Brother Bill Wednesday Evening 5/25/16

Brother Bill Wednesday Evening 5/25/16

Psa 19:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psa 19:2  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

Psa 19:3  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Psa 19:14  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Nature will speak to us.  God can speak to us through nature.  Brother Brook told me years ago, “You can see God’s love to mankind through creation.  He has supplied all our needs, look at the beauty of it all.” 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable:  It is easy for our minds to get off on wrong meditation.  They will come uninvited.  On my job I have to concentrate on what I am doing, yet the enemy will bring other thoughts. My mind goes on two channels at the same time. 

It is easy to have our mind go off on wrong meditation.  It takes effort to have our mind have proper meditation.

This week the enemy was trying to trouble my mind as I was mowing the football field.  I worked on thinking on scripture and after a while there was a proper atmosphere.  It took effort for me to grab my mind and channel it in the proper direction. 

I remember when I was at the sawmill; I took care of the chip cars.  I had to fill the chip cars, climb on the top of the gondolas, and put the nets on them.  At that time there was always a certain type of negative thought.  I had to work at it until I broke that pattern.

Working at the school, as I get the tables down for the cafeteria in the morning, my mind goes into a certain channel.  I’ve gotten so I say, “Here it comes.”  I grab a hold of that thing and instead think on what I read of the scripture this morning.  I have to work hard to change that groove that started in my mind.

Meditation on proper things is a benefit to our souls. 

Psa 63:1  A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Psa 63:2  To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Psa 63:3  Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Psa 63:4  Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psa 63:5  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

Psa 63:6  When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

The things of God, drawing nigh to God, spending time with God, those are what will satisfy us.  A dry and thirsty land is what it is like in the world.  The things of the world will not bring satisfaction.  There is something about God that when you take time for God, when you take that extra time to spend it with God…  I know that I have done that, and after I felt like: “It was good that I did that.  It did something for my soul.” 

There is something about meeting with God that after going through a full day’s work it is like getting a glass of water. 

If we channel our mind in the right direction there is a value in it.  If we channel our mind in the wrong direction it will work to destroy us.

Throughout the years young people that didn’t get a companion, it would work on their minds, “Time is running out.”  I have seen it work on their mediation so that they decided to take things in their own hands.  There is a danger if we allow our minds to be channeled in the wrong direction. 

It has worked on me to be discontented.  What do I have to be discontented about?  I have a good job, a good wife, good health, and we are not paying for the kid’s college; we are in a good season of our life.  If we will allow our minds to go the wrong direction it can work to destroy us.

I have been reading in Brother C.W. Naylor’s books.  Brother Naylor had an accident and was bed ridden for years.  In the human, it appeared that he had reason to be down hearted.  Here is one chapter he wrote:

I sat at a desk with pencil and paper, and in my dream wrote these words: "If you have but one rose, enjoy it to the full. Do not let its perfume be wasted upon the empty air, and its beauty go unnoticed, while you spend your time in vain longing for the unattainable." When I awoke I wrote down the words that I had written in my dream, and through the years they have preached to me many a sermon.

How natural it is for us to forget what we have while we look at others whom we think to be more fortunate! We look at the blessings that others enjoy and forget to be thankful for our own. We look at others' possessions, and because they are greater than ours, we fail to appreciate what we have. Our position in life may be very humble, but however humble, our life is full of blessings if we but have eyes to see them.

When I had this dream, my health was gone, and I lay alone in my bed throughout the long hours of the day while my wife was away working for our support. My eyes were so I could read but a very little. We had two rooms in a house with another family. All around us were people with health and plenty. I could easily realize the difference between my situation and theirs. Sometimes I would look out of the window and see people passing, strong and vigorous and care-free. I would hear the gay laughter and the sound of happy voices, while I -- there I lay suffering and alone. How easy it was to see their blessings! and in seeing theirs, how easy it was to forget my own!

But this dream came upon the morning of my birthday; and as I lay there thinking it over, I determined that in the coming year I would not let my one rose be spoiled because I was reaching for that which was beyond my reach. I decided to enjoy my own blessings. If others were more blessed than I, should I not rejoice in the fact? Longing to be like them would not make me so. If I had but little to enjoy, I would enjoy that little. So I began to look at my blessings, and as I looked them over I found them greater than I had supposed. I had many things to give me comfort. I had food to satisfy my hunger. I had a home and clothing. I had the loving care of a faithful wife. I had kind friends who gave to me freely of their sympathy and who were ready to grant my every wish so far as it lay in their power. Better than all else, I had the peace of God in my heart. I began to realize that my state might be far worse.

