till I come give attendance to reading exhortation to doctrine and what I want
to preach to you about this morning is the threefold cord of Bible study the
threefold cord of Bible study see the Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 4
verse 12 that a threefold cord is not quickly broken meaning this that a cord
that is made of three separate strands that are woven together is something
that is not quickly broken whereas one on its own might break rather easily the
Bible says the Bible is teaching us here that something that consists of three
cords would be much stronger that's very true we would see that even if you look
at modern cabling today cables that hold up large bridges are not just one single
strand of steel but there are rather many strands of steel that are woven
together and twisted together and even those are then twisted other ones and
you have many bands of steel that are create a very strong core and I believe
that the Bible is showing us here that that there is actually that that a
threefold cord is being prescribed here at first term with you first Timothy
chapter 4 and verse 13 we see that where it says to give it until I come give
attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine so we see that there are three
things you're reading exhortation and doctrine and these three things make up
the threefold cord of Bible study now you'd say well what's the point why
should we even consider ourselves what but we have to understand today that
there's a very there's there's a very real need that we have a strong cord of
Bible study that we have a very strong and stable cord that is able to hold us
because the Bible says in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 evil men and seducers shall
works worse wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived so the
Bible is telling us there in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 that when as the end times
approach things are going to get worse and worse it's a complete opposite what
so many people want to think that things are going to get better and better no
the Bible says that the things are going to get worse and worse in terms of evil
men and seducers it's not in terms of you know our lives are going to become
more and more miserable it's just that there's going to be more seducers and
evil men out there seeking to deceive us and that it's going to be worse and
worse and as time presses on that at least grow closer to the coming of
Christ we're going to see more and more evil and wicked men trying to seduce us
and that is why we need to have a strong threefold cord of Bible study now even
the strongest anchors in the world require a chain they require a chain
sometimes I'll watch these uh these these videos about there's something I
saw of these great big ships when they drop these anchors they drop these
massive huge anchors that are capable of going down and holding just these
gigantic ships in place and all these anchors as big as they are they would be
completely useless if it were not for a very large chain consisting of very very
large links many of what one of the links alone would probably weigh many
several hundreds of pounds so even the strongest of anchors is of no use
without a strong chain and that's why we need to have a strong cord yes we have
the Word of God we have an anchor that we can our souls can attach to that
hold us firm in the midst of the waves of life and the waves of false
doctrine we have a very strong anchor but it does us no good if we have not
connected a very strong cord between us and the Word of God between our minds
and our hearts and the Word of God we must develop a strong cord the way that
is done here is through reading exhortation and doctrine and that's what
we're going to talk about this morning you see even a brittle cord will break
under increasing pressure and that's what we see as it says there that men
shall wax worse and worse meaning as time goes on there's going to be more
stress and more strain put upon the the core of doctrine that is holding us to
the Word of God that men are going to try and push us harder and harder away
from the things of God they're going to try and push us away harder and harder
away from the foundation of our faith the Bible the Word of God there are many
ancient heresies that are still alive and well today if you think about it I
mean the oldest of all would be work salvation you think of of Cain bringing
the the fruit of the ground to offer to God when he was instructed to bring the
blood of the land trying to work his own way to heaven that's an heresy that has
gone nowhere but it's been here from the from the beginning of time it's been a
consistent pressure against the Word of God and against the Spirit of God that
there are those that would desire to to teach and instruct others that they have
to in some way work their way to heaven and it shows up in many different forms
but it's all basically the same thing some people will tell you you know that
there's certain sacraments that you have to fulfill within the Catholic Church in
order to go to heaven then you have to be baptized and catechized and
homogenized and pasteurized and all these other things that you have to do
they also tell you you know that there's a some people try to say you know you
can lose your salvation that if you don't behave right that somehow God is
going to punish you by by putting you you know sending you to hell and not
allowing you to come to heaven which makes no sense I mean if salvation is a
free gift and when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we become his child we
know that we will always be his children and that we will be able to go one day
to dwell with him at home in heaven that's not to say that God won't punish
us on this earth you know in our physical life but spiritually we know
that if we are born again by the Word of God that we will go to heaven when we
die no matter what we cannot lose that so there's this ancient heresy of work
salvation this is just one example that shows up in many different forms you
know people that will say you know you have to repent of your sin to be saved
people that say that you have to give up a certain sinner or multitude of sins in
order to prove that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that's just not the
case we know that's not the case that's not the thrust of the message here
that's not the point I'm trying to make but what I'm trying to show us here is
that there has always been this constant pressure upon the people of God against
the Word of God to push people off the rock of their faith the Word of God and
if it were not for a strong cord of understanding of Bible study of the
knowledge of the Word of God we would not be where we are today we would not
have men that have would stood those those waves of heresy that have come
crashing against them and we see even today as it says you know man shall and
seducer shall works worse and worse it's going to get worse so even though we
still deal with these ancient heresies that are still prevalent today there's
also new ones that are arising it's getting worse and worse you know we
think about these the Hebrew roots now I don't know how new that really is and
you can just call it Judaizing which is something that's been going on for
thousands of years now but the Hebrew roots and the sacred name movement and
in this this desire to bring people back under the law you know others just
foolish and silly doctrines that are popping up like the Flat Earth things
that I believe are designed to make Christians look stupid that would that
would give a bad name in the name of Christ something as foolish as the Flat
Earth where a person could you know point to it and say well look Christians
believe that in a Flat Earth when it can be proven that it isn't very simply so
we should avoid these things and we have to understand that these things are
going to pop up you know we think even recently of the the whole oneness thing
