The Benefits of Bible Meditation

Jason Shirk

Walking with God • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

1 Timothy 4:15

Mediation

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Transcript

Introduction

We rarely start out to do something new except when we see that there is some benefit to it. A new diet seems intimidating or even useless unless we see that someone else has done it and seen success. A new exercise routine seems like a lot of work and getting out of bed is hard unless we are driven by the goal we are trying to achieve. I have introduced a new practice probably to many of you in your spiritual disciplines or habits of grace. But tonight, I want to share with you the motivation behind the practice. Why should I practice meditation? What good is it going to accomplish in my life? Or in the words of our larger discussion this year, what grace is God going to accomplish through my meditation on the word?

We will begin by looking at a passage we looked at last week:

1 Timothy 4:15 “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”

>>Read but do not expound yet until after Ball’s quote<<

The honest truth is that without meditation daily bible reading and prayer lose their vigor. Prayer becomes cold and bible reading a seemingly meaningless exercise. John Ball in his book on Divine Mediation likens reading without meditation as spitting out food from your mouth when he says:

Meat received into the mouth and spit forth again presently, nourishesth not; seed must be covered, as well as cast into the ground. Reading benefits little without meditation (which is to the Word what chewing and digestion is to meat that should feed the body)

Paul recommends, yea even commands, meditation because it will make the benefit in Timothy’s life apparent to all. The phrase in this passage is that thy profiting may appear to all. There is a spiritual benefit to be found in a regular habit of meditation. So tonight let’s look at some of those benefits of bible meditation.

Transformed into the image of God

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The practice of meditation is tightly tied to the concept of seeing God. Notice this benefit is available to all but we all. A growing relationship with God is not something reserved for the leadership or a select group of spiritual elites. It is available to every believer in Jesus Christ. It is a reality we all experience at some level 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

The means or the way in which we are changed into the image of God is by beholding with open face as in a glass the glory of the Lord. We are transformed as we behold, we looks at, we gaze on the beauty and majesty of God. This phrase with open face is better translated with unveiled face. Paul is making a contrast between the Jews who read the law through a veil, but we look at the same scriptures without a veil obscuring our view, blinding us to the truth. We look as in a glass or a mirror.

Probably the best illustration of this truth is a girl who spends an hour looking in the mirror getting ready in the morning. She keeps looking over and over again. It has consumed her gaze. Meditation on the person of Christ is something we must do repeatedly, over and over again.

This type of meditation has the benefit of conforming us to God’s image. You become more like what you focus on. Have you ever seen one of those memes where they compare owners and their dogs? The dogs and the owners look alike. Nathaniel Hawthorne used this concept in his book the Great Stone Face. To talk about a young man who was looking for a promised hero to come who looked like the face in a stone cliff over their town. Over time, he became that hero and began to look like the face in the cliff. By thinking about what this person would be like, he eventually began to imitate the character of that person. Time meditating on the beauty of Christ inspires our hearts to pursue being like Christ.

Give courage and strength

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

As we mentioned last week, Joshua had recently taken over leadership of the nation of Israel after Moses had died. There was a little fear about going into the new land. After all there were giants with steel chariots there. The solution to Joshua’s fear is meditating in God’s law which included the promises of God.

Joshua could draw strength by remembering and meditating on what God had done in delivering them from Egypt. Courage and strength come from remembering that God has given victories in the past. He has taken care of us and He can do it again. Following that pattern can bring courage when we are afraid and strength to move forward.

Joshua could also draw strength by meditating on the promises of God. God had promised Israel that they would inherit the land. Those promises are found in the record that Moses left in the first five books of the bible. Joshua would have had Genesis through Deuteronomy available to him to draw strength from. If God has promised something, I should be able to have faith, to trust that He is going to do what He said. When I feel distant from God, I am reminded of the promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.

Blessing and spiritual prosperity

Psalm 1:1–3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

I believe the promise here is primarily dealing with spiritual blessings of God’s presence and care, but consider the logic that wise living usually results in good outcomes.

a. Those who work hard are usually the ones to get raises and make something of themselves.

b. Those who are loving and forgiving generally have better relationships with people.

c. Parents who train their children generally have better behaved children over time.

There is a natural blessing, a physical blessing you could say for those who walk in the wisdom of God’s word. The alternative is ignoring God’s word, rebelling against it, or rejecting it. None of those things are the path to blessing in your life.

Keeps us from forgetting

Psalm 119:15–16 “I will meditate in thy precepts, And have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”

There is a lot of scripture that we can’t memorize, but the truth of that passage is so important for us to graps. Not all truths can be summed up in one bible verse. Meditation aids in remembering what scripture says. Even when it comes to bible memorization it takes time to get it into your long term memory. But meditation gets it to your heart quicker so you are less likely to forget it.

