How to Study the Bible​ - 260205

SPEAKER A Hi, I'm Mike Browning. Welcome to Let God Speak. In our study time today, our goal is a very simple one: how to best study the Bible and how to hear God's voice as we do so. Folks, joining me on the panel today, we have Clive Nash and Alan Fisher. Gentlemen, thank you for coming and joining us today. We really appreciate that. We'd like to invite everybody to join with us in prayer before we open the Scripture. Father in heaven, we just thank you for the beautiful opportunity we have of sharing together about prayer and the Scripture. And their connection. And I pray that You'll be very close to every one of us who is taking part here today and those who are listening at home, please. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Now, it's an interesting thing when some people read the Bible, it seems to do nothing for them. Other people read it and they feel as though God has spoken to them. What makes the difference, Alan? Can you see anything here for us? SPEAKER B Yeah, well, Jesus gives us an insight into this in John 3:3 and 5. He said, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And in verse 5, he repeats it, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." So, We're born again by God's Spirit, as it said, and it's like as though the Spirit turns on a spiritual light in us and enlightens our mind, helps us to understand what we're reading in the Scripture. SPEAKER A Okay, that is so important, isn't it? It really does. So Clive, if being born again is the key for us to unlock the Scripture, how do we go about that? What do we do? SPEAKER C Well, I think that probably one of the first steps is to be like Nicodemus. He felt something was missing from his life. SPEAKER A Yeah, he did. SPEAKER C He felt dissatisfied, felt that there was a need for change in his life. I think of the people on the day of Pentecost when Peter was preaching and they said, "What must we do?" So that's the first thing. You're feeling a need, I think, is the first thing. So it's a simple step. I want to call out to Jesus, I want you to be my Savior. SPEAKER A Okay, that's really good and that's important, isn't it? We make, we make the step. How does a person get on who doesn't actually know very much about Jesus, right? This is the first step for them. SPEAKER B Well, that's not a problem. I mean, you've got to start somewhere, so it's the start that's important in this case. And once you've started, well, God will lead you then step by step and grow your faith and make you more sensitive to His voice. SPEAKER A Okay, that's really nice. Thank you. We did mention about, or have going to mention about, the still small voice that God uses to speak to us, Clive. I think we need to talk about that some more. Can you explain what that still small voice is to us? SPEAKER C Well, as Alan has said, you know, it's the Holy Spirit is able to speak to our hearts in a way that's different from the voices that we hear around us in the world. I'd like to refer to 1 Kings chapter 19 and verses 11 and 12. In my Bible it says this is God's revelation to Elijah. Verse 11, then he said, go out 'And stand on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And verse 12, 'And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.' Hmm. So where was the Lord? The verse says, "And after the fire, a still small voice." You know, God doesn't necessarily get our attention by clashing cymbals or a loud voice. SPEAKER A No. Here with Elijah it was, "Listen to me in a still small voice." Because we often look for the dramatic, don't we, in life, but God doesn't do that, or very rarely does that. No, thank you for that. So the still small voice, that's how God speaks, and I think But it's very easy for us to miss that still small voice. And we can be so focused, so many things happening around our lives, we're just not spiritually listening. Okay, thanks for that, Claude. SPEAKER C There's a lot of noise, isn't there, from the world around us. SPEAKER A Lots of noise and distraction. Absolutely. Look, while we're in the Old Testament, I'm going to turn to Psalm 46. Psalm 46 and verse 10. Sorry, chapter 46 and verse 10, I meant to say. And this is what it says: Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The main point being, be still and know that I am God. So, Alan, what is this actually saying to us? SPEAKER B Well, I think it's saying that if we want to understand the Bible and to hear God's voice, we need to go somewhere quiet on our own where there's no other distractions and wait there for God to hear what He says. We've got to listen, hear His voice. SPEAKER A Okay, when we're not so distracted by the things around us, because there's plenty of it, isn't there? SPEAKER B Yes, so we need to be reading the Bible and see what it says, not just being still somewhere and taking whatever thought comes into our mind, speaking. SPEAKER A Okay. SPEAKER B Bible. SPEAKER A So it's an intentional stillness of being in the presence of God. Now thank you for that. I'm going to just read to you now from Mark chapter 1, verse 35, and this is what it says: Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He, Jesus, went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed. So what does this tell us about Jesus' His prayer life, Clive, how He prayed. SPEAKER C Well, I think He's saying a couple of things there, Mike. One is this time, so He had a regular time for prayer, and then it seems as though He had a regular place, a solitary place, or as my margin says, a deserted place, a place where He could be quiet. That's not exclusively, of course, you know, the time and place for prayer, but this was a regular thing for Jesus, and it's a good example for us. SPEAKER A It is. Yeah, if He needed that time, we need it. How much the more do we need