As A Man Thinketh In His Heart Series

Notice God is promising Joshua that if he is faithful in focusing on the written scriptures, he will receive blessings and success. That’s how important God views our reading of His book.

Sometimes folks will say, “I don’t know about that, let me CHEW on it for a while.” When they say that, they mean they’re going to give it careful thought. And that is what God wants us to do with His Word. He wants us to “chew on it” day by day until we’ve completely digested it. (Allen Webster)

So… if I just read the Bible – is that enough? Well, it’s a good start, but it’s not really where we need to BEGIN. Psalm 111:10 “Wisdom BEGINS with fear of God.”

ILLUS: I have a friend who is a bristly agnostic. She claims she’s read the Bible through many times… but you get the idea its not made any impact on her personality or world views. Why? Because the fear of God isn’t part of her equation. She never gained God’s wisdom from Scripture, because she didn’t fear Him. NO GOD… NO WISDOM.

So, what does that mean to “fear God?” Well, it means that God will always be right. If I read it in the Bible… that’s the way it’s going to be. Someone once said “If the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” Now I know that phrase has been ridiculed down through the years… but it doesn’t make any less true for those who want to honor God. I can be wrong, but God will never be wrong. If I “fear God” then His agenda and His priorities will always be at the top of my list. My priorities will always come in 2nd.

That’s what Romans 10:9 says that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Now, there’s lots of folks believe that passage teaches that all I have to do is SAY “Jesus is Lord” … and I’ve got it made. It’s kind of like it’s a magical incantation.

But that’s not really what it means. When I CONFESS that Jesus is Lord… I’m saying He owns me. He not only owns my possessions, He owns ME. If I have a renewal of my mind, it means I’ve turned my thinking over to God. I place His priorities OVER … MY priorities.

ILLUS: There’s a story about a wealthy rancher who died and he left a will that not only included what his sons would receive as an inheritance… but it also included several instructions of things he expected to be done with the ranch. First, he instructed that they buy some extra land that bordered their property. The boys talked that over and thought “Dad is right. That’s exactly what we should do.” And they did so. Next, he left instructions that should dam up the creek for a pond so the cattle would be have water nearby as they grazed. Again, the son were impressed by their father’s decision and promptly dammed up the creek. Lastly, he wrote that they should tear down the old barn and rebuild another in its place. The boys talked about that and said “I don’t think we need to do that. The old barn’s still useful.” And they left the barn stand.

Now - did his sons OBEY their father’s instructions? Well, you could say they obeyed 2 out of 3 of the things he wanted done. But in actuality, they didn’t really “obey” any of their father’s wishes. They simply followed his instructions when and if they agreed with them. They looked on their father’s commands as “optional” – as mere suggestions.