STUDY TO
SHOW THYSELF APPROVED2
Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth.This
is a word study in the above text to see how we can prepare to study the Bible
with zeal and start a Bible study group.
By Steve Van Nattan Study This
article is an example of the study process. I had to ask myself these questions.
What
does the reader need to hear from God about Bible study?
What Bible texts
tell me about the steps to study?
What have I learned over the years about
Bible study?
What parables can I use to help the reader understand?
What
should I ask the reader to do to be a good Bible student or teacher?
If
my questions look useful, use them without credit as you wish. Then,
it is time to sit still, open the Bible, and dig as deep as my mental faculties
will allow me. Once I have a load of God revealed principles, I have to organize
them. This is a word study. I just let God arrange the points to teach in his
order as found in the Bible. There
is no alliteration, there are more than three points, and there is no poem. Sorry
about that. You see, a word study is not packaged according to the rules of hermeneutics
as taught in seminaries. I word study is a lesson from God using his words and
the Bible alone. And, God is a lot more wise than to be stuck with three points
and a poem. I
follow Martin Luther's steps of preaching which he gave to his preacher boys: Read
the text clearly and forcefully I
did that by making my Bible text a subtitle above. There is no way you can miss
the point. Explain
what the Bible means by what it says
I use the Bible to be its own best commentary. That is why you see very few quotes
from other Bible teachers of commentaries. Illustrate
the Word with parables from everyday life You
will find several stories, mostly from my experience, that help you men get the
point of the Bible truth. I do this because Jesus did it.
Mark
4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he
expounded all things to his disciples. If something does not make sense
to you in this article SEND MAIL, and I will "expound"
it more to you. The
ladies do not need parables as much as you men because they are blessed with more
submissive faith than you men. They receive the teaching and simply believe it.
They do not need a fishing or hunting story to get the point. If that gives you
men a knot in your undies, go tell it to your favorite shrink. He will tell you
I am right.
What
is the point of reference of a Bible study? It
is not you. It is not your pastor of Bible college professor. It is not to be
wise and intellectually spiritual. The
epicenter of ALL Bible study is the Word, that is, the living Word of God. John
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by
him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life;
and the life was the light of men. Jesus
Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of everything important
to a Bible believer. Jesus Christ is also the Master of everything between the
beginning and the end. So, he has given us a Book that tells us everything we
need to know about him and how to live the Christian life. If you want to follow
Jesus close, it will not do to only attend church and listen to a couple of sermons
every week. You will have to put in the plow and dig deep for yourself. And, once
you do this for a while, the Holy Spirit may send you to someone who is ready
to start studying the Bible. Are you ready for that sort of divine assignment? Who
are you? In
this article, I am talking to any Bible believer who has or has not started studying
the Bible for himself. I am also talking to any Bible believer who is thinking
of starting a Bible study or is now leading one.
THE
TEXT AT THE HEART OF BIBLE STUDY 2
Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
Study It
is work. It is hard work. It is hard work that will leave you tired. If you think
you can read the Bible, make a couple of notes in the margin of your Bible, and
that is study, you are very deluded. When
a farmer breaks up a new piece of ground, he will plow very deep. This is because
he wants all the weeds buried so they will die and become mulch. If he plows shallow
the weeds will come right back up. The only way your life will be changed by Bible
study is if you really work at it. This article will give you some principles
by which you can be sure to plow deep. And,
if you are starting a Bible study for other believers, you must let them know
that you expect them to plow deep also. A real Bible study is not a gathering
of people who sit and listen to the leader tell them what he found in the Word
of God. A real Bible study is when every member studies and comes to each session
with a full load. Out of this zeal, the Holy Spirit can lead you all into all
truth, as Jesus promised. Psalms
25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day. Luke
6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which
is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth
that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. John
16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall
he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Approved
unto whom? First,
approved unto God. If
a Christian is approved unto God, and if the listeners do not approve, he is still
faithful. YOU are not the measure of faithfulness. Remember this when you decide
to hold court and condemn a preacher for not preaching what you approve of. If
God approves, you do not count. Shut up, and pay attention. Now,
if God does not approve, that changes the picture entirely. It now means absolutely
nothing if you approve of him. If God does not approve, the preacher is a hireling
and should be run off.  I
watched a YouTube documentary about the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. There were
several camera visits to the kitchen while everyone was running flat out to cook
things just right, and then to get the food to the tables hot. The chef was snapping
this way and that at the workers. He was not mad, but he was being a bit of a
nag. When it was all over, and the guests were happily eating, the chef relaxed
and called the workers together. He told them he was delighted with their performance,
and they all clapped in relief. God is not a nag, but HE IS WATCHING. Does he
approve of your zeal for his Word?
How
do you know if God approves of you? A.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give
it you. You
have been chosen to serve God. Bible study is just one of several ways a Bible
believer may be chosen to serve God. If this is you, you will only be approved
by God if you bring forth fruit. Step one in bringing forth fruit is not the study
session..... it is the time you spend BEFORE the study session as you plow deep
in the Word. A
word to preachers here. All over America there are preachers who do not study
more than an hour for their Sunday morning sermon. These men are lazy slobs. They
use the same clichés Sunday after Sunday, and they sound like a broken
record skipping, skipping, skipping. Every sermon tends to sound a lot like the
last one. If you are one of them, you are a serious hazard to the spiritual health
of the church you serve. If you will not repent and covenant to plow deeper for
your sermons, God will chasten you. If he does not chasten you, that means you
are not his, and you are a servant of Satan. Count on it, a sluggard of a preacher
will soon be visited by God. Hebrews
12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. The
Greek word used for "approved" was used in Bible times to describe genuine
coins to indicate the metal was really what it should be. Are you the real thing,
or are you a counterfeit Bible teacher? The way to be sure you are genuine is
to STUDY. B.
