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Guest (Male): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, we love to help you know God's word better and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement. If you'd like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and exclusive resource offers designed to help you stay strong in your faith, all delivered right to your inbox. Signing up is quick and easy, and you'll be glad you did. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: Would you make your way in your Bibles, please, to the book of Psalms? Psalm 19 is the psalm we're going to be looking at today in this series called Help because I've figured out that we all need a little bit of help when it comes to studying the book we call the Bible. Perhaps you've made it a New Year's resolution that you're going to read the Bible more, but perhaps in that commitment, you've also discovered that it's easier said than done.

You wouldn't be alone. Of the over two billion Christians in the world, and I use the term broadly, but those who would identify themselves in the Christian faith, of the over two billion Christians in the world, less than 30% will ever read through the Bible. 82% of Christian Americans, you ready for this one? 82% of Christian Americans only read their Bibles on Sundays while they're in church. 19% of churchgoers, only 19%, read their Bibles every day. I'm not saying that to shame anybody. That's just so you know where we're at in this culture.

What are the top signs that you're not reading your Bible enough? Well, somebody suggested there are several. Number one, the preacher announces that the sermon is from Galatians and so you have to check the table of contents. In all fairness, I did that when I first got my Bible. I didn't understand where everything was. I needed a table of contents to figure that out. That's okay. When you're starting out, that's okay.

But there are more signs you're not reading your Bible enough. Number two, you think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the '60s, like Peter, Paul, and Mary. Sounds like a good group, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Number three, you open to the Gospel of Luke and a 12-year-old church bulletin falls out. Maybe you're just saving them. I don't know.

Number four, you left your Bible in the pew at church last Sunday and you didn't know it until leaving for church this Sunday. That would be an indication. Next, your frustrated because Charlton Heston is not listed in the concordance or in the table of contents. I'm going way back with that film, he was in the Ten Commandments. You catch your kids reading the Song of Solomon and you demand, "Hey, where'd you get that stuff?" You're not reading it enough. And finally, you think the minor prophets worked in the quarries, as miners.

Here's how it works. As soon as we come to know the Lord, as soon as we are saved, we want to know more about this experience. And so we naturally turn to the Bible. That's the sourcebook. And we make a commitment, "I want to read this thing." Now, if you're new to it and you begin at the beginning, you are in for a rude awakening. I did not begin at the beginning. I began in the New Testament.

But if you were to open your Bible to the beginning, you would make it through, let's say this is your New Year's resolution, "I'm going to read through the Bible." You make it through Genesis. Okay, lot of good stories. I'm getting the lay of the land. You make it into Exodus, equally as compelling until you get to about chapter 21. Then there are rules and regulations and things that have nothing to do with your world.

Then, if you're brave, you make it through or to, not necessarily through, but to Leviticus and Numbers. And if you get to Deuteronomy, he's repeating a lot of the same material found in the other three books that preceded it. And you think, "I give up." So that sort of takes you into March and your New Year's resolution is over. One person admitted this: "I started to read the Bible more times than I can count, but I never seem to make it past Genesis.

As soon as the exciting parts of the Old Testament faded, so did my interest. Plus, I felt like I was reading Mandarin Chinese half the time." That's an honest person. "It was hard, confusing, and not always that enjoyable. So I gave up." Another asked, "How can I love my Bible if I don't enjoy reading it?" Here's what makes it harder than ever to read the Bible these days. We are now, we find ourselves in a visual culture.

We're no longer an ear people like we once were. We're an eye people. The ancient Hebrews were ear people. They heard, they listened, they dissected what they heard. It was read to them. Now, we are a visual orientation, so we get our information largely by video clips, usually very short video clips on social media. And so what happens is reading in general has gone down. In fact, the reading level in this country is now at a sixth-grade reading level.

Now, the Bible version I am reading from, the New King James Version, is at a seventh-grade reading level, which means for the average person, it is harder to understand because the average person has a sixth-grade reading level. So reading has gone down and then we start reading through the scriptures and this is not light reading. It is a little more demanding. Well, I want to talk about that and I've had you turn to Psalm 19, but I'll just say that this is a subject that is close to my heart.

I have committed my life to helping people understand the Bible. In fact, the very first book I ever wrote around 1990 was How to Read or How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It. I've written a couple commentaries on the Bible. I've written a book called The Bible from 30,000 Feet because I am devoted to this idea of reading and understanding the scripture. Well, I've asked you to turn to Psalm 19 because we have in this psalm the most distilled, concentrated, condensed section of scripture in God's word about God's word.

