The little Baptist church I first attended while still young in Christ had this kind, elderly gentleman attending for an extended time. He had this cane inlaid with turquoise. He had a couple rings and a bolo tie of turquoise and silver. See, he had been living out in the desert. I forget where… New Mexico or Arizona… and he was a linguist. He’d spent a number of years a professor of ancient Greek. Now, this was very intimidating for the pastor. Our pastor was still attending Bible College. He was at Biola, which was still good at the time. In fact, the pastor was a protege of Dr. John MacArthur. MacArthur had attended during his ordination hearing. Even so, it was intimidating to preach with a professor of Greek sitting out in the audience.
Well this gentleman, it turned out, had the entire New Testament memorized. In Greek! We know because for fun, we quizzed him! He also had most of the Old Testament memorized in Hebrew! So if you find the notion of memorizing scripture insurmountable for purposes of meditation, just keep that in mind.
By the way, the Holy Spirit will not blacklist you for failing in the attempt. If you mull a passage you read that morning but only remember the principles behind it and a few words, the Holy Spirit will still honor your prayer for wisdom and understanding. Trust me.
Coming up in school I was an average student. I was painfully shy and got mostly Cs. First thing the Lord in His wisdom did to me was reveal to me friends who were Mormons. I had no idea what that meant, but some of the things they were telling me did not sound quite right. I promised them I would look in on it. Well I had figured out how to use the helps in the back of my Bible and the cross references and went back and challenged them on some verses. Next thing you know I was talking to a couple of Mormon Missionaries.
I felt woefully inadequate. I did not have all the answers. I felt I’d let the Lord down. So, I ran to this same pastor, who at that time was the Youth Pastor. Easy to see why he became my Mentor as after a fashion we came up in the same church together, he in ministry and me a newbie in Christ. He was living not far, he had an apartment across the street in fact from my High School. He wasn’t home so I found a piece of paper and scrawled on it for him to call me when he could. (No fancy cell phones back then).
The door to his apartment had a really tight weather seal and my note would not go around it or even under it. His community mailbox was not slotted so no way to pop the note in there. What I did have in my pocket was a band-aid (I don’t recall why). So I stuck the note to his door with that band-aid.
Later that afternoon I got a very concerned phone call from him. He didn’t know if the note with the band-aid meant I’d been badly hurt or what! Well, I told him what’d happened and I was so concerned about that failure with the missionaries, I was tearing up and he could hear it in my voice.
He said, “Dave. Are you kidding me? Look. Without even knowing what a Mormon was, you challenged your friend. You stumped her to the point that she had to run out and call professionals to handle your questions. And you think you failed!?” I blinked hard at that one.
So I said, “Do you think you could come and talk to them?”
In his wisdom he said, “No.” What I will do is equip you. I have some tapes for you by a Dr. Walter Martin and a book, “Kingdom of the Cults” you can borrow and study. If I go talk to them, next thing you know they are calling the Bishop. The Bishop comes out and what do I do, call MacArthur out? No, God put these people in your path for a reason. Because He knows you can handle it.”
I wasn’t so certain, but I did walk over and borrow the book and tapes. He told me to call if I had any questions or if he could help with anything else. Over the years the Lord gave me many such challenges.
One was at a Youth conference where I was challenged as here, to pursue meditating, chewing daily on the Word of God. The example the speaker at the conference offered was from Psalm 119. Turn there with me.
A few elements are combined into these hundred and seventy-six gnomic sentences. One or other of the usual synonyms for the Law-viz., word, saying, statutes, commandments, testimonies, judgments-occurs in every verse, (with the exceptions of v122 and v132). The prayers “Teach me, revive me, preserve me-according to Thy word,” and the vows “I will keep, observe, meditate on, delight in-Thy law,” are frequently repeated. Read this in its entirety again when you get the chance, but for now, let’s look beginning with v. 97 down to about v105
(Psa 119:97) Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
(Psa 119:98) Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.
(Psa 119:99) I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.
(Psa 119:100) I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.
(Psa 119:101) I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.
(Psa 119:102) I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.
(Psa 119:103) How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
(Psa 119:104) Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
(Psa 119:105) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Let those promises and principles sink in a moment! Look at the power of those verses! There is a reason why this particular Psalm is the longest Psalm of all.
One more promise concerning the power of God’s Word. Turn with me to Isa 55:10, 11:
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
Isa 55:11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Do you know that after learning to apply this principle in my life, by the time I graduated High School, I graduated with Honors with a 3.85 Grade Point Average, which is not bad for a “C” student. And the Holy Spirit gets the credit and the glory because He sure did not have much to work with.
Think of that! A C student! That is the power of the Holy Spirit coursing the Word of God through the synapses of your brain!
Think of yourself as hardware, if that helps. The Word of God is your Operating System software. Yours has been corrupted. You are full of viruses, Satanic trojans and worms. The Lord has Updates and fixes for you, but you need to install them! The Bible is the Lord’s Owner’s Manual for you. You need to open it and learn it!
Look at Psalm One again:
1 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; :2 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.
If you do not know Christ, you might not understand much. Someone once said, the reason you don’t understand the Bible is because you are reading somebody else’s mail. Do you know Christ? Do you want to continue vainly seeking treasures on earth where rust and moths corrupt, only to lose your soul? Or do you want to store up treasures in heaven with Jesus Christ for eternity?
Psa 1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Psa 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Psa 1:6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
In his commentary on Psalm one Spurgeon added,
“Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you – Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God’s Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand – your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongeth not to you.”
Let’s close in prayer.
Heavenly Father what a blessing and privilege it is to live in a place where we still have access to Your Word. May we be granted the wisdom to enjoy and take advantage of that blessing while we can, and thereby enjoy good success and prosperity that redounds to eternal blessings and your glory. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.