Dialing Into God - January 30th, 2011

Date: January 30th, 2011

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: Dialing Into God

Text: Luke 4:42, 5:16, 6:12

INTRODUCTION

Wouldn’t it be nice and make it easy if we could just pick up a stethoscope like that and dial into God’s whispers?

We could just hear clearly what he was saying to us.

Well, reality is that there is no magic stethoscope, but there are some things we can do to hear God’s whispers.

1. HOW DO WE DIAL IN?

In “Celebration of Discipline” ( recognised as one of the top 10 Christian books of the century) Richard Foster identifies 12 ways to dial in to God’s voice.

Inward Disciplines
Prayer	Comunicating with God
Meditation	Reflecting on God & letting it change us
Fasting	Abstaining from food for spiritual purposes
Study	Goal is to change our thinking
Outward Disciplines
Simplicity	To focus on less inwardly and to desire less outwardly
Solitude	An inner fulfillment found in being deliberately alone with God
Submission	The practise of laying down one’s rights for godly purposes
Service	Denying oneself in favour of meeting another’s need

Corporate Disciplines
Confession	Admitting to Christ our sin and our need
Worship	To experience the reality of the presence of Christ in the midst of a gathered community
Guidance	Experiencing the direct & active leading of the Holy Spirit.
Celebration	Embodying the joy and life of Christ in the mundane of life

Gary Thomas says in his book “Sacred Pathways” that we have made a mistake in our in teaching of people as to how to dial into God. We have made it a single spiritual prescription – “read Bible and pray”.

“All you have to do is develop a 30 – 60 minute quiet time and come to church on Sunday morning and Walla you will connect.”

He likens our discipleship teaching to going to a doctor and he prescribing one medication for every ailment.

A.W.Tozer warned:

“The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. We have almost forgotten that God is a person (not a machine), and as such, can be cultivated as any person can.”

Thomas suggests that we all have different spiritual temperaments and that what feeds one doesn’t feed all. There is no single spiritual prescription for every person and every ailment. Instead, each of us will find some of these 12 disciplines more meaningful than others.

Some find God in singing ….and wish we would sing more because that is where God touches them.
Others can’t wait till we get done the singing until we can get to the meat of the Word.
Others feel a connection in a greater way through the symbols and wish we would do communion more because that is where they connect.
Others wish we would use the altar and prayer room more and practise more silence because it is in the solitude they hear God.
Others find their connection with God in serving. They want to be involved….they connect when actively involved.
Some wish we could meet more simply – (acoustic)
Some experience God best in a quiet walk in the park

Caution:

I am not talking about different religions & cults as just being all different ways to the same God. I am talking about different disciplines/practices that we find in Scripture being meaningful to different spiritual temperaments .

Question:

What works for you?
Where do you connect better with God?

Many of us don’t know because we haven’t been exposed to many of these.

REVEAL survey said “You wanted a clear path to growth.’ Deacons have put together a plan (working on graphic) and will be unrolling that out this year. A series of courses thatcan help a person move from “HERE” to “THERE”.

This year: Course (part of our Spiritual formation plan) that will teach these practises and give you an opportunity to practise them.

And so part of learning to live a whisper-led life is learning for yourself “how you dial into God.”

There are some practices that are certainly more common, but there isn’t just one spiritual prescription for us all.

i.e.

Solitude & spiritual retreats – most life-directing whispers have come in those times.

Meditation

Study or Guidance – reading or listening

2. Staying Dialed In

One of the challenges is taking those connecting moments with Jesus (living room) from those quiet times, into the rest of our day. Easy to become compartmentalized and we kick ourselves because we get to work and before long our anger is rising, our attitude souring, our words become more cutting and course, our thoughts stray from Christ…and we are frustrated because we seem to be a long ways away from hearing Christ’s whispers.

One of the most common things I hear.

I like Bill Hybels prayer:

“God, I am going to be listening for you all day long, but knowing me, I’ll be moving pretty fast today, so I might miss a prompting or two. While I’m in my current unrushed state, if there’s anything you’d like to say to me, I’m all ears.

i.e.

Several years ago a man who became dubbed “Brother Andrew’ wrote a helpful little book called “Practising the Presence of God.”

