Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey podcasters, thanks for joining me today on
Beyond Sunday I am continuing apodcast that I put out about two
months ago Been a crazy fewmonths with Easter and all
that's been going on.
But I started a podcast back inMarch.
That was all about the Bible,why we believe it.
There were some words that wetalked about revelation,
inspiration, illumination.
(00:21):
If you want to go back, you canlisten to that podcast.
But I want you to think of itthis way when you walk into a
dark room, what's the firstthing that you do?
You kind of put yourself handagainst the wall trying to find
that light switch right.
You're trying to get it on sothat you can see.
You want to illuminate the roomso you won't stub your precious
little toes, right?
We're meant to have this kindof experience with God's Word.
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God wants to illuminate HisWord for us, so we'll know what
the Bible means and how theBible fits into our life.
In this study we're going totalk about how illumination
happens, and I don't know aboutyou, but I've noticed that it
doesn't happen every time I readthe Bible.
Every time I sit down, thingsdon't just pop out and all of a
sudden I'm just good to go, infact, quick plug.
(01:03):
I'll talk about it at the end.
I just finished a book that'sreleasing on June 10th, called
how to Study the Bible whenYou've Tried and Given Up,
because I think so many peopleare in that realm that they've
tried to read it just to makesense.
They don't know where to start.
How do they know?
You're interpreting right Allthese questions and again, I'll
reference that at the end, but Ithink it's important because
God wants us to have this kindof walk with Him.
(01:25):
Illumination has to do withinner qualities.
It's not automatic, but it'sthe result of choices that we
all can make.
Look at Psalms 18.28, where itsays you light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up mydarkness.
Or Psalm 119, probably a morefamous verse your word is a lamp
to my feet and a light for mypath.
The problem is, so many peopleread the word of God and they
feel like it's not guiding meright, it's not helping, and so
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there are things that arenecessary for illumination in
your life.
Again, this is coming from astudy I did years ago called
Foundations, with Rick Warren'schurch material they put out,
and so everything I'm going overtoday comes from that material.
Just give it credit wherecredit is due.
But it's incredible, incrediblestuff.
Four things that are necessaryfor illumination in a believer's
life, to love God's Word deeplyright.
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Psalm 119, 97, the psalmist saidhow I love your teachings.
I think about them all day long, and so I want to challenge you
do you have a love for the Wordof God like that?
Or Psalm 119, 127, truly, Ilove your commands more than
gold, even the finest gold.
Now, I know most of us don'tdeal with gold today, but if you
did, could you say that youloved God's Word more than gold?
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I think a lot of people wouldstruggle with that.
They want gold more than theywant the Word of God.
But that's the problem with usnot understanding and not
thriving in the Word of God.
Is we long for other thingsmore than we long for it?
Or Proverbs 2, verses 3 through6, it says and if you call out
for insight and cry aloud forunderstanding, if you look for
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it as for silver and search forit as hidden treasure, again
he's going after the things thatwere on the people's heart.
Same thing on our hearts today.
Right, we're wanting monetarythings, we're wanting treasure,
we're wanting the things of thisworld.
He says if you search for itlike you search for those things
, then you will understand thefear of the Lord and find the
knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom andfrom his mouth comes knowledge
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and understanding.
Notice the value placed on theWord of God.
Illumination starts with God.
He's the one who turns thelight on for you.
But I'm never going to see thatlight if I don't value the
Bible enough to pick it up andread it, to search out the
truths of Scripture.
I want to help you deepen thatlove right now.
(03:38):
Look with me at some picturesof what the Bible tells us
happens.
When we read the truths ofGod's Word, how does the Bible
picture its potential forchanging our lives?
There's the question we'regoing to wrestle with for just a
moment.
The first word that I'll throwat you is seed.
1 Peter 1.23 says this, for youhave been born again, not of
perishable seed, but ofimperishable through the living
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and enduring Word of God.
Think of it this way If afarmer plants corn seed in his
field, what do you think isgoing to grow Corn?
Right?
If he plants wheat seed, he'llget wheat, watermelon, seed,
watermelon.
This verse talks about twokinds of seed the perishable and
the imperishable.
If you plant perishable seed,what we get things that perish.
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If you plant imperishable seed,you'll get things that never
fade away.
One of the reasons you and Iface so many struggles is that
we expect perishable seeds togive us imperishable crops.
We want more joy in life, so weplan a lot of happy
circumstances and experiences sowe get a crop of happiness.
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We plan a lot of happycircumstances and experiences,
so we get a crop of happiness,but happiness fades very quickly
.
It's perishable.
You can't grow imperishable joyout of seeds of perishable
happiness.
We want more fulfillment inlife, so we throw ourselves into
our careers.
We get success in our careers,but we're still not fulfilled.
The fulfillment our heart longsfor is an imperishable quality.
You can't grow it out of a job.
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God's word is the seed for theimperishable things that you and
I want.
The second word I want to throwat you is the word sword.
Look at two verses.
Ephesians 6, 17 says take thehelmet of salvation and the
sword of the spirit, which isthe word of God.
That sword, the word of Godright Hebrews 4.12, for the word
of God is living and active,sharper than any double-edged
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sword.
It penetrates even to dividingsoul and spirit, joints and
marrow.
It judges the thoughts andattitudes of the heart, the
dividing of soul and spirit.
Where what I want and what Godwants clash.
That can be the realbattleground in our lives.
In Ephesians, the sword is inour hand, defending against the
enemy.
In Hebrews, the sword is inGod's hand, penetrating and
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deeply impacting our lives.
God's word is our defenseagainst spiritual enemies.
When Jesus was tempted by Satanin the desert, he didn't turn to
a self-help book or advice fromfriends.