it? In fact, Isaiah 50:4 sort of throws a bit more light on this too. And this is what it says: The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak, to speak a word in season to him who is weary. And then it goes on to say this: He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to hear as the learned. Alan, what's in this for us? What's he saying here? SPEAKER B Well, this text is a prophecy of Jesus' experience, and it tells us that God woke him morning by morning, actually woke him up in time to pray, like when he went out early into those quiet places to pray. SPEAKER A Okay, so that was an extension of his experience with his Father. So will God do that for us, Clive? Would He wake us? SPEAKER C Well, I think if we can be tuned in to the voice of God and it's a habitual thing for us, and yeah, I'm sure, you know, God, giving ourselves to God in the morning is the best thing to do, you know, at the start of each new day and dedicating our lives to Him for that day. I think what underlies this is a feeling of need. If we feel our need for God, that will start right at the beginning of each new day. SPEAKER A Yes, and I know some— SPEAKER C I need you today, God. SPEAKER A I know some people who actually do pray that prayer and have met those and they ask God to wake them up and He does, which is interesting. If we are interested in God being close to us and hearing us and talking to Him, Well, He responds to that. I'm going to go back to Psalms also. Psalm 27 now, folks, if you want to join me in Psalm 27, and I'm going to look there at verse 8. Psalm 27 and verse 8. Now this is what it says: When you said, seek my face, My heart said to you, Lord, your face I will seek. That's an interesting thing. What is that saying to us, Alan? SPEAKER B Well, it's saying that if we're sensitive to God's presence, in touch with God and His voice, sometimes He'll call us to prayer. He may not necessarily say so in those words, but impress us that we need to pray at a particular time. SPEAKER A I've often felt that sense of a need to pray. Have you felt drawn to God in prayer? Something's going on and you just know you have to pray. Or even if nothing is going on and you know God is saying it's time to pray. And those moments can be very precious. They really can. SPEAKER C Yeah, I think the opposite sentiment to that is, is Lord, don't withdraw your face from me. You know, I want to see you. SPEAKER A Okay. You know, that's nice too. Thank you for that, Clive. Clive, while we're talking, I'm going to read John 14:21. And this is what that says, of course, on the subject of prayer as well. John 14:21, and this is what it says: He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me 'And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father.' And I want you to notice this next statement. 'And I will love him,' Jesus says, 'and manifest Myself to him.' Now that word manifest is sometimes translated reveal Myself to him. Manifest or reveal Myself to him. So what's this saying to us, Clyde? SPEAKER C Well, a little further on in this chapter, In verse 27, it says, "You've heard me say to you, I'm going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said I'm going to the Father for my Father—" I'm sorry, that's verse 28. Verse 27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you." And then Jesus adds, "Let not your heart be troubled, 'Neither let it be afraid.' So there's a sense of the presence of God, you know, and because that we are attuned to that presence, there's a peace that comes in our hearts, a peace that the world doesn't know about, you know. I think there's a lot of people searching for that kind of inner peace today. SPEAKER A I think you're right, and Jesus made a point about that peace, saying the world can't give this kind of peace. It's not available anywhere else except from God's presence. And I think that's how He wants us to understand His presence. Because I've had people ask me, how do you know when God is present with you? And this is the way. There will be a peace settled upon you. And I think that's a lovely thing to be able to know that God will do that for us. Okay, that was John 14:21 and 27. And I think those two need to be linked together, those two statements. By Jesus and keep them in mind, folks. Okay, now, Alan, do we need to have a private, quiet place to pray when we pray, every time we pray, for argument's sake? SPEAKER B Well, no, not at all, not every time. Sometimes a situation arises suddenly and we have to just pray on the spot where we are while we're doing something else. Like Romans 12:12 in the Old King James speaks about being instant in prayer. You've got to be able to instantly pray when you need to. You remember the story of Nehemiah when he was before the king in Nehemiah 2:4, the king said to me, what do you request? And so he says, so I prayed to the God of heaven. Okay. He was there doing his duties as the cupbearer before the king and he had to pray on the spot. SPEAKER A He didn't have time to duck out and pray, did he? No. It was an emergency prayer and they're very appropriate. Thanks for that. And we were chatting earlier. SPEAKER C Yes, Peter, when he was sinking in the waves and he called out to Jesus, 'Lord, help me! Lord, save me!' That's right. SPEAKER A It was an emergency. It was. Yeah. And God responds to those emergency prayers. SPEAKER C And I know of people who have felt an emergency when they're traveling on a busy highway and, you know, they see an imminent danger and they ask for the Lord to protect them. SPEAKER A And it's possible to not even have time to pray sometimes. Yes. And that certainly happened to me on one occasion. Yeah, so yeah, thank you for that. That's important to remember that. But what about a regular time for prayer though? SPEAKER C Is it important to