I AM BLESSED TO OWN A BIBLE...
LEARN SOME GOOD LESSONS ABOUT THE BIBLE
By Wade Martin Hughes Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I. INTRODUCTION:
It is both a blessing and a responsibility to own a Bible.
HEED THE WARNING? A SHORTAGE IS COMING?
The shortage will be of the UNCOMPROMISED WORD OF GOD.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
SIN WILL KEEP YOU FROM THE BIBLE...
THE BIBLE WILL KEEP YOU FROM SIN...
Did you hear about the story of the GREAT ARGUMENT...
FIVE FINGERS GOT TOGETHER AND IN A HEATED DISCUSSION
THE ARGUMENT AROSE: WHO IS THE GREATEST OF THE FIVE
FINGERS?
The THUMB laid his claim: I am the greatest, I am the only opposing digit. I am used to HITCHHIKE.
The INDEX FINGER... I am the forefinger. I am the pointer. I am used to
pick the nose.
The GREAT FINGER stated: It is very clear, I am the greatest because I am the longest and biggest finger.
The THIRD FINGER said: Now wait a minute, I am the greatest, I am the
RING FINGER... The wedding band rides upon me.
The PINKY FINGER said, I may be little but dynamite comes in little
packs.
SO ALL THE FINGERS DECIDED ON A CONTEST, LAY A $2O BILL ON THE
TABLE AND WHICH EVER FINGER COULD PICK IT UP WOULD BE
CONSIDERED THE GREATEST.
DO YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY?
As individuals no finger could pick up the $20?
We have two questions or issues about BIBLE READING:
1. QUANTITY (How much?)
2. QUALITY (The degree of excellence, rating, value or worth?)
2 Tim. 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
What you love and value you will find time to do...
Many say: I LOVE THE BIBLE but never find the time to read and study it?
AS PART OF THE INTRODUCTION LET US CONSIDER THREE QUESTIONS:
1. IS THE LORD WELL PLEASED?
2. IS THE WORK WELL DONE?
3. IS THE WORD WELL USED?
II. WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE HOLY AND INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD.
GOD’S WORD IS BEYOND A SHADOW OF DOUBT HOLY AND COMPLETELY
TRUSTWORTHY AND FREE FROM ERROR.
A. We have a great gift of God given to us --- THE BIBLE. One’s faith will always be anemic without reading and studying God’s word to us.
THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD.
B.The Bible is a good book, yet it is much more than a good book.
The Bible holds much history, yet the Bible is much more than a history book.
The Bible is a book of Philosophy, yet it is more than a book of PHILOSOPHY.
C. A Christian should hold this GREAT BOOK to be God’s word, from God to
man. The central point of the Bible is God revealing Himself.
God also uses the Bible to REVEAL HIS PRECIOUS SON: JESUS CHRIST THE
LORD AND SAVIOR TO THE CHURCH AND THE BELIEVER.
D. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelations, there are 66 books that are canonized as the Bible. Great Bible students and scholars studied many works and officially declared these 66 books to be regarded as the WORD OF GOD.
E. CANON MEANS A MEASURING STICK OR A REED USED TO MEASURE.
There are many good books written by good people, but to be included in the Bible there had to be a high standard.
F. Most of the Bible was written in Hebrew, but some parts was written in
Aramaic ... Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel.
III. WHAT IS A BIBLE WORTH?
DIRTY LIFES FROM DUSTY BIBLE’S GROW... WISE MEN ARE FOOLISH IF THEY
LOVE THE WRONG THINGS... IS THE WORD WELL USED IN MY DAILY LIFE?
A. In the 1940’s a man named WALTER BALES WROTE A SONG:
DUST ON THE BIBLE DUST ON GOD’S HOLY WORD...
The only helpful Bible is an open read Bible.
SATAN NEVER FEARS A DUSTY BIBLE.
B. I am told that a local newspaper once wrote:
Read your Bible to know what people ought to do.
Read the newspaper to know what people really do.
Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err,
because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
C. One Bible is worth more than 10,000 guns.
ONE OF THE CHIEF REASONS FOR MAN’S SPIRITUAL SHORT COMINGS IS
NOT KNOWING GOD’S WORD...
D. Fingerprints on the Bible are worth more than foot prints on
the moon.
E. The Old Testament has three parts...
1. The law
2. The Prophets (Major) and The Prophets (Minor)
3. The Writings ( Poetic books, Festival Scrolls, Historical books)
F. The New Testament is written in Greek...
1. The Narrative books
2. The Epistles (Pauline Epistles and the General Epistles)
G. Many of our believes regarding the Bible can come from our personal
understanding and interpretations. We must guard that our human skills
don’t taint the real meaning of what God intended. We must see the Bible
in an overall view.
IV. WHILE GOD USED MAN’S PENS TO WRITE THE BIBLE, THE BIBLE IS MORE
THAN WORDS BY MEN’S VOLITION OR MAN’S WILL.
ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY THE INSPIRATION OF GOD BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
A. The Bible is a GREAT MASTERPIECE OF UNITY AND HARMONY! The Bible
claims to be from God and we have great stakes to read, study and know
God’s precious word.
1. The Bible is a great library of 66 books.
There are 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.
2. The Bible took about 1500 years from the start to the finish.
3. There are approximately 35 DIFFERENT AUTHORS that compose this book.
4. The AUTHORS VARY GREATLY IN THEIR EDUCATION AND STATUS IN LIFE.
There were fishmen, doctors, farmers, preachers, teachers, kings, poor men, rich men, slaves, young men and old men.
5. The themes and subject matter varies greatly from one book to another.
There is history, poetry, real human drama, biography materials, law,
lessons on adversity and human nature, great success and horrible failures.
