Why Read Your Bible? (Selected Scriptures)

Kootenai Church

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Glad you're here this morning at All Sunday School Kootenai Community Church. I am substituting just for this

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Sunday only for David. He's not able to be here. He'll be back next week, it's my understanding, and continue in his series in 1

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John. So you get a one -off this morning. So let's pray as we begin.

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Father, thank you for the opportunity to gather here in this place and to hear the word of God.

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We pray your spirit would make that word effectual in our lives even now.

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Help us to put away the concerns of the week, the week that's past and the week that's to come, and to be fully present here in this time and place.

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We might hear from you through your word and then we might put it into practice. We pray in Christ's name.

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Amen. A number of years ago, Carol and I were privileged to be able to go to Israel for a period of time and a study trip.

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And our lives are just filled with lots of memories and a great big stack of slides,

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I guess slides is old technology, pictures from our time in Israel. That tells you how long ago it was we were there. But one of the privileges of being there that we still think on fondly is we were introduced to a second generation

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Torah scribe. Here's a man whose life and the life of his father before him has been completely devoted to hand copying the word of God, what we would know as the

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Old Testament scriptures. And it is quite a project to do, to make a hand copy of the scriptures.

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And he does it for various synagogues throughout the world. They pay a lot of money for them. The whole process is really quite fascinating to watch.

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And there's all kinds of rituals associated with it. And I'm not going to spend the time talking about that.

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But one of the things that really stands out to us was just his love for the scriptures.

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It was far more than just a meticulous man, although he was certainly that, but it was a love for the word of God.

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Well, here we are in the middle of August. And if you haven't noticed, the evenings are getting shorter.

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The long daylight is in the rear view mirror. The nights are coming quicker and quicker.

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And some of the cool mornings let us know that winter is not far behind. And I know some of you are already feeling a little bit of that winter panic where you're saying, oh,

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I've got to get the firewood in and I've got this to do, that to do. And boy, I sure want to squeeze in a few more weekends at the lake and on and on.

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So I understand all of that. But let me just say this to you as as you wind down your summer and fall is upon you.

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And that is a fall is a really good time to think about new commitments and reaffirm old.

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And particular, I want to talk to you this morning about your time spent reading the word of God.

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If you do not have a habit of regular and by regular, I mean daily

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Bible reading that I hope by the time we're done together this morning that you could be encouraged in that way and provide you with some some helps to get you started.

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Maybe that is your pattern of life. And in that I would greatly praise God. And if it's your pattern of life, but perhaps this morning would just reaffirm in your heart and mind your reasons for doing this.

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About 40 years ago, Carol and I were exposed to a missionary. And we don't remember that much about him other than this at a at a at a lunch conversation together.

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He strongly urged us as a very young, relatively newlywed couple to begin a pattern of reading the scriptures together as a couple on an annual basis.

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So reading through the Bible together as a couple out loud on an annual basis. And by the grace of God, these these young Christians, we heeded his advice and began that process.

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And we have just finished 40 times through the scriptures together. So God has enabled us to do it for 40 years in a row.

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And it has become such a part of our lives that it's not a negotiable anymore for us. It just is part of who we are.

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But the spiritual accelerant that comes by a regular and consistent reading of the scriptures cannot be overestimated.

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I think, again, kind of a bit of a personal testimony for us. There is probably no greater spiritual discipline that we have been able to implement into our lives than that in terms of building us together up in our in the likeness of Christ and drawing our hearts together around a common understanding of the word of God.

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Well, in order to encourage you this morning in that endeavor, I've made a list of 10 reasons to read the

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Bible. This is going to be cookies on the bottom shelf, 10 reasons to read the

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Bible, along with some practical suggestions for how to sustain your reading throughout the year.

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So 10 reasons to read the scriptures and then some practical ways to sustain that year in and year out.

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So the reasons to read through the Bible each year, I've got 10 of them, and they are not in any particular order here, but here we go.

