Bible Intake (Part 1)
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Jeremiah 29.13
Context
Context
As we begin the new year, we are going to spend some time looking at what is called spiritual disciplines.
Discipline is defined as “an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill.”
In other words, to discipline yourself is to train yourself.
Now why are we starting there? Some of you may be thinking… “That doesn’t sound very exciting.”
Because the greatest desire of a Christian’s heart is to see God face to face, to be in His presence, and to feel the weight of His glory upon us. But how do we do that?
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah teaches us that we will only bask in the presence of God when we search for Him with all of our hearts. It isn’t something that is just going to happen.
I know that sometimes we stumble into the presence of God, but this is not the norm. If we want to remain in His presence and experience Him daily, we must be intentional in our spiritual walk.
This series is going to be called, “Experiencing God”
And the Word of God teaches us that if we really want to experience God more and more in our every-day lives, there are certain spiritual disciplines that we can implement into our lives to accomplish that.
7 … exercise yourself toward godliness.
Paul tells young Timothy, “You are going to have to work at it. You are going to have to be intentional about your walk with the Lord. You are going to have to discipline yourself.”
Now those words are not music to our ears. We do not, in a general sense, like discipline. But the truth of it, is that discipline and training is what makes us better. It forms good habits in our lives that brings about a better result than what we are used to experiencing.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Discipline is tough. It stings; it burns; it wears us out; it stretches us beyond our limits. But in so doing, we come out the other side better off for it. If we want to experience the peaceful fruit of righteousness, we must be willing to endure the discipline that it will take to achieve it.
Let’s Pray!
Content
Content
The spiritual discipline that we are going to learn about today, is the most important spiritual discipline of all. Studies have shown that implementing this spiritual discipline in your life has more of an affect on you than any other thing that you can do. Doing this every day causes you to be more godly in every other aspect of your life.
It is the discipline of “Bible Intake”.
Bible Intake
Bible Intake
Donald Whitney said, “No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture… Therefore, if we would know God and be godly, we must know the Word of God - intimately.”
Why is Bible Intake the number one, most effective spiritual discipline of them all?
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
These verses tell us that it is the Word of God that makes us complete. And notice that it says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
Every single word written within this book is given to us by God so that we might know Him and become like Him. His Holy, divine Word makes us complete in the sense that it teaches us how to become what we were designed to be. And only as we do that, will we really feel satisfied and full in life.
The missing ingredient to your life is not money, its not people, its not a job, its not a task, or some other thing… it is the Word of God. If we would only trust in that truth alone, and that let that sink into our hearts, we would be forever changed.
You might say, “Yeah, but how does the Word of God accomplish this? That’s a pretty big claim to make. How can the Bible do all of that for me?”
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Scriptures are alive. These are not just words on a page, they are the words of God Almighty, the creator of all things, who created all of those things by… speaking them into existence. When God speaks, the very atoms of the universe jump into motion to accomplish His will.
This is telling us that the Word of God pushes beyond the facade of neatness that we have created for others to see and pierces its way into the depths of our hearts. It can not be lied to or deceived because it knows our inner thoughts and discerns the true motive of our hearts. It pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, which means that it separates that which is fleshly from that which is godly.
This is why taking in the Scriptures daily is at the top of the list. We need the power that is infused within this Book. We need the wisdom that comes from its words. We need the truths that are conveyed within its pages. We need the aid of God’s Holy Spirit to discern that which is worldly from that which is godly, in our own hearts… especially today. The lines of right and wrong have been blurred so badly, that sometimes it is difficult to understand where we are to stand, but the Word of God can and will guide us through the Spirit to discern those things as we take it in.
The good news is, this is easier for us to accomplish now than it ever has been before. Just a few hundred years ago, Bible intake could only be accomplished in a couple of ways, but today, we have every means imaginable to receive the Word of God.
We literally have no excuse to not do the one thing that has the greatest spiritual impact on our lives.
So how do we do it? “Bible Intake” seems to be a pretty broad term, so what all does this entail exactly?
Hearing God’s Word
Hearing God’s Word
The hearing of God’s Word is very important.
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It is through the hearing of the Word of God that faith comes. As we hear the Words of God, the Spirit begins to work on our hearts to either bring us to faith in Christ or to build up that faith in Christ and take us deeper into our relationship with Him.
