Class 1B: Memorizing The Word of God

Introduction

Testimonies on the power of the Word
“I was in prison, and you visited Me” (Matthew 25:36). – As told by Kristina, missionary in Russia.
Somehow a convicted murderer in a prison in the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk got my address and wrote to me. In his first letter, he told me about growing up in an orphanage, and the hostility and mistreatment he experienced as a child. Resentment and hatred festered, and he ended up behind bars. A number of religious groups had visited his prison, he explained, but after talking with them he still wasn’t even sure that God existed. I wrote him a brief account of the events that led me to know God’s love, and we’ve been corresponding ever since. Following is a translation of an excerpt from his last letter:
“Now I understand that the Bible is a marvelous book. It has all the answers I need and shows the way I was looking for. Jesus is changing me. I don’t hate people or get upset with my guards or other prisoners like I used to. Instead, I try to talk to them about Jesus and find solutions to our differences in the Bible. Thank you so much for showing me the light and for giving me Jesus!”

The comfort of the Word!
One spring my mother drove to visit me at college. The highway she had to drive on went through a series of tunnels. Knowing her fear of tunnels, I was concerned about the trip.
“Did you have any trouble?” I asked when she arrived.
“Nowhere but the tunnels,” she replied. “One was 2½.”
I asked if she meant 2½ miles or 2½ minutes.
Mother’s answer was, “Neither – 2½ times through the 23rd Psalm.”

Section 1: Why Memorize?

We’ve seen how God’s Word has the power to transform lives. It encourages and comforts us in time of need. The Word of God is the foundation of the faith upon which we stand.
In our last class we talked mostly about how to read the Word. We touched briefly on memorizing, and now we’ll look at it closer.
The advice we’re going to give you on memorizing God’s Word can also be applied to anything else you’re studying. If you’re in need of retaining information for your studies or work, we think you’ll find this class to be of help.
Before we go into the practical steps, let’s look at a few reasons why we should make an effort to memorize.

Why memorize?
For your own spiritual strength and encouragement in the present – renewing your mind in Jesus
God speaks to you through His Word that you have learned
To help you share God’s Word with others
A Bible may not be available during the dark days ahead
A weapon in your walk of faith

For your own spiritual strength and encouragement in the present – renewing your mind in Jesus
The mind can be compared to a computer database: It has to be filled with something, good or bad. Our reflexes are mentally conditioned to react in a certain way according to what we have been taught or experienced. Jesus, by His Word, spiritually cleanses us and gives us something positive with which to fill it.
Ephesians 5:26b – … with the washing of water by the Word.
Romans 12:2a – Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Psalm 37:31 – The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
Look at the previous verse. If the Word isn’t in his heart, his steps will slide, and he’ll get off the right track.
Fill your mind and heart with positive, encouraging, strengthening, and faith-building thoughts from God’s Word, remembering, memorizing, and quoting to yourself.

God speaks to you through His Word that you have learned
The Lord speaks to us by bringing to mind the passages we have memorized.
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
God knows His own Book better than anybody, and He can bring verses to your remembrance by His Spirit when you need it. If you’ve faithfully read, studied, and memorized, He’ll pop the verses up in your little computer (mind) whenever you make the right connection in your programming. He’s the best computer programmer I know, and He’s given you the best computer ever constructed!
One reason that memorizing is important is because it isn’t always possible to read. Maybe you wake up in the night and you can’t turn on the light without disturbing someone. Or maybe you find yourself in a place or difficult situation without your Bible handy. Or maybe you are too sick to read. The only Scriptures you’ll have at those times (which could well be the time when you need them most) are the Scriptures you have committed to memory.
It is also easier to claim in prayer the promises that the Lord has made in His Word when we know these promises by heart.
2 Peter 1:4 – By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.

To help you share God’s Word with others
Knowing specific passages and Scriptures also helps us in sharing our faith with others, as Peter advised:
1 Peter 3:15b – Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.
The Lord’s Word says that you should be prepared to give answers to those who ask and that you should know the Word:
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing [dissecting] the Word of truth.
There are times that you need to know the Bible and be able to quote it and find Scriptures in order to show them to the person you are speaking with.

A Bible may not be available during the dark days ahead
The Bible warns us that in the Last Days there will be a great famine for the Word of God.
Amos 8:11-12 – “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of the Lord. (12) They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the Word of the Lord, but shall not find it.
Some day the only Word of God we have may be what we’ve implanted in our hearts. Having memorized Scriptures, we will be able to quote them in times of trouble. Nobody will ever be able to take away the Word of God you have hidden in your heart!

A weapon in your walk of faith
Hebrews 4:12 – For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
As we’re going to talk more about later in the course, a follower of Jesus’ teachings will find that his life is not always easy. Jesus Himself suffered opposition – spiritually from the Devil (Matthew 4:1-10) and physically from His enemies. God has given us His Word to use as our spiritual weapon to fight the battles that beset us. It’s up to us to memorize and use it.

These points can be applied to anything you are memorizing and studying, not just Scripture memorization.

Your memory can be developed like a muscle
The more you use it, the stronger it gets, but lack of use causes it to weaken.
The more you concentrate, the easier it is to memorize
Finding a quiet place, free from distractions, will help a lot.
An unfocused camera gives an unclear picture, and a wandering mind, easily distracted, doesn’t get a clear picture of the things it observes, finding them hard to remember. If you give your full attention, then you’ll get a good, clear picture of that verse printed on your mind.

Find the best time for you
In the morning when you’re fresh after waking up, or right before you start your work, is usually best. All you need is 5-10 minutes when you can concentrate without distraction, if possible. Or, try the evenings. The important thing is to find the best time for you. Some people like to start the night before by reading over the verses they want to memorize the next day, so that when they wake up, they’re already familiar with them.

Sight, sound, and action
Most people remember best what they see, while others remember best what they hear, and another portion best what they do in actual motions. By using all three of these faculties, you can increase your ability to remember. For example, by reading, you use your sight. If you quote your memory work out loud, you hear it too, as well as use your mouth to speak it. Then by writing the same verse to be memorized, it is often better remembered.
Simply, the more involved you become with your memorization, the better you remember it.

Memory work is work
It does take a certain amount of determination and self-discipline on your part. Make hiding the Word in your heart a life-long habit! When it becomes a habit, it will get easier.
It’s plain hard work to memorize! You have to work at it – like digging a hole or scrubbing the floor or washing the windows or dishes, it’s just hard work! You’ve got to keep repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating! Normally you’ll memorize a verse phrase by phrase, that’s about the best way to do it.
Don’t worry if it seems to take quite awhile, especially at first, to memorize a verse. It’s not a contest to see how quickly you can learn. The goal is to get it down, and keep it in your heart.

The law of memory is repeat, repeat, repeat!
Set a goal or memory project for each week
So you don’t have to decide each day what you’re going to learn that day. There are three suggested verses in each class in the Study Notes book. We’ll talk more about this in a minute.

For more memory tips:
See the Study Notes book, as well as Activated magazine 10, pages 12-13.

Section 3: Advice For Memorizing Scriptures

Much of what we’ve shared until now could apply to anything you want to memorize or study. Now we want to look at a few specifics regarding Scripture memorization.

Our decision to memorize shouldn’t be based on our feelings
A poor memory can be caused by constantly saying your memory’s poor. But “know that you can!” and claim this verse:
Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Another reason we may not get around to memorizing may be simply that we don’t always feel like it, but we should memorize no matter how we feel.
Feeling enthusiastic about memorizing verses is great, but it’s not a good enough motivation because those feelings may not last or be consistent. Feeling enthusiastic about doing something is a motivation that comes and goes – mostly goes! The motivation that we need to hang on to comes from the facts, not the feelings.
What are some of the facts about memorizing upon which we should base our decision?
God’s Word tells us to hide the Word in our heart.
It helps us in our spiritual walk with the Lord.
It helps us to help others.
Some day we’re not going to have the Word on paper, and what we hide in our hearts is what’s going to keep us.
All those facts are the consistent motivation that we need to be reminded of over and over!
Psalm 1:1-2 – Blessed is the man … (2) [whose] delight is in the law [Word] of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Selecting verses to memorize
Two important keys to memorizing are:
1. To understand why you are memorizing a certain verse; in other words, what is the purpose for memorizing it? To what practical use can you put it?
2. To make sure that you understand the meaning of all the words in the verse you are memorizing.
Often there is a story or supporting passage behind each individual verse you want to memorize, and if you know the context of the verse, you will understand the verse better and be more likely to remember it.
If a verse answers a question you’ve had, comforts you or helps you through some time of testing, this is the best kind of verse to memorize, as it has special meaning and interest to you and will therefore stick with you the longest.

How precisely do you need to remember the wording of a verse?
Some verses have difficult wording. If you have difficulty remembering the exact wording, ponder these points:
When you’re quoting a verse to somebody, if you don’t remember the verses exactly, you probably will just paraphrase them, and as long as you’ve caught the spirit of the verse and it means the same, that’s fine.
Sometimes when you’re praying you really want to get the exact words of the promise to bring before the Lord. But if you can’t, you can still pray and claim the promise even if you don’t have the exact words. It’s just as good to the Lord, because He knows what you’re trying to say and the point you’re trying to remember.
In conclusion, if you can get the exact wording, that’s best, but it’s much better to learn something than not learn anything. You don’t have to worry too much about having the exact words all the time, as long as you get the general point of the verse.
Don’t get stuck with details. If you’re going to have the attitude that you haven’t learned the verse until you can quote every word exactly right without one mistake, then you’re going to spend lots more time memorizing than you need to. You might progress faster if you’re a little less precise but learning a greater variety of verses. And eventually, as you review the verses, you’ll probably get the wording correct too.

