George W. Bush, in an airport lobby, noticed a man in a long flowing white robe with a long flowing white beard and flowing white hair.
The man had a staff in one hand and some stone tablets under the other arm.
George W. approached the man and inquired, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man ignored George W. and stared at the ceiling. George W. positioned himself more directly in the man’s view and asked again, "Aren’t you Moses?"
The man continued to peruse the ceiling. George W. tugged at the man’s sleeve and asked once again, "Aren’t you Moses?" The man finally responded in an irritated voice, "Yes I am".
George W. asked him why he was so unfriendly and Moses replied, "The last time I spoke to a Bush I had to spend forty years in the desert.
Getting Groovy With God
Five Steps to Intimacy with God)
L - Line up your priorities ,
Some people have weird priorities
A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under an eight-point buck.
"Where’s Harry?" he was asked.
"Harry had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail."
"You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?"
"Well," said the hunter, "I figured no one was going to steal Harry."
God wants to have priorities especially your time. A love relationship requires a commitment of time, Give God your “first” and “best” hours.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you," declares the LORD,
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
O - Out of your innermost being, express to God your love, your needs, your desires.
Ps 51:6-10 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
As your lover, he longs to hear your voice as you talk with Him
1 Kings 19:12 And now He wants to talk to you all the time in a still small voice (KJV).
He wants you to desire His words more than anything in the world, more than the desires of your heart and mind.
But He will not override your distractions. He wants you to turn off the busy noise in your life so that you can give all your attention to Him.
He wants you to hear Him and speak to Him. He wants to have a continuous conversation with you. He wants you to be so aware of his presence that you’ll make Him the center of all you think and do
V - Validate His presence by listening as He speaks. No lover wants to be ignored. He speaks from His love letters to you,
Song of Solomon 6:4 O my beloved, you are as beautiful as the lovely town of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem! You are as majestic as an army with banners! 5 Look away, for your eyes overcome me! Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats frisking down the slopes of Gilead. 6 Your teeth are as white as newly washed sheep. They are perfectly matched; not one is missing. 7 Your cheeks behind your veil are like pomegranate halves – lovely and delicious. 8 There may be sixty wives, all queens, and eighty concubines and unnumbered virgins available to me. 9 But I would still choose my dove, my perfect one, the only beloved daughter of her mother! The young women are delighted when they see her; even queens and concubines sing her praises! 10 ’Who is this,’ they ask, ’arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with banners?
but He also speaks “real words” into your spirit. Do not think that your mind is thinking up those words of endearment. Accept them from Him with delight.
Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Safety Rule #1
Do not listen to any voice that goes contrary to the Bible.
Safety Rule #2
If the contrary voice persists, take counsel. Go to your pastor and talk to him in depth about it. If you act in pride, you can be sure you’re not hearing from the Holy Spirit. Make no major decisions until you’ve received counsel.
Safety Rule #3
Read the Bible day in and day out. Let it become a part of you. It is the only foolproof way of determining what is of God. Not only will it prevent you from falling into the enemy’s snare, it will help you tell the difference between your soul (heart and mind) and your spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
E - Enjoy your time with God. Think about who He is and let your gratitude grow. Think about what He has done and let your thanksgiving flow.
Ps 105:4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. (NIV)
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Ps 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Luke 17:11-14 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" 14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
Verse 18
18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you whole."
2) Lack of faith and spirit of ingratitude go
together.
Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Matt 12:33-34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
2) Reconcilation with fellow Christians.
3) Genuine humility.
4) Rejoicing spirit.
5) Must be sincere.
E. Price of Thanksgiving.
Ps 24:3-4 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart
F. Perpetuity of Thanksgiving.
17th cent. English poet Richard Crashaw:
"We ourselves become our own best sacrifice."
Our willingness to offer genuine sacrifices of praise is an evidence that we consider the Lord worthy of all our sacrifice and thanks. Rev 4:9-13
R - Record your visits in a diary. Write your prayers, His answers, His words. Your journal will become an important book in your life, second only to the Bible.
Charles Wesley, onced penned these words “ Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly, Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in Thee I find.