have that, Clyde, do you think? I think it's good to have a habit of prayer and a regular time and place. We read earlier about Jesus rising early in the morning, going out into a deserted place or a solitary place. That was in Mark 1:35. And I think most of us like a routine. And that is a very good routine to have, to have a regular time and a place for prayer. But don't limit ourselves to that. Yes. You know, we can pray anywhere at any time and the Lord loves to respond to the prayers of the people. SPEAKER A Yes, He does, He does. SPEAKER C I like Jesus, you know, Jesus said when He was teaching the disciples how to pray, He said to go into your closet. SPEAKER A That's right, He did, didn't He? SPEAKER C In those days, of course, the only really quite secure place was where the food was kept in the pantry kind of thing, you know, in those houses. Go into that closet, he said, and pray there. Okay, thank you for that. SPEAKER A That's right, and it's good to be on your own, but there are some very spontaneous souls for whom regularity is a strange thing, and they are more likely to pray anytime, anywhere. And of course, as long as we pray, that's the point. So we need to keep that in mind. All right, look, moving on. Despite what we've just said, Alan, about the spontaneity of some people, is it important, do you think, to have some essential time to pray for everybody, where we have an essential time? SPEAKER B Well, we already quoted Mark 1:35, where it spoke about Jesus going out in the early morning to pray. Pray. And yeah, that's a good time to start the day off, first thing in the morning, to surrender your life to God and pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you and help you through that day. I heard a preacher once who said if he was only allowed to pray once a day, he'd pray in the morning so he could get a good start for the day. SPEAKER A That's good, and I feel exactly the same way about that. The day is— the whole day is ahead of you. And we need then obviously to pray and make a commitment and surrender of our lives to God right at that point. Okay, thank you for that. I really appreciate that. We began our discussion today actually talking about studying the Bible, and we've just been talking about prayer. So is there a connection here? Clearly there is. What is the connection between praying and studying the Bible? SPEAKER C Well, we're told that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. You know, so we wouldn't dare start studying the Bible without saying, Lord, I need the spiritual insight here because, you know, this is a spiritual journey I'm on. So we need to pray for God to lead us in our Bible study. Help me to understand what I'm reading here. Help me to apply it to my own life. SPEAKER A Okay, so prayer and study of the Bible obviously Go hand in glove, don't they? SPEAKER C Yeah, well personally I never start studying the Bible without first praying. Yeah, praying for God. SPEAKER A We're dealing with very big themes sometimes in the Scripture and we absolutely need the Holy Spirit to guide us. Yeah, thanks for that, Clyde. I'm going to read now from Isaiah chapter 55 and I'm going to read verse 1 and 2, folks. This is what it says: Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the water You who have no money, come and buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price! Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance! Now, this is a very important message. We're getting something very important important coming through here, Alan. What is it saying to you? SPEAKER B Well, it's saying that just as we need food to support us physically, that God's Word is food for our spiritual life. Yeah, okay. You can't live without food, so— No, you can't. It's the same in the spiritual realm. God's Word nourishes and sustains us. SPEAKER A Okay, so it's a very, very important thing, and this is what this makes. He said, what are you putting all your energies and money into things that don't really count in the long run. And He says, "Come to Me and buy," and He's talking about spiritual things. And I think that's very beautiful, beautiful picture indeed, very much so. All right, Clive, now, okay, we're talking about the Scripture again and studying the Scripture. How powerful are the words of Scripture? SPEAKER C Can we talk about that? Okay, well, let me share a thought from the letter to the Hebrew Christians. Hebrews 4:12. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God," and we might say, is this the spoken word or the written word? I believe it's both. "For the word of God is living and powerful." and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. So here the, you know, for better or for worse, whether we like it or not, the Bible is a cutting instrument in some senses, you know, divide between, what does it say there? Between the joints and marrow. You know, piercing in there and getting at the heart of matter, so to speak. Sometimes we do not like to read certain parts of the Bible because I know that that's going to go against my desires or my habits. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't expose ourselves True. To the correction of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. Yeah. SPEAKER A No, I'm glad. And so the Bible has the ability to do, as it says here, it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It can go right into my innermost being and my thoughts and it can touch me there. And I'm very glad about that. We need honesty in our spiritual walk and our experience with God. And the Bible enables us to do that. And it points out the things that we need to deal with as well as encouraging us. SPEAKER C Because God knows better than we do ourselves. He knows what are our intentions, you know, what are the inner motives, motives of our hearts. He knows what drives us, you know, better than we understand ourselves. SPEAKER A No, this is very true. And I'm glad it's able to do that. Look at the promises that are in the Scripture. I mean, how they sustain us and fill us with hope. In anticipation of the future. So that's good. So we need the Scripture to give us hope and to be honest with us. SPEAKER C And the keys to eternal life. Yeah, thank you. SPEAKER A They certainly are. Yeah. While we're up this end of the Bible, I'm going to go to 1 Peter, heading towards Revelation now. 1 Peter 1:23. 