One of the biggest lacks in modern Christianity (and a key to revival)

As I sat in Sunday School listening to 1 Peter Farrell expound on Deut 6:6-7 and talk about our command to speak the word of God constantly - it was like a quick burning fuse was lit that exploded dramatically into about a billion thoughts and verses.

Deu 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

How many times do people read and then could not give you a single thing they learned or perhaps even remembered about their reading? I go a step further and ask the question - HOW OFTEN IS THERE DISCUSSION ABOUT GOD's WORD?

Is this not the key? If I knew I were going to have a test, I would study - if I know there will be accountability time at Home Bible Study, I might be more likely to pay close attention in my reading - if I am preparing a message or a lesson, I have no choice but to study with attentiveness and prayer - if there were Bible quizzing or trivia contests coming up then I would rehearse important facts. Whether the motives were right or not - it would motivate. People read so many times and gain nothing because they do not

• pray that God will open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of His law
• devote the time and energy to comprehension and meditation
• they do not journal, blog, memorize, take notes, email a friend, converse or in some other way organize what they are reading into thoughts; consider and address the personal implications of what they read and then share them with others

What does Deut 6 and about a hundred other places challenge us to do? To know the word of God - to memorize, to read, to meditate, to apply, to study, to preach, to teach, to provoke others to love and to good works - to be in the Word and let the Word be in you.

Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me - Ps. 119
It is a lamp and a light
It is quick (alive) and powerful, it is sharp and discerning
It is like a fire, it is like a hammer
It is like water to a thirsty soul
It is the sustaining and nourishing bread of life
It is promised to accomplish what God will have it to
When it is in you, it burns and you cant contain it, you must speak the word or you will explode

When hid in your heart, it will be a powerful force in keeping you from sin - 1) it is a means of keeping your heart with all diligence, 2) its presence means there is an absence of something else (something either harmful or at least less profitable than the word), 3) it will be brought to your memory in the midst of temptation and the list goes on.

It is part of the armor of God - the most versatile piece. The sword is used in both offense and defense as well as being the most intimidating part of the armor. Do you know of an enemy vanquished by a helmet, a shield, a breastplate etc - it is the sword that will vanquish the enemy. Is that not what Jesus used to make Satan flee?

We could go on all day about what God says about His word - its power, its prominence (magnified above His name), its promulgation etc. Hundreds and hundreds of verses (and that is just in Ps. 119!)

So why the apathy of "Christian" kids today - why the spinning of the Bible or forgetting to bring it, why so few that claim to have read it even once that week? Why does it require mass entertainment and sports to get them even interested in being there?

Will these kids be a witness? HA
Will these kids resist temptation?
Will these kids love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength - will their parents, will we?

God tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together - this is one rule a good baptist just won't violate (provided there is food)
Why are we to gather...
What did the early church do in their gatherings...
Why did God want the children of Israel to bind the word on their hearts, keep it as frontlets before their eyes, put them on signposts at their homes and to talk of the word when they sit, stand, lie down, walk in the way...

Here is what clicked.
WE ARE TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART SOUL MIND AND STRENGTH
MEANING HE IS ALWAYS ON OUR MIND AND IN OUR CONVERSATION

If we were to commit ourselves to talk of God's word in our everyday conversations and challenge each other in our reading every time we got together I suspect the following would happen

1. We would spend more time reading our Bible
2. We would pay much closer attention to our reading, if for no other reason then that we know it would be discussed and it would be embarrassing not to have an answer for those Christians who ask us what God is showing us. Should that not be a shameful thing for us as children of God?
3. That word that we are reading would begin to work in our lives
4. Our Individual and collective knowledge of the Scriptures will multiply (do we need a list of how this will advantage the kingdom of God)
5. Our children will see this emphasis and realize that no longer are temporal matters our priority, but eternal - this is the perhaps the last and only hope for the next generation since this one is so Laodicaean in nature as a whole.
6. Our kids will care about what we care about - Prov. 22:6 - our kids aren't leaving what they were raised with - the Red Sox are still their team, they still prefer Chevy over Ford, they like camping and barbecue and they still will follow their parents advice in areas of college, career and investing. The Bible - well that was something the preacher talked about, not mom and dad so much... WHAT IF THE OPPOSITE WERE TRUE
7. When our conversations are consistently about the Bible then the result will be that those who don't have a use for the Bible will be forced to either step up "their game" of faking it or they will leave OR they will sense the excitement and moving of God and want to be involved and start digging into the Word in sincerity.
8. When we are used to talking about the word of God to the saved consistently, it will be much more natural to speak the word of God to the lost. (out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh)
9. When we discuss the Word of God consistently with believer and unbeliever alike (as we are commanded) then it seems that the things of God would now be consuming our daily thoughts and actions - this would be the first time that we could honestly start to think that maybe we are close to loving God with all of our being.
10. If God were always on our mind in this way then perhaps we would have desires and dislikes more in line with God's and be less susceptible to sin.
11. We would spend more time in the word and therefore less time and money on selfish endeavors giving us greater resources and motivation to minister to the needy, to spread the gospel and to support our missionaries.
12. Friendships would be created or restored, jealousies would diminish, GOD WOULD BE GLORIFIED

I am certain there would be MANY other benefits.

So where does this start? With beginning a practice of talking about the Word of God. Ballgames, video games, movies, stock investments, car shopping and vacation planning - none of those things will profit us spiritually or matter in eternity so lets meet on our common ground. Lets discuss the one thing that is supposed to bring us all to church and make us one family - Jesus Christ - Lets talk about THE WORD OF GOD and see if it doesn't help our families, our church, our friendships, our work ethic, our victory over sin, our boldness, our prayer lives, our worship, our separation, our attitude, our love for God, our service and the spreading of God's word throughout this lost world.

There are a lot of our, my, I and we statements in that last paragraph - if our desires are God's desires then that is fine because those are the things God wants of us and that give Him pleasure.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly...ready to give an answer...studied to shew yourself approved...word hidden in your heart...observed to do according to all that is written therein...prepared your heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach...let the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart be acceptable...walk in the law of the Lord...

We learn of God through His word

We see who He is and who we are

We get our calling and direction
We get our victory over sin
We know of the glory ahead
We know of our great Saviour
We know the promises He has made us
We know the power available to us
We receive conviction of sin and promise of forgiveness
We know God's tremendous love and His burden for the souls of every person He died for (that is everyone)
The list goes on - I THINK THERE IS PLENTY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT - especially if God has said that the Bible contains unsearchable riches

Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

It was John and Charles Wesley that were indited as the holy club and the methodists who were guilty of practicing this premise. I suppose I could think of worse things to be called.