Just prior to the words that the Apostle Paul wrote here in verse
number 8 of Philippians chapter 4, you remember that?
He said, beginning in verse 6, he says be careful for nothing.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
And then he says, and the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding shall keep your hearts and Minds through Christ
Jesus. Jesus, first of all, the word
careful here as rendered in the King James version is also
rendered and better rendered actually as anxiety or anxious.
And what the Apostle Paul was saying is he was giving an
absolute. He says, be careful or be
anxious for nothing. Now more on that in just a
moment about how difficult it is.
And I know that it is everyone that's here under the sound of
my voice truly. Surely at one point in time, at
least in your life have had challenges that were before you
that caused you to be very anxious and caused you to feel
anxiety. Maybe you've been one that has
worried about things in your life.
These are things that happen to us as we live from day to day in
the life that we have. That is around us and yet the
Apostle, Paul's clearly states, be careful or be anxious for or
nothing. You know, anxiety by definition.
Mr. Thayer says is to be pulled in different directions.
It's when our hopes or in our fears are pulling us in an
opposite direction, hopes in our and our faith is pulling us in
an opposite direction as our fear.
That's exactly what happens when you have anxiety in your life.
By definition Thayer says, it is a literal pulling apart.
That's exactly. Happening.
We live the Christian Life and we have hopes and we have faith
in the great God Of Heaven, that he is going to be there.
That he's going to assist us that we don't have to live this
life, all by ourselves. We know that we believe that we
have faith in the things that are not seen.
Absolutely, we have hopes that Jesus Christ is going to come
back again, and we're going to meet him in the air and ever be
with the Lord. Those things are absolutes in
our life. Also.
But what happens to us what happens is from time to time our
fears poll against our faith. And when your fears are
struggling against your faith, you are literally pulling
yourself apart inside and that is anxiety.
A synonym for this word is the one that is commonly referred to
as worry. And worry, means by definition
to strangle all. It's certainly, no wonder why
the apostle All said not to be anxious because it will
literally pull you apart inside. It will literally strangle you
causing both physical and emotional side effects as well.
You know, when we have worry and strife and worry and things like
that in our life, it causes headaches.
I know something about that, it causes neck pain that to it
causes ulcers. I've had one and even back pains
as well, worried they tell me. It affects our thinking, it
affects our digestion and it even affects our coordination.
You know, I'm also told this to that when we are faced with
anxiety or there something before us that causes us to be
anxious. You know what, that adrenaline
feeling that you get, sometimes that boost of adrenaline, that's
when the cortisol levels in your system are elevated and
therefore it did they call it the fight-or-flight thing you
have to make a decision. Vision.
Am I going to stand here and be harmed?
Or am I going to run when the cortisol levels are elevated in
your system in your body? It is normal and natural.
But did you know that if the cortisol levels in your body
remain elevated and do not go down, it causes harmful side
effects and get this to it. Even makes you get fat, it even
makes you gain weight. When that happens in our life,
the Apostle Paul said don't be like that.
He said don't be anxious and don't be anxious about anything
and then he gives us a formula. Whereby.
We can succeed. Notice where he says this first,
he says be careful for nothing. That's an absolute but then he
says, pray about everything. Isn't it true though?
That oftentimes we pray when we're desperate, excuse me, we
pray when we're desperate we wait until we are absolutely
faced with desperation. We are so sad and we are so
desperate now as an afterthought, Tried and
exhausted every other thing that I can possibly think of to do
so. Now I'm going to pray that is
not a pattern for success and it's not the antidote for
anxiety. Paul says, pray first.
He says, pray about everything and that also is an absolute.
But the question is, what kind of prayer are the kinds of
prayers that are going to help us to be successful?
successful number 1, the Apostle Paul says he uses the word
prayer, Now, often times we use this word in a general sense and
rightfully so of any time that we speak to God, you know, just
a moment ago, our brother directed our minds in prayer,
that is a general term for any time that we speak to God.
