# Power of the Bible

Category: Bible Study & Scripture
Key Passage: Genesis 1:1
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: July 13, 2025

All right, would you take your Bibles? Now, this is going to be hard to find, but Genesis chapter number one, Genesis 1 in your Bible. If you don’t have a Bible, one of those chairs around, you ought to have it. And I want you to see this. It’s going to be a little bit unique at the beginning. And you say, anytime you preach is always unique. And my wife says, I invent words as I preach.

But I usually tell her, but they should be a word. I know it’s not a word, but it should be a word. And she said, well, I can’t argue with that. It sounds pretty good. So it’s called hillbilly, amen, you know. But Genesis chapter number one in God’s word this morning. And we’re going to start off just a little bit unique today. And this morning, and I believe next Sunday morning, we want to focus on the Bible and the power of the Bible.

And I say this often. We all, well, it’s kind of like opinions. They’re kind of like feet. We all have them and they all stink from time to time.

But I want what God’s opinion is. God’s word. I’m so glad I have God’s word. What a wonderful thing. I mean, and I hope you appreciate it. Hope you realize what you have. And let’s just for a bit this morning focus on the Bible, God’s Word to mankind, God’s revelation to mankind. We’re starting Genesis chapter number one.

And we’re going to be another hard place to find verse number one, all right? And if you got that, would you please stand, all right? Genesis 1 and verse number 1. I want you to see this as we just kind of get going through this. Genesis 1-1, in the beginning, God. Let me just stop. I’ve got to be careful with time. Time gets away from me. But I’ve got to say this.

God says more in four words than all the professors say in all the lectures and hours and days and weeks and years. They never tell you where it all started at. Well, it started from a one-cell amoeba, or it started from this little dot, but where’d that, where’d all that come from? Well, it started from the gases of the universe that consigned in that one dot. Where’d all the gases of the universe? They don’t know.

And on and on and on and on and on, you know, you might as well just take a nap in the class. Because they don’t know where it all started. God says more in four words than they say in thousands of words. In the beginning, God. Awesome. Isn’t the Bible awesome? It’s wonderful, wonderful. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Now would you read for me the first three words of verse number three? Here we go.

“Let there be light,” and there was light.

Would you look over in verse number six, please? Verse number six there, chapter number one. And would you read those first three words of verse number six? Here we go.

“Let there be a firmament” in the midst of the waters and let it be divided the waters from the waters.

Look at verse number nine, would you please? Would you read the first three words of verse number nine? Here we go.

“Let the waters” under the heaven be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so.

Look at verse number 11. Here we go.

“And God said,” let the earth bring forth grass and the herb yielding seed in the fruit tree, yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so.

Look at verse number 14. Verse number 14, first three words, here we go.

“And God said,” let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from night and let them be signs for signs and for seasons for days and for years.

Look at verse number 20. Verse number 20, here we go, the first three words of verse number 20.

“And God said,” let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of the heaven.

Look in verse number 24, please. Verse 24, first three words, here we go.

“And God said,” let the earth bring forth living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things and the beast of the earth after his kind. And it was so.

One more place. Verse number 26. Here we go, the first three words.

“And God said,” let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

And on and on. I want to just emphasize, God started it all, if you will, with His Word. And God said, all through creation. By the way, I’m glad I have what God said.

A friend, and I want to get preached before we pray, but we’re so foolish to think we can do so much without “And God said.”

And that’s where it all started. And God said. Praise the Lord, we have what God said.

Just a bit, would you ask the Lord to kind of maybe just give us a clearer look at what we truly have in the Bible and help me, help us to appreciate it? Would you pray with me on that?

Father, Lord, we do come. Lord, I do ask, would you just emphasize to us, to me too, Lord, the importance of Your word. Lord, it is amazing just the thought, the truth, Lord, that You began at all, this universe, this world, us, the animals, all of it with Your word. Father, let’s just kind of start there. Lord, would You emphasize to us through Your word and Your Spirit the importance of Your word. And, Lord, at the end of the day, we’ll thank You for what You do, and we’ll praise You for it. By the way, asking for this, in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Thank you so much. You may be seated.

If God started it all off, I mean, all creation, everything, He started it all off with His word, and God said, “Let there be light,” and so on and so on. You know, it would be pretty foolish for a country, a government, to think we’re going to be all that apart from God’s word.

