[00:00] Speaker 1: Today on The King Is Coming...

[00:02] Speaker 2: According to Jesus, He expects us to know His Word, He expects us to be in His Word. Why? 'Cause that's how we know God, that's how we know who God is. And so it's important, uh, that we are diligent in our study of God's Word. (instrumental music plays) Being a student of the Word of God, that's what you're gonna find out how to do next on The King Is Coming. (instrumental music plays) What if you could take your worship to the next level? Would you be interested? In our series The Essence of Worship, we discover the key elements that help us understand how to be a worshiper of God and how to connect with more intimacy with Jesus Christ.

[00:57] Speaker 1: For any gift of $45 or more to The King Is Coming, get your copy of this inspiring seven-part DVD set, The Essence of Worship. Call the number on your screen or go to thekingiscoming.com now. Thank you.

[01:10] Speaker 2: Have you given your tithe yet? You can do so here at The King Is Coming. God bless. (instrumental music plays) Welcome to The King Is Coming. We're in an exciting series called The Seven Marks of a Last Days Disciple. What does it mean to walk in these last days as a follower of Jesus Christ? We've talked about what it meant, what it means to believe in Jesus and what it means to know Jesus, and now we're gonna talk about what does it mean to be a student of the Word of God and what exactly is the Word of God's relationship, uh, to our lives today? Why, why is it so important? You know, today when you go to a church, you look out, there may be hundreds, maybe thousands of people there, but not a whole lot of people are carrying Bibles anymore. Why is that, uh, such a big deal b- when the s- the verses are clearly on the screen?

[02:04] Speaker 2: Well, I think it's important to have your own Bible, to have one that you hold in your hand, one that you can turn the pages, one that you can mark up, uh, in your own words, and that's what we're gonna talk about how to do here, uh, in this episode. So basically we're gonna talk first of all about what Jesus said and how Jesus related to the Word of God. In fact, we go all the way back to Luke Chapter 2, and Jesus Christ is, uh, 12 years old at this time. And if you know the story, is that His parents had come to Jerusalem and they were there and then they, on this huge caravan, and on the way back from, uh, Jerusalem, all of a sudden they looked around, there's no Jesus. "So w- where's Jesus at?" Uh, again, Jesus is 12 years old here. And it says over in, in Chapter 2, uh, in verse, Verses 50...

[02:50] Speaker 2: Excuse me, Verse 45, it says, "And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem in looking, looking for Him." If you've ever been a parent and you've ever lost your child in a mall or grocery store or whatever, you know that little set o- uh, panic starts to, uh, set in. But it says, "And it came about that after three days, they found Him." Three days. Can you imagine what Mary and Joseph were feeling at that moment? "They found Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, uh, both listening to them and asking them questions." So Christ ended up in church (laughs) . He ended up in the temple where the Word of God was, where the Word of God was discussed and taught and read and proclaimed. And it says here in Verse 47, "And all who heard Him, uh, were amazed at His understanding and, uh, at His answers. And they said to Him," uh, His parents, they said, uh, "'Jesus, uh, where have you been? Why have you treated us like this?

[03:51] Speaker 2: Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.'" Well, that's the understatement of the age, right? It says this, uh, Verse 4- 49, it says, "He said to them, 'Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I would be in my Father's house?'". Verse 50 says, "They did not understand the statement which He had made, uh, to them." So Christ here is finding Himself, uh, in the temple. He's drawn to the temple. He's drawn to where the Word of God actually lives. I mean, the people didn't have Bibles back then. Uh, they didn't have a Ryrie Study Bible or something like that, that they had to go to the temple to hear the Word of God, uh, be read to them. And so Jesus was there in the temple, He's hearing the Word, He's discussing the Word, He's asking questions about the Word of God. And it says that they're amazed a- at His, at His answers, at the things that even He is saying at that time. What are we seeing happen here?

