Shane Idleman emphasizes the transformative power of meditating on God's Word, contrasting it with merely reading the Bible without reflection. He shares insights from the lives of historical Christian figures who experienced a profound filling of the Holy Spirit after surrendering fully to God. Idleman encourages believers to create a quiet space for meditation, allowing God's Word to penetrate their hearts and minds, leading to spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with God. He highlights the importance of applying Scripture in daily life and warns against the distractions of the world that can hinder spiritual progress.

♪ Hope is yours to take ♪ Peace is found in grace What I wanted to do this evening is actually a little bit different. The Psalm of the Precious Secret. Don't worry, I'm not going in the direction of Oprah. You know, they found the secret, the secret, whatever that stuff is. There's actually a good book out there called, They Found the Secret. And it's actually about Christian leaders who received this mighty filling of the Holy Spirit years after conversion. D.L. Moody, John Bunyan, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, I think John Wesley, Whitfield is in there. It's just a great book. They found the secret. They finally surrendered their life and then they were filled with the Spirit of God. And now you hear about them because of that moment. But see, they were Christians for many years. But something dynamic finally took place. Because you know you can be a Christian and not really serving God? Anybody? I've wasted a good portion of my life. On Sunday, yes, and of course I'm a Christian, but come Monday, you know, I want to please the world. And that's a miserable state to be. Why is the Holy Spirit going to fill you if you're going to do your own thing? So in all those cases in They Found the Secret, it's written by a Christian author, it talks about how they finally got to the end of themselves. They surrendered everything. Lord, use me financially, relationally, I don't care. I'm giving it all up. My own agenda. D.L. Moody recognized he was in the ministry for himself. Wanting to build his kingdom. And until he repented of all of that, then he was filled mightily with the Holy Spirit. And it's joy unspeakable. It doesn't mean you don't go through challenges and difficulties, but there's a joy and a love for getting to church and wanting to be with God's people and praising. I don't know about you, but I could not come up here tonight and just keep worshiping another hour. I mean, just worshiping God. And that's what happens when the Holy Spirit is giving full reign in your heart. It doesn't mean you surrender 100% completely, perfectly. I don't think that's possible, other than Jesus, of course. There's always that little, that old Shane Idleman I've talked about before, who knocks on the door sometimes. Remember those good old days? No, shut the door. Shut the door. See, he reminds you of the good old days, but not the hangover the next day. He shows you the temporary pleasure, but not the long-term consequences. And so that was a long rabbit trail, had nothing to do with the sermon. But the psalm of the precious secret, the reason they call it that is if you look up in your Bible, Psalm 16 and 17, but Psalm 16, it's called the mictum of David. The mictum of David. You're like, what does that mean? Well, that's what I was wondering, too. But if you look it up in the Hebrew, it's actually, it means, it's a Hebrew word that means untranslated. It's like a word, we don't know exactly what this word means, this mictum. And so the secret of David, the psalm of David isn't really, because sometimes it says the prayer of David, or David wrote this after Bathsheba, or David wrote this going through this crisis with Saul. But this really, there was no reason given for this psalm in Psalm 16. And I did mention, I want to do something a little bit different tonight, and I've been talking about it for a few weeks. But this whole theme of meditating on God's Word. Did you know you can read it and not meditate on it? I've been guilty of that. I've got to get down, some of you can relate, I've got to sit down and get my Bible study in, my 20 minutes or 30 minutes, and okay, I've read my six chapters, and okay. And I've done that recently, like what did I just read? And my mind was going everywhere but in the Word of God. I've read a whole chapter and have no clue what it was talking about. Because my mind wasn't focused on Him. Wasn't meditating on Him. And so this whole idea about meditation and really letting God's Word sink into your heart. That's how the change takes place. And as I've told you before, it's not the reading of the Word, it's the application of it. When we begin to apply it, that's where it has power. And how you apply the Word of God often is by meditating on it. Meditate on my precepts. Meditate on my principles. David said he meditated on the Lord. He waited on the Lord. And what it does is it transforms your mind. It gets rid of all the junk food, let's say. Physical example. All the In-N-Out Burger. Oh, I struck a chord there. Let's see what's a bad one. It gets rid of all that spiritual junk food. And then it lets the Spirit of God begin to really just reset your mind. Reset your heart. Because now things are changing and they're actually finding that. You can Google a word. It's called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity. Where your mind actually can be transformed. When they finally caught up with God's Word. 2,000 years later. They see that studying the mind can actually, from PTSD, helping those with that, and depression, anxiety, it can actually transform and begin to heal the mind. But meditating on it is really what makes the difference. Because I can read it and my mind can be in so many different places. The Scripture I mentioned last Saturday is on this idea of meditating. Blessed is the man, of course you could put woman. Blessed is the man or woman who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, where they're getting their information. They don't stand in the path of sinners. They get out of the way. They don't sit in the seat of the scornful and gossip and slander and pull down people. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in that law he meditates. Once a year? He meditates day and night. He meditates on God's Word day and night. As a result, he will be like a tree planted by living waters who will bear its fruit in season. Hmm. And everything he does shall not wither. By meditating on the Word of God. And I just realize a lot of times how often should I read? How often should I read? How much do you read? We really miss it if we're not meditating. We're not letting it, what it does, it goes and really transforms my heart. And so that's what I want to do tonight is not just do a teaching, which is great, we need that, but what does it look like to meditate on God's Word? How can you begin applying this tomorrow morning? Or even tonight? Some people are night people. I'm a morning person. How many night people are here? You better get that hand way up. Abram, you too? Kind of? Alright, what is that again? Night people? Okay. So it's about half and half? Morning people? Alright. There we go. Morning people, okay. Some of you are both. Get up and do. But you know, you have a freshness in the evening where I don't after seven, I'm just, my mind just doesn't want to read anything other than maybe a simple biography or something, but even the Bible, even like talking to my kids after eight, or my wife, it's like, ah, I've been up since 3.30, 4. So 9 o'clock to me is like 1 o'clock to them. And so my mind just is, I'm a morning person. My dad really got me up early when I was 16, 17, and it really just kind of stuck. And I'm glad it did for me. That's when I get some work done. But you have to find, going off Dave McIntyre's book I've recommended before, The Hidden Life of Prayer. Get it if you haven't yet. The Hidden Life of Prayer. And he talks about finding a quiet hour, a quiet heart, and a quiet place. I mean, there's been times where I've went and sat in my truck out front of the house. Anyone have little kids at home? You ever find yourself going, so I tell Morgan, just take a drive, I'll watch the kids, or that quiet place or something. And even it's addictive, but I'm learning, you know, I don't have to look at this first thing in the morning. Me and Abram have a deal now. We're not gonna text till after eight. You know, we're not gonna look at what's going on. And this morning I waited till he got to me. It was like 11 o'clock. That was pretty nice. But that quiet hour, that quiet place, and the quiet heart. And for us type A personalities who've got things to get done, you're gonna have to really bring that into submission. Because I sit there, I get up, if I'm not careful, I can get up six or seven times. Oh, that's right, I gotta do this. I gotta write this. And you start thinking of things you have to do in the day. I forgot about the email. And it really takes away from that time. So I found, and we don't want to press people on, oh, you have to do an hour. But, you know, in these times, five minute devotionals, I have a five minute devotional. I read it sometimes. It's good, but we're gonna need to saturate our mind in the word of God. A quiet place. So make that commitment. Find a quiet place, a quiet hour, and a quiet heart. And it was hard for me. Some of you guys can relate, where you get up early, and I was in construction for three years when I came back to the Lord. And I had to just get up and get ready for work. But there are ways that you can, you know, if you're hungry for more of God, there are ways you can ask God to show you. What about listening as you're driving to the Bible? On audio. There was one time, I was, do you ever see those guys that hold a sign? Stop, go. And they were running heavy equipment, and I said, I don't want to run the heavy equipment today, I'll just do the stop sign. After eight hours of that, you feel like you're going to go insane. Because you're standing in one spot for eight hours, you're going to just run to the bathroom. But I made hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Scriptures on index cards. So I could tell nobody's coming for a mile. I just memorized Scriptures all day long. They paid me $40 an hour, prevailing wage, to hold a sign. For a month and a half. And got all those internalized. Also, many of you know I've got a backhoe when I was, about 20 years ago, an enclosed cab, and I listened to 3,000 hours. Chuck Smith, John McArthur, Alistair Begg, and theology, and church history, and just saturating my mind in the Word of God. Some of you guys, if you're working, can you wear earbuds, and listen to sermons, listen to the Word. And so there are ways, some of you can't, you're at work, you're in a cubicle, you know, you have to use that time wisely as well. But there are, if we want it bad enough, if we want it bad enough, we will find a way. Just like church, if people want to get to church bad enough, they'll find a way. You know, I just heard a couple times this week, I shared with you that, you know, I don't know if I can make it, gas prices. Well, you go to Starbucks every day, average cost is $8, times 30, that's $240, I just found you, $240. But see, it's the desire, it's the passion. So begin with that, a quiet heart. Do not look at the news first. It's not going to be anything good. I've even found not to look at email or texting first, because not everything's positive. And you start getting in a bad mood, and things start to unwind, and so a quiet hour, a quiet heart, and a quiet place. So what we do with meditation, we have Psalm 16 up there already, you can see it. So what I do, is I'm not in a hurry. And that's sometimes hard for me, because I made a commitment to the Lord, I like to keep it, where I try to get through the Bible every year. I made that commitment 20 years ago, and I'm about through the Old Testament 20 times, New Testament about 35 times, because I do that more. And so I've caught myself though, just reading to read. I did it. I got my quota for the day. And so now I'm not as focused on getting through it, and actually I'm getting through it a