You know, it was a good day in America. You know, they say in the early days of America that the Bible was so used in our court system that a lawyer, when he became a lawyer, he better know his Bible very well because it was the most quoted source in the courtroom in early America. How foolish would we be if we thought, well, we can build a great nation without the Word of God? By the way, I’ve been so thankful with the new administration how much more the Bible you hear of and praying you hear of. What a blessing that is. Praise the Lord for it.

You know, actually in the Supreme Court building in D.C., three different places they have the Ten Commandments on the wall of the Supreme Court building. Friend, I’m just saying how foolish it would be for us to think we can have a great nation apart from the Word of God.

Let me just say a little word here. You know, I really don’t care a whole lot. I like to watch sports. But when it comes to a nation, I really don’t care what a sports figure or a Hollywood figure thinks about politics. I like to find out what God thinks about politics.

I’m making it a little clearer, and this isn’t all, but I’m not saying I hate the guy, he’s a good basketball player, but I really, when it comes to politics, don’t care what LeBron James thinks, Amy. I don’t want to know what God says about these things. You don’t understand what I’m saying?

How foolish would it be since God did start it all off with this word for me to think I can build a great marriage? I mean, the Bible, the Bible says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” And it’d be foolish for me to think I can build a great marriage apart from what God said.

You know, sometimes it may be better instead of listening to what a professor says a husband ought to be, if I just go back to what God says a husband ought to be. Maybe instead of listening to Sister So-and-So say everything about a wife, maybe I ought to go back to God and find out what God says about being one. Y’all with me out there this morning? Amen?

I’m just trying to, the Bible. You know, one of the most important things we ever do is raise our children. Yes, we’re responsible for how we raise them. They’re responsible for what they do of it. But how foolish it would be for me to think I can raise good godly kids apart from God’s word?

Just the importance of the Bible, how important it is? He said, “Well, they’ve got a good education.” Well, you know, the honest truth is you can have a Ph.D. and die and go to hell. So they got a nice house, a nice car. I’m not saying those are bad. I’m thankful for that. I hope my children have all those things one day and let their dad share in them, amen, you know? I’m not against any of that, but you can have education, you can have a nice car, nice house, and die and go to hell. I’m saying you ought to use the Bible in raising your children.

Whatever happened to bringing in God’s word into every, every facet of our life, every detail about it?

Now, listen, just think about this. Don’t lose me. Just think about me. This is what we’re going to say here for just a minute here. You know, I’m only one out of about 8.2 billion people in the world. I know what you say. Praise the Lord, there’s only one of me. I’m thankful for that right there.

This ball we live on, we call it Earth, it’s only one out of eight planets in our solar system. That’s it. They even argue about how many there are. But that’s it. Just one out of 8.2, one planet out of eight. And then this solar system we live in, it’s inside this thing called the galaxy, the Milky Way, and they say it’s really hard for them to tell how many solar systems there are in our one galaxy. Thousands of solar systems; some go way beyond that. But thousands of solar systems, you know, in this galaxy.

And then this galaxy called the Milky Way where these thousands of solar systems are, where one solar system, where one planet in the solar system, I’m only one out of 8.2 billion people on this one planet. And then they say there are billions, some say trillions of galaxies in our universe. The honest, simple truth is they can’t really see the edge of the universe.

Some think it’s continually growing. I don’t know. That’s not true because God’s an infinite God. I don’t know. But that’s what I’m getting at. And I’m just one out of all that. And who am I to be so opinionated? It’s amazing how opinionated we can get and how know-it-all we can get, how we know God, and we know everything of the world, and we’re just one little bit peon of 8.2 billion, and there’s one solar system, one planet we live on, and then, you know, we’re thousands of solar systems in the Milky Way, and then there’s billions of galaxies, and we get so opinionated.

I’m trying to say, apart from God revealing Himself to mankind, friend, we’re hopeless knowing what God is. Don’t get so opinionated. Don’t value your opinion so high. You better go back to what God told us is what I’m trying to say. Praise the Lord, He did tell us. We would be so lost, my goodness, if we did not have God’s revelation.

No wonder, no wonder the first recorded words of Satan in all of God’s word. He’s so sneaky. He’s casting doubt. Actually, if you get technical, he’s casting doubt on what he said God had said, and God didn’t even say it. If you check it out, real technical. He’s sneaky. He’s sly. He’s very subtle.