[04:44] Speaker 2: We're seeing that Christ, even at a very early age, is developing a relationship, uh, with the Word of God. Uh, and you know, sometimes we think about young people today in their fifth grade, their sixth grade, how much of the Bible can they really comprehend? Listen, they can comprehend tons of the Bible. It's just that many times we dumb it down so much to where they're not even challenged intellectually anymore with the scriptures. It's very important that we teach the solid Word of God to young people today. I was a youth pastor for over 25 years, and during that time, I never held back anything about what the Bible says to those young people. And, and here's what I discovered. I found out that a young person, even a preteen, can comprehend just about anything that an adult can understand. And so I always just gave 'em the Word of God straight, and guess what? They became godly husbands and fathers and missionaries and pastors all over the world. Why?

[05:38] Speaker 2: Because they wanted to know the Word of God. Well, so did Christ here. In fact, Verse 52 here says this, "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom after that." That means that He continued in His questions and study of the Word of God even after He left, uh, the temple that day. So we see Christ at, at a beginning, uh, age, uh, studying the Word of God. Now, fast forward now to Jesus, now He's in His public ministry. He's just begun His ministry. He's just been baptized, uh, by John the Baptist, and it says in Luke Chapter 4, Verse 1...Jesus, full of the spirit, uh, returned from Jord- from the Jordan and was led about by the spirit in the wilderness. So, immediately after this huge victory that Christ experiences at his baptism, he is led into the wilderness, where Satan's now gonna bring a barrage of temptations, uh, against the Lord there. And it says here, "For 40 days, he was tempted by the devil." You know, we tend to think the devil just came to him, like, one afternoon or whatever.

[06:40] Speaker 2: It says, "For 40 days, he was tempted, uh, by the devil, and he ate nothing during those days. Uh, and when they ended, he became hungry." Well, that, again, that's an understatement there. But look, notice what the devil says to him. He says, "If you are the son of God, then tell these stones to become bread." Uh, Satan prays upon Jesus's weakness, upon his hunger, upon his thirst at that moment. He says, "Well, you know, if you're, if you're God, just make b- make hot, piping, soft bread out of these hard, you know, hot stones here in the desert." Notice how Christ responds. He says, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone." In other words, there's something more that I need, uh, other than the, uh, the physical sustenance that I could get by turning those stones into bread. And the rest of that verse says, says, "But by the living word of God." Jesus knew that what sustained him in that moment was the l- word of God. In fact, he quotes the word of God to Satan here.

[07:36] Speaker 2: Then it goes on to say, "The devil led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time." Uh, apparently, the supernatural, uh, power of, of Satan, who is a, who is a supernatural entity, is a, a fallen angel, a demon, he's able to, to basically give a panorama of all the kingdoms of the world. Notice what he says to Jesus. It says, "And the devil said to him," in verse 6, "'I will give you all this domain in its glory.'" So, you, you get the rulership and all the glory that comes with it. He says, "For it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." And then Jesus does not dispute Satan's ability to do such a thing. In other words, he recognizes that Satan is over this domain. Uh, in fact, w- we know, Jesus even said in, in John 12 that Satan is the ruler of this world.

[08:27] Speaker 2: Uh, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, said, "He's the god of this world." Uh, Ephesians 2:1-2, it says, "He's the prince of the power of the air." So yeah, he's ruling over these things. Those kingdoms belong to him. By the way, my friend, the kingdoms of the world today still belong to Satan. And Jesus, as we'll see, refused this offer, but there's g- coming a man in the future who will not refuse the same offer. His name is anti-Christ, and he will accept the kingdoms of the world, uh, that Satan will t- will offer him, uh, in the tribulation period But notice what Christ says. Uh, Satan says, "All you gotta do is, is worship b- before me and all this is gonna be yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only." Why did Jesus say that, and how did he know to say it? I'll tell you next when we come back. (dramatic music) Hi, this is Jeff Kinley with The King Is Coming.

