BASIC Series
Part Two
Welcome
Hold Up Bibles (tracks start playing in background, get louder and louder)
Last week, we started this brand new series called B.A.S.I.C. (elaborate)
TELL ABOUT BOOK: “ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN”, by Robert Fulgham
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:
• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
TRANSITION: And that is what we are attempting to do in this new series called B.A.S.I.C. , to get back to the basic things; the simple things.
Message Title: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………Developing a Quiet Time with God
TEXT: Ephesians 1: 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
You see Church, Christianity is not a legal relationship, it is a love relationship.
A “laundry list” of “do’s and “don'ts” will never make you like Jesus. It is Jesus Himself Who makes you like Him. But you need to spend time with Him.
STORY: Tell about dating Kim (use old pictures). I would hurry up to get off of work, go home, take a shower and RUSH over to her house…..just to be with her. Then, after being over at her house, I would drive straight home and talk with her on the phone until we fell asleep! And I’m still in love with her today, but it doesn’t come easy. I’ve got to “work” at it. Life happens and if I don’t make her a priority, we can just be “old married people”.
The same is true with God! We have to pursue Him and not STOP pursuing Him.
I want to give you five factors for spending some quiet time with Him each day.
The Right Period (as in time of day)
You must find the right time.
Your quiet time should last at least half an hour.
If you can't start at thirty minutes, begin with ten.
I recommend that you find time early in the day. Psalm 5:3 says, Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” It should be your very best time. Don't give the Lord your leftovers.
The Right Preparation
A quiet time is fellowship with a holy God.
There are a few things you can do to be prepared for this time.
• First, be physically alert. Find a time when the cobwebs are out of your mind and you can think clearly.
• Second, be mentally aware. Be focused, and know He's there. Emotion doesn't really have all that much to do with it.
• And third, be morally pure and clean. Some people don't have a quiet time because they feel uncomfortable looking God in the face with sin in their lives.
• Teach tabernacle prayer here
• The Outer Court, The Holy Place, Holy of Holies
• You can read about it in Exodus Chapters 25 through 28
• Refer to “Tabernacle Prayer” paper
The Right Place
Find a place where you can focus. Jesus said enter into your closet and pray
But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6).
That simply means find a place of isolation where you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven.
Jesus sought out places where He could be alone, and so should you.
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 (NLT)
The Right Provisions
In order to have an effective quiet time, you need the right tools. Here are some tools I use:
• a readable Bible - Invest in one with plenty of room to jot notes in the margins.
• a prayer journal - Expect God to give you something and write it down. Also use it to record things you're praying about.
• a notepad - Write down your daily assignments.
The Right Procedure
Finally, may I recommend some procedures to follow in your quiet time?
Get still and quiet. The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus your mind on Him. Calm down, relax, and recognize His presence. Take a deep breath and focus your thoughts on the Lord.
Get into the Word of God. It's better to start by reading the Bible than it is to start in prayer. It is more important for you to hear from God, even than for God to hear from you. God already knows all about you, but you need to know a lot more about Him.
Meditate. As you focus on the Word of God and meditate, let it permeate you. Ask:
• Is there a command to obey?
• Is there a promise to claim?
• Is there a sin to avoid?
• Is there a lesson to learn?
• Is there a new truth to carry with me?
Record what God has given you. Write down what God says to you and what He tells you to do. It doesn't have to be flowery. You're not writing it for publication or to impress other people.
Now you're ready to pray. When you pray, pour out your soul. Be natural and honest with God. Tell Him how you feel. Pray out loud. It keeps your mind on track and enables you to stay focused.
Begin to share out of your quiet time. God did not make us to be reservoirs; He made us to be conduits. Tell others what is God is showing you.
Finally, obey what God tells you. Your spiritual train is running on two rails. One is revelation and the other is obedience. And if either rail stops, your train stops. Learn to obey the Word of God.
I pray these simple suggestions will help you have a daily quiet time in the presence of our loving, almighty, powerful God.
