Almost forty years ago, we began sharing a simple but profound Bible truth with preachers and Christians in our Revival meetings.  It was a principle that the blessed Holy Spirit showed me in the Word of God.  Many have testified of the written Word becoming the Living Word.  It has transformed the reading and understanding of their Bibles as well as their lives. 

Truthfully, they...and you...will discover a new love and appreciation for the Word of God.  Instead of having to force yourself to read your Bible, you will increasingly find it difficult to put down.  Even better, you will discover that the written Word made living by the blessed Holy Spirit produces an intimate fellowship with the Dear Lord Jesus Christ greater than anything you have ever known.

Though it is impossible to adequately describe what an unbelievable joy and privilege this is, maybe this idea will help you understand what a great benefit and blessing it really is.  This is how we fellowship with the Dear Lord Jesus Christ, when the written Word comes alive.

THERE'S MORE

In II Corinthians 4:18 we read, "But we all (who are saved), with open face (unveiled, without preconceived notions or ideas) beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord (a mirror, also the Word of God), are changed into the same image (of Christ), from glory to glory, (How?) even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (Notes by Dr. Dunn)

As we fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God made living by the Holy Spirit, He is also slowly, but surely, performing something wonderful and miraculous within us.  Literally, He is forming Christ in us a little at a time as we read our Bibles.  This is how we become more like Christ on a daily basis.

Remember what Paul said, by the Holy Spirit, to the Galatian Christians in Chapter 4 Verse 19, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until CHRIST BE FORMED IN YOU."  (Emphasis by Dr. Dunn)

In Colossians 1:27B, Paul tells us, "...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (for God)."  Unless Christ is being formed in us, we cannot begin to bring glory to our Father in Heaven as we should.  Not only that, John 12:21 records, "Sir, we would see Jesus."

People need to see Christ in us...instead of just seeing us.  But, that will be impossible if we are not filling our hearts and minds daily with the written Word being made a Living Word to and in us by the Holy Spirit.  Believe this, just reading your Bible with human reasoning is not enough.  Studying your Bible intellectually, even knowing Hebrew and Greek, will not give life to your witnessing, preaching, or teaching...much less power.  We must have Christ formed in us or folks will only see us...not the Lord. 

It is not possible to hurry God's process of spiritual growth.  But, we can slow it down.  How?  By simply closing our Bibles or spending too little time on our knees in the Word of God.  Most don't even know how or what to pray before they start reading their Bibles. Let us help you with that now. 

How I Study My Bible
BY EVANGELIST DARRELL DUNN

  Having been an Evangelist for over forty-three (43) years, I have often been asked the question, "Brother Dunn, how do you study your Bible?"  The first thought that always comes to my mind is how Evangelist Lester Roloff, now with the Lord in Heaven, answered that same question when asked by a lady in one of his meetings.  "Lady," he said, "I don't study my Bible...I just read it...and it studies me.!"

I not only enjoyed hearing Brother Roloff tell that story, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and the idea behind it.  Basically, like Brother Roloff, I just read it and ask the Holy Spirit to make it come alive for me.  But, please don't understand me, I am not suggesting that it is wrong to learn or at least to study Hebrew and/or Greek, which are the languages of the Old and New Testaments.  Also, studying books; taking classes; and using other helps...such as we are laboring to share with you, the average Christian or Preacher, are helpful and good as long as they are scriptural.  Thus, the spiritual truth I want to share with you is both scriptural and very beneficial.  But, few Christians and Preachers even know it. 

I graduated from Tennessee Temple Bible School in 1963, with a three (3) year diploma known as the Graduate of Theology or a Th.G.  Due to financial difficulties, it took me four (4) years to earn this three (3) year diploma!  Years later, when I was asked several times a year to speak in Tennessee Temple's daily Chapel services, Dr. Lee Roberson, the President of TTS...and my Pastor...would tell me before I spoke, "Brother Dunn, be sure to tell the students and the faculty that you are a graduate of the Bible School.  It will help deflate some of the pride of the College and Seminary Students...and encourage the Bible School students."  And, it always did!

HOW I STUDY

  What I did, and have done for almost forty (40) years after the Lord taught it to me, is so simple that any Christian or Preacher can understand it as well as immediately being able to put it into practice.  We call it  "making the spiritual simple understanding and practical."

PREACHERS I HAVE KNOWN

   It is astonishing to me that this amazingly simple spiritual principle has been overlooked and kept a secret from so many Preachers and Christians for so many years.  I remember one well known Pastor of a very large Church having had this secret revealed to him by the blessed Holy Spirit after pastoring the same Church for over thirty (30) years!

