Why God Believes You Should Read Holy Spirit Inspired Books

God believes in books. He believes in you reading them. The Lord inspired people to write them. He spoke to them in the night seasons and in their secret times of prayer. That should not be a ‘wow’ statement to you since He is the author of the most extraordinary book ever written, the Bible. It is the number one seller on planet earth! He wants you to read His book often, even daily. The Bible is your contact with Him — it is God speaking to you. Your gateway to freedom lies in your reading it, getting your mind renewed to it, and putting it into operation in your everyday life. The Bible details the way to God, the way to heaven, and how to succeed in all your affairs. Many books have been written about the Bible. Most of them are Holy Spirit-inspired works that are aids to help you understand His most exceptional book. These books are not replacements or substitutes. But the Lord did have them written for your benefit. Here are some thoughts to help you engage this material in your everyday life. Why God Believes You Should Read Holy Spirit Inspired Books, that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Why Doing the Word of God Is The Ticket to Success

[Tweet “There’s something tangible about the thoughts expressed by those who have spent lots of time in God’s Presence.”]

Read the Notes

You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This weeks call is:

All that is left for you now is to take action and engage a book. Start with the Bible. Start with a New Testament book of the Bible. Start with a book about the Bible. But whatever you do, start! And learn all that you can about God. Then spread the wealth.

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: Outside of the Bible, which book impacted your life the most? Please leave a comment in the comments section below.

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the subject of the Spirit-Led Life by clicking on the links above.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

Subscribe to the Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

Stitcher Radio

iTunes PlayerFM

Share the Love

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com.

________________________________________________________________________

Podcast Notes

All Kinds of People, All Kinds of Books

God is a God of variety.
There are all kinds of people, and God has had all kinds of books written for all kinds of people.
And, with that thought, here is the Historical Background of the day.

> Books have been written for many centuries but have not always been produced in the familiar form they are known today. If a book is defined as any written record of thoughts or acts, the production of books then goes back to a very early period in the history of civilization. The Sumerians produced written documents and primers on clay tablets as early as 2500 BC.¹

So, people have been writing just in general for twenty-five centuries before Jesus walked the earth.
Now, of course, so many of these written works were not Holy Spirit-inspired.
Many just wrote on their own.
A lot of stuff has been written in the name of and motivated by devils, demons, evil spirits.
You know, just a bunch of junk.
Works of the flesh, you can absolutely say.
But with the false, there is always the real.
The Lord has led many a person to write down His thoughts on a plethora of subjects.
Now, when I say ‘His thoughts,’ I mean that scripture has been studied, and revelation in answer to prayer has been given on those scriptures by the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever studied a portion of scripture and then asked the Lord what He meant by what you were reading?
And when the light dawned on your spirit, what did you do with that?
Did you teach it in a Sunday School or group class?
Or did you share it with friends and family?
What’s the difference between sharing it verbally and sharing it via the written page?
In some cases, He has spoken directly to His people in regards to the written page.
With some, He has told them to write down their personal experiences with Him.
Why is that?
Because He wanted someone else to learn about Him through the eyes of your experience.
You can learn about prayer; you could understand some things about faith, hope, and love through the lives of people who have walked out God’s will for their lives.

Philippians 2:12 (ESV) — 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Saint after saint — child of God after child of God has ‘worked out their salvation with fear and trembling.’
And, how they have done, it is the subject of many a good book.

Reading Holy Spirit Inspired Books: Write It Down

I am going to repeat it – God believes in books.
He believes in writing it down.
With that comes an admonition that I have been trying to get over to people for many years.
I have been pressing this for a long time, and I will keep on saying it because it’s right.
Christianity is always one generation away from extinction.
So, it’s vital to pass on the things of God to those coming up after us.
Please, please hear these words and take them into your heart – it is so vitally crucial.
Someone’s life could depend on your obedience.
If the Spirit of God says something to you in your heart, take the time to write it down.
Shouldn’t you value His Words to you enough to write them down?
Do you want to show the Lord that you highly esteem the Words of His mouth?