Learning the references?
Try if possible to learn the references (the book, and the chapter and verse numbers) along with the verse itself. This will help you in finding the verse later on, which is especially useful when sharing your faith with others.
It’s good to quote the Scripture, but if you don’t know where it’s found in the Bible, you run the risk of the person you’re speaking with saying, “Is that really in the Bible? Where is it?” If you don’t know and can’t show it to them, then how does he know whether you even know the Scripture?
Whereas, if you know the references to key verses, you can show them the verse right out of the Bible. That is actually one of the best ways of teaching others, letting them read the verse themselves.
You will have more confidence to teach others if you know where the important verses are.
If you can learn the references, that is a good thing. However, if having to learn the references is going to discourage you from learning the verses, then it’s better not to worry too much about the references.
One thing you can do to learn references is to repeat the reference at the beginning and at the end of a verse each time you quote it.
Another possibility is to at least remember the book that it’s in. Then it’s fairly easy to find the verse if you need to.

Do you know the way to the post office?
The point is that if you are going to use the Bible as a tool, and you are going to use passages and verses out of the Bible to prove your point or to give the truth to people, if you don’t know where those verses are, how are you even going to find them? How are you going to show them to somebody else if you don’t even know where to find them yourself?
It would be like the little newsboy on the corner, when the famous evangelist Billy Sunday asked him the way to the post office. After the boy told him, he said, “Okay, now you come out to my meeting tonight, and I’ll tell you how to get to Heaven!” – And the tough little newsboy said, “Huh! You don’t even know the way to the post office!”
So if you don’t even know how to find the verses in the Bible, how can you purport to be wise enough to tell others how to find Heaven!

What to memorize

Individual verses or short passages:
The Key Bible Verses booklet contains a comprehensive list of verses on a variety of topics, ideal for your personal devotional use and for witnessing. Rather than memorizing all the verses on salvation and then moving on to the next topic, it would most likely be best to begin with learning one or two key verses from each category so that you will have a wider variety of Scriptures memorized. Then you can go back and memorize more verses in that section at a later date.
You will also find three key verses in the Study Notes book for each class. If you memorize every verse in the Study Notes book, by the end of this course you will know approximately 75 Scriptures!

Longer passages and chapters:
The Psalms and certain portions of the Gospels like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are wonderful memory projects. Psalms like number 23 (comfort) are all-time favorites.
(As we proceed through the course, you’ll be finding out ideas of key chapters to memorize.)

Reviewing
If you plan on memorizing a number of verses, you will need an organized system of review. If you don’t have a plan and method for regularly reviewing what you have memorized, you will eventually forget the verses.
You can write out your memory verses in a small, sturdy notebook.
If you carry it with you wherever you go, you can pull it out to review in spare moments while waiting, traveling, etc.
If you are memorizing verses from a compiled booklet like the Key Bible Verses or from the Study Notes book, you could highlight or somehow mark each verse as you memorize it and this will make it easier for you to find the verses for review.
In a notebook, you can write down the references and first few words of each verse you memorize and then use this for reviewing.
For example:
John 1:12 As many as
John 3:3 Except a man
John 3:16 For God so
John 3:36 He that believes
A seven-day calendar review system can help you retain what you learn.
After you have learned a verse, you should review it twice a day for the next seven days.
One convenient way to keep track of the verses you memorize is by writing them (or at least the reference) in a small diary or calendar. Then each day, take this diary and review the verses, working back seven days.
In addition to this, you should work out a method of reviewing all of the verses you memorize. As your “memory diary” fills up, you could work through the diary’s contents week by week. This means, every day you could review whatever you memorized during the previous 7 days, plus another seven days, and gradually work through the year like this.

Putting your verses into use
Use the verses you memorize by sharing them with others, through your prayers or witnessing (telling others about your faith).

Scripture songs
The ease with which most of us remember commercial jingles is one of the proofs of how it is relatively easy to memorize something that has been put to music. Listening to Scriptures that have been put to song is a very easy way to memorize them. You may eventually find yourself humming or singing them to yourself without even having consciously attempted to memorize them.

Review of main points on memorizing
If you have time, you can review the main points and tips about memorizing, as follows:
The more you concentrate, the easier it is to memorize.
The best time to memorize is usually first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
Use sight, sound, and action to help engrain the verse into your memory.
Memory work is work and you have to work at it.
“Repetition is the law of memory!”
Memorize and review for short periods, but do it often.
You need to have a plan for reviewing.
Set a goal for what you will memorize each week.
Regularity is a key.
When quoting your verses, try to do it aloud.
Keep on memorizing even when you don’t feel like it, or even when it is difficult.
Select verses to memorize that are meaningful for you and that you understand.
Try as much as possible to learn the references, but don’t worry too much about it.
While it’s good to memorize the verse word-for-word, don’t insist on perfection.
Memorize a variety of both individual verses and longer passages.
Use your verses and it will help you remember them.
Review your verses at a steady pace.
Memorize songs of verses that have been put to music.

Concluding prayer

Thank You, Lord, for Your Word and its power. Please do help us all to be faithful to memorize Your Word, so we can quote it for our own benefit and for the sake of others. Help us to meditate on Your Words as we go about our daily lives. Please bring Your Words to our remembrance, when we’re traveling or working or lying on our beds at night, so that we never forget You, but keep Your Presence close. Amen.

Class 1A: Treasures New and Old

Bible Study on God’s Word

The Bible was given to man by God
The Bible is a collection of 66 books that are the written record of messages God gave to about 40 people whom He chose as His spokesmen. Although the Bible was recorded by men, it was written by God.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
2 Peter 1:21 – For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

We can know the author
There’s a story about a girl who was assigned some book to read in college. She started, and because she found it kind of dry and uninteresting, she threw it in the top of her closet and thought she’d read it later. Later on a man came to the college and lectured. She found out during the course of his lecture that he was the author of the book! She so fell in love with him on his visit to the college that after hearing his lectures, she immediately went home and dug the book out of the top of her closet and buried herself in the book to read it! – Why? How come the book was all of a sudden so interesting, whereas she thought it was dry and uninteresting before? – She knew the author!
What’s the most important reason why we know the Bible is true? We know the Author. Before somebody introduced you to the Author, you probably didn’t care much about the Bible and didn’t know whether it was true or not, never read it and maybe didn’t even believe it. But now since we’ve told you that it’s Jesus and you’ve been introduced to Jesus and received Jesus in your hearts, all of a sudden you’re interested in the Bible for the first time maybe in your life, because now you know the Author and you want to hear what He has to say!

Archaeological finds confirm the veracity of the Bible
Biblical archaeology is the scientific study, by excavation, examination, and publication, of the evidences of cultures and civilizations from the Biblical period. Archaeological discoveries paint in the background of the Bible, helping to explain many of its events. Although it is not possible to verify every incident in the Bible, the discoveries of archaeology since the mid-1800s have demonstrated the reliability and plausibility of the Bible narrative. Here are some examples:
The discovery of the ancient city of Ebla’s archive in northern Syria in the 1970s has shown the Biblical writings concerning the Patriarchs to be viable. (Patriarchs is a name generally applied to the progenitors of families or “heads of the fathers” mentioned in Scripture, including such personages as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, etc.) Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that specific people and places in the Patriarchal accounts are genuine.
The name “Canaan” was in use in Ebla, a name critics once said was not used at that time and was used incorrectly in the early chapters of the Bible.
The word “tehom” (”the deep”) in Genesis 1:2 was said to be a late word demonstrating the late writing of the Creation story. “Tehom” was part of the vocabulary at Ebla, in use some 800 years before Moses. Ancient customs reflected in the stories of the Patriarchs have also been found in clay tablets from Nuzi and Mari.
The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey.
Many thought the Biblical references to Solomon’s wealth were greatly exaggerated. Recovered records from the past show that wealth in antiquity was concentrated with the king, and Solomon’s prosperity was entirely feasible.
It was once claimed there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, because this name was not known in any other record. Then, Sargon’s palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, his capture of Ashdod, was recorded on the palace walls. What is more, fragments of a stela (ancient stone slab or pillar) memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself. (In Daniel 5:2, Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed as the father of Belshazzar, however the word translated in this verse as “father” is more accurately translated as grandfather or ancestor. Belshazzar was the son of Nabodinus, and grandson or descendant of Nebuchadnezzar.)
(Based on the research of Bryant Wood, of Associates for Biblical Research.)

God’s Word is true and never fails
Psalm 119:89 – Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven.
Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means pass away.

The Bible works!
A skeptic, talking about the Bible, said that it was quite impossible these days to believe in any book whose author was unknown. James, who believes in Jesus, asked him if the compiler of the multiplication table was known.
“No,” he answered.
“Then, of course, you do not believe it?” asked James.
The skeptic replied, “Oh, yes, I believe in it because it works.”
“So does the Bible!” responded James.