[09:27] Speaker 2: You know, each week, we bring to you dedicated programming from the word of God to equip you in how to live for Jesus Christ in this perilous times that we're living in. If this ministry has meant something to you, would you consider a generous gift to this ministry? Just go to the address on the bottom of the screen and give towards The King Is Coming. God bless you. (dramatic music) So Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world. Jesus refuses, but he does so by quoting the word of God. He says, "You have to worship." Uh, it is written, by the way. "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only." Why did he say that? Because in that moment, Jesus is the God man. He's 100% man, 100% God. He doesn't have a sin nature. But in that moment, Satan is trying to get him to recognize that Satan has authority over God. Remember, that's why Satan was kicked out of heaven to begin with, why he fell. Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14, uh, gives us that account.

[10:25] Speaker 2: Th- and that's why Jesus says, here he says, "No, no. God is still on his throne. God's still in charge. You've been cast down, but he's still God. I will worship him only." Now, the only way Jesus knew to quote that verse, by the way, is if he had m- studied it and memorized it. By the way, uh, al- all of these verses that Jesus r- is quoting in Luke chapter 4, they all come from the book of Deuteronomy. Fr- from the, what's called the, the book of the law. Uh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And in fact, Christ quoted more from Deuteronomy than he did any other book of the Bible. I'm, I'm willing to wager that none of us have done the same thing. (laughs) That we probably quote other books of the Bible, but not Deuteronomy. Well, Jesus loved Deuteronomy, because there's so much in there about God and his relationship with us. But Satan's not finished yet.

[11:11] Speaker 2: It says in verse, uh, verse 9, "He led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, 'If you are the son of God, throw yourself down.'" And now Satan says, "I'm gonna do some Bible quoting myself." "'For it is written, he will give his angels charge concerning you to guard you.'" Uh, and it says, "'On their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against the stone.'" So Satan's like, "Hey, you wanna bring scripture into this conversation? I can quote scripture as good as you can, Jesus." What does Christ say? And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test." And then the Bible says the devil, uh, finished every temptation, every temptation, by the way, and he departed from him until another opportune time. Now, what's interesting about Jesus' comeback to Satan was this. It wasn't just that Christ quoted scripture. It wasn't just that Jesus knew the scripture.

[12:13] Speaker 2: Because quoting scripture is not some sort of magical incantation that makes the devil run. How do we know that? Because Satan quotes scripture tooIn fact, m- the Devil knows more scripture than you or I do. He's been around a lot more... a lot longer. He's heard it all. And he's a supernatural, intelligent being, so he, he has the Bible pretty much memorized. But watch this. Jesus didn't just quote it, he didn't just know it, but he obeyed it. All of these three scriptures that Christ quoted here were essentially saying, "I am quoting this, but I am obeying this as I am quoting it." And so, that's one of the keys to, to, to Jesus and his life is that he understood the Bible, but he also quoted the Bible and he also obeyed the Bible. Now, one more thing about Jesus knowing the word of God. I wanna show you this in Luke 19 real quickly, and then we'll move on to another topic here. Uh, Luke 19 and, uh, in verse, uh, verse 42. Jesus says this.

[13:17] Speaker 2: He says, "If you had known..." This is after he comes to the city, um, in his triumphal entry, he weeps over the city, the previous verse says. Uh, it says, "If you had known on this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now they've been hidden from your sight." So, that's just kind of an obscure verse. What, what, what does that mean? Well, Christ is presenting himself to the Jewish people as their messiah. "Here, here I am, and my kingdom is coming with me." And guess what? The Jewish religious leadership rejected Christ on that day. And Jesus said, "If you'd just known this day, in this, the significance of this day," what's important? "The things which make for peace for you. I would've brought peace in my kingdom." But he says, "It's hidden from you now." Why is that such a big deal? Because when we go back to Daniel chapter 9, in verses 25 and 26...

[14:14] Speaker 2: And we don't have time to go into it now, but there's an amazing prophecy that is made, uh, in Daniel, written some 600, uh, BC, that chronicles the timing of Messiah coming to his people. And Daniel predicts the coming of the Messiah down to the very day. It's the most amazing prophecy, perhaps in the entire Bible. Jesus knows that prophecy. And he knows that on this day, comes down to, I think it's 173,888 days, something like that. It's very close. He knew that on that day, that scripture, uh, was to be fulfilled. But they reject it. And what does that tell us? It tells us that Jesus knew the word of God. In fact, there's another passage in, in... back in Luke 4, verses 16 through 21, where Christ gets up and reads the scriptures about the Messiah, and then he says, "This scripture has been fulfilled in your presence today. I'm the fulfillment of that scripture." And what Christ is basically saying there, "I know the Bible, I know who I am, and I know how I relate to it.

