
38:05 I like biographies, and they've been a great, great blessing
38:10 to me. Do you understand what I mean by that?
38:11 You need to study the lives of some of these great people
38:17 in the Bible. For instance, one of the great, great men
38:21 in the Bible as far as I'm concerned was Joseph.
38:25 And so if you want to read the life of Joseph,
38:29 you find the life of Joseph given from Genesis 37
38:34 to Genesis 50. That's the life of Joseph.
38:36 So if you want to study his life then read that part:
38:41 Genesis 37 to 50.
38:43 I would suggest that you get a good book
38:47 that also goes through that.
38:49 For instance, on the life of Joseph, one of the best books
38:52 I've ever read on his life was one called A Man Called Joseph
38:56 by... by Carlyle B. Haynes.
39:01 That is a fantastic book on the life of Joseph.
39:05 Another book that you would enjoy on the life of Joseph
39:08 is called Patriarchs and Prophets.
39:11 That's another one that gives the life of Joseph.
39:14 Get those. Read them. Compare them with scripture.
39:18 How should I put this, folks?
39:22 If you've got the Word of God here,
39:25 and you've got a book on - let's say - the life of Joseph,
39:32 understand that what this book says is a whole lot more
39:38 important than what this book says.
39:39 You with me?
39:41 You don't judge the scripture by this book.
39:44 You judge that book by the scripture.
39:46 And always keep that clear in your mind
39:49 that this is the Word of God; this is the way it is to be.
39:53 That's what it's supposed to talk about.
39:55 And so follow it, and it will help you very, very much.
39:59 Another one that I enjoy is Moses.
40:03 Great, great life.
40:08 And you'll find Moses' life taught in Exodus the 1st chapter
40:13 to the 20th chapter. Gives you the life of Moses.
40:16 The 24th chapter and then the 31st chapter to the
40:20 35th chapter. All that's in Exodus.
40:23 And then Numbers chapter 10 to chapter 27.
40:26 That gives you the life of Moses.
40:28 And... fantastic man
40:33 when you read about Moses.
40:35 I mean, tremendous individual.
40:38 Again, that book Patriarchs and Prophets
40:41 has great, great sections in it on the life of Moses.
40:47 What he did. It's in their lives, folks,
40:51 that you begin to see and understand how God works.
40:56 You begin to see and understand God's mercy
41:00 and God's kindness and all
41:02 as He deals with different ones.
41:05 Like He did with Moses. I mean, these men and these women
41:09 are just like us.
41:11 They had failures just the same as you and I do.
41:15 They had victories just the same as we do.
41:17 And so you need to read their life; it will encourage you
41:21 as you read their life.
41:22 David. Fantastic story.
41:27 If you want to read one that will kind of set you on the edge
41:30 of your seat, read the life of David.
41:32 Find it in I Samuel the 16th chapter to the 31st chapter,
41:37 the whole book of II Samuel,
41:42 and then I Kings the 1st and 2nd chapter.
41:45 That gives you the life of David.
41:47 And, of course, if you've never taken the time to read
41:52 the life of David, well then just get into the Bible
41:56 and spend some time with it.
41:57 I've read it time and time and time again.
42:00 I have to be honest... I mean,
42:02 I think the first time I read it all the way through
42:05 I came out disgusted with him.
42:07 You know... Because God said "don't do it, " he did it!
42:11 You know? But nevertheless, you can go in and you can see
42:15 the mercy and the love of God.
42:17 Because this man who loved the Lord - and by the way,
42:21 folks, God loved him because he never passed the buck...
42:27 You understand that?
42:29 he never passed the buck.
42:31 He never blamed somebody else for his fault.
42:34 He said: "I'm the one that did it; I'm to blame. "
42:37 And great, great man.
42:40 And because of that God loved him and blessed him
42:45 in a marvelous way. And He will do the same
42:47 for you and for me.
42:48 But we need to learn to quit - you know - passing the blame
42:52 to somebody else. We need to learn to take it on the chin
42:55 and say "Well I did this. I'm at fault. "
42:58 And another one you might enjoy is Elijah.
43:02 Great man, Elijah. By the way, in the book of James
43:06 it says that Elijah was a man
43:08 subject to like passions as we are.
43:11 That's what it says.
43:12 So it says that he was very much like us.
43:15 And you'll find his life there in I Kings the 17th chapter
43:20 to II Kings the 13th chapter.
43:23 That whole section deals with Elijah.
43:25 Great, great prophet.
43:27 And... but he had failures, you know.
43:30 Here he had this tremendous experience up on top
43:33 of Mount Carmel, see.
43:36 And here he was the hero by day
43:39 and became the coward by night.
