How to Enjoy the Bible Camp '70 (Session 1)
Format: pdf
Publication Date: 1970
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
Dr. Wierwille taught the first class on Power for Abundant Living in 1953.
Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
Opening, Prayer
(1Th 4:15, 16)
Mat 15:1-3, 6; (Joh 17:17); Psa 138:2; 1Sa 2:35; 3:1;
1Sa 3:1-11; 1Co 14:5, 37; Jer 15:16
Jer 15:16; Psa 119:162; Mat 4:4; (2Ti 2:15); Act 8:26-31, 35
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[Prayer]—Only You could bring a group of people together like this, only You God could touch our hearts to call us out of a world like we live in, in this day and time and hour when we are so surrounded by so much darkness and bring us together for one wonderful week to fellowship. And how our hearts thrill tonight Father, that You have seen fit in Your infinite mercy and love to so unite our hearts that our minds stand as one upon the greatness and magnificence of Your Word. And Father, I surely thank you for the privilege again of teaching Your Word, of helping people to understand it in a greater abundance. And may we just rise to the mountain top of the abundance of the presence of Your power. May every need be met among every camper and may the power and the greatness of Your holy spirit be manifested among us through Christ Jesus.
This is a Family Camp on How to Enjoy the Bible. I waited for about ten years to have a Family Camp on How to Enjoy the Bible and here it is, and it’s like a dream. We’re into the Word of God so much, we teach it so often that we seldom take time to dig out some of the in-depth things for our people on really how to enjoy the Bible, with a capital H-O-W. And this year, I will do both the teachings in both the morning and the evening. When I originally planned for this camp I had not anticipated doing this because I had invited our good friend Bishop K.C. Pillai to have one of the sessions each day. But as all of you know our brother K.C. Pillai is awaiting the Lord’s return and as the Scripture says: the dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air so we shall ever be with the Lord.
This is literally a family camp. These Family Camps have been a real inspiration to people through these years, because we were rather ahead of our time. It’s only been within the last two or three years that the national camp meetings (that some of our people attend) have indicated a desire and an urgency to move from the split camps to the family camps. In other words they are getting away from their teenager camps, their youth camps, their children camps, their husband and wife camps, to the family. Well, if they asked us fifteen or twelve years ago, we would have told them which way to go, but they didn’t ask us. So we just went that way anyway. And here God has been blessing our people in a wonderful family way. And here again at this camp, we have husband and wife and children making up the family and that’s wonderful. We have individuals. Individuals often wonder why, they are a part of the family camp. Well, it’s very simple because as a united body we make a family. We are all together here for this week and we are a bigger family. There are individual families but all together we make a family.
Why a family camp? Because first of all we believe that the family is the unit where the Word has to begin. Begins with the individual in the family and from the family it permeates our society. And therefore it’s the Word that has to live at the Family Camp. Now, in order to make this Word living and real we have to do a lot of things. Everything
here is designed to help to get the Word to our people. Now, if you are the camper here for the first time you may wonder why Dorothy gets that alligator to eat that woman. I guess it’s to get the alligator used to eating something stronger when it gets to the Word or something; I don’t know. But we just do so many different things and I haven’t quite figured it all out but I can tell you this, everything has for the in-depth greatness of being able to receive the Word. And we believe that if you really love the Lord Jesus Christ and have his Word, you can really enjoy life. You can live on par with what God designed us to live. In other words, you’re not beat down, you’re not frustrated, you’re not full of worry, fears and anxiety, but that God is a present living reality because of the greatness of His Word. And therefore the whole thing, everything we do is always geared—from the time the meeting of the pilot counsel all the way through with our campers and all the program is all designed for one thing only and that is to get the greatness of God’s Word into your heart and life. And you, in turn, utilizing it back in the communities which you represent. We have this camp tied together in three remarkable ways; among the adults, among the young people and the children. The children of course at this particular moment are in their own part of the program. But the part of the program that they are carrying out there is totally coordinated with what we are doing here. And we just keep building this great synthesis between children, young people and adults. And it’s a tremendous thing to be able to take this many people including all of the children that are here and to develop out of this like a great wedge of the power of God that just moves down across our country with the greatness of God’s Word.
