FLC - 5/7 - Meeting with God - Memorizing the Word
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Memorization
Memorization
Memorization
Committing the Word of God to memory helps us in many ways. Knowing God’s Word by heart means that we can think on it anywhere we go. All the benefits of the Bible, and ultimately knowing God Himself, are at the forefront of our minds.
Before we get into memorization, let's lay a foundation for God's desire for us to memorize his word:
Commands for obedience:
Commands for obedience:
- God wants obedience to please him. Not innovation. Simple obedience.
And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
So he desires for us to obey him. Let's look at some key passages that through obedience, may lead us to memorization:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
So what does it mean for Jesus' wordS to abide, dwell, live in us? It at it's most basic level means that we can remember them. More than that, it means that his words captivate our thoughts. Our lives.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
I don't see another way to have the word of Christ dwell in us apart from memorization
Here are some OT verses about meditation. Now we have copies of the Bible in front of us. So we can meditate by reading. And we'll talk more about that next week. But what about during the time these verses were written? Very few had copies of books of the Bible. So how could they obey these verses if it weren't for memorization:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 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 that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
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 good success.
Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
Passages on storing up God's commands within us:
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
- benefit of memorization - holiness!
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
- how can the father do this if he doesn't have it memorized?
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
- we read this last week. But let's take another look towards the end. Not forgetting...equals remembering...equals memorization.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
So couple all of these exhortations to memorize Scripture with the clear call of Scripture for us to be obedient to Scripture and what do we have? We have a clear call to memorize Scripture.
Biblical Examples
Peter's Sermon
1. -
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
2. -
For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Did he have time to prepare? No. He heard something contrary to Scripture and he stood and spoke. Maybe he had a copy of Joel on him, maybe he had the Psalms on him, but he still knew the text well enough to go there.
How about Stephen's sermon in ? He was a man full of Spirit and wisdom. Full of grace and power. Some people presented false witness about him so that he would be seized and brought before the Sanhedrin. A Jewish council. A religious council. The High Priest asked if the charges laid out against him were true. He responded with a sermon. In the sermon, he quotes from the Old Testament at least 10 times:
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4. - ,
5. - , ,
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8. - ,
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10. -
Were all of those text memorized? Maybe. Did he look each one of them up? Maybe. But do you think there, in the heat of the moment, he pulled out some concordances, a bible dictionary, an encyclopedia, a commentary in order to locate these verses that would best be used in a situation like this? No. Familiarity with the word will help you in any number of given circumstances. Memorization will help you do just that.
Benefits
Benefits
Scripture itself tells us of many of the benefits of memorizing God’s word. Let’s look at a few.
Benefit 1: Victory over sin
Benefit 1: Victory over sin
Sanctification through hating sin and being determined to fight vigorously against it. How? With the Scriptures.
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
(read together)
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
We need our worldview transformed right? From secular to heavenly.
We need our worldview transformed right? From secular to heavenly.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Our minds need to be renewed. And this happens through a saturation of the word of God running through our hearts and minds on a continual basis.
Another help with sin would be that we are occupying our minds with heavenly things. Let's read
Another help with sin would be that we are occupying our minds with heavenly things. Let's read
Benefit 2: Victory over Satan
Benefit 2: Victory over Satan
Satan is real. As says, he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may devour. We are called to be like Jesus, so what did he use to defeat the devil? Lightning? Cosmic firearms? No, Jesus defeated Satan with scripture. We spoke of last week, when Jesus told the devil, “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Satan cannot stand against the truths of scripture.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
As we just read, God's word dwelled in Him richly.
3 times Jesus combated Satan with Scripture:
vs 4 - It is written
vs 7 - It is written
vs 10 - It is written
Now here's something interesting. Remember what we talked about for the past 2 weeks? The importance of studying the Word of God. We want to understand it, to know it, to handle it correctly, so that we can faithfully interpret it and apply it to our lives. Well let's look at a key tactic Satan uses to deceive and destroy people:
Let's read
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Satan is quoting Scripture! He uses it against us! Is he well-versed the the Scriptures? I believe he is. He knows the truth of the Scriptures. He knows who Jesus is. Even the evil spirits in say "Jesus I know...". Satan is wise and cunning. Prowling around like a roaring lion. He will probably not show up as horned man with a tail and a pitchfork. He will show up as an angel of light.
But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Angel of light can simply mean an angel delivering God's message!
Let that sink in. An angel of light. Appealing. Drawing. Luring us in.