Again, how can you tell you are approved of God? Do you have any dedicated enemies
among sinners? Jesus and the Apostles all had dedicated enemies. A faithful servant
of Jesus Christ should be ashamed of himself if he has no enemies for the Gospel's
sake. My
Dad pastored a church in Salina, Oklahoma in the 1950s. Since it was the only
non-Catholic church in town, Dad was called on by community people to do "man
of the cloth" things. One of these was to do funerals. Dad was always reluctant
to do the funeral of anyone who had refused to confess Christ as Savior. The
town rebel was quite old, and he died one day. The family pleaded with Dad to
do the rascal's funeral. Dad had mercy on them because unchurched people end up
miserable if they do not have a preacher on hand to say something religious at
the graveside. Dad did not talk about the man in any negative way, but Dad gave
the Gospel very clearly. After it was over, an old granny came up to Dad and wagged
her finger in Dad's face, and said, "You preached him straight into Hell,
Brother Van." Dad said that was the last funeral he would ever do for an
unsaved person. There is simply nothing one can say when a sinner is gone and
in Hell. Dad had a new enemy that day. 1
Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer,
or as a busybody in other men's matters.
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. C.
Are you totally whipped and weary by Sunday evening after the services? Like a
race horse after the finish of the race? When
I pastored churches, my family knew that Daddy needed to unwind Sunday evening
after the people had gone home and the doors were locked. We had crazy times speculating
about all sorts of imaginary inventions and silly topics. I WAS WHIPPED. I could
not go to sleep until I unwound for a while. But, it felt very good. I had the
satisfaction that I had used up my energy exalting Christ and feeding sheep. I
am sorry for this rather self-serving illustration, but I know many preachers
who have the same experience. This is also why most pastors take off Monday. The
work started on Tuesday and went all week long until Sunday evening at about 10
PM. The most important part of that work load was the study of the Word of God.
Never
start a Bible study to get the approval of people. The only reward worth going
after is the approval of God. Luke
6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers
to the false prophets.
A
workman Bible
study is work. Some
preachers do not like work. They became pastors in order to have an easy life,
and their sermons show it. They are all fluffy and silly and full of blather and
bluster. They love to sit in the barn and smell the fresh hay, but they refuse
to shell the corn for the critters. When a preacher spends more time shouting
than explaining what the Bible means by what it says, he is a wretched loser and
should be horse whipped. One
pastor I know says he spends forty hours a week studying for his sermons. He also
finds time to do other things that a pastor must do. What this means is that a
Christian has to designate time during the week and the day for study of the Bible.
It also means that he cannot let the tyranny of the urgent tempt him to fill the
Bible study time slot with stamping out brush fires. Job
23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed
the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Are
you over weight and flirting with a heart attack? How about replacing one meal
a day with Bible study? When you get to Heaven, Jesus will not ask you if you
ate well. But, he may very well ask you why you did not spend more time studying
the Bible he gave you. Why
is it appropriate to give a salary to a pastor? Answer:
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour,
especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. Bible
study is labor, or at least it should be. A faithful pastor works hard at Bible
study. If your pastor is preaching sermons that taste like pabulum, it is because
he refuses to labor in Bible study and has nothing to feed the sheep but blather,
bombast, and bull. Then
again, your pastor may be doing many of the things in the church's life that YOU
and others should be doing. If you will not get involved and help carry the load,
do not be surprised if the pastor's sermons are fluffy and a bit muddled. You
have taken the horse that plows out of the harness and forced him to carry silly
loafers around and amuse the masses and play social games. Honest,
I am not mad at you. But, I am not called to sugar coat the message. Either take
it waist high and straight across the plate, or click out of here. Thanks
Not
ashamed You
are still here. Thanks. I will try to back off with the hammer now. Preacher,
and Sunday School teacher, you should be ashamed of yourself...... 1.
If you come to the pulpit Sunday morning with only three points and a poem, you
should be ashamed. If a man studies diligently, he will have way too much to deliver
in one sermon. You can tell if your pastor studies if he tells you, "We have
run out of time, so we will finish this passage next Sunday." 2.
If you tell coon hunting stories and quote famous men, but you fail to quote Jesus,
you should be ashamed. 3.
If you never got tired studying the Bible, you should be ashamed. Jude
1:3 Beloved , when I gave all diligence to write
unto you of the common salvation , it
was needful for me to write unto you ,
and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for
the faith which was once delivered unto the saints
. "Earnestly
contend" is from the Greek word, "Epagonizomai." This is where
we get the English word Agonize. This is all about blood, sweat, and tears. You
have not plowed deep until you were whipped from the intensity of study. Do you
agonize fiercely to defend the faith by using the Word of God as your weapon.
I know hunters who have spotless hunting rifles, and they go to the shooting range
regularly to really master shooting the rifle. They spend a lot of cash on ammo
so that they can shoot many rounds in practice. This will give them a great advantage
when they try to shoot an animal under pressure. If that is not how you use your
Bible, you should be ashamed. Only if you study zealously will you be able to
give an answer to every man who asks you about the Bible. 4.
If you spend all your free time playing or surfing the web, you should be ashamed.
If God has given you leisure and free time, it is not your own. You are bought
with a price, and God wants time with you in the Word of God. 5.
If there are not Post-It
notes all over your computer and work area, you should be ashamed. I will give
you a pass if you have a note posting app which lets you put notes up on your
computer screen in the background. Every time you read the Bible or listen to
another preacher preach, you should be making notes of things you missed in your
personal study. I know a man is serious about Bible study when his Bible looks
like a road map of West Virginia. I
used to do a lot of marking in my Bible, especially when I was pastoring churches.
But, lately I only use a pencil and make a minimum of notes. This is because I
do not want anyone to pick up my Bible after I die and think they have a special
Bible because of my notes. The safest Bible marking is to add cross references
in the margin. I bought a monster Bible with huge margins for adding personal
notes from Cambridge, England and with Morocco leather covers. The thing was expensive.
I have not been able to mark it up because I want one last Bible in my life that
has nothing about me in it. Do I sound like a nut case? Well, that is the risk
of getting old. Is it wisdom or folly? I have no idea..... you tell me. If
you decide to follow my example in this, you must have someplace where you keep
a record of your study time in the Word and with the Lord.
Rightly
dividing Cutting
the pattern correctly.  When
I was growing up in Tanzania in Africa I learned that all the tailors in the cities
were men. They had Singer sewing machines. If you wanted a coat or suit, you went
to the tailor, and he would measure you carefully. He would tell you when to come
back for your finished suit, and it was not many days. We often watched tailors
as they sewed garments for people because they liked to work on the sidewalk in
front of their store. They had no pattern like we are used to. But, they had the
right way to cut the cloth and sew it together in their head. They seldom made
mistakes, and the suit would fit well and hang right. There is no such thing a
getting it close. If a suit is ALMOST perfect, it will hang crooked, and the effect
from the rear is disgusting.
