Scripture referenced 5 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Philippians 3:10 Paul's determined purpose to know Christ more deeply and intimately
10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death;
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Song of Solomon 4:9
one glance from the beloved ravishes the heart, used to illustrate God waiting for our attention
9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 6:5-13
Jesus teaching on prayer, including the Lord's Prayer as a model broken down verse by verse
5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.
9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Psalm 119:160
the sum of God's word is truth, used to encourage reading scripture as a foundation for hearing God
160 All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 17:3
eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, quoted at the close
3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
On Palm Sunday 2017, Pastor Ray was away and a guest speaker shared a message about what it means to genuinely know God, not just know about Him. Drawing on Philippians 3:10, where Paul says his determined purpose is to know Christ more deeply and intimately, the speaker made the case that relationship with God is the thing that matters most.
What was said
The speaker opened by asking the congregation a few direct questions: Are you a friend of God? Do you spend time with your friend? Do you invite Him into your day? The point was not whether people had made a profession of faith, but whether they were actually pursuing a growing, living relationship. Even S.M. Lockridge's famous description of Christ, the speaker said, barely touches the surface of who God is and what He longs to be in a person's life.
To illustrate what attentiveness to God looks like, the speaker told a long story about training his retriever, Joe. A young hunting dog has to learn to stop looking at the food bowl and start looking at the handler, because in the field the dog has to trust the handler's direction completely to find birds it cannot see. The speaker described waiting at mealtime for Joe to glance up from the bowl, then releasing him the moment he did, until eventually the dog would sit and stare directly into the speaker's face, drooling, fully focused, waiting for the word to go.
That image became the lens for Song of Solomon 4:9, where God is described as ravished by even one glance from us. The speaker's point was that God is already positioned, already waiting, already pursuing, and that even the smallest turn of our attention toward Him is met immediately. The discipline of the dog was a picture of the kind of focused, trusting attention God is looking for from us.
From there the speaker laid out four practical ways to grow in knowing God. The first is prayer, and he walked through the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 section by section, showing how it moves through worship, seeking God's kingdom, petition, forgiveness, and protection. He noted that regular time in prayer is also how we learn to recognize God's voice, the same way he recognizes his wife Amy's voice the moment she calls, without her having to introduce herself.
The second way is reading the Word, so that when we sense God speaking, we have a foundation to test it against. The third is spending time with people who love the Lord. The speaker described a weekly breakfast with his friend Eric where they talk about God alongside trucks and dogs and everything else, and he said those conversations carry eternal weight even when they seem ordinary. Iron sharpens iron, he said, and we need each other to grow.
The fourth is finding a secret place to be alone with God. He mentioned that Florine had shared the previous Sunday that his secret place is the piano in the sanctuary, coming in the middle of the night to worship and pray. For the speaker it tends to be the mountains, after his body is worn out and his flesh is quiet enough to listen. He closed with the image of Joe still sitting, still staring, still waiting, and left the congregation with one question: are you giving God your attention?
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Paul called knowing Christ his 'determined purpose' and counted everything else loss compared to it. How would you describe your own sense of purpose when it comes to knowing God?
- The sermon used the image of a dog training its gaze on its owner, waiting for direction, and connected it to Song of Solomon 4:9, where God is moved by even one glance from us. What does it look like practically for you to turn your attention toward God in the middle of an ordinary day?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 5,650 words
0:00
Good morning, church. What a beautiful day we have again. What a privilege just to be here. Now when I say beautiful day, I'm not thinking about the weather. It's a beautiful day that the fact that we are together in God's house.
0:13
Amen? Would you please stand up and let's worship God together? Lord, I leave your name on high. Lord, I love to sing your praises. Actually, not that one.
0:23
I'm sorry. Hosanna. Hosanna. And it's always a privilege to sing with you, sir. You are awesome.
0:33
That's all. Thank you so much. As you can see the song is so good. Amen? Let's sing one more time.
3:31
Amen. God is good. Amen? I wanna pray. I wanna put everything in God's name.
3:36
Heavenly father, thank you so much for the privilege that we have to be here in your in the church, in God's house, together as a family. Would you please bless our heart? Help us to have a great time in your name. Would you please speak to us through the songs, through the sermon, and everything that we do here should be with your honor and glory. If it's someone here that never been here before, if it's someone here that doesn't know you, would you please speak to that heart?
