Bible study: ACCURATELY INTERPRETING THE SCRIPTURES

Helpful basic steps:
• Read the text
• Look up definitions/meanings of key words from original language tools
• Determine context of the passage
• Cross-reference: let Scripture interpret Scripture
• Determine if word/passage is figurative or literal

Exercises:

1. According to the Bible, should we hate people?
— State your opinion first
— Read Luke 14:26
— read some cross-refs: Ps. 119:113; 1 Jn. 2:11; Lev. 19:17

Answer? _______________________________________________

Wrong interpretation can lead to wrong application. How might someone wrongly interpret and therefore wrongly apply Luke 14:26?


2. What does this familiar verse mean?
“This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 NASB
— State your opinion first
— Read the context, before and after the verse
— Look up some cross-refs: Matt. 21:42 (read in its context); Acts 4:8-12 (read in its context)

Answer? _______________________________________________

How do you normally hear this verse quoted and used? Why do you think that is?

Read more on correctly interpreting the Bible:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/777853/posts

Rules of Interpretation by Mike Riley

Inductive Bible Study method: the basics

1. OBSERVE IT
• Read and re-read the entire book you are studying — chapter by chapter, verse by verse
• Read the introduction to the book to understand more about the book’s author, recipients, historical context & date, etc.
• Outline the structure of the book: identifying overarching themes and ideas; note general divisions and sections without relying on the man-made chapter divisions too much; answer the question: How is the book organized?
• Find, note and mark repeated words and phrases

2. DETERMINE ORIGINAL MEANING
• Identify key words (from previous step); note them; look them up in a Bible dictionary or Hebrew/Greek lexicon
• Use your study Bible to look up all cross references — other parts of the Bible may play a part in illuminating the interpretation of the passage.
• FIND questions to ask and answer throughout the text.

3. KEEP IT IN CONTEXT
• Determine original context of the word, phrase, passage or chapter before trying to apply it.
• Understand a word in the context of its verse; a verse in the context of its passage or chapter (20/20 rule of thumb works well: read 20 verses before and 20 verses after a particular word or verse); and a chapter among all other chapters in the book.

4. INTERPRET IT accurately
• Is the word, phrase, or passage literal or figurative?
See Literal and Figurative: How to understand the language of the Bible By Michael Morrison
[Figures of speech in the Bible: metaphors, simile’s, anthropomorphisms, words of association, personification, euphemism, hyperbole, irony]
• Once you understand the word, passage, chapter, book in context — and understand whether it is figurative or literal, you can make accurate interpretation.

5. APPLY the text


Inductive Study tools:
Inductive Bible study method — by GodSquad/Campus Crusade for Christ
Precept Ministries
Inductive Study Basics By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir
IVP
Inductive Study Bible

Bird’s eye view of the Bible

Q. If you had to summarize the Bible in a word, what would it be? A. JESUS

Q. In a word what would you say is the main theme of the Bible? A. REDEMPTION

Q. Is it easy or difficult to summarize the Bible? Why?____________________________

Summarize the Bible in several words: God’s amazing love-relationship with mankind through Jesus Christ

Summarize the Bible in a complete sentence: God loved mankind so much that he began working out a plan of redemption (Genesis through John), culminating in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, to bring them (us) back into a love-relationship with Himself.

Main purpose of the Bible: for God to reveal Himself , His glory, and His redemptive plan to mankind.

List 4 major events of the Bible

1. CREATION

2. THE FALL

3. CHRIST’S DEATH, BURRIAL & RESURRECTION & subsequent REDEMPTION of mankind

4. THE RE-CREATION OF THE HEAVENS & EARTH

List 5 Key verses/passages:
1. Genesis 3:15 – Declares that the Messiah will come!
2. Habukkuk 2:4 and Romans 1:17 – The just shall live by faith
3. John 3:16 – God loves us and sent Jesus to give us everlasting life, by placing our faith in Him
4. Matthew 22:37-40 – Culmination of the Bible’s teaching: love God first and love people
5. Matthew 28: 19-20 – Make disciples and share the gospel with the whole world

Some evidence that the Bible is all about Jesus:
• John 1:1-3; 14 He was there at the very beginning of the Scriptures in the Creation with God and He is the living Word of God!
• Revelation 21:22 He is there at the end of the Scriptures, in the new heavens & earth & new Jerusalem
He is everywhere in between!
• Gen. 3:15 He was foretold at The Fall -- Christ, the Messiah, was the “seed” of Eve, who would come and crush the “head” or power of Satan.
• Luke 24:25-26,44 Jesus appears to the two men on Emmaus Road and explains all that the O.T. Scriptures foretold and taught about Him
• 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Christ was the rock that showed up time and again with the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings (Exod. 17:6; Numbers 20:11-12; )
• John 6: 47-51 The O.T. manna of the Israelites wilderness wanderings pointed to Christ
• John 3:14-15; 1 Cor. 10:9-11; Numbers 21:8-9 The bronze serpent on the pole prefigured Jesus on the cross, and how we are saved by believing in His substitutionary death.
• Hebrews 8-10 explain that the O.T. sacrificial system was pointing to Jesus all along!
• Colossians 2:16-17 The O.T. feast days, festivals and Sabbaths were only “shadows” whose purpose was to point to Christ
• Matthew 12:39-40 The real-life story of Jonah being swallowed up by a whale for 3 days foreshadowed Jesus’ death, burial & resurrection after 3 days in the tomb.
• Isaiah 52:13-53:12 & Psalm 22 prophesy of Jesus’ sin bearing and suffering for mankind
• Isaiah 11:1-2; Jeremiah 33:15-16; Zechariah 6: 11-13 Messiah is “the Branch” and Joshua/Jesus will be His name! (Yeshua in Hebrew; Jesus in Greek) = proves that even in the Old Testament, the name of Jesus was foretold as Messiah, the Branch.
• And many other prophecies of the coming Messiah! (Is. 7:14; 9:6-7 etc.)

Major themes and teachings of the
OLD TESTAMENT:

1. The MESSIAH (Yeshua) is coming!

2. God loves people but hates & must punish SIN. Sin separates us from God.

3. The world is utterly corrupt and needs God’s FORGIVENESS and redemption.

4. God is HOLY and righteous.

5. Keep THE LAW by faith and so live right with God and man (but this was humanly impossible)

6. Obedience is BLESSED; disobedience is JUDGED/PUNISHED

7. SATAN is a liar and deceiver and wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

8. The Jews as a nation were to live in such a way as to be a LIGHT to the Gentiles, to showcase the One and only true God.

9. Love GOD and love PEOPLE— and so fulfill the greatest commandments of God.


Major themes and teachings of the
NEW TESTAMENT:

1. The Messiah (Yeshua/Jesus) is HERE!

2. God loved the world so much that He sent JESUS to die (be punished) for our sins. Jesus reconciles us to God.

3. REPENT and believe (in Jesus) and receive salvation and the forgiveness of sin.

4. Man can be HOLY and righteous in Christ.

5. God extends GRACE to us as we place our faith in Christ. Then we are empowered by His HOLY SPIRIT, that we may live right with God and man.

6. OBEDIENCE — motivated by the winsome love of God, working through faith, is blessed; disobedience is punished.

7. SATAN is still a liar and deceiver and wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

8. Serve God by using our SPIRITUAL GIFTS in the church, making disciples and by spreading the gospel (good news) of Jesus.

9. Love GOD & love PEOPLE — and so fulfill the greatest commandments of God.

Birds-eye view: Bible summaries

Getting a birds-eye view of the Bible helps us to see the major themes, ideas, etc. that connect from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is ONE story in 66 books!

In a word: Jesus

In a thought: God’s amazing love-relationship with mankind through Jesus Christ (The greatest love-story ever told!)

In a complete sentence:
God loved mankind so much that he began working out a plan of redemption (Genesis through John), culminating in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, to bring them (us) back into a love-relationship with Himself.

