Good morning.
I'd like to share a little anxiety that I have this morning about speaking on Mother's Day.
! I feel like the pressure from the world is to get up here and go to get up here and go to
and wish you a happy Mother's Day and preach a rousing message on the virtues and the honors of motherhood
and for us to all leave smiling.
However, I'm intimately aware that Mother's Day, as is true with most holidays, is bittersweet.
In Romans 12, 15, we are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.
And so with that in mind, I just wanted to start this morning by expressing empathy
and understanding that for some of you, Mother's Day is terribly hard as it is joyful for others.
And that for probably most of us, it's a strange mix of both.
And so as we come together as the body of Christ, I just would encourage you to keep in mind
the admonition from 1 Corinthians 12, 26.
If one member suffers, all suffer together.
And if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Father, we rejoice together and weep together.
And so would you join me in a prayer?
Father, we rejoice over the gift of motherhood and the blessing of children.
And we weep with those longing for the gift of motherhood and those who have suffered the pain of losing children.
We honor and rejoice over those mothers that have sacrificed and selflessly served us in the body of Christ for all his glory.
While we weep with those who continue to endure the pain of having lost mothers or experienced the hurtful relationships with their mothers.
We rejoice over those who you have used in our lives as spiritual mothers.
Those that have labored and anguished in our lives in order to see Christ formed in us.
And we ask that you would grant us the passion and the privilege and the ability, the commitment to be spiritual mothers for others.
And to leave a godly legacy until Christ returns.
Father, we thank you that you open before us your throne of grace.
That you invite us to come when we are struggling and when we are hurting.
That we might find grace and mercy to help in our time of needs.
And so, Father, we come before you.
And Father, I confess you.
You already know my heart that.
I'm not sure about even getting through the sermon this morning apart from your grace.
But as you see fit, then let it be.
That Christ would be exalted in all things.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
So, I don't know if any of you noticed.
Many people have commented on last Sunday's sermon.
And everybody loves Sloty.
We'll have t-shirts made at the end of the week.
But there really was a big problem with last week's sermon.
Now, no one's confronted me yet.
But I figure let's just go ahead and get it out in the open.
But I'd like to do that by kind of reviewing with you what we talked about last week.
So that hopefully it becomes more evident if you didn't notice yet.
And so, if you remember, if you were with us.
We talked about the fact that there are a lot of things in our lives.
Things that are not necessarily sinful.
But that subtly, that easily can move in our lives to a place that they become idols.
And we become, almost without realizing it, at a place where we're loving the world.
And that those idols are stealing away our love for the Father.
And we also talked about three truths that John gives us in 1 John 2, verses 12-14.
That are truths that should enable us not only to love the brothers that we talked about.
But also enable us to fight against these idols in our life.
To turn away from them.
And turn away from loving the world.
And enable us to love the Father as we're called to do.
And if you remember, those three truths were summarized like this.
One, through Jesus, your sins have been forgiven.
And you've been adopted into God's family.
Number two, you are intimately aware of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
And number three, you've experienced the power of the abiding word giving you strength and victory over the evil one in your own life.
Now really, if you stop to think through that a little bit, that really is a good summary of the gospel, isn't it?
That we see our sin and we come to understand how Jesus has saved us, forgiven us from those sins, and placed us into right relationship with God.
And then through faith, we put our faith in all that Jesus has done on our behalf.
His life, His death, His resurrection.
And then we live each day under the lordship of Christ.
Right?
Seeing Him continue to work out our salvation in our lives.
So really, those three points are a very good summary of the gospel.
But in light of that, we talked about how those truths are powerful,
yet so often our emotional response to those things is sadly inadequate.
We fail to have an appropriate emotional response.
Which, considering the strength of those truths, anything less than maybe ecstasy or something more is what would be appropriate.
But yet, we seldom see that in our lives.
And I talked about three reasons why those truths may not be having its full effect, if you remember.
The first was, maybe we don't know Christ.
And we talked about the fact that if we don't have a relationship with Jesus,
then of course there's no emotional response to those truths.
And just as I did last week, I'll just invite you, if any of you here are not sure that you have a relationship with Jesus,
if you have never seen the depth of your sin,
and found hope through what Christ has done,
and have been reconciled to God through him,
then don't leave today.
Today is the day of salvation.
Don't leave.
Talk to somebody, whether it's myself or Pastor Andrew,
or any of the people around you,
that we can make sure that you leave here in a relationship with Christ.
