A Special Tool: Meditation

Well, I don't know about you, but we've just come through a very busy unleavened bread season. With all the preparations and all the planning, the messages, the Passover, all the personal things that we've read, the services we've gone to, we have heard a lot. We have heard a lot.

Let me ask you some questions. How many changes have you made in your life in the last two weeks, after hearing a lot? How many changes have you made in your life since attending the Pentateuch or the Prophecy seminars that are given now every week for, I don't know how long it's been going on? We hear a lot, don't we? How many changes has that resulted in? Another question. Does God refer to you as His friend?

Does God refer to you as a person after His own heart? These are some questions, really, that speak to the fact that we've been hearing a lot of things. We've been being taught a lot of things. But what's the result of hearing these things? You know, the church is the bride of Christ, and the bride of Christ, the Bible says, is making herself ready.

There are some that are applying and changing and growing and overcoming, and she will be ready when Christ returns. Question. Are you part of that? Are you hearing and growing, applying, or just watching? See? This is a good question for all of us. It's a question I'm asking myself. You probably think I'm beating up on you today.

Let me ask you this question. Are you stuck in a rut? Your prayer with your Bible study. Prayer seemed repetitious at times, or maybe a little empty. Bible study, maybe not what it should be in frequency or in interest, being vivacious. You might see it more as your chores, my daily chores. Half to pray, half to Bible study. Why? Why? Let's just ask the question, why? Why any or all of those things? If I may have pricked something in you today, let's ask the question, well, why? Why?

What is the problem? And will another sermon fix it? Well, a little guilt, a few questions that get in there and try to twist and turn. Well, maybe now he's really made me feel bad. So obviously this week things are going to change. You know, is guilt a good motivator? I don't think so. Well, let me ask you another question.

What special tool did Abraham and David have that made them so successful? That made David the father of the faithful. I'm sorry, made Abraham the father of the faithful. That made David a man after God's own heart, already set up to be the Prince of Israel, the return of Jesus Christ.

Did they have something that you and I perhaps are not using? A secret tool? A secret weapon? I dare say they did. And today I'd like to discover that tool that takes learning to the next step. It's great to sit in class. It's great to read the workbook, as it were. But taking it to the next step and actually making use of it in our life and growing and cleaning up and proceeding on, that's what we need to do.

And the key from moving, from being a hearer of the Word to being a doer of the Word is what I want to talk to you about today. And I'm excited about this. And this is not a little, oh, he's got some little deal. No, this is a big deal. And it's good.

It's really good. And I didn't come up with it. You know, it's not just your pastor that's got this new thing. No. And it works. It works. It's one of the missing ingredients of our spiritual life. And with it, you will be more interested in prayer and Bible study. And with it, you will be more interesting in prayer and after Bible study. You will be able to grow much more, all with the same degree of effort and a lot less guilt.

So get your pen out. Get ready for some dramatic changes in your life. Warning. This may be enjoyable and it might be habit-forming. For the special missing ingredient, let's get right to it. Who are you going to ask for this special tool, this thing that works? Who would you trust? How about if we go right to the man after God's own heart? You know, it was the first thing he ever wrote.

He gave this as first thing out of his mind, I guess, written on a piece of paper. First song he ever sang. First lyrics that came out of his mouth. It's right there in Psalm chapter 1 verse 1 and 2. Let's turn back to Psalm chapter 1 verse 1. I'll bet your hand is shaking just thinking about a tool that is this powerful and it's right there in your Bible.

Psalm chapter 1 and verse 1. Blessed, particularly blessed, especially blessed, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of the sinners, nor sits in the seat of the squirtful. Yep, we don't want to be those things. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. And there's the tool. Meditation. David learned that. David applied that and it's what made him what he is, coupled, of course, with God's Spirit and the repentance and the power of God.

But it was through meditation that all the things that he was told, all the things that he wrote down in writing out the law of God, all the lessons and things of life, it was through meditation that he was able to inculcate them, use them, and then move forward. And the result was a delight in the law of God. It's quite an enjoyable thing, actually. The end result. Of course, you say, meditation? I don't have time to study and pray.