In several sentences:
God created Adam & Eve (and mankind) to be in relationship with Him. But they disobeyed God and sin & death came into the world corrupting everything. But God loved mankind and purposed to bring us back into relationship, through an unfolding, redemptive plan. Through the Jewish people God created a bloodline in which the Savior, the Messiah, the God-man, would be born. In the fullness of time Jesus came, lived, and died for the sins of the world. He rose again on the third day and then commissioned His disciples to go and make disciples, spreading the good news that God will forgive men’s sins if they will believe on His Son Jesus! He then ascended into heaven. We await the rapture of the church and the restoration of all things – a blessed eternity with Him in heaven for those who have received Jesus – and for those who have not, eternal condemnation in hell.

In a short story:
God created the heavens & the earth – everything -- with man & woman being His most prized of all the creation. Adam & Eve disobeyed God by listening to Satan, and eating the fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of this, sin entered the world, death began to reign, and mankind was separated from God. Since that time the whole world has been tainted by sin, death, corruption, and separation from God.
But God loved the world too much to leave us in this state. He formed a divine plan to restore us in a right relationship with Himself and reverse the effects of eternal death caused by sin, by giving us eternal life. He, Himself, would pay the penalty for OUR own sin, by dying on a cruel cross. This magnificent, yet difficult, divine plan was prophetically hinted at in Gen. 3:15.
God sent the Great Flood because of His great displeasure with humanity’s out-of-control sin, but protected a godly lineage through Noah and his family.
As the world began to re-populate, God chose to bring His divine plan of redemption through the formation of a special people, the Jews. From them the world would tangibly learn of God’s existence and how we could be in relationship to Him. The Jews would also be the bloodline from which the Messiah, the Savior, would come. This special people began with a man named Abraham. From him, Isaac and Jacob were born. Jacob, renamed “Israel” by the Angel of God, was the father of 12 sons, who later multiplied into the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph, one of these sons, was sold into slavery by his 11 brothers. But God was with Joseph in a providential way, and brought him to be second in command over all Egypt. The 11 other sons and their families came into Egypt to survive a famine, and grew into a great and mighty people, just as God had said to Abraham. Eventually they were forced into slavery in Egypt for 400 years.
God then raised up a Hebrew deliverer named Moses, and brought the children of Israel, known as Hebrews or Jews, out of bondage, and into the Promised Land (Canaan) that God gave their forefather Abraham. But before they entered the land, God needed to teach them some lessons. Through Moses God gave the Israelites the Law and Tabernacle, which was to teach them about sin; that God requires a blood sacrifice (sacrificial system) to deal with sin; how to approach, worship and relate to the true, living and Holy God; their need for a holiness and righteousness; their utter inability to keep the Law and therefore be in a right relationship with God; and especially their desperate need of God’s mercy and grace because of sinfulness. The Law was a teaching tool to show them (us) that the only way we can get the righteousness we need to be in good standing with God, is by faith --- faith placed in Jesus, God’s sinless sacrifice. That’s how Abraham received righteousness, and that’s how we today receive it. They eventually came into the Promised land and prospered.

As a people, the Jews went through periods of obedience and subsequent blessing from God, but also disobedience and chastisement from God. God usually chastised His people was by raising up evil oppressors that would bring them into captivity. But when God’s people repented and cried out to Him, He would raise up a deliverer.
The children of Israel went through numerous cycles of disobedience and repentance. And they went in and out of woeful captivity. Many Old Testament prophesies tell of the coming Messiah who would eventually, once and for all, deliver them, then set up His earthly kingdom and rule His people forever.

Finally, Jesus the Messiah came. He was born supernaturally of a virgin in Bethlehem, Judea. He grew in wisdom and stature and began teaching about God’s Kingdom and how we could be saved from our sins through Him by faith. He lived a sinless life, made disciples, healed the sick, preached the Kingdom of God, and then died on a cruel cross for the sins of humanity. He arose from the dead three days later and commissioned His followers to go, likewise, and make disciples and teach others everything He had taught them. Then Jesus ascended and He sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers in the great task that lay ahead. The church began expanding exponentially, to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles. God converted Saul, and renamed him Paul. And he became the first missionary to the Gentile world. He wrote over half the New Testament through his many instructive letters to the church. John the Apostle received a revelation from Jesus Christ, while on the Isle of Patmos. The vision gives us glorious view (if not enigmatic) of our future with Christ in heaven, the judgments and the restoration of all things.
We await the Rapture of the church, The Great Tribulation, The Second coming of Christ, The Great White Throne judgment, and the New Heavens, New Earth, & New Jerusalem.

Chronological Chart in split into 2 pages

Bible Study: name of Messiah in the Old Testament

Bible Study — Going deeper with words studies and Greek & Hebrew tools
Jesus and Joshua word study continued from last week

Recap:
• Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 prove that Jesus and Joshua’s name in the original Greek are the same.

• The OT Hebrew name Joshua and the NT Greek name Jesus mean the same thing: “Jehovah (or “Yahweh”) is salvation”

• There are 2 (of 4) very significant characters in the OT that share the name “Joshua.”
— One was the famous Joshua of the conquest of Canaan — successor of Moses and a man of great faith, who brought God’s people into the “Promised Land” and “rest.”
— The second was a high priest in the time of the rebuilding of the temple, after the return of God’s people from Babylonian exile.

Both of these men foreshadow the Messiah (Jesus) in certain respects. Jesus is our High Priest (Heb. 8:1) who brings God’s people into rest from dead works (Heb. 4:8-10) and into the ultimate rest of heaven.
Foreshadowing(Wikipedia): is a technique used by authors to provide clues for the reader to be able to predict what might occur later in the story. In other words, it is a literary device in which an author drops hints about the plot and what may come in the near future or, in other words, the plot developments to come later in the story.

Q. What can we learn from shadows?
Shadows: can give us a lot of info about the thing that is casting it — it’s size, shape, and with quite a bit of detail. You can determine if a shadow is a person, place or thing. And if you know a person well enough, you can tell them by their shadow, right? But shadows are NOT the real thing — they only point to the reality of the real thing.

So at this point, you might ask, well — what’s the point?
Doing word studies and paying attention to how God connects the OT with the NT gives us greater opportunity to understand God’s word better. This is a little like looking under the hood of a magnificent car. You don’t have to look under the hood to drive the car, but if you want to have mastery of the car, it helps to know the inner workings.

Let’s take a look at some interesting connections related to Joshua in
Zechariah 3 & 6

Background:
Written about 500 years before Christ, this book was written by the prophet Zechariah. The Israelites who had been exiled in Babylon, were released by Cyrus to go back to their homeland and rebuild the temple of the Lord. The people were apathetic and disheartened in their pursuit to finish the Lord’s temple and basically disobedient to the Lord. So God prophesies through Zechariah a message of repentance and consolation. God wants them to know that their work on the temple has a plan stretching into the future and connects with God’s plan to establish His kingdom through the coming Messiah. Zechariah’s prophesies of the Messiah are probably the most extensive of all the Minor Prophets.
Because significant portions of the book are embedded with symbolism, it can be difficult to understand. But “difficult” does not mean inaccessible. Careful study and a dependence on the Holy Spirit to teach us — unlocks the meaning.

Read Zech. 3:1-9 (from our homework)

• Most conservative scholars understand “The Angel of the Lord” as the pre-incarnate Christ — that is, Jesus the Christ BEFORE He became flesh. Zechariah is shown a vision of Joshua in filthy garments (representing sin), with Satan there to basically say, “See there God, I told You so! Look, look at all that sin! Look! Look!”
• JOSHUA seems to represent Israel (God’s people) in her sin, and how God will cleanse her from it. This also represents how Christ took our sin and our shame on Himself and was punished in our stead on the cross— after which we freely receive His cleansing and are clothed with His righteousness.
• Catch this: Joshua (remember same name as Jesus) is standing there before the preincarnate Jesus Christ. Kind of an interesting picture, right?

Vs8-9
“THE BRANCH”
• Joshua and companions are a wonderful (prophetic) sign. One way is the prophetic priesthood of “The Branch”. From your homework, what is “The Branch”?
— Read Jeremiah 23:5-6
— Isaiah 53
They point to God’s “servant” “The Branch” which is another symbolic way of referring to the Messiah.

