15 ways to take in the Word of God

15 ways to take in the Word of God

(This is a modified handout that was given to worshipers at the Journey Baptist worship service October 25, 2009. To hear the sermon that goes with it visit our website at www.journeybaptistchurch.com and listen to the sermon entitled "Yellow Belt", "The Sword of the Lord")

1) Read the Word devotionally. To be devoted to something is to be committed to it. Devotional reading of the Word of God is associated with the idea of reading the Word consistently and regularly. You will not always be able to study the Word deeply. It is okay to read the Bible to get a broad view of what it is saying. You learn and are inspired by the Bible when you study it and seek to understand every aspect of what is being said. You learn in a different way when you get the full story of the Bible. If you spend hours dissecting each word, gaining all of the history, context, and literature of the Bible; you may not ever read through the whole book! This would be a tragedy because the Bible is a gift in each word and phrase, but it is also a gift in the entirety of its message.

Reading devotionally is tough for people who are deep thinkers because they want to know the answer to everything they are reading at that moment. This is simply not possible! The scholars have studied the Scripture for their entire lives and the mysteries of God are still not all unraveled! Thank God He is bigger than our minds can comprehend. You will not understand everything. What sets this means of taking in the Word apart from the others is that you go to the Word out of your DEVOTION to God. You will not always feel like reading. You will not always come away with incredible insights that you didn’t have before. You will sometimes wonder if your reading mattered at all. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year your steady intake of the Word of God devotionally will change you, will armor you, will prepare you. The key to remember is devotion equals reading Gods word regularly!

2) Study the Word. Studying the Word of God is a means to take in the Word of God that is awesome. You will need to gather study helps so that you can properly understand the Word. It is appropriate to take advantage of men and women of God who have spent their lives taking in the Word of God and then giving their insights about it. Tools that will help you in this means include: A study Bible with notes, commentaries (scholars interpretation of the Scripture), different versions of the Bible, cross references (when the verses of similar text of Scripture are given so that you can see what the entire Bible has to say about a similar subject), Concordances (a tool that shows you the number of times a specific word is used in Scripture and the word in its original language). These are some basic tools. A good start is often just a study Bible and different versions of the Bible. Two internet sites that are helpful in Bible study and offer many of these tools are: www.biblegateway.com and www.crosswalk.com . These two websites alone will put more tools at your fingertips than what most people have ever had in the history of the church!

3) Listen to the Word of God. It is possible to listen to the Word of God audibly during the day. There are audio Bibles that can be purchased and listened to by cassette, cd, ipod, or you can listen at www.biblegateway.com. Listening is not the same as reading but it is another way to take in the Word that is helpful.

4) Listen to sermons and Bible teachers. It is important to listen to the Bible being taught by Christian leaders. This includes being at church on Sundays! You can also listen to other powerful Bible teachers and preachers in a variety of ways. The internet offers access to more preaching and teaching than at any other time in history. In our area 640 AM radio offers great Bible teachers all day long. Be careful that you listen to God honoring pastors and teachers because many teach in error. I would be very cautious about listening to TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). There are more teachers in error on that network than there are who are truthful. For help in discerning truthful pastors and teachers I recommend the website www.equip.org with Bible teacher Hank Hanegraaph.

5) Meditate on the Word. This does not mean folding your legs and chanting HMMMMMMM. When the Bible speaks about meditating it means getting a Scripture on your heart and mind and thinking about it over and over again. This is why it is okay not to understand everything as soon as you read it. The questions that we come away with from the Scripture are often what prompt us to think about the Scripture throughout the day. If you know how to worry you know how to meditate! Worrying is when we think of a problem and then we begin to think of all the things that could go wrong and every possibility of every fearful thing that might happen. We then try to fix all those things and make a plan. Meditating on the Word is running the Scripture through your mind again and again. Wondering about what it means, what it would look like if it were obeyed in your life, how you can respond, what things you may need to give up, what things you may need to add, and so on.

6) Memorize the Word. Memorizing the Word of God is an awesome way to clothe yourself with the armor of God. The Scripture you commit to memory will be used by God’s Spirit to help you defeat temptation. God will use it to help you encourage others. God will use it to help you answer those who question God. God will use it in innumerable ways in your own life and in the lives of others. We must commit the Scripture to memory in times when we don’t need it so that when we do need it we will have it.

7) Read books on the Word. Christian books help you look at the Word of God in entirely new ways. To see the Word of God through someone else’s eyes; to benefit from another’s study is a powerful way to take in the Word of God. Again be careful of books that claim to be Christian books but are not or that mix error with the truth. See the above note about pastor/teachers in #4.