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There is reason number one. People gave their lives to make it available to you.

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The year was 1536, and a man stood chained to a pole hundreds of miles from his

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English homeland with a rope about his neck, wood gathered at his feet, smothered in gunpowder, and was given opportunity to recant his what was called

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Lutheranism, his Lutheranism. And what the Catholic authorities meant by Lutheranism was his commitment to justification by grace alone through faith alone.

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Of course, he refused to recant the truth, and so was offered to him an opportunity for a last prayer.

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His last recorded words are these, Lord open the

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King of England's eyes. At a nod from the magistrate, the executioner strangled him.

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They ignited the pyre underneath him, and his body was incinerated.

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He was 42 years old. William Tyndale was his name,

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William Tyndale. He was educated at both Oxford and Cambridge. He was ordained to the priesthood at a time when

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England was completely Roman Catholic, and there was no published

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English translation of the scriptures. And that was the crime for which he was executed.

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He translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew. He was a brilliant man.

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He spoke seven languages. He translated the New Testament from Greek and the Pentateuch, five books of the

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Old Testament from the Hebrew. And for that crime, he was executed.

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His work was so good, so meticulous. And by the way, he spent the last 12 years of his life basically on the run, being chased by civil authorities, operating under disguise and all kinds of adversities.

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But his translation was so good that 90 % of it was imported into the

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King James Version, when just a few years later in 1539, King Henry VIII, who earlier had separated from the

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Roman Catholic Church because of his libido, granted the authority to have an

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English Bible translation made, which eventuated a few years later, 1611, in the

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King James Bible, of which 90 % of Tyndale's original

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Greek or English translation was essentially imported. So that just gives you an idea of the quality of his scholarship.

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William Tyndale. He died to make the Bible available in the

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English language. In fact, earlier in his life, he said this, "'If God spares my life,

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I will cause a boy that drives the plow to know more of the Scripture than you.'"

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He spoke that to a fellow Catholic priest who was notorious for their ignorance of the

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Word of God. An amazing man. I commend him to you. If you've never read a biography on William Tyndale, you ought to.

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You ought to. So first reason why you should read your Bible is people gave their lives to make it available to you.

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Secondly, we are privileged to have it in our heart language.

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In our heart language. What does that mean? That means the language that we have grown up learning to speak.

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For the vast majority of us, we have grown up in the American English -speaking world, and we don't give second thoughts.

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We are probably of all the peoples in the world, the most monolinguistic, and so we really don't think of it.

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Our attitude is, if you want to speak to me, learn to speak American English, and we'll listen, perhaps. But for the rest of the world, they have been brought up in other languages, and these are the languages they've learned at their mother's knee, and it communicates to them.

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And so to bring the Word of God to people and to bring it in the language of their, what missionaries call the language of their heart, is a very powerful and important way to communicate the

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Word of God. You can see, by the way, for people who are bilingual, in other words, raised in a different language and now speak

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English, that there are times when they're searching for a word and they'll revert back to their mother tongue because it just conveys much better what they're trying to communicate.

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You know, if you just think about this for a evangelical church, we spend a lot of money sending out

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Bible translators, don't we? Because we think it's very, very important to bring the scriptures to the people in their heart language rather than to say, well, just learn the trade language, just learn the local trade language, and you can read your

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Bible in the trade language. No, it communicates far closer, far better, far more powerfully if it reaches people in their heart language.

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And so we, here's the material point, you and I are privileged to have it in our heart language.

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Third, the Spirit works through the Word to save and sanctify us.

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The Spirit works through the Word to save and sanctify us. Turn to John 17. We're going to look at a bunch of scripture references here, and we're going to primarily just read them with minimal comment for the sake of time.

