 Every true believer desires to know God through his word, but not every believer knows how to approach the study of scripture So I want to give you five simple keys to studying the Bible I've received messages from all around the world from believers who say I want to know the Word of God I just don't know how to go about approaching it And many believers also tell me that they're Inconsistent in the word not because they don't want to read it, but because they don't know how to approach it So I'm going to give you five very simple keys that you can begin applying today Like as soon as you're done watching this teaching you can turn it off go apply the keys And I believe you will deepen your knowledge of the scripture and therefore Draw closer to the Lord through his word. Let's look at key number one, which is revelation You must ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the word you cannot know the word of God through intellect alone Think about the fact that atheists study the word historians who aren't believers many of them study the word Philosophers study the word and many of the people who study the word in an academic way don't actually even know the Lord at all I'm not saying that nobody who approaches the word academically knows the Lord I'm saying that many of them don't so it's important that when we approach the scripture that we do so With the perspective with the understanding that it is Spiritual truth that it is spiritual life. It is of the Holy Spirit. Here's what the scripture says In John 14 verses 15 through 17 If you love me obey my commandments and I will ask the father and he will give you another advocate Who will never leave you? He is the Holy Spirit who? Leads into all truth by the way it calls him a he and a who meaning he's a person who leads you into all Truth the world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him But you know him why because he lives with you now and later will be in you But when the father sends the advocate as my representative that is the Holy Spirit he Will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you so the Holy Spirit is the teacher The Holy Spirit is the one who takes the information and causes it to become Revelation information is of the intellect Revelation is of the spirit and only revelation can bring Transformation if you approach the word from just an intellectual perspective if you approach the word in an academic way only There's nothing wrong with approaching it academically But if that's the only way that you approach the word you're missing the primary component Because even if you somehow come to understand the biblical principles in your mind If you don't receive them in your spirit, nothing will be transformed in you I remember when I first began to study the word I would pull out the scripture. Maybe you can relate to this I'm just being honest. I'm gonna maybe embarrass myself a little bit But hey, I think it'll help someone I would pull out the scripture and I would start reading Let's say chapter one of the book of John I would begin to read and then as I would begin to read I would notice that maybe five to ten verses in but I didn't understand anything that I was reading So I would start over and then I would start to read that chapter again And then as I got toward the middle of the chapter, I would realize I forgot everything that I just read This is another problem that believers have they read the scripture, but they forget it or they don't understand it And so I would become very frustrated when reading the scripture And I would even become somewhat jealous of preachers who I would hear Revealing these revelations that the Holy Spirit gave them and they would go through the scripture and say here's what the Lord showed me Or here's what study showed me and they would begin to teach on these powerful truths And I would say Lord, why is it that they're receiving truth from the word, but I'm not and so Every time I approached the word it would be very frustrating for me a because I didn't understand any of it B because I didn't remember most of it and C because I wasn't really receiving of the spirit I was just reading it as a discipline as an obligation Rather than an opportunity to connect with God Really what changed things for me is when I read James chapter 1 verse 5 Where the scripture tells us that if any of us lack wisdom We can ask our Heavenly Father and he will give it to us And so I asked the Lord for wisdom and he revealed to me that it was the Holy Spirit who would help me to Understand the word the Holy Spirit hear me now The Holy Spirit was the one who inspired the scriptures Surely he can teach it So when you go to read the word of God As you're reading the verses and chapters as you're pouring over the truths that are revealed through the scripture You can have the authors sit right there with you and speak to you concerning the truth That's revealed in the scriptures second Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21 say this Above all you must realize that no prophecy in scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding Verse 21 or from human initiative No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit and they spoke from God. So The scripture is God breathe the scripture is of the Holy Spirit. The scripture is revelation from heaven It's God communicating with you. What a powerful truth. What an exciting opportunity Every time you open the word God himself is speaking to you I can't tell you how many times people have messaged me saying brother David Give me a word and most of the time I replied open the scripture Don't tell me you want a word from God if you haven't opened the scripture Don't tell me you're serious about hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit if you're not serious about studying the word of God People have asked me lately. What's God saying for the new year? What's God saying for what's coming? I say look to the scripture. You want a word for the year? Look at what the Bible says 2nd Timothy 3 16 and 17 say this all scripture is God breathe and useful for teaching Rebuking correcting and training and righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work All scripture is God breathe. It was of the breath of God. That's the Holy Spirit It was breathed by the father into existence that truth that revelation and so as you approach the word remember Yes, we're gonna go over some study methods. Yes, we're gonna look at some of the more practical tools to approaching scripture But it's important that you remember that it begins with revelation You have to have the Holy Spirit those who are not spiritual cannot understand spiritual things Those who are spiritual Understand spiritual things with the help of the Holy Spirit. So that's number one Revelation ask the Holy Spirit to teach you number two dedication this means to have consistency in your devotion to the scripture When we approach the word of God Inconsistently when we approach the word of God sporadically when we approach the word of God apathetically We are actually robbing ourselves of spiritual depth You want true spiritual depth? You're gonna have to do more than just an inconsistent read of scripture every now and then if you want consistency in your spiritual life if you want consistency in your spiritual growth then you must have Consistency in your consumption of the word of God. It's going to take dedication You can't just approach it one time Rediverse or two every few weeks and hope that it's going to take root and transform your life now Of course, God can do anything that he wants and there are certain truths