The second possibility is why these truths don't touch us as deeply as they should,
was that we're not aware of our sinfulness.
That we are not conscious of how deep our sin problem is.
And you remember I said sometimes we tend to think that we're sinners because we sin.
It's about certain behaviors.
It's about being impatient when we're driving.
Or it's about having that second look at an attractive woman.
And that that's what makes us sinners, but that that's incorrect.
That we sin because we're sinners.
That from the time of conception, we come out as God-haters.
But if we don't see that, if we don't see the depth of our sin,
then maybe we won't respond to those truths.
And the third one was that our love for the world,
or our love for our idols impacts us such that we're not responsive to the truth of the gospel.
Now, did you see it?
Did you see the problem?
You see, the problem is this.
Okay?
We have an idol problem.
The gospel is the cure.
But loving idols keeps the gospel from having its full effect in our lives.
So we have an idol problem.
We're kind of going in a circle, aren't we?
If the gospel is supposed to be the cure,
then how are we stuck in this idol cycle?
That's what I termed it in my own mind.
You know?
Why are we stuck in this idol cycle?
Idol problem.
Gospel is a cure.
Loving idols keeps us from having the full effect of the gospel,
so we have an idol problem.
So how do we break out of this?
If the gospel is supposed to be the cure,
then what is it that we need to boost the effectiveness of the cure
so that it's working in our lives?
Well, if you look at 1 John 2, verse 14,
the end of that verse,
I think we find the answer to that question.
1 John 2, verse 14.
You can turn there if you want, but it's very quick.
It goes like this.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
You see, we see an emphasis here.
If you remember, John's repeating himself,
and if you see that there's an emphasis here on the abiding word,
that the abiding word brings about victory over the evil one.
And now, if you would, turn to 2 Timothy.
This will be a passage that you're very familiar with as well.
2 Timothy 3, verses 14, starting in verse 14 through 17.
2 Timothy 3, verses 14 and following says,
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it,
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation,
through faith in Christ Jesus.
And the part that is most familiar,
all scriptures breathed out by God,
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.
Now, what I'd point out to you is in verse 14,
where Paul says to Timothy,
to continue in what you've learned,
that that's really the same Greek word
that John has translated as abide.
Abide.
And so, in John, we see that the word abides in us,
and in Timothy here, we see Paul calling Timothy
to abide in the truth.
So, the word should abide in us,
and we should abide in the word.
And that is the way we break the idol cycle.
Abiding in the word.
That's the answer you've been waiting for.
Abide in the word.
The abiding word boosts the effect of the gospel in our lives
to empower us to turn away from loving our idols.
So, there's the problem.
There's the answer.
Abide in the word.
Everybody say that with me.
Abide in the word.
That was really unimpressive.
Let's say it like this.
Abide in the word.
It is better.
Now, some of you may be thinking,
look, bucko,
I'm doing my devotions every morning.
At least most mornings.
I'm at church every time the doors are open.
And you know that if the doors are open at Maranatha,
somebody's teaching the Bible.
Right?
I'm going to small group.
We're studying the Bible.
I'm even memorizing scripture.
How much more abiding do you want me to do?
And yet, I'm still struggling with loving the world and these idols in my life.
First, the encouraging word.
I want to encourage you.
Everything that you are doing to get God's word into your life is fruitful and not in vain.
Reading.
However,
I think we could all agree
reading is not abiding.
Right?
I mean, how often,
I won't ask any students to show raising of hands,
how often have you read a page in a book
or maybe a chapter in a book
and then you go,
huh,
what did I just read?
Okay.
Reading is not abiding.
I think we could also agree
hearing
is not abiding.
Right?
I mean, the reality is
some of you have already forgotten
how this sermon started.
Okay?
Hearing is not abiding.
And I'm going to go so far
as to say
memorizing
is not abiding.
Again, if we were to take a poll
of some students,
especially at this time of year,
right?
Exams.
Some of you have finished exams.
Some of you have exams yet to do.
You know how it is.
You memorized all that stuff
and you took that exam
and Lord willing,
you did well.
But if we ask you
a week later,
a month later,
how much of that material
do you remember?
You see,
memorizing is not abiding.
So then the question is,
how do we abide?
What is abiding?
How do we let the word
abide in us
and us abide in the word?
The Puritan,
Richard Baxter,
wrote this.
Why so much preaching
is lost among us
and believers can run
from sermon to sermon
and are never weary
of hearing or reading
and yet
have such languishing,
starved souls.
I know
no truer
or greater cause
than their ignorance
and unconscionable
neglect
of meditation.
You see,
some hearers
have anorexia
for they have
neither appetite
nor digestion.
But others
have bulimia.
They have appetite
but no digestion.
So did you hear
the answer
for abiding?
It's where he talks
about our neglect
of meditation.
Meditation.
Practically speaking,
the most effective way
to abide in the word
and to see your heart
change toward your idols
is through
meditating on God's word.
And yet,
meditation
is the most often
overlooked tool
for truly abiding
in the word.
Now,
I'm sure the majority
of you know
meditation is in the Bible
but let's turn
to Psalm 119.
Psalm 119.
This is a place
we can see
multiple verses
quickly
without having to
flip all over.
Psalm 119.
We'll start
with verse 15.
Psalm 119
starting with verse 15.
It reads,
I will meditate
on your precepts
and fix my eyes
on your ways.
Look down
to verse 27.
Make me understand
the way
of your precepts
and I will meditate
on your wondrous works.
Look down
a little further.
verse 48.
I will lift up
my hands
towards your commandments
which I love
and I will meditate
on your statues.
A little bit further.
Verse 97.
Oh, how I love
your law.
It is my meditation
all the day.
And finally,
verse 148.
148.
My eyes
are awake
before the watches
of the night
that I may meditate
on your promise.
You see,
the Bible is full
of passages
on meditation.
We see it
given to us
in examples
from people like
Melchizedek,
Isaac,
Moses,
Joshua,
David,
Mary,
Paul,
Timothy.
And so,
throughout Scripture
we can find
the practice
of meditation
and yet
so often
it's still
neglected.
Now,
I guess
I should be clear
because of
the nature
of things
at this time
in history.
When we talk
about Christian
meditation,
we're not talking
about Eastern
meditation.
Okay?
Eastern meditation,
you know,
more popular
in my lifetime
where you go
and you empty
your mind
and,
you know,
llama,
you know.
That's not
what we're talking
about in Christian
meditation.
As a matter of fact,
Christian meditation
is the exact opposite.
It's not the emptying
of your mind,
but it's the filling
of your mind
with truth
and with Scripture.
So when I talk
about Christian meditation,
here's the definition
that I wrote down.
The intentional
focused thought
on a specific
truth of God's Word
and its practical
implications
for your life.
The intentional
focused thought
on a specific
truth of God's Word
and its practical
implications
for your life.
Puritan Edmund
Calammy
said it this way,
a true
meditation
is when a man
does so meditate
on Christ
as to get
his heart
inflamed
with the love
of Christ.
He so meditates
on the truths
of God
as to be
transformed
into them.
And he so meditates
on sin
as to get
his heart
to hate
sin.
Calammy
went on
to say
that to do
good meditation
must enter
three doors.
Three doors.
The door
of understanding,
the door
of the heart
or affections,
and the door
of practical
living.
He said,
you must
so meditate
on God
as to walk
as God
walks,
and so
meditate
on Christ
as to
prize him
and to live
in obedience
to him.
So if you
want to let
loose the
bazooka
on the idols
in your life,
meditation
is the answer.
Meditation
is the answer.
And there
are two types
that I want
us to look
at.
Two types
of meditation.
The first
is occasional
meditation.
Occasional
meditation.
The second
is deliberate.
So occasional
and deliberate
meditation.
First,
occasional
meditation.
Occasional
meditation
takes
what we
encounter
or observe
through our
senses
and uses
it to
turn our
hearts
and minds
to the
things of
God.
Now,
we see
that in
Scripture.
David does
that with
the moon
and the
stars
in Psalm
8.
We see
Solomon
do the
same thing
in Proverbs
6 with
the ants.
We even
see Christ
doing that
where he
talks about
well water
in John
chapter 4.
It's
this
awareness
of
everything
around
us
and
all
of
these
things,
these
gifts
point in
our
heart
towards
the
things
of
God.
Now,
the truth
is,
that's the
design of
every good
and perfect
gift that
comes from
above.
Right?
I mean,
every meal
should remind
us of the
banquet that
lays for us
in heaven
and what
Christ has
done to
give us
access to
that.
