Sunday, November 3, 2019
pm
READING
YOUR BIBLE EFFECTIVELY
2
Timothy 2:15 tells us to be ready to rightly to divide the word of
truth. What is your
attitude toward Bible reading? We
know we need to be reading the Bible.
But how are we doing?
Are we reading as often as we should?
And when we do read the Bible, what are we getting out of it?
This evening I would like to spend a few moments talking about reading
your Bible - Something we need to be doing on a daily basis.
And it is something that has a direct bearing on our spiritual
growth.
I
am not talking about Bible study, but reading your Bible on a regular
basis. One might ask,
what is the difference? The
answer is plenty and both are needed.
Bible study is a more intense examination of what a text is saying, or
perhaps examining what God’s word says about a particular subject.
Many shudder at the idea of studying God’s word because of the
work that is involved in it.
It can be time consuming and challenges to the mind.
It might involve external resources, cross referencing, and other
details. Bible study is
important and when done properly, it WILL yield wonderful fruit.
What I want to talk about is Bible reading. Bible reading is just that –
opening your Bible on a regular basis and spending time reading it.
But are there things to consider
as we read the Bible? What
can we do to make it impactful in our lives?
That is what we want to talk about tonight. Much of this
lesson is based upon other materials, primarily by Mark Roberts, a
gospel preacher in Irving, Texas.
He is the author of the 5 day Bible reading chart we have been
using for a number of years.
NOTE: This does NOT mean you are paying no attention or just doing it as
a habit. There IS to be
application to it.
Don’t read simply for trivia, or as a quest (e.g. reading through the
Bible in a year), so that you can argue with others, etc.
A.
Effective Bible reading
is MORE than just opening the Bible somewhere and reading a text.
It involves planning and alertness to what you are reading.
There are many who read the Bible just as a daily habit, with
little or no thought about the text.
Some read the Bible for trivia or some quest (such as claiming to
read the Bible through in a year, or the New Testament in 30 days,
etc.). Some may be looking
for some passage to justify action or to argue with others.
That is not REAL Bible reading.
B.
Effective Bible reading
is regularly opening your Bible to gain a better understanding of the
overall message. We will see
this more in our next section on HOW to read the Bible better.
C.
Bible reading is a
spiritual indicator. How you
are growing spiritually is directly correlated to spending time in God’s
word. The faithful love the
word of God and spend time with it.
D.
Psalm 119:37 - Turn away
my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.
In a psalm that is devoted to the
word of God, David contrasts His word with other things.
Spending time reading His word, will deter from other things that
are worthless (whether they be sinful or not).
E.
Reading was expected of
Timothy (1 Timothy 4:13-16) as part of his work.
Reading, likely in the public assemblies, was how the messages of
the epistles were communicated (1 Thessalonians 5:27, Colossians 4:16).
F.
We are to be growing in
grace and knowledge – 2 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 5:12 – they
were rebuked because they had NOT grown as they should.
G.
Why should we be reading
the Bible? To listen to God.
The Bible is God’s way of speaking to us today.
If you want to connect with God, you need to listen to Him.
He expects us to do that.
Consider Deuteronomy 17:18-20 – notice what kings were expected
to do.
A.
Set aside a time on a
regular basis – it needs to be part of your schedule.
It needs to be planned and should happen often.
Those who are efficient, accomplish the most, and are successful
likely have schedules. They
make plans.
How much time? That is for
you to determine, but it should be suitable.
Recommended at least 20-30 minutes of time, an hour if you can do
it. But it needs to be
MEANINGFUL.
We hear about busyness today, and we certainly can be.
This is WHY we need planners.
And time to read your Bible needs to be part of that.
Find a time and
place free from distractions
(usually the same place,
but it can be modified from time to time – e.g. going to a park). Good
lighting, comfortable, etc.
B.
Supplies
– Get a good Bible (some recommend different versions – up to you).
Get something to take notes, pens or pencils, etc.
A ruler or highlighters for your Bible, notes, etc.
Get what you need based upon what you want to do.
It is recommended that you take personal notes based upon what you are
trying to learn.
C.
Begin and/or end with
prayer –
1 Thessalonians 5:17. Many of the psalms and other portions of the Bible
are written as prayers.
James 1:5 – if you lack wisdom.
D.
