The Bible Basics

The Bible Basicsalive than seeking after the knowledge on something that you may really beinterested in and be very passionate about. However, many in our countryhave become \"brain dead\" and mentally lazy as a result of becoming couchpotatoes by watching too much TV. God has incredible knowledgeadventures set up for each and everyone of us if we would only be willing toget up out of our ruts, step out of our safe boats and start seeking after thethings that He wants us to seek after. The knowledge of God is like a treasure chest that has no bottom to it! There is no limit to the amount of knowledge that God can release to you if you are willing to dive into this treasure chest and start seeking after it. Think about this long and hard, that the one and only all powerful and all knowing God of the entire universe is willing and able to transmit His knowledge to you on whatever it is you are wanting His knowledge and wisdom on. Every single Christian has this incredible treasure chest of knowledge and wisdom literally residing on the inside of them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is only too anxious and just waiting for you to tap into Him to get this knowledge to start to be released to you! This incredible knowledge adventure is just waiting for each and everyChristian who is willing to get off the couch and start using the brain powerthat the Lord has given to us to start to seek after this kind of knowledge. We'll go ahead and list these Scripture verses under their appropriatecaptions below so that you can fully grasp what the Lord is trying to tell youin these profound verses. These verses are major door openers for each and every Christian, as theyare showing you that God can supernaturally impart and transmit Hisknowledge to you through the Holy Spirit if you are open to receiving it, andare willing to go into a seeking mode to pull it from Him.1. Growing in the Knowledge of God This first verse will completely set the stage for you to be able to receivedirect knowledge from the Lord. God is wanting us to grow in theknowledge of Him and His Son Jesus. ● \"But GROW in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and 46

The Bible Basics Savior Jesus Christ.\" (2 Peter 3:18) After we get saved, God expects us to start growing in the knowledge thatHe wants to transmit to us. And the only way we can spiritually grow is byseeking after the knowledge that will cause this growth to occur in the firstplace! This right here is why many Christians do not make much spiritual growthover the course of their lives after they initially get saved, because they arenot seeking after the knowledge of God that will cause this spiritual growthto occur in the first place.2. The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Receiving Knowledge and Wisdom Now that we know that God wants us to grow in the knowledge that Hewants to give to us, these next two verses will tell us the first step that needsto be met before God will even begin to release His knowledge to us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of being able to receive knowledgeand wisdom direct from the Lord. Here are the two verses: 1. \"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.\" (Proverbs 1:7) 2. \"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.\" (Proverbs 9:10) In both of these verses it says that the fear of the Lord is the \"beginning\"of being able to receive knowledge and wisdom from God. If you don't havea healthy fear of the Lord, then chances are, God is not going to be workingwith you very closely in releasing His knowledge to you. This first conditionright here is another reason why many of God's people are not getting moreknowledge, revelation and wisdom being transmitted to them. What exactly is God meaning when He says that we must have a healthy\"fear\" of Him? He obviously does not want you to be so afraid of Him thatyou then become to afraid to approach Him for prayer and to enter into ahealthy personal relationship with Him. What God means by the phrase\"fear of the Lord\" is that we are to have an extremely reverent respect forHim and all of His ways! Many Christians have a good healthy fear of God Himself, as they know 47

The Bible Basicsthat He is all powerful and that He is God Almighty Himself. Where manyChristians are getting into trouble off of these two verses is that they do nothave a healthy fear of all of God's ways. And one of God's ways for us is thatwe try and stay out of sin, especially some of the heavier sins. If you are out committing adultery behind your spouse's back, literallybreaking one of God's ten commandments, then chances are, God will notbe imparting much of His revelation and knowledge to you since you areliving in an obvious sin. If you are out committing this type of sin againstGod, then you are not showing much of a fear of Him, or else you wouldnever have considered falling into this type of heavier sin to begin with.Your actions may be speaking louder than your words to Him. If you have a true, healthy fear of the Lord, then you will not want totempt your fate and what He wants to do with your life by directlydisobeying some of these obvious commandments such as adultery, cheating,scamming others, verbally and/or physically abusing your spouse or yourchildren, holding extreme unforgiveness towards others, abusing alcohol ordoing drugs. If you have a good healthy fear of the Lord, then you will make everyeffort to try and live your life right and stay out of the heavier sins that youknow will get you in major trouble with Him. We are all sinners and none ofus is perfect. There is a certain amount of \"slack\" with the Lord on our ownimperfections and some of the stupid things that we will do in this life. Where some of us will get into trouble with the Lord on the above twoverses is when we blatantly enter into what we call \"unacceptable\" sins andbehavior. And some of the sins mentioned above are unacceptable sins andbehaviors in God's eyes, and they thus could cause God to pull back on youwith what He wants to do with your life. God will not be mocked! If you don't fear Him and His ways and the wayHe wants you to live this life, then He may just choose to withhold anyknowledge and revelation that He may want to impart to you. This is why theabove two verses are so important for those who would really like to startseeking after the knowledge of God for their lives. God will be more than willing to open up His storehouse of knowledge foryou in this life, but only if you are willing to do your part, and your first stepwill be to make sure that you have a good, reverent, healthy fear and respectof Him and all of His ways. 48

The Bible Basics3. God's People Are Destroyed For Lack of Knowledge God's people are literally, and we mean literally, being destroyed for lackof knowledge. God's people can literally go into captivity as a result of nothaving the right amount of knowledge about something. God the Father is giving all of us a major warning with the way that Hehas these two verses worded. A perfect example of these two verses in actualoperation are the Muslim suicide bombers. Many of these suicide bombersare young kids. They have been brought up being brainwashed by theextremist element of Islam, and they really do think they are going straight toheaven if they are willing to blow themselves up and anyone else they cantake with them. This is a perfect example of these young kids being led into \"captivity\"as a result of not having the appropriate knowledge to fully understand whatthey are getting into in the first place. And then when they actually do taketheir own lives in these suicide bombings, they are literally being\"destroyed\" as a result of this lack of knowledge. That is why seeking after the true knowledge of God in this life is soimportant with all the crazy and demonic things that are going on in thisworld. Having God's specific knowledge on a wide variety of matters is whatcan keep you from getting entangled into something that could end upturning deadly on you. These next two verses should be burned into your memory banks so thatyou never, ever forget what the Lord is trying to tell us. 1. \"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.\" (Hosea 4:6) 2. \"Therefore My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge\" (Isaiah 5:13) Not having the knowledge of God operating in our lives could literallylead us into getting into some kind of captivity, not to mention the possibilityof getting killed or thrown into the pits of hell when we die, then the reverseis also true, that having the knowledge of God operating in your life can helpkeep you out of serious trouble, help keep you free, and possibly helplengthen the number of days that you can live down here on this earth.4. Knowledge and Wisdom Are Better Than All the Material Things of This World The knowledge and wisdom that we can receive direct from Him is better 49

The Bible Basicsand more valuable than all the silver, gold and rubies of this world. Theknowledge and wisdom that you can receive direct from God is better thanall the material wealth that this world can offer! Knowledge and wisdom is better than anything else you can possiblydesire in this life! Think about how radical and extreme this statement reallyis given the materialistic and money hungry society we now live in. Grab a hold of these 7 verses, especially the first two. 1. \"Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.\" (Proverbs 3:13) 2. \"How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.\" (Proverbs 16:16) 3. \"There is gold and a multitude of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.\" (Proverbs 20:15) 4. \"But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.\" (Ecclesiastes 7:12) 5. \"Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.\" (Proverbs 16:22) 6. \"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.\" (Proverbs 24:3) 7. \"Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city.\" (Ecclesiastes 7:19) God says that \"happy\" is the man who finds wisdom, and that havingknowledge and wisdom will help lengthen the number of days that youmight be able to live down here on this earth. He then says that knowledgewill also bring you peace and be a tree of life to you and your life. This \"tree of life\" is what stimulates those who seek after knowledge.There is nothing more challenging, more rewarding and more thrilling thanseeking after the knowledge of God on a particular subject or issue you mayreally be interested in. 50

The Bible Basics And to top all of this off, all of the knowledge and wisdom that you willbe receiving from the Lord on the different parts of your life down here onthis earth will all be going with you into the next life, which will be heaven. Not one ounce of all of the gold, rubies, silver and wealth of this worldwill be going with you when you die and cross over. All of that earthlymaterial wealth will rot and perish as far as you are concerned, because notone ounce, not one penny will be going with you to the other side! This is why God is placing such an extremely high value on the pursuit ofHis knowledge and wisdom for us in this life. This is why God is telling usin the above verses that seeking after His knowledge and wisdom in this lifewill give you true life.5. Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom In many of these verses, you will see three key words that are constantlybeing repeated over and over again. These three key words are: ● Knowledge ● Understanding ● Wisdom God will first start off by conveying His knowledge to you aboutsomething specific. However, knowledge by itself will not get the job done.The next key word is \"understanding.\" Understanding means that youunderstand the knowledge that is being given to you. If you don't understandthe knowledge that has been given to you, then you won't be able to use it orapply it in a real life situation. The third key word is \"wisdom.\" Once you understand the knowledgethat has been given to you, then there is now one more step you will need tohave in order to be able to properly use that knowledge, and that step ishaving the wisdom to be able to use that knowledge in a real life situation. Many college graduates understand the knowledge that they have learnedthrough many of their college courses, but they lack the wisdom to be able toactually apply it in the real world. You have all heard the term that someonemay be \"book smart\", but lack the common sense and wisdom to be able touse this knowledge in the real working world. 51

