The Meditations of my Heart

Transcript

what i hope to do is talk a little bit x about this idea of meditation x and i think it's particularly important x because we seem to be x experiencing an epidemic of mental x health issues uh it's an issue that i've x personally struggled with that sandy x struggled with i think that um these are x things that uh x impact if not ourselves people we know x and people we love and x in today's day and age i would say you x know and i'm just sort of speaking x personally x i think that we have x or at least i have more things competing x for my attention x than ever before x um x and you might find the same in your own x life um x we have we carry in our pockets a x telephone that gives us access to our x friends and our family but also gives us x access to x you know every computer in the world x and these things compete for our time x and they compete for our attention and x and it's a problem that's so large that x you know articles and books and x techniques have been written and x developed to help overcome x this modern problem and i do think it's x a it's probably a modern problem x right now for example the apple iphone x recently came out with an update x and in this update there are settings x that they describe as focus settings are x you familiar with this x so the focus setting allows you to set x your alerts and your notifications in a x specific way x you can tell your phone that okay x i'm for the next eight hours i'm going x to be at work x and because i'm at work i don't want to x receive any social media notifications x on my phone that might otherwise x distract me from x doing what i'm being paid to do x uh similarly um you know if you are x driving you can set up the settings on x your phone so that you are not x distracted x uh while so that you're not tempted to x you know x get on the internet uh text people look x at photographs that sort of thing that's x one of these settings and you know the x only reason of course these things have x come out is because there's so much x demand for it people are truly x struggling it's something that i've x struggled with it's a challenge for me x personally and i found it particularly x difficult at times x because these distractions have x negatively impacted my ability to i x think x you know do the best i can for my x clients when i'm at work at times x and probably they have uh reduced my x interactions with my family and my x friends because i am x uh sometimes you know having a x conversation with sandy x but on the uh x out of the corner of my eye i'm checking x a text message from a friend and you x know you you might uh x you might experience the same thing as x i'm sure you have right i mean all of us x have been on a telephone call with x somebody and you just know that they're x not there at the other end of the line x and sometimes we can see that when we're x obviously you know at dinner with a x friend who is constantly checking his x phone and things like that x so x um x that's really what has driven me to x that's one of the reasons that's driven x me to this subject of meditation x uh there are things like the settings on x your phone the app settings that will x help you reduce distractions and x notifications i've tried things there's x something called the pomodoro method has x anybody heard of that x did anybody know what the pomodoro x method is x uh the pomodoro method was this was this x idea that you would set aside a period x and i think they they refer to it as you x know i think it's exactly 12 minutes and x they would give you a timer that you x could put on your desk x and you'd say okay for the next 12 x minutes i'm gonna do nothing x except x the task that i have set out to do x no matter what x i'm gonna just focus on this task for x the next 12 minutes and at the end of x that 12 minute period then i will allow x myself to get up to get distracted to do x something and then i'm going to come x back to my desk and set another x 12-minute pomodoro time you know and so x that's an idea that folks have used and x i think have used somewhat effectively x another approach that uh that i've tried x and i think i've used successfully is x one of meditation in the morning x i was introduced to the concept of x guided meditation x uh when i attended we were audrey and i x were talking about bible school before x class but when i attended the um x the west coast bible school the manuka x bible school x one evening they had a they had an x evening program it was sort of an x optional thing right before bed x and they had a volunteer who led those x who wanted in some guided meditation x has anybody uh anybody ever done that x audrey you have okay i i've done it yeah x jason's done it it's kind of an x interesting thing x um x the the the leader of this uh program x led us through a series of mental x exercises x to help us let go of distracting x thoughts x you know it was it was almost as though x the thoughts were to be like a cloud in x the sky x and the goal was to do nothing except x focus on a particular activity such as x breathing so let's use breathing as an x example x i'm going to focus on my breath and only x my breath x and