How to Study the Word of God | Donna Gaines

[Music] [Applause] [Music] well it is a delight to be with you this morning and I'm going to get to talk to you about one of my most important topics and that is how to study the Word of God it is so important that we are daily in the Word of God that we have a plan for working through his word and I'm going to be really addressing you as teachers because we are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that we are to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them all that I've commanded you we are to be teachers as we go and make disciples and we're also to teach our children if you have children in your home you are responsible under the Lord for teaching them diligently Deuteronomy success we cannot teach what we don't know so I want to give you some simple tools today as you work through the Word of God that will help you jeremiah 9:23 through 24 says thus says the Lord let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might let not a rich man boast of his riches but let him who boast boast of this that he understands and knows me we are to boast only in him that i am the lord who exercises loving-kindness justice and righteousness on earth for I delight in these things declares the Lord the Bible is a book about God that's why the most important question we ask every time we open God's Word is what is God revealing about himself it is not how will the Bible speak to me the Bible will speak to us but that should not be what we're seeking in fact as aw Tozer so rightly stated in the knowledge of the holy what comes into our minds and we think about God is the most important thing about us because what we think about God shapes our worldview we must know God as he has revealed himself in Scripture not a Western caricature of God not a cultural picture of who God is or who someone else says he is we are to know him personally as he has revealed himself in his word he is our true north the only unchanging point of reference so I want to encourage you number one to have a systematic plan for reading through the Bible annually now I read through the one year chronological Bible four years prior to that I used the one year bible that has the Old Testament New Testament Psalms and proverbs you can go online you can download a plan for reading through your personal Bible and I would encourage you to do that I have done that as well there are so many methods and resources to help you read through the Bible that we really have no excuse and I've said this so many times to our women's ministry but we have 96 15-minute segments and every day and it really literally only takes about 15 minutes a day to read through the Bible in the year can we not give give God 196th of our day in his word and then an additional 15 minutes or 196 of our day reflecting and praying his word back to him and lifting our requests up to him and I want to encourage you if you will do that you will find that that 30 minutes is really not long enough you will begin by wondering how in the world will I fill that 30 minutes and you will find before long that that time is nowhere near all that you need to experience his presence so have a systematic plan and when you're studying a particular passage of scripture read it through slowly now I just chose a verse this morning for us to look at to use as an example and we're going to be looking in depth ly at Hebrews 4 verse 12 for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart God's Word is a literal two-edged sword sharp on both sides it comforts and it afflicts it exposes it reveals but it also points us to Christ who is the one who can heal us and restore us so when you're reading a particular passage of Scripture I encourage you read through it slowly and then consider the context always look at the surrounding verses so let's go back to Hebrews chapter 1 and we know that Hebrews is a beautiful Old Testament commentary actually it gives us great spiritual insight into the Israelites and the truths contained in the Old Testament beginning in verse 1 it says therefore let us fear if while a promise promise remains of entering his rest any one of you may seem to have come short of it for indeed we have had good news preached to us just as they also but the word they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith and those who heard for we who have believed enter that rest just as he has said as I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest although he his works were finished from the foundation of the world for he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day and God rested the seventh day from all his works and again in this passage they shall not enter my rest therefore since it remains for some to enter it and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience he again fixes a certain day today sang through David after so long a time justice has been said before today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts what is he talking about here what was the rest the rest that he had promised them was the promised land but they were unwilling to go in the 12 spies went in ten came back with the bad report - with the good report who saw with eyes of faith but the majority listened to the negative the bad report and fear gripped their hearts and we know faith and fear cannot coexist in the human heart fear pushes out faith and because of their unbelief they disobeyed and they were not allowed to enter God's rest in fact an entire generation died in the wilderness because of their unbelief and he's telling us today we also can enter into rest because the work has been done for us in salvation through Jesus Christ that rest is available to us it is the abundant life it's the spirit filled life that Jesus Christ died to give us he goes on in verse eight to say for if Joshua had given them rest he would not have spoken of another day after that so there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God for the one who has entered his rest has himself also rested from his works as God did from his therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience we don't want to be disobedient just like the Israelites were in the wilderness we want to be people of the good report people of faith who hear the word of God and believe and what does he go on to say after that for the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword it is piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit at both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart and look at the very next verse and there is no creature hidden from his sight but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do what does the Word of God do it cuts does it not it cuts it literally cuts in between joint and marrow soul and spirit the thoughts and intents of our heart it is God's Word it is his spotlight that comes into our life as we're reading his word as we're looking intently into the Word of God and His Word reveals it exposes fact it made me think about when we moved into our home in Jackson Tennessee we bought an older home that had been sitting empty for quite some while and when we went in we were actually staying with Steve's parents they only lived about 45 minutes away from us in Dyersburg and we were going to be living with them while we renovated the interior of the house we were pulling out all the flooring taking off all the old wallpaper and so I walked in one morning to begin my work and I flipped the light on in the kitchen and guess what I saw to my dismay roaches I hate creatures critters like that of all kinds roaches spiders all of them I will flee screaming I can't stand them so when I flipped that light on and I saw roaches scattering into those counters at OU and into those cabinets I went running out of this out of the house I was not going back in until an exterminator had come in and gotten rid of those bugs and then I could go in and start the renovation well unfortunately that's actually a pretty accurate picture of what the word does when it comes into our lives those things that we want to hide sometimes try to scatter and run into hiding but God's Word will not allow that God's Word exposes God's Word reveals and why does he reveal to cleanse us to heal us to restore us to create within us the wholeness and health that is available for us in Jesus Christ so we understand we have to believe we looked at this example in Hebrews chapter 4 that what he was talking about not being able to enter the rest the promise of God the spiritual promised land that we have the abundant life in Christ we're unable to enter because of unbelief so as I opened the Word of God I'm wanting his word to penetrate and reveal we looked at John 15 last week and John 15:3 Jesus was telling his disciples you are cleansed by the word the Word of God literally cleanses us we know that Jesus Christ is the word and he comes in and speaks to us and reveals himself to us so as we look at this verse in its context we understand the Word of God has been given to us that we might believe and obey because we will be laid bare and we want to be prepared for that day we stand before the one whose eyes shoot flames of fire and you talk about being laid bare we will be laid bare that day I want to be cleansed by the washing of his word by that double-edged sword that comes in and reveals anything in my life that is not pleasing to him and that would prevent me from entering into all that Jesus Christ has purchased for me on the cross so we've looked at this verse in context we understand that we're being challenged to obey the Word of God because it is a sharp double-edged sword and it will reveal the thoughts the intents of our heart and we're already laid bare before the Lord you don't have to hide him he knows everything about you everything about your past your present your thoughts he knows you better than you know yourself so open your heart to him and let his word come in like that surgeon's scalpel and do his work well then I would encourage you to read the passage a second time always and slow down again underline any repeated words or phrases write down any questions that you may have in fact I would encourage you to have a journal or a piece of paper beside you where you're jotting down questions or insights that the Lord gives you because I can tell you from experience if I don't jot them down they're gone I will have this amazing thought and I think I will never forget that that's amazing and five minutes later I'm thinking what was that amazing thought that the Lord gave me so if I don't write them down too often I lose them so I just encourage you every time you're reading through the Word of God have paper and pen there there's just something about it I know some of you like to take notes on your iPad or on the computer I understand that but there is something for me about actually holding a pen or pencil and writing on paper that causes the creativity to to just flow for me it just helps me to do it with actual paper and pen in hand so read it through a second time and highlight words and journal thoughts and write down questions and so we're gonna go back through it one more time for the Word of God is living now think about that his word is living the Bible tells us it is god-breathed and we know it is still breathing because his word is living it comes into us if you're a believer the Spirit of the Living God lives within you and God's Word is God breathed so the Spirit of God in the Word of God connects with the Spirit of God within you and he teaches us