The Bible Basics Here is an example. Say someone just gave you a perfect manual on how to rebuild a carengine. All of the knowledge that you will need on how to rebuild a carengine is all contained in this one book. However, the next step is that youhave to be able to understand the knowledge that is contained in this book. Ifnone of it makes any sense to you, then all of the perfect knowledgecontained in this book will be of no real use to you. If you do have the ability to understand all of the knowledge contained inthis book, then the next and final step is to be able to have the wisdom to beable to actually rebuild a car engine in a real life situation. All of thatknowledge and all of the understanding of that knowledge will be of no useto you if you don't have the actual wisdom to be able to use it to actuallyrebuild a car engine. This is where the Holy Spirit will be coming in big time! The Holy Spiritwill help you in being able to understand the knowledge that God may begiving to you on something. The Holy Spirit will help illuminate your mindso you can fully understand what is being given to you. The Holy Spirit willalso help you with the last and final step, which is being able to have thewisdom to use or apply that knowledge to a real life working situation. Example, say God is calling you to be a great heart surgeon: 1. God will first arrange to make sure that you are given all of the working knowledge that you will need to become a great heart surgeon. 2. God will then make sure that you have the ability to fully understand all of the knowledge that He will give to you on how to be a great heart surgeon. 3. And then God will complete His work with you in making sure that you have the actual wisdom to be able to apply that knowledge so that you can then do real live heart surgeries in real life situations. The above three step process can be done by God with each and everyoneof you on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life. It is just a matterof you being willing to seek after whatever it is God wants you to seek after.Knowledge, understanding and wisdom direct from God on a wide variety ofmatters and issues in your life is available to all of His children if they wouldonly be willing to spend the time to seek after it! 52

The Bible Basics6. All Knowledge and Wisdom Comes Direct From God All knowledge and all wisdom come direct from God and Jesus. All the \"treasures\" of wisdom and knowledge are \"hidden\" in God theFather and Jesus Christ. God is comparing knowledge and wisdom with\"treasures,\" and that this treasure is hidden within Himself. God and Jesus are the source of all godly knowledge, and that we firsthave to seek after the source in order to get this knowledge to be released tous. Here are some of the most profound verses in all of Scripture showing usthat not only is God the source of all godly knowledge and wisdom, but thatHe actually wants to release this knowledge to us! 1. \"Both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.\" (Colossians 2:2) 2. \"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.\" (Romans 11:33,36) 3. \"For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright\" (Proverbs 2:6) 4. Daniel answered and said: \"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.\" (Daniel 2:20) 5. \"Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.\" (Job 11:7) 6. \" Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.\" (Jeremiah 33:3) 7. \"Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.\" (Matthew 13:11) 53

The Bible Basics 8. \"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe\" (Ephesians 1:17) 9. \"Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.\" (Amos 3:7) 10. \"But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets\" (Daniel 2:28) 11. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, \"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.\" (John 8:31) All things, including all knowledge and all wisdom, comes direct fromGod the Father. These verses are showing us that not only is God the sourceof all knowledge and wisdom, but that He wants to release this knowledge tous. He wants to show and reveal great and mighty things to us. He wants totell us deep and secret things that the average person will not have access to. And not only will God give you His knowledge, but He will also makesure to give you the understanding of that knowledge and the wisdom to beable to actually use it! All of this can be given to you free of charge. All youhave to do is be willing to seek after it, and then seek to fully understand itand how it can apply to the different parts of your life. If we will \"abide in His word\", then we will have the ability to know thetruth, and then the truth will be able to make us free. If you are willing to abide in the Bible, which is His Word, and seek tounderstand what you are reading, then you will be fully loaded with anincredible amount of knowledge and truth covering a wide variety of mattersand issues in your life. And once you have God's truth on many differentmatters in your life, then that truth will help set and make you free becauseyou will no longer be bound up with wrong thinking! Jesus says that we have to \"abide\" in His Word in order to be able to getthese truths worked into us. Abiding means that you are willing to spendsome kind of regular quality time in reading the Bible for yourself and thenseeking to understand and implement these truths in your everyday walkwith Him. All of the above verses are giving us an incredible revelation in that Godand Jesus are only too anxious to release Their storehouse of knowledge to 54

The Bible Basicsus if we would only be willing to do our part by seeking after it.7. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher Now that we know God and Jesus want to release Their knowledge directto us from Their throne room in heaven, how is this knowledge actuallytransmitted to us? This knowledge is given to the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit, whois already living on the inside of us, will be the One to transmit all of thisknowledge to us! The Holy Spirit will thus become your personal Guide andpersonal Teacher in this life. It will be His job to impart and transmit all ofthis knowledge direct to you once you start to seek after it. Here are 3 powerful verses from Scripture showing us that the Holy Spiritwill now be the One to transmit the knowledge of God direct to us. 1. \"But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.\" (1 Corinthians 2:10) 2. \"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.\" (John 14:26) 3. \"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH\" (JOHN 16:13) No one knows the things of God except the Holy Spirit, and that the HolySpirit has been given to each and every one of us in order to reveal the thingsthat God wants to reveal to us. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to release theknowledge of God direct to us! The Holy Spirit will be our Teacher and that He will \"teach us allthings.\" Notice the word \"all\", that He will teach us \"all things.\" This statement being made by God in that the Holy Spirit can teach us allthings is a maximum intense statement being made by God. He is willing togo more than overboard in order to teach us things and to transmit Hisknowledge to us. Then the verse even goes one step further when it says thatthe Holy Spirit can literally bring back up to your remembrance, when you 55

The Bible Basicsmay need it, the knowledge that He has already given to you! A perfect example of this is for those who really study the Bible in orderto get it really worked and assimilated into their minds and spirits. What youwill find to start to happen if you are willing to spend some quality time toget the Word worked into you, is that the Holy Spirit will bring back up toyour memory the appropriate Scripture verses when you may need them onthe spot when preaching or talking to others about God and Jesus. You'llliterally see these verses float right up out of your spirit in front of yourmind's eye right at the moment that you will need them. This is literally asupernatural transmission of knowledge direct to your mind by the HolySpirit Himself! And not only can the Holy Spirit do this with Scripture verses. He can alsodo this with any other bits of knowledge that He may want to give to you. Hecan give you His words of knowledge and wisdom all day long on whateverelse you may need His help on. This is why the Holy Spirit is called \"theHelper\". The Holy Spirit cannot help you unless He is able to transmitwords of knowledge and wisdom to you as you will need them. The last verse says that not only will the Holy Spirit be our Helper and our Teacher in this life, but that He will also be our Guide in this life. Think about those three words, Helper, Teacher and Guide! This is a powerful three fold ministry that the Holy Spirit has with each born again believer. The last verse says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into \"all\" truth.Notice the word \"all\", all truth, not just some or part of the truth. If you canlearn to be led by the Holy Spirit and pick up on when He starts to try andcommunicate with you, you can literally start to receive the knowledge ofGod in every area of your life where you need God's knowledge andguidance to help get you safely through!8. Seeking After the Knowledge of God So now that you know that God is more than willing to release Hisknowledge direct to you through the Holy Spirit, how do you go aboutgetting God to start to release His knowledge to you? These verses will tellyou exactly how. You can sum up on how to get God to release His knowledge to you intwo simple words, asking and seeking! However, before you can really getGod to start to release this knowledge to you, there is one more thing that 56

The Bible Basicsyou must really have, and that is desire. You must \"desire truth\" in your inward parts. Another verse says thatGod will give you His knowledge and wisdom if you are willing to \"cryout\" for it, if you are willing to \"apply your heart\" to understand it, if youwill \"seek her as silver\" and \"search for her as hidden treasures.\" All of these phrases are showing that you must have some level ofintensity in your seeking of this knowledge. You have to show God that youmean serious business with Him when you start to seek after the knowledgeand wisdom that He can give to you. One verse in particular says it bestwhen it says you must seek after the knowledge of God like someone who issearching for buried treasure. Notice the intense way God is expressing Himself in the wording of someof these verses. You can really tell God is trying to drive home several majorpoints that we need to fully grasp before He will be willing to release Hisknowledge to us. These 11 verses in particular are giving you major, we repeat, majorsecrets in being able to get God to release His incredible storehouse ofknowledge and revelation into your life. 1. \"Behold, You DESIRE TRUTH in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.\" (Psalm 51:6) 2. \"ASK, and it will be given to you; SEEK, and you will find; KNOCK, and it will be opened to you.\" (Matthew 7:7) 3. \"Yet you do not have because you do not ask.\" (James 4:2) 4. \"If any of you lacks wisdom, LET HIM ASK OF GOD, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.\" (James 1:5) 5. \"TO ASK that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God\" (Colossians 1:9) 6. \"My son, if you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you CRY OUT for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you SEEK HER as silver, and SEARCH FOR HER as for hidden treasures; then you will 57

