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A.D. Part 7 – How to Get the Most Out of the Bible

Pastor Scott Applegate

Sermon Notes:

“That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.” Acts 17:10-12 NLT

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:31-32 NKJV

“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other…”  Colossians 3:16 NLT

  1. I must believe that God’s word is essential for true spiritual understanding

“And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God–which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.”  1 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT

The Bible:

  • Helps me grasp what God is really like
  • Helps me understand the difficult questions of life
  • Teaches me what my purpose is
  • Assures me of what my future holds
  1. I must believe that God’s word is essential for spiritual growth

“…like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,”   1 Peter 2:2 NASU

  • Hear the word, read the word, study the word, memorize the word, meditate on the word, apply the word
  1. I must believe that God’s word is essential for spiritual maturity

“You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.” Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT

Symptoms of spiritual immaturity – The lack of:

  • Focus
  • Appetite
  • Discernment

 

  1. I must believe that God’s word is essential for spiritual effectiveness

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 TEV

  • Read the word prayerfully
  • Read the word in a repentant spirit
  • Read the word expectantly
  • Take one thought or verse with you through the day

“I believe that the one chief reason that I have been kept in happy useful service is that I have been a lover of Holy Scripture. It has been my habit to read the Bible through four times a year; in a prayerful spirit, to apply it to my heart, and practice what I find there. I have been for sixty-nine years a happy man; happy, happy, happy…”      George Mueller