He used the Bible as the swordof defense against Satan.
Jesus knew that the Word of Godhad the power to defend him
from temptation.
If you and I understood thatand we were constantly falling
in temptation we would grab theWord of God and let it help
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fight that battle.
If we understood this the wayGod wants us to understand it,
god's Word is also a sword thatis used on us, though.
Have you ever felt God's wordcut into your heart?
You've been in service on aSunday morning and the pastor
says something that just piercesyour life.
You're in a morning devotional,reading the Bible, and all of a
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sudden you read something thatjust cuts deep to your heart.
You may have had everyone elsefooled, even yourself, but God's
Word showed the truth of yourmotives and your sin.
It hurts, doesn't it?
I was talking to a gentlemanearlier today and he was telling
me his testimony and momentswhere he's been close to God and
moments where he's been farfrom God, and he made a
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statement I think everybody canresonate with.
He said everybody thought I wasreally close to God, but nobody
knew what my heart was like inclosed doors when other people
weren't around.
They didn't know the sins thatI committed, they didn't know
the lifestyle that I lived, andI think that happens often and
until the Word of God gets intoyour heart, you continue to live
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in that sin.
God's Word shows the truth ofyour motives and your sin and
when that happens it hurts.
And so many of us stay away fromthe Word of God because we
don't want to feel that when Goduses His sword on us, he uses
it not as an enemy trying todestroy us, but as a surgeon who
wants to heal us.
He knows how to cut in just theright place at just the right
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time to bring healing to ourlives.
The skit guys had a skit yearsago.
A friend of mine, pastor JoeBradshaw, and myself actually
acted it out at my last churchand I think it's called the
Chisel and it talks about thepain of God cutting things away,
but he's molding us.
He's not hurting us to bringpain.
He's molding us and refining usinto who he's called us to be.
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When God uses his sword on us,he uses it not as the enemy but
as the surgeon.
Let me give you the third word.
The word is food.
Look at this verse in Jeremiah15, 16.
When your words came, I atethem.
They were my joy and my heart'sdelight, for I bear your name,
o Lord, god Almighty, jeremiahactually ate the scrolls upon
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which God had told him to writehis words.
He was one of the firstperformance artists, if you will
.
Obviously, god wanted to make apoint by commanding the prophet
to consume these scrolls.
Your words were my joy and myheart's delight, says Jeremiah.
Can you say that reading God'sword is like eating the most
prized possession that you caneat?
The best cake that you've everwanted is the word of God.
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Feel like that to you?
Matthew 4.4 says Jesus answered.
It is written man does not liveon bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouthof God.
1 Peter 2.2,.
Like newborn babies, crave purespiritual milk so that by it you
may grow up in your salvation.
You want to go from moving as ababy Christian to a strong
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Christian.
You want to live a life thatyour faith feels strong, that
you're closer to God.
You do it by consuming the Wordof God in your life.
If you're always fighting withthe same temptations, you're
always feeling like I'm notclose to God or I haven't grown
in my faith.
I would challenge whether youare truly in the Word of God or
not.
Dive into God's Word.
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Don't fall into the trap ofthinking I'm not going to live
the clear truths until Iunderstand it all.
That would be like a babysaying I'm not going to drink
the milk unless you let me havethe steak first right.
Frankly, I still have adifficult time understanding
some of the truths in the Bible,but I'm not going to let that
keep me from the blessing ofliving out what I do know.
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Fourth set of words I want togive you is fire and hammer,
jeremiah 23, 29.
It's not my word like fire, oris not my word like fire,
declares the Lord and like ahammer that breaks a rock in
pieces.
The joy that comes from whatGod's Word does in our lives is
not always an easy joy.
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Sometimes God's Word is like afire.
It refines us and that processof burning out the impurities is
often painful.
Sometimes God's Word is like ahammer.
Have you ever felt God's Wordacting like a hammer?
Why would God need to use ahammer on us?
Because sometimes we have hardhearts and our hearts need to be
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broken and shattered so thattenderness and compassion can
grow.
Let me give you another word theword mirror.
James 1, 23 through 25 saysthis anyone who listens to the
word but does not do what itsays is like someone who looks
at his face in a mirror and,after looking at himself, goes
away and immediately forgetswhat he looks like.
But whoever looks intently intothe perfect law that gives
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freedom and continues in it, notforgetting what they've heard,
but doing it they will beblessed in what they do.
I don't know about you, but Iwant to be blessed in what I do,
and the Bible gives thisformula very clearly for you and
I.
How many of you have actuallylooked in a mirror at least once
today.
I got my haircut this morning,and so whenever you're at the
barber, you spend a lot of timelooking in the mirror, and at
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the end of the haircut he alwayshe cuts my hair, my beard, and
he always gives me a handheldmirror to hold so we can do this
kind of 360 look around, makingsure everything looks the way I
want.
We look in the mirror to makesure that we look right.
Right.
If you hadn't, you'd run therisk of walking around all day
with a piece of breakfast inyour teeth.
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God's Word shows us thespiritual truth about ourselves,
but it can't show it to you ifyou don't look.
It's amazing how even a quicklook at the Word of God will
show you the truth about anattitude that you're struggling
with.
Let me ask you this whatemotion do you feel when you see
the Bible?
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For many of us, it becomes justa familiar part of our lives.
We don't feel much.
Sometimes we need to take a fewminutes to be reminded, as
we've done in the study.
Do you realize how valuable theBible truly is?
The value is not in the leatherbinding or the wafer-thin pages
.
Its value is in the personalsacrifice that has been paid to
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experience illumination, I mustunderstand God's Word
spiritually.
Once you begin to highly valueand read and study God's Word,
you'll need to understand God'sWord spiritually, not just
intellectually.
