MEDITATE AND MEDITATE AND MEDITATE
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Introduction:
Title Talk - I have chosen my title based on a quote by Charles Spurgeon...
Read the Bible carefully,
and then meditate and meditate and meditate. - CH Spurgeon
Someone once said that 1 in 100 Christians read Scripture on a regular/ daily basis; 1 in 1000 memorize Scripture; but only 1 in 10,000 meditate on Scripture! That is staggering statement, but I believe it holds weight.
Our burden as a pastoral staff is that the family of believers at Fellowship Baptist Church wouldn’t just be a “church people”, a “praise people”, or a people who value expositional preaching. Our burden is that the members of Fellowship Baptist Church would be a “Bible people” - a people who are absolutely saturated in the Scriptures as a result of their own personal intake of the Scriptures.
How do we become this? Through the Bible’s own prescribed method of being a people of the Scriptures: Biblical meditation.
Many Christians today don’t know how to read the Bible today, let alone meditate on Scripture. But the Scripture speaks for itself when it says that Biblical meditation is the key to unlocking the blessedness, the prosperity of the Christian life. Not mere reading, note mere study, but meditation.
In 2023 we aren’t calling on you to read a devotional, or to even read the whole Bible in the year. We are calling on you to build into your life this wonderful HABIT of grace of meditating your way through the Scriptures.
If you are a New Year’s resolution person or not, let’s make this resolution together - that we are going to resolve to be people of the Scriptures.
This evening, Psalm 1 is going to guide us into how we can do this in 2023, and for the rest of our pilgrimage on earth as God’s children. Psalm 1 is going to give us not just a vision on how to be Bible people, not for just 2023, but for life.
Read Scripture:
Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
[Give brief overview of the blessed person and what they avoid]
Transition: Another sermon could be given to what this blessed person avoids, but tonight our main objective is understanding and applying biblical meditation for the upcoming year.
I. The blessed person delights in Scripture. Psalm 1v2a
I remember trying to read the Bible before I began following Jesus and I remember how difficult it was. I found no delight in reading scripture before I started following Christ.
What does delight mean?
Delight means joy, or pleasure. What we delight in is what we find joy in. What we delight in is what we find pleasure in. What we delight in is what we get excited about.
God created us with the capacity to find joy in things.
Here are a few things I delight in:
My wife - I am blessed to be best friends with the person I married.
My kids - nothing beats hearing them wake up in the morning and getting to see them once again after several hours apart.
My occupation as a pastor at FBC.
My morning coffee.
Good food.
Texas Tech football.
All of us have things we find delight and joy in, don’t we?
What does the blessed person find delight in? The blessed person’s supreme delight is in “The law of the Lord”.
The law is God’s instruction, whether it is a single verse or the scriptures as a whole.
The blessed man finds his delight in the instruction of the Lord.
Spurgeon:
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LVII The Truly Blessed Man (No. 3,270)
The true Christian has his holy delights; and chief among them is his revelling in the law of the Lord, the Word of God. Of course, David had not a fourth of what we possess; it was a very little Bible then, but it has gone on increasing like a majestic river, until it is the wondrous volume we have. We, therefore, should take ten times more delight in it than the Psalmist did.
Why do we delight in the law of the Lord? In his sermon on this passage, Charles Spurgeon listed six reasons.
Because of its antiquity - Not merely because the Bible is an old book, but because the Bible has stood the test of time.
Because of the justice of it - “There is a law revealed in it, if perfectly carried out, no man would hurt his neighbour, but love him as he loves himself; no rank or class would press heavily upon another, and each would remember, consider, try to bless the other.”
Because of the lofty wisdom found in it - “There is more wisdom for the life here than anywhere else besides. We do not come here for astronomy, or geology; but we come here for the highest of all wisdom, the science of God; for, though Pope says,— “The proper study of mankind is man,” we beg his pardon. A yet more proper study of mankind is God, and here, in this book of God, we learn of his love to us in the person of Christ Jesus, and grasp the science—heavenliest wisdom—of a crucified Redeemer.”
Because it is true - “Fiction may be read or not, as men’s tastes may direct; but it is of infinite value to have a book in which every word stands fast, when like a dream heaven and earth shall have melted away.”
Because it is pleasant - Psalm 19:10 “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” In all my days of tasting and seeing that the Lord is good, a great deal of that tasting has come from the pleasantries of scripture. Where else do I find gospel truth for my wretched soul? Where else do I find promises of an eternal dwelling with God? Where else do I find encouragement with promise when my circumstances are bleak?
Because it is profitable - This book enriches with the best of wealth, and stored up treasures for all eternity.
