Here’s the SECRET

        You can’t do it WITHOUT His Word. (Jn 15).

        God’s Word is His standard, and a solid rock to build on. He honors His Word above His name! In the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a farmer who sows seeds” (Mk 4:26), and later He said that the seed is the Word of God, and once buried in our hearts, will bring forth its fruit. 

        Reading, absorbing and following the Word of God is the MOST important thing we can do. Jesus said so. In John 15, He said “Abide in Me and I in you, for without Me, you can do nothing”. Simply because it’s the Word that keeps us in tune with God. In fact, this entire era and age of GRACE is built on us having FAITH in the Word! “For without faith, it is impossible to please God”, (Heb.11:6). 

        God expects us, His children, to “walk by faith” in His Word. And since faith comes from His Word, we must eagerly ABSORB His Word for ourselves, and thereby gain the faith that we need to meet the needs and confront the situations we face. This is why the Word is so important! It is the primary means by which we receive God’s communication and are made aware of His will.

        His Word is the known, sure, absolute, revealed will of God! Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life!” (John 6:63). His Word is what gives us spiritual LIFE and food and nourishment and strength and health! This is why a good wholesome balanced diet of His Word is essential if you wish to grow and stay close to Him.

        Jesus Himself is called “The Word of God”. (Rev.19:13; Jn.1:1, 14). Just like you have to eat in order to have physical strength, you have to feed from the Word, drink of the Word, to have spiritual strength. The Prophet Jeremiah said, “I found Thy Words and did eat them, and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart!” (Jer.15:16). And Job said, “I have esteemed the Words of His mouth more than my necessary food!” (Job 23:12). There’s nothing more important to your spiritual life than the Word. 

        Jesus said, “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luk.10:42). If you put the Word first, the Lord will always give you time somehow to take care of the other things. The minute you start crowding the Word out of your life, you are getting TOO BUSY! Try to set aside time each day in which you can quietly commune with the Lord through His Word. When you see the difference it makes in your walk with the Lord, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it! We are what we read and what we’re hungry for. 

         It is important to read the Word in a prayerful and receptive attitude, looking to His Holy Spirit for guidance to open up the eyes of our hearts. It says, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Cor.2:14). So we must ask the Holy Spirit for the discernment needed to understand His Word. The Holy Spirit is the One who’ll reveal things to us and lead us into all truth. That’s why we must pray and ask Him to “give unto us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened”. David prayed, “Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” (Psa.119:18). The more the Holy Spirit reveals the Word to you, the more you will find that God will speak to you loudly and clearly and directly through His written Word!

        A lot has to do with your own desire to hear from the Lord and your own personal hunger and receptivity. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Mat.5:6; Luk.1:53).

        So  much has to do with our ATTITUDE. The Scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were fluent in scripture, they knew it by heart, and they copied it all the time by hand. But because they were so self-satisfied and self-righteous, they were anything but “hungering and thirsting after righteousness”, and their hearts were hardened and their spiritual ears were deaf and they were devoid of understanding! They resisted the truth of the Word that they read, and truth resisted loses its power over the mind, and they didn’t even realize how spiritually alienated they were from the Lord.

        So read the Word prayerfully and thoughtfully. You can miss a lot of the meaning, the real depth of what the Lord’s talking about, unless you stop to really think about it and apply the Word to your personal situation; that’s what meditating on the Word is all about. If you will diligently and prayerfully labour in His Word, He will greatly reward you. “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver” (Psa.119:72).

        If you want to get a taste of the many benefits of reading the Word, read Psalm 1. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (PSA.1:2, 3).

        Regardless of how backslidden and dried up you are, the water of His Word can BRING YOU TO LIFE AGAIN; into a virtual resurrection if you will soak in His Word!  The more you study the Word and really dig into the Word, the more it will become refreshing and a continuous source of guidance to you. Soaking in the Word will rekindle in your heart a desire to change, because you will be inspired, envisioned, revitalized, renewed, invigorated, challenged, enthused and filled with faith from His Words!

        The SECRET of power and victory and overcoming and fruitfulness and fire and life and warmth and light and leadership is the Word! And the lack of the Word is the secret of backsliding and failure and coldness and darkness and weakness and dying spiritually! Jesus said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me” (Jn.15:4,7). Even your ministry to others is not as important as getting into the Word yourself first!  You’ll never have the spiritual strength and stamina or the spirit needed, unless you yourself are drinking in the Word and being spiritually nourished and strengthened by it yourself first. 

        If you’re weak in faith, it’s because you’re weak in the Word. If you’re having battles with doubts, the best cure is the Word! The best way to build up your faith is to bury yourself in the Word of God!  Let His truth cleanse you and rid you of all the filth of this rotten old World and your own sinful heart! “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (JN.15:3. Rom: 12:2). “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word”(Psa.119:9; Eph.5:26).

       The Word is what really draws the line that separates you from the world and from the worldlings. “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (Jn.8:47; 1Jn.4:5, 6). “The law of his God is in his heart, none of his steps shall slide!” (Psa.37:31).

        The Word is also our weapon! “The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God!” (Eph.6:17). It is our spiritual sword that drives away and defeats the devil every time we use it! When Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil, He fought back with the Word! (See Mat.4:1-10). So when the Enemy comes around, take out your sword and whack away! He can’t stand the Word! The best way to put the Enemy out of action is with the Word! Just bury him in a flood of truth! And he and all of his doubts and fears will flee!

        The Word is also a light that drives away and defeats the Enemy’s darkness! “Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path!” (Psa.119:105). When you fill your mind with the Word of God, you don’t have room for the darkness. When the devil attacks you with his doubts and his fears and his discouragement and his temptations and all the rest, turn on the light of God’s Word and the shadows will flee! Read it, quote it, sing it, and claim it! It never fails! 

        And also, when ministering to others, use the Word. There is absolute power in the Words of God. It is only the sword of His Spirit which is sharp enough to pierce the hardest armour, so that the warmth of His Spirit of love can flow into their empty hearts.

The more you live in the Word, the closer you’ll be to the Lord, and the more blessed and fruitful your life will be! 

 *COMMIT* to soaking in God’s Word.

Jn 8:31b-32 If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jn 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Ps 1:3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Ps 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Ps 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Ps 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Ps 119:165 Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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.

Jn 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

2Pt 1:4 By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Job 23:12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

Ps 119:72 The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.

Jn 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Ps 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Ps 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.