Godly Habits…A Hope Community Semon Series

Binge the Bible

When I was younger at Hope Extreme and leading kids in discipleship times, and we would call them Dgroups. And you would advance through them and I was teaching the kids in the third Dgroup class and I decided to take them to Ms Shirley’s house. And she had been diagnosed with cancer and only had a couple of weeks left to live and you could tell. And we just sat and talked with her and asked her questions, and I’ll never forget she told our students one of the most important things to continue in their walk with the Lord was reading the word as she read through the bible once a year for decades…

And I looked at her ready to face her certain death with certainty because of the word of God.

The diligent reading of the word of God with the strong resolve to get at its meaning…

Strengthens our spiritual life.

Therefore, love your Bibles.

Keep close to your Bibles.

Search the Bible.

Take them to bed with you, and when you wake up in the morning.

Scripture is not Christ, but it is the clue which will lead you to him.

Follow its leadings faithfully.

Keep on reading, because it will comfort you.

You will see more of what the Lord has done for you.

You will learn that you are redeemed, adopted, saved, sanctified.

Half the errors in the world spring from people not reading their Bibles.

It will be for your nourishment, too. It is your food as well as your life.

Search it and you will grow strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

It will be for your guidance also.

And, oh, you will get a thousand helps out of that wondrous book if you do but read it; for, understanding the words more, you will prize it more, and, as you get older, the book will grow with your growth,

It will be your manual.

It will be your memories.

It will be your sure foundation.

S.cripture

Jesus in Matthew 12 ask this question…

"Have ye not read?…

Have ye not read?…

If ye had known what this meaneth."—Matthew 12:3-7.

—"Have ye not read?" as if they had not read after all, though they were the greatest readers of the law then living. He insinuates that they have not read at all; and then he gives them, incidentally, the reason why he had asked them whether they had read. He says, "If ye had known what this meaneth," as much as to say, "Ye have not read, because ye have not understood." Your eyes have gone over the words, and you have counted the letters, and you have marked the position of each verse and word, and you have said learned things about all the books, and yet you are not even readers of the sacred volume, for you have not acquired the true art of reading; you do not understand, and therefore you do not truly read it. You are mere skimmers and glancers at the Word: you have not read it, for you do not understand it.

You know how necessary it is that we should be fed upon the truth of Holy Scripture. Need I suggest the question as to whether you do read your Bibles or not? I am afraid that this is a “reel” age that keeps our attention for 10 to 15 seconds max, but not so much a Bible reading age as it ought to be.

Read the Word. Join the Bible Plan. Open up the Book. Hear the Word.

Psalm 18:25-36

Take today’s bible reading, pray over it, and read through it slowly.

God will direct your attention to certain verse of passages.

Write these down and focus on them.

O.bserve

Context. When someone gets a long email from a friend, they never skip the first five paragraphs and then only read the third sentence in the sixth paragraph. Why not? They wouldn’t know what their friend is talking about. Instead, they would begin at the beginning and read all the way through. For some reason, however, the same person will pick up the word of God, skip the first five chapters of the letter to the Galatians, and read only a verse (or two).

History. Eighteen years ago, there were news articles about 54,000 US military troops and military personnel being deployed to Louisiana and Mississippi. Was it a coup? Was it to defend against an invasion? If you performed even a rudimentary internet search or asked anyone who lived in that area at that time, the answer would be obvious. The Marines and National Guard were mobilized in 2005 as an emergency response to hurricane Katrina that caused widespread flooding, fires, and civil unrest. Understanding that history will explain why news sites wrote about the military deployment on US soil. If it makes sense to understand the history behind a

report written during modern times, why would it not make even more sense to investigate why reports were written in the Bible over 2,000 years ago.

Genre. If a sports headline reads, “Cowboys Shoot Down Eagles,” everyone knows that men with revolvers didn’t shoot any birds. We all recognize that sports news is written in a particular literary style, where teams are often named after people (e.g. Cowboys, 49ers, etc.) and animals (e.g. eagles, dolphins etc.). No one is confused. For some reason, however, the same people who understand that news headlines are written in different literary styles, ignore the different literary styles of Scripture. They mistakenly read proverbs and interpret them as promises, for example. The Bible, however, is written in at least eight different literary styles, each of which has its own interpretive principles.

Psalm 18:25-36

What is God showing you in this passage.

What words or events stand out.

Any truths, warnings, or commands?

What is the overall message that God has for you in this passage?

A.pply

To apply is to read with understanding, meditate for saturation, and apply to your life.

Psalm 1:1-3 1 Blessed is the man[a] who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Meditate Then have we the double benefit of learning the art of meditation and partaking of the sweet truth which it has brought within our reach. We must meditate, brothers. Train you mind to think on what you have read throughout the day. Be intentional.

(ex) These olives must be put under the wheel, and pressed again and again, that the oil may flow

The word of God is always most precious to the man who most lives upon it.

There Must Be an Understanding of the Scriptures

Psalm 18:25-36

Now it is time to get personal. How does this affect your life? Does God have instruction for you today? Encouragement? Correction?

P.ray

Pray the Lord to strengthen your eyes before you dare to look into the eternal light of Scripture - that with a holy book you may deal after a holy fashion. Say to your soul—"Come, soul, wake up: thou art not now about to read the newspaper; thou art not now perusing the pages of a human poet to be dazzled by his flashing poetry; thou art coming very near to God, who sits in the Word like a King ready to be discovered.

Beloved, I would next remind you that for this end we shall be compelled to pray. It is a grand thing to be driven to think, it is a grander thing to be driven to pray through having been made to think. Then you must get to your knees.

You must cry to God for direction.

Who understands a book best?

The author of it.

Psalm 18:25-36

Prayer is a two way conversation with God. Pray over what God has shown you and ask him to reveal even more to you. Continue listening.