How do I Read the Bible?
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 119:9-16
Psalm 119:9-16
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Intro
You ever notice how people treat gym memberships?
In January, the gym is packed.
New shoes.
New outfits.
Big goals.
“New year, new me.”
By February…
Half of them are gone.
Why?
Because they signed up for results
without signing up for discipline.
They liked the idea of being healthy.
They just didn’t love the process.
Now let me ask you something.
How many Christians treat Bible reading like a gym membership?
We like the idea of:
Being spiritually strong.
Resisting temptation.
Having wisdom.
Living pure.
But when it comes to daily time in the Word,
it becomes optional.
Inconsistent.
A chore.
We want the results of Scripture
without the rhythm of Scripture.
Psalm 119 asks a very real question:
“How can a young man keep his way pure?”
In other words:
How do you stay spiritually strong?
And the answer isn’t hype.
It isn’t motivation.
It isn’t good intentions.
It’s guarding your life according to God’s Word.
Spiritual strength doesn’t happen accidentally.
It happens consistently.
We are going to be seeing that today as we answer the question “How do I read the Bible? We will be seeing this is in
Psalm 119:9–16 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth. I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
Pray
Read God’s Word with the Desire to Obey it Psalm 119:9–10 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands.”
Explanation (Expanded)
The psalmist begins with a question:
“How can a young man keep his way pure?”
That’s not just a youth question.
That’s a human question.
How do I live clean in a corrupt world?
How do I stay faithful in a culture that pulls me away?
How do I remain steady when temptation is constant?
His answer is not:
Try harder.
Be more disciplined.
Avoid bad people.
His answer is clear:
“By guarding it according to your word.”
The word “guarding” means:
To watch carefully.
To protect deliberately.
To keep under careful attention.
Purity is not accidental.
It is guarded by God’s Word.
What Does That Look Like?
Scripture defines purity in multiple areas of life:
Heart Purity
Psalm 51:10 — “Create in me a clean heart…”
Obedience begins internally. God changes the heart through His Word.
Sexual Purity
2 Timothy 2:22 — “Flee youthful passions…”
Obedience is not passive. It requires fleeing and pursuing.
Purity in Speech
Ephesians 4:29 — Words that build up, not tear down.
Your mouth reveals whether you are obeying the Word.
These aren’t suggestions.
They are commands.
And here’s the key:
You cannot obey what you do not know.
And you will not obey what you do not take seriously.
The Psalmist’s Posture
Verse 10 shows us how he approaches obedience:
“I have sought you with all my heart; let me not wander…”
Notice two things:
1. Wholehearted Seeking
Obedience is not mechanical.
It is relational.
He isn’t just seeking rules.
He is seeking God.
When obedience is disconnected from relationship, it becomes legalism.
But when obedience flows from love, it becomes worship.
2. Humble Dependence
“Let me not wander…”
He knows something about himself:
Left alone, he will drift.
Obedience requires both effort and dependence.
He seeks.
He guards.
He prays.
He takes the Word seriously because he knows wandering is easy.
Illustration
Think about guardrails on a mountain road.
Guardrails don’t restrict your freedom.
They protect your life.
When you drive near a cliff, you’re thankful for guardrails.
God’s Word is not a cage.
It’s a guardrail.
It keeps you from going over the edge.
The person who says, “I don’t want rules,”
usually hasn’t realized how dangerous the drop-off is.
Application
So what does it mean to read with the desire to obey?
It means when you open the Bible, you don’t ask:
“What do I get out of this?”
You ask:
“What must change in me?”
It means:
When Scripture confronts you, you don’t argue with it.
When Scripture corrects you, you don’t soften it.
When Scripture commands you, you don’t delay it.
It means taking God at His Word.
Ask yourself:
Do I treat Scripture as advice or authority?
Do I excuse what God calls sin?
Do I pray like the psalmist, “Don’t let me wander”?
Read it to Treasure it Psalm 119:11 “I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.”
Explanation
We do not just read it to obey it and desire it, but we are to treasure it. Why? So that we may not sin against the Lord.
The word “treasured” (or “stored up”) carries the idea of hiding something valuable for safekeeping — like placing treasure in a vault.
This isn’t casual reading.
This is intentional depositing.
The psalmist is saying:
I didn’t just hear it.
I didn’t just underline it.
I placed it deep inside me.
“So that I may not sin against you.”
Notice:
The motivation isn’t merely avoiding consequences.
It’s relational — “against you.”
When God’s Word is treasured, sin becomes less attractive because God becomes more valuable.
Sin thrives in spiritual emptiness.
Treasure crowds it out.
You don’t defeat sin merely by resisting it —
You defeat sin by replacing it with something better.
Illustration
Imagine a bank vault.
A bank doesn’t guard empty air.
It guards what is valuable.
If your heart is empty, temptation walks right in.
But if your heart is filled with God’s truth — promises, warnings, beauty, grace — temptation meets resistance.
It makes sin harder to sneak in a tear you down!
Application
Store it up abundantly in your heart. Use it to guard your heart soul and mind to defend against temptation!
How do i store it up?
Memorize it ABUNDANTLY
You don’t wait until someone is trying to rob a bank to then defend it, no you put up an abundant amount of security measures before the attack happens.
If you have never done it before start small. Hit specific verses that apply to what might be tempting you
Pride
Greed
Lust
Anxiety
worry
Then begin to work towards memorizing sections.