In this camp on How to Enjoy the Bible, it perhaps is needless for me to say, but I should say it again just for the record—that in our day and in our time and in our hour the so called Christians scarcely have a conviction that they can call their own. About every conviction that every Christian has today he holds because of what somebody said and not because he can go to God’s Word and let the Word of God literally show it to him. When an individual has a low condition of bodily health, that condition may be attributed basically to only two things, either they are having no food whatsoever or they are having inferior food. Now, the reason we are having such a spiritual dearth in our time is because most people just have no spiritual food whatsoever and for the rest of them it’s mostly inferior food. And we are evidencing, we are manifesting this whole thing in our life. You see in the gospel of Matthew, I would like for you to take your Bibles and turn to it, in Matthew 15.
Matthew 15:1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees,…
These were the top leaders, the highest men in the echelon, and they said:
Matthew 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?...
Now, the only reason the elders have traditions is because something has been followed over a period of time and it has become solidified, perhaps fossilized, and then it is established as a tradition. And these heads of the temple in Jerusalem, these leaders, came to Jesus and they said why do your disciples if you are such a religious man and you say that you are God’s son, and you are to be obedient, why then do you get your disciples to transgress the traditions of the elders of the synagogue of the temple. Andlook at the tradition that they were transgressing.
Matthew 15:2b
…for they wash not their hands when they eat [what?] bread.
Isn’t that tremendous. The poor fellows just forgot their ivory or something. They just didn’t wash their hands. But it had become a tradition that before you would eat bread there was just a certain method that you had to employ, a certain type of vessel had to be used for the washing of the hands, you couldn’t wash your hands in another type of vessel. ‘They wash not their hands when they eat bread.’
Matthew 15:3
But he [Jesus] answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of [what?] God by your [what?] tradition?
Jesus said to those religious leaders that their traditions were contrary to God’s commandments. And by their keeping of their traditions they were transgressing the commandments of God. Now, you have only two things to ask yourself in your mind. Are the commandments of God the most important or the traditions of men? That’s all.
And he says in verse 6:
Matthew 15:6
…Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your [what?] tradition.
That scripture is as applicable today as it was in the day when Jesus Christ spoke to those scribes and Pharisees. The Bible is not understood today. Therefore it is not enjoyed. If you are going to enjoy the Bible you have to be able to understand it. The reason that it is not understood, basically, is that it has been made of non-effect by the traditions of men. You know it says in Samuel, some place in Samuel (I forget where now), it says about these men who put tradition above the Word of God. It says that they make the Lord’s people to transgress. It’s in Samuel. They make the Lord’s people to transgress. And the reason the Lord’s people are being made to transgress is because of the doctrines and the traditions of man. The Bible is not enjoyed today because it is not understood. And it is not understood because we have become so engulfed in our day and time in the traditions that we never go back to be able to read the Word. That’s why I began by saying that there is scarcely a Christian today who has the conviction on the accuracy of God’s Word which he can call his own. In this camp, as well as in our lives when we leave the camp, we are going to have to learn that we must leave these stagnant pools of tradition. And we are going to have to return to the fountain head of truth and John 17:17 says that “thy word is truth”, that’s the fountain head. In Psalms 138:2 – familiar to every grad of the Foundational class, the Word says that He has magnified his Word above all His, what? Name. Right. In I Samuel 3, take a look at it. Back in the 2nd chapter in the 35th verse he says:
I Samuel 2:35
And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever.
And he gets to chapter 3, verse 1, and it says:
I Samuel 3:1
…the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli….
He ministered unto the LORD simply in that he ministered to Eli. He brought Eli, his tea, and coffee, carried his books, brought him his writing pad, filed his briefs for him.
