How to Saturate Yourself in the Word of God

“The Bible- banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it; dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it. Yet soldiers carry it into battle believing it is more powerful than their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints. Pieced together scraps of Scripture have converted whole whole villages of pagan Indians.”

― Charles Colson

What is every Christian in the entire universe told to do constantly? Three words: Read your Bible.

That is a good thing to tell a believer to do. Read that Bible. Read it and reread it!

You see many believers who spend a year going through the entire bible. Again this is a good thing.

But we’re going to talk about how to go deeper with your Bible reading time. We will really not be talking about simply reading the Bible. We will be talking about absorbing the Bible. Making the Bible part of your mind. Putting the Bible in your heart and letting it change your heart.

I think many times when we read the Bible we go at it like a sprint. I’m going to cover as much ground as humanly possible! I’m going to get as far as I can and say, "Alright I read that entire chapter." But did I really absorb it?

So we’re going to look at three ways to do more than just read the Bible, but absorb what it says and embrace what it says and live what it says.

1. Putting yourself in the Moment – Not every scripture will allow us to be in the moment with the people involved because much of it is song or letter. But, for passages from the life of Jesus, or Acts or the Old testament histories, we can put ourselves in the place.

What did it feel like to be there? What did it smell like? What were the people feeling in that moment?

One example, the resurrection of Jesus. What did it feel like to be there? What was it like for the women at Jesus’ tomb to feel the earthquake, to see the angel, and to be filled with both fear and joy?

Let’s take a look at that moment, it says, Matthew 28:1-7, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.””

What was it like to be there? Picture yourself in that moment. What would you feel? Would you be shocked or terrified? Was it a sunny morning? Was there still dew on the ground? Immerse yourself in the moment.

It's one thing to read it. It’s another thing to put yourself in those events and consider what it must’ve felt like.

Powerful! It will make the scripture more meaningful to you. More close to your heart. More real to you.

2. Reciting the Scriptures - Second, reciting the scripture to yourself. This is again an extremely powerful way of taking the scripture from the page and bringing it into life.

Jesus said blessed are those who receive my word and put it into practice. Not just receive it. But apply it.

One that you know that I recite in prayer every day is the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

But you want to personalize it when you recite scripture. Another scripture I recite in the mornings is Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” But make it personal: "I say this the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Another I like to recite is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

When you recite it, you declare it over your life. You begin to claim the promise of that scripture.

When I put on the armor, I know as I pray it, that I’m putting on the armor of God, it’s real. I see in my mind the pieces of the armor of God coming upon my body. Yes, it's metaphorical. I also believe something literal happens in the spiritual realm. 

I don't just recite, I believe that it's really real and really happening.

3. Believe the Scripture / Receive the Promise - And that leads into our third point, which is to believe the scripture or to receive the promise of the scripture you recite.

This is where it gets deep. You take a scripture from the page, and you read it yes, you declare it yes, but more so, you now embrace it and believe what it says about you.

I’ll give you an example. One I’ve been believing is 2nd Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.”

A surface reading of that scripture says, well that’s nice. But we’re not gonna stop there.

Reciting the scripture says yes these things are true in general.

But again we’re not gonna stop there.

What we do next is to believe the scripture is true about me, right now.

I do not have a spirit of fear. And you require that of your heart and mind, to come into alignment with what God is saying in that scripture.

God has given me a spirit of power.

God has given me a spirit of love.

God has given me a spirit of a sound mind.

I don’t just read or recite it, I believe it, and I embrace it. I let it soak in. That takes reading and speaking it again and again, even every day, every morning. Eventually you memorize that scripture. And you recite it, and as you do, you believe it.

And over time your heart and mind come into alignment with the scripture. You really do start to have a spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind. And you really begin to lose that spirit of fear. 

The power is in believing and knowing that God’s word is really true. And if God’s word is really true, then it must be true about me because I’m a Christian. If my mind hasn’t caught up yet, then my mind must be required to come into alignment with what God’s word says.

That’s why God gave us scripture, so that we would believe that it’s really true, and really applies to our lives.

And when we really believe God’s word is true and we begin to apply it, then we change.

Of course it’s not going to be enough to just believe the scripture, we will want to apply the scripture. We will want to live the scripture. But as we believe it, we will apply it, because we really believe it.

I think many Christians struggle, I’ve struggled, because I don’t really believe what God’s word says about me. I think it’s true. But I don’t really believe it’s true about me. But it is. It is true about me. And as I believe that… then it is. Because I believe it.

That’s the power of believing.

What if we believed and recited the promises of these seven scriptures? Read them, and believe them, speak them out loud over yourself in the Spirit! 