You know,
every beggar
that we
see could
remind us
of our
spiritual
poverty,
our need
for grace
and how
God has
met us
there.
Every kind
act that
happens in
our life
reminding us
of the
gracious
kindness
of God
in Christ.
Whether it's
the creation
itself,
whether it's
sunrise,
sunset,
whether it's
the mountains
or butterflies
or trees
or grass,
even the
smallest thing,
all of these
things cause
us to
point our
hearts and
minds towards
the glories
and the
truths of
God.
The reality
is,
isn't that
the goal
of every
stuffed animal
ever given?
Right?
You know,
Brenda gave
me
slowty to
remind me
of her
love
and to
in turn
stir my
heart
towards
love
for her.
And so
the
Puritans
talked about
occasional
meditation
as being
the easiest
form of
meditation.
It didn't
happen any
time,
any place,
with anybody.
And they
actually wrote
books.
I mean,
there are books
with hundreds
of examples
of occasional
meditation
that they
wrote for
their people
because,
as you can
imagine,
Puritans
were busy.
They didn't
have,
you know,
TV dinners
and stuff.
And so,
you know,
they were
busy people
and the
pastors at
that time
would give
them these
examples so
that even
whether they
were working
in the fields,
when they
were walking
from town
to town,
whatever the
case may be,
they were
able to see
the things
around them.
And they
were able
to use
those things
to enter
into meditation
and worship
of God.
Now,
I'm not
implying
because it's
easier that
it's easy.
I can honestly
tell you
that this week,
having studied
this some,
I thought,
okay,
I'm going to
give myself
to more
occasional
meditation.
And so,
even,
we were
driving,
we went
down to
my daughter's
graduation,
driving there,
driving back,
and I was
like,
God,
okay,
you know,
trees,
trees are
green,
green's about
growing,
you know,
we grow in
Christ,
and oh,
look,
a squirrel.
You know,
honestly,
I really had a
hard time,
like,
getting through
a thought,
I would just
get to the
point where
I thought,
okay,
I'm getting
to some
deep spiritual
truth,
and then I'd
be like,
hey,
don't pull
in front of
me,
you know,
and so,
I'm not
implying
occasional
meditation is
easy,
it's just
easier,
but it still
takes intentional
commitment,
right,
it takes an
intentional
commitment for
us to be
looking for
the things
around us
that can
stir our
hearts and
minds to
worship.
not only
that,
but it
also takes
knowing
God's
word.
You see,
the more
we know
God's
word,
the more
connections
there are
between us
and what
we experience,
whether it's
what we see
or what we
hear,
whether it's
interaction
with people,
whether it's
interaction
with nature,
so it
takes knowing
God's word
so that those
connections can
happen,
and it also
takes the
discipline of
pausing.
You know,
we're so
busy,
right?
We're so
busy,
that's later,
we'll talk
about that,
but you know,
it's so
hectic,
and we always
have some
place to
be,
and usually
we're late,
and we have
more to do
than we have
time to do
it,
and even
just the
discipline of
pausing our
thoughts to
think on the
things of
God takes
intentional
commitment and
effort.
And so,
occasional
meditation,
it's not
easy,
but it's
easier.
So,
the second
type of
meditation,
deliberate
meditation.
Now,
the Puritans
consider deliberate
meditation the
more important
of the two,
the more
essential of
the two.
Deliberate
meditation is
intentionally setting
aside time and
space in your
life each day
to focus and
reflect on the
things of God.
Deliberate
meditation is
intentionally setting
aside time and
space in your
life each day to
focus and
reflect on the
things of God.
Thomas White
said,
deliberate meditation
draws from four
sources,
scripture,
practical
Christian truths,
providential
experiences,
and sermons.
Sermons in
particular are
fertile fields for
meditation.
Moore wrote,
James Usher,
I like this one.
James Usher said
it this way,
one hour spent
in meditation is
worth more than
a thousand sermons.
And this is not
debasing of the
word, but an honor
unto it.
You see, so
often we are
inclined for
things to be so
transitional even
in our hearts and
minds, right?
You know, so far I
did get a lot of
comments on last
week's message.
All of them
centered around
Sloty.
Everybody loves
Sloty, okay?
But the truth is
how often do the
things that we
read, the things
that we hear, the
things that we are
engaged with even in
God's word in
Bible study.
They pass through
our hands, our
minds, we're
leaking pots.
