The Lost art of Practising His presence part 2

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Gerald Sharp
5 years ago
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1 The Lost art of Practising His presence part 2 Proposition: God is always with us but we may not always be aware of His presence. We need to find appropriate ways of practising His presence. I have a really strong sense of the Holy Spirit who is very active in this family and using us all, inviting us to be more tuned in, to be enjoying Him more, to be aware of His presence to a far greater extent daily. I believe it is possible to be aware of the presence of God with us 24/7. When we are tuned in, when we are sensitive to His still quiet voice, when we are connected to the vine, I believe that the unique anointing that God has put on each one of you will begin to not only transform your own life but also the lives of those around you. Obviously in the early stages of getting to know God and of walking with God sin is a major barrier to you experiencing His presence but I think for most of us these things I mentioned last week are probably the big issues. Busyness, worry about a bill, concern about a relationship, fear of something bad happening, a desire to please people and laziness of faith. Last week I mentioned that Brother Lawrence and Bill Johnston have developed two habits, two disciplines of the mind, two attitudes that help them tune into the presence of God anytime and anywhere. Both of them require an inner conversation of your Spirit and your soul with the Holy Spirit. The first is to continually choose to think of God in a worshipful way, Bill Johnston says that he decides to turn his heart of affection towards the Lord. The second discipline to practicing His presence, becoming tuned in to Him is to decide to do whatever you do during the day as if you were doing it directly for Jesus, and brother Lawrence s experiences of doing dishes for Jesus in the Monastery are well documented where he would become totally filled with God s joy and the Holy Spirit would begin to manifest on his body. Thinking of God and doing everything for God helped these two men remove these barriers and tune into the reality that God is right there with them, wanting to communicate, wanting to transform a situation. This morning I want to briefly look at the different ways different people find that they connect with God then I want to offer you some possible new ideas and invite you to pick up a new discipline that you think will help you practise the presence of God. There has been a lot written on devotional pathways. Before you get to your home group this week I want to encourage you to google Finding your devotional Pathway then click on the Te Atatu Baptist Link. I think the way that Pastor Roger Spackman has summarized 1

2 these pathways is very easy to understand. When you get to your care group come prepared to tell the group, which of these pathways is your primary approach to staying close to God. Over the years I have often felt guilty because I don t enjoy reading, I don t enjoy sitting still and reflecting on life and, until 3-4 years ago I didn t really enjoy singing. So when people say wow that book, that silent retreat, that hour of worship really blessed me, I would think, maybe I am not that spiritual because it didn t really help me. The reality is though that what draws this person close to God may not work for the next person or for you. Each one of us needs to discover our own devotional Pathway. As I introduce you to these pathways just evaluate, does this pathway help you Circle one; either Rarely, often, or all the time. DEVOTIONAL PATHWAYS Taken from Te Atatu Baptists booklet 1. RELATIONAL PATHWAY Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up the meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. These are the people who may not get too much inspiration from having a private quiet time on their own, but when they meet with other Christians and talk about the Lord and discuss scriptures they start to really buzz and get excited. (Rarely Often All the time) 2. INTELLECTUAL PATHWAY 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to win God s approval as a worker who doesn t need to be ashamed and who teaches only the true message. These are the people who don t get that excited about hearing people s stories and testimonies. These people have hearts and wills that are motivated for God, when their minds have been convinced and motivated for God. They want the meat, the deep insight. Getting detailed information releases a passion in them for Christ. The apostle Paul was one of these people, Chuck Missler was one of these people, maybe you are as well. (Rarely Often All the time) 3. SERVING PATHWAY 23 Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. Colossians 3:23 The people with this pathway get closest to God when they are helping others do the work of the Kingdom. These people may not get too much inspiration from the other pathways but when they are just doing stuff for Jesus by helping and supporting and 2

3 serving, that activity releases a passion in them for the Lord. They feel closest to God when serving. (Rarely Often All the time) 4. CONTEMPLATIVE PATHWAY Psalm 51:10 Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful again. There are people who get closest to God when they are on there own. They enjoy sitting somewhere quietly, contemplating his goodness, maybe thinking about world issues, maybe writing a poem or painting a picture as they get inspiration. (Rarely Often All the time) 5. ACTIVIST PATHWAY 1 John 3:17 If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. These are the people who feel closest to God when they are living on the edge of their potential. These are the people who will charge into battle for Jesus Christ. They will take big faith risks where if God doesn t turn up they are going to look pretty stupid. Elijah was an activist when he took on the prophets of Baal. Activists will pour themselves out for a kingdom cause and get really fired up as they do so. They are the people who get things done, and they get their passion for God from God through activity and action. These people could burn out for God and be totally happy doing it. (Rarely Often All the time) 6. CREATION PATHWAY Romans 1:20 God s eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That s why those people don t have any excuse. Some people feel closest to God when they are in the outdoors. I had a very good friend who would feel closest to God when he looked at cloud formations. I know people who find going for a bush walk or sitting in a boat way out at sea totally inspirational. In those contexts they get most excited about God and most tuned into His presence. These are the people who would struggle to feel close to God living in a high-rise apartment block in a busy city. If this is you, you would be wise to practice the presence of God through regular times in the outdoors. (Rare Often All the time) 7. WORSHIP PATHWAY Psalm 103:1-5 With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! 3