43:41 See? And so you have to read his life and see how God
43:47 blessed and what God did in his life.
43:50 Wonderful way to study the scripture.
43:52 Of course, the life of Christ.
44:00 I... I don't know of anything that I can tell you
44:05 that is more important
44:08 than spending time in the life of Jesus.
44:11 Without question, folks,
44:14 His life will touch your heart,
44:18 thrill your soul. He is indeed wonderful.
44:24 Read and understand what He did for you and for me.
44:28 And, of course, then there's Paul.
44:30 The life of Paul: Acts the 7th chapter
44:34 to Acts the 22nd chapter
44:37 gives you the life of Paul.
44:39 And what a marvelous life that was.
44:43 And, folks, the thing I think I enjoy the most
44:48 about Paul is his complete and total trust in God.
44:53 I mean, he just trusted Him totally and completely.
44:58 And that's the way his life was.
45:01 And so if you like biographies
45:04 here's a good way to read and study the scripture...
45:07 and enjoy it - you know - in a very special way.
45:11 Helps you. OK.
45:13 Then you can study the Bible by subjects.
45:16 OK?
45:20 But here you have to be careful.
45:24 Here you have to be careful.
45:28 And so I'm going to give you some guidelines
45:32 to studying the Bible by subjects.
45:41 What do I mean by that?
45:45 If you're studying a particular subject,
45:50 and as you're studying that subject if you have
45:54 questions on it...
45:57 If you have questions on it
46:00 and you're trying to know what it's about,
46:05 then find out what the whole Bible has to say
46:09 on that subject.
46:10 In other words, find out what Isaiah said about it.
46:14 And find out what Jeremiah said about it
46:18 and what Luke said about it and what Paul said about it
46:22 and what Matthew said about it.
46:23 Find out what they all said about it.
46:26 But, folks, when you're through,
46:32 let me just tell you, line it all up with Jesus Christ.
46:36 Line it up with Him
46:39 and keep your eyes on Jesus.
46:42 That way you're going to come out right
46:45 if you keep Christ in view all the time.
46:51 OK. Next:
46:59 You can't be like the fellow, you know.
47:01 His... his way of studying the scripture
47:04 was that each morning he got up and he looked up a text.
47:08 That was his guidance and direction for the day.
47:12 So he opened his Bible up.
47:15 The first text his eyes fell on said:
47:17 "Judas went and hung himself. "
47:20 You know... that wasn't very encouraging you know and all.
47:24 So he closed his Bible up.
47:26 Opened it up again and
47:28 the first text his eyes fell on
47:30 said: "Go do thou likewise. "
47:32 You see, you can't study the scripture that way.
47:36 You've got to study it, and you can't build a belief
47:41 for a doctrine on one text. Never...
47:44 never build a belief just on one text.
47:48 Don't do that... and I find a lot of people that do that.
47:53 They build it just on one scripture.
47:55 There's many different ways to look at that.
47:58 Just like this podium here.
48:01 You see, I can stand here and I can look at it this way
48:04 and I get one view.
48:05 But if I go over here, I get another view of it.
48:10 Same thing is true of a single text.
48:13 You can look at it different ways.
48:16 But when you find out what all of them said about it
48:19 all the way through you're going to only look at it
48:21 one way and specially if you line it up with Jesus Christ.
48:25 OK. Thirdly,
48:31 Now Isaiah, listen to me,
48:36 Isaiah will never disagree with Paul.
48:43 Paul will never disagree
48:46 with Jeremiah.
48:49 Jeremiah will never disagree with Matthew.
48:55 So find out what the whole Bible teaches on that subject
49:00 so you are not in doubt about it.
49:03 You can know what the Word of God says.
49:06 What it's telling you.
49:07 You'll find that that makes a great, great difference
49:11 when you study God's Word
49:13 and find out what it has to say on it.
49:15 OK. Also, you can study the Bible by book.
49:20 OK? But you've got to remember:
49:23 how many books are there in here?
49:25 Sixty-six books.
49:28 Each is a book, so if you're going to study it by book,
49:33 you need to take a look at what that book is talking about.
49:37 What it has to say.
49:39 The writer. You need to know who the writer is.
49:43 John or Moses or Isaiah?
49:48 You need to understand the culture, the background
49:52 of that book. You need to find out what was going on
49:55 at that time so you can put it together.
49:57 Like the book of Hosea.
50:01 If I'm going to understand the book of Hosea,
50:03 I need to know who Hosea was.
50:05 Do you know who he was? What he did?
50:09 You need to understand the culture.
50:11 What was God trying to say to him?
50:14 What was God trying to say to the Jewish nation?
50:17 You know, who? What is all this
50:20 that he... he had to say?
