Quiet Times Search

• Psalms 8, 24, 29, 47, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 104, 113, 135, 147, 148

• Not position
  
• Not recognition
• Not performance
• Not respect

• Physical blessings
• Family blessings
• Spiritual blessings

Do you realize that nearly all of the people we read about in the Bible spent most of their time outside?

• Star-studded evening would tell how many descendants Abraham would have - Genesis 15:5
• Looking at God's creation - humbled Job's pride - Job 38:4-7

FInd park, trails, and open spaces.
Open your eyes, listen, breath the realivily clear air

When is the last time you:

• Took in a sunrise or sunset
• Watched the changing cloud formations
• Listen to the songs of the birds
• Strolled through the leaves of fall
• Listen to the snow fall as they gently fell to earth
• Took a good look at the flowers of spring
• Stopped to watch the a powerful thunderstorm
• Stood in awe of the sparkling  stars

Psalms 19:1-4; Psalms 65:8-13

Time outside with God is just what many of us need and nothing else will suffice

• Your relationship with God does not depend how you have a quiet time
• We should learn to pray short prayers throughout the day
• If we don't remember God throughout the day, can become legalistic about our quiet times

• Study one book of the Bible - Make a simple outline; sometimes we lose patience in our understanding - keep working at it
• Study a section of a book - ie Sermon of the Mount; Jesus and the disciples in the upper room
• Study one chapter of the Bible - Hebrews 11, 1 Corinthians 13, and others
• Study one verse - This is really deep! compare it, cross reference words, look up meanings
• Study one topic - understand and master; use topical, chain-reference, and concordance

Here are some false 'Gods' we can create in our mind:

• He get "attitudes" when we misbehave
• He does not really forgive
• His power is limited to people's choices
• He has no reason to his plan
• He does not always answer prayer; too busy
• He thinks we ask for too much stuff
• He does not want to "over-bless"
• He will bless when you have earned it
• He looks are the results of our performance
• He barely tolerates our presence

All of these ideas are false, contridict the Bible, and are from Satan

If this is my "Father", I will have a turbulent relationship with "him"

Falling in love with God - is attainable

We will find what we seek:

• If we seek relief in salvation, this is what we will find
• If we seek acceptance and a community, this is what we will find
• If we seek wisdom and insight, this is what we will find
• If we seek effective ministry, this is what we will find
• If we seek God more and more deeply, this is what we will find

What are you seeking?

 Lord searches every heart; if you seek him, he will be found by you - 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

How many times have we tried to do something with seeking him first?

None of us can be "strong" without seeking
Talent, experience, and insight are cheap gifts and can never take the place of a heart that seeks after God

There are many decisions that you need make about your relationship with God:

• How much time should go by without special prayer time?
• What am I trying to accomplish in my Bible study?
• What do I need to allow the message of God really soak into our heart?
• Where can I go and be really free to wrestle emotionally with the will of God?

When does seeking really start?

Romans 3:11 - there is no one that seeks God
John 6:44 - No one can come to me unless the Father draws him

Studying the Bible is simply allowing ourselves to be sought by God

If it was our own effort - baptism may seem like the end of the quest

We need to active learners

When we were young, we understood obligation  - "I gotta go to school"
After high school, we may go to college and narrow our focus of learning and become passive learners

• We listen to the voice of our experience as the final authority
• We learn mostly from our mistakes
• We learn when we are forced to out of control - crisis, illness, death

Treasures are for those who will continue to seek forever; not for those who want tips and tricks for being "effective"

If there were ever a moment to be a passive learner, it would be when you walk with Jesus

Luke 11:1-13 - where would we be if the disciples had not asked about praying to the Father? - not know how to address the Father

We need to take responsibilty to get deep and ask questions

• Marriage counseling - one view, then a different view
• Forming opinion without all the background information
• Good leader - realizing he does not know everything about every subject
• Been hurt by others - assume others are the same way

Performance trap - termed as perfectionism (not measuring up = sin)

Guilt and imagined guilt come from performance based - must learn to understand God's grace
Guilt-ridden people are not joyful people, poor advertisements for God's kingdom

Good thing to do our best but when mixed with pride is a wrong turn
Ex. Parental pride = making children reach a goal that unattainable

Rejection (or fear of) - is the root of most of our insecurities
We either pull back or prove ourselves through performance
Much of our competitiveness come from this source

Performance-oriented tries to conceal insecurities with a superimage of self
Deep-down we want love and acceptance
Real love is unconditional

Unless we are open about our negative points we will never reallty feel loved

Paul opened up his life:

2 Corinthians 6:11-13

• Spoke freely
• Open wide his heart
• Not withholding affection

• v1 - Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses
• v2 - Hasn't God also spoken through us?
• Had a personality conflict but did not want admit it - fought over doctrine
• v9 - Lord anger burned against them and left them

What shouldn't drive our life (will miss God's purposes for your life):

People are driven by guilt

Allows the past to control their future
God's purpose is not limited to our past

God turned a murder (Moses and Paul) into a leader and a coward into a hero

God specializes in giving people a fresh start

People are driven by resentment and anger - Resentment always hurts you more than it does the other person

People are driven by fear - from unrealistic expectations and high-control situations

People are driven by materialism - Your value is not determined by your valuables

People are driven by the need for approval - those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it

Living a purpose driven life, knowing your purpose:

1. Gives meaning to your life
   • I have laboed to no purpose - Isaiah 49:4
   • My life drags by - day after hopeless day - Job 7:6
   • My life makes no sense - Job 7:16
2. Simplies your life
   • You have just enough time to do God's will - too much to do means you doing things you shouldn't be doing
3. Focuses your life
4. Motivates your life
5. Prepares you for eternity

This life is preparation for the next - realizing this will help you live differently

• Place a higher premium on relationships
• Use your time and money more wisely
• Your priorities will become reordered

God has planted eternity in the human heart - Ecclesiastes 3:11

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears

The most damging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking
Only time most people think about eternity is at a funeral

This world is not our home - Hebrews 13:14
Every moment in this body is time spent away from our eternal home - 2 Corinthians 5:6

• Abraham - offering his son
• Jacob - working for Rachael
• ...and many others

• Adam and Eve - failed when tempted
• David - failed several times
• ...and many others

• Major changes
• Delayed promises
• Impossible problems
• Unanswered prayer
• Undeserved criticism

• 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

• 4 commandments  - deal with your relationships with people
• 6 commandments - deal with your relationships with God
• All 10 commandments deal with relationships!

• 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

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)

There is always a way out
He will not permit any temptation that you could not overcome - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Refocus attention on something else

By resisting, you actually reinforce it
Don't fight the though, change the channel
Power of suggestion - the more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold of you
Temptation begins by capturing your attention - Satan can't get your attention when you are focused on something else

Reveal your struggle to a gold friend or support group

If you fall, a friend can help you up - Eccelesiastes 4:9-10
Hiding your hurt intensifies it
Satan wants you to think that your temptation is unique - We all fight the same temptations - 1 Corinthians 10:13
The reason we hide our faults is pride - everything is under control

Resist the Devil

He will flee when you resist - James 4:7
Without Christ we are defenseless against the Devil
Satan can not make you do anything, he can only suggest
Use the Word of God as your weapon against Satan - Jesus simply answered Satan with scriptures
Don't ever try to argue with Satan - he better at it

Realize your vulnerabilities

The heart is deceitful above all things- Jeremiah 17:9

Don't carelessly place yourself in tempting situations, avoid them - Proverbs 14:16

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