So, the hearing of God’s Word is very important. But the hearing of God’s Word is indeed a discipline for a couple of reasons:
We must be intentional to HEAR the Word of God
There are truly multiple levels to this, and we could probably spend the rest of the Sermon right here, but I will try to move quickly.
To effectively HEAR the word of God, it starts on Saturday night.
For those of you who have little ones, did you lay out everyone’s clothes on Saturday night so that everyone could get ready peacefully come Sunday morning?
Did you spend time in prayer, asking God to send a Word that you specifically needed to hear?
Did you get to bed at a decent time so that you could get enough rest and not sleep through the entire service, and so that your mind is sharp and ready to listen?
When any, or all, of these things are not done, you are just asking for trouble come Sunday morning. The devil will use any and every means possible to keep you from being here. And if you are here, he will do everything in his power to keep you from Hearing a Word from the Lord.
Even on Sunday morning, there are tons of opportunities for you to be distracted:
Do you come to church and then sit on your phone the whole time instead of intentionally listening to the Word of God?
Are you distracted every Sunday by what everyone is doing who is sitting in front of you? If so, sit closer to the front so that there are no distractions.
Is your mind on the service, or are you thinking about what’s for lunch?
Do you see what I am saying. Hearing the Word of God is indeed a spiritual discipline. We must discipline ourselves to hear. It’s important.
We must be intentional to hear the WORD OF GOD!
It is very important that we understand who we are hearing from.
John Wesley, a famous preacher from the 1700’s, once said, “I set myself on fire, and people come to watch me burn.” In other words, he was saying, “People don’t travel for miles to come and hear me preach. They come to hear a word from the Lord.”
I hope you have that same mind in you. When you come to church, do not come to hear Thomas, come to hear Jesus. Come to hear a word from the Lord. Only God can speak life into you. Only God can meet you where you are and speak truth into you. Only God can bring about a spiritual movement within your soul. Come to hear Him for He is the One that you need to hear from.
This was one of the things that Apostle Paul commended the church at Thessalonica for:
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
If you come expecting to hear a Word from the Lord, you will!
We must be intentional to Hear the Word of God IN GOD’S HOUSE!
This means that we must discipline ourselves to attend a Bible-believing church where the Word of God is preached faithfully. This is indeed a discipline. It is difficult to form the habit and easy to break it. Anyone who has attended church for any length of time will attest to that. Why is that… because the devil doesn’t want you here.
He knows that the more time you spend in the house of the Lord, hearing a word from the Lord, the closer you are going to grow to the Lord. So he does what he can to keep you from being here.
So, we can easily see how that Hearing the Word of God is indeed a spiritual discipline. We have to work hard at removing anything that would hinder us from hearing a Word from the Lord and be intentional at showing up, ready to listen.
Now, before we move one, we have to understand one more thing:
28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The reason for hearing the Word of God is to keep it. It is to be changed by it. It is to grow closer to the Lord. As we put forth effort to hear the Word of the Lord, we must also put forth an effort to apply that Word to our lives. We must hear it, but we must also be obedient to it.
As we move on, I need you to understand something. Hearing the Word of God is great, but it is only the first step of Bible Intake. It is by far the easiest way to take in the Scriptures, but it is also the least rewarding way to take in the Scriptures. The more effort we put into taking in the Scriptures, the more rewarding it is.
So, we are to hear the Word of God, but we are also to:
Reading God’s Word
Reading God’s Word
Right out of the gate, someone will ask, “If I am hearing the Word of God regularly, why do I need to read the Word of God for myself? Is it not just as good for me to hear it?”
Let me say that you do not need to cut down on the amount of time you are hearing the Word of God. But I also must say that you need to be reading the Word of God for yourself as well. Why?
First and foremost, because we are told to in the Scriptures:
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Jesus says that the one who reads His word will be blessed.
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,
Reading the Word of God is more personal than hearing it. We are personally interacting with it and putting forth an effort to learn about our Heavenly Father. As we do so, we learn to have a healthy fear, a reverence, for God.
We are told that ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This means that we need to read all Scripture in order to fully grasp all that God wants us to see and understand.
They only sure way to cover all of the Scriptures, is to read all of the Scriptures yourself.
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Jesus goes as far as to say that the Word of God is so important to us that it is equal to our need for food. If we don’t get food we die. We need the Word of God to live!
When Jesus was questioned continuously about spiritual things, He would often respond with this phrase:
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’
The more times we read the Bible, the more familiar we become with it. The more we commit to memory. This means that we are better equipped to help others and witness to others, because we have more of Scripture to work with.