4:01
I'm thankful for everything we have. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Amen. Let's worship God with another song. Alright.
6:13
You guys can be seated. We've got a few announcements to go through here. Actually, we've got quite a few announcements to go through here as spring break has ended and everything is kinda starting back up. So, we'll kind of get through these pretty quickly, hopefully. And, the first thing, Carl, on the back desk are four notebooks.
6:31
Would you come hand those out for me? Start them at each end of each row. So what we've got is, we've got the update of the church directory. We've got some new photos and everything going in it. But we just want everyone to look through and kinda edit it.
6:44
Make sure that there that your own information is correct in here. And if it's not, go ahead and make the correction. If it's fine, then you can just let it let it be. Or if you're not in the directory and you would like to be, go ahead and add to the directory. But just look look through it, make sure that your information is what you would like it to say.
7:04
And, excuse me, and we're gonna get this all edited and ready to go. And hopefully, we'll have these directories, these new directories out ASAP. Let's see here. We've also got this week, the kitchen project starts. So we go under construction on Tuesday.
7:23
But we do also want to update you and say that we have officially now this is the new number that we've raised for the kitchen project. $202,556.94. You guys can read that. That's the money that's in there. I'll try not to read it out loud.
7:43
So anyway, so we're excited about that, and and thank you so much for giving if you gave to that and the people that are continuing to give. It is going to be an awesome blessing to many ministries here at First Baptist. But that starts on Tuesday. So if you've got a plate if you haven't gone down there and looked on the table, there's a few plates and dishes and things that haven't got home yet. Those are all gonna probably go to browsers on Tuesday when they start, the construction process.
8:08
So maybe take one last look through there and make sure there's not anything that doesn't belong to you there. But again, we're we're we're thankful that, this church has been so awesome in, raising the funds to make this project happen. Connect hour between services, that's going to still be happening but it's going to be looking a little different for the next weeks to come as this will be under construction. There's going to be like a faux wall put up but we'll still have a time to get together between services. Today at 2PM, if you are around and you would like to join Chuck Vitterof here, they're going to have a Palm Sunday service for the mission.
8:44
That's at 2PM. Anything you'd like to add to that, Chuck?
8:47
Just come and watch and see how lives are changed.
8:49
That's what it's about. Cool. Lives change and how, the mission gets to help in that. So that's happening at 2PM today. Monday nights is back.
8:58
06:00 music, meal, and message right down in the fellowship hall. And then that coincides with Awana. This week, Awana will be working on some of their derby cars. That race is coming up soon. So, that's gonna be a kind of a construction week, it sounds like, for the cars.
9:14
And then, of course, the regular Awana stuff as well. But that's 06:00. The series thirty three, the series for Authentic Manhood, the men's fraternity study is back on, and it's Wednesdays at 06:15 if you wanna join for that. The truth project, they went right through spring break. They continued on.
9:32
There's four more sessions of the truth project. That's Wednesday night at 06:45. And seamless is back underway as well. That's Thursday nights at 06:45PM downstairs in the choir slash youth room down there. And then this Maundy Thursday, this Thursday, if you'd like to join us, we're gonna be watching the passion of the Christ right here.
9:52
We're gonna watch that film, together if you'd like to join. Anybody is welcome. And that's happening this Thursday at 7PM. And then anything else, check the bulletin. All the announcements should be in there as well.
10:05
And Easter. Easter service. It's on the front page. What does it say so we all can know?
10:16
Easter service is next.
10:18
We'll be
10:18
at nine and eleven.
10:20
Nine and eleven next week. No No breakfast as the kitchen being under construction. We won't be doing breakfast this year. So that's the scoop Easter next week. And Ray will be back next week.
10:33
We're all excited about that, especially me who will no longer have to do announcements. So let's get together, greet one another. Oh, wait. One more one more announcement. We have got a Guatemala announcement.
10:44
Sorry. That slide was there.
10:45
No. It's okay. Hey. My name is Michael Demetrius, and I'm gonna tell you about a Guatemala trip that we're gonna be taking May 6 through the thirteenth. So we're gonna take some people from this church.
10:54
We went three years ago, I believe, down to Guatemala. We pair up with Hope of Life International down there and another group called Hands and Feet Ministries. When we go down there, we pair up with a team from Michigan and Pennsylvania. There's some pharmaceutical and some medical. We go down there.
11:12
We build houses. We work at an orphanage. There's a hospital down there, an old folks home. We just go and pour out love, build houses. The ministry is just incredible.
