5 Reasons Why You Should Read The Bible

today i want to do a study on five reasons why you should read the bible five reasons why you should read the bible and the bible is not just a book among many books it certainly is more than just a sacred book among many sacred books the bible alone is god's holy eternal word and as we begin this study there might be some who have questions as to why should i even believe the bible or is the bible reliable or i went to a college that attacked the authenticity of the bible and said that it was but fairy tales and false truths and or perhaps you attended a college or university where they relegated the bible to a pile of many sacred writings throughout history and ancient history but i want to challenge you to just make a note in the beginning of this bible study at some point if you have not listened to our teaching entitled five reasons why you can believe the bible i want you to be sure to make a note to listen to that study because in that study five reasons why you can believe the bible i proved that the bible is dependable and authentic and historic and provable through science through biblical archaeology through manuscript evidence through the resurrection of jesus christ and through the content of bible prophecy and so you'll pardon me if in this study i'm not going to take time to prove the authenticity of the bible there is a thorough teaching available on that subject and at some point you need to listen to that but as we begin today's study in the bible we're going to focus specifically upon five reasons why you should read the bible and in that you're also going to learn that there are incredible benefits in your life in a practical way that come from the systematic reading of god's holy word and even if you do not consider yourself religious even if perhaps you're agnostic or an atheist or an unbeliever or have never had room in your heart for these types of matters you would think just simply from an academic and intellectual standpoint if you have never read the bible from cover to cover i would think that your education has a severe hole in it because no book in all of the world is more popular than the bible it is still the most printed published read book in all of human history and so i would encourage you if even for the reason of just saying it's a great book i've never read it why don't you give god an opportunity to speak to your heart and read it if you have your bible go into the gospel of john and the first chapter if you're a brand new christian or a new student to the bible the bible is divided into two covenants the old testament and the new testament and in the new testament the first four books are called the gospels and that would include matthew mark luke and john now sometimes you'll hear the terminology the synoptic gospels some of you that are deeper students of the bible you've heard the phrase or the theological term the synoptic gospels that refers to the first three matthew mark and luke why are they called the synoptic gospels and why isn't the gospel of john included in the synoptic gospels and that is spelled by the way o s-y-n-o-p-t t i c synoptic and what it means is that matthew mark and luke are almost identical their narratives are very similar their stories are very similar the order in the chronology of their content is very similar but john is quite separate and unique and so john's gospel is different than matthew mark and luke though as it is included in the gospels it is not included in the list of the synoptic gospels and uh this is important for you to understand at any stage of you being a christian i'm always going to do my best to provide for you what i believe are essential background pieces of understanding the bible and since i'm reading out of john's gospel i want you as we begin to understand the difference between the four gospels and the three matthew mark luke and john called the synoptic gospels and why john was not included it is in this book of john in the first chapter that we begin reading at verse one and there the bible says in the beginning the word already existed the word was with god and the word was god he existed in the beginning with god god created everything through him and nothing was created except through him the word gave life to everything that was created and his life brought light to everyone the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it and so as we begin this study on five reasons why you should read the bible the bible is oftentimes referred to as god's word or in john's gospel he refers to the word and teaches us that the word existed from the beginning and today we're going to look at that significant statement and how it applies to your life and the benefits of reading your bible and as we do let's take a moment to pray together because any time we study the bible and open the pages of sacred scripture we must always remember our humble dependence upon the holy spirit who leads us and guides us into all truth and so can i pray for you today father in the name of jesus as we enter once again the classroom of the bible we do humble our hearts in your holy presence and before this audience and the thousands who will listen to this teaching seeking and searching for truth i pray that the holy spirit who is the great mentor and teacher will lead us and guide us into that truth and i pray that you would anoint my mind and my body and my spirit and let my thoughts and my words be your thoughts and words as we start in the bible and stay in the bible and finish in the bible i thank you that your word is like seed and may it today find fertile soil and produce much fruit and we'll be careful to give you the praise and the honor and the glory for we ask it in the mighty name of jesus and father as always i pray especially for those who may not know christ or do not have a genuine relationship with god or perhaps even wonder is it possible i thank you that from the very beginning in the bible you made it