The
Apostle Paul was a tent maker and repairman. There were many caravans coming from
the East and going from Ephesus and other cities where Paul evangelized, and he
needed income to support his ministry. So, he mended tents. Aquila and Priscilla
were Christians who let Paul work in their tent making business to help him. When
he said, "Rightly dividing," he was using a trade term of his craft.
A tent made carelessly would not stand right when pitched. We
might add that Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, and he would have known the
importance of rightly dividing the wood to make a chair or table. It is either
100% right, or it is 100% wrong. When
you study the Bible, you must use study methods that lead you to the truth, not
methods that justify some notions you already have about the text. Here are some
principles to rightly divide the Word of God:" 1.
Read the whole context of what you are studying. Even the whole book you are studying
must be considered in order to be sure you keep each verse in context with the
objective of the whole book and the whole chapter. 2.
What other passages in the Bible speak about what you have in front of you? Never
give a verse an interpretation which does not fit perfectly with the whole Bible. 3.
Either purchase a Bible study tool like Sword Searcher, or load eSword
free from the Internet. You want to check on the Greek or Hebrew meanings
of English words. How is the word used elsewhere in the Bible? If the Greek word
has a different meaning than what you want it to mean, YOU ARE WRONG. If you cannot
teach by staying true to the language the Bible was written in, you need to stop
teaching rather than make your own interpretations. Some preachers mock at anyone
who wants to check the meaning in the Greek or Hebrew. Those preachers regularly
make serious errors in their teaching and send the listeners down silly rabbit
trails. Long ago, many preachers could not check the Greek and Hebrew, but today,
with so many study tools available to us, we must make the effort to add this
level of diligence. A
classic example of sloppy attention to the language is here: John
12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Was
Jesus talking about corn or wheat? In fact, King James era English used the word
"corn" for any grain. This would be learned by doing a short Greek study,
or by checking an old era dictionary like Samuel Johnson. But, I have heard arrogant
preachers who mock at checking the Greek meaning tell their people that Jesus
was talking about Kansas corn, not wheat. Fact..... maize corn was a new world
grain and not found in the Middle East until hundreds of years after Jesus' day.
When you do something like this, you can expect the Holy Spirit to walk right
out the door and leave you to make a fool of yourself. 4.
Beware of commentaries. Commentaries are written by theologians who have their
own bias as to meanings of Bible texts. They may be very enlightening, and they
may be flaming heretics. Can you tell the difference? Beware of leaning on the
crutch of scholars. Do your own plowing. You will get help from the Holy Spirit.
If you ask a pastor about this who is full of himself, he will tell you I am crazy.
Frankly, I have come to the point where I have almost no confidence in famous
commentators. So often, when I have an obscure Bible text, these wise boys skip
that verse. I give them credit for not trying to explain a verse they do not understand,
but why waste the time and money on them? Do
get a Strong's concordance, and you may benefit by a word study help. Also, buy
an exhaustive cross reference, The Bible study helps online linked above have
all of this though. I
would also encourage you to get Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament
Words. This book gives the meaning of every word in he Greek New Testament.
Find the Greek word using Sword Searcher or eSword, and then see what Vine's says.
This study book is not on Bible study software. 5.
When you teach, you must use parables. Jesus certainly did: Matthew
13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without
a parable spake he not unto them: Bible
teachers and pastors who do not use parables are lazy. It takes time to sit and
meditate until God jars your memory of a story, yours or from the media or Internet,
that will illustrate a lesson you are teaching. Just do not let the parable be
complicated or trendy. It must lay along side the truth being taught but not distract
from the teaching flow. Example
of a parable that fits this article well:
Bill's wife was a great seamstress.
Though she sewed many sorts of clothes for her family, she was fearful of trying
to sew her husband a suit. She knew that it was one of the hardest garments to
get right. She finally decided to sew Bill a dress coat. It was stylish, an attractive
color, and looked pretty good from the front. But, if you were behind Bill and
looked at the coat, it very obviously hung cockeyed, and there was no way to fix
it. Bill's wife had simply wrongly divided the cloth when she cut it. Bill wore
the coat anyway because he loved his wife and did not want to offend her after
she tried that hard task. But, she never made another one for him. Another
short parable for this topic:
My wife sewed ties for me. I got to pick out
the cloth, which made my ties totally unique. They were great ties too, and hung
straight. The reason they were right was that the cloth for a tie MUST be sewed
on the bias across the cloth at 45 degrees. Get that wrong, and the tie, once
tied, looks like a strangled rattle snake. Be careful how you choose the cloth
though, gentlemen, I picked out cloth with cowboys riding bucking horses. I thought
it would be a real Western tie. When completed, and from a distance, it looked
like two roosters fighting. I dared not wear it to preach in because people all
over the church were grinning and snickering. Now,
that last bit about picking the cloth with cowboys on horses illustrates a blunder
in a parable. I should have left out the cowboy and rooster bit and returned to
the flow of teaching. The rule is KISS- Keep It Simple Saint. Avoid
parables that make you look wise, cute, or clever. It is supposed to be all about
Jesus, not you. A story about your experiences is OK if it teaches and leads the
listener to the truth, not to you. Your job is to lift up Jesus. Finally,
make sure your parables are not complex and technical. Notice that Jesus used
parables with simple every day imagery, and the interesting thing is that after
2000 years almost all of his parables work real well today. 6.
Our text is followed by two verses where the Apostle Paul tells Timothy what to
avoid as he studies: 2
Timothy 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto
more ungodliness.
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is
Hymenaeus and Philetus; If
you are leading a Bible study, you must avoid vain and pointless discussions.
There seem to be a few people in every church who are obsessed with rabbit trails.
Paul named two in the church community in his day. They love novel and sensational
teachings which they get from alleged Christian books, the Internet, or from fluffy
brained preachers. You must squelch this sort of thing. See if you can do it gently,
but if not, DO IT anyway. Otherwise, your Bible study will become a loonie bin,
and the Holy Spirit may abandon you.
