Thru the Bible - Minute with McGee on Oneplace.com

Now what does it mean to meditate on the Word of God? Now that word “meditate,” I’m told, is actually a picture of a cow chewing her cud. Now you know the old cow goes out of a morning and while the grass is fresh with dew she eats the grass. Then when the sun comes up and the grass is warm and the weather is hot, the old cow gets under a tree and lies down or stands there in the shade and you see her chewing. Well, she’s actually meditating, my friends. May I say to you that we need to learn to do that in studying the Word of God. We need to take that which we’ve read and that which we’ve studied and meditate upon it. And that’s one of the most valuable things that you can do.

“And God remembered Noah.” How lovely; how wonderful! God could have very easily forgotten all about Noah. He could have years later said, “Oh my, I forgot all about that fellow down there. I put him in an ark and forgot about him.” That would have been too bad, wouldn’t it? But God didn’t forget. “God remembered Noah.” God never forgets; He remembers you. Only thing that He doesn’t remember is your sin, if you come to Him, and your sins He remembers them no more. What a beautiful thing this is!

“And the Lord said unto Noah, ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.’” Why was he righteous? By faith. Just like Abraham later on was. We’re told Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Noah believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. And by faith the writer to the Hebrews said that’s the reason God saved him. But have you ever noticed how gracious God is to this man in all of this time of judgment? It says, “Come thou.” The same invitation that the Lord Jesus gives today to all mankind. “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden; I will rest you.”

My friend, the greatest thing you can do as a human being is to, in this world of sin where everything is against God today, and He’s permitted it that way—but He has put you and me in this world as it is today that you and I can make a choice for Him. And in the midst of all of this unbelief and the blasphemy around us, we can say today, “I choose Jesus. I accept and receive Him. I believe in God the Father, Almighty Maker of heaven and earth.” That’s the most glorious privilege that you and I have.

Now, you’re going to reach a saturation point in the study of the Bible unless you pass it on to others. That’s something that you need to recognize. You know, God, for some reason, won’t let you withdraw yourself from mankind in a monastery and become some sort of a walking Bible encyclopedia, knowing everything and the rest of us remain ignorant. I think that’s the reason that He made the statement that we’re “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another.” Because I find that when we pass it on to others that it becomes a blessing. That’s what God wants us to do—pass it on!

May I say to you, God says His Word ought to be given prominence. Now if you and I are to understand the Word of God, we must meditate on the Bible. Go back over it again and again. Well, what do you think about when you don’t have anything else to think about? Now I find riding along in the car alone, and I make quite a few trips by myself—I find out that’s a good time to take a passage of Scripture and to think about it, to give thought to it at that time. Well, that’s what God’s people are asked to do. That is, God asks His people to meditate on His Word.

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” You see, the Word of God was to be kept before them. It was to be written in their homes, on the doorposts and the lintel over the door. It was to be that which they talked about when they ate, when they would lie down at night and probably had a little difficulty getting off to sleep. This is the most amazing statement that so far we’ve considered that the Lord has given.

May I say to you that the Bible should be studied. And it’s very important that we see that and that we remember that there is certain knowledge that the Spirit of God’s not going to give to you. I do not think that He’s revealing truth to lazy people. If you read the Bible and don’t understand it, then study the Bible. And that it must be studied; after all, you must put it in a category with any other book. You’d never learn logarithms or geometry—we can’t learn Greek by just reading a chapter in it right before you go to sleep at night. He wants you to study the Bible.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us that are saved it is the power of God unto salvation.” Now isn’t that an amazing thing? That one person, he hears one thing, and another person hears something else. What is the difference? The difference is the fact that the Spirit of God is the one that does the teaching. And that’s the reason we ought to always, before you begin the study of the Word of God, friends, you ought to begin with prayer. Ask the Spirit of God to open your heart that you may hear the still small voice of the Son of God.