that came through the anti-trinitarian view which is just as a fundamental
doctrine the Trinity of the faith but even that is something that we have to
stand against and then what I'm pointing to say that is that even though we're
there that there are ancient heresies we have to understand that they're not
going to go away but rather that even more heresy is going to be added and
added and added and as we grow closer to the time of the coming of Christ and the
rise of the Antichrist we must understand that things are going to wax
worse and worse in terms of false doctrine in terms of heresy in terms of
those that would seek to deceive us and draw us away from the Word of God now
Paul tells us here specifically that the three cords that we need to break
together to found ourselves to the Word of God to attach ourselves to the anchor
of the Word of God are reading exhortation and doctrine and that these
three disciplines will create a strong cord that will that will secure us to
the Word of God will be like that rock climber on the face of the rock who's
trying to get to the top I mean that is the Christian life we're trying to reach
through a great struggle and through difficulty and effort we're trying to
reach to the top of the mount and the way that any mountain climber he's going
to be attached to that mountain to the face of that rock by a very strong cord
because there will be times you know when our hands slip when our foot slips
and we might fall even but we won't plummet all the way at the bottom and
end in you know in a catastrophe but if we have a strong cord it will catch us
it will keep us from falling and it will allow us to recover and you continue to
climb on so that threefold cord is reading exhortation and doctrine we see
the need for it let's talk specifically about those braids number one the first
braid that we need to weave into that cord is the the cord of reading as he
says there give attendance to reading so reading is the basis for all study this
threefold cord really it begins with reading I mean without the reading
everything else is not going to happen it is the foundation of Bible study is
daily Bible reading that's the first thing we need to look at turn to
Deuteronomy chapter 17 Deuteronomy chapter 17 will look where we are
instructed in Scripture to read daily in the Word of God Deuteronomy chapter 17
Deuteronomy chapter 17 Deuteronomy chapter 17 we're going to begin reading
in verse 14 Deuteronomy 17 14 when thou art come into the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee and shall possess it and shall dwell therein and shall say I
will set thee I will set a king over me like as the nations that are about me
thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall choose
one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee thou mayest not set a
stranger over thee which is not thy brother but he shall but he shall not
multiply horses to himself nor cause the people to return to Egypt to the end
that he should multiply horses for as the Lord has said unto you he shall
henceforth return nor no more that way neither shall he multiply wives to
himself that his heart turn not away neither shall he greatly multiply to
himself silver or gold and it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his
kingdom that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which
is perfor before the priests the Levites and it shall be with him and he shall
read therein all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord his
God to keep all the words of this law these statutes to do them so we see here
and if you would turn over to Deuteronomy 6 that God gave a very
specific commandment to those that were the king to those that would rule over
the people of Israel that the king was to write him a copy of the law and that
he was to read in it all the days of his life and you know today we are like
another kings and priests we shall rule and reign with Christ we also ought to
be found daily reading we ought to have a copy of these words of these
commandments with us excuse me we ought to read all the days of our life
Deuteronomy chapter 6 of verse 1 now these are the commandments and statutes
and judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you that you might do
them in the land where do you go to possess it that thou mightest fear the
Lord thy God to keep all the statutes and his commandments which I command
thee thou and thy son and thy son sons all the days of thy life that died and
that thy days may be prolonged here therefore oh Israel and observe to do it
that it may be well with thee and that he may increase mightily as the Lord God
thy fathers had promised thee the land that thou that floweth with milk and
with and honey here oh Israel the Lord our God is one Lord now shall love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might and
these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou
shall teach them teach them diligently to thy children and shall talk of them
when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way when thou
lies down when thou risest up and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine
hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write
them upon the posts of thy house and of thy gates you get the impression here
when we read this that God wants his people to pay attention to the
commandments and the words of God I mean he's telling me that they should talk of
them when they sit us down when they rise us up when they walk by the way
when they sit in their house that they should write them upon the frontlets of
their eyes that the commandments of God should always be before them that they
should write them upon the posts of their house you think about it when a
man goes in and out of his house to work you know there's one door in that house
where he's going to go in and out of and if there the Word of God is written
there he is surely from day to day going to see the Word of God written before
his eyes so we see this principle here in Scripture and it's very and I don't
think it's a very you know it's not it's not a stretch to think that God would
want us to read the Bible daily Jesus said you know give us this day our daily
bread is not the Word of God the bread of life is not the Word of God something
that we should be found in daily reading so we see that the first strand of the
threefold cord is the strand of Bible reading daily Bible reading now that's
that's a very you know we ought to be we're often exhorted to read the Bible
now we go to a church at faithful word where the whole sermons are dedicated to
the topic of Bible reading and I believe that's why we have a church that is full
of people that read the Bible and that's why we have a church that is full of
people who understand and know the Word of God because there are people that
read the Bible daily for themselves and that's great and we should be exhorted
to do that and I want to just take a minute here and maybe just get some
practical ideas on how to read the Bible what we should do now you know people
will think well what do you mean how to read the Bible obviously you know you
read it up and down left to right you know you start at the back in front and
work towards the back I remember years ago somebody asked me if I knew how to
read the Bible and I thought it was like this cryptic mystic thing they said you
just do it like this you open it up and then you start to you know and it was
just a he was trying to make a point that you know just reading the Bible is
actually something that's very simple but I believe that if we're going to be
people who read the Bible daily that if we're going to read the Bible every day
off you know for the rest of our lives if we're going to be in it for the long
haul and we're going to be found daily reading the Word of God all the days of
our lives as we are commanded to do that there are some practical tips that we
could incorporate into our Bible reading that will help us number one it's