clear that you desire to have relationship with us and to fellowship with us and to help us throughout every part of life from birth until our final breath you are our source and we praise you and so i pray that as the word of god is taught today that you'll give people an appetite and a hunger to listen and to learn i pray that they would be supernaturally drawn to the things of god and at the end of our time together when we offer a prayer for people to turn from sin and turn to christ i pray that you would give them the faith and the courage to do what they ought to do and may all who listen to the bible today be ready to meet the lord for we know as we watch the world around us the signs of the times are clearer and more evident and we must live ready every day may it be so we pray in jesus name and all god's people said amen the significance of the bible that i hold in my hands or that the bible you hold in your hands it's impossible to overstate how important this book is it's not a coincidence that the bible by far is the most published printed distributed and purchased book in all of human history now of course we know that in ancient times they did not have the benefit of the gutenberg printing press but we now have literally billions with a b billions of bibles that have been printed and published and year in and year out no book no new york best time seller no book compares to the amount of bibles that are bought and studied and read how many bibles someone asked me at one point have been published and those numbers vary but the most conservative number that i can present to you and i mean conservative would be about 5 billion bibles the most provable conservative number of bibles that have been printed and published is around five billion bibles no other sacred text no other religion whether it be mormonism or islam or hinduism or buddhism if you were to take all of their writings and all of their sacred texts no other book no other compilation of what in secular society is oftentimes called sacred and ancient writings nothing compares with the number of bibles that are printed and published the whole bible has been translated into currently and these numbers are fluid they're ever changing because of agencies that are trying to translate and make the bible available in languages around the world but the bible is currently available in 349 languages according to the most common data but the bible is available in 2123 languages that have at least a portion of the bible sadly that number does not include languages that have the entirety of the bible but languages on the earth that have at least a portion of the bible 2123 as i speak and again these numbers are fluid and thank god for agencies and organizations who exist to print and to publish and to expand the reach of the bible throughout all of the languages of the world we probably don't pray for those groups as often as we should benefits blessings reasons why you should read the bible for those of you that are taking notes number one the bible is the key to knowing god our study today five reasons why you should read the bible number one the bible is the key to knowing god it is impossible to have a relationship with god and an ever increasing knowledge of god without the content of his bible the bible has been called many things through the years it has been called our handbook for life it has been called god's love letters i often times have called the bible a map from earth to glory it has been called life's owner's manual and so on it is all of these things but it is so much more the bible is a literal revelation of god to us the holy scriptures are god-inspired and inerrant words to those who read and study and meditate upon them let me make this very simple for you the bible is how god speaks to us best you know there are a lot of people today who want a minister to lay hands on them and speak to them on behalf of god and of course the bible speaks in the fourth chapter of ephesians of five specific gifts ministry gifts that god has raised up for the edification teaching encouragement rebuke instruction of the church and those five gifts recorded in ephesians chapter 4 of the apostle and the prophet and the evangelist and the pastor and the teacher and i would never defame the five sacred gifts that god has given to the church but too many people treat god like a drive-through they just want to pull up in church on a sunday have a minister lay hands on them and speak to them or tell them what god's will is or prophesy over them or give them a word and again i am not in any way negating the fact that god can speak to us through his servants but listen very carefully the number one way that god reveals himself to you is through the reading of the bible from genesis through revelation the holy sacred canon of scripture exists so that you might know god in a greater way and your knowledge of god will never be any greater than your knowledge of his word just a few days ago i was with an audience and i made the statement if you want to hear god's voice read the bible if you want to hear god's voice out loud read the bible out loud the bible will never fail you the bible will never offer a false prophecy the bible will never speak over you something that is not from the heart of god recently as a personal experience in my own family one of my nephews was in a meeting and in that church they had a guest evangelist and that evangelist laid hands upon my nephew and prophesied something that when i heard what he had prophesied i immediately knew in my spirit that he was a false prophet and what he said wasn't inerrant was an erroneous prophecy he had missed god by a million miles but sadly there are those who claim to be ministers who manipulate the words of god for personal reasons not only did i immediately know he was a false prophet but there was an anger that rose up inside of me and to be honest with you that young man can thank god that he wasn't in my zip code because i would