Or am I going to find time to meditate? Whatever that is. Meditate. Alright. Let's look at this a different way. Gold! You have just discovered gold. Right there. Verse 2. That is gold. That is a big chunk of gold. What did you do with it? What will you do with it? I'd like to tell you a true story today. Back when this country was at war with Britain and a rag-tag army of volunteers followed a young general named George Washington, and they had fight after fight with the British. It wasn't just the British. The British got some really good soldiers to fight.

They were called Hessians, and they hired them. They were mercenaries from Germany, and these Hessians loved to fight. They were big guys, and they were really good at fighting, and they liked nothing more than getting paid for fighting.

So they came over here by the boatload. Now, towards the end of the war, the Revolutionary War, one of the Hessians named Johannes left the war, decided to head on down to South Carolina, where some of his fellow Germans had found some farmland.

So he moved down there where some other German families had set up these rural farms. And Johannes, and his last name was R-E-I-T-H, Reith, he would Americanize the name to John Reid, but Johannes Reid was a man who settled down there and was raising corn and wheat in the nice little valleys of North Carolina. One day, his son Conrad was down by the creek, and he found a large yellow rock. And he brought that yellow rock back up to the farmhouse. Daddy Johannes looked at that rock and said, well, that's handsome young rock you got there. That's 17 pounds of yellow rock. And they used that rock as a doorstop in the house.

Now you have just discovered gold yourself. 17 pounds of gold, right here in Psalm 1, verse 2. What are we going to do with this gold? That's the question. 17 pounds of gold today is worth $102,000. And it makes a pretty good doorstop. We today, we have found something that is scarce. Few are chosen, the Bible tells us. Few are even called at this time. The first fruits are few. It's a precious calling. This is a precious opportunity.

We have the gold. What have you already decided in your mind to do with meditation? Have you decided to say, well, you know, you've got a pretty busy life. Really not sure what this meditation is. Big word.

Just sit it over here by the door. Keep it open. Keep a breeze coming through. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 13. And I'm not saying this to put anybody down. I'm speaking to New Marrow Uno here because how many times do we hear something? Oh, I know. That's pretty good. Yeah, that's pretty good. And then that's the last. We really give much thought to it. That's part of last week's notes. That's part of a great motivational seminar we once attended.

And we were motivated when we walked out of the door and that was the end of that. What are we going to do with this? In Proverbs chapter 3, verse 13, it says, Happy is the man who finds wisdom. Happy. You want to be happy, don't you? And the man who gains understanding. For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold.

What God has available to us in His Word and the messages that we hear and the Holy Spirit that leads us is much better than 17 pounds, $102,000, whatever you can find on this planet. It's very, very valuable. And yet, we're kind of stacking this stuff up, aren't we? We've got some old notebooks full of sermon notes, maybe, and many years of reading the Bible and maybe marking in it. But what are we doing with it? Has it really changed anything? This stuff that's more valuable than silver and gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand, riches in honor. Her ways are the ways of pleasantness. All her paths are peace. She is like a tree of life to those who take hold of her and happy are all who retain her. All this information we're given as the potential bride of Christ, the potential firstfruits, it's the summation of everything for those who take hold, for those who retain them.

Retain. In the margin it says, for retain those who hold her fast. Well, if we're just not retaining it, you see, we're just hearing it. Then, oh, you were to them a lovely song, you know, it says, and we hear it and it's nice, but what happens? What happens? Do we take what we're given and put it in an applicant and, oh, that's as precious, I'm going to bury this in the ground and save it?

Or does somehow, does it get in? And how will it get in? What's the process of getting it in there? You know, you have to ask the question, why do we not always see the value of the things that God teaches us? Well, the answer is because those things require mining. And just because you found a heavy rock doesn't mean a whole lot. Just because, you know, you find something that is semi-precious or may have value, if you don't refine it or mine it or go get it or whatever is involved, it's not going to mean much.