If
you do not want to go to the trouble of rightly dividing the Word of God, get
out of the Bible teaching business at once. Your best effort will border on heresy.
Teachers who are not diligent in study lead the sheep astray.
The
Word of Truth Not
the word of YouTube, not the word of John MacArthur, not the word of Zondervan.
It is OK to quote sources, but if they exalt a man, they are doing harm to Christ.
Using some fact you found on YouTube or Wikipedia is fine if it has a real Bible
text to prove it is true. Handing out famous Amos's opinion, just for color, is
devilish, and you may have people in your hearing who are smart enough to know
you are skating on thin ice. Cast your line in the pool in front of you, not upstream
or downstream where the snags are. That
last sentence is a teaching moment for the men reading here. Any man who is a
fisherman will have a very graphic mental image, and I did that to keep him from
clicking out of here. But, I have to realize that most of the ladies here did
not necessarily get the imagery. So, for you ladies..... See if you can make the
cake from things in your own cupboard instead of running next door to borrow some
exotic ingredient. So there..... that is probably a sorry effort to help the ladies,
but I tried. The
Master of quotations is Jesus: Matthew
5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But
I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Make
your one liners from back on the farm, and you will keep the adults with you.
You will keep the kids because they cannot leave..... their ride home is with
the adults. Can you tell I am hammering you with one liners? President
Harry Truman regarding the press, "They are always looking for a bug under
the chip." That one liner made him famous. What is the word picture? When
you watch a big black crow waddling around a cow pasture, he will go up to a cow
chip, stick his beak under it, and flip it. That way, he will find a juicy bug
or beetle for lunch. Harry Truman used that word picture to mock at the press
in his day. Not much has changed since 1950. Jesus
used farming parables all the time. So did Charles Spurgeon. They work. If you
grew up in the city, you need to put farm reading on you bucket list for Book
Finder, and catch up. Also, look for John Plowman's Talks by Charles Spurgeon.
"We hear a lot of noise in the kitchen, but we never get any pudding."
"That man is all squeal and no bacon." Stop
using stupid clichés you heard at the last preacher's conference. They
are used only by self-serving smart alecks. Try them on me, and I may walk out
on you. I hate hick burp clichés. Then again, there is the one liner that
is a gentle slap that will wake up a sleepy deacon, like this verbal meme by John
MacArthur, "If you can get this into your head, you have it in a nutshell."
Be sure to smile when you say such things, and don't do it frequently. One
more caution:
Be sure you are preaching from a real Bible. There are hundreds
of English versions of the Bible today. Some of them are Dick and Jane Bibles,
and they do not lift the level of teaching to cause people to think and learn
new things. Furthermore; simple dimple Bible versions insult any visitors with
an education. Other Bibles have verses and whole passages missing. The NIV has
dropped one of the names of Jesus 1200 times. Personally, I stay with the King
James Bible. It is the one used in schools and quoted in literature and the media.
It is also the one God was content with for 350 years as the Gospel went around
the world with missionaries. I have a section in this journal on these and many
more issues with modern Bibles. IN
DEFENSE OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE
Thus
ends our word study of 2 Timothy 2:15 I
now invite you to consider other issues involved in Bible study.
Study
versus Devotional reading If
you are going to do a devotional reading, that is commendable, but call it that,
not a Bible study. D
L Moody's church in Chicago was quite full, and he preached several times on Sunday.
But, he was finding it hard to get so many sermons ready and do them all well.
So, on Sunday evening he told the people he would change to a Bible reading every
week. All he did was make a few comments as he read, but he spent a long time
actually reading. To his amazement, the from then on the church filled up and
was packed solid Sunday evening. I suspect he thought that a few comments would
be enlightening, but he did not call it a Bible study. I have never known a pastor
to use this method. It is very valid, but it would take discipline to not end
up being distracted down rabbit trails. When
you study to rightly divide, the objective is usually so that you can exposit
(correctly explain) the text and suggest an application for Christian life action.
If that is what you are doing, you cannot fake it. It takes hours of serious concentration
in study. I have heard many sermons preached that I could tell at once were prepared
by a preacher who was simply too lazy or stubborn to spend the time which would
result in edifying Bible teaching. A preacher who does a lot of shouting, and
drops in dozens of clichés, is a dead beat and should go sell insurance.
He is not studying. If you are doing this and want to change, SEND
MAIL, and I will try to help you start rightly dividing.
 How
to start a Bible study in your home or work place
Philip
knew how to start a Bible study: Acts
8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward
the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great
authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her
treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and
sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto
Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither
to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what
thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place
of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In
his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation?
for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and
said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other
man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus. Note
the aspects for starting a Bible study: 1.
Verse 27- Find someone who is God fearing, whether born again or still unsaved. 2.
Verse 29- Be right spiritually with the Holy Spirit so he can trust you with a
Bible study candidate. 3.
Verse 30- Ask the person if he understands the Bible? 4.
Verse 31- There must be desire to be taught. Do not waste your time with a skeptic. 5.
Verse 32-34- Wait for a question. That is the first point in the Bible study.
Do not choose the passage for the candidate. You may try to learn of some doctrine
or truth the person does not understand, and start with a text that will help
him. Do not choose your favorite Bible book. Scratch where it itches. 6.
Verse 35- Start where the person is, and find your way to Jesus. You can start
anywhere in the Bible and find a path to Jesus if you are very faithful in personal
Bible study. If you do not spend personal time reading the Word, you should not
try this. You will end up in a cul de sac and dishonor Christ.
You
can buy all sorts of whiz bang books on how to do a Bible study, but Philip's
method is the best plan you will ever find. It is very obvious that the Holy Spirit
put it in the book of Acts so that we would use it. And,
this Bible study plan applies to anyone, from a serious born again church member
to a Mormon bishop on his way to Hell. If they ask, "What does that mean,"
they may be ready for a Bible study. I have been asked about what the Bible meant
by Catholics, spiritualists, witches, fluff head feminists, and sodomites. If
they are serious, I never back off. If they will stay with you all the way to
Jesus, you may win them to Christ.