Testimony: “Through the Rivers!”
(Introduction: This is the translation of a letter that was sent to us by a Russian pastor who lives in a town on the Amur River in Russia, beyond the Ural Mountains.)
The Lord did a miracle for me shortly after I met you! One morning recently, I opened my Bible to Isaiah 43:1-2, which says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”
In the central hospital later that day, we were to hold services for the sick people. I prayed and asked the Lord what I should talk about, and He showed me to preach on those verses.
Then the next evening, I needed to go to a ship on the Amur River, as the engines needed to be tested. (I work as an inspecting engineer, besides being a pastor.) We agreed that at 9 p.m., I would come to this ship by another boat. The ship that needed to be checked is 45 meters long, with four meters of the hull below the surface of the water.
Before leaving, I finished all the work I had to do at home, I prayed, dressed warmly and left.
I arrived at the pier and took a boat to look for the ship on the river. It was now about 10 p.m. and very dark. Later I was in the captain’s quarters of the small boat, and when I looked out the door I immediately saw the large ship I was ooking for heading straight at us on an unavoidable collision course! The only thought I had time to think was, “Thy will be done, Lord!”
We collided, and I was immediately thrown out of the boat. The Lord surely guided me, as deep down in the water I swam close to the side of my boat, and I could hear the great propellers of the large ship pass near me.
When I rose to the surface, I called out to the Lord. I didn’t have any strength, and I couldn’t breathe well, but I knew He was helping me! I looked around. It was very dark and there was no one around. I was right in the middle of the Amur River. (Note: The Amur is one of the great rivers of the world, forming the border between Russia and China for 1,600 km.)
I thought, What next, Lord?
I got an answer: Call for help. I couldn’t get enough air and didn’t have much of my voice left, but I started to yell as loud as I could for help, still wondering, Who can hear me? To find a man on the water in the dark is like looking for a needle in a haystack … but if the Lord said to do it, then my job was just to obey.
I later found out that after the ship struck our boat, it veered to the right and got stuck on a sand bar. My cries were heard and I was brought to the ship! Everybody looked at me with wide eyes, as they did not expect to see any survivors. I had no wounds, not even a cold. One man said, “You’re alive! I would have died from a heart attack if I was in your place.”
I answered, “Right! I would have died myself if it hadn’t been for the Lord leading me and not allowing the ‘river to overflow me’.” Praise God for His miracles!

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Word

Jesus is the “Word made flesh.”
John 1:1,14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Hebrews 11:3 – By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
God has always spoken to people in many ways: through the beauty and wonder of His Creation, through His prophets and messengers, and through His written Word. But the clearest revelation of Himself – of His character, of His Love – is found in His Son, Jesus, Whom the Bible calls “the Word.” Words are the means by which we express ourselves, by which we reveal our thoughts, our feelings, our character. – And Jesus is the means by which God expresses Himself to us. God’s most outstanding means of communication with us, the way that He chose to communicate His Love to the World, was by His Own Son, Jesus.

The Bible was written for our benefit
John 19:35 – And he [John] who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
1 Corinthians 10:11 – Now all these things happened to them [Bible characters] as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
John 4:13-14 – Jesus answered and said to [the Samaritan woman], “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Revelation 22:17 – And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

The Water of Life
Water is the most valuable commodity on earth, outside of life itself, which is why God symbolizes life with water, calling it the Water of Life, along with the Word of Life, the Water of the Word! – Water being such an essential element of man’s life, existence and survival, and without which all life dies!

It’s important to keep the Word
Obeying and keeping the Word proves we know and love Jesus. As a result, we receive benefits!
John 8:31-32 – Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. (32) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Luke 11:28 – More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!
John 15:7 – If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
John 14:15 – If you love Me, keep My commandments.
The Bible is like a map to guide you through life. To say you don’t have time for it is like a driver going on a long journey, saying, “I’m in such a hurry to get there I don’t have time to look at the map.”

Augustine’s conversion
In 384 A.D. a young man from North Africa went to Milan, Italy, to take a position as teacher of rhetoric. While there, he became very absorbed by and troubled about the meaning of life.
One day in the back yard of his home, while on the verge of almost complete despair, he heard the voice of a child next door chanting, “Take and read, take and read.”
Immediately he took the Scriptures and read that Jesus Christ was the way of complete forgiveness of sins. Through reading the Word of God, this man’s life was changed and he became St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, one of the great Christian theologians of all time.

The thief
In a meeting, converts were giving personal testimonies. One man arose, holding a New Testament in his hand. “My story,” said he, “is unlike other men. I was a pickpocket, and one day I saw a man with a definite bulge in his hip pocket. A fat purse, thought I, and soon it was in my pocket. But when I arrived home, behold, it was this book. In disgust I threw it aside, but afterward, out of curiosity, I opened it and began to read. Before many days had passed I discovered Christ as my Savior and Lord.”
Listening to this testimony, one of the volunteers from the Bible Society became interested. After the meeting, he asked to see the New Testament. It was the one he had carried with him for years, the one he had considered lost. Is not this evidence of the power of the Word to change and to transform man’s life? What has the Word done for you?

Abide in Jesus to bear fruit
John 15:1,4 – I am the true vine. … (4) As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
The physical illustration is clear. If a branch is cut off from the rest of the tree, it will wither and die and bear no fruit.

Benefits of the Word

The Word gives us faith, truth, wisdom and strength!
Psalm 119:7 – I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.
Romans 10:17 – Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Acts 20:32b – The Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance.

Meditating on the Word brings blessings and success:
Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Psalm 119:130 – The entrance of Your Words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

The Word cleanses us, heals us, makes us happy, gives us peace!
John 15:3 – “You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.”
Psalm 107:20 – He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 119:165 – Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Jeremiah 15:16a – Your Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

It will light you home
Years ago, a minister went far into a backwoods settlement to hold a meeting, and it was necessary that he return late in the very dark night. A woodsman provided him with a torch of pitch-pine wood.
The minister, never having seen anything of the kind, said, “It will soon burn out.”
“It will light you home,” answered the woodsman.
“The wind may blow it out,” said the preacher.
“It will light you home,” was again the answer.
“But what if it should rain?”
“It will light you home,” was the answer a third time.
And, contrary to the minister’s fears, the torch did last him all the way home.
The Word of God is a torch given into the hands of each of us. What if it rains? What if the wind blows? What if all is dark around you? If you will hold the torch high, “it will light you home.”

All of these benefits will come when we read and absorb the Word
1 Peter 2:2 – As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.
Matthew 4:4 – It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Colossians 3:16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.
As someone wrote: “We get no deeper into Christ than we allow Him to get into us.”

We need to read the Word to receive the benefits
A certain wayward young man ran away from home and was not heard of for years. After he heard that his father had just died, he returned home and was kindly received by his mother. The day came for the reading of the will; the family members were all gathered together, and the lawyer began to read the document. To the surprise of all present, the will told in detail of the wayward career of the runaway son. The boy in anger arose, stomped out of the room, left the house, and was not heard from for three years. When eventually he was found, he was informed that the will, after telling of his waywardness, had gone on to bequeath him a large inheritance.
How much sorrow he would have saved himself and others, if he had only heard the reading through! Thus, many people only half read the Bible, and turn from it dissatisfied. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death,” yes. But it says more. It says, “but the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23).

How and what to read

The Word of God is not just pretty pictures!
The Words of God are not just pretty pictures. They are meant to be put into action. They should move you and motivate you; guide you and change you. For the next half an hour, we’re going to look at how to get the most from what you read, and give you ideas of where to start. We won’t be looking at many more verses, as we’ve already looked at the needs and benefits of reading the Word, but we’ll be concentrating on practical tips about how to get the most from your time in the Word.

When to:
It is difficult to get too far in your reading if you don’t spend at least 20 minutes at it. Can you set aside 20 minutes daily? Or would three times a week be easier to start with? Whatever you decide, try to make a definite goal and then determine in your heart to see it through. It will be easier to follow through if you establish a definite time slot as part of your regular daily routine. It doesn’t matter what time of day, just whenever suits you best. Some people find it easier to concentrate in the morning; others do better in the evening when the business of the day has been completed.
See what works best for you. Regard your “Word time” as an appointment with Jesus. Don’t be tempted to cancel or postpone the appointment any more than you’d cancel an appointment with your employer.

Where to:
Try to find a place to read where you will not be interrupted. If possible, use the same place every day, but the most important is that you have a quiet place where you won’t be distracted. You might want to take the telephone off the hook (or turn off your cellular phone). In front of the TV is most likely not going to work!

What to:
It’s a good idea to make a plan of what to read over a period of time. But remain flexible. Ask the Lord what Bible chapters or other Word-based material you should read. Having a goal can help you. Perhaps you’ll work your way through one of the Get Activated! books, while also reading through a book of the Bible. (There are suggestions of what to read weekly in the Study Notes book.)
Even if you’re following a set reading course, you shouldn’t always just say, “Well, I already know what I’m going to read. It’s planned out for the next month.” Each time before you sit down to read, you should pray for the Lord’s leading, because maybe the Lord wants to change it! Maybe you needed to read up on “faith” a week ago, so you decided to read something on that subject. That’s good. But maybe the Lord knows that you need to read about something else even more this week. So you need to pray about it instead of automatically following your previous plan.