But did you know that this word means more than just speaking to
god? Notice the pattern that the
Apostle Paul is laying out for us and the formula for Success
against anxiety. He says pray about everything
and this is how you're going to do it.
When you come to God In Prayer, this word means praise and
adoration. So it's a time that we bow the
knee before the great God of heaven.
And we tell him how great he is. We praise him because he is
worthy of such. We give him all the credit, all
the glory, and all the honor for being the great architect of
this universe that we live in. We bow before his presence and
we exalt him in every single way because he's worthy, and because
he's deserving of such But you know, there's something else
that is good by praising God, that we learn in our prayers
when we come to God and pray like this first.
See what we do sometimes is when we're desperate, we may have a
loved one that sick. We may be losing a job, we may
be in financial problems or whatever it is.
So we go to God and the very first thing we do is please God
help me through this or please God, remove this and so on and
so forth. Paul says this and I don't think
They're listed in this order just out of coincidence.
He says, when you pray, you come together and you pray to God and
you do so in, praise and adoration to him and for him.
And when you do you give him what he deserves.
But number two, what else? Have you ever prayed to God?
Because your problem was so big. You couldn't even fathom how
you're going to get through it. I've done that.
Everyone that's here has done that when your problem seems
greater than you can bear. So you desperately pray to God
for relief in that regard. But if you prayed like this and
you exalt God, there's something else that it does to it changes.
Your mental outlook on things, doesn't it?
Because now what you have thought was so great, in
comparison to how great God is it pales in comparison?
Now, it's time to let your requests be made known and the
Apostle Paul says we supplication.
Supplication is the time that you pour out your requests.
You let your requests be made known unto God.
Now, why do we do that? It is true that this great God
Of Heaven, that we've been speaking of that, we've been
praising and all of that. It is true that he knows me.
So, well, that even the very hairs on my head are numbered.
He knows my needs before I ask him.
There is nothing in this whole world that I could say to God
that he does not know. And the purpose of this is such
as the Bible teaches, we come together and let our requests be
made known unto God. Because the Bible says, you have
not, because you ask not, therefore the blessings of God,
the help of God, the assistance, from God, and all of that is
waiting us. If we will pour our hearts out
to him and ask in faith believing, according to his
will, But thirdly Paul says, pray with Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving. That's a time that we thank him
and appreciate him for all that he has done before.
Have you ever been like me at least once in your life and you
you bow before God and you poured your heart out you just
ask God for so many things and then God answered that prayer in
a favorable fashion. But then, you forgot to thank
him. I just wonder how many things
happen in our life where we ask God from day to day for certain
things, He blesses us and we forget and then we never thanked
him. You know, I don't know about you
but the greatest thing that I can ever receive from my
children his heartfelt. Thank you, that's great.
It's the look of appreciation on their face when you do something
for another, and that's exactly what God is waiting for.
And longing for it is our appreciation for all that he has
done. This is a formula for Success
against the anxieties and the stresses and the worries that we
might have in our life, this is a pattern whereby we may be
successful for Paul said, be careful for nothing, but in
everything. Thing we need to pray.
But when Paul was through with this and after he said that the
very next verse, he gives us more of a formula.
He gives us more of what to do. He says, then when you do that
now it's time to think. Or the same word think here is
meditate, he's telling us now what to do, it is not just
enough to pray. Now you have to do something,
you have to get up and you have to have a certain frame of mind.
You have to have a certain thing in your life that is priorities
and I better be first. These are things that he's
telling us in God's word that we must meditate upon and then he
gives a list of the things whereby you and I are supposed
to Think or meditate, he says whatsoever are, things are true,
things that are noble, things that are just things that are
pure, things that are lovely whatsoever, things are of good
report if there be any virtue and if there be anything
praiseworthy, meditate or think on these things, you know, the
practice of meditation by Christians is not something that
you might hear very frequently. I don't know that I have, I've
never preached on this. Subject, ever.
Oh, I've talked about these things that are found in this
verse but I have never actually preached a sermon on the idea of
meditation. I don't know when the last time
that you heard a sermon on that, but I can't, personally
remember, hearing the sermon on the idea of medic of meditation.
It may be though that the Christian is simply not aware
that they are commanded to meditate.
It may be that some believe that meditation belongs solely to
Eastern. Legends like Hinduism or
Buddhism and yet the Apostle Paul clearly teaches us to
meditate on these things and therefore meditation is
certainly a Biblical subject. Oh, there's many examples in
God's word when there were those that meditated.
You remember that Isaac meditated in the field at
Eventide, in Genesis 24 and verse 63, Joshua was too.
Charged by God to meditate day and night.
Joshua chapter 1 and verse number 8.
The blessed man in Psalms 1 is the one who meditates.
Now I know that we read this passage of scripture talking
about the progression of sin and rightfully so.
But notice there's more to it than just the description of the
progression of sin. Notice in Psalms chapter 1,
beginning there, in verse 1, the psalmist, David said, blessed,
Is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Secondly, he said, blessed is the man that does not stand in
the way of Sinners and thirdly. He says, blessed is the man that
does not sit in the seat of the scornful.
That is true. There are three things that one
that is going to be one. That's going to be blessed of.
God is the one that's not going to stand.
He's not going to sit, he's not. Going to dwell with those that
are in sin. But how do you do that after
all? Isn't it?
True that in our life?
We have more distractions, all around us maybe than ever
before. How can I do that?
The psalmist, David says this, but his Delight is in the law of
the Lord, and in his law, doth, he meditate day and night, day
and night. You know, David became wiser
than his teachers. The Bible says through
meditation in Psalms 119 and 99, listen to this very amazing
passage of scripture where where the psalmist David records.
These words he says, I have more understanding, then all of my
teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation.
I guess the art of being a teacher would be.
I know it's the art of being a parent.
Least it is for me. I want to wear my children in
such a way that they live their life and become better than I
am. That's what I want.
I want to proudly feel like my children have accomplished for
more than I've accomplished. I hope and pray that my children
know more about the Bible than I ever knew.
I hope that they become better people than I've ever been.
I hope and pray that that's the case.
But you know when you have a student that's following a
teacher, it isn't often and it isn't common that the student
will surpass the teacher. Unless the student diligently
does certain things, the teacher can teach it, he can preach it,
he can go over it, he can remind them, he can repeat it and on,
and on, and on. But the student has the
responsibility of doing something to surpass the
instructor. And David said, this, I have
more understanding than all my teachers.
Why for thy testimonies are my meditation.
The student must in fact, take these things meditate upon them
and and improve their self as a result.
But, you know, there are questions that might come to
mind. And these questions are
certainly worthy of an answer. Sir three questions.
Now, number one, what does meditation mean to the
Christian? Number two?
Why should we be concerned about making time to meditate and
number three? How do we do it?
For a little while. Now I'm going to attempt to
answer these questions for us. First of all, let me just say
this when we discuss biblical meditation, let me just talk
about what it is, not You know, if I were to go out in the world
today today tomorrow, whatever it was and I were to walk up to
people at random, say I chose 10 people and I want to go up to
them at random and I were to say, give me the very first
thing that comes to your mind when I say the word meditation.
Listen, I'm not trying to make fun, but isn't it true that the
majority of people, the majority of people in the world would say
that the very first interpretation or the very first
thing that they have in their mind by way of their thoughts.
And by the way that they perceive it would be someone
sitting Indian style with their hands like this.
Making those circles with her hands.
I don't know what that is the circles and sitting there with
their eyes closed and humming a little tune.
And as they sit there in meditation, contemplating
whatever it is that they're contemplating.
That's not the meditation of the Bible.
That's not the meditation that's found in God's word.
