It’s hard to find moments of quiet in a world that is so loud. But when we tune out the blaring televisions and beeping phones and every other diverting noise, we find a refuge in God. He is always there, waiting for us with the comfort of a listening ear, the wisest of words, and the most loving of hearts.
when you think about what is most
important in your life i would ask you
this
can you spend it
do you have to save it
can you wear it can you drive it
can you go there what’s the most
important thing in your life
well i want to answer that question the
most
important aspect of your life is your
personal relationship to jesus christ
that’s most important of all nothing as
important as that
because your relationship to him will
determine everything else in your life
and when we talk about that the whole
issue is
how much time do we spend with women we
call that meditating
upon the lord meditating upon the word
of god which means
shutting everything else out thinking
about what he’s saying to us
listening carefully and then deciding
whether to be obedient to him or not and
meditation is what that’s all about
and in this particular passage i’m just
going to read a couple of verses because
we
have talked about it before in second
samuel
the seventh chapter eighteenth verse the
scripture says
then david haven’t listened to nathan
the prophet
then david the king went in
sat down before the lord and he said who
am i o lord god
and what is my house that you have
brought me thus far
and yet this was insignificant in your
eyes oh lord god
for you have spoken also of the house of
your servant
concerning the distant future and this
is the custom of man
oh lord god here is
david sitting before the lord and
listening
thinking about what god is saying to him
and the prophet has spoken to him
and now he has to sort of digest all
that he’s heard
so what i want to talk about is the time
you spend
with almighty god we call it meditation
and if you’ll think about it spending
time with the lord
is the most important time you spend any
given day
watch this you
are talking to god who created
everything that is who has all power
he’s to be found everywhere he loves you
unconditionally whether you love him or
not he’s this awesome
indescribable all sufficient eternal
heavenly father
and his desire is that you and i
fellowship with him
that we spend time with him and when we
think about the idea of meditation we
think in terms of
shutting everything else out and
thinking
only of him and allowing him to work in
our life
it’s the most important activity in any
person’s daily life
because the person to whom you are
spending time
with and giving attention to has
absolute control of your life he’s the
source of everything you have everything
you will have and he’s the source of
your eternity
there’s nothing you and i do in a given
day equal to
or more important than the time we spend
with the lord
and we call that meditation spending
time alone with god and in this day and
time that’s not easy
because the television blares radio
blares
music you name it it’s hard to be quiet
in a world that is so loud but god says
we’re to spend time with him
and the scripture says in this
particular passage
that david the king went in and sat
before the lord
and then he asked the question and he
and god began to speak
meditation is that time when you and i
get alone with him
asking him whatever we need to ask
telling him whatever we need to tell him
searching our hearts seeking his will
and his purpose and plan for our life
he’s committed
god holy god is committed to answering
all those questions
if we’re willing to position ourselves
to listen to him
which means if i come to him i need to
ask my sins be forgiven
through the blood of jesus and yield
myself to him
and come with a receptive mind not with
a heart or mind
that decides whether i will receive this
or not
but whatever god says i am
positioned to do to listen to and to
obey
whatever that is most important activity
in my life
your life is our time a fellowship with
him
listening to him and deciding in our
hearts will we obey him or not
and somebody says well when do we do all
that
that’s the priority that is demanded of
us
if we’re going to be real true followers
of jesus
private personal meditation so when i
think about that and i think about
oftentimes we think in terms of
meditation of people sitting in some
place
with their arms a certain way or
whatever there might be no we’re talking
about you and god
in the privacy of your home or wherever
it may be
where you and he talk and you talk and
you be quiet
and you listen carefully and god is
willing to speak to you you say well
i’ve never heard god speak
probably because you’ve never listened
or you say
i’ve listened and i didn’t hear anything
probably because
you were in such a relationship with him
the first thing he’s going to say is
let’s deal with your sin first so
when we think about meditation it begins
with a clean heart
of confession of sin and being sure that
our heart is right
and that we we’re willing to hear what
he has to say if i begin
unwilling to hear him he’s not going to
say anything and he knows whether we’re
willing or not
so as you think about in your own mind
and heart
have i ever had time just
meditating upon the lord yes you have
but i don’t know how you spent the time
first of all it demands time a sp a
specific
period of time not how particularly long
it is
but some segment of time where you and
god
are alone you say but but i’m married
no all of us need private time with the
lord
and so when is the last time you
set aside 10 minutes 15 minutes
30 minutes so whatever it might be and
all you wanted to do
was hear from god you wanted to hear
what he has to say he says
ask and it shall be given you seeking is
your final which is part of a verse
in essence it means that he’s willing to
listen to whatever you have to say
whatever you have to ask for when is the
last time you gave
him time to hear you or that