8) Believe the Word. Believe that the stories of God in the Bible are real. Believe that the message Jesus is giving you through the Bible will change your life. Believe that when the authors of Scripture tell you to do something that you should do it. Believe that regardless of short term consequences and pain that it will be better for you to practice the Word of God than to go your own way. What you believe will be proved by what you do. If you say you believe, but then live in a different manner consistently your just talking.

9) Obey the Word. The obedience of the Word of God is what opens the door to greater understanding of more of the Word of God. God will often not reveal to you new truth until you obey the truth that He has already revealed to you. If through any method of hearing the Word the Spirit of God convicts you that something needs to be added to your life or that something needs to be taken away, that something needs to be modified, or something needs to be waited upon, whatever God reveals to you He expects you to obey. You realize that the God of the universe has decided to speak to you! This is not a small thing. If you deliberately disobey God then what was the point of Him revealing any truth to you. Our obedience opens the door for greater sharing of Gods truth in our life!

10) Share the Word with others. The more of the truth of God’s Word you give away, the more you will have. This is just one of the mysteries of God. By talking with friends, family, Christ followers, non-Christ followers, and anyone else our own understanding of the truth of the Word is enhanced.

11) Desire the Word. You must want to know the truth of God’s Word. The Bible says we should crave the truth of the Word like infants crave milk when they are hungry. We must want to know what God says and what that means in our life. We should want to know the Word because it is our only defense against the error that Satan will surely lead us into. It produces in us life, faith, righteousness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self- control and a host of other virtues. If you notice you are not hungry for the Word of God then it is a sure sign that you are filling yourself up with the counter fits of the enemy. You are eating the garbage of the world and that is why you have no desire for the truth of God’s Word. There is no substitute for wanting the truth of God’s Word. I have noticed that people become desperate when they have money problems. If someone is laid off work, if the bills pile up, if there are physical needs that aren’t being met, people become desperate. People will ask everyone they know about solutions. People think about it, dream about it, pray about it and act to resolve their money problems. People who lack money will do just about anything to get it. Oh that we would realize that the wealth of all of heaven is preserved for us in a book called the Bible! You must desire the Word and be desperate for it. Nothing else will satisfy you like it does!

12) Visualize the Word. When you read the stories of God in the Bible put yourself at the scene in your mind’s eye. Try to envision Jesus getting up from the table and putting on the servants robe. Try to see the expressions on the disciples face’s as He stoops and washes each foot with care. Hear the silence in the room that must have been deafening. Go with David into the battle against Goliath. Imagine the giant’s head that was higher than a basketball goal. Try to see him running at David who is winding up the sling to cast a stone at him. Imagine the shock to the armies of the enemy and to the armies of God when the giant falls dead. Put yourself on site. See it in your mind’s eye.

13) Personalize the Word. Proverbs 27 1 Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring forth. 2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;someone else, and not your own lips. 3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,but provocation by a fool is heavier than both. 4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,but who can stand before jealousy? 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,but an enemy multiplies kisses.

This is how to personalize this text of Scripture. Jarrett shouldn’t boast about tomorrow, because I don’t know what today will bring forth. Jarrett shouldn’t boast about himself; if anyone does it let it be someone else. Jarrett may have heavy burdens now, but to be provoked by a fool would be heavier than these. Jarrett needs to understand that anger and fury are cruel even overwhelming but jealousy will take me down. Jarrett is better to tell people the harsh truth than to love people and not tell them the truth. Jarrett may be wounded by friends who tell him the harsh truth, but my enemies will always tell me good things I want to hear.

14) Pray the Word. Personalizing and praying the Word can often go together. Lord help me not boast about tomorrow; I don’t even know what will happen the rest of the day. Lord help me not to boast about myself, but to let others. Lord help me to be purged from jealousy. Lord help me to tell people I love the harsh truth instead of trying to keep the peace and playing it safe. Lord help me to invite and accept the harsh truth of others about my life, help me to avoid making my friends people who only tell me what I want to hear. There are also text that are appropriate to pray already because they are already prepared. Psalm 51 is great to pray to confess your sins. “Have mercy on me on God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”…

15) Emphasize the Word. Read the word aloud and each time through emphasize a different word. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Have mercy on me oh God, according to your unfailing love. Each time you move through the text by emphasizing a different word God will shed light on the text to you.

PS. We will teach more in depth on the subject of taking in the word of God in 2nd base. Next 2nd base will be taught Wednesday Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 from 6:00 – 7:30 P.M. at my home 7356 Lauren Lane Olive Branch. Childcare will be provided. You must have become a member of the church and gone through 1st base before you can take 2nd base.

In Jesus Name

Jarrett Jamieson