Philippians 4:19 ESV And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Romans 8:28 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Isaiah 43:2 ESV  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

What if we really believed those scriptures? What if we really made them part of our heart? What if we spoke them as promises over and over? How would our lives change?

I think we would become more and more people of victory, people who really believe what God says, and we would find great spiritual victories.

In conclusion today, as you read your Bible, or listen to your audio bible, or read your bible app, remember to stop, slow down, and focus in on portions of scripture.

First, imagine what it was like to be there. Put yourself in that situation.

Second, speak the scripture, recite it to yourself. Pray it over yourself and others.

Third, believe the scripture as you read it. Believe what it says about you. And you’ll see yourself begin to change as you apply God’s word to your heart, and live out what it says. 

Amen!

A Fish Out of Water

My wife Chelsey and I went for dinner for my birthday last night, and the restaurant was super noisy. I was already feeling a bit sensitive on my birthday as many of us do, and it got stressful for me. Many of the people were drinking, and carrying on, having a good time, or so it seemed.

And I overheard some of the conversations. They were talking about worldly stuff, parties, drinking, there was some swearing going on, bragging about conquests, drunken stories, and hysterical laughter.

I’m not against anyone having a good time, but I remember when I used to be like that. Rudderless, I didn’t know what life was really about. I basically just lived to have fun and make a living. If I got drunk and crashed down a flight of stairs I laughed about it. If I stole something I bragged about it. If I chased a girl I told everyone about it.

I was a fish out of water, uncertain what to do, or how to live. Today I’d like to talk to you about fish. We human beings exist in a nitrogen, oxygen, argon environment. That is the environment which we thrive in. For fish it’s different, they thrive in an environment made up of water.

A fish can survive out of water, but not for very long. Similarly, a human can survive under water for a certain period, but eventually they’ll need oxygen again.

So we’re going to compare a fish to the life of a human being on planet Earth.

We all start out as the gray fish. The gray fish represents the sinful human being in the world.

Every human being lives life as a fish out of water. We see this fish and he’s not in water, he’s on land and that’s not good. He goes his own way, he doesn’t know where he’s going or why.

We are like this fish as humans without God. We are lost, we need God, but we don’t have God.

So we slowly become more and more spiritually sick. We get worse and worse over time.

We try to be a moral person. We try to act good and be good. But it never quite worked out.

We didn’t have the power needed to live in an ethical way. Instead the scriptures say that we bore fruit for death.

It says in Romans 7:5, “For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.”

We knew the ten commandments, God’s law, and we tried at times to follow those laws, but being a fish out of water, being disconnected from God, we were unable to follow those commands.

Knowing the law, the commandments didn’t seem to help, in fact it even seemed to make it worse, it aroused our passions and we bore fruit for death.

And more and more we lived, but actually inside we were dead. But this produced an opportunity. Because as we found ourselves dead inside, lost in sin, utterly miserable and hopeless, we began to search for something more.

We began to long for something greater.

Then one day we heard about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We learned that humanity was sinful and lost, but that God had opened up a pathway, a road to himself and away from sin through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We learned that our sins could be forgiven not by trying to be better through the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

And something miraculous happened. We called out to Jesus Christ and asked Him to save us and forgive us, and make us new. And at that same moment, we died. Our old selves died. We repented, turned away from our past sins, and began moving in an entirely new direction.

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” -Romans 7:6

We find ourselves new creatures. We’ve repented. We’re no longer headed toward destruction, we’re now headed toward eternal life.

Instead of being in the open air, slowly dying, like a fish out of water, desperately trying to follow the ten commandments and always failing, we find ourselves in a new reality, a new system, the system of the leading of the Holy Spirit.

All of humanity finds itself caught up under God’s judgment due to the sinful ways of humanity, under the law, the ten commandments, and condemned to death due to their failure to obey God’s law.

It’s scary stuff.

But does that mean that God’s law is bad?

It says in Romans 7:7, “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”"

I wouldn’t have even known right and wrong if it wasn’t for God’s law. The law is not bad then, it is good. But my sinful self could not follow God’s law. But this put me into a situation that was actually helpful to me.

I found myself pressured by God’s law to realize my own sinfulness, and also realize my need for a savior. God’s law pushes me toward the realization that of myself I’m not enough. I really do need God in my life, and more, at the center of my life.

I can’t do life without God. God’s law taught me that. God’s law forced me to realize that I need Jesus or I’m doomed.

Remember, God’s law made all this possible by pointing me to my hopeless situation and my need for Jesus. God’s law is holy and good and true.