that may jump out at you and transform you But it's also true that we receive the greatest benefit from the word when we are dedicated to it Consistently Joshua chapter 1 verse 8 says this study this book of instruction continually Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it only then Will you prosper and succeed in all you do? Matthew 4 4 says but Jesus told him no the scripture say people do not live by bread alone But by every word that comes from the mouth of God You see the thing about that analogy that Jesus used bread is that bread must be eaten consistently Give us this day our daily bread. So it's something that you must do daily. You cannot Expect to grow today from yesterday's revelation now. This doesn't mean and please don't hear what I'm not saying This doesn't mean that you can't be encouraged by something that God spoke to you years ago This doesn't mean that you can't receive passion and insight and Spiritual drive from something that God spoke to you long ago This just means that you have to keep that manna fresh You have to receive daily bread if you want to receive daily growth You pick up on more than you realize when you begin to move to the scripture Here's something I wrote concerning Bible study Each time you read the Bible you become more familiar with it That familiarity makes it easier to understand it repetition brings familiarity Familiarity is the foundation of understanding. What do I mean by that? I mean that many Christians neglect the word of God again, not because they're not interested in knowing the word Not because they don't think that it will benefit them But many Christians neglect the word of God a Because they're frustrated and they don't understand it or B They don't know how to even begin to approach it. So when we begin to read the word of God Consistently we solve those problems You see if you read the Old Testament once through You may read it one time and go, you know, I didn't really understand many of those things that I just read And then you read it a second time and the characters become more familiar to you The situations become more familiar to you you begin to memorize Some of the events that happen in the sequence that they occurred And then as you read it a third time Because you've read it this first and second time There's more of a foundation for your understanding and each time you read through the Old Testament Each time you read through the New Testament each time you read through any book of the Bible You become more familiar with it You begin to see patterns You begin to remember stories You begin to remember each character and the roles that they played You begin to remember the ways that God interacted with men and then some of those details become filled in So before you can begin to understand the details, you have to understand the basics Before you can begin to understand those those tiny revelations if you will allow me to word it that way You have to understand the big picture. So like most people Aren't going to be able to grasp the very specifics Of the story of the exodus and understanding why the children of israel had to wonder Why the children of israel rebelled against god? But unless they understand the larger picture Those smaller details won't really begin to make sense. So each time you read the word you may feel like you're not getting anywhere You may feel like you're not really coming to an understanding You may wonder if it's even doing you any good But I promise you and please hear this because this is going to be very key to keeping yourself motivated in reading the word Each time you read through a book of the Bible Each time you read through a chapter each time you read through the Old Testament or the New Testament You become more familiar You see if you throw yourself into a story or a narrative or an epistle And you're not really familiar with what's even happening on a basic level The details are going to be even more confusing But as you begin to read through the scripture The foundation begins to form and once you have a foundation Then you begin to have the cpu if you will to understand all of the minor details And then it begins to form a bigger picture. This is why you have to keep reading You may not understand the Old Testament, but you have to keep reading it You may not understand why the genealogies are there, but you have to keep reading it You may not understand the Old Testament laws, but you have to keep reading it You may not understand why certain characters did certain things or why God was angered by certain things that they did But you have to keep reading it You may have questions about the ways that God interacted with human beings in the Old Testament You may think that some of the things that he did were morally questionable Which is a little arrogant on our part, but some of us approach the scripture that way But this is why you have to keep reading it. You read it again and again and again and again And as you're dedicated as you're consistent as you're persistent despite the discouragement You'll begin to see some foundation of familiarity forming and that familiarity gives way to more familiarity So The more familiar you become with the stories with the writings with the letters The more understanding you gain The more understanding you gain the more familiar you become with the writings And this is a cycle of understanding that repeats until you've mastered the grasp on the scriptures and you understand What you're reading exactly and then you begin to study the details and a beautiful picture is painted for us For instance, here's something else I wrote for you For instance, if someone is reading about the Passover for the first time In the Old Testament if someone is reading about the Passover for the first time They'll learn about how God sent an angel of death of the land of Egypt and about how God protected the israelites with the blood of the lands Once they are familiar with that story They are more likely to make the connection between the Passover lamb and christ's crucifixion You begin to see themes Threaded throughout all of the old and new testament like the seed who is the son of god You begin to see themes like covenant you begin to see themes like Redemption and so forth and you begin to follow these threads and they start to make more and more sense So you may be discouraged You may be wondering if you're ever going to get a grasp on the scripture, but don't allow that intimidation Don't allow that confusion to keep you from continuing to study the word because every time you read it again This is why many believers quit Every time you read it you become more familiar with it Don't quit the word of god just because you don't understand what's happening right away You have it's it's like for example You ever watch a confusing movie and then you have to watch it again and again and again And then it finally starts to make sense same thing with the word You got to read it again and again and again And things really begin to become a clear picture for you as you're consistent in the word So number one is revelation ask the holy spirit to teach you you have to begin there or you're not going to get anywhere Number two is dedication Have consistency in your devotion to the scripture and again The more dedicated you are the more familiar you become with the word of god and each time you read the word Your understanding will grow even if just incrementally. I'll take a little bit of growth over no growth anytime number three Observation and interpretation. So number one. This is very important is revelation. Number two is dedication