Isaiah 66:2 (ESV) — 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

The word ‘trembles’ in the phrase ‘trembles at my Word’ is the one we want to look at, and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Hebrew word trembles’ means to be in awe or reverence at the Word of God.
It means to be frightened or anxious about the Word.
Now, that takes a bit of explanation because we have plenty of Bible that encourages us not to fear and be full of anxiety.
What this Hebrew word communicates to us is that when it comes to the very words of God, there should be in us such carefulness to obey it – such a concern that we might miss it that it borders on fear and anxiety.
That’s trembling at the Word.
Now, when the Lord speaks to you, and you don’t take the time to write it down, what do you think?
Are you properly in awe of what He said to you?
Notice also in this verse in Isaiah 66 that there is a connection to humility.
Being in awe of His Word, being careful to write it down, to make sure that you obey, to make sure you got it just like He said it to you – taking that little bit of extra time is a sign of humility.
One way to demonstrate awe and humility is to take the time to record what He said.
Keep of journal of His sayings.
Put to paper His dealings with you.
Who knows?
He may say to you at some point to make a written record.
Now, there are other reasons to write down what He said or what He told you.
One is now you have a written record, and you can trace God’s dealings with you.
It is another way to help you to obey Him.
Has He ever told you to do something, and you forgot to do it?
Well, if you have a written record, you can easily go back and review what He said and see where you missed it.
And then, go ahead and adjust.
But, if you haven’t written it down and leave everything up to your fleeting memory, how does that help you work out your salvation?
Think about this also: once you have a written record, a collection of Spirit-inspired words, He may direct you at a future point to share His dealings with you in written form.
And, how much easier would that writing task be if you have all the details already written down in advance?
I am telling you, God believes in books.
Think ministry here.
Don’t just be selfish.
Always be reaching out in your heart for ways to communicate Him to others.
Renew your mind to the idea that there may be someone else that the Lord is trying to help through the words He inspires you to write.
You know, it’s never about you.
It’s about His grace flowing through you.

Write It Down Scriptures

Listen to these verses in the Bible where the Lord told someone to write it down.

Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV) — 2 And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

Jeremiah 30:2 (ESV) — 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.

Revelation 1:11 (ESV) — 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Exodus 17:14 (ESV) — 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

Isaiah 30:8 (ESV) — 8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.

So, the Lord told Habbakuk to write it.
He told Moses to write it down in a book.
The Lord commanded Jeremiah to write it down.
Then Isaiah and also John the Apostle.
Why did He have them write it down?
So, it can be read.
So, again write what the Lord told you down.

Reading Holy Spirit Inspired Biographical Books

Now, let’s talk about some of the different kinds of books that can aid your spiritual development.
Take, for example, biographies.
Great things can be learned from reading the biographies of exceptional Christians.
You know the Bible is full of biographical information.
What do we know about Abraham, for example?
What do we know about the Apostle Paul?
The fact that we know anything about Abraham or Paul is only because someone obeyed the prompting of their heart to write it down.
So, reading biographies of great or prominent Christians is a good godly thing to do.
You should read in this area.
You will learn some things about God while reading biographies of great Christians.
Two recent biographies I read that helped me were on Mother Teresa and Billy Graham.
They were tremendous.
Biographies will inspire you to some of the possibilities that are available in God.
Why? You can see God at work.
But, that is not the only thing you can see when reading a Holy Spirit-inspired biography.
You will also be able to see the dedication of these men through whom God worked wonders.
That picture will inspire you to examine your own degree of commitment and challenge you to bring up the level of your game.
You know there are multiple parts to every great move of God.
There is a God-ward side and a man-ward side.
Saying it another way, there is God’s part and man’s part.
Let’s bring this closer to home – there is your part and His part.
Now, your part is small compared to His part.
The Lord does all the heavy lifting.
God designed that His working in the earth is part of a family business.
He is the head of the family, and you are part of the business.
Now, you have to show up to work — you have to punch the clock.
You have to get after it.

Some Holy Spirit Inspired Biographical Books You Might consider Reading.

Here are some great Christians you might consider reading.

John G. Lake (1870-1935)

John G. Lake was a missionary to South Africa.
He walked away from a salary estimated into today’s market at over 1.25 million dollars a year to win people to Jesus.
He had some marvelous experiences in God.
They were so encouraging to my heart to read.
Did you know that God translated him in the Spirit realm much like He did Ezekiel?
John G. Lake saw explicit details concerning South Africa while he was praying here in America.
Some of what the Lord showed Him in the Spirit was so precise that he didn’t need a guide to take him around when he landed in South Africa.
He had already seen the land before he ever landed.
John G. Lake had a phenomenal healing ministry.
In a ten-year span, 250,000 people were healed.
But it wasn’t just people who were healed by God’s power that marked his ministry in South Africa.
One million people gave their hearts to Jesus in South Africa.
That on top of planting hundreds of churches and raising 1000 ministers.

