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1. This Family was born in the Bible, in the Scriptures! Our early disciples knew their Bible verses by heart & could quote you yards & yards & yards of Scripture! I'm sorry if our folks today are not reading & studying & memorising the Bible like they should. I realise I once said that if you had to make the choice, it was more important to read the Letters, the things the Lord is saying to you today, than it is to spend all your time memorising Scriptures.—But you should find a balance & take time for both!

2. Scripture memorisation was always one of our most important courses in the early days.—And it's still supposed to be! Even with myself, when I was a child, & then with my children when they were small, the main emphasis was to memorise the Word, the Word, the Word!

3. Our kids were brought up memorising & quoting the Word. My first family & all our first disciples just lived in the Word & memorised the Word, that was our main thing, memorisation & study of the Word. We used to really memorise a lot of Bible verses in those early days, & I hope you still do! (—At least the basic verses contained in our "Memory Book" to start with!)

4. Even in our early "Soul Clinic" Bible Schools, we used to require our members—what we called students in those days—to memorise the important Bible verses which we felt were essential.—Primarily verses on Salvation, a few of the most helpful Psalms, Isaiah 53 & some Messianic prophecies etc. We required them to learn them by heart & quote them from memory, & it was very good for them.

5. We considered Scripture memorisation virtually our most important course‚ & it was probably the course for which our schools became the most famous! I don't know another single Bible college, Bible university or Bible institute in the United States, of all the ones I knew, which had a course in which you did nothing but memorise the Scriptures.—Not a one!

6. You could go through most Bible colleges without ever memorising one single verse of Scripture! And you could go through most of them without hardly ever even cracking open your Bible, much less studying or reading it! I was dumbfounded to discover in all the different Bible colleges that I went to, that they studied very little Bible & memorised virtually none at all.

7. My kids once stumped the preacher of a big Pentecostal church in Ft. Worth‚ Texas. They were conducting a quiz of the young people, so our kids asked the other young people the whereabouts of some verse in the book of Zacchaeus. This preacher, this learned theologian of the churches‚ thought he was so smart, he decided to try to find it for them!—And of course, it turned out, to the preacher's embarrassment, that there is no book of Zacchaeus!—Which shows how little most church people know their Bibles!

8. I remember back in our early Bible School days, some people feared our Scripture memorisation course more than any other course we taught, they were scared to death of having to memorise Scripture! They thought they couldn't memorise, it would be too hard or something.

9. Some of them would say, "Oh, I can't memorise! I can't remember anything!" I don't know how many people used to tell me that! I'd say, "Well, do you know your name?" "Of course I know my name!" "Do you know your phone number?" "Yes‚ of course I know my phone number!" "Do you know your address? Do you know your birth date? Do you know where you were born? Do you remember your mother & father's names?"

10. I'd say, "Don't tell me you can't remember or you can't memorise, it's just that simple! Once you have heard or read or seen something often enough, you can't help but remember it!"—And that's all you have to do with Scripture verses, this same principle applies.—Just read the verses over & over & over again, & pretty soon you'll have them memorised!

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

11. Why should you memorise Scriptures?—Well, the benefits are so many, you'll certainly be glad you did! The Scriptures that you hide in your heart & commit to memory will be a great blessing to you all your life‚ & encourage your faith & stick with you through thick & thin all the rest of your years, as you think about God's Word & the Lord & His care for you.

12. "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide."—Ps.37:31. If His Word is not in your heart, your steps will slide, & it's much easier to get off the right track.—As we used to say, "Sin will keep you from the Word, & the Word will keep you from sin! "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee!"—Ps.119:11.

13. I know in my own life & from my own personal experience‚ that the Scriptures were my salvation many a time. My parents had faithfully drilled the Word into me, & I heard the Word from the beginning. So time & time again when something came up in school, some false doctrine of evolution or astronomy or whatever, I would question it, & instantly a Scripture would come to me. I would get the Word, & that is one of the most strengthening things‚ to know the Word!

14. I was made to memorise the Word from the time I was a tiny tot! For years & years it was drummed into me. Even when I didn't want it, I still got it anyhow, & now I'm so thankful I did!—As that's the one thing which the Holy Spirit used & which has stood by me through all these years, my knowledge of the Word!

