Quiet Times Search

• Hobbies
• Other short-lived romances
• Addictions

• Busyness substitutes for meaning
• Efficiency substitutes for creativity
• Functional relationships substitutes for love

We live doing the things we ought to do rather than from our desires

There is a step program for a happy marriage, become a Christian, success

Communication with God is then replaced by activity with God

Given the right plan, everything in life can be managed except for the heart

When we commit sin, we actually become the “slave of sin” - John 8:34

If the Son makes you free you will be free indeed - John 8:36

Our freedom comes in Christ

The same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead, he uses to our most stubborn, ground-in habits.

True repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is the solution.

The more we discover who God is, the more we will love, fear, and respect Him.

Half hearted repentance want freedom from guilt rather than intimacy with their Maker. Instead of “divorcing” themselves from sin, they opt for a “temporary separation”

God’s love satisfies where sin could not - John 4: 13–14; 1 John 2:15– 17

Then the restlessness from guilt and indecision can end because your conscience is clear and your mind made up.

Falling becomes abnormal rather than routine. Freedom becomes a daily reality. Isn’t that what we all really want?

We need to choose to let go of childishness and foolishness
When I became a man, I did away with childish things - 1 Corinthians 13:11

Clinging to childhood while growing into manhood is like trying to run in opposite directions at the same time aka the “Peter Pan Syndrome”

Teen years are often wasted and fathers have become silent.

Rather than initiating serious conversations with wiser men, they goof off with fools in sports bars

Too many men want the freedoms, rewards, and privileges of manhood but only the responsibilities of boyhood

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ - Ephesians 4:14-15

Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature - 1 Corinthians 14:20

The noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands - Isaiah 32:8

A man of responsibility is also a man who can live independantly
“A man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife” - Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5

We are not be alone in life, and though we need one another in the body of Christ,
A grown man should not need his parents or others taking care of him.
He should be a fountain, not a drain.

if she is constantly nagging you, then you should learn to outpace her concerns.

“I’ve already taken care of that” should be often flowing from your lips.

We should be more like a thermostat, affecting circumstances, rather than like a thermometer.

The following “heart hindrances” that will push your chidren away.

1. Your absence - they become sheep without a shepherd.
   • You are saying "You’re not important enough for me"
2. Your anger
   • React in anger, you can thoughtlessly say or do things in the heat of the moment that deeply wound your son or daughter’s spirit long-term
   • Love is slow to anger - 1 Corinthians 13:5
   • Humble yourself and quickly apologize
3. Unjust discipline
   • Must explain rules and consequences clearly using God’s Word and authority rather than their opinion - Ephesians 6:1-3
   • Ask yourself, “How can I train them without losing their heart?”
4. Harsh criticism
   • Don’t be sarcastic or belittling
   • Kids who have no freedom to fail will tend to rebel
5. Lack of compassion
   • Mercy warms hearts; carelessness distances them.
   • We must provide a listening ear, wise counsel, prayerful support, and a willing hand
   • Help them think of you as an oasis

Summary

Eliezer met Rebekah by the well exactly as he had prayed.

Observations

Genesis 24:12 - Please give me success today
So much of our success or failure can depend on our willingness to pray. Eliezer [Genesis 15:2] learned to pray to the "God of my master" and to have a dependant faith via Abraham. What are the people around learning from our prayer life and faith? Do we ask God for guidance before our important and not so important ventures?

Genesis 24:14 - This is how I will know; "I will water your camels too"
Abraham's servant prayed in great detail for Issac's wife to show herself. Hospitality standards of the time was to offer a drink to weary travelers but not to the animals. He did not ask for a certain number of ear rings and braclets (beauty) as a sign of Isaac's future wife but rather for woman great inner beauty. For Rebekah, this second mile offer to provide water for the ten camels, would be no easy feat. A camel can drink up to 30 gallons at a time. After just finishing the journey of 450 miles and two weeks, the camels probably drank pretty close to that amount. How many trips to the well would that have been for Rebekah? 10 camels x 30 gallons = 300 gallons;  1 gallon = 8.2 lbs; Maybe she could carry 40 lbs; 40lb / 8 = 5 gallons per trip; 300 gallons / 5 gallons per trip is about 60 trips.

Genesis 24:15 - Before he finished praying
God knows what we need, we just need to ask for it. Eliezer received an exact and immediate answer. He was left to watch in silience [Genesis 24:21] (possibly shocked) as God answered his prayer exacly as he prayed. When we pray according to His will, he will answer and bless us beyond what we have imagined. Rebekah not only provided water for his animals but she did with kindness and with servant heart. Not only did she provide some water for the camels but enough water until they were finish.  God also answered by blessing the servant with other attributes of Isssc soon-to-wife. The Bible also describes her a very beautiful phyiscally, old enough to marry, and a virgin.

Application

I do not have the dependant prayer I need to have. I have many failures because I depend on myself and do not ask God.

I will give the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me - Judges 11:30

As it would happen, the first to leave his house was Jephthah's daugther

The Bible contains hundreds of God's conditional promises of blessings

Jephthah's vow went terribiy wrong when he tried to set his own conidtions for blessing rather than appoarching God in faith

Have you felt that you needed to offer God something to receive his promised blessing?

