The Fruit of Godly Meditation
Psalms 119:97-105
INTRODUCTION.
1. The most extensive passage in the Bible.
This passage is the longest chapter in the Bible, composed of 176 verses, divided into sections that start with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetical sequence, beginning with Aleph, Bet, and so on, and so forth. It is like an acrostic, probably to aid the memory of the readers.
The last verse is a familiar one. (Psalms 119:105)L
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
2. The Purpose of the Passage
The principle here is that the words of God light our paths
so that we will not stumble, fall, slip, or wander away from the path that leads to the direction of abundant life!
Therefore if we live by the word of God, we can avoid evil paths,
we can be wise and not foolish.
Such is the exhortation that we read in the 5th chapter of Ephesians. (Ephesians 5:15-18)
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is.
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
3. “It is better said than done.”
With this in mind, we are encouraged to read our Bible at every opportunity.
Yet, at times, we read a chapter or a passage, and we think that we get the assurance that God will bless us because we are reading His words, but the next day, we forgot what we just read! It is true, isn't it?
Those that we do understand, we keep them in our hearts. Understanding is one thing, but applying these precepts to our lives is another thing. Obedience to the command in the scriptures is the part where we struggle.
And so, some would argue that IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
This attitude is likened to responding to the call of Jesus for us to follow him, and we say: "Oh Lord, THAT IS EASIER SIAD THAN DONE. I will follow you, but first, let me do this, and let me finish that" Excuses!
Then Jesus will say: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not obey what I say?" (Luke 6:46)
4. Why we struggle with the commands
We struggle on the commands of Jesus because we depend on our own strength. We need to rely on the strength that Jesus gives us by his grace. (2 Timothy 2:1). And he gives us strength through the power of the Holy Spirit he gave us and who indwells in us.
The struggle against the desire of the flesh is the very reason why we need to be filled with his Spirit to help us overpower that desire in us. Note verse: Eph 5:18.
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Likewise, in 2 Timothy 1:7:
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
The Holy Spirit is our Helper. The Holy Spirit plays a significant role in the life of a believer.
Apostle Paul, speaking to the Galatians, rebuked them for using their own strength to finish the race of life. (Galatians 3:3)
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[
The passage in Galatians 3:3 is very compelling. We need to let the Holy Spirit finish his work.
6. The Final Question
The final question is: how do I obtain strength, discernment, and wisdom when I read a passage in the Scriptures? The answer is through godly meditation.
7. DEFINITION.
Godly meditation is the act of prayerfully thinking, considering, and focusing on a Biblical passage by asking God for enlightenment, wisdom, and discernment to keep the principles of the commands in our hearts and applying them to our day-to-day lives.
8. Shut off every distraction.
Therefore, when we meditate on a Scripture passage, let us shut off every distraction around us. We cannot focus on our meditation while watching TV or listening to the radio or reading our Facebook posts.
9. God is listening
When we meditate, God is listening. We are talking to Him, asking questions. He deserves our undivided attention. There is a good reason why Jesus himself left early in the morning, go to a secluded place to pray or go to the mountain by himself to meditate.
MAIN POINTS
1. We learn to love the word of God. (Psalm 119:97)
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
Oh, how I love your words.
"How" is used as an adverb here, expressing the manner and degree of love that David feels about the word of God.
a) We learn to love the word of God when we consider what the writer of the book of Hebrews is saying about Christians. (Hebrews 6:4-5)
We were enlightened, we have tasted the heavenly gift, we have shared in the Holy Spirit, and we have tasted the goodness of the word of God.
b) We learn to love His laws Because we can be careful about how we live (Eph 5:15a)
15 See then that you walk [a]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
God warns us against making wrong choices and wrong decisions that often cause long-lasting suffering and pain.
c) The word of God is sweeter than honey. (Ps 119:103)
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Sweeter than honey to mouth.
The word of God gives us love, joy, peace, and hope. It is also the source of our strength
when we meditate on it with the comfort of the Holy Spirit
2. We learn how to be wise. (Psalm 119:98)
Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
Your commands are always with me.
This highlights the importance of reading our Bibles to gain knowledge. The Holy Spirit will not remind us of precepts that we have not learned. The commands that we know should always be in our hearts to be reminded of them when the need comes.
We become wiser than our enemies.
With the commands in our hearts, we are always alert of Satan's schemes through our enemies. Because of the discernment that the Holy Spirit gives us, we know what to do when temptation comes.
When we meditate on the words of God, we obtain discernment (1 Cor 2:12-14)
12 Now we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the [a]Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
When we keep the words of God, we can obey what the verse says in Eph 5:15b.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
3. We gain more insight. (Ps 119:99)
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
What can we learn from this verse?
If we desire greater insight, let us MEDITATE on his STATUTES.
Teachers explain the principles of the word of God. But it is our initiative to learn and understand them. To gain greater insight, we need to meditate on them because meditation provides us with enlightenment and wisdom to apply to our day-to-day lives. When we focus our thoughts in our meditation, the Holy Spirit gives us discernment on how to properly use the word of God in our lives.
4. We gain greater understanding. (Ps. 119-100)
I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
We gain more understanding when we do what is commanded to us.
As Christian, we are at the frontline of the battlefield against the works of evil. Whether we are at work, in business with our customers, and in all kinds of situations and circumstances, we face challenges of trials, temptations, and burdens.
In Ephesians 5:16, Paul encourages us to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, let us make use of every opportunity to do good. By doing so, we will gain more understanding of the will of God in our lives.
Application of the words of God leads to maturity (Hebrews 5:14)
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
5. We learn to avoid evil paths. (Psalm 119:101)
I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
The words of God guide our feet against walking along evil paths. Every sinful activity leads to an evil path, but if the word of God lives in us, we can avoid them.
Indeed, we cannot obey His statutes while we walk in the darkness. The darkness is full of distractions that keep us away from MEDITATING on the word of God.
We are not foolish (Eph 5:17)
17 Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is.
6. We learn to hate evil. (Psalm 119:104)
I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
Because of the deeper understanding that we receive during MEDITATION, we are trained to walk on the narrow path of righteousness and not the broad way to evil.
CONCLUSION.
I encourage you to develop the habit of meditation. You will be amazed at how the Holy Spirit gives you greater understanding and insight. You will obtain godly wisdom and discernment that will help you obey His statutes of God with gladness and joy.
Let me close this message with a passage found in Philippians 4:8.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
The Scripture says: "think about these things,” meaning, let us meditate on these things by prayerfully considering and thinking of these, and applying them to our daily lives.