he gives us instruction he opens our eyes to see things that are only spiritually appraised that we could not see in the natural he reveals himself to us through his word so it's living and active I'm not just reading this word to check it off this word is living and active it's going to require an active response from me as I get into his word as I read his word as I study his word and it's sharper than any two-edged sword it's going to comfort but it's also going to afflict and it's piercing as far as a division of soul and spirit at both joints and marrow able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart he's able to reveal my motives my reasons for doing things am i serving out of love for my neighbor my fellow man or I'm serving to be noticed do I want the applause of man or am I really living my life for only the applause of my lord then I want to encourage you to look up any words that you have a question about and just use a dictionary you don't have to know Greek in Hebrew if you're stumbling on it look up a specific word and then read the passage in different translations because quite often either the Hebrew which the Old Testament was written in or the Greek which the New Testament was written in translators have a difficult time sometimes translating words into English that will really maintain the depth of their meaning so it helps at times to read a verse or a passage in different translations here's the New Living Translation 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 marrow it exposes our innermost thoughts and desires ah gets down even to the desires of our heart here's the voice translation the Word of God you see is alive and moving sharper than a double-edged sword piercing the divide between soul and spirit joints and marrow able to judge the thoughts and will of the heart here's the amplified bible the amplified bible on specific words will add additional words or phrases to help you grasp the intent of the original language here's what it says for the word of God is living and active and full of power making it operative energizing and effective it is sharper than any two-edged sword penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit the completeness of a person and of both joints and marrow the deepest parts of our nature exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart Wow gives us a little more insight doesn't it we're seeking through women's ministry through Bellevue women to help you develop a taste for the Lord when you think about the Bible the psalmist says taste and see that the Lord is good if you taste of the Lord through his word you're going to be drawn to him you're going to want more of him you're going to want to study in an in-depth way because you recognize the more you study the more you see every time I read through the bird of God I see things I didn't see the year before or the year before that in fact I love going through Bibles where I have taken notes in them and this particular Bible actually have read through it on an annual basis using just a a format for reading through the Bible in a year and in Hebrews chapter one where it tells us in verse one God after he spoke long ago to the father's in the prophets in many portions and in many ways and this these last days has spoken to us and the margin I wrote are you listening are we listening as he's speaking to us through this living an active Word so every time I opened the Word of God I need to be listening for his voice because his word is living and active we're trying to help refine your taste so that you literally do hunger for the Word of God you know it's much like as a child maybe if you have children home you may have a child who only likes certain things and they think at every meal they have to have chicken fingers or they only want a hot dog when Bethenny was little it didn't matter what restaurant we went to or where we were on vacation all she wanted was a hot dog I don't even think she would eat one now as an adult but when she was about five or six years old that was her food of choice now I can tell you there are a whole lot of other foods that are a lot better than a hot dog but at the time she didn't think so why because she's really not allowed herself to be exposed to those things that really are so much better and can expand your palate to find all kinds of wonderful flavors that you can literally enjoy God gave us taste buds to be able to enjoy our food well now she certainly enjoys all types of food it made me also think about the time when she was teaching in the inner city and Thanksgiving was approaching so we were going to do this huge Thanksgiving feast for her children different ethnicities in the inner city inner city and so I roasted a turkey and make dressing and did all the sides I would normally do and served it and I watched them kind of pick at it and go what is this why because that wasn't what they were accustomed to they hadn't exposed to these tastes to these flavors and so they weren't sure that they liked them well sometimes that's what it's like when you get into the Word of God you open the Word of God and if you really don't know the big picture of God's Word if you don't understand the biblical timeline you may have a little bit more difficult time understanding it so equip yourself with these tools we really have no excuse today we have so many resources to help us understand the grand scheme of the narrative of God's Word and as we get into it then we understand it more and the more we partake of it the more we will hunger for it and the more we will find our palette if you will expanded as we taste and see that the Lord is good we must replace a taste for this world and easy entertainment because we are called upon literally commanded to seek Him with all