have paid him a personal visit and corrected him sternly you must always know that the primary way that you know god and that god seeks to know you is through the reading of the bible and the knowledge of the bible open with me into ii peter near the end of the new testament second peter chapter one and i want you to highlight verses 19 through 21. listen carefully to it ii peter chapter 1 verses 19 through 21 because of that experience we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets you must pay close attention to what they wrote for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and christ the morning star shines in your hearts above all you must realize that no prophecy in scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding or from human initiative no those prophets were moved by the holy spirit and they spoke from god the bible is god speaking to you and so reason number one that you should read the bible is the bible is the key to knowing god number two the bible is the key to learning god's will number two the bible the reading of the bible is the key to how we learn god's will it is through the bible that we see and know god and your knowledge of god's word will parallel your knowledge of god's word it's been a common question through all of my four decades plus of ministry especially with younger christians and younger people who have come to me by the multiplied thousands through the years especially in my early days i preached hundreds of youth camps and youth conventions and youth conferences and many times young people are wanting to know the will of god for their lives and it doesn't matter what your age if you're sincere in your spiritual pursuit there should always be an instinctive internal desire to know god's will and to do god's will but it is through the reading of the bible that you know not only god but you begin to know what his will is it is through the bible that we learn that from the very beginning it was god's will to have a relationship with us the bible is how we discover that from the very beginning it was god's will for you and i to have right relationship with him go into the old testament into the book of leviticus genesis exodus leviticus and the 26th chapter exodus chapter excuse me leviticus chapter 26 and i want you to highlight verse 12. leviticus 26 verse 12 the bible says i will walk among you i will be your god and you will be my people has anybody ever told you that that is god's will for you god desires to have right relationship with you and he told us in the very beginning and here in the book of leviticus in the 26th chapter and the 12th verse god by the holy scripture said i will walk among you i will be your god and you will be my people it is through the bible that we learn about god's character his nature his power his reason for creating us his goodness his grace his love his light his holiness his justice justice his mercy and his compassion the more you read the bible the more you begin to learn about the nature of god and in learning the nature of god the will of god and the knowledge of his will grows out of your knowledge as to who god is it is through the bible that we learn about the perfect fellowship that humanity once had with god in paradise but how it was broken through rebellion and through sin and disobedience but it is through the bible that we learned that god offered his only son jesus christ to break the curse of sin and bring us into right relationship with god it is through the bible that we learn that it is always the will of god for people to be saved and to be restored into right relationship with him in second peter in the third chapter the bible says god is willing that none should perish but all should come to repentance no matter who is listening to me today and maybe there's someone listening right now and you've never been taught this but your sins have not forever separated you from god eternally without hope there is a hope regardless of your past regardless of your sin regardless of the wrong things that you have done perhaps that no one even knows about god will forgive and god will forget if you'll come to him in childlike faith and recognize your sin repent of your sin and receive his offering for your sin and that is his only son jesus christ it is god's will for you to be saved it is god's will for you to live in health it is god's will for you to walk in his favor and in his blessing it is god's will to break the curse of sin it is god's will to break the curse of sickness and disease and infirmity the bible says who forgives our sins and heals our diseases it is god's will to break the curse of poverty and to break the curse of lack it is god's will that you have joy and peace in life the bible says the devil comes to steal and to kill and to destroy but jesus came that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly it is through the reading of the bible that you begin to discover that god has a holy purpose for you and that god has a holy destiny for you and it is through the reading of the bible that you are empowered not only to know the will of god but to live in the will of god in romans chapter 12 turn to your bible with me romans chapter 12 authored by the apostle paul and the 12th chapter romans chapter 12 verses 1 2 and 3 listen to these beautiful words from the bible paul wrote in romans chapter 12 verses 1 through 3 and so dear brothers and sisters i plead with you to give your bodies to god because of all he has done for you let them be a living and a holy sacrifice the kind he will find acceptable this is truly the way to worship him don't copy listen to this don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let god transform you into a new person by changing the way you think then listen then you will learn to know god's will for you then you will learn to know god's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect and perhaps this will help someone because many people fear that if i submit my life