Number three is observation and interpretation. Here's what second Timothy chapter two verse 15 says study To show thyself approved unto god a workman that needed not to be ashamed Rightly dividing the word of truth. Let me just say something here that I think is really important God gave you a rational mind The same god who gave you a body A spirit the same god who gave you emotions also gave you a rational mind We have to stop acting Like the rational mind Is against the spirit now we understand the bible talks against the mind of the flesh But the mind of the flesh is the sin nature. I'm not talking about the sin nature I'm talking about the ability to reason The ability to reason spiritual intellect is of god I mean just look at different examples in the old and new testament You'll see many times that the spirit field had a very sharp mind In fact a sharp mind is one of the manifestations of the spirit field life The ability to reason the ability to persuade The ability to teach and to explain the ability to understand the ability to receive the wisdom of heaven These are marks of the spirit field Revelation is knowledge set on fire by the holy ghost So we have to stop being so dismissive with the mind We say things like well, you have what is the word that many people use you have Head knowledge. I have revelation. Well, no, that's that that's almost true But you have to understand too that revelation ultimately brings fruitfulness in the head knowledge in your intellect in your natural understanding Revelation affects those things about you Just as we experience emotions when we're being touched by the presence of god So the mind is affected when you begin to surrender to the holy spirit The most surrendered people I know Have the sharpest minds They're not gullible. They're not tossed to and fro. They don't believe anything that's just presented to them They ask questions. They dig deeper. They study In fact, that's part of the passion that the holy spirit gives you for the word Is this hunger to know and to study and receive that is not an evil thing And we have to stop acting like receiving knowledge by the holy spirit is somehow going to affect you negatively in your spiritual growth No, it's just the opposite true spiritual knowledge works hand in hand with spiritual encounters that god wants to give to you So study to show yourself approved. There's nothing wrong with that And in fact, we have to understand too And many of you won't like that. I'm saying this but I have to tell you because I love you You have to understand that the word of god is not It's not like a fortune cookie It's not like we can go into the word of god and say, well, you know, this is what it means to you And this is what it means to me. No, we have to realize that when the holy spirit inspired the scripture He inspired the scripture with intention There is meaning behind what the holy spirit has given to us There's a purpose behind every word that was written He has a will for all of the messages contained in the word of god It's not up to us to say, well, I'm just going to read it casually And then I'm going to apply what I think it means. That's not the spirit That's called rationalizing out of your own imagination. That's almost like prophesying out of your own imagination It's not like we could just take the scripture as a general encouragement that we can apply any way that we want No, the verses the stories the narratives every word from the word of god has a purpose So there is meaning there is intention Study of the word of god is not about making up your own meaning or deciding what it means to you Studying the word of god is about finding out what the holy spirit intended to communicate Through any particular story or verse and so When you begin to study the word you realize that there are barriers There are safety nets look anything without boundaries is chaotic Everything that god ever designed or created has boundaries has laws think about the laws of physics That god set into place in creation Think about the spiritual laws think about the moral laws think about the laws of mathematics There are many different laws that govern reality that god created god is a god of order not of disorder In the same way, there are certain boundaries that we have to respect when we're studying the word I can't just pull up a scripture and go. Hmm. What can I make this mean? Or what's a cool play on words I can use to sound like I know what I'm talking about Or let me take this story from the scripture and make everything allegorical And let me pull out a meaning that I think will fit with my sermon No, my friend that is not how we are to approach the word The word of god is not something that we mold to say what we want. It's not like we just take the words and Intend them to mean what we want them to mean. We have to look at the scripture and say holy spirit What did you intend to communicate through this story through these verses? And if we do this we will find a solid foundation upon which we can stand And we stay away from error and strange doctrine and bizarre teachings that don't glorify the holy spirit Or jesus so we must apply practical study to our spiritual devotion This is why I say Observation and interpretation are necessary Now observation and interpretation Really are one they improve upon the other As you read the scripture you observe things and then you seek to find the interpretation of what you've observed And in doing this that interpretation helps you to make better observations those interpretations help you to make better interpretations And this leads us to talking about the study method, which I call macro micro macro write that down or say it in the comments macro Macro macro macro macro macro remember this big picture small details big picture Again big picture Small details big picture. What do I mean by that? Well, let's take a look at big picture first When you approach the word you sit down to read the scripture Start with the big picture for instance Identify what kind of book you're reading. I'll give you the examples here We have the law or the pentateuch genesis exodus leviticus numbers deuteronomy. That's the law Then you have the old testament historical books or historical narratives. These are the stories that we read or record keeping Joshua judges ruth first and second samuel First and second kings first and second chronicles ezra nehemiah and ester And then we have what we call wisdom literature or the poetic books And these are books like job now job could technically be historical in nature But just for the sake of this lesson, I put it in the category of the wisdom literature There's job Psalms proverbs ecclesiastes song of Solomon Then there are the prophets now Some divide the writings of the prophets into major prophets and minor prophets All that means is the prophets who wrote a lot and the prophets who wrote a little bit I remember one time I brought that up and someone got offended by that. They said, what do you mean minor prophets? There are no minor prophets in the word I said, that's just a term that's used to describe the smaller prophetic books But um, so that's what some people say they call them the major prophets and minor prophets So like Jeremiah, isiah major prophets, but all of the prophets here isiah jeremiah Lamentations ezekiel Daniel and then you have josea joll amus obadiah jonah mica nehum habakkuk Zephaniah hagai zakkariah and malachi. So those are the prophetic books And then you have the new testament historical books of these again the stories like the gospels Matthew mark luke john axe Then you have the epistles and