How to:
When you sit down to read, the first thing you should do is pray and ask the Lord to bring the Word alive to you by His Holy Spirit. As David prayed,
Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
You can read all the Word you want, but if it doesn’t come to life by the Spirit, it’s not going to do anything! Jesus said,
John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
And Paul told us:
2 Corinthians 3:6b – For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Unless we read the Word in a prayerful and receptive attitude, looking to the Lord and His Holy Spirit for guidance, it can be very difficult for us to understand some things. Ask the Lord to give you the spirit of wisdom:
Ephesians 1:17-18 – …give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, (18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened…
You can read a Scripture maybe all your life without grasping its meaning, until the Holy Spirit speaks it to you and applies it to your situation and brings it to life! The “voice of His Word,” as it’s called, is when He speaks to you personally through the Word, or He gives it to you in an answer, He brings it to life, applies it to a situation, and it becomes alive suddenly! It’s no longer just mere words any more, or words that just run through your head, but all of a sudden you get the point!
In the Study Notes book, we have included some sample prayers for reading the Word.

Humor: How not to read!
Sister Susan got out her Bible and decided she would let the Lord lead to the specific verse she needed for the day. So with eyes closed she opened her Bible and put her finger on a verse. Opening her eyes she read, “And Judas went out and hanged himself.” She quickly sought a different verse, once again closing her eyes, cracking open her Bible, and placing her finger on a specific spot. This time she was disappointed to read, “Go and do likewise!” Undaunted she followed the same plan a third time, and the verse was, “What you do, do quickly!”

Don’t just read – study, question, and apply
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.
One of the main goals of this course is to help you develop a personal connection with Jesus, so you are able to get spiritual nourishment from His Word. “Rightly dividing the Word of truth” means to know what the Word says and means.

Read the Word carefully, prayerfully, and thoughtfully.
If every time you sat down to eat a meal, you gobbled and gulped it down as fast as you possibly could, you wouldn’t digest or absorb it nearly as well as if you had eaten it a little more slowly. – Nor would you enjoy it as much!
This same principle applies to your spiritual food as well. Take time to fully digest, absorb, and benefit from the Word!
You can miss a lot of the meaning, the real depth of what the Lord’s talking about, unless you stop to think about it and apply the Word to your personal situation, and ask, “How is that true and how does that apply to me?” – Not with a questioning or a doubtful attitude, but one full of faith, knowing that you can learn even more lessons if you search further and dig deeper.

Doers of the Word
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.” – Dwight L. Moody.
The Word of God has been given to change our character and bring it more into conformity with Jesus’. All of our efforts in Bible study are valueless if in the final analysis we do not change and become more like Jesus. We must not merely listen to the Word, but we are to do what it says.
James 1:22 – But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
You can’t really get to know the Word of God unless you apply it in your life. You can be a walking Bible encyclopedia, with your head crammed full of Biblical and theological knowledge, but it won’t do you any good if you don’t apply it practically in daily living.

When you are reading the Word, pray and ask the Lord to help you apply what you are studying and show you specifically what He wants you to do. Ask the Lord to show you:
“How can I apply this Word in my life?”
“How can I use this knowledge to help others?”
When you read the Word and you feel the conviction of His Spirit, stop right then to think and pray and meditate on what that instruction means for you personally. Don’t delay taking the time to apply it to your life, because if you delay, the conviction will wane, you will forget, and the Word you read will be of no effect in your life. When the Lord is speaking to your heart, challenging you through His Word, that is the time to take action, to make commitments. You need to think, meditate, consider how you can live the Word, and make a definite plan right then as to what you’ll do. Don’t wait. Later will probably be never!
John 13:17 – If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Marking the text
Read with a fine-point pen or dry marker in your hand. When you come across a passage or Scripture that stands out to you in some way, underline or mark it. Underlining the key phrases and marking the paragraphs that apply to you makes your reading more interesting and far easier to review.

Taking notes
“A short pencil is better than a long memory.”
You might want to start writing key passages and verses into a special notebook that you can reread easily. It will become sort of a spiritual diary. You can use it to write down things you want to remember that are important to you in your walk with the Lord and your relationship with Him and others. Sometimes just writing something down will help you to meditate on it and remember it.
There are different ways to organize a notebook like this. It can be chronological, like a diary, with meaningful quotes and verses written down from day to day. Or you can start a page for each of the different topics you’re interested in, and then record helpful passages and verses you find on each one as time goes by.

Memorizing
Bible memorization has always been a strength to God’s people, even as King David testified:
Psalm 119:11 – Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!
Moses made mention of the same:
Deuteronomy 11:18 – Therefore you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (decorative bands worn on the forehead) between your eyes.
The Scriptures we commit to memory will be a great blessing to us. In times of sickness and difficulty, verses are a tremendous comfort and strength. Knowing specific passages and Scriptures also helps us in our witness to others, as Peter advised,
1 Peter 3:15b – Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.
We will be looking further at the subject of memorizing in a later class.

What to do when you don’t understand something
Don’t stop reading if you come across something that you don’t understand. Keep on reading, as there’ll be plenty of other things that you will understand.
If you don’t understand something, maybe God will reveal its meaning to you at a later reading. When you come across something you don’t understand, you can wrap it up in a little “bundle of faith” and put it on the shelf. Wait for the Lord to unwrap it for you and reveal it to you later.
Proverbs 2:6 – For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

We do not have to understand everything
St. Augustine was once walking by the seashore. He was greatly perplexed about a particular aspect of faith and doctrine. He observed a little boy with a seashell running to the water, filling it and then pouring it into a hole that he had made in the sand.
“What are you doing, my little man?” asked Augustine.
“Oh,” said he, “I am trying to put the ocean in this hole!”
Augustine learned his lesson, and as he walked away, he said, “That is what I am trying to do. I see it now. Standing on the shores of time I am trying to get into this little finite mind of mine things which are infinite.” Let us be content to let God know some things that we cannot know.

Don’t worry about all the details of ancient history
Many of us have found that the most rewarding aspects of our reading of the Bible have not been in getting to know all the details of ancient history contained in its pages, but in finding what applies to us in our daily lives. For instance, when we read about the life of Jesus and the early Christians, we see a pattern of “love in action” that we know we should try to follow. When we read the Psalms and other devotional passages, we can apply them in our own prayer lives. Although the history of God’s people as written in the Bible is interesting and it is good to at least have a general picture of who did what and where and when, extensive in-depth studies of Biblical history are not the most important for you to spend a lot of time on.

Suggested Bible studies
Psalms and Proverbs are good devotional books, and by all means read the talks and lessons and Words of Jesus in the New Testament! The Gospel of John quotes more of the Words of Jesus than any other Gospel, including passages like His farewell talk in chapters 14-17. So, a good place to start reading the Bible is with the Gospel of John.
(You’ll find that there are around seven chapters suggested to be read in each section of the Study Notes book.)

Summary of steps for effective Word time
Make a commitment to set aside a regular time for reading and try to follow through on your plan.
Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted or distracted.
Make a plan of what to read over a period of time, but be flexible and let the Lord lead you to read something different as the need arises.
Begin your time of reading by praying, asking the Lord to speak to you from His Word and to bring it to life by the Holy Spirit.
Don’t just read – study.
Try to apply what you are reading to your daily life and commit yourself to putting it into action.
Mark the text so that later on you will find it easier to review.
Keep a notebook with the most outstanding verses and passages.
Memorize key verses.
If you don’t understand something, don’t give up but keep reading!
Two key questions to ask yourself when you read: How can I apply this Word in my life? How can I use this knowledge to help others?

Ending note

Now it’s up to you to put this into action!
You can think of this as being like a cookery class. We’ve given you a recipe, but if you don’t pull out the ingredients and try to cook it, you’ll never find out how delicious a meal you could enjoy!

Class 2B: Gifts and Benefits

Section 1: The Benefits of the Holy Spirit

Let’s take a little time to see how the Holy Spirit can work in your daily life.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of love
1 Corinthians 13:1-2 – Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. (2) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If the baptism of the Holy Spirit is anything, it is a baptism of love! It doesn’t matter whether you “speak with the tongues of men and of angels” or you “understand all mysteries and all knowlege,” if you don’t have love!
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is love! This all-encompassing love of God even extends to loving people who we couldn’t love merely by our own efforts, in some of the toughest situations, even “loving our enemies” like Jesus told us to do, or when you are around difficult personalities.
Luke 6:27a – But I say to you who hear: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
That baptism of power that Jesus said would flow like rivers of water from within you is a baptism of the power of His love!
John 7:38-39 – “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.

In fact, the Holy Spirit of God is love, because
1 John. 4:8b – God is love.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of the love of God! Of course, it’s also a baptism of the power of God, the power that enables you to tell others about Jesus, to be a witness, to share His love with others! It is a baptism of so much love that you cannot contain it, so much love that you simply must overflow on others. When you feel you’ve just got to tell someone about Jesus, you feel you cannot hold it in, you just have to tell them, this is the overflowing, the baptism of God’s Spirit!

The Holy Spirit helps, inspires, and strengthens us
Ephesians 3:16 – That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.
John 14:16 – And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.
John 16:7 – Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

The candle, the wick, and the Holy Spirit
Do you know the principle of the candle? It’s not really the wick that’s burning – although it does finally burn a little – but it’s the wax. That’s why it lasts so long.
If you just burn up your own energy you won’t last long! In the old days when they used to use kerosene lanterns that ran on oil, when the wick began to burn, it soon burned up just like that! But if they had plenty of oil, the wick lasted a long time because it’s the oil that burns. Oil is a good parallel or illustration of the Holy Spirit.
If you do the burning, you’re going to burn out fast! – But if you let the Spirit burn, you’ll last a long time! If things get too rough, maybe you’ve been burning too much. You haven’t let the Spirit do the burning.

