Selah: Stop and Think

Turn your Bibles to Psalms chapter 39. Psalms chapter 39, we're going to continue our series titled, Mm. Remember, we started a couple weeks ago with the M&Ms of God's word, to memorize and meditate and remember the word of God. The words were found, and I did eat them. And they were a joy to my heart. And so we need to hide God's word in our heart to memorize and meditate upon it every day. And then secondly, we talked about the second last week was the mm of bliss. The mm of having something that you just really just, oh, this is so good. I talked about how that for me, that's a good steak and some cheesecake for dessert.

And so one of the families in the church had us over last night for steak and cheesecake. And so today I'm preaching about how blessed, how much a blessing it is to have a new car. And so if anybody wants to get us one of those, they can. No, but you know, that place of bliss, that place of satisfaction, whether it's the food you eat or whether it's just getting a good night's sleep or being in the arms of your beloved, just find that bliss in my beloved and God to find that mm in the Lord as well. And then today we're gonna talk about a different mm. And we've asked some of our people to help you up.

You see what that is. So they're gonna play that video right now. I think they're. All right. So this mm is when you have to stop and think. You ever had somebody tell you something, mm. You know, you just think about that. And that's what I want to talk about today. In Psalms 39 verses one through five, it said, I said, I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence. I held my peace, even from good, and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me while I was musing the fire burned, then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and to measure my days, what it is that I may know how frail I am.

Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand breath, and mine ages as nothing before thee. Barely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. And then it ends with that little word, sila. And if you've seen that in your Bible, it's actually used 71 times in the book of Psalms, and it's used three times in the book of Habakkuk. It's used once in Kings, but it was a place name rather than used the same way here. But that word sila, you see it also in verse number 11 of chapter 39, when thou with rebuke does correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth. Surely every man is vanity, sila.

And when you see that word sila in your Bible, it basically means think of that. It was a musical term, because you know, Psalms were hymns, and it was a term where they would instruct the choir, stop and think about what we just sang. Or in the congregation, I think it's stop and think about what we just sang. And it was to stop and to think about it. So whenever you see the word sila in your Bible, what you should do is stop. Stop reading, look back over those verses, and think about what you just read. And we're gonna give you a handout at the end of the service if you'd like it, with all the places in your Bible where the word sila is used.

And I would recommend maybe doing it as devotion. Go in and read those verses, and then stop and think about it all day long as well. But to sila, to stop and think, to muse, in Psalms 39 at verse number three, this is my heart was hot within me while I was musing the fire burn, then spake I with my tongue. The idea of the word musing is the opposite of amuse. Amuse means not to think. In verse number five, it says, behold, thou hast made my days as a hand breath, and mine age as nothing before thee. Barely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. We don't like to think in our society today.

We are a society of amusement, so we don't have to think. That's why we have, we watch TV, so we don't have to think. We watch the news so they can tell us what to think. We watch reels on social media so other people can tell us things we never thought we should think about. And we've got all this amusement to not have to think. But God says, I want you to think. And this is seen here at the end of verse number five. It says, barely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Somebody wants to study, and they came up with the idea that men probably use only about, human beings only use about 10% of their brain capacity.

Now, that may be more than that, I'm not sure, but we certainly don't use all of our brain capacity. And sometimes when I deal with people, I think 10% is pretty optimistic for some people. You ever heard the statement, the mind is a terrible thing to waste? And yet, we as Christians don't use our mind. We as Christians don't stop and think, and especially think about what the Bible says. In our very best state, we're altogether vanity. Emptiness is the word vanity, what the word vanity means. And that so often is what happens. We are in a state of emptiness because we don't think. In Matthew chapter five, verses 17 and 18, the Bible says, think not that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets.

I'm not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot and one tittle shall no wise pass until all be fulfilled. Folks, Christ died to take away your sins, not your mind. The world accuses us of not thinking, and the God says, I want you to think. In Isaiah chapter one and verse number 18, it says, come now and let us reason together, saying to the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And God challenges us to think, and he wants us to read the word of God. And he wants us to think about what he says and to understand it.

He wants to reason with us. So let me ask you a question. How much do you think about God? In Psalms chapter 10 and verse number four, the wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. Now, here's interesting. God defines a wicked not as a drunkard, not as a murderer, not as an adulterer, but he defines the wicked as that person that does not think about God. So by that definition, this week, would you have been wicked? How much this week did you think about God? It's not that we think of God all the time, but God is always in our thoughts.

Everything that happens, we relate it to God in our lives. See, what is your default setting? In Isaiah chapter 26, verse number three, keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Let me ask you a question. What's your default setting? You know, on your computer, when you don't use your computer for a little while, what happens? It goes into kind of a default setting. And for some people, that's just a blank screen. And some of you, when you're not thinking actively about something, your mind is just blank. You know, you're not thinking about anything. For other people, that default setting on a screensaver is a happy place.