these are instructional books for the church Some divide the paulina epistles from other epistles And that only means the epistles that paul wrote and the epistles that paul did not write But all of the epistles include romans first and second carinthians galatians ephesians Philippians colossians first Thessalonians second Thessalonians first and second timidii tytus phylemon And then general epistles like hebrews james first peter second peter first jon second jon third jon and jude now We also have the book of revelation. This is a category of its own some say that's debatable I have my opinions on how it could potentially be well. We won't get into that, but It it's debatable of it being in its own category, but we won't touch that for now But that's just some examples there. In fact, that's all the books there. You have the law The old testament historical books the wisdom literature the prophets new testament historical books and the epistles and then revelation now The kind of book you're reading will have an impact on how that book is interpreted This is so important that we understand this Because you're not going to take a poetic book like psalms or song of Solomon You're not going to take those books And treat them the same way that you're going to treat the epistles remember the epistles are writings and instructions to the church that have direct application We receive doctrine directly from those And then we have like the narratives and we have the poetic books. They're inspired by the holy spirit Don't hear what i'm not saying They are inspired by god. They are a part of the inerrant Scriptures that we've received for today, of course the entire word of god genesis to revelation Is god inspired is the word of god is inerrant is sufficient all of that included But you're not going to treat them all the same in the way you approach them in terms of studying So if I look at an epistle, let's say a paulina epistle I'm going to be able to take that doctrine directly And then just apply that to my life But if i'm reading psalms, I have to remember that these are expressions and prayers and sometimes for example There's a verse in this the bible that talks about the fool has said in this heart. There is no god Now obviously the phrase there is no god is not something i'm going to take as doctrine for today But that is just quoting the fool. So if you understand what i'm saying you see That there are different ways to approach the different books of the bible So in an epistle i'm looking for teaching to apply directly to my life And as an example in a historical book I'm looking at how god interacted with people and i'm seeing truths about his nature I'm seeing how god did things with certain people and i'm seeing how god did things with certain nations And in observing this i'm learning spiritual truths about god How he operates how he thinks and this is why again we have to be very careful To not apply the same exact method to every single book of the bible We have to know what kind of book we're reading. So that's number one when it comes to Observation and interpretation you have to identify what kind of book you're reading Next we see we have to know the author. This is a good study method here Who wrote that book? Then ask yourself. Why did they write that book? What is the purpose of what they wrote? What are they trying to accomplish in writing this document in writing this letter in writing this record in writing these poetic stanzas And then you look for the overall theme. What is the overall spiritual theme of this book? Overall tone that's something i've added. That's not necessarily What everyone else adds, but i like to look at the overall tone of the book Then you look at historical and cultural backdrops When was this written? What was the culture in which it was written? Then you look at the recipients. Who was this letter this narrative this record for who is the intended reader of this particular work And so when you study the scripture in this way it keeps you from just making things up I'll give you an example In the book of acts we read a story about a man who was listening to a sermon and he was sitting in a window And while listening to the sermon he fell asleep. He fell out of the window and of course he was killed The church of course saw him resurrected and there is a powerful story about god's resurrection power now And again, many might not like what i'm saying here, but I love you and so we have to Make sure there are boundaries to what we're doing. We can't just go adding whatever interpretation we want I've heard that story preached so many different ways I heard some preach it like well, you know He fell out of the window because he had one foot in the church and one foot in the world So here this narrative is talking about compromise and worldliness and i'm thinking I don't think that's what it was about I've even heard it preached in another allegorical sense where they say Well, this is about your dreams and your desires and the hope that god put in you dying And how god wants to resurrect your dreams And then that was it it was it was a verse on how the guy fell out of the window How he was resurrected and they took that and made an entire 45 minute message on how god was going to resurrect your dreams And I thought wait a minute. Okay, that's a historical book And it's just showing us a historical narrative really that was written as a record to show that the early church saw resurrection But when we try to force our meaning upon it or we don't want to study deeply for the actual meaning Or we're trying to put together a sermon in a hurry because we haven't had time to do it Then we're going to begin to just make stuff up and that's where you get into danger now You could say that there's some truth to what's being said there Okay, god is the god of resurrection and he wants to resurrect what's dead and he wants to bring the life of your dreams Okay, there's some truth to that But that's not what that particular portion of scripture is saying you can look to several other verses in the bible That talk about god's resurrection power and talk about the hope we have in him and talk about how he blesses us and helps us And brings us to spiritual breakthrough But you don't have to force that on that particular portion of scripture to do it And so when you stay within these safety Nets when you when you stay within these boundaries as you're studying the word It keeps you from heresy. It keeps you from going off the rails It keeps you from just making things up that have no justification And this is why we have to again practice observation and interpretation But that's just mac remember big picture is the book again. I'll say it Identify what kind of book you're reading Who is the author? What is the purpose of what they wrote? What is the overall theme? What is the overall tone? What are the historical and cultural backdrops? And who are the intended recipients or readers of this particular work that was written? And in sticking to these safety nets and boundaries You're kept from just making things up as you go You know, I've heard it said many times after someone's preached a sermon people will say things like wow That was so powerful. I never even saw that in that verse before And often I think to myself why you didn't see it because it wasn't there They just added it for the sake of whatever it was they were trying to communicate So preachers teachers and every student of the word Christians in general You don't have to force your meaning upon stories in order to make a spiritual point Just use the verses that outright say what