Reading

There is a common thread you seem to find in the men God uses, and it is they are readers. They were well read and read well. Considering the men of the bible, they were well read, and they knew the Word of God. Paul had a high regard for the written word as well, "when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments." It was one of the things he charged Timothy to do, in the book of First Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

AW Pink said “In my early years, I assiduously followed this threefold course: First, I read through the entire Bible three times a year (eight chapters in the Old Testament and two in the New Testament daily). I steadily preserved in this for 10 years, in order to familiarize myself with its contents, which can only be done by consecutive reading. Second, I studied a portion of the Bible each week, concentrating for ten minutes (or More) each day of the same passage, pondering the order of it, the connection between each statement, seeking a definition of the important terms in it, look up all the marginal references being on the look out for its typical significance, Third, I meditated on one verse every day; memorizing it.” That is a schedule that would put most to shame indeed, but that was simply his Bible reading, Pink spent much time reading other works as well. “In born to write”, by R.P. Belcher, it is said that A.W. Pink had read more than one million pages of religious literature. “If one averages that one million pages over 27 years, it comes to over 37,000 pages a year. Therefore, Pink was not only a student of the Bible, but also a student of theological literature as well.”

I recall B.H. Carroll said that he read around 300 pages a day, besides the bible, and men like Gill, and Spurgeon are also famous for their reading prowess. Biography after biography of Christian men who preached with great power, you will find them to be voracious readers. These men didn’t sit back and wish they could be great preachers, nor did they say that God hadn’t given them the gifts to be great preachers, but they worked at it, and worked hard. Yes, men like Spurgeon could stand and give eloquent extemporaneous sermons, and had a mind that could recall great amounts of information, and present it in an impromptu, yet powerful way, but remember that the information had to be first obtained! Pink’s books and sermons overflow with scripture, and he had great power in pulling the themes of the bible together, but where did that familiarity come from? Reading. Without the power of computer aided study, these men worked, and worked hard for their knowledge, and God blessed their effort.

Certainly they were blessed of God, and were given great gifts of natural ability, skill, and mental prowess, but it is also not to say they didn't hone and sharpen the gifts God gave them. Spurgeon would not have been Spurgeon had he not read. Pink would not have been Pink, if he had not given all he had in the service of God.