And so the
discipline of
deliberate meditation
is catching a
space to take
those things and
absorb them in.
Now I have ten
tips for you on
meditation.
Ten tips.
And all of
these quotes on
Puritans and
meditation are
primarily from two
books.
Let me give credit
where credit is due.
One is Puritan
theology, a
doctrine of life by
Dr. Joel Beeky.
And the other is
God's battle plan for
the mind, the
Puritan practice of
biblical meditation by
David Saxton.
So if you would like
to know more, I
would highly recommend
both sources.
So ten tips on
deliberate meditation.
Number one,
meditation must be
frequent and
consistent.
frequent and
consistent.
You see, the
Puritans said
ideally twice a day.
Meditation should
happen at least twice
a day.
Okay.
It can happen at
least once a day,
but ideally twice a
day if time permits.
Now, they also said
though, that if you
wait too long between
meditations, times of
meditation, meditating
times, if you wait
too long between your
times of meditation,
the effect of those
times is greatly
lessened.
Actually, compared it
to a bird and her
eggs.
If the bird is too
long apart from the
nest, then the eggs
eventually die.
So not only does it
need to be something
that's frequent, but
it's consistent.
Something that's
happened regularly.
And their
recommendation is to
pick a good time,
preferably your best
time, when you're at
your peak mentally, and
when there's the least
amount of distraction.
Okay.
Second, find a place
that is quiet and free
from interruption.
Find a place for
meditation that is
quiet and free from
interruption.
Now, I know some of
you are probably at a
point in life that I do
remember where you're
thinking, have you seen
my family?
There are no places of
quiet that are free from
interruption.
And to that, I just
want to give you an
example that I'm sure
you've probably heard
before.
But Susanna Wesley, you
know Susanna Wesley,
right?
She was the mother of
John and Charles
Wesley.
They're more famous.
They had 19 children.
I don't think anybody
here has 19 children.
And Susanna Wesley was
committed to her time
with God, and so twice
a day, she would put
her apron over her head.
And her children were
taught if her apron was
over her head, it was
not the time to interrupt
mom.
I'm sure there was a
great deal of chastisement
to make that happen.
But again, finding the
place for quiet and
uninterrupted meditation
may take some creativity,
but it's essential to have
time to reflect.
reflect.
Number three, begin by
asking the Holy Spirit
for strength and
perseverance to focus
your mind.
Again, Edmund Calamey
wrote, I would have you
pray unto God to
enlighten your
understanding, to bring
life to your devotion,
to warm your
affections, and so
bless that hour that by
meditation of holy things
you would be made more
holy, that you would
have your lusts more
crucified, and your
graces more increased,
that you may have more
death to the world and the
vanity of it, and more
life to heaven and to
things of heaven.
The reality is like all
spiritual disciplines, you
cannot be successful in
meditation on your own.
So start with the Holy
Spirit, humbly seeking
his strength.
Number four, read the
scriptures.
Read the scriptures.
Again, the whole point of
meditation is abiding in
the word, so you need to
get into the word, and
let the word get into
you.
Find a verse or a
doctrine upon which to
meditate.
And the Puritans would
recommend you start easy,
maybe on an attribute of
God, or on Christ's
character.
Don't start with things
like the Trinity that are
a little more challenging.
They say start easy and
work up.
Consider one subject at a
time.
Focus in on one truth.
Also, find truths that
are applicable to your
present situation.
Here's some examples.
If you feel separated from
God by your sin, meditate
on Christ's willingness to
forgive sinners and receive
everyone who would come to
him.
Or if you're struggling
financially, meditate on
God's wonderful provision
for those who are in need.
If you're facing physical
pain or struggles, meditate
on God giving strength to
the weak or healing to the
sick.
You know, find areas that
are applicable to where you
are.
You don't have to start with,
you know, the eminence of
God.
Start with the things that
are already on your mind
and bring Scripture to bear
on them.
And then work on choosing
that verse or that topic
and committing it to
memory.
So find it in Scripture and
put it into your mind so that
you can continue to chew on
it.
Number five, use your memory
to focus on all that Scripture
has to say about your
subject.
Consider past sermons and
other things you've heard or
read.
Another example from Edmund
Calamey.
He said,
If you would meditate on the
subject of sin, begin with
the description of sin.
Proceed to the extent and the
spread of sin.
Consider the original cause of
sin and the effects of sin.
Consider the property of sin in
general and of your personal
sin in particular.
