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One day as
Jesus was teaching certain of the Pharisees attempted
to trap him in his speech:
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"And
they sent out unto him their disciples with
the Herodians,
saying, Master, we know that thou art true,
and teachest the way of God in truth, neither
carest thou for
any man: for thou regardest not the person
of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest
thou? Is it lawful
to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (Matt.
22:16)
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After
Jesus’ now famous quote, "Render
therefore unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar’s;
and unto God the things that are God’s,"
the writer simply wrote, "When they
had heard these
words, they marvelled, and left
him...."
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Notice, how
the people responded to what he said:
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"And the
disciples were astonished at his words"
(Mark 10:24)
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"Never
man spake like this man." (John 7:46)
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"When the
multitude heard this, they were astonished
at his doctrine." (Matt. 22:33)
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"And all
bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth."
(Luke 4:22)
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"Lord, to
whom shall we go? thou hast the words of
eternal life." (John 6:68)
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Finally, Jesus
himself said, "Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my
words shall not pass away." (Matt.
24:35)
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In one of the most
powerful discourses of Christ, he said,
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life. (John 6:63)
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The words of
Christ are spirit.
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The words of
Christ are life.
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Whereas, the
flesh profiteth nothing.
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Let us look at an Old
Testament event with a New Testament understanding to
illustrate the power of the words of
Christ.
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The young Nation of
Israel had come to the challenge
of its brief existence as they prepared to
invade the Promised Land occupied by the Canaanites.
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The leadership
of the Nation of Israel had been
passed down from Moses to Joshua.
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Moses
had led Israel for forty years--Israel entire
existence as a nation.
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Joshua had
succeeded Moses at a relatively young
age.
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What
kind of leader would Joshua be?
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He was preparing to
lead over one million people into
battle.
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He
had never led anything.
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All he had
experienced was 40 years of wandering
in the wilderness.
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How would he
prepare for such an experience?
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Military
Strategy;
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Leadership
Development;
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Training
Exercises.
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In preparation for the
upcoming invasion, God asked of Joshua
only one thing.
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"This book
of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest
observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success."
(Joshua 1:8)
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Notice,
the sequence of events: Meditating in the book
of the law produces something:
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THAT "thou
mayest observe to do according
to all that is written therein:"
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FOR THEN:
"thou shalt make thy way
prosperous, and thou shalt have
good success."
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A strange command in
the light of the strategies of warfare today:
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No Military strategy,
no leadership development, and
no training exercises;
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Just
meditate in the word.
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Would the battle for
the Promised Land be fought by
Joshua for God, or, would the battle for the
Promised Land be fought by God for Joshua?
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Did Joshua need
training in military and leadership
development, or did he need to stay
in a right relationship with God?
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Who
was going to fight the battle?
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Example:
Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27)
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The
preparation of Joshua:
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It was not for the
strategy of warfare, but to remain
true to his God.
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Prosperity and success
for Joshua would come from
meditating in the word.
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By the power
of the Word, Joshua would be prepared for whatever
would come as they took procession
of the Promised Land.
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History
has recorded the power of the Word, when man interacts
with the Word through meditating in the word.
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God promised Joshua
that meditation in His word and
the resulting power coming from experiencing
the Word would make his way prosperous and
provide good success. (Joshua 1:8).
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The
word meditate here means "to murmur, to
murmur in pleasure."
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Joshua was to
murmur constantly
(day and night) the book of
the law (the Word of God given to man).
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This engrafting
of the word of God into the heart
of Joshua would result in his way being
made prosperous
and in his having good success.
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The
Psalmist also knew of the great benefits of
meditation.
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He wrote that the man
who meditates in the law of the
Lord day and night will receive three great promises:
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his
delight is in the law of
the LORD; and in his law doth
he meditate day and night. And he shall be like
a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper." (Psa.
1:1-3)
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First, the man
who meditates in the Word will
bring forth fruit in his season.
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He will not
only produce fruit, he will also live
life to its fullest (his "leaf also shall
not wither").
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Finally, the
unbelievable promise of "whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper" is given to
those who meditate.
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The power of the Word
in meditation is seen in Psalms
119.
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"O how love I thy
law! it is my meditation all
the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me
wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I
have more under standing than all my teachers: for
thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand
more than the ancients, because I
keep thy precepts.
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Meditation, in
Psalms 119, means, "reflection
with deep devotion."
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This
meditation will make the believer:
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Wiser
than his enemies;
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Will cause him
to have more understanding than his teachers;
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Will make him
able to understand more
than all the ancient wise men.
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Finally, Paul told
Timothy; "Meditate upon these things; give
thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear
to all." (1 Tim.
4:15)
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Meditate, here means,
"to care for, attend to carefully, revolve in the
mind."
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If Timothy would
"meditate upon these things [the things
Paul wrote], give [himself] wholly to them,"
God would:
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Make
Timothy’s "...profiting appear to
all."
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What
tremendous promises comes from the power of the
words of Christ:
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The power of the words
of Christ that comes to those
who meditate in the Word:
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Your way made
prosperous;
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You will
have good success;
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Bring forth
fruit in your season;
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Enjoy life
to its fullest possible manifestation;
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Whatsoever
you do will prosper;
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Wiser than
your enemies;
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More
understanding than your teachers;
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More
understanding than all the ancient wise men;
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Your
profiting appears to all.
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As Jesus said, "It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit, and they are
life."
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