The Holy Spirit guides us and gives us understanding of God’s Word
John 16:13 – However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
1 Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
2 Corinthians 3:6b – The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
You can read a Scripture all your life without meaning, until the Holy Spirit speaks it to you and applies it to a situation and brings it to life!
There are parts of the Bible that you can understand very clearly. There are parts of it which you can certainly apply to yourself and that have a message for you and me today and have had messages for His followers and all mankind for generations, for centuries, for millenniums. But it takes the divine guidance of the Lord to really sort this Book out right and understand exactly what it’s talking about. You really need the Holy Spirit. You need the guidance of the supernatural Holy Spirit of God to guide you aright through His Word.

To consider: How has the Holy Spirit brought the Word to life for you?

The Holy Spirit enhances our relationship with the Lord
Acts 9:31b – [The Early Church] walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
The word translated as “Helper” in the above verse is translated in the King James Version as “Comforter.” The original Greek word used here is parakletos which means “called to one’s side.” It was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleads another’s cause. A wider meaning is “intercessor” or “consoler.” Thus, “Comforter” actually gives us a closer idea of the original meaning than “Helper.”

The Holy Spirit empowers our witness to others
Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me.
Luke 4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

The main reason for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to give you power to witness!
It’s often difficult for us to express what we feel; we don’t always know how to put it into words. The Holy Spirit can inspire our words and get the point across much better than we can. Our words often seem to fall far short, but the Holy Spirit can cause our words to speak deeply to others’ hearts so they understand and feel the profundity of what you may so poorly be trying to express. The Holy Spirit can fill in the meaning, fill in the details that we fail to include. Like Paul said,

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 – And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (5) that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
If you are sincere and trying to do your best, then the Lord will bless your witness! The Holy Spirit will work regardless of how lacking or confusing your words are or how badly you do. You don’t have to be afraid of making a mess of things, because whatever you say to try to share the truth of the Word, the Lord is going to bless it.

The Holy Spirit working in our lives brings results
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
If you are filled with the Spirit, obeying the Spirit, and letting the Spirit work in your life, the results will be visible. When people receive the Lord, we don’t see Jesus go into their hearts. Likewise, we don’t see the Holy Spirit physically come into their spirits and lives, but you can sure see the difference afterwards! – In their faces, in their eyes, their smiles, there is a visible difference!

Section 2: The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

In the previous class you read how the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to His first disciples and the effect it had in their lives. Now we’re going to look more closely at the gifts of the Spirit and how these can make a difference in your life. Getting filled with the Spirit should bring some changes! Let’s look at what they are.

The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts
Now let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 12 and see what Paul taught about the gifts of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1 – Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.
And then he goes on to explain what he’s talking about.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 – There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
Listed here are nine basic gifts of the Spirit, but there are not only nine gifts, but there are all these variations on those gifts! What are they again? “Diversities of gifts,” “differences of ministries” – differences in the way in which they are given – and “diversities of activities” – differences in the way in which these gifts operate. “But it is the same God” – the same Spirit – “who works all in all.”
1 Corinthians 12:7 – But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
If you have Jesus and are filled with His Holy Spirit, you can experience the wonderful world of the spirit – its exciting sights, sounds, visions, voices, and even resultant physical thrills, like talking in tongues – manifestations, or gifts, of the Spirit.

Besides talking in tongues, eight other gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10:
1 Corinthians 12:8-10 – For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
But even these wonderful gifts of the Spirit that we now have are almost like childish toys compared to what’s coming! They are just tiny gifts from a loving Father to His simple little children to help communicate understanding of Himself and His Will! They are only a sample of glorious realities to come when Jesus comes again and we shall see Him as He is and be literally like Him, face to face, actually experiencing the fullness of the realities of God, which we only have by faith now in the realm of the Spirit! Paul even said in his prediction to the Corinthians that when we see Jesus face to face, we shall put away even these childish gifts of communication in the Spirit:
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 – Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. (9) For we know in part and we prophesy in part. (10) But when that which is perfect has come [Jesus], then that which is in part will be done away.

The gifts of the Spirit

There are nine basic gifts of the Spirit:
The unseen gifts: discernment, knowledge, wisdom
The unstoppable gift: faith.
The guiding gift: prophecy
The renewing gift: healings
The showstopper gift: miracles
The uplifting gift: tongues
The revelatory gift: interpretation of tongues

The Lord chooses which gifts to give to whom.
1 Corinthians 12:11 – But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

None of the gifts are essential as proofs of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The most important gifts of the Spirit are mostly quiet: knowledge, wisdom, faith, discernment, and prophecy. You can see miracles and healing and you can hear tongues. But it is these quieter gifts, some unseen, that are usually the most important for your daily service to the Lord: the knowledge that God gives you, the wisdom of how to use it, the discernment of spirits – not only evil spirits but good spirits, and your spirit – and faith to believe it, plus the gift of prophecy (hearing from God)!
Those are things you often can’t see, but they’re actually the most important! The other gifts are also important for you, but mostly for the sake of others, for outsiders, to help them believe.

1. Discernment
Discernment is defined as “keenness of insight or judgment” – the ability to perceive the spirit and intent behind what others say or do. God’s Word exhorts us to discern the difference between good and evil and to “test the spirits.”
1 John 4:1-6 – Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (2) By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (4) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (5) They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. (6) We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2. Knowledge
The spiritual gift of knowledge goes far beyond mental knowledge; it’s getting a glimpse of the heart and mind of God. You know things you wouldn’t otherwise know.
1 Corinthians 2:9-16 – But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (10) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (11) For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (13) These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. (16) For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

3. Wisdom
James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Proverbs 4:7 – Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
Proverbs 8:1, 5-7,11 – Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice? (5) O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. (6) Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things; (7) For my mouth will speak truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips (11) For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
What is wisdom? – How to use the knowledge of God! Wisdom is a wonderful gift! It’s one thing to know things, that’s knowledge, and that’s good, that’s one of the gifts of the Spirit, but it’s another thing to know how to use that knowledge, and that’s wisdom, another gift of the Spirit.
You may be very smart as far as facts and figures and history and even Bible knowledge, but if you don’t know how to use that knowledge to help someone else or help yourself or use it for a good purpose, what good is it?
A lot also depends on what kind of knowledge you have, whether it’s the knowledge of good or evil, and then, of course, it’s very important how you use that knowledge. If you give some people too much knowledge without wisdom they invent horrific bombs with their knowledge, and spend billions of dollars on armaments while millions are starving to death!

4. Faith
Hebrews 11:1,6 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
You certainly need faith! The gift of faith is not very obvious. You can’t see it; you can’t tell what color it is; you can’t hear it. Sometimes you can see it on people’s faces in a way, and you can certainly tell by the way they act how much faith they’ve got.
Every born-again child of God is given a measure of faith. Our faith grows every time we read, absorb, and act upon the Word of God. But to have especially great faith for certain things is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Having the gift of faith will lead to the visible gifts of healing and miracles.
For more on faith, read Hebrews 11.

Abraham walked by faith
Romans 4:19-21 – And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead [since he was about a hundred years old], and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. (20) He did not waver at the promise of God [that Sarah would conceive a child] through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, (21) and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

Humorous anecdote on faith
The minister’s sermon concerned the relationship between fact and faith. “That you are sitting before me in this church,” he said, “is fact. That I am standing, speaking from this pulpit, is fact. But it is only faith that makes me believe anyone is listening!”