Maybe it's a picture of the beach, or maybe it's a beautiful picture of the mountains, or something else like that. It's kind of your happy place, and you have that kind of screensaver. I remember back early on with computers, they used to, remember that one where they had that bouncy line that was going all over the place on the computer? Remember that one? And some of you, that's the way, when you're not thinking actively about something else, your mind is going bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, all over the place. That's your default setting. Now, I'll show you my default setting on my computer, and that is in my mind as well.

It's these two grandkids right here. They can put the picture up. That's my default setting on my computer. That's my happy place. But my point is this. The Bible says, listen again to what it says there. It says, but Isaiah 26 read, thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed. And the idea of that word stayed is that his mind is a default setting because he trusts in thee. When you're not actively thinking about something else, does your mind come back to God? Is that your default setting that you go to? You see, we need to have, our thoughts need to be about God because God thinks about us.

God thinks about us. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 29, the book of Jeremiah chapter 29, and look at verses 11 through 13. Jeremiah chapter 29, and begin with verse number 11. Jeremiah 29 and verse 11, the Bible says, for I know the thoughts that I think towards you, sayeth the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil will give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you, and you shall seek me and find me when you search me with all your heart. God says, I'm thinking about you, and I'm thinking about your expected end. I've got plans for you.

But the question is, are you thinking about God? Because if God is thinking about us, then we need to think about him and call unto him because he's got these thoughts towards us. And so we need to have thoughts that are towards God because God thinks about us as well. In Psalms chapter 139, turn there if you would. Psalms 139 and verses number 11 and 12. Psalms 139 and verses 11 and 12. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me, yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth in the day, the darkness lighter are both alike to thee. You see, God's thoughts towards me are always there.

He's always thinking about me, and nothing is gonna keep me from those thoughts. Nothing can keep me from that path that God has for my life. And God's thoughts are precious towards me, and they ought to be precious towards me. But God also, it's interesting, in the book of Malachi chapter three and verse 16, it says this, then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of Remembrance was written before him for they that feared the Lord and had thought upon his name. Think about that, folks. Every time you think about the Lord, God writes it down in a book.

Every time you think about the Lord, he writes it down in a book. That's how precious are your thoughts towards him. Now, let me ask you a question. How many times was your name a bit round down this last week? How many times each day did you think about God? See, the problem is all of our thoughts are not towards him. He's not our default setting. He's not the place we go back to. We don't sela, we don't stop and think about it. You see, it's good to have devotions every day, but it's more important to read the Bible and then the rest of the day, think about what you read. It's good to come to church, but it's more important to take what you heard home with you and think about it during the week, because God wants our thoughts to be toward him.

So God thinks about us. In Jeremiah 29, we read that, where his thoughts are precious towards us. He writes them down every time. So we need to think. But go over to Matthew 22. Matthew 22, and look at verses 36 through 40. God wants us to think, not just with our mind. Do you realize you don't just think with your mind? In Joshua and Matthew 22, and verses 36 through 40, the Bible says, Master, which is the great commandment of the law? Jesus said, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

To love the Lord with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. You think with your mind. We know that. Philippians chapter four, verse number eight says, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are good reported, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Now, that word think is a very interesting word. It's an accounting term in the Greek. It means, it could be translated deposit these things. You know, when you get your paycheck, you take it to the bank and you deposit it in your account, and you put the money in there so you can draw the money out as you pay bills and buy things and so on.

If you don't put money in, you can't take money out, right? You figured that out yet? Some of you haven't figured it out yet. You gotta put money in to take it out. You see, salvation is like opening a bank account. You can go down to the bank and open an account for free. That's salvation. But then, if you wanna draw upon the peace and the power of God, you gotta deposit these things. And so, if we wanna draw on the peace and power of God, we gotta be thinking with our mind. We've gotta deposit these things. That's why you have your daily devotions. That's why you come to church. So, you're depositing in things that are true and honest and just and pure and so on.

But we not only think with our mind, and by the way, you ever heard somebody say to you a penny for your thoughts? I don't know about you, but there's times sometimes you couldn't pay me a million dollars for my thoughts, because they're not good. You see, we need to think of things that are right, things that are good. This is what we need to put in our mind. Romans chapter 12, verses one and two says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable on Him, which is your reasonable service, and may not conform to this world, but be transformed by the what?

Renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We are being bombarded with wrong thinking. We are being bombarded with the world with all this false thinking. And that's why we've gotta stop and think, what is the right thing here, and put that into our mind. But we also need to think with our heart. Do you know what you think with your heart? The Bible says so in Proverbs 23, seven, for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. So what's the difference between thinking in your mind and thinking in your heart? Psalms 4, four, stand in awe and sin not, commune or think with your heart, your own heart upon your bed, and be still, Selah.