The point of knowing God's Wordis not for you to feel superior
to others, to take pride inyour knowledge, but so that you
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understand it in your spirit, sothat it can change your life.
There are two truths about everybeliever in Christ.
First, that the Holy Spiritmakes me able to understand the
Bible.
This is one of those things.
When I talk to people about notunderstanding the Word of God.
It all goes back to the Spiritin your life.
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Are you listening to yourselfor the spirit?
It's true for every believer.
Let's look at 1 Corinthians, 2,12 through 14 for just a moment
.
It says this and we havereceived God's spirit, not the
world's spirit, god's spirit sowe can know the wonderful things
God has freely given us.
When we tell you these things,we do not use words that come
from human wisdom.
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Instead, we speak words givento us by the Spirit, using the
Spirit's words to explainspiritual truths.
But people who aren't spiritualcan't receive these truths from
God's Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to themand they can't understand it,
for only those who are spiritualcan understand what the Spirit
means.
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Have you ever read a book andwish the author was there to
explain what you just read?
I have a little bit of a habitof buying books.
I'm sitting in my office rightnow and there are literally
thousands of books around me,some on my bookshelf, some in
books in the closet or in boxesin the closet.
I love to read and sometimeswhen I'm reading I wish I could
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talk to the author and say allright, tell me what you really
meant Like, tell me what wasgoing on there.
The cool thing is the author ofthe Bible is always available.
His spirit has been put intoour lives as believers.
God didn't go to the trouble ofsending his spirit in your life
only to have you leave yourBible on the shelf John 16, 13,.
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But when he, the spirit oftruth, comes, he will guide you
into all truth.
I love that word guide.
Sometimes we thinkunderstanding just washes over
us all at once.
It doesn't work that way.
If I have a guide to get methrough a jungle, he's going to
guide me step by step.
I'll never forget when Lori andI first got married, we went on
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our honeymoon to Bora Bora andTahiti, and, man, we had an
incredible, incredible time.
In fact, I hope to go backthere one day, but I'm going to
need to start saving right nowfor 10 years from now with the
cost of that place, but we hadan incredible time.
One of the things we did is weactually got a guide for the
main island.
Now, the guide was the son ofthe fire chief of the island and
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so he had grown up on thisisland.
He knew everything, and on thatday he just took us everywhere.
He had this Jeep that we drovearound.
We went up some mountains.
You weren't supposed to go upsome mountains.
We tried to go up and the Jeepwould just shrink back down,
just wouldn't make it up.
And I remember he parked in oneplace and began to take us into
the jungle on this island andhe's got this huge machete just
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cutting away, like we're notgoing down a path that was
already created.
He's creating a path for us inthat moment.
Now, truth be told, I was alittle nervous.
I thought, man, this guy couldkill us out here and we'll never
survive it.
So I'm walking a few stepsbehind Lori, just so I can tell
the tale, if I need to right.
Not the best husband start tothe marriage, but he ended up
all of a sudden.
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We got to this clearing and wesaw some old World War II
buildings that were left byAmericans that had used that
island back in the day.
And had we not had that guide,we would have never experienced
those things.
Lori and I could have foundsome things on our own, but we
would have never experiencedexactly what was going on.
I love having a guide.
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God guides us into his truth byhis spirit.
Step by step, you understandmore and more of God's word.
You take a step and he showsyou more truth.
But you have to take the step.
You have to open the Bible.
You have to read some of thewords in there.
The Holy Spirit makes me ableto understand the Bible and then
the Holy Spirit makes meresponsible for understanding
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the Bible.
Don't miss this.
1 John 2, 20 and verse 27,.
It says but you have ananointing from the Holy One and
all of you know the truth.
As for you, the anointing youreceived from Him remains in you
and you do not need anyone toteach you.
But as his anointing teachesyou about all things and as that
anointing is real, notcounterfeit, just as it has
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taught you, remain in him.
You are responsible to learnthe truth of God's word for
yourself.
The pastor isn't responsible tomake sure you understand it.
Your small group leader isn'tresponsible to make sure you
understand it.
Your small group leader isn'tresponsible.
You are responsible to learnthe truth of God's Word for
yourself.
Now, truth be told, most peoplehave three or four Bibles in
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their home or it's usually anincredible gift right or they
have it on their phone.
You and I have the opportunityto know more truth than most
believers down through all ofhistory, and God will hold us
accountable for that.
We need to take theresponsibility.
Very personally.
I think about decades andcenturies ago, where people
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would have died to have theBible, where they would love to
have a copy of the Word of God,that if they could get their
hands on it, they would pourtheir life into it.
And you and I, we have it soreadily accessed and we ignore
it so much.
Let me give you another thing.
To experience illumination, Imust handle God's word
accurately.
2 Timothy 2.15 says Be diligentto present yourself approved to
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God as a workman who does notneed to be ashamed handling
accurately the word of truth.
It's amazing how people willtry to twist the Bible to say
anything they want, often eventhrowing out the rules of common
sense.
You can't just ignore all therules for understanding a
language or a book when you pickup the Bible.
As we get to know the word ofGod, it's vital that we
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understand a few simpleguidelines for Bible study.
So let me give you seven rulesof Bible study very quickly.
Rule number one faith and theHoly Spirit are necessary for
proper interpretation.
Number two the Bible interpretsitself.
When somebody asks me what'sthe best commentary on the Bible
, my first answer is always theBible.
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Right, I have a lot ofcommentaries in my office and
there are some I prefer overothers, but the first place you
need to look is the Bible itself.
Scripture best explainsScripture, and so learn to do
cross-reference studies whereyou see where a verse came from
or another verse that talksabout the same subject of that
verse.
Rule number three understand theOld Testament in light of the
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New Testament.
