Think on These Things

Introduction

Mark Twain wrote, "What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts, not those other things, are his history."

Jonathan Edwards put it this way: "The ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that constantly govern them"

So far this week, we have talked about the battle for our minds and how that battle can be one. We have talked about taking our thoughts captive, repentance, and renewing our mind. Tonight we are going to be dealing with Meditation which is relating to renewing our minds. Most times when we think of Meditation, we think of a buddhist monk sitting cross legged, emptying his mind of all thoughts and repeating the word OM. When we see Mediation in the bible, we need to understand that that is not what the bible has in mind.

I. What is Meditation

Meditation is the act of focusing one’s mental energies on a specific topic in an effort to achieve resolution or peace of mind.

There are a few words in Hebrew that talk about Meditating, but the most common speaks of muttering. Speaking something over and over again.

In Greek the word has the idea of preparing beforehand.

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.”

Psalm 1:1-2 “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.”

Christian meditation is thinking over and over again about the scriptures.

It asks:

1. What is this saying to me about my life and situation?

2. What is this saying about God?

So biblical meditation is not a clearing of the mind, but a filling of the mind with right thoughts.

II. What do we meditate on

There are two things we meditate on: the words of God and the works of God.

Psalm 119:15 “I will meditate in thy precepts, And have respect unto thy ways.”

Psalm 77:12 “I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”

What does Meditation look like:

Deut 6:5-9 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

You will only meditate on God’s words if you love God. Example: love letter

memorize them- be in thine heart

teach them- we will have a desire to help others understand them. If you have kids, the primary application here is that teaching your children the word of God is a form of meditating on God’s words.

talk of them-

bind them- surround yourself with reminders of God’s words

write them- I personally keep a devotional journal because it reminds me to meditate on God’s word and forces me into a daily habit of meditation.

In the NT, one of the best explanations and examples of Meditation can be found in Phil 4:6-8 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

We are going to work backward through the text because the first two verses are an illustration of meditation while vs 8 tells us how to meditate.

finally- shows that what he is about to say is the climax of how to live this type of Christian life: rejoicing always

think on these things- logizomai- to calculate, run them over in your mind, meditate and calculate their implications in their lives. Another word you could use for this is to dwell on these things.

This is not the power of positive thinking where you just think positive thoughts. Rather this is the power of thinking God’s thoughts as found in God’s word.

The verb here is a present passive imperative- let God’s thoughts continually be your thoughts

True John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” 1 Pet 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” Truth counters lies. Reminder John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” People often do not ask whether something is true, but does it work or does it make me feel good. Truth has become subjective, but Jesus said John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 3:33 “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.” Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” Objective Truth is found in God and His word. Example: If I have messed up and think that God now hates me, I can remind myself of Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Honest- worthy of respect or honorable- There are many things in life that are not respectable and as a Christian we should not be dwelling on these things. This doesn’t mean we hide our heads in the sand and ignore everything that is going on, but it is not beneficial to be sitting here thinking about all the wrong things that people are doing and how they are doing it. I don’t need to sit here and meditate on how homosexuals commit their sin or how someone got off without getting caught in murder.

Just- right, righteous- We should be thinking about things that are pleasing to God

Pure- morally pure or innocent- clean

Lovely- lovable, winsome, cheerful Deals with things that are pleasing to others. That which makes others love you.

Good -comes from two Greek words that mean good and rumor. This is something that spoken well of of good repute.

Virtue- arete was a Greek word philosophers used of the day for excellence and it included the idea of the fulfillment of a thing. Fulfilling our purpose. What is the whole duty of man? to glorify God and enjoy Him forever

Praise- this is the opposite of being overly critical- This is a mindset that is looking for the good in others and seeks to praise others for that good.

Adrian Rogers- I heard of a little boy who went out to see the Grand Canyon, and an old preacher went out to see the Grand Canyon. The old preacher wrote back to his wife—he said, "Today I've seen the handiwork of God. I've seen God as He put colors on His palette, and God as He took His fingers and sculptured a masterpiece." And, he went on, in grandiose words, to describe the Grand Canyon. The little boy wrote back to his mother, and he said, "Guess what, Ma? Today I spit a mile." You can be surrounded by beauty, and not see it.

Questions to ask yourself? (align these with the points above as you teach)

Is this something that is biblically true?

Is this something that has moral or honest value to it?

Is this something that is pleasing to God or is it shaded, or off color?

Will it corrupt our thinking and is it intrinsically pure?

Will this produce concord, peace, and rest or will it stir up strife?

Are we concentrating on the good in others or are we focused on the negative?

Does this thought glorify God?

Am I being overly critical of others?

Application

Vs 6 gives us a practical application for everything we have studied this week: anxiety

The phrase Be careful for nothing means to stop being anxious. This is the taking every thought captive stage of our battle for the mind.

Where does anxiety come from? worrisome thoughts

When we take things to God in prayer, we are seeking to align our thoughts with God’s thoughts. We are also seeking for God to renew our minds and showing our dependence on Him.

Vs 7 The practical result of is the peace of God.