[15:20] Speaker 2: And I'm telling you today, this scripture has been fulfilled." So once again, Jesus knew the word of God. So, that's the first thing we need to know, uh, when we talk about being a student of the word. Secondly is that we must be diligent in our own study, uh, of the word as well. Now, you go over to 2 Timothy, uh, chapter 2, and Paul is obviously... Uh, Timothy is a young pastor, and he's encouraging him, uh, particularly as it relates to the word of God. And notice what he says here, uh, to Timothy. This is Paul's instruction to Timothy here. He says in verse 15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." Handling accurately the, the word of truth. Now, this phrase, "handling accurately" is, is a word that was used in, in the secular world of cutting a board with a straight cut.

[16:22] Speaker 2: If you've ever used a saw and you're ever cutting some straight piece of, of wood to, to make a piece of furniture or a bookshelf or whatever, you know it needs to be straight. And t- today, they have these, um... I know on one of my tools, I've got this, this Skil saw has a laser guide on it, so it just kind of gives you the laser line across the wood. Makes it very easy to cut. Why? 'Cause you want to cut a straight line. This phrase here, "diligent"... Uh, excuse me. Uh, "handling accurately" means to cut it straight. So, he's saying, "Timothy, when you get to the word of God and you start, you start studying it and interpreting it and understanding it and then explaining it to others," he says, "I want you to make sure you make a straight cut." In other words, "I, I, I don't want you to cut a crooked line, because people have crooked thoughts and crooked belief systems." But he says, "Make a straight cut." Now, why was that so important?

[17:14] Speaker 2: It's important because what Timothy said about the Bible, other people believed. Listen, James says this. He says that, that teachers who teach the word of God will incur a stricter judgment than other people. Why? Because they're responsible for telling them what the Bible actually means. Not what they think it means, not what they hope it means, not what they wish it would mean, but what it actually does mean. And that, that means you have to handle it accuraly... accurately, or make a straight cut in the Bible. Well, what are some ways to help you do that? I'll show you when we come back. (dramatic music) Hi, this is Jeff Kinley with The King Is Coming. You know, each week, we bring to you dedicated programming from the word of God to equip you in how to live for Jesus Christ in this perilous times that we're living in. If this ministry has meant something to you, would you consider a generous gift to this ministry?

[18:11] Speaker 2: Just go to the address on the bottom of the screen and give towards The King Is Coming. God bless you. (dramatic music) So Paul's talking to Timothy about cutting the word straight, about making sure you make a straight line. Notice what else he says I- in this epistle here. Uh, he tells him... Well, actually, he told him, uh, earlier in, in, uh, First Timothy chapter four. In verse one, he says, "'Know this, that the spirit explicitly says in the last days that m- that some will fall away from the faith, uh, paying attention to doctrines of demons and deceitful spirits.' He goes, 'Well, how do we guard against falling away? How do we guard against being deceived?' Well, he says... In verse six, he says, uh, 'In pointing out these things to the brethren, you'll be a, a good servant of Christ Jesus.' But how do you do that? 'Constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of sound doctrine, which you have been following.' You know, sometimes Christians will have this idea.

[19:11] Speaker 2: It's like, "Well, it doesn't matter what you believe. I believe something different, you believe something different. It doesn't matter what we really believe, long as we, quote-unquote, 'love Jesus.'" Well, which Jesus are you loving? (laughs) It's the Jesus that's in the Bible. It's the Jesus that taught sound doctrine. It's the Jesus that inspired Paul, uh, to write sound doctrine, uh, to give to someone, uh, like Timothy. Uh, in fact, he goes on to say in that same passage... He says this... Now, now, if you want to know how to study your Bible, look at this. He says, "'Until I come,' Paul says, 'give attention to the public reading of scripture.'" I mean, how often do we read the scripture out loud anymore? Read it loud, out loud to yourself. Hear it read out loud in your church, hopefully. He says, "'Give attention to public reading of scripture, to exhortation and to teaching.'" Uh, exhortation is a way of, uh, of saying strong encouragement. Uh, proclamation.

