How to Study The Bible Part 1

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Here's our hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Well, well, well, well, welcome back, folks. And Will, so good to see you today. How are you? I'm doing blessed and highly favored by the grace of God, who's been so good to me.

And I tell you, if I was doing any better, I'd be in heaven. Wow. Yeah. Folks, and if you can see the smile on Will's face, I have to attest that he is speaking the truth just based on seeing all the pearly whites in love, in love, in love, not we're in love, but in love. Yeah, in love, in love, speaking the truth in love.

That's right. Well, you know, oftentimes on the show, we talk about men not being properly trained. And that's part of our, you know, the ministry's mission is to equip men, right, and prepare them for their walk and prepare them in their life as it relates to being the man of God. And so we're deciding on the topic for the show, and it came up that Will and I would talk to over the last several weeks about how to study the Bible, what you get out of the Bible, and from pastor's perspective, you know, Will, why don't you just, for our listeners, you know, oftentimes, especially, I would say the modern day Christian, tend to put a little less emphasis on studying and reading the Word.

Would you agree? Oh, absolutely, Roy, you know, because I know people who are born-again believers, and they say, well, this is how I study the Bible. I just kind of take the Bible, put it on its end, let it fall open, and then that's where I begin to study. Well, I would not recommend that approach, because, and the reason why I say that is because we put time in planning trips to where we want to go. We take time in planning where we eat, where we want to go to eat, you know, what time we're going to go to bed, what time we get up.

We plan all of that. You know, we plan our day, basically. So it's like, why can't we plan when it comes to the approach of the Word of God?

Why can't we? That's exactly, well, and you know, what is procrastination? It's lack of intensity. I think it's the, hey, I'm covered by the blood, so I really don't need to worry about the study part.

We've heard them all. Oh, absolutely, and all of them really can't hold a grain of sand when it comes to when the enemy attempts to bring fiery darts their way. You know, how many of those individuals can really stand when the enemy comes with the fiery darts, and he will come and have come, and he will continue to come until you depart this life. So without proper preparation, without proper guard, then you're going to be more susceptible to injury, if you will, and that would be spiritual injury or even physical injury because we know that things can happen as a result of not being obedient to God, and if you certainly aren't paying attention, something could go wrong.

So, and it still could go wrong, but you're much better prepared, right, to deal with the storms when they do arrive. You always got to have, always, Roy, got to have the word of God in your heart. It has to be in there, and if we ever want to be warriors for Christ and attempt to send the enemy fleeing, you know, we always have to have the word of God in our heart. That's why James 4-7 says, resist the devil, and he will flee.

See, that's a promise. If you resist him, he will flee, but you have to resist him with the thing that will make him flee, and that's the word of God. That's what Jesus did. Jesus spoke the word. And Jesus would often say, as it is written. He was always going back to what was already written, right? And it was for the sake of man.

It was, it was. Because in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with the word. And then verse 14, and we beheld his glory, the only begotten of the Father. So see, God, if Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, Jesus, the son of God, used the word of God, then we can't defeat the enemy in the way, but by the word of God.

I mean, it was modeled by the ultimate, the one who was well equipped to not do it, did it. Exactly. Amen.

Exactly. So Will, you know, we were using a book, and you heard me talk about this on Friday mornings with our men, and certainly used it as a tool to share, and I've been re-reading it recently. It's How to Study the Bible for Yourself by Tim LaHaye, and it's been updated a couple times. But, you know, chapter two starts with the chapter What Bible Study Will Do for You, What Bible Study Will Do for You. The first thing it says, it will make you a strong Christian.

Absolutely. And see, without strength, then the opposite of that is weakness. So if we don't study, then we become weak. And see, we're commanded to study based on 2 Timothy 2.15, which we love to quote, which says, Study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

So that's where it starts. We're commanded to study the word of God. You're exactly right, Will.

And, you know, in this particular paragraph, Dr. LaHaye says, Of the hundreds of spiritual failures I have counseled, the thing they all had in common was the absence of the word in their daily lives. Absolutely. And see, we've got to have focus. That's the other thing, too. So, and we were sharing before we came on the air that I actually took a course in how to study the Bible, and I wrote several notes down from my old, the paper has actually turned yellow. That's got a little bit of age to it.

It's got some age to it. But one thing that I pulled out from there, and it says, When you study, study when you're physically alert. Study when you're not interrupted. Study when you can concentrate on the scripture. Study a little each day. Don't try to cram it all in there and think, hey, I'm going to read two or three chapters before I go to bed. And the thing about it is, is you're reading, but how much are you retaining? Right, so it should be qualitative, not quantitative.

