God's People Must Feed Themselves On The Word

If the people of God will stand in faith in the times we are in, they must learn to feed on God's Word. Too many people depend on preachers to feed them. These are still baby Christians, and they will not have the strength to stand in the hard times to come.

Psalm 119 gives plenty of instruction for how to feed on God's Word. I will take this message from that Psalm.

1.  We must appreciate the virtues of the Word of God.
         A. The Bible is a timeless book. v. 89. It is indestructible. Many have tried to destory it,
         but it lives on.
         B. It is a true word. v. 160
         C. It is a treasured book
All these are true of God's Word. It was written by many authors over long periods os time. Still, the  essential theme of redemption runs from Genesis to Revelation. It is a consistent book with the truths of how God wants mankind to live in relationship to Him.

2.  We must assimilate the vitality of God's Word
         The Bible pulsates with life. v.73- Pray over it, asking for understading
         Ponder it - v. 148 - take time to get it into your heart, think on it,
         v. 11- Preserve it. Keep it in your heart. We can memorize it better than we think. God
         says to hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.
         v. 1-5 - Practice it.  We never remember what we don't practice. Faith is like a muscle.
         The more we use it, the stronger it gets. And the same is true with the Word of God.
         The more we read it, ponder it, think upon it, the more it will stay within us.

Spend time with the Father just talking to Him as you would a best friend. Ask Him for what you need. Ask Him to search out your secret sins and take them from you. Then, be prepared to obey the leading as the Holy Spirit helps you with this. It won't always be comfortable, but it will be healing and bring you peace.

Ask yourself these questions:
     Is there a promise to claim?
     Is there a lesson to learn?
     Is there a blessing to claim?
     Is there a command to obey?
     Is there a sin to avoid?
     Is there something new to carry with me?

If you really want to understand the Word of God, you must practice what you already know  and understand of it.

The, but not last, we must proclaim it. v. 46, 172.
After the Word is in you, then you can appropriate it.
It is our source of victory over all that besets us from the enemy. It gives us victory.
It is our source of food for the spirit. v 32 
It gives us joy and power and produces peace within us.
If we don't feed on the Word of God, we cannot grow in our spirits.

The Bible addresses one problem -- SIN. It has one enemy -- Satan. It has one hero- Jesus.
Our purpose is to glorify God. We cannot do this unless we know His Word, His ways, and His will for each of us. We learn these things by studying His Word and spending time in fellowship with Him.

We those who are of Jesus come before His throne to have our works judged, Jesus will not ask us how much earthly work we accomplished. Rather, He will be interested in how many works we did by the inspiration and leadership of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to God's Word.  He will look at our motives, our purposes, our desires of the heart. All these things must line up with the will of God, or they will burn up as wood, hay, and stubble.
Lay up in Heaven things of gold, jewels, and precious things to last and lay at the feet of Jesus in that day.

Sandra D
11/18/2009