This takes time! But I know you can do it! You memorize things you treasure and care about!
Read it for instruction Psalm 119:12–13 “Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth.”
Explanation (Expanded)
Notice something immediately:
“Teach me your statutes.”
The psalmist already loves God’s Word.
He already treasures it.
He already wants to obey it.
And yet he still says:
“Teach me.”
That tells us something powerful:
No one graduates from needing instruction.
Bible reading is not self-sufficiency.
It is dependence.
The psalmist understands:
God is the Author.
Therefore God must be the Teacher.
You can read the Bible academically and miss it spiritually.
You can know facts and not know truth deeply.
So he begins with worship:
“Blessed are you, Lord…”
Before he asks to be taught, he blesses the Teacher.
Instruction flows best in humility.
Verse 13 Adds Another Layer:
“With my lips I proclaim…”
He doesn’t just learn privately.
He speaks it publicly.
This shows two things:
When you truly learn something, you can articulate it.
God never intended His Word to stop with you.
Instruction that stays silent eventually fades.
Instruction that is spoken becomes conviction.
Teaching others reinforces truth in your own heart.
Illustration
Think about learning a trade — carpentry, mechanics, farming.
You can watch YouTube videos all day.
You can read manuals.
But nothing compares to having a master craftsman say:
“Let me show you how this actually works.”
God’s Word is not just a manual.
It is instruction from the Master.
And we don’t approach it saying,
“I’ve got this.”
We approach it saying,
“Teach me.”
The most dangerous posture in Bible reading is familiarity.
The safest posture is teachability.
Read it for Joy, not just Duty Psalm 119:14–16 “I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
Explanation
Notice the emotional language:
Rejoice
Delight
Riches
The psalmist compares God’s Word to wealth.
“As much as in all riches.” V.14
He’s saying:
If you offered me gold or God’s Word,
I’d take the Word.
That’s not duty.
That’s affection.
Too many believers read the Bible like:
A homework assignment.
A box to check.
A spiritual chore.
But the psalmist reads with joy because he understands something:
God’s Word is not just rules.
It is revelation.
It is relationship.
It is the voice of God.
Joy flows from knowing who is speaking.
Why Is There Joy?
Because God’s Word:
Reveals who God is.
Reminds us who we are.
Anchors us in truth.
Gives promises we can stand on.
Brings comfort in suffering.
Gives clarity in confusion.
You don’t delight in something you don’t value.
The reason Bible reading feels dry at times isn’t because the Word lacks beauty —
it’s because our affections need stirring.
Joy grows where meditation happens.
“I will meditate… I will delight…”
Meditation fuels delight.
Delight fuels consistency.
Illustration
Think about when you have a crush on someone.
You’re not forced to look at their text message.
You don’t sigh and say,
“Well… I guess I should open this.”
No.
You see their name pop up on your phone and your heart jumps a little.
You read the message.
Then you read it again.
Then maybe you overanalyze every word.
Why?
Because of who it’s from.
The joy isn’t in the notification.
The joy is in the person behind it.
Now compare that to how we sometimes treat Scripture.
We open it like:
“Alright… let’s get this done.”
“Chapter a day keeps the guilt away.”
“Check the box and move on.”
But Psalm 119 says:
“I rejoice… I delight…”
The psalmist isn’t reading a cold document.
He’s hearing from Someone he loves.
If you love the Author,
you’ll love the words.
Major Application
Practical way to approach reading the Bible
HEAR from Robby Gallaty
Highlight
The name of the book
The passage of scripture
The chapter and verse that especially speak to you
A title to describe the passage
Explain
Why was this written?
To whom was it originally written?
How does it fit with the verses before and after?
Why did the Holy Spirit include this passage in the book?
What is He attending to communicate through this text?
Apply
How can this help me?
What does this mean today?
What would the application of this verse look like in my life?
What does this mean to me?
What is God saying to me?
Respond
This is usually a journal response or a prayer.
Describe how you will be different because of what God has spoken
Write a call to action
Practice rep
John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Where do i start reading from?
1 John
The Gospels
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
The beginning
Genesis
How often?
Everyday
How long?
Depends on How old you are in the faith!
A new born baby can’t eat a full steak and potato meal
But a full grown adult can’t survive on milk alone
Maybe you are just starting, do the verse of the day on the Bible app
Use the HEAR method
You’ve been doing the dabble
Go from subtitle to subtitle
Getting old
Chapter a day
Ancient
Multiple chapter
I personally use different amounts depending on the season .
Sometimes i need less amount and deeper study, more meditation
Sometimes its more look at the forrest not the tree
It is all subject.
The Lord wants you to desire Him above all else, do not get caught up in the nitty gritty for something that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are in it!
If you miss a day, that is okay!
We should be in it everyday, but do not let it be an excuse to miss multiple days in a row!
How do we read it?
Read it with a desire to obey it
Read it to treasure it
Read it for instruction
Read it for Joy, not just duty
Gospel presentation
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Pray
Small Group questions
What does it mean practically to “guard” your life according to God’s Word?
What does it look like to “store up” God’s Word in your heart?
What is the difference between reading for information and reading for instruction
Be honest: do you typically read the Bible more from joy or duty?
How does remembering who the Author is change your perspective?
What is one step you can take this week to grow in how you read God’s Word?