[20:01] Speaker 2: Uh, teaching means to, uh, to explain. Uh, it's, it's a word used to, to, to bring up a child. Uh, you're, you're helping educate someone. Uh, the job of, of a pastor, in Ephesians chapter four, uh, is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. That's what he's saying to Timothy. He says, "Look..." Verse 14. "'Don't neglect this spiritual gift of teaching that's in you,'" he says, "'which was bestowed upon you through the prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery over the elders.'" Board of Elders, essentially. Uh, verse 15. "'Take pains with these things. Be absorbed in these things.'" How do I study the Bible? Take pains with it. Be absorbed in it. Pour yourself into the word of God. Pour the word of God into yourself.

[20:44] Speaker 2: He says, "'So that your progress may be evident to everyone, so that people can see your spiritual growth, that you're growing in the knowledge o- of the Lord Jesus Christ.'" He says, "'Pay close attention to yourself and also, uh, to your teachings." Uh, persevere in these things. I- is it important that we teach sound doctrine? Well, according to Paul, it's of paramount importance. Why? Because once you start diluting the gospel, diluting the truth of God, then all of a sudden it's a whole different religion. I- it's a whole different faith there. Uh, Second Timothy, chapter one, verses 13 and 14, he says this. He says, "Retain the standard of sound words." Sound words. In other words, every word of God is important. Th- that's why we don't, we don't gloss over teachings and doctrines and we don't just skip over things, because every s- every word is a sound word.

[21:38] Speaker 2: He says, "Retain the s- the standard," the pattern, the model, "of sound words which you have heard from me, uh, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit, the treasure that's been entrusted to you." Listen, we have to guard the truth. We have to, we have to take pains in them. We have to make sure, uh, that we are cutting it straight when it comes to, uh, the word of God. Uh, and then one other thing about this being a student of God's word. Jesus, in Luke 24, uh, when he encountered the, the, uh, disciples on the road to Emmaus and they said, "Yeah, this Jesus, he came. We thought he was the one, you know? But some women say he's rose from the dead. We don't really know." And Jesus didn't respond to them and go, "Ah, guys, don't worry about it. It's not that important." Or he didn't say, "Look, I understand. It's hard to understand the prophecies of the Bible written in the Old Testament." He didn't say any of those things.

[22:28] Speaker 2: In Luke 24, you can read about it in verses 13 through 27, he looks at those two men and he says, "O foolish man and slow of heart to believe all the things that the prophets said about me." And then he goes on to explain, from Genesis all the way th- to the end of the Old Testament with Malachi, what the word of God says about him. According to Jesus, he expects us to know his word. He expects us to be in his word. Why? 'Cause that's how we know God. That's how we know who God is. And so it's important, uh, that we are diligent in our study of God's word. Here's one more thing. We must also allow the word of God, not just to study it, not just to be under the teaching but to study it, uh, but to interact with our minds, our hearts, with our lives. We need to let God's word mess with us, okay? (laughs) In other words, we need to let it go down deep into us. Well, how deep? Well, Hebrews 4:12.

[23:20] Speaker 2: "The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce the division of both soul and spirit, uh, joint and marrow, and, and pierce, uh, the innermost divisions of the heart." It goes to the deepest part of who we are. Uh, Second Timothy 3:16-17. "For all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for reproof, for correction, for teaching, for instruction in training in righteousness." Why? "That the man or woman of God may be thoroughly adequate, equipped for every good work." Why? The word of God equips us. That's why. It- it- it impacts our influence. It helps us to be better, uh, believers and to, and to share the word of God. And we don't go there, but Psalm 19. Go to Ps- Psalm 19. Read verses seven through 14 about what the law of God does to us. It's sweeter than honey. Uh, it in- informs our minds. It gives us the... It gives us all kinds of, of wisdom, uh, in a time when we so desperately, uh, need it.