It is an excellent psalm. It is an excellent area of scripture. I would say that given the subject matter, it is second only to Psalm 119. Anybody know that psalm? The longest psalm in the book, 176 verses. It's all about how awesome the Bible is. 176 verses. You can't find a verse in that psalm that does not connect to our study of the scripture. Psalm 19 is the condensed version of Psalm 119.

Let's look at verse seven. We're not going to look at the entire psalm, but verse seven is where we want to begin. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward." Verses seven, eight, and nine, three verses have six poetic lines. This is a song. This is a hymn in the Psalter of Israel. And there are six lines with three parts. There are six titles of scripture. That's the first part. It is given several titles: law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, judgments.

The next part: six descriptions. It's perfect, it's sure, it's right, it's pure, it's clean, and finally, true and righteous altogether. And then there are six results of the scripture. I want to give you those results, just a quick note. Verse seven, and I'm beginning here because the first part of the psalm is all about what we call general revelation, how God reveals himself in creation.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day they utter their speech, night unto night they reveal knowledge." He is looking at God's creation, the expansive universe. And he's saying God has communicated to us generally in creation, in the heavens, without words. We call that general revelation.

Now he speaks about special revelation and that is the law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandment. God spoke to us in his world, verses one through six, and now God speaks to us in his word. By the way, it is on the basis of this thinking that God has revealed himself to everybody on earth generally that Paul says in Romans 1, "So they are without excuse." God reveals himself in his word and people are without excuse. Everybody looks around and everybody should be able to say by looking around at the creative genius that there is a God.

But he doesn't stop there. He doesn't say God reveals himself in nature, so go have church under a tree in the forest. A lot of people say that. "I don't need to go to church. I just get out on the golf course and commune with God in nature or I go to the beach or I go to the forest." Well, the heavens do declare the glory of God, but they tell you nothing of the love of God. And you need the scriptures to fill in the rest of those blanks.

So I want to give you now, briefly, some what I'm going to do is give you some benefits why it's important to read and study and know the scripture, what it will do for you, and then I'm going to give you some tips, some helps very practical at the very end. First, the scriptures will transform your life. Look at verse seven. "The law of the Lord is," what's the word? Perfect. And the next word is what it will do. What will it do? What's the word? Converting the soul.

The Bible has the power to convert the soul. The law of the Lord is perfect. The word law here is Torah. God gave his laws to Moses on Mount Sinai. I was walking my dog this morning at zero dark 30. It was 23 degrees outside. But as the sun was just trying to get through the clouds and the mountains on the east, it looked very Mount Sinai-like in my mind, a mountain shrouded in clouds as the Torah was given to Moses in the Old Testament.

He says the law of the Lord is perfect. Now, some people feel like everybody should own a Bible. It's good luck to have a Bible in your house and it looks really good on your coffee table. Makes a statement as people come in your house. Well, David says it's more than that. It's perfect. The word is tamim. It means complete, full, whole. A better word is it is comprehensive. Think of totality.

Think of it this way: it has it covered. That is, it covers every aspect of life, everything you need for life and godliness. First Peter chapter one comes through the knowledge of him. Simply put, you don't need to go anywhere else for the needs of your soul than the scripture. It's perfect. You go to the doctor for the needs of your body. You go to school for the needs of your mind. You go to the scripture for the needs of your soul.

Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The last part of verse seven tells us what the word of God is capable of doing. It can convert the soul. Some translations say restore, others say refresh. I like the idea of convert. It awakens a person's need.

Let me tell you a fun but very true story. My father-in-law, Rod, Dr. Rod Farley, went to medical school, was a doctor, was a surgeon. Was not a believer. On top of a medical degree, he thought he needed a law degree. So he went to law school. Got a law degree. Very intelligent, very much an unbeliever. People would tell him about God and he just talked them away. One night at home, he just decided to pick up a Bible.

Yes, he had one in his home because it makes a good statement. He opened it up and said, "I'm going to read the red letters. I'm going to read the words of Jesus because I want to find out if he was a positive individual." So he starts reading. Very objectively reading the text. As he's reading, he gets quieter, more pensive. Finally, he closes the book, turns to his wife, Nedra, and says, "If what I just read is true, I am in big trouble."