But he’s saying God said something so then he can make you doubt what God said. His whole purpose is to cast doubt on the Word of God. Well, no wonder he wants you to doubt the Word of God. First recorded words of Satan is casting doubt on the Word of God.

You know, the Bible has been spit on, it’s been stepped on, it’s been lied about, but you know it, it’s still the best-selling book of all time. There’s been people trying to get rid of it for years, and it’s them. They say over 100 million copies of the Bible are printed every single year. It’s not just the bestseller of the past; it’s the bestseller every year for it.

Joseph Stalin tried to get rid of it. How many Voltaire were there in France? He wanted to stamp out the Bible. He wanted to get rid of the Bible. He was just—he was just enraged in the Bible. You know when he died, you know what happened to his house that he lived in? They turned it into a printing press of Bibles.

You know, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, you know, 1963, and she, in Baltimore public schools, and her son where they were having him pray and read the Bible, and she got mad about it, and she sued the Baltimore school system, and that’s when prayer got kicked out and Bible got kicked out of the public school system. You know what happened? The son that she was suing, her son had to go and hear the Bible. God, when he grew up, God saved that boy, and he became a Baptist preacher.

Friend, you can’t win against God in His Word. It’s always true. It’s always right. There’s been people that’s burned it, they’ve torn it up, they’ve outlawed it, but it still outsells all the smut of the world, amen. The Bible, God’s Word.

Many have tried to find faults in it. They’ve tried to find errors in it. They say it contradicts. But every single word has been true. They’ve never found one fault, legitimate fault in the Bible.

It was penned by over 40 different men. Over a thousand years, probably maybe up to 14, 1600 years, 40 different men penned it. They lived on three different continents. They wrote 66 different books, and it never contradicts itself. Wow, how do you explain that? God’s the author of it. That’s how He explained it.

I read books where just one author wrote a book, I promise you, I’d have one author and be about 20 different contradictions in it, you know? 40 different men, over a thousand years, three different continents. Many of them didn’t know each other, and it never contradicts itself. Six to six books. That, friend, shows you the fingerprints of God Almighty. That’s God’s book right there. “Liveth and abideth forever,” the Bible says. Man’s been trying to get rid of it for a long time. Shows their fear of it in the fact they want to get rid of it, the Bible. What an amazing, amazing book the Bible is.

Let me just, let me just—well, one more illustration. We’ll get to a couple points. We haven’t started, we haven’t gotten to the preaching yet. That’s just the introduction. You all right?

A man walked into a blacksmith shop years ago when they had horses and they were riding horses everywhere. And he looked around the shop and there was just hundreds of horseshoes tossed aside. And there was just one anvil. Someone said, “Wow, all of those horseshoes were formed in shape and beaten on that one anvil.” That’s the word of God. It always has, it always will stand the beating of the world. When it’s all said and done, the dust settles, the Bible will still be standing. “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven,” the Bible says.

Hey, let me ask you. Let me ask you. Look right here. How much have you been in the Bible here lately? When’s the last time you read it? When’s the last time you memorized a portion of it? When’s the last time part of the Bible just stuck? When’s the last time you had a question about something? And you say, “Well, let me find out what God says about that.”

Let me just a little bit try to encourage you to get in the Bible. I’m going to give you a couple of suggestions here. Seven suggestions about getting in the Bible. Y’all with me this morning? You are a little quiet. I think this side may be a little bit louder. Y’all, y’all with me this morning over on this side? Good deal, good deal. Thank you over there. I appreciate that. That’s good.

Number one, we’re going to give you seven things. Number one, read at least a little of the Bible every day. Someone yesterday said, “Well, I don’t read that much. I’ve got this Bible app, maybe a verse or two a day.” And I said, “Praise the Lord, it’s a start.”

Back on the back table, there’s typically this little, little bitty thing, the Baptist Bread, and they’ll give you just a portion of scripture. Just start somewhere. Read a little bit of the Bible every single day. Somebody says, “Well, you’re just doing it to check off your mark.” I’d rather check off a mark than not do it at all. By the way, you’re not going to get a whole lot out of it unless you start checking off a mark somewhere. Amen.

I get so knocked and kicked and put down. I’m for going beyond that, but you guys start at step one before you can go to step four, amen. Just read it. Get in it. How many times Jesus, have ye not read? Over and over, Jesus would say that about the scriptures.