last time you came to him for something
specifically
when is the last time you came to him
when you weren’t asking for anything
you just wanted to be in his presence
you wanted to sense his presence
be aware as much as with a husband and a
wife being aware of one another
that’s what this is all about
and when the bible speaks of it
oftentimes we think in terms of old
testament characters
all the way back from adam to abraham
and isaac the jacob to moses and joshua
and david and daniel and so forth some
of them
imprisoned because of their relationship
to the father
today you and i have the privilege of
fellowshipping with god
whenever we choose it’s the most
important
activity in your life any time of any
day
anywhere no matter what the most
important
how do i know that first of all jesus
got up early in the mornings and
hid himself from his disciples so that
he could spend time talking to his
heavenly father
why did god the son get up early to talk
to the father
because he understood fully
what meditation was all about listening
carefully his ears open to hear all that
the father would say
to him and
that kind of meditation is the same kind
of meditation he wants for all of us
all of us who are his children and
that’s what he desires for
us a relationship a fellowship
in which we shut out everything else and
spend time with him
you can’t have meditation with the lord
when the tv
blessing or the radio or in the middle
of something else
you can’t do that in something you do
that or something
and so ask yourself the question and
let’s just be honest it’s not think not
of a sermon but of a relationship now
when is the last time you set aside time
and just said lord
i just want to spend time with you i
don’t particularly have anything i want
to say to you
oh lord i have a lot of things i want to
say but
i just want to be you and me and i know
you’ll listen
and lord i i’m i’m listening because you
said if i ask it’ll be given to me and
i’m asking
for some answers i need some situations
in my life corrected
lord so i just want to thank and
let you speak to my heart quietly when
is the last time
you gave him time just to do that
probably because not that you were too
busy
probably because either you didn’t
expect him to show up
and listen or probably because you
didn’t expect him to show up
and say anything in return therefore you
would have wasted your time
but meditation is a precious
god-given opportunity to talk and listen
to your heavenly father
who is the sovereign god of this
universe
who is willing to listen to you and to
speak to you
and to answer your prayers and to give
you guidance and direction
and to take away your fears and supply
every one of your needs
that’s who he is and so
it requires time a segment of time
that you set aside if you’d listen if
you don’t set it aside
if you don’t choose it if you don’t put
it on the calendar have you keep your
schedule if you don’t let me tell you
who will
the devil will fill your time so that
there’s no time for god
he may fill it with somebody he may fill
it with television
radio or whatever it might be you say
well i have to go to work
we’re not talking about working days
that’s only eight hours a day
that’s 16 more so there is no excuse for
time
we have time to fellowship with him we
have time to love him
and express our love and devotion to him
we have time to listen carefully
and we have time to search the word read
the word
and be sure we’re hearing him somebody
says how do i know i’m hearing from god
here’s the way you’ll know
whatever you hear from him will be
no contradiction to the word of god
no contradiction he’s only going to say
to us what fits
what he’s already said and so
it takes time to listen to him secondly
it take listen not only takes time but
stillness
you can’t do this and something else
watch this
we’re talking about time that you value
so highly
that it has no competition in your life
we’re talking about almighty god and you
together privately just the two of you
you say well god hasn’t spoken to me you
probably haven’t been listening
meditation is hearing listening
on purpose with a sense of direction in
your life that you want to know
what he says he says be still and know
that i am god
cease striving he says so we can
concentrate
and that leads me to the third word and
that’s seclusion
he listen he wants us he wants us by
himself
if you are married you do not want your
wife
never to be alone with you or your
husband
or your children and so you set aside
time to be sure you have time with them
and so that’s precious time time that
you’ve
set aside just to do what to hear them
out
to receive their love and to express
your love to them and to hear their
needs just the two of you
fellowshipping with the lord
listening to him is the most precious
time in their life it’s the time when
god
says his most to us the clearest to us
the most powerful to us if we listen
but some people can’t
be alone very long and so when you talk
about getting along with god they don’t
know what that means
it means for exactly what it says jesus
got up early before dawn and went away
to be alone with the father
if jesus felt the need to be alone with
his father
do and should we not feel the same
sense of need to be alone with our
heavenly father
and think about this as a dad you know
when your children feel the need of you
they hug you they drive you around the
leg or
16 they sit down and listen to you
carefully because they want your
undivided attention
how many times has your child said to
you
oh dad you’re not listening mom you now
listen
they can tell when you’re listening god
can tell when you’re listening
and just as a godly parent knows how to
speak to his or her children
and the children know how to listen and
they know whether we’ve been
listening or not god knows for the real
listing or not
you can’t meditate upon the lord and and
listen or do something just
and do something else it’s time
he wants alone with you