Be patient
– one of the frustrations we have, as we WANT TO know more, is wanting
to know more now. We expect
results and we want them NOW.
But it doesn’t happen that way.
The Bible (even the New Testament) is a big book that you are not
going to absorb overnight, or in a single reading
E.
Read systematically
– have a direction. A
chapter a day is a suggestion.
Your goal ought to be in time to go through the entire Bible,
SEVERAL times.
NOTE: IT doesn’t have to be all in 1 year, but it should be a reasonable
time frame – 3-5 years (a chapter a day will complete both the OT and NT
with a chapter a day.
F.
Attitudes as you read
i.
Read with the intent to grow – strive to reach a point where you can teach others (maybe
set this as a goal). Again 2
Peter 3:18 – we are to be growing in grace and knowledge.
God is concerned when we are not growing.
ii.
Determine that you are going to handle it accurately
– 2 Timothy 2:15. Don’t be
guilty of twisting God’s word.
iii.
Believe that you can understand it – Ephesians 5:17 – understand what the will of the Lord is.
Do you believe He gave us something that is beyond our ability to
comprehend?
Ephesians 3:4 Paul wrote so they could understand.
iv.
Read with the intention of applying it to your life
– Hebrews 4:12. Matthew 7:24-27.
G.
Listen to what it says
– James 1:19. Think about what the text is saying.
We often apply this verse to our daily conversations – and it
does apply. But, can we also
apply it to reading God’s word?
Note the context of that verse – James 1:21ff.
AND, don’t be too quick to speak where it doesn’t speak, AND don’t
become angry at what it says (if you don’t like it or don’t understand
it).
“Meditate on these things” (1 Timothy 4:15)
Sunday, November 10, 2019 pm
READING YOUR BIBLE
EFFECTIVELY (2)
Last week we began a study dealing with effective Bible reading.
Our purpose was to encourage us to set aside time to read the
Bible on a daily basis. As
Christians, this should be important to us as our growth in the word of
God is a spiritual indicator (something that you can gauge your
spiritual growth by).
We
showed how Bible reading was a part of the lives of 1st
century Christians, including being done when they were assembled
together. Preachers, like
Timothy, were encouraged to give yourself to reading (1 Timothy
4:13-16). But we know this
was not exclusively for preachers and/or elders.
Every saint is to be able to “give a defense for the hope that is
in you” (1 Peter 3:15), and with diligence strive to rightly divide the
word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
We also are reminded that we are expected to grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), by
desiring the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby (1 Peter
2:1-3). Hebrews 5:12 finds
the writer rebuking these brethren because they ought to have been
teachers by now, but they were not. So we can see there is plenty of
reason to encourage Bible reading.
Bible STUDY can be an intimidating term because of the depth involved as
we seek to understand a book or topic.
Bible reading that is EFFECTIVE simply means that on a regular
basis (preferably daily), we are reading through God’s word
systematically. But we are
not just marking off a list, rather we are seeking to learn from it and
grow. That is what these
lessons have been about.
Some of the suggestions we have mentioned include: 1) It should be
planned and systematic; 2) It should be enough to help us grow –
recommended 15-30 minutes; 3) We begin with prayer, patience and a
proper attitude – e.g. we can understand, we intend to apply it to our
lives, etc. & 4) We listen to what IT actually says – seeking to glean
from it the intended message.
Tonight, we want to continue with some suggestions as we are reading.
A.
Mark Roberts – give a
suggestion with every chapter you read.
Look for a PATH as you read.
B.
That is an acronym to
encourage you that in every chapter, after you read it, see if you can
find something of:
i.
Praise – what
in this text causes me to praise God?
Think about one of His qualities, or what He had done for us that
is worthy of praise. NOTE: You
don’t have to document EVERY avenue of praise, but think of one or more.
ii.
Admonition –
what is this text telling me I need to improve?
Bible reading means nothing if we do not intend to learn from and
apply it. Hebrews 4:12.
Matthew 7:21-27.
Think of something in the chapter that I need to work on or be aware of
and seek to apply as I go through the day.
iii.
Trust – what
does this teach that can help me build my trust in God (faith) –
(fulfilled prophecies, promises, etc.)?
Much of the Bible deals with promises.
Our confidence in God is the result of His keeping His promises.
We KNOW we can trust Him because of past promises.
Perhaps a text gives conditional promises.