You have to uncover it. You have to utilize the potential. Only then does it become worth something. It's like diamonds. Now, how many of you ladies would like a one-carat diamond flawless? How many of you would like fifteen acres of gravel piled a hundred feet high? Your choice. How many? Let's see, show hands. How many would like the gravel? Okay. A few smart ladies. Okay. But you see, the De Beers diamond mine down at Culligan, Cullinan, South Africa, every day goes through about fifteen acres, piled a hundred feet high or something like that, and they get a handful of diamonds.

Not just one, a handful every day. But that's a lot of work. When you see all that stuff out there and the huge machinery required to haul it through and process it and then reprocess it, and that stuff didn't come just sitting there, it had to come from way down underground around a vent pipe from a volcano that just happened to be in the right ingredients when that fire came up and formed diamonds.

A very lucrative deal. But see, which would you rather have? A one-carat diamond or a handful every day, including the largest diamonds ever found? The Star of Africa, the Hope diamond, the largest blue diamond ever found, and some other big diamonds. The potential, you see, is much greater, but a bunch of rock laying around is not going to help, is it? It's not going to do much. In Matthew 13 and verse 45, and I'm just trying to set a little background here to develop a little interest in the potential.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. He is seeking something. He wants something special, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. It's the selling of all that you have. We recognize the kingdom. We recognize their calling. Yes, it's special. And what are we doing about it? Are we growing? Are we utilizing the things that we're being taught? I've heard many times that the messages, the articles that the church is publishing, things are really inspiring people.

I feel that God is inspiring us. But are they taking hold? Are they being used? Are they being utilized? The gold on your lap needs processing. This Bible, you know, just reading, oh, that's nice. You know, I read something and it was good. It was nice. It was true. It was valuable. But what does it mean? Where did it get processed, you know, 10 tons of gold ore in your front yard may not be that exciting to your wife, but you know, the bars of gold that come out of it would be pretty exciting.

But if we just leave the gold ore in the front yard indefinitely, you know, I really ought to get out there when these days and process that gold. It's really nice having gold ore. But, you know, if we don't process it, if we don't use it, then, you know, we won't have any 75 pound bars. So what's holding you back? What's holding me back? Remember the Bible study that you do, the sermons that you hear, the articles that you read, these are all potential.

They are potential. They have no value by themselves. They're totally worthless by themselves. To extract the value, you have to meditate on them and then apply it. So today we're going to talk about meditation.

Not medication, meditation. How to extract the value of what we're hearing, what we're reading, what we're learning, what God is showing you through His Spirit. How do you utilize that?

Meditate. The dictionary definition of meditate is to reflect upon, contemplate, think about, and ponder. Really, all those are the same things. It just means to think about. In its basic form, stop and think about it. Okay, we heard a message, and it was good, and it was inspiring, and tomorrow somebody said, oh, I heard you had a good sermon. What was it about? Well, let me think. This is just yesterday. Well, I mean, that is human. Okay, that is human.

But in order to utilize that message, it takes some time spent considering it, analyzing it, developing applications for part or parts of it. Oftentimes from a message, you come away with one thing that really is useful to you. What is that one thing? What's that one thing that will motivate you or somehow change your life? Through meditating it on it, the potential can be realized.

How do you meditate? Well, again, it's not hugely difficult. It is actually somewhat pleasant to clear the boards, as it were, and think about something. Think about it from many different angles. Reflect on it. Ponder it. Let's go to Joshua chapter 1, verses 8 and 9. You'll love verse 9. It's verse 8 that might be a little troubling. Joshua chapter 1, Joshua chapter 1, verse 8. This book of the law, the Pentateuch, which we've studied through a lot, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night.

Hmm. Okay, it's one thing to read it. It's one thing to write it out if you're the king.

It's one thing to come and hear the Pentateuch study or, you know, delve in and study it out.

But then, after you do that, you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do it according to all that is written in it. Notice the end result is the application of it, that you may observe to do. That's where we want to be. That's where David went. That's where Abraham went.

That's where those who are being perfected as the bride of Christ are going. How do you get there? Through meditation. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Isn't that what we want? Isn't that what we're after? See how meditation is the link. It's the key. It's the tool. Have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage? Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. That is in the context of meditating and applying God's Word and doing it. It all comes together in a package, doesn't it?

We might say, well thanks, but I just wanted verse 9. I just want to know God is with me wherever I go. He won't leave me or forsake me. No, that's if you're meditating on the law and observing it, putting it to use in your life. It's all a package. It's inseparable.

So by thinking about it, by pondering it, by breaking it down, it comes down into usable, meaningful bites. You can't just apply the law in your life. How about one aspect of one of the commandments? Pick one. One aspect of one of the Proverbs. Pick a Proverb. One aspect of one of Jesus Christ's parables. One aspect of something Paul wrote. Then break that down and find a way to apply it in your life. Once you do that, you've made progress.

We can apply these things in small ways and in areas that have been searched out, that have been thought out. Consider, have you ever built a house? You buy a piece of land. You buy a piece of land and you consider the land first. You think about, well, what do I want to do on this land? What kind of do I want a hilly rocky land? Do I want a flat land? Do I want a land with a view? Do I want power lines in my view? Do I want mountains in my view? How big a land do I want? What kind of dirt or rock or whatever do I want in my land? See, there's a lot of thinking about that goes in before you ever build on property. So it is with our life. Before we ever take something and say, well, I want to use that in my life. Well, where are you going to put it? Where will it fit? How will it fit? How will it fit with your particular personality, your particular life? See, this is where meditation, thinking about, contemplating, this is where it comes about. We can talk this over with God. The principle of the Bible, the principle of the message, the article, the sermon, whatever, we talk it over with God. Help me see this. Help me apply this.

Ponder it over some more, you see. Think about it. Talk with God some more. Get him involved. Go back and refine the concept. Break it down even finer.

Apply it. Then move on to another area. Find another principle. To give you an example, let's say Proverbs 18, verse 13. Proverbs 18, 13 is an interesting statement. Just as an example, let's use it. He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him. Well, that's very nice. I'm sure it's very true. Shall we go on and read something else? It's so like us. I need to read the Bible today, so I think I better do three chapters of Proverbs. Totally flood your mind with everything, and you get nothing out of anything, and you move on. But if you just took that, closed the Bible, and went and meditated today on it. There's a huge amount of benefit to any person's life that one Proverb could bring.

What does that mean? What does it mean in a discussion? What does it mean when somebody asks you a question? What does it mean when somebody wants an opinion, or you tend to just give an opinion? What happens when somebody says, hey, will you do something for me?

There's so many applications of this. So many applications of this.

It really takes meditation to see where I would be misapplying it, the wisdom of applying it properly, and how I would go about it in any particular circumstance. Somebody comes up to me, as they have recently, we promise you'll do this for me. You have to promise me before I tell you.

If you hadn't meditated on this particular Scripture, you might have a different answer, you see.

But if we don't meditate on it, well, it's a valid statement. It makes a nice doorstop, 17-pounder. You know, just put that over there with the other stuff.

But meditation brings us ways to use it.

In the year 1802, a jeweler purchased the doorstop. He recognized what it was. And he bought it for $3.50.

John Reed was happy to sell it to him for $3.50.

In fact, the price of corn and other things and the amount of effort it took to make $3.50 led him to begin the Reed Mine, a little operation there with three of his local farmers, well, a total of three, two farmers and himself. They all decided that after the crops were harvested, they'd go on down the creek and see what they could find. Maybe they could sell some more stuff to this jeweler fellow. Partners supplied equipment and workers in the end, and they came down and they dug for gold in the creek bed. The returns were to be divided equally.

So they gave first priority to farming, then they raised their crops. Before the end of the first year, one man down there had unearthed a 28-pound nugget of gold. A 28-pounder. Pretty good.

All they used was pans and some rockers to wash the soil out and gravel out. And these part-time miners recovered an estimated yield of $100,000 by the year 1824. Just a short period of time.

Now, what he had to do was take time away from the busyness of life and go contemplate and extract and figure out some stuff and see how his land and his neighbor's land and the creek that ran through it could yield something that really changed their life. In a day when 17 pounds of gold sold for $35, that was the going rate. And for them to have made $100,000 in the next 25 years, they were doing okay. They were doing okay. You know, God intends us also to take time, divert our attention from our busy life to do some mining in the gold field that he's given us.

We should ask, what am I? Where am I going? What is God's purpose for me? How am I doing? What needs changing? How can I apply some of the tools and laws and principles that God is obviously inspiring? Well, I'll give you some questions here about meditation and try to give some answers. What can we meditate on? There are so many things to meditate on, really. You can think about God, all about God, his perfection, his holiness. You can think about his kingdom. The kingdom that he has created before he ever came up with the plan of you and me, and then he fit us into that plan. And now we're a real focus, a real jewel in his eye. You can think about his will for you, why you're here, why you're called. What his laws are all about? And are they really to divert you and make your life more complex? Or are they to bring you to happiness and a simplicity of a joyful life in a way that really builds good relationships? You can think about applying the lessons of God's Word, about overcoming sin, about forgiving others. I mean, right there is a lot of things to think about and how you could possibly do those things. Fighting the self, fighting Satan, serving, responsibilities, enjoyment. You know, is enjoyment sort of ever gotten by you at times?

I'm going through life and I'm sure not having a lot of fun.

Meditate. What is joy? What is happiness? What is pleasure?

And the physical and the spiritual sense? What brings it? How to have it? How to share it with others? How to prepare to bring others the same type of joy in God's kingdom? Think about being a child of God's forever. Let's go to Deuteronomy 5 and verse 29. Along with the law that was given here in this very chapter, go a little bit further down. Oh, God says, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep my commandments, that it might be well with them and their children forever. You want things to go good? You want them to go well? It's the keeping of the commandments. And how do we do that? As we were told before, to meditate on it. Find ways to apply them. Find what isn't working. Root it out. Replace it. You know, some of God's laws are big and some of God's laws are tiny, but all of God's laws are important.

You know, Deuteronomy 22, just a few chapters back in verse 6 and 7, I'll give you an example of what you'll find that we can meditate on. Deuteronomy 22, verse 6, If a bird's nest happens to be before you along the way in any tree or on the ground with young ones or eggs, with a mother sitting on the young or the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall surely let the mother go and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. That one takes a little thinking, doesn't it? Hmm, why did God say that? And if I ever came across this situation, what would I do? What should I do? Ever had a bird nest in your yard? Come across a bird nest? Sure. What should we do? And why? If you take maybe an average state in the United States, one state reports that every day birds in that state eat three billion insects.

And the Agriculture Department said if there were no birds in that state, within 10 years there would be no vegetation in their state. Hmm, how would that apply to this? Now, how would it apply to disrupting things? And when should bird season be if you're hunting birds? Or when should, you know, animal season be if you're hunting animals? And what are the applications of these things and why? And that's a small little law, isn't it? A little small law.

God has all types of things in the Bible.

All the laws of God are wonderful. Turn with me to Psalm chapter 119. Let's start in verse 11.

I just want to read you some of the things that David found meditation unlocks in his life.

Psalm 119 verse 11. It's hard to miss this chapter. It's the biggest, longest one in the Bible.

Verse 11 says, Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Didn't leave that over there in the Bible. See, I've hidden that in my heart. Thought about that a lot. That I won't sin against you. Verse 15. I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways. I'm not just going to get up and do them. I'm going to contemplate them. Think about them. I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word. Internalizing it, you see. Thinking about it. Verse 23. Princes also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on your statutes. David enjoyed that. He liked thinking about it. Not just reading it and doing his Bible study. He liked thinking about it. What they are, what they mean, how they apply to me, what I am doing instead of them, how I can do them instead of what I am doing.

He enjoyed that. The result was obvious. Dropping down to verse 48.

My hands, also I will lift up to your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

Verse 59. I thought about my ways.

You know, it's just, I read that good sermon, good article, close it, and we walk away. We forget that that man saw himself in the mirror, but he quickly forgets what he was.

But I thought about my ways, and I turned my feet to your testimonies.

Meditation. Thinking about. Verse 97 through 99.

Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. That's why he loved it. He liked to think about it, contemplate it, figure out how to apply it. You, through your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

We can think about God. God's a wonderful being to think about. In Psalm 77 and verse 10, David comments, This is my anguish, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember your wonders of old. Yes, I will also meditate on all of your work and talk of your deeds. Hmm, there's a person who would like to think about God and what he had done, the works of God, the deeds of God.

In Psalm 139 and verse 17, Psalm 139 and verse 17, The Lord is a precious person. How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God!

How does he know they're precious? I was thinking about him the other day, how precious God's thoughts are. It's amazing that he thinks about humans and made animals and the earth and this whole plan for man and the salvation. Wow! And had Jesus Christ come and die for us and all the feast days and the whole future. God's thoughts are pretty precious. God is pretty precious.

I was walking this morning in the desert, as I do sometimes, and it's incredible when you stop out of your busy time and just come to realize God made all of these things. And then you start to start looking a little closer at some of the things God made. We're used to elephants and we marvel at big things, or cactuses, but what about the little shrubs this time of the year that are putting out the little flowers and the little tiny seedlings that come popping out of there?

It's just amazing how plants that we take for granted were made by God in a very miraculous way. They reproduce and they go about living, or about birds. You can see many types of birds, quail, and doves, and sparrows, and cactus rins, and starlings, and all kinds of birds. But there's one bird out there. You listen to the bird sounds. One bird just steals a show, and that's the mocking bird. And a mocking bird, okay, I know they're a little annoying because they just go, go, go. But if you listen to the to the range, that guy must have a symphony for a little voice box.

He can do things that are unbelievable with trills, and low, and very high, and skipping around, and doing all the kind of bird sounds you probably have ever heard, and just boom, like that.

I think open him up, he's probably got a little, you know, orchestra in there or something, pipes to do all of that. It's just amazing what he can do. And he can go off flying, doing it while he's flying. He just likes to do it while you're sleeping. That's the only problem.

In Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8, another thing that would lead us to is being more like God. If we learn about God, then we realize, you know, he is the perfection. He is the sum of all that really we want to be. Philippians 4 verse 8 says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, God is true. His way, His Word is true. Jesus Christ was truth. The Bible is truth. Whatever things are noble, God is noble. Whatever things are just. He is the just one and the rewarder of those who are just. Whatever things are pure, lovely, good report. If there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. How often do we stop and meditate on the good things in life? The good things that God is, the good things of godliness, and the good things that others do. How often do we instead say, life's the pit, you know, and then you die. Bad week, tough week, problem, problem, and these other people around me, they all got problems. Actually, to meditate on the wonderful things of godliness, and then applying them to other people, not only God, but godly people, and trying to see those things, thinking on those things, trying to be that yourself, that's good. Next thing you know, you're on the road like David, on the road like Abraham, you're moving along like Peter, you're growing up into Christ, and it comes from thinking about. You know, the book of Proverbs, just looking this morning, and the first words in each of the Proverbs, they're at the beginning of the book. I'd just like to read them to you real quick. You don't have to turn there. For instance, Proverbs 3, verse 1, My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments. We don't want to forget the law. Verse 1, chapter 4, hear my children the instruction of a father, and give attention to no understanding. Chapter 5, verse 1, My son, pay attention to my wisdom, lend your ear to my understanding. You see, it's more than just listening. It is internalizing.

Chapter 7, verse 1, My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you.

Keep my commands and live, and my law is the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your fingers, write them in the tablet of your heart.

These things come through considering, through meditating.

Every single lesson in the Bible, every example in the Bible, applies to you and me.

And they're not just cute little reads when we're children, make nice little stories. Yeah, I remember that story, but what did you learn from that story? What did you apply?

I've been thinking about the term learned. Oh, I learned a lot today. Did you? I said, Oh, did you? Really? You heard a lot today. What did you really learn? What did you internalize? What changed you? The term learned isn't necessarily always something that is accurate. In Psalm 143, verse 5, it says, I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your works. I muse on the work of your hands. These are some things that David is looking back at. All the lessons, all the stories, all the teachings. He says, I'm looking back the days of all. I remember them. I'm meditating on what you did and all the work of your hands. It's meaningful. Another thing we can think about is the truth. 1 Timothy 4, verse 12, where Timothy is told by Paul, let no one despise your youth. That doesn't mean to go around with a gun. He said, are you despising me? You better not. No. But in other words, conduct yourself in a way that just even because you're youthful, no one's going to despise that. They're going to appreciate that. And hopefully with some of our youth, the young people in this congregation, their example and their ability to serve is appreciated and respected.