[24:11] Speaker 2: So we need to allow the word of God to interact with our mind. We need to think about it, marinate on it, and let it, uh, sink into the soil of our hearts. So, how do we do this? Let me give you some practical ways and we'll close up. Number one-... commit to a time. Commit to some time in your day just to read the Bible. You say, "Jeff, do I study it too?" Yeah, study it too, but make sure you're reading it first. Read it, then study it. Here's what you'll find. You'll find some of the Bible's like low-hanging fruit. It's easy to pick off and take a bite, and you're like, "Gosh, that was easy, easy to understand. The Lord is my shepherd. I can do all things th- through Christ who strengthens me," things like that, right? But there'll be other passages you'll go, "I don't quite get it." Read it again. Study it again. Look for repeated words. Make observations. Find out who's speaking. Why are they speaking? What's the context?

[25:00] Speaker 2: We're gonna do, by the way, an entire series here in the future on how to study the Bible, uh, but these are some, uh, some overview thoughts. And then meditate on it. Marinate on it. Even memorize it if, if you want to, and then share it with other people. That's a way to kinda get it into you and then get it out of you, which is another way to learn, when you share it with other people. Secondly, get a good study Bible. Uh, I use the Ryrie Study Bible. There are many good study Bibles out there. I use it. I've had mine since 1986 and even before. It just has great notes in it. I like the way I, I can write in it and things like that. But get yourself a good study Bible and glean from the wisdom and study of other scholars that have come before you. And then take advantage of solid Bible resources. I mean, this is why we exist for you.

[25:46] Speaker 2: The King Is Coming exists to help you in your relationship with God, know Him, know His Word, and to be able to share the truth of the Gospel with the world. So, uh, avail yourselves of good resources, uh, good books, uh, DVDs, uh, good digital materials, other teachers online. Uh, join a Bible study. If you're not a part of a Bible study, get a part of a Bible study with other believers, and then finally, be a part of a Bible-teaching church of someone who gets up there, can open this book, and is very, very good at explaining it. That's a little bit about what it means, uh, to be a student of the Word. Now, we're gonna get more deeply into this whole idea of studying the Bible and what it produces in us on the next episode of The King Is Coming. Don't miss it. I'll see you then. God bless. (instrumental music plays) My latest book, The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth, is a book that takes you to the end times through the eyes of Jesus Himself.

[26:41] Speaker 2: If you'd like a copy of this book, make a donation to The King Is Coming. God bless

[26:45] Speaker 1: You don't wanna miss this opportunity to get Jeff Kinley's newest book. For any gift of $20 or more to The King Is Coming, get your copy of The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth. Call now or go to thekingiscoming.com today. Thank you.

[27:01] Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Jeff Kinley. We've been talking about, on The King Is Coming, this, this man named Noah and As It Was In The Days of Noah. Well, that's based upon a book that I wrote a few years ago called As It Was In The Days of Noah: Uh, Warnings From the Bible About the Coming Global Storm. And in this book, we talk about how the days that Noah experienced are the days that we're experiencing right now, and how we can navigate those difficult times. I think this is a very relevant message for the world today, and it was when the book came out originally in 2014. It immediately went to number one, became the number one prophecy book in America. It rose to the number 94 spot out of eight million books on Amazon, and got me on programs like Fox & Friends, The Glenn Beck Show, The Ben Shapiro Show, and hundreds of other radio and TV shows, and I think it's mainly because it just struck a nerve. Well, today, we're living in those days as well, and we've updated the book now, republished it.

[27:54] Speaker 2: I've added two new chapters to it and added a bunch of new content in the back. I want you to get a copy of As It Was In The Days of Noah. It'll not only open your eyes to what's going on in the world around you as the Bible predicts, but also equip you on how you can walk in these difficult times. Pick up a copy of As It Was In The Days of Noah. (instrumental music plays)