The Practical Application Of God's Word

(Part One)

"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge." -Proverbs 23:12

When I was a child, my mother had a mandatory rule in her house. Each night before going to bed, we were to read at least one chapter from the Bible. I obeyed this rule believing I couldo please both God and my mother. If I forgot to read a Chapter from my Bible one night, I would try to make up for it by reading two chapters the next night.

There were many stories in the bible I enjoyed. I knew these were not just adventure stories, but recorded events that actually happened, but they had no personal relevance to me.

Many of the Psalms, building of the tabernacle, and even the New Testament epistles were rather boring to me. I didn't understand them and I didn't know what they meant. The Bible had no changing effect upon my life.

One would probably think that if I had gone to Sunday school or church service then maybe I would have had a better understanding of the Bible. Alas, my family and I were semi-church goers. Yet, if there was a church in my city that taught the Bible with practical relevancy, I knew nothing about it. In the churches I attended I never even saw anyone bring a Bible with them. There really was no need to. We did too much hollering and hooping during the preaching. There was no need (I say this sarcastically) to preach from the Bible.

I don't even recall an invitation to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and saviour. I heard many invitations to receive baptism and the right hand of fellowship (invitation to join the church). For a large part of my life I knew ABOUT God, church, and the Bible, but they had no real significance to me. Yet I was hungry.

The Bible is a sacred book to many of us. It was very sacred in our house. Sometimes I would sleep with it beside me because I believed it had some special power to ward off ghosts and monsters. If my family and I had known the TRUE power and life changing principles contained in this most precious book, things could have been different. I cannot help but remember the many struggles we faced as I was growing up. There were times when we did not know where our next meal would come from. We fell behind on the rent many times. Our gas and electricity were cut off several times (during winter). We had no living room furniture.

Sickness also seemed to have a permanent dwelling place in our home. Mom had her high blood pressure, I had my asthma and ulcers, my brother was constantly feverish, and my sister thought she could sing (just kidding sis). Mom would go to work even when she was sick. She would spend all of her money on doctors when we were sick, and struggle to make ends meet. Had we only knew of the life changing principles found in the Word of God, life could certainly have been different for the Edwards family. We treasured the Bible as many do. It was a sacred book. But just as many others today, we did not know how to apply this sacred book to our lives. God encourages us to make practical application of His Word. Let us read Proverbs 23:12 again:

"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge."

We really do damage to our Christian walk when Bible becomes so sacred but it's teachings are never applied to our lives. Proverbs 23:12 commands us to do two things:

Apply Our Hearts To Instruction.

A.W. Tozer from his book titled "OF GOD AND MEN" writes, "Charles G. Finney believed that Bible teaching without MORAL APPLICATION could be worse than no teaching at all and could result in positive injury to the hearers. I used to feel that this might be an extreme position, but after years of observation I have come around to it, or to a view almost identical with it. There is scarcely anything so dull and meaningless as Bible doctrine taught for its own sake. Truth divorced from life is not truth in its Biblical sense, but something else and something less." To apply something means to put to use for some practical purpose; to put into OPERATION OR EFFECT. History and doctrine certainly has it's place, but we will not make it in this Christian walk on these alone. We must be able to live out these things.

Apply Our Ears To The Words Of Knowledge

Nevertheless, before you can apply something, you must have knowledge of it. Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

The story is told of a soldier who sent his mother a check each month to cover all of her physical needs, as well as keep her in comfort. Unfortunately, this mother had no education and could not read. She would receive the letters and the checks her son sent her. Because of her reading disability she could not understand what to do with the check so she would put the money under her mattress. This poor woman died in abject poverty, bringing early death upon herself because of lack of proper food. How much more do Christians suffer spiritual poverty because they fail to apply their ears to words of knowledge found in God's Word. If we fail to "cash in" on the precious promises and truths contained in God's Word, making them relevant and practical in our lives, we have become just as this woman, and our fate could be the same.

How do we apply God's word to our lives? God's word, which is our guideline for all beliefs and practices, offers us much instruction. There are two guiding principles found in the Bible to teach us how to make it applicable in our lives. First: Allow God's word to become a part of us, and second: be a doer of the Word. I n this booklet we will teach these two principles.

I. ALLOW GOD'S WORD TO BECOME A PART OF YOU.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ..." -Col 3:16

Jesus told us that His words "... are SPIRIT and they are LIFE." (John 6:63). His word is so powerful that it penetrates our innermost being. If we desire the word to be effective in our lives we must first allow it to penetrate our innermost being (Heb. 4:12). Wisdom is knowledge applied in practice. One may have head knowledge of the word of God but if it is not dwelling richly within him then there will be no wisdom to enable that person to put it into practice.

One cannot practice the word of God effectively or become a doer of his word without first allowing it to become a part of him. That is the problem with legalism. Legalism is trying to obey God's laws apart from the power of God.

