ST. PAUL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1)

(With Frank Eiklor, Walter and Cecilia Contreras, and Christopher Lucey)

MEMORIZING SCRIPTURES:

GOD'S POWER SUPPLY FOR POWERFUL LIVING (Part 4)

LESSON 46 Part 4

INTRODUCTION

There is nothing on this earth more precious than the Word of God. Everything on this earth will perish. Only the Scriptures and the eternal souls of men will live forever.

Everytime you memorize and retain a verse of the Bible, you are placing into your heart and mind words that will never die. His Word will be with you forever—including right now when you need the strength to endure tests, tribulations and temptations.

We're learning the benefits and secrets of memorizing verses and even entire chapters of God's powerful Word. Review the first three lessons in this series and this lesson—part four—will take you further into the joy of hiding God's Word in your heart. We continue on with benefit number 13.

13. WISE BUT HUMBLE

Memorizing God's Word will fill you with a knowledge that humbles, not inflates with pride.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 has this in mind when it says, “…knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” It's possible to have intellectual heads the size of pumpkins and hearts the size of raisins. Keep learning. Study all the outstanding authors and books you can. But don't ever let books or knowledge become a substitute for the Word of God. If there's one book Christians are meant to master, it's the Bible.

The memorized Word gives you knowledge to be retained regardless of time or changing circumstances. Psalm 119:89 states, “Forever, O Lord thy word is settled in heaven.” And while comparing our human existence to a fading flower and withering grass, the Lord reminds us: “But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:25). Men's books are human, fallible and transitory. But the Bible will never change or grow out-dated. When you memorize and review scriptures, they will become part of you. How foolish we would be not to make this one of our greatest quests.

14. POWER OF REPETITION

Another benefit of hiding God's Word in your heart is that, in order to retain scriptures you've memorized, you are forced into constant review. Paul told Timothy in 1Timothy 4:15, 16, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Here was a master discipler telling his young soldier to meditate on, and practice, the Word of God. Once you memorize a scripture, every time you review it you'll be forced to meditate on it. And it's hard to meditate on something and not start living it. That's the great thing about reviewing the Word of God. You start living it!

15. THOUGHTS DEVELOP ACTIONS

The Holy Spirit uses Scripture to challenge every thought, word and action to see if it's of God.

2 Corinthians 13:5 is exciting. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…” What's the best way to examine your heart? By letting the Holy Spirit expose it to the Word of God. Christians who labor at mastering the Word don't fall for every new thought, word, or action that comes their way. They test them to see if they line up with Scripture.

If the latest teaching does agree with the Word of God in context, they will accept that teaching. But if it doesn't, the disciple who walks in Scripture throws away anything and everything that conflicts with, or opposes, the Bible. That's why so many Christians fall into traps of new, strange teachings that blow through the Church every so often disguised as “God's latest revelation.” If you know the Word, you'll know that no revelation, no matter how exciting, can be of God while contradicting His Word.

16. GOD'S BRAND OF SUCCESS

I've generally seen that those who memorize and live vast portions of Scripture enjoy a successful ministry by God's standards. Note that I said successful by God's standards—not men's. Many a man's ministry his exploded across the skies in living color and then fallen to earth like a gigantic firecracker—only successful by man's standards—but without God's seal of approval.

Joshua 1:8 is a great incentive to memorize Scripture: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Note the three principles: 1) God's laws written in our hearts, 2) meditated upon day and night, 3) with God's promise of a prosperous and successful ministry. Perhaps instead of Cadillacs, you and I will have crosses. Perhaps instead of having second and third homes and untold numbers of IRA's, the Lord will make us his “IOU's” to a lost and hurting world. We'll find ourselves debtors to others. They owe nothing but we owe every person the unconditional love of Jesus in the hope that he or she will experience that thrill of meeting the risen Christ who makes all riches fade into insignificance and just plain junk. No matter what your position is in the body of Christ, memorizing the Word of God will help you discover your gifts and talents, and reviewing the Word will not allow you to bury those gifts through disobedience or inaction.

17. FAITH FOR THE LONG JOURNEY

The memorized Word will help build in you a faith that endures. Hebrews 6:10-15 is a great section to memorize. Rather than give all six verses now, I'll sum it up with the 15^th verse: “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” We live in an instant age where Christians cook instant foods, want instant answers to prayer, and instant spiritual growth. You may get your food that way, but spiritual values are time-tested. I've seen many outstanding Christians fall by the wayside because they didn't develop endurance, patience, and persistence in establishing and maintaining priorities in their Christian lives. Nothing will build spiritual endurance better than memorizing and reviewing God's Word.

18. AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

Live in God's Word and you'll find yourself becoming a humble, bold, compassionate model for others to follow. 1 Corinthians 11:1 is a magnificent scripture where Paul told his disciples, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” If a minister said that today, we would want to hang him for heresy—or a serious case of pride. But as Christians, we should be able to tell others, “Follow me as I follow Jesus Christ—imitate me like I'm imitating my Master.” If we can't say that, what kind of Christians are we? Get the Word of God into every area of your life, and you'll find every area of your life lining up with that of Jesus Christ. Then you can safely tell loved ones and others, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” And you won't be laughed at as someone not to be taken seriously.

19. A CHART FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Memorizing the Word of God is a great aid in measuring your own spiritual growth. I like

1 Timothy 4:15, “Meditate upon these things;; give thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all.” We chart our children's physical growth in height and weight and their intellectual growth as well, as they advance from one educational level to another. Yet many Christians fail to measure their own spiritual growth. They don't know if they've grown or how much they've grown over the past ten, twenty, or thirty years of being a Christian. How sad. If people ran their business that way, they would fail.

The more of the Word of God you memorize and meditate upon, the more your life will come under its control and power. Your thought life will have to line up. Your tongue will have to line up. Your actions will have to be like those of the Lord—or you'll fall under conviction until they do.

That's what's so wonderful about memorizing and reviewing the Word of God. It gives the Holy Spirit more ammunition with which to work. Those who live in the Word don't get caught with those weak excuses of “But I'm only human,” “Nobody is perfect,” “Everybody sins…” The one who lives in the Word of God lives as a new creation with true insight into himself. While knowing that without Christ we can do nothing, the one who lives in the Word also knows that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13.

CONCLUSION

We've touched on 19 benefits of the memorized Word of God. Next, I shall offer you my own simple plan for memorizing a verse, a section, a chapter, or even an entire book of Scripture. Mine is not meant to be a pattern that you must follow—only some simple guidelines that you may find helpful as you develop your own structure.

(TO BE CONTINUED)