Engaging With The Word

Quote: 'The Holy Spirit and the word of God work together. None contradicts the other. We get to know the Holy Spirit more when we interact more with the word of God. We also get to understand the word of God more, with deeper revelations by the power of the Holy Spirit.' The Gospel Citizen

Q & A:

· How do we draw closer to God? : By drawing closer to his son, Jesus Christ.

· How do we draw closer to Jesus Christ? : We draw closer through the word of God which is Jesus Christ.

· How do we get the desire to interact with the word of God and even understand it? : We do all these by the power of the Holy Spirit.

· Now how do we receive the Holy Spirit? : By desiring, seeking and asking Him into our lives in earnest.

Introduction: The word of God is extremely important in our worship of God and relationship with Him. A deeper understanding of the word of God can only be obtained from asking the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes and mind to hidden truths in the word. He is willing and ready to help us understand the word of God more. We just need to ask and believe.

Father Lord, thank you for the opportunity to learn about your word. Our prayer today is that your Holy Spirit leads us to a deeper understanding of your word and fills us with the eagerness and zeal to learn your word consistently. Thank you Lord for illumination as we engage more and more with your word. Amen!

Jesus Christ, the word: John 1:1-3. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.’ In the beginning of all creation, the word existed and this was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the full word of God and the word of God is fully Jesus Christ. Therefore the word of God = Jesus Christ. The word/ Jesus Christ which is truth and light and wisdom and power was with God before everything existed. As such, this word that we have access to every day, existed before the world as we know it, came into be. Additionally, from verse 3 of John 1, we see that through the word, everything came to existence. Not one thing came to life without the word of God. Every single thing, light, the starts, sun, animals, waters, human beings etc. were all created and came into being from and through the word of God. Colossians 1:15-17 further buttresses this point. 'For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. '

My point here is that, as a child of God, it’s important to note that the word of God who is Jesus Christ and every scripture in the word has power to forge, create, establish, to build up, to pull down, to rebuke, to destroy, to put together and much more. When we speak to situations or issues using the word of God, we should immediately, no doubt, no questions asked, expect turnaround for good. The source of the word should give us confidence in the abilities of the word. Therefore anything that is contrary to the word of God and promises of God concerning our lives shall and can be countered completely and over powered with the word of God. Additionally, if we say we love Jesus then we must also love the word of God. Plain and Simple! and this love can be shown as we engage more with the word.

Engaging with the word: In previous post, I have mentioned engaging with the word of God probably without explaining but today, I hope to give a bit of depth to this. For about a year and half I underwent a Bible study course in my church and from there a learnt about the five (5) ways we could engage with the word of God. These five main ways included Reading, Studying, Listening, Memorizing and Meditating on the word, in no particular order. Each of these ways are important to get the full import of the word of God in our lives. As we read the word, we obtain a general knowledge of the word, knowing where to find what for use, as and when needed. When we study the word, we dig deeper, striving to understand the background of scriptures, comparing versions, using Bible dictionaries and concordances among other to obtain a deeper understanding of the scriptures. Listening is also paramount in our strive for knowledge of the word of God. At the heart of engaging with the word of God is inviting the Holy Spirit to lead, teach and illuminate us. Listening here, is also where we incline our ear to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as he illuminates us in our engagement with the word.

Additionally, we also listen to messages from our Pastors and other spirit-filled preaches in order to get varied takes on scriptures which when compared to each can allow us understand some scriptures more. I have found that, the Holy Spirit can give different interpretations of one scripture to different people as such being able to listen allows us see things from different perspectives of course, all these by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Another way of engaging with the word of God is memorizing the scriptures which I believe becomes easier by meditation. As we meditate more on the scriptures, they become more meaningful to us and as they spend my time in our hearts and minds we are able to memorize them and use them to equip ourselves in whatever situation life throws our way. READ, STUDY, LISTEN, MEDITATE, MEMORIZE. As we engage with the word in these ways consistently, we can set ourselves up for growth in our relationship with God and for illumination by the Holy Spirit.