15. Jesus said‚ "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, shall teach you all things, & bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."—Jn.14:26. I've found that the Holy Ghost is the best concordance I've got, & that if you've faithfully read, studied & memorised His Word, the Lord will pop Scriptures into your mind when you really need them, right on the button, right on the subject, even some that you never even thought were related to the subject. To this day, Scriptures frequently come into my head that I can't even remember memorising, but when I need them, the Holy Spirit quickens them to my memory, TYJ!

16. "The Word of God is quick (alive) & powerful & sharper than any two-edged sword!"—Heb.4:12. Jesus said, "My Words are Spirit, & they are life!"—Jn.6:63. The Word is the life of God, it's what gives us life & food & nourishment & strength & spiritual health, & if you are faithful to hide it in your heart, it will come to life for you! "Bind them (God's Words) continually upon thine heart‚ & tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; & when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee!"—Prov.6:21-23.

17. I'm still quoting the Bible, Beloved‚ both Old & New Testament‚ & it's still an authority to me! Maybe it doesn't mean quite so much to some of you, but it means a whole lot to me‚ it's the basis of my faith! So don't go tossing away your Bible & thinking you don't need to memorise Scriptures any more or that you don't need to be able to quote Bible any more. That's really our Basic Book, & you need to know it!

SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL FOOD!

18. The Bible warns us that in the Last Days there will be a great famine for the Word of God (Amos 8:11,12), & that the Antichrist himself shall "cast down the Truth to the ground!"—Dan.8:12. We've already seen Bibles banned, burned & taken away from Christians in many anti-Christ countries today.—And some day soon the only Word of God you'll have may be what you've implanted in your heart. When things get really bad & the Antichrist forces get full control‚ they're not going to let you take our literature to prison, & what you remember in your head & heart may be all that you'll have.—You'll only have what you've got inside, that's all, nothing outside.

19. Even now, besides praying in tongues, that's often all that I have. When the Enemy "comes in like a flood" with his "terrors by night" (Isa.59:19, Ps.91:5), all I have to fight him with are the Scriptures that I have memorised.—And that's all that you'll have, the Word that you've memorised and hidden in your heart! So you must learn & memorise the Scriptures now so you can quote them when you're in trouble & when all you'll have to draw from is what you've hidden in your heart. If it's hidden in your heart, no one can take it away from you. It's a bulwark, a defense against the voice of the Enemy.

20. If you get the Word down in your heart, it's going to be a great help to you. But if you don't even know it, how can you cling to it, how can you claim it, how can you even believe it? "Faith comes by hearing the Word of God!"—Rom.10:17. Many of the Psalms are my favourites, & you'll find that passages such as the 23rd Psalm, the 27th Psalm, the 91st Psalm, are very, very encouraging & helpful to you, & could very well be the Word that keeps you going one day.—So memorise!

THE WORD WEAPON!

21. In the list of the "whole armour of God" that Paul gives us in Ephesians Chapter 6‚ the one part that is an actual offensive weapon, something that not only defends & protects you from the Enemy, but with which you can attack, destroy & drive him away, is the "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!"—Eph.6:17. This is another very important reason why it really pays to memorise & hide God's Word in your heart; our spiritual Enemy‚ the Devil, just can't take the Word! Jesus described Satan as "a liar, & the father of lies. There is no truth in him."—Jn.8:44—Which is why he just can't stand the Word of God! There's nothing that scares him like the Bible, the Word of Truth! He just can't take it, he can't stand it, it makes him flee every time!—Jam.4:7.

22. What did Jesus Himself do when the Devil tempted Him & lied to Him?—He just quoted the Scriptures: "It is written!"—Mat.4:1-11. But how can you quote something if you don't know it?—If you haven't memorised it? When you're in the midst of a spiritual battle, real warfare against the Evil One‚ you don't always have time to dig out your concordance or thumb through your Bible looking for Scriptures to fight him with! You need to be "instant, in season & out of season" (2Tim.4:2), & be always ready to take out your Sword & whack away! Amen?

23. So when the Devil tempts you to get down & discouraged, & he assails you with doubts & fears & all the rest, you need to be ready & able to sock it to him with the Word of God! If you can just quote him Scripture, he can't take it. Of course, with Jesus, he tried to turn around & quote Jesus Scriptures, but they were totally inapplicable & inappropriate & twisted, & Jesus shot them full of holes with His Scriptures!—And the Devil fled! PTL!

24. So if you're going to be a spiritual warrior for the Lord‚ a victorious winner of battles for Jesus‚ you've got to be able to quote Scripture, claim Scripture, wield the weapon of the Word‚ & cut the Devil to the heart! They say, "You believe in prayer as much as you pray," & we can say, "You believe in the Word as much as you quote it!"—And of course you can quote it only as much as you've memorised it!

25. Fill your mind with the Word of God & you won't have any room for the Devil's darkness! Fill your mind with the Light of God's Word, & the darkness will flee of itself! David said, "I hate vain thoughts, but Thy Law do I love."—Ps.119:113. "Vain thoughts" are those without real value or worth‚ negative, useless bad thoughts that bear bad fruit.—And the solution for such thoughts is the Word! Memorisation is such a help because it's letting the Light in, which causes the darkness to flee!

26. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds! Casting down imaginations, & every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, & bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!"—2Cor.10:4‚5.

"FEED MY SHEEP!"—John 21:17

27. Of course, you should not only study & memorise the Word for your own sake, but also to be a better witness to many, so you can "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you!"—1Pet.3:15. It's important to memorise Scripture so you can quote the Bible to people. Most people have heard about the Bible, & a lot of people even claim to believe in the Bible. So when you quote the Word, it's a fairly well recognised authority, & most people will therefore respect it & listen to what it has to say.—And even for the people who pretend not to believe it, the Word is very powerful just the same & very convicting!—"Sharper than any two-edged sword" full of the power & life of God!—Heb.4:12.

28. If you're really living for the Lord‚ & are a witness for Him, there will be countless occasions when you'll need to know your Bible & be able to quote it or at least find the references to show others. When there's somebody who needs help, & when God opens the door & the opportunity, & the Holy Spirit lays someone on your heart who needs to be talked to about the Lord, you ought to at least be able to feed that soul the spiritual food that they need, "holding forth the Word of life."—Phil.2:16. Amen?

29. You've got to be able to quote them the verses that they need, otherwise you're like a doctor who is out of medicine, out of cures, & has nothing to prescribe for the poor patients whose illnesses he diagnoses. I'd say that was my own Mother's greatest ministry: When people came to her with their problems, the Lord would give her verses, Scriptures for them, & she would just quote the Word.—"Well, here's what the Bible says. That's what the Lord said, that's what Jesus said!" When you quote the authority, the Bible, then that is it!

30. That should be the ministry of all of us who are supposed to be shepherding, witnessing, caring for & ministering to others: To feed the sheep! You've got to be able to give them answers, lend a listening ear to their problems & give them God's solutions. It's so wonderful to use the Word when witnessing! When you just quote the Scripture, preach the Word, then you know you're right. You don't have to take the responsibility, just pass the buck to the Lord & the Bible, & give them His Words, then the decision is up to them. They have to make their own decisions on the basis of the light & the food & the Word that you give them.—So please be faithful to lovingly give them His Word! Amen?

THE SECRET TO MEMORISATION!

31. No matter how you look at it, it's just plain hard work to memorise! You have to work at it, & in some ways it's almost like digging a hole or scrubbing the floor or washing the windows or dishes, it's just hard work!—But it's worth it!

32. You've just got to keep repeating & repeating & repeating & repeating!—But if you really have the vision for it (Pro. 29:18), & you seek the Lord not only for the strength & ability to memorise‚ but for a deep hunger for His Word, He can turn this "hard work" into a joy & a pleasure!—"You've gotta have a glory in the thing you do!" If your only motivation for memorising is duty, then you've got "the letter which killeth," not "the Spirit which brings life!"—2Cor.3:6.