little bit quicker. I make notes, this time last year where I was, and I actually journal in my Bibles, I'm praying for my kids, prayer requests, major things that happen, I found on there when Abram first moved out here, I put that on there, I found it when Brant, our worship leader, started helping us in October 2015. And it's kind of like a journal, as I go through. But I stop and just concentrate on what God is saying. Not reading it as a book, but looking at our own lives. Keep me safe. Oh God, for I have come to you as my refuge. And I might just stop there and say, Lord, I'm worried right now. I've got kids, like many of you, and Lord, I'm getting, I don't know what the world's coming to. I don't want to leave them this. And look at, and you're my refuge, you're my strength. And you begin to strengthen yourself in the Lord. You begin to encourage, a refuge, that's who I need to run to. I need to get my mind focused on you. Oh God, would you change my heart. And I begin praying for our kids, I begin praying for the ministry next door in the church, and I'm still in the first sentence. But you see how that works? Meditating, and let it dig deep into your heart. And then when I'm done, and actually what I did, I used the, I don't think we have it up there, but this is the New Living Translation. So before you gasp, it's okay. It's okay to read Bibles that are commentaries. I would read this out of a study Bible. I read it out of the New King James Study Bible. But then if I want some extra context, like we go to Spurgeon, why can't we go to a different commentary on the Bible? So I read like the New Living Translation after I've used a study Bible, and also an amplified Bible that really amplifies everything. And then now I just sit and say, Lord, what do you want to say to me? I said to the Lord, and this is David saying, it's also us saying, Lord, you are my master. Is there anything in my life that I have not submitted and surrendered to you? Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. A few things go off. Worry, fear, finances. Anybody get their gas bill this month? And we start to worry, and Lord, You are my master. I want to put everything underneath You, Lord, even the direction of this church, the direction of the ministry, the direction of my family. Every good thing that I have comes from You. And that gets me into a spot of thankfulness. God, do you ever forget about the good things? I mean, I just start going through my mind. Running water. And you can choose hot and cold. A refrigerator. You can keep things in. And a roof over our heads. And there's so much to be thankful for. Because you can't, fear can't come into your heart that is overcome with thankfulness. Where you have a lot of thankfulness and joy, it's hard for fear to get in there. That's why if you know people, and maybe yourself have dealt with this, I have, when you become fearful, you're not joyful. Your spouse doesn't want to be around you. You don't want to be around you. Because it's toxic. It's toxic emotions that come out in us. And so I just begin to praise God, Lord, thank You for the health of the kids here at this church, and our kids, and safety. Lord, You've given us an incredible facility and the godly people in the land are my true heroes. I love that translation here. The godly people. And thanking the Lord for the friendships. Are there any friendships I need to fix? Has anyone ever damaged a relationship? And you know, it's damaged. And it's hard to fix that. And so that's what I mean by, see, we're still in the first verse. Second verse. That's what meditating is. It's getting your heart right. You chew on it like spiritual food. So you get the nourishment from it. And then I might make a note to fix that relationship. Or just reach out. Hey, I'm going to talk to you in a few weeks. Just want to make sure everything's okay. And I appreciate everything You've done. And Lord, thank You for the godly people. We need more of them. I take pleasure in those people. I thank You, Lord, for them. Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak of the names of their gods. And that would get me back in the spot. Lord, is there any false idols I'm following after? Is anything becoming idolatry where I put that in front of God? That can become sports and career, hobbies. There are so many things that we put... How many people miss church because of kids' sports? I mean, it's an epidemic. I remember going through Santa Clarita on a Sunday. The churches were not that full, but the parks were. Baseball, soccer, this, this, this, this, this. And many of my pastor friends I talk to, they say, yeah, a lot of people don't come very often because of this is first. Now, with kids in sports, I know how hard it is. It's difficult. But again, what's your priority? Even like tonight, we told that Shane's baseball coach that on Wednesdays we're going to have to get them early and not miss church. And they're, okay, we understand that. And so where there's a will, there's a way kind of thing. You can make that decision. And just reminding myself, Lord, I don't want to follow after false gods. If there's anything in my heart, Lord, anything in my life, begin to show me. Begin to show me. This can happen too. When I first came back to the Lord, I was really a lot more so because I didn't have kids. I was single. I was a lot more into health and fitness. And so if I didn't get my two workouts in, I didn't get this, measure, everything perfect, that became idolatry before God. And so all these things can slip into our hearts. Ask God to do a cleansing of our hearts. Lord, I don't want to be led astray. Verse 5, Lord, You alone are my inheritance. In other words, I'm just counting on You. I don't know if there's going to be any retirement, social security, all this news, cryptocurrency in the stock market and house prices. Lord, You are my inheritance. Praise God for that. I don't know about you, but I just love that part in the Bible where God is dividing the land. And He told the Levites, you don't get anything. You want to know why? Because I'm your inheritance. Can you imagine? I'd say, Lord, I'll just