x when inevitably thoughts come into the x mind as they would normally do you know x you're thinking about uh you know did i x did i leave the stove on at work or i x need to make sure that i reach out to x such and such a client or i have to x prepare my bible class whenever these x thoughts come into our mind x we have to acknowledge them x let them go x like a cloud drifting off into the x into the expanse of the sky x and get back to the focus of breathing x and this process they said x was designed to help us to x you know designed to teach us to let go x of anxious thoughts and let go of x thoughts that might otherwise distract x us from what's x important at the time x so um x i have used this this process in the x past i found it helpful x uh sometimes i it's worked so well that x i stopped doing it you know this is x something my dad and i used to talk x about you know we would work we worked x together for years there'd be something x i'd do at work and it would be working x really well and then for whatever reason x i stopped i'd get out of the habit right x and maybe that's true with you but with x for me i might start these ideas of x guided meditation or the ideas of you x know keeping a gratitude journal and i'd x be all you know doing it all the time x and then i x i you know i get out of the habit x because of a variety of reasons x uh there are programs right now that x anybody can subscribe to com companies x like headspace will lead you in things x like guided meditation and what i want x to do right now is when we talk about x breathing x right and this was sort of the focus of x this type of meditation x i want to bring you to a passage in the x psalms x it's uh it's found in psalms 8 x and verse 2. x and in this particular psalm it's x talking about x the breath x of infants x as being a mechanism of praise for god x and x during this uh x this program at the manuka bible school x this was one of the passages that uh the x brother brought us to and i and it's x made an impact on me and i remember my x son paul x once uh gave a devotion about this x particular passage so x uh since paul is a new dad it may be x something i can chat with him about x again but let me just read it it's psalm x 8 x we'll read the first two verses x o lord our lord or o yahweh our lord how x majestic x is your name in all the earth x you've set your glory above the heavens x from the lips of children x and infants x you have ordained praise x so x from the lips of infants you have x ordained praise and i guess the question x that my son paul asked me was dad x how does a an infant of a mere you know x day old x praise god in heaven x and his thought at the time this was x years ago x his thought was x that the mere breathing of anyone x reminds him of the memorial name of our x god x yah x way you know breathing in and breathing x out x now that may be too touchy feely for you x but i thought it was really an x interesting way to think about this x concept of breathing x that when we're focusing on our breath x it's not about us that we might x necessarily be thinking about that this x is a way that we can focus on our god x so there are these are the the objective x now of this type of meditation which i x think for me has been helpful x was to sort of empty the mind of all x distracting thoughts x but i want to draw a distinction x brothers and sisters between this type x of what i might refer to as eastern x meditation x and what i think we see oftentimes in x the bible x what i will refer to as biblical x meditation x and i think there is a x difference between the two x and don't get me wrong i i do think that x there is a benefit to this you know x guided type of meditation focusing on x breath letting go of distracting x thoughts x but i think that the biblical medic x meditation that we read about in the x psalms and throughout other parts of the x scripture is a little bit different x it's not about emptying the mind of x thoughts x but instead it's almost like just the x opposite x it's about filling the mind x with godly thoughts x and i'll draw your attention to a x passage that's probably well known it's x it's found in philippians x uh this is a passage that i can't come x to without thinking about uh x brother bob lloyd because it was one of x his favorites x it's uh philippians chapter four x and we're going to look at the eighth x verse that's not it x oh it is philippians 4 verse 8. x finally brothers x finally sisters x whatever is true x whatever is noble whatever is right x whatever is pure x whatever is lovely whatever is admirable x if anything is excellent or praiseworthy x think about x such things x you know there's an another version that x uses the expression dwell x on these things x so it's not about emptying our minds of x different thoughts x it's about filling our minds with godly x things x those things that are pure those things x that are noble and right and and lovely x and admirable x you know there's something special about x i find it anyway about being outside at x night x when you see the starry host i think x it's x it's amazing you know and in certain x parts of the country x i bob eagles i remember he used to go up x