“But why can’t I use an audio Bible and go straight through the Scriptures? Isn’t that just as good?”
Studies have shown that reading words out loud to yourself commits them to long-term memory better than when you hear them read to you by someone else.
Reading the Word takes more effort than hearing the Word, but that extra effort will pay off.
Studying God’s Word
Studying God’s Word
Studying the Word of God is getting into the meat of the Word. Reading the Word allows us to familiarize ourselves with the different characters, the different accounts, and the main themes, but studying the Word of God is getting beneath the surface and discovering spiritual truth.
Jerry Bridges said it this way, “Reading gives us breadth, but study gives us depth.”
Studying the Scriptures is a much slower way to take it in, but it is much more rewarding. After discovering a spiritual truth from God’s Word due to hours of studying it, it fills you with joy and confidence. It is a wonderful feeling to discover some new truth for your own heart due to your own efforts to experience God.
As one continues to study and discover the truths of Scripture for themselves, their confidence in the Scriptures grows as well. They begin to share those truths with others, because they have studied the Word of God for themselves and know what the Scriptures say. They have put in the work to know God and as a result, they share God with others… with confidence.
It is also at this point that one becomes solid in their beliefs. They know what they believe and why they believe it. They have studied it for themselves and know what the Scriptures say, so they stand firm on their understanding of it. They are no longer tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine:
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
Studying the Scripture also gives us a better understanding of God’s will. The more we drill into the text, the better we understand it. Remember that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This means that nothing in this book will contradict itself. As we dig deeper into the word, we learn that the OT provides the foundation for what we read in the NT and everything we read in the NT clarifies the prophecies of the OT and provides further clarification to them.
This means that the whole of Scripture supports itself. The more we study, the more we are able to connect those dots from the OT to the NT and understand more deeply the amazing truths that God has given us.
And to be honest, studying is the most fun way to take in the Scriptures. Pick any topic that interests you: angels & demons, heaven & hell, Tribulation, or maybe something more practical like anger, anxiety, fear, or something else. Then run every reference you can find about that topic, taking notes along the way of verses that seem to offer insight into whatever it is you are looking for.
When you are done running references, start compiling your notes together to see what you have. Then think outside the box and see if there might be any other words or phrases to look up that might also touch on what you are studying and run those references. When you are done with all of that, you can use study aids like Bible dictionaries to help you understand key words, or commentaries by trusted authors to help you understand a specific passage.
Whatever the case, as you go through the process of digging deeper, God will bless your efforts and open your eyes to see new truth.
Lastly, studying God’s Word helps prepare us for ministry. It equips us to teach others the Word of God based upon our time in the Word ourselves.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Paul tells Timothy to study the Scriptures so that he has confidence in the word. Young Timothy was in a leadership position, and he needed to know how to answer questions. He needed to be able to debate false teachers, clarify biblical truth, and disciple others from the Word. Paul urged him to study.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Here the writer of Hebrews explains that there comes a time when the milk isn’t enough anymore. There comes a time when you have to ween the baby off the bottle and give them some solid food.
We are no different. If you have been feeling lately that everything God related is just kind of dull...maybe you need some meat. If you seem to be losing interest in church...get some meat in you. If you seem to be struggling to find direction, get into the meat of God’s word and let Him guide you personally from it.
Find something that interests you and get to work. You will be blessed by it.
Memorizing God’s Word
Memorizing God’s Word
Meditating on God’s Word
Meditating on God’s Word
Applying God’s Word
Applying God’s Word
Commitment
Commitment
If you are really looking to go deeper in your relationship with God this year, this is where you need to start.
Discipline yourself to get into the Word of God each and every day. Listen to it, Read it, Study it. Take it in as much as you can.
Where else can you read about an Almighty God who created all things who also loves you so much that He gave His only Son to die in your place so that your sins could be forever forgiven?
Where else can you read about an Almighty God who stepped out of glory, came to earth to live as a man, and did so that we might know Him personally?
Where else can you read about an Almighty God who cares so much about your future that He called 40+ men over the course of 1,500 years from three different continents to write down His divinely inspired Word and then preserved that Word throughout the generations so that you, right here in 2026, could pick up a copy of it, read it, come to know Him, and be saved by His grace?
Will you commit to spending more time in the Word this year? I hope you do.
It will change your life!