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But John 17, beginning in verse 13, Jesus' high priestly prayer, he says, beginning in verse 13,

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But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

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I have given them your word, he's speaking now to his father in prayer, of course, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

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I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

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Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, also

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I have sent them into the world, for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

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I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, even as you father are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

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Notice the connection between the word of God and the process of redemption and sanctification that comes from Jesus to them and through their word, which we have to you and I two millennia later.

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Flip over to Acts chapter 20, Acts 20 verse 32,

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Paul here saying his farewell to the Ephesian elders, verse 32,

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Acts chapter 20, and now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

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Again, see the connection between redemption, sanctification, and the word of God.

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Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25, husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.

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There it is again, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.

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More for you in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 beginning in verse 13.

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And by the way, if you want, you can jot these down and read them on your own. I encourage you to do that and ponder them.

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2 Thessalonians chapter 2 beginning in verse 13. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the

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Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and faith in the truth.

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It was for this he called you through our gospel that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

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See the connections. See the connections. The spirit works through the word to save and to sanctify us, and that is a reason to read your

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Bible regularly. Fourth, the scriptures are the source of truth.

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Notice the, the definitive article, the source of truth in a world given over to lies.

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The scriptures are the source of truth in a world given over to lies.

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Psalm 36, Psalm 36 and verse 9.

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For with you is the fountain of life. And here's the money statement. In your light, we see light.

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In your light, we see light. In other words, we can see clearly when we see it as you see it, as it really is.

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Psalm 119 and verse 130, Psalm 19, verse 130.

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The unfolding of your words give light. It gives understanding to the simple.

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The unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

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Over to the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, 2

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Corinthians chapter 10, beginning in verse 3.

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For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, perhaps better translated prisons.

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We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

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Paul was conducting spiritual warfare through the word of God.

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2 Timothy 2 .15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

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The old Awana verse, right? So the scriptures are the source of truth in a world given over to lies.

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Beloved, a church or a Christian weakened by biblical illiteracy is in danger of allowing

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Christianity to be defined by those who have either selectively read the

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Bibles or have not read them at all, which is the very essence of theological liberalism, the very essence of it.

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The biblically illiterate are in danger of being tossed everywhere by the prevailing notions of culture.

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In fact, this quote says it well, I think. We must define

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Christianity to the culture. We must define

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Christianity to the culture. Increasingly in these debates, non -Christians claim to know that Christianity does not condemn homosexual behavior and that Jesus was really open to all forms of erotic love.

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Has anyone ever encountered someone who claims the name of Christ and advocates such nonsense?

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I think you probably have. You probably have. A biblically illiterate church, you could put in there, or Christian, because the church is just made up of Christians, finds it harder to prevent the separation of Christianity from historic

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Christian teaching. We saw this, by the way, during the whole COVID fiasco, didn't we?

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People defining what it meant to love as Jesus loved, telling you that you need to do this or you need to not do that because you have to love your neighbor.

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We had ceded to them the clear and true understanding of what the Word of God says, and when we make that, there's no place they won't push us.

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There are no boundaries anymore. There's no firm lines. So, the scriptures are the source of truth in a world given over to lies.

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We should read our Bible because it is the way God communicates with us.

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It is the way God communicates with us. God does not whisper.

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God speaks through His Word, and I don't know where the bumper sticker came from, but I did see it.

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If you want to hear God speak out loud, read your word out loud. I think that was the kind of the gist of it. So, God communicates to us through His Word.

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Hebrews chapter 1. And if you want a clear, detailed, compelling exposition of the first three verses, then

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I know where you could find one. All you have to do is visit our website, and it wouldn't be one. I realize that.

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But Hebrews chapter 1, beginning in verse 1, God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom

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He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power.

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When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

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God communicates with us in these last days through His Son, but not by His appearing as He had to the author of Hebrews or those that had preceded

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Him, but through the inerrant and written word of those eyewitness testimonies.

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So we still have, and as Peter would say, we have a word made more sure, don't we? In the very word of God itself.

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So this is how God communicates to His people. It is how He has always communicated to His people.

