Quiet Times Search

3. When we obey him wholeheartedly
   • Noah was given detailed instructions on: size, shape, number of animals, and materials
     
   • Completely, wholeheartedly, without delay, without explanation, joyfully, with enthusiasm
   • Wholeheartedly = completely and exactly
     
   • Partial obedience is disobedience
4. When we praise and thank him continually
   • Noah built an altar to the Lord - Genesis 18:20
   • We are to offer a sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving - Hebrew 13:15; Psalms 116:17
5. When we use our abilities
   • God enjoys every detail, not just "spiritual" activities - Psalms 37:23
   • Reject yourself, you reject God's wisdom in creating you
   • There are no nonspiritual abilities just misused ones
   • Children do not have to anything special to make their parents happy

• Peace
• Freedom
• Experience God's power

• Abraham - allowed to question and challenge
• David - God patient during his accusations
• Job - allowed to vent his bitterness
• Moses - told God exactly how he felt

• Honest with who you are - otherwise we are just fooling ourselves - 1 John 1:7-8
• Requires courage and humility
• We only grow by taking risks - being honest is a major risk

• Depending on each other
• Sharing responsibility
• Mutual accountability

• Sharing pain of others (Colossians 3:12)
  
• Meet needs of being understood and the validation of our feelings
• Self-Pity dries up sympathy for others
• Times of crisis, grief, doubt when we need each other the most

• Can't have fellowship without forgiveness
• Bitterness and resentment always destroys fellowship
• Never be asked to forgive someone more than God has forgiven you
• Energy for retaliation or resolution?
• Forgiveness immediate; Trust takes time

• Lose fellowship with God
• Expose my pride and insecurity
• Set myself up to be judged by God
• Harm the fellowship

God wants you to grow up - some grow older but never grow up (Ephesians 4:14-15)

Nothing shapes your life than the commitments you make
Many are afraid to commit to anything and drift through life

God's part and your part

Our part is to: Continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling - Philippians 2:12-13

Our role = "work out" salvation (grow - in a body workout we have our body but we make it better)
God's role = "work in" us

Changing your autopilot

Becareful what you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts - Proverbs 4:23
Changing what you think, changes you

Going on a diet, exercising does not work if you do not change your thinking - "I am going on a diet"

The way you think determines the way you feel - which influences how you act - Ephesians 4:23

Babies by nature are completely selfish
Many never grow beyond that kind of thinking

It is not the amount of biblical information and doctrine you know
Deeds must be constant with our creeds / Beliefs backed up with Christlike behavior

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)

• Gift-envy - wanting a gift that someone else has
• Gift-projection - expect others to the same gifts as we do

• Enthusiasm - what you love to do; no one has to motivate
• Effectiveness - passion drives perfection

Personality

You are very unique 10^{2,400,000,000} in DNA terms
All the particles in the universe is less than 10⁷⁶

It is obvious that God loves variety
God works through different people in different ways; achieves his purpose through all - 1 Corinthians 12:6
So many personality conflicts between just the 12 disciples

It is easier to  work with the grain than against it
Mimicking someone else exactly does not work

Experiences

• Family experiences
• Education experiences
• Vocational experiences
• Spiritual experiences
• Ministry experiences
• Painful experiences

Greatest ministry comes from our most likely come from your greatest pain
God allows you to go through painful experiences for ministry of others

When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the comfort God has given us - 2 Corinthians 1:4

Paual was honest with his bouts of depression
He eventually put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us - 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

If Paul kept his experience to himslef, millions of people would have never benefitted from it

Don't waste your pain, us it to help others

We server God by serving others
Everyone wants to lead; not many want to follow - we would rather be generals than privates

How can you know if you have the heart of Jesus?
You can tell what they are by what they do - Matthew 7:16

Real Servants make themselves available to serve

Like a soldier, always by for duty - 2 Timothy 2:4

• Do what is needed
• Do it when it is inconvenient
• Gives up control of their schedule
• Not frustrated because it is whatever God wants

Real servants pay attention to needs

Always looking out for ways to help others
Great opportunities to serve never last for long
Never tell your neighbor to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now - Proverbs 3:28

Real servants do their best with what they have

Servant never make excuses, procratinate, wait for better circumstances
If you wait for the perfect conditions, you will never get anything done - Ecclesiates 11:4
Less-than-perfect service is better than the best intention

Service starts in the mind

Servants think more about others than about themselves

Not thinking less of ourselves, thinking of ourselves less
Forget yourselves; lend a helping a hand - Philippians 2:4
This is what it means to "lose your life"
Jesus emptied himself; taking the form of a servant - Philippians 2:7

Self-denial is the core of servanthood
Unfair situation; use the occasion to practice the servant life - Matthew 5:41