The Apostle Paul gives a classic explanation of what it felt like for a Jew to live under the law, and fall short of it. The Apostle Paul before becoming a Christian was a Pharisees, a Jew who devoutly followed the old testament law. But he couldn’t.

Paul explains this in verses 14-20, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

A fish out of water can’t swim. And I worry sometimes we as Christians fall into this trap.

We are in the water, we’re Spirit led, we’re learning to love God and others. But pretty soon we jump back out of the water and start trying to use the flesh to obey God. But we can’t obey God by the flesh, or by the law, instead we have to walk in step with the Holy Spirit, and let Him lead us out of sin and toward righteousness.

Don’t jump out of the water and start pushing out with your flesh. That won’t work. Only the Holy Spirit can lead us into pure love and righteousness.

Let the Holy Spirit lead you by praying before you take action. Let the Holy Spirit lead you by digging deep into God’s word, instead of pushing out in your willpower. Let God’s Spirit lead you by acting in repentance, not in self-driven efforts that always fall short.

We often try to strike out to defeat some sin in our lives. And we fail and slip back, don’t we? Instead, begin your battle by admitting defeat. Make your first step surrender. Surrender the issue to God, admit you can’t do it without Him, and begin to believe God can remove the issue. Then after surrendering it to God, let the Holy Spirit lead you in actions of repentance, seeking counseling, reading a Christian book, meeting with your pastor, abstaining from the sin, but surrender it t God first.

Only Jesus can change us. Only Jesus can set us free this cycle of wanting to do good, but falling short. Only Jesus can do it!

Paul concludes his explanation of the sinful nature this way, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” -Romans 7:21-25

So in the end what we have is a state of deliverance by God, who sent Jesus Christ to be our Lord. The King comes in, and rescues us. He saves us from this hopeless situation of knowing sin is bad, but being stuck living in sin. He does this by giving us the Holy Spirit, so that we no longer have to surrender to the flesh, we can surrender it to God.

Do you see that Paul when he talks about not doing what he wants to do is talking about life before Christ? So, when we’re empowered by the Spirit of Christ, we now can have victory in that scenario.

When Paul used to say, “I do not do what I want to do” now in the Spirit he is able to say I now am able to overcome sin in Christ. Victory is found in that battle with the flesh.

That’s why in Romans 8 it says, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” –Romans 8:9-11

So today, we are not in the realm of the flesh anymore. We are fish in good water, the water is the water of life, the living water of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit he lives within us and leads our lives.

If we don’t have the Holy Spirit within us, we are not Christians. I’ve met people who have the Spirit, I’ve met people who don’t. You can usually tell a Christian by the Spirit flowing out of them. You can also tell when someone is operating entirely out of the flesh, and the Spirit is not there.

So we are led by the Spirit, but, we are still subject to human death due to the penalty for the fall. But since we have the Spirit of God living within us, and we know that the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead, then we can know that God will raise us from the dead as well, after we die.

Lastly, I think Romans 8:12-13 will help us tie this all together. It says…

Romans 8:12-13, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

Some teach that once we have Jesus Christ as savior we really have no obligations at all, we can just do whatever we want. But that isn’t biblical. We’re to be led by the Spirit, it says we do have an obligation, but not to the flesh, but instead our obligation is to, by the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body.

Notice it says “by the Spirit” not by the flesh. Can you put to death the misdeeds of the body by the fleshly nature? Of course not. But in cooperation with the Holy Spirit we can put to death the misdeeds of the flesh. And that is called sanctification, the process by which God makes us more and more like Jesus, conformed to His image is what the Bible calls it.

So as a Christian, we are born again, by Jesus, led by the Spirit of Jesus, to do the will of Jesus, which is continuing to live in victory over the flesh, by the Spirit. And as we live by the Spirit, we head toward eternal life after death. However, the flesh is always with us until after we die. And the flesh will try to pull us back toward the sinful nature. So we learn to live by the Spirit, and then the flesh is kept in check, until we arrive in paradise, when we’ll be transformed, and we’ll no longer have a sin nature. And we won’t want to sin, or have to sin ever again. Praise the Lord! I look forward to that day.

Review of Main Points:

1. Living life without Christ as Lord is like being a fish out of water

2. The Law of God helps us to realize our sinfulness & need for Jesus

3. When we heard the gospel we repented and asked Jesus to save us

4. Our old self died, and a new self was born (of the Spirit of God)

5. A fish out of water can’t swim (we cant defeat sin through the flesh)

6. Jesus delivers us from a cycle of sin, to being able to have victory

7. Though Jesus has changed us, our flesh will still die (the body)

8. The Spirit that raised Jesus will also raise our bodies after we die

9. By the Spirit, we can put to death the misdeeds of the flesh

10. The flesh attempts to pull us back but by the Spirit we have victory

How to Experience Conscious Contact with God

There was an evangelist of yesteryear named Wilbur Chapman. One day he was talking to William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army.

