 Okay, recording has started. Welcome back to the second hour on interpreting scripture. We're going to pick up from where we paused. May as we talk about God's Word as the foundation for our faith, I'm just going to share my screen. Okay, so another important thing for us as we talk about the Word of God being the foundation for our faith is that the scriptures are our standard and other pattern for life. So, like the Psalmist said here in Psalm 119, verse 133, the Psalmist said, direct my steps by your Word and let no iniquity have dominion over me. So he's saying, Lord, direct my steps by your Word. That means how I live, how I go about this life is going to be determined, it's going to be influenced by the Word of God. So in all matters of life, for us, the scriptures are going to direct us. They're our standard and our pattern. Of course, when I say, you know, I'm not ruling out the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we are led by the Spirit, we live by the Word. So we have both. But right now, we're focusing on the scriptures. So I'm emphasizing that. Right. So behold what the scriptures say concerning all matters of life to be true. That's important for us. We live by the standards of the Word of God. Now around us, society may say something different. Our friends may say something different. But for us, the Word of God is foundational. It is the Word of God that's going to direct our steps. It's the Word of God that is our standard. Right. So we live by the standard of the Word. If the Word of God says it's wrong, then it's wrong. We don't follow it. We look at the standards that are set forth in the Word of God for our behavior as husbands, wives, parents, children, you know, all of that. The Word of God teaches us. This is what a husband must do, a wife and his parents as children, his employers, his employees for ministers of God. So the Word of God sets forth the standard and that's what we're going to follow. So it's foundational for us in our life and conduct. Also, we come to this place where the scriptures are final authority in our lives. That means this is, if God has said it, then I'm going to live by it. It's final authority. Right. So if the Word of God is correcting me, it's telling me I'm wrong in some way, I will submit to the Word of God because it's what the Word of God says and I live in submission to the Word. You know, so Psalm 119, Psalm 101 said, I've restrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep your Word. You know, so you're saying, look, then my tendency was to go this way, go that way. Now I brought myself back to keep your Word. The Word of God is final authority in our lives and we understand that when we submit to the Word of God, we are submitting to God. Right. When we submit to the Word of God, you're submitting to God. So when the Bible says, submit to God, how do you do it practically? Well, submit to the Word because when you submit to the Word, you're submitting to God who spoke the Word. Right. And you're saying, God, you are final authority in my life. I'm surrendered to you. Right. So as people of God, we live in submission to the Word. We have or we maintain a reverential fear of the Word of God, the written Word. Okay. This is final authority in my life. I'm going to live by the Word. Okay. And so in closing off this first chapter for the Word of God to be foundational, I want to encourage all of us, let the Word of God dwell in us richly. Right. Can somebody read Colossians 3 verse 16 for us? Please. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Amen. Amen. So the Apostle Paul is admonishing all of us. He's saying, let the Word of Christ. Now, Word of Christ doesn't mean just what Jesus said, but it's all that the Word of God says, that the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. That means in abundance. And notice it dwell in you. Let it be in you. You know, so I have the Bible. It's wonderful. But the Word has to go from here into me. Right. And that's what we're going to learn in this first section, how to take the Word from here in here into me. Right. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. So we're going to learn how to correctly interpret scripture in all wisdom. And then we can teach and admonish one another. We can be a blessing to each other. Right. So when the Word is dwelling in us richly in all wisdom, then we do the other part, which is we teach admonish and we can do it through song and so on and so forth. Okay. So first, first point is this. The Word of God is our foundation. Right. Jesus himself, the eternal Word who became the incarnate Word, he himself lived by the written Word. How much more should we? Right. The Word of God is our window into God. It's our standard. It's final authority. And it's to be dwelling in us richly. Now, another aspect very quickly I want to touch here is about the purity and the power of the Word. That means we must be very clear in our minds and in our hearts that the Word of God is pure. It is truth. And it is powerful. So God's sovereign hand was involved in the assembling of the written scriptures. We believe that. Right. His ways and are beyond our understanding, past finding out beyond our human understanding and God through time, he worked through people in the compilation of these 66 books of the Bible. So we believe that. Right. The