to the northeast kingdom and uh cnn and x i were up there last summer x and boy there's no light pollution up x there x and uh you know the it gets dark at x night and the stars come out and it's x just remarkable and i just feel so close x to god x when you see those sorts of things x one of the things that i read about with x regard to the word meditation x from the psalms is the hebrew word x and i'll probably butcher it x is x is translated to murmur x in pleasure or agony x you know and uh x by implication to ponder to imagine x meditate mourn mutter to speak x um x and so when you were talking about x ecstasy i just wondered if that hebrew x word has anything in connection with it x i don't know x yeah by the by the look on your face you x seem that it's a rather dubious uh x i don't know uh that x that word is the word that's used in x genesis where x isaac was out meditating x in the field when uh uh x eliezer x brought back rebecca x and they met yeah i think that's x actually a different word based on my x research but i could be wrong uh no it's x swatch x in genesis 24. x anyway stephen did you have your hand x raised again yeah x i just occurred to me x um x where x somebody goes x and all of a sudden you say to somebody x are you here and they're not paying x attention to you x i i hear that a lot x yeah yeah sometimes yes but still it x it's kind of interesting because x somebody is just off somewhere and x they're thinking about something else so x it's just kind of interesting x in that thing it doesn't necessarily x mean they're thinking about spiritual x things but yeah nonetheless they're x thinking about something else x was it my dad last week i remember my x dad was talking about one of his golf x buddies was talking about him buffering x like he was someplace else and his mind x was buffering on the thought x so what i'd like to do now is i'd like x to sort of transition into uh x you know maybe x i don't know how to frame it now david x after your comment about it not being x about emptying one's mind but um you x know i wanna i wanna talk about you know x that's that next step maybe to use your x description david about how x the the idea of this type of meditation x is to put us in a place where we can x focus better on you know i think you use x the idea of theological concepts or x something like that x you know so once we're in a space where x we can think about these things what x does the bible teach us what does it x tell us about meditating x so x there are a couple of things last night x in boston we had our x our arranging board meeting we meet x every other every other month on a x tuesday night and one of the things that x we do is we begin our x meeting with a reading from the bible x and jason x selected the reading last week jason x what was x it you got to put yourself on uh off a x mute there young man sorry sorry three x years on zoom come on i know i know x i was meditating yeah x are you there x i'm buffering x yeah so do you remember what the reading x was uh psalms uh one verses one uh x through three right x and so this is i think a very famous x verse on meditation and i'd like to read x it it says uh blessed is the man x who does not walk in the counsel of the x wicked or stand in the way of sinners or x sit in the seat of mockers x but his delight x is in the law of the lord x and on his law x he meditates x day and night x so this is now x you know x focused attention x on a particular thing x and what the psalmist is talking about x here is the one who pleases god who is x meditating on his law x now brian i remember uh you gave a class x on the law x and uh how did you define the law it was x his what x you're on mute too i know rookies x [Laughter] x it doesn't work so well to switch from a x bible program back to zoom yeah i know x that's right but x um x to x instruction directions x yeah x i'm just thinking of the word teachings x right yep yep exactly yeah so you know x we're meditating now so here in in psalm x 1 x the idea is to is to focus our attention x on a specific thing and in this case x it's on the teachings of god what is it x that god teaches us x and so x when i am now thinking about jesus going x up into the mountains to pray all night x long x perhaps it's those sorts of things that x he's thinking about the teachings of god x and how to apply those things to his x life and how to teach others of these x things and how to honor his god through x these teachings x so that's that's that's one idea that we x are actually x meditating on the teachings of god but x there are a couple other things that x we're told to meditate about x i'll have you turn we'll stay in the x psalms we're going to go to two spots x now uh the the first place will go is x psalm 63 x and x this is a passage where we are to x meditate x about god himself x so in in psalm 1 we were thinking about x you know god's word or god's teachings x or god's law x here in psalm x 63 x the idea is to meditate on god himself x or in my mind on god's character x on his personality on his goodness his x kindness his mercy x so here we are um x and i'll pick it up in x verse x six x on my bed x i remember you x i think of you x through