Increases our delight in God’s word

Psalm 119:23–24 “Princes also did sit and speak against me: But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight And my counsellers.”

We have talked about the number one reason people don’t spend time in God’s word: they don’t have an appetite for it. They don’t crave it like they should. Spending time meditating in the word, excites the mind, stirs the emotions. It creating a taste for it. When you begin to see God’s word in a new light, when it begins to change you, when you finally understand how something applies to your life; it starts a fire in your heart that yearns for more.

It is important for the believer to truly experience what it means to delight in God. We delight in God’s word because it is the pathway to delighting in God more. If you struggle with your devotional life, it just isn’t high on your priority list or you forget because you didn’t desire it enough to remember; the solution is to spend time meditating in God’s word. Cultivate a desire for God and His word. Remember meditation is not merely a mental process. Meditation is seeing the beauty of God in his word, being challenged in your behavior by his word, letting it transform your desires and your emotions. Meditation is letting it get to you heart.

It brings satisfaction

Psalm 139:17–18 “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalm 63:5–6 “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, And meditate on thee in the night watches.”

Tied directly to delighting in God’s word is finding satisfaction in God’s word. There are many things we pursue to bring us joy and satisfaction. Video games, movies, fun activities, food, sex and these things aren’t wrong in themselves, but they are when they take the place of God in our heart. Where does your greatest joy and satisfaction come from?

People who struggle with addictions struggle with this issue. Something else has taken the place of God as their source of joy and satisfaction. They are looking to something else to meet the craving in their hearts. Relationships can take the place of God as well. We are looking for that boyfriend or girlfriend to fulfill our lives. If I could just go out with so and so, then I could be truly happy.

Meditating in God’s word can bring satisfaction because it is in those moments that we commune with God the most. We were created for God’s glory and so when man fits into his design there is peace, contentment. And when he comes to desire that design more and more, he finds satisfaction and joy when He finds it. Mankind longs for something they know not what; but when they find God the find what they didn’t know they were searching for. Acts 17:26–27 “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”

Brothers, sometimes we wanter about blindly seeking for things that satisfy and neglect the one thing that can lead us to God who alone can truly satisfy.

It brings comfort

Psalm 77:5–6 “I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: And my spirit made diligent search.” Psalm 77:11–12 “I will remember the works of the Lord: Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.” Psalm 119:52 “I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; And have comforted myself.”

Similar to meditating bring courage, meditation brings comfort. Think back over all the things God has done for you. Remember all the good things he has done. Rehearse them in your mind, clutch them dear to your heart. When you sit up all night ruminating on all the bad things in your life; stop, rehearse all the good that God is and has done for you. Think about your salvation but don’t just say, “I’m glad God saved me.”

Meditate on what that means. Think rather

I’m glad God saved me. I really didn’t love God before I got saved. I used to treat people like trash and I was so selfish. All I ever wanted was what made me happy. I didn’t care about God and yet, He loved me. He loved me and enemy. Could I love someone who was my enemy like that? Do I love people who never show me love in return? What about those who treat me bad? And yet He loved me. He loved me so much He sent His Son to die. What would it be like to give your only son, the one you have delighted in for all eternity to suffer and die? What did God feel as Jesus was rejected by his family? How did Jesus feel as he was threatened with death? How much did that grieve his heart? And yet He still died for me?

When He died for me not only did that show He loved me, but He accepted me by faith in him. Jesus accepted me inspite of all I had done. He has said He will never forsake me. There isn’t going to come a day that he decides its over. He will faithfully love me. He has promised me an inheritance. I don’t deserve an inheritance. How could I receive all the riches of glory that he deserves? I have all of eternity to look forward to enjoying Heaven and being with Him? What is it I will enjoy? To be able to know I am loved unconditionally. To see it in His eyes. To be held by Jesus. To have all those tears from all the bad things wiped away and know they will never return. To learn more about Him and just be with him. To enjoy with Him the crystal sea, the gardens of New Jerusalem. To enjoy life together day in and day out for all eternity. Imagine the food we will get to eat. My salvation means all this and more and Lord I am so grateful for everything you have done.

Conclusion

Let you mind run wild. Answer those questions I asked. Press the truth of each to your heart and find joy and delight in them. Pray those thoughts to God. Tonight, I recommend meditation once again because it can drastically change your spiritual walk with the Lord. It is the fire that will kindle your devotional life. Maybe your devotional life has been ritualistic and dry; consider adding this practice to your life.