I Samuel 3:1 continued
…And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
The Word was precious, reminds us of a scripture we teach in the Foundational class. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is…” what? {…the death of all his saints.} He brings us the Word. The Word of the LORD was precious in those days. Eli was supposed to be the man of God. Eli had two sons who were priest in the temple. But those two sons had gone by the same thing we just read from Matthew, they had been engulfed with the traditions of their time, they lived just like everybody else. So, there was no knowledge of God’s Word. For if the men of God, so called, the priests, those who minister the Word don’t have the Word rightly divided the people can’t have it. Samuel came along and he began to minister to Eli, but the Word says that in those days that when Eli was still living, mind you, the Word of the LORD was precious. Meaning costly, because it’s so rare, it’s so difficult to find. That’s why the Word was precious in those days. There was no open vision, no revelation of the Word. Because there were no men of God, they had to receive the Word. Eli couldn’t hear with either one of his ear balls basically. And his sons hadn’t heard for years. It reminds me of the book of Malachi. For 400 years before the coming of the lord Jesus Christ, there wasn’t a prophet here. Not a man of God in the whole world. Because to have a man of God there has to be one who believes. Satan gets his men by possession. The true God can only get a man of God when somebody rises up to believe. Because the true God never possesses, that’s why the true God has a long row to hoe sometimes.
Somebody wrote in a letter to me and I mentioned two weeks ago, I think on a Sunday night, that they had mentioned and used the title “A Lonesome God.” And I thought that’s beautiful. A lonesome God, because the true God wants to be worshipped. He wants to be loved but the true God can only be worshipped and loved when we worship Him in spirit and truth and He finds men and women who will believe Him. Satan gets worshipped by possession, by control, by oppression, everything else. There was no open vision, no Word; the Word was precious, costly. And it’s like that in our day and in our time. Man, to find the Word of God, to really find the Word is real tough for the most part today in any community you represent. Oh I know what some of you are thinking, you belong to some of the greatest churches in the world. I’ll bet you can’t put 40% of the Word of God together accurately. Because I know what “cemeteries” they came out of, I know what their religious background is. They’re not concerned about putting the Word together; they are only concerned about putting the Word together as it fits and what they already believe. And that’s not honest, that’s as faking as the traditions of the elders that the Lord was talking about. Man, if you’re going to do God’s Word just split out on the rest of the baloney and come to God’s Word and let it speak. How in the world can a man tell me he believes God’s Word is God’s will when they don’t even speak in tongues? Because it says in I Corinthians 14: I would you all speak in tongues,
then it says this is a commandment of, what? {the LORD.} My, man, people we ought to jump. We ought to jump, spiritually, if he says it’s a commandment of, what? {the LORD.} Then it can’t be the tradition of the elders. The tradition is just the opposite. That’s it. And tradition does nothing but engulf, enslave, entwine and beat the blazes out of us. It’s the Word of God that sets men and women free. And it’s a wonderful time to live if you got any guts, any intestinal fortitude, any courage to stand. Because if you believe God, God will give you that Word, He will have to. Let’s read some more, I tell you, this stuff is terrific.
I Samuel 3:1b-3
…the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision [not Word, no light].
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place [this must have been a siesta or rest or something], and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
That the LORD, the LORD called Samuel, and he Samuel answered, “Here am I.” And where did he run to? Just like I used to be, that’s right. I’d work the Word of God, I would see something then I would run back to Princeton to my professors. Then I would go to the University of Chicago, then I made a tremendously wonderful discovery when I went to the heads of my denomination. And I’d run over to see my Baptist friend. I understand this because I was just as stupid as Samuel was. Samuel went to Eli. Eli was his superior. He thought: Eli is the man who ought to know. Eli is the fellow who is calling me therefore I have to go see him. So, he goes over and sees Eli.
I Samuel 3:5b, 6
…And [Eli] said, I called [thee] not; [go back down to sleep] lie down again. And he went and lay down.
And the LORD called yet…Samuel, [Samuel]. And Samuel arose…
And for the second time he does what? {went to Eli.} I’d get light on the Word of God then I would run again. Then I would get discouraged come back, then I’d get light and run again, till finally I got tired of running. You will see he gets tired of running too. If we’re going to run we’re going to run in the other direction.
I Samuel 3:6b, 7
…and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
That doesn’t mean that he didn’t love the LORD. To know him is to be instructed in the Word that you can receive revelation: word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning spirits, faith, miracle, healing. Today in our time from the book of Acts, day of Pentecost on, it would be to speak in tongues, interpret, prophecy. All of that is in the Bible. He hadn’t been instructed, hadn’t been taught fully. That’s a wonderful verse, then verse 8.
