The Bible – God’s Word For Discipleship
There is no Spiritual Discipline more important to the Christian, than the intake of God’s Word. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from daily intake of a diet of God’s Word. The Christian should feast on God’s Word daily. Why? Let me give you some reasons:
1. In the Bible – God tells us about Himself. God reveals Himself to us. He tells us of His creation and His incarnation.
2. In the Bible – God reveals His law – and how mankind has broken it. He shows how all have fallen short of His expectations for our lives – how all of us have sinned.
3. In the Bible – God shows how He sent His son Jesus to live a sinless life and to die for sinners.
4. In the Bible – God teaches how we can be forgiven and have a home in heaven.
5. In the Bible – God instructs us on how to behave while we remain here on earth. We find how to live – and how to truly love. We find detailed instructions on how to relate to God and how to relate people.
None of this eternally essential information can be found anyplace else except for the Bible. Therefore if we want to know God and become godly – we must know the Word of God. Yet for many Christians neglect of the God’s Word is common.
If you will recall our focal verse for this series is found in First Timothy chapter four and verse seven. Let’s look at it together:
“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” 1st Timothy 4:7 (NASV)
We have been talking about how we need to discipline ourselves to be better disciples of Christ. Today I am going to give you six ways that you can get a grasp on God’s Word – because as I have already said – intake of God’s Word is vital for healthy Christian growth. Let’s look at how you can get a better grasp on God Word.
The first thing we need to do to get a better grasp on God’s Word is:
I. HEAR GOD’S WORD
The Bible tells us:
“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 (NASV)
How many of you would like to have more faith? Then listen to the Word of God. This is the easiest way to get into God’s Word. It’s the most common way. But it’s also the way we can loose the most content. You can purchase the Bible not just in written form – but you can also get it in audio form now as well. You can get the Bible now on CD or MP3. You can stick a CD in your car stereo and listen to it as you are driving down the road – or place it in your MP3 player as you’re out and about. You can get great sermons by great preachers on-line now too. Bible teaches like Chuck Swindoll, Chuck Smith, Andy Stanley or John MacArthur. There are lots of great Bible teachers from the past and present available for download. Listen to what they have to say.
But the problem is we tend to forget 95% of what we hear within 72 hours. (Some of us take a lot less time than that) If you want a statistic that will depress pastors, that’s it! Much of what we hear we forget. Unless you write things down, you’re going to forget 95% of what was said this morning by Wednesday. That’s why people can go week after week, year after year to church and not really grow. They don’t really remember it. How can you apply God’s Word to your life – if you don’t even remember it?
Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 11:15)
Let me give you one basic way to improve your hearing. Here it is:
Take notes on what you hear.
Hebrews chapter two tells us:
“We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won’t drift away.” Hebrews 2:1 (CEV)
The best way that I have found to remember something is to write it down. I have heard it said, “A short pencil is longer than the best memory.” When I listen to other preachers – I take notes. I open up my Bible and underline – keep an outline of the sermon. I want to challenge you to keep a spiritual notebook. A spiritual notebook is a tool designed to help you organize and retain the blessings of God. James tells us:
“The one who looks steadily at God’s perfect law…and makes that law his HABIT – not listening and them forgetting, but actively putting it into practice will be happy in all that he does.” James 1:25 (Ph)
So the first step to get a grasp on God’s Word is to listen to what God has to say to us. The second way to get a better grasp on the Bible is:
II. READ GOD’S WORD.
Reading God’s Word gives you a little better grip on God’s Word then just hearing it. How often should I read God’s word? I believe you should read a portion of God’s Word daily. Look at what Deuteronomy chapter seventeen and verse nineteen says about a godly man. The Living Bible says:
"The Scriptures shall be his constant companion. He must read from it everyday of his life so that he will learn to respect the Lord, his God, by obeying all of his commands." Deuteronomy 17:19 (LB)
God wants me to read the Word of God on a daily basis. Jesus said:
“Give us each day our daily bread.” Luke 11:3 (NASV)
I think this verse applies to spiritual food as well as physical food. Let me give you a couple suggestions on how to read the God’s Word.