11:24
I was blown away last time that I went. We went, I guess there was eight or 10 of us, the McCooey's. Lauren went. Lauren's an architect. She redesigned their whole building for the old folks home last time we were down there.
11:35
So we're gonna go down there and just bless them. That's coming up May 6. Another thing that's going on is they have an orphanage on-site there. Down in Guatemala City about two weeks ago, there was a big fire and about 700 orphans got displaced. So hope of life could see up to a 100 of those orphans over the next week or so show up to their compound.
11:57
So we're gonna go down there and bless them. If you did wanna give, there's an aspect to that that we could bless them. We will be presenting a check when we get down there from Jackson as we meet up with the other two teams. So, if that's on your heart to give, write a check to the and then just put in the the little notes part, put, the mission trip, and then we will make sure that money gets to Guatemala. That's what we've got, and we'll be giving you updates as that goes on.
12:23
Thank you.
12:24
Alright, Mike. Thank you so much. Yeah. So now let's stand up, greet one another, Florine, and the crew will bring you back in song,
12:33
We will glorify the Lord. Amen? We will glorify the king. Amen. I have to follow my paper.
13:57
If I don't follow my paper, I'm in trouble.
14:01
You have
14:01
all of us work? Yes. Last night, Violetta and I, we were I think it was around 01:00 in the morning. We were talking about the worship service who's gonna preach, who's gonna come. And sometimes, you know, because I I look at your face and I know who's gonna sit on the first pew, second and then, and we start to pray for you guys.
14:23
I said, okay. God, every single person that comes in the church, we don't know them very well. Some of them might be very happy. Some of them might have some struggle in their life. Would you please bless them and touch their hearts according to the the the Holy Spirit?
14:39
Speak to them. And honestly, is my desire. You know, every time we come to the to to church, I would like that that that we can feel that beautiful presence that that's the Holy Spirit. Amen? And in order to do that is we have to just in the simplicity and in the humbleness, literally just say, God, here I am.
14:59
Speak to me. Touch my heart. Help me to to feel your presence. And then not only in this place, which is one hour, but help me as soon as I leave this building, help me to to carry out your word. Help me help me to carry out carry out your grace.
15:13
Amen? Amen. I love to talk. You might sometimes I feel like you're lucky that I cannot speak English very well because I really like to talk. Amen.
17:30
Can, be seated, and I'd like to invite the front line team to come forward as we participate here in the worship through giving. And, let let's pray together. God, what a what a beautiful day. Thank you for this day and for for giving this day, that we would be alive, but to be alive in you. And, we do give you the glory because you have done great things.
17:56
Lord, as we give here, I I pray that it would just be an expression of of what's happening deep down in our hearts, of gratitude and thankfulness, because indeed, you are good, and you have been good to us. In Jesus name. Amen.
18:30
Well, morning one and all. Welcome back. Those of you that went on spring break. I finally realized why it's called spring break. Because you go away to have spring and then you come back to have winter.
18:47
At any rate, I'm gonna be singing this morning, a rather special song for me And it commemorates my spiritual birthday some forty four years ago nearly, April 22. We're not going to be here on this twenty second. So anyway, we're singing this song, and, I'm gonna sing it. And this is a song that, the Holy Spirit, helped me compose. It's not really me.
19:22
It's more of the Holy Spirit. I like to give him all the credit. So without any further ado. Oh, Jesus, our hearts, our hearts are crying for you to come and set the captives free and when you come please find our souls united in humble adoration just for thee. But come you back when warfare would engulf us and bring the peace that only you can give.
20:27
Oh Jesus, Lord, we seek your sweet assurance that by your grace you'll seal us with your whole love oh Jesus lord help us to reach your children with gospel hope which frees them from their sin and let them well come you their lord and savior with hearts aglow and cleanse for now within So keep us strong until we see your glory and guard us from our ancient enemy and lead us to our father's new Jerusalem oh Jesus lord oh Jesus lord we love you so
22:24
Good. I'll start over. I just I just wanna say thank you. I wanna say thank you to the body. It's so amazing to be a part of a body that serves.
22:37
There's so many parts here. There's so many people here that serve this particular church and this community, and it's amazing to be a part of that. And it's also on my heart just to say thank you. Thank you for serving. Thank you for caring.
22:51
Thank you for all the parts that you do from staff to elders and BOT and Awana and men's and women's ministries. There's so many people that are a part of so many things here. Our brother Ferry who sets the chairs up and cleans up. There's just a lot of parts and a very sincere thank you very much for serving this church and these people. Thank you.
23:18
I'm gonna share this morning about relationship. And to get started, I'm gonna start with a video. So here we go.
23:27
The Bible says my king is the king of the Jews. He's the king of Israel. He's the king of righteousness. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of heaven.
23:38
He's the king of glory. He's the king of kings, and he's the Lord of lords. That's my king. I wonder, do you know him? My king is a a
23:57
bit bit
23:58
bit
24:05
ful. He's impurely powerful. He's impartially of merciful. Do you know him? He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world.
24:17
He's God's Son. He's a sinner's savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented.
24:28
He is the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient savior. I wonder if you know him today.
24:45
He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and he saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and he
26:49
Mister Lockridge is amazing. I so appreciate that video. This morning, I wanna talk about relationship, and I and I wanna I wanna ask a couple questions and just share that God's really put on my heart and have shared often that eternal things come out of relationship and they're and they're so important. And my questions are for, are you a friend of God? Do you spend time with your friend?
27:19
Do you invite him to be part of your day? And have you taken time to get to know him? In Philippians chapter three verse 10, and this is Paul saying, for my determined purpose is that I may know him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of his person more strongly and more clearly. And I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from his resurrection, which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share his sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into the likeness even to his death in the hope that if possible, I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while in the body. Paul, Pharisee of Pharisees, shown to be blameless according to the law, counted everything loss compared to knowing Christ.
28:41
And his determined purpose is that he would know him more deeply and more intimate. And and I wanna I want to share about that today in kind of a unique way, but I think there's two essential parts to to doing that, to getting to know him. One of them is to be attentive. And to be attentive means to pay close attention. It's to be alert and observant.
29:13
And two, the attention part is it's a condition of readiness. It's a it's a place where we're consciously narrowing our focus and receptivity on whatever we're looking at. And I wanna I wanna share a little bit about about my dog, Joe, and about dog training because I think there's an interesting parallel here. Renzi, if you put that picture up, please. This is Joe and and me, in case you didn't know that was me.
29:44
Joe is about two years old. He's been a an amazing dog. But in the training process, I wanna share about about training Joe. Right now, he's sitting down waiting to get his supper. But when you're when you train when you start training a young dog, you you have to have the end in mind.
30:07
And and it's it looks like this. So so in training a dog, you wanna end up with a dog with a particularly hunting dog or retriever, which is what I have. I want I want this dog to be able to pick up multiple marks, and marks are just shot birds that fall. And I want him to be able to pick up four or five of them. They'll be able to remember where they are and run to them and pick them up and retrieve them back to me.
30:36
I also want this dog to be able to pick up blind retrieves and blinds are just birds that have fallen. This dog can't see. He has to take my instruction and my direction to be able to find those birds. So in training this dog, we have to build a relationship of trust and and we get to know each other real well in order to be able to do those tasks. So in the process of training, we when you get a young puppy, seven weeks old, you you you teach him to sit.
31:08
Right? That's sit, stay, come, three basic commands. Those are the big ones. First thing he gets home, you teach him to sit. He's doing pretty good at that.
31:19
So we test him at mealtime. We test his steadiness so he'll sit and wait till he's released to get his food. So just like the picture, we put the bowl on the ground. The dog's sitting there. We tell it to sit.
31:31
It waits. We say, call him by his name, Joe. He comes, and he gets his food. Usually, he does this, he is he is completely focused and staring at his food. He is nothing else is in his brain except that bowl.
31:46
K? So as we go along, the dog, I I wait. I and my goal is that he will look at me. Right? So I set the bowl down on the ground.
31:58
He sits. He does his regular routine. He's staring at the bowl full of food. I wait. I wait.
32:06
I wait, and I'm waiting for just a glance from Joe. And I have to be on the ball because that glance is gonna be really quick, and he's gonna be looking back at his food. So when he glances at me, I release him, Joe, and he eats. And we go through this routine of at feeding time, and he's being trained in other things. He's being he's learning how to retrieve at a fun level at that age.
32:30
And but at mealtime, we we test this thing. So as we go along, eventually, I wait until he will he'll do that. He'll he'll be staring into my face knowing that what he wants comes from me. What he's what he's looking for is coming from from me. So he'll be he'll be sitting there drooling a puddle on the floor, staring into my eyes, and I'll release him on his name, and he gets to eat his supper.