The Bible is a most unique book; no book to compare to it in many ways, but this way primarily: It is a book of dual authorship, and what we mean by that is that there is the divine side and the human side of the Bible. On the divine side this is God’s book. He has communicated to man. He has spoken here. And He’s got through His entire Word, so much so that if God had anything else to say that He hadn’t said in the Bible, well, He’s already said it. And if God spoke out of heaven right now, He’d just repeat Himself because He said all that He wants to say to this generation.

I’m going to mention seven very simple, yet basic preliminary statements that will be a guide for the study of the Scriptures. Begin with prayer. That’s number one. Second: Read the Bible. Third: Study the Bible. Fourth: Meditate on the Bible. Fifth: Read what others have written on the Scriptures. The sixth: Obey the Bible. That is all-important! Now, number seven: Pass it on to others. The Bible—know it in your head, stow it in your heart, show it in your life, sow it in the world.

This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It’s a traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, the Christian’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully.

The Bible is, in many ways, a most unusual book in that it has a dual authorship. In other words, God is the author of the Bible and in another sense men are the authors of the Bible. And there is a collusion here; and that’s the collusion of the Holy Spirit. I mean that the Bible is a God-human book, a God-man book, and in many senses the Bible is very much like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. You see, He came to this earth and became incarnate. He was both God and man, and John put it in this simple way: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Now we have the universal worship of the Savior and Sovereign of the universe. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth … and all that are in them, heard I saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.’” Oh, my friend, I think the proper way to conclude this today would be for me to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”! But I do believe that as we come to the end of this very remarkable scene in heaven that we see that all praise and honor and worship must go to the Lord Jesus Christ! And if you’re not in the habit of praising Him and worshiping Him, why don’t you start right now?

And where it says here “it is created for thy pleasure,” it’s actually should be “because of Thy will.” This is very important to see. That the reason that God created this earth and things are as they are, because it was in His plan and purpose. Now I don’t understand a great deal that He’s doing. I don’t understand a great deal about this universe that I live in. But I do know this—that it’s created this way because that’s the way He wanted it. He’s in charge. And we’re to worship Him because He created this little earth. I’m glad I was in the plan and purpose of God. I’m glad He created me. And so, we worship Him because of that.

Now the church in Ephesus, there was a warning given and it’s for us today. There was a danger of getting away from the best love—that is, getting away from a personal and loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Now when you love Him, then you will be in a right relationship with Him. I think the real test today of any believer, especially those that are attempting to serve Him, is not your little method or your little mode or your little system or your dedication and all that sort of thing that is so emphasized today. The one question is: Do you love Him? Do you love the Lord Jesus?

Here in the third chapter of Revelation, at verse 22: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Now this is a message—a special message—from the Lord Jesus to all the churches. That you need the blood-tipped ear to hear. And that’s the reason that today you and I need to be very careful about our study of the Word of God, that we not run ahead of the Spirit of God, but that we let Him be our teacher. If you have an ear, a blood-tipped ear, why He wants you to hear what He has to say. And only the Spirit of God can make that real to us. These are the things that are, because it relates to the period in which we live.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and I will sup with him, and he with me.” Now this is a picture of the Lord Jesus at the heart’s door of the sinner. It’s a glorious picture. He stands at the door and knocks. Now He won’t crash the door. The Lord Jesus will move and He has moved heaven and hell to get to the door of your heart. But when He gets there, He’ll stop and knock. And you’ll have to open the door to let Him in. That is the picture that is there.

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” Now this is the only place in Scripture where “Amen” is a proper name, and it’s the name of Christ. And I read 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” The Lord Jesus is the Amen. He has the last word. He’s the Alpha and the Omega. And so, we have here the fact that He is the One that’s going to fulfill all the promises of God.

“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my faith.” Now He says, “I have given thee a door open which none can shut….” Now that could be a door to the joy of the Lord or to a knowledge of the Scriptures. And I personally think that it is a door to the knowledge of the Scriptures, which means if He opens the door, He intends for you to move in because He’ll open a door of opportunity for witnessing and proclaiming the Word of God. And I believe that both go together.