JOYCE: SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME FOR THE KEY
TO MAKING THEIR LIFE WORK
AND I CAN TELL YOU WITHOUT HESITATION, IT'S THE BIBLE.
I'VE SPENT MORE THAN 35 YEARS STUDYING GOD'S WORD
AND IT HAS TOTALLY CHANGED MY LIFE.
AND I KNOW THAT IT'S GONNA CHANGE YOURS, TOO.
TODAY I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT
TO STUDY THE BIBLE, AND REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION
THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE, WHICH IS, "HOW DO I STUDY THE BIBLE?"
GINGER, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE ON THE SET TODAY
TO ASK ME QUESTIONS.
PRAYERFULLY AND HOPEFULLY I CAN ANSWER THEM.
GINGER: THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT
A LOT OF DIFFERENT TIMES
AND I THINK IT'S SO HELPFUL JUST TO SIT DOWN
AND PRACTICALLY GO THROUGH THOSE LISTS OF QUESTIONS
THAT WE ALL HAVE.
HOW DO WE MAKE THIS WORK? HOW DO WE APPLY IT?
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO TODAY.
JOYCE: AND TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE THAT IT'S SIMPLE.
I THINK SOMETIMES THEY MAKE TOO BIG OF A PROJECT OUT OF IT,
LIKE, "HOW DO I STUDY THE BIBLE?"
AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO BRING IT INTO A SIMPLIFIED FORM
THAT PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF FREEDOM
AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL LEAD THEM.
IT CAN BE A LOT OF FUN.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AN OBLIGATION.
IT CAN REALLY BE ENJOYABLE.
I RECALL WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT BEGAN TO TEACH ME
THAT I'M NOT DOING GOD A FAVOR WHEN I READ HIS WORD.
SOMETIMES WE THINK,
"WELL, I READ MY THREE CHAPTERS TODAY
SO NOW I'VE GOT BETTER STANDING WITH GOD."
WE DON'T DO GOD A FAVOR.
HE ALREADY KNOWS THE WORD; HE WROTE IT.
BUT WE'RE HELPING OURSELVES.
AND THAT'S THE FIRST THING I WOULD LIKE TO GET ACROSS
IS THAT WHEN YOU STUDY THE BIBLE,
IF YOU EVEN TAKE TIME TO READ ONE PSALM IN THE BIBLE,
YOU ARE DOING YOURSELF A FAVOR BECAUSE THAT WORD IS THE FOOD
THAT YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR SPIRIT STRONG.
MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE WATCHING THE PROGRAM
ATE BREAKFAST THIS MORNING;
IF THEY'RE WATCHING IT LATER IN THE DAY, THEY ATE LUNCH;
THEY'RE GONNA GO HOME AND EAT DINNER.
WE EAT FOOD TO KEEP OUR BODY STRONG,
TO KEEP OUR ENERGY UP.
BUT WE NEED SPIRITUAL STRENGTH AND ENERGY, AND THE WORD OF GOD
IS THE FOOD THAT WE NEED TO KEEP OUR SPIRIT STRONG.
GINGER: AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE INTIMIDATING.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SOMETHING WHERE WE FEEL THERE'S A FORMULA
THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW OR THAT WE JUST DON'T KNOW
WHERE TO BEGIN SO WE DON'T DO IT AT ALL.
AND SO LET ME JUST ASK YOU THIS
BECAUSE ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE IS,
"IS THE WORD OF GOD, IS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS,
"EVEN APPLICABLE FOR TODAY?
DO I STILL NEED TO READ THIS ANCIENT TEXT?"
JOYCE: WHAT I HAVE FOUND IN MY LIFE--
I CAN TELL YA, I DON'T THINK WE CAN HAVE A PROBLEM
THAT YOU CAN'T FIND THE ANSWER IN HERE SOMEWHERE.
NOW ADMITTEDLY, YOU NEED TO GET FAMILIAR WITH THE WORD OF GOD,
AND SOME THINGS ARE MORE CHALLENGING TO FIND THAN OTHERS
BUT IF IT DOESN'T ANSWER THE SPECIFIC QUESTION STRAIGHT ON,
YOU'LL FIND, WHAT I LIKE TO CALL,
THE SPIRIT OF THE ANSWER IN HERE.
IN OTHER WORDS, I MIGHT NOT FIND THE EXACT ANSWER
TO MY SPECIFIC QUESTION,
BUT I CAN FIND OUT ABOUT WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT
AND HOW TO FOLLOW THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
AND THEN GOD WILL LEAD ME TO THAT ANSWER.
JESUS SAID, "MY WORDS ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE."
I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
GOD'S WORD IS NOT JUST LIKE MAN'S WORD.
IT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF WORD.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO PEOPLE TALK A LONG TIME
AND SAY NOTHING, BUT WHEN GOD TALKS
THERE'S POWER IN IT.
JESUS SAID, "MY WORDS ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE."
AND THE BIBLE TEACHES US THAT WHEN WE STUDY THE WORD OF GOD,
IN 2 CORINTHIANS 3:18, WHEN WE STUDY THE WORD OF GOD,
WE ARE CHANGED INTO HIS IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY TO GLORY.
SO WE CHANGE IN LITTLE DEGREES
AND BECOME MORE AND MORE GLORIOUS ALL THE TIME.
ALSO IN ROMANS 12, WE'RE TAUGHT THAT GOD HAS GOT
SUCH AN AMAZINGLY GOOD PLAN FOR OUR LIFE
BUT WE WILL NEVER REALLY LIVE IN THAT PLAN UNLESS
WE HAVE OUR MINDS RENEWED.
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT YOUR MIND HAS TO BE RENEWED
AND YOUR ATTITUDE NEEDS TO BE RENEWED
ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD.
SO THIS BOOK TELLS ME HOW GOD THINKS,
AND REALLY EVEN HOW GOD TALKS.
AND WHEN WE START OUT IN OUR WALK WITH GOD,
WE DON'T THINK LIKE GOD;
WE CERTAINLY DON'T TALK LIKE GOD WOULD TALK,
AND WORDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT; AND WE DON'T ACT LIKE GOD ACTS.
AND SO WE COME INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
THROUGH CHRIST, AND THEN WE HAVE THIS NEW DESIRE,
WE WANT TO CHANGE, WE WANT TO BE BETTER,
BUT OUR MINDS HAVE TO BE RENEWED.
AND THE MORE YOU STUDY THE WORD,
THE MORE YOU LEARN TRUTH, THAT TRUTH IS WHAT SETS YOU FREE
AND YOU LEARN HOW TO THINK DIFFERENTLY.