The word is for illumination: 'Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. ‘Psalms 119:105. This is one of my favorite scriptures from Sunday school. The word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. The lamp and light are vessels of illumination. What happens when we walk in a dark place or a place where there is no light? Our steps are haphazard, we are at a risk of hitting something and completely missing our way. There is no clarity or direction in our movements when we move in darkness. The direct opposite happens when we step in a place filled with light. Here, we are able to see clearly where we are going, move in the right direction and are able to avoid hitting obstacles as we manoeuvre our way around them. Illumination does that! Now let’s liken this to the word of God as the lamp for our feet and light for our path. The word of God is therefore that which gives us clarity of purpose and direction in our lives. As we keep engaging with the word of God, our lives’ path is illuminated and our feet are ordered as we seek the face of God through His word and he leads us scripture by scripture, verse by verse, chapter by chapter through our lives journey. You don’t want to live your life in darkness. Living without the word of God is equal to living in darkness. No matter how the world tries to paint living in the flesh and world, without God and His word, there will be utter darkness and misdirection.

Joshua 1:8, also a very common scripture says, '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.’ Here also, we learn that as one meditates, i.e. thinks deeply about and confesses the word day and night, the word gets into one’s heart. Once the word gets in our heart, we are able to live and abide by the word and only by practicing the word and living by God’s promises from the word would we become prosperous and successful as children of God. Of course none of this is that simple but let’s remember that the word of God is not fiction or some literary work of some scholar. It is God-breathed, inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). It is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. There is more to the word of God than they being letters on a page. The word of God is alive. As we speak it in faith, things are bound to change. Let’s engage more with the word of God more and meditate more as well.

Meditation is key: Meditation of the word of God is very essential for our lives and growth as people of God. For the longest time, I engaged with the word of God by only reading and listening to messages without giving it much thought. Without sitting down to think about what the scriptures I read meant and even asking the Holy Spirit to give me insight into the word. I read and read, listened and listened but the word of God was not in my heart. I did not understand what most of the scriptures even meant and as such I did not believe them enough to have them work in my life. My goal was to read as many chapters, verses, books, scriptures as possible but I realized that the more I read, the more empty It felt because I could not even remember what I had read the previous day. Thankfully, I have grown from now that because there was no depth in all that. I don’t know about you, my dear brother or sister and how you interact with the word but I want to encourage you to give the scriptures you read more time to sit with you. Give them more time in your heart and mind as you think about it and allow the Holy Spirit give you deeper insights into the word.

There is also really no time limit as to how long you can meditate on a particular scripture. I for one have meditated on one scripture for hours, days, weeks and I have even heard some men of God say, they have done so for a year. What I realized with the scriptures I meditated on was the level of impact they had in my life because of complete confidence and belief I attached to them as I meditated on them. I pray for more grace for all of us as we spend more time with the word of God. Another thing about meditation and studying the word of God I is that it doesn’t have to be whole chapters or whole books. It can even just be one verse that you give so much thought to. It all varies but the key thing is to allow the Holy Spirit lead as you read the word of God. I have had one sentence in a scripture jump out to me and speak so strongly to me that I spent the whole week thinking about it. It’s all about you and the Holy Spirit.

Another scripture that also speaks about meditation and delighting in the word of God is Psalm 1:2-3, another very insightful scripture. '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. ' Being like a tree planted by streams of water,…., whose leaves do not wither, gives me a mental picture of a business linked to a financier 24/7 who is every ready to provide all the funding the business needs to allow it expand and grow without any obstacles and at any time they deem fit. That organisation is destined for immense success as they would have access to the best human and capital resources, that money can buy. There is therefore less likelihood of failure for this business.

Enough of the business talk, LOL! The essence of this Psalm is that once we delight in the word of God and meditate on it day and night, we would be like a tree planted by streams of water, i.e. directly linked to our source 24/7, all day, every day, unhinged. Imagine being connected to the source of all wisdom, health, understanding, knowledge, power, everything else and more throughout each hour of each day of each week. It means we really have access to all these and more every day, in every decision, every step of the way and the source can and would make these available to us in the physical and spiritually as He leads us to His promises concerning all these. Powerful!

