The Abiding Word – 2:24

The Effects of the Word in our lives.

1.       Keep us from sin (Psalm 119:11)

The Object Aimed

a.       Here is the best thing - - “God’s Word”

b.       Hidden in the best place - - “My heart”

c.        For the best purposes - - “that I might not sin against you”

The Illustration Joseph Genesis 39:7-9

a.       He loves the Word because it is God’s Word

b.       He hates sin because it is sin against God Himself – Psalm 51:4

The Way in which to Do This

a.       It’s a choice to be made – Daniel 1:8: Daniel purposed in his heart

b.       Psalm 119:10              

1)       Seek Him with the whole heart—an undivided heart

2)       The more a man's whole heart is set upon holiness the more does he dread falling into sin

3)       A whole heart that seeks after God will not want to wander from a path of holiness.

“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” Deuteronomy 4:29

                “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered 2 Chronicles 31:21.

                “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13

c.        Those who seek the Lord with a Whole Heart will:

1)       Walk in the law of the Lord – v.1

2)       Keep His testimonies – v.2

3)       Do no iniquity – v.3

4)       Keep His precepts diligently – v.4

5)       Not be ashamed when looking into all His commandments – v.6

6)       Praise Him with uprightness of heart – v.7

7)       Have his way cleansed by taking heed to God’s Word – v.9

8)       Declare with his lips the judgments of His mouth – v.13

9)       Rejoice in the way of His testimonies – v.14

10)   Meditate on His precepts & contemplate His ways – v.15

11)   Delight himself in His statutes & not forget His Word – v.16

2.       Power over temptation

a.       Christ used the Word against Satan – Matthew 4:4, 7, 10

3.       Power in prayer, “If you abide in Me…” John 15:7

a.       There are limitations:

1)       must abide in Christ & His Word (John 15:7)

2)       must pray in  accordance to His will (1John 5:14)

With abiding in Christ our self-will is kept down.

3)       must pray only to seek the glory of God (John 14:13)

James 4:1-3 not for selfish desires

4)       must pray in “His Name”  (John 14:13)

Asking in the name of another means that the other has authorized me and sent me to ask, and wants to be considered as asking himself.

If the name of Christ is to be wholly at my disposal, so that I may have the full command of it for all I will, it must be because if first put myself wholly at His disposal, so that He has free and full command of me self-denial.  

5)       must have faith Matthew 9:2

b.       This prayer is for God to accomplish His purposes by placing His desires in my heart (Psalm37:4)

1)       Jeremiah 31:33 cf. 2Cor.3:3; Ezek.36:25-27; Heb.8:10

When God does this we can say as Jesus did “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart."

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV).

The Effects of the Word in others.

1.       Produces Conviction, “The Word of God is living and active.”

Scripture says several things about the Word of God being living and powerful.

The Word of God is:

a.       the piercing sword of the Spirit (Ephes. 6:17). It strikes and arouses an awareness of one’s immortal spirit and discerns one’s thoughts and motives (Hebrews 4:12).

b.       the reflecting mirror of life (James 1:22-25). It reflects and exposes the kind of person one is (Romans 3:9-27).

c.        the burning fire of conviction (Jeremiah 23:9, 29). It burns and consumes the heart, the conscience of men (Jeremiah 5:14; Luke 24:32).

d.       the pounding hammer which crushes the hardness of man’s heart (Jeremiah 23:29).

e.        the reproducing seed of the new birth (1 Peter 2:23). Man is spiritually born again by hearing and believing the Word (Romans 10:17).

f.        the nourishing food of the believer (1 Peter 2:2-3). The believer grows and lives and is built up through the study of the Word (Matthew 4:4; Acts 20:32; Hebrews 5:12-14).

g.        the guiding light of the believer (Psalm 119:105).

h.       the cleansing water of sanctification (John 15:3; John 17:17). God washes and cleanses His own, the church, through the use of the Word (Ephes. 5:25b-26).

i.         the measuring instrument by which one receives the approval of God (2 Tim. 2:15).

2.       Accomplishes results, “My Word will not return to Me void”  Isaiah 55:8-11

How to read the Bible.

1.       Take time.

Bible Study Is Essential…

To Spiritual Growth

1st Corinthians 14:20, 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:17

For Spiritual Discernment

Hebrews 5:11-14, 2 Peter 2:3

To Spiritual Effectiveness

2nd Timothy 3:16-17

Bible Study Is Our Duty…

“We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work.  Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion.  Our problem is that we are lazy.”  R.C. Sproul

        Scriptural Evidence

        Matthew 11:29; 1Timothy 4:4-6; 2Timothy 2:1

Bible Study Is Exciting…

Bible study is a spiritual encounter with The Living God.  The Bible is not like any other book ever written.  Other books can be helpful, informative, artistic, and many other things, but only the Holy Scriptures claim and prove to be alive (Hebrews 4:12).  As we apply ourselves to its truths, God’s Spirit applies them to our everyday lives.  As we discover for ourselves the heart of God from His timeless Word we will observe His desires have become our utmost priority.

2.       Read prayerfully

a.       Psalm 119:18 Holy Sprit to Enlighten

b.       Ephesians 1:15-18 Paul’s Prayer

Prayer in Bible study is just like any other time in our life.  When we come to the Father in The Name of His Son Jesus and ask Him to reveal the His Word to us, our potential for understanding the Bible becomes unlimited. 

c.        James 1:5-6 tells us to ask God for wisdom and He will grant it.

 Can you think of any better time to ask of Him then when we desire to understand His Word?  And, as He answers with understanding, thank Him during your study time.  In this manner, Bible study becomes a form of Worship and communication with God.

3.       Read thoughtfully

a.       Think about what you are reading. 

Thoughtful reading involves studying. Apply the same discipline you would to any other subject in which you take a vital interest1. Use the same intensity you use in other areas in life.  Don’t study the Bible with a lazy mind.

4.       Repeatedly

a.       Re-read passage

Start at the beginning and read until you come to the end of the text being studied.  Then do it again!  Continue this process making your observations each time through.  If possible read the whole book that your text is from.  Make sure you get a good sense of the whole passage you are reading.  Expose yourself to your text continually!

5.       Read patiently

a.       Spend the time needed to settle your thoughts and emotions. This will enable you to hear from the Holy Spirit.  This is essential to understanding God’s Word.

6.       Read Imaginatively

a.       Read different translations. 

b.       Re-write the text in your own words. Attempt to feel what the author or those in your text are experiencing.  Can you imagine how the leper felt in Matthew chapter 8 when Jesus not only touched him but healed him of his disease?

7.       Read Meditatively

a.       Continue to think on the different words and phrases until they minister to you in a deeper way. 

b.       Go beyond the time you have allocated for study and think of the different words and phrases during the day when you have time. Meditate on them throughout your day as you have the time.

8.       Read Purposefully

a.       Decide at the start of your reading to acquire the basic information from your passage. 

b.       Look for clues as to the overall theme.  For instance, in Psalms 1, the basic theme is a contrast between the Righteous and the Wicked. And the difference is found in following God’s Word or following wicked counsel.

The Abiding Spirit – 2:27

The Teaching Spirit – v.27

1.       The Spirit teaches us – John 14:26

2.       The Spirit guides us – John 16:13

3.       The Spirit brings to remembrance – John 2:22 cf. 12:16

The Helping Spirit.

1.       The Spirit helps in our weaknesses – Romans 8:26

We do not always know God’s will in every situation

His ways our not our ways (Is.55:8-9)

2.       The Holy Spirit will teach you what to say – Luke 12:11-12

The Interceding Spirit.

1.       Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered – Romans 8:26

a.       The purpose of prayer is never to get our will done, but to get God's will done. It's a waste of time to pray for things that are contrary to God's will.

b.       Sometimes we don't know God's will in a certain situation; then the Holy Spirit interprets our groanings and intercedes with God for us, according to God's will.

The Empowering Spirit.

1.       Acts 1:8

The word “power” comes from the Greek word dunamis which also means “dynamic”.

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to be a witness of who God is.

a.       Before we were Christians the Holy Spirit was with us (Greek: para), convicting us of sin and drawing us to Christ.

b.       Once we became Christians the Holy Spirit was in us (en), dwelling in us John 14:17; 1Cor.12:3, 6:19

c.        The third experience of the Holy Spirit is when He comes upon us (epi) and overflows in our lives.

The Abiding Christ – 2:28

  “I Will Not Leave You Orphans, I Will Come to You” John 14:18

B.     “At That Day You Will Know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you” John 14:20

C.     My Heart, Christ’s Home.  (Booklet by Robert Muner)

1.       Paul writes these words in Eph.3:16-17 – Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts by faith

a.       Christ will live in any human heart that welcomes Him (John 14:23)

b.       Christ was also telling them that He would soon leave them (John 13:33)

How is it possible for Him to leave them and make His home with them at the same time?

1)       John 14:2-3 – Jesus promised that He would go and prepare a place for them, so it would be possible to prepare a place for Him in their hearts now.

How could this be?  Pentecost!

2.       Invite Him in Revelation 3:20

a.       Read the Booklet p.7 the study

The Study:  

a.       The mind and in a sense is the control room of the house.

b.       Take all things out of this library, which are not true, good, pure, and helpful & throw them away.

c.        Put on the empty book shelves the books of the Bible.

d.       Fill the library with the Scriptures and meditate on them day and night (Joshua 1:8)

e.        As for the pictures on the walls sometimes you will have difficulty controlling these images.

f.        Hang Christ in the center of the wall of the mind

g.        Pack it full of the Word of God, study it, memorize it and keep clearly before you the presence of the Lord.

The Dining Room:

a.       The appetites and desires

a.       Early morning chats in de

b.       Closet upstairs