Bible
study and the local church There
is no Bible reference directly teaching that you must get permission from any
human to start a Bible study. Our theme text makes it very clear that God tells
you in his Word to study his Word, not to find a guru to study for you. This applies
whether the study is in your home, at work, over coffee at a restaurant, or at
school. On the other hand, Bible studies are sometimes a source of sorrow to pastors
because they can turn into gossip sessions, and some Bible teachers turn out to
be agents for Satan to destroy the local church. So,
tell your pastor about your plans to start a Bible study, whether with one person
or with a group. Invite him to attend. If he tells you not to start a Bible study,
or if he tells you he must lead it, either submit to him or find another church
where the pastor is eager to see the members use their spiritual gifts. If your
pastor does not approve of you teaching the Bible, you will have only sorrow if
you do so anyway. Simply move on to another church and a pastor who is not paranoid
about the members doing the work of our Lord. Now,
if your pastor tells you that you are not qualified to teach a Bible study, find
out why. If the pastor tells you that you lack the gift to teach, you have a problem.
He may be right, but he may be dead wrong and simply not telling you that you
are threatening him. He may tell you that you must attend a formal school setting
and study the Bible formally before you are qualified. You probably need to be
under another pastor. It
is interesting that there was only one formal training ministry in the New Testament
Church. It was Paul's midday school in the Hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus. Otherwise,
all training was done by training disciples like Paul mentored Titus and Timothy
(Acts 19:9). Also, Jesus had no formal school. He had twelve men who were taught
by him to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. Do not be discouraged if you have
no formal training in the work of the ministry. But,
if your pastor is open to you teaching a Bible study, I again strongly suggest
you keep him informed regularly what is happening. If
your Bible study includes members of the church you attend, the following applies: 1.
If you know that you interpret some Bible text different from your pastor, NEVER
talk about that text. You have NO permission from the Holy Spirit to teach contrary
to your pastor. If it is a large doctrinal issue, find a church where you agree
with the pastor. 2.
Do not plan a Bible study which will in any way conflict with your church's schedule
and programs. Find a time and location for the study that has no conflicts so
that members are not disrupting the local church as they attend your study. 3.
Invite the pastor to attend your Bible study. If he cannot, invite a deacon or
elder to attend. You need to make it VERY clear that you are not causing any conflict
or competition. 4.
If a member of your church in the Bible study brings up a question about the pastor's
sermons or teaching, NEVER answer for the pastor. Insist that the member talk
to the pastor, and run them off if they will not stop bringing up such contrary
topics. 5.
Do not allow any gossip or rancor toward any member of the church not attending
your Bible study. 6.
Avoid distracting discussions of politics or civic issues. Do not allow the study
group to become distracted by good works like fighting abortion or influencing
public school programs. 7.
If a member of the study shows a really obvious tendency to dominate the study,
or if they keep getting controversial, run them off. DO NOT tolerate this. It
will destroy the study, and other members will flee from it. 8.
Do not use a Bible study plan with a handout book. The only book you should study
is the Bible. Do ask every member to keep a notebook of the study so they have
a record of what they learned. 9.
Use ONLY one version of the Bible. Comparing versions is NOT Bible study. It is
a feast of confusion. I strongly suggest you use the old King James Bible because
it is the one God used for 350 years without any revision. Recent translations
and versions are all based on Greek texts from the Catholic Church Vatican basement
and a heretic Nestorian monastery in the Sinai desert. All modern Bibles violate
the true teachings of the Bible. The only other Bible with the same heritage as
the King James is the Geneva Bible, but the footnotes are heavily skewed toward
Reformed theology. There is one Geneva Bible published which has no footnotes.
I have seen it, but I do not recall who printed it. 10.
Do not permit the group to develop a superior attitude because they are part of
the study. This will cause dissimulating and bad feelings in the local church. 11.
See if you can find some way for the group to minister to others with acts of
mercy and helps to church members and in every day life. All in, and no out, makes
for stagnant water, and the same applies to spiritual things. We are ultimately
called to serve one another. 12.
Make a prayer list of the Bible study members, and pray for them daily. Ask them
to pray for one another and for you.
1
Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
The
first point ends up last. Because
I based this lesson on a Bible verse, I did not ask the obvious question that
should have been at the top of the page. Here it is: WHAT
IS THE OBJECT OF STUDYING THE BIBLE The
answer is glaringly obvious if we go find it in the Bible. Philippians
2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Normally,
it is impossible to change people's minds. You and I come to any situation with
preconceived ideas about what is and what is not truth. And, we also have our
own idea about what to do with truth. Bible
study is based on the Word of God which is founded in a Person..... Jesus Christ.
So, if I study the Word of God honestly, I will soon find teachings that show
me I am not thinking like Jesus. The reason to study the Bible is so that I will
make the changes that I have refused to make because of my stubborn self-will. That
is your job. First, you need an attitude adjustment and a change of life choices
in yourself. Second, the people who study the Bible with you, whether as a friend
or a teacher, need to be making changes in their thinking and life also. If changes
are not happening somewhat regularly, you and your friends have failed, and you
are wasting your time. A mini revival is in order. You
should also seek to enlighten yourself and group members in the meaning of many
things in the Bible that you have not understood in the past. What
is the key? Answer: Talk about changes regularly, and hold one another accountable.
I am not talking about being thought police. I am talking about inviting one another
to share thoughts and life action changes. I am talking about praying for one
another to make and reach change based goals. Let
this mind be in you..... the mind of Jesus and all those heroes in the Bible who
followed him closely.
How
to study reviewed First,
pray to God, and ask him for help from the Holy Spirit to understand what he is
saying to you in the Bible text in front of you. There is a promise to anyone
who studies the Word of God. John
16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall
he speak: and he will shew you things to come. The
key to life changing Bible study is reading the Bible. Even if you are alone,
read it out loud. This way, all of your senses are engaged in the process of learning. Some
expository pastors will dissect the text ad nauseum until you cannot keep up with
the fine points. Often, the reason for this is that the preacher has recently
attended a seminary, and he is showing off instead of feeding sheep. DO NOT use
his example for your own Bible study. CAUTION:
Some pastors will tell you that you cannot successfully study the Bible unless
you are a Greek and Hebrew scholar. That is hog wash. On any Sunday morning, thousands
of zealous pastors preach sermons that the Holy Spirit gave them, and they are
not Greek scholars. In fact, if you invest in Bible study software, these programs
have Greek and Hebrew study helps that do much of the work for you which your
pastor claims you must have. I
truly believe that if the Apostle Paul sat in on a sermon by some of these modern
Bible scholars, he would say, "My, my, I had no idea I was writing such complicated
stuff." Choose
a Bible book, and read it all the way through, preferably in one sitting. This
will help you see the reason for that book, and it will cause you to see things
you do not understand. Write down questions about such texts to study later. Now,
start through verse by verse. Try to determine the main point of the passage you
have read. This will help you to stay on topic and not wander around in details.
