Matthew 4:4 - “But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"”
Most Christian doesn’t get it when Jesus spoke those word. I believe Jesus is telling us that we not only need to eat bread to feed our physically self, we also need to feed our spiritual self by eating spiritual food which are the words that come from the mouth of God. All of us eat physical food everyday, and that's why we grow physically. But how many of us eat spiritual food daily and grow spiritually?
What is the spiritual food ? That's every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That's the scriptures, God's word in the bible. We need to read ("eat") the "Word of God" as often as we eat our physical food. In John 6:35, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are a new creation (2Cor 5:17). We now have a new spirit in us. At this stage, we are still a spiritual baby with our Old-self (carnal man) still very much in control. Why do you think many Christians are still struggling to live a victorious life?
Apostle Peter says in 1Peter 2:2, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” Physical baby needs physical milk, therefore spiritual baby needs spiritual milk. According to Peter, the spiritual milk is the WORD.
2Tim 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”The scripture contained in the bible is God-breathed. It’s spiritual. Do you know that the bible is the only spiritual thing that we can actually touch?
How to Eat God’s Word
Jesus says in Luke 10:41 - “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
What was it that Mary was doing which is better?
Luke 10:39 - "And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and HEARD His word."
We eat God’s word by listening to His word. Human ears are so powerful that even when dead, we can still hear (John 5:25, John 11:43, Luke 8:54, Luke 7:14). Before someone dies, what do you think is the last physical sense to go? (It's the Hearing of course) When someone is in a comatose condition, the person can still hear you even though the person can't respond. That is a good time to play AUDIO BIBLE READING for the person's spirit man to consume (eat). Similarly when we are sleeping, our spirit man does not sleep. So go ahead and feed your spirit man while you sleep physically. Yummy !!!
Now let me ask a rhetorical question, how many of us have actually finished reading the bible at least once? More than once? How many? How many of us read the bible every day, three times a day? How many chapters/books? Is it easy to read the bible? How many of us fall asleep when we read the bible? Do you get distracted easily? To overcome this spirit of stupor effect, we need to humble down our carnal man, which is done by kneeling down when we listen to God's word. God is certainly more pleased and will more likely to grant us the desire of our hearts when we approach Him in humility.
Next, when we read the bible, we need the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us. Holy Spirit is our helper in feeding our inner being which is our spiritual self. He converts Logos into Rhemas. Therefore pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us when we eat of God's word. He is able to turn our perception of normal boring words into a "delicious" spiritual food where we can't stop wanting more.
Lastly, we need to eat His word like how we eat our physical food. Just eat. No need to study it or think about what it means, whether it is nutritious enough, or why it is made this way. Do you think we use our brain a lot when we eat physical food ? Obviously not. Likewise, we shouldn't let our brain to distract us from eating spiritual food by thinking too much. In fact, our spirit man can eat spiritual food faster than our physical man can eat physical food. The best part is our spirit man doesn’t sleep. It hears even when our physical man sleeps.
Bible Spirit Speed Reading (BSSR) is a method promoted by Pastor Kim (from Korea), to feed your spirit man in a faster way. The audio is played at a much faster rate that you would not have time to think what it means except to follow with your eyes. How fast depends on your comfort level. The more you listen, the faster you get. You want to eat more by eating fast which also takes away distractions.
Chinese word for Hearing is a Shema
Hearing = 聽 = with Ear + Eyes + Heart combine as One when listening to the King.
When you listen to His word, the Holy Spirit will feed your spirit mysteriously, converting Logos to Rhema.
Deut 6:4-9 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
The 4 Conditions of our Heart
Based on Parable of the sower (Luke 8)
Seeds = word of God;
Seeds when sowed and falls.....
on the pathways (no awareness)
spiritually sleeping
example people sleeping during church services
the "birds" come and took away the Word before it even reaches their consciousness
on the rocks (no passion)
shallow understanding
no lasting foundations/roots
example of people who listen attentively but forgets everything once the service/meeting ends
among thorns (no endurance)
worries, deluded riches and worldly pleasures
example of people who listen and took initial actions but when faced with the challenges of life (money, health and relationships), lost their way/focus and gave up
on good soil (passionately pursue God)
a humble and willing heart desiring to serve God
example of people who received the word, and boldly put the words into actions in the face of challenges.
can only change to good soil by daily washing with God's word (Christian's bar of soap)
As there is physical sleeping, there is also spiritual sleeping. Sadly many Christians since spiritual birth are still sleeping most of the time and therefore still a spiritual baby.
How do we Start
Mark 4:8,9 - "But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred. And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him HEAR!""
The blessings of BSSR is therefore arranged likewise in Level 1, 2 and 3 (30 folds), Level 4 (60 folds) and Level 5 (100 folds) of eating the New Testaments.
The first target of BSSR is to achieve NT100, which is to read the entire New Testament 100 times. To achieve this, speed reading is therefore critical to your success.
New-born babies take milk (L1) Infants take soft food (L2) Children takes a mixture of soft and solid food (L3)
Level 1: 30x (spiritual milk)
Focus on the books of John, Romans, Ephesians, and Hebrew
These books are considered the main 4 pillars of our scriptural understanding
Approximated time to complete (2 hrs @ 280wpm, 57mins @ 580wpm)
Level 2: 30x (soft food)
John 1:14 - God's word is full of Truth and Grace
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts
1 & 2 Corinthians (alternate)
Galatians, Philippians till Philemon
Approximated time to complete (2 hrs @ 280wpm, 57mins @ 580wpm)
Level 3: 30x (soft and hard food)
James to Revelation
Approximated time to complete (1 hr @ 280wpm, 30mins @ 580wpm)
Additional gospel (1hr or 30mins)
Level 4: NT @ 60x
Read the entire NT for another 30 times giving a total of 60 times completion.
Level 5: NT @ 100x
Read the entire NT for another 40 times giving a total of 100 times completion.
Why 100 times? Using the Boiling Water illustration. When you are boiling water, the surface of the water remains relatively calm until the temperature reaches 100 degree Celsius. It doesn't mean that nothing is happening all these time until it boils. Things are already happening below the surface but is not seen yet. Likewise, when we go through BSSR from 30x to 60x, it may not seem to others that it is beneficial. But those going through the process knows it as he/she experiences changes a little at a time. The big breakthrough will come when we reach 100 times as some has already testified.
Human body needs: Protein + Carbohydrate + Fat + Vitamins + Minerals in a balanced amount.
Spiritual inner man needs: Rhema words that can only come from eating/hearing the Logos (bible) words.
What is the benefit
Isaiah 55:8-11 NKJV - ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
It may seem nothing on the surface, but changes have definitely taken place in the spiritual realm.
You are on the journey to becoming a spiritual giant. Man of faith. Demons watch out.
Jeremiah 23:29 ESV - “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV - “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
John 14:26 NKJV - "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
The Holy Spirit can change Logos word into Rhema word by bringing it to your remembrance whenever is needed because the Word is already in you.
John 8:31-32 NKJV - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.””
John 6:63 NKJV - “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
John 15:5 NKJV – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
You can become overcomers, set free from bondages and experience fruitfulness in things that you do.
Attain Breakthroughs and Spiritual Blessings
Spiritual growth, Word is in you means Jesus is in you, God is in you. You are an open portal. More light shines out of you. Signs and wonders happens around you.
Physical and psychological healings. Healing of broken relationships.
Opening spiritual senses.
The more you read, your spiritual senses will start to open up and get activated. Just as physical self is able to see the physical world; our spiritual self is also able to see the spiritual realms when our spiritual eyes are open.