Chapman asked Booth, “General Booth, God has used you in a great way. What is the secret of God’s use of you?”

Booth moved the hair out of his face, looked at Chapman with his piercing eyes and said, “There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind that He would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.’”"

This started for William Booth when he was very young. At the age of fifteen Booth came to faith in Christ in a Methodist church. He wrote in his diary: ‘God shall have all there is of William Booth.’

Booth didn’t want to go half in, half out. He wanted to make sure God had full possession of him.

That’s our first point for today, Let God have all of you.

It makes me think of Mark 14:35-36, when Jesus wanted things changed. He wanted God to take the cup of the cross from him. It says…

“And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Letting God have all of you is this: When you disagree with God, not wanting to do what God says, but do it anyway. You say: “not my will, but yours be done.”

That is the beginning of “God have all of me.” It’s surrender to God’s will. It’s letting Him be in control.

This is a work of God in you. You can’t force it to happen. But you can cooperate with God in it. You can decide in prayer, as Booth did, that this is your goal in Christ.

But God is doing the miracle. Let God do it! 

“As the Lord gradually begins to do this, to take full possession of you, it is true that you will begin to enjoy a sense of His presence. You will find that this sense of the Lord's presence will become very natural to you. Both the prayer with which you first began and a sense of His presence which comes with that prayer, will eventually become a normal part of your daily experience. An unusual serenity and peacefulness will gradually spread over your soul. Your whole prayer, your whole experience, will begin to enter upon a new level.” -Jeanne Guyon, ch. 12

Second point, the royal road to God having all of you in through basic prayer. Prayer is talking to God. I know most of you think of prayer as “God give me this, God help this person, God change this situation.” That is certainly a part of prayer. But prayer must go deeper then that.

Prayer is more often for me, telling God how I’m feeling. Explaining to God about what I’m struggling with. Telling God about my emotions. Telling God stories about what happened today. Telling God what I’m worried about. Telling God about my dreams. Talking to God about my future plans. Talking to God about my friends and family. It’s a lot like a conversation.

Let yourself begin to get excited about this conversation. Enjoy spending time with God. Sit down on your front porch, or balcony, or at the park, or by the river, and simply stare out into nature, and talk to God. Pray to God. Tell God about your problems. Make requests of Him. Invite Him to change you.

It’s like putting your boat on the river. You don’t do a lot. You simply allow yourself to be in God’s presence. And then the current takes you.

As you learn to pray more and more, talking to God in the morning, praying over meals, praying at night, praying at mid day, praying at church, and praying at home, eventually you’ll find that something changes. You’ll realize over time, wow, my entire day is turning into a dialogue with God.

All day, in your mind, you’re talking to God. While you ride your bike, you’re talking to God. While you’re at work you’re talking to God. You’re whispering prayers to Him in your car. You’re whispering prayers to Him at home. You’re constantly engaging in conversation with God. Eventually even, it’s not just a prayer, it’s your heart crying out to Him. Not even in words. But in your emotions in your heart, your heart cries out to God throughout the day, and that becomes a prayer in itself. And it’s beautiful.

That’s our third point, Prayer is a journey, a pathway, a road. It starts out very basic. I remember when I was a new Christian prayer seemed hard. I found it stressful to try to turn off the technology and just be quiet with God. It scared me. But slowly, I prayed for thirty seconds a day. Then it was a minute or two. Pretty soon it was five minutes, then seven minutes. And slowly but surely I went from near prayerlessness, to talking to God all day.

It's like a river. As soon as you get on the river, you are moving in the new direction. God is in control. You simply let Him guide your prayer life ever-closer to Him. You follow the river, keeping clear of the edges, staying at the center, and allow the current to take you. 

As Jeanne Guyon said: “Let us say that you wish to reach the sea. How will you get there? You need to do nothing except this: embark upon a river. Eventually you will be carried to the sea without any trouble, without any self-effort.” -Jeanne Guyon, ch. 12

As you journey along the river of growing contact with God throughout the whole day, you’ll begin to experience God’s presence.

At some point in your journey of prayer with God, you’ll begin to feel God’s presence all around you and within you. It is a feeling but it’s not just a feeling. It’s also a knowledge that God is with you. You know it. It’s real. And it’s true.