Marie Woodworth Etter (1844-1924)

Her book, ‘A Diary of Signs and Wonders’ is a classic.
One of the most famous signs in her ministry was the trances that Maria herself would fall into hours at a time.
During some of these trances, she would often hold a pose of one hand pointing up to Heaven and one pointing down to Hell.
It is recorded that she once fell into a trance during mid-sentence and remained in a frozen position for three days.
During this time, all her bodily functions were suspended.
Men tried to move her but could not.
Thousands of people filled the building to look at her as they would a corpse at a funeral.
After three days, she suddenly picked up right where she left off and finished her sentence, and her sermon, like nothing, had ever happened!
Phenomenal.

David Brainerd (1718-1747)

An American missionary to Native Americans, specifically the Delaware Indians of New Jersey.
Brainerd was an intense prayer warrior to such an extent that he would literally sweat while praying, even while kneeling in the snow.
He prayed for a breakthrough among the Native Americans, and God’s power visited them mightily.
Here is a quote from his diary:

July 21, 1744, on hearing that the Native Americans were planning to hold an idolatrous feast and dance the next day, he spent a day and night in prayer. He writes: “This morning about nine I withdrew to the woods for prayer. I was in such anguish that when I rose from my knees I felt extremely weak and overcome, and the sweat ran down my face and body … I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. I continued in this frame all the evening and night.” The result of this season of prayer was that there was no idolatrous feast – it was cancelled and instead they were willing to listen to him preach the gospel an entire day, something completely unheard of among this group of people.

John Nelson (Praying) Hyde (1865-1912)

Missionary to Punjab (Pakistan and India).
Hyde was an intense person of prayer – in 1899, he started praying entire nights, a practice which continued for years.
In 1904, he shared, at a conference, a dream he had of one soul being saved every day.
A year later, there were 400 converts.
He came to be called “Praying Hyde” for his passionate prayers to reach lost souls.
He prayed so much that his heart had moved from its normal position (in the left) to the right.
He was known for the phrase that he uttered much while in prayer, “Give me souls, or I die.”

Robert Murray McChennye (1813-1843)

McChennye was a Scottish minister known for his deep piety.

Rees Howells (1879-1952)

He was a huge intercessor known for his intense prayer ministry during World War 2.
He would literally pray out some of the battles in advance. During the Battle of Britain, German warplanes with clear numerical air superiority suddenly turned and went home.

Evan Roberts (1878-1951)

Roberts was a catalyst of the Welsh Revival.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

Murray authored 240 books and was instrumental in the South African revival of 1860.

Charles Finney (1792-1875)

Known for how God used him to bring revival to America.
His revivals produced the greatest retention rate for salvations at over 80%.
In Finney’s revivals, converts got saved and stayed saved!
He was a man of deep prayer.
He started his day by routinely praying for 3 hours from 4-7 am.

Some Others:

Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947)
Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003)

Right Thinking Goes with Extraordinary Books

Thinking and books go together because what makes a book exceptional is exceptional thoughts.
A good book has good thoughts.
Great books have great thoughts.
You have to read books to glean great thoughts.
You cannot be effective for God and think junky thoughts.
Most people do not do their own thinking.
They parrot what other people have said.
They have a second-hand experience of God.
I want to challenge you today in this.
In fact, if I may go a bit further without trying to offend, push the envelope out some more if you will; let me challenge you this morning with this statement.
“Most Christians want their ministers or their teachers to…
- find God for them,
- access His things for them,
- pray His blessings down for them,
- usher His anointing’s in for them, and the most important thing…
- serve all that up in a nice tidy package in under an hour.
You read these biographies, and you will find out that is not how it is.
I challenge you today to do your own seeking of God.
Have a fresh, firsthand, continual experience with Him.
Stop being content with just having the correct doctrine.
And the most important thing.
Get over the time thing!

God Believes In Books and In You Reading Them

He inspired 66 of them to be written so that He may have an avenue of revealing Himself.
Here is something that may surprise you, the word ‘book’ is mentioned 165x in the Bible.
Which does away with the argument that has been proposed, ‘We do not need any books except the Bible.’
God, Himself, does not believe that.
Because He personally has books other than the Bible!

Malachi 3:16 (KJV) – 16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: And the LORD hearkened, and heard it, And a book of remembrance was written before him For them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Psalm 56:8 (ESV) – 8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

Smith Wigglesworth was one of these people in the early part of his ministry who did not believe in books.
In fact, young ministers who were trying to emulate the great man of God went home and burned their libraries.
But, a funny thing happened with him – someone went and collected a bunch of his sermons and published them into a book called – ‘Ever Increasing Faith’! Wigglesworth used the sales of that book to fund missionary outreaches.
He changed his tune on books later on.
Let’s clarify that we are not saying that all books are equal; they absolutely are not.
Books, simply, are one medium of communication.
If we do not need books, then we do not need CD’s, DVD’s, Christian television, or any other medium designed to communicate.
Let me close this point out by asking you a rather silly question just to make a point about God’s thinking about books.
Do you think that God inspired Guttenberg to make the printing press so that mankind might have access to porn and trashy novels?
You certainly could not think that God gave man this witty invention called ‘books’ so that atheists and God-haters would have a medium to express their opinions?
No, God inspired the creation of books that men may come to know God for themselves.

Acquiring Worthy Thinking from Books Means Reading Books Correctly

There is a way to read them correctly.
It starts first with finding books of quality.
How do you find it?

Start with the Right Kind of Book to Read!

You will not know God reading romance novels, New York Times Bestsellers, and epic sci-fi series.
You need to read Gid-centered Holy Spirit-inspired material.

Pick A Godly Author and Read their Books

There is a thinking that people need to read broadly.
I disagree – read narrowly, according to how you are led.
Read according to your purpose.
Pick your authors carefully, especially if you are young in the things of God.
Here is my personal line in the sand.
I read after people that are people of prayer.
You can build yourself up through the writings of spiritual people.
Prayer takes discipline and self-sacrifice
There is absolutely something tangible about the thoughts expressed by people that have spent a lot of time in God’s Presence.

While Reading a Book, Observe Your Spirit.

Galatians 3:3 (ESV)
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

If you want spiritual edification, do not read a book mentally or with your mind only.
What strikes your heart?
I can tell you from personal experience that God uses books to communicate, educate, and edify.
Look for it.
Look for something that registers in your heart.
Those things that register are what you preach or communicate.
When you do it this way, what you say will have an anointing on it.

Read with the Right Motive

Your motive should be to help someone else.
There is absolutely something wrong with the term that is popular today – self-help!
Self-help means it is all about you.
“Yes, but I have problems!”
You get involved with trying to help someone else, and God will get help to you.

For Those Who Say They Are Not Readers

I have heard people say;

I do not read because I am not a reader. No, I just don’t read books.

Let me try and help you with this
Someone told you a lie, and you believed it!
It is a lie because God wrote a book for you to read – the Bible!
That means you do like to read; you just have not found it out yet!
God did not write the Bible for people who just like to read; He wrote it for everybody.
So, you do enjoy reading books.
If you find the right author and read the right type of book and read it with the right motive, and you still do not like to read, then something is absolutely wrong with your spiritual experience!
Because at the very minimum…
The right author is God.
The right book is the Bible.
The right motive is the love of God.
If you cannot hook into these three things, something is very wrong with your experience.

Bible Truth and Giving Credit

People sometimes get confused here.
Here is the question, if you hear a Bible truth that is outstanding to you, should you give that person, minister, preacher credit for what you heard?
Like ‘You know I heard this from so and so….’
People get hung up on all kinds of things.
In reality, if you flounder about this, you will ALWAYS end up giving credit to the wrong person – 100% of the time!!!
The credit should go to the Holy Spirit – all of the time!
If a truth registered in your spirit from a book you were reading, it was not that author that put that truth there. It was the Spirit of truth.

Only the Holy Spirit Can Impart Truth.

John 16:13 (ESV) – 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

It is impossible (cannot be done) for a man to impart truth to your spirit.
Only the Spirit of God can impart truth.
If you could impart truth on your own, you would have had your relatives straightened out a long time ago!!!
If something dawns on your heart, it is the Holy Spirit who did it, and He should get the credit.
It was not the author of the book that did it.
It is not the speaker on the CD or the DVD or the minister or the Sunday School teacher that caused that truth to be real to you.

You Have Never Had An Original Thought In Your Life

Now, it may be original to you, but it is not true, to the bone, original.
Everything you have ever learned, you learned from someone else.
Every worthy thought strings back to God – every thought!
If you really want to get technical about this idea of giving credit, understand that your whole knowledge base is, in reality, a copyright infringement because everything you have ever learned, you learned from someone else.
If the Spirit of God deposited a truth in your heart, that truth is now your truth, not only that speaker’s truth!
Give the credit to God, and don’t get hung up over small things!

How to Study a Book of the Bible

__________
References:

Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Writing and Books,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2167. ↩