The widow of Schumann, the musical composer, said that whenever she was going to play any of her husband's music in public, she would read over some of his old letters to her, written in the lover days. Thus, she said, his very life seemed to possess her, and she was better able to interpret his work. Jesus told us that, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7). Because the words of Jesus are "spirit and life" and because the word of God is "quick (alive)" then the way we become possessed by the life of God is to allow His word to possess us.

How do we allow this to be done? By hearing it, by meditation, and by allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate it in our hearts.

1. Hearing The Word.

I have found that Romans 10:17 is one of the most inspiring scriptures in the Bible concerning the hearing of God's Word. It reads: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." We are talking about the practical application of God's word. We said that to apply something means to put into operation or effect. It would be impossible to put God's Word into operation or effect without believing it. You must have faith in God in order for His Word to work in your life.

That is why hearing comes very much into play. Let's see a Biblical example of how hearing God's word can help to make it practical in our lives:

"And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. The same HEARD Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had FAITH to be healed, Said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked." (Acts 14:8-10).

We see four things from this portion of scripture: The Word of God was being preached, the man heard it, faith was received by his hearing, and ACTION was taken. The man made practical application of the word, "...And he leaped and walked." Hearing the word will help to allow the word to become a part of you. When the word becomes a part of you, the natural result is faith. The faith life is simply the life in which one applies God's Word to everyday situations.

2. Meditating On The Word

Meditation is the next key to making the word a part of your innermost being. As we begin to meditate upon the Word, it enables us to be successful in applying it. Let us observe a familiar passage of scripture:

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to DO according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8).

We could write a whole book on the benefits that can be derived from meditation in the word. Psalms 1 gives us even more insight into the blessings of meditation. Those who meditate in God's Word are called BLESSED. When we meditate we will be careful to DO or make practical in our lives the word of God. As much as I desire to expound on these benefits of scripture meditation, I believe it would be more beneficial for you if I give you brief hints on HOW to meditate. Once you have learned to meditate in the Word, you will see for yourself the blessings that come as a result of this practice. Here are three suggestions:

A. THINK CONTINUALLY ON NOTHING BUT THE WORD. Both Joshua and Psalms commands us to meditate "day and night." This means that no matter what circumstances you or situations come about in your life, think on the word. Philippians 4:8 tells us that we are to think on things that are true, honest, pure, lovely, and of a good report. All of these things are found in the Word of God. As you you think continually on the word, the word will show you how to change your situation. Meditation is designed to bring the word of God from the head to the heart.

B. SPEAK NOTHING BUT THE WORD. To do otherwise is to hinder the word from becoming a part of you. God told Joshua not to let the book of the law depart from his mouth (Joshua 1:8). True meditation will lead to speaking the word. Matt. 12:35 says: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If the word is in your heart, you will speak the word. If it is not in your heart then I would suggest that you speak it until it gets there. When you speak anything but the word you give ground to the enemy. Speak the word.

C. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH HIS WORD.. True meditation will give you the desire to pray. Continue to remind Him of His promises to you. Allow Him to give you that assurance. He will do that by illuminating His word in your heart.

3. Allow The Holy Spirit To Illuminate The Word In Our Hearts

We have been talking about the practical application of God's word. Part of making God's word applicable in our lives is allowing it to become a part of us. In order for it to become a part of us we so far have mentioned hearing it and meditating upon it. Neither of these two would be of any help without the precious Holy Spirit and His powerful ministry of illuminiating the vital truths of the word. After we have heard the word, and then meditated upon it, then we have opened the way to allow the Holy Spirit to do His part. He alone is able to give us the insight as to how we can apply the word to our life and situations. Let's read John 14:26:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

A 91 year old woman wrote, "I spend about one hour each day with my Lord, reading my Bible and Christian literature. When people ask what good all my reading does if I can't remember what I've read, my answer is always the same. I'm in pretty good health, have a roof over my head, and plenty of food to eat ....I also have two sons and one grandson who love me dearly. My cup runneth over. I am not concerned about my memory. I JUST DO MY READING AND GOD DOES THE REMEMBERING."

This lady relied on God and not her natuaral ability to bring the word back to her remembrance. When we do the same, the Holy Spirit can work with us. If you are born again, this same Holy Spirit abides in you to illuminate His Word to you. 1 John 2:27 reads:

"But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."

God has given us ministry gifts (Eph. 4:11) to teach us His word. But the Holy Spirit is the true teacher. Man is fallible and is subject to error. The Holy Spirit is perfect and He will always show us the right way. Allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word of God in your heart so that you may apply it to your everyday life situations and practice it daily.

In our next lesson we will discuss the second principle of the practical application of God's word which is BEING A DOER OF THE WORD.I'd like to end this portion of teachingwith a quote from the late Bible teacher, F.E. Marsh: "To have the Word of Life in our minds is good; to have the life of the Word in our hearts is better; but to have the life of the Word in living characters in the life is best."

E-mail: victoryword@yahoo.com

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