A. Read a Bible systematically.
You may not want to read it cover to cover – but then again you may. If you don’t read it that way I suggest you pick a book of the Bible and read it a book at a time. When you read a letter you don’t read the last part then the first part, then the middle. You read it straight through. Many of the books in the New Testament are letters. They’re meant to be read straight through.
Read the Bible systematically. You will need to read the entire Bible, not just your favorite parts. Some of you love the Psalms and Proverbs – so do I – but don’t get stuck there. It’s going to be pretty embarrassing when some of you get to heaven and Habakkuk comes up to you and says, "How did you like my book?" and you’re not even going to know that he wrote a book in the Bible. You need to read the whole thing – the Minor Prophets – the Major Prophets and all the other guys. Next:
B. Read a Bible without notes.
Now I have already talked to you about taking notes. It is a good thing but when your Bible gets full of notes buy a new one – it’s a great investment in your spiritual development.
Some people have Bibles that every single page, every verse has some notation by it. But you know what happens - when you read that Bible over and over? You have the tendency to see the same thing over and over again – you get no new insights. I suggest you have a Bible you use for your quiet time when you’re reading that has no notes at all in it – so you see something fresh. That brings me to the third suggestion about reading God’s Word:
C. Read a Bible in different translations.
I suggest that you read from different translations. The Message Bible is excellent and very readable Bible. It has a very simple vocabulary for those of us who don’t have a very big vocabulary. The Living Bible is a paraphrase. The Phillips is a paraphrase. But they’re very good for Bible reading.
Some people like read through the Bible every year. That’s a good thing – each year you could buy a new translation and read through it. I have gained a lot of insight into the scripture by reading for a variety of translations.
Now let’s move on to the next way to get a grasp on God’s Word. We need to:
III. STUDY GOD’S WORD.
The early Christians not only heard the Word of God, read the Word of God but they also studied it. Acts chapter seventeen tells us:
"They accepted the message eagerly and studied the Scripture every day." Acts 17:11
This passage is speaking the Berean church. They are commended that they didn’t just accept what was Paul and Silas told to them as truth – but they went back and looked at the scriptures everyday to make sure that what Paul and Silas were teaching coincided with what the scriptures said.
Second Timothy chapter two and verse fifteen tells us:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:17 (KJV)
We are to be good workmen. We are to know what God’s Word says and means. How do you know what His word says and means? Only by the diligent study of it.
Anyone can learn how to study the Bible. It is not a skill that is reserved for the professional theologians. God intended each of us to know how to do more than just hear it and more than just read it. He intended us to study His Word.
The secret of effective Bible study is knowing how to ask the right questions. It’s a skill that can be learned. Bible study is primarily observation of what the Bible says and keeping track of what you have observed.
Here are some questions you can ask – they are basic journalistic questions that you can apply to any passage of scripture. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Just take those questions – look at a passage of Scripture –ask those questions – and write down what you observe. Keep a Bible study note book over the passages that you study. It’s a very simple way to begin studying but it will get you started.
Let me mention a tool that I have found invaluable for Bible study – it is a concordance. Get a complete concordance that corresponds to the translation of the Bible that you use is something that every Christian needs if you really want to get serious about studying the Bible. Have you ever had the experience of talking to somebody and a verse comes to mind but you can’t remember where it is? A concordance will help you out. It gives you a listing of every single word in the Bible and every time it’s used. So if the verse you’re looking for has the word "love" in it you can look up the word "love" in the concordance and find every place that the word is used in the Bible. If you know that the verse you are looking for is in the New Testament – that narrows your search even more. If you know which book the verse is in – that helps narrow your search even more.
Hear God’s Word, Read God’s Word, look it over in detail and observe what is there – in other words Study it because God wants you to know His Word. The next way to get a better grasp on the Bible is:
IV. MEMORIZE GOD’S WORD
Proverbs chapter seven verses two and three says:
"Guard my words as your most precious possession. Write them down, and also keep them within your heart." Proverbs 7:2-3
Nothing is going to do more for your spiritual life than memorizing Scripture. One of the most powerful habits that you can develop is to memorize Scripture. As I have memorized verses – I have found a resource of God’s wisdom when I needed it most. If I hadn’t memorized them I would have missed an opportunity to solve a problem – give a word of answer – hold on to a word of encouragement. Let me give you three reasons why scripture memory is important:
A. It helps me resist temptation.
We have an example of this with Jesus in the wilderness. When the devil tempted Him, He quoted scripture every time He was tempted. Look at what Psalm one hundred nineteen tells us:
"I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11
Having scripture stored in our hearts and in our minds helps us resist temptation.
