Long Story Short | Learn It to Live It

Long Story Short | Learn It to Live It

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God speaks through the Bible.

1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 

Psalm 62:2 “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”  

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I Corinthians 2:12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Psalm 119:33–34 “Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.”

Problem: We are surrounded with Bibles but lost without the Sunday sermon.  

Americans Bible Reading
11% read it every day
5% read it 4 or more times a week.
16% read the Bible regularly
Over the past 4 years 31% never read the Bible

Reasons People Don’t Study the Bible:
1. Don’t have time.
2. Don’t know how to read, understand or study at. 
3. Not convinced of its value.

Psalm 119:96-100 “To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless. 97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.”

6 Reasons to Study the Bible.
1. God commands that we study the Bible.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (KJ21).

2. The Bible is not burdensome.

3. The Bible strengthens our faith.

Isaiah 55:11 “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (NLT).

Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

4. The Bible unlike any other book.

Evidence that Demands a Verdict “If you are an intelligent person, you will read the one book that has drawn more attention than any other, if you are searching for truth.”

2 Timothy 3:16 “…God breathed…”

5. The Bible reinforces us against temptation.

6. The Bible prepares us to witness.

Psalms 19:8 “The instructions of the Lord are correct. They make the heart rejoice. The command of the Lord is radiant. It makes the eyes shine.” (GW).

Give a man a fish feed him for a day.
Teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime.

7 Tips to Help You Start to Study the Bible
1. Set a time every day to meet God.
2. Use a reasonable translation.
3. Pick a book of the Bible that is easy to understand.
4. Focus on the context.
5. Memorize the word.
6. Be accountable to someone.
7. Put the Word into practice.

The Holy Spirit knows what God is ready to do in your life.

5 Steps to Follow to Apply God’s Truth:

1. Write the verse down in a notebook, spiritual journal, or diary.
2. Meditate on the verse.
3. Study it to immerse yourself in the meaning of the verse.
4. Identify the adjustments that you need to make in your life.
5. Watch to see how God will use His Word in your life!

Mark Twain “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.”

Bible Reading Sign Up: ncclex.org/Bible.