Joshua is a prophetic sign of the coming Messiah, Jesus.

The STONE with 7 eyes
Q. What is the “stone”?
(the “stone” is a messianic symbol throughout the Bible, it seems best to see this as a reference to Christ. (cf. Ps 118:22-23, Isa 8:13-15, Daniel 2:45; Mat 21:42, Eph. 2:20; 1Pe 2:7-8)

Iniquity will be removed from the land in one day.
When Christ died on the cross for the sins of all humanity, for all ages, that did what no animal sacrifice could ever do — once and for all FINISH the problem of man’s sins being forgiven. In one day it happened! It happened once and for all at the cross, 2000 years ago.

Zech. 6:9-15
• Zechariah is commanded to take gold and silver and make an elaborate crown for Joshua and place it on his head.
Now, this would seem strange because Joshua is a high priest, not a king — but God is showing a prophetic, symbolic thing here… what could it be?

• So far we have seen
— Joshua’s name is symbolic/prophetic of the coming Messiah, Jesus
— Joshua’s office of high priest is symbolic/prophetic of the Messiah, Jesus’ role
— Joshua’s clothes, “filthy garments,” symbolically/prophetically point to the saving work of Christ among mankind
— Joshua’s crown must mean he symbolically/prophetically points to a king and a kingdom. We know the Messiah has come as The King of Kings and to establish His forever kingdom.

Vs 12 Then Zechariah is commanded to speak to Joshua, as he places the crown on him saying, “Behold the Man whose name is The Branch!"

Zechariah symbolically crowns Joshua — why?
Because Joshua in all these ways symbolically represents the Messiah, who is The Branch.

Don’t miss the last part, “…whose name is The Branch,” because what God says here is absolutely profound.
He said right here in Zechariah 6:12 that, (My loose interpretation) “Hey world, the Messiah is coming, and I’m going to tell you His name 500 years ahead of time. His name is Yĕhowshuwa IN HEBREW.”
Same word as Iēsous in the Greek = The Messiah’s name is Jesus!
And all this 500 years before Christ was born.

The Jews do not believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Now if anyone ever tells you that there was never a mention of Jesus being the Messiah in the OT, you can politely tell them, “That’s not true! Here let me show you.”

What did we learn?
Most people do not know that God “hid” Jesus the Messiah’s name in the pages of the OT.
Through careful word study and understanding the use of the Bible’s symbols, we have uncovered an amazing truth that is not easily seen in normal English translations of the Bible.
This is just one example of how going deeper in your Bible study can bless you.

Coming up in the next few weeks: Choosing a good Bible translation — there are so many translations out there, so it’s good to know which ones are good for which uses.
A “bird’s-eye-view” of the Bible: seeing the Bible as one grand story helps us to understand how individual books connect together and what are the main themes, people, events, etc.

Jesus and Joshua word study

Read Acts 7:44-45 in context, then vs 45 in these parallel translations

KJV NKJV NASB NIV

Q. What’s going on here? Why is the KJV different?
Q. How does the CONTEXT help us figure this out?
• Let’s explore the Strong’s number for this word and see what we find…

Strong’s number: G2424

Greek word: Iesous

Definition: Jesus = "Jehovah is salvation"

Now read
Hebrews 4:8 in KJV, NKJV, NASB, & NIV

Q. What’s going on here? What is the CONTEXT? Read Hebrews 4:1-10; Ps.95:7-8; Deuteronomy 1:34-38

Strong’s number: G2424

Greek word in the original text: Iesous

Definition: Jesus = "Jehovah is salvation"

How many times does this word appear in the NT? 972X

How many times in the NT does it refer to the OT person? 2X

What is Joshua’s name in the original Old Testament Hebrew?
Look up the Strong’s number in Deut. 1:38 to find out.

Strong's number: H3091 – Hebrew word: Yehowshuwa

Definition: Joshua or Jehoshua = "Jehovah is salvation"

Usage: 218X in the OT

Recap: The OT Hebrew name “Joshua,” is the NT Greek name “Jesus”

Isn’t it interesting that both these men share the same name? Is this a coincidence?

4 men share this name in the OT. Two of which are very significant:

1. Son of Nun (referred to in the NT verses) of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan
This person was a man of great faith. He led God’s people into “The Promised Land” which God said He would give to them as a place of “rest” — no more to wander the earth. Joshua’s name and accomplishments foreshadow (i.e. has direct symbolism to) Jesus, the Christ, who is the “Author of faith” and would lead God’s people into the ultimate rest of salvation and heaven (Heb. 4).

2. Son of Jehozadak and high priest after the restoration
This Joshua was a high priest (just like Jesus, Heb. 4:14-15) and is mentioned in Zechariah 3.

Next week we will go deeper and explore this character in more detail, and uncover some amazing things!

HOMEWORK:
In Zechariah 3:8-9 the Lord refers to “The Branch” and “a stone” (NKJV).
1. Where else do we find these in Scripture?
2. What meaning/significance do they have?

Bible study tools and links

Excellent Bible study reference works
1. The Complete Wordstudy New Testment with Greek Parallel — KJV — Strong’s Dictionary, Lexical Aids, Greek Concordance, Translational Reference Index: by Spiros Zodhiates; AMG Publishers.
This gives Bible text, Strong’s numbers, and more expanded definitions (not exhaustive).
Easier to use than a regular, old fashioned Strong’s Concordance.

2. The Complete Wordstudy Old Testment — with Strong’s numbers and expanded definitions. AMG publishers.

3. The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words — Nelson publishers.
This has great Greek and Hebrew word dictionaries, better than the normal Strong’s definitions. If you decide to use this, you will need the Bible text with Strong’s numbers to work along side it.

Online Bible tools:
http://www.searchgodsword.org/
http://www.blueletterbible.org/
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/

Bible Study essential primers:
• CONFESS any known sin —be right with God and your brother
• PRAY! Cry out to God and ask Him to do in you what you could never do yourself. Pray something like this: Holy Spirit, fill me! Teach me! Open my eyes, ears and heart to receive your word. Allow me to discover more of You. Please speak to me and guide me in the way.”
• DISCERN: God’s word is spiritual and we cannot have real understanding and discernment without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit working in our minds and hearts. You will never understand God’s word rightly applied in your life if you rely on your own “smarts” or are walking in fleshly ways. Matt. 13 parable of the soils (Mk 4:15 & Luke 8); John 6; 1 Cor 2:13

Bible study ULTIMATE goal: Transformation!
Our being transformed into the likeness of Christ
Our being transformed to accomplish the mission of Christ
Our being transformed for the glory of Christ

• Being a “doer” not just a reader or hearer of God’s word James 1; Luke 8:21; Luke 11:28
• Better to know a little and practice it, than know a lot and practice little of it! We will be held accountable for what we know.
• Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you…
• 1 John 2:5 The one that is keeping/practicing God’s word shows that God’s love is complete in him and that he knows God.
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Go to BlueLetter.com's website to see John 21 passage with Strong’s coded numbers (click on "show Strong's" when the website pops up)

Notice Jesus’ last use of the word “love” — it’s the same as Peter’s! Why?

John 21 Using a concordance Bible study

Read 21: 15-19

Use a concordance to:
1. Find and define key Bible words with Hebrew and Greek definitions
2. Find multiple occurrences of the same word (not necessarily the English word equivalent, but the original word)

Why?
Because getting back to some of the original words and meanings brings out nuances of the text that are lost with word-for-word translations.

Exercise: Look up a few of the key words in this familiar passage and see if doing a simple word study helps us to understand what is going on in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.