to god and if i submit my life to god's will he's going to call me to do something that i hate or he's gonna send me somewhere that i'll uh just be horribly unfit for life and ministry or service no god knows what's best for you god knows what you were created to do and god's will will never lead you or send you into a place of torment god's will will always lead you in paths of blessing and paths of fulfillment and paths of destiny god didn't create you to torture you he created you that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly god knows you better than you know yourself and god listen god's will for you is better than your highest aspiration because in god's will there is peace in god's will there is contentment in god's will there is satisfaction in god's will there is purpose you know you can have a high position in this world and be highly paid or highly successful none of that brings true peace or contentment sadly sometimes some of what the world calls the most successful people we read in the news of their suicides and their taking of their own lives because with all of the success of the world and with all of the accumulation of things temporary their souls were barren and their life was miserable because things temporary can never satisfy the soul but things eternal you were created in the image of an eternal god and in his eternal will he'll lead you in paths that satisfy it is through the knowledge of god's word that we're guided through life and in the reading listen carefully in the reading of the bible the more you read and study and meditate upon the bible the more godly instincts are made alive in you listen carefully the more you read study and meditate upon the bible the natural godly instincts because you were created in the image of god those natural godly instincts are revived and stimulated and strengthened and you begin through godly instincts to know right from wrong you begin through godly instincts to know what choice to make what path is right what path is wrong what pleases god what displeases god and so on it is through the reading of the bible that there is birth in the inner man and spiritual instincts come alive and guide us go into psalm 119 in the old testament psalm 119 by the way is just a a piece of trivia psalm 119 is the longest chapter in all of the bible psalm 119 and go down to verse 101 and read with me through verses 105. psalm 119 verse 101 through verse 105. listen to these beautiful words in the bible i have refused to walk on any evil path so that i might remain obedient to your word i haven't turned away from your regulations for you have taught me well how sweet your words taste to me they are sweeter than honey your commandments give me understanding no wonder i hate every false way of life your word is a lamp to guide my feet and the light for my path it is through the reading of the bible that the benefit of knowing the will of god becomes clearer and clearer many years ago i was preaching at a youth camp in the upper peninsula of the state of michigan and it was remote and wilderness and the beautiful camp that was owned by the denomination was on a lake and they had a rustic humble speaker's cabin on the lake which for me was perfect i would rather stay probably in a rustic place on a remote lake than the finest ritz carlton of any major metropolis in the world and i so enjoyed that week of ministry there with hundreds of young people but at night i often times took advantage of a path along the edge of that lake and that night scenery to take some time to pray and to talk to the lord and they had an old coleman lantern in that cabin and i remember the very first night i lit that coleman lantern and i went for a walk down the path from the cabin now the path was not an easy path i soon discovered that as i got away from the camp and got closer to the edge of the woods and the lake that the path had many rocks and was covered with roots and i noticed that i just instinctively had the lamp close to my feet because i needed to be careful i didn't want to stumble and fall or twist an ankle or worse and i remember doing that and the bible verse that i just read to you came alive to me in life illustration like i had never seen it before thy word is a light unto my path and a lamp onto my feet i needed that lamp to keep from falling i also noticed that it forced me not to look a long way down the path but i had to concentrate only upon a few steps by the light that was revealed by that lamp reading the bible does not mean that you will know the will of god until your last breath on earth but reading the bible will provide enough light to keep you safe and to keep you protected every step of life's journey and that's why we read the bible every day that's why we encourage you to be daily students of prayer and the bible because it is the spiritual way that god provides enough light to make every decision every day of your life number three the bible is the key to our faith your faith will never be greater than your knowledge of the bible the bible says in romans chapter 10 and verse 17 and if you do not have that highlighted in your bible take the time to do that right now it is one of those precious gold nuggets tucked away in the scriptures that is so very practical to what we're talking about today in romans chapter 10 and verse 17 here's what the bible says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god the more you discipline yourself to read and to study and meditate upon the scripture the stronger and stronger your faith will become and your faith is the only defensive weapon in your spiritual armor paul when he wrote to the church at ephesus in the book of ephesians spoke to us about the armor of god and he said that we should have the helmet of salvation the breastplate of righteousness loins gird about with truth feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace the sword of the spirit which is the word of god but the shield of faith is that preeminent