I’ve read that so much I didn’t want to be redundant by reading that again. Matthew 4. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Just get in the Bible.

Hey, you say, “I’m an emotional mess.” Can I give you a suggestion? Oh, the bottle. No, I’m joking. No, no, no. Delete that. I’m joking with you. All right, please. I joke too much. Read Psalms every day. Read the Psalms. The book of Psalms is really the emotions of a Christian. It’s behind the scenes. Read Psalms every day.

You say, “I need some wisdom.” Young people, I think it would be—it’s amazing to me how God designed it. I don’t know why. God knows better than me for sure. But God’s designed it where you will make the major decisions for the most part that will affect the rest of your life when you’re young. And yet sometimes that’s when we, you know, we don’t have a lot of wisdom. We’re not at all experienced. So here’s my thought: Read Proverbs every day.

Thirty-one chapters in the book of Proverbs. A lot of months have 31 chapters. I’m not perfect at it, but since I’ve been a teenager, for the most part, every day, I’ve been reading a chapter out of Proverbs every day. I was maybe 16 years old. Every day, just read. That’s why I’m so dumb today. No, I’m joking with you. I’m teasing a Tennessee preacher. But every day, read a chapter out of Proverbs. Just, just read it.

Can I say this? Can I say this? Are you going to understand everything you read? No. The Bible is so shallow, though, no one will drown in it, but it’s so deep, nobody’s going to get to the bottom of it. God, go to Bible college, study for years and years, seminary and all the rest. That preached the Bible for 50 years, and he’s not going to understand everything in it, but I promise you, friend, you read it, and it’ll affect you.

At the end of the week, you said, “I didn’t understand everything I read, but I read some every day, and somehow I had a little extra strength this week.” It came from the Bible. Someone said, “Seven days without the Bible makes you weak.” It will. The Bible, just read it. Be in the Bible.

Get your Bible app. Go to YouTube. I’ve been doing this here lately. I don’t know why. I’ve just been—it’s been my thing. I’ve been a little bit extra, trying to get an extra Bible. I’ll pull up YouTube, and I’ll just look, King James verses on strength or on comfort or on, you know, this. And I’ll just listen to the Bible.

Anybody out there hate shaving? That’s why beards are nice. I only have to shave twice a week. Amen. Praise the Lord for that right there. It’s like you can’t do anything; you’re just sitting there, you know. Hey, pull up YouTube Bible verses. Listen.

But just somebody every day trying to get Bible in you, just working at it. Read through your Bible in a year. There’s a little chart back there on the back table. Get that chart. You read through that. You read through the Bible in a year. But I challenge you, read your Bible, get in your Bible somewhere along the line. I want to get something in me today from the Word of God. If you don’t live in the Bible, you’ll not have the strength to live by the Bible. Amen.

Number one, we said, number one, read it at least a little bit every day. If it’s nothing but just a verse, start somewhere. Start something. Just read some every day.

Number two, number two, memorize a little of the Bible. Just start somewhere. “Thy word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Memorizing. Now you got to work at it. You got to find some kind of system that works for you. I don’t know, but I’m sure there are Bible memorization apps out there on your phone. I mean, they got apps for, you know, ingrown toenails and underwater basket weaving. They’ve got apps for everything nowadays, you know. And I’m sure there’s—use an app if you want to for Bible memorization.

I’m a little old school. I’ll get—in my truck, I have in the center console a bunch of 3x5 cards got Bible verses on them. And that’s my time. I’ve not been faithful here lately, I’m confessing, in my morning time to work, I’ll try to memorize some Bible verses. Get some kind of system to work for you.

This is what they say. I’ve used this system. It does seem to work. The experts will say, when you’re trying to memorize a verse, at first, just that first day, read it over and over again and try to start saying it without looking at it 25 times. That’s not twenty over here and five over here. How about that, you know? Twenty-five times. The second day, do it 20 times. Next day, 15, 10, 5. And then seven times, just one time a day. Then after that, for at least six months, say it at least once a month, and they say after that, it’s permanently in your memory.

Now, if you’re getting old—I know none of you are getting old—but I’ll have to rememorize verses. I’ll have to rememorize verses I memorized way back. Anybody out there? Man, I’m there. But work at it. That system may not work for you, and that’s fine, but get you some kind of a system.