B. It helps me make wise decisions.
The Bible says: "Your Word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path." Many times I’ve prayed, "Lord, what am I to do now?" and a verse would pop into my mind, because I have it memorized.
C. It helps me when I am down in the dumps.
Folks all of us get down in the dumps at one time or another. We get discouraged – we get a little depressed. I know of no better way to lift your spirit than to receipt verses of praise to God. Verses like:
“Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3 (NASV)
Or:
“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 104:33 (NASV)
A Bible on the shelf does no good at all – having portions of it memorized – does wonders. It has all the answers for life but if you don’t have it in your life it doesn’t make much difference. So the more you can get the book into your mind the stronger Christian you’re going to be.
There are three keys to memorizing scripture: The first key is to REVIEW. You go over it and over it. The second key to memorizing scripture is to REVIEW. You go over it and over it. The third key to memorizing scripture is to REVIEW. You go over it and over it and over it again.
Some of you are saying, "I just can’t memorize anything." That is not true! How many of you remember your name? How many of you remember your address? How many of you remember your social security number? The truth is – we remember what is IMPORTANT TO US. I know guys who can give you baseball scores for the last 18 seasons. I know teenagers who can quote the top ten songs for the last five years. I know ladies that can give you recipes and phone numbers of their friends. You remember what you’re interested in. If you’re interested in memorizing scripture then you’re going to be able to remember it. Memorizing scripture was the fourth way to get a better grasp on the Bible. The fifth way is:
V. MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD
When I mention meditation – many people think of someone sitting on a mountain top somewhere empting out their brain. This is not Biblical meditation. Biblical Meditation is focused thinking about a Bible verse in order to discover how you can apply its truth to your own life. It is putting the Bible in your thoughts - not pushing all the toughts out.
The word for meditation is also the word for rumination. Rumination is the process where a cow chews its cud, swallows it, regurgitates it, chews it again, swallows it... goes through that process something like seven times. The reason the cow does that is to get every bit of nourishment that it can from the grass it is eating.
That’s what we’re to do with God’s word. We are to focus our thinking, spend time on it, trying to get every bit of spiritual nourishment we can from the Word of God.
How many of you are good worriers? If you’re a worrier, you can meditate. Worry is just negative meditation. When you’re worrying about something, what are you doing? You’re ruminating on it. You’re thinking about it. You lie in bed and think and think... and go through it in every way you can. Biblical meditation is positive. It is taking a passage of scripture and thinking about it to get as much spiritual nourishment out of it that you possibly can. Biblical meditation is not empting yourself – it is filling your-self with God’s Word.
First Corinthians chapter three verse eighteen says "As we contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are being transformed into His likeness."
As we think deeply about the Lord and about His Word, we become more and more like Him. If you want to become like Christ you need to meditate on God’s Word.
Romans chapter twelve verse two says: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Meditating is part of that renewing process. When you meditate on Scripture, God is able to renew our minds and replace those bad thoughts with good thoughts.
Joshua chapter one verse eight says: "Meditate on the word day and night, so you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." God’s Word says that prosperity and success are tied to meditation. Meditation gives us a better hold on God’s Word. That brings us to the final way to get a better grip on God’s Word:
VI. LIVE GOD’S WORD
The final step we must take is to apply God’s Word to our lives. James tells:
"Do not fool yourselves by just listening to the Word. Instead, put it into practice." James 1:22
Jesus said:
"Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
This is the hardest part for many people – how do I get the Bible into my life? How do I apply Scripture?
I would say that there are three questions you need to ask as you handle God’s Word. Here are the three questions you should ask:
1. What did it mean to the original hearers?
2. What is the underlying timeless principle?
3. How can I practice that principle today?
Take the Bible – hear it – read it study it – memorize it – meditate on it – but most of all apply it – do what it says. Become is a doer of the word. John tells us:
"Now that you know these things, do them. That is the path of blessing." John 13:17 (LB)
If you want to be blessed, you need to become a “doer of the Word”. I challenge you to commit to getting a better grasp on the Bible.