The Bible Basics understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.\" (Proverbs 2:1) 7. \"The heart of him who has understanding SEEKS KNOWLEDGE, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.\" (Proverbs 15:14) 8. \"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to SEARCH OUT A MATTER.\" (Proverbs 25:2) 9. \"A wise man will hear and INCREASE LEARNING, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.\" (Proverbs 1:5) 10. \"The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and ADDS LEARNING to his lips.\" (Proverbs 16:23) 11. \"Hear my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; for I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law\". He also taught me, and said to me: \"Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live. GET WISDOM! GET UNDERSTANDING! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you: Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.\" \"Hear, my son. and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.\" (Proverbs 4:1-9) If any of us is lacking wisdom, that we are to ask God for His wisdom.The next sentence in that verse then makes one of the most powerfulstatements of all when it says that God will then give His wisdom to \"allliberally\" without reproach! God is not going to be playing favorites with anyone on this issue. He istelling all of us that He is more than willing to release His knowledge andwisdom to us if we are willing to ask and press in for it, and to also ask for itin faith without doubting. God is also using the word \"liberally\" after the word \"all.\" This meansthat God is more than anxious to release His knowledge to us. The next verse 58

The Bible Basicsafter that says that we are to ask to \"be filled with the knowledge\" of Hiswill in \"all wisdom and spiritual understanding.\" The word \"filled\" withHis knowledge is also showing us that God is willing to pour out Hisknowledge and wisdom to us in great abundance! It is the glory of God to \"conceal a matter\" and that it is the glory ofkings to \"search out\" that matter. This is a very fascinating verse in that itis giving us a major secret, and that secret is that many of the times God willmake you seek and search after His knowledge like those who search forburied treasure. A good example of this is the Bible itself. God has purposely scatteredmany of the different Scripture verses throughout the Bible in order to makeyou work for the knowledge that is contained in all of the pages. For instance, God has scattered all of the verses about the second comingof His Son back to our earth throughout the entire Bible. You literally haveto start from the beginning of the Bible and search it all the way through tofind all of the verses that are pertaining to just this one subject. Once you areable to find all of these verses and put them together like you would piecesto a jigsaw puzzle, then you will find the knowledge and revelation that Godis trying to transmit to you on this subject. This is one of the main reasons that we have started up this bible basics toshow you what the Bible has to say about many different topics once yougroup the appropriate Scripture verses together by subject matter. The very last verse stated above is where God is using some very intenselanguage in order to drive home the point on how important it is for each oneof us to seek after His knowledge in this life. Notice these specific words: ● Give attention to know understanding ● Get understanding! ● And in all your getting, get understanding ● Get wisdom! ● Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom ● Take firm hold of instruction, for she is your life Once you put all of these Scripture verses together, one right after theother, the message comes through loud and clear. God does want to transmit 59

The Bible BasicsHis knowledge and wisdom to us through the Holy Spirit, and He wants todo it in great abundance! What God did with King Solomon. If you want to see what God can becapable of in this area, wait until you see the one Scripture verse that will tellus how much knowledge and wisdom was given to just this one man, allbecause he simply pressed in and asked for it!9. Knowledge and Wisdom Will Help Keep You Safe What about people literally going into captivity and being destroyed as aresult of not having the appropriate knowledge about something. Here are three more good verses showing how knowledge and wisdomcan help keep you safe in this life. 1. \"My son keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.\" (Proverbs 3:21) 2. \"When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil\" (Proverbs 2:10) 3. \"Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.\" (Proverbs 4:10) Life is full of one tragedy after another when people don't use goodcommon sense. People abusing drugs and alcohol, driving too fast on thehighways and hanging out with the wrong crowd can all lead to an earlydeparture from this life. In the last verse above, that it starts out that your years can be many if youare willing to follow the way of wisdom. The implication is also there that ifyou don't follow the way of wisdom, that you can have your life cut shortand ended early. Many of the deaths that we see on a daily basis are theresult of people making very poor choices. 60

The Bible Basics This is why God is really emphasizing in the above verses that the way ofwisdom and knowledge will help keep you safe, help preserve you, helpkeep you from hanging out with the wrong kind of people and help keep youin one piece as you journey through this life.10. In the Multitude of Counselors There is Safety Once you start to seek after the knowledge of God for your life, one of theways that God will communicate His knowledge to you is through otherpeople. Sometimes you will receive the knowledge that you are looking fordirect from God Himself. Other times it may come from a particularScripture verse you may be meditating on. God will communicate His knowledge to you through other people. Agood example of this is when you receive words of knowledge and wisdomthrough an anointed teacher of His Word such as your pastor who is teachingthe Word in Sunday service or hearing one of God's teachers on one of theChristian TV stations. What you will find start to happen to you is that words or revelationscoming from others will \"jump\" at you. This is the Holy Spirit\"quickening\" these words to you in order to help give you His knowledgeand wisdom on something that you may be dealing with or searching after. Once you start to enter into this kind of journey with the Lord on wantingHim to release more of His knowledge to you, you really have to keep yourradars up each and every day as you never know when, where, how orthrough whom God will release His knowledge to you. This is why the knowledge game is so much fun to play with the Lord.God loves variety and spontaneity, and He will teach you His ways ofknowledge and wisdom in many different ways and through many differentsources. The Holy Bible will always be your main source of spiritualknowledge and wisdom. When God does want to communicate His knowledge to you throughother people, one of the things that God will arrange for you to have isaccess to other good solid Christians who you can discuss things out with. Here are 4 very fascinating Scripture verses telling us that there is safetyin the multitude of counselors, that without appropriate counsel with othersour plans can go awry, and that we are to wage war by having wise counselwith others. 61

The Bible Basics 1. \"A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.\" (Proverbs 24:5) 2. \"Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.\" (Proverbs 15:22) 3. \"Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war.\" (Proverbs 20:18) 4. \"Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.\" (Proverbs 11:14) All men will only \"know in part\" with what knowledge we can get fromthe Lord down here on this earth. No one will have all of the answers toeverything in this life. By having a group of other solid Christian friends you can chew thingsout with, you will each help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord, helpkeep one another humble and accountable in your walk with the Lord, alongwith being able to learn from one another.11. Use the Knowledge That God Will Give You Once God starts to transmit His knowledge to you on a wide variety ofmatters and issues in your life, your job will then be to take that knowledgeand use it and apply it in your everyday life. Though this principle sounds very simple, many Christians keep gettingthemselves into trouble either because they are choosing to directly disobeya direct order from the Lord or they are not stopping and thinking out verycarefully what their next step should be. Here are 3 very good verses telling us that the wise and prudent man will\"consider well his steps\" and that the \"plans of the diligent\" will lead toplenty. However, the reverse is also true, that everyone who is \"hasty\" intheir decision making will be lead into poverty. God is wanting you to stop, think and evaluate very carefully what choicesyou have to make when you are faced with having to make a decision onsomething. In our fast paced society, many people are living their lives in too much ofthe fast lane. They are so mentally wired, they are constantly making tooquick and too hasty of decisions without thinking things all the way through. 62

The Bible BasicsThey keep falling into one jam after another, and they are then forced tohave to spend extra time to dig themselves out of the jams they have falleninto. These next 3 verses are a true word to the wise from the Lord. 1. \"The simple believes every word, but the prudent man considers well his steps.\" (Proverbs 14:15) 2. \"The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.\" (Proverbs 21:5) 3. \"A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.\" (Proverbs 22:3) God will at times make you seek and search after His knowledge andwisdom on a particular matter. This means that at times you will have to takeyour time and think things out and think things all the way through beforeyou can \"find\" what God's answer may be on a particular issue.12. Walk With Other Wise Men He who walks with other wise men will he himself become wise, but hewho has fools as his friends and companions will be destroyed! The Bible makes it very clear that we are not to be yoked together withunbelievers, that we are to choose our friends carefully, and that evilcompany will corrupt good habits. Once you enter into a full surrender of your entire life with God theFather, one of the first things He will start to do is to prune out some of thebad and negative people that you may have in your life. These negativepeople will do nothing but try and hold you back if you start to try and growin the Lord. God will not be putting up with their negative influences in yourlife, and He will thus be taking these types of negative people out of your lifevery early on in your walk with Him. Many Christians never make it into what God's true call is for them in thislife because they did not want to give up their negative friends. Thesenegative people kept these Christians bound up in their lower way of livingin this life. These Christians never reach their full potential in the Lord inthis lifetime. He who walks with other wise men will become wise himself. The reasonfor this is that you can learn from other wise people besides what you willget direct from God on your own. 63

The Bible Basics Learning from other wise people will really help in accelerating yourknowledge in the Lord and whatever else God wants to give you Hisknowledge on. These 5 verses will also perfectly line up with the verses mentioned aboveabout safety being found in the multitude of counselors. 1. \"He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.\" (Proverbs 13:20) 2. \"Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.\" (Proverbs 23:9) 3. \"A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.\" (Proverbs 14:6) 4. \"A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.\" (Proverbs 12:23) 5. \"He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.\" (Proverbs 17:27) Fools will be despising the knowledge and wisdom that you may have inHim. This lines up with the verse in that we are not to give what is holy tothe dogs. The knowledge and wisdom that you will be receiving from theLord will be very holy and you will be wasting your time trying to feed it toother people who have no desire for it.13. A Wise Man Will Not Show Partiality in Judgment Once God starts to enlighten you and you are able to start to see real truthfrom real error, then God will hold you accountable for this higher degree ofknowledge, especially if you are in a position of leadership. This principlereally applies in today's world where everyone is trying to be politicallycorrect. There are some issues that are not neutral in God's eyes, yet some of Hisown are trying not to step on anyone else's toes for fear of offending them. Many of the pastor's across our country are taking neutral stances on suchissues as abortion and homosexuality. The issue of abortion is a perfectexample. Many pastors are not wanting to say much about it due to many 64