practical side of it, we will explain in an upcoming chapter meaning, okay, this is how practically, you know, people describes hand wrote the scriptures, you know, they wrote it on initially on papyrus paper they had and then they made copies and all of that. Okay. So practically that's how it came. We will begin understand it. But what we believe is that God's hand was involved in the assembling of these 66 books of the Bible. And so therefore we believe in the purity and in the power of the Word that this Word, this Bible is pure because God's hand was involved in the bringing together of the scriptures. Another important aspect is that God has magnified his Word above his name. Could somebody read Psalm 138 verse 2 for us please. I will worship to word your holy temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your truth for you have magnified your word about all your name. Think about this. The last part of this verse says you have magnified or you have lifted up or you have exalted your word above all your name. Now this is a big, big statement. He's saying, I'm trying to put it in simple English, paraphrase it. He's saying God is paying, you know, God is holding his Word more higher, more important than his own name. Think about it. You have magnified your Word above your name, all your name because, you know, if God doesn't keep his Word, he doesn't have a name. I mean, you know, people will not honor his name. And so God is so committed to his Word, so committed. He's magnified his Word above his name. That's why, you know, you'll find me in many places. And I just mentioned here in Jeremiah 112 from the Amplified, you know, God says, I'm alert and active and watching over my Word to perform it. You know, God is so committed to his Word and he esteems his Word even higher than his name because if his Word fails, his name will no longer be held in honor. So that's how important the Word of God is to God himself. He magnified, he has magnified his Word above his name. Another aspect of the Word of God, let me think about the purity and the power of the Word. God's Word is as strong as his character. That means the Word of God is really an expression of who God is and God is truth, so his Word is truth. God cannot lie, so his Word can never be a lie. God is faithful, his Word is faithful. So God's Word, God is eternal, his Word is eternal. So God's Word is as strong as himself, as who he is, his character. And it's very interesting in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 11 through 18, and I'll just paraphrase this. It's telling us that when God made a promise to Abraham, he could swear by no greater. You know, there was no one beyond him that by whom he could make an oath, you know, usually when we, you know, as humans, when we give a promise to make our Word, we may do it in submission to something or an institution higher than us. So example, you know, when we sign a contract, we usually sign it on a paper that has the stamp or the seal of a higher institution. So in India, for example, we can get a government paper, you know, we call it, here we call it a stamp paper. That means this is a legal document, it's got a stamp of the government, it's a legal document, and then we fill a contract on that paper. That means we are saying, I am making this promise, and I'm submitting it in the light of this, you know, the government, maybe the state government, so that the government can then hold me accountable or I can be held accountable to my contract by, it's a legal document so I can be legally held responsible for what I'm saying. So we usually make a promise or make a contract under a higher authority. You know, usually it's a legal institution or something like that. But when God was making a promise to Abraham, there was no higher authority. He is the highest authority. So what did God do? He made a promise, and then he backed it with an oath. That means he says, Abraham, this is my word, and I am giving it, I'm backing it up with an oath, a confirmation, but both these come from me, meaning I am speaking it to you. So the writer of Hebrew says, God made a promise to Abraham, but he also gave an oath. That means something to back up the promise, but he had to do it in his own name, in his own name. So both the promise and the oath was in his own name. There's no higher authority. And he says that the promise and the oath was given by God who cannot lie, by God who cannot lie. So God, so his word was backed up by himself. There's no higher authority than him. And what God is saying is, look, my word is backed up by me. That means my word is as strong as me. It's as reliable as him. So we must understand this. So the word of God is as strong as God himself. It's backed up by God himself, as strong as his character. Right? So we must have no doubt in our minds that God's word is truth. God's word will not fail because God cannot fail. God's word is eternal because God is eternal. God's word will never change because God cannot change. God's word is full of power because God is all powerful. God's word is as strong as himself. And there's nobody higher than him by which he could give us his word. So the word of God has come from the highest and the final authority in the whole universe. And that must be in our hearts. This is final. No arguments with the word. No