Exactly. And that's what Dr. LaHaye says, as little as 15 minutes a day will get you on track. And then number five, I wrote down here, meditate after you study to keep yourself centrally focused. That's good.

During the day. And so point number two in this first chapter of how to study the Bible for yourself and what Bible study will do for you is it will assure your salvation because you're anchored in the word and you're sure of your salvation based on the study of the word. And the promises of God, right? And you can't be saved unless you hear the word.

That's right. Because faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Amen.

So we got to hear it first. It will give you, number three, it will give you confidence and power in prayer. And that's Romans 10, 17, by the way. There you go. I knew that you would know that.

Say again. Yeah, it will give you confidence and power in prayer. And that's what we need more of because we've always talked about lack of prayer life. And when you lack in your prayer life, then, of course, that means ultimately that your prayers will be ineffective because we're probably just praying according to whatever our situation is at the time, which is mainly is when we get in trouble. And then we fall on our knees.

Oh, Lord, help me get out of the situation that I put myself in. And, Will, you can probably speak from a counseling perspective as well that the lack of the word back to the earlier point, it really does cause a lot of problems in Christian marriages, as well as those that are on the fence, if you will, have made some commitment back in their life, but just aren't in the word like they need to be. Absolutely. And they're not. And if they are, then they're not doing it together or they're not doing it effectively. But in order for I think that marriage to be solid, they have to they have to study the word of God together.

Yes, they do. And pray together as we always stress, pray together. It will number four, it will cleanse you from sin. And then he quotes the scripture from First John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So therefore, we know our sins forgiven because we're in the word words telling us to the point. There we go.

So we move ahead. We know their sins are forgiven if we confess. And it will give you point number five, it will give you joy. One of the blessings of Christian life is joy, but often that joy is stifled by the problems of life. You know, and that's good, too, because going back to that earlier point, you know, when people say, why should I have to ask for forgiveness if if my sins are forgiven past, present and future?

Well, God would not have put it in the word to tell you to confess your sins so that you can repent of them if he didn't mean you to do it. That's right. Yeah. And that goes back to daily, daily and hourly, whatever is needed. Whatever is needed.

You know, some some need it more than others. Yes. Why are you looking at me? Hey, are you feeling guilty?

No, not at all. Okay. So these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy might be full. John 15 11.

That's what the Father Jesus was saying to us. And number six, it will produce peace in your life. Who can't use a little more peace in their life? Absolutely. Because it is peace that Jesus gives us past all understanding. People don't understand why you can be peaceful in the midst of chaos.

You know, of course, we see that going on in today's times. Proverbs three, five and six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and all your ways.

Acknowledge him and direct your past. Yes, he will. He will.

All day. And number seven will in this chapter, number two of how to study the Bible for yourself by Tim LaHaye. It will guide you in making important decisions in life. It will guide you in making important decisions in life. The reason being is because everything that we need in order to live right before a just and holy God is in the scripture.

Because nothing's new under the sun. Absolutely. It's all been done. So we have to recognize that whatever it is we do that we need to confess, you know, do what the word of God says.

But you got to get in there again and know what it says. So we just can't arbitrarily just, you know, put the Bible on its end, let it fall open and say, hmm, I'm going to do this today. You know, and that's not a good approach. Like we talked about earlier.

Yeah, not at all. It's not a good approach. I've heard many testimonies from people who says, you know, struggle with this. And I just opened the Bible and put my finger. And there was this very scripture that applied to my situation in that moment. And, you know, that might well be we're not making light of it.

That very well may be if God called you to do that. But what I mean is your approach to study. Right. See, because you were talking about a specific instance that may have happened in someone's life. Right, right, right. Yeah. But whereas if you use that method on a daily basis to study and try to build structure around, that's not a good approach.

No, not at all. Number eight, it will enable you to, this is really important, it will enable you to articulate your faith. And see that I believe in and of itself gives us what God says in 1 Peter 2 or 3, 15, where he says, you know, just be prepared to give an answer to every man for the hope that lies within you with meekness and fear. So we have to be able to defend what we believe. And if we can't do that, then that's because it's a lack of study. Yeah, and also to share it, not just defend it, but to share it for the person who has no knowledge of what it means to be a believer. And the defense piece comes when those that have studied themselves that come at you with questions that you need to be prepared to answer. Absolutely.

But defense does not necessarily mean, you know, if someone coming at you in a way, oh. We'll be right back. We've got to take a quick break. TAWCMM would love to have you join their community of men for breakfast every first and third Friday of every month. They have Bible discussions and fellowship after the best breakfast in town. The meeting location is at their gracious Host Church, First Christian Church in Kernersville, 1130 North Main Street in Kernersville.

