• King James Bible version

Some will argue that the original King James Bible version is more accurate, and some will argue that the King James Bible  language is so out of date as to be almost impossible to understand. Americans tend to stick to the ASV(American Standard Version) which names God as “Jehovah”, rather than the slightly confusing “Lord”, so prolific in other translations.  It contains some archaic word forms, but is still much easier to understand than the old KJV.

• Bible online

I tend to use the online Bible today because it is so easy to copy and paste anything I want to refer to later on. Having the Bible online is so good when it comes to searching for some text you can’t quite remember where to find.  I used to have a disk with a lot of different translations and versions, but it took up a bit of space, and didn’t always work properly.  Today there are many sites offering the Bible “online”, and it is faster to click their icon on my desktop, and start right in browsing.

• Bible Commentarty, School, Lessons and Studies

Bible study with the  World Wide Web is so easy when you can use any Bible commentary you fancy, attend Bible school, and do any Bible studies, take any Bible lessons  you want – all on line, and all FREE!

• All Scripture is God-breathed

However, to get back to the original question: “Which Version of the Bible should I use?” Here is the answer.  It is quite irrelevant which version you use, provided you allow the Holy Spirit of God to illumine the Word as you read.  Our God is perfectly able to make you understand what He means, regardless of your reading ability, or what version you use. As the Word says in 2 Timothy 3:16; “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…..”  If you take that on board, then it follows that however you may be sampling His Word, IT WILL WORK!

• The Secret Revealed!!

So this it what you do…. “then grab your Bible [any Bible], and head for your quiet place and just ‘wait on Him‘; and His Truth will be revealed to you. By all means buy a Bible version or Bible translation that you are comfortable with, but don’t worry about whether it is ‘accurate’ or not – the only thing for you to be concerned about is your own understanding of what you are reading therein. If you are being ‘helped’ by the Holy Spirit of God as you read, your understanding will be perfect!

Preaching the gospel is what this site is all about, it is the driving force behind any quest for “how to preach”. The gospel preaching that comes from seeking and telling the inspired Word of God, by prayer, and by the inspiration of the Holy spirit of God is the only valid form of Gospel Preaching that you would want to preach.

• Use the Lectionary.

I belong to a union church that uses the common Australian lectionary readings, and we follow these Sunday by Sunday, and over a period of three years the principal portions of the Bible are effectively covered. I was suspicious of this ‘formalised’ system at first, but I have come to see that God works within that system to illuminate His Word and to meet needs as they occur.  It never fails to awe me that I can see retrospectively, that the Word that came out of those readings was entirely appropriate for that day and in that place.

• Seek His Spirit.

Given the subject, or rather the Gospel passage, we next need to put His spin on it.  We are not here to gallop forth on our own hobby horses, nor are we here to relate secondhand experience from others (Sermons out of a book, or worse, off the net!).  What we are here for is to share the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.  By prayerful contemplation, we are to discern what God intends to say on this very day, and we need to contemplate that, and to digest it ourselves, so we can share it out on Sunday morning.

• A Revelation From God

Paul explained to the Corinthians in Chapter 15 Verse 26 26 This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church. that when we meet together we each bring something to share.  It is the duty and the privelege of the preacher to bring “a revelation from God”. I take this very seriously, and I invite you to share this conviction, thus being totally sure that what you are bringing, is indeed the inspired Word of God.  This word, based on the scriptures, enlightened by God’s Holy Spirit, becomes truly the Gospel Preaching we aspire to.

Evidence of The Holy Spirit

How can you discern the Holy Spirit in others? This question is very relevant to our growth and spiritual well-being. Why? – Because we need to know when what we are hearing is the inpired word of the Spirit of God.  If we just accept everything we hear we will soon be led down the path of spiritual error.

• Fool-Proof Test

There is one fool-proof test you can apply to determine if what you are hearing is spiritual truth; and that is this. Consider what James says here in Chapter 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. From this we can reliably infer that we MUST have a peace about what we are hearing. If you can apply all the tests in this Bible verse to what you hear, you can be confidant that what you are hearing is from the Holy Spirit of God – it will be full of mercy, good fruits, impartial and above all pure and peaceful.

• Unquiet Spirit

There is one thing the devil CANNOT fake, and that is love. You may be hearing stuff that sounds very reasonable at the time, but if it leaves you with an unquiet spirit, then you can be assured that it is NOT from God. If what you see and hear makes you feel restless, discontented, anxious or worried, you can be confidant that it came from that other kingdom – the kingdom of darkness.  God is Love: Therefore anything from God must be pure; have an underlying theme of love, and leave you with a feeling of peace.

• Simple, Reliable Test

Jesus gave us a very reliable and simple test to apply when we are not sure what we are confronted with.  In effect, He said; “Look at the fruit to see what sort of a tree it is” [Matt 7:16  By their  fruit  you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? .......20  Thus, by their  fruit  you will recognize them]. So if the visible fruit in the life of the person you are listening to are the fruits of Love, Joy, Peace, etc, of the Spirit, described in Galations, then you can be sure that the Spirit of God is directing that person’s life.