• Look up Jesus’ 3 uses of the word “LOVE” in the Strong’s Concordance and look up the original word and define it. (link to BlueLetterBible website with original language tools)
___________________________________________

___________________________________________

• Look up Peter’s 3 uses of the word “LOVE” in the Strong’s Concordance and look up the original word and define it. (link to BlueLetterBible website with original language tools)

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

• Q. What did Jesus keep calling Peter? Why?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

• How many times did Jesus ask Peter the question? Why?
__________________________________________

__________________________________________

The Authority of God’s Word*

* Adapted from, Design for Discipleship Book Five: Foundations for Faith, Navpress

How do you see God’s word (Scripture)? Is the Bible just a collection of nice ideas written down for our perusal, or is it something more? How does your life relate to God’s word? Someone has said, “we do what we believe.” What do you believe about God’s word…and is that reflected in your life?

The Author
Q. How do the writers of Scripture attribute their words to God in these passages?
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ________________________________________________
II Samuel 23:1-3 ___________________________________________________
Jeremiah 1:6-9 _____________________________________________________
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ________________________________________________

II Timothy 3:16 ______________________________________
Psalm 138:2 ______________________________________

How Jesus viewed Scripture
Matthew 4:1-11 ____________________________________________________
Mark 7:6-9 ________________________________________________________
Mark 12:24-27 _____________________________________________________
Luke 10:25-28 _____________________________________________________
Luke 24: 25-27 _____________________________________________________
Matthew 5:17,18 ____________________________________________________
John 17:17 ________________________________________________________

The reliability of God’s word
Joshua 23:14 ______________________________________________________
Psalm 33:11 _______________________________________________________
Proverbs 30:5,6 ____________________________________________________
Luke 1:1-4 ________________________________________________________
II Peter 1:15-21 ____________________________________________________
Compare Matthew 17:1-9 _____________________________________

The sufficiency of God’s word
Psalm 37:31 _______________________________________________________
Psalm 119:130 _____________________________________________________
John 15:3 _________________________________________________________
Acts 20:32 ________________________________________________________
II Timothy 3:16 ____________________________________________________
James 1:21 ________________________________________________________
Mark 4:14 _________________________________________________________
Isaiah 55:10-11 ____________________________________________________
Hebrews 4:12-13 ___________________________________________________
Psalm 119:11, _____________________________________________________
Psalm 19:7-11 _____________________________________________________

Applying God’s word
Luke 6:46 ________________________________________________________
Luke 24:25 _______________________________________________________
II Kings 23:2-4 ____________________________________________________
II Timothy 3:16 compared to Psalm 119:59,60 ___________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Q. Has any Scripture in this lesson spoken to you? What do you think God wants you to do in response to what you have learned? What steps will you take? Who will keep you accountable?

TEN "MUSTS" IF I AM TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD

Middletown Bible Church has some fine resources on their website for Bible study. Click on the lick below, then scroll most of the way down the page to find "Ten Musts…"
Click here to go to their website

Bible study commitment for spending quality time with God

There's something about making a commitment that tends to solidify our resolve and encourage us to action. Join me in making a renewed commitment to spending quality time with God and His Word. Cut and paste this into your favorite word processing program, then print it out, fill it out, and tuck it in your Bible as a daily reminder.

I _________________________________ make a renewed commitment to study God’s word and apply it to my life. I agree that “doing the minimum” for my spiritual life each week is not a plan for success or for igniting my walk with God.

2 challenges I will face in keeping my commitment are:

1. ___________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________

My plan for overcoming those challenges:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


Days I plan to meet with God for Bible study and quality time:

(circle all that apply) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday


Time-frame I plan to meet with God (Ex. 6am-6:30am):

_____________________________________________________


Signed ____________________________________________________

Date: ___________________________

Going deeper with OBSERVING in Bible study

Read Matthew 6: 5-15 (NKJV)

When making observations, look for:
• Key words (circle our underline them)
• Repetition/patterns of words & phrases (circle and number them)
• Structure — look for groupings
• Contrasts and similarities (draw arrows)
• Good questions to ask
• define/look up key words
• Cross references to find other key relative passages
• Timeless truths
• Applications
• Attributes of God
• Warnings
------------------------------

In the Matthew 6 passage above, what are 3 key words repeated multiples times? How many times?
1. PRAY 6X
2. FATHER 6X
3. FORGIVE 6X

List some CONTRASTS you have observed
• Street corner vs secret place
• Seen by men vs seen by God
• Vanity reward vs God’s reward

Define KEY WORDS to the text:
• “Hallowed”: Dedicated & set apart for Holy purposes
• “Debts”: a literal debt or offence/sin
• “Trespasses”: failings/sins

Attributes of God
• God is Father
• God knows all things — even secret things
• God portrays Himself as male
-------------------------------------
More observations:

Warnings
V5 “You shall not be like the hypocrites”
V7 “Do not use vain repetitions like the heathen”

Types of prayer:
1. Hypocritical & showy: Prayer is supposed to be to God & for His attention, not other men.
2. Authentic: prayer shaped by God as audience

Structure of the prayer:
Vs 9-10 God-focused adoration
Focus on His Fatherhood
Focus on His kingdom — by laying down our will for His

Vs 11-13 Us-centered supplications (askings of God)
Ask God for our daily needs
Ask God for forgiveness — as we forgive others
Ask God for everyday protection from Satan and temptation

Vs13b God focused adoration & praise

Good questions:
1. What “reward” does one get with authentic prayer?
2. What is God’s “secret place”? (A. vs6,9 = Heaven)
3. Who are our “debtors”?
4. Do we parrot this prayer or use as pattern?
5. What is prayer?
6. Why is forgiveness so important? Why is it conditional?
7. What is God’s kingdom?
8. Has God’s kingdom not come?
9. Have others been led into temptation? (yes. Jesus, Job, Peter)
10. Is this condemning corporate prayer?
11. If God is Father, what is He not? (Mother, daughter, uncle, etc.)

Timeless Truths:
• God desires that our prayers reflect worship and praise
• God rewards us as we pray authentically
• God rejects hypocritical prayer
• Forgiveness is not optional and so important in day to day life
• God sees our hearts
• We need to pray for deliverance from Satan’s influence

Going a little deeper with Bible study — ask more questions

• Asking good questions: Probe with questions, that if answered or thought through, will help you understand the text better. Don’t be afraid to ask really hard questions that you cannot answer at the time. Answers may come later. Asking and processing good questions help us to gain a greater understanding of the text.

Let’s look another text and ask some good questions.
Read Matthew 6: 5-14 NKJV

How many questions can you come up with from this old, well-known passage?
Bring in for discussion next week.
For example:
Q. Why is God’s NAME so important? What does it mean that it is “hallowed”?
Q. How is God’s will done in heaven?
Q. Would God lead us into temptation?

HOW TO HAVE A BASIC, DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY part II

In-class study & class discussion

Read Habakkuk 3:17-19 NKJV

1. What does it say?
Make observations; put it in your own words

2. What does it mean?
Make accurate interpretation

3. How can I apply this to my life?

Q. Is there a command to obey?

Q. Is there an example to follow?

Q. Is there a warning to beware of?

Q. Is there a prayer to pray?

Q. Is there a promise to claim?

Q. Is there a key verse to memorize or meditate on?

Q. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to me specifically about something?

HOW TO HAVE A BASIC, DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY

Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods

(If you want to really go basic, skip down to number 3)

When READING God’s Word — ask these questions, preferably in this order:

1. What does it say?
• Make observations: be a careful “observer” of what is happening in the text or what is being taught. Trying making a list of things you are noticing.
• Try putting it in your own words — this really helps you to work at understanding what you are reading.
• Summarize it: If you read a chapter, summarize it in a sentence or two.

2. What does it mean? Make accurate interpretation: there is only ONE correct interpretation, but many applications. When interpreting, remember:
• Some Scriptures are symbolic, metaphorical, emblematic, not always straight forward
• Let the Scriptures interpret themselves whenever possible (cross ref)
• Let the verse or passage be interpreted: in context with what was said before and after it —in the chapter; in the context of the book or letter it is in; in the context of the New Testament; in the context of the whole Bible.