Consider the opposite of sin,
grace.
Think about metaphors for sin
or the titles given to sin
and all that Scripture says
concerning sin.
So, after you've gotten into
God's Word and gotten God's
Word into you, the goal is to
focus in and allow the Holy
Spirit to bring to
remembrance all that you may
have heard, all that you have
read, Christian books.
Now, as I was working on this,
I'm going to give you just a
little piece of information from
personal experience.
Okay?
If you're like me, you probably
have a computer.
Okay?
And you may do your Bible study
on computer or on the
Internet.
There's all kinds of stuff on
the Internet.
And when I got to this point,
originally, I was there with all
of my software to help me study
something and meditate on it
deeply.
And the time quickly went and
technological issues.
You know, trying to find this
and then that and then, oh,
look, I found this feature.
And, you know, it was kind of
like the squirrel of the
occasional meditation.
And so, what I would say and
what I would challenge you to
is truly seek to use your
memory and to allow the Holy
Spirit to bring to remembrance
the things on the topic you're
meditating.
You know, if you want to study a
topic, do that.
But understand that studying is
not meditating either.
Okay?
So, use your memory.
Focus in on it.
Don't be distracted by other
things.
Number six.
Stir up your affections.
Such as love, desire, hope,
courage, gratitude, zeal, and joy
to glorify God.
Preach the truth to yourself.
That's something that we say
often in our household.
Preach the truth to yourself.
I actually got that from Dr.
Martin Lloyd-Jones.
And it's the point where not
only are you taking these
truths in, but the goal is for
there to be an emotional
response.
You see, that's the breakdown
that we talked about
previously.
How the truth can be there,
but it becomes almost so
common that we don't care
anymore.
And so, in your meditation,
the goal is to get that truth
to the point where you have
an emotional response to it.
If you're thinking on the
blood of Christ, you should
respond to that emotionally.
If you're thinking about God's
almighty power in creation,
that should move your heart.
Now, I accept that we run at
different levels of emotional
being-hood.
Okay.
I know that, you know,
I tend to be on the emotional
end of things, and I'm like,
oh, a butterfly.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
That butterfly is great.
And some people are not that
way.
Okay.
So, I'm not giving you a range.
You don't have to be moved to
weeping every time.
But in meditating, the goal is
for the truth to move your
heart.
Okay.
So, stir up your affections.
Number seven, consider how the
things meditated upon should
impact how you live.
What are the practical
applications of these truths?
Again, follow Edmund Calamee's
advice.
He said, if you ever would get
good by the practice of
meditation, you must come down
to particulars.
And you must so meditate of
Christ as to apply Christ to
your soul.
And so meditate of heaven as to
apply heaven to your soul.
Live out your meditation.
He said meditation and practice
should be like two sisters
walking hand in hand.
This isn't theoretical.
You're not trying to decide how
many angels can dance on the
head of a pin.
Okay.
It's the truth of God's word
moving your emotions but
bringing you to a different way
of living.
How does this live itself out in
your life?
And number eight, take those
applications and turn them into
resolutions.
Turn them into resolutions.
He said, let your resolution be firm
and strong, not mere wishes, but
resolved purposes and
determinations.
So after your time in meditation,
when you've reached the point where
God's word has saturated you,
you've had an emotional response,
you've seen a place where this
should be lived out in your life,
write it down.
Jonathan Edwards had a lot of
resolutions.
We can't talk about all those.
But it's a great practice to write it
down.
Okay.
Today I will do this because of your
truth.
And not only write it down, but
share that with people, the people
who are in your life that can hold
you accountable, that can be praying
for you.
Share your resolutions.
Number nine, conclude with prayer,
thanksgiving, and psalm singing.
Prayer, thanksgiving, and psalm singing.
Watson, another Puritan, said, pray
over your meditations.
Prayer sanctifies everything.
Without prayer, they're but unhallowed
meditations.
Prayer fastens meditation upon the
soul.
Prayer is tying a knot at the end of
meditation so it doesn't slip from
you.
Pray that God will keep those holy
meditations in your mind forever,
and that you will savor them, and
that the savoring of them will abide
upon your hearts.
So as you come to an end, just as you
started in prayer, end in prayer.
Asking God to keep those in your mind
because you can't do it.
We leak.
Ask for help.
Number ten, finally, don't shift too
quickly from meditation to engagement
with the things of this world.