live wherever. Give me a city of refuge. If You're my inheritance, You've got my back. And see how that gets your heart right? I would have been through three chapters and on to the next project if you don't stop and meditate on God's Word. Lord, You are my inheritance, the cup of my blessing. You guard all that is mine. You are my guard. The land You have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance. See, that's what will get you back on being thankful for where you live. I know it's difficult, but everyone wants to get out of the AV. But what about where does God put you? Where does God want us to be? Being thankful. Just go fly to Iraq and live there for a few days. Africa. I mean, just about any place else on the planet. There are very few places that are really blessed of God. And even hearing Phil Scott on Sunday, he did a great job, didn't he? That was a good message. I've got built up myself too, but the weather's always like, what, 30 to 62? Like even in the summer? Like, I don't want to go to Ireland. I go to visit, but I don't want to live in 30 to 62 for 12 months out of the year. Raining all the time and the clouds and 30 to 62. Never a hot day. And so we have to get our heart right. And Lord, thank You for this land You've given me. What a wonderful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who guides me. And that's just a reminder that God is going to guide me. And then on that point, I remember I would immediately go to Proverbs probably where it says, do not lean on your own understanding, but in all Thy ways acknowledge the Lord and He shall guide you. So it's an exchange there. I will bless the Lord who guides me. Even at night, my heart instructs me. The night season, the difficult season. That's often what they mean by the night season or at night, the darkness and the valley of shadow of death. And even in those difficult times, my heart will instruct me because the Lord is guiding me. I know the Lord is always with me. Who needs a reminder of that? I need to read that over many times. Lord, I know You are always with me. Even though I might see who's going to go on the Supreme Court, that person shouldn't even be a judge. I mean, I just get worked up on this kind of stuff. So Lord, help me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for He is right beside me. Who is going to come against you when God Almighty is on your side? Who is going to shake you? Who is going to come against you when God is on your side? No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. And that might happen to you as you're meditating on this. See, what happens is you're literally transforming your mind so you started to read maybe anxious, irritable, angry, upset, fearful, and now as you're pondering on God's Word and you're meditating, you're transforming your mind and now a gladness comes up. A gladness comes up. For example, how many people really didn't want to come tonight? Let's see. Jason, at least you're honest. Another one. Come on, let's be a little more. Let's try this again. Okay, see, now it's going a little bit more. There we go. We should just keep trying. No, how can you get your hand up? But sometimes it's difficult. I was really hoping Pastor Abram was preaching tonight because I had a hard day and you know when things aren't going, blessed brother, how are you doing? I'm not doing good. It's a hard day. Come put on a fake smile. But you get into fellowship and discipline the body, and then after five songs of those five songs, the gladness, the joy, now I'm glad I came. And the enemy, of course, fiery darts and things like that. And so I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. Did you know you can find rest for your soul? As you begin to meditate on God's Word, you rest in that? For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor will you allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. Now, I don't know how many of you caught that, but this is a very popular verse. Actually, they quote it in Acts 2. Peter quotes it. I believe it's Peter in Acts 2 when he talks about you crucified Jesus. And then he unpacks the Psalms and he brings up this verse. And then Paul, also Acts 13, quotes this again when he's, I believe, in the synagogue preaching to the Jews. He brings up this verse because it's a prophetic verse. He did not let Jesus' body rot in the grave. You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. And it's pointing back to the Scriptures. Look, the Scripture came to pass. The prophetic accuracy of the Scripture is amazing. And so this is a very, very well-known verse, especially in the New Testament, the early church. You will not leave my soul among the dead. In other words, David's talking about himself. They would have Sheol. They would have Gehenna and Hades. Maybe I'll speak on those at some point about hell and different things. But there was a resting place. There was a temporary holding place. And he's saying, you're not going to leave me there. You're not going to leave me there. And you're not going to allow your Holy One to see corruption. His body's not going to decay. And as David's writing, I'm sure under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Paul and Peter would come and grab this in the New Testament church. Verse 11. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence. You will show me the way of the life. God, grant me the joy of Your presence. I wish I could preach my heart out tonight and tell you how important it is to experience God's presence. God's presence. It's not something that is aloof or unattainable or something only pastors know about. The presence of God is available for all believers. But that holy presence of God comes upon an empty, broken vessel. When they get rid of pride, when they get rid of unforgiveness and bitterness and a critical spirit, all of that's in me. See, that's why it's hard in our day and age to divide evil and good all the way because that line runs right down the middle of all of our hearts. All of that is in us. And the joy of God's presence, I think that's the greatest need in the church today. I've shared that before. It's for people to be surrendered and filled with the Spirit of God. And that means giving God everything. Lord, I give You my marriage. Maybe it's broken. Maybe it's shattered. Maybe there is no love, no passion. Lord, I give You that. How many of us try to save in financial areas? God taught me more than that many years ago. Thank God. Thank God. Because we think God can't get us through this, and so I've got to hold on to everything. And so once we begin to give God even our pocketbook. We're not a church that asks for money. You know that. We don't pass a plate. We don't make it a big deal. If people want to do it. I mean, every week, somebody's like, where do I get this? I don't know. I'm new. You don't even ask for money. Right, because God provides. However, we both believe we'd be doing you a major, major disservice if we never taught about or talked about how money can really have a hold on our heart and how giving back to God, whether it's a pregnancy resource center, grace resources. You should give at the church. Of course, you attend. How that actually releases you. See, we don't need another person to give. It won't even skip a beat. We won't even know. It won't even matter to us. Not even like a speck of dust. If one person decides to, but it will matter to them and God. And really holding on to that. And so I've seen a lot of people, how are they going to have the full presence of God if they're guarding their finances and not going to trust God with it? See, God's presence, when He comes upon us, we give up all of us. A.W. Tozer said, if He's not Lord of all, He's not Lord at all. Some people didn't like that phrase. And I understand. I mean, it depends how you look at it. But the point was, He's got to be, you can't just have Him Lord on Sunday, but not on Monday. Lord, whatever you want, Lord. But I'm not going to give you this area of my life. My finances or my business. You handle your business. Or my marriage. Or my career, Lord. I can't give this up. I love this career. These are my things. And God, you take care of these other things. So making Jesus Lord of all involves all of that. And then what happens? The joy of your presence and the pleasure of living with you forever. And you begin to meditate. And I don't know about you, but I have to remind myself, that's right. My life is like just a blink of an eye compared to eternity. It's just a little blip on the screen. But my joy comes from your presence and from being with you forever. Reminding ourselves of the eternal reward. And some of my friends know pastors and Christians still in Ukraine. And can you imagine? You don't know. I mean, there's nowhere to go. You could be bombed wherever you're at. There's no rhyme or reason to what Rush is doing necessarily. But they're finding their strength in knowing they're going to be with the Lord forever. And reminding themselves. I mean, I saw where they brought some kids over with cancer to one of the states here in the United States to help those kids. And I saw a shelter that the kids haven't been out in weeks and these little babies calling around and it's dirty kind of. And how those Christians are getting through that. They're reminding that joy cometh in the morning. This temporary affliction. That's what Paul said. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not struck down. That's one of the verses I learned holding a sign. Pretty much every one I pop off came from that moment. Holding a sign. You can remember this. By that park in Palmdale, I think behind the auto mall on the other side of the freeway, I think it's 6th Street or something. There's a park right there. For a half mile, I just stood there for a month and a half. I don't know. There's a rabbit trail for you. But that's how they're getting through. A lot of the Christians in Ukraine. Because it's true hell. Out of power. Out of water. It's hard to get financial aid. Banks aren't really open. Their whole trust right now is, God, I trust in You. And I know we'll be with You forever. And then I would keep reading, obviously, in Psalm 17. And what that turns into is a prayer of David. This is the man, David. You can hear. You can read David's prayer. I mean, that just really struck me. You can go back 3,000 years and hear the heart of David. Hear the prayer of David. Oh Lord, hear my plea for justice. Anybody feel like saying that? You're not alone. Oh Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips. And some people might think, why are you telling God to listen to your cry? Why are you telling God to pay attention to your prayer? But aren't those normal feelings? God likes us to deal with our feelings the normal, the right way. Thomas, doubting Thomas. Touch here, Jesus said. Lord, I'm fearful. Listen to my cry. Lord, how long are we going to cry out for revival? How long are we going to keep having services and pay attention, God, to our prayers and coming from honest lips is not a statement of pride. He's saying, Lord, I've got my heart right here. I'm not trying to get ulterior, no ulterior motives are governing my prayer life. God, hear my prayers. Declare me innocent, for you see, you see those who do right. You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. Interesting, again, to the night. Maybe the difficulties or the night season or the darkness, sin, often would take place in darkness. The seductress and proverbs would come out at night. And so the darkness, and Nicodemus went to Jesus at night, and you see there's a lot of imagery there on the night season. And he said, you've even tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night season. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say. So basically he's reminding himself, Lord, my heart has been pure before you. My motives are right. I'm not perfect. But Lord, I truly want you to bring justice. I truly need to hear from you. God, I'm seeking you with all of my heart. And David, there's a plea there. I'm pretty sure he wasn't too quiet. Do you think he was quiet here? I think he was a little passionate. Anytime you tell the Lord, listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer. You know it's got to have a little volume in it. Listen. Listen, Lord. Pay attention. My steps have stayed on your path. I have not wavered from following you. And as I'm meditating that, I would check my own heart. Lord, am I on the right path? Is there anything in my heart that is causing me to drift? Is there any relationship that is causing me to drift? Is there anything in my life, and I told the men last night, Delilah doesn't have to be some temptation, let's say, a woman for men. Delilah can be a Seagram 7. Or MJ. Marijuana. Can you still say that? Okay, okay. It can be whatever the enemy's going to use to pull you away. Lord, am I on the right path? And if I'm not... See, that's a wonderful thing about meditation. You can't meditate on God's Word without repenting. If there's something... Are you going to play games with God? Because the whole point of meditation is not playing games with God. You're meditating. You're getting your heart right. So those who don't want to meditate or spend a lot of time in God's Word, often are not on the right path. They're drifting. Because as I drift away from God, the farther... Again, I don't want to have anything to do with meditating and reading. Sure, I might listen to a Christian radio station now and then. Or I might say a quick prayer on my way to work. But my heart is not drawn to God. Lord, I'm praying to You because I know You will answer. Verse 6. I'm praying to You because I know You will answer. Oh God. Oh God, bend down and listen as I pray. In other words, God, come down. Come down. Like our whole theme verse for rend the heavens in Isaiah. Oh God, would You rend the heavens and come down and visit Your people that the mountains might shake at Your presence. Did you hear that sonic boom today? That's nothing when God decides to come down and begins to just visit His people and begins to shake the landscape. And God, would You rend the heavens and we can pray like David. Lord, bend down and listen as I pray. Hear the cry of my prayer to You. And see, what He's doing here is He's dealing with His emotions. This is how you deal with your emotions. From PTSD to depression to anxiety to fear to anger at God to jealousy to controlling attitudes. Anybody have controlling attitudes? You have to control everything. You have to be involved in everything. You're controlling this aspect of your life. All of those emotions can be dealt with as you meditate. You bring them under submission to God's Word. Unless you don't believe the Scripture, but I do, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed, Romans 12, transformed by the renewing of your mind. And it takes a while. I just planted some seeds for some squash. And my little daughter's like, it's only been a week. When's it coming up? Sometimes we act like that, don't we? It's in the daily watering. The nurturing. The removing the weeds that are coming up and grabbing and trying to get the nutrition from that seed. It's daily work in the garden of our hearts. And that's what meditating does. Whether you're a morning person or a night person. I would encourage to find some time of course in the morning, even if you're a night person, because that's how you start your day off with that. You get the foundation built first. And then you go into the day. And then at night, you can really bring that back and bring your thoughts into captivity again. Verse 7, Show me, God, Your unfailing love in wonderful ways. Isn't that a good prayer? Lord, I need to hear from You today. Would You show me Your unfailing love? By Your mighty power, You rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies. And just again a reminder of seeking refuge in God. Guard me. Guard me as You would guard Your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings. The Bible often uses that illustration of like a mother hen draping her feathers over her little do you call them chicklets? Little chickens? Little baby chickens? You know what I'm talking about. They're cute when they're little. Yellow and, you know, you see them at Easter time sometimes. No, it's not Easter, I know, but they're cute. And so God's going to guide you and see what it does for me. It just reminds me that's right. God is my shelter. He's my cover. He's my refuge. And you begin to think of all the things in the Bible. The strong tower. He is my rock. He is my fortress. He is my shield. He is my buckler. He is my safety. He is my soon coming king. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is all these things. And you build yourself up in the Lord. Don't worry, it's not coffee. Oh, verse 9. Protect me from the wicked people who attack me. Can anybody relate? If you're a Christian, you can relate. Lord, at this church, we have to pray that a lot. Protect us. Because the people following it on social media, or YouTube, Facebook, all the different things, are not all friends. There's a lot of wickedness. A lot of enemies. I know they would love nothing more than to take this church out. To take it down. Because of what we're doing for God. And so we pray that. Protect me, Lord, from the wicked people. They're murderous in their hearts. I feel surrounded. They are without pity. Lord, just listen to their boasting. Verse 11. They track me down and surround me. And you can imagine, this could have been when David was obviously running from his enemies. And he needed the Lord's protection. Watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. Lord, the enemies are watching. They're watching for you to mess up. And that helped me. It reminded me, Lord, is there any area that I'm going to mess up? Because I don't want to mess up. And Lord, I'm meditating on this area. They're like hungry lions eager to tear me apart. Like young lions hiding in ambush. Arise, O Lord, stand against them and bring them to their knees. Rescue me from the wicked with Your sword. And see, what David's doing is what a lot of people don't do. Is he's being specific in his prayers. Did you know it's okay to be specific in your prayer? Specific. I've named names. I'm not going to say exactly what I said, but Lord, deal with this issue. Lord, deal with this issue. We've had so many different groups bugging us here at the church and atheist groups or other ungodly groups. It's just, Lord, please take care of this. Slander, backbiting, all these things. Arise, Lord, stand against them, bring them to their knees. Rescue me from the wicked with Your sword. By the power of Your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward, but satisfy the hunger of Your treasured ones. See, he's contrasting here in verse 14. By the power of Your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to the world for their rewards. Those who basically are against Christians or against me, but Lord, satisfy the hunger of Your treasured ones. This isn't necessarily physical hunger. Anybody ever come in hungry for more of God? Most of you do. That's why you're here. Most of you aren't here to play church. I guarantee you that. Most of you aren't here to check church off on your calendar. Many of you are hungry for God. Lord, I need to hear from You. I need a touch of Your Holy Spirit. I need wisdom. I need discernment. I need this marriage restored. I need this prodigal son to come home. Lord, I need this fear to be dealt with and this anxiety. God, I came. I'm hungry to meet You. Don't let me leave here unsatisfied. And out of the abundance of my heart, I'll begin to praise Him. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled. Always remember that. If there's a hunger, if there's a seeking, God says when you seek Me, you will find Me. But sometimes it takes a little work. We got used to microwaves and remote controls. I was just thinking today, when I was a little, well, not a little, 12 years old, my mom had a chore chart. And we would, I'd have to go out every day, you know, the long thing to get to the pool. 40 minutes, get all that. And now, they have something called a creepy. Or whatever you call it. I don't know what you call it. You just hook it to your pump and it's on all day, just going around the bottom. Just clean it up. Microwave, done. Preheat this. And we're so used to now, now, now. Fast food. Convenience store. And if we're not careful, we begin to apply that to spiritual things. I think it has a lot to do with when we think, why isn't God moving quick enough? Anybody relate? There's things I've been praying for for about 20 years. Or 15 years or so. Lord, what's going on here? Do you want me to stop praying? How many of you have been praying for family members? For years. But we have to remember, God rewards the faithfulness. He looks at our heart to keep tilling that soil. And I'll tell you, pastoring, seeing the fruit of prayers many years later, it's often not right away. It's often not right away. Because we want the vegetable plant to bear squash tomorrow. But it's in that waiting time that we're really built up and strengthened. And I've noticed too, if you're praying for something, sometimes God has to get you ready for the gift. Or sometimes God has to get you ready for the blessing. How many people are praying, Lord, if you just open up huge financial doors, but you're not ready to manage those finances? Lord, bring me a spouse. You'll destroy the marriage. That's not a funny point. If I could just have this now, this job. No, you'll put that as an idol. Lord, just get me out of this dilemma. Lord, this financial difficulty. Well, you have to learn to trust me and give back to me first. And see, sometimes we're stuck in neutral until we begin to obey God on certain areas. I love how he said this. Lord, you stand against them in verse 13. You stand against them. It's like I love how my kids will stand behind you. They'll get behind you if a dog's coming at us or something. The kids will get behind me. It's like that picture. Hey, you go get them, God. And we're standing behind God. And see, after you saturate your mind in this instead of Fox News, you want to get really depressed, CNN. Yep, that one's funny. You can clap for that one. But no matter what, Newsweek or Epoch Times or The Blaze or whatever, Huffington Post. Man, I mean, it's like the world is falling apart and Christians are the problem. And so you start to allow all that to... No wonder we're so tense and stressed out. Because we're not taking time. Can you imagine how an hour of this a day? That would really offset the fear that the world is bringing into our hearts. By the power of Your hand, verse 14, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for the reward, but satisfy the hunger of Your treasured ones. Lord, satisfy my hunger. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants. See, it's okay. I'm actually talking about this Sunday. This whole thing about prosperity. You know, the prosperity gospel is not good and focus on prosperity is not good. But God also takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people. And so it's okay to pray, Lord, watch over my children. Lord, give us... I don't want... In Proverbs, you pray, do not give me too much or too little. If you give me too much, I will get haughty and forget you. If I have too little, I will steal and profane your name. That was another scripture I learned holding a stop sign. And so that's... Now you know the secret. Meditate. But that's the idea. Lord, bless my children. I don't want them to have too much and get haughty. And I don't want them to... Because knowing real poverty, that's difficult. Those who have been there, you know. It can be a form of a curse. It can be because of our bad decisions. Or it could be where God has you right now. I know probably the most spiritual people I know are not well off. They're struggling financially. So I never say, well, you just don't have enough faith. Or God wants everybody to prosper. But what's your definition of prosperity? I'd rather have joy and not a full refrigerator or pantry. I'd rather have just the joy of the Lord. But Lord, bless our children. And this would be a time where I'd probably stop and I would pray over my children. Even by name, sometimes I'd go and I'd just pray over them. Lord, fill them with Your Spirit. The enemy has no grounds here, no bearing here. This is not the enemy's Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray You would just watch over this child. Fill them with Your Spirit. Some kids I'm praying, Lord, would You get them on this altar at the next rent in the heavens? Would You rent their hearts and fill them with Your Spirit? God, watch over them and safety and protection. And if certain events are coming up or if they're traveling or this, and I'll pray over that. This is an opportunity. Maybe 20 minutes here praying for your family. As you're meditating. See, that's why it's not just reading through to get through. Which I might do that with the study Bible and then I'll go back sometimes and reflect and really take in. Verse 15. Some people, you might think David's getting self-righteous here, but I don't necessarily see that. But because I am righteous, I will see you. He's just reminding himself. Because I have faith, because I know God. What we would say is because I have right standing with you because of Jesus Christ, I will see you someday. And he's rebuilding his heart. He's restrengthening his heart. When I wake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied. See, sometimes death, they would just say falling asleep. They sleep. Jesus with Lazarus and when Paul's describing to the church, I think it's in Thessalonica, that they sleep and they will sleep. And so he's saying here, which is really death, when I awake from my death or from my sleep, I will see you face to face and I will be satisfied. He's basically remembering his relationship that he has. That's a great point to end your meditation as well. Remembering that relationship. That's right. I'm a child of God. I am a child of God. And I take great satisfaction in that, Lord, because you saved me. And then I brought some. I might just read them real quick. What I would do is cross-reference sometimes and just pull up some of these other Psalms and just as a final reminder, Psalm 46, God is my refuge and my strength. He is a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore, I will not fear. Psalm 9, He does not forget the cry of the humble. Psalm 23, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. See, after I get out of an hour of this, I feel like I'm 10 foot tall and bulletproof because the Holy Spirit now has registered. See, that's a different spirit. That whole 10 foot tall and bulletproof is because they have alcohol in them. But you can have a different spirit in you and feel the boldness of the Holy Spirit. Now I can go out boldly and come against the Supreme Court justices, those who are mocking God, or the school districts, and saying these things in love and making a difference in our community and going out in the power of the Holy Spirit because you've just been anchored in God's Word. You've reminded yourself who God is. And if God before you, who can stand against you? Psalm 9 again, And those who know your name, those who know your name will put their trust in you. For you, Lord, you have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 30, Oh Lord, my God, I cry out to you and you have healed me. Psalm 34, I sought the Lord and he heard my cry and he delivered me from all of my fears. Psalm 6, Have mercy on me, oh God, I am weak. Heal me for my bones have been troubled. Psalm 121, I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. He will not sleep. He will not slumber. He holds the very destiny of your soul in his hands. And you encourage yourself in the Lord. So, that's meditating on God's Word. It's a little different tonight. The secret to spiritual success. Because I know a lot of people that read the Word, but they're very hard. They're very critical. Why? Because knowledge puffs up. They're not meditating on theology and letting it change their heart. They're getting puffed up on the theology so they can tell people off. Or show how right they are, how smart they are. I can tell you off. I can reprimand and tell off my kids. I can walk around as Judgmental Jerry because I have theology. I just read 14 chapters today. I read an hour every day. More than the pastor. But they don't meditate on it. Because when you chew it up, that's where the spiritual health comes from. We've got to get to the point, and I just really felt strongly the last two weeks to encourage you to meditate. Don't just read. Don't just read. Because people can... How do you see... They're in the news this week even. These mega church pastors. I mean, I can name some. Just falling, falling, falling, falling. Somebody falling, falling, falling. What's going on here? Because you can read the Word, know the Word, teach the Word, but not meditate upon it and let it change your heart. That's where heart surgery takes place. On the meditation of the Word. It just really hit me a couple weeks ago because I was talking to a few guys who were going through challenges, and I said, man, pastor, I don't know what to do. I read the Word. It just clicked. But it's the Word reading you. They're reading the Word to tell their wife off. See, look what this says. Look at this. Woman, submit to me. Here's the problem right here. Here's the problem right here. You're not submitting to me. Nobody should ever say that. That's pride and not very much self-confidence and not a lot of self-esteem. And we have to force these things. So anyway, I just want to encourage you. That's what meditation looks like. Find a quiet heart, a quiet hour, a quiet place. And then just do not be in a hurry. For some of you, you might need to not drink as much caffeine. Some of you, if you can, great. Praise God. Some of you might need to get up early before the kids. I just leave my phone off. I don't go sit on a computer. I have already written my Bibles next to me with maybe some water, some AirPods with worship, some of the worship songs from here, maybe a commentary, a daily devotional, and just sit. Lord, speak to me. And not in a hurry to get through like I used to. And I still can sometimes. It's good to have that motivation and want to get through every year. But if you begin to make it more of just a habit and got to do this and not really letting God's word change you, you can really get focused in the wrong direction.