The Importance of God's Word in the Believer's Life: Memorize Words of Life

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. We remember commercial jingles. We remember lyrics to songs by exposure to it. So as you do the same with God's Word, commit Scripture to memory.

That's an excellent thing to do. Someone asked, why can't I remember the lyrics from a song from 1964, but I can't remember why I came into this room? It's true, short-term memory is pretty fragile, but those things we learn by repetition stick with us a long time. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie invites us to put that robust, long-term memory of ours to work, not with the words of lyrics, but with the words of life. We will consider the vital parts Scripture plays in the life of the healthy believer. Let's grab our Bible now and turn to Psalm 19. Psalm 19.

And the title of my message is The Importance of God's Word and the Believer's Life. And this is a part of a series that we are calling What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. So let's read, starting in verse 7. The law of the Lord, it's perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord, they're right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired of thee than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. You notice sort of the poetic quality of those words. Keep in mind that most of the psalms were originally set to music. It's like reading lyrics to a song.

And so there is a certain cadence to it and that helps us to memorize it. And we see this very clearly here in Psalm 19 as it speaks of the law of the Lord. Now we could just as easily take the word law out and insert the word word. The word of the Lord. Or we could just as easily say the Bible. This is a description of God's word. So what do we learn here in Psalm 19 about the Bible?

Number one. The Bible is perfect. The Bible is perfect.

The phrase the law of the Lord is a Hebrew term used to define Scripture. And it is saying God's word is perfect. Now that is in direct contrast to the flawed imperfect reasoning of humanity. We are living in a time where culture is changing before our very eyes.

And this is especially prevalent here in the United States. A country that was originally established on firm Judeo-Christian principles. And how we are getting further and further away from those. And we are redefining everything including the family itself. And so as Christians we are trying to figure it out. And where do we land and what do we believe. Here is what you do. You build your foundation on the Word of God.

That is your foundation. Not changing culture. Not shifting opinions. Because these things come and go. Culture comes and goes. Social mores change over time. I mean look at how dated some things are. They seem so fresh and new at one point.

Now they are so dated. How about those pictures in the yearbooks? Do they try to intentionally make you look bad in a yearbook photo?

It seems that way. And maybe you go back and look at your old high school photos if you are that old. And some of you are thinking, why did I wear a mullet? What was the fascination with that hairstyle?

What was I thinking? But nowadays even a newspaper is dated because we have access to instant news. You know you can get a text on your phone telling you here is the newest headline. Here is the newest development. We get news in real time. Things are constantly changing.

But even though we have instant information here is what you need to know. God's Word never changes. But having said that God's Word is always relevant to your needs. God's Word is fresh as the morning dew. God's Word is always relevant to what you are going through. As the psalmist said, your mercies are new every morning. So I don't need to add to God's Word or take away from God's Word. Actually this word that is used here for perfect, the law of the Lord is perfect, could be translated whole, complete, and sufficient. God's Word is sufficient.

Number two. The Word of God transforms us. No other book transforms you.

There are some books that may educate you or illuminate you or entertain you. But no book transforms you except the Word of God. Verse 7 of Psalm 19, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The word there for converting can be translated. It revives. It restores.

And it transforms. God's Word will revive you. God's Word will restore you. God's Word will transform you.

Now if you are not interested in being transformed then don't read the Bible. The Bible is a book for those that have a sense of desperation about where they are in life. It is for people who don't have the purpose in life that they wish they had. It is for people that wish they could change but they don't know how.

It is for people who are victims of their circumstances or are struggling with pain or are challenged by relationships. This is the book that God has given to them. Now if all of your relationships are perfect and all of your questions are answered and you never struggle well I guess you don't need the Bible.

And I also think you are in a state of denial. Because the Bible is for everyone and everyone needs to do what it says. The Bible is for people who don't have the answers. But it is not just enough to read the Bible. It is not just enough to study the Bible.

Listen to this one. You must obey the Bible. You must do what it says. James 1 22 says, Remember it is a message to obey not just listen to. If you don't obey you are fooling yourself. You just listen and don't obey. It is like a person looking at themselves in a mirror and they do nothing to improve their appearance. They just walk away and forget what they look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God's Word that Word will set you free.

And if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard God will bless you for doing it. So it would be like you know walking up to the mirror and checking yourself before you go out for the day. And you think I look fine. You walk out and pick that girl up to take her out to a nice dinner.

And you don't understand why she doesn't seem to be enjoying it. Well you had a big giant stain in the middle of your shirt. You saw it in the mirror but you thought that looks good to me.

And out she went. See there was that little warning. But you didn't heed it. So I look in the Word of God and it reveals something to me about myself. Something that needs to change. And I should pay attention to it.