have a plan to read you know have a Bible reading plan have determined you
know how many times do you want to read the Bible this year do you even know do
you know how many times you're planning on reading the Bible in a year and then
you have to figure out once you understand that number once you
understand I'm going to read the Bible you know one time or I'm going to read
the Bible two times or I'm going to read the Bible three times or four times or
five times or however many times you determine that you are going to read the
Word of God that year you can begin to formulate a plan one thing I like to do
is you know I take how many pages of Bible I have and I divide that by the
number of days in a year you know so like my New Testament this Bible is a
perfect example because there's 365 pages so if I take 365 and divide it by
the days of the year I end up with one page per day meaning if I read one page
per day of the New Testament I would read the whole New Testament in one year
so once I understand how many how many times I want to read the Bible in a year
how many pages I have and how many pages you know you you know you could just say
well I want to just to make it easy just say I want to read the Bible one time
this year take how many pages you have well divide it by 365 and then you know
how many time how many pages you need to read daily in order to read it once per
year and once you know that then you can just multiply that number how many pages
per day by however many times you want to read the Bible so if I wanted to read
the New Testament in one year every one page day well if I wanted to read it
three times I'd multiply that by three so I'd read three pages per year or
whatever whatever number you come up with so that's a practical tip that will
help us to be found in daily Bible reading which is something that we need
to do because as we read earlier you know evil men and seducers are going to
wax worse and worse and they're going to prey upon the ignorant those are the
people are going to get duped I know what I've fallen for foolish doctrine
I've allowed myself to begin to be led astray it's been two seasons of my life
where I was not reading my Bible where I was not a consistent Bible reader and if
I were that if I were you know there's someone were to tell me something and I
were able to say you know what I'm not sure about that but as I read the Word
of God I'll keep it in mind and we'd be able to read things as we go through the
entire Bible not just turning to select passages that someone would like to hand
you know feed us and say hey here's my strange doctrine let me show you where
it is in the Bible and they show you where it is in the Bible but you do not
read the entire Bible for yourself because perhaps there's a verse
somewhere else that would take the text that they're trying to deceive you with
that would give a clearer understanding and shed the true meaning of it so we
see that you know the need to read our Bibles and that's the thing you know you
start to preach about it it's a dry subject to some people you know Bible
reading but it's the most fundamental and foundational thing that is going to
help us stay attached to the to the the Word of God is if we read the Word of
God we need to be found reading the Bible and it's funny because it's not
really funny but it just you know I'm one who has been saved a long time you
know and it's unfortunate that it's this way but and you really don't it's easy
to say well I was in a church that didn't really put a lot emphasis on
Bible reading I mean they of course would say that yeah you should read your
Bible every day you should read it so many times per year but you weren't when
you're not in a church where the preacher is getting up and hounding you
and getting after you about Bible reading it's easy to slip you know I'm
sure comments were made but I don't think that I've ever heard a whole
sermon on Bible reading just that topic until I came to a church like Faithful
Word right so and that's no excuse but I'm just saying it's it's it's more
encouraging it's easier to follow through on that when you're in a church
where that's being taught and I've had to kind of play catch-up because for the
beginning of my Christian life you know I was not disciplined in daily Bible
reading and as a result you know I for a long time I I endured some false
doctrine I allowed false doctrine to surround me and you know I'm so I'm kind
of trying to catch up you know get caught up in my Bible reading trying to
you know not necessarily you know I'll read everybody but just trying to like
get a more familiarity with the Bible and Word of God and as I've done that
I've determined you know I have to read more I have to read more than the average
person I believe a person who's read the Bible many many many many times and it's
very familiar with the Word of God they probably don't have to do as much
reading year to year I mean they've done so much reading in the Word of God that
they don't have to be reading the Bible you know seven times a year once a month
you know all these just this overboard amount of reading but and I've expressed
this to people and I've had them say things like well you know you don't
don't read too much and I don't think they understand what they're saying
that when they say things like well you know you can read too much Bible today
not in a day you can't now I've heard people say things well once you've read
read for about an hour you know you're probably getting a little burnout you
probably should quit reading and I think that's hogwash I think that's nonsense I
think sitting down and reading the Bible for an hour for two hours for three
hours is something that's feasible it's something that people can do maybe not
every single day you know they just don't have the life has certain demands
that we have to meet but for an hour for two hours when there would be times
where we could sit you know and maybe breaking it up through the day we read
an hour in the morning we read two hours at night before bed whatever it is we
can get a lot more Bible reading in there's no the problem today is not
that people reading the Bible too much that's not the problem that we're having
now I will say this you can read the Bible too fast I mean you can get in
such a rush you say you know what I'm gonna read the Bible once a month I'm
gonna read it twelve times this year and you can get on steel and be on fire
that's great if you can do that it's hard or you get it and I'm gonna do a
forty by forty day Bible reading plan or whatever it is before you decide you're
just gonna read a lot of Bible don't let that turn into you read speed reading
the Bible you should still keep a consistent and steady pace so the
problem is not that you can read the Bible too much you want to read a lot of
Bible that's great I think we need a lot of that we need more people to do
that but you have to make sure that you allot yourself more time and you don't
turn it into this this race through the Bible but that it's rather that you you
still keep that pace but you just give yourself more time to read more Bible
now another thing to help you in your daily Bible reading is something
that really helped me is read the Bible in sections because if you're going to
read up if you're going to read a larger quantity of Scripture if you're going to
endeavor to read the Bible a multitude of times throughout the year not just
once or twice or three times but maybe even more you're going to need what
helped me a lot is because here's the thing a lot of people like to start a
Genesis and just work their way through and that's great but you know if you
just start Genesis and work your way through it's a long time before you get
to the New Testament it's a long time before you get to the Gospels it's a
long time before you get to those you know this because a lot of the doctrine
that we believe and teach is found in the New Testament is a much shorter much