Another well known Preacher in great demand for the conference circuit, testified of just having come to know the fullness of the Holy Spirit after preaching for more than thirty-five (35) years throughout America.  Finally, a great, well known Bible Teacher learned of and experienced the filling of the Spirit after teaching throughout our Nation and authoring many books for forty (40) years.  As Dr. Bill Rice, who taught me everything I knew about being an Evangelist and helped me get started in holding Revivals, would say about any Spirit-filled Preacher, "The breath of God was obviously UPON him!"  And, everyone that knew it rejoiced to hear him.

"IT'S TOO LATE!"

I can't tell you the great number of times Pastors, Evangelists, Missionaries and other full time Christian workers have personally said to me...even with tears..."it's too late for me." Or, "I'm too old to be Spirit-filled."  Some have said, "I have wasted too many years already.  So what does it matter anymore."  May our God have mercy on anyone who thinks or talks like that.  Believe this!!  It is never too late to be Spirit-filled!! Or to learn the Bible method for studying God's Word.

When we come to the study of "How" to be Spirit-filled, we will answer all your questions; expose the deceptive beliefs and teachings about it; and show you six ways to be "filled" with the Spirit, which will unlocks the secrets of the Spirit-filled life.  This, too, will be simple, understandable and practical.

A SERIOUS PROBLEM

   There is one other problem I believe I need to address about being filled with the Spirit.  And that concerns the commonly accepted false teaching and belief that what happened on the Day of Pentecost was nothing more than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, rather than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit UPON the one hundred twenty men and women gathered together in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.  This is commonly accepted today by a great many Preachers and Christians.  But...it is wrong!!

PENTECOST...IN OR UPON?

In Acts 1:8 we read, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come UPON you:  and ye shall be witnesses unto me."

Here Jesus is instructing His disciples, and any others who wanted POWER to witness and win souls to Christ what would happen to them if they would obey His command to..."not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father..." (Acts 1:14)  They would "receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come UPON you."  (Acts 1:8a)

What was the promise of the Father?  It is found in Luke 24:49, "And behold, I send the promise of my Father UPON you:  but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem UNTIL YE BE ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH."  What was the Father's promise?  POWER UPON THEM!  Not the Holy Spirit "indwelling" them.  The proof of what happened to these one hundred and twenty men and women was the POWER they received UPON them...all of them!  (Acts 2:1-4)

This was not the "indwelling" of the Holy Spirit.  That took place on Sunday evening, the day Jesus rose from the dead as recorded in John 20:19-22.  Listen to what Jesus said in verse 21.  "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you (not Power UPON you!):  as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."

  How did the Father send Jesus to the world?  The answer is simple.  He sent Him with Power!  In John 3:34 we read, "For He (Jesus) whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:  for God giveth not the Spirit BY MEASURE unto Him (Jesus)."
     God gave Jesus "ALL POWER in Heaven and earth!"  (Matthew 28:18)  To all who do eventually get filled with the Holy Spirit, our Father in Heaven has to "measure" Him out UPON us a little at a time until we prove we can be trusted to let Him work through and for us...instead of us trying to "use" the Holy Spirit for our own purposes and plans.  But, the Father obviously wants us to have POWER UPON us through the filling of the blessed Holy Spirit.  And, that is for every Christian...not just for Preachers.

THE BREATH OF GOD

Looking back at John 21:22, we read, "and when He (Jesus) had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit."

Receive the Holy Ghost where?  "Within" or "upon" all those in that "locked house for fear of the Jews."...as well as every believer in Christ wherever they were in that house or not.  I am convinced by the blessed Holy Spirit who lives "within" and is also "upon"me as of two (2) minutes past midnight the early morning of August 27, 1969, in an upper bedroom in Lyons, New York, while holding an area-wide Tent Meeting sponsored by several Churches...that this, in John 20:22, was the "indwelling", rather than what took place on the Day of Pentecost...which was the filling of the Holy Spirit "upon" them, thus receiving Power as promised by the Father and sent by our dear Lord Jesus.

GOD BREATHED LIFE

There is another instance where God "breathed" in the Bible.  In Genesis 2:7 we find, "and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man (one man...Adam) became a living soul."

Here God breathed into the nostrils of Adam and he became a living soul.  In John 20: 21 and 22, Jesus breathed on them and literally on every one everywhere who was a believer on Jesus Christ!  This made them, and all who would be saved after that, living souls, indwelt by the Holy Spirit until the day of our redemption, which will take place at the Rapture, when we are changed, caught up, and made like Christ perfectly forever.

