Quiet Times
September 26, 2011
~Take Your Bible With You!~
Quiet time is spending time with the LORD, talking to Him and listening to Him and just being with him.
WHY: 1. Improves relationship between God, self, and others
“Date time with Jesus”
People can relax with you if you are at peace. Peace is found in closeness to Jesus.
The woman teaching us about Quite Times said that her family knows that every Monday night is her “Date night with Jesus.” Her husband takes the kids, and she has the evening to go and do whatever she wants with Jesus.
2. Draws us close to Him
3. Refreshes us
4. Daily establishes a dependency on God
5. Blesses the heart of God.
“Just be in awe and wonder of how amazing your Father is. Tell Him how cool He is.”
6. You will become like that which you worship **
You are gifted with talent so you can worship God.
7. To have your ideas and perspectives challenged.
Bring world news and ideas back to scripture. There is a war over how
you think.
NOT FOR: 1. Not to change God and not time to fix someone else
2. Impressing the Lord
3. A Holy score card, not to get the job done.
**Focus on Relationship**
WHEN GOD SPEAKS:
*Ponder
*Trustworthy – strategy à God has to trust you before you tell people what He said.
*Record – “How dare you trust the audacity of your memory with what God has said.”
“I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.’” ~Habakkuk 2:1-3
*Act – obey à “Delayed obedience is disobedience.”
*Remind – If what God has said doesn’t seem to be happening, humbly bring it before Him again. This reminds you that He is in control and shows Him your persistence in wanting to do His will.
*Surrender – If things still seem to not be happening, make sure God doesn’t need you to give something up when expecting him to act.
HOW GOD SPEAKS:
*Bible - Sometimes you come across verses that jump out at you, that just feel alive.
The more word you put in, the more of it comes out of your mouth.
*Audible - 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”
“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” 5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did. 6 Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” 7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. 8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. 10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God[b] and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” 15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle[c] as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. 16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.” 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.
~1 Samuel 3:4-19
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” ~Psalm 119:105
*Prophets - God spoke through prophets all the time in the Old and New Testament.
*Inner Voice-Conscious
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘this is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” ~Isaiah 30:21
*Dreams - “when it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for god
had warned them in a dream not to return to herod.” ~Matthew 2:12
*Visions - “it was the year King uzziah died that I saw the lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” ~Isaiah 6:1
Don’t read the Bible without praying. Don’t pray or have a quite time without having your Bible.
If you don’t conform your life to what you’re reading in the Bible, you won’t become more like Jesus.
Be open to hear, to learn, to share.
God made sure I would never be able to question how much I was worth by making my Bride price set so high – the blood, sweat, pain, and death of Jesus.
Journal
Lord Jesus – it has been a long day. It was a great day but at the end of introductions I just started feeling overwhelmed and drained. I think I’m just tired. I’m looking to you for strength because I know it has always been your strength that has gotten me through things.
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths
of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak
and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord
will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
I need new strength Father. Today really was an amazing day. We had the most amazing teacher. I want to be just like her. If I could be anyone in the world for one day it would be her. She was the most beautiful, funny, captivating woman. She told great stories. The thing that struck me the most was this: She told us the process of how people got married back in Jesus’ day. She talked about how we were the bride and Jesus was the bridal cost. And God had to make the cost so painful and humiliating so that we would never question what we are worth to him. Things God Is Telling Me Today
1. Its time we start dating J
2. There is a very special reason for Trent and its my job to support him.
3. I am going to bring people to God through performance. I’m getting closer to having a strong enough foundation to begin this.
4. Maybe I’m not here to learn from other families, but to also teach other families.