Now God is with all Christians. But someone who has cultivated daily contact with God will experience the peace and joy of God’s presence because they’ve tuned themselves to it.

They are in such intimate contact with God, they are tuned in to His presence, they feel Him, sense Him near, and enjoy His presence, power, and comfort.

In times of deep prayer I will experience God’s presence in different ways. Sometimes it’s the fear of the Lord. I’m praying and I actually tremble with fear because I know the God of all is literally right there with me. Other times it’s a gentle peace a calmness that surrounds me. Other times it’s a joy, a joyousness where I just smile and enjoy being with him. Other times it a pleasure, a feeling of excitement and pleasure that I love God and God loves me.

God works in our lives in so many different ways. Sometimes he encourages us, sometimes he rebukes us, sometimes he gives us peace, other times he tests us in difficulties and sorrows. Sometimes we tremble at the fear of God, other times we rejoice in the joy of God. It all depends on the day, the season, and what God is doing in us at the moment.

That’s our fourth point today, as you cultivate continuous prayer with God throughout the day you’ll begin to experience God’s presence at times.

With some saints they’ve cultivated a state of nearly always being in God’s presence, I think of Brother Lawrence who wrote The Practice of the Presence of God. He cultivated a state of constantly being in God’s presence.

Through constant prayer we’re consistently turning ourselves toward God. We’re turning our faces toward His face. We’re seeking God’s face, which is to seek His presence, His will, and His guidance. And in that comes God’s presence.

Let’s put it all together now.

First, we decide that God must have all there is of me. So we make that our prayer. And we practice that, we apply that by doing God’s will even when we don’t want to. We say not my will, but your will be done God. That isn’t easy. But it’s worth it.

We expand on that submission to God by cultivating basic prayer, second point.

Third point, we expand on basic prayer by developing more and more prayer, until the entire day is a dialogue with God.

Fourth point, as we cultivate that constant prayer with God throughout the day, we begin to experience at times the presence of God all around us, and within us.

And lastly, point five, as we cultivate submission to God’s will, basic prayer, journey expanded prayer, and walk in the presence of God, we begin to experience conscious contact with God.

Point five, conscious contact with God. What does that mean? It’s something Bill Wilson the founder of the twelve step movement said is essentially doing the next right thing. Knowing what God wants us to do and then doing.

Bill Wilson wrote, “What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it.”

As we walk with God in this way, we’ll begin to experience inspiration, God will direct us.

In other words, in our prayer times, and throughout the day, God will speak to us. That’s why it’s important in prayer to have quiet times, when you’ve prayed for a while, to stop, and just listen, and let God speak to you.

“When you come to the Lord, gradually learn to have a quiet mind before Him. One of the most important things you can do is cease from any self-effort. In this way, God Himself can act all alone. It was the Psalmist speaking for the Lord who said, "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)” -Jeanne Guyon, ch. 12

You may experience this as an internal voice, an external voice (rare), a thought in your mind that grows strong, or a simple knowing, you just know what God is saying. Other times he’ll nudge you to open your Bible in that time, and he’ll lead you to a scripture that will speak directly into your situation. But always remember in this, nothing God says to you will contradict His word. And be cautious, there is a difference between God’s leading and your own internal voice. Learn to quiet yourself and listen.

One of the biggest mistakes I've made is thinking my own internal voice was God's voice, and I made some pretty dumb decisions in those times. It's usually hardest when we really want something. We substitute our voice for God's voice and then claim it came from God. But it didn't. It was us. 

I think it takes an honest desire to authentically hear from God, whether it be a blessed word or a challenging word. Let God speak. Don't distort it with your own agenda. 

As you proceed down this royal road, this beautiful river of contact with God, you will have a back and forth between you and God going on in your life. God will hear you, but you will also hear Him. And then you will be a friend of God. One who hears from God on a daily basis. And that my friends, is amazing, glorious and far too rare. But it is the providence of every Christian, not just for a few elite. Any and every Christian can and should hear from God.

So let’s review our main points today:

1. Let God have all of you (Seek to do His will, not your own)

2. Do this through cultivating basic prayer (Set up prayer times in your life)

3. As you do, you’ll begin to experience constant conversation with God (daily dialogue with God)

4. As you do, you’ll experience His Presence (God’s Presence will flood in)

5. As you do, you’ll experience conscious contact with God (Hearing from God Himself/Receiving guidance from Him)

Seven Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ

When examining the human body, there are numerous systems all working at the same time to regulate, protect, strengthen, and heal the human body. There is the respiratory system which brings oxygen into the body and expels carbon dioxide. The brain communicates instructions to the rest of the body. It is amazing how the entire body works together as one to allow us to live.