shorter than the Old Testament so my advice is to read the Bible in sections
it's interesting that the Bible can be divided up in certain ways like first of
all you have the five books of Moses you know Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers
Deuteronomy so you got the five books right so that's one section then you
have your historical books you know first and second Samuel first and second
Kings first and second Chronicles you got Esther right you got these these
historical books that's another section then you have another section the Old
Testament of poetry and wisdom where you've got you know Joe Psalms Proverbs
Song of Songs Ecclesiastes so that would be another section right so that's three
sections then you have your major prophets right and then you have your
minor prophets so you have five sections that you could break your Bible reading
up you say yeah I'm going to read the Old Testament X amount of times you know
you could go to each section and determine how many pages are in each of
those sections and how many pages from each of those sections do I need to read
it and read it X number of times a year instead of just trying to plow through
the whole thing because then you're getting a little bit of everything which
I really like plans like that and you know this is a matter of preference I'm
of course not saying that this is the way you must read your Bible but it's
been helpful to me and I believe that other people would benefit from it as
well and then you would turn in the New Testament you could read gospel and acts
as one test this section and then you can read you know a piss all the
epistles and revelation as a second section so as you read the Bible
throughout the year you're reading you know all these different sections it's
not just trying to push through the whole Bible but rather you're reading
all these other sections throughout the year and you're getting a well-balanced
meal another thing that's helped me my daily Bible reading as I've endeavored
to you know break this threefold cord of Bible study that we wouldn't be you
know shaking about when they toss their wind of doctrine is to read the
genealogies out loud you know when you get the first nine chapters of you know
first chronicles or it's just these long litany of names that are hard to
pronounce some of the best advice I've ever heard and put into practice is
reading those out loud you know one it keeps your attention it keeps you
because it's easy when you just read you know the Sun of the Sun of the Sun of
the Sun did you get just into this monotone just repetitive kind of just
just saying without really thinking but just say those out loud because one it
keeps your attention and two it makes you a better reader right it teaches you
how to read the words as they're written on the page and it makes you a better
orator it makes me able to get up and pronounce things more clearly and to
make the words more distinct you know and that's important especially if we're
one who in diet endeavors to stand up and preach the Word of God because I've
had the the opportunity the blessing the I've been very fortunate here faithful
word that you know I've been I've been I've been asked to preach several times
and faithful word I've of course I've got to get to preach weekly up here at
the North location and it's a great opportunity it's a great blessing I'm
very grateful for it and I've been able for a long time I was a regular song
leader so I was able to get up in the pulpit and get used to being behind the
pulpit in front of God's people and you know that's also you know something
that's very people think of preaching and leading the songs often it's
something that make would make one very nervous and it does you know I'll be you
know I preached recently a faithful word and I have to admit that when I got up
there I was nervous you know it's different than the faithful word in
North location because when you go to preach on the main campus you have
literally hundreds of eyeballs staring at you and you know and it's it's a
caliber of people that you're preaching to and not to mention you know that
you're being broadcast to you know tens of thousands of people throughout you
know the entire world so that could be a little nerve-wracking but the most
nerve-wracking thing I've ever done was not leading the songs and it was not
preaching the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done and behind the pulpit
faithful word is get up and read the scripture I've only done it once I think
several of the men that normally read were out and I kind of noticed in the
morning service that you know we had to scramble to find someone you know
pastors kind of looking as he was and then and you know who's gonna read while
he was up there announcing the scripture to read so I'd made note of that in the
in the morning service or the evening service and I was ready I was looking at
him because I knew he was gonna look around again and he looked at me with
eye contact and kind of gave me the like you know do you want to do it kind of
nod and I said yeah so I got up there to read and it wasn't a very difficult
passage of scripture but what I realized very quickly is that is that everybody
else is turned to that same text and as you're saying these words out loud
they're reading right along with you and if you make a mistake it's going to be
so obvious it's not like in preaching you know if you if you fumble over your
words when you're preaching or something like that you guys don't have my notes
you can't tell how confused and how lost I am up here you have no idea but when
you're reading the scripture you know the entire congregation if they're if
they're doing what they should and reading along with you they understand
you know when you mispronounce a word and I've gotten up at other times you
know during a preaching class and it's not a story that I can share publicly
but I've said things you know not not you know that were blasphemous or
anything like that but things that were just misspoken that came across as very
crude and that was something that made me feel about this big and it was one of
those experiences where you sat down and you just wanted to kind of slither out
under the door and and disappear forever so that was that that's the point I'm
trying to make here is that when we should read difficult portions of
portions of scripture out loud because it will make us better orders it'll make
us able to speak more clearly and to not fumble over our words another great
thing is to read your family from a yearly Bible this is something that you
know we've tried several times my family we're trying to be more serious about it
and my wife reads with the kids on a daily basis you know they I'll even hear
her from time to time if I'm home at that time where she's reading to the
kids and it's great I'm glad she does that she's you know pausing to teach
them things from the Word of God I believe the mother you know a mother is
a preacher to her children a teacher and instructor I think that's a very
important role and it's something that all mothers should be doing but I think
that as a father as a husband as a man we ought to be reading the Word of God
to our family as well and that's something I'm really just trying to nail
down even in my own life because you know I've heard my wife read certain
passages of scripture to my to my children and she can't help it but
there's just like certain passages that just doesn't sound the same you know
when a woman's reading it you know nicely you know reading it like she
would be reading like a dr. Seuss book or something like that you know where
it just it doesn't she can't do anything about it you know I just believe that
when a man reads the scripture that it gives that certain masculine tone
because God is masculine you know God is a man right he he is of the male gender
if you're gonna sign a gender to God it would be a man right God is not female
he is male so it makes sense that his word you know when it's read by a man