4 2 With all my heart I praise the LORD! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3 The LORD forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4 and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle. If this is your primary devotional pathway make sure you carry worship CD s in your car. Make sure you build worship into your daily practice of the presence of God. Many of us will feel closest to God when we are listening to a song or in a church service where the songs are sung with real heart felt passion. It s when heart and words and music combine that you become aware of the presence of God. When you worship you become alive inside, when you don t get to worship you dry up inside. (Rarely Often Sometimes) The reason that I want to draw your attention to these devotional pathways is that if we want to practice the presence of God its wise to give extra time doing the things that work for us personally. I am probably wired for the relational and the serving or activist pathways most of all but I am learning the worship one, and I appreciate the creation one and I know I am miles away from the contemplative one. Devote time to what works for you then experiment and learn to extend yourselves in the other areas. I am going to leave you with some challenges this morning. And I encourage you to pick up one and run with it for a month in order to extend yourself in the practice of the presence of God. Before I do; let me just show you this distinction between Christian and New Age meditation and contemplation because I think that many Christians have given up ancient Christian practices because they are scared that it is too much like something the new age movement has copied from us. Some Christians are scared of meditation or sitting before God being quiet or visualizing Jesus or using symbols or creation to help them worship even though early believers always 4

5 did that. The reason is new agers and weird people also do that, however our focus is on God and on the bible and on the blood of Jesus and through Christ and on us receiving from God. In the new age movement the focus is on self and about getting power through self and about reaching the God within. The focus is totally different and shouldn t discourage you from trying new Christian disciplines. Before you go home today, in addition to giving time to your primary devotional pathway I want to encourage you to commit to one of these spiritual challenges for a month. 1. The three chairs of prayer. Talking, listening, being still and knowing that He is God. In my experience it s at this point that I feel like there are rivers of living water flowing out of my innermost being. Set aside half an hour once a week. 2. (i) Hands down, hands up. (ii) Releasing tension to God and receiving a fresh infilling from God as you breath in and out. (iii) Write down your prayer of what you want to give to God (get it off your mind) before you start listening to Him. 3. Keep a journal and at the end of every day review your day and record where you have noticed that God has been tangibly present with you. Today I acknowledge you God were with me when.. 4. Keep a journal of what God says to you during daily prayer times. I.e. record your revelations received so that you can meditate on them and let them change the way you think. 5. Put a scripture or a promise from your promise box in your pocket and meditate on it for 5 minutes before you go to work and then throughout the day. For instance What does it mean to Be still and know that I am God What does it mean to be seated with Christ in heavenly places 6. Fast between breakfast and dinner one day a week (or for a period of time you decide on) and when you feel hungry allow that hunger to draw your attention towards God. 7. Go for a walk with Jesus every day (i.e. in the bush/ park, on your own while just talking to Jesus and listening to Him as you do). Practice keeping your mind clear of everything else except Him. 5

6 8. Spend ½ an hour a week meditating on a favourite song of worship, a work of art or a Christian symbol. 9. Daily confess your sins to the Lord and clothe yourself with the robe of righteousness. 10. If you find your mind flitters from thought to thought during prayer times, practice picturing Jesus with you, or high and lifted up or as seen in Revelation 1. Many of us have bought into this super active, busy way of living and thinking. Working hard is good. Serving others is good. Achieving goals is good. Giving our kids plenty of life opportunities is good. But the most important thing of all is to become aware of His kingdom with us and what He wants to achieve in us and through us daily, when we put His kingdom first, everything else will get better as well. Waiting on God; Practising His presence, through practising turning our heart of affection towards Him or by doing everything for Him or by focusing on our devotional pathway or a challenge is never going to be a waste of time in our busy lives. I believe it is the wisest use of your time. There is a daily adventure waiting for you. There is a greater degree of joy and fulfilment He wants to give you as you learn to live in His presence. You are already loving, fruitful people. But Father says, but wait there is more, much more if you would choose to take steps to regain the lost art of practising the presence of God. 6

Connecting with God Spiritual Pathways Lesson 2

Connecting with God Spiritual Pathways Lesson 2 Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily