EXPERIENCING GOD - timelesstruthfortoday.com fileEXPERIENCING GOD Based on the Bible Study “Experiencing God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King SESSION 2

EXPERIENCING GOD

Based on the Bible Study “Experiencing God”

by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King

SESSION 2

2/28/2019Experiencing God - Kostrubanic 1


Experiencing God, H.T. Blackaby & C.V. King

OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN REALITIES OF EXPERIENCING GOD

• Reality 1: God is always at work around you

• Reality 2: God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal

• Reality 3: God invites you to be involved with Him in His work

• Reality 4: God speaks by the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways

• Reality 5: God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action

• Reality 6: You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing

• Reality 7: You come to KNOW God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you X


GOD SPEAKS TO HIS PEOPLE

• Jesus promised this > John 14.26

• God speaks now to believers through the Holy Spirit

• Prayer, Bible, circumstances, the church, other individual believers

• Four common things to note from when God spoke to OT characters

• # 1: When God spoke, the person hadn't seen it before

• # 2: The person was sure that God was speaking

• # 3: When God spoke, the person knew what He had said

• # 4: When God spoke, that was the person's experience with God X


HOW CAN WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS SPEAKING ??

• The key to knowing God's voice is a loving relationship

• There is no substitute for this relationship in knowing His voice

• Don't look for miraculous signs

• Don't hunt for a formula

• Don't try the name-it-and-claim-it approach vs listening for Him

• Looking for open and closed doors is not listening for His voice

• Here is the apparent pattern for recognizing that God is speaking

• The Bible is our guide – God won’t speak contrary to it

• God always gives some direction at the front end of an assignment

• Waiting for instructions is deliberately intended by God

• The Holy Spirit has a key role in this > 1 Cor 2.12

• God gives believers clear, specific directions today X


WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN GOD SPEAKS ?

• What should you do when you experience an encounter with God ?

• Immediately respond to the invitation

• Check the directive out with prayer, Bible Study

• Review the circumstances for fit

• Discuss it with trusted believers

• Important things to keep in mind when God speaks

• God speaks with a purpose

• God speaks at the right time = when He is ready to move

• Recognize the importance of time for character development

• God will develop your character to match the assignment

• Note how God developed the character of biblical characters

• David, Paul

• Note that God, in speaking, often gives specific directions

• When God speaks gives you an assignment, He will give you enough specifics for now

• When you need more directions, He will give them X


WHEN GOD SPEAKS, IT IS WITH A PURPOSE

• God reveals His purposes & His ways when He speaks > Isa 55.8

• When God accomplishes His purposes done His way through us, people will come to know God

• A good example is in Jesus feeding the mass of people

• Jesus asked the disciples to feed the multitudes

• Their response was that He should send them home

• But Jesus used God's power to multiply the food to feed them all

• The people saw His power from God and His love for them

• Again, the importance of the growing love relationship with God

• Enables us to see His purposes and His ways

• Enables us to trust Him to carry them out through us = experiencing God X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE BIBLE• Jesus compared His relationship with His followers to the relationship a

shepherd has with his sheep

John 2.3-4

" ... the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

.....When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.“

• When we have a loving relationship with the Lord, we can hear what He is saying more easily, for example through His Word

• How can the believer respond as the Word's truth is applied to life ?• Write down the verse or verses the Spirit has impressed on you

• Meditate on the passage to allow the Spirit to enlarge on it

• Study it to focus on the meaning of it (allow the Spirit to use additional information for understanding and application)

• Identify any life adjustments that are needed so that God can work through you

• Write/pray a response to God about your understanding and need to make adjustments

• Make the necessary adjustments as an act of obedience

• Watch to see how God may use this new truth X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PRAYER

• Prayer is a relationship

• This is two-way fellowship and communication with God

• The Holy Spirit reveals truth

• Truth is not a concept, it is a Person

John 14.6

"... I am the way, and the truth, and the life ..."

• Note the involvement of the Holy Spirit in prayer

• God motivates you to pray

• The Holy Spirit reveals God's will and His Truth through His Word

• You adjust your life to the Truth

• You look and listen for confirmation or further direction

• You obey what you learn of God's will

• God works through you and in you to accomplish His purpose

• You experience God as He works, the Spirit reveals Him through prayer X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PRAYER (cont’d)

• Praying in the Spirit

• We are weak and really don't know what or how to pray

Rom 8.26“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;for we do not know how to pray as we should, butthe Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaningstoo deep for words”

• So what happens when you pray for God's direction ?• The Holy Spirit knows what God has ready for you• He just has to get you to want it and ask for His direction

• How can you be sure that it is the Spirit speaking to you ?• Be sure that you want God's will alone• Then ask yourself:

• What is He saying to me in His Word and prayer ?• Is He confirming what I see through circumstances ?• Is He confirming it through other believers’ counsel ? X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PRAYER (cont’d)

