How to Read the Bible

All the prophets in the Bible talked about the same thing even though they are in different dispensations and times

Scripture and the word of God are similar, but they are not the same in the church today.

It is because people have not learnt how to read the word of God

Many confuse scriptures with the word of God

Scripture and the word of God are similar, but they are not the same

Everyone should have a personal walk with God

As we walk with God, we learn from others who can contribute to our growth and help us go further

Approach to Reading the Word

1) Your approach to the Word determines your posture or mindset

The priests would take the word/scrolls and kiss it.

They treated the scriptures as Sacred and with love and respect

Am I trying to do a study the word academically, or am I trying to have an encounter with the Holy Spirit

The State of mind of a believer determines what he receives from God

The Pharisees once said to Jesus in Mark 12

Marriage at the Resurrection

18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[d]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Jesus said boldly here that the Patriarchs are still alive, and not dead

When you read the scriptures, do you see them as living or do you see them as dead?

Do you believe the words of Jesus, or do you assume he was just talking for the sake of it?

If you read the scriptures and you end up in the letter, you will die (The Letter Kills)

If you read the scriptures and you end up in the spirit, you will live

If you understand the spiritual aspect of scripture, you will live

1 Corinthians 2:  4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

If there is an argument on doctrine, the one who brings out the power in the scripture is the one who has gotten the substance of the Word

Necromancy is the practice of summoning the dead or talking to the dead. God hates it because it is not really the dead you are interacting with, but demons

There are those who died whose spirits are trapped on earth or in hell

Jesus, however, had a conversation with Moses and Elijah because they are not dead

The dead are those in hell

No one dies in God

If you approach the Bible like a regular book, it becomes regular, but if you approach it as a joint Heir in Christ

The Word of God is eternal, but scripture is not necessarily eternal

Scripture points you to Jesus; in itself, it is not the destination

John 5: 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

There are passages in the scripture that are traditions of men, but not spiritual at all

To live by the Word is to live in the Spirit

There are passages in the scripture that are traditions of men but not spiritual at all

Circumcision, dressing, indoctrination, whatever they can impose on people to make them feel good they will do this, but they only pick things that favour them and leave things that do not favour them aside

Reading the scripture without revelation or an encounter is of no spiritual value

Circumcision, dressing, indoctrination, whatever they can impose on people to make them feel good, they will do this, but they only pick things that favour them and leave things that do not favour them aside

Deuteronomy 6: These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The first dimension is to store Scripture in your heart, not your mind

Anything in your heart is alive, anything in your mind is dead

Whatever is in your heart is ever-present, and it becomes your reality

Memory is for the past

The Word of God was never meant to be in your mind; it must be a part of your heart

Head knowledge cannot be of help in times of adversity, but the word stirred from the heart becomes a living word

Joshua 1: 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land, I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

What makes scripture come alive is meditation

When you read it, meditate upon it, see it in your mind

Meditation causes you to see things supernaturally, and it brings the word of God to life in your spirit because it fleshes out and becomes deep like a movie

Without meditation there is no revelation

Every time you meditate you are visiting with God, and no visit is ever the same as the previous one

Meditation causes you to see things supernaturally and it brings the word of God to life in your spirit

This changes everything about you because what you see shapes how you behave

Father causes my spiritual eyes to be open, my heart to be unlocked that as I read your word it may stick to my heart and alter my countenance and that I may see.

-GSW-