to hit listen what is it what think
about this why does he don’t come alone
with you
he wants to hear your heart does he
already know your heart yes he does
he wants you to speak it you to say it
you to share it you to pour out your
heart
he wants you to feel like and know that
you’ve been listened to
and that he’s going to do something
about it whatever it might be
so it’s more than just listening
but listening and receiving
listen meditation is a priority it’s a
powerful priority
it’s you and god everything else is set
aside
the holy watch this the holy spirit who
is within you
will enable you to shut your mind out to
everything else
so that you can concentrate on him
and hear him listen to him because he
has something to say to you
that’s why we have to set aside time
where we have devoted ourselves to hear
what god has to say
and oftentimes the best way to do that
is to start with reading a passage of
scripture
if whatever how busy you’ve been they
get your mind
in the direction of the lord god and i
would say this
it’s in those times we fight
our greatest battles and i think think
about
battles that i fought spiritual battles
big time battles
battles that involved lots and lots and
lots of people
but to be able to get along with god
and at one time in my life i was a
president
of our denomination and
in the big this battles we had
over 50 000 people there voting
the most precious time of it all was
what
being alone with almighty god and
knowing in my heart god
the fifty thousand of them but that’s me
and bentendez you and me which makes all
the difference in the world
which takes away all fear all
apprehension
and you find yourself absolutely capable
of doing
whatever needs to be done when you spend
time with him
he infuses within your being
what you need courage strength
know-how what to do what not to do what
to say what not to say
where to go where not to go that is
meditation is not a one-way street it
goes two ways
we listen to him he listens to us
we speak to him he speaks to us
we have no other relationship in life to
equal
the awesome fantastic power
of that relationship we call it
meditation
because that’s what it is and he’s
willing
if we’re willing then of course there’s
silence
it takes time to be quiet
when is the last time you knelt before
the lord and said lord i just want to be
quiet
and i want to hear what you have to say
and sometimes you have to say that but i
just want to be quiet
a lot of things to listen to lord but i
want you to just shut it out of my mind
does it happen immediately no it depends
upon how busy we are
when you ask god to silence
your mind from speaking that you just
want the two of you
he will do an amazing thing
you will be able to shut everything else
out
and the reason he’s willing to help you
get rid of all of that
because that means he’s able to get to
you all that he has to say to you
silence is important many people cannot
be quiet
they cannot be quiet that’s why when
they walk in the house they turn on the
tv
or they turn on the radio or they start
talking or whatever it might be
does god ask you this question does god
ever have any time with you
where there’s no other sound
no talking just you and almighty god
you will be shocked
at how beautifully and clearly god is
willing to speak to you
if you’ll be quiet and just listen
just be quiet and listen some people
can’t be quiet
it’s something going on in a person’s
life that they have to have the radio
have to have music have to have people
have to have this have to have talking
talking talking talking talking
when holy god who has all power
to give you all the peace and the joy
and the happiness that you
desire in life if you listen to him and
you have to turn on something to do what
to feel it watch this what is it in you
that you’re trying to fill up
why do you have to have music or sound
of voices why why can’t you walk in and
sit down and lie down or whatever and
just listen to him lord
quieten my spirit will he answer that
prayer yes he will
quieten my spirit god so that whatever
you have to say to me
i can hear you i don’t want to miss
anything lord that you have to say
is god willing to speak to you yes he is
you say but i haven’t been a christian
very long it doesn’t make any difference
holy god is willing to listen to you
and speak to you and answer your prayers
and meet your needs if you
are willing to give him the time
and be quiet and just listen to him
because oftentimes people pray
and soon as they finish saying all they
want to say what do they do they get up
and walk off
i wonder how many times holy loving
gracious good
god has had something good he wanted to
say to you
and you didn’t hear it i wonder how many
times
we’ve missed god’s best in our life
because we’ve not given him the time to
tell us what he wanted to do
meditation is quietness
with a listening heart an obedient heart
a receptive heart god what do you want
to say
i’m listening and so being quiet
for example listen to this my soul
watch this my soul waits in silence
for god only from him is my salvation
he only is my rock and my salvation
my stronghold i shall not be shaken
he only think about
being quiet and then self-control
if you’re going to meditate upon the
lord
give him time with you that must be you
must be
self-control because listen surely if
you kneel to pray
the telephone will ring i guarantee you
or something will happen to get your
attention
watch this carefully to meditate upon
the lord jesus christ upon almighty god
the holy spirit you have to take control
of your environment
that may sound simple but it’s not
simple if you think about your household
or maybe you live alone you don’t have
any problem with that
self-control now though words if phone
rings
you don’t have to answer it if god
had a particular ring when he want to
get your attention
would you answer that well three of you
would
yes you would well
there are times when god wants our
attention he doesn’t want us talking to
anybody else
