Last month we discussed ABIDING IN THE VINE. This month we will be discussing specifically ABIDING IN THE WORD. The key to Abiding in the Word is to realize we are in relationship with the God of the universe who desires to have a personal relationship with us as He speaks to us from the Logos (The written Word). Since Christ is the Logos, the Words of Scripture are not just history or theology, but rather are Christ himself desiring to place His Words (Called Rhema or what He is specifically applying from the Logos to us) into our soul, into the very fabric of our life. Thus, we are to enjoy the process, go slow, and walk together with God who is speaking personally to us. This is what we call Camping Out staying in His Word to us long enough until we receive and believe what He is speaking to us. There are many keys to this process: 1. Pursue your interest; what interesting Word or thought that the Spirit has been piquing your interest; what you already know God is laying on your heart. Jesus says in John 6:63 that: the flesh counts for nothing, but my Words (His words being spoken to you personally - Rhema) are Spirit, and they are Life. So it is no value for anyone to just study the Bible, or do a daily devotional this tends to be of the flesh and intellectual - not allowing us to receive his words which are Spirit and life to us. Thus it is important to be abiding in the Word where you are receiving Spirit and life. This becomes the qualifier of God speaking to you. The entire Bible (Logos) is true, but not intended to be spoken to you all at the same time. Instead, God wishes to speak from Logos His Rhema (personal Word) to us. Thus our position is to be one of receiving his Rhema Words to us that are Spirit and Life not attempting to go after a study to perform our daily quiet time. In 1 Corinthians 2: 9-12, Paul says that no ear can hear, nor eye can see what God has prepared in advance to speak to us. So, this cannot be done through our natural logic, being interpreted by our own experience, but rather through the Spirit which in verse 12 says: we have (past tense, already happened) received the Spirit that freely gives us all things. So the key is to be a receiver of what God is saying to us; and the key question to ask yourself is," what is God saying to me." This is a question and my wife, Linda, and I ask each other consistently "what is God saying to you. As you are engaging in his Word in something that is of interest to you, a question that you are pursuing, a word or a thought that he has laid on your heart; or through a stimulus that is from someone else, a message that you listened to, or even from preparing a bible study for church or a small group you will find that your intimacy with him will grow as we interact with them through abiding in his word. Abide where you experience this Spirit and Life, not in intellectual pursuit that has no Spiritual life value. 2. Write out the verses that are Spirit and Life to you longhand. Do not just read them without writing them down, or use computer program to copy. There's a benefit to writing because you will begin to see and experience and received all of the words of the verses; it will also stimulate your curiosity and your thoughts about what they are meaning to you. 3. Use a good cross-reference study Bible that allows you to move to additional Scriptures that speak to the same thing that you are being led to. There are over 15,000 different Hebrew and Greek words used in expressing the truths of the Bible. Unfortunately, we only have at best 5000 English words that translate those 15,000 words. So by definition, we are already
missing out on 2/3 of the original meanings and nuances of these spirit life words. The translations from the Greek and Hebrew to English are in 3 different categories: Word for Word translation this is where the translators are not attempting to give us any help in understanding the words but just worked on choosing the best English word to translate the original Greek and Hebrew word; and then let the Spirit give us the true meaning and personal understanding/application of those words. Thought for Thought Translation this is where the translators are attempting to assist our understanding by providing their interpretation of the thought of the verses and thus are not translating Word for Word (though working to stay true to the original Hebrew and Greek and not just giving a paraphrase) - rather inserting English words to give what they consider to be the best thought in line with the original Hebrew and Greek. Paraphrase translation this is where the translator is providing his or her interpretation of the Scriptures in an attempt to make it easier to read and understand. In this case, we are receiving someone's opinion of the Scriptures and not to the words of Scripture directly. We recommend that you use a Word for Word translation as your primary Bible. These include the new King James Version (NKJV), the new American Standard Bible (NASB), and the English Standard Version (ESV). Thought translations include the New International Version (NIV) and the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Paraphrases include things like the Message, the Good News Bible and the Living Bible. The New Living Translation has done a better job of working from the Greek and Hebrew, but is still a paraphrase. We do not recommend using a paraphrase as your primary Bible as you are you are now reading someone's opinion of the Scriptures as opposed to receiving the Spirit and Life words directly from God. It may be helpful to periodically look at a paraphrase to give assistance, but not to be your primary source of revelation. Another good Bible to use in corollary to a Word for Word translation is the Amplified Bible, which gives the original Greek and Hebrew words using the 3 to 5 or 6 English words necessary to translate that one word. As you are diving deeper into the word, this becomes very helpful in understanding the actual meanings of words that are not fully translated because of the difficulty from Greek and Hebrew to English. You can also go to www.biblegateway.com or www.crosswalk.com for different translations. Make sure you spend some time understanding the context of the specific Bible Book from which the verse is taken. Also, do not read just the specific verse, but read the entire paragraph for context. 4. As you are receiving revelation from His Word, receive additional revelation by Cross Referencing specific verses by using your Cross Reference Study Bible which will take you to other truth about that particular revelation; and perform Word studies using concordance at back of your bible or www.biblegateway.com or www.crosswalk.com. As you spend time in the cross-referenced or word study verses, let the quickening of the Spirit lead you regarding whether this is something He is speaking to you; and only then spend time further processing. If it does not strike your heart much, do not spend any further time on it and continue to cross reference other verses that strike your heart or go to another verse from your Word study. Remember to not just go to the specific cross referenced verse, but read