What are you doing? It may be just a phrase. Maybe you say, “Well, I read Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’” Say that all day long, just—just you. You want to try to meditate, chew on one phrase out of the Bible.

Years ago, I was a little discouraged about our country. I can’t remember who was the president at the time. And 2 Chronicles 7:14, how many know that verse? You know that verse? If you know it, say it out loud with me. Here we go: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

I needed some encouragement as far as our country, and I went around all day for about three days, and all I would say, I just did it over and over again in my mind: “Heal, forgive and heal. Heal, forgive and heal. Heal, forgive and heal.” And I just said that all day long. And I tell you what, after a while, I got encouraged. I was defeated about America, no hope. The Bible. Heal, forgive and heal.

What are you memorizing? What are you meditating on? What are you chewing on? When’s the last time you got a portion of scripture and you just let that thing permeate in your heart and your mind? Do you have any verses? You don’t have to do this, but I like it. You walk in a house and they’ll have verses on the wall. I don’t take your pen and write on the wall because your mom might kill you, you know. Sometimes it goes. Somebody just had a pocket Bible verse pocket. We get the Bible. The Bible. God’s word, the Bible.

Number one, we said, read it at least a little bit every day. Number two, memorize at least a little bit of it. Number three, listen to the Bible being taught or preached on. Titus 1:3, He says, “But hath in due time manifested his word through preaching.” By the congratulations, you’re in God’s house on a Sunday morning. There ought to be someone standing up preaching the word of God.

He said that’s where I’ve manifested. I’ve shown my word. By the most doctrine you’re going to get, you’ll typically get it in church somewhere. And he says, “I’ve just chosen this day and time. I’ve manifested and have all revealed it through preaching.” Kind of put a plug in for Sunday school. Sunday school is teaching the Word of God. A little difference. Preaching goes for the heart. Teaching goes for the head. All good preaching has a little teaching in it. All good teaching has some preaching in it, but there is a difference. Y’all still with me out there?

But listen to it. Pull it up on your phone, some preaching throughout the week. I mean, just work at it. We’re working at getting more preaching on our radio station. Why? Because the Word of God changes lives. I love music, because you need some of the Word of God and the preaching of the Word of God. It’s just God’s plan. God’s chosen the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Number one, we said, hey, read the Bible. Number two, memorize the Bible. Number three, listen to being preached and taught. Congratulations, you’re in church today.

Number four, this is a little different one. Number four, respect your Bible. He said, “But thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name.” That’s interesting. I mean, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and He says He’s magnified His word above all His name, all Thy name. That’s amazing to me.

And this is just kind of my thing, but be respectful of God’s word. This is kind of my thing, but you know if I have a stack of books, I just can’t put another book on top of my Bible. I want my Bible on top. I mean, just, if I have a stack of books or a desk somewhere, I’m not going to have something on top of my Bible. I want my Bible being on top. I don’t want to throw my Bible around and tear it up and just—it’s not everything. And I’m not saying, you know, things happen, but be respectful of the Bible. That’s God’s book.

I try not—I try not to put the Bible on the floor. I won’t do that. I’m not saying, you know, you’re not saved. You know what I’m just saying? Try to be respectful. It’s God’s Word. And I want to treat it as such. I want to be respectful towards God’s word. I want to place it on a high level.

This is something I do. It’s a little crazy. But when I go to sleep at nighttime, I want the Bible somewhere in my household. Not just there, I want it open. I mean, if the devil comes in the middle of the night trying to get my dreams—you ever have that happen to you, you know?—I just like the sword to be out over there, and I like it out of its sheath. I like it just ready to go. I mean, I like—I’ve been putting it in the living room or another room, and I used to have it more in my bedroom. I’m thinking I’m going to get my Bible back in my bedroom with it open. I’m not saying you have to do that. That’s me. But be respectful. That’s God’s word. And I don’t want to belittle it. I don’t want to be disrespectful.

I heard years ago, old Curtis Hutchens, and he said, “Every once in a while, I’ll just get my Bible out and I’ll kiss on my Bible.” Every once in a while, I’ll find myself doing that. I’m not saying you’ve got to be a crazy nut like I am, but hey, somebody’s a crazy nut for some sports team; I can be a crazy nut for the Lord, amen. He saved me. He shed His blood for me. He gave me His word. Hey, we ought to lift high the Word of God. Friend, praise the Lord for it. The world’s been putting it down long enough, and it’s still standing. But I want to be found holding the Bible high. Read it a little bit, memorize it.