protective going before us in battle piece of armor that is our source of protection in our christian walk and faith comes by the reading of the bible i'm so proud of you because so many of you are so faithful to be a part of our studies in the bible as we walk through the classroom of the bible and we start in the bible and stay in the bible and finish in the bible you can be certain not because of my teaching or me teaching it but because of the promise of the bible that i am teaching faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god you may not sense it emotionally or physically or intellectually but every time you take time to expose yourself to the anointed teaching of god's holy word or you read it or you meditate upon it or you memorize it or you quote it faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god can i tell you that perhaps one of the hardest most difficult spiritual battles that you will ever face will be the establishing of the discipline to read your bible every day now you would think perhaps if you're a new christian and as i often do i always say every new christian needs to establish four fundamental habits number one you need to read your bible every day number two you need to pray every day number three you need to find a bible believing church with a godly pastor and be faithful and number four you need to pray for the salvation of your friends and family and i teach those four fundamentals of the christian life for the new believer you would think reading your bible every day would be the most simple thing to begin to do but you're going to find that it is the greatest spiritual battlefield you will ever face as a christian because the devil knows if he can keep you out of the bible don't miss what i'm about to say if the devil can keep you from being faithful to read and to study and to meditate upon your bible it's not a matter of will you fail one day it is a matter of when will you fail one day you cannot live exclamation point exclamation point exclamation point you cannot live the christian life without being built upon the foundation of god's holy word faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god and so make it a discipline and fight for it but don't be surprised that the devil will fight you on that spiritual battleground more than any other because that is the source of faith and strength and increasing in the wisdom knowledge and understanding of god number four reading the bible is the key to success in life now let me begin by carefully saying i am not defining success in secular terminology i am defining success from a biblical perspective but make no mistake god cares about your success he said in deuteronomy 28 i'll bless you going out i'll bless you coming in i'll bless you in the country i'll bless you in the city he said i'll bless the fruit of your womb i'll bless the work of your hands i'll bless your storehouse and so on god is concerned about your success in life but biblical success is different than temporary secular definitions of success i am not saying that god won't bless you temporarily and with things temporal because he will paul told timothy there are a lot of people who attacked the message that god would dare want to bless his children but the bible is filled with scriptures that talk to us about the generosity of god and his favor the bible says in luke chapter 6 give and it shall be given unto you pressed down with the favor and the measures of god even men will give unto your bosom the bible tells me that god desires to bless you and to cover you with holy favor but listen carefully the favor and the blessing of god is not just temporary it is eternal that's why paul told timothy he wrote to timothy in his letters to timothy he said timothy godliness is profitable unto all things both in the life now and in the life that is to come some people preach the blessing of god but only say well you may never taste it this side of glory but one day your rewards await you in heaven that's not what the bible says the bible said godliness is profitable unto all things both in the life now and in the life to come god cares about the shoes on your feet god cares about the clothes on your back god cares about the food on your table god cares about the roof over your head god cares about your needs in life and not only does he care about the needs in your life he cares about the desires in your heart he said in the bible delight yourself in the lord and he will also give you the desires of your heart god is not as tight as your great grandmother who lived in the great depression he's a god of abundance and he loves his children and the bible said in matthew if you as earthly fathers have a desire to bless your children how much more does your heavenly father desire to bless you and to give you good gifts i am solidly opposed to those who make god out to be some tight-fisted stingy god who never blesses his children but only cares about the their eternity i want to say loud and clear the bible said that when you get saved the blessings of god and the help of god and the wisdom of god and the success of god start on the day of your salvation and follow you all the way to streets of gold and throughout all of eternity and i dare you if you believe it and receive it to say amen just to make the devil nervous turn to the book of joshua you know me well enough to know as i've already quoted many passages i have a few that i'd like for you to highlight in your bible joshua and the very first chapter listen to the words that god gave as an encouragement to joshua moses god's servant had passed away joshua was his successor and the weight and the responsibility of leading this vast group of people who were often rebellious against god in his word weighed heavy upon joshua and this is what god spoke to him joshua chapter 1 highlight verses 7 through 9. there the bible says be strong and very courageous be careful to obey all the instructions moses gave you do not deviate from