Meaningful Methods to Master Scriptures
1. Petition or supplication–
Pray about it. Ask Author of the scriptures to open your eyes to see beyond the written word and the literal words to the Living Word.
Unless God opens your eyes, you may read the scriptures a million times and remain blind like a bat. It may give you head knowledge and make you proud, but you will be far from the truth. This is why there are many professors in universities who are not born again. The profess the Bible , teach but have not met the Teacher. Such teachers doubt the virgin birth and question miracles. They may have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!1Tim3:5
The truth and revelation comes when you humble yourself and pray that the Author- the Holy Spirit will open your spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to understand what you read or study. This will make a world of difference. Otherwise bible study will simply be a religious exercise and of no value.
make this a prayer before you study the scriptures: 18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.
Ps119:18
2. Attention- Pay attention as your study. You cannot pay attention if the TV is on while you are studying your bible or be listening to music or the radio. You need and undivided heart and mind.
Avoid distractions when you study.
20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Prov4:20
Have a note book.
Action : Make your study proactive, with action and interaction with the Holy Spirit, asking Him questions and noting what He says. Have pen and note new truths you have learned that day. Underline key Words phrases that jump out at you. You can colour them differently if you like.
This is why you need to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. Acts1:8, Acts2:1-4,
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; John16:13
3. Application : It is said that “if you do not use it you lose it” This applies to any knowledge you acquire. Unless you put it to use you will forget it it and soon you will even wonder if you ever had that knowledge. It will be evident by your behaviour. The scripture are not given to give us head-knowledge but heart-knowledge. They are given for us to use in our daily living. This is what demonstrates the power of the word of God. So use the scripture in your daily life. Look for an opportunity to use the scripture you have learnt. Often after learning a truth, God will challenge you in that area. Do not shy from it. Yield to the Holy Spirit this is when you will begin to see the power of God in all your affairs.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James1:22
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3. Concentration: Effective Bible study must preclude doing other things. Your focus must be targeted, pin-pointed, undivided. You may need to put your pone on silence or put it off. Often it is when we are serious for the things of God that we find many people trying to reach us. Be not ignorant of the devices of the enemy. Make a quality decision that, “This time is for my Bible study and nothing and no one will disturb me. That is when you get the best out of it. This will help you in other areas of life and you would have developed a disciplined character that is essential for success in life.
20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Prov4:20-23
4. Continuation
Mastery of Bibles studies or the scripture does not come by doing it once or occasionally. You must continue in the art. It must be part and parcel of your character. You need to do it daily just like you need food to survive. Do it before you have your breakfast. Be like Job who said, I have craved for you word more than my necessary food. This is how you grow in grace and well-grounded in the scriptures. Jesus told His disciples, “ If you continue …
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; John8:31 KJV
The Truth Shall Make You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John8:31-32
5. Submission: To master the scriptures, you must come humbly. You must realise that the more you know the scripture, the more you know how little you know. God’s word takes on His character. He is infinite and inexhaustible. No matter how many times you have read a scripture it can throw a new light to you that you never saw before. You must come expectant and unassuming if you will gain anything new from it. It is never stale. It is new every morning. With this attitude of humility you will never be disappointed in your bible study. Without a doubt, you will harvest a cluster of heavenly fruit hanging of its branches; you will find a promissory note or blank cheque to cash at the Bank of Heaven. You will see a prayer to appropriate to your circumstance, apply to your life. You will see the treasures of darkness gleaming at as you dig deep through its crevices. Paul, who wrote
6.Propagation
Propagation in this context means spreading the Word. Use the scriptures to help others. Use them to teach, write articles, poems and post them online or use them to write songs. Scripture songs or scripture-based songs are powerful and life-changing.
11 The Lord gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it:Ps68:11
In another translation it says ‘great are those who published it.’ So join the company of the ‘greats’. who propagate the scripture on your road to its mastery.
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Memorisation
Memorisation of scripture is essential for grow and development in true Christianity. This is different from nominal Christianity. You have to make the efforts to internalise the scriptures. Remember that the scripture is not for your head but for your heart. It is the scripture that goes to the heart that transforms and changes a man. You can memorise the scripture by setting it to music, writing it on cards that you can carry about or using notepads on your mobile devise where you store them under different headings or topics which you can revise from time to time. You can also use my online resource: Scripture Memorisation And Reference Tree (SMART) This is a free pdf of my compilation of scriptures according to topics.
For the audio and video, go to Fennywest.org
Scripture Memorisation will make you authoritative, strong, authentic and effective in your witnessing and ministration. You become a workman who can skilfully handle and analyse the Word of truth without shame or equivocation.