Similarly, think of a city. All sorts of systems work together. Massive networks of underground pipes distribute water. Electric lines channel power. Supermarkets bring food. Cell towers communicate telephone signals. And it all works together.

Think of a football team, certain players block. Others run the ball. Others go out for passes. Others are defensive. Others have special functions, like kickers or punters. One player leads on offense, another on defense. It all works together for the team to fulfill it’s function, to win games.

It’s similar in the military, an army has frontline soldiers, it has cavalier units who specialize in speed and firepower. They have artillery units that stay further back. They have air units that fly overhead. They have generals who strategize and lead. They have scouts, they have guards, and all sorts of other roles to make a powerful, mobile force that can fulfill it’s mission, to defeat the enemy.

We as Christians are also part of a whole. We are not lone-wolves prowling about by ourselves looking for prey. Instead, we are part of a vast body of believers, all working together to win the world for Jesus, and disciple one another on the journey home.

Along those lines we’ll be looking at Romans 12 today, starting in verse 3, which says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…”

We’re told very quickly that it’s important that we look at ourselves with very sober judgment. To me that means firm humility. In our service in the body of Christ we will tend to want to think of ourselves as indispensable to the group. As the worker sometimes says to himself, “Without me this place would fall apart.” But it usually isn’t true. View yourself with humility. Your job isn’t the end all be all. I know that. God can easily replace me, if I were to decide to go back to the sin life. I’m just a small part of the whole.

Notice also that we have our place in the body of Christ ‘by grace.’ It’s not that we worked our way in by being awesome or something. No, we were sinners. And Christ saved us, by his death. So have sober judgment about yourself in this equation.

So Paul says to think soberly… second part of verse 3, “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

So we have this measure of faith within us, manifested as trust in God, commitment to God, allegiance to God, and this faith is how we’re connected to the whole. It’s through faith in Jesus that we are part of the body.

Next in verses 4-5, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

I have a body with hands, shoulders, feet, knees, eyes, ears, and all sorts of different parts. They do not all have the same function, do they? My feet do very different things from my hands.

Yet they are all part of my body. They work together, not against each other.

And we as Christians form one body, though we’re many different people. Often I’ll meet a Christian, from another church, in another city, and I instantly know they are family. I can sense they are one with me, with all Christians. And we instantly connect. That’s why wherever I go, I meet family in Christ. Because that’s what we are. We are connected.

Each member belongs to all the others.

Then it says in verse 6, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

We each have giftings, areas that we are passionate about, and get excited about when we help others. These passions, these gifts were given by God through faith to you, to be used to bless the body.

But they are very different from each other. One person has a gifting of exhortation, you see them calling out the sins of the world, calling people to repent. Another person has a gift of showing mercy, and they have great compassion for the lost. The two may sometimes be tempted to argue. The one showing mercy says hey stop calling out all those sins that isn’t nice that isn’t going to win people to Jesus. The one giving exhortation says back, this is my gifting, to call out sin and righteousness boldly, and it is a message that is needed. So the two must understand, don’t fight, understand you have different giftings.

Second portion of verse 6, “If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith”

Notice again it says in accordance with your faith, or the faith. We want to make sure we’re using our giftings in alignment with God’s will and purpose.

What is the gift of prophecy? This is when God gives you a word to share with someone. You may not even realize you’re doing it at the time, but you’ll say something they need to hear. You simply let the Spirit lead. Other times you may know you have a word for someone and it will burn within you, and then you’ll go and give them that word.

Amos 3:7 says, “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”

Some churches say basically the prophet role doesn’t exist anymore. Neither does the apostle, the only problem is it doesn’t say that anywhere in the Bible. So I tend to believe prophets and apostles still exist today.

One example from scripture of a prophet acting was in Acts 21:11, “Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

He gave a prophecy to the Apostle Paul about his arrest.

Do you have a gifting in the prophetic area? This can be a ministry as part of the five-fold ministry. It can also be a gifting for any believer to carry. Paul held a high regard for the gift of prophecy, Paul said desire many spiritual gifts, but most of all ask God to give you the gift of prophecy (1st Cor 14:1).

From the “Outline of Biblical Usage” the Greek word for prophesy means to “speak forth by divine revelation.” So you receive a word from God, something to tell someone that they need to hear, and then you tell them.

You can see how powerful this can be. Someone who doesn’t know God, and you tell them something only God would know, has the power to show them the supernatural is real. Similarly with another Christian, they are greatly edified when they receive a word, they may remember it for years, for the rest of their lives, the word you spoke to them, because it was from God, specifically for them.