I just want to chew on it, no matter what. I want to listen to preaching. I want to show respect to it.

Then let me say this: Study the Bible. Study the Bible. Go, if you will, over to 2 Timothy chapter number 2. 2nd Timothy chapter number 2.

By the way, we use the King James Version in our church. You say, “Why is that?” Well, a lot of different reasons, but one reason: we’re about to look at a verse where it says “study the Bible.” And most—not all—but the vast majority of the new Bibles, they’ll take “study,” the only time the Bible says to study it, and most of them change it. I just stick to the old book that says, “Hey, study it.”

Look over here in 2 Timothy chapter number 2. Look at verse number 15, 2:15, 2:15. What does he say right there? Second Timothy 2:15. He says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

It was a good day for me. I used to have that Bible verse as a plaque on the wall of my office, and I know I’m not the most educated man. I know I don’t pronounce a lot of my words right. I understand all that, and I might as well have fun with it, do the best I can with it, amen. You think I’m bad now? When we started the church, you should have listened to me back in the day. Wow. You know, I’ve grown a little bit, you know? But it’s a good day for me. I walked in my office and I’ve seen that plaque. I have that verse memorized for years, but I never noticed it says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God.”

That was a good day for me when I said, “You know, I don’t have to worry about what anybody else thinks about my study, my knowledge, all that right—approved unto God.” That brought peace to me. But it was through His word. Study to show thyself approved.

Friend, I’m telling you, the Bible’s got the answers. The older I get, the more I realize if I don’t know the answer from the Bible, it’s not the Bible’s fault because I haven’t studied it, read it enough. It’s amazing what I was in there. They may have not let George Washington to death if they had read the Bible. The life of the flesh and the blood. The Bible told them that years ago. The Bible’s an amazing book. Study it.

Now here’s a wonderful thing. If you say, “All right, how do I study my Bible?” This will help you study more than anything, I promise you this: If somewhere you teach the Bible, the teacher always learns the most. Our folks that teach in Sunday school, children’s church are like, “Man, I’m learning stuff I never learned before.” And I always have, “Hey, the teacher’s going to learn the most always.” So not every case you can do, but you might want to start a Bible study at work.

Before I was a preacher here, I worked at a large factory and I had a Bible study. It was awesome. We’d go in the locker room. Music would be blaring. Dirty pictures on the wall half the time. We’d go down in one section of the locker room. We’d open—and we’d have big days. We’d put up stuff posters. Hey, we’re going to get away—cassette tapes, whoever comes to the Bible study. People got saved. We got reached. We started our church. Eight of those—seven of those men with their sons drove down from Indiana and surprised me, showed up on our very first Sunday. I never knew they were coming. They just surprised me. Eight big old welders from—you know, tank car coming to making railroad tank cars. A Bible study.

But do something. It might not be that. It may be starting a neighborhood Bible club. Get all the kids in the neighborhood together and have a Bible study. Hey, have a Bible study in your house. Invite some of your friends or coworkers. Hey, we’re just going to have a meal. They’ll come for the meal. Put a good meal on now, amen. They’re going to study the Bible. If you just find a way to teach the Bible, it’ll make you study. I cheat. I have to study, and it’s good for me.

Okay, you say, “Well, I’m not a teacher.” Not everybody is. I get that. But find some way to study the Bible. Maybe you want to study: Why do we believe in a pre-tribulation rapture? You say, “What in the world does that mean?” That means before the tribulation period we’re going to be raptured out of here. You say, “Is that in the Bible?” Very much so, friend. We did sermons on it and taught on it, but you study it out.

Can you lose your salvation? “Thou shalt never perish.” But don’t just take my word for it. Study it out in the Bible. My dad got saved and he didn’t know any of that stuff, and he went to work and said, “Man, I got saved.” And they were like, “Whoa, you got saved?” And boy, he started telling them about it, and some people started pulling him and saying, “Hey, you lose your salvation.” He says, “Is that true?” He didn’t know. He started reading his Bible and said, “Lord, I want to know the truth about this thing.” You showed him with the truth, and it says—amazing how verses just started popping out left and right.