6. The Bible is a great book of CERTAINTIES in uncertain times.
7. The Bible helps man KNOW WHAT TRUTH IS and establishes our belief
and certain doctrine systems.
B. THE INSTRUMENT THAT GOD CHOSE TO USE WAS THE PEN IN THE
HAND OF MEN THAT WERE SUBMITTED TO HIS SWEET SPIRIT.
C. Do you practice sin:
1. Apathy and indifference to the Bible?
2. Neglect and not know God’s word?
3. Disrespect and disobedience to the Holy Book?
V. THE BIBLE IS PERSONAL LOVE LETTERS TO BELIEVERS.
I UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE DON’T VALUE THEIR BIBLE?
1 Cor. 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual,
but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
A. When I was 15 we lived at Jellico, TN. I fell deeply in love with my first real girlfriend. I loved her so much. I would write her LOVE LETTERS and she would write me LOVE LETTERS. I cherished each note that she gave me.
I played music on the praise team at church. Each Wednesday or Sunday
I would deposit the LOVE LETTERS in a small box in the back of my guitar amp.
One day a boy ( His last name was HICKS) got in my amp before I got there.
He found my LOVE LETTERS and was reading them to a group of teens.
They were laughing and laughing as they read my LOVE LETTERS.
I had never laughed at the LOVE LETTERS, THEY WERE SERIOUS STUFF
TO ME.
Later I was talking to my Dad, Wade M. Hughes, he was the pastor of the church.
I said: DAD, WHY WERE THEY LAUGHING AT MY LOVE LETTERS?
Dad simply replied: THE LOVE LETTERS WERE NOT TO THEM, THEY WERE
PERSONAL --- TO YOU.
B. GOD WROTE THE BIBLE AS A SPIRITUAL BOOK AND IT’S VALUE IS LIMITED
TO THE CARNAL OR FLESHLY MAN.
THE BIBLE IS WRITTEN FROM AN ALL POWERFUL GOD TO A WEAK LIMITED
MAN. God knows no limitations or weaknesses... God is INFINITE ---
MAN IS VERY LIMITED IN THE SCOPE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE AND POWER,
WE MUST APPROACH THE WORD OF GOD BY ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT
TO OPEN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS TO WHAT GOD IS SAYING TO US.
VI. SOME CLAIM THE BIBLE IS A HARD BOOK AND VERY DIFFICULT TO
UNDERSTAND...
Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
A. I once read a story. The old grandfather would sit and read his Bible many hours a day. The young grandson said: PAW, I WOULD READ MY BIBLE BUT I CAN’T RETAIN OR REMEMBER WHAT I READ, SO WHY READ IT?
There was a dirty coal basket behind the pot-bellied stove that they used to carry coal into the house in the winter. The Grandfather demanded the boy to grab the coal basket and go to the river and bring back a basket of water.
The lad ran down to the river, threw in the basket and pulled out a basket of water. The water all leaked out.
The Grandfather said, RUN FASTER GRANDSON.
The boy threw in the coal basket on his second trip to the river, the basket of water leaked out again.
So the third time the boy ran with the basket of water as fast as he could.
When the boy saw his grandfather sitting on the porch, he yelled:
PAW, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A BASKET OF WATER FROM THE RIVER TO
OUR HOUSE.
The old man was grinning and he said: GRANDSON, LOOK AT YOUR BASKET
AND TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?
The lad looked at the coal basket and noticed a big difference.
The old dirty coal basket was NOW CLEAN, THREE TRIPS TO THE RIVER,
THREE TIMES OF WATER ... THE EXPERIENCE WAS THAT WHILE HE RETAINED
NO WATER, THE WATER ALL WASHED HIS BASKET CLEAN.
B. I am not for sure there are any BIBLE SCHOLARS, it would seem logical
to me that we are all just BIBLE STUDENTS.
C. If the WORD OF GOD does the WORK OF GOD, it would seem logical that
if our enemy can keep us away from the Bible --- our enemy will limit what we can accomplish for our God. EVERY DEMON HAS THE ORDERS TO KEEP
PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE BIBLE.
D. The Bible is more than BIRTHDAY CAKE, it is DAILY BREAD.
E. Christians that are weak in knowing God’s word will be very weak and
anemic in doing God’s plan. The STRONGER YOU ARE IN THE BIBLE,
THE MORE YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH FOR GOD AND THE MORE YOU WILL
AVOID SIN.
VII. GOD’S WORD MUST BE MORE THAN LIP SERVICE. FOR GOD’S WORD TO
BE EFFECTIVE IT MUST BE IN YOUR HEAD AND HEART.
A. I have seen drunk men want to ARGUE and DEBATE God’s holy word.
B. The Greatest distance in the world is the 18 inches from your brain and mouth to your heart.
C. Our enemy’s three fold goal:
1. To steal
2. To kill
3. To destroy
Satanic goals can be more easily accomplished when we mouth God’s words
and avoid the issues of the heart. The Bible is more than the mouth.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
VIII. THE BIBLE IS MORE THAN A HARD TO UNDERSTAND BOOK THAT MANY
SEEM TO WANT TO AVOID: THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD TO YOU.
Rev. 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
A. We must know and trust a God that is going to COMPLETE and MAKE
PERFECT HIS PLAN AND PURPOSE.
I have read the end of the BOOK, we know God is in control and He will
bring SIN TO AN END.
God will accomplish and OVERCOME every obstacle and battle plan that
our enemy can imagine. The WORD OF GOD will do the WORK OF GOD!
B. AS WE CONCLUDE LET US CONSIDER THREE QUESTIONS:
1. IS THE LORD WELL PLEASED?
2. IS THE WORK WELL DONE?
3. IS THE WORD WELL USED?
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Help me? Pass this lesson on to others?