I absolutely love the OldTestament.
I love the stories and theimagery and the history of it,
but the Old Testament cansometimes be a scary place
without the light of the NewTestament.
Picture it like this the OldTestament is a dimly lit room
filled with treasures.
The New Testament brings morelight into the room.
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It allows you to see the realbeauty of the treasures
contained in the Old Testament.
Rule number four understandunclear passages in light of
clear passages.
People violate this rule allthe time.
They find one verse they don'tunderstand, they decide how to
interpret it and then they tryto make other verses fit their
unique interpretation.
Understand unclear passages inthe light of clear passages.
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Rule number five understandwords and verses in the light of
their context.
Let me give you an example.
Luke 12, 19 says take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.
Does Luke 12, 19 mean thatwe're to be party animals?
No, the next verse actuallysays for tomorrow you die.
It's good to know that.
It's not a commandment, it's awarning.
There are so many words on somany subjects in the Bible.
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It's easy to take a few of themout of context to prove just
about anything you want to prove.
Rule number six understandhistorical passages in the light
of doctrinal passages.
Deuteronomy 17 says this theking must not take many wives
for himself, because they willturn his heart away from the
Lord.
Mark 1 says very early in themorning, while it is still dark,
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jesus got up, left the houseand went off to a solitary place
where he prayed.
I'm sometimes asked how aboutall of those guys who had more
than one wife?
Right History records thatDavid had a number of wives,
that his son, solomon had 300wives.
Does that mean having more thanone wife was okay with God?
Not, when you understand thedoctrinal passage right.
Genesis 2 teaches that twoshall become one, not that 301
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shall become one.
Deuteronomy 17 specificallywarned the king the king must
not take many wives.
These doctrinal passages helpus to see clearly that David and
Solomon were sinning by havingmany wives and to see how that
sin led them astray.
Now Jesus, he never left thecountry of his birth.
Does that mean that we cannever leave our country?
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No, there is no commandattached to this example In that
verse.
In Mark 1.35,.
Jesus often prayed early in themorning.
Does that mean we're commandedto get up at 4 am and pray?
Let me emphatically say no,right, that is not the answer.
God may convince you that thatis a good habit for your life,
but he does not command everybeliever to pray early in the
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morning.
Rule number seven understandpersonal experience in light of
the scripture.
This probably is the rule thatbelievers break most often.
We tend to understand scripturein the light of personal
experience and we make ourpersonal application out of
scripture into a command forothers to follow.
In doing that, we get verylegalistic.
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Let me go back to illuminationfor a minute.
To experience illumination, Imust study God's word diligently
.
Let me end with this questionhow do you decide to study God's
word as a lifetime commitment?
First, we vow before the Lordto trust in and commit to the
truth of his word.
1 Timothy 4 says be diligent inthese matters.
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Give yourself wholly to them sothat everyone may see your
progress, watch your life anddoctrine closely.
Persevere in them.
You may have some doubts aboutGod and about God's word.
Can you really trust it?
In these two studies about theBible, you've seen proof in
history and changed lives, butultimately this is a matter of
faith.
Will you decide right here andright now to trust the truth of
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God's word?
Number two cultivate eagernessby examining God's word for
answers.
Number three tell others whatyou're learning from God's word.
Colossians 3.16 says it this waylet the word of Christ dwell in
you richly as you teach andadmonish one another with all
wisdom.
If you spend your life in smallgroups and teaching and leading
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, you're going to be in the wordof God and it is going to work
through you as you teach others.
Last one I'll give you is thisact on what you learn as you
study the Bible.
James 1.22 says this do notmerely listen to the Word and so
deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
Let me read that again Don'tjust listen to the Word and, by
doing so, deceive yourselves.
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Do what the Word of God says.
The Word of God is a book thatgives hope.
It's a book that gives usdirection.
It's a book that will see ussafely home.
Now.
I said here at the beginningthat I had a book coming out.
I would love for you to checkit out.
You can go to my website,wwwnick-williamscom.
That's nic-williamscom, and youcan go to the store on there
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and see it.
Or you can go to Amazon.
The Kindle version on Amazon isavailable for pre-order.
The paperback and hardback areavailable for pre-order on my
website, but they will be onAmazon come June 10th.
If you've read any of my booksor read this one would love for
you to give a review on Amazon.
It just helps other people findthe book.
But this book I'm excited about.
It came out of a conversationwith my niece as she was
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wrestling with the questionsthat are normal, like where do I
start?
How do I interpret it?
How do I know what I'm readingis right?
How do I know how I'minterpreting it is right?
Sometimes I don't feel it,sometimes it doesn't make sense
All the things that we wrestlewith with the Word of God.
And as I was having thatconversation with her and
writing down her questions, Ithought man, I'm going to write
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a book that answers thesequestions and teaches people how
to study the Bible.
So in this book I do that.
First half we'll walk youthrough some common questions
that people have, and the secondhalf walks you through how to
study the Bible, whether youwant to do a thematic study,
finding a theme in the Bible ora character study, or a model
that we use here at South Shoreis called SOAP, and it walks you
through how to do that versionof Bible study as well.
But either way, if I can helpyou, if you have specific
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questions, please reach out, letme know, otherwise.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
I hope the truth of God's Wordpermeates your heart, gets you
excited about God's Word, andthat you don't just learn it but
you do what it says.
Until next time, I hope youhave an incredible week.
Hey podcasters, thanks for joining me today on
Beyond Sunday I am continuing apodcast that I put out about two
months ago Been a crazy fewmonths with Easter and all
that's been going on.
But I started a podcast back inMarch.
That was all about the Bible,why we believe it.
There were some words that wetalked about revelation,
inspiration, illumination.
(00:21):
If you want to go back, you canlisten to that podcast.
