Confidence and Success Living the Scriptures
Joshua 1:8-9
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 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.”
TM Verse 8 & 9 Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."
To meditate the God’s word is to ponder, mutter or consider it in your mind until it becomes personal revelation. When you discover the deeper meaning behind a scripture, God seems to manifest Himself just for you.
He becomes your personal God.
You will have the ammunition needed to take that particular scripture (Revelation) with you in your prayer time, and boldly release your faith as you confess it.
To meditate on God’s word is to slowly and reverently repeat God’s word to you.
Meditation “involves reflecting on God’s word and ways and then applying them to every area of life”
In Matthew 9:20-22KJ And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
God tells us in Joshua chapter 1, “You shall meditate…”
A. This doesn’t sound like an option to me for success.
God understood that even though Moses received the commandments of God for 40 days on Mount Sinai. Moses didn’t enter into the land of promise because he didn’t keep the promise.
*You can’t enter what you aren’t meditating, dreaming or walking in!
Joshua 1:1-7NIV After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Verse 8 again say’s, “it shall not depart from your mouth.”
Be faithful unto God’s words, because your own words and thoughts form strongholds, fortresses and personal kingdoms.) Speak God!
Your thoughts and words bring conclusion; however, God’s word keeps you dreaming, grasping and hungry for more.
It is not enough to read the word and then forget about it the rest of the day. Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
In order for God’s word to take root in, and through you, you must make it part of you.
James 1:22-25TM Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. 25But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life! —Even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
One of the best ways to be a doer of God’s word is to be a mediator of God’s word.
Illustration: If you are obsessed with a particular hobby you think about it constantly. (Become obsessed with God.)
II. MEDIATTION BRINGS OBEDIENCE.
One of the benefits in meditation is that it helps you to be obedient to God’s word.
Verse 8 “That you may observe to do all that is written in it…”
If you’re meditating in the word, and the word is constantly on your mind, and in your mouth it will make you prosperous.
An elderly Christian lady, who was crippled with arthritis, used to hobble to the services of the church on crutches. It was a great ordeal and required of her a considerable amount of toil and pain. A friend of hers observed her regular and faithful attendance and asked, "How do you manage to be at every service?" Her answer was, "My heart gets there first, and my old leg’s just follow after."
Psalm 119: 9, 15-16NIV How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 15. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
*We can keep ourselves from stumbling into sin by meditating on the word.
John 1:14TM The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
*As we are meditate upon God’s word all lies from the devil will not have an affect on us. (You learn who you really are.)
III. MEDITATION BRINGS BLESSING
Joshua 1: 8NIV… For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
*Being prosperous and successful in life is dependent upon knowing the right thing to do. Nowhere do you get more practical advice than God’s living word.
Psalm 1:1-3NIV Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
God’s word will shape your thinking, attitudes, and actions”
God’s word brings streams of Living Water!
1. A tree planted by the water always has everything that it needs.
2. A tree that is planted by the water never dries up.
3. A tree that is planted by the water never worries about the hot sun.
Begin today to meditate upon Gods word, and you will grow as a tree planted by the water.
Transition: If you want the blessings of God then you need to meditate on the promises of God!
Conclusion:
Restatement: Meditation means thinking on and pondering the word of God.
Meditation helps us become obedient to God.
Meditation brings us the blessings of God.
Will you meditate on the word of God?
Jeremiah 17:7-8NIV “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Begin to release your faith by believing what you read and say.
Prayer.
