Quiet Times Search

The ultimate goal is to give glory to God

God's glory = the expression of his goodness and all his other eternal qualities
Through history, God has revealed his glory
God's glory is best seen in Jesus Christ

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23
I have created them to bring me glory - Isaiah 43:7
Jesus brought glory to God by doing everthing he was told to do by God - John 17:4

1. We bring God glory by worshiping him - Use your body to the glory of God - Romans 6:13
2. We bring God glory by loving other believers - Accept others as Christ accepted you - Romans 15:7
3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ - We become more and more like him, reflect his glory even more - 2 Corthinians 3:18
4. We bring God glory by serving others our gifts - Do it all with all that God has given you - 1 Peter 4:10-11
5. We bring God glory by telling others about him - Bringing people to Christ through his grace, God receives more and more glory - 2 Corinthians 4:14

Giving glory to God will require us to change our priorities, schedule, relationships, and everything else

1. When we love him supremely
   • Noah did it when no one else did
   • God wants a relationship with you - Hosea 6:6
   • It is the greatest commandment
2. When we trust him completely
   • Problems that Noah could have had:
     • Noah had never seen rain
     • Lived hundreds of miles from the ocean
     • Rounding up all the animals
     • Many discouraging days around people
     • Children were probably embarrassed
       

• Peace
• Freedom
• Experience God's power

• Must be based on the truth (Not Idols)
• John 4:23 - Based on Spirit and Truth

• With ALL of your heart and soul
• God sees the attitudes of the heart
• Biggest distraction in worship is yourself
• Best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love

• Be different - think about the meaning
• Be specific - I love you, praise you (why?)
• Make a list of names for God
• Avoid repetition, cliches
• Be sensitive to unbelievers

• Offer your bodies - Romans 12:1
• God says "Give me all you got"
• "I'll be with you in spirit" - Body and spirit can not separate until death
• Real worship costs - cost us of our self-centeredness

The truth transforms us

Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth

Everything around you exists because "God said so"
Job - I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread (Job 23:12)

Must accept the Bible's authority

• Compass to be relyed on
• Counsel to listen to
• Benchmark for evaluating

Unrealiable authorities (at the Garden of Eden as well):

• Culture - "everyone is doing it"
• Tradition - "we' ve always done it"
• Reason - "it seems logical"
• Emotion - "it just feels right"

Must assimilate its truth

Allow yourself to be transformed by the truth

1. Receive God's Word - Consider carefully how you listen - Luke 8:18
2. Read God's Word - Read it as long as we live - Deuteronomy 17:19
3. Research God's Word  - Write down insights, ask questions
4. Remebering God's Word - Remember what is important to you; memorize; resist tempation
5. Reflect on God's Word  - Meditate, focused thinking

Must apply it principles

• We can fool ourselves that studying is doing
• Applying the Word is hard work
• Alway good to write down an action step from the result of your studying
  • Personal (involves you)
  • Practical (can be done)
  • Provable (deadline)

Begin by assessing your gifts and talents

Take a long honest look at what you are good at
Try to have a sane estimate of your abilities - Romans 12:3
Make a list and ask other people

Experiment with different areas of service
When it doesn't not work out, call it an "experiment", not a failure

Consider your heart and personality
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given - Galatians 6:4

Examine your experiences and extract lessons you have learned

Remember today what you have learned about the Lord - Deuteronomy 11:2
Forgotten experiences are worthless
Paul - "Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not! - Galatians 3:4

Were rarely see God's good purpose - John 13:7

Run with patience the particular race that God has set before us - Hebrews 12:1

Satan can steal our joy by:

1. Compare your ministry with others - others doing a better job
2. Conform your ministry to the expectations of others - you are doing better and you full of pride

Avoid comparisons, resist exaggerations, and seek only God's commendations - 1 Corinthians 10:12-18

We are naturally drawn to humble people

If people see your strengths but not your weakness, they can not relate

• Strengths: Nice that he can do that but I can not
• Weaknesses: I am not sure how he can do that but if he can then I can with God's power

Decide wheather you want to impress people or influence people

Glory in your weakness

When Satan points out your weakness, agree with him and praise Jesus - 2 Corinthians 12:5
Jesus understans our weakness - Hebrews 4:1
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness - Romans 8:26

"If you want to be blessed by God and use you greatly, you must learn to walk with a limp" - Joacb

Voluntary surrender is not easy; never comfortable nor enjoyable
Christ can not be formed in us until we are crucified with him - Galatians 2:20 ; Galatians 4:19

Rebellion comes from man's desire to be God
Satan tried to delute the solution to create powerless religions
Our lives do not change at the deepest level and have the same problems as the world

Only when we are sick of our old nature will we be convinced to totally sell out to God
Death to self seems preferable to life

Most of our cires are designed to produce our surrender
Jesus served through suffering - Hebrews 5:8-9
Can not mature without surrender - Hebrews 12:5-11
Many harships come so we enter heaven - Acts 14:22

So how do we go about taking up our cross?