You can't buy what God already wants to give you.

The Lord counted him as righeous because of his faith - Genesis 15:6

Faith is the foundation of everything you want to do

Abraham habitually took God at his word and believed that He would do just what He promised

God made him the father of many great nations

God made Abraham some big promises:

• Abraham had no way of knowing how He would keep them
• He remained focused on God's nature rather than how He would bring things about
• Abraham simply believed God would always do what He promised

Take a cenus of all the tribes of Israel - so I may know how may people there are - 2 Samuel 24:2

It is apporopriate and even necessary to speak words of correction, even when those words are not warmly received

Joab spoke up to King David, "Why do you want to do this?" - 2 Samuel 24:3
Why must you cause Israel to sin - 1 Chronicles 21:3

Joab apparently understood that David's orders came out of his reliance on superior military strength rather than the might of heaven

Though Joab warned King David not to go through with the cenus, the king did it anyway and paid a terrible price

We found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots - Acts 24:5

Bible repeatedly commands believers to use words to build others up rather than tear them down

Tertullus was a Jewish advocate before the Roman government and went out of his way to tear others down

He wanted to stop all the preaching about Jesus

Tertullus accused Paul of disturbing the peace throughout the Roman Empire

He intented to have Paul imprisioned or even killed

Before you say something about another person, ask yourself if you are tearing down or building up

Whay are you doing this? We are merely human beings - just like you! - Acts 14:15

Paul and his missionary companion Barnabas demonstrated an attitude of humility and tolerance as they faced sin in the city of Lystra

When they healed a cripped man, Paul and Barnabas watched in horror as the people began to worship them

They did respond to the people in anger or disgust - rather they continued to love these sinners them even though they hated the sin

Paul and Barnabas sent a message that they were no better than anyone else - all of them together were sinners saved by God's grace

What kind of message are you sending to those around you?

I am innocent of this man's blood. The responsibility is yours! - Matthew 27:24

Pontius Pilate had Jesus standing before him, accused of captial crimes but guilty of nothing

He recognized Jesus' innocence and just wanted to let him go

Pilate knew the right thing to do but rather than make an unpopular decision, he caved in

He even symboliclly washed his hands of responibility for what would happen to Jesus

It was a legacy that no man can wash from his hands

You demonstrate your courage and conviction when you assume responsibility and do what is right, even when it is risky

I am full of pent-up words and the spirit within me urges me on - Job 32:18

Job's three friends felt that God was punishing Job for some hidden sin - he rejected this

Job thought God was treating him unfairly

All four of them had it wrong

Elihu: God repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve - Job 34:10-11

His knew Job's suffering could not be in vain. Job shouldn't see his affection as God didn't care about him rather as a tool in God's hand to teach Job more

Amaziah did not destroy the pagan shrines - 2 Kings 14:3-4

Amaziah rejected King David's godly example and followed his father example, Joash, instead

Joash started out strongly but fell flat later in life

He faithfully served God early in his reign but defaulted on his spiritual responsibilites

Amaziah led reactively instead of proactively

• He defeated the Edomites early his life - 2 Chronciles 25:11-12
• He then allowed his people to offer sacrifices and burning incense at pagan shrines
• He even worshiped idol he took from the Edomites

Follow godly examples rather than ones like Amaziah - they startedout well but finished poorly

David was afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. He pretented to be insane - 1 Samuel 21:12-13

Nothing reveals what's inside you quie like a stressfull situation

David fled to Gath become incognito from the murderous King Saul

King Achish's officers were aware of his true identity and David feared for his life and acted insane

Hardly the kind of behavior you would expect from Israel's next king

David allowed his stress rather than his God-inspired courage to rule the day

You may not be able to avoid stressful situations but you can decide for yourself how you'll respond to them

You missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram - 2 Chronicles 16:7

Like so many kings of Judah, Asa started out doing good things for his kingdom

Prophet Azariah: The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! - 2 Chronicles 15:2

Asa trusted and obey God at first but later he failed by relying on humans instead of God

He showed his true colors when he entered into an agreement with Syria to stand against Israel

Asa refusal to rely solely on God contributed to his death

He developed a foot disease - he went to his doctors rather than first seeking God's help - 2 Chronicles 16:12

Where do you turn in yout times of need?

"Trust in God" can seem easy at times but when trouble hits, justice seems dead and love seems to vanish, many are appalled nature's "heartlessness" and "indifference"
And came to the conculsion that God either does not know or does not care

Jesus saw these same situations as evidences of God's love, his long-suffering patience, and willing to allow the lost to find him
Century after century, God has sent the world prophets, apostles, heros and saints to proclaim the message of heaven to bewildered and sinful man

Countless people trusted God only to discover when evil fotune came, that trust was not as strong enough to stand the shock

Trust shapes perpective

Many things can blot out our trust in God:

• Disappointment
• A dream that has come to nothing
• Central ambition may fail
• Persecution
• Misunderstanding/misrepresentation of men
• Overcome with failure

Jesus had all of the dark experiences it is possible to have

He has a message to commicate that would drive away gloom and woe the world to him

Jesus trust was unbroken despite many rejections and even his own men forsaking him

His death appeared to be a heart-breaking failure, but rather a victorious outcome for us