But I want you to think of itthis way when you walk into a
dark room, what's the firstthing that you do?
You kind of put yourself handagainst the wall trying to find
that light switch right.
You're trying to get it on sothat you can see.
You want to illuminate the roomso you won't stub your precious
little toes, right?
We're meant to have this kindof experience with God's Word.
(00:43):
God wants to illuminate HisWord for us, so we'll know what
the Bible means and how theBible fits into our life.
In this study we're going totalk about how illumination
happens, and I don't know aboutyou, but I've noticed that it
doesn't happen every time I readthe Bible.
Every time I sit down, thingsdon't just pop out and all of a
sudden I'm just good to go, infact, quick plug.
(01:03):
I'll talk about it at the end.
I just finished a book that'sreleasing on June 10th, called
how to Study the Bible whenYou've Tried and Given Up,
because I think so many peopleare in that realm that they've
tried to read it just to makesense.
They don't know where to start.
How do they know?
You're interpreting right Allthese questions and again, I'll
reference that at the end, but Ithink it's important because
God wants us to have this kindof walk with Him.
(01:25):
Illumination has to do withinner qualities.
It's not automatic, but it'sthe result of choices that we
all can make.
Look at Psalms 18.28, where itsays you light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up mydarkness.
Or Psalm 119, probably a morefamous verse your word is a lamp
to my feet and a light for mypath.
The problem is, so many peopleread the word of God and they
feel like it's not guiding meright, it's not helping, and so
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there are things that arenecessary for illumination in
your life.
Again, this is coming from astudy I did years ago called
Foundations, with Rick Warren'schurch material they put out,
and so everything I'm going overtoday comes from that material.
Just give it credit wherecredit is due.
But it's incredible, incrediblestuff.
Four things that are necessaryfor illumination in a believer's
life, to love God's Word deeplyright.
(02:11):
Psalm 119, 97, the psalmist saidhow I love your teachings.
I think about them all day long, and so I want to challenge you
do you have a love for the Wordof God like that?
Or Psalm 119, 127, truly, Ilove your commands more than
gold, even the finest gold.
Now, I know most of us don'tdeal with gold today, but if you
did, could you say that youloved God's Word more than gold?
(02:33):
I think a lot of people wouldstruggle with that.
They want gold more than theywant the Word of God.
But that's the problem with usnot understanding and not
thriving in the Word of God.
Is we long for other thingsmore than we long for it?
Or Proverbs 2, verses 3 through6, it says and if you call out
for insight and cry aloud forunderstanding, if you look for
(02:54):
it as for silver and search forit as hidden treasure, again
he's going after the things thatwere on the people's heart.
Same thing on our hearts today.
Right, we're wanting monetarythings, we're wanting treasure,
we're wanting the things of thisworld.
He says if you search for itlike you search for those things
, then you will understand thefear of the Lord and find the
knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom andfrom his mouth comes knowledge
(03:16):
and understanding.
Notice the value placed on theWord of God.
Illumination starts with God.
He's the one who turns thelight on for you.
But I'm never going to see thatlight if I don't value the
Bible enough to pick it up andread it, to search out the
truths of Scripture.
I want to help you deepen thatlove right now.
(03:38):
Look with me at some picturesof what the Bible tells us
happens.
When we read the truths ofGod's Word, how does the Bible
picture its potential forchanging our lives?
There's the question we'regoing to wrestle with for just a
moment.
The first word that I'll throwat you is seed.
1 Peter 1.23 says this, for youhave been born again, not of
perishable seed, but ofimperishable through the living
(04:01):
and enduring Word of God.
Think of it this way If afarmer plants corn seed in his
field, what do you think isgoing to grow Corn?
Right?
If he plants wheat seed, he'llget wheat, watermelon, seed,
watermelon.
This verse talks about twokinds of seed the perishable and
the imperishable.
If you plant perishable seed,what we get things that perish.
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If you plant imperishable seed,you'll get things that never
fade away.
One of the reasons you and Iface so many struggles is that
we expect perishable seeds togive us imperishable crops.
We want more joy in life, so weplan a lot of happy
circumstances and experiences sowe get a crop of happiness.
(04:44):
We plan a lot of happycircumstances and experiences,
so we get a crop of happiness,but happiness fades very quickly
.
It's perishable.
You can't grow imperishable joyout of seeds of perishable
happiness.
We want more fulfillment inlife, so we throw ourselves into
our careers.
We get success in our careers,but we're still not fulfilled.
The fulfillment our heart longsfor is an imperishable quality.
You can't grow it out of a job.
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God's word is the seed for theimperishable things that you and
I want.
The second word I want to throwat you is the word sword.
Look at two verses.
Ephesians 6, 17 says take thehelmet of salvation and the
sword of the spirit, which isthe word of God.
That sword, the word of Godright Hebrews 4.12, for the word
of God is living and active,sharper than any double-edged
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sword.
It penetrates even to dividingsoul and spirit, joints and
marrow.
It judges the thoughts andattitudes of the heart, the
dividing of soul and spirit.
Where what I want and what Godwants clash.
That can be the realbattleground in our lives.
In Ephesians, the sword is inour hand, defending against the
enemy.
In Hebrews, the sword is inGod's hand, penetrating and
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deeply impacting our lives.
God's word is our defenseagainst spiritual enemies.
When Jesus was tempted by Satanin the desert, he didn't turn to
a self-help book or advice fromfriends.
He used the Bible as the swordof defense against Satan.
Jesus knew that the Word of Godhad the power to defend him
from temptation.
If you and I understood thatand we were constantly falling
in temptation we would grab theWord of God and let it help
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fight that battle.
If we understood this the wayGod wants us to understand it,
god's Word is also a sword thatis used on us, though.
