GYC SE Spring Conference 2019

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

GYC Southeast

Dee Casper

Bible Study Methods

Father, thank you for the privilege to study your word, that you've been good to us.

And Lord, I just pray that you would speak with power, with conviction.

Lord, that this would be practical and helpful.

And we ask these things now in Jesus' name, amen.

We have no business studying the Word of God, fighting in our own armor.

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, so we should be seeking the help of the Holy Spirit to understand.

Second Peter chapter 1, verses 19 to 21 says this.

Second Peter chapter 1—and I hear the sound of 0 pages turning, maybe you're all rocking iPhone Bibles, 2 Peter chapter 1, 19 to 21, that was an army slash GYC, 2 Peter 1, 19 to 21 says this, And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed, as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts, knowing this first, that how many prophecies of Scripture are of private interpretation?

For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

And the same Holy Spirit that moved them can move you when you read what he wrote.

So we should be seeking for his guidance, for his help, for his understanding as we're reading scripture.

If you go to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, see a similar allusion here.

Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, it says this, For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.'" That sounds dangerous.

"'Piercing even to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.'" The Word of God is powerful, right?

And we need the Spirit of God to help us to better understand what it is that we're reading and what it is that we're believing.

And I think I just have 1 more text on this.

John chapter 6 and verse 63, It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing, and the words that I speak to you, Jesus said, are Spirit and they are life.

So just to make it abundantly clear, the Word of God is no joke.

It's serious, it's powerful, and it brings power with it when we're attuned with the Holy Spirit.

The Bible needs to be understood grammatically before it can be understood theologically.

So, having a good dictionary, having other things next to you when you're studying is helpful because if you don't understand the words that are involved, you're not going to understand what the text means, right?

So get a hold of a good Bible dictionary.

Smith's makes a good 1, and a concordance or a Bible software to look up original language definitions, which is helpful.

I use Accordance, but you can use whatever you want.

There's like BibleStudyTools.com, I think is what it's called.

There's lots of options of online versions where you can just hold your finger over a word and see what that word means in the original language, right?

You can even follow that same number in the Strongs to see what other texts use that same word.

I was just doing that for some sermon stuff last week.

Some other helpful resources, the Conflict of the Ages series.

Oh my, if you have not read the Conflict of the Ages series, you are missing a huge blessing.

If anyone in this room is wrestling with the gift of prophecy, with the spirit of prophecy specifically, and you're just not sure about this whole Emma White thing, read Steps to Christ first of all, and then read through the Conflict of the Ages series.

I remember that when I went to Arise, I was not a Seventh-day Adventist.

I was close, but I had some questions, and I just wasn't sure about this Emma White lady.

And then Mark Howard had this class in the Spirit of Prophecy that was lights out.

But about a year and a half later, maybe 2 years later, after Arise, I realized I need to get more serious about reading this, not just using the Spirit of Prophecy as like a reference tool to write a sermon, like I need to read this for myself.

And I started doing so in the same way in which God would convict me and speak to me and rebuke me and encourage me and sweep me off my feet.

He did it the exact same way when I read the conflict series.

And the thing was, I was reading, if you read a chapter a day in the conflict of the ages series, you can read the whole thing in a year.

And you can actually miss like 30 something days and still get it done.

There's like 337 chapters or so, maybe 332, in the whole conflict series.

And if you get more out of it by taking time, fine.

But just, my point is, when you start to read this for yourself, it'll change your life, guys.

The Spirit of God spoke to me and gave me wisdom and discernment in my decisions I needed to make.

What I would read in the Spirit of Prophecy on that day would be exactly what I needed for that day, based upon what I was going through on that day.

And it had the fingerprints of divinity all over it, just like Scripture did.

It's not the same as scripture, don't misunderstand me, but the same Spirit inspired both.

And it just changed my life, and I realized, no, this this thing is the real deal, and I've never gone back.

I've been reading every day ever since then.

The Bible Commentary Set is another great resource.

In the Ellen White app, you can search by scripture references, And you can see what is said on this particular verse.

Sometimes you'll find that she's completely silent in text that you wish she'd say something on.

Ask yourself some very basic questions about the passage you're about to study, like this.

Right, Like that young man in the Mormon Church.

Because Jesus said this, you search the scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life, but then he says, but these are they which testify of me.

Now what Bible was he referring to at that stage?

So apparently you can find Jesus in the Old Testament, says Jesus.

And so if you're not having that experience, ask him to help you see that, right?

What issues are prevalent to the recipient, the person who's receiving this letter.

What things have been discussed leading into this particular passage and what comes next?

Is it a vision, a prophecy, an analogy, etc.?

I'm going to leave that up there for a second if you want to write these down, if you want to take a picture of it, or again I can give you my slides later.

These are questions you should be asking whenever you're starting to tear apart a text.

And so I will hear people say, see here's 1 of the reasons why I read larger passages.

It helps me to have a better understanding of the big picture of what's happening in Scripture and it's far easier for me to know, now that's just how I study, You don't have to do it this way.

But it's far easier for me to tell if someone's true to a text or not because I know the context at a 30, 000-foot view and from a book level because I've read the narrative 14, 15 times now cover to cover.

And you start to get an idea of what actually is happening here.

And so sometimes what people will do is they try to dive deep in a text, but they have no idea who's writing this book.

I mean, they may know, but they don't know all of what's going on around this book.

Bible Study Methods

Transcript

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

Prophecy Seminar

The Gospel of Judgment

1h 13m

Faith and Works

Faith and Works - Part 1

23m

SWYC 2009 Breakout Sessions

How to Study the Bible, Part 1

38m

The Parables

The Rich Man and Lazarus

43m

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Sanctuary

06 The Table of Showbread

1h 8m

Keys of Revelation

12. Satanic Amnesia

1h 13m

Creation- Genesis as the Foundation

53m

Justification by Faith

A Legal Biblical View of this Core Teaching - Part 3

55m

Sabbath School 4th Quarter 2023: God's Mission My Mission

06 Motivation and Preparation for Mission

25m

Ten Commandments

1. The Importance of the Law

38m

You’re Being Conditioned for a Lie

31m

Emmanuel Training Sessions

10. Bible Docs 101 Overview- Part 2

30m

Sound Doctrine