Don't shift too quickly from meditation
to engagement with things of this world.
It's kind of like when you've had a
great meal and you just want to keep
that flavor in your mouth, you know,
that you ended on, you're like, that
was so good.
I never want to eat anything again.
You know, and so in our time of
meditation, you know, we can have these
great experiences, and if you go from
that into a meeting where you're going
to be arguing with people, you know,
it's like, oh, God, you're so great.
Oh, I want to kill these people.
Okay?
So, you know, don't be too quick to the
things of the world.
Savor the moments.
Take a little time.
Walk slowly out of the room from the
time of meditation.
Again, a quote for you.
It says,
Meditating is like trying to build a fire
from wet wood.
Those who persevere will produce a flame.
When we begin to meditate, we may first
garner only a bit of smoke, then perhaps
a few sparks, but at last there is a flame
of holy affection that goes up towards God.
And the Puritans would encourage you,
don't give up until there's flame.
But they would also acknowledge that
sometimes there's just no flame.
And there are days when you just have to
go, God, you know, I'm sorry.
I know that I should be focused on your word,
but today I just, it's just not happening.
And you start again tomorrow.
Okay?
Now, I know you might be inclined to think
this is too simple of an answer
for the problem that you have.
Whatever problem it is,
whatever idol it is,
whatever struggle you're facing in your life,
that sitting for some amount of time,
twice a day,
thinking about God's word
is going to change your life.
Okay?
I could understand that you might be hesitant
in that.
But by the hand of providence,
actually, when I was meeting with
Faith and Molly this week,
we were talking about
a passage of scripture
that they didn't know at the time
that God was saying,
hey, this is really what you need
for your sermon.
So, 2 Kings chapter 5.
2 Kings chapter 5.
You can turn there.
You don't have to.
It might be familiar to you.
It's a story about Naaman
going up to see Elisha
because he had leprosy.
And so he found out there's a prophet.
He went to the prophet Elisha
and wanted to be healed.
Okay?
2 Kings chapter 5.
We'll start in verse 9.
It says,
So Naaman came with his horses
and his chariots
and stood at the doorway
of the house of Elisha.
Elisha sent a messenger to him,
saying,
Go, wash in the Jordan seven times,
and your flesh will be restored to you,
and you will be clean.
But Naaman was furious,
and he went away and said,
Behold, I thought,
he will surely come out to me
and stand and call on the name
of the Lord his God
and wave his hand over the place
and cure the leprosy.
Are not Abana and Farah
the rivers of Damascus
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them
and be clean?
So he turned and went away
in a rage.
Verse 13.
Then his servants came near
and spoke to him and said,
My father,
had the prophet told you
to do some great thing,
would you not have done it?
How much more then
when he says,
You wash and be clean?
And so he went down
and dipped himself
seven times in the Jordan
according to the word
of the man of God
and his flesh was restored
like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean.
And so the point is this.
If you look at your life
and the things
that you're struggling with,
the things you have struggled with,
the things that you've been
struggling with for some time,
isn't it worth giving meditation
on God's word a shot?
If it was a bigger formula,
if it was more impressive,
maybe you'd be inclined to do it.
But why not set aside time each day
to focus and practice
the discipline of meditation
so that we can be faithful
to 1 John 2.
Again, 15 through 17.
Do not love the world
or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father
is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the desires of the flesh,
the desires of the eyes
and pride of life
is not from the Father,
but is from the world.
And the world is passing away
along with its desires.
But whoever does the will of God
abides forever.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father,
we come to you
and we confess
the sad way
that we deal with your word so often.
Father, we are creatures
of our culture and our time.
The sinfulness of our heart
inclines us to want
quick moments with you
just like fast food.
We want everything
to be resolved with you
in 20 minutes
like a sitcom.
And Father,
we confess that
in that,
so often we neglect
setting aside time
to dwell in your presence,
to abide in your word,
and allow your word
to abide in us.
Lord,
I pray that you
would give us
a willingness,
a commitment,
a desire
to be with you,
to be intimate with you,
to know you,
to know your heart,
and to be like your son.
Father,
let this be a tool
that is used
according to your word
to make us like Christ,
that we would be filled
with love for the Father
and not love for the world.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
This morning,
if you would like
to come forward for prayer
or if you would like
to come forward
to join the church
or if there's anything else
you'd like to come forward to,
please feel free to do that.