the watches of the night x because you are my help i will sing x the shadow of your wings x my soul clings to you your right hand x upholds me x and the point that i'm trying to draw x out by coming to this psalm is this i is x really two things one x the psalmist here is talking about x meditating x on his bed x throughout the watches of the night x and what is it that he's meditating on x he's remembering god i will remember you x and i just think that's a uh x that's a that's a a wonderful idea that x as we are laying in bed as we awake in x the middle of the night with some worry x or some concern that we might put x ourselves back to sleep thinking about x the god who loves us who gave his son x for us who uh you know who wants to and x desires to give us his kingdom x um x the characteristics of god is a x wonderful thing to ponder x um x psalm 77 is a is a psalm written by asa x and asaph was uh really struggling he x was uh i don't know whether he was in x the midst of depression or whether he x was just filled with uh x disappointment or you know i don't know x what his situation was x but the beginning of this psalm x he really empties himself before god x um i cried out to god for help i cried x out to god to hear me when i was in x distress i sought the lord at night i x stretched out untiring hands x and my soul refused to be comforted x i remembered you oh god and i groaned i x mused and my spirit grew faint x it was as though you know he was x offering these uh thoughts he was x offering these prayers but it was of no x help to x him x verse four you uh i'm sorry verse three x i remembered you god oh god and i x groaned i mused and my spirit grew faint x and then the psalmist includes the word x salah x sandy's on tonight i think she's x upstairs but uh x when sandy reads the the words say law x she sometimes says to me you know i x think of it as the word breathe x just x take a pause x take a breath x and it gives you know it now allows you x to sort of contemplate those things and x move on x and as this psalm moves on x he says you kept my eyes from closing i x was too troubled to speak x i thought about the former days the x years of long ago i remembered my songs x in the night x my heart mused and my spirit inquired x will the lord reject me forever x will he never show his favor again has x his unfailing love vanished forever has x his promise failed for all time has god x forgotten to be merciful x has his anger withheld his compassion x breathe x then i thought and what happens next and x is x his focus now changes from his internal x struggles from whatever it was that he x was thinking about himself x and now his focus changes to one where x he's thinking about god x he's meditating on godly thoughts godly x ways x to this i will appeal the years of the x right hand of the most high what were x the things that god did with his right x hand x i will remember x the deeds of the lord x so we talk about meditation brothers and x sisters we talked about two things x already one was x meditating on x the teachings of god x the second was meditating on the x character of god and here in psalm 77 we x see asaph meditating on the deeds the x actions of god x i remember the deeds of yahweh yes i x will remember your miracles of long ago x i'll meditate on all the your works x and consider all your mighty ds your x ways o god are holy and then the balance x of the psalm is this you know outward x meditation about the praiseworthy things x that god has done x um x there's a terrific article by brother x richard morgan in this month's tidings x magazine about this psalm x and i would really encourage you all to x read it i found it hugely beneficial and x for me x meditating x can sometimes be guided by reading x articles by people like brother richard x or i listened to a podcast the other day x with our friend brother uh x mark vincent um these are these are x additional helps that i have found x to x thinking about godly thoughts removing x the distractions of the world x and i just share that as sort of a x practical thing for you so that's a x that's a third type of meditation x meditation on the words of god and the x deeds rather the deeds of god x i'm going to look at one more passage x this is psalm 111. x psalm 111 is another passage that x focuses on the work of god it's the x second verse praise yahweh i will extol x yahweh with all my heart in the counsel x of the upright in the assembly x great are x the works x of the lord x they are pondered by all who delight in x them x so in the chat box elena typed in it was x amazing she's she was referring to uh x the stars that she and gary saw when x they were out in utah she says i saw the x milky way for the first time x uh for me you know i love to be out x outdoors x and uh saw the hymn 110 x you know when i survey x what is it uh the the works of god x um i mean x these are the things that cause me to x just feel god's presence in my life x and these are ways that i truly um x am encouraged x in my walk x to um x to remember that we have a creator who x has done all these things and loves us x cares for us x so i think that's what i wanted to focus x on tonight this idea of meditation