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
8.Meditation : Bible studies is only meaningful if we will take our time and ponder on the scriptures. We must mull over key words and phrases and ask the Lord, “What are You saying to me from what I am reading?” What lessons have I learnt. What will I do differently after this bible study? You may need to write down your decision to help you follow through. This is what gives life to your life from the Word that is Spirit and life. Otherwise Bible study becomes a religious exercise and irrelevant.
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Deut6:5-6
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. Josh1:8
15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.1Tim4:15
1 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;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
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. Ps1:1-3
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‘Sermonisation’
This for those who are mature in the Lord and called to preach. You may read a scripture and see a sermon in it as quickened by the Holy Spirit. If so, this could be your key scripture or launching pad for that Sermon. Scripture are mastered when we have used it in a sermon. You do not need a pulpit to Sermonise a scripture. You can study the scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit and write out your sermon and disseminate it. That is’ sermonisation’. You have to make sure your sermon is in line with the whole counsel of God and will help other Believers grow stronger in the Lord. You can also preach it to an imaginary audience and assess yourself. God can use this method to prepare you for ministry. Of course this is no substitute for fellowship with other Believers and corporate bible studies.
10 Determination: To master scriptures, you need to be willing and determined. Be disciplined to have notes and to have them in one place and well organised so you do not lose or forget what you have already learnt. As your listen to sermons, make notes of the truths and the relevant scriptures used. Go over these notes from time to time to reinforce the scriptures and the relevant truths. Nothing just happens in life you have to be determines to make them happen. The Holy Spirit is the Helper but He will not force you. You have to make up your mind to master the scriptures and He will gladly help you.
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2Tim2:15
11. Revision: It is said, “Practice makes perfect.” Mastery of the scriptures come as you go over your notes and the scriptures you have learnt. As you revise, you reinforce what you have learned.
11.Retention: From time to time, say every 3 months, test yourself to see how much you can remember your scriptures. Use key words or topics to identify scriptures relating to them. You can also mix scripture texts on cards and arrange them in order of topics. For instance those relating to the Word of God such as Joshua 1:8, 1Pet 2:2, Ps1:1-3, Ps119.
You can also get a Bible Studies partner to test you. You can set yourself some questions and find answers to them.
12. Revision also includes committing yourself to reading through the bible once every year. There are various Bible reading guides for this noble exercise. It is better to read the Old Testament and the New Testament side by side. Also reading a Psalm a day and the Proverbs repeatedly will help you in your relationship with people. Keep a good record of the passages you have read and how many times you have read them. This will ensure you are not omitting any part of the scriptures.
12 Comprehension: It is important that you understand the scriptures you are studying. This why it is wise to have a study bible which has various cross references to help you to relate that verse to others in the Bible. Look up the meaning of strange words. Find the modern meanings with the aid of a bible dictionary.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
Prov4:7
Also read other modern translation to get a clearer picture of what the scripture means.
13. Contextualisation: It is often said that, “a Scripture out of context is a pretext.” This very true and profound. To understand a scripture very well, you must read the verses preceding and the verses after that to know the right context of the scripture.
It would also be useful to know the cultural context when it was written. Another important principle of Bible interpretation is we do not emphasise what may be in the Old Testament but not emphasised in the New Testament. Christ fulfilled the law and all scriptures must be seen in the Light of Christ.
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,Eph1:17-18
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Interaction : No thorough, beneficial and effective Bible Studies is complete without interacting with its Author, the Holy Spirit. You must be inquisitive, asking questions like: “Lord, what are you saying to me from this passage or this scripture.” The answer you receive has to be consistent with the whole counsel of God. But don’t be afraid of making mistakes. This is how you grow. You can later ask those who are committed to the Lord longer than you have been. After all, iron sharpens iron. This is how you grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1Pet.2:2, 2Pet. 3: 18
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; John16:13
Furthermore, interaction involves active study where you make cross-references, using different translations and comparing them to get the ful gist of the Word. You can also go back to the original Greek or Hebrew words and find their meaning. Often translators may render a verse the way they understood it. Diligence and interaction requires you to go the extra-mile.
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Repetition:
Repetition Reinforces Remembrance
Repetition Results in Recall or Remembrance
This alliteration is true and more so to scriptures. Each time you espouse a truth from the scriptures think of the relevant scriptures and say it to yourself. If you have forgotten it, do not just gloss over it. Reach out to your bible and find the relevant scriptures. That is how you show diligence that brings about mastery of the scriptures.
©Fenny West2020
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