I Samuel 3:8
And the LORD called Samuel again the third time [Samuel]. And he [Samuel] arose and went to Eli, and said, here am I; for thou didst [really, you called me].
And finally, finally, Eli makes the smartest statement he has made in years.
I Samuel 3:8 continued
And Eli perceived that the LORD [must be calling] the child.
It finally dawned on old Eli, maybe the Lord was beginning to talk to Samuel.
I Samuel 3:9, 10a
Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the LORD came, and stood,…
The LORD came and sat down? No! The LORD came and, what? {stood.} And whenever the Lord stands it’s time to move. Whenever is completely complete He does what? {sits.} But when God finds a man of God who is going to believe, God stands. And God in His foreknowledge knew that Samuel believed and that’s why the Word said and the Lord stood. That’s right.
I Samuel 3:10
And the LORD came, and [the LORD] stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant [what?] heareth.
Oh glory! Isn’t that something? Speak, speak who? Tradition, elders? No, who? The LORD. For thy servant, what? Heareth. Man when we get to that place that we say, “LORD speak for I your servant to my fellow man, I am willing to listen and I will carry out your orders.” I want to tell you God will stand again. Speak for thy servant, what? Heareth. Isn’t it a wonderful day? To live when we can hear. Boy oh boy. And to be able to again know the Word of the LORD. Speak for thy servant, what? Heareth. Man oh man.
I Samuel 3:11
And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
They are going to get a ringing in their ears. Do you know why? Because the Word is going to live. And boy when the Word of the Lord lives it blows your ear balls. It gets you tingling on the inside, it turns you on. I don’t know what words you can use but it’s just the greatest that God has. You know what He said in Jeremiah, you all know it, at least those of you who have been digging the Word, in Jeremiah 15:16.
Jeremiah 15:16
Thy word was found and I did [what?] eat it;…
—The word was what? It was lost, that’s why they finally found it. It’s like Samuel’s day, there was no Word. The Word was precious, costly; like between Malachi and Christ, no Word. Then one day there was the Word and when that Word was found he did eat it and the Word was the joy and rejoicing of his, what? {heart.} That’s right. The Word, not tradition, not custom; the Word, the Word and nothing but the Word. And the Word was the joy and rejoicing of his heart. And joy is an inside deal and when you joy and you joy and you joy you are rejoicing. Because rejoicing is joy, joy, joy, joy, joy. That’s rejoicing. That’s right. He ate it; he ate it. He ate it, which means he assimilated it, he digested it. Speak the Word for thy servant heareth. He digested it. A man could hear the Word and it could go clean through. That’s not hearing. He rejoiced as they found the Word, he ate it. He ate it. It doesn’t mean that he chewed on the book, but he assimilated the Word. He believed that the Word of God was, what? The will of God that it meant what it said and said what it meant, that’s right. In Psalm 119:162, a very familiar verse where it says: I rejoice at thy word as one who finds great [what?] treasure. That’s right. They rejoice at it and always remember that to rejoice you have to joy first. It’s not a one-time deal, it’s an in depth move, where he said, “I rejoice at thy word.” Rejoice at the Word and that’s why you’re here at camp.
You are not here at camp because I look so pretty or because our staff is so handsome or because we’re so loving. You are here two reasons. Number one is God has his hand on you and number two you want to hear the Word. The Word is the joy and rejoicing of your heart. That’s why you are here. The Word, the Word, the Word – is the joy and rejoicing of our hearts. Remember in Matthew 4:4 it says that man shall not live by what? {Bread alone.} But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Again, it’s what? The Word, the Word, the Word. Man shall not live by bread alone but by the Word. And people you can’t live by the Word until you first hear it. And it’s not just a matter of hearing, it is a matter of hearing that Word rightly divided as II Timothy says. And that word is called in the Word the word of truth. But we only have the true Word in the proportion and to the extent that it is rightly divided. That wonderful matchless Word is the word of truth and it is that Word which is the joy and rejoicing of our heart, it is that Word that sets men and women free.