The story of Etta
By Virginia Brandt Berg
When I was a pastor of a church in Wagoner, Oklahoma, there was a very consecrated Christian girl named Etta, who desired very much to go to Bible college and prepare for Christian service. For two years she prayed and waited for the money to come. In fact, the last year that she remained at home praying and looking for the finances to be advanced for her schooling, she got deeply in debt, and it looked as though the schooling was an absolute impossibility. She came to me weeping and much discouraged. I asked her if she knew that it was God’s will for her to go, and she answered she was absolutely sure of that. Then I said, “I would certainly not wait any longer. You have been asking the Lord for the money for two years, but you have never really definitely claimed it or shown in any way by your actions that you are really expecting Him to send it. If you really believed He was going to answer your prayer and give you the funds for railroad fare, tuition, etc., what would you do?”
“I’d get my clothes ready and write the school that I was coming and make all the other arrangements preparatory to going,” she answered.
“Well, then that is exactly what I would do if I really believed God heard my prayer and it was His will for me to go. I would definitely stand on His promise and go right ahead making every arrangement, just as you would do, if you had the money in hand, for real faith will proceed as if it already had the money. If someone wired you he was sending the money, you would believe that little yellow slip of paper, only a telegram, but when God Himself has wired you through His precious Word and promised you most definitely to give you the desire of your heart, you do not believe Him but act exactly as if you were saying, ‘Oh, that’s only the Word of God; that doesn’t mean anything; I wish some man or woman would send me word they’d help me.’
“But, Mrs. Berg,” the dear girl answered, “I don’t feel that way about God’s Word. I’ll prove to you that I believe Him and trust His promises to the limit. I’m going home and pack my clothes and get ready now. School opens in a very short time, and I’ll have to hurry to get ready.”
And that dear girl claimed a promise from God and never wavered from that moment. She went straight ahead with her preparations, just as if she already had the funds, so positive was she that God would not fail her, and the bank of Heaven would “open its windows” (Malachi 3:10) at just the right time. If this dear girl is reading this story now, she will smile with me as memory turns back to one peculiar incident that occurred during that preparation. She called me on the phone one day, in fact the very day before she was to leave, saying that her clothing was all ready, together with her other belongings, in neat piles in her room, but that she had no trunk. Over the phone we took the Scripture promise “And He shall supply your every need, according to His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).
I went about my work forgetting the incident. About an hour later, Mrs. M., a friend, called me over the phone, saying they were cleaning house and amongst a number of other things there was a trunk she had no use for, that was really in the way in the closet, and she wondered if I could use it. Laughingly, I told her she was filling an order from Heaven, only she had the wrong address, and the Lord wanted the trunk sent to Etta’s home.
Next night, a number of us went to the train to bid farewell to this dear girl, as she started to college. At the depot she whispered to me, “Sister Berg, the money hasn’t come yet, but I am not the least bit frightened, for I absolutely know the Lord has heard my prayer and I know ‘that I have the petition that I desired’” (1John.5:14-15). I will confess I was a bit distressed and thought there must have been a mistake somewhere, for the board of the church had told me they had taken up a little offering for her amongst themselves. As I was wondering about this, I heard the train whistle in the distance, and far away I saw the glow of the headlight. I noted Etta was earnestly watching my face. There was nothing to say. I could not help but wonder, but I knew that God did not dare fail such faith as hers.
Suddenly, a friend our ours, the chairman of the board at the time and a very active Christian worker, named Mr. Trollinger, came hurrying into the depot and up to us. He greeted us with these words, “I was doing some work at the office (just a couple of blocks away) when I heard the train whistle and thought of the money the men had given me to give to Etta, and here is some more, a gift from my wife and me.”
“And here is some,” said another voice – a friend of Mr. Trollinger who had met him hurrying to the depot.
“All aboard,” called the conductor, “all aboard.”
“All aboard God’s promises,” I said to Etta. “It pays, doesn’t it?”
“It’s wonderful,” she answered, “simply wonderful, what faith can do.”
And that is the story of one who dared to put faith into action; to proceed as if possessing; one who reckoned on the faithfulness of God.

5. Prophecy
The gift of prophecy – that of receiving messages from the Lord – is perhaps the most important of all of the gifts of the Spirit. Paul practically puts it at the top of the list in the 14th chapter. He said:
1 Corinthians 14:3 – But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
1 Corinthians 14:5 – I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church [believers] may receive edification.
In prophecy you’re talking in your own language, and you’re relating divine inspired words that come pouring through straight from the Lord or His angels or good spirits. It’s so easy you don’t have to work for it; it’s a gift, you just give it!
One person may prophesy very beautifully and fluently in language that’s almost Biblical, while another person prophesies haltingly, slowly, and rather roughly. It’s a difference in the tools, in the instruments. The Lord is the One who is giving it to both of them; it’s all His inspiration. It’s just that certain ones are gifted in different ways, with different strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and inabilities.
Through the gift of prophecy you receive divine guidance, which is going to become even more essential as the days of the near future grow darker.
Acts 2:17 – And it shall come to pass in the Last Days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
As this is a big subject, we’ll look at it in depth in later classes (4A and 4B).

The Call of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:3-9 – It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. (4) Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying: (5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (6) Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” (7) But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. (8) Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. (9) Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My Words in your mouth.”
Jeremiah was born in the village of Anathoth, situated north of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin. He was called to the prophetic ministry in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign, about 627 B.C.
Jeremiah’s call is one of the most instructive passages in his book. God declared that he had sanctioned him as a prophet even before he was born (Jeremiah 1:5). But the young man responded with words of inadequacy: “Ah, Lord God!” (vs. 6). These words actually mean “No, Lord God!” Jeremiah pleaded that he was a youth and that he lacked the ability to speak. But God replied that he was being called not because of age or ability but because God had chosen him.
Immediately Jeremiah saw the hand of God reaching out and touching his mouth. “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth,” God declared (vs. 9). From that moment, the words of the prophet were to be the Words of God (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).

Prayer and prophecy solve labor problems
(From Marie Claire, India)
A close friend of ours came to us for prayer and counsel: A labor dispute and strike threatened to destroy his business.
We prayed and received a message from Jesus in prophecy, in which the Lord promised it would all work out in His time. The Lord also had some specific counsel for our friend about learning to work more as a team with his staff, how to improve relations with his workers, and how to prepare for the future.
It took two months for our friend to finish implementing the Lord’s counsel, but in due time everyone learned what they needed to, the strike ended, and things are going better now than before the problem erupted – just like Jesus said they would!

6./7. Healing and miracles
The gifts of healing and miracles are sixth and seventh on the list. You’ve got to stay healthy or you’re not going to serve the Lord very well. To believe that the Lord can heal is important for your own sake and the sake of your fellow believers.
It is sometimes also necessary for the sake of others. God has often used healing and miracles to get a crowd for the sake of the publicity so they can hear the message and believe. But note that God uses the gift of healing in this way because He loves and cares for people and wants them to be healed and to be drawn closer to Him. Such healings are not meant to glorify the individual to whom God has given the gift. It is a gift to be used in sincerity, humility, and love.
Miracles encourage people to believe. Miracles can be very visible. The English word “miracle” comes from the Latin word mirari, to wonder at. Miracles grab people’s attention.
Jesus still performs miracles for and through His followers today – miracles of healing and other events. He promises,
John 14:12 – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

A healing miracle!
(From Francisco and Margarita in Mexico)
Maria had already been in a coma for over 20 days when her sister contacted us and asked us to pray for Maria. A heart attack when eight month’s pregnant had caused Maria to lose the baby she was carrying. Now doctors had all but given up hope for Maria to recover. Even if she came out of the coma, one of her kidneys would need to be removed. Her sister was desperate.
When we went to the hospital to pray for Maria, most of her family was there. Everyone held hands in a circle and prayed for Maria to come out of the coma and completely recover.
The next day, Maria woke up from the coma, and about a week later her doctors said she wouldn’t have to have the kidney removed after all. They said that Maria’s turnabout couldn’t be explained medically, and that it must have been a miracle.
Now Maria is almost back to full health – yet another case of “with men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

Miracle of protection!
(From Ben, USA)
There have been so many airplane crashes and near crashes in recent months that if you heard about the cargo plane that ran off the end of a Miami airport runway and exploded, chances are you didn’t think much more about it. Neither did I, until my daughter phoned to say the crash was immediately in front of the computer store owned and operated by good friends of ours, and that our friends were in the store at the time!
We phoned them immediately, and visited them several days later. Earthmovers were still scooping up fuel-tainted soil when we arrived. Before telling us their amazing story, our friends read us the following excerpts from Psalm 91:
“He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver [me] from … the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”
The plane crashed just after noon, they explained, and slid for hundreds of feet before stopping just a few feet from their building. The plane pushed several cars up against the building, and a piece of one of the plane’s engines flew through the glass door of their shop, making an escape route for the people inside. The three of them and their only customer at the time were able to squeeze through to safety. Seconds later, a large blast filled in the space along the building through which they had just made their escape.
When the fire was extinguished and they were allowed to return to the scene, they expected to find their shop gutted. They were in for a surprise.
The neighboring store was a burnt-out shell, but the only damage to our friends’ place was a melted storefront sign and the broken glass door that had allowed them to get out. Just inside the door was an outgoing shipment of computer monitors, undamaged and still stacked neatly. A few feet away, next to the couch where my six-year-old had rested when we had visited our friends the evening before the crash, was a box of pants labels which had been part of the plane’s cargo.
Before we left, we helped one of our friends as he painted in large letters on his boarded-up shop door: “Thank God we survived! Psalm 91.” That same friend was later interviewed on several nationwide talk shows, and each time he took the opportunity to thank the Lord publicly for His protection. What a miracle!

8. Tongues
The gift of tongues is the ability to speak, pray, or praise God in one or more unlearned languages.
Acts 2:4 – And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Sometimes these are earthly languages, but more often these tongues are heavenly languages which are unintelligible to the speaker or anyone else except through the gift of interpretation.
1 Corinthians 14:2 – For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

The gift of tongues can enhance your prayer life.
1 Corinthians 14:14 – For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
You not only need the infilling of the Holy Spirit to have the power and strength to witness to others, but also to help you in your own personal communication with the Lord. Tongues are good for the edifying of your own spirit. It is a miraculous manifestation even to yourself. It’s wonderful to be set free in the Spirit! Your spirit is edified. It means your spirit is being enlightened and inspired.
Even if you don’t know what you’re praying for, when you pray in tongues, the Spirit prays through you. The Spirit knows what to pray for. Go ahead and let the Spirit lead!
Romans 8:26b – The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The difference between praying and praising in tongues, and receiving a message in tongues.
There is a difference between tongues of praise which do not have to be interpreted, and messages in tongues which should be interpreted.

Tongues of praise:
1 Corinthians 4:5b – Each one’s praise will come from God.
Hebrews 13:15 – Therewfore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Messages in tongues:
Acts 19:6 – And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
1 Corinthians 14:5 – I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church [believers] may receive edification.
Most people who have the gift of tongues only pray or praise the Lord in tongues, which is wonderfully edifying for your spirit – thrilling, exciting, a miracle, the most obvious of all the gifts of the Spirit and the commonest, but the least useful for anybody but yourself!
Some people have the gift of receiving messages in tongues, which is a little more rare. The Lord gives the interpretation to them or to someone else. We’ll talk more about this when we discuss interpretation.