Yeah, study subjects of the Bible. You say, “I’m struggling with my finances.” Hey, do a Bible study on finances. I would like to retire with a pretty good—you know, finances are being settled in. Study about that in the Bible. Friend, He knows more about finances than anybody in this whole world knows about finance. I’m not saying I’m against Dave Ramsey. I’m not saying that at all, but He knows a million times more than Dave Ramsey ever knows about finances. Go to the Bible. Abraham’s the point of the Bible. I’m not downing him, but I’m just saying, get the Bible. It’s amazing what the Bible has. Study it. Study different subjects of it. Look it up. Do a word study on peace. Read every time the Bible says—uses the word peace. Let me just dive on. I’m going to some way study the Bible.

Someone said if your Bible is falling apart, you’re probably not reading it. So don’t start messing up your Bible, making it fall apart. Don’t do that.

All right. Number six, never lose your desire for the word. 1 Peter chapter number 2, verse number 2: “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” It’s not saying as newborn babes you desire the sincere milk of the word; it’s saying the big thing He’s talking about there is don’t lose your desire.

When our son was born, man, he liked to eat. Man, you gave him that baby bottle, he was so intense. His pinkies would go straight up. And he’s like—and if you just shook that bottle, he would just cloud up and rain, man. Don’t mess with his food. They wanted food. He’s like his dad. Yeah, man, I want some food, you know.

And that’s what the Bible’s taught. As a newborn babe desires, you desire the word. You’ve been in church 40 years, never lose your desire for it. You’ve been saved for 400 years or however long it is. Don’t lose your desire. Don’t let it be old hat. “I need to get back in the Word.” If you do lose your desire for it, so God, bring my desire back for the Bible. I’m losing, I’m getting cold-hearted, and that happens. I want to desire. I want to desire the word. Now you grow that way, “that ye may grow thereby.”

Can I put it this way? Never become such a big shot that you don’t need the Bible. Can I just put it this way? Never be such a know-it-all that you don’t need to know what God says. Amen. Desire, and I want to know it. I want to know what it says about marriage and every detail of life. I want to be in the book.

Number one, we said, read it at least a little bit every day. Memorize some of it. Listen to being preached and taught. Show respect to the Bible. Study the Bible. And then we said, hey, never lose your desire for it.

Last thing: Apply the Bible to your life. You know, when you pray, get your Bible verse and claim it. Oh, John Fontaine. How many remember John Fontaine around here? What a great man. He would always quote Jeremiah 33:3: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

It’s not before we pray. All from Saturday, I would have prayer meeting. But just claim a Bible verse. Young people, it may be this verse: “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” It took me a while to fully understand that verse. But when I was young, I was one of verses. Look at your Bible verse and claim it. Apply it to your life.

I was raised in church, and so I had no credit to me by my mom and dad and teachers and Sunday school teachers, all those who have made me learn Bible verses. And I’m thankful for it today. I’m blessed. And I knew this verse: I knew Romans 10:13. I was about an 8 or 9-year-old boy. I knew Romans 10:13. A very easy verse that says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

God had been working in my heart for a while. We were riding back from church. I don’t know if it was a Sunday night or Wednesday night, but I was sitting in the back seat on the left side before car seats and all that. But we were running all over the car, amen, you know. I sat back there, and God was working on my heart.

And this is what I said, basically. I said, “Now, Lord, I knew that verse, no credit to me. Other people told me, I knew the verse. Now, Lord, You said, ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ I said, ‘God, You said that. I’m calling right now.’ I’m basically what I said, ‘Lord, if You don’t save me, it’s Your fault because I’m calling.’ And I’m just going to take Your word for what it says. I’m calling right now. Would You save me?'”

Man, when I did that, something happened inside. I got a peace. I got a joy. I’ve been battling that for a while. I got to settle this about me. That came from the Bible. And I applied that Bible. I called on Jesus to save me. And that book told me, “Hey, I’m saved.”

Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? Heads bowed, eyes closed.

Maybe here this morning you say, “You know, I need to be in my Bible more. I need to—I need to—whatever, however God spoke to your heart, maybe reading it, memorizing it, respecting it, I don’t know—but I just need to be in the Bible more.” God spoke to my heart about that this morning. If that’s you this morning, you slip your hand in that preacher. “I need to be in the Bible more.” God bless you. God bless you. Many, many hands. Oh, many, many hands. That’s good. God bless you. Thank you for letting the Lord work in your heart. Thank you. That’s wonderful. Thank you so much. You can put your hands down.

