"Is God's Word in Your Heart?"

“Is God’s Word in Your Heart?” 07/15/18

A young lady once laid down a book which she had just finished with the remark that it was the dullest story she had ever read. In the course of time she became engaged to a young man, and one night she said to him: "I have a book in my library whose author's name, and even initials, are precisely the same as yours. Isn't that a singular coincidence?" "I do not think so," he replied. "Why not, pray?" "For the simple reason that I wrote the book." That night the young lady sat up until two o'clock reading the book again. And this time it seemed the most interesting story she had ever read. The once dull book was now fairly fascinating because she knew and loved the author. So a child of God finds the Bible interesting because he knows and loves the Author. It is his Father's message, addressed to him.

The psalmist tells us:

Psalm 119:9–16 NIV84

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

We know that God desires to have a relationship with us, and that Jesus gave His life to make that possible. This is how much God loves us. Now God desires us to keep our way pure.

We know that God desires to have a relationship with us, and that Jesus gave His life to make that possible. This is how much God loves us. Now God desires us to keep our way pure.

So what is our response? When we love someone we desire to know as much as we can about them so we can please them.

When I was a senior in high school I dated a girl who lived up in Rockport MA. We had met at a high school conference at Green Lake Wisconsin and afterwards continued seeing each other. Occasionally I’d get a chance to go up there, and sometimes she’d come down for a visit, but most of the time we’d speak on the phone or exchange letters, this was before the internet. I always looked forward to getting a letter from her, and would keep them to reread.

high school conference at Green Lake Wisconsin and afterwards continued seeing each other. Occasionally I’d get a chance to go up there, and sometimes she’d come down for a visit, but most of the time we’d speak on the phone or exchange letters, this was before the internet. I always looked forward to getting a letter from her, and would keep them to reread.

Before I became a Christian, the Bible was just a book, a collection of stories and writings that didn’t mean very much to me. That started to change when I became a disciple of Jesus. I began to see the Bible as God’s letter to me, the stories became messages revealing who God is and what God desires of me. I wanted to know it better. The writer of psalm 119 has a lot to say about God’s word. In our passage today he says that he has hidden God’s word in his heart.

How do we get God’s word in our heart?

Seek whole-heartedly

When we read the Bible we want to see it as seeking God Himself. Not just reading a chapter or two and then forgetting what we’ve read. Really take the time to understand what it is saying.

Hide it in our heart – memorize

When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan He responded to each temptation by quoting Scripture. Being able to remember what the Bible says can be a great help to us in many situations.

Colossians 3:16 NIV84

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Ask God to teach

There are parts of the Bible which can be difficult to understand. The psalmist asks God to teach him, and we can do the same. God has sent the Holy Spirit to be our teacher.

Recite

One of the ways we can let God’s word be a part of our lives is by reciting verses out loud.

Meditate

This is taking our time in the Bible a step further beyond reading and studying. In meditation we seek to let God speak to us through the Scripture and apply it to our own lives.

Psalm 119:97 NIV84

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Psalm 119:148 NIV84

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

Consider – pay attention to

Consider – pay attention to

Of course, none of this will do us any good if we don’t pay attention to it. In other words, put it into practice. The goal of having God’s word in our hearts is so the we can live according to it, to not sin but to keep our way pure. This is what pleases God.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31–32 NIV84

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Result

Result

Not sin, keep our way pure

The more time we spend in the Bible the more we will be transformed and renewed to be the people God wants us to be. God’s word is powerful. When we put God’s word in our hearts it will keep our way in the right path.

Attitude

Rejoice in following

Time in the Bible should never be a chore or a duty. When we love God we will love His word and desire to spend time with it.

Psalm 119:72 NIV84

The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Delight in His decrees

As much as in riches

When Howard Rutledge’s plane was shot down over Vietnam, he parachuted into a little village and was immediately attacked, stripped naked, and imprisoned. For the next seven years, he endured brutal treatment. He says, “It took prison to show me how empty life is without God, and so I had to go back in my memory to those Sunday school days in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If I couldn’t have a Bible and hymnbook, I would try to rebuild them in my mind. I tried desperately to recall snatches of Scripture, sermons, gospel choruses from childhood, and hymns we sang in church.

How I struggled to recall those Scriptures and hymns! I had spent my first eighteen years in Sunday school, and I was amazed at how much I could recall; regrettably, I had not seen then the importance of memorizing verses from the Bible. Now, when I needed them, it was too late. I never dreamed that I would spend almost seven years in a prison in North Vietnam or that thinking about one memorized verse could have made the whole day bearable.

One portion of a verse I did remember was, “Thy word have I hid in my heart.” How often I wished I had really worked to hide God’s Word in my heart. …”

Today we have many ways to have access to the Bible. How many of you have smart phones or use tablets?