arguments with what God has spoken. Right? So God's word is as strong as his character. And I have made reference to some of this. And God's word are pure words. The words of the Lord are pure. There's no question about its truthfulness or its purity or its integrity. And the word of God is pure. God is not lying. He's not making a false statement. He's not making a false promise. These are pure words. Psalm 12 verse 6. In fact, he says it's purified seven times, meaning you cannot get purer than this. This is the highest purity, the word of God. Right? So we settle the entirety of God's word is truth. Not one word of all is good promise will fail. So the purity of the word of God and also the power of the word of God. Right? And we are familiar with this. I'll just remind us that the word of God is a carrier of the power of God. So in the word is the power of God. Right? It's a carrier. If you want to think about it, you can think about it as a container of the power of God, the word of God. So there are several scriptures we can usually look at here. Hebrews 11.3 says, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. The worlds were framed by the word of God. Think about it. That means everything in the natural came out of the word of God. The worlds, everything in the natural came out of the word of God. So the word of God is the superior substance, if you want to call it that, to the natural substance. Everything in the natural world is subject to the word of God because everything in the natural world came out of the word of God, just formed by the word of God. So it is subject to the word of God. Not only did it were framed by the word of God, but Hebrews 1.3 says that the Lord appalls all things by the power of his word. It means everything is sustained. It's appalled. It's regulated by the power of the word. So when you look at everything, all of the universe, it's being appalled by the word of his power or his powerful word. And we know Hebrews 4 verse 12. The word of God is living and powerful. The word of God is alive. It's full of power. So what must we understand here? That the word carries the power of God and it can do today what it did before. That means it can create in my life just like it created everything. It can uphold my life just as it upholds everything else. It is living and powerful. It's active and it's doing things today. The word of God is alive and powerful. So the scriptures, when you say the word of God, we're talking about God's written word, the word of God today can create in my life, can uphold my life and again work in my life. It's alive and powerful in my life because there is power in the word of God. So finally, we basically build our lives on the promises of God and we are familiar with that. So Abraham, he believed God. He believed his word and he became what God had promised. So we too, like Abraham, we build our lives on the word and we believe that God will work in us by his word and he will transform us. He will change us by his word. So the question is then how do we get the power of the word to work in our lives? That's what we're building towards. So I know the word of God is pure. I know the word of God is powerful. But how do I get his word to work in my life? How do I get it to produce in my life? For that, we move on to the next chapter, which is the parable of the sower. So can we just read the parable of the sower? Mark chapter four was one to ten and then verse 13 to 20, maybe two verses each. Each one could take turns to read it and then we will get into this. The parable of the sower, Mark chapter four, was one to ten and verse 13 to 20, two verses each. Please, we can read it. And again, okay, yeah, continue. Okay, I'll read it. And again, he began to teach by the sea and a great multitude was gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then he taught them many things by parables and said to them in his teaching. Listen, behold, a sower went out his own and it happened as he saw that some seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air came and diverted. Some fell on the stoning ground where it did not have much earth and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, it was scorched and because it had no root, it got out of it. And some seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced some 34, some 60 and some 100. That's 9 and 10, somebody. And he said to them, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. But when he was alone, those around him with the 12 asked him about the parable. And let's start with verse 13, somebody. And he said, and he said to them, do you not understand this parable? How then do you understand all the parables? He saw the word. And this is the one by the wayside where the word is showing. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was showing in their heart. Thank you. Verse 16 on, somebody. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who when they hear the word immediately receive it with gladness and they have no root in themselves and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the words sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones shown among thorns. They are the ones who hear the word and cares of this world, the decidedfulness of riches and the desire for other things entering in the chock, the world, and it becomes unfilled for them. Verse 20, all sorts of here. But these are the ones shown on good ground, those who hear the word accept it and be a fruit, some 34, some 60 and some 100. Thank you. So the question we are trying to answer is, how do we get the power that's in the word to be released into our lives, to work in our lives? How does that happen? So Jesus, in his teaching, he gave this parable of the sova. Now, actually, it's a very simple parable. All of us can understand it because, you know, to one degree or another, we're all familiar with this whole idea of sowing a seed in the ground and, you know, that seed becoming something, a plant or a tree, or a tree and bearing fruit or sometimes bringing flowers, whatever. So we're all familiar with this. So, of course, in his day and time, as Jesus was speaking to the people, the people were very familiar with this whole idea of farming and sowing seed and all of that. So Jesus is using that to reveal to us something about the kingdom of God, right? So these parables that we know that Jesus spoke are parables of the kingdom. That means they teach us something about how the kingdom of God works or how God works. His kingdom means how he works, his rule is to mean how he works. And in this parable, we find the secret because Jesus said if you can understand this parable, you will understand all the other parables. That means if you correctly interpret this parable and you understand, you're able to derive the truth meaning out of this, then you can work with all the other parables that he was going to talk to them about or which he spoke to them about. But what are these parables? The parables are hiding a kingdom truth, truth about God's kingdom in story form and in something that we can relate to. It's in our world, but the truth is from the kingdom. It's about the kingdom. And Jesus said, you know, as we look into the parable, you know, we're going to break it down. We're going to spend a little bit of time in this parable. You know, so we would call it exegesis. Exegesis means you're bringing out the meaning of the text. So what we are going to do now is we're going to do an exegesis of this passage from Mark the fourth chapter. It's a bringing out of the meaning of the text. So here's an example, how you do an exegesis, right? So you can break it down. You know, what are the key things or what would you say? When you're doing an exegesis or you're bringing out the meaning of the text, from the text you want to write down. What are the key things Jesus said? What are the main things he said? Now we read the story. I mean, we read the parable which is an illustration. We read it. But what was the main things he said? And we can put it down like this in these seven points. First main thing he said, and we're going to look at each of these seven points in depth, a little bit more deeper. But the first thing you do when you want to exegiate a text that is to bring out the meaning of a text is identify the key points. What were the key points? He said, God's word is like seed. You know, he said the seed is the word of God. So God's word is like seed. So you got to think about it now. Oh, God's word is like seed. What does it mean? What is the implication? So you have the key points, then understand what is the implication of it, and then understand what's the application of it. So first point, God's word is like seed. He also said our heart is where the seed is to be sown. So obviously we know seed. The next thing you need is soil. I mean, where do you sow the seed? And Jesus said our heart. That means our inner person. So the seed must go through our mind, which is our intellect. And in this course, we're going to learn how to use our intellect in studying the word of God. So it must go through our mind, but it must get into our heart. Ultimately, it shouldn't stop in our mind. And now it has to go through our mind because we need to understand it. But from there, it has to get into our heart because the heart is the soil where the seed is sown. Another key point Jesus said is, or he brings out in this parable is, well, if the seed is going to produce, it's got to be protected and nurtured. Now, this is something we can all understand because we know that when you sow seed in the ground, you've got to keep it, preserve it. Birds may want to take it away. Some rats or rodents or other creatures may want to come and take it away, but you've got to protect it. You've got to nurture it. You've got to water it and you've got to make sure it gets nutrients and it gets sunlight and so on. So there's a nurturing of that seed involved. And Jesus made it clear, a couple other key points he said was, we must understand the word. If we don't understand the word, then Satan comes and steals the word from us. So now he's telling us that somebody else was interested in the word, Satan. He wants to steal it. He wants to take it away because Satan is aware or he knows how powerful the word is. If the word gets into us, it's going to release the power of God in us. So he's looking for opportunity to steal the word and what gives him the opportunity when we don't understand the word. That's Matthew 13 from Matthew 13. So the same parable is repeated in Matthew, Mark and Luke. And so another part of exegesis is to look at the paddle texts. We didn't take time to read it, but