that it gives it that authoritative tone that it needs and it gives it because
there's passages in Scripture that are very harsh passages in Scripture that
are very strong that need to be spoken with great authority so I believe that a
man should read to his family from a yearly Bible and one last tip in
Bible reading before I move on would be this that we need to read I would
emphasize the New Testament over the Old Testament in terms of reading you know I
would say that you know if let's say if you're going to read the Bible four
times a year well you're that means you're going to read a lot of Old
Testament in comparison in comparison to the New Testament you know you're not
reading anywhere near as much of the New Testament as you're reading the old I
believe that a person should try to read the Old Testament more than the the New
Test they should try to read the New Testament more than the Old Testament
not saying they should slack off on the Old Testament but rather that they you
know should pull them to a standard and then just increase the reading of the
New Testament you know we could read this New Testament once a month we could
read it you know twice of once every two months something like that where where
we read and read the Old Testament a little less than that if you know if you
read the Bible New Testament Old Testament three or four times maybe you
should try reading the Old Testament six or the New Testament six or seven times
hopefully that came out right but we should be trying to I believe that I
believe we should put more of an emphasis on the reading of the New
Testament and that we should be found daily in the New Testament that's why
again going back to that point earlier that that's why it's great to divide the
Word of God at the very least old for new and read separately daily excuse me
now moving on so we see that the first chord in the threefold chord of Bible
study is bio reading and you know we're going a little long so I'll try to move
quickly here but point number two or that second braid in that threefold
chord of Bible reading would be exhortation he says give attendance to
reading to exhortation to doctrine so the second chord there is exhortation
now exhortation I believe would be what we learned from preaching Bible says the
second Timothy chapter 4 I charged thee there be therefore before God and Lord
Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead it is appearing in his
kingdom preach the word be instant in season out of season reprove
rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine so he sells them here Paul
tells Timothy that he is to preach the word and he tells them how to preach the
word needs to be instant in season out of season and his preaching he is to
reprove and his preaching is through his to rebuke and his preaching needs to
exhort all long-suffering and doctrine so we see the exhortation is a form or
an aspect of preaching so when Paul is prescribing this threefold chord of
Bible study the reading and the exhortation I believe that it would we
would be accurate in saying that exhortation well that would be preaching
now maybe in Timothy's case he's to give attendance to his own preaching or how
he preaches but I believe as those of us that would receive preaching that it is
a great source that will help us in our Bible study is how we how we entreat the
preaching the Word of God the exhortation of the Word of God you see I
believe that preaching is a significant source of knowledge and I've heard other
people say that you know preaching is like they try to liken preaching onto
this just like this this extra like it's just something that we get that's just
you know we're very it's not a necessary thing but I disagree with that I believe
that you know we could liken it under this that table daily Bible reading
daily Bible reading would be like your bread that would be like the bread that
you need to eat every day that would just be like your basic sustenance
that's what you need to just you know fuel yourself through the day now you
wake up and eat your eggs and eat your toast that's the daily Bible reading
that's what's going to give you energy and help you and work throughout the day
but and I believe that preaching would be like that steak dinner like that's
that strong meat that's when you go out and you get that that nice big juicy
steak that meant something that really sits with you that's something that you
have to chew on a little longer right it's something you have to really cut
into and dig into and have to you know you don't just give it to little kids
it's something that preaching when it's received right it's something that you
know that we can last us a while it's something that we can savor it's
something that we can take with us like a perfect illustration of this would be
like you know my lunch consists is very meager and it consists of but it's very
delicious and I look forward to it because you skip breakfast you know when
you go without every to the hungry soul every better thing is sweet right so
when you skip breakfast no matter how meager that that that lunches man it's
good you look forward to it I look forward to my daily tortilla chips and
my lunch you know I have my door that tortilla chips by three slices of cheese
and some beef jerky you know in a very large jug of water and I look forward to
it and the daily Bible reading well that would be like the tortilla chips that
like every day I know that I'm going to get some carbs I'm going to get some
salt I'm going to get you know something that's going to help me get through the
afternoon and continue to do my job that's like the daily Bible reading but
I believe like preaching would be like for example yesterday afternoon we were
invited over to a friend's house and he served us I mean this fried chicken with
these spices and and pulled pork with this homemade house sauce and pork loin
and sausages I mean just a smattering of several different meats of pork and it
was and beef it was just delicious I mean but you know what he doesn't eat
like that every day you know it was a special occasion but that was something
that well I got to look forward to and it was something that was a little bit
more savory than just my tortilla chips you know the preaching of the Word of
God and we read the Word of God it's something that we a lot of times we do
out of duty it's something we do out of discipline but when we go and hear the
preaching the Word of God that's when we might get a little bit more excited
about the Word of God when we know what are we going to learn from the Word of
God what great truth is going to be expound into us what encouragement what
exhortation are we going to receive from the preaching of the Word of God and I
believe it's something that we can learn a great deal from and it's something
that you know will help us in our Christian life is if we receive the
preaching the Word of God it's something that gives us another strong strand in
the threefold core of Bible study the Bible says in 1st Peter 2 2 as newborn
babes desire the sincere sincere milk of the word that you may grow there by
so we should receive the milk of the word through our reading is where you
know our preaching the Word of God we will receive milk but we have to
understand that you know once we are we should be weaned from that milk and that
was Paul's desire Paul a preacher the Word of God desired to serve his people
meet it says the first Corinthians 3 and I brother could not speak it to you as
a spiritual it isn't a carnal even sent up to babes in Christ I have fed you
with milk and not with me for hitherto you were not able to bear it either yet
now are a already able so we see that you know there was a time where he had
to feed them milk but eventually you know we should grow and open the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through our reading and through the
preaching the Word of God that we should receive the milk of the Word of God