Note the title: Practising

Let me note distinction between "trying" and "training"

Think of it this way:

Run a marathon – I could try but probably not do very well. In fact, I could try my best. Give it my all. Willing to sacrifice through the pain….but probably not succeed. Because tying is not enough. My muscles and body and mind haven’t been conditioned to the distance. My 3 miles are a long ways from 26 miles.
Contrast – Sarah Wallace – runs daily – trains for marathons – Boston marathon. Make it because she trains.

Often we don’t apply that to the Christian life. We think if we just try harder we will do better. Bible doesn’t talk much about “trying” in the cn life. But it does talk a lot about training. Practising.

Learning to live a whisper-led life is all about practise. Training our ear.

Anyways Brother Andrew talks about practising the presence of God.

He gives these training tips:

3. HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU DIALLED THE RIGHT NUMBER?

One of the questions we have is “How do I know this nudge/ prompting/ hunch I sense is from God?”

I mean there are all kinds of wacko’s saying “God told me…”

How do I distinguish between my voice, Satan’s voice, my conscience voice, and God’s?

John 10:4, 5

“When He has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.

That Scripture suggests we can know God’s voice.

How?

Bill Hybels in his book gives 5 filters to help recognise the whisper of God’s Spirit.

1. Is this prompting from God?

Measure 1:

Does this square with who you know God to be? Is it consistent with God’s character?

i.e.

prophecy given to Bill re his children would die in 30 days if he persisted on using their public worship services as seeker – driven.(p.98)

Measure 2: Does this appeal to my carnal self?

i.e.

"God told me to divorce my husband and go with this other man?”

Suspect that voice comes more from your carnal self than it does from God….it’s kind of what you want to do.

Measure 3; Time – If it is from me it is like a match….quick burst of flame and burns out. On major things I give it time. If it is of me, passes rather quickly and on to some other new fangled idea or venture.

If it is of God, it lingers. It is as that voice in Isaiah 30:21 – “Whether I turn to the right or to the left I hear that voice from behind that says “Walk this way.”

It lingers and doesn’t go away. It keeps presenting itself in different ways. Someone out of the blue brings it up and confirms what I have been sensing.

2. Is the whisper scriptural?

Can we line this up with a principle or theme or verse in Scripture?

Test:

Picture Jesus in your situation. Can you picture him taking the course of action that you are contemplating? If you can’t envision Jesus doing it, be cautious…wires might be crossed.

Galatians 5:22 – The Message gets at the core.

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

When motivated by God it will lead to harmony with God and fruit. It won’t appeal to my sinful nature but rather to my aspirations.

3. Is it wise?

p. 102 Hybels – examples

4. Is it in tune with my own character or wiring?

Is this in line with your wiring, your personality, your SHAPE?

God is not in the business of making something you aren’t. He is in the business of making you truly you. Cleansing away the impurities of your personality to let his original design to shine through.

i.e.

If you have never liked people, aren’t self-disciplined, don’t like leading from in front….probably not calling you as a pastor.

i.e.

Seen people who like the strokes pastors get sometimes. Like seeing people line up to shake hands, say “nice sermon’, speak of what they did….and sometimes want to go into ministry to get emotional strokes not because called. Ends up disasterous. God equips you for what he calls you for….might be bigger than you….but it calls you forward and out not to deny who you are at your core.

5. What do the people I most trust think about it?

Proverbs 11:14

4 Without wise leadership, a nation falls;

there is safety in having many advisers.

It never hurts to bounce this off another trusted Christian?

Ask them “What they think?”

If you are afraid to ask thepeople you trust as to there thoughts , that ought to be a warning to you.

i.e.

Illus given to me that has been helpful is that of a harbour.

3 lights ….when lined up so as to only see one you can be assured you are on course. But if you see all 3 then you are off course and in danger of hitting the rocks.

Conclusion

Practical

1. What will you do this week to seek to dial in better?

Maybe never journalled – try it
Maybe – prayer life stale – go for a walk
Maybe – read less and meditate more. Think of 1 thing I can apply to my life….sink it into heart

2. Pray for you that God would help us all to “stay dialled in better today.”

Practise the presence of God more this week. Pray for God to help train us and keep him more in our minds focus.

3. Are there any whispers you have been wondering about?

Not sure if God or you or what? Exercise is to apply these 5 filters to help discer – “Is this my shepherds voice or a stranger’s voice?

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Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Ga 5:22-23

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Pr 11:14