In Acts 8 a man had been at the tradition place, he had been to the great temple in the city of Jerusalem where all the traditions were being accurately observed. The hand washing, the foot washing, the dipping, all the rest of it, counting their beads at the right place at the right time I suppose, having flowers on the altar at the right place, or having the microphones all just set perfectly. He had been at that great religious center. But somehow or another, he again like most men had left empty. Let me read it to you. Some place around the 28th…verse 26.
Acts 8:26
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way...
See, he told Phillip to go to the way too, didn’t see that before. [LAUGHTER] Some place between Jerusalem and Gaza must be the way. It’s out there in the desert. Just like this little place [LAUGHTER].
Acts 8:27
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians,…
He was not an uneducated stupid ignoramus. He was a smart cookie; he had charge of all her treasure.
Acts 8:27b, 28, 29
…He had come to Jerusalem for to [what?] worship,
14 Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille
[But he was what?] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.
Then the Spirit [the spirit] said unto [what?] Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip said, “Three weeks from now, when I have time, I will go”? What does it say?
Acts 8:30
And Philip [what? And Philip what?] ran
Did you ever see that? He didn’t just perambulate, he didn’t just say, “I will take my time and walk over”.
The Lord said, “Go join in that chariot with that Ethiopian eunuch.” And when the Word of the Lord came to Philip, Philip didn’t argue about it, he didn’t fight about it, he didn’t even walk, the Word said he did 100 [yard dash] in 9.3 [seconds], he ran. Right. When we hear the Word of God what do we do? We evaluate it, “now let’s see, is that really the Word? Now, I wonder, I wonder if He answers prayer, if I pray today would I get it a year from now,” see? When you hear the Word – this is what I mean when I say in the class, “When God says jump you don’t ask how high, you just jump.” When the Lord says do something, you don’t ask Him how to do it, you just start doing it. For the moment you start doing it then the next door opens and the next door opens. When he said to old Phillip that fellow in the chariot, old Phillip turned it loose. And he ran, he ran, he ran – doesn’t say he was pushed. He ran by the freedom of his will, he had heard what the Lord wanted him to do and he ran. He heard him read from the Prophet Isaiah. And then Philip said to him:
Acts 8:30b
…Understandest thou what thou readest?
And this man was honest. And he was hungry, that’s why God sent Phillip all the way from Samaria down there to get this thing done.
Acts 8:31
And he said, how can I, except some man should [what?] guide me?
That’s right. How can we know the Word of God unless somebody teaches us the Word of God. But if you think you know the Word of God and don’t know the Word of God you are still not going to be taught. And people if it’s God’s Word, it will have to fit all the way through from Genesis to Revelation, every scripture will have to be God’s Word or none of it. Therefore if you got one scripture, or if you run into people across the country who even have one scripture that they can’t fit, they still need to be taught. Because if it’s God’s Word, it will fit all the way through. How can I except some man guide me or teach me. And then he also made a wonderful statement.
Acts 8:31b
…And he desired [he implored] Philip that he should come up and sit with him.
And do you know what Philip did, verse 35? It said Philip opened his what? {mouth.} That’s right. He witnessed, he talked. He did what I say he talked the walk and he walked the talk of the Word. He just opened his mouth and witnessed. He began at that same scripture that he had been reading from Isaiah and he preached Christ to him. He showed him the son of God who is the Word. It is Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the light, and no man come unto the Father except by him. Well, bless God, if they’re not going to get there except by him and you and I have that Word, then we got to hold it fast, we got to hold it forth with all the strength and all the power we have got. And all we do is just witness, we just talk, the greatness of the Word. And that’s why this wonderful camp on how to enjoy the Bible is simply designed to give you those wonderful little keys and to help you with the greatness of this wonderful Word, which is so precious in our day and time that you may be God’s child to hold forth the greatness of it. That’s my prayer and that’s my desire for you.
[Prayer]—Our Father and our God, let this desire, this prayer of mine, for our people this week come into complete fruition because of the greatness of Your presence and power. And I thank you for Your love to each and every one of us, that your Word may again live in this day, time and hour because we believe Your Word. Amen