Sermon Tone Analysis

Dreaming While You’re Awake

The Essential Practice Pretty Much No One’s Doing

We can be like Christ!

What other goal could we have?

Remember: You Are Soil!!!

Reading Isn’t Enough

Memorizing Isn’t Enough

We have to PLANT the Word in our hearts!

To plant it requires hearing it, understanding it, reflecting on it, and knowing it.

hearing it,

understanding it,

reflecting on it,

and knowing it.

You don’t accomplish all of those simply by reading or memorizing.

The answer, is the Biblical practice of meditation

Psalm 119:

It’s clear that meditation, and hiding the Word in our hearts, gives us the ability to obey it, and then promises us success and blessing.

Meditation has been proven to have many benefits.

Relieves Stress and Anxiety

Improved Memory

A Healthier Heart

And I think most importantly, increased self-control.

A section of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex controls our will-power.

Many people are missing will-power because their pre-frontal cortex has grown weak.

Guess what the number one way to strengthen your pre-frontal cortex is?

The Huffington Post: “Research on meditation has also shown a wide range of psychological benefits.

For example, a 2012 review of 163 studies that was published by the American Psychological Association concluded that Transcendental Meditation had relatively strong effects in reducing anxiety, negative emotions, trait anxiety and neuroticism while aiding learning, memory and self-realization.”

Cleveland Clinic: “A 2009 study found Transcendental Meditation helped alleviate stress in college students, while another found it helped reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression and anger.”

Cameron Diaz says it changed her life, Katy Perry, Jerry Seinfeld, and others practice meditation and stout its benefits.

I bring them up not as role-models, but so you can understand people like them are finding time to do this in an unGodly way.

Do you think you could find time to add this to your life in a Godly way?

Meditation seems to have the effect of coming pretty close to bypassing our natural body, and descending into our subconscious.

This is exactly what happens while we dream, except it’s involuntary when we dream.

Now this is a dangerous place to be in because you begin playing with spiritual forces, and there are only two kinds of Spiritual forces.

Jesus said, “He who is not against us is on our side.”

There are no “neutral spiritual forces” They are either Godly, or demonic.

One of the two.

I don’t wanna be playing with non-Godly Spiritual forces, and that’s exactly what meditation can open you up to.

There is one way to accomplish both the benefits of meditation, while not opening yourself to the demonic: meditate on the Word!

Two Types of Meditating on the Word:

Three verses at a time (most powerful)

One passage at a time (for exploring)

How to meditate on the Word:

Joshua tells us to do it day and night

dedicate intentional time to only meditating on the word

Do it alone

Meditate on small “chunks” of the Word

so many people try to cram as much of the Word in as they can.

The one-year Bible is *way* too much in one session.

It requires hearing the Word

Try to understand what you’re meditating on

ask questions,

visualize what you’re meditating on

Three verses at a time (most powerful)

One passage at a time (for exploring)