of her heart so when we set our heart on him he will reveal himself to you and when he reveals himself I can just tell you there's not much that is more exciting than having God literally speak to you through his living and active Word so this is just reading and your systematic plan we've just done point number one number two then is allowed the Bible to transform and renew your mind so how do we do that for instance on our verse Hebrews 4:12 when we're looking at this first if it's subversive as you were reading through that passage and that verse just kind of seemed to be especially significant maybe almost seemed as though it was in bold print for you as you were reading through your daily portion of Scripture then take out a note card or a piece of paper and jot that verse down write it down and as you're writing think about it meditate on it word for word phrase by phrase possibly commit it to memory so that you can then meditate on it during the day you can think back on that word and God can use that word in your life to speak to you and then listen to it on your handout you have several Bible apps there's so many out there now that you can actually listen to the Word of God sometimes if I'm driving in my car running errands I will turn one of these on in the specific book that I'm studying at the time and I will just listen to the Word of God being read some of them are done dramatically and they're really really enjoyable Romans 12:2 1 and 2 says therefore I urge you brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living and Holy Sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship and number two is the one I want us to listen to and do not be conformed to this world don't be pressed into the mold of the world makes me think of Plato my grandkids love to play with play-doh and press it into a mold and pull it out and see the impression of the mold and the play-doh well that's what it's telling us don't be conformed to this world don't be pressed into the world's mold but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect God will reveal his will as he renews our mind those Israelites in the wilderness didn't trust God they trusted what they saw they trusted the bad report of the ten spies instead of the good report of the two who saw with eyes of faith and believed God we act out of what we believe so if I really believe God is good if I really believe God is faithful if I really believe what we read this morning out of Psalm 121 I'm not going to be fearful even the mister pandemic I'm going to abide by the CDC guidelines but I'm going to trust the Lord in the midst of this I'm going to ask him in the midst of this how can I serve my fellow man how can I be light in a dark broken and hurting world my focus is going to be on him because I'm going to be acting out of what I know about who he is studying meditating and memorizing the word of God changes us literally from the inside out it's not behavior modification that is where people get messed up it is not doing it is about being and if we will be we will do the do will take care of itself then ask questions after you've memorized and meditated upon it and you possibly listened to it ask questions and here are some of the most pertinent questions you can ask we said the most important one is what is God revealing about himself what do I learn about God as I open his word and then what does it reveal about man as we looked at this passage in Hebrews chapter 4 we see that God's Word is faithful and true that his word is a promise and if we will believe it he rewards that belief but we also see there is punishment there is judgment if we don't believe if we don't obey the Word of God what does the text rebill about sin it reveals to us we're prone to sin we're prone to listen to the majority report instead of the Word of God the truth and the faithful ones who will stand for him and then where have I seen this before make connections because as you make connections in the Word of God you will see without a shadow of a doubt he is the same yesterday today and forever he does not change it'll boost your faith as you see he is who he says he is and this he has so much grandeur so much more majestic so much more powerful then we can even begin to conceive and you will then feel safe to fully surrender yourself to him then I want to encourage you cross-reference when you find a word like two-edged sword cross reference find other places in scripture where that word is used in fact if you've got your Bible turn to Revelation chapter 1 just over to the right in your New Testament look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 16 says in his right hand this was a description of the resurrected Christ in his right hand he held seven stars and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword and his face was like the sun shining in its strength what do we know about Jesus what did we learn in our study of John he is the word he is the word he became flesh so it makes sense that a double edged sword the sword of the Spirit the Word of God would come forth from his mouth and truth would be proclaimed through that double-edged sword and then turned to chapter 2 verse 12 and to the Angel of the church in Pergamum right the one who has the sharp two-edged sword says this I know where you dwell he knows everything about us that's what we said didn't we that the Word of God reveals he is the one before whom we are laid bare and we will stand before him one day in judgment we also know that he's going to slay the Antichrist the devil and all the armies of the Evil One in Revelation 19 by the sword by one word from his mouth will fill our enemy then also after you've done this studying go through and read commentaries there are commentaries free ones that are available