THE SCRIPTURES FULFILLED!

The Apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 15:45, helps us understand what really took place that Sunday evening after our risen Saviour "breathed on " those in that house...one for all Christians everywhere.  Listen to this beautiful declaration of truth in I Cor. 15:45.  "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul (when God breathed into Adam's nostrils); the last Adam (Jesus Christ) was made a QUICKENING SPIRIT (a life-giving spirit)."

Here is what happened when the dear Lord Jesus "breathed on" them...they all "received the Holy Ghost."  From that moment forward, He, the Holy Spirit, would dwell (live) in them until the Day of Redemption.  This, which is recorded in John 20:22, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" was the beginning of the indwelling of the blessed Spirit of God in the bodies of all believers.

From that day until Jesus comes, the instant an unsaved person repents crying out to God to have mercy on them; asking Him to forgive them of their sins, asking Jesus to come into their heart and save them; would also have the Holy Spirit of God come to live in their body and remain there until the Day of Redemption, which is the Rapture...the next thing to take place on God's calendar of events for the future.  This was and still is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!

ONE LAST THING

    If...and that is a big "IF"...if what happened on the Day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, rather than His coming UPON men and women to be their power for witnessing, preaching, teaching, singing and Christian service of all kinds, then I have but one question and example for you.  However, I first need to point out an important truth about Pastors or Bishops, as well as Preachers and Teachers.

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN?

I'm sure you understand that according to I Timothy 3:1, 2a and 2:12, women are not to be pastors, elders or bishops and/or teachers of man.  Paul, by the Holy Spirit, says a bishop or pastor must be a "man" and the husband of one wife...not the wife of one husband!  Sad to say, today almost anyone or anything can be a pastor, preacher and teacher of men.  But...God is against it!  Now, let's get back to our question and example.

WHAT ABOUT PAUL?

The most graphic example and question to ask yourself to determine whether or not being indwelt and being filled are the same thing, and even happen at the same time, is to answer the question..."What about the Apostle Paul?"  Did he (and all we who are saved) get all of the Power of the Holy Spirit we would ever need for witnessing and Christian service at the same instant that we got saved?  At that instant, we were made alive by the same "quickening spirit" who came to live in our body, sealing us with Himself until the Day of our Redemption.  But, does the filling with the Holy Spirit take place at the same time?  Let's find the answer to that important question.

ACTS 9:1-31

As you know, Saul...later known as Paul the Apostle, was saved on the road to Damascus, Syria.  If being "indwelt" and "filled" with the Spirit are one and the same...then the instant he got saved on the Damascus road he was "filled" as well as "indwelt" at the same instant he got saved.  Right?  NO!!!  That is not right!  Let's see what the scriptures have to say.

THREE DAYS LATER!

  In Acts 9:8,9 we find that Saul...now saved...had a three day problem, if what many Preachers and Christians believe is true.  Listen to the Scriptures:

"And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man:  but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.  And he was THREE DAYS without sight, and neither did eat nor drink."

What was he doing those three days?  The last phrase of Acts 9:11 completes the picture, "behold he prayeth."  He was fasting and praying!  He was waiting on the Lord.

Was Saul really saved?  Of course he was!  In Acts 9:17b, Ananias, obeying the Lord, went to see Saul and called him Brother Saul.  Without a doubt, Saul had gotten saved on the Damascus Road.  Not only that, Saul also got his sight back.  But, that is not all he got!  Look what God's Word says in Acts 9:17b.  Ananias went on to say:

    "...Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, AND BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST."

  Wait a minute!  Did you see it?  Saul, later called Paul, wasn't filled with the Holy Sprit until three (3) days after he got saved!  Bless his heart, the man that probably became the greatest Christian in the New Testament was short-changed!  He had to fast and pray while waiting for three (3) whole days to be Spirit-filled.  What a shame!

HERE'S THE POINT

I'm sure you realize that I'm joking.  But, I'm dead serious when I say that being "indwelt" and "filled" with the Holy Spirit are not the same!  And, they don't both happen at the instant a person gets saved!  Being "indwelt" is automatic and happens the instant you got saved whether you were aware of it or not.  However, all born-again Christians...people who are already saved...are commanded to be "filled" with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).  Every Christian, every day, should be praying and begging the Father to "fill" them with the blessed Holy Spirit...even with great crying and tears at various times.  Simply refuse to quit praying and be to be denied a Spirit-filled life!

NOT LIKE PAUL

Unlike the Apostle Paul, due to my complete ignorance of how to be filled with the Spirit, I had been a full-time Evangelist for over six (6) years before I was filled for the first time on August 27, 1969.  There is an initial first filling and many re-fillings, called "fresh oil" in Psalms 92:10b, that are needed and necessary after that.  I call that first one a crisis experience, because it is so real, and often dramatic, that it is impossible to ever forget it!

To be honest, being filled with the Spirit was more glorious than my salvation experience.  And, that is saying a lot.  Because I was saved at the age of thirteen (13) under the preaching of Dr. J. Harold Smith during a Prophecy Conference.  With great tears and crying, I ran down the center aisle, narrowed by folding chairs on each side of the pews.  I was so gloriously saved...along with seventy (70) others, that I have never had even one doubt about my salvation in fifty-three (53) years of being a born-again Christian!  (Read my testimony on this same website).

As glorious as my salvation experience was, the experience of being first filled and re-filled hundreds of times over the last thirty-eight (28) years has been even more glorious.  If for no other reason, it's almost like getting saved over and over again with each re-filling.  The phrase "...job unspeakable and full of glory" in I Peter 1:8b pretty well describes it.  A variety of wonderful experiences usually accompany each re-filling, many of which are described in the Word of God.  But, we will discuss those later when we teach, "How to be filled with the Holy Spirit."

HOW I STUDY

  Let's get back to how I study my Bible.  For the time being, let me simply state that I exclusively use a King James Version and an old Scofield Reference Bible.  At a later time, we will go into greater detail as to why that is true.  If you have a question that can't wait, E-Mail us and we will briefly answer.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

  First of all, let me encourage you to begin reading your Bible at the beginning.  Whether you start in Genesis 1:1 or Matthew 1:1 will be left up to you.  As a new Christian or one that has never read through the entire Bible, you may want and even need to read through the New Testament first.  Start in Matthew 1:1 and read through the entire New Testament in the shortest time possible.  Set aside a special time and place where you will have the least number of disturbances and/or distractions.  To find time, you may need to give up some TV time; newspapers, magazines or book reading that is not going to help you grow spiritually anyway.  I would also recommend that you give Bible reading one hour daily five or six days of each week.  Sunday is a very busy day for Christians who are faithful to the services of their local Church morning and evening.  And, every Christian ought to be faithful to all of the services, Revival meetings, Conferences, Visitation and ministries of their Church.  They should support all of it with their tithe, time and talents as well as by bodily presence.  Plus, on Sundays you will hear preaching and teaching of the Word of God that will help you grow in the Lord.  If not, find a Church that does preach and teach the Word of God in an obedient, scriptural way, and that also cares whether people go to hell and is constantly working at winning souls...laboring to bring them to the dear Lord Jesus Christ.

If we can help you find a Church like that in your area, please E-Mail us.  We know of many good, Godly Churches all over America and many countries of the World.  We would be happy to help when possible.

JUST FOR YOU

For most Christians, we would recommend and encourage you to begin reading in Genesis 1:1 and read through your Bible in the shortest time possible.  Whether you are a new Christian or not, don't hop, skip and jump around!  You wouldn't read a regular book like that.  So, why would you do that with the Word of God?

Start at the beginning and read straight through that book.  Start the next book and read straight through it.  Read it all, every chapter, every verse, every word, all the way through in the shortest time possible...giving as much daily time as you possible can on a day by day basis.  Prove to the Lord that you value and love His Word with all your heart.

By the way, you will literally fall more in love with the Word of God...and the dear Lord Jesus...the more consistently and faithfully you fill your heart, mind and soul with it!  Be faithful to read it.  You will be glad you did.

NEWBORN BABES

The Bible, the Holy Scriptures, are written for and to all groups and levels of Christians.  Parts of it are for "newborn babes" or babies...people who are newly saved.  (I Peter 2:2)  "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby:"

Unless you feed regularly on the "milk" of the Word you will not grow as God, our Father in Heaven, intended and still desires for you.  The milk of the Word of God comes from simply reading your Bible.  You first need to know "what" it says.

You don't have to understand it all...because you won't and can't.  So, don't even try.  Just read and enjoy it, rejoicing in the parts and truths that talk about salvation and being born again.  Never forget that you are reading the actual Word of the only living and true God...our Savour and Lord...Jesus Christ!

Click on PRAYER Button to find other Practical Bible Prayers that may be of real help to you as well.