It is like a warning label. It is all there in Scripture. And that is why you need to memorize the Word of God. Here is why.

When you have God's Word hidden in your heart and you face certain situations it will be there for you to draw upon. You say, Oh Craig I just can't remember anything. I don't even remember where I parked my car. I forget everything. I can't memorize information.

You know that is really not true now is it? Because our minds are filled with so much trivia. We remember commercial jingles.

We remember lyrics to songs. You say you can't memorize the Scripture. You can't read through the Bible. But some of you girls have read the entire Twilight series. Or all the Hunger Games books. Oh I have read those.

All of them. Oh the Henry Potter books. Excuse me. Harry Potter. Henry is his brother.

Not as popular. Not that many people read Henry Potter. They have read all this stuff.

They can quote lines from Star Wars or whatever. But man ask them to remember a Bible verse. What is your favorite Bible verse? I don't know. That is kind of a personal question. Is that your way of saying you don't have a favorite Bible verse because you don't know a single Bible verse? I don't know.

You need to know the Word of God. I have so much junk stored in my brain. I don't even consciously remember memorizing it.

But it is there. Really weird stuff. I know lyrics to songs. I don't know why I know them. Why do I know all the lyrics to the theme song to the Flintstones?

Who cares? I know them. I know them. I know all the words to and this really dates me to the Beverly Hillbillies.

Any of you remember that show? I know them. Did I sit down and go now I am going to memorize it? No.

But it is in there by exposure to it. So as you do the same with God's Word, commit Scripture to memory. That is an excellent thing to do. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Hey, everybody. Greg Laurie here personally inviting you to join us for what we call Harvest at Home. It is a Bible study. It is a worship service. It is church in your home. Maybe you are not able to get out to your church right now. If so, join us for Harvest at Home. People are listening in from around the world.

Listen to this. We have seen thousands of people make a commitment to follow Christ. So join us this weekend for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well, Pastor Greg continues now with his message called The Importance of God's Word in the Believer's Life.

Number three. The Word of God gives us incredible wisdom. It gives us incredible wisdom.

Look at verse seven. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Making wise the simple.

The Hebrew word translated simple comes from a root word that means an open door. So what this is saying is some people's mind is like an open door. Everything comes in and everything goes out. They don't know what to keep in. They don't know what to keep out. Sometimes they don't know what to say either. You know the inside thoughts, outside thoughts. And you blurt out something that is like, excuse me, do you have a filter there somewhere?

That is not what you should say. And in the same way they just sort of let information in. They let it pass through. They tend to be gullible. They tend to be naive. They tend to be open to everything and closed to nothing. And they think that is a wonderful thing.

I am so open minded to just everything. That is what the Bible is saying. God wants to help you with that. Because that is not good. You see you need to develop a biblical world view.

And a lot of people don't have this. Even people in churches sometimes don't have a biblical world view. We need to think biblically. Not merely emotionally.

Not even intellectually alone. We need to think in the way that the Bible tells us to think. And run things through the grid of Scripture.

Because sometimes people will come up with some weird ideas. And they will say they are Christians. But they will say, well you know I am a Christian. I love the Lord. But I don't believe. My God would never tell someone that it is wrong to have sex before marriage. My God would never judge a person for, insert weird idea here. My God.

I love how it always starts. My God. Well maybe He is your God. But He is not the God. You don't just take God and sort of form Him into your image. And whatever your opinion is or whatever is politically correct. That is quote your God.

No. I look for Him in Scripture where He reveals Himself. Someone once asked me the question, what do you do if you come to a verse in the Bible you don't agree with? I said you change your opinion because you are wrong. Does that surprise you? Well I don't know if I really agree with this verse right here.

Well too bad. Because this is the Word of God. And this is perfect. And this is timeless.

And this is from heaven. You need to change your opinion to adapt to what this book teaches. Not try to adapt this book to what you feel.

Or what culture says. Because the Word of God is perfect. God says in Romans 9.20, Who are you a mere human being to criticize God?

Said the thing that was created say to the one who made it, Why have you made me this way? It shows the absurdity of it. So to sum up what we have learned.

It is perfect. It transforms us. And it makes us wise.

What else do we need to know? Number four. The Word of God is right. The Word of God is right. Psalm 19 verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right.

Rejoicing the heart. It is the right path. It is the truth from heaven. That is why we study it.

That is why we memorize it. And you know a good thing when you are reading God's Word is to ask yourself a few questions. This might help you in Bible study. As you are reading through ask yourself the question, Is there any sin here that the Bible speaks of that I should avoid?