One would ask, how can I engage with the word and meditate on it day and night when I have so much work to do? Nobody is asking us to stop working and read the bible or listen to messages throughout the day or stop working to attend one bible conference or another. We can interact with the word of God day and night by being intentional about what we focus on in our breaks, in between work, on our way to and from work and even how we solve problems at work. We need to learn to practice the presence of God and make Him more present in our day to day activities. One thing I have learnt to do is to ask the Holy Spirit to help me with the things I do at work, especially when I am trying to solve a complex work problem or have probably forgotten about something I need to use to work or even having normal conversations with friends who ask for advice. By practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit, we make him real to us throughout the day and as we ask Him for help in the little little things we do, He sometimes bring certain scriptures into minds which provide solutions to problems we may face throughout the day. We can’t read the word each time of the day but we have the Spirit of God who is one with the word and gives the word meaning residing inside of us. We just need to ask Him and believe.

Yielding in the right season: The Psalm above also makes mention of yielding your fruit in its season once you’re linked to the source. As people we have a tendency to want things to work out as soon as possible, as and when we need them to. However, this scripture tells us that while we are linked to the source as we meditate and delight in the word of God, day and night, our fruits would yield in due season not as and when we want it to. We would not bear fruit in haste or prematurely. Rather that is when, we will be equipped to bear fruit at God’s perfectly ordained right time for us and when we are bearing these fruits, they are healthy, quality fruits having gone through and learnt all that would be needed to handle the fruits. This affects all aspects of our lives: spiritual, physical, emotional, health, marriage, finances, family etc. As we are linked throughout the seasons, we gain deeper trust, peace and rest in God’s provision and plan for our lives.

The place for Quiet Time and Devotionals: As a Christian having your quite time is essential to a growing relationship with God. In this quiet time, we sing, pray, study the word and spend time with God. Every child of God needs to have time alone with God. Please see my previous post on Solitude with God for more insight on this. The most usual thing in our quiet times is to have a written devotional to follow each day where we read some verses and explanations or insights from Pastors or Ministers. I believe there is a place for this for every believer because it allows you receive a perspective from someone, mostly a seasoned minister on particular scriptures. However I believe that as growing believers, our complete reliance should not only be on these devotionals. It is key that we also allow the Holy Spirit give us his interpretation and perspective on scriptures, to also speak to us directly from the scriptures. Here, we are able to usually receive word from the Holy Spirit that is not necessarily general but very specific to our current situation in life. Additionally whereas the disadvantage of these written devotionals is the tendency to rush through them and check them off our lists, reading the scriptures on our own and asking the Holy Spirit to teach us, gradually makes us intentional with spending time with God. We need both but I believe we need the Holy Spirit’s illumination more. So if all we have done is depend on devotionals for our quiet time and alone time with God, I believe it’s time for a reassessment where we receive more direct illumination from the Holy Spirit.

Now, how do we receive the word of God and what do we do with it? James 1:21-25 gives us a bit of insight into that: 'Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 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. 'James 1:21-25. Here, I would like to highlight what being a doer of the word entails. Of course aside from following key laws in the bible, not by our own might by the grace of God, I would light to highlight another aspect of being a doer. Being a doer to me also means choosing the word and God’s promises over the natural physical state of things. Choosing God’s word which says by His stripes we were healed even though our body screams pain. Choosing God’s word that says that Christ became poor so we could become rich instead of looking at our bank account or the current economy. Let’s choose to be these kind of doers who aside from striving to be obedient to God also strive to choose God’s promises and what has been perfected for us in the spirit against what we see physically around us and all the problems.

Few Key Scriptures on the Word of God

· 'My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.' Proverbs 4:20-22:

· ' The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ' Psalm 19:7-8

· The whole of Psalm 119

· 'The entrance of thy words gives light; It gives understanding unto the simple. 'Psalm 119:130

· 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ' Romans 1:16

The Word of God is Jesus Christ and our love for Him can be shown more as we engage more and more with the Word by reading, studying, listening, meditating and memorizing with the help of the Holy Spirit. It’s time for a shift to deeper with the word. If we used to engage with the Word once a week, it is time to make it a daily habit. If it was once a day, it is time to increase the number of times in a day. The Holy Spirit is always ready and willing to help us. Let’s engage Him more as we engage with the Word more!