online when I do a study of course with a husband that's a pastor I have the incredible advantage of getting going to his library and pull out all of his commentaries and take them home and use those but there are a lot of things available there are Bible apps that provide commentaries and background on scriptures that you need to make yourself make available to yourself Bible gateways are great when blue letter Bible is a great one and unless listen to sermon and teaching podcasts I've given you a list of people that I just enjoy listening to there are so many out there that you can listen to I've been pressure washing in my quarantine time at home and one thing about pressure washing is there's a media satisfaction because you just see all of a sudden how it cleans off all the dirt and as I was cleaning yesterday I finished our whole fence in the backyard and when I finished it I was so excited about it because it looks so beautiful it almost looked brand-new after I'd gotten all the dirt off of it and I realized once again that's what the Word of God does and John 15:3 jesus said you've been cleansed by the word his word cleanses me it removes all the darkness all the stain of sin all the guilt and the shame is washed away by the power of the Living Word of God so Amin encouraged you to get into his word and then teach through the text if you're teaching if you're sharing this with your children walk through it like we've walked through it today and walk through the text put the particular passage in context in its historical context who was the author talking to so that you know exactly what he was saying as he was speaking through the power of the Holy Spirit and then provide illustrations and application especially with your children give them examples of ways that God moves and works so the way that God's Word cleanses such as the pressure washer or what happens when you flip a light on and roaches scamper when the light of the word of God comes it reveals those things that we want to keep hidden and I've also given you some resources some books to read that I would recommend and as I was worshiping this morning I picked up my phone to go get ready and my daughter had sent me a song and we do this periodical if we find a really great song or we listen to a great podcast we share it in our family especially my daughters and I and Bethany sent me this morning I song and I want to close by sharing some of the lyrics with you the title of the song is no one ever cared for me like Jesus and I listened to the one by Stephanie gret singer and lyrics go like this if my heart could tell a story if my life would sing a song if I have a testimony if I have anything at all no one ever cared for me like Jesus his faithful hand has held me all this way and when I'm old and gray and all my days are numbered on the earth let it be known and you alone my joy was found now here's my favorite part let my children tell their children let this be their memory that all my treasure was in heaven and you are everything to me no one ever cared for me like Jesus his faithful hand has held me all this way and when I'm old and gray and all my days are numbered on the earth let it be known in you alone my joy was found I found my joy in you alone what did we say as we opened our time together the verse from Jeremiah if you're going to boast what are we to boast in that you understand and know me and that I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness justice and righteousness on earth for I delight in these things the things that he delights in we should delight in as well because if you know him surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever so I was dwelling upon that this morning and as I was worshiping the Lord to the song that I played over and over and over again these words came in to my mind when he is you're all just as the song said just as we're commanded by Christ to love him with all of our heart soul mind and strength when he becomes your all then his word becomes a feast and his presence your greatest joy get into his word you have a little bit of extra time right now if you have children at home share it with them study the word together and let his word become for you a feast and his presence your greatest joy would you pray with me please Heavenly Father we love you we bless you we thank you we thank you that your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and father that we literally are laid bare before you but Lord how we praise you that because of the cross because of this holy week that we are walking through right now because of Jesus Christ we no longer have to hide we can be laid bare before you all our guilt and shame removed because you bore it on Calvary father how we thank you that we can enter into the rest of the Spirit filled life the life that we have because we are in Christ Jesus and Lord you told us yourself that you would give us the helper the Holy Spirit who would teach us everything we need to know so father we have no excuse have your word we have resources I'm asking now father that you will help us block off time to spend in your word to truly study it to dig into it to be changed by it to meditate upon it to memorize it so that we are changed from the inside out and then father you will give us spirit eyes so that we'll be able to see and to do what it is you have created us to accomplish for your namesake and your namesake only father I'm asking for myself I'm asking for every woman that's listening that you would be our all because no one has ever loved me like Jesus and it's in his precious name I pray amen

Channel: Bellevue Baptist Church

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Length: 32min 22sec (1942 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 08 2020