We are continuing our series at Victory Church (click here to visit our webpage and listen to our podcast) titled "Asking for God's Favor." This is a series of messages teaching on the subject of prayer and fasting. Sunday we dealt with the subject of "meditation," below is my sermon outline for that message. Enjoy!
I would like to spend my time today talking to you about some principles you must apply in order to experience Biblical meditation with God. To begin with, allow me to quickly share with you the requirements and rewards of true biblical meditation:
SIX REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDITATION
1. SEASON OF TIME (PSALM 62:5)
2. STILLNESS (PSALM 46:10)
3. SECLUSION (MARK 1:35)
4. SILENCE (ISAIAH 30:15)
5. SELF-CONTROL (I CORINTHIANS 9:27)
6. SUBMISSION (JOHN 4:10)
FIVE REWARDS OF MEDITATION
1. PEACE (JOHN 14:27)
2. POSITIVE ATTITUDE
3. PERSONAL INTIMACY (I CORINTHIANS 9:27)
4. PURIFICATION (II SAMUEL 24:10)
5. PASSION FOR OBEDIENCE
When I say the word “meditation” what do comes to your mind?
Meditation is something that we are rapidly loosing in the American lifestyle. Why? Possibly because we are so busy achieving and accumulating that we have lost the time to sit still and meditate.
This week I “goggled” the word meditation; here are the results:
There are 43,500,000 hits on the Goggle search engine! There are many different forms of meditation Here is something I found on the internet concerning meditation:
Many healthy people use meditation as a way to relax the body and reduce stress. But meditation may also be useful if you have a medical disease or condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress. Scientific research about the benefits of meditation is continuing, and the results are mixed. Keeping that in mind, some research shows that meditation may help such conditions as:• Allergies
• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
But the question is, "What does God’s word say about meditation?"
Psalm 19:14 (NIV) May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Joshua 1:8 (NIV) "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it, then you will be prosperous and successful."
J.I. Packer, in his book titled “Knowing God” describes meditation as this:
When we meditate we are to meditate on truth!How are we to do this? How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.
We have some idea, perhaps, what prayer is, but what is meditation? Well may we ask, for meditation is a lost art today, and Christian people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice.
Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.
Its purpose is to clear one's mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let his truth make its full and proper impact on one's mind and heart. It is a matter of talking to oneself about God and oneself; it is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God's power and grace.
Its effect is ever to humble us, as we contemplate God's greatness and glory and our own littleness and sinfulness, and to encourage and reassure us—'comfort' us, in the old, strong, Bible sense of the word—as we contemplate the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we enter more and more deeply into this experience of being humbled and exalted our knowledge of God increases, and with it our peace, our strength and our joy will increase. God help us, then, to put our knowledge about God to this use, that we all may in truth "know the Lord."
We have a great example of David sitting before the Lord in a spirit of meditation. Meditation was nothing new for King David. Let’s evaluate the time when David is “Sitting before the Lord.”
Let’s imagine his position, possibly on his knees, sitting back on his heels, looking up into the heavens with his hands in the air? Possibly!
FOUR PRINCIPLES THAT WILL GUIDE YOU INTO MEANINGFUL BIBLICAL MEDITATION:
1) REVIEW THE PAST (2 SAMUEL 7:18)
David took a moment to “review the past” life experiences with God.
• He remembered his battle with the bear and the lion while protecting his father’s sheep.
• He remembered his fight against Goliath.
• He remembered being out in the fields when Samuel came to anoint him as king.
• He remembered as he was fleeing from King Saul, the great battles he won.
• Now he had peace in his life and he was taking a moment to “sit before the Lord.”
When we meditate we should focus on how God has operated in our lives in the past.
• Look for His hand at work in your life.
• Look for His hand of correction, comfort, and encouragement.
Reviewing the past should be followed by…
2) REFLECT UPON GOD (2 SAMUEL 7:19-27)
As we begin to “reflect upon God” there are three areas we should consider:
A. His greatness
When we meditate on the greatness of God and His names—Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, Everlasting, Infinite in Power, Absolute in Faithfulness—our gigantic mountains of trouble and heartache shrink in comparison. In the light of the presence and greatness of God, nothing in our lives is impossible.
B. His goodness
Psalm 145:9 (NIV) The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.
AW Tozer says, “With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.”
C. His grace
What are the aspects of God’s grace?
Israel was devastated by times of intense rebellion and sin. Yet, when the people repented and returned to God, He delivered them—time and time again.
Nehemiah 9:31 (NLT) In your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
God’s grace is our only hope! God puts no limits on the number of times we can come to Him and obtain mercy. The miracle of grace should inspire us to say, “What a gracious and merciful God you are!” If there is a recurring problem or difficulty in your life, continue to ask God for help, and be willing to make changes in your attitude and behavior that will correct the situation.
Not only must you review the past and reflect on God, but you must also…
3) REMEMBER GOD’S PROMISE (2 SAMUEL 7:28)
David recalled God’s promises in establishing his name and family on an everlasting basis. When we kneel and sit before the Lord, it’s beneficial to remember His promises!
We have many promises in the Word of God:
o Promise of His peace
o Promise of His provision
o Promise of His protection
When we meditate on God’s Word and remember His promises—our faith grows and our fears dissolve! When God comes on the scene—our fear has to depart!
4) MAKE A REQUEST (2 SAMUEL 7:29; PHIL. 4:19)
Wow! What a request! David just doesn’t ask God to bless his family, he boldly asks for God’s everlasting favor on his family!
Have you asked for God’s favor on your life and your family? One of the principles of the Kingdom of God is that God favors a just man!
Proverbs 12:2 (NIV) A good man obtains favor from the LORD.
For the righteous man and woman, favor with God is assured. Victory is promised over bad experiences, fear, and negativism. Though we have needs and pressures, we have God’s promise of resolution.
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