Have you ever felt God's wordcut into your heart?
You've been in service on aSunday morning and the pastor
says something that just piercesyour life.
You're in a morning devotional,reading the Bible, and all of a
(06:38):
sudden you read something thatjust cuts deep to your heart.
You may have had everyone elsefooled, even yourself, but God's
Word showed the truth of yourmotives and your sin.
It hurts, doesn't it?
I was talking to a gentlemanearlier today and he was telling
me his testimony and momentswhere he's been close to God and
moments where he's been farfrom God, and he made a
(06:59):
statement I think everybody canresonate with.
He said everybody thought I wasreally close to God, but nobody
knew what my heart was like inclosed doors when other people
weren't around.
They didn't know the sins thatI committed, they didn't know
the lifestyle that I lived, andI think that happens often and
until the Word of God gets intoyour heart, you continue to live
(07:19):
in that sin.
God's Word shows the truth ofyour motives and your sin and
when that happens it hurts.
And so many of us stay away fromthe Word of God because we
don't want to feel that when Goduses His sword on us, he uses
it not as an enemy trying todestroy us, but as a surgeon who
wants to heal us.
He knows how to cut in just theright place at just the right
(07:42):
time to bring healing to ourlives.
The skit guys had a skit yearsago.
A friend of mine, pastor JoeBradshaw, and myself actually
acted it out at my last churchand I think it's called the
Chisel and it talks about thepain of God cutting things away,
but he's molding us.
He's not hurting us to bringpain.
He's molding us and refining usinto who he's called us to be.
(08:03):
When God uses his sword on us,he uses it not as the enemy but
as the surgeon.
Let me give you the third word.
The word is food.
Look at this verse in Jeremiah15, 16.
When your words came, I atethem.
They were my joy and my heart'sdelight, for I bear your name,
o Lord, god Almighty, jeremiahactually ate the scrolls upon
(08:24):
which God had told him to writehis words.
He was one of the firstperformance artists, if you will
.
Obviously, god wanted to make apoint by commanding the prophet
to consume these scrolls.
Your words were my joy and myheart's delight, says Jeremiah.
Can you say that reading God'sword is like eating the most
prized possession that you caneat?
The best cake that you've everwanted is the word of God.
(08:46):
Feel like that to you?
Matthew 4.4 says Jesus answered.
It is written man does not liveon bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouthof God.
1 Peter 2.2,.
Like newborn babies, crave purespiritual milk so that by it you
may grow up in your salvation.
You want to go from moving as ababy Christian to a strong
(09:08):
Christian.
You want to live a life thatyour faith feels strong, that
you're closer to God.
You do it by consuming the Wordof God in your life.
If you're always fighting withthe same temptations, you're
always feeling like I'm notclose to God or I haven't grown
in my faith.
I would challenge whether youare truly in the Word of God or
not.
Dive into God's Word.
(09:29):
Don't fall into the trap ofthinking I'm not going to live
the clear truths until Iunderstand it all.
That would be like a babysaying I'm not going to drink
the milk unless you let me havethe steak first right.
Frankly, I still have adifficult time understanding
some of the truths in the Bible,but I'm not going to let that
keep me from the blessing ofliving out what I do know.
(09:49):
Fourth set of words I want togive you is fire and hammer,
jeremiah 23, 29.
It's not my word like fire, oris not my word like fire,
declares the Lord and like ahammer that breaks a rock in
pieces.
The joy that comes from whatGod's Word does in our lives is
not always an easy joy.
(10:09):
Sometimes God's Word is like afire.
It refines us and that processof burning out the impurities is
often painful.
Sometimes God's Word is like ahammer.
Have you ever felt God's Wordacting like a hammer?
Why would God need to use ahammer on us?
Because sometimes we have hardhearts and our hearts need to be
(10:32):
broken and shattered so thattenderness and compassion can
grow.
Let me give you another word theword mirror.
James 1, 23 through 25 saysthis anyone who listens to the
word but does not do what itsays is like someone who looks
at his face in a mirror and,after looking at himself, goes
away and immediately forgetswhat he looks like.
But whoever looks intently intothe perfect law that gives
(10:55):
freedom and continues in it, notforgetting what they've heard,
but doing it they will beblessed in what they do.
I don't know about you, but Iwant to be blessed in what I do,
and the Bible gives thisformula very clearly for you and
I.
How many of you have actuallylooked in a mirror at least once
today.
I got my haircut this morning,and so whenever you're at the
barber, you spend a lot of timelooking in the mirror, and at
(11:19):
the end of the haircut he alwayshe cuts my hair, my beard, and
he always gives me a handheldmirror to hold so we can do this
kind of 360 look around, makingsure everything looks the way I
want.
We look in the mirror to makesure that we look right.
Right.
If you hadn't, you'd run therisk of walking around all day
with a piece of breakfast inyour teeth.
(11:39):
God's Word shows us thespiritual truth about ourselves,
but it can't show it to you ifyou don't look.
It's amazing how even a quicklook at the Word of God will
show you the truth about anattitude that you're struggling
with.
Let me ask you this whatemotion do you feel when you see
the Bible?
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For many of us, it becomes justa familiar part of our lives.
We don't feel much.
Sometimes we need to take a fewminutes to be reminded, as
we've done in the study.
Do you realize how valuable theBible truly is?
The value is not in the leatherbinding or the wafer-thin pages
.
Its value is in the personalsacrifice that has been paid to
(12:24):
experience illumination, I mustunderstand God's Word
spiritually.
Once you begin to highly valueand read and study God's Word,
you'll need to understand God'sWord spiritually, not just
intellectually.