Servants think like stewards, not owners

Remember the God owns it all
No servant can serve two masters - Money not "should not", "can not"
If you have been trusted with the world's weath, than you can be trusted with true riches - Luke 16:11

• Prove the truth
• Argue the case
• Press for a verdict

• Easier to relate to than principles
• Capture our attention
• People are naturally curious about experiences they never have had
• Builds a relational bridge
• Bypasses intellectual defenses

1. What my life was before Christ
2. How I realized I needed Jesus
3. How I committed my life to Jesus
4. The difference Jesus has made in my life

Feels good to feel loved - insecurities come from not being sure or for some reason other than unconditional love

In our worst shape, God demonstrated his love for us - Romans 5:8
Love that surpasses knowledge - Ephesians 3:19
The is not of higher value than unconditional love
Not a testimony to God's softness on sin
We will be changed if we understand God's love

Love you enough to have his son killed for you - while you (and me) were enemies of God
How much is his love toward you now that you his child?
Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love - Ephesians 5:1-2

If God loves us this much, we should as love this way - 1 John 4:11
Do you only love God when perform as you think he should? He doesn't!

Paul - Christ came to save sinners and I am the worst - 1 Timothy 1:15

The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin - 1 John 1:7
"Purifies" = present tense as in a da by day, constsant cleansing

His blood was the only thing that could possibly attain forgiveness for me - Ephesians 1:7
Blood make atonement for one's life

Imagine the priest persuading an Israelite to trust God's ways and offer the lamb
Do we have more faith in our weak, self-invented sacrifics than we do in God's plan fo grace?

Jesus' sacrifice for our sins must be accepted first for the joy of our sacrifical life to make sense
His blood is keeping us cured as we openly confess, repent, and appeal to God for our forgiveness - 1 John 8:2-6

Where does your value come from? As a blood-bought sinner or my ability to produce a perfect life

• He made no treats
• He did not retaliate

• He honest and call sin, sin
• Allow ourselves to feel the pain - fear or anger
  
• Surrender to God or be bitter, resent, or even apathy

Passover - it meant freedom for the Jews (from Egypt)
Jesus choose Passover to bring freedom to all through his death

It was a new relationship with God and man
God loved mankind but man hurt God with his sin

Jesus: with my life and death, you have a new relationship, now remember this
It will be forgotten in our lives if we don't make plans to remember

In the midst of our activities and pressure of life, we forget:

• How much he went through for us
• That we can be forgiven and start over again and again
• Why we are doing things we are doing

He took bread and gave thanks for this very reason - Luke 22:19

Give thanks and examine yourself - 1 Corinthians 11:28
Don't forget that in Christ there is no condemnation - Romans 8:1

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?

• the lost
• the people he met and healed
• his disciples to stay faithful
• his family who thought he was crazy
• the children

• Connection to the highest places - John 1:11
• His ability to move the masses was unparalleled - Matthew 7:28
• His understanding of what it takes to succeed was clear and unwavering - John 12:23-24
• He stayed on task until it was done - John 19:30

• Working for a promotion
• Earn more money
• Gain material possessions
• Working for the Lord - Colossians 3:23

• Love for enemies and pray for them - Luke 6:27-28
• Sacrifice of sleep for someone
• Be flexible and inconvenienced for others

• Made himself nothing
• Took the very nature of a servant
• Was made in human likeness
• In the appearance of a man
• Obedient to death

• Consumed with finiding fault with God
• Reject God rather than questioning ourselves
• Thinks he could do a better ob

1. Start with a fresh look at the cross
2. Remind yourself of the humility shown by Christ
3. Want reconciliation more than anything
4. Confess your sin first

Unity has an immense impact on our lives

Tower of Babel - God said nothing they planned would be impossible for them - Genesis 11:6
House divided against impossible for them - Mark 3:25
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit - Ephesians 4:3

What are the obstacles to unity?

• Misunderstanding and wrong assumptions (Israelite tribes) - Joshua 22
• Selfish ambition (James and John) - Matthew 20:20-28
• Inferiority and insecurity
• Jealousy and selfishness (brothers of Joesph) - Genesis 37
• Ingratitude and unforgiveness (older brother of the prodical son) - Luke 15

Sin is the ultimate cause of all disunity. Forgiveness is the ultimate cure.