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2 Peter chapter 1, verses 2 and following.

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Well, let's just, where are we here? 2 Peter chapter 1, let's just begin in verse 1.

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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the

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Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.

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May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. Blessed be the

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God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance, which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith, for salvation ready to be revealed, and in the last time.

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The problem with this is, that was 1 Peter. But it was a pretty good reading.

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I was reading and I was thinking, it's not, it's not saying what I thought it was supposed to say.

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But it was pretty good, wasn't it? It was pretty good, and I read it all right. I read it all right.

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So here we go again. Let's try this. This is what you call eye drops. I'm not the kind that you squeeze in.

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2 Peter chapter 1, here we go. Beginning of verse 2.

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Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Here we are, seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

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Through the true knowledge of Him who has called us. Where do we receive that true knowledge?

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It is nowhere but the Word of God. That's how

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God communicates. And finally, 2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning in verse 15.

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2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning in verse 15. And from childhood,

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Timothy, you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

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All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

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I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing in His kingdom, to preach the

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Word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers according to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

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To turn from the Word of God is to turn aside from the truth and to turn to myths.

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God communicates with us through the scriptures. That's the answer.

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We should develop or reaffirm a regular, consistent, and faithful Bible reading because the scripture recalled to mind helps us in our fight against temptation.

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The scripture recalled to mind helps us in our fight against temptation.

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It is the sword of the Spirit, right? So Psalm 119 again,

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Psalm 119 and verse 9, Psalm 119 and verse 9.

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How can a young man keep his way pure? How? How can a young man keep his way pure?

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By keeping it according to your word. With all my heart

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I have sought you. Do not let me wander from your commandments. Verse 11, your word

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I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you. The word

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I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes.

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With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches.

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I will meditate on your precepts and regard your ways. I shall delight in your statutes.

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I shall not forget your word. How can a young man keep his way pure?

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Or how can a young woman keep her way pure? By keeping it according to his word.

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Keeping it according to his word. The scripture recalled to mind helps us in our fight against temptation.

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The better we know the scripture, the better armed we are to face the various temptations that come at us.

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Not just simply sexual temptations, but all of the temptations of life.

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Seven, we should establish a regular, faithful, consistent reading of the word of God, because Jesus was steeped in the scriptures.

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Because Jesus was steeped in the scriptures, the very son of man himself.

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Go to Mark chapter 6, verse 2. Let's begin in verse 1.

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Mark chapter 6, beginning in verse 1. Jesus went out from there and came into his hometown, and his disciples followed him.

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When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and the many listeners were astonished, saying,

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Where did this man get these things? And what is this wisdom given to him, and such miracles as these performed by his hands?

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Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Judas, and Simon?

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Are not these his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him. Where did this man get this wisdom?

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Where did it come from? Did God, the

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Father, just supernaturally zap him? Any kind of a faithful reading of the accounts of the

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Gospels would say no. No, where did he get this wisdom? He got it by becoming a

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Psalm 1 man. He was steeped in the Word of God from childhood. From his mother's knee, he applied himself to the

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Word of God until it became such a part of him and transformed him as a man in such a way that this carpenter, this uneducated man, could speak with such power.

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You remember at 12 years old in the temple, and how he was confounding the leaders of Judaism.

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If you turn to your left to Matthew chapter 4, we see just an illustration of this reality that Jesus was steeped in the

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Scriptures. And this, by the way, is an encouragement to me, and I hope to you too, because I would suggest to you that Jesus had available to him no more spiritual resources than you and I do.

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And his ability to stand firm here in the temptation is a result of his heart and mind being so washed by the

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Word of God that he was able to respond with wisdom and faith.

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Chapter 4, in verse 1, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

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And after he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he then became hungry. That, by the way, is a serious understatement.

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And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. What would be wrong for him to have done that?

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But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

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Is that how you would have answered? Is that the passage you would have gone to? Is that what would have occurred to your mind?