through preaching but also that preaching is something that we should
receive meat from from strong meat you see God has ordained that we should
learn from the teaching of others there's nothing wrong with getting your
doctrine from the from the preaching in the Word of God in fact I believe it's a
very significant source and something that accelerates your growth I mean of
course we can argue and say that hey there's nothing you know we have no need
that any man should teach it teach at us right that we have the Spirit of God and
that we have the ability to learn and know all things from the Word of God
that we could read the Word of God when we are in dwell with the Spirit of God
and we could allow God to show us and we can understand the things of God the
mind of Christ that is in the Bible we could come to the same conclusions that
all these preachers have come to that would have taught us these things that
we know and understand but how long would that take how long would it take
you to understand all the doctrines that you understand today if it were not for
the word for the preaching the Word of God you see the preaching of the Word of
God is is not just this multivitamin it's not just this gravy it's just not
this side dish that people sometimes try to make it out to be we should not make
light of the importance of preaching in our life if preaching were just
something that were not maybe not optional but just something that you
know was a little bit more light-hearted and then we got to rely more on our own
just reading of the Word of God to clean our doctrine there were something that
were just you know not as important as it is then why why else would we gather
to hear it why is it so important that we come together to hear the preaching
of the Word of God Bibles and Hebrews 10 let us consider one another to provoke
and unto love and good works not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the
more as you see the day approaching so as we see the day approaching as we see
evil men are going to wax worse and worse and seducing and deceiving and
being deceived we ought to exhort one another and we ought to and we have to
not forsake the assembling of ourselves together to receive that exhortation we
need to receive the Word of God through preaching and that is something that is
going to be very significant in our and weaving the three-fourth cold for Bible
study there's nothing wrong with taking a sermon and writing the notes and
understanding the points and glean and establishing our doctrine through what
we've been taught through the preaching of the Word of God I'll say this you
know if the preaching of the Word of God is that strong meat that is being fed us
it's the strong doctrine of the you know the post-trib rapture it's the strong
doctrine of salvation by grace through faith it's that strong doctrine of
eternal security it's the strong doctrine that you know rebukes these
false lies of Calvinism and work salvation and all these other things we
ought to receive those things and we ought to chew those things we ought to
let them sink down inside of us and become a part of our who we are
spiritually and work into the fiber of our spiritual being but when we receive
those things and we chew that meat we must be careful of the bones you know
that's I think where people make the mistake when they when they use allow
preaching to become a significant source of doctrine which I believe they
should but they begin to just swallow everything that they're fed because we
must understand that though you are being fed by a man of God who has done
his own study and yet even himself for a great deal of time received the
preaching of the Word of God and it is now one who has learned and aged and
able to preach and to feed the flock of God even though you're receiving it from
that type of a man you must understand you are still receiving it from a man
a fallible man who is able to make mistakes a fallible man who's able to
misunderstand things or repeat things without fully understanding what it is
that he's saying the Bible says in Acts 17 and the brethren immediately sent
away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea who coming fither went into the synagogue
of the Jews these were more noble than they in Thessalonica and that they
received the Word of God with all readiness of mind and searched the
scriptures daily whether these things were so so that wasn't that they went to
church like this you know and thought about what they were going to be doing
after service or staring at their watch or scrolling through Facebook or
something like that or just daydreaming no they went there Bible in hand the
scriptures in hand with the ready mind ready to receive the Word of God ready
to pay attention to what was being taught ready to take note of the strong
meat of the doctrine of the Word of God and make it a part of of who they were
spiritually and establish the things that they believe by it but it also says
that they search the scriptures daily you see that's how one hand washes the
other here when our daily Bible reading and our in our receiving of the Word of
God come together then we can be sure that what we're receiving is not we're
not going to choke on the bones of the of man's mistakes we're not going to to
be deceived by a man even if he isn't intentionally trying to do it that a man
of God might get up behind the word behind the pulpit and because he is you
know he's not infallible we'll make mistakes we'll say things well that will
be misunderstood or they're incorrect if we are daily Bible reads if we are
Bereans if we search the scriptures daily as we ought with all readiness of
mind then then the preaching of the Word of God becomes a very strong and great
source of study of being able to take something and say you know what I've
heard this sermon I've heard this topic preached I've heard this subject
expounded I'm going to go home and I'm going to study it I'm going to see it
out whether this is so and as I I'm going to keep it in mind as I search the
scriptures daily and I've done that there are several things that that I
have heard preached that well not even several things I would say very few
things that that I've kept in mind throughout the years and said I don't
know about that I'm not sure whether or not I agree with that and rather than
going home and just trying to do a word search or something like that you know
what I do is as I read my Bible you know if I can keep it in my mind then I'll
look for that or if I'll hear other sermons on a similar subject on the same
subject I'll listen what another man of God has to say about it they turn of
course turn those passages and readers but as I read the Bible paying attention
when those subjects are brought up so we see here that you know we have you've
talked about the first two chords of Bible study that they are you know the
daily Bible reading and that they are of course you know receiving the
exhortation the Word of God those are two strands and when we leave those two
strands together then we can weave in that third one and this is where the
cord the threefold cord becomes very strong that way that's really going to
secure us to the to the principles of Christ and not allow us to be tossed to
and fro and I believe that because it says there give attendance to reading to
exhortation and to doctrine so he makes a very clear distinction reading
exhortation and doctrine we talk about the reading and the exhortation of what
is the doctrine well I think the doctrine this is where you really have
to get your hands dirty this is where this is the nitty-gritty this is where
the rubber meets the road so to speak because when you get into doctrine this
is what you're going to be talking about very specific truths and teachings and
principles that are found the Word of God and that are taught from the Word of
God and in order to have this cord of doctrine in your threefold cord of Bible
study you must have a familiarity with Scripture you must know the Bible at
