Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (58 page)

A
.W.Tozer, for many years a spiritual gadfly to the Body of Christ, placed a burr in my mental saddle with these words:

I’m afraid too many churchgoers today are listening but not learning. They are spectators, not students. They are passive, not participating. And
that’s because we who teach often give them cut flowers that easily fade and wilt, rather than showing them how to grow plants for themselves—to discover firsthand the truth that God has revealed in His Word.

Of course, that’s the purpose of this book, to introduce you to the joy of getting into the Bible for yourself. I can assure you that we have barely scratched the surface in this regard. We’ve only gotten our foot in the door of a very large house.

The question now is, How can you conserve the gains? How can you make permanent what you’ve started to learn from this process? Let me offer three suggestions for building on the foundation that this book seeks to lay.

I once saw a poster that fascinated me: “In twenty years, what will you wish you had done today?” Under that question, in large, bold letters, it said, “Do it now.” I suspect that twenty years from now you will wish that you had started a personal Bible study program. So why not begin right now.

All you have to do is solve four problems. First, you have to determine your objectives. What do you want? Not just now, but at the end of life? Many people end up at the top of the pile in their field but at the bottom of life in terms of fulfillment. Ask yourself,
Do I want to have a personal Bible study program. Have I seen the crucial need for it from this book?

Secondly, you have to establish your priorities. That is, how badly do you want it? What price are you willing to pay? There are plenty of things I’d like to do but not badly enough to pay the price required to do them. Ask yourself,
Do I want to develop a Bible study program on a personal basis? If so, what price am I willing to pay?

The third thing you need is a schedule. That involves asking,
What means can I employ to maintain my priorities and accomplish my objectives?
Unfortunately for most people schedules bring to mind a demon chaperon, somebody looking over your shoulder, ever ready to slap your hand and yell, “Hey, cut that out,” or, “Now is the time to do this.” But actually a schedule is just a tool to accomplish what you have decided you want to accomplish and are willing to pay the price to do.

The fourth thing you need is discipline. Ultimately, that is a fruit of the Spirit. He can provide the dynamic whereby you maintain your schedule, keep your priorities, and accomplish your objectives. But often people tell me, “I’d sure like to study the Word, but I don’t know if I’ve got the time.” I answer that you’ve got all the time in the world to do what is essential. But have you determined that Bible study is essential? Have you made it your objective? And are you willing to pay the price?

I recall a homemaker I spoke with once. She had five children—not exactly someone who was looking for something to do. She wanted to get started in her own Bible study program. “I’d give anything if I had some time,” she told me.

I said, “Why don’t you see if you can carve out fifteen minutes a day.”

“I don’t know if I have that much time,” she replied.

But she wouldn’t let it rest. One day she came to me and said, “Guess what, I’ve discovered a time when all of my children are either at school or taking a nap—and I came up with twenty minutes.”

I met a businessman who was the head of three international corporations. He obviously wasn’t looking for something to do either. Like the housewife, he said to me, “Hendricks, I’d love to have my own Bible study. But I just don’t have time.”

I said, “Let me give you a proposition. Would you be willing to pray that God give you some time? And if He does, will you use it to study His Word?”

“Well,” he admitted, “I guess I can’t turn that down.”

So one day he was creeping along an expressway in Dallas, wasting his time along with everybody else in a bumper-to-bumper parking lot. All of sudden he said to himself,
What in the world am I doing here? I’m the president of this outfit. I ought to determine when I come and when I go home.
So he
changed his schedule. He came in half an hour earlier in the morning, and he went home half an hour earlier in the afternoon.

As a result he gained twenty minutes in his morning commute, and twenty in the afternoon. So he called me up and said, “Hendricks, I got it.” At first I thought he’d had some kind of a revelation. He was excited that he’d finally found some time. And he kept his word: he immediately began to read the Scriptures for himself, to his great benefit.

When I was a student in seminary, a choice man of God named Harry Ironside used to come and teach. I remember on one occasion somebody came up and said, “Dr. Ironside, I understand you get up early every morning to read and study your Bible.”

“Oh,” he said, “I’ve been doing that all my life.”

“Well, how do you manage to do it?” the inquirer asked. “Do you pray about it?”

“No,” he replied, “I get up.”

See, many of us are expecting God to do what God is expecting us to do. I can assure you that God is not going to roll you out of the sack.
You
have to decide whether you really want to get into the Word, and if so, when.

Ultimately, what matters is not when you have your Bible study, but the fact that you do, and that you do it regularly and consistently.

But one word of caution: Know that if you make this commitment, Satan will do anything to dislodge your schedule. He’ll use every trick in the book. So your question has to be, Where is my heart? What is my objective? What is my priority? That way, if you should get off your routine, you won’t be tempted to think you’ve lost your salvation. The next day you can get back on track.

Now if you decide to start a regular Bible study program, you need to answer the question, Where do I begin? A good place to start is with a very small book. That way you can keep from getting bogged down. Sometimes a person will get carried away with enthusiasm. “I’m going to start in Jeremiah,” they say. I wouldn’t recommend it.

I suggest that you begin with a New Testament book, such as the book of Philippians. It has four chapters, 104 verses. Or perhaps the book of James;
five chapters, 108 verses. You can plug little books such as these into your schedule, and in a relatively short period of time you will be making progress.

Then, if you want to take on something heftier, go to the Old Testament and try the book of Jonah. It’s a beautiful narrative with an easy-to-follow storyline with only four chapters. In this way you can gradually work your way up to tackle something that is longer and more difficult.

But suppose you say, “Man, I really want to go for broke.” All right. Try the book of Nehemiah, especially if you’re in business or interested in leadership. That book has more practical principles for organization and administration than any ten books on today’s best-seller list. If you are just starting out, select a book that is reality-oriented like that.

And whatever you do, keep a notebook. “But what I come up with is not very impressive,” you may reply. But more important, did the Holy Spirit give you the insight? If so, don’t despise it. We all have to take baby steps at the beginning. The most renowned expositor of all time had to start at the same place every one of the rest of us has to start—with the ABC’s, with the basic material. It’s a good habit to write down what God gives you. Record it, and seek an opportunity to share it with someone, because then you will retain it.

In the United States we love to praise rugged individualism and self-initiative. But the fact is that most of us function more effectively as part of a team rather than on our own. That is certainly the case with Bible study.

Small group Bible study is a tremendous motivator. In fact, that may be its greatest value. You see, many of us are scared spitless to jump into the Word for ourselves. “I can’t do it,” people will say. Actually they can, but they need the encouragement that comes from others who are with them in the process.