Let’s finish this section with yet another quote from Spurgeon:
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LVII The Truly Blessed Man (No. 3,270)
“Do you delight in this book?” Not, do you read it: but do you read it with delight? To go to it dragged there by duty, is miserably to miss its best messages, and is no evidence of true godliness. To put a sentence of it under the tongue as a sweet morsel, to grow healthy upon it when you are sick, rich upon it when poor, this is one of the truest tests of being a “blessed man,” and if you do not enjoy this, God help you to begin at the foundation; repent of sin, seek the Saviour, or otherwise where God is you can never come.
When you delight in the scriptures you approach them joyfully, not drudgingly. When you delight in the scriptures you get as excited about scripture as you do anything else.
When was the last time you delighted in scripture in this way?
Transition: How is this delight expressed? That question will be answered by the second half of the verse.
II. The blessed man meditates on Scripture day and night. Psalm 1v2b
The blessed man spends his time by meditating in the very Law he delights in.
It’s the person who is in the word most is the one who delights in it most.
This is the heartbeat of the sermon, so tune in.
Notice that the blessed man doesn’t merely read or study the law. He meditates.
So, what does it mean to meditate?
This isn’t eastern meditation as we know it today. It isn’t sitting in a dark room with ambient music playing with your eyes closed as you seek to remove all thoughts from your mind.
Meditation literally means this…
Of animals, to coo or growl
Of humans, to mutter, to read in an undertone, to mutter while thinking, to speak or proclaim.
Here is probably the best definition of meditation I have ever heard…
Meditation is God’s Word in your mouth. - Scott Pauley
Joshua 1:8 says this…
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Notice the progression… I am going to read the verse again and each time I stop I want you to say the next word.
Here God connects our mouth’s with meditation.
Most of us think that meditation starts in the mind or in the heart. It doesn’t. It starts in the mouth.
Why does meditation start in the mouth?
Because what you talk about is what you force yourself to think about. Just as what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, the opposite is true - what you talk about is what you are putting into your mind.
Do you want to know what someone meditates on? Listen to what they talk about.
Sports
Politics
Their job
Their hobby
David connected the two in Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Where is the book of the law not to depart out of? Joshua’s mouth. How was he supposed to keep it there? Meditating - talking scripture to himself, and talking about the scripture to himself.
Let me give you three ways that you can begin meditating on scripture.
1. Talk to yourself about the scriptures.
Does anyone else in here talk to themselves?
It’s often how we think through problems in our mind - we talk to ourselves about it.
Read the Bible out loud to yourself.
Talk to the Bible. Ask it questions.
2. Talk to others about the scriptures.
We talk to others about what we are passionate about. We talk to others about things we are fired up about. One great way to meditate in the scriptures is to talk to others about what you are learning in the scriptures. Talk to your spouse, your kids, your co-worker, your connection group members about what you are learning in the scriptures.
I have found some of the greatest eye opening moments of scripture happens when I am sharing with someone else about what God is teaching me. When I am not being a dead end of truth, but a tributary of truth, God often shed more light on the truth he has revealed to me.
3. Talk to God about the scriptures.
This is the most important.
One of the greatest practices you can develop this year is talking to God about what He is talking to you about.
There is no better person to meditate with about a book than the author of that book.
I believe you’ll find that you will begin to have true, experiential communion with the Lord when you incorporate this kind of meditation.
Most of us separate the two - bible reading and prayer. I am encouraging you to connect the two - bible reading and prayer.
If I call Pastor Tyler and say I want to talk about something with him and then go on for an hour about what is on my mind, are we having a conversation? No, I am lecturing him.
We have to stop that approach to our devotional life. We must begin to talk to God about what He is talking to us about.
[Review]
Talk to yourself about the scriptures.
Talk to others about the scriptures.
Talk to God about the scriptures.
Transition: Before we move on to how often we should do this, let’s consider a few texts on meditation.
Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
When I remember thee upon my bed, And meditate on thee in the night watches.
We don’t just ponder the scriptures, we ponder who the scriptures reveal God to be. We set our hearts not just on the words of Scripture, but the God of scripture. We don’t just talk to ourselves about scripture, we declare God and his works to ourselves.
We see the voice used again in meditation...
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Next we find that we praise God in our meditation...
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.
The sweetest times you will ever have in the Lord will be when you are meditating on his word, his works, and his person. You WILL be glad in the Lord.
The next thing I want you to notice about meditation is that it is the key the Holy Spirit uses to unlock greater understanding.
I have more understanding than all my teachers: For thy testimonies are my meditation.
Review - We read the scriptures meditatively when we read the scriptures slowly, talking to ourselves - pondering what we read, talking to ourselves about what God’s word is saying, his works, and his person. Talking to others about what God’s word is saying, his works, and his person. And talking to God about what God’s word is saying, about his works, and his person.
That brings us to this… How long is he supposed to do this? In both Psalm 1v2 and Joshua 1v8, day and night gives us the idea that the blessed man meditates all day long.