• We have a major problem with spiritual concentration

• We pray for direction, and then don't relate what we see happening

• Remember that He is in the character-building business and is likely to answer in stages

• God sometimes allows us to wait for direction in silence

• We have to believe that God is working and will let us know when He is ready with the next step

• Example: Jesus and the death of Lazarus

• Jesus delayed until Lazarus died, no word sent to his family as to why

• When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days

• Now look at why Jesus might have delayed

• Mary, Martha and the others had seen Him heal others

• If He had come before Lazarus died, they would have reasonably expected the same

• Instead, many believed because He raised Lazarus from the dead

• A miracle ONLY God could do

• God's silence in answering prayer often means He is ready to bring an even greater revelation of Himself to you

• When silence comes, continue with the last thing God told you and wait for a fresh encounter with Him X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES• Jesus decided what to do by watching the Father's actions > Jn 5.19

• God's perspective is vital > Note Job’s experience

• Ordinarily you would feel that God had let him down

• In the end, Job's family, wealth and health were restored

• The lesson

• Circumstances can cause a distorted view of God > Rely on God’s wisdom

• So what is the way to deal with difficult circumstances ?

• Pray to God for His perspective on your circumstances

• Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in Scripture for God's perspective

• As His perspective is revealed, adjust your life to it

• The TRUTH is what you want in considering your circumstances

• The TRUTH when the disciples were in the storm on the lake

• The TRUTH in the funeral of the widow whose only son died

• The TRUTH among the 5,000 hungry people

• Growth in experiencing God comes through your inventory of circumstances

• Rely prayerfully on this inventory when difficult circumstances hit > Jam 1.2-4X


GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE CHURCH

Eph 4.15-16

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to growup in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and heldtogether by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causesthe growth of the body for the building up of itselfin love.

• Usually taught as the church’s need for various capabilities are supplied

• But also consider the church’s need to know/determine what Christ wants it to do, and what major decisions should be made

• All members should share what they sense God wants the church to be and do

• As such, the church needs to hear the entire counsel of God through its members

• What God is doing in and through the body is essential to my knowing how to respond to Him X


GOD'S INVITATION LEADS TO A CRISIS OF BELIEF

• Note what happens when God invites you to join His work

• His assignment is usually God-sized

• Only He can complete the assignment through you

• The point of faith is really do you trust God

• Why are God's assignments God-sized ?

• God's primary interest is that the world comes to know Him

• The only way this will happen is if they see ONLY Him work

• People today see and recognize dedicated Christians

• But they do not see God working in their routine

• What they see can be explained without recognizing that only God could have done it

• This is because we are not open to attempting anything that only God can do

• We need to be open to God's invitation to God-sized assignments

• Then the world will take notice that something is going on X


JOINING GOD REQUIRES MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS

• Luke 9.23 – Speaking of “major adjustments” !!

• Many believers want to know God's will for their life

• They want God to give them an assignment

• But they aren't willing to make major adjustments to their life that are necessary preparation for the assignment

• Note the important growth order God want us to follow

• 1st critical turning point = having faith in God to work through you to accomplish His God-sized assignment

• 2nd critical turning point = adjusting your life to God's indication of major life changes needed to accomplish it

• These two show complete faith in God = obedience > growing love relationship

• What kinds of life adjustments might your assignment require ?

• Thinking (prejudices, methods, your potential)

• Actions (how you pray, give, serve)

• Beliefs (about God, His purposes, His ways, your relationship to Him)

• Circumstances (job, home, finances)

• Relationships (family, friends, work associates)

• Commitments (to family, church, job, plans, traditions) X


JOINING GOD REQUIRES MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS (cont’d)

• Making major life adjustments takes absolute surrender

• We need to have the proper attitude to "absolute surrender”

• God does want to be the Lord of your life

• This means being willing to do whatever He wants

• Making major life adjustments takes total dependence on God

• Allowing Him to work through you as your intimate loving relationship grows is critical to success Gal 2.20

• "...live by faith.." isn't just faith in salvation carrying through to reaching heaven

• "live" includes letting Christ do His work through me as part of our love relationship

• "...crucified with Christ..." >> everything depends on Christ and nothing on your own capabilities and viewpoints

• Sometimes obedience means waiting on God for further instructions

• Pray to know Him more, know His purposes and His way

• Watch circumstances, ask God to show you where they are related to His assignments

• Share what God has revealed so far with other believers to gain their perspective

• Continue doing the last thing that God told you to do

• God has then taken the responsibility for outcomes X


JOINING GOD REQUIRES OBEDIENCE• You can't obey more than what God has directed thus far

• When God sees us faithfully doing what He has given as small assignments, He will give God-sized assignments