The gift of tongues is largely for your own benefit.
It is not the most important gift, although it is perhaps the most well known.
1 Corinthians 14:19 – Yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:22a – Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers;

The gift of tongues is not essential, nor is it the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Not everybody receives the gift of tongues when they’re filled with the Spirit, and you don’t have to have the gift of tongues to prove that you were filled with the Spirit! There are eight other basic gifts; why should everyone have to receive the gift of tongues?
Lots of people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit without necessarily speaking in tongues – although eventually, most people who have the Holy Spirit are apt to speak in tongues, too, because it’s a wonderful way of praying. It’s one of the commonest gifts, although mostly just for your own benefit and your own edification in the Spirit to be able to pray in tongues.

Testimonies of Receiving the Gift of Tongues
Most people who receive the gift of tongues receive a “tongue of angels” that is not a recognizable language (1 Corinthians 13:1). However in some exceptional cases, people receive the gift of an earthly language, just like in Acts chapter 2.

Estonian the easy way
Pentecost’s miracle still happens today. Since the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, Christians have experienced that people can suddenly speak languages which they never learned, and which can be understood by others.
Kertu Gasman and Lia Piir, two Christian women from the Baltic nation of Estonia recently told of a missionary journey to neighboring Latvia. Both women traveled as part of a team from their hometown Tallinn to Latvia in 1989, two years before Estonia’s independence, to pray and evangelize. The Estonian and Latvian languages are very different despite their geographical proximity, so Kertu and Lia had to speak Russian in order to be understood. In a prayer meeting, a Latvian girl suddenly spoke loudly in Estonian: “Lift your eyes, because your hope and Savior is coming soon.” Kertu later went to the girl and told her how surprised she was that she could speak Estonian. The girl replied “Estonian? I can’t speak a single word!” The Christians present, who were still suffering under a Communist regime, understood this as an encouragement from God.

When they sang, it was Spanish!
By Jonathan from Columbia
Years ago I was living in New York with a Christian rock band. I am from Colombia and I know Spanish and English, but none of the members of the band with whom I was living spoke a word of Spanish. They were all American and only spoke English. I had met the Lord only six months before and I was a new Christian.
The band had made several tapes of their practice sessions, as at the time they were preparing to record some songs professionally and would also do functions at youth gatherings.
One day I was doing some jobs around the house and I was listening to one of the tapes that they had recorded. A particular song had came on in which the group started singing in tongues. At first I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but as the song progressed, these Americans who couldn’t speak a word of Spanish started singing in beautiful poetic Spanish! I was shocked and thrilled! And they went on and on – out of their mouths came forth a beautiful message of how love will reign forever.
As a young Christian, this was a wonderful sign to me of one of the Lord’s supernatural gifts of His Spirit!

9. Interpretation of tongues
1 Corinthians 14:13-16 – Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. (14) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. (15) What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (16) Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?
Sometimes tongues are meant to be understood by the Lord alone, but other times they convey messages that the Lord wants you and possibly others to understand and benefit from. The Lord can give you the interpretation of the message in tongues if you ask Him and if it is something that you are meant to understand.
An interpretation is like a prophecy. The only difference between interpreting tongues and direct prophecy is that with prophecy there’s no intermediary message in tongues, you just get it straight from the Lord without the secondary step of having to get it in tongues first and then interpret.

Using God’s gifts with the right motives
The main purpose of the Spirit’s gifts is to help others and ourselves to be closer to the Lord. Let’s look at a few examples: A miracle can increase someone’s faith. A prayer in tongues can be used by the Lord to edify our spirit. We can receive instruction via a prophecy. These are gifts from a loving heavenly Father to His children to help communicate understanding of Himself and His Will.

We should not belittle or neglect the “gifts of the Spirit.
2 Timothy 1:6 – Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
1 Corinthians 12:31a – But earnestly desire the best gifts.
The gifts of the Spirit are not meant to be played with or proudly displayed or used for personal profit.

Not to be bought
Acts 8:18-21 – And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

Patience!
If you ask for a gift, the Lord will answer, but He will choose which are the most important gifts for you in your life and also the right timing to manifest those gifts. Have patience!
James 1:4 – But let patiewnce have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Love!
You can have all the gifts of the Spirit and all the prophecy, tongues, teaching, and everything else, but it isn’t worth much unless you have love! Love is the most important thing! Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:1 – But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. (13:1) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Closing Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for how You reveal Your Word to us. It takes Your Spirit to open our eyes and show us Your truth. Please help us to acknowledge You each time we read Your Word, and may Your Holy Spirit give us an understanding of what You want to tell us. Help us to stay close to You now, Lord, as we go about our way, and to carry Your Spirit with us. Amen.

Class 2A: Acts

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, we thank You for Your Word that You’ve given us a yardstick by which we can measure all things, and a guidebook that we can know the way which You’d have us go. Enlighten our minds, Lord, through the Word! If we want faith, faith comes by hearing the Word of God! Increase our faith today, through Your Word.

Bible Study – Acts 1-4

Today we’re going to be studying about the Holy Spirit. We’ll be studying Acts chapters 1 to 4, with a focus on the Holy Spirit. This is presented in quiz fashion. Follow it in your Bible. (You may want to read the chapter straight through to start with, then look back at the questions here and see if you can get the answers!)

Acts chapter 1

Q? The chapter begins with a reminder of what Jesus had told His followers to do before He ascended. What was that?
A: To wait.
Acts 1:4-5 – He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.

Q? Did they obey? Did they wait?
A: Yes.

Q? Where?
A: In Jerusalem.

Q? Why?
A: Because Jesus had commanded them to. He had a promise to go with that instruction, like He does with nearly all commandments; most promises have a condition!

Q? If they kept the commandment, what would happen? What is the key verse of the whole Book of Acts?
A: Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me … to the end of the earth.

Q? Why do you suppose He told them to wait in Jerusalem? Why didn’t they wait someplace out in the country? Why didn’t they wait up in Samaria?
A: For one thing, that’s where they were at the time. They were right outside the walls of Jerusalem when He gave them this commandment – on the Mount of Olives. They were fasting and praying and waiting on the Lord.
Acts 1:14 – These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
But the main reason He had them wait in Jerusalem was so they would be in the right place at the right time for the mighty miracle which was about to happen

Q? All told there were how many?
A: 120. That is quite a number of people in one upper room! It says, “These all continued … with the women.”

Acts chapter 2

Now here is the reason and purpose God had them in Jerusalem.
Acts 2:1 – Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
They were united in mind and heart and spirit! If we’re not going to be united in mind and heart and spirit, we’ll miss the blessing.

Q? Do you know what the Day of Pentecost was?
A: It was the 50th day after Passover, called the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of the Harvest in the Old Testament.
The Greek word pentekoste meant 50th, so it was the 50th day after Passover. Pentecost was an annual Jewish feast day. What they’d been celebrating for so many thousands of years was now about to happen – the fulfillment of the foreshadowing of this feast! Pentecost was the harvest feast.

Q? Do you think it just happened by accident that it was on the Day of Pentecost that the Lord poured out His Spirit? Why did He have them meet in Jerusalem? Why did He have them stay there together in one accord? – Just for the pouring out of the Spirit? Couldn’t He have poured out His Spirit just as well on the 120 someplace else?
A: He had them there for a witness. The main purpose of the Day of Pentecost was not just the mighty signs and wonders and the supernatural manifestations, which most people seem to think was the main purpose of the power. The Holy Spirit manifestations were only a means to an end! The most important thing is the witness that they were to the crowds of people who had come to Jerusalem for the feast.

Q? What was the most important thing that happened that day? It was not just the outpouring of the Spirit, but it was what?
A: You’ll find it in the 41st verse of the 2nd chapter.
Acts 2:41 – Then those who gladly received his [Peter's] word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Three thousand people received Jesus and were saved! That is the most important thing that happened on the Day of Pentecost! – not the outpouring of the Spirit, believe it or not, although that was essential for it! The one cannot do without the other.
The greatest, most important thing that happened that morning was not the outpouring of the power and a lot of people talking in tongues! It was not all that prayer, but it was the end result – what they accomplished, as an absolutely inalterable effect of that prayer and that praise and that outpouring and that power! That was the final aim and goal of the whole affair, as far as God was concerned – souls saved! Acts 2:41 is the most important verse in the 2nd chapter.
In verses 14 to 39 we have a wonderful sermon by Peter: It is an explanation to the hearers of what was going on, so that they could understand. Through the preaching of the Gospel to the big crowd that the miracle attracted, they had tremendous results! So why did they meet in Jerusalem? The Lord told them to, and now you begin to see God’s reason for it!

Q? Why do you suppose all these people mentioned in the 9th and 10th verses were there?
A: Because there was a big feast day and there were a lot of international visitors in town. Jews came from all over the world for these famous feasts.
To give the Early Christian Church a real send-off and to get them really rolling, the Lord let them preach a couple of sermons (Acts chapter 3) that got about another 8,000 souls saved!

