WORD OF GOD, 2

Joshua 1:8 – Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

      Deuteronomy 11:18-25 – Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads…. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many…as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow – to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him…. No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you…wherever you go.

            Psalms 1:1-3 – Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.

            Ezekiel 3:10 – And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.

            Psalms 119:11 – I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

            The series began by emphasizing to crave the milk of God’s word. You need the simplicity of Scripture along with the substance of Scripture. You cannot properly digest Biblical meat without spiritual milk. The milk, the elementary truths of grace, is part of a healthy diet, lasting an entire lifetime.

            The next item needing attention is the word of God becoming part of your heart. Some follow Jesus with only a casual knowledge of God’s word; others follow Him with a scholarly knowledge. You must go beyond casual familiarity and critical analysis to benefit from Scripture. You must be possessed by God’s word, it must fill the heart.

            You can better understand this concept by looking at yourself as a temple with an outer and inner court.

The gate to the outer court is called “understanding.”

            Every piece of information that enters a life comes by way of understanding. If an idea or concept is not understood the information does not enter.

            When people fail to understand they sometimes say, “It doesn’t register,” or “It doesn’t click with me.” If information begins to make sense it is like a light bulb coming on. Until something is understood, knowledge does not enter someone’s life.

            I am left-handed and often do things the opposite way of right-handed people. When preparing something in the kitchen my wife does not like to watch. She thinks I stir things backwards and peal things the wrong way. Being left-handed proved to be a detriment to learning as a teenager.

            My first motorbike was an 80cc Yamaha Trail Bike.  One summer during High School a friend and I decided to spend a week camping and riding through the Cascade Mountains. Within a few days we became bored and my friend came up with the idea of visiting an owner of a dairy farm. Coming from the city, I learned several lessons in this rural setting.

            The farmer’s pick-up truck had a flat tire and I was asked to replace it. I jacked-up the truck and easily took off the old tire. Putting the spare on, however, became a major ordeal. I was turning the lug nut the wrong way.

            After several attempts I changed my approach; turning it slowly, turning it with greater pressure, turning it lightly. I thought I had tried everything and was about to ask for help. I then did something totally revolutionary; I turned the nut the opposite direction. At that moment a light bulb went on in my head. The difference between clockwise and counterclockwise registered. The information became a permanent part of my life.

            Until understanding is activated, knowledge does not penetrate.

            God’s word enters a person’s life by hearing and understanding. When you understand you are a sinner by simply being human, as well as by wayward actions, God’s word enters your life. When you understand you are lost for eternity and no amount of wholesome activity can change the fact, God’s word enters your life. When you understand salvation is solely by grace, unmerited favor, God’s word enters your life. When the light of understanding is turned on about your eternal condition, then God’s word becomes part of the outer court of your life.

            Now what? What do I do with the information finally being understood? Do I throw it out?  I can! Do I reject it?  It is possible! Do I conclude, “I understand but it is not for me?” Some people do that! Or, do I let it enter the inner court where knowledge is acted upon?

The gate to the inner court is called “belief.”

            The inner court is referred to in the Bible as “the heart.” The heart is the ultimate center of your life, involving intellect, emotion and volition.

            The only information that gains access into the heart is that which is believed. The key to the belief gate is acceptance; the information is accepted as being valid. Many understand the way of salvation but do not believe it.

            What you accept as true enters the inner court. Things considered not true do not gain access to the core of your being. Through the gate of understanding information enters your life and by the gate of belief information enters your heart.

            When God’s word enters the heart life-change occurs. When you confess Jesus as Lord, He enters the core of your being, the adhesive of love makes the relationship meaningful and your life begins to change. By accepting His truth and loving Him, God’s word sticks to the heart and life takes on new meaning.

            The truths of Scripture are seen penetrating the heart when His directives are lovingly and willfully lived-out in your life. By submission the heart becomes a sanctuary for God, a place where the Holy Spirit dwells with divine splendor and supernatural abundance.

            Whatever word is in your heart, whatever is held dear, becomes your motivator. A good word produces excellent behavior. A bad word produces poor actions. Whatever you cherish (a word closely associated with the heart) is what you become.

            The phrase “highly esteem” speaks of affection from the heart. To highly esteem your parents is to have deep affection for them. To highly esteem a celebrity is to have deep affection for what they represent. To highly esteem a famous person, either alive or dead, is to have a deep affection for what they stand for or stood for. God’s desire is for Himself, as communicated by His word, to be highly esteemed. Your relationship with Him is to be a heart expression.

            From a negative perspective, Jesus told some Pharisees that the filthy content of the heart can defile a person. The content of the heart designs your life, produces your worth and causes your actions.

            When the psalmist writes, “I have hidden your word in my heart…,” he is saying, “I understand God’s word and base my life upon it. Scripture is changing the role sin has in my life.”

How to keep God’s word in the inner court?

            My friend LaVonne Masters reveals three activities that anchor His word in your heart.

            Meditation! The term means “solemn reflection; deep pondering; contemplation.” Meditation is sometimes described as “chewing on it,” similar to animals that chew cud. Meditation is allowing spiritual insight to come back to mind and reworking the truth deeper into your soul.

            Meditation fills the heart with God’s word, causing you to look at divine truth from several directions. Reflection and pondering makes spiritual truth more deeply understood.

            Memorization! This wholesome practice engraves the heart with God’s word. To memorize is to know information “by heart.”

            Memorizing is done by repetition. What does the shortest verse in the Bible say?  “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) How do you know? You concentrated when it was repeated to you. People fail to remember by failing to concentrate. Memorizing combines concentration and repetition.

            Meditation and memorization enhances the third activity that anchors God’s word in the heart: ministry. Ministry is the act of reproducing God’s word. If you reflect and repeat and reproduce God’s word, the truth remains in your heart, which has benefits.

            What are the benefits? Psalm 1 reveals the benefit of living with significance and purpose. Ephesians 1:3 reveals the benefit of living with spiritual blessings. Psalms 119:11 reveals the benefit of living free from the shackles of sin.

            Through understanding God’s word gains entrance into your outer court. Through belief God’s word gains entrance into the inner court and dictates your life. By meditation, memorization and ministry God’s word remains in the heart, leading to divine benefits.

            Let God’s word saturate your heart. Live fully committed to His will and experience the divine benefits.