33:06
So the reason why we do this is because when we're teaching these these when he learns how to run these marks to retrieve these marks, and we teach him how to heal and sit, and he sits in a particular way, and he faces in a particular direction. And I steer him with my knees and pat my leg to get him to look the way I want him to look. And then when he lines up, I say good, and then I send him. Right? So this relationship is growing and growing and growing between my dog and I, and he's trusting that I'm gonna give him good direction.
33:39
So for for when we teach blind a blind retrieve, I get in a position like this because first of all, I'm praying that my dog's gonna go the way I tell him to go. Right? So we teach a game called baseball. And in baseball, we have bumpers on the three bases. I'm at home plate.
33:59
He's on the pitcher's mound. And when I teach him to go to the right when he's young, I'll give him a big signal. I'll even look like this, and then I'll I'll raise my elbow, and then I'll I'll cast the dog like that to go to the right. Your left, my right. And then as he's sitting there, I teach him again if it to go back, this the signal to go back is this.
34:25
Well, after we grow for a while, he's he already knows that if I even if I even start moving this little finger like this, he knows he's going that way. He doesn't know if he's going way that way or if he's going back, but he's already he's already going. So that's how we teach him to handle in different directions. So the point is is that when we get to that level to do those very long marks and the long and retrieves, he doesn't know which way to go. That's why we teach the dog food thing.
34:56
So when I send him on a blind, he's at my side. I send him. He knows to run straight until I tell him to stop. Tweet. Blow the whistle.
35:04
He sits. When he sits, he spins around, instantly sits down, and stares at me like that. Totally focused on me waiting for his next direction. Where do I do where's the bird? Which direction do I go?
35:20
Back. Angle back to the right. So he's waiting. So so my point in sharing this story and and another part I wanna share about it is in this relationship is that in relation to our Lord, in in Song of Solomon, four nine, I'll just read the verse. It says, you have ravished my heart and given me courage, my sister, my promised bride.
35:49
You have ravished my heart and given me courage with one look from your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. With one glance, with with that little glance as we're coming to know God, we just glance in his direction. And he's positioned. He's there all the time. Right?
36:07
Waiting. Waiting for that for that glance in our direction. Waiting, for any kind of response from us. And he instantly he's there. He meets us right there at that moment because he's pursuing us.
36:26
He's longing. He's looking and waiting for that relationship. And I know I know many or not not all of you have a relationship with the Lord, but my point is that there's more. It's it's it's it's more. Do we know him?
36:42
Yeah. Mister Lockridge gave a very good, description of Christ, but that is just barely the tip of the iceberg of who he is and and what he longs to to be in our lives. So so he has the end in in mind. The the Lord sees us. He knew us before our conception.
37:04
He he knows when our end will come. And in that in that space of time, I mean, I I don't know how to share it exactly, except he knows the number of hairs on our head. He his thoughts are more than the sand of the sea. He he's looking. He's there.
37:23
He's waiting. He longs to be in relationship with us. He longs to talk to us and speak to us and and share his heart with us and in same to receive and hear our heart toward him. So so our our job, I think, is to focus, is is that we would give him our attention, even if it's just for a moment, that he would have an opportunity to speak to us. So we used to do a study, and it went on.
37:59
Anyway, the question is, but how do we do that? How do we get to know him? How do we how do we get closer to our lord? And I have four four ways. There are many, but I'm gonna concentrate on these four.
38:13
And they are to pray, to read read his word, that we would hang out with people who love the Lord, and that and that we would spend time alone with with the Lord, time in his presence. To pray, would Renzi, would you pop up Matthew for me there, please? In Matthew chapter six five through 13, it says, and when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room.
38:59
And when you have shut the door, pray to your father who is in the secret place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him. Next one.
39:28
And in this manner, therefore, pray. Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
39:44
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. As this model prayer, we it's powerful just to pray it just like that. That's an amazing, powerful prayer, word of God. But as we break it down in the first verse, verse nine, you know, our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
40:12
We're we're praising. We're worshiping the Lord right there. And in our prayer time, we just need to take time to hang out right there for a little while and worship the Lord and and praise him and thank him. We enter his courts with thanksgiving and his gates with praise or or one way or the other. In verse two, we're seeking the father's face, his kingdom come.