Keep a notebook that you are comfortable with, and write down what you see. I
am assuming you study the King James Bible. You will find words that are either
old English, or they simply
pop out at you as significant. If you are using Sword Searcher or eSword from
online, see how Strong's Concordance defines those words. If you read a commentary,
keep it short, and do not get lost in long verbose blather. Remember, commentaries
are written by men who put their trousers on one leg at a time, just like you.
Do not become the disciple of a man. Always come back to the Bible text as the
final authority. These
two dictionaries are found online Noah
Webster's English Dictionary of 1828- This dictionary gives old English definitions
and quotes Bible verses to illustrate. Samuel
Johnson's English Dictionary of 1755. I prefer this dictionary because Johnson
heavily quotes King James Bible texts, and he was British whereas Webster was
American. Also, Johnson was a fanatic for correctness.
To
learn all the other Bible texts that relate to the one in front of you, you need
a chain reference. If you buy Sword Searcher, or download eSword, they will have
a chain reference. As you look at other related verses, look for added truth that
is implied in the text you are studying. 2
Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. NEVER
FORGET THIS: "THE BIBLE IS ITS OWN BEST COMMENTARY." Charles Feinburg Now,
look again at the verses before and after the verse you are studying, and see
how the verse is affected by the context. This is VERY important, Many heresies
have come from interpreting a single verse all alone without considering context. Isaiah
28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?
them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept
must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here
a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue
will he speak to this people. Next,
how does the verse you are studying fit in the context of the whole book, and
the whole Bible? Is there any teaching somewhere else in the Bible which helps
explain the meaning of the verse? EXAMPLE
OF THE NEED FOR CONTEXT Psalms
8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars,
which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and
the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made
him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou
hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts
of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever
passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is
thy name in all the earth! The
context in this passage tells us that man is the subject. God created the earth
and its creatures for man to rule as his dominion on behalf of God. God told Adam
to "keep the garden." Now,
we have a real puzzling word in verse 5. The word for "angels" in this
verse is the Hebrew word "Elohim" which is the name of God in Genesis
1:1 and many other times in the Bible. But, the KJV translators give us the word
"angels." Is this an error? Should it read that man is "Somewhat
less than God," as many modern translations today do? Question:
Does any other Bible text help us understand this puzzle? Yes, and here it is: Hebrews
2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof
we speak.
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that
thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory
and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8 Thou hast
put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection
under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all
things put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he
by the grace of God should taste death for every man. The
writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, quotes Psalm 8 which
we just discussed. In verse 7 he used the Greek word "Aggelos" for angels
(not Elohim). This
is now what we may call "advanced revelation." There is NO advanced
revelation by anyone but Bible writers in Bible books. Charismatics teach that
they can get advanced revelation as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, in 1
Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge,
it shall vanish away. There is NO advanced revelation after Revelation
22. But, Hebrews 2:7 IS new revelation by the Holy Spirit which we may use to
determine that, indeed, the right word for Psalm 8:5 is "angels." Also,
we find that it is appropriate, based on Hebrews 2:9, to apply Psalm 8 to both
man, as David saw it, and to Christ, as the writer of Hebrews saw it, AND, that
is just fine with the Holy Spirit who inspired both writers. Now,
finally, if you have a modern Bible which says, in Psalm 8:5, "You have made
him somewhat less than God," you have a bible which is heretical. The modern
translation wording makes Jesus less than God in Psalm 8. The translators of your
bible were too stupid to do the cross referencing to Hebrews to get the correct
words. This is a classic example of using the context of the whole Bible to explain
a particular text. You
may now accuse me of being too dogmatic. I ask you to consider that nowhere in
the Word of God is it said that Jesus was less than God. He WAS AND IS God, and
he told us so himself. But, in his humanity, he was made a little lower than angels,
just like you and I are. The doctrine of the deity AND humanity of Christ is at
stake in this little study, and the modern translations make Jesus less than God.
Blasphemy. The
historic point in all of this is..... the King James Bible translators in 1611
were REAL Bible scholars, and they knew about the Hebrews text when they were
translating Psalm 8. They trusted the Holy Spirit to give the correct meaning,
and they used the word "angels" in Psalm 8:5 because Hebrews 2 was far
more powerful authority than any KJV translator with three doctorates from Oxford.
Finally,
ask yourself and the Lord, "Is there anything in this text that the Holy
Spirit is using to change my opinions, my moral choices, or my poor knowledge
of how God works? Write down what you hear from the Holy Spirit. Now,
on to the next verse or group of verses. If
you are studying with other Christians, there needs to be one member of the group
who prepares ahead of time for each session. This person must not dominate the
study, but he must keep the discussion on topic. Also, he must start the Bible
study with prayer, and he must end the study by asking, "What did we learn
from this study?" The members should then share what they learned. Regarding
discussion during Bible study, it is wicked for every member to give a different
meaning to the text being studied. That means everyone missed the point. So, the
leader must end the session by giving a conclusion statement of what was learned
in which he makes it clear that there is only one correct interpretation. If this
causes discord, the leader must talk person to person with anyone of a contrary
spirit and ask them to stop being disagreeable. Always finding a contrary meaning
to the text is the sign of a proud and arrogant spirit and must be either changed
or they must be asked to leave the group. The point here is that God does not
give us a multiple choice Bible. Each text we study has one meaning to God.
Last
Thoughts- Who should teach? Never
assume a Bible believer knows how to study the Bible. I was asked to lead a Bible
study on a ranch in the Mojave Desert long ago. I took along some study helps,
and I led the folks in digging for the meaning of the Bible verse by verse through
a book of the Bible. Everyone was asked to keep a personal notebook of the study.
