How to benefit from the Bible

How to benefit from the Bible.
Brandon Hopkins
April 7, 2002

– Prayer

– Juan Carlos was a famous pirate. He was notorious for his thievery, and it was rumored that he had a very large amount of plunder buried. One day he was in Mexico and a man came up to him, pushed him to the ground and said “Juan Carlos tell me where all your money is buried or I will shoot you right here�? Juan Carlos didn’t speak a word of English, so he found a young boy to act as interpreter. The boy relayed the message to Juan Carlos, and fearing for his life Juan Carlos said “tell him that I don’t want to die. All my money is located 30 paces north of the city water tower under a large rock�?. So the boy turned to the man and said, “Juan Carlos says he is an honorable man and will never tell you where the money is. He says to kill him now.�?

That’s actually just a good joke…that has nothing to do with the sermon…but this one does.

– A preacher and a soap manufacturer were walking down the street one-day. As they walked they notice how wrongly people were treating each other. The streets were filled with corruption. The soap manufacturer looked at the preacher and said, ” Preacher, that bible you preach must not be any good, it’s not helping anyone. Look at all the filth and corruption “. The preacher didn’t say anything, he just kept walking. After awhile they came up on some children that were dirty and nasty. It looks as though they hadn’t taken a bath in weeks. The preacher looked at the soap Manufacturer and said, ” That soap you make must not be any good. Look how filthy and dirty these children are “. The soap manufacturer replied, ” Soap doesn’t work unless you use it and apply it “. That’s ” right ” said the preacher. ” It’s the same way with the Bible. The bible want work unless people use it and apply it to their lives “.

So you see from the story that without application, there is no benefit. Without the application of the soap, you don’t get the benefit of cleanliness that the soap brings.

The same principal applies to the Bible, and that’s what we’re talking about today.

I’m here to tell you this morning that it doesn’t matter how many Bible verses you can quote, how many Bibles you own, or how long you’ve been going to church. None of that matters, unless you do what the Bible says…and apply it to your life.

None of it matters until you apply it to your life.

Read James 1:19-27 for background and content, focus on v. 25.

James 1:25 says “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.�?

The word intently does not mean to “glance�?, and then look away. The Greek word for “intently�? is “parakypsas�?. “Parakypsas�? literally means, “to stoop down�?.

So you ask, “How does this apply?�? well, what would be a good reason for stooping down? One might stoop down to see something more clearly, get a better understanding of something, or just to get closer to it. Is that ironic, that this is the word used for studying the Bible?

The “perfect law�? talked about here is God’s perfect law…which is the Bible. Perfect means no lacking, or having everything.

In the next part of the verse we are told that the man who looks intently into the Bible…how often? Once? No, continuously.

Read James 1:25 with emphasis on “continues to do this�?.

The word “continue�? does not mean once or twice or even 1,000 times. The word “continue�? is indefinite. It does not have a time limit. It essentially means until God returns or you die, whichever comes first.

Read James 1:25 with emphasis on “not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it�?.

Now hear me out right here.

If you were in the mountains, and saw a hole and your friend who was with you said, “if you put your hand in that hole, a deadly snake will bite you, and you’ll be dead in 2 minutes�?. Would you put your hand in the hole? Of course not.

You took what you heard, didn’t forget it, did it, and saved your life.

That’s what this part of the verse is talking about.

“Not forgetting what he as heard�?.
“Not forgetting�? “Not forgetting�? “Not forgetting�? “Not forgetting�?

Read the verse again…“Not forgetting�?

Moving on, the next part of the verse talks about the application.

What did I say at the beginning of this lesson? “Without application, there is not benefit.�?

You could know every snake hole, on every mountain, but if you don’t take that knowledge and apply it, you’re going to be putting your hand in a lot of snake holes.

But, if you are wise, and don’t forget what you have learned, there is just one more thing. Now that you know what to do, you must do it to gain the benefit.

Towards the end of James 1:25 it says “not forgetting what he has learned, but doing it�?.

This is by far the most difficult part. Anyone can read the Bible and go to church, but not everyone can take what the Bible says, and live their lives according to it.

Don’t think that this may be a part of the Bible that you can skip over, or act like you didn’t hear. It’s so important; God said it more than once!

Read up a couple verses, and in James 1:22 it says, “do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.�?

It doesn’t get any plainer than that right there…DO WHAT IT SAYS. DO WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!

If you only listen and hear, but do not do what it says, your not going to be any use, and you surely will not be blessed.

We’ll talk about being blessed in a few minutes.

So as you can tell, it’s easy to see how much content there is in just this one verse, but what happens when you do all the things we talked about?

Well, if you “look intently�? into God’s word – the Bible, and “continue�? to do this, and you don’t “forget�? all that you learned and heard…here is how the title of the lesson fits in…if you do all those things…read the last part of the verse…

“He will be blessed in what he does�?.

It’s that simple. If you do those things, you will be blessed.

Now its time to talk about your benefit from the Bible, and God.

What exactly does being “blessed,�? mean? Is it that great? Am I sure I want it? Should I go out of my way to make sure I get it?

The verse we’ve been studying, James 1:25, tells you how to become blessed, but lets find out what blessed means.

A good definition of “blessed�? is “Happy or Wonderful; praiseworthy; bringing pleasure or divine favor�?.

That surely sounds good to me. “Happy and wonderful�? and “Bringing pleasure�? sound great, and it definitely sound like something that I want in my life, and I’m sure you would agree with that.

But what is the practical, real life, down to earth meaning of “blessed�??

First lets recap what we’ve learned so far:
If you want happiness and pleasure in your life, you want blessings, and to get blessings you need to…

1. Look Intently into the perfect law…the Bible.
2. Continue to do it indefinitely.
3. Don’t forget what you’ve learned and heard.
4. Put it all into your life…Application

Then it’s all smooth sailing from here.

Lets finish with the real life, practical, down to earth meaning of blessing.

What kind of blessings might you receive?

There are many different kinds of blessings.
1. Wealth (Proverbs 10:22)
2. Children (Luke 1:39-56)
3. Protection (Malachi 3:11)
4. Delightful land (Malachi 3:12)
5. Compassion (Isaiah 30:18)
6. Justice (Isaiah 30:18)
7. Deliverance (Psalm 41:1)
8. Mercy (Psalm 32:2)
9. Prosperity (Psalm 1:3)

These are just the start of the blessings, and God will definitely pour them out when you fulfill the pre-requisites.

(King David’s blessings)

When you fulfill the pre-requisites, start looking for blessings in your everyday life, and don’t be like the man who was on his roof, and he started sliding down the roof. As he was half way down, he started praying for God to save him, right when he started praying; his pant leg got stuck on a nail, and was saved. After that the man said “never mind God, I got it, thanks anyways.�?

– Prayer

April 7, 2002
How to Benefit from the Bible.

James 1:25 “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.�?

How can I be blessed?
The word “intently�? translates into the Greek as ___ _______ ______.
The “perfect law�? is the _________.
The word “continue�? does not have a _____ ________.
The phrase “not forgetting�? means _____ _______.
The most difficult part is ______ ___.
If you accomplish those things, you will be ________.

What exactly is a “Blessing�??
The definition of blessing includes ________, _____________, ___________, and _________ _________.
Wealth (Proverbs 10:22)
Children (Luke 1:39-56)
Protection (Malachi 3:11)
Delightful land (Malachi 3:12)
Compassion (Isaiah 30:18)
Justice (Isaiah 30:18)
Deliverance (Psalm 41:1)
Mercy (Psalm 32:2)
Prosperity (Psalm 1:3)

Notes: