The Abiding Word

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.

1 John 2:12–14

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,

1 John 2:14

the end of that verse,

I think we find the answer to that question.

1 John 2, verse 14.

1 John 2:14

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 3:14

2 Timothy 3, verses 14 and following says,

2 Timothy 3:14

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.

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,

llama,

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

John 4 · chapter mention

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.

Stir up your affections.

Such as love, desire, hope,

courage, gratitude, zeal, and joy

to glorify God.

Preach the truth to yourself.

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 5 · chapter mention

2 Kings chapter 5.

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

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.

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

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.