the entire paragraph for context, and be willing to let HIM speak to you about something that may not be directly related to the original verse from which you cross referenced. This happens frequently as I let the Spirit lead me to a cross-reference and see something new - a new thought that is helpful for Him speaking to my heart. The key is to pay attention to where you are receiving Spirit and Life; and not to perform an intellectual Bible study that just provides a lot of knowledge. 5. It is critical to be using a journal as you spend a quiet unhurried time with God in the word. It is important to write out the truths of Scripture so that you begin to see what the word is speaking to you, not filtered through your own viewpoint. Thus, write out your thoughts about what the verses are saying in the following way : What this says about the character, the purposes, & the ways of God? What God has done, is doing or promises to do? Pay attention to the verb tense. Are there any conditions to what God promises? (If then) What are my responsibilities or responses? This puts on paper what are the truths of these scriptures and gives you a focus for spending further, intimate time in His truth to you, not just concepts or misunderstood truths because we read something into what is being said, or did not pay attention to the truth of what is being said. 6. Go deeper into Hebrew and Greek meaning of the Words He is speaking to you: (can go to www.crosswalk.com, click on Bible Study Tools at top of website, center right; then on next screen click on Interlinear Bible type in word or verses: when the verses come up along with the Greek & Hebrew on the next screen, click on your chosen word, then from the next screen, print the Hebrew or Greek word meanings). This allows you to see the interesting meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words that God is speaking to you. You'll find this most enjoyable since the Spirit will be speaking to your heart, and will become much clearer to you as opposed to the limitations of just the English words. The key is, all always, to ask: What is He speaking to you. 7. Write out these specific verses that are speaking to your heart on 3 x 5 cards, and carry them with you. During open time in your day, which can be an automobile at a stoplight, or in a meeting, or at your desk, etc. you can begin memorizing the verses. A practice that Linda and I have adopted is to only memorize the verses that are being spoken to us. (Therefore, not doing a program of memorization, but only where God is speaking to your heart). We rehearse and pray these before we go to sleep, paying attention to phrases we are missing or words we are missing. We then do the same thing when we wake up. We rehearse the verses from our heart. This puts us onto God s agenda for our day, and allows us to continue to dialogue with Him throughout the day about the meaning and application of His Word to us. Memorization is important for us to be able to have this ongoing dialogue with God all day long around His Word and truth to us (verses random thoughts and prayers, particularly out of our complaining or frustrations of life); and for us to give away to others. As you are receiving God's word to you, God will specifically ask you to give it away to those that He brings across your path - which is needed for that person & orchestrated by God; and just as
importantly to help cement the truth of the Word into your own heart as you speak it out to others. 8. Dialogue with the Father through journaling your thoughts and interacting with HIM about what He is saying to you write out in your journal: Do I believe this in my heart (is it settled?) Why or why not? What do I struggle with & what experiences in my life, work against what I am receiving in the Word? How do these words apply to my situation and me? How is God calling me to adjust my life to Him and His will? What thoughts come to me about all this? Dialogue with the Father your thoughts. Ask for clarity, understanding, wisdom, faith. This is a critical piece of the process. Without journaling, you will not be able to fully express where you are in receiving these words, and secondly, you will not be in the habit of writing down what He is speaking back to you about your questions and your curious thoughts. Therefore, you will forget what He is speaking as He is moving you into a deeper intimacy with him as you dialogue. Ask questions and listen to Him speaking to you look forward to and expect this vibrant relationship to Him in the Word. 9. Then, pray the promises: Ask God to fulfill what He has said to you. There are over 7000 promises in Scripture that the Lord will be speaking to your heart of what he wants to do. Our life is not intended to be lived in the natural of us performing things based upon our limited abilities, but rather to be lived in the supernatural, where He is doing mighty works in our life to draw us into his promises and His Covenant relationship to us and also to demonstrate to the world that his power and might is real and can be trusted as we abide in the Vine and abide in HIS Word. In 2 Samuel 7:27 29, David speaks amazing truth. He says the following: He, as a servant of God, has heard God speak to him personally and that David has found it in his heart to pray what he has heard from God back to God. Through his dialoguing and processing with the Lord, David understood 3 things very important things: o He is speaking to God Himself, the one true God of the Universe. o God s Words are true he can count on the veracity of His Words. o The promises are intended for him personally and thus he prays these promises - asking God to perform what he has just spoken to David. This is our pattern that we are to adopt: receive what God is saying to us; understand that we are hearing from the one true God, that His words are true, and that His promises are being given to us personally. Then, pray and ask that He perform these promises in reality in our life, on our behalf. This is what Oswald Chambers referred to in his writings as Praying the Promises. 10. Finally, it is very important to commit time with friend of accountability; your spouse or someone who is willing to walk with you in hearing what God is speaking to you. Set a time to get together and then share what you have been writing in your journal what God is
saying to you; and what questions, thoughts, & responses you have had to what God is saying to you. Discuss feelings, reactions, & insights why important to me. Study specific verses that each is sharing. Pray verses together. By probing with questions and sharing feelings and thoughts, it will draw each of you into her closer intimate relationship with God. This is not about being correct or interpreting things rightly, but rather to assist what God is doing in your heart and soul by helping you move to a place of belief and asking God to perform what he is speaking to you. This is very helpful in a marriage, as it shows your spouse that you care that you are not trying to solve their problems yourself, that you are listening to them because you can then pray that the Lord what you've been hearing in terms of asking the father to break through the roadblocks the questions etc. that are preventing your spouse from believing what God is speaking. The key to all of this is to abide in the Word where God is speaking Spirit and Life Words to you. You'll notice a big quality difference in these Words, because it will draw you into a very intimate relationship. It will excite you and you will find that each day will be exciting as you cannot wait to hear what the Spirit is saying to you. Enjoy abiding in the word and know that apart from Christ, you can do nothing - so abiding in the Word is essential to abiding in the Vine in Him. Next month: Abiding through Prayer!