Prayer: Lord, we ask for the gift of prophecy, for those of us who should have it, please give abundantly in Jesus name, amen.

Next in Romans 12:7, “if it is serving, then serve…”

Serving is a gifting for various highly valuable activities, preparing food, cleaning a widows house, stacking chairs, holding the hand of someone who has just been injured, getting an event ready, preparing a food box, or numerous other ways of general service.

What would the church do without people gifting in serving? The church wouldn’t do anything. We’d be motionless. They are like the muscles and bones of the body if you ask me!

Prayer: Lord, if you are calling me to serve, please prompt me with opportunities in Jesus name, amen.

Next, in Romans 12:7b, “if it is teaching, then teach.”

Teaching is not just a role in the five-fold ministry, it’s a general spiritual gift for all believers. Is this a gift of yours? Are you talented from God, in explaining the Bible to others? That is a valuable gift. Use it. Mentor someone. Sit down with a friend and go through the Bible together. Write about the word of God. Use your talent, volunteer here for Bible study or Sunday school.

What would we do without our teachers? Teachers in the body help us see the word of God from new angles. They help us to go from hearing to application. They are wonderful.

Prayer: God, if you want me to teach the word, show me how, and I will do so Lord, in Jesus name, amen.

Next in Romans 12:8, “if it is to encourage, then give encouragement…”

The gift of encouragement is a beautiful thing. One of the worst things for a Christian is when they are feeling discouraged. They are exhausted with life. They are frustrated with difficulties. They are tired of being sick, tired of health problems. They can’t stand any more persecution or trauma. They can’t make ends meet. And they face discouragement.

Then it takes a faithful Christian in the body to come along and give them encouragement. They come and give them hope from the word of God. They read them a scripture. They recite a verse. You will rise up on eagles wings. Do not grow weary in doing good. I can do all things through Christ. God works all things together for the good of those who love God. When you are tempted God will provide a way of escape. And this gives us encouragement. We get hopeful once again. We bear up under our problem and remember how much we have to be grateful for.

Is this your gifting? We need encouragers so bad in the body.

Now it’s interesting also to note that the word used here in Greek, paraklēsis, for encouragement is the same as the word for exhortation. So exhortation is calling someone toward good deeds. Calling someone to make a change. Calling someone toward the right. So I think it also implies speaking a hard truth as well, not just a bubbly flowery word of comfort, but also a word of truth.

Prayer: Lord, I desire the gift of encouragement/exhortation. Lord please grant me that gift if it is your will, to build up the body, in Jesus name, amen.

Next, still verse 8, “if it is giving, then give generously…”

The gift of giving is beautiful. I think Jesus said it well, in Luke 3:11, if you have two coats and see someone without a coat, give them a coat.

If you see someone without food, provide food for them, if you can.

The gift of giving is beautiful. It can be giving money as well to worthy causes. Many Americans have a gift for giving, in fact the only reason The Salvation Army exists at all is because so many Americans give weekly, monthly, annually to support our mission.

Do you have a gift for giving? It can be a coat, a meal, a bag of groceries, clothing, gas money, many different things.

Giving could be time as well. Giving could be an act of service, repairing an appliance or replacing a door. These are all acts of giving.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of giving. Grant us opportunities to give. Help us to plan to give, set aside finances and resources for that purpose, and then use them to give, in Jesus name, amen.

Again in Romans 12:8c, “if it is to lead, do it diligently…”

Leading is not simply something done by the five-fold ministry. A leader is someone who others gather around. Someone others trust and look to for support and guidance. Many of you are leaders and you don’t even realize it.

The Greek word used for leader is not the same as used for government leaders. So this is leadership in a different way. I think it can mean leadership in the church as part of the five-fold. But I think it also means leading in the way of being a guardian or protector of others.

Prayer: Lord, if it is your will, give us the gift of leadership. Help us to lead those around us toward the good, toward necessary resources, and most of all toward you God, in Jesus name, amen.

Last but not least, still verse 8, “…if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

Often in the ministry of Jesus, someone who was blind, or unable to move their legs, or deaf, would cry out to Jesus and say, “Lord have mercy on me!” It pictures someone in a state in which they are hopeless. They can’t help themselves. They are doomed without help.

Similarly, some of us Christians are gifted in the area of showing mercy to those who are in desperate circumstances.

I think I most often think of someone who ministers to the worst kinds of sinners.

Many Christians would find it uncomfortable or difficult to minister to someone addicted to crack, or someone who is a prostitute, or someone who has had five abortions, or someone who has committed adultery. It’s difficult. They hate those sins, as they should, but it’s then hard for them to minister to that person.