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Verse 5, Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple.

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He said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

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Now, Satan is using the script here. Jesus said to him,

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On the other hand, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your

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God to the test. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

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By the way, that works for you and I too. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory.

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And he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.

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And Jesus said to him, Go, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the

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Lord your God and serve him only. When the devil left him, behold, the angels came and began ministering to him.

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It is written. It is written. It is written. This is how

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Jesus responded to the temptation. After 40 days of fasting, in which physically he would have been weakened to the point of death, yet responded with a heart and mind so washed in the word of God that he was able to recall in his moments of weakness exactly what he needed to stand firm.

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That should encourage us. That should inspire us. That should motivate us. Jesus was steeped in the scriptures.

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Steeped in the scriptures. You remember when he would say to the

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Pharisees, Have you not read? Have you not read? Wouldn't it be amazing to have that kind of command of the word of God?

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Reason number eight for a faithful, consistent, regular

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Bible reading. Because the New Testament depends upon an understanding of the

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Old Testament. Because the New Testament depends upon an understanding of the

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Old Testament. In other words, the word of God, the revelation of God recorded on the pages of the

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Old Testament set the stage for the revelation of the New Testament. To vault in to the

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New Testament with a, at best, cursory understanding of the Old Testament puts us at a significant disadvantage.

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A significant disadvantage. The Old Testament was written for us.

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For us to spend the time thinking, pondering. Do we live under the law?

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No, we do not. Does that mean it can all be thrown away and there's nothing of value there? No, there is great value there.

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As we begin to understand what are the eternal principles that stand behind the time -bound applications of the

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Mosaic law. Because all of that understanding flows into the

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New Testament. It undergirds the New Testament. When Paul says to Timothy that all scripture is inspired, right, and profitable, is he speaking about the

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New Testament? Well, yeah, by derivative, but primarily he's speaking about the

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Old Testament because it was the Old Testament that was the book of the first generation. The Septuagint, the

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Greek translation of that Old Testament. So to spend all our time in the

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New Testament and little to none in the Old Testament is like going into a boxing ring with one arm tied behind our back.

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We might be a good boxer, but that's a significant disadvantage. Spend the time in the

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Old Testament. Learn the themes, the arc of history. Where is

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God going? It's all there. It's all there. Here's a quote for you here.

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The influence of the Old Testament is seen throughout the New Testament. The New Testament writers included approximately 250 express

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Old Testament quotations. Why would they do that, by the way? The reason they would do that is because if the claimed revelation of the

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New Testament cannot be tied directly into the received revelation of the Old Testament, then it is not true.

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This, by the way, is why the book of Romans, which contains that long and systematic, Paul's longest and most systematic presentation of the gospel of grace, is so laced with Old Testament quotations.

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It has to be. It has to be. Because if salvation is of some other way, in other words, it's a different way in the

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Old Testament than it is in the New. Paul's got a problem. We got a problem. The New Testament writers included approximately 250 express

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Old Testament quotations. And if one includes indirect or partial quotations, the number jumps to more than a thousand, more than a thousand.

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Question for you. When you're reading in your New Testament and you see that it's a, you know, there's an Old Testament quotation and it's normally your translation sets it aside by putting it all in caps or something like that.

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It's got some way to designate it for you. Do you ever bother to go back and read it in its context? And the

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Testament depends upon the understanding of the Old. Number nine, because the scriptures are the path of wisdom.

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The scriptures are the path of wisdom. Psalm 1, how blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the

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Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.

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And then whatever he does, he prospered. As I said just a little bit ago,

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Jesus is the prototypical Psalm 1 man. What does a

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Psalm 1 man look like? He looks like Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth.

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The scriptures are the path of wisdom. Proverbs chapter one and beginning in verse one.

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The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the naive, to the youth, knowledge, and discretion.

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A wise man will hear an increase in learning and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.

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To understand a proverb and a figure could be translated as satire. The words of the wise and their riddles or enigmas.