See, thinking with your head is when you make sense of things. Okay, now I understand that. You make sense of things, hmm, okay. Thinking with your heart is when you realize, yeah, that's right, that's what I should do. See, it stops you just making sense, because a lot of us know what makes sense, but we don't ever think about doing it. And so thinking with my heart is, hmm, that's right, that's what I need to do. But then we also need to think with our soul. Go to Psalms chapter 63, Psalms chapter 63, and look at verses one through six. Psalms 63, verses one through six. O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee, my soul will thirsteth for thee, my flesh will longeth for thee in a dry

and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary, because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee, that's how I will bless thee while I live, I will lift up my hands in thy name, my soul shall be satisfied with morrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate or think on thee in the night watches. So he's not just thinking with his head, he's not just thinking with his heart, now he's thinking with his soul. And the idea of the soul is when change actually happens.

That makes sense. I should do that. But when we think with our soul, we do it. You've heard me quote 1 John 5, verses 12 and 13 many times. He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. I used to wonder why did he repeat that same phrase twice, believe on the name of the Son of God? Because there's a lot of people who believe in Jesus here, the gospel makes sense, but they've never believed him here in their heart.

They've never trust him as their savior. They've not realized that I've got to ask him in my heart and my life, and then made that decision so their soul would be saved. You too, you too. So head makes sense, heart, that's right, soul change happens, that's how we think. So, hmm, is to stop and think, hmm, that makes sense. I need to do that, and to make those changes. But then there's another kind of hmm, go to Psalms chapter 143, Psalms chapter 143, and look at verses five and six. Psalms 143, verses five and six. I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works, I muse on the work of thy hands, I stretch forth my hands unto thee, my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land, Selah.

Remember again what Selah mean? Stop and think about this. So he says, we need to think about the creation of God. And then Psalms chapter eight, verses one through nine. Psalms chapter eight, and look at verses one through nine. Psalms eight, verse one says, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings has thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest steal the enemy and the avenger. When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him?

For thou has made him a little lower than the angels who has crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou has put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever pass through the paths of the sea. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. See, God wants us to think about, to marvel at his creation. Have you ever been out there in the early morning and watched the sun rising over the horizon? Have you ever gone out to the North Shore and watched the sunset and that green flash right as it goes down?

Have you ever been driving along the ocean there and seeing the mountains and the water coming together and the beauty of it? To see God's creation. O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art. See, Selah is to meditate. In the worship prompt, Brother John, and I didn't ask him to do that, talked about seeing the creation of God.

And that's what it's all about. Just to see a simple sunrise or a simple sunset. In Psalms chapter 19, it talks about that. We don't have time to look it up, but to see the suns or when you're out in the desert, see all the stars in the sky. Or when you're out in the mountains, to see the beauty and the majestic mountains and to see God's creation. But not only is creation of the world around us, but the creation that you see in the mirror. In Psalms 139, again, if you'll turn over there. Psalms 139, and look at verses 14 through 18. It says, I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are thy works, and that thy soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth, and thou didst not close thine eyes to see my substance, yet being unperfect. In the night book, all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand when I wake, and I am still with thee. Just to see the creation of God in your very being. Now, the Bible says we're fearfully and wonderfully made.

Some of you are fearful and some of you are wonderful. I know that. And maybe you look in the mirror and you say, I don't like what I see, but you know, God created you perfect for you. And even with those little things that you see that are wrong, you need to see the beauty in the creation of God. Hold your hand out like this, would you? Everybody hold your hand out like this. Now, close it and open it. Close it and open it. Do you realize what a miracle that is? That God created, you didn't have to say, all right, hand, open. All right, hand, close. You didn't have to do that. It just does it, doesn't it?

Do you realize what process has to happen from your brain all the way to your fingers to make that happen? And that's the creation of God. Men are trying to create robots can do that, and God created you to do it. You ever watched a baby discover their hand for the first time? You know, when they're first born, they don't realize they have control over their hands. And then one day, I remember one day my son, Caleb, some of you know him, I remember watching him. He was in his crib, and I remember watching him. He saw his hand, he looked at it, and he went like this, and he went like that, and he went like this, and he went like that.

And it was just amazing to watch that. It was dawning on him, I can control that hand. I saw him do that the other week, too, as well. But is that, we don't do that, do we? You don't look at your hand and say, wow, but that's a creation of God. And that's just one little simple task that we can do without even thinking about it. Do you know what's a miracle of God that you can brush your teeth? You realize that? You don't have to think about it. In the morning, you're still half asleep. Your eyes are barely open. You grab the toothbrush, you put the toothpaste on it, you stick it in your mouth, you're going up and down, left to right.