1. Absolutely commited to the concept - John 12:23-25
2. Be committed to prayer about surrender - "I surrender" and "Help my lack of suddender"
3. Be committed to a relationship with another disciple - Share convictions and be open
4. Be committed to stretching your comfort zone - Do things you can not do without his help
5. Realize that surrender brings about absolute freedom - life through death will cease the puzzling paradox

Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:

1. Who purchased the potter's field?
2. What was the nationality of the woman who was seeking Jesus?
3. Was hatred to the Edomite sanctioned or forbidden?
4. Is the Christian yoke easy?

Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:

1. Can God be found by those who seek them?
2. Can we call someone a fool or not?
3. Do miracles prove a divine mission?

Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:

1. Is marriage approved?
2. Is there one God or more than one God?
3. Should our good works be seen or unseen?
4. Was Christ's mission peace or not?
5. Was Christ's testimony of himself is true?
6. Was Keturah Abrahams' wife or concubine?
7. Where did Cain get his wife?

Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:

1. Did God put all rulers in power?
2. Is God present everywhere, sees all things, and knows all things?
3. Should we observe the Sabbath?
4. Should we practice physical resistance?
5. Should work be done on the Sabbath?
6. Was Jesus the only one to ascend into heaven?
7. Was John the Baptist Elijah?
8. Was there one or two men seeking Jesus?
9. What is God's anger like?

Sacrifice - we think of pain, suffering, loss, and the uncomfortable concept of denying self
We hear: "Do what feels good"

Sacrifice is a voluntary presentation of ourselves to God to be used for his purposes
Jesus sacrificed his comfortable position with God to serve, heal, love, preach the good news

 We can respond in serveral ways to the sacrifice of Jesus:

• Pretend it never happened
• Can decide to hide from the challenge
• Immerse ourselves in other thoughts
• Stand back with our arms folded
• Understand the facts but no personal acceptance or responsibility

Christ love needs to compel us - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Hiding is dishonest. Spectating is hypocritical. Committing is powerful.

What happens when you offer your body as a living sacrifice?

• It produces many seeds - John 12:24-25
• Life truly becomes life
• Our joy is multiplied
• It effects us and other for enternity

What types of sacrifices is God asking of you right now?
Is there is anyone, anything, any place, or any position you are holding on to?

• He entrusted himself to him who judges - 1 Peter 2:23
• Kept his focus on the joy that would be his - Hebrews 12:2

• What will happen?
• What will I get?
• Will I be happy

• Experienced the slience of God
• Beaten and hung on the cross
• Believed in the resurrection that he could not see
• Could only see the blood, pain and faces of mockers

1. Positive - grow quickly
2. Difficult - the questions surface
3. Tragic - faith needs to accept the situation, ask for help, and believe that God's power will be sufficient

Jesus came to turn the tables on Satan
He came to deal with the greatest of all questions and fears - death

• He spoke about it in great length - John 5:21-30
• He claimed to be the only solution for death - John 6:53-57
• He raised the dead - John 11
• He believed his death would bring others life - John 12:23-25

When he died, almost everyone thought evil won

Satan pulled out all the stops.
Jesus was in his deadly sights at all times - waiting for a bad day

7 moves to turn the tables:

1. Pray - he is listening - Hebrews 5:7
2. Read - he is speaking - Luke 4:1-13
3. Believe - he is able - Hebrews 2:18
4. Trust - he is willing - Hebrews 4:15
5. Fight - he knows what you can bear - 1 Corinthians 10:13
6. Seek - he has provided a way out - 1 Corinthians 10:13
7. Find - he gives grace in time of need - Hebrews 4:16

Joy set before him endured the cross - Hebrews 12:2-3
Jesus was a joyful person; even at the cross - at the cross it seemed that everything was going wrong

Yet joy joy was still in the heart of Jesus:

• He knew God was in control
• He didn't agrue with God
• He didn't need explaination
• He didn't need to justify himself
• He entrusted himself to the one who judges - 1 Peter 2:23

When we try to take over God's role - there is no joy
Jesus prayed for his disciples to have the full measure of his joy - John 17:13

Even the violent scene of the cross brought about joy and hope
What will you allow to steal your joy?