It defies our nature
Reflects a surrender that trusts God's justice
Demonstrates a humility that cares less for one's own rights than for the good of others

Who do you need to totally forgive?
Forgiveness is the key to bing reunited
We need a daily "state of our unions"

To truely know him, we must absorb his Word
We must enjoy his talking to us

God's Word was written with one purpose in mind - to communicate God's love:

• He promised to carry our burdens - Matthew 11:28
• We will have all we need - 2 Corinthians 9:8
• He will give us more than we can ask or imagine - Ephesians 3:20
• He will meet all our our needs - Philippians 4:19
• All disciples have angels to server them - Hebrews 1:14

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
   

Dads should constantly aware of how how their character impacts their child
But no matter how good we do, we can not fully meet their needs; only the Father can

God is the perfect Father
He is always present and available
He is commited to meeting our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs
No time in our day is more important than the time we spend with Him

YHWH-tsidkenu means "the Lord our righteousness"

Remembering Jesus' name in Hebrew Ya'shua which means  "God is salvation"
He was the fulfillment of the name YHWH-tsidkenu - 1 Corinthians 1:30

Thank God that I had no righteous of my own, Jesus died for me - source of my righteousness

Pause to think about what Christ has done for me
His atoning death and resurrection gives life meaning and significance

• guides his flock
• provides for his flock
• protects his flock

Focusing on God - source of incredible joy in our lives
This is worship - fundational to the prayer experience

Psalms 100:4 - his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise
Presence is fullness of joy - Psalms 16:11

Focus is a vital part of an effective prayer life
Having moved into His presence - sharpens your spiritual focus - His Kingdom

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?

1. Pray for God's influence and intervention in the leadership of our country
2. Pray about the moral condition of our country and ask God to be merciful and forgiving
3. Pray about specific issues our nation is facing
   

God provided manha day after day for 40 years to the Israelites
They could not take more than a day's portion - otherwise it would rot
Manha means "it is what it is"

It was to teach them that man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord - Deuteronomy 8:2-3

It is NOT inapproprate to ask God to provide for our needs
He is YHWH - jireh - the Lord will provide

God delights in our dependence on Him as the source of our provision
We often do not have because we have not asked - James 4:2

Sinning is easy; it comes naturally
When we turn our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit creates a new nature - the two battle within us

Fruits of that new nature - Galatians 5:22-23

Jesus fought the battle with scripture - He said "It is written" many times while responding to others
David hid the God's word in his heart so he would not sin - Psalms 119:11

God promises that we will not be tempted more than we can bear - 1 Corinthains 10:13

People don't get into shape because they don't know what to do or how to get going

Learning how to start slow and build gradully plays a critical role in getting into shape

The practice if prayer has the same dynamics
Many men respond to emotional appeals to pray more but do not know how to start

1. Am I properly positioned to pray?

• Ask the Holy Spirit to help us to pray (true intimacy)
  
• Thank God for what he has given us

• Our lives
• Our family
• Our churches
• Our cities
• Our nation
• Our world

• Physical
• Emotional
• Spiritual

• Protection from the flesh
• Protection from Satan

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

Kids who are showered with love must be taught to give it away
Otherwise they will become selfish, aloof, and arrogant
God commands us to love hime in return

Love and concern for others should be talked about often
Children learn to love by helping - capable of so much more than we think

We can do far too much for them - creates self-centeredness
They way we treat others is the way we treat Jesus - Matthew 25:34-40

The whole family is an instrument of God - God will use in us is a dark and lost world

Must be taught and expected earily
Lays the foundation for obedience to all other authorities in life and ultimately to God

Children who are rebellious, defiant, and disobedient to parent later will demonstrate those same attitudes towards all authorities

It is easiler to teach children to obey while they are yound than to begin later when the habit of disobedience is deeply established

Training is different than discipline
Training proactive; Discipline reactive

Discipline without training = negativity and frustration

Training without discipline = weak and underestimates the rebellious nature

• Because of failure, they can hide things from you or even themselves
• Ask them if they anything on their mind
• Work through things until they are confident
• Share some of our worse blunders - draws them closer and assures them that they are not alone

• Children who learn to admire and encourage other will be confident
• They will be strong enough to give credit where credit is due
• Teach your kids to give their best and never blame anyone when they lose
• Teach them to be like Jonathan - could have been jealous of David but became his best friend - 1 Samuel 18
• John the Baptist became lesser so Jesus could become greater - John 3:30

• God is honored
• God's presence is sought and experienced in daily life
• Prayer is an ongoing reality
• The Bible faithfully read and obeyed
• There is love for God's church and is fully involved in its fellowship and ministry
• There is times of worship, praise, and study
• The children have their own times of personal Bible study
• The parents spend regular times with each child to disciple them to Christ
• A group that is dedicated to helping other become disciples of Jesus

• Genuine in our love for God
• Consistent in our walk with him
• Wholehearted in our dedication

1. Prayer
2. Discipling times
3. Family devotionals
4. Devotion to Church
   
5. Evangelistic lifestyle
6. Children's Quiet Times