Isn't that a great realization? He was right. And that reading of the scripture brought a phone call to his brother-in-law, led him to the Lord. A week later, he was baptized in the Pacific Ocean. That's the power of the scripture. The Bible can do that. It can convert the soul. Another quick story. I knew a gal that I worked with in Israel. She sat in the church I had gone to for 10 years.

For 10 years, she was not a believer. She just went to church every week. It's a good thing to do. And she just sat in church. After 10 years under the exposure to the scriptures of the word of God, finally her soul was converted. I love that. I love that. So it'll convert the soul, it'll refresh the soul, it'll renew or restore the soul. And it doesn't just happen once. It's not just at salvation. I've been reading the Bible for 50 years and I get changed every time I see it and read it. So it'll transform your life.

Now, let me just add this. I'm not doing this to dig, but this is also dear to my heart. If it works so well, if it can transform a life, then why don't more pastors teach it? Why isn't there more biblical exposition from pulpits? Why do pastors, any of us, ever think that we can come up with something to say that's far more profound than what God has said?

We can't. The first time I had an experience with a Bible in church was I brought my Bible after newly converted to the church I was raised in. And I went into the foyer with my Bible in my hand and I was stopped. And the usher said, "What are you doing with that thing in here?" I said, "Oh, you mean this thing? This Bible?" "Yeah, what are you doing with that thing in here?" Because it was not a church that had a Bible or read from its scripture, the scriptures.

And I said, "Why wouldn't this Bible be in this church? Why wouldn't everybody be reading this Bible?" It just sort of struck me. It was for me a moment of pause and re-evaluation. Bible should be central in every church, in every pulpit, and certainly in the life of every believer. So it'll transform your life. Number two, it'll challenge your mind. Look at verse seven, the second part: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."

The Bible is God's testimony. Ever heard a person give their testimony? Yeah, this is who I am. This is what happened in my life. This is how I came to Christ. The Bible is God's testimony. It's God's revelation to humanity. It will tell you about himself. And that testimony, notice the word, is sure. Means firm, certain. Means trustworthy, reliable. In fact, the word for sure in Hebrew is the word aman, where we get the word amen.

Amen is a word when we say it, it's a word of verbal agreement. It means "it is so." I am in agreement with that. Amen. Well, we should learn to say that more. Amen. Amen. It'll make wise, notice, "make wise the simple." That's what it will do. It'll make wise the simple. You know what a simple person is? When you think of a simple person, you might think of a naive person. Sort of clueless, maybe. Easily led, very impressionable.

Well, if you have that sort of a person and expose that person to the scriptures, it will challenge his or her mind, educate that person, and make them wise. The simplest person can be wise. But the idea here isn't just naive. The idea here of this word "simple" is open-minded, open to instruction. Are you? Are you open-minded to instruction? Do you come to church kind of with this posture of heart or with this posture of heart?

Are you open, open-minded, open-hearted? Now, some people reject the Bible. They are not open-minded to it. But I've made a little discovery over the years because I was also in this camp at one time, that people don't reject the Bible because it contradicts itself. They reject the Bible because it contradicts them. Now, that's a good place for an amen right there.

Let's try that again. You ready? Ready? Ready for this? Let's try it again. People don't reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them. Amen. It'll challenge the mind. Mark Twain used to say that "the things that bother me the most in the Bible aren't the things I don't understand. It's all the things I do understand that bother me." It'll transform your life, it'll challenge your mind. Here's a third benefit: it will delight your heart.

Verse eight begins, "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." It brings joy. Statutes could be translated commandments, mandate, principles, or rules. That turns people off. As soon as people hear rules or commandments, they go, "Ugh, I don't like rules. I don't like commandments." Really? You don't? Really?

Because I'm thinking you do. Would you like it if there were no traffic laws? Some of you might drive like there are no traffic laws, but would you like it if everybody else around you on the road did not abide by any traffic laws at all? Or what about property laws? Or theft laws, like "don't steal people's stuff"? See, we need laws for a stable society. So the commandments, the statutes, the mandates, the divine principles, the rules of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

Brings joy to the heart. The psalmist of Psalm 19 is David. David also wrote Psalm 1 where he said, "Blessed is the man who doesn't stand in the way of sinners, walk, sit, etc. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. In his law, he will meditate day and night."

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God's word with families around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it's needed most. And this month, we'd love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you Reconnecting with Family, Pastor Skip's new book focused on restoring God's design for family and relationships. It's filled with biblical insight and practical encouragement to help families grow stronger even in challenging seasons. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip.

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