40:35
Your kingdom come, Lord. What is your kingdom? What's your will? What's your purpose? I wanna pray into that.
40:41
I wanna agree with that. I wanna be a part of that. So we stay there for a while and pray. And then in this in the eleventh verse, we petition the Lord, give us this day our daily bread. He already knows our needs, but elsewhere in this also in the scripture, it says that we should ask him.
41:01
Ask, seek, and knock. You know? So we ask, Lord, heal our bodies, minister to our family and our friends and the people that we love, minister to this church. We we stay there and pray and seek God in that place. And then in verse 12, we ask forgiveness and forgive.
41:23
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. You know? And then that place, find freedom in Christ. We get free from the things that are holding us down that, where we've been wounded. Allow God to heal us there.
41:38
And then in in verse 13, we're praying for discern us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I pray often that I would not be deceived and led and led astray. And then we worship him again. We praise him and thank him for what he's doing in our lives.
41:56
And I do wanna share, you know, when when when my wife calls me, my amazing wife, Amy, who I have to give some credit for for the structure here in my notes, and she's she's an awesome lady. But when she calls me on the phone, I know her voice. I know she doesn't say, hey, this is Amy. She's like, I know that's Amy. Right?
42:23
So the reason, you know, we spend time in this place is so that when we hear God's voice, we know it's God's voice. And if it's not his voice, it's either ours or the devil trying to lead us astray. So just wanna say this is how this is part of how we recognize the Holy Spirit speaking to speaking in our hearts. Number two, we we read the word. Psalm one nineteen one sixty.
42:58
The sum of your word is truth, the total of the full meaning of all your individual precepts, and every one of your righteous decrees endures forever. So we've we spend time in his word so that we have a foundation for when we're hearing God, we go, does that line up with the word? Is that who God is that who God is in his word? And not just that we're I ask for a pray for a spirit of understanding that this the Holy Spirit would give us the ability to understand what he's saying. Third, hang out with people who love the Lord.
43:40
Hang out with folks that are that are passionate about God, that love to talk about him, love to be with him, love to share him. They help us to grow. They help us to be who God made us to be. My friend Eric, we meet once a week and we share God and we share the stuff we love. We share about shooting stuff and dogs and tires and trucks and and that stuff too.
44:01
But but that relationship's around Christ and it's around helping one another grow in in who he is. It's about it's about being accountable. It's about being transparent. It's about growing in our faith, and we desperately need one another to be able to do that. We have to interact and have relationship.
44:23
That's the eternity part that I've mentioned in the beginning. Eternal things come out of that breakfast time or whatever time. If I if I just bump into you and we have a brief conversation, eternity is can happen in that in that relationship even if it's just a a moment. In that place also, iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Sometimes it's not always comfortable sharing.
44:54
Sometimes it's sometimes there's a rub. Just keep walking. Keep loving one another. Number four, spend time spend time with God in a sec in his in your secret place. And the scripture talked about closing the door and in the in the secret place with him.
45:17
He he's the place. So he's everywhere. He's anywhere you wanna meet him. Brother Florine shared last Sunday that one of his secret places is right here at this piano, that he would come in in the middle of the night, pour out his heart to the Lord, seeking God in worship and in prayer and in a a time, still time alone by himself. For me, it's in the mountains or it's outdoors generally, and usually it's after I'm wore out.
45:49
And after my flesh is tired, I hear better, and and I can be still there and and listen. If we're if we're doing all the talking, then then we can't hear what he's saying. So so I encourage you to be still in that in that place as you're as you're waiting on the Lord. Could be anywhere, like I said. Could be in your car, on the way to work.
46:15
It could be, I mean, in your secret, in your in your room, in anywhere, anywhere. He's there. He's everywhere. So just to recap my points, pray, read the word, hang out with people who love the Lord, and find a place where you can where you can meet him. When you, you put up that last picture of Job, It's hard to see, but Joe by now has about a three inch long drool hanging out of his mouth.
46:59
But he's still staring in my in in my face. He's still waiting. He's still looking at me waiting. Well, he's waiting for his supper, but there's a lot of other things that could happen too. And, I just wanna leave you with that picture as you think about getting to know God.
47:21
Are you giving him your attention?
49:30
Amen. Amen. And this is eternal oh, yes. It's not a religion.
49:35
And this is eternal life that they may know you, that the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. God bless you.
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