The more I thought, the more I saw for which to be thankful. The more I considered my blessings, the more I appreciated them. And many a time since have I looked out upon the passers-by or listened to their merriment, and have said to myself, "I would not exchange places with you; for I am saved; I have the treasure of God's love; I have the presence of the Holy Spirit; I have the joys of salvation; I have a mansion in heaven." I knew that most of the passers-by did not have these things, and so I was blessed more than they. What were health and strength when put to a wrong use? What were temporal blessings that ministered only to selfishness? What were the joy and gaiety that ignored God? What were the pleasures of sin, when they only laid up a harvest of sorrow? Ah no, I had no reason to envy them, for my blessings were greater and would not fade away like mist before the sun.

My brother, my sister, you may be happy in your own little corner if you will learn the lesson of enjoying what you have. Learn to be content with common things. Learn that the truest joy does not come from external things. It springs spontaneously from a contented heart. If God wills that you be situated as you are, will he not make you happy where you are? The Bible says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain ... Having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1 Tim.6: 6-8). You may not have much of this world's goods; you may not have many talents; your blessings may seem few; but remember my dream message -- "If you have but one rose, enjoy it to the full." If another has both hands filled, he may enjoy them less than you enjoy your one, unless you look with envious eyes. Sometimes a little perfume is sweeter than an abundance. Do not spend your days in vain longing. Do not despise what you have because it is not greater. Cultivate the habit of thankfulness and appreciation. Be glad for what you have. Be contented. Better your condition if you can, but do not spoil what you have in reaching for more. If you have but one talent, use it for the Lord and be thankful for it. Do not depreciate it because others have several talents. Use it and be content. Happiness consists not in the things we have, but in our appreciation and use of them. So enjoy your one rose. Drink in its sweet perfume; gaze upon its beauteous colors. Enjoy it to the full.

What we meditate on can break us or help us.  I have had to work on my meditation.  Negative thoughts would try to come to all of us.  We are all human and all go through similar battles. 

Some thoughts will have some truth in them.  Yet they are negative thoughts.  A couple months back I tried to wrestle with a negative thought.  I learned from that.  I should have just resisted from the beginning.  Don’t even try to argue with the devil, just resist.

Psa 63:3  Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Psa 63:4  Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psa 63:5  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

Psa 63:6  When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

What we meditate on, if we will meditate on positive things and meditate on God, it can work to fertilize those things that are beneficial to our soul.  It will fertilize and help us to be thankful to God.

Psa 119:97  MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Psa 119:98  Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

Psa 119:99  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

If we meditate on the scriptures, God causes the scripture to start opening and gives you understanding on things that you didn’t see before.  It is because of spending time and meditating.  It will help you to have understanding. 

Brother McCramy when he studies gives himself to meditation.  There are jewels in the Word of God.  There are nuggets that we have not seen yet.  There are treasures that God has not revealed to us yet.  The Word of God is beautiful.  If you give yourself to meditation it will open the door for God to give you greater understanding of His beautiful Word.

Eph 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Eph 5:19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Eph 5:20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

It talks about not being drunk.  There are things of this world that we can be drunk on.  We can be drunk on the political scene.  At times I have to tell Teri, “Don’t tell me anymore.  It just gets me churning.” 

We can get drunk on the bills.  We can get drunk on what our kids are doing.  You tell them and tell them.  You shake your head, they still have to make their own decisions. 

You can get drunk on your future, you can get drunk on the dark things of the world.  Some of the things that the enemy would have us to worry about in the future never happen.

Giving thanks… this is how we are filled and absorbed with the Spirit.  We channel our meditation in the right way.  It helps us to be billed with the Spirit of God.  That is a good thing to be filled with!

Ecc 11:3  If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

If you fill yourself up with the right things...  Why I had something to give out at times was because I worked to fill myself with the right things.  “If the clouds be full of rain then they empty themselves out onto the earth.”