all of us are aware of the parable repeated in Matthew and also in Luke. Another thing Jesus mentioned was that we will face hardship or persecution, but we have to hold on to the word, put it to produce. So as he gave us the rock story about the rock, and he said, you know, some fell on the rocks, the rocks there were symbolizing the hardship or the persecution. And but somehow we've got to take root and not give up, let the word take root and not give up. A sixth point he said was, not only are there rocks, but there are also thorns. And he used the stones to talk about the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, other things that could choke the word. So there's another thing we have to watch out for. But ultimately, when we put Matthew, Mark and Luke together, we see that if we understand the word, Mark says we receive the word and Luke says, if you retain the word, then the word will bear fruit in our lives. Okay. So we have outlined in these seven statements, the key insights from the parable of the soul. It is clear instruction for us on how the word of God can produce in our lives. Now, why is this important? Why is this important? Why is this parable so important? You know, Jesus said, this parable is so important. If you understand this, you will get everything else. Now, why is this parable so important? Because this is how God is going to work in our lives by His word. I'm not, you know, of course, God works in us by His Holy Spirit also. So I'm not, you know, I'm not discounting that, but I'm emphasizing this one because this course is about the scriptures, about the word of God. So understanding this process, understanding these seven things, these seven key points is important for us because if we do this right, if we follow what He has taught us here, then we can make sure that the word will produce in our lives. And like we said in the earlier chapter, the word can create in our lives. It can bring into being what does not exist. The word can regulate or sustain or uphold our lives. That means when things around us are trying to put us down, there's something that's pulling us up. It's the word of God. And the word of God is active and living. It's always at work in our lives. But for the word to produce here in these, you know, in this parable, Jesus has given us the key. This is how the word is going to produce in your life. So I want us to spend a little bit of time because ultimately, when we learn how to interpret scripture and understand scripture, the final result is the word has to produce in us. It also has to produce in the lives of the people that we are ministering to. And so we need to understand the process, how that happens. So let's talk about each of these seven points. I'm going to go through them very quickly because it's easy to understand. It's nothing complicated in this. And we all are very familiar with the idea of a seed producing. So it's pretty straightforward. But let us go through it. So the seed is the word. That means you and I have to think about the Bible like a book of bag of seeds. This Bible is a bag of seeds, so to speak, because the word of God is like seed. That means every word has the potential to produce just like a seed. But the seed has to be sown. And God's word is the incorruptible seed. That means there's nothing wrong with the seed. You know, now sometimes when we go outside and buy some seeds, you know, you can buy some seeds in packets or whatever. Sometimes some of the seeds in the packet may be already dead, but not so with the word of God because the word of God is incorruptible seed. It's always alive. So there's nothing wrong with the seed. There's no problem with the seed. The seed is perfect. The seed has got everything. It will always produce. It is not corrupted. It's not dead. It will always produce. So no problem with the seed, the word of God. It's pure. It's full of power. So this seed will always produce. You can be, it's guaranteed. There's a miracle in every seed of the word. So if you and I take that seed and put it in our hearts, it will always produce. Never, never, never fail. So the word of God has been designed to produce. Like God says in Isaiah 55, you know, like the rain comes down from heaven. He says, so shall my word be. It goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me what it will accomplish. It will prosper. So no problem with the seed. It's been designed to produce. It will accomplish what God pleases. It will accomplish his purpose and pleasure. And it will also reveal his purpose and pleasure. Right. So now the question is, okay, let me just emphasize this one more time. In 1 Thessalonians 2.13, Paul says, the word of God effectively works in you who believe. So he's commending the Thessalonians. He's saying Thessalonians. Then you received the word. You didn't receive it as a word of man, but you received it as the word of God. And it effectively works in you who believe. So the word of God works in you. If you received the word, you received the word. So that's the key. When you received the word into you, it effectively works in you. Right. So every seed of the word will effectively work in you. If you produce and you're not thinking, stop the word of God from producing. If we follow the pattern, if you follow what he told us, if we do it right, then the word will always