However, many Christians are gifted in showing mercy. They are able to look beyond the horrid sins, and see the person there made in God’s image. That is the gift of showing mercy, a miraculous ability to look past the sins and see the worth of the person.

Do you have that gifting? The body needs heroes like that. They are beautiful in their mercy.

What did God say? I desire mercy rather than sacrifice. Show mercy to your neighbor. Show mercy to someone who has wronged you. It’s a little miracle when it happens.

Desire this gift, if you dare. God will provide.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of showing mercy, for those whom you’ve called to it, to have mercy on those who are in sin and evil, help us to see their worth, in Jesus name, amen.

There are other listings of spiritual gifts in the scriptures, particularly in 1st Corinthians 12, but other areas as well. The scriptures seem to imply that God gives us these gifts, and that we develop these gifts through experience and growth in the Holy Spirit.

All of these gifts together form us into the body of Christ. And as the body we use these heaven-sent gifts to bring forth the kingdom of God on Earth, in the will of Jesus Christ, who is the head of the body. Jesus gives the orders, just as the brain gives the orders to the human body.

Now what happens if we don’t use our gifts? Nothing happens. And that’s not good.

Also understand it is your obligation to use your gifts. That’s why you have them. Remember the parable of the talents, the one who didn’t use his talents, but hid them, was rejected. And Jesus said those who don’t produce fruit are not of Him. They are like branches that wither and fade away, and such branches are gathered up, and burned. They are worthless. Remember the fig tree that was found without fruit for several years. Christians who don’t produce fruit are showing they have no faith, because faith without works is dead. Is your faith living or dead?

I’m trying to impress upon you how important your gift is. But in conclusion let’s put it all together.

I’m a new Christian say, freshly born again. God uses a prophet to speak a word into my life, challenging me to grow and build. What would happen without the prophet? No prophet, then I miss that blessing. I’m now getting complacent.

Next, I go to an evening meal service, a dinner church, but the doors are shut when I get there. People with the gift of serving never stepped up to serve, so the dinner church shut down many months ago.

Next, God calls an older man to mentor me in the Bible, sit down with me once a week or so, and go through the Bible over coffee and donuts in his den. But this man never does so, he's too lazy, decides he’d rather watch the price is right in the mornings. He has a gift of teaching but he doesn’t use it.

This new Christian is really being neglected! He’s starting to get discouraged. So God calls a woman to go and encourage him after church. But she decides not to. She has other things she wants to do, go shopping, get a Starbucks. So this new Christian leaves church discouraged and alone.

Now, we see this Christian is on his way to work, but his car breaks down. God sends a Christian who is driving by to stop and help them. But they just keep going. They have a gift of giving, but they don’t do it. Now this Christian loses his job.

This new Christian is going to a church, but the leader decides he doesn’t want to be a leader anymore, he resigns the ministry, and the church shuts down. Now this new Christian has no church to attend nearby.

He drifts off, and becomes homeless. Yet he still hungers for God. He still has hope that maybe someone will help him. God sends someone with the gift of showing mercy along to minister to him, invite them to their church, to a new church, and to help them find a place to stay, maybe drop them at the local shelter. But instead this person sees him, but just keeps walking, she’s too tired that day.

Then that night he commits suicide.

This is a graphic example of the value of the body of believers. We need each other. Do I believe God could still help someone, even if they miss some of these ministry opportunities? Of course.

In this scenario could God easily bring someone else with that same gifting over to help them? Absolutely.

So I don’t think it necessarily will end that way. But many a time I’ve felt I needed something, but it never came. Can you relate? You matter. Your gifting is not optional. And no, someone else won’t just magically do it for you. I think we get that idea in America, well, there’s another person who will do this for me. Maybe back in the 70s and 80s during the Billy Graham crusades, not anymore. If it’s going to happen it’s got to be you. Take responsibility, and serve in your place. It’s not too much. It’s not overwhelming. It’s quite natural actually. You'll do great! 

Review of Main Points:

1. View yourself with Sober Judgment, as one saved by grace through faith

2. Members of the body have differing functions, but belong to each other

3. The gift of prophesy means to speak word from God

4. The gift of teaching is explaining God’s word

5. Encouragement/exhortation is to help a believer stay strong

6. Giving is meeting someone’s need

7. Leading is being a guide or protector to other Christians

8. Showing mercy is seeing the value in someone caught in sin

9. Other Spiritual gifts exist as well (see 1 Cor 12)

10. Your Gifting is necessary to the body, use your gift faithfully