When You Quietly Wait and Reflect Upon God (Sermon Outline)

Privileged Promptings: Hearing and Heeding the Voice of God

When You Quietly Wait and Reflect Upon God

Memory Verse: (Joshua 1:8 NIV)  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 7:1-29

(2 Sam 7 NIV)  After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, {2} he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." {3} Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you." {4} That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: {5} "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? {6} I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. {7} Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' {8} "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. {9} I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. {10} And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning {11} and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. "'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: {12} When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. {13} He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. {14} I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. {15} But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. {16} Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.'" {17} Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. {18} Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? {19} And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD? {20} "What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. {21} For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. {22} "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. {23} And who is like your people Israel--the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? {24} You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God. {25} "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, {26} so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be established before you. {27} "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. {28} O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. {29} Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."

INTRODUCTION:

What is meditation?

Wikipedia defines Christian meditation as “…a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to get in touch with and deliberately reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditari which means to concentrate.”

"A quieted heart is our best preparation for all this work of God … Meditation refocuses us from ourselves and from the world so that we reflect on God's Word, His nature, His abilities, and His works … So we prayerfully ponder, muse, and 'chew' the words of Scripture. …The goal is simply to permit the Holy Spirit to activate the life-giving Word of God" --Dr. Bruce Demarest

"Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind...if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate… No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture…If you look up all the times God speaks about meditation in the Bible, you will be amazed at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to reflect on His Word throughout the day"--Pastor Rick Warren

Haga and Sihach utter, groan, meditate, or ponder; rehearse in mind, and contemplate

(Joshua 1:8 NIV)  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 119:97-100

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law! 
       I meditate on it all day long.

 ⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, 
       for they are ever with me.
 ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, 
       for I meditate on your statutes.
 ¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders, 
       for I obey your precepts.

(Psa 1:1-3 NIV)  Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. {3} He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

2 Samuel 7:18 (NIV)¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

What to Do When You Quietly Wait and Reflect on God?

1.   Remember God’s Workings in your life in the Past.

2 Samuel 7:18 (NIV)¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

2. Ruminate on God

(2 Sam 7:19-21 NIV)  And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD? {20} "What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. {21} For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

3.   Recall God’s faithfulness

(2 Sam 7:28 NIV)  O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.

 (Num 23:19 NIV) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

1.       Standing on the promises of Christ my King, 

          Through eternal ages let his praises ring; 

          Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, 

          Standing on the promises of God. 

Refrain:

          Standing, standing, 

          Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; 

          Standing, standing, 

          I'm standing on the promises of God. 

2.       Standing on the promises that cannot fail, 

          When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, 

          By the living Word of God I shall prevail, 

          Standing on the promises of God. 

          (Refrain)

4.   Relay your Concerns to the Lord

(2 Sam 7:29 NIV)  Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."

In order to get the best out of our time of Spiritual meditation, we must consider doing the following:

1.   We must be still. Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15.

(Psa 46:10 NIV)  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

(Isa 30:15 NIV)  This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

2.   We must Surrender our lives to God. James 4:10

(James 4:10 NIV)  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

(Job 22:21 NIV)  "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.

 (Luke 22:42 NIV)  "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

3. We must go into a Solitary place. (Mark 1:35 NIV)  Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

The Result

(Psa 36:9 NIV) For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

(Prov 8:34 NIV) Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.