3. How can I apply this to my life? Application
When APPLYING God’s Word — look for these 6 opportunities:
[Remember that men under the Old Testament laws were cursed, as it were, because they were UNDER, and in bondage to, the law; but the New Covenant, in the New Testament, brought grace through Jesus. Not all Old Testament laws still apply because of this and because the O.T. sacrificial system was fulfilled in Christ.]
Q. Is there a command to obey?
Q. Is there an example to follow?
Q. Is there a warning to beware of?
Q. Is there a prayer to pray?
Q. Is there a promise to claim?
Q. Is there a key verse to memorize or meditate on?
Finally,
Q. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to me specifically about something?

Class exercise: use Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV) to do a short Bible study focused on application using the above questions to guide you.

A PLAN for success

Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods

Here are some ideas to get you off on the right footing with your quiet times:

a. Make time for God.
Prioritize Him into our lives. We make time to eat, rest, play, work, etc. But for some reason we neglect the One whom life is all about — Jesus. Eternal God stepped into time, became a man, suffered and died for us on a cruel cross. He gave His whole life for us — surely we can make time for Him. Set apart a regular time to have a quality meeting with God. How much time? Ask the Lord to lead and help you in this.
You know, we basically make time for the things we really want to do. And Dr. David Jeremiah probably said it best with, “We have about as much of God as we really want.”

Take a look at your day — write a list of what you do and for about how long (including sleep). Ex. Sleep: 8 hours; breakfast 10 min.; work & travel: 9 hours; lunch time: 1 hour; time with family, including dinner: 3 hours; TV & reading 1.5 hours; Quiet time: 1 hour.

Would you be willing to give up a meal time for the Lord? A half hour of sleep? Some TV? Use your lunch hour to spend time with God? Most believers have some kind of desire to spend time with God, but fall short with prioritizing it. They have crowded out God. They put people before God — food before God — sleep before God — TV before God — and work before God. And so they have put other “gods” before the One true God! In the first commandment we understand God’s heart to have Him in priority: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt — you shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exod. 20:1)

There are probably at least two mindsets about spending time with God:
“How much time do I have to spend with God?” (You know, so I won’t feel guilty about it)
“How much time can I spend with God?” (What can I not do so that I can spend more time with the God who loves me and in whom I have my whole purpose for living?)

What mindset do I have?
For those of us who see the importance but lack the motivation — we can begin by praying a little each day asking God to increase our motivation and help us to work out a plan to make a Quality Time work. Give the Lord time (days, weeks, months) to work into you the thing you are asking for. I often go to the Lord in my weakness and pray something like:
“Father, You are good. I am weak and unable in my flesh to do this thing I know you would have me do. Please help me in my weakness, Lord. Please work in me to have the wisdom, strength and motivation I need. I give You permission to change my desires, schedule, plans in order to accomplish this thing. Amen.”

b. Prepare our hearts.
Through repentance and prayer (1 John 1:9), let’s get our life and hearts clean so that nothing hinders us. If you have something against someone else — forgive them (Matt. 6:15). If we have grieved the Holy Spirit by acting or speaking “in the flesh” — confess it and seek the Lord’s cleansing. Have a clean heart before the Lord — if we don’t, then we cannot expect our QT to amount to anything.

c. Use a reading plan
Unless you have a specific study focus in mind, yearly reading plans are great to give us some direction each time we get before the Lord. They also help us to have a structured way to read all the way through the Bible. If a “through the Bible in a year” plan is too ambitious — do it in 2 years, or 3 years, or 5. And even if you have another focused, more in depth study, these yearly plans are great to do in addition.

d. Mix it up
A great recipe for a boring Bible study/ quality time with God: do it the same way day after day, month after month, year after year. Find ways to approach your QT with God that will make it fruitful and exciting for YOU.
• Use a good devotional book • Shift the weight of time between these: Bible reading, prayer, memorizing, in depth studies • Worship! • Sing to God •

e. Write it down
When the Lord teaches or reveals something to us in our QT, write it down so that we can revisit it often. Being a “forgetful hearer” (James 1) should not be our goal!

f. Apply what we learn
Learning is not our goal: heart transformation is! What good is it if we do not only learn? Better to learn a little and apply it than learn a lot and it only be “head-knowledge.”

Why study the Bible?

Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods

Why study the Bible?
Why have a Quiet time/Quality time with the Lord? 6 REASONS

1. Because we hear the voice of God through His word and prayer.
2. Because the Bible is living and active — it is Jesus the Christ (Jn1) — and when we spend time with the Word, we spend time with Him.
3. Because it changes us — we are confronted by sin, challenged to change, we gradually grow more and more into the likeness of Christ; we are shown the best ways to live life and relate to God; we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
4. Because it benefits us: we learn the way of life and are warned against the way of death; we become better people as we live out God’s word and get to know Him; we are able to side-step the landmines of life; we are guided into blessings and joy; we learn about the God and Savior who created us and loves us.
5. Because we learn about God’s redemptive plan for mankind
6. Because we are better able to live out our calling and destiny — what God created us to do and be about in this life.

I also found a website with more reasons. Check it out here…

Bible Study questionnaire — 17 questions

[This was originally a handout in class that was to be turned in]

The purpose of this questionnaire is for me to get a sense of what level to teach at for this class, on this particular topic. It will also help me to understand the kind of things you are interested in learning about and what are the best things to focus on.

• Do not feel overly self-conscious if you do not know the answer to one or all of the questions pertaining to Scripture knowledge — these questions are to give me some perspective — that’s all.
• Take as long as you need to fill it out within the class time.
• Please do not use the Bible or others as a source of help — this is to determine what you currently think and know — not what you wish you knew.

1. Who is known as “The father of faith”?

2. When did Abraham receive the 10 Commandments?

3. Who in the Bible is associated with fire, brimstone, and burning coals?

4. What was the “forbidden fruit” that Adam and Eve ate?

5. Name 7 of the 12 disciples

6. List as many of the 10 Commandments as you can remember:

7. Is there a central character in the Bible? If so, who?

8. In one sentence, write what you think is the main theme of the Bible:

9. Write down all the references to Scripture verses that you have memorized (and still remember): Ex. Psalm 23; Romans 8:28, etc.

10. Think back over the last 3 months and give a rough average on the amount of time (quantity) you spend PER WEEK in: (Ex. 35 minutes)

a. Bible study/devotional time: _____________ b. Prayer _____________

C. Fasting: __________ d. Serving the Lord: ________________

11. How would you rate the QUALITY of these on a scale of 0-10:
(0= nonexistent; 1= poor; 5= average; 10= GREAT!)

a. your Bible study/ devotional time: ___________
b. Prayer________________

c. Fasting: ___________ d. Serving the Lord: ________________

12. How would you describe your devotional time with God? (check one or more)

a. bored to tears ______ b. exciting ______ c. clueless______

d. so-so _______ e. frustrated ______ f. Other? _____________

Why do you think that is?

13. If you were to gauge your own spiritual maturity, where would you fall on a scale of one to 10? (1= very little; 10= right up there with Paul and Peter)

What do you think is the primary reason for this?

14. If you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity?
Yes/no: _________________
If so, where would that be?

How can your be sure of that?

15. What does a person need to do to be saved?

16. If you are a Christian, how long have you been one?

17. What do you most want to learn about Bible study?

8-10 How God speaks — final 3 categories

8. The Body of Christ — the church (1 Cor. 12:27; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:11-13)
God communicates through believers:
• with Wise counsel:
Prov. 1:5 (See also Prov. 12:15 Prov. 24:6)
Expect God to use other believers in your life to give you wise counsel.
• about Spiritual things that pertain to life and eternity:
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)

Apostles “sent ones”: those sent to proclaim the message of the gospel to all the nations/peoplegroups of the earth.
[For study when going through spiritual gifts segments: There are/were only 12 original Apostles (capital A). This is consistent throughout Scripture. But there have been many disciples who have been sent out, as the original apostles were. So in a sense, there have been other “small “a”” apostles, or “sent ones” who communicate God’s message of salvation to the “panta ethne” = all the people groups of the world.]

