💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in Yahweh.
Points
- ❓: What does meditation mean?
- Continuous, close thinking.
- Biblical meditation teaches us to continually think of God, the Law, and the Word.
- This is in stark contrast to transcendental meditation from new age thinking.
- It is a sad thing that today most Christians do not know what biblical meditation is. Meditation is deeply Christian and is throughout the bible.
- Ps 119.15 I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.
- Fundamentally we should meditate on God Himself:
- Yes we can and should meditate on God’s good works, but first and foremost we should meditate on God Himself.
- We should meditate on God’s redemption. Creation is vast and magnificent, yet it is a mere fragment of redemption.
- Nothing is more vast, sufficient, satisfying, renewing, joyful, wondrous, valuable, precious than redemption and Christ the redeemer.
- From this text we learn that my meditation on Jesus Christ is pleasing to Him.
- Not merely meditating on doctrine about Christ, but meditating on Christ Himself.
- It is meditating on Him, that makes the sweetness.
- The more we know of Christ, the more we want to know of Him.
- We could never exhaust the riches of Christ.
- It does not matter who you are. If you are His, then meditating on Him will be sweet.
- ❓: What are some things we should meditate on in Christ?
- Meditate on His person. Who He is?
- Meditate on His humanity.
- He is your Brother, even though He is also ruler over all.
- He is your Husband, the bridegroom of the Church.
- He shares in all our afflictions.
- Meditate on His Godhood.
- Consider how much closer He has brought us to the Godhead.
- Where before, we were infinitely separated from God, we may now draw near to Him.
- If God had not taken His human nature, we could never be so near to Him as we are now.
- Consider how much closer He has brought us to the Godhead.
- Meditate on His humanity.
- Meditate on Christ’s life:
- Read of what He did in His ministry, accounted for in the four Gospels.
- Let us meditate much on Christ’s second advent
- Meditate on His person. Who He is?
- From this text we also learn that we should rejoin in the LORD:
- If you enjoy your wealth, health, happiness, then you will be disappointed indeed.
- All these things will fade away, betray you, be taken away. They will not last and you shall mourn.
- But if you enjoy Christ, Himself, then this you can confidently place your joy in, because it will never fade away nor disappoint.
- You can even rejoice in the temporary things, if you rejoice first and foremost in the eternal things.
- It is only when we rejoice in Him, that we can rejoice in the things of this Earth.
- Are you homeless? Meditate on Christ who lived homeless?
- Are you despised? Meditate on Christ who was betrayed and spat upon.
- Serving Christ has great joy, but also great sorrow.
- It is only when we rejoice in Him, that we can rejoice in the things of this Earth.
- You can even rejoice in the temporary things, if you rejoice first and foremost in the eternal things.
- We should meditate and ask ourselves “Do I love Christ”?
- This is the same question that Christ asked Peter.
- If you are weak and feeble, do not fear death. Think of Him.
- Jesus loves when you think of Him. He delights when you delight in Him.
- You might say “But I am a nobody. I am nothing to Him”
- You belong to Christ, and because you belong to Him, He accepts your meditations, because He accepts you.
- You might say “But I am a nobody. I am nothing to Him”
- If you enjoy your wealth, health, happiness, then you will be disappointed indeed.