you're trying to communicate No need to force that on other portions of scripture where it's not intended to be So that's macro look at the big book and look at the big picture of the book Then micro now we're looking at chapters and verses now Keep in mind that chapters and verses were added later to the scripture just to help us reference them more easily The chapters and verses don't necessarily They're not necessarily spiritually inspired. They're just there as references But in general the people who divided chapters and verses did a pretty good job in general This is not something to be applied across the board. You want to read the scripture by thoughts not necessarily by chapters But they really did do a good job as you begin to read you notice in many places The chapters and verses just help us to take everything in bite size bite sizes And so I think they're useful in that sense, but remember The chapters and verses were added later for reference So sometimes it's okay To keep reading past the chapter until you finish a particular narrative or reading past a few verses And sometimes you'll notice that chapters one two and three actually say one complete thought So read the scripture in thoughts not necessarily in chapters and verses But still as you begin to break down the chapters and verses This at least helps you to apply to your study method so that you have a greater foundation or how shall I say this The chapters and verses work for us In that they help us to take things in a bite size manner So macro the entire book micro look at the chapters and verses What are the main thoughts being communicated in these chapters? What are the main thoughts being communicated in these verses? Those small breakdowns are helpful, but again, they're not necessarily divinely inspired and then start to look at the words After you've looked at the book chapters and verses now we're going smaller Then you look at the words that are being used Understand the terms and the context if you don't understand the words that are being used specifically in their context You end up with all sorts of heresies for example The heresy of universalism this idea that there is no eternal hell and that ultimately everyone Will be saved whether or not they receive Christ That's a heresy and that heresy in particular Is based entirely on grave misunderstandings of key words in their context They take the words but they do not consider the context of those words and therefore they take them to mean whatever they want Original languages are very helpful, but the translations that we have are accurate enough to give you the main ideas There's a tool that I recommend you might want to write this one down There's a tool I recommend it's free. It's online called strong's interlinear bible And strong's interlinear bible you can look that up on on a search engine online strong's interlinear bible Is a tool that line by line Causes the original language And english or whatever version you're reading whatever your language is the original language to run parallel To your language and so you can click on words And you can see what their meaning is you can see what those words mean in every other context in scripture You can see what those words mean in that particular verse You can see what the various meanings and definitions are But remember this generally speaking when you have a word in the original language You might see two or three different definitions But those definitions are brought out depending upon the context in other words Context dictates meaning So if one word has two or three different definitions You look at the context to tell you what it's actually saying for example The new testament word the greek word pneuma that could mean wind spirit or breath Sometimes pneuma is used when describing the holy spirit Sometimes pneuma is used when talking about the wind the literal wind not the holy spirit And other times the word pneuma is used to describe breath And so depending upon the context of that verse and that word being used You would pull out the definition that most directly applies to that So when you're looking at the original language remember context dictates meaning And please be careful not to stretch things without understanding this goes for me too I am not a hebrew scholar. I am not a greek scholar. So i'm very very How should I say this i'm very uncomfortable When I hear people say things like well, you know the translators use this word But actually in the original language the scripture means this whenever you hear that Be very careful and if you find yourself saying things like that be very careful Because we're talking about scholars teams of scholars Who've poured over these works and who worked very hard and diligently greek and hebrew scholars To bring us the most accurate translations And so when you have someone who kind of just reads a word and says well, you know actually this word here means this That's a red flag to me and that shows that probably they don't completely understand how it all works In fact, I would be out of my depth if I tried to teach hebrew and greek because I don't even completely understand the entire translation process And so When somebody says well, this word actually means this what they're doing is they're pooling one of the other possible definitions of that word When in fact the context according to the scholars would pull out a different definition just like that example I gave you like numa it can mean spirit wind or breath So if i'm reading a particular verse on how the holy numa came upon the people and they were empowered to be witnesses Obviously the context is telling us that's the holy spirit Or if I if it talks about for example a ruach or like the the hebrew equivalent of the word numa You talk about that wind that came and blew the ship of jonah Well, that's talking about an actual whirlwind the physical wind that came and so we have to be very careful Just because you have access to an interlinear bible Does not mean you are a greek or hebrew scholar And we have to keep that in mind when we're studying the word of god to make sure That we're not just arrogantly going around saying well the hebrew scholars said this and the greek scholars said this But I looked up one particular word and I found another definition could be this So i'm going to switch it with my definition be very careful with that It's a tool, but again make sure you're using it wisely and not just coming up with these wild interpretations for yourself So again macro micro macro, we're still talking about observation and interpretation Let me know in the comment section if this is helping you out live or on the replay So Again macro big picture Identify what kind of book you're reading Who is the author? What is the purpose? What is the overall theme? What is the overall tone? What are the historical and cultural backdrops? Who are the intended readers and now we're going down to size here? We're looking at the details chapters and verses again chapters and verses were added later But that doesn't mean that they can't be helpful study tools They help you break up the words and the different Sentences so that you can take them in bite sizes and then you look at the words What did these words mean in their original languages get a better grasp on those? So you went macro now you're going all the way down to the word and then once you studied in that You start over go back through the book again and each time you do this You observe more And you interpret more accurately And as you interpret more accurately You observe more and this is that cycle that deepens your