They have a hard start at seven o'clock and a hard stop at eight o'clock. First time visitors eat for free. Join your hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Affordable chiropractic in High Point. As you might tell from their name, affordable chiropractic, even for the cash patient. Dr. Jeff Fricke has been caring for patients in High Point for 34 years. Physical therapy such as ultrasound and spinal decompression for disc conditions such as herniation. Comprehensive care for auto accident injury patients with no out-of-pocket expense. Remember, affordable chiropractic on West Lexington Avenue in High Point.

Call 336-885-1987. Well welcome back to Man Talk Radio. We had to take an abrupt interruption to Will's thought right there. So Will, I don't know if you can pick it right back up and then we'll go to point number nine in the second chapter. Yeah, what I was saying before the break was, Will, you're not necessarily getting into an argument with someone. Being able to defend the faith is simply saying that I can speak to you in a constructive way and I can articulate to you in a way in which you can understand why I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and through his birth, death, and resurrection that I am born again.

So to be able to articulate that plan of salvation, if you will, to someone who may not know. So that's really defending, not necessarily getting to some physical or verbal mental confrontation. Yeah, by defense, in my mind, what you said in the second phase of that is oftentimes you'll see or hear, and I've had that happen, had my sons gone through it, where people will come in that are well educated and they'll start saying, well prove to me or share with me or make your case of your faith. And so that's what I mean by defending. And then the person who's truly seeking answers, who's open-hearted, open-minded, then that's the point you were just sharing as well about sharing your faith and the whole plan of salvation.

So I think it's an excellent point, excellent point. So number nine, it will guarantee your success. In Joshua 1,8, the scripture, he references, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Amen. And you know, Dr. Elmer Towns, he talks about the five-finger approach when it comes to studying the Bible and some of the things we talked about already, but he says the first thing you got to do is hear it. And that's Romans, of course, 10, 17, so then faith come by hearing, hearing by the word of God.

Then you got to read it. And then he cites 1 Timothy 4, 13, where Paul gave the instructions to Timothy to say, Continue in reading the scripture and exhortation of the scripture until I come. So he was giving the young pastor some instruction on what to do. Continue to read the word of God to the people and exhort them in that way.

And then number three, study. And of course, we talked about 2 Timothy 2, 15, studying to show yourself approved. And then he talks about memory. And then he goes to Psalms 119, 11, where it talks about, Your word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against you. And so the hiding of the word in your heart says that I want to remember the word. So I want to memorize your word. And as I do that, I'm hiding it in my heart. So when I need it, I can go in and withdraw from the word that's been deposited in my heart.

And then he goes on to talk about memory. And then meditation. So and then now Psalms 1, 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord that I will meditate on him day and night. So again, the meditation is keeping the word of God in front of you so that you will always be ready to, when needed, to withdraw from that account that you've deposited in and quench those fiery darts that Satan's going to come at you. So men and women that are listening, but men, while we're here with you, let's take a break here for just a second.

Pause and ask yourself, am I really putting time into the word? And Will can attest to this. Most guys that we deal with and work with and have a blessing of being in fellowship with, they're honest. They'll tell you that they're not in there every day most.

And so that speaks generally speaking, probably across the nation, is that statistics pretty much hold true, as we've learned from the Barna studies and several things in the past. So ask yourself, am I in the word regularly? And so if you're honest with yourself and the answer is no, then let's talk about how do I change that?

Because, you know, tomorrow is not guaranteed, as we've talked about in the past and we all know that. And look at the opportunities, missed opportunities, to fellowship with the Father first. And then second, the impact that you could have in your community, in your home, in your church, in your workplace, by being well equipped with the word and understanding how it all fits together. Amen. And the best thing I think a person can do for their spiritual health, which will translate into their natural health, is to be saturated with the word of God and let the word of God direct and lead instead of us, who say we're born again, start operating, you know, from our mental faculties and say, you know, I can do this on my own because I got the capacity to do it.

I've done it before. And so it's all about I, I, I, me, me, me, my, my, my, instead of the God who made you, who were able to give you the ability to do what you do. Do all this stuff, that's right. And so, you know, when we leave God out of it, then utter, we're utterly going to fall. You may succeed on some things, but utterly what's going to happen is God is going to start chasing you.

And if you don't listen or understand when that chasing is happening, then it's going to happen a little bit harder. And you're going to be wondering, Lord, it seemed like I'm putting all of this time and effort into you, and yet I'm getting nowhere. See, that's, that's God saying there's something there that you need to go back and do what 1 John 1-9 says.