1 Peter 1:23. John 3:23. And this is what it says: Having been born again— now we're going back to that thought— having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the Word of God, which lives and abides forever. So Clive, Or even Alan, perhaps I'll ask you this question, Alan. What is he saying to us here in chapter 1, verse 23, being born again through the word of God? SPEAKER B Well, it's saying how that God's word can change us and give us a new start, as it were. Okay. Give us a new spiritual life, born again. SPEAKER A Okay, and that is the thing that we've been talking about, born again. That's the Word of God does that. So it's a continual process by the sound of it, being born again. It doesn't just happen once for all time. Yeah, well, I die— SPEAKER C sorry, I guess it follows if I die daily, we're going to be born again daily too, doesn't it? SPEAKER A We do. Every day is a new start as we've already pointed out, and it's a good time, an important time to surrender our lives to God once again. So thank you for that. I appreciate that. Clive, do we need to do anything particularly special to qualify ourselves to be able to come to God in this way in which we're talking, to be born again, for example? SPEAKER C Read the Scripture. You read earlier from Isaiah 55, and if we go down a little further in that chapter, Isaiah 55:6, Verse 6 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near." You know, that to me is not saying that the Lord can't be found, that He doesn't want to be found, but we need to, when we've got this sense that we need to find God, He is there for us. And verse 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way." and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and here's the great promise, and the Lord will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. You know, it's our great need that qualifies us for the mercy and grace of God. SPEAKER A Yes, that's so true. SPEAKER C It's not our merit or anything like that. It's our great need as sinners. SPEAKER A Yes. Of a Savior. That's the qualification we need actually, that we can come. And I love these couple of verses here. It tells me that God is willing and available when we turn our hearts to Him. Yeah. Seek Him while He may be found. SPEAKER C Call on Him. That promise of pardon you see there in that verse. Yeah, absolutely. And how much we need to have that assurance that we are hardened, that we are no longer considered to be sinners. SPEAKER A Yeah, no, thank you for that, Clyde. That is so encouraging. Yeah, okay, so we've talked about praying regularly when we first wake in the morning, and I think we all agree that's so important to do that. What about reading the Bible? How often do we need to read the Bible, would you say, Alan, and to see what God is saying to us there? SPEAKER B Well, we were saying a while ago that it's spiritual food for us. That's right, yeah. Just in the physical sense, how often do you need to eat? You have to eat every day. Yes. You'd soon suffer. So every day you need to read God's Word to get spiritual nourishment. And if we're eating spiritual food, spiritual nourishment, then we'll grow just as a child grows from eating physical food. Yeah, Luke 4:4 mentions this. It says that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God. So it's not just physical food we need but spiritual food to make us grow. SPEAKER A It's interesting, and Jesus actually said that, didn't He? Man shall not live by bread alone. I love the connection between physical bread that we have to eat. We know we have to have it, on a daily basis for the most part, but we also need the script, the spiritual food as well. No thanks for that. I like it. Now the Psalmist describes God's Word in an interesting way. I'm going to slip back to Psalm 119 for a moment, a very long Psalm, Psalm 119, and I'm going to refer to Psalm 119 Psalm 119, verse 103. And this is what it says, 103: How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. That's an interesting one. What do you think about that? Does that surprise you, Clive, those words, that imagery that's there? SPEAKER C Well, I like what it says in the next verse too, Mike. It says, Through Your precepts, I get understanding. SPEAKER A Okay, thank you for that. Okay, that's really encouraging. All right, moving, we've just got a moment. Is it easy to read the Bible, Alan? Just quickly. SPEAKER B Well, some parts of it are, and other parts you've got to really dig into it and think about it, put some effort into it. Like anything worthwhile, takes some effort to understand. That's the important point. If we're doing it consistently all the time, time we get to know it. SPEAKER A Don't be afraid of the effort. Folks, we're going to stop there. Look, as we have seen today, prayer and the study of the Bible go hand in hand, and indeed there are rich rewards for those who daily come to our Heavenly Father seeking Him and His will. The Bible keeps that experience alive for us. Well, we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember, you can find all our past programs, teacher's notes also on our website 3abnaustralia.org.au. You can email us if you would like to do so. Join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.