Today I want to share a story
with you. You may have heard it before but bear with me and read it once again.
I just want to illustrate a principle.
Fred was speeding down a
country road late at night and BANG! Went a tire. He got out to fix it but he
had no jack.
“He thought ‘I’ll just walk
to the nearest farmhouse and borrow a jack.’ He saw a light in the distance and
thought, ‘Well, I’m in luck; the farmer’s up. I’ll just knock on the door and
say I’m in trouble, would you please lend me a jack? And he’ll say, why sure, neighbour,
help yourself, but bring it back.’
“He walked on a little
farther and the light went out so he thought, ‘Now he’s gone to bed, and he’ll
be annoyed because I’m bothering him so he’ll probably want some money for his
jack. And I’ll say, all right, it isn’t very neighbourly but I’ll give you a
quarter.
And he’ll say, do you think
you can get me out of bed in the middle of the night and then offer me a
quarter? Give me a dollar or get yourself a jack somewhere else.’
“By the time he got to the
farmhouse Fred had worked himself into quite a rage. He turned into the gate
and thought. ‘A dollar! All right, I’ll give you a dollar. But not a cent more!
A poor man has an accident and all he needs is a jack. You probably won’t let
me have one no matter what I give you. That’s the kind of guy you are.’
“Now he was at the door and
he knocked angrily. The farmer stuck his head out the window above the door and
hollered down, ‘Who’s there? What do you want?’ Fred stopped pounding on the
door and yelled up, ‘You and your stupid jack! Keep it-You know what you can do
with it!'” I daresay Fred would have got physical if the farmer would have
opened the door. Isn’t it amazing?? It all began with a thought.
Take the case of David. One
picture Bathsheba led to lust. To a relationship... to adultery... to a baby...
to murder. So how does a thought progress once it enters our mind? Let’s look
at what the scriptures tell us.
Paul says in Romans 12: 2-
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind.
Point 1: Everything begins with a thought.
Point 1: Everything begins with a thought.
Psalm119: 11 says I have
hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Point 2: When we read the
word, listen to the word or meditate on the word, it takes root in our heart.
Math 12: 34 says Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Proverbs 4: 23 says -Above
all else, guard your heart, everything you do flows from it.
Point 3: Speech and Actions flow from our heart.
Point 3: Speech and Actions flow from our heart.
A thought (which is the seed)
has the capacity to take root in our heart and produce the fruit- our speech and
actions.
Hence our words and deeds are
merely reflections of our thought life. Being paralyzed by fear, bursting
out in anger, shaking with rage, drooping with discouragement all are phrases
that we commonly use. Interestingly, fear, rage, anger, discouragement are all
in the mind- the seed; and being paralyzed, bursting out, drooping and shaking
are all physical manifestations- the fruit.
We are exposed to all
kinds of temptations and thoughts daily and the only way we can counter these,
is to let the Word of God take root in our hearts. We need to know the Word so
well that we automatically scan every thought or situation we encounter,
through the scanner of God’s Word. That is how we begin to think biblically
about every aspect of life.
2 Corinthians
10: 5 says- Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Ephesians 6:17 tells us – to
use the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, for warfare.
Jesus defeated Satan with 3
specific scriptures, when he was tempted by the Devil.
Just as we take specific
medicines for specific illnesses, we need to use specific scriptures for
specific situations.
For e.g. when fearful- ‘God
is my helper, I shall not fear. What can man do to me?’
Or
when dealing with grief – ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain.’
When
depressed- ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil
within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation
and my God.’
The
Word should impact our thought life which in turn will impact our speech and
actions.
However we can be impacted
only by something we know”. And that’s where Joshua 1:8 and Proverbs 4: 20, 21
begins to make a lot of sense.
Both speak about meditating
on the word of God and allowing it to take root in our hearts. Human brain has
a data storage capacity of approximately 100 tb which is more than data that
can be stored in 150 computers. That’s an immense storage capacity. And just
imagine if we use even a fraction of that space for storing God’s
word, how well equipped we would be to deal with the problem areas in our life!
I will close with wonderful quotes
from 2 great men of God.
Charles Spurgeon quoted “The
Bible in the memory is better than the Bible in the book case. Be walking
Bibles.”
Chuck Swindoll wrote in his
book Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, copyright 1994, “I know of no other
single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking,
than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other single exercise pays greater
spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing
will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin
to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and
assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified.”
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