You're not sitting there thinking up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right. You're just brushing your teeth, because that's a miracle of God. We ought to be in awe at his creation. We not only ought to marvel at the miracle of God's creation, but to marvel at the miracle of salvation. Go to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two, look at verses one through three. Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense and reward.

How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at first began spoken of us by the Lord and was confirmed on us by them that heard him? The miracle of salvation, that we see Jesus. Look at verse number nine. But we see Jesus, the one who died for us, the one who sacrificed himself to pay for your sins and for mine. Amazing grace, how sweet to sound. A saint or wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. You know what ought to make you marvel is that Jesus died for you.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Every day you ought to wake up and marvel at that. Don't ever take that for granted. That he died for you, a sinner. Romans 3, 23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That he loved you as a sinner. Romans 5, 8, but God commended or showed his love towards us in that while we had sins, Christ died for us. Romans 6, 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Then God would love you just as you are. Then you don't have to change one thing to make him love you.

Back when I was dating, I used to get up and I'd get dressed and think, how am I gonna dress so my wife will love me? How am I gonna comb my hair so my wife will love me? I had to do everything. Now I don't have to worry about that because she loves me no matter what I look like. She's seen me at my worst. I still try to look nice for her, but the difference is I don't have to make her love me because she's already chosen to love me. And I don't have to make God love me. He loved me so much he sent his son to die for me. Wow. We ought to marvel at that. We ought to marvel at that. Christ died for me.

I think just about everybody in this room could quote John 3, 16. By the way, two weeks ago we challenged you to memorize Bible verses. You've been doing it? Some of you have not memorized one in two weeks. That's sad. That's sad. But John 3, 16, quote it with me. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But here's the problem. We quote it without thinking about it. For God so loved the world, that's me, that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus. We have to think about it. In John 3, 7, the Bible says marvel not that I said that you must be born again.

You see, folks, it's not religion. It's not rituals. It's not our own righteousness. Nicodemus was a very religious man, but God said that's not good enough to get you to heaven. You need to trust in me. John 1, 12, but as many as received him, to them gave you the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Have you marveled this week at the fact that you are a child of God, that you are a son and a daughter of God? I'm saved, I'm a child of God. I'm born again by the blood of Christ. I'm a sinner saved by grace. I quoted from How Great Thou Art a few moments ago. Here's the next verse.

So when I think that God is son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Have you meditated upon the greatness of God's salvation? In Galatians 1, 6, it says, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. We so quickly, we begin thinking I deserve salvation instead of realizing it's only by the grace of God.

Psalm 68, verse 19 says, blessed be the Lord who daily loaded us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. To stop and think, hmm, God has given me so many blessings. Do you ever stop and think about the blessings of God in your life? There's a song called Count Your Many Blessings. When upon life's billows you are tempted to stop. When you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord had done. Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God had done. And folks, we need to count the blessings of God just to stop and think, hmm, God's been so good to me.

Hmm, the Lord has blessed me in so many ways. He's forgiven me even when I sin, and he's for us. The Bible tells in Romans chapter eight that there's nothing that can separate me from the love of God. To count our blessings. But there's one more hmm I wanna take a look at today. In Matthew 22, 22, it says, when they had heard these words, they marveled and left him and went their way. You know, to me, that's one of the saddest verses in the Bible. They marveled and they left him and went their way. You know what that means? They understood it here. They maybe understood it here, but they never did anything with it in their soul.

They never made the decision. What I can't understand is how people can come and hear the gospel, that Jesus loves you, that God loves you, he sent his son to die for you, that Jesus died on the cross to save you from his sins, and all you have to do is call upon him as your savior. How people can hear that and walk out that door without getting saved, and yet that's what they did. See, there's a difference between hmm, I understand, and hmm, a decision, oh, I'm glad I did that. See, when I understood the gospel, that was one thing, but when I received the gospel, that was a hmm of relief knowing my sins were forgiven, I'm going to heaven.

Second Corinthians 6, two says, behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation. To understand the gospel and not get saved, it just, why would anybody not choose Christ? But even as first Christians, Hebrews 3, 15, it says, while it is said, today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation. Even as Christians, we come to church, and we hear a message like two weeks ago, Memorize the Word of God, and you were all right there with me. I remember preaching it, and you guys were all, yes, yes, yes, but how many verses have you memorized since then?

We come in here, a message about the bliss of just being with the Lord, but how much time have you spent with the Lord? You see, we come, and we hear, and we get it here, but it never really gets to here. And we marvel, but then we walk away, and do nothing with it, and that's sad. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way. Don't let that happen today. Don't let them happen in your life. Psalm 67, verse number one, the Bible says, the Bible says, God is merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. You want God's face to shine upon you and bless you? Then stop, and think about it.