About the fourth week, a married man who was a leader in a Christian youth camp
nearby told me, "Pastor, this is all new to me. I graduated from Bob Jones
University, and they never taught me how to study the Bible this way." I
was horrified. Then I realized that I also had graduated from BIOLA University,
and they also never taught me to do Bible study like that. I have had to learn
this with the help of the Holy Spirit. Do
not fake it. If you are not walking close with the Lord, and WANTING to think
like Christ, you will only create chaos if you try to lead a Bible study. Get
your life totally under the authority of Christ, and then see if God will let
you start a Bible study.  In
a church I pastored, I decided to preach five sermons to Pope John Paul II. This
was done for five Sundays, and we put ads in newspapers in the area, including
in Grand Rapids, a large city thirty miles away. The first Sunday the Grand
Rapids Press sent a reporter to cover the story of my preaching to the Pope.
It brought many visitors to see the sparks fly, and I did my best not to disappoint
them. About the second Sunday we had five young adults walk in. Their appearance
was very unlike our people, but I asked the Holy Spirit to help me treat them
like anyone else.
It
turned out that all five were highly motivated to be zealous for Christ. They
also had informed themselves in many issues affecting the Lord's Church in America.
They came back and attended quite faithfully. Our people caught their zeal and
overlooked their odd dress styles. Over time, I visited with them in Grand Rapids
where they all lived. After
the series to the Pope was finished and the tapes sent to the Vatican, a man in
our church offered to do a Bible study with the young adults in Grand Rapids.
I liked this idea and suggested this to the five young adults. They also liked
it. This was before I realized that the man offering to teach the Bible study
was an agent provocateur who was doing damage to our church in subtle ways. He
did teach the Bible study, but he took it everywhere but in a direction that would
honor God. I learned about this too late to do damage control. The young adults
all found other fellowship in Grand Rapids, and the teacher abandoned them. He
had done his work for the adversary. One couple kept up their friendship with
us, and we are still in regular contact. But, I learned a serious lesson the hard
way. Beware
of helpful people. If you want to start a Bible study, do it yourself. Do not
hand it off to even the most sincere volunteer. If you feel you have someone to
help teach, ask them to attend the Bible study for a good number of sessions.
See if they participate and contribute real spiritually mature thoughts to the
study. Once you feel good about them, and you hand the study to them, stay with
the Bible study, and move to the background as the new teacher takes over. If
he is making a mess of it, train him. If he is offended to be taught, or if he
loses interest, run him off. SINCERITY
WILL NEVER COMPENSATE FOR INEXPERIENCE |
|
This
also applies to Sunday School teachers. Some of the most evil destruction I have
seen over the years has been done by men who volunteer to teach the adult Sunday
School class. I have seen several pastors destroyed by such men. Use the same
technique I suggested above to put anyone in a Sunday School class to teach. The
man in the story above who went to Bob Jones University would have made a mess
of a Bible study. He was very zealous and would have tried to be an asset to any
program he helped. But, he needed to learn how to do a Bible study before he took
one over. Sincerity will not compensate for inexperience. 1
Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he
desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient,
not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having
his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how
to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
6
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of
the devil. A
pastor who puts a teen ager (which always means a novice) into the pulpit to preach
should be horse whipped. Jesus did not start his ministry in Galilee until he
was thirty years old. I don't care how zealous a young man is to one day be a
preacher, he does NOT belong in the teaching place until he is a mature adult.
I am all for discipling such young men. But, when you exalt them to preach, they
are not respected by older adults, and they are easily spoiled by pride. Nor should
a young man teach adults. I might agree that he could teach children, and that
would be a great way to see if he is humble enough to serve in a larger ministry
some day. But, if you put a young man in a kids' Sunday School class, TRAIN HIM
FIRST, and then sit in the class until you are sure he is really studying the
Word, and be sure his life is a model of godliness for kids. A
lady who wishes to teach the Word should observe the following: 1.
She must be approved to teach a class by her husband. If he is not happy with
it, DO NOT DO IT. A pastor who pushes a lady into any ministry in the local church
against her husband's wishes must be assumed to be hustling the lady to get her
into bed. 2.
She must be approved by the whole church counsel of leaders AND the aged godly
women. Any pastor who uses democracy and voting to select teachers in the Lord's
Church is a fool. Democracy is a mongrel form of election which replaces election
by Almighty God and his Church leaders. 3.
She must never teach with authority with men present.... NEVER. 4.
She must support the pastor and church leaders 100%. 5.
She must be qualified to be the wife of a deacon or elder in the biblical model
given by the Apostle Paul.
Make
exceptions, and all Hell will break loose. I have had godly women teach wives,
and the thing was a great blessing. But, the lady met all of the above standards.
The best lady to teach women in the church is a woman who does not seek the task,
and she will be known as a woman who is often sought for godly advice by other
women. Such women are pure gold and must be given opportunity to bless many other
women. HERE
ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A LADY PREACHER
Do not skip this. It
is not what you at first might think.
Bible
Study Story Number One- Vivian and the Episcopal Church Bible study Vivian
attended our church and was very zealous to study her Bible on a personal basis.
She had been a member of an Episcopalian church in a nearby city, but her testimony
of faith in Christ was genuine. After attending our church for quite a long time,
she was approached by the pastor of her former Episcopal church. He told her that
the people in that church had asked their pastor to start a Bible study. He told
Vivian that he did not have any idea how to do a Bible study, and he asked Vivian
to ask me permission for her to teach him and the members to study the Bible. My
first instinct was that a lady should not lead in such a situation. But, I also
realized that the Episcopal pastor might get into some church house politics if
he asked me, a Fundamental pastor, to lead his Bible study. So, I gave Vivian
permission, and we agreed to a time frame so that she did not get trapped in the
thing for many weeks or months. Vivian
did teach the Bible study in the Episcopal church, and we were all amazed that
such a thing could possibly happen. Vivian said she did not pull any punches but
did literal study of the Bible. At the end of the period she had agreed to, the
Episcopal pastor sent her back to our assembly, and he and the members thanked
Vivian for helping. That pastor then went on teaching the Bible study. A
couple of years later, I made a friendship with a very conservative member of
the public school board. He fought liberal tendencies in the schools, and he told
me he was a member of that same Episcopal church. After some time, he was talking
about all the evil in the high desert where we lived and the Satanism and witchcraft
rampant. He told me he had brought it up with the same pastor of the Bible study,
and that Episcopal priest told my friend that he was taught nothing about Satan
in Episcopal seminary, but that the evil in the area had also convinced him that
Satan was real, and Christians had to be at war with Satan. I
have always assumed that most Episcopal pastors are not even born again. That
denomination is very dead. But, the events in that church made me feel that one
Episcopal preacher will be in Heaven one day. And, it all started when he and
his people decided to study the Bible. Zechariah
4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and
shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the
eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Bible
Study Story Number Two- Testimony of Bill who got saved in a bar on Supulvada
Blvd in San Fernando Valley, California. This
encounter is given exactly as Bill told me the story. You
may not like it, but I defy you to tell God he was not in it. One reason for this
article on Bible study is to help you escape the notion that God is a Fundamental
Baptist or a Lutheran or a Pentecostal. He warned you that you might hear things
that offend you and see him doing things that you cannot explain. Isaiah
55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the LORD. I
walked out of HEB supermarket on my way to my car, and I saw a Harley Davidson
motorcycle parked at the front of the parking lane. I intentionally navigated
that way so I could admire my mental symbol of big power in toys. As I looked
the Harley over, I saw a man sitting in a pickup truck right next to where I was
standing, and I turned to him and said, "That there is a piece of real iron."
He laughed, and said, "I know, I used to race those Hogs." Bill
then went on to tell me how he raced motorcycles in the Los Angeles area in California,
and he said his racing days ended when he wiped out and injured his back so badly
that it left him partially handicapped. Bill said he hung out in one particular
bar on Sepulvada Blvd in San Fernando Valley in his earlier days. Bill admitted
he had been a rough character at that time. One
day he was shooting pool with some buddies at the bar, and one of the men made
a comment about God. Bill announced to the men that he did not believe in any
God, and he boldly dared God to knock him dead if God really existed. One of the
men who had some fear of God cautioned Bill to be careful because God might take
him up on it. Bill laughed and cursed at the man. Later,
Bill left the bar, and he was walking down an ally when it suddenly hit him that
he might be in deep trouble with God, if there was a God. Bill then fell under
the fear of God in a big way, and he ended up on his knees, in the ally, crying
out to God. The bar maid had told Bill she was praying for him, and she had told
him he needed to repent of his sins and cry out to Jesus for forgiveness so he
could be born again. Bill did that in the ally in the best way he could with his
limited idea of who God was. He said a great burden was lifted off of him, and
he at once walked back to the bar. Bill
told the men there that he had gotten saved. They were confused at first, and
he finally explained that he had repented and believed in Jesus. The men told
him it was an emotional thing, and he would soon get over it. He kept the faith,
and the bar maid was delighted. Bill wanted to know what he needed to do next,
and the bar maid told him he needed to study the Bible. He got a Bible, and he
took it around to the bar. Soon,
Bill was gathering the men in the bar around to read the Bible and discuss it.
This turned into a real Bible study, and other men in the bar started getting
saved. The bar maid was also witnessing to the bar manager, and he was a tough
nut. But, eventually the manager got saved, and nearly all the regular customers
got saved. They
had a discussion one day about the music in the juke box, and they decided to
change all of it to Christian music. I know you are having a hard time to believe
this, and I don't blame you. But, what would you have done? Would you tell them
to stop studying the Bible? Bill said there was no pastor involved with this scene
for a long time. What pastor would agree to lead a Bible study in a bar? One
day the owner of the bar came in, and he heard the Christian music. He blew up,
and he demanded the music be put back to the usual rocka Billy bar music. The
men told him they would have to change bars if he did that, so the owner gave
up and let them keep the Christian music. The second bar maid had gotten saved,
and both bar maids told the owner they were praying he would get saved. He laughed.
Then, somehow the Gospel sunk in, and the owner of the bar did get saved. Bill
said the owner soon came to the conclusion that he could not be a very good Christian
and run bars. He owned three. So, the owner sold them all and got out of that
business. At
that point Bill said the group of men from the bar all agreed that they needed
more Christian fellowship and teaching. Every man went his own way to find a church
to attend. Again,
this is a strange story to say the least. But, as I listened to Bill tell the
story, I did not have any indication from his eye contact and demeanor that he
was making it all up. I had to conclude that God's Spirit was doing something
that I could not explain, but I refuse to degrade the thing. It simply shows that
God can do his work on the steps of Hell if he so chooses, and it is not my job
to question him. Psalms
115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Proverbs
21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
Psalms 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the
way.
9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his
way
Last
Grenade I
went on the Internet with this journal in 1995 when such things were not common.
From the get go I have determined not to coddle and pamper anyone. If this article
makes you uncomfortable, so be it. My greatest fear is to please everyone who
reads here. But, I do not write these articles for shock value. I DO intend to
jolt you a bit and see if we can all become a little more like Jesus as we go
on down the road. Luke
5:23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up
and walk?
24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth
to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise,
and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25 And immediately he rose
up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house,
glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified
God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. Do
a word study of the word "Amazed" in the Bible. God likes to amaze us,
and Jesus seemed to like to amaze his disciples. Frankly, I am amazed at how few
Christians these days are amazed at the work of God. God did not go on vacation.
Maybe it is we who need to get back our first love for his mighty acts. God went
to a lot of trouble to deliver the message to us by inspiring about 40 men to
write it all down, beginning with Moses, and ending with John on the Isle of Patmos.
It is a shame if we do not study the Bible God gave us. Some
Christians believe that all the Bible they need is what they get on Sunday and
Wednesday evening from their pastor. Tell me, friend, how would you look if you
only ate three meals a week? Hmmmm Study
to show thyself approved......
LINKS WOMEN'S
BIBLE STUDY AND THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
SEND
MAIL
BACK
TO THE WAR ROOM- Christian Living HOUSE
CHURCH TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE BIBLE
STUDY TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
BLESSED QUIETN ESS JOURNAL ENTRY PAGE
All
graphics are from Wki Commons
|