• Nothing he cannot do
• No victory he cannot win
• No tragedy he cannot overcome
• No mountain he cannot move

• How did you do that?
• Give us the recipe
• Whisper the secret

The Cross is enough, then, now, and always

Hebrews 7:25-27

• He is able to completely save
  • Never too short
  • Never too weak
  • Never worn out
• He always lives - Prepared to recuse me until the day I die
• Once for all - One death sufficient for all my sins, for all time

God wants his children to be abolutely confident that we can draw near to him with freedom and assurance

Without seeing the cross, David understood his Savior and Redeemer - Psalms 69:13

• Blessed are those who hunger for they will be filled - Matthew 5:6
• Everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds - Matthew 7:7-8
• You have not because you ask not - James 4:2
• Judah sought God, and he was found by them - 2 Chronicles 15:15
• Sometimes we need to wrestle with God to show how much we want it - Genesis 32:26

Reading from 2 Kings 6:15-17

We can relate to Elisha's servant, he lacked faith
When we lack faith, we only see the world around us and the challenges that life is throwing at us
When you wallow in faithlessness, your Bible study lack power and your eyes skim the pages without absorbing the words

As Elisha's servant looked down at the Arameans, he turned in despair to Elisha
He admitted that he needed help
Because of his humility, he found the help that he needed

Do you collapse in a heap of self-pity or discouragement?
Do you go out and get the help you need?
Do you babble like a Pharisee or have you gotten gut-level honest with God about how you are feeling?

Elisha's servant got humble and trusted his leader
As he looked out again, he saw the Arameans surrounded by the army of heaven

Problems always look less daunting when you get God in the picture and decide to be full of faith

1. We must seek justice - what is right in sight of God - Yes, No, or Wait a While
2. We must cry out - Urgent, passionate yet humble - he was heard because of his reverent submission - Hebrews 5:7
3. We must be consistent day and night - beginning (Psalms 5:1-3) and all day
4. Pray full of faith - Jesus concluded with a question: would he find faith on earth?

1. Realize God has chosen you - Choose you for the purpose of telling the world about him - 1 Peter 2:9
   
2. See God in everything - Train your mind to look at God and not self - Colossians 1:11-12
   
3. Express and verbalize your gratitude - Psalms 39:4-5
   

• He knows what is in our hearts
• He knows what we are really seeking
• He knows what we need

• He questioned the wisdom of God's choice
• Argued his lack of eloquence
• Says he does not want the responsibility
• He is honest - he gives God something to work with - Exodus 4:13

• Why do you hide yourself in trouble? - Psalms 10:1-2 - logically does not make sense but this is where David was
• Later, he works it out in prayer (v17) - LORD, you have heard the request of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.

"When you fast" - not if you fast

God commanded the Jews to fast on the day of Atonement - Leviticus 23:27-29
During the time of Jesus, Pharisees fasted twice a week - Luke 18:!2
Church was acustom to fasting - Acts 13:2, 14:23

Getting practical

1. Making it a part of lifestyle
2. Fast with a purpose in mind - bear fruit, find a job, closer walk with God
3. Decide how long you intend to fast and stick to it
4. Decide what kind of fast you intend to have
5. Seek input from other disciples

• Help me be a better person
• Help me to change
• Help me to love you more

Luke 11:9-10 - Asking, Seeking, and Knocking as three separate commands to be obeyed
Three steps toward a single goal

The idea of the door being opened is associated with God-given opportunity - 1 Corinthians 2:12

The rest of the chapter is about how God worked in the author's life, opening doors.

Addressing God as the Father seems pretty normal - not the case in Jesus' day

Sometimes David prayed:

• O God
• O Lord
• O my God
• O my Lord

...but nowhere will you find David addressing the living god as "Father"
Gabriel was sent to respond personally to Daniel's great prayer in Daniel 9 - yet he did not address God as Father

Patriarchs, the prophets, and the priests of Israel were all men of prayer - never addressed their prayers to God as "Father"
Jesus gave believers the right to become children of God

We begin our time in prayer with a father-child relationship

• To submit to the will of God
• To please the Father
• To affirm my powerlessness
• To experience His presence
• To know his will
• To be transform (character)
• To become spiritually mature
• To be humble
• To be fruitful
• To walk in the Spirit
• To obey willingly and joyfully
• To receive blessing
• To be protected
• To be useful