The Bible BasicsChristians still being pro choice. They are afraid if they go fire andbrimstone on these people, that they will lose them and the money they werecontributing to the church. This issue is not open to any kind of debate or compromise with God.Abortion is first degree murder in the eyes of God, and many Christians whoare actively supporting any of the pro choice movements in this country aregoing to be in big trouble on their day of judgment with God and Jesus! The true wise man of God will not show partiality in judgment on topicssuch as these. Study the intense wording in these two verses very, verycarefully, especially if you are in a position of any type of leadership withinthe Body of Christ. 1. \"These things also belong to the wise: IT IS NOT GOOD TO SHOW PARTIALITY IN JUDGMENT. He who says to the wicked, \"You are righteous,\" him the people will curse; nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and good blessing will come upon them. He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.\" (Proverbs 24:23) 2. \"TO SHOW PARTIALITY IS NOT GOOD, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress ... He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.\" (Proverbs 28:21,23) If you are willing to take a stand against something evil and call it out forwhat it really is, that you will then receive a \"good blessing\" for it! To those pastors who have been too afraid to call out issues such asabortion and homosexuality for what it really is for fear of offending toomany people, consider the intense wording of these two verses. When Godsays that it is \"not good\" that you show partiality on issues such as this, Heis giving you a major and solemn warning! You are working for God, not man! The only thing that matters as far as you are concerned is what God thinks of your performance as a leader within His body, not what the flock thinks or what other people outside of your church may think! You will be eventually judged by God for your performance, not by any other human being. Study the prophets of the Old Testament, not one of them minced any words when God had them call out the evil that His people were engaging in. 65

The Bible Basics Many, many Christians are looking for their pastors and leaders to take strong stands on these type of issues with no compromise. You may lose a few people at the outset for offending them, but that the word will then get out on you that you are a man that will not compromise the truth and word of God, and you will then end up drawing many more people into your church. People are really looking for God's opinion on a wide variety of issues and problems facing our world today. Now is not the time to try and be politically correct. Now is the time to stand up and tell the world what God's opinion really is on some of these hot topics. God's people are going into captivity and are being destroyed for lack of knowledge and guidance from their pastors and churches on these issues. The truth will set these people free, but you first have to tell them what the truth really is before it can start to work to set them free. God's Word and Truth is your sword, don't be afraid to use it to set these captives free!14. Stay Humble When God Does Start to Release His Knowledge to You There are only two down sides to having God start to release Hisknowledge to you. The first downside is that for some, the increase in theirknowledge base will cause them to start to get to full of themselves. Knowledge can \"puff up.\" It can puff you up. Your ego starts to swell,and conceit and arrogance can start to set in. You start to think your smarterthan anyone else. You start looking down on those who do not have yourhigher levels of knowledge. Pretty soon, you start to present a haughty,arrogant and know it all attitude to others, and you start to drive people awayfrom God rather than to Him as a result of your bad attitudes and behaviors. Once God really starts to release His knowledge to you, you really have tokeep a sharp eye on this and make sure that all of this new found knowledgedoes not start to go to your head. You have to stay humble and thankful forit. It becomes very easy to start looking down on others who are not gettingthis higher level of knowledge. You start questioning their spiritual growthand why they are not getting what you are getting. You have to realize that every one is operating at different levels ofspiritual development in this life. Some will go farther and progress at faster 66

The Bible Basicsrates of speed in this realm than others will. You cannot compare your levelof spiritual development and how fast you are progressing with anyone else.Some people will not go as far as you might go in this realm, but others willleave you in the dust and progress to a much higher level than you ever willin this life. You have to realize that God is working with each and every Christian atthe level of spiritual development that they are currently operating at withHim. Granted, some people look like they should be making more and betterprogress, but there may be personal factors operating in their lives that maybe slowing down their spiritual growth that you may not be aware of. This iswhy God is telling us in His Word that we are not to judge one another insome of these areas. Your job is to be the best you can be in whatever God is calling you to do in this life. Put the pedal to the metal in climbing the highest mountains you can. Seek to produce as much good fruit for God as you can. Do not compare your walk and your fruit in the Lord with anyone else's. Stay humble in your walk with the Lord, and do not let all the fruit and accomplishments that you might achieve in Him go to your head and puff you up. Here are two very interesting Scripture verses telling us that knowledgecan puff you up and that all men will only \"know in part\" in this life. No matter how smart and intelligent you think you may be getting, youwill never have all of the answers to everything in this life. This fact aloneshould help keep you humble and real as you start to grow in the knowledgeand wisdom of God for your life. ● \"We know that we all have knowledge. KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP, but love edifies.\" (1 Corinthians 8:1) ● \"For we KNOW IN PART and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.\" (1 Corinthians 13:9,12)15. Knowledge Will Increase Sorrow and Grief The second downside to receiving the knowledge of God in your life isthat it will start to increase your sorrow and grief over different things. This 67

The Bible Basicsincredible piece of revelation is coming from King Solomon. Here is what he says: ● \"For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.\" (Ecclesiastes 1:18) Once you start to receive God’s knowledge not only on the personalthings in your life, but on the \"big picture\" with the way that He has thingsset up, your eyes will be opened and you will start to \"see\" things fromGod's perspective and viewpoint. And once you are able to start to see things from God's point of view, thensorrow and grief will start to set in. Why? Because you will have developeda good understanding of the big picture and why things are the way they are.You will see that there really is a God and a devil, that there really is aheaven and a hell, that there really is good and evil, and that everyone isbeing tested in this life. You will see that we all have to be born into an imperfect, cursed andfallen world as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve.You will see that God has given each one of us a free will, and a certainamount of people are going to choose to live this life on the dark side. Acertain amount of people are going to get murdered, robbed, raped, killed,abducted, cheated, scammed and hurt in this life. Bad things are going tohappen to even good people. As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve still operating on this earth, wealso have to put up with all kinds of different sicknesses, illnesses, diseases,accidents and eventually the physical death of our bodies. People will suffer,and in some cases, there will be extreme suffering. You will see that not everyone is going to make it into heaven, that theSpirit of God will not strive with a man forever in trying to get him or hersaved. A certain percentage of humanity is going to end up in the worst andmost horrible place imaginable. You will start to grieve and cry out for thelost, especially for the ones who will refuse to accept what Jesus has donefor them with His death on the cross. Once you sit back and see the big picture for what it really is, you won't beable to stop the sadness and sorrow that you will feel at times on all the badand terrible things that can happen to anyone of us at anytime. This is whyKing Solomon was able to come to this kind of revelation after he hadreceived the knowledge and wisdom of God for his life. He was able to seethe big picture for what it really is. 68

The Bible Basics The knowledge that you will receive from God is like being given a twosided coin. On the one side is the \"dark picture\", with all of the abovethings hitting you straight in the face. There is no getting around it. This isthe way things are, and this death that we see on a daily basis will not stopuntil Jesus comes back to us in His second coming to set up His 1000 yearMillennium Kingdom. Until that event happens, we are all going to have toput up with demons and bad and evil people who will choose to live this lifeout on the dark side. There is also the other side of that same coin, the \"good picture.\" This lifeof death will not last forever. God the Father has made a way of escape forall of us from the fires of hell in the death and person of His Son JesusChrist. All can get saved and completely born again by accepting Jesus astheir personal Lord and Savior. We will all get to go straight to heaven whenwe die. We will all end up with new spiritual glorified bodies that will neverage, corrupt or deteriorate ever again. We will never know disease, sicknessor death in any way, shape or form ever again! When Jesus comes back to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom,God will be taking out Satan, all of his demonic spirits, and all the bad andunsaved people who have ever lived on this earth. All the bad apples, angelic and human, will be forever banished from theeternal scheme of things, and we will all be able to live happily ever afterwith God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, all of God's good angelsand all the rest of saved humanity that has ever lived in a new heaven and anew earth. There will be no more war, no more terror, no more crime and no moredisorder. We will all live forever in the way and in the environment that Godhad initially intended for us to live in. Once the knowledge of God starts to get released in your life, you have tostay on top of this game and make sure that you see what is real truth. God will give you His eyes in which to see things from His perspective.His truth will start to set you free, but realize that this is a two sided coin,and that you will see both the good and dark side of this life and why thingsare the way they are. There will be times that you will experience sadness,grief and sorrow in this life that will cut right through you like a knife. 69

The Bible Basics16. The Wisdom of This World is Foolishness With God Once you start to receive the knowledge and wisdom of God flowing intoyour life, you will find something very interesting that will start to happen.You'll start to see the difference between the knowledge and wisdom of Godversus the knowledge and wisdom of this world. God is always right and man is always wrong when the two are onopposites sides of the fence. A perfect example is the abortion issue, whereyou have the people who are pro choice and their arguments versus thepeople who are pro life with their arguments. From God's point of view, itdoesn't take a rocket scientist to see who is on the wrong side of the fence onthis issue. The wisdom of this world is \"foolishness with God.\" Since God is allperfect in His being and in His knowledge, then this obviously means thatGod is always right and that man and the world is always wrong when theyare not on the same page. So the first thing you will need to get worked into your mindset and wayof thinking is that God and all of His ways and all of His knowledge isalways right. You will really need to ground on this because the wisdom ofthe world can be very enticing at times. You will be tempted at times intobelieving what the world has to say instead of believing what God is tryingto tell you is right. Our young teenagers are constantly battling this reality. They areconstantly being tempted and enticed to get into drugs, heavy drinking andpre marital sex. If they have not been grounded in the Word and in their faithfrom a good solid Christian upbringing by their parents, they can be veryeasily swayed to enter into some of this dark side activity. You will start to see the difference between God's knowledge and how Helikes to operate versus the business world in general. Many in corporateAmerica are constantly pushing the envelope trying to get as far as they can,get as much as they can and not caring who they run over and hurt in theprocess. The almighty dollar is their god and they will do anything andeverything they can to try and make more of it. Many Christians end upgetting sucked into some of their unscrupulous business practices and theythus end up going against God Himself by some of the shady things they endup doing. Each Christian has to stay true, loyal and faithful to His God and to Hisways when they are faced with these kinds of temptations. 70

The Bible Basics Study these next 2 verses very carefully as they really do set the stage asto what is going on in the spiritual realm when you compare the knowledgeof our God versus the knowledge of this world. ● \"Let no one deceive you. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. FOR THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD. For it is written, \"He catches the wise in their own craftiness,\" and again, \"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.\" Therefore let no one glory in men.\" (1 Corinthians 3:18) ● \"But if you have bitter envy and self seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing will be there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.\" (James 3:14) Many are self seeking, jealous and envious of one another, with everyonetrying to run over everyone else to move higher up on the food chain. Godcalls this kind of wisdom earthy, sensual and demonic, and that it is notfrom Him. This is why God says in the first verse that the wisdom of thisworld is foolishness in His eyes. It is a joke! All of these people who arechoosing to live their lives in this kind of dog eat dog environment areheading down the wrong road. Once God starts to really work with you and starts transmitting Hisknowledge to you on many different areas of your life, you will really beable to start to see the truth on a lot of different things, not only in your ownpersonal life, but also with the world in general. Once this knowledge has been released to you and you have fullunderstanding of it, God will expect you to believe in it and act on it whenyou are faced with the temptation to go with the wisdom of the world ratherthan with the wisdom of God. Always remember who you are serving. Youare serving and following God and His ways for your life, not the ways andwisdom of this world.17. Do Not Ever Cease Listening to Instruction Once you start to journey on this path of knowledge that God will set youup on, don't ever get to big for your britches further on down the road and 71

The Bible Basicsthink that you have \"arrived,\" and that you don't need to listen to God oranyone else that He may want to use to transmit His knowledge to you. This knowledge journey will never end with Him! You will always belearning new, different and exciting things from the Lord as long as you areopen to being taught by Him. Here are three very good verses emphasizing the point that we are not tocease listening to instruction and straying from the words of knowledge ifwe want to be wise in our latter days. 1. \"Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.\" (Proverbs 19:20) 2. \"Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.\" (Proverbs 19:27) 3. \"He who is often reproved, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.\" (Proverbs 29:1) Destruction can come upon someone very suddenly if they keep resistingsomeone who may be trying to help get them straightened out. The HolySpirit will not strive with a man forever. There is a limit even to God'spatience. Once God starts to transmit His knowledge to you, you better receive itand properly act on it or the consequences could be fatal. To whom much isgiven, much more is expected. God will hold you personally accountable forthe knowledge and wisdom that He will give to you. There is no turningback on this road of knowledge once God starts to enlighten you and showyou His ways of living in this life.18. The Story of King Solomon Without question, the greatest story in the Bible of someone who soughtafter the knowledge and wisdom of God and actually received it was KingSolomon in the Old Testament. What happened to this man was just aboutbeyond belief. When Solomon became King of Israel, he knew he did not have theknowledge and wisdom to properly rule his people. So what did he do? Hewent direct to God the Father and asked Him for His knowledge and Hiswisdom to rule the people. He admitted his weakness in this area and wasnot afraid to press in and start asking God for His knowledge. 72

The Bible Basics So what did God do when he asked Him for His knowledge to help rulehis people? God did not meet him halfway, He met him all the way! Godtells Solomon because he did not ask for long life, riches or the death of hisenemies for himself, but just asked for an \"understanding heart\" to judgehis people and help with discerning between good and evil, God tells himthat He will give him a \"wise and understanding heart.\" God takes it one more incredible step further. He tells Solomon that theknowledge and wisdom that will be given to him will be what no man hasever had before him and what no man will ever have after him! God willmake this man the smartest man in Him that has ever lived, and that therewould never be another man in the course of human history that would everbe his equal in this realm! Just stop and ponder on what an incredible thing this was, to have beengiven so much knowledge and wisdom direct from God Himself, that no manwould ever be his equal in this gift! Then God goes one more extra step in order to put the icing on this man'scake. He then tells Solomon that since he did not ask for riches for himself,but just for the knowledge of God to rule his people, that he will now begiven incredible riches and honor to go along with the knowledge andwisdom to rule his people. Then God adds the final touch on the riches and honor he will be given,telling Solomon that there shall never be another king like him all the daysof his life and that he will surpass all the kings of the earth in \"riches andwisdom.\" God ends up making this man the smartest and richest man in allof the earth at the time that he was living! If Solomon was really not asking God for wealth and riches, but just forthe knowledge and wisdom to rule his people, why would God go sooverboard in blessing this man with this kind of wealth, especially if he wasnot really asking for it and possibly not even desiring it? The main reason God rewarded Solomon with this kind of maximumwealth was not only to show him, but the rest of His people that would comelater on, the extreme importance that each and every person seek after theknowledge of God for their own lives. By blessing Solomon with this kind ofextreme wealth, God is telling all of us the extreme importance that we seekafter Him and His knowledge for our lives. Seeking after the knowledge of God has to be a major priority in a believer's life. We cannot spiritually grow and develop in the Lord 73

The Bible Basics unless we first have His knowledge worked into us that will cause this spiritual growth to occur in the first place. And you can't get this knowledge worked into you unless you are first seeking after it! Seek, and then you will find. The reverse is also true, don't seek, and you will not find. And if you don't find the knowledge of God for your life, then the Holy Spirit will not have anything to work with to start the transformation and sanctification process within you. Really grab a hold of these two verses and the statements that God ismaking to Solomon, all because he got this ball rolling by simply asking Godfor His knowledge to help rule his people. 1. \"Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?\" And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this thing. Then God said to him: \"Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.\" (1 Kings 3:9-14) 2. \"So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.\" (1 Kings 10:23) If King Solomon was able to receive this kind of knowledge and wisdomfrom God simply because he asked and really pressed in for it, then what canGod personally do for you in this realm if you are willing to expend the timeand energy to seek after it? 74

The Bible BasicsChapter 5Bible Verses on Faith In this bible basic, we are giving you all of the main verses from the Bibleon faith so you can fully understand what faith is all about, and what a veryimportant part it will play in your own personal relationship with the Lord.We cannot emphasize enough the extreme power that are on these verses. Faith is your lifeline to the Lord. Lose your faith in the Lord, and you willlose all contact with Him. The very last verse listed at the bottom of thisbible basic is one of the most bone chilling verses in all of the Bible. Thisverse gives us the analogy of the branch and tree, and we as the branch of thetree can be cut off from the tree, which is Jesus, if we ever lose our faith inHim. This is a perfect description as to what can happen to someone in thespiritual realm if they should ever lose their faith in the Lord. Throw all of the temper tantrums you want, wrestle with God over certainissues you are really struggling with, but do not ever lose your faith in theLord and then quit and walk off His playing field. Many of these verses are extreme, and we mean extreme. As we gothrough all of them under the appropriate captions below, we will highlightand point out certain key words and phrases so you can really grasp what theLord is trying to tell you with some of these very intense verses. This is one of the most important topics you will ever study on in yourown personal walk with the Lord. Really meditate on the knowledge andrevelation that are in these verses, and make sure that you always keep yourfaith fully intact with the Lord, and do not ever be tempted to want to loseyour faith in Him and with what He is doing with your life. These verses, and the knowledge and revelation that is in each one ofthem, are major foundational verses that have to become an actual part ofyour own personal walk with the Lord. Burn many of these verses into your memory banks, as these kinds ofpowerful verses is what will get you through some of the tougher types ofstorm clouds that could come your way in this life.1. What is Faith? The very first thing you will need to know is exactly what faith is, and onemajor verse alone will give you that perfect definition. 75

The Bible Basics Here is the very first foundational verse you must have underneath yourbelt on the topic of faith. It would also be our strong recommendation thatyou commit this verse to full memorization. ● “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) The first word to key in on is the word “substance”, that “faith is thesubstance” of things hoped for. Some believe that the word “substance”should be interpreted literally. If that assumption is correct, then this meansthat faith is a “spiritual substance” that is literally on the inside of each oneof us. However, other Bible scholars do not agree with this interpretation. Theirreasoning is based off the Greek word for “substance.” The Greek word for“substance” is the word “hypostasis” and this word means the following: “A setting under or support (foundation), assurance, confidence, confidentexpectation, an assured impression and a mental realizing.” Some other good definitions on what faith is from some of the differentBible Dictionaries and Commentaries are the following:1. The assurance of things hoped for2. A belief or confident attitude toward God3. Conviction, trust, belief, reliance, and a trustworthiness towards God Whether faith is a spiritual substance on the inside of you, or more of amental quality that operates more in your mind and heart, it has the ability togrow on the inside of you.2. How Faith Comes To Us These next 3 verses should also be committed to full memorization, asthey will all set the stage as to exactly how God has the faith game set upwith all of us. Even though these verses are very short one liners, do not let that foolyou. When you put these three verses together like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle,the revelation will come through loud and clear. Here they are:1.“As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3)2.“Because your faith grows exceedingly.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)3.“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)a) God Himself will give each person a certain “measure of faith.” Why would God want to give each person a certain measure of faith? Themain reason being is that you cannot get saved in the Lord without a certain 76