Prophets (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation)”
of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God's authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers”

Evangelists (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
1) “a bringer of good tidings,
2) the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles”

Pastors (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of the overseers of the Christian assemblies”

Teachers (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of those who in the religious assemblies of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit”

God communicates to us through believers in the church — about all kinds of spiritual things: how to live a godly life; who God is; what salvation is all about; how to know Christ the Son of God; what our future in heaven is like; how to be built up in faith and more like Christ; how to become part of God’s mission in the world; etc.

For further study, see also:
1 Corinthians 12: 8-11, 28; 14:1-4 Certain Holy Spirit gifts God uses to speak to others.
Word of wisdom — by the Holy Spirit
Word of Knowledge — by the Holy Spirit
Prophecy — by the Holy Spirit
Tongues & Interpretation of tongues— by the Holy Spirit
Teaching — by the Holy Spirit
• Acts 1:8 God communicates/proclaims the Gospel through the church, to the world.

Core lesson: God speaks through the “body of Christ” — the church. Whether through a sermon, a word of wisdom, some encouragement, a practical need met, a strong warning, or a Gospel presentation — God will use believers — people like you and me in the church — to speak to others, and for others to speak into our lives.
This is one of the reasons why people who think church is optional to the Christian life are sorely mistaken. To disregard God’s plan for communicating to them and building them up through His body is a sad display of pride.
Some people say things like “I believe in God, but not organized religion” when they communicate their disdain for the church and not wanting to be a part of it. But what they are saying to God is “I don’t care for your plan, or your people — I will conduct my spiritual life as I see fit — I choose to engage in spiritual things the way I want to — I choose to imagine a god that allows me to do what I want.”

Write down one example of how God has spoken through the body of Christ, to you!


9. Spiritual wisdom — you probably don’t think about this one much — you just figure it out and go on thinking it was you that came up with that great idea or solution.

In daily life: how to love your spouse, how to work well with others, how to go about making a decision, how to discipline your child, how to answer people, how to approach a difficult challenge, etc.

• James 1:5-6
• Prov. 2:6,10-11
(See also: Daniel 1:17,20; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 Cor. 2:6-15; Eph. 1:17-18 (We see here that spiritual wisdom is connected to the Spirit!)

Core lesson: God speaks to us through wisdom that is sent from God. We can ask for it. We probably won’t often recognize it as, “Wow! This is from God!” But sometimes we will. As we ask God about certain decisions we need to make, or go about life, He will drop wisdom from heaven into our minds that we may have His mind and heart on how to approach things.

Write down something you could use God’s wisdom in__________________________


10. Through unconventional and even bizarre ways (i.e. Don’t put God in a box!)
Ex. Creation/nature: Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 10:16-18
Ex. A donkey: Numbers 22:21-31
Ex. A finger writing on a wall: Daniel 5:1-6, 11-12, 24-28
Ex. Moses hearing God speak through the burning bush! Exodus 3:1-4

Core lesson: Let’s not put God in a box on how He might speak to us. But test ALL things with the Scriptures.

That’s the end of our series on How God speaks!


6 Ways to effectively hear God
God speaks in various ways, as we have learned, but does automatically mean we will hear and understand what He has communicated?
• If you have ever been in a conversation using two cell phones, you know that sometimes the signals get weak and all you hear is garbled speech — whole words and phrases and sentences drop out and you don’t understand the person on the other line — though you know they are saying something! And just because one person is speaking quite clearly over here, doesn’t mean that person over there is hearing it. How can we get the strongest, clearest communication pathways to and from God?

1. Make time: a resolute decision to set aside regular time to meet with God
• How much time do you spend with God — as much as possible or as little as possible?
• It seems a bit silly to approach God as if we’re trying to fit Him in — like a someone trying to get an interview with your company or something. I mean think of it — the God of the Universe that created you and me — us saying to Him — nah, don’t think I can make time for you today. Imagine if you young child did this to you…

2. Remove distractions: if you can’t find a quiet place, find a quiet time-fame — like early in the morning.

3. Cleanse your vessel: Be a clean, obedient vessel — put your “yes” on the table before the Lord. Confess and repent of all sins. Eph. 4:17-18,30

4. Seek! Seek! Seek!
Prov. 1:28; Prov. 8:9,17; Deut. 4:29; Jer. 29:13-14; Luke 11: 5-10
1 Chron. 28:9

5. Listen: Talk to God then listening, discernment and awareness of the various ways God may speak — God may be speaking, but we may be looking and listening in the wrong places. Cultivate discernment between your voice, the Holy Spirit, Satan’s voice, the flesh.
Be aware of impressions that may be fairly general, or may be even specific words. Make sure you pay attention to them, but test them to see where they originated from.

• Be still (Ps. 145) to hear that still, small voice (1 Kg 19:9-16) If you are still, and you have an immovable reference point, you can actually see the moon move!
• Be open to the various ways God may answer.

6. Journal: to keep a log of what God is doing in your life
— Stones of remembrance in Joshua

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HOW GOD SPEAKS?

Homework:
1. Keep listening — and write down in a journal what you think God is saying.
2. If you have heard from God — share it with someone in the body of Christ.

Where we’ve been in our course thus far:
• Being a disciple
• How God speaks

Next week begins a new series:
• Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods

7 CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVENTS Part 2

God speaks through circumstances & events: God’s sovereignty

Begin with: Ex. “What happens when Almighty God calls you house?”
(BP Story 12/27/01: a pastor cites this urban legend in his sermon)

We’ve heard a wonderful story about God’s sovereignty from last week. Let’s take a look at this from another perspective — where God allows pain and hardship into a person’s life for good.

For example: One of my extended family members had a catastrophic accident to his leg one day. A large, heavy spool of industrial electrical wire (like on electrical lines), fell on his leg and ankle — shattering it in several places. He did not know if he would ever walk again, and had to have steel rods and pins inserted into his bones. He told me one day, that he knew absolutely that God had a purpose for that accident. He had been wayward from God a long while, and he came back to God because of this traumatic event. He even told me that he was glad it happened because he knew it took this kind of event to get his attention and that God had totally used this trauma, this accident, this misfortune for priceless good in his life. He would not trade it for anything.
I believe his perspective was right on. God had orchestrated/allowed this event for good into this believer’s life.
God “spoke” through this saying something like: “I love you and want you back. I will do whatever it takes to bring you back to me because your relationship with me is that important. If temporary harm brings eternal blessing, then it is overwhelmingly worth it — and I will allow this for good. You may not understand now, but you will later.”

Emily’s story — We had a young, college-age, editorial intern work with us at the Mission Board several years ago. Her name was Emily. You could tell by her slow speech and irregular walk that something traumatic had happened to her. One day while during our weekly chapel sessions, I was surprised to see her on stage. She gave her testimony about how she had given her life to Christ. I remember her saying that she had once been on top of the world — she was extremely popular in school, a great soccer player, very beautiful, lots of friends, etc. but she had a big problem. She had a lot of pride and God did not have a place in her life. She remembers having it all, but feeling a deep down sense of hollowness. And she could not seem to give her life to God, although she knew that she needed to. She recognized all her earthly success, beauty and pride was an impossible hurdle for her to leap — that with all that going for her it was impossible to get her life with God right. One day she cried out to God in utter distress and told him that He could do whatever it took to get her in a place where she could have that relationship with Jesus. She was at that point of desperation. Not long after, she had a life-changing car-wreck that nearly killed her. All of the things that previously stood in her way of getting to God dissolved immediately. I think she had spinal injuries and head injuries. She cried through parts of her testimony, but she said toward the end, that she would never in a million years trade what she has now with God — that all she went through and lost with the accident could in no way be compared with the joy she has now in Christ. It was an amazing testimony!
What was God communicating? Something like, “Emily, I hear your prayer and will do what I have to do to bring you into a love relationship with me. I will allow a painful experience into your life — but you will later thank Me for it — because the temporary pain of today cannot compare to a relationship with Me through Jesus — or the limitless wonders of heaven and eternal life. I will grant your prayer.”

A word of caution: We should not analyze every circumstance and event — thinking God has some message for us in it. We need to understand this in broader terms.

