
MAXIMISING THE BENEFITS OF THE WORD.
“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17
“Let the Word of God dwell richly in you” (Colossians 3:16)
Bear in mind that Jesus Christ Himself is the Word. However, before the Word can profit you, it must first enter into you. That is, unless you read and hear it, you will not know what is embedded in it for your benefit.
It is also important that you don’t just stop at reading and hearing the Word, but you go a step further by making it a way of life. This means, you should let God’s Word seep through you into your innermost being. Once the Word gains access into your heart, it will purify, clean d. and change you further into Christ’s likeness.
Nevertheless, this is not a once-in-a-lifetime exercise. For the Word to dwell richly in you, it must remain in your heart, forever. That way, you constantly exhibit the nature of Christ in all you do, thereby turning you to a living wonder among men.
- Meditation (Joshua 1:8)
Meditation is a spiritual process done in partnership with the Holy Spirit. So, you need patience, waiting on Him, sensitivity and open-mindedness.
Through the process of meditation, the Holy Spirit reveals to you the hidden picture in every scripture, and this will help you to maximise the benefits of the Word. You can’t see a picture from a scripture and doubt it (1 Corinthians 2:9- 11).
It is the process of scriptural meditation that kills doubts and unbelief (Hebrews 3:12). It empowers you to believe, which automatically leads to FAITH. It helps you to enter into God’s rest on any issue of concern (Hebrews 4:3, 11). It also helps you to access revelation that destroys frustration and doubt.
It helps you to trust God and be God-confident, because of the revelation shown to you by the Holy Spirit (Daniel 11:32). Studying God’s Word builds faith and faith builds trust.
Simply put, to live a successful and prosperous life as a believer, you need to practise the art of meditation often and make it your lifestyle (John 15:7). For example, the Bible records s concerning Isaac:
“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.” Genesis 24:63
- Bold Speaking (Acts 4:23-31)
The scriptural reference above gives us several examples of both bold living and bold speaking. Bold speaking means courage to speak openly with assurance and confidence, and to act without fear.
As an ambassador of Christ, you need boldness to live a triumphant life in this world. However, bold speaking is largely influenced by what you believe deeply. You can only be empowered to believe what you see from God’s Word, which is also referred to as revelation.
Bold speaking can be done through: Speaking boldly to ourselves (1 Samuel 30:6), Speaking encouragement to others (Hebrews 3:13), Speaking correction to others (Hebrews 12:5-11) and leading others to Christ (Acts 4:20).
Learn to boldly speak God’s Word.
- Obedience (John 2:5; James 1:22-25)
It is your main duty, as a believer, to obey God and His Word. However, obedience goes deeper than just a duty. It must come from the heart, not grudgingly, but because we have to.
What you know is not as important as what you do with what you know. Your obedience is an expression of your faith in God’s wisdom and love. When you obey God’s Word, you have obeyed His person as well. Note that as your Creator, He has the wisdom to know how you should live and what works best for you in the long run.
It is, therefore, essential to trust God because His perspective is much better than yours, as seen in His Word (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Remember, what you do with God’s Word determines your worth in this world…
This text is an extract from the book “GUIDELINES TO EFFECTIVE PERSONAL BIBLE STUDY” written by Faith A. Oyedepo.
We invite you to read the following article “THE BIBLE“.
MAXIMISING THE BENEFITS OF THE WORD. MAXIMISING THE BENEFITS OF THE WORD.
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