RISE Part 1 – Week 4: How To Meditate On Scripture (Male edition)
There are 5 ways to treat Gods word and each one goes deeper and makes a bigger impact.
1. Read it
2. Study it
3. Meditate on it
4. Memorise it
5. Engraft it
What does it mean to “engraft”? To engraft Scripture into our souls means to make it a living extension of our lives so it can produce spiritual fruit. The more Scripture we engraft, the more types of spiritual fruit we will have in our lives. If we engraft I Corinthians 13, we will have the fruit of genuine love. If we engraft I Peter, we will have the fruit of patience during suffering. If we engraft Romans 6 and 8, we will have victory over sin.
The idea of engrafting is the same as in gardening. A gardener who wants to Engraft something will for example take an apple tree branch and splice it into a peach tree. Once it has taken, the tree will produce not only apples but also peaches and it will produce that fruit continually in every season for the life of the tree. When you Engraft Gods word in the area of Fear for example, the fear will be replaced by faith and for the rest of your life in that area, the fruit of peace and faith will always be there.
How does engrafting the Word begin? The first step to engraft Scripture is to memorize it.
WHY MEDITATION IS SO IMPORTANT?
The words of Scripture are living words. They are eternal wisdom within the shell of human words. God wants us to break open these human words and begin to discover the rich wealth of personal application and understanding which are in them. This is done through meditation and the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit in us.
WHAT IS MEDITATION?
There are many Hebrew words in the bible related to the idea of meditation. The best example i can use is that of a cow chewing the cud. The cow has 4 stomachs. The coarse food goes from stomach to stomach as it breaks down the material into digestible nutrients for the cows health. Meditation is the same idea. Breaking down whole concepts and ruminate on the phrases and words in the scripture extracting the greatest meaning and impact from what has been written. This allows the word of God to be fully explored and the richness of God’s word fully extracted.
● Meditation is a pleasant “murmuring” of Scripture to yourself. “…on His Law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2). (haw-GAW): to murmur (in pleasure); to ponder.
● Meditation is a quiet reflection upon the words of Scripture. “…Your testimonies are my meditation.” (Psalm 119:99).
● Meditation is a musical repetition of God’s Word. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart…” (Psalm 19:14). .
● Meditation is a prayerful review of Scripture. “Meditate upon these things…” (I Timothy
4:15).
● Meditation is communing with God in the language of His own written Word. “I honor and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees.” (Psalm 119:48). Meditation is “talking to the King in the King’s own words.”
● Meditation is building your day and night around Scripture. “Oh, how love I your law! I meditate on it all day long.” (Psalm 119:97). “… I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” (Job 23:12).
● Meditation is worshiping God in spirit and in truth. “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). “May my meditation be pleasing to him…” (Psalm 104:34)
If you meditate on Scripture as you wake up, as you go to work, as you relax, and as you go to sleep, you will be wise and successful in everything you do. (See Deuteronomy 6:7 and Psalm 63:5–6.)
LEARN HOW TO MEDITATE
In every age and within every society God has specific goals which He wants to accomplish. He looks for men and women through whom He can reach these objectives. As we meditate on Scripture and compare the needs of our society with similar situations in Scripture, we will gain an understanding of some of the goals which God wants to accomplish.
MEMORIZE GOD’S THOUGHT STRUCTURES
If we are to think God’s thoughts, we must be able to comprehend and appreciate His structure of thinking as presented in Scripture. The best way to do this is to memorize whole thoughts and ideas from Scripture.
EXAMPLE:
“…Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”(Matthew 4:4).
PERSONALIZE THE SCRIPTURE YOU HAVE MEMORIZED
God delights to hear His own Word, especially when we are using it to express our own desires and emotions. To do this, we can take the same sections which we have memorized and add personal pronouns wherever possible. This process is illustrated in the following verse.
EXAMPLE:
“O Lord, I shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Your mouth!”
REPEAT THE VERSE SEVERAL TIMES, EMPHASIZING A DIFFERENT WORD EACH TIME EXAMPLE:
“Man shall not live by bread alone. …”. “Man shall not live by bread alone. …” “Man shall not live by bread alone….”
VISUALIZE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH WORD EXAMPLE:
“Man. …” Every man; all mankind is a universal principle. Everyone is included. “Man shall not. …” A final decree. No one will change it. A firm negative.
“Man shall not live. …” Living is more than just existing. There is physical and spiritual life. God made us to enjoy the pleasures of life in His presence. Christ came to give us eternal life and abundant life. God is life. He made life. He alone knows what it consists of.
REPEAT THE VERSE, AND PONDER THE FULL MEANING OF EACH WORD
EXAMPLE:
“…Man shall not, live, on bread alone, but on every, word, that comes from, the mouth, of God”
LET THE WORDS GROW IN YOUR MIND, WILL AND EMOTIONS
JOHN 15:7
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (JOHN 15:7).
“Lord, I will remain in You and allow Your words to remain in me. Then, whatever I ask will be done for me.”
USE THE VERSE TO TALK WITH GOD, AND PONDER EACH WORD FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION
EXAMPLE:
“Man shall not live…” O Lord, You want me to discover Your life. It is far richer and fuller than I can comprehend. You want to live Your life through me! You want to see through my eyes, speak through my mouth, love through my heart, and work through my hands,”
“…On bread alone…” If I want your kind of life, I must concentrate on more than physical food. Food is important, but there is something even more important.”
“…But on every word…” “Lord, every word? Every word! Every part of scripture. “All scripture is…beneficial…” (2 Timothy 3:16). What a task is yet before me! Physical health requires a balanced diet. Spiritual health must require the same. I must learn to gain nourishment from every part of Your Word. If I eat only potatoes day after day, I will soon tire of potatoes, and will become nutritionally deficient. If I fail to get a balanced diet from Your Word, I will tire of it and become spiritually weak.”
EXPECT GOD TO BRING THIS VERSE TO YOUR MIND AND SHOW YOU NEW INSIGHTS FROM IT
MEMORIZE ROMANS 6
6 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live;[a] do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
PERSONALIZE ROMANS 6
6Well then, should I keep on (name the sin) so that God can show me more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since I have died to (name the sin), how can I continue to live in it? 3 Or have I forgotten that when I was joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, I joined him in his death? 4 For I died and was buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now I also may live a new life.
5 Since I have been united with him in his death, I will also be raised to life as he was. 6 I know that my old sinful self was crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in my life. I am no longer a slave to (name the sin). 7 For when I died with Christ I was set free from the power of (name the sin). 8 And since I died with Christ, I know I will also live with him. 9 I am sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So I also should consider myself to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 I do not let (name the sin) control the way I live; I do not give in to (name the sin) desires. 13 I do not let any part of my body become an instrument of evil to serve (name the sin). Instead, I give myself completely to God, for I was dead, but now I have new life. So I use my whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 (Name the sin) is no longer my master, for I no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, I live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set me free from the law, does that mean I can go on (name the sin)? Of course not! 16 Don’t I realize that I become the slave of whatever I choose to obey? I can be a slave to (name the sin), which leads to death, or I can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once I was a slave of sin, but now I wholeheartedly obey this teaching I have been given. 18 Now I am free from my slavery to (name the sin), and I have become a slave to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of my human nature, God is using the illustration of slavery to help me understand all this. Previously, I let myself be slave to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into (name the sin). Now I must give myself to be a slave to righteous living so that I will become holy.
20 When I was a slave to (name the sin), I was free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? I am now ashamed of the things I used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now I am free from the power of (name the sin) and have become a slave of God. Now I do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus my Lord.