There is no greater privilege and responsibility than to pray for our spouse and children
It boggles the imagination to see how the quality of our family life can be affected by exercise this privilege

Powerful spiritual forces of evil try to undermine God's foundational institutions like the family

Bible clearly teaches that our struggle come from the spiritual forces outside conscious perception - Ephesians 6:12
Praying sometimes make things worst (at the beginning) because Satan is on the attack

Each of us need to realize that how we pray for our spouse is limited only by our creativity
If you want the kind of relationship that God intended you to have with your wife, prayer will be a major factor in seeing that desire realized

When we have been faithful in praying for my children, we have a great sense of peace about their lives
Christian dads have a tremendous privilege and a straggering responsibilty to pray their children

Should pray for:

• maturity
• commitment
• spiritual health
• impact on our city

Pray for dreams for the church that will stretch our vision for the church and city
God can do more than we can imagine - Ephesians 3:20

How are you praying for your church? - Its your church
What do you want see God do? Where do you want to see His kingdom advance?

• Search me
• Know my heart
• Test me
• Know my anxious thoughts
• See if there is any offensive way
• Lead me to the way of everlasting

• God can discern our errors
• Forgive our faults

One may ask, where is the quiet listening part of prayer in this book

God encourages us to be still and know that he is God - Psalms 46:10

Mature prayer is not intended to be a monologue, but a dialogue

Christian meditation and Eastern meditation has to do with is in our minds as meditate
Eastern = empty our minds - dangerous activity
New Age = visualization of pleasant and peaceful landscapes as spiritual guides - opens a door to tremendous spiritual deception

Biblically based contemplation and meditation seeks not to empty the mind but fill it
God will speak through impression and intuition - should always be checked against the Bible and mature Christians

It is helpful to keep a separate list of needs for times of pure intercession:

• Ministry
• Neighbors
• Family
• Special Needs

Also good to have a "miracle list"

God can do anything - nothing is impossible - Luke 1:37

During difficult times, God extended a seeming impossible invitation:
Jerusalem was under attack from the Babylonians and the city was destroyed

Call to me and I will answer with great and unsearchable things  - Jeremiah 33:3
God promised healing,  forgiveness, and cleansing to Israel - Jeremiah 33:6-9

He can do immeasurably more than what we can ask - Ephesians 3:20

We know God can do anything; we just don't know if he will do them

• Such a life is attractive
• They will want to be like you
• Will see something inside is real
• Will see the difference

• He went to parties
• He told jokes
• He nicknamed his guys
• He loved children and they loved him
• Pharisees even rebuked Jesus for letting his disciples get too happy

First principle = first time obedience

Second principle = Parents never lose
They want to see their limits
Apologize when warrented but never give up in the battle of wills

Sometimes the whole issues comes down to the "mother of all battles"
Compromise is one the most devastating mistakes parent can make
When we do this, we sow the seeds of rebellion - Ephesians 6:4

If you have failed in this area:

1. Read about passages about obeying
2. Talk to them about obeying the first time
3. Explain this has not been the way but will be now
4. Pray together
5. From that time on be different

Israelites - if only we had meat; we never see anything but manna - Numbers 11:4-10
Any grumbling we do is really grumbling against God

God met the needs of the Israelites but he punished them for their attitude - Numbers 11:33
God did want to their needs to be known
Complaining springs selfishness and ingratitude

Must teach our kids to be grateful
Also teach them to express their wishes, opinions, likes and dislikes in a pleasant, positive tone of voice

• Have people into your home
• Draw people into your family life
• When they see what there is - teach them where it comes from

When the paralyzed man came down through the roof - damaged the house of Peter and Andrew - how would you respond?

Jesus demonstrated his love for people in the way he deals with the crowds

Everywhere he went, Jesus drew a crowd
He spoke with authority, conviction because he deeply cared about people

We need to care enough to gather a crowd - People need to be our focus
They need to be in our homes, in our Saturday plans, and focus of our lunch hour

Jesus with the Religious
Their slavery to legalistic minutiae angered him - Matthew 23:23-24
Their stubborn hearts distressed him - Mark 3:1-5
Jesus desire was for them to be saved

Jesus with the Faithful
Jesus gets the greatest joy from interacting with people who believe
Centurion - the faith he was looking for - Luke 18:8
What fires Jesus up? Faith

If we follow Jesus, the smallest seed of faith that we see in others should encourage and excite us.

Who big is your crowd?
Do you see the faith of others?
Is Jesus amazed by your faith or your lack of it?