The Bible Basicsmeasure of faith operating in you, as the Bible tells us that we are saved bygrace through our “faith” in Jesus. So God has no other alternative but togive each person a certain measure of faith, otherwise we would never beable to get saved through His Son Jesus.b) Not only do we all get a certain measure of faith to start off with from theLord, but this faith is now capable of actually growing on the inside of us. The very first analogy that came to our mind was the scale of 1-10, with 1being the least amount of faith you could have in the Lord, and 10 being themost amount of faith you could have in the Lord. How our faith could notonly grow over the years in the Lord, but also how it could dip or decrease ifyou ever got hit with a real nasty storm cloud, as you would then start toquestion God as to whether or not He can actually help you handle this typeof heavier storm cloud. It is very easy to have high levels of faith in the Lord when everything isgoing good and great, but let someone face a heavier type of storm cloud,and all of a sudden their high levels of faith in the Lord could take a majornosedive, as they then start yelling at God as to how He could have allowedthis kind of heavy storm cloud to come into their life in the first place. This is why the apostle Paul says we have to fight the good fight of faith.Sometimes we have to “fight” to keep our faith levels up in the Lord,especially when we are going through some very trying circumstances in ourown personal life.c) We have all been given a certain measure of faith by the Lord, and thatthis faith is now actually capable of growing on the inside of us, this nextverse will now tell us exactly how we can get that faith to start growing onthe inside of us. Faith “comes” by hearing the Word of God. And what does the Biblemean by “hearing” the Word of God? “Hearing” the Word of God meansthat you are reading the Bible for yourself, trying to understand andassimilate it all as best as you can. If you will be willing to spend some good,regular, quality time in reading the Bible and trying to understand it as bestas you can with the help of the Holy Spirit, then your faith levels will start togrow and increase on the inside of you. Why? Because you are now starting to “believe” what you are reading about theLord from His Word. You are now finding out who God, Jesus, and the HolySpirit really are. And not only are you getting to know more about Them asfar as Their actual personality qualities, but you are also getting to see howThey have interacted with the human race and how much They really do loveand care for all of us. Once you start to see how much God really does love and care for all of 77

The Bible Basicsthe people He has dealt with in the past in the Bible, then you will see andrealize that He will care just as much for you, since the Bible tells us that Heis no respecter of persons. As a result of this new kind of spiritual knowledge entering into yourmind and spirit, your faith in the Lord will start to increase, especially whenyou start reading many of the powerful miracles that God did for people backin both the Old Testament and New Testament. And if God cansupernaturally help people back then, then He can still do the exact samething for all of us in this day and age, since the Bible tells us that God cannotand will not change, and that He is the same today as He was yesterday. Thismeans that the God of the Bible is the same God in this day and age, andwhat you have read about Him from the past in the Bible will also apply toall of us in this current day and age. If you do not continue to stay in the Bible to increase your knowledgelevels about the Lord, then your faith can actually stop growing in Him. Itcan stagnate, like someone turning off a light switch. It is the Holy Spirit Himself who will cause your faith levels to increasewith God over time. All of a sudden your faith has just gone from a 3 to a 4.And then further on down the road, your faith has just gone from a 4 to a 5. We can go from “faith to faith” and from “strength to strength,” whichare two more good verses showing us that our faith levels in the Lord canactually increase over time. The Holy Spirit will not cause your faith levelsto increase over time with the Lord unless you first do your part, and yourfirst part is to get into the Word on some kind of regular basis and try toacquire as much knowledge as you possibly can about the Lord. The key isknowledge. God wants us to “grow” in His “knowledge” and grace. And if you willbe willing to grow in the knowledge of God through the study of Scripture,then the Holy Spirit Himself will start to supernaturally move to increaseyour faith levels in the Lord over time. But He first needs something to workwith and that something is knowledge. The Holy Spirit will not do this kindof work for you free of charge. You have to be willing to show God that youmean serious business with Him, and that you want to learn all you canabout Him and all of His ways by studying the Bible. Do your part by trying to learn as much about God as you possibly can bystudying the Bible, and then the Holy Spirit will do His part, and He willthen start to gradually increase your faith levels in the Lord over time. Andthen once your faith levels start to increase over time with the Lord, thenGod will be able to do greater and mightier things either for you or throughyou to help other people out. 78

The Bible Basics You can sum all of this up in one simple little statement, as you grow inthe knowledge of God through your study of the Bible, then your faith willstart to grow right along with it. Stop growing in the knowledge of God andyour faith will stop growing right along with it. There is a direct correlationbetween these two. Greater increase in knowledge will lead to a greaterincrease in faith in the Lord.3. We Are Saved by Grace Through Faith The number one reason God has to give each person a certain measure offaith is so they can get saved through the blood of His Son Jesus. Here are 2 very good verses showing us that we are saved by gracethrough our “faith” in Jesus.1.“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)2.“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2) Notice three key phrases, that we are “saved through FAITH,” that wehave been “justified by FAITH,” and that we “have access by FAITH intothis grace.” This is why God has to give each person a certain measure of faith, forwithout it, none of us would be able to get saved in the Lord.4. Faith Without Works is Dead Though we can only be saved by grace through our faith in Jesus, andworks has absolutely nothing to do with us being able to receive our eternalsalvation in Jesus, this still does not take works out of our walk with theLord. In no uncertain terms, our faith in the Lord has to be backed up with goodworks. If it is not, then our faith will be considered “dead” in the eyes ofGod. Faith without works is dead. Here is the verse: ● “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?, You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” 79

The Bible Basics (James 2:17-26) We can have high levels of faith in the Lord, but if we do not back up thatstrong faith with some type of good works for Him, then our faith will beconsidered dead in His eyes. Look what it says about Abraham. Abraham obviously had great faith inthe Lord, but he still had to back up that great faith with good works. WhenAbraham was willing to put his one and only son Isaac on the altar tosacrifice him because God was asking him to do this for Him, Abraham hadto show God that he was now willing to put his faith into major action withHim. If Abraham would not have done this, his faith would have beenconsidered dead in the eyes of God, since he would not have been willing toback up his faith in the Lord with a specific type of action and work. Faith all by itself with the Lord will not get the job done. You have to bewilling to put your faith into major action with the Lord, and the only wayyou can do this is by being willing to do specific types of works for the Lorddown here in this life. The last line of the above verse really sums all of thisup very nicely. It says that just as the body would be dead without the spirit,so our faith without any type of works to back it up will also be considereddead in the eyes of the Lord. Once you get saved through your faith in Jesus, God will now expect youto come and “work” for Him. He now has a perfect plan and destiny set upfor your life. And in that perfect plan and destiny for your life will be all ofthe “good works” you will be doing for the Lord. And if you are willing todo these types of good works for the Lord, then your faith will not beconsidered dead in His eyes, but fully alive, and He will then appropriatelyreward you for those good works once you enter into heaven to be with Himfor all of eternity.5. Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed Will Move Mountains The next thing you will need to grab a hold of with the Lord is that you donot have to have great or large amounts of faith to get the show going withHim. On a scale of 1-10, you do not need your faith up in the 8-10 levels toget Him to move in your life. As these next two powerful verses will tell you, all you need is faith thesize of a mustard seed to get God to become very active in your life. Andeveryone has at least a mustard seed size of faith, since God has to give eachperson a certain measure of faith to get the ball rolling with Him. The mustard seed is supposed to be one of the smallest, if not the smallestof all of the seeds, and yet Jesus is telling us in the following verses that ifwe have faith the size of a mustard seed, then we will be able to move 80

The Bible Basicsmountains in Him when we have too. This is an extremely powerfulrevelation being given to us by the Lord. What God is trying to tell us is that though He will give each person acertain measure of faith to start out with, for most of us, that certain measurewill probably be on the lower end of the scale. It might only be faith in the 1-3 category. Over time, that faith can start to increase on the inside of you asyou read and study the Bible for yourself. Even though you might have low levels of faith in the Lord to start outwith, do not let that discourage you or set you back, as all you need is a verysmall amount of faith in Him to get the show going with Him. God will takewhatever small amount of faith you may have in Him, and from there, Hewill then start to work in your life to build it up in the specific directions thatHe will want it to go in. All God needs is your full consent and a little bit of faith mixed in with itto get it all going with Him. And these next two verses will spell all of thatout for you. Here are 2 extremely powerful verses giving us this revelation from theLord.1. So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)2. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast him out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:19-20) So the next time you feel that your faith is not strong enough or highenough in the Lord, remember what these two verses are telling you. If you have been hit by a very nasty storm cloud and you feel that yourfaith levels might have been knocked down from a “6″ to a “4″, do not letthat bother you. God will still continue to work with that “4″ level of faith.And then once you see God start to move to actually deliver you from thisbad storm cloud, then your faith levels will start to raise back up to that “6″level again.6. Faith to Faith, Strength to Strength We can go from “faith to faith” and from “strength to strength” in ourwalk with the Lord. You can go to “faith to faith,” We can go from onelevel of faith to the next level of faith. We go back to the scale of 1-10 to tryand understand this principle. 81

The Bible Basics We can actually go from one level of strength to the next level of strengthwith the Lord, which means we can actually get stronger in both our faithlevels and our strength levels in the Lord. This little one liner came out of the blue one day. He said to us, “You’reonly as strong as your faith.” And when He said “faith,” He was talkingabout our faith in Him, not our faith in our faith. We knew then what He was trying to tell us, that the stronger and higherour faith levels would become in Him, the stronger person we would thenbecome in Him. And the reason for that is because once you know that Godhas you fully covered and fully taken care of, you will then become muchmore confident and much more relaxed in your walk with the Lord. Andonce your confidence levels start to increase in the Lord, then your strengthlevels will follow right along with it. If nothing is impossible with God, then nothing is impossible for you inyour walk with God, since you now have higher levels of faith in God tobelieve in Him for the impossible. Here are these 2 powerful verses giving us this specific revelation:1.“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “the just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)2.“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage, They go from strength to strength.” (Psalm 84:5-7) So not only does God give each person a certain measure of faith to startout with, but this faith is actually capable of growing and increasing in Him,where you can then start to get to the point of where you are starting to gofrom faith to faith and strength to strength in your own personal walk withHim.7. We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight These next five verses are now going to add some more meat to all of theabove revelation. We walk in this life by our faith in the Lord, not by oursight or by our other natural senses. Here they are:1.“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)2.“But the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)3.“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:38)4.“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the 82

The Bible Basics Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)5.“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)a) We walk by faith and not by sight. We walk by our faith in the Lord andwe then do what He tells us to do in this life. We do not walk by our sight,by our wisdom, or by what the world is trying to tell us is the right thing todo. This is where you have to back off with what you are seeing with yournatural eyes and then start to try and see all of this through the eyes of God. If nothing is impossible with God, then you now have to put all of yourfaith and trust in God, not putting your faith in what you are seeing with yourown natural eyes and your own natural mind.b) The next two verses will now drive this point further home, as it tells usthat the just shall live by their faith in God, once more emphasizing the pointthat our faith has to be directly in God, not with what we are seeing in thenatural realm with our natural eyes. If a person starts to pull back from Him, that His soul will have nopleasure in him. And if God is no longer going to have any more pleasurewith you, then you are now going to be in big trouble with Him. Once you enter into a true faith walk with the Lord, you can never pullback or bail out on Him. If you do, the consequences could be extreme andsevere. Once you have fully surrendered your entire being and your entire life intothe Lord’s hands for His full direction and handling, from this point on youhave to live this life as a life of faith directly in the Lord, not a life of faith inyourself, your parents, your best friends, or any part of this world. God is now your Lord and Master, and all of your faith now has to bedirectly in Him. And the sooner you can learn this principle and get itworked into your own personal walk with the Lord, the better your life isgoing to be in the Lord.8. Do Not Doubt or Waver in Your Faith These next 6 verses are now going to really turn up the heat on this topic.Now that you know that God wants you to totally walk this life out with avery strong faith in Him, these next 6 verses are going to add one more veryintense warning to all of this. Here they are:1.“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, 83

The Bible Basics with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)2.“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” (James 2:1)3.“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)4.“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22)5.“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast in to the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:23-24)6. And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31)a) Once you enter into a true faith walk with the Lord, the next thing youwill want to concentrate on is to not let your faith ever start to waver, or letany kind of doubt start to creep in on you. It is very easy to have high levels of faith in the Lord when everything isgoing good and great, but let any kind of nasty storm cloud come knockingon your door, and all of a sudden your high levels of faith in the Lord canactually start to waver and drop on you. If this should ever happen to you, you will then become like a wave of thesea driven and tossed by the wind, and from there, you will become a doubleminded man who will become unstable in all of his ways. The reason youwill become unstable in all of your ways is because you will have lost directcontact with the one Person who could get you through this nasty stormcloud in the first place, and that one Person is the Lord Himself. That is why you can never lose your faith in the Lord, or let it start towaver and drop on you. If you do, you will then become like a ping pong 84

The Bible Basicsball, constantly going back and forth between your faith in God, and faith inyourself and with what you are seeing with your own natural eyes. This iswhy you always have to keep your eyes on Jesus, especially when you arehaving to face a heavier type of storm cloud. If you jump to the very last verse, this is exactly what happened with Peterwhen he started to walk on water with Jesus. As long as Peter kept his eyeson Jesus, he was just fine and he had no problems in being able to walk onthat water. But as soon as he takes his eyes off of Jesus and puts them on theboisterous winds all around him, this is when he starts to sink. And fromthere, Jesus tells him that he is of little faith and why did he start to doubt tobegin with.b) We should not hold our faith in the Lord with any kind of partiality. Theword “partiality” means “favoritism, tendency to favor unfairly, bias.” God wants all of our faith to be totally in Him and then once we do that,not to let our faith start to waver or let any kind of doubt start to creep in.We have learned over the years that it is much easier to keep our faith up inthe Lord and let Him work out any personal problems we may encounterinstead of getting all worried, anxious, and bent out of shape.c) We can remove mountains if we have enough faith in Him and do notdoubt. We can move mountains if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, He isnow adding one other factor into all of this, and that one other factor is tohave a type of faith in Him that will not waver. And once you start to let anytype of doubt creep in, then your faith will start to waver and drop on you. Not only does God want all of us to have a very strong type of faith inHim, but He wants this faith to be the type that will not waver or drop onHim.9. All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes These next 6 verses are going to be the ones you will really have toground on and believe on once you start to face any kind of serious adversityin this life. No matter how hopeless things may start to appear to you in thenatural, you have to believe what these next set of verses are trying to tellyou. If you can do that, then God will move to solve your dilemma and getyou through the trial with a victory. These next 4 verses will tell you the following:1. All things are possible to him who believes2. With God all things are possible3. For with God nothing will be impossible4. The things which are impossible with men are possible with God 85

The Bible Basics God says that “all things” are possible to those who will believe in Him.And if all things are possible with God, then that will also include Him beingable to handle any type of storm cloud that may have just come into yourlife. The above 4 phrases should be committed to full memorization so you donot ever forget how powerful our God really is. If our God is all powerful,then there will be absolutely nothing that He cannot do on our behalf. Andthese next 6 verses are going tell us exactly that! Here are these additional 6 verses showing us how powerful our Godreally is:1. Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)2. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36)3.“With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)4.“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)5. But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)6.“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4) Once you fully understand that God is all powerful and that there isabsolutely nothing that He cannot do for you, then you will be able to put allof your faith and trust in Him because you will realize that there is no oneelse in your life who can do what He can do for you. Only God is all perfectand all powerful, and He thus is the only One you can put all of your truefaith and trust in.10. God Will Test Your Faith Levels From Time to Time From time to time, God will arrange for circumstances to occur in yourpersonal life where He will purposely test your faith levels in Him. Andwhen He does start to do this with you, it is very important that you takethese faith tests very seriously and do your best to pass them so you can bekept on the divine path and destiny that He has already set up for you andyour life. Here are 2 of these key verses that will show you that from time to timeGod will personally test your faith levels in Him.1.“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuiness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 86

The Bible Basics receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6- 9)2.“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)11. Acts of Strong Faith From the Bible So you can see how big of a thing it is that you try to get your faithoperating at these higher levels with the Lord. Here are 11 major verses from the Bible giving you specific examples ofdifferent people who did have these higher levels of faith in the Lord andwhat happened to them. God will be able to do greater and mightier things either for you orthrough you to help other people out if you will just believe that He can dothese types of heavier miracles for you. Really study and meditate on these next set of verses, as they are allshowing you what can happen to a person if they will just fully believe onthe Lord with no doubting or no wavering on their end. Here they are:1. Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)2.“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people, And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.” (Acts 6:8-10)3.“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16)4. And when He came into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:28- 30)5. Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28)6. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment; for she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:21-22) 87

The Bible Basics7. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done to you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:13)8. And Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately He received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 10:51-52)9.“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:22-23)10.“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going, By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:7-17)11.“And the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32-34) Notice how many times Jesus would ask someone if they had enough faithto believe that He could heal them. And then once they said they had enoughfaith in Him to do this, then Jesus would immediately heal them. Jesus thengoes as far as to tell them that what got them healed was their faith, eventhough it was the Holy Spirit Himself who really healed them. But it was theperson’s faith and belief in Jesus that got the Holy Spirit to move in on themto do the actual healing. Your faith is your lifeline to the Lord, and in that lifeline God canmanifest His healing power to you if you would ever need it in this life. The last 2 verses show you how many of these great men of God did whatthey did because they had these higher levels of faith in the Lord. The lastverse is another major power verse in that it starts out with the wording,“who through faith,” and from there, it spells out exactly what many ofthese great men of God ended up doing for Him, and it was all done as aresult of their strong faith in the Lord. This is why it is extremely important for each Christian to try and increasetheir faith levels in the Lord over time. If you do, then God will be able to 88

The Bible Basicsuse you in mightier and stronger ways just like He did with many of the greatmen and women of the Bible.12. Be Faithful Until Death Once you enter in on a true faith walk with the Lord, then there will be nobailing out on Him, ever! This has to be a faith walk to your last dyingbreath. It has to be a faith to the death.As one of the verses below will tell you, you have to be willing to be“faithful until death.” Notice these 4 key phrases as you are studying these next set of verses:1. Be faithful until death2. Fight the good fight of faith3. Continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast4. Stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong These 4 key phrases should be committed to full memorization so younever, ever forget that you stay fully faithful to the Lord until your last dyingbreath, and that once you start it up with Him, that you continue in it, alwaysremaining grounded and steadfast in it. Here are 12 very powerful verses showing us the extreme importance thatonce we start up this faith walk with the Lord, that we continue in it to theday we die. And also notice some of the incredible benefits and blessings wecan receive from the Lord if we can stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him forthe long run.1.“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)2.“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)3.“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called” (1 Timothy 6:12)4.“If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast” (Colossians 1:23)5.“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13)6.“For the Lord preserves the faithful” (Psalm 31:23)7.“Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35)8.“But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)9.“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will 89

The Bible Basics give power over the nations.” (Revelation 2:26)10.“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)11.“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5)12.“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12) God will be rewarding us up in heaven according to all of the good workswe have done for Him down here on this earth. And if you can keep yourpersonal faith levels up in the Lord during your entire lifetime, then you willfully complete all of your divine assignments for Him, and from there, youwill then be appropriately and highly rewarded once you enter into heaven.13. Do Not Ever Lose Your Faith in the Lord We never, ever lose our faith in the Lord and bail out on Him with whatHe wants to do with our lives. As the last set of verses have showed you, thishas to be a faith walk to the death with the Lord. The very last verse below has some very specific wording in it that is justbone chilling to read. This last verse is using the vine and the branchanalogy, with us being the branches and Jesus being the vine. This last versetells us that if we ever lose our faith in the Lord, that we can then be cut offfrom the Lord just like a branch can be cut off from the vine. And you knowwhat happens to a branch once it gets cut off from the tree. It will then fallstraight to the ground, and from there, it will wither and die. The branch of a tree cannot live if it is not connected to the trunk of thattree. And in the same way, we cannot fully live in the Lord unless we stayfully connected to Him. And what keeps us fully connected to Jesus like thebranch is with the vine? It is our faith in Him. This is why we call our faithin the Lord our “lifeline” to Him, for without it, we will never be able toconnect to Him. Because of their “unbelief,” they were broken off, just like the branch of atree can be totally broken off from the tree itself. The second last verse thenadds more bone chilling revelation to all of this when it tells us that God willbe calling any type of unbelief in Him and any kind of departing from Him 90

The Bible Basicsan “evil heart.” If you ever lose your faith and belief in the Lord, and from there, start todepart from Him, God will see this as an evil type of heart and from there,He will cut you completely off from Him, just like a branch can be totally cutoff from the tree. You cannot get any more of a serious warning than what is in these lasttwo verses. This is why each Christian has to get it settled in their minds andtheir hearts, that once they start on this true faith walk with the Lord, thatthey never, ever change their minds and attempt to pull away from Him. Ifthey do, we would not even want to try and fathom what the consequenceswould be with the way these last two verses are being worded by the Lord. Here are these last 5 verses:1.“And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58)2.“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)3.“But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:2-3)4.“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14)5. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you will also be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” (Romans 11:19-23) Jesus Himself could not do many miracles in His own home town as aresult of their “unbelief.” If you want the Lord to do any type of supernatural miracles for you inthis life, then you have to start believing and having faith that He canactually do these types of heavier miracles for you. You saw how manytimes in one of the above captions how often Jesus would ask those whoneeded a healing from Him if they had enough faith and belief in Him thatHe could actually heal them. 91

The Bible Basics You have to be willing to mix your faith in with the Word. If you do not,then the Word will have no transforming effect on you and your life. Youhave to believe what the Bible is telling you before anything will start toactually happen in your life with the Lord. The Word of God will give you the knowledge that you will need in thislife, but if you do not mix in some level of faith with that knowledge, thennothing is ever going to happen in your life with the Lord. 92

The Bible BasicsChapter 6Obedience to the Lord The absolute number 1 key in being able to find exactly what your truedivine destiny is going to be in the Lord is to be willing to come into a fulland complete surrender of your entire life with Him. Once you are willing to commit to making a full and complete surrenderof your body, your soul, your spirit and your entire life into the hands of Godthe Father, then God will take immediate control of your life and He willthen start to lead you and your life into the specific direction that He willwant it to go in. He will perfectly lead you into what your true calling is going to be inHim. He will lead you to the person that He will want you to marry if it isHis perfect will that you get married in this life. He will supernaturally openup doors for you so that you can advance from one level of service to thenext level of service. And not only will God be perfectly guiding you every step of the way asyou advance up your own personal ladder of success in Him, but He willalso be divinely protecting you along the way so that you can make it intoeach of these levels of service in one piece. And as long as you are willing tostay in this full surrender with Him, He will take you all the way to your ownpersonal finish line, which will be the end of your life, so that you can fullycomplete all of your divine assignments and missions for Him in this life. All of this is fully explained to you in our bible basic \"The FullSurrender\". In that bible basic, we give you all of the appropriate versesfrom Scripture that will show you that this is what God is really wantingfrom each one of us and exactly how to enter into this full surrender with theLord if you have never done this before. God will actually guide our steps in this life through the Holy Spirit. It isnow the job of each Christian to be fully led by the Holy Spirit in this life.We are no longer in control of our life. God will now be the Captain of ourship and the Commander in Chief in our lives. God will now be the One torun the entire show of our lives. 93

The Bible Basics We are no longer even our own, as Jesus Himself has now bought us backat the price of His death on the cross. We now belong to God and Jesus andno one else in this life, including ourselves. As perfect and rosy as this scenario appears to be, there is just one smalllittle problem with all of this. This one small little problem is our flesh andego. Our flesh will not want to take orders from anyone, including the LordHimself. Our flesh and ego will still want to try and run our own lives,decide what jobs and vocations we will strive after in this life, decide whowe will marry, and choose who our friends will be in this life. We want to be in total and complete control of our lives, and we want tosink or swim all on our own efforts so that we can have all of the glory andfame for ourselves if all of our efforts turn out to be successful. Though we know God is all powerful and all perfect and that He knowsmuch better than we do what we should really be doing with our lives, therestill seems to be something inside of most of us that still wants to try and doall of this on our own, operating out of our own strength, wisdom andintelligence. You will end up laboring in vain if you try and build the house of your lifeoperating all on your own efforts and wisdom. The Lord has to be the One tobuild the house of our lives. Anything that we build, earn, achieve oraccomplish operating out of our own flesh in this life will in no way be ashighly rewarded once we enter into heaven as the works that are doneoperating in God's perfect will and plan for our lives. Each and every Christian has to make one, big whopper personal decisionin this life, and that one decision is who is going to run your life from hereon in, you or God? This is an all or nothing decision. Either you are going to let God havefull, complete and total control of every aspect of your life or you are not.You cannot straddle the fence post with either yourself or the Lord on thisdecision. If you do, you will end up paralyzing yourself and you will neveraccomplish anything of any real worth in this lifetime. If you decide that you do want to make this full and complete surrenderwith the Lord and let Him guide your steps in this life into His perfect planand destiny for your life, you will now have to make one more big decision.You will now have to make sure that you will be willing to be perfectlyobedient to the Lord with whatever He will be asking you to do for Him inthis life. 94

The Bible Basics It is one thing to be able to start out making this full surrender with theLord, but it is going to be quite another thing to be able to stay in perfectobedience to the Lord as you proceed along in your life's journey with Him.There will come times when God will tell you to do one thing and you willwant to do another thing. At times, it may literally become a battle of wills,your will against God's will, over certain issues or certain situations that willoccur in your life. You will simply have to make an all or nothing decision that you will be perfectly obedient to the Lord to your last dying breath. Once you enter into this full surrendered power walk with the Lord, you will always have to agree to do things His way. It's either God's way or the highway. There are no middle grounds or neutral areas in this part of our walk with the Lord. Jesus is the Shepherd, we are the sheep. He leads, we follow. It is the job of the sheep to always follow and obey the Shepherd. Though God will sometimes be willing to consider your personalarguments and contentions over certain issues or matters in your life, whatyou will have to really ground on is that God will always be knowing what isgoing to be best for each situation that you will be personally encounteringin this life. You are going to have to be willing to accept whatever God'sfinal decisions are going to be on certain issues in your life. And this is where it can get really tough and trying. Though you knowGod will always know what is going to be best for each major decision thatyou will have to make in this life, your flesh will still try to act up and try toget its own way, especially if it is something that you are really wanting. We simply cannot stress enough the importance that you fully realize that your personal obedience to the Lord in this life will be the major deciding factor as to whether or not you fully accomplish all of your divine destiny for Him. You will never complete and fulfill your divine destiny, receive the blessings that God would have had in store for you in this life, find your true soul mate, and find what you were really created to be in this life unless you are willing to perfectly obey all of God's specific instructions and directions on how to actually get you there. If God is going to be willing to enter you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life, be willing to perfectly guide you every step of the way so that you can reach and fulfill that divine destiny, and be willing to anoint you with His power, grace and ability so that you 95