50:22 I need to put it all together
50:24 so that I understand it
50:26 and I can see it
50:27 and I know what it's talking about.
50:29 That's the way you understand a book in the Bible.
50:32 Spend time on it.
50:34 OK.
50:40 Say that again.
50:46 Don't get into it and just all of a sudden
50:49 start trying to dig through as fast as you can.
50:53 Stop. Sit down and read it slowly.
50:58 Read it carefully; make sure you understand what it is saying.
51:03 I would tell you don't go on...
51:07 Don't go on to another verse
51:10 until you understand that verse.
51:12 See? Just take the time.
51:15 Read it slowly so it sinks in.
51:18 In your life you'll find that that will make a great,
51:22 great difference in your understanding of God's Word.
51:25 If you just slow down; take time to read it
51:29 so you know what it's talking about.
51:32 And so the Word of God is a very, very wonderful book.
51:38 And God will bless you in a special way.
51:46 Maybe you can't do it in the morning.
51:49 Maybe that just doesn't fit your schedule.
51:52 But you ought to find some time to study the Word of God.
51:57 Take the time and study.
52:00 Dear friend, the Bible says that we're born again.
52:04 We're born into the kingdom of God.
52:07 But it says we're born into the kingdom of God as babes.
52:12 OK? This happens to be the food for the baby.
52:18 OK? And one thing you've got to do
52:22 is you've got to feed the baby.
52:24 Follow me?
52:27 And sometimes it's not very convenient to feed the baby,
52:30 but you've got to feed him just the same.
52:34 You can't say: "Well, I'm not going to feed you. "
52:36 You've got to take the time to feed the baby
52:39 so that he can eat, he can grow.
52:42 And so take the time... find the time
52:45 to spend in the Word of God.
53:07 So this is what is going to make a difference in my life.
53:12 This is what's going to change things
53:14 is the time that I spend in the Word of God.
53:17 Now, let me just simply share with you
53:21 something that as far as I'm concerned
53:24 makes a great, great difference.
53:26 That is simply this:
53:35 You won't keep it if you don't use it.
53:40 So use it, share it, talk to somebody about it...
53:46 but use what you learn.
53:48 And if you will use it, you're going to retain it.
53:52 But if you don't use it, you won't retain it.
53:55 But the Word of God will bless you. Your soul will grow
54:01 and you will grow spiritually as you spend time
54:04 in the Word of God.
54:07 What says the Bible,
54:10 the blessed Bible?
54:14 This should my only
54:19 question be.
54:23 Teachings of men
54:25 so often mislead us.
54:30 What says the book
54:33 of God to me?
54:38 Give me the Bible,
54:43 holy message shining.
54:47 Thy light shall guide me
54:50 in the narrow way.
54:55 Precept and promise,
54:59 law and love combining.
55:03 Till night shall vanish
55:08 in eternal day.
55:15 Let us pray.
55:17 Father, thank you for Your Word.
55:20 Lord, may we each one
55:24 each day spend time with You.
55:29 Give us an understanding heart.
55:33 May we day by day grow in grace
55:38 and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
55:40 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
55:45 Our next series is The Coming of Elijah.
55:50 So we hope you'll be sure and join us next month
55:54 as we take a look at the coming of Elijah and what God
55:57 has to say particularly to us today.
56:00 Good night; God bless each one of you.
56:04 Water can be both inspiring and awesome.
56:09 As it flows from the hills and the mountains
56:11 water changes the destiny of every living creature
56:16 it comes in contact with.
56:18 Not a single living thing
56:20 can survive without water for long.
56:23 But despite its beauty
56:25 the power of water can cut channels through rocks
56:28 and change the landscape forever.
56:31 In John chapter 7
56:33 Jesus stood and cried out saying:
56:36 "If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.
56:39 He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said,
56:43 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. "
56:47 As He did so many times,
56:49 Jesus explained the spiritual things of God
56:53 through nature... like flowing water.
56:55 This living water is a life-changing source.
57:00 It can change the landscape of our lives
57:02 and flow through us to change the lives of others.
57:08 Folks, we all need water to live...
57:12 but we also need living water.
57:15 Jesus is that living water,
57:18 and through His Spirit we can bring life to those around us.
57:22 The only goal we have at this ministry
57:25 is to offer living water to all mankind.
57:29 There are thousands - no millions -
57:33 who still long for this water: the living water of life.
57:37 Won't you help us quench their thirst?
57:40 Please consider what you can do
57:42 for those who still don't know about Jesus.
57:45 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:46 please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
58:01 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word
58:03 through television and radio.
58:05 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation
58:07 to millions around the world.


Home

Revised 2014-12-17