Maybe you hear this morning you say, “Preacher, there’s something specific I’m going to start doing.” Maybe you’re going to pick a verse every day. That’s going to be my verse to meditate on. Maybe you’re going to memorize. Maybe you’re going to read. But a specific thing God spoke to your heart. You’re going to start doing a specific thing, a certain thing towards the Bible. “And I’m going to start doing a specific thing.” If that’s you this morning, you lift your hand. “Preacher, that’s me.” God bless you. That’s good. That’s good. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be perfect at it; if you’re going to shoot for it, Father, you shoot for nothing, you hit it every time.

And something specific God spoke to my heart. I’m going to start doing it about my Bible. Anybody else? Anybody else? God bless you. God bless you. That’s good. God bless you. Good, good, good. Thank you. Thank you so much for letting the Lord work in your hearts and your lives. Thank you. You can put your hands down.

Thank you. Maybe you hear this morning you say, “A preacher, I’ve heard about salvation. I know Jesus shed His blood for me on the cross, but I’ve never applied that. I’ve never called on Jesus as you mentioned as you did as a boy. I’ve never called on Him to be my Savior. I’ve never put my full faith in Jesus. I need to do that.” If that’s you this morning, I’d like to pray for you. That’s you this morning, and preacher, “I’ve never done that. I’ve never called on Jesus to be my Savior. I need to do that.” If that’s you this morning, you just lift your hand up. Anybody like it? Slip it up. “I need to ask Jesus to be my Savior.” Anybody like that? Anybody like that?

I don’t see any hands. Old children, we’re going to grow. Children of God, we’re going to grow. We’ve got to be in the word. Nourishment, food comes from the word. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Would you please stand? We’re going to have a word of prayer. Would you be obedient to the Lord if He’s tugging at your heart? David said, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I might behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Maybe that be your prayer during invitation with you. You’ll be obedient to the Lord as He speaks to your heart.

Father, thank You for Your word. We would be hopeless in knowing You, knowing what You want, what You don’t want, what You like, how to be saved. We didn’t have Your word. Thank You for giving us Your word. Help us to value it. Thank You, Lord. Help us to be in it. Lord, Father, would You send Your Spirit speaking very clearly, very specifically about what You would have us to do with Your word in the future? Well, thank You for it in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Would you be obedient as the Lord speaks to your heart? Would you be obedient? That’s good. Have you been reading it? You’ve been memorizing it? Valuing it? Respecting it? Telling others about it? When’s the last time you said, “Well, I don’t know what so-and-so thinks, but I want to find out what God thinks about it”? One day we’ll stand before the Lord. He won’t judge you by the polls. He won’t judge you by the news. He’ll judge by the Bible, by the Word of God. By it forever. Not many things are eternal; the Word of God is. Amen, amen.

There was a man that was seven years in a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam, seven years. Got out and wrote a book. His name is Howard Rutledge. And he gave some New Year’s resolutions. And one of those, he said, “I’m going to try to never be cold again” in North Vietnam. He said, “One was, I’m never going to be cold again.”

Number two, he said, “I never want to be hungry again.” I just—after seven years, I never, never want to be cold again, never. I’m going to do my best, never be hungry again. And number three, he said, “I want to never be without my Bible.” He said, “The way I’m going to do that,” he said, “because they’re going to put it in my heart and my mind—memorizing.” He said, “I never want to be without the Bible again. I’m going to work at memorizing, have it on my mind, my heart.” Maybe good resolutions for us.

I like the one about never being hungry again, too. I mean, you know. Glad you’re in church this morning. Appreciate you being in God’s house. And appreciate every single person here. Praise the Lord for you. Keep seeking God. He’s worthy of it. And it’s the most rewarding thing in all the world. And you do that through the Bible. I’m glad you’re here this morning. Appreciate everybody being here. Pray God just gets blessed. Pray about the fellowship on Tuesday night. If this one preacher gets encouraged, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what we want. You pray that God blesses in a special way on Tuesday night. Would you do that, please? Brother Jim Rinnick, would you dismiss us with a word of prayer, please, brother?

Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - ＂Power of the Bible＂ Sunday AM 07⧸13⧸2025 [NGzgjSoAfxw]