them turning either to the right or to the left then you will be successful in everything you do study this book of instruction continually meditate upon it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do this is my command be strong and courageous do not be afraid or discouraged for the lord your god is with you wherever you go god in these words of encouragement gave joshua four keys to being successful write them down number one he said obey my commands if you want the blessing and the favor of god to follow you in your christian walk you must be an obedient child number one obey god's commands number two do not ever turn to the left or to the right of god's commands how does one do that one does that by listening to poor teaching one does that by following false ministers one does that from people who read a passage out of the bible and then give you 50 minutes of their commentary twisting and perverting the scriptures every step of the way god will give you solid godly faithful consistent teaching men and women of god if you'll seek him so many times the comments that come in many people are grateful and they say in their testimonies i have been praying that god would bring somebody in my life that would teach me the bible straight from the pages of the scripture and i thank god that i found your ministry now i don't say that to pat myself on the back i'm saying that to let you know i pledge to you as i often do i want to be a trusted source for knowing the bible knowing god's commands knowing end time prophecy and i pledge to you as we always do if you listen long enough you will soon discover that in everything we present to you we open the bible we start in the bible we stay in the bible we finish in the bible we never turn to the left or to the right to make it fit a modern social narrative we say to the best of our ability this is the word of the lord number three he told joshua study god's commandments well that's what we're doing today we're studying god's commandments together and we need to be faithful students of god's word number four meditate upon god's commands meditate simply means purposefully dwell upon with purpose throughout the course of the day meditate upon god's word breathe a prayer out saying lord by the holy spirit help me to better know what you meant what you said what the original author intended turn with me to james chapter 1 all the way from joshua in the old testament to the back of the new testament and the gospel of james and the first chapter verses 22-25 listen to these powerful words james chapter 1 verses 22 through 25 don't just listen to god's word you must do what it says otherwise you are only fooling yourselves for if you listen to the word and don't obey it it is like glancing at your face in a mirror you see yourself walk away and forget what you look like but if you carefully look into the perfect law that sets you free and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard then god will bless you for doing it the very same principles that god gave to joshua carry into the new testament covenant as well and if you listen to the word obey god's word study god's word meditate upon god's word god said i will bless you for doing it number five and lastly in our study of five reasons why you should read the bible number five the bible is the key to living a victorious life the difference between believers who live in defeat as opposed to believers who live in victory is connected to what i'm about to teach you sadly i know a lot of believers that 90 of their christian walk they live in defeat and 10 of the time they live in victory and they almost rejoice in that equation as if they're spiritual and god favors them because they're suffering all the time i think all of us who have been in church and in christian fellowship long enough have met people who seemingly delight in living in turmoil their life is constant turmoil they go from one defeat to the next and i'm convinced that many of them just want unnecessary attention and that's how they get it but i am here to tell you that it should be the other way around you should live in victory the majority of the time i'm not denying that there aren't trials and tests and issues in this temporary world jesus said in john chapter 16 and verse 33 in this world you shall have tribulation but he didn't stop there he went on to say be of good cheer for i have overcome the world praise god i have overcome the world god wants you to live in victory over sin over self over the flesh and over this world reading the bible knowing the bible obeying the bible meditating upon the bible produces victory paul the apostle wrote to the church at corinth and said but thanks be unto god who giveth us the victory through the lord jesus christ as we close let me give you some specifics and write it down reading the bible not only gives you victory it gives you victory over sin it was the word that brought you victory over sin and to the knowledge of your salvation since we're so close by just flip over a few pages to first peter and the first chapter first peter chapter 1 and verse 23 for you have been born again but not to a life that will quickly end your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of god that's where you first obtain salvation and victory over sin psalm chapter 119 psalm 119. verses 9 through 11 the bible says how can a young person stay pure by obeying your word i have tried hard to find you don't let me wander from your commands i have hidden your word in my heart that i might not sin against you hiding the word of god in your heart the word brought you to salvation the word initially broke the curse of sin and hiding the word of god in your heart is how you live in victory over sin but not only in victory over sin but victory over the flesh in ephesians and the fifth chapter and verses 25 and 26 the bible says for husbands this means love your wives just as christ loved the church he gave up his life for her listen carefully to