The point of knowing God's Wordis not for you to feel superior
to others, to take pride inyour knowledge, but so that you
(12:45):
understand it in your spirit, sothat it can change your life.
There are two truths about everybeliever in Christ.
First, that the Holy Spiritmakes me able to understand the
Bible.
This is one of those things.
When I talk to people about notunderstanding the Word of God.
It all goes back to the Spiritin your life.
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Are you listening to yourselfor the spirit?
It's true for every believer.
Let's look at 1 Corinthians, 2,12 through 14 for just a moment
.
It says this and we havereceived God's spirit, not the
world's spirit, god's spirit sowe can know the wonderful things
God has freely given us.
When we tell you these things,we do not use words that come
from human wisdom.
(13:26):
Instead, we speak words givento us by the Spirit, using the
Spirit's words to explainspiritual truths.
But people who aren't spiritualcan't receive these truths from
God's Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to themand they can't understand it,
for only those who are spiritualcan understand what the Spirit
means.
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Have you ever read a book andwish the author was there to
explain what you just read?
I have a little bit of a habitof buying books.
I'm sitting in my office rightnow and there are literally
thousands of books around me,some on my bookshelf, some in
books in the closet or in boxesin the closet.
I love to read and sometimeswhen I'm reading I wish I could
(14:07):
talk to the author and say allright, tell me what you really
meant Like, tell me what wasgoing on there.
The cool thing is the author ofthe Bible is always available.
His spirit has been put intoour lives as believers.
God didn't go to the trouble ofsending his spirit in your life
only to have you leave yourBible on the shelf John 16, 13,.
(14:28):
But when he, the spirit oftruth, comes, he will guide you
into all truth.
I love that word guide.
Sometimes we thinkunderstanding just washes over
us all at once.
It doesn't work that way.
If I have a guide to get methrough a jungle, he's going to
guide me step by step.
I'll never forget when Lori andI first got married, we went on
(14:49):
our honeymoon to Bora Bora andTahiti, and, man, we had an
incredible, incredible time.
In fact, I hope to go backthere one day, but I'm going to
need to start saving right nowfor 10 years from now with the
cost of that place, but we hadan incredible time.
One of the things we did is weactually got a guide for the
main island.
Now, the guide was the son ofthe fire chief of the island and
(15:09):
so he had grown up on thisisland.
He knew everything, and on thatday he just took us everywhere.
He had this Jeep that we drovearound.
We went up some mountains.
You weren't supposed to go upsome mountains.
We tried to go up and the Jeepwould just shrink back down,
just wouldn't make it up.
And I remember he parked in oneplace and began to take us into
the jungle on this island andhe's got this huge machete just
(15:30):
cutting away, like we're notgoing down a path that was
already created.
He's creating a path for us inthat moment.
Now, truth be told, I was alittle nervous.
I thought, man, this guy couldkill us out here and we'll never
survive it.
So I'm walking a few stepsbehind Lori, just so I can tell
the tale, if I need to right.
Not the best husband start tothe marriage, but he ended up
all of a sudden.
(15:50):
We got to this clearing and wesaw some old World War II
buildings that were left byAmericans that had used that
island back in the day.
And had we not had that guide,we would have never experienced
those things.
Lori and I could have foundsome things on our own, but we
would have never experiencedexactly what was going on.
I love having a guide.
(16:13):
God guides us into his truth byhis spirit.
Step by step, you understandmore and more of God's word.
You take a step and he showsyou more truth.
But you have to take the step.
You have to open the Bible.
You have to read some of thewords in there.
The Holy Spirit makes me ableto understand the Bible and then
the Holy Spirit makes meresponsible for understanding
(16:34):
the Bible.
Don't miss this.
1 John 2, 20 and verse 27,.
It says but you have ananointing from the Holy One and
all of you know the truth.
As for you, the anointing youreceived from Him remains in you
and you do not need anyone toteach you.
But as his anointing teachesyou about all things and as that
anointing is real, notcounterfeit, just as it has
(16:55):
taught you, remain in him.
You are responsible to learnthe truth of God's word for
yourself.
The pastor isn't responsible tomake sure you understand it.
Your small group leader isn'tresponsible to make sure you
understand it.
Your small group leader isn'tresponsible.
You are responsible to learnthe truth of God's Word for
yourself.
Now, truth be told, most peoplehave three or four Bibles in
(17:16):
their home or it's usually anincredible gift right or they
have it on their phone.
You and I have the opportunityto know more truth than most
believers down through all ofhistory, and God will hold us
accountable for that.
We need to take theresponsibility.
Very personally.
I think about decades andcenturies ago, where people
(17:38):
would have died to have theBible, where they would love to
have a copy of the Word of God,that if they could get their
hands on it, they would pourtheir life into it.
And you and I, we have it soreadily accessed and we ignore
it so much.
Let me give you another thing.
To experience illumination, Imust handle God's word
accurately.
2 Timothy 2.15 says Be diligentto present yourself approved to
(18:02):
God as a workman who does notneed to be ashamed handling
accurately the word of truth.
It's amazing how people willtry to twist the Bible to say
anything they want, often eventhrowing out the rules of common
sense.
You can't just ignore all therules for understanding a
language or a book when you pickup the Bible.
As we get to know the word ofGod, it's vital that we
(18:23):
understand a few simpleguidelines for Bible study.
So let me give you seven rulesof Bible study very quickly.
Rule number one faith and theHoly Spirit are necessary for
proper interpretation.
Number two the Bible interpretsitself.
When somebody asks me what'sthe best commentary on the Bible
, my first answer is always theBible.
(18:43):
Right, I have a lot ofcommentaries in my office and
there are some I prefer overothers, but the first place you
need to look is the Bible itself.
Scripture best explainsScripture, and so learn to do
cross-reference studies whereyou see where a verse came from
or another verse that talksabout the same subject of that
verse.
