Discover the Book - Mar. 15, 2008

Thinking Deeply About God

God has one solution for the aimlessness, hopelessness, uselessness, and powerlessness of his people. He describes it 8 times in Psalm 119. Before we study Psalm 119 -- we need to go to the New Testament and see what was the norm for Christ's Church.

Remember the letter Paul wrote to Timothy? Timothy had been led to Christ by the apostle Paul, and now was being nurtured in his life by the apostle Paul. First Timothy is a discipleship manual; a guide for directing a life Godward. In chapter four we find a series of step that God COMMANDS of Timothy. Please look closely with me at the words of Paul’s discipleship manual for a godly young believer in I Timothy 4.11-16.

Thinking Deeply About God in a Shallow World

Meditation -- or as some of your Bibles translate this word “take pains with ". What is meditation? Meditation can be described and select the digestive faculty of the mind. What we take into our minds we process by meditation.

Meditation is thinking deeply upon something; meditation digests what we have learned. There is a terrible spiritual condition of Biblical anorexia -- a lack of hunger for God's Word and its twin sister -- Biblical bulimia. Both are the result of a severe deficiency of Biblical meditation.

When we meditate were taking God's Word, examining it, and turning it over and over in our minds. That is the only way to proper nutrition in our unhealthy world. Surrounded by confusing voices, twisted paths, and hurried lives -- God has just the cure for His children.

Paul instructs Timothy to devote himself completely to Jesus Christ. He gives him a simple list of items to follow; they start back in verse seven. He is first to exercise himself toward godliness; then he is to command and teach the truth. In verse 12 is commanded to be an example in all that he does. Then he is to get focused and use his gifts. Then we come to verse 15, meditate on these things. Paul says to think deeply, to digest these, and to apply them to his life.

In the New Testament world, the Word Paul chose for meditate carries the idea of “being in something" and “giving yourself totally to" that. Like to a napkin absorbing water, it's hard to keep them apart -- the napkin draws water to itself. The believer draws the Word into his life.

Meditation controls our thinking; it dominates us. One way to look upon meditation is to think of all of the applications to life that is certain verse could have for us. I would challenge you this morning -- start applying God's Word to your life.

o       Think deeply about flight of verse implies your response should be to God.

o       Think of every possible application that a Scripture can have in your life. If you do that -- you are meditating.

A word to all you students -- what would you think of a computer class that had no computers for you to work at? Would you feel cheated if you never held a mouse, never typed on a keyboard, never looked at a monitor? Do you get the idea? You're not really studying the Bible if you read it and never apply it to your life. Meditation is the application to my life.

If you are an aviation student and never see an airplane, never take a flight, never go to airport -- haven't you been cheated? Take the Word, apply the Word, and live the Word.

If you’ve ever succeeded in anything you understand what meditation takes.

Anyone who succeeds at anything has learned to completely focus. The young child learning to walk is completely focused on walking. Later in life when he learned to ride a bicycle -- it took absolute concentration. Any sport that’s mastered has to be fully concentrated in focus to be achieved.

Today God wants us to succeed. He wants us to achieve the maximum life for us possible on Earth. And to do that we need to stay focused in spite of all the distractions around us.

Would you like to own the complete version of these 20 powerful messages about a life filled with God’s Word? Order your copy of the Discipline Yourself for Godliness book or MP3 CD today! http://www.dtbm.org/eshop/10Browse.asp