You know, you need to go ahead and confess and repent of this thing because this is what's holding you back from me blessing you. So Will, what comes to mind, we think about the absence of the word of God in the, in the believer's life. And then we also think about it in the absence of the marketplace in our schools. You know, what was it, 62 or 63, that they took prayer out of schools, took the Bible, I guess essentially pulled all that out, said no more, right? And so look at all the trends, and I think what's happened, even in this respect, is our, probably our hunger for the word has probably followed that same trail, right, that same curve that we've taken it out of the schools. Kids are now impacted and guided by a lack of moral guidance, no spiritual guidance in the schools. And now all of a sudden, if the children aren't asking about it at home, what happens? Parents are focused on the children, but if that kind of goes away in the conversation, what used to be stimulated at school is now no longer a part of the family conversation from school back home. And all the trends we've seen, the crimes that have gone up, the rape, the murders, all the various things, lack of morality, has just skyrocketed over the last 60 years. Yeah, because, you know, children, they want to be included.

They do. So when you exclude them, and I remember as a boy growing up, there's some things that went on in the household, and my mother would say, you kids get outside now, you know, there's grown folks talking in here, go on outside and play, you know. And I was thinking about some of the times maybe to where we missed, because they would be having prayer meeting in there, and then they would say, well, you kids, you don't understand what's going on anyway. But I look at that time, and I say, how much of that could have cultivated me, you know, growing up?

And that's not to say I didn't get it elsewhere, but I'm just talking about the times where I didn't get it, you know, and where those were just missed opportunities. But then I think about the children who didn't have it in the household at all, and seeing what becomes their model is other kids, the street, and TV. That becomes their model. So they look and see what they see on TV, they see what other kids are doing.

All the wrong stuff. Yeah, they're doing their age, you know, or they listen to other kids' parents and see what they're doing, and then all of a sudden, you know, they're taking this deep dive off the edge of the cliff. Yeah, because that to them is normal.

That's what's to be expected, right? So part of what we want to discuss too is also how to read the Bible, and we've got just a few moments here on this show, but we'll continue it on next week's show as well, but how to actually read the Bible. And by this, we're talking about the time to put in, how often should you read. So the first thing that Dr. LaHayes tells you is obviously you need to get in the habit of reading daily.

And like we talked just a few moments ago, it needs to be qualitative, not quantitative. And he actually suggests, Will, and you can attest to this, but 15 minutes a day of actual reading time, and you take a few more minutes to do some of the other components which we'll talk about, but actually 15 minutes a day. And one thing I want to say before we get into this piece is that be sure, listener, that you pray before you read, that you ask the Father to come into your presence and to show you through the Word what it is that He wants you to gain from that day and that time in the Word. And as Will said, be deliberate. Don't just throw it open and say, okay, this must be where I'm supposed to be.

And then that brings a great question. Where do I start? Well, I would say 1 John would be a great place to start if you've not read, and then go to John and then move through the rest of the Gospels. And, Will, you may have another thought, but that's a great way to start because if you're a follower of Christ, it starts you in the whole journey where it all begins.

Absolutely. 1, 2, 3 John and then the Book of St. John, as you stated, through the rest of the Gospels. And then from there, I would recommend go to Acts because Acts is more, well, it is. It's not more of, but it is a narrative. So it's almost like told in a story form, and that's what the narrative does. So when people go to the Word of God, they can understand that, especially if you're using a modern translation of the Bible, and you can see how God worked in the lives of the apostles, Peter and Paul, Barnabas and all of those guys, during the time of Paul's missionary journeys. So, Will, you make a good point there about whatever translation you're using, but what translation should a listener use? Well, I think it depends on the listener, but there's some translations that I would not recommend, and just for reasons, because they're basically commentaries. They're not direct translations of the Bible. So I would stay away from like the message Bible or like the living Bible is another one, because these Bibles are basically commentaries, and you're getting those commentaries from a person's perspective, versus the word-for-word translation, such as like the King James, New King James, the New American Standard Version, and the Revised Standard Version.

These are mostly word-for-word translations. So you heard the ones that he would recommend, folks, and Life Applications got both of those versions available to study Bibles, with the King James and New King James version available. So, folks, we appreciate you joining us. We're going to have to pick the rest of this up on next week's show.

Absolutely. It's amazing how much content there is, and it's about how to study the Bible. Thank you for joining us this week. As we wrap up today's show, be assured that TAWCMM, Talking and Walking Christian Men's Ministry, is building a community of men that are Christ followers in the desire to be servant leaders in their homes, communities, churches, and work environments. Check out our website for upcoming events and regularly scheduled meetings. Drop us a note for topics that you would like to have us visit in the future. Thank you for joining us on Man Talk today. Visit us at www.tawcmm.com. Men walking the talk. This is the Truth Network.