Not every accident has a lesson.
Not every misfortune has a message.
My broken arm as a child, my alcoholic and abusive stepfather, the loss of my cat to cancer, the loss of my dad last year — none of these things had a message in it for me, as far as I could tell. We live in a sinful, fallen world and God does allow suffering and pain for a time.
But God promises to work all those things for good. That’s a promise!

Much of life seems to be guided by (good and bad) choices, missed and taken opportunities, (good and bad) circumstances.
• But does that mean your life is governed by happenstance, or by God?
• Did you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?
• Did you know that God is so powerful that He is in control of all things — all history — your life — and that nothing happens outside His power, full knowledge or permissive will?

That means good and bad things — by the counsel of His divine, often-mysterious will. It’s mysterious to us, not Him, and we must wrestle with the conclusion that God somehow, in some way, is working things out for good for us who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). And it may not be in this present life that we see the reason, or the benefit — but it may be in heaven, where blessings, rewards and eternity awaits.

Getting to the place where I can find some comfort in knowing that God is indeed in control — despite my circumstances — is my goal by faith.

Exploring more scriptures
Prov. 3:5-6 lesson: As we TRUST in the Lord (rather than ourselves), and consider Him as we make decisions — God will communicate His way and path for us.
See also Prov. 20:24 and Jer. 10:23 and Psalm 139:16: A person who thinks that all their choices are governed by their own will is sorely mistaken. We need to acknowledge God is more in control of our choices and destiny than we think. Whether or not it turns out in our favor is dependant on simple choice to humble ourselves before the Lord.

Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:1,9 Lesson: God sovereignly moves in man’s choices and even words — there is a mystery here — is it every choice? Every word? Why or why not?
(Reference Saul’s story in 1 Sam. 9 for choices & words)

Phil. 2:13 Lesson: God works in a believer to have the motivation and ability to accomplish what God wants. Therefore we can look at our own abilities and desires to see what God is doing and saying about our lives (Ex. Calling and spiritual giftings)
For example:
Exodus 35:30-31: What motivation and ability did God give?

Other kinds of circumstances:
• Suffering — God may speak through some suffering (as with a few of the stories above)
Waiting — God may speak through waiting: He may be saying “Not yet” or “Be patient — I have other things to do in you or in others before the time is right” Psalm 37:7
• Silence — God may speak through silence with the intention of communicating something like “I am testing your faith. What will you do if I leave you hanging… will you give up on me? Rebel against me? Choose to do something of your own inclinations?” or “I want you to go back to the last thing I told you to do — and not neglect it, but do it. Why should I answer your newest question when you haven’t been obedient to my voice over the last one?”
• Judgment — God may communicate something by the judgment which He meets out. See the “Going Deeper” optional homework study.

As you walk with the Lord, and listen — you do start to get a sense of which of the above God is speaking through. But sometimes, even many times, we have to wait or push forward without answers. But we do so in faith. The ultimate answer is not what I can teach you through this Bible study, but what will come from the Lord as you struggle through deepening that personal relationship with Him on a daily basis.

Core Lessons:
1. God is more a part of lives and circumstances than we may have ever thought or believed.
2. God will be speaking through our circumstances at various times
3. Therefore we need to discern, pray, and listen.

Read excerpt from “Holy Moments” (Lenya Heitzig) pg. 17-18 God’s Fingerprints story

Homework: Read Walking by faith down difficult roads and look up the Scripture references listed in it.

Read Walking by faith down difficult roads devotional

Excellent books to read on this subject:
Holy Moments — Recognizing God’s Fingerprints in your Life by Lenya Heitzig; Regal Books, 2006.

Found: God’s Will — Finding the direction and purpose God wants for your life by John MacArthur Jr., Chariot Victor Books, 1977.



Going Deeper with God’s sovereignty: extended optional homework study

It is easy to get into a subject like God’s sovereignty and because we do not understand it fully, we may begin to blame God for our own bad choices, painful circumstances and sinful tendencies (we don’t tend to blame Him for the good stuff). But this perspective reflects a misunderstanding of God, His character, and His Kingdom purposes. Therefore, let’s do a simple “pre-study” that will hopefully guide us in our understanding of God’s sovereignty.
• I recommend reading all verses in New King James Version for this study

Pre-study: In general, you find these principles in Scripture:
1. God loves us! And wants a relationship with us (John 3:16)
2. However, God hates sin and because of His righteousness, must punish it.
(John 3:36; Prov. 6:16-19; Ps. 34:16; Ps. 37:9; Ps. 96:13; Rom. 6:23)
3. God extends mercy and grace to sinners (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:1-2, 8)
4. If a person or a people disregard God’s love, mercy, grace, and continue to sin — you find passages that show He will powerfully and sovereignly move to chastise or judge those who are prideful, arrogant, and continue in sin. He will work their circumstances against them in order to get their attention — to hopefully bring about repentance — but if not, then judgment. (Hebrews 10:26-31; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 Kings 22)
5. If we heed God’s warnings and repent, with a humble heart — He extends mercy — and begins to work our circumstances for our good. (1 John 1:9; Rom. 8:28; 1 Kings 21:29) The story of the wicked Ninevites in the book of Jonah)

• Read 1 Chronicles 21:1-30; 2 Samuel 24:1-25 (parallel account)
Q. Who influenced David to sin by numbering all Israel?
Q. Who was ultimately behind the scenes orchestrating it all?

• Read 1 Kings 22:19-23, 30-37 and parallel account 2 Chronicles 18:18-22, 28-34
Ahab, in general, was a very wicked king. Read: 1 kings 21:25-26
Q. What killed Ahab?
Q. What influenced Ahab to go into battle?
Q. Who was ultimately behind this?

• Go back to the pre-study and review points 1-5.

• Other verses to read and consider:
Joshua 11:20; Ps. 105:23-26; Deut. 2:30; Exod. 4:21; 1 Sam. 2:25; Judges 9:23-24; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Isaiah 19:14; 2 Kings 19:6-7

7 CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVENTS Part 1

God speaks through circumstances and events — that is, through God’s sovereignty

God may choose to communicate His voice and movement in your life through nearly imperceptible means. You may see God’s divine orchestration after the fact.

Q. How do you know you are where you’re supposed to be in life — In your career? What led you to that conclusion?

Q. Have you ever thought or asked God: Have I missed my calling? Am I where I’m supposed to be? Did I make the right career choice? Did I marry the right woman/man? Did that choice derail me from God’s plan?
If you have asked those questions to God — how did He respond? Do you know for sure His answer?

Q. Have you ever asked questions like these: Did that misfortune or loss keep me from God’s best? How can God work good (Rom. 8:28) out my great loss? Life hasn’t turned out like I expected, what is God up to?

• God doesn’t always speak to you through a verse of Scripture.
• God doesn’t always clearly speak to you by His Holy Spirit.
• God may rarely, if at all, speak to you through visions, dreams, and angelic visitations, handwritings on walls, talking donkeys, or through His direct, manifest presence and voice.
• God may not give you wisdom to figure it all out every time you have a question.
• God may not give you counselors that know the specific answer you need.

So, what do you do when God doesn’t seem to be speaking?
1. Make sure you are not living in sin — for God may not answer because of unconfessed and unrepentant sin (Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 3:12; )

2. Seek Him with all your heart. (Jer. 29:12-14; 1 Chron. 28:9; Deut. 4:29; Prov. 8:17)

3. Trust in His sovereign, unseen, nearly undetectable guidance over your life. This life we live by faith (Heb. 11:1 and 2 Cor. 5:7 and Rom. 1:17b, 20) — we trust in Him whom we cannot see. Understand that God may be “speaking” through His divine orchestration of your life’s circumstances.

Ex. 1 Samuel 8:1— 10:1 The story of Saul becoming Israel’s first king.
Things to watch for:

1. What were the circumstances and events that brought Saul to Samuel?
2. Who was behind bringing Saul to Samuel? And how do we know that?
3. What choices were made that brought Saul to Samuel?