produce in your life and nothing will stop it because God's word is the incorruptible seed. Okay. So what we want is what God, how do we sow the seed? How do we get the seed into the soil of our heart? Right. So Jesus said, the sower sows the word and the word is sown in the heart. The word is sown in the heart. So the key is, I know the seed will produce. It's perfect. It's incorruptible. It'll never return to God void. It will work effectively. But how do I sow it in my heart? And this is where we talk about the process of meditation. Right. So the word has to be implanted, the implanted word. Right. So James says, you know, get rid of all the sin and with humility receive the implanted word. That means it's got to become part of me, just like how the seed has to be sown into the soil. The word of God has to be sown into my heart. It has to be implanted. Then it will, you know, work in my life and work in our lives. How do we get the word into our heart? Right. That's the key. How do we get the word into our heart? You know, it improves for 20 to 23. God says, keep my word in the midst of your heart. Keep my word in the midst of your heart. Because that word is life. It's healing. It'll produce in you. Right. Keep my word in the midst of your heart. Right. So how do I do it? It says, pay attention to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings. Don't let them depart from your eyes. Keep them in your heart. Then the word will produce in your life. Okay. Okay. So this requires, this is an ongoing thing, right? I constantly pay attention to his word, constantly listen to his word. I don't let them get away from my eyes. My eyes are focused on his word. They fill my imagination and they are in my, in a most person in my heart. The way to do this is through the whole, through the process of meditation. Okay. Through the process of meditation. Okay. So this is what I want us to get to and learn from, from this book. This is the main thing I want us to take away, which is how to meditate in the world. Okay. I think we will get to it next week on how to meditate in the word of God. Right. We will pick up from here, but when we come back next week, we will start from props for, we'll start from here one more time and I will get into this, because this is the main thing, that the word has to be implanted. It's got to get into our heart if it's going to produce. And God has given us instructions how to put that word into our hearts so that it can produce. Okay. Let me stop here and next week, when we are fresh, we will start with this, you know, this whole process of meditation, how to put the word into our hearts and we will finish this chapter in this book next week or first hour and then get into, you know, the other parts of hermeneutics. Let me pause here. Are there any questions so far? You're all with me. So what we are going to learn or what we have covered so far is the word of God is very important in our lives. But for the word to really work in us, it has to be implanted in our hearts, just like how the seed has to be sown in the soil, only then the seed can produce. Similarly, the word has to be implanted in our hearts. What we're going to learn next week is how to do it. And I want to share with you very practically how to meditate in the word so that the word can be put into your heart, become part of your heart, and then it will produce. It will release its power. It will work effectively and it will bear fruit 30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold. It will bear fruit in our lives. Okay. So we're going to pause here for now. I would like somebody to pray with us and then dismiss us. Anybody could just pray together with our class please. Pastor, can I pray? Go ahead. Come on, please. Father, we thank you and praise you for this wonderful morning. Once again, we surrender Lord Master under the power and authority of the living Word of Father God. As the Bible says in the book of John that the word was in the beginning, as we were Lord Master, as we are understanding that the word is the seed, we pray that Father prepare our heart so that the seed can germinate in us and let it bring fruit to Father God for your kingdom and for your glory. We surrender each one of us a God and especially the pastor also and we pray that Father strengthen him, strengthen each one of us a God, that Father that let our, let the seed what we receive today of Father God by the power of the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that deeply rooted in us, let it Lord Master, let we never depart from it. Lord Master, the things of this world should not shock it, but we can able to stand on the power of that Word of Father God. We surrender ourselves before the Lordship of the Word of Father God, before the authority of the Word and we say Father not our desires, but the power of your Word dominate us and rule over us so Father God. Let the life and the power of the Word penetrate us and lead us to God. We give you all the glory on our end praises and Jesus name be praised. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you everyone. It's good to be back with all of you in class once again and I'm really excited about this semester just spending time with you. Thank you. Have a quick break and you can get ready for your next class. God bless each of you. See you again.