But be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

How do you do that? Well, Paul told me to do that, so I'm doing it. Oh, you can't do that.

What did he say? Oh, yeah, in word. Okay. To think about word. What name? Oh, yeah, conduct. What about my conduct? How would I have conduct that would, see, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity? These are things to ponder. In the next verse, he says, till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine. Verse 15, meditate on these things. Think about, consider them, apply them in your life. We need to take the time, brethren, to meditate.

When can we meditate? Well, as you have opportunity, especially after prayer and Bible study, that's a very good time to meditate on what person is heard and inspired to understand, or after listening. You've got the rock, now extract the diamond.

You just can't say, whoa, wow, I got this rock today, and it's got a diamond in it. Put that over there. Take the time to extract the diamond, to polish it, to facet it, to make it sparkle, make it live, make it useful, and then it's a part of you. Another time is during the day.

If you can walk or sit, drive, usually get distracted driving, take a break.

You know, people that will take a lunch break or a work break and just go find a quiet place.

They might crack open a Bible, or they might just think.

Just to think. Another time is at night. This is not, doesn't happen a lot in Western culture, because too often nighttime is action time. Nighttime is, you know, when the lights come on, and the entertainment starts, the TV, you know, the activities, and we fill the night in ways that were really never meant to be that way. If you go back before electricity, if you go back before electricity, you'll find at nighttime, typically, things began to wind down.

Over in Magori, Kenya, when the sun sets, when the sun is setting, people are on the move, going home. And when it's dark, people are pretty much home. And there's often no light, unless they have a candle or something to burn, but you know, pretty much your day is over. And it is quiet. The cool of the evening, it is so quiet. You can hear all across the countryside, if you're up on a hilltop. And we have a little hut up there on the hilltop that looks out over the valley, and it all just quiets down. You can hear a few chickens still, few dogs, few people, but it gets real quiet. It's a really good time to just think. Listen. Reflect.

But you have to make the time. You have to create some time. Before sleeping can be a good time to meditate, except you're going to forget everything that you're thinking about. At least I do.

Sleep is a really nice thing. It just cleanses the brain. And if you do your Bible study last thing at night, I hope you retain it better than I do, because sleep is like a big eraser on an Etch-a-sketch, you know? Shake it. Next morning. Ooh! Clean slate. Who am I? Where am I? Beautiful day. Sun's coming up. That's when this brain is clear. And those are precious moments. To get up, watch the sunrise this time of the year, about five o'clock, five thirty. Nothing's stirring. It's quiet outside. Just have some time to pray and study and think and reflect. It's wonderful.

But it depends on everybody. But to find the time is what's important.

Another time, sleepless period. You know those times at night where you wake up for no known reason and you can't go back to sleep? It's typically two hours. Nothing I can do about it. Two hours. Two hours, sometimes three. Think, well, why am I awake? Nothing to think about. I'm going to go back to sleep. Good luck. It'll still be two hours.

Found, you know, that's a great two hours because you've already been asleep, the mind's clean, now you're awake. And you can think about things in the Bible and sermons.

You can think it's amazing how clear you can pray at that time.

Just right on your bed, not even getting out of bed. Just think.

So much can be done during sleep.

In Psalm chapter four, you might think I'm just crazy. So is David then.

Because let's look here in Psalm chapter four and verse four. Be angry and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still. Hmm. Meditate. Meditate on your bed within your heart. That can be a really good time. Don't waste that time if it happens to you.

Just don't get too distracted and get all excited and want to get out of bed.

And I'm tired or it's going to be more than two hours.

In Psalm chapter 63 and verse five.

Psalm 63 and verse five.

My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. Now that's how David was. That's how we want to be. We want to be all positive about God and His way.

And when does this happen? Verse six.