He begins his morning meditating on scripture. He goes through his day, his entire day, with scripture in his mouth. He ends his day meditating on scripture. Every break in the day is an occasion for getting back to talking to himself about what God is talking to him about.
One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard on meditating day and night is to write one thing you learn about the Lord every day and think on that one thing all day long.
You aren’t going to retain everything you read in the morning, but make sure you retain one thing.
The Psalmist said this…
MEM. O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
No wonder the Psalmist could declare his love for the law with integrity. It was his primary occupation!
Meditation is to be seen like chewing on piece of Juicy fruit that never runs out of flavor - all day long.
If David approached scripture this way, we have no excuse. The man was running a country, yet the scriptures were the constant occupation of all his thoughts.
Meditation for the blessed man is gathering spiritual nourishment from God’s word in the beginning of his day and chewing on it. Like an Israelite in the wilderness collecting his daily manna for himself and his family, the christian gathers spiritual food, the word of God, first thing in the morning for himself and whoever God intends to bless with it later in the day.
Transition: What is the result of this all day long approach to meditating on scripture?
III. The result of daily meditation is obedience and prosperity. Psalm 1v3
When you find a Christian who delights in and meditates in God’s word all day, here is what you will find.
Psalm 1:3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Here are several things you’ll find in the person who delights in and meditates on God’s word all day…
Vibrant life - they have vibrant life because they are constantly being fed by rivers of life - the scriptures. (Thanksgiving tree illustration)
Fruit - Meditating Christians are fruit bearing Christians. The fruits of the Spirit are Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” “The blessed man, as a result of being a daily meditator of scripture produces thanksgiving in seasons of plenty, faith in seasons of doubt, patience in suffering, peace in turmoil, mercy when wronged, gentleness when falsely accused, strength in temptation, humility in leadership, and prayer in all seasons.” The produce fruit and their leaves wither not.
Prosperity - That isn’t to say he will receive everything he wants. But you will be successful. You will succeed in living out God’s will for your life. Where do I get this? Again, Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Why did Joshua need to meditate? Meditation would prompt him to obedience to God’s will, and obedience to God’s will would make Joshua to prosper in the mission God had for him.
What the blessed have is something that the wicked cannot. Instead, it says “The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Transition: We are burdened for you church, that you would be the type of Christian and church member whose life is marked by a daily habit of meditating on God’s word. So how might this play itself out on January 1st, 2023 and beyond?
Charles Spurgeon said this,
“I often find it very profitable to get a text as a sweet morsel under my tongue in the morning and to keep the flavor of it, if I can, in my mouth all day!” - CH Spurgeon
“It is an admirable plan to fix your thoughts upon some text of Scripture before you leave your bedroom in the morning—it will sweeten your meditation all the day.” - CH Spurgeon
“The inward meditation [of God’s Word] is the thing that makes the soul rich towards God. This is the godly man’s occupation. Put the spice into the mortar by reading, beat it with the pestle of meditation—so shall the sweet perfume be exhaled.” - CH Spurgeon
Read the Bible carefully,
and then meditate and meditate and meditate.
- CH Spurgeon
So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth,
if we would get the wine of consolation there from.
- CH Spurgeon
It’s January 1st, 2023. Your alarm goes off at 7:00am. You have a little more time to get ready for church than most Sunday’s, so why wake up at 6?
You make yourself a cup of tea or a cup of coffee.
You find your spot for worship, the chair, the couch, the table.
With your Bible on your lap you pray, Lord…IOUS.
You begin to read meditatively… As the Lord speaks to you, you speak to him.
Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Genesis 2:23-24 “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
As you read you are reading slowly, meditatively, prayerfully, praying God’s truth back to him for yourself and others.
Once you finish your sections, you pick one place to really bore into. You pick one place to stop and meditate on. It may be a verse. It may be a phrase. This is what you are going to chew on all day long. Let’s say its Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
You begin talking to yourself about this verse, “What are the implications of such a verse? What does this tell me about Jesus and what he came to do? How does this truth make a difference in my life?” I could go on and on.
After that you finish with prayer… Lord...
Then you take this sweet morsel of truth and put it under your tongue, tasting the flavour of it all day long, fixing your thoughts upon it all day long.
Write one thing God revealed to you and carry it with you all day long.
And all day long you spend your day in the breaks of your day, in the transitions of your day, meditating and communing with your God through meditation on his word. All day long you find opportunities to share with your family and those in your circle of influence what God spoke to you about this morning, and is continuing to speak to you about.
John Piper, who is an advocate for this reading plan, says that there is no way to remember everything from all 4 readings, but he can remember one thing from one of the readings.
What about the next day?
What about January 26th?
What if I am only doing one list?
Conclusion:
This is my burden, this is our pastor’s burden. That we would be a people steeped in the scriptures. That will be a reality of yours if you give yourself over to delighting in and meditating on God’s word.
Prayer: Heavenly Father…