Q. What were the circumstances in the story?
— Israel rejected God’s appointment of judges and wanted a king
— God decided to give them a king — and have Samuel anoint him
— Kish’s donkeys go missing
— Kish decides to send his son Saul and a servant

• Go through the story and list the decisions that were made and who made them.
— Kish decides to send Saul and a servant to look for the lost donkeys (their wealth).
— Saul decides to choose a particular (unnamed) servant to go with him (remember this choice and look for a strategic reason why God may have wanted him with Saul)
— Saul chooses on particular path to go — Ephraim, Shalisha, Shaalim, Benjamites, Zuph) = Southwest. He could have gone north, northeast, East, West and ended up in hundreds of different locations.
— Saul chooses to look and keeping looking for 3 days — he didn’t give up after one day, or two.
— Saul decides after 3 days, it’s time to quit and go home. What keeps him from doing that at just the right time?
— The servant has information Saul doesn’t, and is motivated to share with him about a particular prophet, in a particular close-by place, that may be able to help them.
— Saul chooses to reverse his decision to give up, and decides to go into Zuph.
— The young women were in the right place at the right time, with the right information to guide Saul and his servant to where they needed to be.
— Samuel the prophet comes right toward them and meets up with them on the way.
— 9:16 Key point: God said to Samuel the day before, “Tomorrow, about this time I WILL SEND YOU A MAN from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over MY people Israel.
This verse begins to put all the above story into perspective!
God was behind bringing Saul to Samuel.
Think about every circumstance, choice, even misfortune that happened — and we see that God was sovereignly using it all — orchestrating it all — to bring Saul to Samuel.

Then basically Samuel invites them up to the special sacrifice, to be his special guest — then tells him not worry — that those donkeys have been found which were missing. After that he springs on Saul that he has just become the most important person in all Israel — which takes Saul by obvious surprise (like all of a sudden Billy Graham coming to your house and telling you that you just became president of the United States!)

After that he secretly anoints Saul and you can read the rest in 1 Samuel 10.

Core lessons we can learn from this story:
• “Random” misfortunes and loss…
• “Random” choices we make…
• “Random” people and their influence in our lives…
• “Random” paths we may choose to walk down…
• “Random” events that pop up in life…
… all may be leading to a blessing in disguise. All may be pointing toward God’s divine orchestration. God could very well be speaking through these circumstances and events.

In this story we see Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:9 come to life! (A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord…)

In closing. read “God’s Got your number” — Ken Gaub testimony (verified by his ministry)

5 and 6 VISIONS AND DREAMS

God speaks through visions and dreams

READ: Acts 2:17-21 (NKJV)
Key verse 17

5. Visions (generally awake) — “An experience in the life of a person, whereby a special revelation from God was perceived.” (Holman Bible Dictionary, C.1991, p.1396)

• Acts 18:9-10 Jesus spoke to Paul at night by a vision by which he gave him instructions.
• Acts 10:1-10 Cornelius, the Centurion, saw an angel of God in a vision — who gave him instructions for what he needed to do. Peter fell into a trance and saw a vision of the large sheet and animals, and heard a voice from heaven that gave him instructions.
• Acts 9:10-16 The Lord spoke to Ananias of Damascus, in a vision, and gave him instruction to go to the man Saul. And apparently Saul also had a vision about that same time — of a man named Ananias coming to lay hands on him for healing.

Ex. Buddhist woman, Li, sees visions of Jesus: The Jesus Film Project newsletter Aug. 5, 2003.

6. Dreams (asleep) — God sometimes sends word to people in dreams.

Q. Why would God use dreams to communicate? Any thoughts?

• They can be symbolic and mysterious, or straightforward. They can bring a deep sense of horror and foreboding as with some of Daniel’s dreams (Daniel 7).
• They may bring revelation of who Jesus is, or a warning, prophecy of future events, or a message of instruction for God’s mission (Ex. Paul’s Macedonian call).
• Genesis 15:12-17: Abraham had a prophetic dream about the future of his children and the generations after them.
• Matthew 1:18-21 The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to instruct him about the situation he was in.

Ex. Overseas story: Nadira story of Jesus revealing Himself to her in a dream: The Jesus Film project newsletter Feb. 2, 2007

** Not all dreams are from God or your own subconscious — read the story of the Indian widow & the idol dream (Window on the World April-May 2002, theCommission)

Muslims Encountering Jesus In Unusual Dreams
(I am not advocating everything this website states — only that some of the testimonies recorded accurately reflect what our missionaries hear about all the time)

Core lessons:
• Raise our awareness that God still speaks today through visions and dreams (— though admittedly it tends to be rare in the United States, and more prevalent on gospel frontiers, where persecution exists.)
• God’s reasons for using visions and dreams seem to be often connected to the expansion of the kingdom of God.

4. God’s word — the Bible: part II — God’s word is living and active

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful” (it’s active!)

Read Psalm 103 (NIV)

1. God’s word SPEAKS to us today, as fresh and RELEVANT as it was when it was originally spoken
• So when David says to praise the Lord, we can believe that we should be doing that too
• When David says to not forget God has all kinds of benefits for us, we should adopt that as a word from God to us here today
• When David says God forgives all our sins — we should believe God’s word —that He will do that very thing, as we confess our sins and believe on the Son of God for cleansing of sin.
• When God’s word says He heals all your diseases — we can believe that God’s word is true, and living, and powerful, and active and that God still heals us today.
• When God’sword says that He redeems your life from the pit — we can read this word, believe it is as true today as it was 2000 years ago — and that we can by faith believe God speaks to us through it.

2. Personalize God’s word when you read it — because He means it for you today.

Ex. “I will praise you Lord! I will not forget any of your benefits! You forgive me of all my sins! You heal me of all my diseases! You redeem my life from the pit! And you crown me with love and compassion!

Listen to Pastor Duane Miller story "Redeemed from the Pit"
Also see Duane's website: http://www.nuvoice.org/

4. God’s word, the Bible — speaks!

HOW GOD SPEAKS:
The Bible: is the most sure, reliable, safe way we can know God’s voice. All other “communication channels” need to be tested against God’s word of truth.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJV)

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

God’s Word:
1. Is living! (a living plant vs a rock — Bible vs any other book)
2. Is powerful! (God’s word has energy in it — it is active! — like an active ingredient in a medicine or toothpaste)
3. Is an extremely sharp two-edged sword! (see also Eph. 6:17)
• It is a weapon of battle — soldiers could pierce armor with a sharp, pointy, 2-edged sword. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to battle falsehood, deception, pride, sin, spiritual uncleanness, etc.
• It is so sharp that it can open up any part of our flesh or spirit and expose what is there.
4. Reveals — all the hidden inner things — God’s word gets into our business! He knows the REAL reason we do things. And His word holds a mirror up to our souls for us to see what our motivations are. We need to live as those who KNOW we must one day give an account for how we lived our lives.
5. Is a person (Heb. 4:13; John 1:1,14)
6. Is eternal (Luke 21:33)
7. Gives spiritual wisdom & “light” to our understanding (Psalm 19:7-8)
8. Directs our steps (Psalm 119:133)
9. Is life to us! (Deut. 8:3) Ex. Earth’s “sweetspot” in orbit — narrow path of life
10. Teaches us what to believe* (doctrine) — God’s word reveals what is right and true
11. Teaches us what NOT to believe (reproof) — God’s word reveals error, falsehood, demonic deception
12. Teaches us what NOT to do (correction)
13. Teaches us what should be done — (instruction in righteousness) which equips us for EVERY good work

(* 10-13 Source from The Believer’s Study Bible, pg. 1727 footnote)

Core Lesson:
The Bible, like no other divine communication channel, gives us the clearest and most abundant source of God’s word for our lives.

For more study on your own:
1 Corinthians 10:1-11
God’s written word teaches us through examples of those who came before us.
• Vs1-4: These difficult verses basically tell us that all those O.T. (true) stories, were all a apart of God’s grand story, pointing to the fulfillment of Christ, of which we ourselves have a place in.
• Vs5-10: Things we learn NOT to do by their bad example.
• Vs11: These were all written down for our instruction!