understanding of the word So again, this is why we apply key number two dedication You have to keep at this you can't just read it one time and go well. I didn't get it I'm giving up no study to show yourself approved add to it interpretation and observation Observe what's actually there and then interpret according to what is actually being Did not according to what you're feeling or what you'd like to see or what you heard someone else say Interpret it according to the word of god and what was intended there in the scripture now We're going to move on to number four meditation. So we have one revelation Two dedication three observation and interpretation Or meditation. This is what the bible says in psalm Chapter one versus one through three now when I use that word meditation I know that's going to freak some people out But remember that meditation can be godly The new age has stolen that term from the church from the word of god from the holy spirit This is something that is of god and the world has taken that and perverted it But really true meditation is revealed right here in psalm chapter one versus one through three All the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked Or stand around with sinners or join in with mockers But they delight in the law of the lord meditating on it day and night They are like trees planted along the riverbank bearing fruit each season Their leaves never wither and they prosper and all they do I love that the scripture here says bearing fruit each season not just in some seasons in each season You bear fruit now the scripture tells us here That they delight in the law of the lord meditating on it day and night. What is meditation? Meditation simply put is repetition in thought. Did you know that when you're anxious about something and you're worrying you're meditating on your fears? Did you know that when you're bitter towards someone and unforgiving towards someone and you're offended by someone and you repeat What they did to you in your mind over and over again? You're meditating on the offense Meditation is repetition in thought now. This is really going to help those of you who said david I read the word, but I can't remember anything I'm just going to be transparent with you and a lot of people are surprised to hear this But I'm just being honest I don't have that great of a memory people think I have a great memory. I really don't not not naturally anyway It's something I really have to work at memorizing scripture memory has always been Challenging for me. I very easily forget because my mind is so busy Things go in and then write out. So one of the techniques that a powerful man of god taught me Was to meditate on the word As you read it now, this is a this is a technique I'm going to give you that you don't have to apply religiously This is not necessarily inspired by the holy spirit what I'm about to give you, but it's helpful When I read the word I will let's say I'm in let's say I'm in one of the the the gospel narratives And I'm reading a particular story. Let's say I'm reading the crucifixion I'll begin in the garden and then I'll go to pilot and so forth And I just start to read And then I read it again And then I read it again Remember thoughts not necessarily chapters and verses but but thoughts complete a thought in the in the word Read it again and again. And then what I do I close my bible or I turn off my ipad screen Lean back close my eyes And then I start to repeat what I read back to myself Over and over again in my mind And I try to remember as many details as possible and then I'll pull out the scripture. I'll open the word again And I'll read it again and again and again and I'll see the details. I forgot then I'll close it I'll lean back close my eyes And I'll begin to repeat it all now steve here my brother is my witness steve Have I been able to quote entire chapters to you? Yes, it is actually quite amazing to see and I don't have that great a memory I can quote entire chapters of the bible now granted Maybe an hour later. I've forgotten most of it But but like like if someone said quote an entire chapter, I couldn't do it for you right this second But but in my study time at least for 30 minutes or so I'm able to retain that and I'm trying to lengthen that But even if you don't do entire chapters try two or three verses word for word Repeat it again and again and again. This is meditation If reading the word is eating the word Then meditation is digestion It allows the the spiritual nutrients to actually be absorbed by your spirit You repeat it again and again and again in your mind and and before you know it You'll be quoting entire chapters of the bible. There's a game that me and uh brit mays play We've done it a couple times on road trips brit Where we'll just thumb through the bible point to a verse read it out loud and we try to identify the book in the chapter Now britain is very good at that I'm not as good as britain at that. He's got a much better memory than I do But generally speaking it's it's a game we play when we're traveling where where we'll thumb through the bible Stop point to a verse read it out loud and you have to say where the book is And what chapter that's in at least book and chapter you got to get it within four or five chapters And so this is a good practice and then you start to see okay I'm starting to familiarize myself with the various different narratives of scripture So i'm not just reading genesis and going in blind. I know there are certain themes I know there are certain foundations that ground me as I go. So I see the creation I see the fall of man I see the flood I see king and abel and then of course we begin to see all you know Well, not necessarily chronological, but you you go all throughout the scripture And you start to see all these different narratives joseph's dreams I see the exodus. I see the prophet jeremiah We see the rebuilding of the walls again not going in chronological order, but you get what i'm saying themes Certain thoughts different pieces of the puzzle coming together And as you're going through those particular pieces you're allowing your mind to fill in those details And so this is where meditation is very helpful Where you're not just reading it and then leaving here's the problem Okay, i'm gonna i'm gonna tell you a problem that that many of us have we'll read the bible And then we'll close it and go on our day And that really doesn't do anything because we've received it for the moment Forgive me. I shouldn't say that doesn't do anything, but that's not as effective. I should word it that way instead It's not as effective as reading it and then retaining it through repetition and thought over and over and over again Here's what many of us do We open the bible app We read there's my aria right there. You don't have to adjust the camera You you read i always see my aria smiling back at me there, but you read the the scripture And then after you're done you swipe up close that app and you go over to youtube Go over to instagram go over to tiktok or facebook or whatever it is that you do Or you close your bible and you go on your way You have to make time not just for receiving the word not just reading the word not just studying the word You have to make time for meditating on it And then try to hold something in your heart Something from the script even if it's just one simple thought hold it in your heart and think about that all throughout the day And what's going to begin to happen is you're going to begin to become a person of great depth in the word To where now when someone brings up a story or a narrative or a point You're not