It's not the kind that's practiced by many Eastern
religions, like, Hinduism and Buddhism or Transcendental
Meditation where the object is to experience truth experience.
Peace and being that is inexpressible.
It is not the kind that is practiced by quote-unquote
Christian Mystics like Quakers and Others found among Roman
Catholics and Protestants. These meditate in order to
experience God or to receive some Revelation from God.
Another words, they meditate thinking that if they can take
their mind and they can clear their mind in fact, that's
exactly one of the definitions of some of their meditation and
Eastern religions. You take your mind and you empty
it, and then you sit there and you meditate, and you and you
focus. And you're ever so still and
quiet waiting to receive some Revelation that's going to come
to you. That's going to make it very
clear and you're going to receive it for the very first
time. But is that what the meditation
of the Bible is all about? Eastern and Christian Mystics
quote-unquote meditates for the purpose of subjective meditation
empty the mind in order to find some received truth that they've
never known before, but the meditation of the Bible by
definition get this. Now it's to dwell or contemplate
on some truth or reality already revealed.
It is a objective form of meditation.
Another words, every The thing that is ever been revealed to
man has already been revealed. Every single thing that is going
to be revealed to man has already been revealed.
There is nothing spiritually that you will ever learn.
That is not already found in God's word.
Now, that very well may be that you didn't understand something
in God's word and because of prayerful study You Now
understand it, whereas, ten years ago, maybe you did not,
but that was not a ERM of Revelation to you through
meditation. It's something already revealed
here it is. And you meditate upon what has
already been revealed, and that is the meditation.
Of the Bible. To be more specific.
The man after God's Own Heart is one who meditates on such things
like the Lord himself, I want you to notice.
Now, some of these things that if our minds are focused on
various things, it is going to help us to not do other things.
Have you ever found yourself? You're trying to live the
Christian Life. You really want to deep down in
your heart, you really aspire to do the things that are right in
living the Christian life. But all of Sudden as you go out
into the world, you are faced with Temptations as they come
your way and it just seems like an all.
Are you ever so sorry when you do?
But it just seems like these are things cast before us in our
life. And what do we do?
We stub our toe here, we fall down there.
We trip over here because our minds are not actively seeking
what it should you know you know this as well as I do.
You've heard me preach this for years and years.
And years and years. And, you know, this, but you
can't do two opposite things at the same time.
It is impossible. It is impossible for me to
meditate on Jesus Christ himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ that gave his life on calvary's Cross for
me and shed his blood there for the sins of the world.
It is not possible right at that moment for me to meditate on
Christ and at the very same time, be thinking about sinful
things, and sinful Pleasures. I have to stop doing one in
order to do the other What's Paul saying he's telling us,
meditate or occupy your minds. Occupy your mind.
My grandfather used to say Frank brancato, the one that I was
named after used to say, as you know, Idle Hands are tools of
the devil and then he would say this but an idle mind is his
Workshop. We can never empty the mind and
clear the mind. Oh, no, we need to occupy the
mind. The question is, what are we
occupying? The mind on?
Well, we need to occupy the mind on the Lord himself.
Here's three verses of scripture that are found.
In the Book of Psalms Psalm 63, and burst number six, says, when
I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night
watches, there's nothing greater to do in your life, then
meditate on. Jesus Christ.
The one that was the greatest man that ever lived.
There was no greater and there. Never ever will be anyone that's
greater than Jesus Christ. Not only was he the Lamb of God,
Not only was he the sacrifice The whole world.
But we're talking about someone that lived in this world for
about 33 years or so. And in doing so get this because
we stumble all the time, don't we?
He lived here for 33 plus years or so and never committed one
sin. And yet, the Bible says, he was
in all points tempted. Like, as we are yet without sin,
if we would focus on his example, and think about Jesus,
how can we ever Ever Fall From Grace.
How can we ever ever fall? But you know, David speaks of
some more things about Jesus. He gets more specific about him
in Psalm 77 and verse 12. He says, meditate on the works.
The good works of Jesus and David said, I will meditate
also, all of all thy Work get this, And talk of thy doings.
This is someone. That finds in God's revealed
word about Jesus. About his Works, meditates upon
them all day long, whatever it takes here, and there meditating
on that and meditating on all the wonderful works of Christ.
And then David says, and then I will speak of those works.
What a great pattern. Now I'm talking about better
things, aren't I? I'm talking about Jesus in my
life, I'm not likely to tell a dirty story.
I'm not likely to tell something that I shouldn't.
I'm not likely to be a overcome with the temptation of gossip
and start speaking to others about other people that I should
keep my mouth shut about. I am very unlikely folks, to do
those kind of things if I'm thinking about Jesus, and I'm
thinking about all of his good works and I'm telling others
about it. Third thing.
The obvious thing. Focus and meditate on his
revealed word, in Psalm 119. In verses 15 and 16, David said,
I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways.
I will Delight myself in by statutes.
I will not forget Thy Word. You know, to Simply put it in
the words of the Apostle, Paul we are to meditate on things.
We are the meditate on things, what thinks he's already given
them to us, true Noble, just pure, lovely, and of good report
and so on things that are virtue and are praiseworthy.
And the purpose of our meditation is to nourish our
self with the understanding of God.
And his revealed will not to seek for some previously
unrevealed. Truth it is to give man
spiritual Joy. Joy and strength through such
nourishment. Now, notice here, this very
amazing passage as found in Isaiah chapter 40, beginning in
verse 28, listen to this. Hast thou not known hast thou,
not heard that the Everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of
the ends of the Earth fainteth. Not, neither, is weary.
There's no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint and of them that have no might he
increaseth strength. Even the youths, shall faint?
Not and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they
shall Mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not
be weary and they shall walk, and not faint.
Oh, the nourishment that we get from meditating upon the proper
things meditating on God's word. But number two, this morning
though, why should we do it? Well, we just talked about a
source of strength, Psalms 1 vs. One and two we talked about
blessed is the man that doesn't do these things, why?
When he's not doing these things, it's because he's doing
these things, he's meditating on proper things, we get the
nourishment and help that we need, and encouragement that we
need in the passage that we just read from the book of Isaiah.
It's an important part. Also, number two, though of our
transformation, you know, goal of the Christian is to become
more like Jesus Christ in all the days that we live in Romans
chapter 8, and verse 20, 9, the Apostle Paul would say that God
has called those who will conform to the image of his son.
You know what that means. That means that I am living in
this world, but I cannot continue the way that I live.
I cannot continue in the way that I am.
I'm in the world. When I am converted to Christ, I
changed my heart. I changed my life, and I changed
my relationship. I changed my values and my
priorities. You know, that's exactly what
the Apostle Paul was. Speaking of in, Romans chapter
12 and verses 1 and 2. When the Apostle Paul said that
a person that's going to be acceptable, in the eyes of God
is one, who is transformed. That means I have to change into
something else. Because God will not accept me
in the worldly state that I'm in.
Until I transform myself and change and that is repentance,
meditation is valuable because it is a helpful tool in the
transformation process. Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and
2. Paul said, I beseech, you
therefore Brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies, a Living Sacrifice, holy acceptable, unto God, which
is your reasonable service. And Not conformed to this world
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye
may prove. What is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God. You can't be transformed folks
without continually being renewed in the mind.
And the only way that you can renew your mind is to meditate
upon these things in this book. That's the only way you renew
your mind. And folks, I'm not just talking
about coming down here on Sunday morning and hearing God's word
and Renewing Your Mind or Sunday night.
Also our Wednesday night or whatever it is.
That's not enough. Renewing, we're spending far too
many times far too many hours in the world and when we think
about that, if the only nourishment were getting and the
only reminders that were getting and the only time we renew our
mind is in the public assembly of the Lord's church.
When we hear sermon from the pulpit that is Not enough.
Renewing, to make you transformed and to make you all
that you need to be for the Lord.
If I'm transformed. I'm changed.
You ever have hear somebody? Say, oh, did you see Johnny man?
He's changed. I never thought he had it in
him. He's changed.
You ever see someone that lived their life for sake of a better
term as the devil's disciple himself?
And then all of a sudden they come down the aisle with tears
in their eyes repenting of all that they'd done.
And humbly submitting to Jesus Christ.
Confessing him as the Son of God and being baptized for the
remission of his sins. And from that point forward, his
life is different. He acts different because that
man is changed. The only way we can stay
changed, though. Folks and not change back is to
meditate on things above and not on things on the earth.
You know, it's very sad as many Christians fall because they
meditate on The wrong things, they mind the things of the
flesh, which lead to spiritual death in enmity with God.
And yet the world even understands the world.
Even understands that a person cannot be spiritual and dwell on
carnal things. I want you to listen to this
study that was done by Stanford University.
I thought this was rather interesting because these are
types of things that we speak of all the time.
When we preach God's word. I'm so thankful that some of our
very Educated people educated doctors as it were in aspects
such as this. I'm so thankful that they're
catching up to the Bible. A recent study was done by
Stanford University about this. Listen recent studies conducted
by Stanford University and the Stanford University team reveal.
That what we watch, has an effect on our imaginations.
It has an effect on our learning patterns It has an effect on our
behaviors. Listen, this is just viewing
things. It's saying that if I go and I
am viewing something, whatever that is good or bad, that is
going to influence. What I am the decisions that I
make and the values that I established in my life scary,
isn't it? Even casual contemplation, watch
it goes further. First, this is how it happens.
We're exposed to new behaviors and new characters.
Secondly, we learn to acquire these new behaviors and thirdly,
the last and most crucial step is that then we adopt these
behaviors. And we adopt them just like they
are our very own. One of the most critical aspects
of human development that we need to understand is the
influence of repeated viewing and repeated verbal.
Rising in shaping our future. This is what happens, the
information goes in ever so harmlessly or so.
It seems almost unnoticed it goes in on a daily repeated
basis. We don't react to it until later
when we are able to realize the basis for our reactions.
Did you get that? You know what, the study proved,
they're saying that what you view, what you listen to what
you are constantly exposed to on a regular basis.
When you're not even aware over time, you're going to start
adopting these behaviors. You're going to start adopting
these things these values and then before you can say, don't
do it as it were, you're going to be faced with something and
all of a sudden The new Behavior and the way you're going to
respond is just like you've been exposed.
Their conclusion was this. In other words, our value system
is being formed without any conscious Awareness on our part.
And our conscious awareness of what's happening and get this.
I love this. They summed it up by saying you
see you are what you watch and you are what you think.
Oh, the Bible so long ago, said just that Bible says, as a man
thinketh in his heart. So is he what you think about,
what you meditate upon what you watch on television?
All the things that you surround yourself, all of these things
are in flux. Lewin seeing your behavior and
it will manifest itself in some point in time.
If you don't get a hold of it, The Super Bowl is coming up, you
know what's very famous about that?
Commercials that guy saw yesterday.
I saw an advertisement for we need advertisements and
commercials for the Super Bowl. And so what they're doing is
they're trying to come up with various forms of things that
they can put on the television set when the majority of people
are going to be watching that game on television.
You know why? You know why they spend a
million dollars or better a minute in advertising their
product? Because they know that for 60
seconds, if they can keep flashing something before your
eyes that eventually it will cause you to buy their product.
And their Studies have indicated that more times than not.
That's exactly what happens. Here's the point of this
Stanford study, the last thing. It said, if a 60-second viewing
of a Repeated over and over commercial ever flashing.
Before your eyes can influence you in such a way that you go
out and buy their product. Then isn't it true that a
60-minute soap? Opera or smut calm repeatedly
before us? Isn't it just possible that it's
selling us on a lifestyle? Folks, it surely is if 60
seconds of repeated viewing can do it than 60 Minutes ever.
