Man's Greatest Pursuit Series

Man’s Greatest Pursuit

Drawing Nearer (2)

Play the guitar… (mention that you have something special for them and that you knew all week that this moment was coming)… NOW – there really is a point to what I just did and as you probably figured out it is not to display my great musical talent.

ALRIGHT – week 2 of Deeper Impact is underway… Do you have your Bible? Your study notes? Now you will notice that your notes have holes punched in them, that is because I want you to pick up a three ringer binder and put your notes in them… AND – you may want to get one like this… Because we have a guy working on some graphics for Deeper Impact and pretty soon we will have something pretty cool to slip in front…

NOW TONIGHT - I am going to do a better job of giving you time to turn in your bibles… I will be reading from the NIV primarily. BUT - occasionally I will read a passage from another version, when I think it gives the text a different flavor… AND - the texts that are not from the NIV, will be in your notes and/or on the screen…

HEY – IF you would turn to the person next to you and tell them how your week was? On a scale from zero to ten, ten being like you step on the scale this morning and you lost 15 pounds… AND – one being like you stepped on the scale and it said, “are you sure you want to do this..” HEY - I had a good week, thanks for asking… NOW - it wasn’t that good, but it was a good week.

IF – you were here last Wednesday night, would you raise your hands…

NOW – you don’t have to raise your hands on this one (unless you really want to), BUT – for those who just had their hands in the air did you do your homework?

Did you…

1) Spend some time (during the last 7 days) looking at creation. Looking up in the sky (and allowing yourself to be blown away by the greatness of your God). Do you slow down and really look at a few sunrises or sunsets, or look up and look at the stars?

2) Reminding yourself that the Lord of all creation wants to draw close to you

3) Reflecting on the kind of life that God wants to breathe into you…

4) Stay hungry

AND – did you do your Extra Credit – did you pray for the person whose name was on the card you picked up (and by the way there are more cards this week…)

NOW LAST WEEK – as I began laying the foundation for our studies on drawing nearer to God through Spiritual Disciplines … My Goal was pretty simple

#1 to REMIND you of how great your God is!

HE – is huge! HE – is mighty! HE – is the King of kings and the LORD of lords…HE – is the creator of all we see… With just a word… HE – brought into existence all that we see.

AND – #2 to I wanted you to realize, to accept the awesome truth that this all powerful, all knowing, all present King of glory wants to draw closer to you… (He ‘really’ does). AND LISTEN – no matter how close you think He is in your life right now; Yahweh, the Great I Am, longs to draw closer…

QUESTION – who here like me, when you think about how awesome our God is and then look at yourself is totally blown away! (Hard to believe isn’t it?) BUT – it is true… Being close to you, IS God’s greatest desire… AND – my friends if you ever doubt this, one looked at the blood stained cross will remove all doubt… YES - the cross proclaims God’s desire to be close to you… (whirl pool 1100 light years)

NOW – before we move on tonight I feel compelled to give you a warning. IN FACT – I probably should have given it to you last week. BUT ANYHOW – here goes… SINCE – you drawing closer to Him, is God’s greatest desire… God’s greatest enemy (satan) will do everything that he can to keep this from happening.

GUYS – here is the bottom line, just as Pharaoh went after the nation of Israel as soon as they were delivered from slavery in Egypt (I MEAN – God’s people had barely left the city limits and Phaoraoh is; gathering his army, grabbing his weapons, hopping on his chariot and going after them…)

LISTEN DURING - the next 70 days, especially during these first few weeks, the evil one is going to gather his army and every weapon he has ever used to defeat you in the past (and a few more beside) and go after you…