Rule number three understand theOld Testament in light of the
(19:06):
New Testament.
I absolutely love the OldTestament.
I love the stories and theimagery and the history of it,
but the Old Testament cansometimes be a scary place
without the light of the NewTestament.
Picture it like this the OldTestament is a dimly lit room
filled with treasures.
The New Testament brings morelight into the room.
(19:26):
It allows you to see the realbeauty of the treasures
contained in the Old Testament.
Rule number four understandunclear passages in light of
clear passages.
People violate this rule allthe time.
They find one verse they don'tunderstand, they decide how to
interpret it and then they tryto make other verses fit their
unique interpretation.
Understand unclear passages inthe light of clear passages.
(19:50):
Rule number five understandwords and verses in the light of
their context.
Let me give you an example.
Luke 12, 19 says take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.
Does Luke 12, 19 mean thatwe're to be party animals?
No, the next verse actuallysays for tomorrow you die.
It's good to know that.
It's not a commandment, it's awarning.
There are so many words on somany subjects in the Bible.
(20:13):
It's easy to take a few of themout of context to prove just
about anything you want to prove.
Rule number six understandhistorical passages in the light
of doctrinal passages.
Deuteronomy 17 says this theking must not take many wives
for himself, because they willturn his heart away from the
Lord.
Mark 1 says very early in themorning, while it is still dark,
(20:35):
jesus got up, left the houseand went off to a solitary place
where he prayed.
I'm sometimes asked how aboutall of those guys who had more
than one wife?
Right History records thatDavid had a number of wives,
that his son, solomon had 300wives.
Does that mean having more thanone wife was okay with God?
Not, when you understand thedoctrinal passage right.
Genesis 2 teaches that twoshall become one, not that 301
(20:59):
shall become one.
Deuteronomy 17 specificallywarned the king the king must
not take many wives.
These doctrinal passages helpus to see clearly that David and
Solomon were sinning by havingmany wives and to see how that
sin led them astray.
Now Jesus, he never left thecountry of his birth.
Does that mean that we cannever leave our country?
(21:20):
No, there is no commandattached to this example In that
verse.
In Mark 1.35,.
Jesus often prayed early in themorning.
Does that mean we're commandedto get up at 4 am and pray?
Let me emphatically say no,right, that is not the answer.
God may convince you that thatis a good habit for your life,
but he does not command everybeliever to pray early in the
(21:41):
morning.
Rule number seven understandpersonal experience in light of
the scripture.
This probably is the rule thatbelievers break most often.
We tend to understand scripturein the light of personal
experience and we make ourpersonal application out of
scripture into a command forothers to follow.
In doing that, we get verylegalistic.
(22:02):
Let me go back to illuminationfor a minute.
To experience illumination, Imust study God's word diligently
.
Let me end with this questionhow do you decide to study God's
word as a lifetime commitment?
First, we vow before the Lordto trust in and commit to the
truth of his word.
1 Timothy 4 says be diligent inthese matters.
(22:23):
Give yourself wholly to them sothat everyone may see your
progress, watch your life anddoctrine closely.
Persevere in them.
You may have some doubts aboutGod and about God's word.
Can you really trust it?
In these two studies about theBible, you've seen proof in
history and changed lives, butultimately this is a matter of
faith.
Will you decide right here andright now to trust the truth of
(22:46):
God's word?
Number two cultivate eagernessby examining God's word for
answers.
Number three tell others whatyou're learning from God's word.
Colossians 3.16 says it this waylet the word of Christ dwell in
you richly as you teach andadmonish one another with all
wisdom.
If you spend your life in smallgroups and teaching and leading
(23:07):
, you're going to be in the wordof God and it is going to work
through you as you teach others.
Last one I'll give you is thisact on what you learn as you
study the Bible.
James 1.22 says this do notmerely listen to the Word and so
deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
Let me read that again Don'tjust listen to the Word and, by
doing so, deceive yourselves.
(23:29):
Do what the Word of God says.
The Word of God is a book thatgives hope.
It's a book that gives usdirection.
It's a book that will see ussafely home.
Now.
I said here at the beginningthat I had a book coming out.
I would love for you to checkit out.
You can go to my website,wwwnick-williamscom.
That's nic-williamscom, and youcan go to the store on there
(23:52):
and see it.
Or you can go to Amazon.
The Kindle version on Amazon isavailable for pre-order.
The paperback and hardback areavailable for pre-order on my
website, but they will be onAmazon come June 10th.
If you've read any of my booksor read this one would love for
you to give a review on Amazon.
It just helps other people findthe book.
But this book I'm excited about.
It came out of a conversationwith my niece as she was
(24:13):
wrestling with the questionsthat are normal, like where do I
start?
How do I interpret it?
How do I know what I'm readingis right?
How do I know how I'minterpreting it is right?
Sometimes I don't feel it,sometimes it doesn't make sense
All the things that we wrestlewith with the Word of God.
And as I was having thatconversation with her and
writing down her questions, Ithought man, I'm going to write
(24:37):
a book that answers thesequestions and teaches people how
to study the Bible.
So in this book I do that.
First half we'll walk youthrough some common questions
that people have, and the secondhalf walks you through how to
study the Bible, whether youwant to do a thematic study,
finding a theme in the Bible ora character study, or a model
that we use here at South Shoreis called SOAP, and it walks you
through how to do that versionof Bible study as well.
But either way, if I can helpyou, if you have specific
(24:59):
questions, please reach out, letme know, otherwise.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
I hope the truth of God's Wordpermeates your heart, gets you
excited about God's Word, andthat you don't just learn it but
you do what it says.
Until next time, I hope youhave an incredible week.
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