30/07/2022
"Pastor, I'm a Christian, but each time I carry the Bible to read, I hardly get revelations, just stories. How can I study the Bible and get revelation like you do?"
Unlike many believers, I didn't begin my Christian journey by studying the Bible directly. Rather, I began by studying books authored by men of God who have tasted and proven the word of God.
That's actually one of the best ways a new believer can understand the Bible. The revelations they share in those books also became my own revelation, and each time I opened my Bible and found a scripture that has been explained in a book I've read, I could easily relate. At least I lived on their revelation until I became matured enough to receive revelation directly from the Holy Spirit.
Another thing that helped me was that I actively followed sermons or Christian messages. If the preacher quotes a scripture while teaching, I'd open to the scripture he quoted to see for myself. For me, the preacher's word wasn't the final say, my Bible was. So if the preacher said anything that wasn't referenced in scriptures, I'd struggle with it for a while until I find a scripture that balances what was said. I didn't just take notes in church, I confirmed my notes.
Come to think of it, isn't this how we were trained in school? Our teachers would explain some examples in our textbooks, and those students who were smart would visit the textbook after class to both verify and find more examples. Some even go as far as solving the miscellaneous exercises in the textbook. Those days we used to think those set of students had special brains, if only we knew that their trust wasn't in the teacher or the handout, but in the textbook.
Unfortunately, we live in a time and age where the average believer only knows what was taught by their pastor. They can quote everything their pastor said, but the scriptures used will never be referenced in the Bible. They're not interested in getting further revelation or understanding about the scripture their pastor shared, rather they are okay with what the pastor said from the scripture. This is also why the faith of an entire congregation is usually lower than the faith of their pastor.
Was it not David that said he had more understanding than all his teachers because he took personal responsibility to meditate on God's word?
After a while I had to stop depending on sermons to study God's word, so I developed an organized way of studying the Bible. I started studying one chapter of the Bible daily. The first book I read was Proverbs, and then Luke, I went further to Acts of the Apostles, then the epistles of Paul. I kept reading one chapter of the Bible until I read the entire Bible. And even when I was done, I started again.
So that's what it takes to study the Bible like me. I ensure I study one chapter of the Bible daily. Ofcourse there are days I'd be required to study more, but that daily one chapter is mandatory. I have a notepad on my phone where I save scriptures that minister to me when I study. I visit the note occasionally to refresh my memory and to recall the ones I may have forgotten.
If you want to have a successful Bible study life, then you have to be deliberate about it. I haven't seen the first intelligent person that became intelligent by chance, so develop an organized way of studying the Bible.
I've always said that the difference between you and that preacher you admire so much is that he preacher put in alot of effort in studying God's word for himself.
Don't tie your life around a preacher, there's so much the bible can teach that your pastor will never know. Appreciate the efforts of your pastor to teach you, but you have to grow beyond being spoon fed to searching out the deep things of God.
Finally, the Holy Spirit is the greatest Teacher of God's word, He's the only Teacher that can grant you a personalized understanding to scriptures. So when you study, acknowledge Him as your Teacher and tell Him how much you depend on Him to teach you God's word. Believe me, there's no time you do this that you won't get a revelation from the word of God.
I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.
Remain ever blessed!