33. If you see why you need to memorise & you really "delight yourself in the Law of the Lord, & in His Law you meditate day & night," He will bless & prosper you, & you shall be "like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season!" (Ps.1:3). Scripture memorisation won't be a chore & a bore for you then, but a blessing & a pleasure & a special time of fellowship with the Lord & His Word! Then you can say with Jeremiah, "I found Thy Words & did eat them! And Thy Word was unto me the joy & rejoicing of my heart!"—Jer.15:16.

34. Of course, the Enemy will try to hinder you & keep you from memorising the Word (Lk.8:12), so you've got to really fight when you read, study or memorise God's Word! It's a temptation to daydream, so you've got to pull your mind back when it begins to wander off! You've got to pull your mind back & concentrate & really fight the Enemy & pray when you read & memorise, so that you can really get something out of it & be fed! So the secret of memorisation is repeat, repeat, repeat! And the secret of keeping your verses is review, review, review!—That's the law of memory!

SOME MEMORISATION JEWELS!

35. Normally, the easiest way to memorise a verse is phrase by phrase‚ that's usually the best way to do it. You can't usually memorise a whole verse in one fell swoop, but you can take it phrase by phrase or clause by clause depending on how many words you can retain in one shot.

36. For example, John 3:16: "For God so loved the World," most of you learned that much first. That's not too hard to remember, is it? Then the next thing you learned was, "that He gave His only begotten Son." Then, "that whosoever believeth in Him‚" & then finally, "should not perish but have everlasting life!" Usually, in about three or four phrases or clauses you can learn a verse‚ with only about six or seven words per phrase or clause.—Just break the verse into phrases whichever way seems the most natural & easiest for you.

37. This is the way most of us have memorised verses, & a way that will make it easier for you too. It's really not that hard to do, especially if you're learning only one verse a day, something we even expect our small children to be able to do. In our first schools‚ we expected our new students to learn at least 10 verses a week—which meant two verses a day, five days a week.

38. Although we have said before that it is not an absolute necessity to memorise the Scripture references with the verses—particularly if it's very difficult for you to retain numerical references, & it discourages you from learning the verses—many of us have found that it is very helpful & useful to memorise the references along with the rest of the verse when possible. Of course, the main thing is to know what it is, even if you don't know where it is!

39. Although I may not be able to pinpoint the exact location of many verses, I know what they are, & you hear me quoting them a lot. I don't always know the exact address‚ but I can at least tell you what city it's in. Sometimes I can even get the neighbourhood.—And once in awhile I can even tell you what block it's in & even the street! But I don't always remember the house numbers, the exact address of the verse.

40. But when witnessing & teaching others, if you don't know where it's at, & the guy you're talking to‚ witnessing to, says, "Is that in the Bible?—Where is it?", & you don't know, then how does he know whether you even know the Scripture? It's very helpful in witnessing to be able to read verses to them out of the Bible—or even better‚ to show them where it is & let them read it.—Which is one reason why it's good to know the references as well as the verses.

41. Another important point is, it's better to go out witnessing knowing a few good Salvation verses very well, & references that you can find quickly to read to them or have them read, than it is to go out with a whole bunch of verses that you forget or you don't remember where they are or that you memorised poorly & you can't quote them correctly! I found in witnessing that it's better to give just a few verses & keep repeating & repeating & repeating them until they have heard those verses so much that they can never forget them, rather than preaching at them & spouting off so much Bible they don't remember anything you said. It's far better to have a good grip on a few essential verses. PTL!

42. (Prays: ) Thank You Lord for Thy Word & its power! Help these now to saturate themselves with Thy Word! Inspire their hearts by Thy Word!

43. Thank You for the Family's faithfulness in memorising Thy Word, Lord, so that they can really quote it & feed it to others. Help them to continue to absorb Thy Word so they will be able to powerfully use it for Thy glory even as they do now. TYJ!

44. Help them to think about You continually, to meditate on Thy Word‚ to memorise the verses You quicken to them.—To remember Thy Word even when they're working or travelling or lying on their beds at night, that they will never forget You nor Thy Word, Your Truth & Your Love, in Jesus' name, amen! (See Deut.6:5-7.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family