least to some degree and the greater degree you know the Bible and are more
familiar with the Bible the stronger your doctrine is I mean the strongest
the most sound men and I know the men of God that have the strongest doctrine
that are able to expound what they believe even even just need not in a
sermon just off the top of their head out there just it's on the tip of their
tongue they're able to expound what they believe they know why they believe what
they believe are men that have spent a great deal of time reading the Bible so
again as I said in the beginning the sermon reading daily Bible reading you
know might have been when I got on that point might have been a little bit of a
lull in the sermon because it's not you know it's just it's just this dry
subject to people but you see how important it is you see how essential it
is if you're going to become one who is able to exhort and be able to exhort with
strong doctrine it's all founded upon Bible reading you must be familiar with
the scriptures if you're going to have the strong core of doctrine in your life
now reading and you know that's something as we read through it I you
know one thing it would be very helpful one thing that I've begun to do is to
take notes as you engage in reading or as you engage in receiving the
exhortation the preaching the Word of God when you hear something or someone
talks about a certain subject to make a note in your Bible thought maybe write
notes on a piece of paper and going over it those are things that are going to
help you things that you can go back and look over and say man I need to memorize
these scriptures or man I need to to make sure I know what is being taught
here in the Word of God and that's what's going to give you your doctrine
Bible says in Isaiah 28 whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make
to understand doctrine then that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the
breasts for a precept must be upon precept line upon line here a little
there a little so this point about document weaving in this braid of
doctrine into our threefold cord of Bible study is that we need to
understand there are many truths that are going to be learned over time that
it's now we're going to we're not going to just sit down one day and just read
and just understand that the depths and the knowledge of Christ and in just a
short period of time that it will take years it will take a lifetime that of
understanding the many truths the many doctrines that are taught in the Word of
God and that's why it says here precept upon precept one is built upon another
there are certain things you must understand I mean think about it in the
Christian life the first thing you have to understand before you can understand
the you know who is Babylon event times these you know these deep studies before
you can understand the post-trip rapture although that's really not that hard to
understand I don't think but before you can you know thoroughly expound it and
and and and articulate it to somebody else the first thing you have to
understand is salvation by grace through faith I mean you have to be saved before
you'll ever understand anything of the Word of God the first precept the first
line the foundation that is laid is that of salvation and that's true for
everybody and that's just a principle that's being taught here in Isaiah 28
that it's a line upon line you know precept upon precept here a little
there a little as we're reading through as we're receiving the Word of God and
we're taking notes we're marking things down we're paying attention we're
receiving we're studying we're searching the scriptures our doctrine can begin to
form and that's when we can begin to have a strong cord of Bible study so
there are many truths we learn over time and that's why I'm going to do a little
alliteration here that in order to have doctrine dedication to discipline is
demanded and that's a little too much but in order to have strong doctrine you
have to be dedicated to discipline to have strong doctrine you must be
dedicated to discipline because they have strong doctrine you have to
memorize scripture I mean you have to memorize scriptures passages verses be
able to explain why you believe what you believe because your whole everything
you believe is founded upon this book but do you know where to go in the book
do you know why you believe what you believe it's you should memorize
scriptures you need to be able to compare scriptures with other scriptures
when a when an evil man who is waxing worse and worse comes to seduce you to
deceive you with the Word of God are you able to take what he's bringing and
compare it with other scriptures to see whether these things be so you need to
have a familiarity with the Word of God you need to have a working knowledge of
the Word of God and I believe that's why sound doctrine is sort of sorely lacking
today for these reasons because we see that reading is a discipline because we
see that going to church and paying attention to preaching the Word of God
is a discipline because we see that understanding doctrine that laying line
up on line precept upon precept here little their little is something that
takes a discipline it takes a dedication it takes time and effort and energy and
we're living in a society and a culture today where everybody wants everything
quick easy and fast and with no trouble they want everything to just come to
them and it just be served to them brought to them and just not have to put
forth any effort or very little effort but that's not how it works in the Word
of God and that's why today we have such a why I believe and it will
continue to be this way and why I will wax worse and worse is because people
are ignorant of the Word of God because they're lazy and they do not want to put
the effort of reading of exhortation of doctrine they don't want to take the
time to sit down and braid those cords together to have that threefold cord
that is not easily broken and that's why they are easily pushed off the rock of
the Word of God and find themselves tossed to and fro in every wave of false
doctrine the Bible says in second Timothy study to show thyself approved
unto God a workman that needeth not to be shamed
brightly dividing the words of truth so it says it's study you're going to be
approved of God you need to study and he says that requires you to be a workman
study is work it is it is a task it is a chore it is something that you labor in
Bible says in Ecclesiastes and further by these my son be admonished of making
many books there is no end and much study is a weariness of the flesh if
you are one who's going to say I'm going to read the Bible Bible a multitude of
times and determine that you know you're going to have to read several hours a
day in order to accomplish that goal you're going to find very quickly that
it is weariness that your eyes will literally become tired that your flesh
will find times where you would rather not do it that you will have to train
your mind you have to work on lengthening your attention span to
understand what it is you're reading you're not just glossing over words on
a page it is effort and it will hear you and the read that's one of the reasons
today and why some doctrine is so sorely lacking because it is difficult because
it is takes effort and as a result what a lot of people do today is that they
just lean upon corrupt sources rather than going to the Word of God
themselves rather than receiving sound doctrine through the preaching the Word
of God whether rather than searching the scriptures whether these things are so
what they begin to do is they just learn it from a corrupt source they just allow
somebody else to spoon feed them you know an examples of these would be like
commentaries or encyclopedias where people just go well I want to know about
a certain subject the Bible talks about and rather than going to the Word of God
and putting in time and effort and energy in the reading of the Word of God