verse 26 to make her holy and clean washed by the cleansing of god's word god's word cleanses us it washes our flesh it sanctifies us it motivates us to holiness hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12 the bible says for the word of god is alive and powerful it is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword cutting between soul and spirit between joint and mirror it exposes our innermost thoughts and desires and lastly it gives us victory over the world i know we've been top-heavy in the bible today but you can never go wrong by sharing too much scripture but you can sure go wrong by not sharing enough but turn to the gospel of john and the 17th chapter john chapter 17. verses 13-19 now i am coming to you i told them many things while i was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy i have given them your word and the world hates them because they do not belong to the world just as i do not belong to the world i'm not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them safe from the evil one they do not belong to this world any more than i do make them holy by your truth teach them your word which is truth just as you sent me into the world i am sending them into the world and i gave myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth we learn through the scripture this and many others that it is through the reading and the knowledge and the obedience of the bible that the victory to live in this world but to live separated from the world and victorious over this world comes through god's holy word i hope this bible study today has been of great benefit to you as we have taught you from the scriptures and saturated this time in the classroom of the bible as we've studied the subject five reasons why you must study the bible the bible is the key to the very core values of your christian walk day in and day out i want to close by asking a very simple question and surprisingly i'm not going to ask you if you know the bible i want to ask you a question that is more fundamental than that not asking do you know the bible but in closing can i ask you do you know the author because the bible will never mean anything to you until you have right relationship with god did you know that paul when he wrote his letters to the church at corinth explained why many people don't have a relationship with god he said people who do not believe are spiritually blinded to the truth of the gospel many people don't believe because they can't believe they are spiritually blind but the bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god it is the bible that begins to break up the blindness the bible tells us that through the foolishness of preaching god's word god reveals the simplicity of the message of salvation what is the gospel it's defined very carefully in first corinthians 15 the essence of the gospel is that jesus christ lived he died upon the cross he was buried and he rose again and he lives eternally to make an agreement or a mediation between our sin and the holiness of god the essence of needing god is god is holy we by nature are sinful and some of you have never had right relationship with god because you've never understood the gospel all have sinned all have sinned not just you all but there's three things you have to do to begin to have a relationship with god number one you must recognize you're a sinner number two you must repent of that sin repent means turn around change your direction repentance is a change of mind it's a change of heart it's a change of direction it's a change of attitude you say but i don't think i can do that in my own power you're right you can't but the good news in john's gospel the bible records as many as receive christ as many as believe upon his name he gives to them the power to become the sons and the daughters of god you have to recognize you're a sinner you have to repent of your sin by faith you have to receive jesus christ as your lord and savior in ephesians chapter 2 the bible says for by grace are we saved through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of god not by works lest any man should boast you can have peace with god today you can repent of sin today you can begin right relationship with god today will you pray with me can i have the privilege of leading you in prayer prayer is just talking to god repeating prayers with preachers or priests or evangelists or rabbis repeating a prayer is not what leads to salvation but if it's from your heart and you are sincere the bible says in romans 12 all who call upon the name of the lord shall be saved you can do that with me right now today you can begin a life with god you can begin to have right relationship with god the bible can become the map from earth to glory and the source of all life and success pray with me wherever you're at just humbly from your heart say heavenly father today as i was listening to the bible you were speaking to me down deep in my heart i want to be a real christian i want to have peace with god i want to know that my sins are forgiven and that god is my heavenly father and so today i trust in the cross and in the blood that jesus shed in his resurrection and as god's only son i confess him now as my lord and my savior in childlike faith i repent of sin and i receive jesus christ and the gift of salvation come into my heart be my lord and my savior for i vow this day i will serve the lord fill me with the holy spirit and give me the power to be what i ought to be in jesus name [Music] i sincerely pray amen

Channel: Tiff Shuttlesworth

Views: 5,782

Rating: 4.9307957 out of 5

Keywords: Tiff Shuttlesworth, tiff, Jesus, God, Prophecy, America, United States, Salvation, KJV, King James Version, How do I study the Bible, Bible accuracy, Which Bible translation is the best, Parable, sower, rocky, baptism, catholic, communion, catechism, confirmation, Read the Bible, Study

Id: 4fg2MQ3p3tQ

Length: 64min 28sec (3868 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021