Or how about this. Is there any promise here for me to claim? Or is there any victory to gain?

Or is there a blessing here for me to enjoy? You know you read it not just like a history book. The Bible is a history book.

An inaccurate one I might add. But it is not merely a history book. It is God's living Word. So I am going to learn things historically. But at the same time God is going to speak to me through it. So I am looking for His voice as I read it. Here is another one.

Number five. Keeping the Word of God makes you happy. Keeping the Word of God makes you happy. Look at verse 8. Psalm 19.

The statutes of the Word of the Lord is right. Rejoicing the heart. That could just be as easily translated making you happy. Rejoice is just an interchangeable word as is blessed with the word happy.

Jesus says in Luke 11 28, Happy are those that hear the Word of God and keep it. It is a happy thing. You know I think sometimes, Oh man it is such a drag.

I can't do this and I can't do that. No. It is a happy thing to be in the Word of God. You know we have a rabbit at home that belongs to our grandkids named Fuzzy the rabbit. And so Fuzzy lives in a cage. I know that is so tragic.

But you know what? Fuzzy likes his cage. And when Fuzzy is taken out of his cage and is manhandled a bit by the grandkids at times, not so much now more before, he is so happy to get back in the cage. And the other day I am backing my cart and there sits Fuzzy. The cage door is open and he is sitting like on a little blanket kind of perched up. Like just help me. Fuzzy what are you doing? He didn't run from me. If he wanted to be free he would have been long gone. Probably eaten by a crow too I might add.

But no. Fuzzy is waiting. I walk over. I pick him up and I take him to the cage. He leaps in the cage. Thank you for getting me in the cage. Now this analogy breaks down at a certain point. But follow me. For Fuzzy the bars of the cage are not like a prison keeping him in.

The bars of the cage are walls of protection keeping predators out. So I can come to the Bible and say, Oh the Bible says I can't do this and I can't do that. The Bible is so unfair.

God is so mean. Or I can say, Hey maybe God told me this because He loves me and He is trying to keep me out of trouble. So when He says don't lie there is a reason. When He says don't steal there is a reason. When He says don't commit adultery there is a reason. When He says don't have sex before marriage there is a reason. You see. He is trying to protect you from harm. From destruction.

And He is trying to keep you close to Him. And if you keep His Word the Word of God will make you a happy person. So you have got to stay in the Word of God if you want to be spiritually successful.

Let me conclude with one last point. The Bible is true because it gave me the experience it promised. Now look I could go on and make a case for why we can trust the Bible. I could point to the confirmation of archaeology. I could show you how the Bible and science actually go together. And they don't contradict each other as people would suggest. I could certainly talk at great length about how the Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future many times with 100 percent accuracy. And that is all a good thing to say when proving the validity of Scripture. But here is something I will just say personally. I know God's Word is true because it gave me the experience it promised.

Haven't you found that to be true? See the Bible said that I could pray about things. The Bible said if I would pray according to the will of God that God would answer my prayers. I knew nothing about prayer. But I started putting that to the test and I started praying and I saw God answer my prayers.

Didn't you see Him do the same for you? The Bible promised that God would never give me more that I could handle. And the Bible promises that God would cause all things to work together for good to those that love Him. I put these truths to the test and I found them to be true. Haven't you? The Bible promised that if I would turn from my sin and put my faith in Jesus Christ He would give me a peace that passes all human understanding. I did that and I have experienced that and I continue to experience that.

Don't you? See I know it is true because I have experienced it. And you can know it as well. Here is something else the Bible says. It said if I would be in Christ, if I would put my faith in Jesus I would be an altogether different kind of person.

The old things would pass away and everything would become fresh and new. I found this to be true as well. And in closing some of you that have joined us here maybe you have never taken these truths of Scripture and put them to the test. You want to find out if the Bible is true?

Just try it out. And here is what the Bible says. It says that God loved you so much He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in your place. And the Bible says if we will turn from our sin and put our faith in Christ He will forgive us of all of our sin.

And He will change us the Bible promises. If I will put my faith in Jesus I can have the hope and assurance that I will go to heaven when I die. So in a moment we are going to pray. And if you have never asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin here is an opportunity to do it.

So you think about what you are going to do. Because He died. He rose.

He is alive. He stands at the door of your life and He knocks. It says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in. Let's all bow our heads. Father I pray for any here and others that have joined us who may not yet know You. Help them to come to You now and receive Your forgiveness. Help them to experience what Your Word promises. Help them to be transformed. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. To make an instant replay of today's study, download a copy of Pastor Greg's full message called The Importance of God's Word in the Believer's Life.

