Chapter Three - Biblical Intake (Part Two)

Memorizing God’s Word

Matthew 4:1-

Memorization Supplies Spiritual Power

Matthew 4:1–11 NASB95

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Proverbs 22:17–19 NASB95

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.

Psalm 119:11 NASB95

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Colossians 3:2 NASB95

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Psalm 119:24 NASB95

Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.

Ephesians 6:17 NASB95

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Psalm 119:97 NASB95

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Meditating on the Word of God

One of the ways we can experience more spiritual victories is to do as Jesus did—memorize Scripture so that it’s available within us for the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance when it’s needed.

Joshua 1:8 NASB95

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Romans 12:2 NASB95

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Applying the Word of God

James 1:22–25 NASB95

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 40). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Memorization Strengthens Your Faith

Proverbs 22:17–19 NASB95

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.

Memorizing Scripture strengthens your faith because it repeatedly reinforces the truth, often just when you need to hear it again.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 40). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Memorization prepares us for Witnessing and Counseling

But until the verses are hidden in the heart, they aren’t available to use with the mouth.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 41). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Memorization provides a means of God’s guidance.

Psalm 119:24 NASB95

Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.

Just as the Holy Spirit retrieves scriptural truth from our memory banks for use in counseling others, so also will He bring it to our own minds in providing timely guidance for ourselves.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 41). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Memorization Stimulates meditation.

Psalm 119:97 NASB95

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

it. Imagine yourself in the midst of a decision and needing guidance, or struggling with a difficult temptation and needing victory. The Holy Spirit enters your mental arsenal and looks around for available weapons, but all He finds is a , a , and a Great Commission.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 42). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

You can Memorize Scripture

Memorizing is mainly a problem of motivation.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 42). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Have a Plan

Write out the verses.

Draw Picture reminders.

Memorize the verses word perfectly.

Find a Method of Accountability

Most Christians, however, are more consistent when they meet or talk regularly with someone else—not always another Christian—with whom they review their verses.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 44). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Review and Meditate Every Day

It’s not unusual, however, to reach a point where you spend 80 percent of your Scripture memory time in review. Don’t begrudge devoting so much time to polishing your swords. Rejoice instead at having so many!

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (pp. 44-45). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

A great time to review your better-known verses is while going to sleep.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 45). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

The goal is not to see how many verses we can memorize; the goal is godliness. The goal is to memorize the Word of God so that it can transform our minds and our lives.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 45). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Meditating on God’s Word - Methods and Benefits

Christian meditation involves filling your mind with God and His truth.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 46). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Philippians 4:8 NASB95

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Meditation as deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture, or upon life from a scriptural perspective, for the purposes of understanding, application, and prayer.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (pp. 46-47). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Meditation, however, is like immersing the bag completely and letting it steep until all the rich tea flavor has been extracted and the hot water is thoroughly tinctured reddish brown. Meditation on Scripture is letting the Bible brew in the brain. Thus we might say that as the tea colors the water, meditation likewise “colors” our thinking. When we meditate on Scripture it colors our thinking about God, about God’s ways and His world, and about ourselves. Similarly, as the tea bag flavors the water, so through meditation we consistently “taste” or experience the reality taught in the text.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 47). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

and the Promise of Success

Joshua 1:8 NASB95

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Joshua 1:8

From a New Testament perspective we know that the main application of this promise would be eternal riches and Christ-centered success—the prosperity of the soul and spiritual success (though some measure of success in our human endeavors would ordinarily occur as well when we live according to God’s wisdom).

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 48). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.

Jeremiah 23:29 NASB95

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?

Jeremiah 29:23 NASB95

because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’ ”

Romans 8:29–30 NASB95

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 8:29 NASB95

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Psalm 39:3 NASB95

My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue:

Jeremiah 23:29 NASB95

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?

If you want to get warm, you have to linger by the fire until it warms your skin, then your muscles, then your bones until you are fully warm.

Whitney, Donald S.. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 49). The Navigators. Kindle Editio

Psalm 1:1–3 NASB95

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 119:98–99 NASB95

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

Psalm 119:

James 1:25 NASB95

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.