listening to anybody else he just wants
us all
to himself and that’s something we have
to control
we have to decide if he’s first and
foremost
we watch this we have to decide if we
think
if we think that god has something
important enough to say
that he wants us to listen to him and
him only
imagine the blessings we’ve missed
because we didn’t take time to listen
imagine the situations and circumstances
people have gotten themselves into they
didn’t intend to
because they didn’t listen to god
he’s more than happy more than willing
more than we could possibly imagine
but he needs time with us because
he wants us to be obedient to him for
our good
not that he’s good for our good he wants
a listening heart for our good
he wants a listening heart because he’s
planned the best for us
and i wonder how many times we’ve missed
the very thing in life we’ve wanted
if we had only listened to him and then
of course
there is submission to his will
whatever he says his desire is that we
commit ourselves to do it
maybe it’s to clear up some conflict you
have with somebody else
maybe it’s to share your testimony with
someone else
whatever god requires of you and most of
the time i believe
not always in your time with the lord
he’s going to have something for you to
do
it may be something for you to do just
between you and him
or it may be something you need to do
between you and somebody else
and one thing for certain if you’re
meditating from the word of god and your
fellowship with him is not right
because of jealousy and strife
he’s going to bring it up at some point
and so when you say well i don’t want to
think about that
that’s not that’s not what i’m yelled
for lord no
god wants to clean us up so we can hear
for
from him and hear from him very
personally
i’m simply saying this is the most
important thing
in your life borrowing none not second
first and watch this
it affects other people because whatever
god
does in your life it will bounce off
it will reflect onto somebody else and
they may say well you seem to have
an awesome sense of peace about what
you’re going through
yes i do and here’s the reason
all of us have a silent witness and all
of us have an audible witness
somebody’s listening somebody’s watching
how we live our life
not purposely but it’s just there
so jesus said it was so important to him
in order for him to do what the father
called him to do
he had to get up early in the morning
before the disciples
could find him with their list of things
he ought to do that’s sort of the way it
is for us
is it not somebody has a list for us
god has a list and on the top of it is
time
we spend alone with him listening
talking meditating just thinking through
all the things that are so very
necessary
then sensitivity
that is i have to be sensitive to what
god says
and that’s why the holy spirit who lives
within us will make us sensitive
that he’s the one who will bring it to
our mind
he’s the one who interprets what god is
saying to us
in our quiet time whether you spend 10
minutes or 20 minutes
or you spend an hour it’s the same holy
spirit
who indwells us and seals us as child of
god
who also interprets god’s word to us
as we’re listening and he doesn’t say
the same thing to everybody
think about how awesome god is of the
billions and billions of people in the
world holy god
can speak to every single individual
according to that individual’s need
is that absolutely beyond human
comprehension yes it is
but we’re not talking about human we’re
talking about god
and and being so capable and powerful to
be able to know
and to be able to do what is good in
every person’s life
think about your heavenly father loves
you enough
that he deals with you on a
person-to-person basis
god will never say to you i’m sorry
i’m busy i’ve got i’ve got so-and-so
here no
he’s a heavenly father who’s listening
in order to work in your life to meet
your needs to give you guidance and
direction and more than that
to conform you to his likeness think
about this he says
watch this carefully he predestined us
he predetermined he
set us his goal to conform us to his
likeness in character and our actions
and our attitudes
what we do how we look at things how we
see things
how we spend the time he’s predestined
us
and so if he’s going to accomplish his
purpose
he needs time and that thinking
in our feeling an awesome god who loves
us enough
they’re willing to spend time with us in
order to help us to become the persons
god wants us to be
so when you think about meditation
think about it in this light it’s my
time to have a conversation with god
think about this think about people who
don’t believe in god
how empty their life is no matter who
they’re married to and how much money
they have whether they go
what kind of popularity and what kind of
reputation they have it’s empty
this is why they get into all kind of
trouble all kind of marriages
all kind of sexual deals drunkenness and
drugs and all the
things there’s only one person who
satisfy your life
and that’s jesus when you’re meditating
upon him he keeps you on course
there are lots of people who like to
draw you off course but remember this
your anchor like putting your feet
in a big block of cement your anchor
is your relationship to god to keep you
walking straight
keep you listening to the truth keep you
doing his will and keep you making your
life fruitful
every day of your life if you’ve never
trusted jesus as your savior
won’t work
but you can by asking the lord jesus
christ to forgive you of your sin
surrender your life to him and the
moment you do
you are tuned in you’ll have to learn a
few things but you’re tuned in
he’s listening and your life will change
forever
amen father i pray that you will lock
this message into every mind and heart
that he
has heard it today that our personal
intimate relationship with you
is the most important thing in all of
life
seal this message wherever it’s heard
make it a life changer god it’s my
prayer
in jesus name amen