Q? That wasn’t all that happened on the Day of Pentecost; what else happened?
A: Look at verses 1-4. They “began to speak with other tongues.”
Acts 2:1-4 – Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now look at verses 6-8. The people heard them speak in many languages.
Acts 2:6-8 – And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. (7) Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? (8) And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?”
Some say, “They weren’t really speaking in anything supernatural; these were all languages that they knew!” Why were the people amazed and why did they all marvel if the disciples already knew those languages? It was obviously a miracle, because the disciples were ignorant Galileans who didn’t know how to speak these languages, so their doing so made the people come running! That’s why the great crowd came!
Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “Ye shall receive power … and ye shall be witnesses unto Me.” The main thing is not whether you receive tongues, as long as you receive power for witnessing! – That’s the principal purpose! If you get enough power to make you blast off your launch pad and get out and do something for Jesus, then it doesn’t matter whether you speak in tongues or you don’t! Some people witness with power long before they ever speak in tongues!
Jesus said the Holy Spirit was power for witnessing! When they got that power the first time, they witnessed and they got the results that the Lord said it was for: 3,000 souls saved.

A look at “witnessing”
We’ve talked about how the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to witness. “Witness” according to the dictionary means to testify. So how can we testify of our faith? There aren’t too many of us that are either ready or in a position to stand up in front of a crowd of 3,000, but that’s not the only method of witnessing! There are many ways we can share our faith with others, and the Lord does expect us to do this.

Some witnessing ideas!
Talking to our family members about what you are learning.
Talking to people at work or place of study about Jesus and His salvation.
Talking to people when we’re out shopping and doing business and letting them know God loves them.
Giving out tracts.
Including some sort of a witnessing message in the letters you write.
Inviting people to meet other believers (such as at fellowship meetings).
Offering Activated subscriptions.

Now look at verses 17-20.
Acts 2:17-20 – And it shall come to pass in the Last Days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. (18) And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. (19) I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Look at verse 42.
Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
This verse tells us what the four necessary things for new believers are:
1. “Doctrine” – good teaching.
2. “Fellowship” – the meeting together of believers like we are doing here.
3. “Breaking bread” – sharing your food, your material blessings.
4. “Prayer.”

Q? What were the results?
A: Wonders and signs.
Acts 2:43 – Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
Look at verses 46-47.
Acts 2:46-47 – So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (47) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church [body of believers] daily those who were being saved.
After the Day of Pentecost got the results the Lord intended, the apostles began to really go to work. They didn’t confine their religion to the temple. They went “house to house.”
Notice here that the word “church” doesn’t denote a building, but the body of believers.

The meaning of the word “church”
Although we often think of the word “church” as referring to a building, this is not its original meaning. In almost every verse in the New Testament where you find the word “church,” it has been translated from the Greek ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew kahal of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly. There is no clear instance of it being used for a place of meeting or of worship. In the days of the Early Church, the believers mostly gathered in their own homes for worship.
Romans 16:5a – Greet the church that is in their house.
A special building is not essential for worship. Our attitude to the Lord is more important than a location.
John 4:24 – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Acts 7:48 – The Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands.
1 Corinthians 3:16 – Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Peter 2:5 – You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Acts chapter 3

In Acts Chapter 3 and 4 we read more about the results of the disciples being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 3:1 – Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Now look at verses 2-3.
Acts 3:2-3 – And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; (3) who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
Then came one of God’s great setups: This lame man was sitting by the temple gate. Pentecost was the first setup God designed to get the Word out to a lot of people. Now He picks another setup that is going to get the message out to even more! He picks somebody that people had seen day after day at the gate of the temple. – Everybody in town knew he was a lame man and a beggar.

Q? Along came Peter and John, and what happened?
A: Peter says, “Sorry, we haven’t got any money, but we’ll pray for you! If you’ll trust the Lord and us, God will give you something better than money!” So a great miracle happened: The man is healed, and the people were filled with wonder!
Acts 3:4-10 – And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” (5) So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. (6) Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (7) And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. (8) So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God (9) And all the people saw him walking and praising God: (10) And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

Q? When Peter saw what was hapbpening, did he leave the temple and keep them wondering?
A: No. They were wondering what was going on and Peter was ready to tell them! He took advantage of the opportunity to preach them a sermon, like he did on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 3:12 – So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”
We’ll turn now to Chapter 4 to find out the results of this miracle.

Acts chapter 4

Q? After the healing of the lame man, Peter had another wonderful opportunity for preaching the Word, and what was the result? He preached them a pretty stiff sermon, and what happened?
A: Five thousand were saved.
Acts 4:4 – However, many of those who heard the Word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Q? What happened after that?
A: Peter and John got tossed in jail.
Acts 4:1-3 – Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, (2) being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

Q? Why could Peter preach such good sermons?–Because he had such a good education?
A: It was the work of the Holy Spirit!
Acts 4:13 – Now when they [the religious leaders] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Q? Did the religious council figure that they were “highly educated and learned men”?
A: No. They marveled because they saw that same power in Peter and John that Jesus had when He walked the earth. They were bold, despite the fact they hadn’t had any formal education. They just went ahead and witnessed anyhow, and they had tremendous power! It was obvious they had been with Jesus: They had the Master’s power to do the Master’s work!
The religious leaders that observed them couldn’t understand how come they had so much courage and so much nerve and so much boldness! “They perceived that they had been with Jesus.” Peter and John knew what Jesus taught, they knew how Jesus lived – they knew Jesus! They didn’t have anything else but Jesus and boldness, but they really got results.

Q? What was the final analysis of these enemies?
A: They couldn’t deny the proof!
Acts 4:14 – And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
There was the proof, what could they say against it? The men were so bold and had such power of Jesus and such proof of the power standing by their side!
Acts 4:16 – Saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.”

We can see from this chapter that the first crisis of the Church was Peter and John being arrested.
Q? What type of a crisis was it? Internal or external?
A: It was an outside attack – persecution.

Q? What was the result of this crisis? Why did the Lord allow them to get tossed into jail? Why couldn’t He have spared them from that apparent defeat and that terrible shame and reproach?
Spend a few minutes discussing why the Lord might have allowed this to happen.

Q? Think a bit about Peter. This was the same man who some weeks earlier had denied Jesus. Now he is determined to witness, no matter what the cost. He then spoke boldly before huge crowds of people. What brought about such a transformation?
A: The Holy Spirit.
(For more on “Peter’s Transformation,” see Activated magazine #2.)

Now look at verse 24.
Acts 4:24 – So when they heard [what had happened], they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them.”
The disciples got together to share what had happened and praised the Lord together.
Now look at verse 31.
Acts 4:31 – And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.

Q? Were they scared stiff now because they had been told not to speak in this Name any more, and not to preach Christ?
A: No! They spoke the Word of God with boldness.

Now look at verse 32.
Acts 4:32 – Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
God had a marvelous plan for His believers – as told in the book of Acts! – A blueprint for a way of life! This is the pattern for missions! This is the way His followers ought to live and act and spread the message! This is a pattern, an example, and it’s still going on! God has a spiritual pattern for His followers: Prayer, praise, study, teaching, doctrine, and witnessing activity.

Q? What was the result, economically, for the believers?
A: They may not have had all they wanted, but none of them lacked anything they needed.
Acts 4:34 – Nor was there anyone among them who lacked.

Now look at verse 33.
Acts 4:33 – And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
The apostles became powerful witnesses as a result of all they were experiencing and because of the moving of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

What is an “apostle”?
“Apostle” is a person sent by another; a messenger; an envoy. This word is generally used as designating the body of disciples to whom Jesus primarily entrusted the organization of the believers and the dissemination of the Gospel, “the twelve,” as they are called (Matthew 10:1-5; Mark 3:14; 6:7; Luke 6:13; 9:1).

Is the gift of tongues an essential manifestation of the Holy Spirit?
The answer simply is that tongues is just one of the gifts (which we will be learning more about in the next class).
There are those who say that what happened in Acts 2 means that everyone who receives the Holy Spirit must speak in tongues. But wouldn’t it also hold true in that case that the other supernatural signs in the first verses would also have to be manifested in or on those filled with the Spirit? Besides speaking with tongues what were they? “A sound as of a mighty rushing wind and as it were cloven tongues of fire sitting upon each one of them.”

Do you get automatically filled with the Holy Spirit when you get saved?
It is a good idea to include asking for the power and infilling of the Holy Spirit in the salvation prayer. However, being baptized with the Holy Spirit can be a separate experience which follows salvation (Acts 19:1-7).

Ending note

Prayer for greater measure of the Holy Spirit
Even if we have already received the Holy Spirit, sometimes if we’re feeling a little dry or in spiritual need, it is helpful to pray for a fresh infusion. A greater measure of the Holy Spirit can certainly benefit all of us.

Sample prayer:
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We ask You for a “renewing of the Holy Ghost!” (Tit.3:5). Please give us all a greater measure of Your Holy Spirit, that Your mighty power can fill and inspire us! We can’t do all of the things you want us to by our own power or will, but we know You can work through us, as You have done through your followers over the ages. You tell us “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit!” (Zec.4:6). Empower and inspire us. Please give each of us a greater measure of love, and greater power to witness. Amen!

Class 12: Going Gods Way

Class 12A: What are the Standards

Class 12B: What is His Will

Class 11: Overcoming Problems

Class 11A: Three Steps to Victory

Class 11B: Three Steps to Victory (part two)

Class 10: Witnessing

Class 10A: The Seven Steps

Class 10B: Getting Results

Class 9: Heaven

Class 9A: Whats it Like

Class 9B: Now and Forever

Class 8: The Greatest Love

Class 8A: The Love of Jesus

Class 8B: Eternal Salvation

Class 7: Bible Prophecy

Class 7A: Daniel 2

Class 7B: Signs of the Times

« Previous Page — Next Page »