We can see God’s fulfillment beyond the promised text – Hebrews
10:23 – He who promised is faithful (Hebrews is full of fulfilled
promises and others made to us, though some are conditional).
Hebrews 13:5 – He has said, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you.”
Numbers 23:19, Balam speaking to Barak, king of Moab, cannot go
beyond God’s word as he prophesied.
He said, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of
man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He
spoken, and will He not make it good?
iv.
Hope – what
encourages me to keep going?
Our purpose for enduring is the hope we have of something better.
As we study a text, perhaps we will find hope therein.
C.
Secure a notebook (or
put it in margins if you so desire), and write down the highlights of
the chapter (or portion thereof).
Then record each element in your PATH as you read through it this
time.
D.
An example:
Recently I read Deuteronomy 1 with this pattern in mind.
Deuteronomy 1 is the beginning of Moses’ farewell address to
Israel before they enter the land of Canaan.
In this chapter Moses retells some of the events that had
recently transpired showing that God was with Israel (defeating Bashan
and Moab, etc. Deut. 1:1-8).
He spoke of leaders chosen to help him judge the people (1:9-18); He
spoke of Israel’s rebellion as they refused to enter the promised land
nearly 40 years earlier (1:19-43); Then he spoke of the penalty of that
refusal – they would dwell in the wilderness for 40 years, and all that
generation (20 and above would die and not enter – except Joshua and
Caleb).
Out of this text I considered the following:
i.
PRAISE – God will fight
for you (Deuteronomy 1:29), even as He had done in Egypt.
ii.
ADMONITION – Do I wholly
follow Him? (Deuteronomy 1:36)
iii.
TRUST – Deuteronomy 1:30
- The LORD God goes before you.
He had done this many times.
iv.
HOPE – In His time, He
keeps His promises. General
observation. For 40 years,
they had wandered in the wilderness, NOW God remembers His promise and
begins to fulfill it.
E.
Conclude your study with
prayer. In it consider the
PATH and include those elements in your prayer.
Praise God for the specific attribute you have recorded.
A.
What is the secret to
keeping up with daily Bible reading?
It has to be something that brings you joy!
A part of your life that you are looking forward to.
Psalm 1:1-2 – in His law he
meditates day and night.
Psalm 119:148, My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I
may meditate on Your word.
Be like David in the 119th Psalm - 10 times David says, I
will DELIGHT in your word – Psalm 119:16, 35 .
Wondrous, joy, sweeter than honey, etc.
Psalm 119:97 – how I love your law.
B.
How can we find joy in
reading God’s word?
i.
Realize we are connecting with God. Think about God – who
He is, etc. He is holy and is to
be treated as holy. That is
what reverence is about.
Jeremiah 9:23-24, boast in this – that he understands and knows Me…
This is HOW we come to know God.
Nehemiah 8:5 – all the people stood as Ezra opened the book to read.
This SHOWS reverence for God and His word.
Friends, we need to treat His word with respect.
1 Peter 4:11 – speaks of it being “the oracles of God”; 2 Timothy
3:16-17 – it is INSPIRED.
We come to know Him through His creation, but also through His word –
Romans 8:31 – consider passages of encouragement like this.
If God be for us…
Eccl. 3:11 – He has put eternity in our hearts.
Someone said this points out that God put a hole in us that only
He can fill.
ii.
We grow spiritually. – 2 Thess. 1:3 – your faith
grows exceedingly. Ephesians
4:15 – speak the truth in love that we may grow…; But you will be
growing and understanding more.
1 Peter 2:1-2
If you are reading and studying God’s word correctly, you will be
growing, and it will become evident over time.
in your studies you will be aware of His holiness and how we lack
in that. These reminders
challenge us to make ourselves RIGHT with Him.
iii.
We are able to distinguish between truth and error
– This is an important
purpose as we study. We
learn what is true (John 17:17) and what is NOT true.
Ephesians 4:14 – no longer tossed to and fro.
Hebrews 5:14 – able to distinguish between good and evil.
iv.
Psalm 119:92, Unless
Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my
affliction.
I
am convinced we all are aware of our need to read God’s word regularly.
The question is, do we do it, AND could we do better.
It is my hope that this lesson encourages us to make Bible
reading the part of our lives it ought to be.
It WILL be a factor in your spirituality.
Is His word a delight to you?