A%20Life%20of%20Holy%20Intimacy%20and%20Power,%20Part%202

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A Life of Holy Intimacy and Power, Part 2

• Practicing the Presence of God and Hearing His
  Voice

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Review from Last Week

• God is incredibly in love with you
• He wants you to know it
• When you know He loves you, you can be filled
  with the fullness of God
• With the fullness of God, you will find that God
  can do more than we ask or imagine in and through
  our lives

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God Desires our Friendship

• First step is to put our trust in the
  effectiveness of Jesuss sacrifice for us
  through which we are reconciled to God (2 Cor
  517-20)
• Second critical step is to learn to hear His
  voice (the focus for this talk)
• Possibly the most important thing missing from
  the lives of many Christians

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Classic examples of friendship with God

• God would come down and talk with Moses as a man
  would his friend (Gen 337-22)
• God visited Abraham and gave him the chance to
  reason with Him about sparing Sodom for the sake
  of righteous people (Gen 1816-19)
• God said that David was a man after His own heart
  (1 Sam 1314)
• Jesus sometimes prayed all night other times,
  would rise early in the morning to pray

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Some verses to stir your heart

• Ex 3315-17 (NIV) Then Moses said to him, If
  your Presence does not go with us, do not send us
  up from here. How will anyone know that you are
  pleased with me and with your people unless you
  go with us? What else will distinguish me and
  your people from all the other people on the face
  of the earth? And the LORD said to Moses, I
  will do the very thing you have asked, because I
  am pleased with you and I know you by name.
• Ps 841-2 (NIV) How lovely is your dwelling
  place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even
  faints, for the courts of the LORD my heart and
  my flesh cry out for the living God.

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More verses to stir your heart

• Ps 274,8,13-14 (NIV) 4 One thing I ask of the
  LORD, this is what I seek that I may dwell in
  the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to
  gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him
  in his temple... 8 My heart says of you, Seek
  his face! Your face, LORD, I will seek... 13 I
  am still confident of this I will see the
  goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
  14 Wait for the LORD be strong and take heart
  and wait for the LORD.
• Psalms 42 Psalms 63 Psalms 73

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Where does it say in the Bible that we should
hear His voice?

• John 10 Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and His sheep
  know His Voice
• John 1426 The Holy Spirit will teach you all
  things
• Rom 814 We are to be led by the Spirit
• Jesus spoke what He heard the Father speaking
  (John 1249-50, 828-29)

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If hearing Gods voice is so important... Why
havent I heard a sermon on it before?

• First, some unfortunate reasons
• Some pastors probably dont hear Gods voice
• It can be a little messy if everyone goes around
  hearing from God
• Messy because people make mistakes, and because
  God likes shaking things up

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Why did I just start teaching about it this year?

• I feel spiritually inferior to a lot of people
• I'm afraid that those who hear better than I do
  will realize how poorly I do
• Its an immensely personal and sometimes intimate
  experience feel vulnerable

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Reasons for teaching others to hear Gods voice

• Raise up a people who are passionately in love
  with God
• Unable to sustain that passion without hearing
  from God
• I am also convinced that people miss out on God's
  call on their lives because they cannot hear God
  speak to them
• My goal everybody here who has a heart for the
  Lord will be able, over the next months and
  years, to hear from God and have intimate
  fellowship with him

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Those who hear, and those who havent yet...

• 2 groups here
• Mostly speaking to those who havent yet
• Those who do probably would be happy if they
  heard more often, and will be able to benefit
  from what we cover
• We are all students / disciples, how well we hear
  from God is not a sign of superiority

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How to Get Started

• Tell God you want to learn to hear His voice
  (Luke 119-13)
• Know He wants you to hear!
• Persevere until you do, then keep on
• If you know God really loves you, then if it
  takes some time, you wont fall into the trap of
  feeling like God is rejecting you
• Often we create obstacles that we are not aware
  of (more later...)

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What does God sound like?

• Like you!
• You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and your
  heart is the Holy of Holies, from where God
  speaks (Eldredge)
• God is not you, and you are not God
• He speaks from your heart, and His voice is still
  and small (like Elijah heard on the mountain)

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Obstacles to Hearing

• Mistaking Gods voice for ours (and vice verse)
• Living from the head and not the heart
• Too much noise in our heads

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Help for Head People

• Mark and Patti Virkler workbook, Communion with
  God
• Psalm 23 exercise read verses slowly
• How does The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not
  want make you feel
• Thank God, pause, and listen
• Each verse the same way
• Try others -- ask God to lead you!

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How to Get the Noise Out?

• Try some of these
• Worship songs
• Bible reading first
• Write down ideas for later
• Walk
• Let the thoughts come in and out without reacting
  to them

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Discerning the Source of What You Hear

• Journaling Keeping a written record of the
  things you hear (review later)
• Promise not to act rashly!
• If it is from God, must not contradict the Bible,
  or Gods character
• Sense of peace with words from God
• Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12), vs.
  God, whose conviction brings life
• Satan, who challenges Gods character (Garden of
  Eden)

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Cautions

• Dont throw out wisdom!
• Dont overreact to things you or somebody else
  may hear take a while to discern, and get
  advice
• Dont make others obey your word, it is for God
  to do
• Be careful if you have a word for somebody else,
  ask God what to do, and use wisdom
• Stay humble

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Walking with God, literally

• Walking somehow distracts the noisy part of my
  brain
• Being socially alert distracts me
• Walking very slowly helps me to limit
  distractions in my head
• Notepad or tape
• Best at places set apart for seeking God

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How to think about where God is

• Heaven vs. heart
• Theologically, God is in heaven and in your heart
• I find it easier to hear from God when I think
  about Him in my heart
• Not so far away

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Prayer Presence, Hearing, and Petition

• Petition is asking God for something
• Presence means being aware of God with You, but
  the verbal communication is at a minimum
• Hearing means that you sense God saying specific
  things to you
• All 3 are prayer, but this lesson is about
  presence and hearing
• Beginners generally want to hear, but are better
  off focusing on presence

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Why begin with presence?

• Helps us be aware of God and identify His
  character
• God isnt a chatterbox, and so a lot of our time
  is spent like this
• Intimate friends like to be around us without
  having to entertain us
• It expresses love toward God, and doesnt demand
  God give us something
• If God wants to speak to us, it is easy to hear
  Him when weve been enjoying His presence

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Do Only Christians Hear from God?

• Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus hear from
  God
• John 644 says no one becomes a Christian unless
  the Father draws him or her
• I became a Christian when I started talking to
  God and heard His replies

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Resources

• WowGod.org
• Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach, Practice of
  the Presence
• Dallas Willard, Hearing God
• Madame Jeanne Guyon, Experiencing the Depths of
  Jesus Christ
• Joyce Meyer, Knowing God Intimately Being as
  Close to Him as You Want to Be
• Leanne Payne, Listening Prayer Learning to Hear
  God's Voice and Keep a Prayer Journal

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Silent Retreats

• Dayspring in Germantown, MD
• Bon Succours in Marriottsville, MD
• St. Gabriels at the Episcopal Convent in
  Catonsville, MD
• Something about a time and a place fully set
  apart for being with God
• Silence helps remove distractions

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What we learned

• God wants to have an intimate friendship with
  you, and a major part of that is hearing His
  voice and being aware of His presence
• If we ask Him for help and dont give up, we will
  succeed
• God speaks to us from our heart, and His word
  usually comes with peace
• Seek His presence before trying to hear answers
  to your questions
• Use wisdom, and stay balanced by letting others
  help you discern words