I like to fish. Here are some lures I use. This one looks like a worm. This one looks like a frog. This looks like a fly. Fishing is the sport of deception. I'm not throwing out a Chick-fil-a sandwich. That's what I want. I'm not throwing out a New York Strip cooked Medium-Rare. That's what I want. The fish don't want that. They don't care about that. They don't care about chick-fil-a sauce. What the bass care about that I fish for are frogs, worms, crawdads, shad, etc. Fly-fishing is even crazier. The amount of detail you have to get into with the flies you fish with is staggering! If myself, Fletcher, Tim Brown and others are so caught up with trying to deceive fish into eating a lure, how crafty do you think Satan is going to be?
We MUST run everything by the scriptures. Bereans.
Now let's read another account where sin plunged humanity into a sea of guilt and sin-stained hands.
Satan is twisting God's Word.
Another interesting note, is that when Eve hears this, she corrects Satan, but then, adds to God's word. This can't be good. How does she respond? Let's read She is already entertaining this with her mind.
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Satan now knows he has her. He then straight up lies. After that lie, he then goes for the kill. The art of deception. He puts a taste of the divine in her mind. There is truth in his statement. Look at Their eyes WERE opened.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
God's word can be twisted.
So memorization is not the end all be all. And it should never puff us up. It can and should lead us to our knees in awe and adoration before our living God.
Benefit 3: Preparation for witnessing and counseling
Benefit 3: Preparation for witnessing and counseling
Scripture memory can prepare us for unexpected gospel conversations.
It is good and right when we’re ready with the word of God when it needs to be spoken.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Challenges
Challenges
Let’s talk about some of the challenges of trying to do it. Taken from Andrew Davis' book:
Let’s talk about some of the challenges of trying to do it. Taken from Andrew Davis' book:
1. I don't have a good memory
Phone numbers. Addresses. Names. Sports scores.
2. It will take too much time
Priorities
3. I'm too busy
Priorities
4. I'm not very interested
Pray b/c if we truly understand what the Bible is, then to say we're not interested...
5. I've tried before and it never really worked.
Yes it is hard work. But it is a discipline and God can give us the strength by his spirit
6. I don't see the benefit of working that hard on it
7. I read the Bible every day, why do I need to memorize it?
Helps with thinking. Slowing down. Meditating.
8. I don't know what translation to use
Pray. Ask. Choose. Move forward
9. I might become prideful
Truth. We already are. Memorizing Scripture will actually help us fight against pride.
10. I don't know how.
Glad you asked.
John Piper provides us with a few ideas:
John Piper provides us with a few practical tips:
1. Pray – that the Lord would help you to desire the Word, understand it, and remember it.
2. Set aside time – just like reading and studying, you won’t do it if you haven’t made time. Use your commute!
3. Repeat the text – Read it out loud 10x saying the verse number, cover it up and say it 10x. Look at the text if you need to. When you look at the text, I recommend a Bible you use on a daily basis. Take a mental photograph of the verse. That way you can visualize where the verse starts and where it ends.
4. Review the text - Next day, start with the old. State the old verse 10x and then move on to the new verse. Or if you are going to stick with one verse, then repeat it 10 times.
Let’s add two more:
5. Have a plan – just like with reading, if you don’t have a plan to memorize something specific, it can be hard to be consistent
6. Memorize word for word – each individual word is important to get right. Again, we’re talking about God’s word.
Do you see how memorization is possible?! It's not rocket science. It just takes undistracted, focused time...and not that much time if we're honest with each other.
Let's memorize one together:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Andy Davis
Andy's method is to memorize books of the Bible.
Pick a verse
Tips and Tricks I use
Number One - App - Scripture Memory
Number Two - How to write it down
What does this say?
FGSLTW,THGHOS,TWBIHSNPBHEL.J3.16
You can do this with anything! New City Catechism. Question 1 asks: What is our only hope in life and death? Here's the answer:
TWANOOBBTG.
What is the following? (The books of the Bible)
GELND, JJRSSKKCCENE
JPPES
IJLED, HJAOJMNHZHZM
MMLJ
A
RCCGEPCTT
TTTP
HJPPJJJJR
Remember ? How would that look if we wrote it down?
STITT. YWIT. J1717
ENDING
Ultimately, by God’s grace, memorizing God’s word will help us meditate on it. Meditation on scripture is a lost discipline in this age. But the Puritans warned that, “If you continue to neglect meditation, it will dampen or destroy your love for God.” What then does meditation mean?
That's what we'll talk about next week.