Before us on things, we have no business watching it.
Affects our lifestyle to and over time, we become
desensitized, and all of a sudden things, don't Sheamus
anymore. Somebody says a word on
television, it doesn't Shameless like it, did five ten years ago
because it was never on television.
Now, it is It's all around us. The entire point in the entire
lesson of this part is this. We have to be very careful about
even the Casual contemplation on anything in our life.
And that's why Paul said after you do this here's a pattern you
got your mind on things. Your you know, what you're
focused on that and all that. Now you got to think think on
what think on these things. Because Paul knew, if you don't
do that and you don't proactively do that, then the
other things are going to be before you and you're going to
fall. We need to reach the heights of
spiritual meditation in our lives.
By focusing on God's word. It helps us to be transformed.
It fills our minds with positive and spiritual thoughts.
It continually renews the mind, you know, I know sister, that's
here, and I know that every day, every day, she opens up her
Bible and she renews her mind. I know that for a fact every
day, she knows quite a lot about the Bible.
I appreciate that very much about her.
She meditates on God's word. She told me that she actually
has one Bible out and then another Bible out.
And she reads a passage of scripture and studying it and
then she leaves that they're so she doesn't lose her train of
thought but she's so focused. She now goes to this Bible.
If she wants to reference other passages, this is a person that
is trying to meditate on things above that, renews your mind.
Have you ever read your Bible for an hour?
And then as soon as you close the book, you felt the
Temptation that's ever so strong.
I doubt it. Think on these things, you know,
it doesn't have to be restricted to the Bible.
Paul says whatsoever things. There are things that are good
and wholesome in life. They surely are and if they are
a value and virtue and if there praiseworthy you think on those
things, if they fit the criteria that Paul has given us, you
focus on those things. But let's be very discriminatory
in the Casual contemplation that exists with us today.
Make the Bible, a primary focus for this meditation.
Read the word of God with a prayer in your heart.
As you read the word of God occasionally, read it aloud,
reading it slowly and audibly helps to focus one's mind on the
words and in conclusion, study like this.
Ask yourself when you're contemplating and studying and
meditating upon God's word. Ask yourself number one, is
there truth that I should know from this verse number to ask
yourself? How does this passage of
scripture? How does it?
How does it affect any previously?
Held convictions? Number three, ask yourself.
If is there something that I should stop doing in light of
this verse? Number four, is there a practice
that I should? A change in my life.
Number 5, is there a habit that I need to begin?
Folks that's somebody that doesn't have a preconceived idea
of what they're going to believe that fits whatever they feel at
the moment. That is somebody that is willing
with an open mind. A truly open mind, open for
what? What's already been revealed?
And you study it with a prayer in your heart.
You meditate upon it, you applied in your life.
And Paul said, if you do that, you're going to be successful in
living the Christian Life. Tonight, if you come back.
Lord willing. I'm going to talk about the very
next verse briefly but Paul said something very interesting.
Now think about this. Think about Paul's life.
Think about he was in bonds, he was under house arrest and you
know what he was doing? He had the anxiety, I would
imagine before him as a man, that knew that when this
impending trial was coming, he's probably going to lose his life.
He said a pattern in verse 9, all the things that you've heard
from me. All the things that you've
learned from me. All the things that you've seen
in me, do those things. And finally, he sums it up by
saying this that no matter what state that I'm in and notice
what his state was in, regardless of the state that I
meant, I have learned there with to be content.
And finally, I can do all things through Christ.
Who strengthens me? In summary.
Let's hold the word of God safe and secure to our heart until
it's affected every phase of our life.
That is true biblical meditation.
And may we be able to pray prayers like the psalmist.
David did in Psalm 19. And verse 14, when he said this
let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer and
as the Apostle Paul says go and do these things.
Likewise. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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