When I remember you on my bed and I meditate on you in the night watches.

He was up at night thinking in bed. He was awake and he had some really wonderful thoughts and applications of God's way. And then in Psalm 139 and verse 17.

How precious are your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

I should count them. They would number more in number than the sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.

When's he thinking about this? He's thinking about this in bed.

And when he wakes, God is still on his mind and the wonderful things that he's been thinking about.

There are some things that destroy meditation.

Music, music, music.

Even after turning it off, you think it's off, but no, it's still going on.

Clocks are still flying at the speed of sound or whatever is going on up there.

You're tapping your toes.

So music, too much music for too long. Can't just stay with you. And it's TV.

TV can fill the mind with... Well, there are a lot of different things on TV, but some of it's just a bunch of endless babble.

But it's very catchy and entertaining and a lot of things flashing by. And you know, people are like...

And then it's hard to turn it off because it's so captivating and there's more of it coming on right after this ad.

And so it can be captivating up till bedtime, and it's fairly useless in the long run.

Wrong attitudes.

They can knock out meditation, even if you have peace, you have anger, you have resentment. These things control the mind. If you're upset with somebody, you just can't get it out of your mind. You're just going... You're not going to be able to do much of anything. That's why God says, Don't let the sun go down on your wrath.

Talk it out, get it out, and your mind will be clear.

There are a lot of other distractions.

Other people being around people. You're not going to meditate if you're with somebody, especially a chatty-cathy kind of person, you know, that likes to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and just talks and talks and talks. You're going to have to find some space in order to meditate.

There's the telephone.

There's your job.

There's just noise in general, just a noisy place.

Another distraction is lack of contact with God. You know, it's hard to meditate if you haven't had any contact with God. When that happens, just stop, apologize, pray, ask God for forgiveness, and you're done.

Just move right on.

Don't let that wall keep building up higher and higher.

But the point is, you need to make time for meditation in a peaceful, enjoyable, quiet place, the right time, some kind of a peaceful place.

Meditation is enjoyable. It's productive. It's habit-forming.

Jesus set an example, didn't he? He got away from the crowds and went away from the disciples, where it was quiet. Imagine 12 guys with you all the time, and some of them like to talk.

And that's good, but there's a time to get away and reflect and pray and think.

And Jesus did that. Well, in conclusion, from Johannes Reith's discovery of a 17-pound nugget back in the 1700s, gold mining gradually spread through North Carolina.

Over the next 49 years, gold was discovered here and there throughout the state until 1848, and gold was discovered in California.

And then the whole world, people from the entire world, came to get a piece of that.

You might say, well, what's the importance of Johannes Reith's story?

Well, the importance is he discovered gold in America. He was the first person ever to discover gold in the United States of America. It was a 17-pound rock in his creek, and he used it as a doorstop.

You and I have the opportunity to discover gold and mine it every day. Let's conclude by reading Psalm 119, beginning in verse 65.

Well, this sermon may just become another rock in the pile.

It has the opportunity of unlocking change in your life, making Bible study become really interesting, enjoyable, necessary, prayer an exciting thing, a co-relationship with God as you begin to sift through and find ways to apply all the things that God is making available to us. David mined gold. He did it every morning, every noon, every night.

Here in Psalm 119, verse 65, we notice his words, You have dealt with me with your servant, O Lord, according to your word.

Teach me good judgment, good judgment and knowledge. Where do these things come from? Through pondering, thinking and application. For I believe your commandments.

Before I was afflicted and I went astray. We all have done that and do that.

But now I keep your word. How did David do this? He internalized it. He thought about it. He applied it. You are good and you do good. Why? He thinks about what God does. He meditates about what God does. Teach me your statutes. And remember, he meditated on God's statutes.

The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep your precepts with my whole heart.

With my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as Greece, but I delight in your law.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted. How did he come to that conclusion? Now that took some meditation, didn't it? It is good for me that I have been afflicted.

That I may learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver. Brethren, when you take time to meditate regularly, your life is not going to be dull. It is not going to be routine. Not anymore.

This key can take you where you have never gone before. It can take you to the kingdom of God.