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Solomon is telling us why he accumulated these together in this book.

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It is because it is the source of wisdom. It is the source of wisdom.

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Young men, it is in particular written to you and you would gain much by becoming very familiar with it, very familiar with it.

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Old men like me can gain much from the

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Proverbs as well, much as well. Psalm 119 and verse 5 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

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The word of God. Oh, 10th and finally, because we are instructed in times of suffering to be able to provide a reason for the hope that lies within us, which we cannot do if we are ignorant of the scriptures, we're called upon to provide a reason for the hope that lies within us, which we cannot do if we're ignorant of the scriptures.

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So for that, we do want 1 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 13, who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good.

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But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed and do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled.

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Old Testament citation, but sanctify or set apart

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Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.

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Yet with gentleness and reverence, keep a good conscience so that in the things in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

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We are, and this is written to the church. So this is young and old and educated and uneducated.

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We are to be able to give a reason for the hope that lies within us. And there's not any possibility of doing that articulately, clearly, compellingly without understanding the scriptures and understand the scriptures as we spend our time in them.

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So those are 10 reasons. As I said, they're not in any particular order of importance.

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They're just kind of, as they occurred to me as I was jotting things down. So let's do this.

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We are now clearly moving into the ground of IMO. IMO, not

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I -M -H -O. I'm not claiming that. I'm just claiming in my opinion, right?

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IMO. Isn't that what that means? Yes. Okay, good. Thank you. Somebody help me out here.

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You're all looking at me like, what in the world is that idiot talking about? I just, you know, it's on the text all the time.

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IMO. So in my opinion, in my opinion, suggestions on how to sustain your reading plan.

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You know what? Chew up the meat, spit out the bones. Here we go. They're all right there.

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Have a plan and stick to it. Have a plan and stick to it.

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In other words, make some kind of a reading plan. If you want to read through the

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Bible in a year, there are plenty of online plans available that will take you through it. They'll break it all down for you.

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It's X amount of reading per day that you can do it in five days. With Saturdays and Sundays to catch up, you can do it in six days.

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With one day to catch up, you can do it in seven days. There's all kinds of plans. You can do it in two years.

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You can do the New Testament in a year. There's lots of opportunities. If you're an overachiever, you can do the entire

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Bible in a year, the New Testament three times, and Psalms and Proverbs, I forget how many. There's just all kinds of plans available.

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They're all for free. They're all online, and you need a plan. You need a plan.

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Second, buy or borrow a couple of good study aids.

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Sell your shirt and buy a book. Sell your shirt and buy a book, or two, or three, or four, or ten.

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It is a legacy. It is a legacy gift for your descendants. Invest in a good

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Bible dictionary. Invest in a good Bible dictionary, someplace where you can go and you can look up and gain some understanding of culture and places and things like that.

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I mean, this is a foreign world to us. This is a foreign world to us. In the Old Testament, this is a world that is removed by as many as 4 ,000 years on the other side of the planet to a

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Semitic culture that is not our own. So some help is really appreciated.

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So get a good Bible dictionary. Get a one -volume commentary. I'd suggest the Mark Arthur one -volume commentary is a good start.

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You'll find quickly that he skips all the really hard issues, but his chapter introductions and things like that are really excellent.

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And I'm being a little facetious, but it's a great help. It's a good place to start.

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So get a good one -volume commentary. And I would suggest you get an atlas. Get an atlas.

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People don't use atlases anymore, and that's a real shame. Because why? Well, because when you look at an atlas, you get to begin to see some of the relationships of the geography.

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They talk about the Abrahamic covenant. It extends from the River of Egypt to the

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Great River. Do you know where that is? Do you have any idea where that is?

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It's actually real places. It's kind of nice to look at a map and say, oh, okay, look at that.

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Presently, we're reading Jeremiah. Jeremiah from Anatoth. Do you know where Anatoth is? It's a couple of miles north of Jerusalem.

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It was where the tabernacle was housed after Shiloh was destroyed after 400 years.

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Do you know where Shiloh is? Shiloh, sorry. Do you know?

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Where is the Mount of Olives? Where is Jericho? Capernaum.

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Bethsaida. On and on and on. Ur, the Chaldees. Where are these places?

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We know where Coeur d 'Alene is. You'll also see that the world was a lot smaller because it was a walking culture.

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Walking culture. Look at an atlas. Third, read with a partner if you can. Read with a partner if you can.

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An obvious partner is your house. But if that's not available to you, then find someone to read with if possible.

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It's a great encouragement to read together. And read out loud. You know what? Let the Word of God actually come out of your lips.

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First thing you'll find out is how few of the words you actually know how to pronounce. You're going to slaughter them in your mind and no one ever knows.

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Read with someone. Fourth, read out loud to each other.

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Stay engaged that way. Follow along. Fifth, discuss together what you have read.

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Where, what do I have here? Discuss together what you have read. After, you know, you have something you're reading with, you're just, you know, you don't finish it.

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Oh, well, that was interesting. What's for dessert? Talk about what you've read. Over dessert.

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Choose a readable translation. Choose a readable translation. We are so blessed to live in a time with so many excellent translations available.

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So, our pastor news is the New American Standard. If you want to follow along word for word, then get a

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New American Standard. He's not going to change anytime soon. The English Standard Version, the

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ESV, excellent translation. New King James, excellent translation.

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If you like the Legacy Standard Bible, it's got some good things about it. Just get a good translation.

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This would be like a, what is this? This is a 6B. That was a 6A.

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6B, get a nice version. Don't buy a cheesy paper bag piece of junk.

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This is the Word of God. I mean, you'll drop six, seven bucks for a latte and you won't even blink an eye.

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And you wonder, well, how come I can't get a Bible for $10? Well, you can. Get a good one.

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Get a lifetime book. This is 20 years on this one. And I'm thinking, it's starting to get a little worn.

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And I'm thinking, I probably will own one more in my life. So I've been a year trying to decide what to buy and I haven't decided yet.

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Because once I make that decision and make that change, that's it for the rest of my life. And my eyes are getting dim, as you can tell.

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So it's got to be large print. I mean, there's just a lot of issues involved here. So don't cheap out.

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That's it. Mark off your progress as you go on your plan. Keep track of it.

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Simple stuff, simple stuff. If you miss a day, don't go back and catch up.

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If you miss a day, don't go back and catch up. Here's why. It's because you will quickly find it's like rolling a snowball uphill.

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You get sick, you're on vacation, and your schedule gets messed up.

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You have out -of -town guests come in, that messes up your normal routine. It's just life happens. It happens to everybody.

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But if you start to fall a day behind, two days, three, four, five days behind, pretty soon you're looking and you go, I'm 20 chapters behind.

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I'll never catch up. Just roll forward to the new spot and go from there. Because you know what?

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You're going to do it again next year anyway. You're going to read it again next year and you're going to catch it the next time around.

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This is a lifetime pattern and habit you're building here. This is not like, oh yeah, I read through the Bible once 40 years ago.

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Congratulations. What have you been doing the last 39 years, deadhead? All right, enough of that.

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Pray and ask God's help in making this a lifetime habit. Ask God to help you.

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This is a prayer He delights in answering. Ask Him for help. When you go to bed at night, ask

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Him to wake you on time tomorrow morning so you can spend time with Him. Just ask

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Him. He delights in answering that prayer. 10. Find a way to mark your

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Bible in order to find important passages again later for future reference.

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So here's my suggestion to you. Begin marking with a pencil. I use a mechanical pencil even after all these years.

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It's a fine tip mechanical pencil. And the reason is because later I'll come back and I'll go, eh, take it out.

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Thought it at the time, man, that is so insightful. And then later I come back, ah, that's, no. So as you begin to develop some sort of a marking procedure, starting in pencil, particularly in a nice Bible.

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My first leather -bound Bible, I was so excited. I had gotten saved in college. I was jazzed.

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I had this big King James Bible with black leather. And I got a blue marker.

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And everywhere I read, I just saw this amazing truth. I mean, I was converted out of atheism.

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So my mind was popping. And I started highlighting. And I highlighted so much,

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I should have used a spray paint can. And it bleeds through, by the way.

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The blue marker bleeds through. So I've still got it. It's got blue color running through it, page after page after page.

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Well, it kind of loses its value when the whole page is blue. So yeah, be a little bit restrained in that process.

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All right, where are we here? 11. Here it is. Read the same Bible each day. Read the same

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Bible each day so that it becomes familiar with you by sight. Unless you have incredible memory, where you can remember chapter and verse for all of these things.

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And you know what? Praise God. And we could all, and I'm just speaking about myself, could use more practice in keeping the memory working.

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But there is great benefit in geographical memory. In other words,

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I can remember where passages are. They're in this book. They're probably in this chapter or nearby it.

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And then they're in the upper right hand corner. I can get there. And it comes because I'm on year 20 in the exact same book.

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Exact same book. So you gain familiarity. Again, don't cheap out. Don't buy a paperback

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Bible. It's not going to be there in 20 years. Sell your shirt and your coat and get a good one.

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Okay. You know, make your Bible like an old friend. You can recognize an old friend by sight.

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Even when you get old and can't remember their name, still remember their sight. Make your

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Bible like that. Make your Bible like that. Find a place with good light to read.

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Find a place with good light to read. Put a light in if you need to. Some of this stuff is like Captain Obvious, but maybe not.

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Have a comfortable chair, but not too comfortable. I didn't say it.

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Yeah, not one with the feet go out and the head goes back. Yeah, that's not conducive to Bible reading.

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That's for meditation for Sunday after the sermon.

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Get a cup of coffee or do some calisthenics if you're sleepy. You're the kind of person who has to rise early because of work and you're, you know, you just, biorhythms are such that you don't pop out of bed, you know, big smile and life is great.

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Some of us are that way. Not so good on the other end. Others of us, not so much.

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So if you're fighting that, either learn to drink black coffee or do some push -ups. Do some calisthenics and jumping jacks or whatever it is.

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Get the blood moving before you sit down to read. Okay, simple, simple stuff. I gotta finish this, don't

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I? Okay. 15. Establish a regular time of day when you will read the Word. Establish a regular time of day when you will read the

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Word. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you do not establish a regular time, it won't happen.

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It won't happen. So whatever it is, if it's at lunch hour, then make it lunch hour.

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It's the morning, it's the morning, it's the night, it's the night. And as I say, not to be crazy autobiographical here, but through the 40 years, we have not read at the same time for 40 years.

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For many years, I had a traveling position, gone a lot, even having to get up early in the morning and leave for work.

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So we would read at night. It'd be the last thing before the lights went out.

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So it can be done. It can be done. 16. Determine that Bible reading will become a regular part of your

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Christian life, just like eating and sleeping. You may miss the occasional meal, but it's infrequent.

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Just like eating and sleeping, just a regular part of life. And 17. Share what you're learning with others.

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Do not be a cul -de -sac, be a throughfare. Share what you are learning and reading with others.

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Pass it on. Okay? I've strategically used up all the time, so there's no time for questions.

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What do I have? Someone said I have a minute. Oh, okay. I went 13 minutes over?

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Did I really? Oh my goodness. How come you weren't in the back doing this? Maybe you were, you know?

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I am so sorry. I thought I was 10 and 30 on the money. I, Thomas, is that why you're in here?

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Don't ever invite me back. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our time.

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Lord, I am sorry for overstaying my welcome. May you just cause some kernel of truth from our time together here to lodge in our hearts and minds.