Just go to harvest.org. And our thanks to our Harvest partners for their help in making today's broadcast and these additional resources available. Well Pastor Greg, Darrell Strawberry is here with us today. And you know it's not often that people get to talk with a legend but I'm just glad the two of you are getting a chance to talk with me today. That's good Dave. I like that.

Good joke. Well Darrell really is a legend. He's a sports legend.

He's someone that most people know of. He has written a brand new book called Turn Your Season Around subtitled How God Transforms Your Life by my friend Darrell Strawberry. And Darrell asked me to write the foreword which I was delighted to do. Let me just read a little bit from my foreword for Darrell's book because it pretty much tells you who he is if you don't know. Most people know Darrell Strawberry as a sports legend, a baseball icon, a childhood hero, a model athlete, a world famous success, the best of the best and rightly so. An amazing fielder, Darrell played 17 seasons of baseball for the Mets, the Dodgers, the Giants and the Yankees. But it was in the batter's box that he won so much of his well-earned fame. Known for his prodigious and numerous home runs, Darrell never failed to please his abundant fans when he stepped up to the plate. Darrell Strawberry is an eight-time all-star, four-time World Series champion, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, 1983 National League Rookie of the Year, 1988 National League home run leader and New York Mets Hall of Fame. But one other thing I write in this foreword many don't realize is that Darrell was a broken man, broken before he even started playing baseball. Underneath the swagger and success were a pain and a spiritual emptiness that fame, fortune, women, drugs and the love of the game could never satisfy. Darrell told me once my pain led me to my greatness, but my greatness would eventually lead to my destructive behavior.

Darrell, thanks for being with us today. And, man, I think this new book is going to impact a lot of lives, and you have a story to tell. So how many books have you written in total, Darrell? I think I've written a few books.

I know all the biographies were strong. It was the New York Times bestseller, and I think that one went well, and everybody was really looking forward to reading that one. But I think this book is probably the most important book that I have ever written.

It has so much ingredients inside of it because it has to do with the biblical principles. First of all, just thanks for having me, Pastor Greg Laurie. I really appreciate all that you have done for me and allow me to be on your show and writing my foreword for my book. I think reaching so many people at this time, this critical time in our life, is so important. And I think this book, I didn't realize that God would have me write a book at the middle of a pandemic called Turn Your Season Around.

Little did I know that we would all have to turn our season around from what we've been through. So I just hope we reach a lot of people and touch a lot of people and show that God's mercy is real and His grace is sufficient and that He loves us in the midst of whatever we go through. So if you want to get a copy of Darryl Strawberry's brand-new book that he feels is the most important book he's ever written, you can get it from us here at A New Beginning. Again, the title is Turn Your Season Around, How God Transforms Your Life. And we'll send you this book for your gift of any size to help us to continue on here at A New Beginning to teach the Word of God and to preach the gospel that changed the life of Darryl Strawberry.

Yeah, that's right. It's a message that still changes lives today. In fact, more than 150,000 people made decisions through this ministry in 2020 alone. And your investment helps that kind of outreach happen. Could we ask you to partner with us? And if you can send an investment right now, be sure to ask for Darryl's book, Turn Your Season Around. You can write, A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. And then, Pastor Greg, just before we go, would you mind praying with the person listening who wants to make a change today in their relationship with the Lord? I'd be happy to, Dave. You know, as you've been listening to this today, maybe you've heard another voice. By that I mean, yeah, you heard me say a few things, but you heard God's voice speak to you deep in the recesses of your heart. And it suddenly dawned on you, this is what I need. Or to state it more accurately, this is who I need. I need Jesus, and I want Jesus.

But maybe you don't know how to make that connection. Let me help you. Pray this after me right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. And I am sorry for my sin. And I need your forgiveness right now. Would you come into my heart and my life as Savior, as God, as friend?

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. I know that was a relatively short prayer. Maybe you felt something as you prayed it. Maybe you felt nothing.

That doesn't really matter. Because God's word says these things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. It doesn't say so you may think you have it or you may hope you have it if God's in a good mood.

No, that you can know it. And I want you to know, if you pray that prayer in a minute, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into your life. So congratulations. You're now a Christian. Now continue to follow the Lord. Yeah, and to help you, we'd like to send some resource materials we call our New Believers Growth Packet.

It'll answer many of the questions you might have and get you started off right in your new relationship with the Lord. So get in touch and ask for it. We'll send it free of charge. Write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. Well, next time, Pastor Greg continues his series called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know as our focus turns to prayer. We'll learn to undergird our prayer lives and how that'll strengthen our walk with the Lord. Join us next time on A New Beginning. In the day, the day when life begins The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners. Helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.