lost. You're not clueless. You're not wondering. Well, where is that or what's the purpose of why they wrote that? Now there's some room for conversation and part of that meditation is conversing those principles with other believers And so you and I Must take the word and then meditate on it Worldly meditation says empty your mind godly meditation says fill your mind with the word And repeat it over and over and over again. I'm giving you very practical keys here These are very practical keys that will help you to not only receive the word but memorize the word And then hold the word in your heart. So let's look so far at what we've seen revelation Ask the holy spirit to teach you Number two dedication have consistency in your devotion to the scripture Number three observation and interpretation study to show yourself approved Number four meditation repeat the scripture in your mind again and again And this is important because if you're just if you're just reading it and then dismissing it You're not allowing the roots to go deep You're not allowing the nutrients of that spiritual food to to permeate your spirit in your spirit You're just you're just reading it and then dismissing it and it only goes surface level like that That's when it's just as we say head knowledge. That's when it's just intellect. You want it to become spiritual meditate Think on it again and again memorize portions of it Even if just two or three verses at a time and hold those in your heart all throughout the day And you watch how that transforms the way that you study the word Now, let me go back here just for a second because I want to make sure I've clearly made this point In terms of the familiarity when I talked about dedication I know I'm going to get to number five in a moment and number five is very important But I'm going to get to that in a moment. I want to go back to number two dedication just for a second I had told you that familiarity Is the foundation for understanding and what I mean by that Is that each time you go over it? You're going to receive more from it because you get a stronger grasp on what is actually happening And so this is very important because many believers will give up the first time around No, you got to go again and again and again and that's also where meditation comes in So meditation and dedication can close can can can closely knit together with one another number five is application Watch this now in matthew chapter 13 verse 12 Those who listen to my teaching more understanding will be given And they will have an abundance of knowledge But for those who are not listening Even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them Here we see very clearly that jesus is saying that we must be good stewards of the revelation that we've been given There is a biblical principle called the law of stewardship The law of stewardship is very simple You must understand that everything you have belongs to god. He gave it to you Everything that you have in this life is gods And so we don't own anything we are stewards. We are caretakers Now biblically speaking when i'm a good steward with what god has deposited in me He rewards me by increasing my responsibilities So if I obey god with my finances, he increases finances if I obey god with ministry responsibility He increases ministry responsibility if I obey god with the revelation. He's given me If I cling to it. I apply it. I use it I listen to it the bible says here more understanding will be given So many of us want what we call deep revelation of the word And by that we mean You know some of the more mysterious teachings some of the more supernatural expressions of god's power But really if you're not being faithful with the foundational God will not give you the supernatural If you're not being faithful with the standard revelations, he's not going to give you deeper revelation Jesus said I'll say this again to those who listen to my teaching More understanding will be given and they will have an abundance of knowledge But for those who are not listening Even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them application Is a part of studying god's word because it causes you to experience the word Living the word keeps your fellowship with the holy spirit unhindered Unhindered fellowship with the holy spirit enables you to better receive the revelation of the word If you don't apply the word, please hear me now If you don't apply the word your hunger for the word will weaken That's a scary reality If you do not apply the word your hunger for the word will weaken james chapter 1 verses 22 through 25 says this But don't just listen to god's word. You must do what it says Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves Or if you listen to the word and don't obey It's like glancing at your face in a mirror You see yourself walk away and forget what you look like But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free and you do what it says And don't forget what you heard Then god will bless you for doing it If you're not applying what you see in scripture your understanding of it will be limited You can't just know it in your mind. You have to live it You can't just know it as a fact you have to experience it When you begin to apply what you've seen in scripture That's when transformation begins to take place That's when you begin to truly understand the depths of what it is you're reading It's the difference between seeing a picture of some destination and actually standing there It's the difference between reading a letter from a loved one and actually being with them It's the difference between knowing and experiencing the revelation of god's word If you're not applying the word you're limiting your understanding So we can't just stop at these particular keys Revelation is great that comes by the holy spirit teaching you Dedication this is going to be discipline and diligence as you study the word Observation and interpretation This is the practical application of studying the word how to go about it So that you stay within the safety net the boundaries of the intentions of the holy spirit Now on this point I want to add You've heard it said That some portions of scripture Are instructional and other portions of scripture are more historical in other words Some of the things that we're given are given for us Specifically to apply and others are just being told to us in a narrative But the reality is that you can actually receive application You can actually receive understanding about god's nature In all portions of scripture Because even if something is not necessarily Instructional and it's more historical more of a story in that history in that story I receive revelation of the nature of god and how he works So that's important to note and then of course meditation Repeat it in your mind again and again and then finally we have application You have to live it now I'm going to pray for you And I'm going to ask the holy spirit to give you a hunger for the word of god Come on. Let's pray father in the name of jesus I lift that one to you now Who desires to know you more through your work Precious holy spirit. I pray that you would be like a fire in our bones Be that passion for god's word Give us that desire that hunger To know the depths of the revelations that god has given to him Father By your holy spirit help us to reverence your work And tremble at your work Holy spirit help us to live it Not just read it not just know it Help us to live it. I pray Give us greater understanding Give us greater desire. Come on pray with me now. Ask him to do it Lead us into revelation. I Father your word is truth. Where else can we go? You have the words of life Cause us to depend on that and holy spirit. I'm going to ask you something special For that one we're receiving this prayer now Holy spirit. I'm asking On the days that they forget to read your word Reminder Be that gentle and constant reminder. Come on. Ask him. I'm asking him to do that for you. I'm serious Ask him to be your reminder that when you're about to walk out the door the holy spirit would say Don't forget the holy spirit reminder Be that reminder all throughout their lifecycle Draw them by your spirit to your work In the mighty name of Jesus we pray And all God's people said write it in the comment section Amen. Well, if you enjoyed this message, please do me a favor and like the video I promise you I'm not just asking for likes for the sake of likes when you like this video It helps to spread it all around the internet So you're actually accomplishing something when you click that like button And also don't forget to share this with a couple of loved ones And make sure you're subscribed to this channel to learn more about the holy spirit prayer and spiritual warfare when you do subscribe Be sure to click that notification bell now. I want to read a portion of scripture to you And I think it's really going to encourage you Um, let me know in the comment section whether you're watching live or on the replay Let me know in the comment section how this blessed you and then I want to read a portion of scripture to you that I think will really bless you And I know I know by the spirit that many are going to Really draw closer to the lord in this season. That's my prayer for you that you would draw closer to the lord in this season Stephen real quick. Can you my phone's not cooperating. Can you just real quick? I talked to the chat there Yeah chat. What an amazing amazing time. This was I know I have my notes I would love to know if you guys took notes. Let me know down in the comment section below But man, what a powerful powerful way to study the word I think most christians nowadays really need to understand how to read the word and I'm there with you Sometimes I'll read something and I'll be like, okay, that was great. And then two minutes later just like diga was saying It's gone. I'm like, wait, what did I read again? So understanding how to read the word and unlocking god's power through that is powerful Thank you, steve and and I got my my phone to where I was it wasn't even online. So that was the problem there Um, second corinthians chapter nine I want to read verse six and onward to you. Listen to this now Remember this a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop You must each decide in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure for God loves a person who gives cheerfully Paul the apostle here is specifically talking about finance. He's talking about money And paul is taking an offering Paul is asking for finances for the work of the kingdom. That's biblical But notice here that he writes that a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop The scripture also declares he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed When you plant financial seed into God's kingdom You are sowing first of all not to be blessed. You're sowing so that the kingdom work can continue to advance You're sowing that people might come to know Jesus You're sowing that the gospel might be preached that believers might be empowered. That's why we so we don't give to get But here's the exciting reality Even though our motives Should not be to receive when we give you should give just to give you every believer Should give just because they love jesus and the gospel But our god is so gracious. He's so kind that he adds a blessing When we give he doesn't have to do that We as believers should just give because that's our duty as believers But the lord adds to that verse 8 says this And god will generously provide all you need Now this promise is powerful listen to this Then you will always have everything you need And plenty left over to share with others I don't know about you But I believe the word I believe what the bible says And so when the scripture tells me That I won't lack That i'll always have everything I need think about that you will always have everything you need Not sometimes have some of the things you need. That's the bible It says you will always have everything you need and here's my favorite part And plenty left over to share with others So I want to challenge you now To give to the gospel Give to the work of the kingdom Give number one that Jesus might be glorified Give because you love father god Give because you desire to see souls saved give because you want the kingdom to be expanded Let that be your motive While you're giving also rejoice in the fact that as you give god increases your resources Look, this is something we've applied in our ministry that I apply in my own life And tim you can go ahead and leave that graphic up there. This is something that I've applied in my own life And I think it's important that we do this because We we sometimes give into fear And we sometimes give into doubt But I found that anytime I've needed a breakthrough Anytime I've needed the lord to do something in my life anytime. I've wanted to see the ministry go further He's led me to so and I promise you this you cannot out give god I've experienced it when the world is panicking saying everybody hold back Everybody, you know, you know, you know hatch it down and make sure you're protected and everybody make sure that you're you're saving And reserving and hold back and play it safe. No, that's not the kingdom of god I'm talking about radical faith And we found that every time we've stepped forward in faith Despite what the world says God has never failed us Every single time he comes to listen to me every single time he comes through He never fails And with that knowledge you are freed you are liberated to give to the gospel And so I want to challenge you now give a one-time gift to this ministry of any amount you may be saying to yourself You know, I really don't think I'll make that big of a difference or my giving really doesn't matter Whether you're watching this live or on the replay you're giving counts And so I'm asking every single person watching to give a single donation By going to david hernandez ministries.com Slash donate your gift of any amount will help to fund the content the live streams the events I also want to challenge you if you haven't done so already to become a monthly ministry Supported look if you can partner with netflix If you can partner with your gym through a gym membership If you can partner with your gaming system through a monthly gaming online system Account if you can partner with any of these other services that we have on a monthly basis Why can't we partner with the kingdom of god? So i'm asking you Become a monthly supporter as well Go to david hernandez ministries.com slash partner to sign up to become a monthly ministry partner partners receive partner gifts I know that's not why you give but it's our thank you to you You can check those out at david hernandez ministries.com slash partner But no matter what you're giving whether a single donation or a monthly partnership Whether large or small i'm asking everyone watching to do their part do your part right now david hernandez ministries.com slash donate for a single donation david hernandez ministries.com slash partner to sign up to become a monthly ministry supporter And if you enjoyed this teaching Then you will enjoy three habits that make you consistent in prayer and the word Thank you