When I was 18 God spoke to me very powerfully out of Proverbs 13:20, which says “ He who walks with wise men will be wise”. God said that if I desired to be a wise and effective leader, then the biblical way to develop this wisdom was to walk with men and woman that have gone before and have a proven track record of effectiveness and fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God.

So over the past 20 years I have walked with wise men and woman, and I have seen my leadership develop significantly under this powerful influence.

Of all that I have observed, been taught, heard preached, and seen work in my life, the following principle would be the most powerful in developing effectiveness in my leadership.

The Principle is this READ AND MEDITATE ON THE BIBLE

In Psalm 1 it states:-

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly

Nor stands in the path of sinners

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful

But his delight is in the law of the Lord

And in His law he meditates day and night.”

This tells me that I have to delight in the word. What does this mean? When I first started dating my wife Melanie, we wrote a lot of letters to each other and I think back to the great delight and anticipation that I had each time I received a letter in the mail. Why? Because I was in relationship with her, I wanted to learn more about her, how does she think, what does she think of me, I wanted to hear how much she loves me? How much more should we delight in the Word of God? God, tell me your thoughts, how much do you love me, how can I please you, show me your wisdom, guide and direct me.

Psalm 1 goes on to say that the blessed man meditates in the Word day and night. How can you do this? Can you read the Word while you drive the car? Can you read the Word in the shower? Can you read the word in a Board meeting? Of course not. You can only meditate in the Word day and night, if you have the Word in your spirit. In other words, we can only achieve what God would have us do if we have memorized scripture.

We can react against this though, because scripture memorization is something you do in Sunday School. But from my experience, as you memorize the Word, it takes on an incredible life, that fuels your passion for more of the Word and more of God’s revelation knowledge. A trap to avoid. We miss the power in memorizing scripture by just doing a verse here and a verse there. I have found that memorizing passages of ten verses or even whole chapters, is where the key is to unlocking great revelation. From personal experience, memorizing Ephesians chapter 1 and 2, will radically change your life, your thinking and your preaching.

Verse three of Psalm 1, describes what the person will be like that delights themselves in the Word and also meditates on that Word.

“He shall be like a tree”

Note here that the person is not a tumble weed, but a tree. Trees are known for their stability. I have not found too many trees that are mobile. God wants us to be people who are strong and stable and not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

“Planted by rivers of water”

This tree, that God says we will be if we meditate and delight in the Word, is planted by rivers of water. If a tree is planted, it is a specific act, in a specific location, by a specific person. God is saying that He, as the gardener, will plant us into a specific location, that is, our destiny. I believe that as we meditate in the Word, we are positioned to achieve our destiny and call in God.

This tree, our destiny, is planted by rivers of water. I picture a strong tree planted in the apex of where two mountain rivers come together and I look into the rivers and I see some of the deep root system of the tree exposed, and I imagine that the roots are sucking the life out of the river and up into the tree, thus ensuring the strength, vitality, viability and fruitfulness of the tree. Hebrews 4:12 teaches us that the Word of God is living and powerful. As we mediate in the Word, we will draw on the life that is in the Word. Therefore, and this is a key statement – THE WORD OF GOD, IS THE LIFE SOURCE OF YOUR DESTINY.

Psalm 1:3 goes onto say:-

“ that brings forth fruit in its season”

The tree, our destiny, will be fruitful, in accordance with the way we mediate in the Word. God wants us to be fruitful. It makes a great study to go through the Gospels and see what Jesus said about producing fruit. Some key verses are John 15:1-6, and Matthew 3:10, 7:15-20. To give you a basic overview of these verses, God is a Vinedresser and as such, He is focussed on us producing fruit. In fact He is so focussed that He says that every tree that does not bear fruit He takes away.

The challenge for us as Christians is found in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. The third type of seed that is sown is describe in 13:22:-

“Now he who received seed among thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and he becomes unfruitful.”

This is a person who is a mature Christian. How do we know this? Well it says that this person becomes unfruitful. To become unfruitful, you must have first been fruitful and to be fruitful you must have matured. I wonder how many Christians in churches today, are sitting there being unfruitful. Yes they once were very fruitful, but over time the cares of this world and the love of money, caused them to move from a position of fruitfulness to fruitlessness.

But Psalm 1 says that we, you and I, as we mediate in the Word, will bring forth fruit in its season. A guaranteed way to be fruitful.

Psalm1:3 continues

“Whose leaf also shall not wither”

This means that regardless of the heat of life, our leaf shall not wither. Regardless of what come up in our lives, God’s word will sustain us. There is no burnout, backsliding or moral failures. Why, because the Word of God sustains us and is the life source for our destiny.

Finally Psalm 1:3 concludes with:-

“And whatever he does shall prosper”

What a great conclusion to this powerful verse. As we delight and mediate in the word, whatever we do will come under the favor of God and it will prosper. Our marriages will prosper, our finances will prosper, our children will prosper, our ministry and churches will prosper, even our hobbies and pets will prosper. Whatever that person does, will prosper.

If you want a powerful key to developing your life and ministry, it is simply stated – Read and Mediate in the Word of God.

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Peter

Categories: Life, Sermon Notes, Wisdom for life

Tags: Mediatation on the word of God, Meditation, Psalm1