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Meeting ID: 824 3854 1089

Writing God’s Word on Your Heart – 4 Steps

(4) “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (6) “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. (7) “Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) “Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. (9) “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

– Deuteronomy 6:4-9 CSB

The command in verse 6 is seemingly simple. These words that I am giving you, take them to heart. They are to be in your heart and it is for a purpose.

David tells us that purpose in Psalm 119.

(11) I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.

– Psalm 119:11 CSB

I think most of us get it. God has created us to live in His way. If we do this we will prosper in His world.

To sin is to miss the mark. It would be living in our own way and ignoring the great plan that God has for us. In other words, we would miss the mark.

So how do we get on board with God’s plan for our life? How do we live in His ways? We write His word on our hearts.

We do 4 things – teach, talk, identify, and write.

Teach the Word

(7) “Repeat them to your children. …

– Deuteronomy 6:7 CSB

The word repeat in this verse means to drill or teach diligently. Inculcate would be another word that would capture the meaning. It means to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions.

This can be a difficult thing. How can you put things in a way that people can get a hold of them? If I were to say to you, “We need to get into God’s word until…” would you be able to finish the statement?

We need to get into God’s word until God’s word gets into us.

God gives us precepts or laws one at a time and builds upon them a little here, a little there (Isa 28:10). We can only take so much in at once.

I was telling a friend the other day that humans need handles. What do I mean?

Teaching isn’t just telling someone something, although that can work. It is providing structure to the information to help us process it.

Taxonomy helps us name, describe, and classify organisms or bodies of information. Catagories might be a more familiar term.

You could think of it as shelves that you place like items. A bookcase has shelves of books. Book is a category. But then you have different genres or types of books. Mystery, religion, science fiction are some examples.

You might have different shelves for these types. They are all books, but they are different and you place them on their own shelf. This helps you organize a whole library of books. It helps to create order. These are the handles I was speaking of.

The opposite is chaos or disorder. You have a lot of information, but because it isn’t organized it is harder to remember and to make the important connections that we need. We just don’t “get it.”

The more we take time to create the handles so we can teach our subject. The more we know the subject and can implement it into our life. By teaching we learn and probably get more out of the information than those, we are relaying it to.

We are to make sure our children and others know God’s word. But even more than that, His way.

(19) “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) “teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

– Matthew 28:19-20 CSB

Talk About the Word

(7) … Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

– Deuteronomy 6:7 CSB

(18) And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: (19) speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, (20) giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

– Ephesians 5:18-20 CSB

Paul tells the Ephesians that we should be speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music with our hearts to the Lord. Sounds like a worship service, doesn’t it?

I don’t want you to miss this important piece. He says something before he gives you the list. Be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings life. You have heard it said, the letter brings death, but the Spirit brings life.

Speak the Word in the power of the Spirit. It brings life to those who hear it.

(34) “Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

– Matthew 12:34 CSB

So what do you want your heart to be filled with?

When you hang around people you can tell where they are at in the spiritual. What fills their conversation? For that matter, what fills your conversation?

You will hear what is on their heart. Because it is from the abundance of our heart that our mouth speaks. This may be an opportunity for you to speak the good news of Christ to someone.

FYI – if what you tell a person doesn’t sound like good news to them, you should maybe check with the Holy Spirit if this is the right word or time.

We only have to plant a seed or water it. If the person is interested they will ask for more. In the end, we should encourage, edify, and equip. Everything has a season.

(8) “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

– Joshua 1:8 CSB

Statistics say you only remember 10% of what you hear. But if you talk about it with others you will remember more. The more you talk about the word, the bigger perspective you get. Asking questions about how to apply the word in those conversations can help us better understand how to obey it.

Identify With the Word

(8) “Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.

– Deuteronomy 6:8 CSB

As I was flying over to Israel and during our stay, I noticed certain practices that involved straps and prayer boxes. These Tefillin are worn in morning prayer as a reminder of God and to follow Jewish law daily. It is a visible and tactile sign of identifying with the Word.

As the Body of Christ we have probably spent more time identifying with the world than we would like to admit. Some of this is based on the thought that our ability to reach the world is dependent on our identifying with the culture.

While this is true in part, God wants us to identify with Him alone. All humans are created in His image. We all suffer through pain, emotions, and loss. And on this level we all can identify with both God and others.

(19) Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. (20) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law ​– ​though I myself am not under the law ​– ​to win those under the law. (21) To those who are without the law, like one without the law ​– ​though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ ​– ​to win those without the law. (22) To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. (23) Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.

– 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 CSB

Paul found a way to identify the needs, while not offending those he ministered to.

(13) Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother or sister to fall.

– 1 Corinthians 8:13 CSB

He didn’t say he was going to dress like them and talk like them to reach them. What he was being sensitive to was what would close the door to the gospel. His adjustment to others allowed them to hear the good news he brought.

We are to act and look like Christians. The power of God is what we need. His power, His presence, and His overcoming love. This is what is necessary to reach this generation. The love of God will break through to reach them.

There will be a distinction between the people of God and the people of the world. We must identify with Christ rather than the world. We must not have a form of godliness but deny its power. We are in need of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Let’s identify with the Word that defines us.

Write the Word

(9) “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

– Deuteronomy 6:9 CSB

If you only remember 10% of what you hear how can you improve your retention? Write it down. Information on goals say you are 42% more likely to accomplish your goal if you write it down.

Some professors in education relay that taking notes on a lecture can move you from 10% up to 85% retention just by writing the notes.

As your studying your Bible, write down your notes and thoughts about what you are reading. This will help you to remember what you are learning.

(2) The LORD answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it.

– Habakkuk 2:2 CSB

So write down what God is sharing with you. The Lord told Habakkuk to do this.

Once you write it down you can ask questions about it later. Does it line up with the Scripture? How does it applies to your situation?

Keep in mind that these things the Lord is sharing with you don’t supersede the written word, but they can give you revelation into God’s character and plan.

God has made it simple. In fact a child could do it.

(3) “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child ​– ​this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

– Matthew 18:3-4 CSB

We can make learning the Word so complicated. God made it simple.

We need to have the Word of God written on our hearts. It shows us how to live.

He has provided the way and has empowered us. We simply need to obey.