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Victory's Secret Weapon Study Notes - PDF (CLICK HERE)

Video Transcript - "Victory's Secret Weapon"

Hi, I’m Dave Westbrook. In our last lesson, we looked at four ways we can connect with God’s power to overcome sin in our lives. For this lesson, I want to pick up where we left off – that fourth power switch – taking action. We discovered this was the critical step for the man with the withered hand – remember – “He did so” and his hand was restored, whole as the other. It lies with us to make the decision to act. When we do so, relying on Christ’s power to make the action possible, the power to obey is given to make the action we choose possible.

There are numerous actions we could talk about. Depending on what the issue is, maybe it’s choosing to change that channel – or – turn the TV off. Maybe it’s closing the refrigerator door. Whatever the action is that you need to take to connect with Divine power to conquer the thing that’s conquering you right now, I want to give you an action that you can choose to take, that is effective across the board, no matter what the issue is. This is the secret weapon, understood and used by everyone who is consistently experiencing victory over the enemy’s attempts to lure them into sin.

But first, let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you would please send your Holy Spirit to give us understanding as we look more closely at your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We find this weapon in Ephesians chapter six starting at verse thirteen: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:13-17

You probably noticed that only one of the pieces of armor listed by Paul here is actually a weapon – the sword. Everything else is simply protection, or defense, but the sword does not do anything for you unless you use it – it’s a weapon. Notice also, that Paul tells us exactly what the sword represents – it’s “the word of God.”

I don’t think I need to convince you of the power of God’s word, this is a theme that is generally believed by most Christians. The problem is that we don’t generally have this weapon at the ready – when we’re out on the battle field and suddenly find ourselves under attack. The sword is only useful to the soldier if he has immediate and instant access to it. In the case of God’s Word, to have instant and immediate access requires memorization. The Bible promises a blessing to those who memorize scripture: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

This was the weapon of choice, used by Jesus Himself when tempted by Satan in the desert – He quoted scripture. And God will bless us with power to overcome as we take up the Sword of the Spirit. Notice this:

“Build a wall of scriptures around you, and you will see that the world cannot break it down. Commit the Scriptures to memory, and then throw right back upon Satan when he comes with his temptations, ‘It is written.’ This is the way that our Lord met the temptations of Satan, and resisted them.” –Review and Herald, April 10, 1888

“We might close the door to many temptations, if we would commit to memory passages of Scripture. Let us hedge up the way to Satan's temptations with ‘It is written.’” God’s Amazing Grace, 262

But look, I probably don’t have to convince you of the value of scripture memory. The problem here for most of us is not that we need to be convinced of the usefulness of knowing God’s Word by heart. More likely than not, the problem for most people is one of two things: either you find it hard to memorize, or you don’t feel like you have the time to add this to your already full plate. Most Christians find it enough of a challenge to just get their devotional Bible reading in, let alone add yet another task to their already too busy day. But, what if I could show you a way to solve both of those problems? What if I could give you a system that would make scripture memory easier? Even better, what if I could show you how to memorize scripture, without having to schedule any additional time to do it? You’re probably thinking, “OK, that’s just not possible.” But it is, and in the next few minutes, I’m going to show you how.

Let’s take a minute first to talk to those who have a hard time memorizing. The secret to unleashing the power of the mind to remember large blocks of scripture, is to brake it down into shorter phrases. For example, if we want to memorize say, Isaiah 26:3, we could break it up into these phrases: “Thou wilt keep him / in perfect peace, / whose mind is stayed on thee:/ because he trusteth in thee.” For some, the phrases may need to be very short. The key is, don’t go on to the next phrase, until you’ve mastered the one you’re working on. As soon as you conquer the next phrase, then master the previous phrase or phrases together with the one you’ve just learned. Eventually, you’ll be able to repeat the entire verse. In fact, as you follow this approach, you’ll most likely find that your ability to memorize will improve, over time, so that you may be able to handle longer phrases at a time.

OK, somebody’s got to be thinking, “Hey wait a minute, I thought you said we wouldn’t have to schedule any additional time to do this? So how does that work” It’s simple. Everyone has dead moments during the day – times when you’re stuck waiting for an appointment, standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for the light to turn green, on hold on the telephone, and the list goes on. Those are the times to do memory work. Now for that to really work, you’ve got to have the scriptures you’re working on with you so you can review and check your progress. Some use flash cards. In fact, you can buy the cards with the verses already printed on them, so you don’t even have to take the time to write them out. Others use digital methods on their smart phones, or pocket PCs or Palm PDAs. In that case, once you’ve got the application or the program to do this, it only takes several seconds to click the verse into your memory list so you can start working on it. The key to success is to find the method that works for you – the thing that you’ll use – whether it’s electronic, or good old fashioned paper flash cards that you carry in your pocket or your purse.

As you begin to memorize more and more verses of scripture, here’s a way to maximize you’re success. With new verses, go over them daily for two months. After that, put them in a monthly review list, so you don’t loose them over time. This requires an organized approach. If you’re using a digital method, good scripture memory applications have built in systems for doing this. If you’re using flash cards, you’ll need to have a way to organize your cards to manage both the daily and the monthly review. In our study notes, we’ve included a couple web links for both electronic and paper methods of Bible memory.

Another great option for scripture memory is with the use of songs. This can make scripture memory more fun – especially for kids, and it’s something the whole family can work on during morning or evening worship or even while you’re in the car. There are lots of great scripture song CDs out there if you like that approach.

Here’s another reason scripture memory is so important in terms of being prepared for the coming crisis? We’re told that one day many of us will not have access to our written Bibles. Look at this:

“The time will come when many will be deprived of the written Word. But if this Word is printed in the memory, no one can take it from us.” Last Day Events, 67

Well, it’s time to get busy and start memorizing scripture isn’t it? I’ve made a list of my top forty favorite memory scriptures to start with. I’m sending that out to everyone on our email list, so if you haven’t yet signed up for that, you can do so  in the form above.

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your Word, which is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword.” Please help us as we endeavor to lock it into our minds and hearts, in Jesus’ name – Amen. Make sure and download you’re free copy of the study notes for this lesson by clicking the link below. In our next lesson, we’ll be tackling the topic, “Conquering on the Mental Battlefield”. See you then.

Victory's Secret Weapon Study Notes - PDF (CLICK HERE)