they'd rather just pull a book off the shelf you know they'd rather just go
pull way of strikes literature on the shelf and begin to read it and allow
David proud to tell them how they what they need to believe about a certain
subject instead of going to it and understanding for themselves what the
Word of God teaches they'd rather just go to the commentary you know of Matthew
Henry the Presbyterian baby sprinkler you know who mocked Baptists and
several of his ratings and and allow him to whisper in their ear sweet little
nothings and flowery speeches they'd rather go to Charles Spurgeon the
Calvinist and pull his encyclopedia of David off there to understand what the
Bible says about the book of Psalms and other other books they lean upon corrupt
sources because they do not want to put in the effort and the energy and the
time that it takes to become sound and doctrine for themselves you know Bible
colleges is another example of this if I just go to Bible College and put it in
my time and get my four-year degree I'll walk out just a bulwark of sound
doctrine unmovable steadfast just a pinnacle of all you know that is right
and holy in sound doctrine no it's one of the worst sources of false doctrine
is found in Bible colleges today study Bibles you know you get yours you're
your CI Schofield study Bible out and allow him to start teaching you about
the several dispensations you get your your ruck when I study Bible out and you
read you know a quarter page of text and then another three quarter pages of
man's notes to expound to you you know why there are several church ages I mean
it's it's in the very first page of Genesis and say I Schofield study Bible
that he's trying to teach you the gap theory and I've gone to people I've gone
to people who had those Bibles and said did you know that teaches the gap
theory it's on the first page and they don't like it but that's because they'd
rather just have somebody else tell them what to believe rather than figuring out
what they believe for themselves they'd rather just have someone go to Home
Depot and buy the cheap yellow cord in bulk and cut off a nice long length and
hand it to them and then they're surprised when it begins to fray and
when they go to tow something out of a ditch that it snaps instead of sitting
down and weaving a strong cord for themselves instead of going to you know
the to the to the mom-and-pop shop and buying a high security chain you know
that's something that's going to take many foot pounds of pressure to break
and they don't want to put in the effort having to go a little further spend a
little more money to get that strong you know towing cable they want that cheap
easy fix I mean you see these guys on YouTube that try to tow pull people out
of ditches with some of these they'll like tie it's like you're going to tie
t-shirts together trying to pull somebody out of mud pit it's crazy and
if anybody who's living in a northern climate knows if you go out the ditch in
the winter you know there's something called a towing strap and it's a very
you know it's a very wide strap with very high tensile strength and that's
what we need if we're going to stay secure if we're going to be able to pull
others out of the ditch we need that strong threefold cord of Bible study we
don't need these cheap imitations these cheap this twine of the commentaries
this string of Bible colleges these just are poor substitutes for what we need
it will require sacrifice to acquire sacrifice if you're going to weave the
three-four coal of Bible study you understand that it's going to require
sacrifice of your time that's what more than anything and time honestly is the
most valuable thing anybody has on this earth it is the open is one of those few
things that you cannot replace it is invaluable time and then you have to
determine what's more important to you your hobby your pastime your your
leisurely pleasure or becoming one who is sound in doctrine of faith I'm all
four hobbies and pastimes I don't think we should just be people that you know
don't have any fun ever that kind of a thing but you know life's not all about
fun life is about work life is about accomplishing something and if we're
going to do a great work for God we're going to do something big for God if
we're going to do something significant and be found workmen that need it not to
be ashamed before God we're going to study we're going to work we're going to
put in time and effort so it might be cost us you know maybe maybe we can't
take that jiu-jitsu class because instead of getting up at six in the
morning go roll around on some mat we need to be found the Word of God you
know maybe we'll be able to be that you know expert bow hunter because instead
of going out and checking the field cameras you know every week and putting
out food plots and figuring out windages and where to put up a good stand and
practicing our skills needed to to you know bring down that trophy buck it
might be that we have to you know rather study the Word of God memorize the Word
of God instead of you know when we're driving down the road turning on the AM
radio and letting rush lobotomy you know the bottom eyes are our brains or Sean
insanity you know drive us up a wall with Republican talking points it might
be that we have to you know get up a three by five card and say I'm going to
memorize Matthew five six and seven ten and other portions you know Matthew 24
Luke 13 we should have memorized these things mark 13 excuse me but we feel
that might be that right that's the sacrifice that we're gonna have to make
rather than listening to the you know the MMA podcast that we love maybe we
should listen to some Bible reading or a Bible some Bible preaching but we have
to understand that you know it will yield godly results and the end you'll
come out with us with it with a strongly for chain forged chain he will come out
with a threefold cord that is not easily broken Bible says in verse 74 meditate
upon these things give thyself wholly to them that I profiting may appear to
all take heed of thyself and under the doctrine continue in them for in doing
this thou shalt both save thyself and then they hear thee you know that's it
that's a that's a major motivation you know to save yourself from the false
doctrine to save yourself from the you know the cutting craftiness of men who
lie in wait to deceive us that we're going to have to sacrifice we're going
to give ourselves hold it to them and not only that we'll be able to save
ourselves but we'll also be able to save others you know the preacher is gonna be
able to get up and expound the Word of God and to demolish false doctrine when
he hears it to take a heresy that's crept into his church and to dismantle
it point by point he is one who's going to have to be found having read and
studied and memorized the Word of God you see that strong fold the the
threefold cord the strong core of study will save us from falsehood but it
requires reading exhortation and doctrine let's pray and they father
again thank you for the Bible thank you for Lord all that we can glean from it
thank you that we have a strong foundation or that we do not have to be
tossed to and fro and with that we can be founded upon a rock and Lord that we
can be fruitful in it even in a world that is corrupt and falling apart and
just breaking it seems Lord that we can be we can be firm we can be unmovable we
can be fruitful and father that we can abound unto unto great things for you
Lord if we would grow in knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ help us
to do that help us to be found as the Bereans Lord that we would search the
scriptures daily that we would receive the preaching of God already into some
mind and then as a result Lord that we would have strong and firm doctrine that
cannot be shaken Lord we thank you for your love towards us we thank you for
all the great things you've done for us keep us safe as we go and bring us a
back again next week in Jesus name Amen