• Obedience is the moment of truth

• Obedience determines if you will come to know Him more intimately

1 John 2.3-53 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we

keep His commandments.4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and

does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him

• Prayer and obedience• God gives you the desire to do His will

• The Holy Spirit guides you to pray according to God's will

• Continue to pray in faith for it to come to pass

• This requires a major life-adjustment in your life as you experience God leading you to pray for His directives X


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

• We must remember that it is God that is doing the work

• He calls you into a loving relationship with Himself, not to accomplish a particular task

• God is always working everywhere to redeem the world

• When He is working around you, He decides when you are ready to be plugged in to achieve His purpose

• He needs time to shape us to what we need to be for the task He has in mind

• The Holy Spirit is in you so that you don't miss it

• Our key job is to maintain the loving relationship

• Guidelines for dealing with things going wrong when you take the 1st step of obedience

• Clarify what you know God said, and identify what points you added

• Remove your points, keep in place what God said

• Let God work out the details with His timing

• Do all that you know He has instructed you to do

• Wait on God to tell you the next step X


THE SIMPLE STAGES TO EXPERIENCING GOD

• Study, meditate, pray for a solid love relationship with God

• Watch for Him to give you the first step in major life adjustments

• Make the life adjustments, keep praying and studying

• Watch for His first instruction for a God-sized assignment

• Obediently follow it

• Enjoy experiencing God ! X


LOVING GOD

How Do You Do That ?

(ADDED STUDY TO “EXPERIENCING GOD”)

GOD STARTS OUR LOVING HIM AT CONVERSION

Rom 5.5"…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts

through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.“

Gal 5.22"But the fruit of the Spirit is love…“

• God gives us a “head start” at loving Him

• If we allow the Holy Spirit to continue developing this, we can achieve the loving relationship that God wants with us X

3/9/2019Loving God - Kostrubanic 21

INITIATING = OBEYING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

• Note Jesus' words on this, and its application to the loving relationship

John 14.21,23

21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is theone who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myselfto him.”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me,he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

• Obedience to God’s commands (the whole of Scripture) is the first step in our initiating and allowing the Holy Spirit to grow the loving relationship X


GROWING THE LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

• Martin Luther’s comment

"To love God for the purpose of eternal salvation and eternal peace or for reasons of avoiding hell is not to love God for his own sake, but for the sake of one's self. True blessedness is to seek God's Will and God's Honor in all things and to wish for nothing for one's self - either here or in the hereafter.”

• C.S. Lewis' statement

"a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." X


THE CHIEF COMMANDMENT ON LOVING GOD

• Moses said in Deut 6.5"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and

with all your soul and with all your might.“

• Jesus said in Mark 12.30"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and

with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength“

• Note that Jesus added our minds to the chief commandment X


UNPACKING THE CHIEF COMMANDMENT

• "with all your heart“

• Prov 4.23" Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life.“

• You can't begin a love relationship without your will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts rightly aligned to God from within

• Loving with all your heart includes a passionate pursuit of God daily through conversational prayer, and reading and meditating on His Word

• "with all your soul“

• Loving God with all your soul means dedicating your life to Him, living according to His values

• We must look for ways to increase our commitment to Him every day X


UNPACKING THE CHIEF COMMANDMENT (cont’d)

• "with all your mind“

• Ratio Christi President Corey Miller ….

"The heart can no longer embrace what the mind cannot believe“

• Benjamin Franklin said, "If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.“

• God wants you to use your reasoning to know Him and to love Him deeper

• "with all your strength“

• The OT word for might/strength means .....

"very" in Hebrew / "power" in Greek / "wealth" in Aramaic

• The expanded meaning appears to be that our "veriness“ includes all that we have at our disposal

• So we are called to love God with everything we are, we have, we have produced, and our relationships, like family

• Better stated by Jason DeRouchie, professor of Old Testament and biblical theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary

"This means that the covenant love we're called to must be wholehearted, life-encompassing, community-impacting, exclusive commitment to our God" X


STEPS FOR GROWING INTO A LOVING RELATIONSHIP

• You must know Him

• You can't love someone you don't know

• Comes from prayerful Bible study under the Holy Spirit's guidance

• You must come to worship and praise Him

• Lk 4.8

"Jesus answered him, 'It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’ ”

• Study Psalms which praise Him (e.g. Pss 8, 19, 23, 24, 67, 99, 117, 150)

• You must obey Him

• Note Jesus' words on this

John 14.15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments"

John 15.10

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.“

• You must put Him first

• Remember Deut 6.5/Mk 12.30

• Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength keeps all other things in their place X


STEPS FOR GROWING INTO A LOVING RELATIONSHIP (cont’d)

• You must desire Him• Ps 42.1

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God."

• Ps 34.8

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him ! "

• Ps 19.9-10

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb

• Summary of the loving relationship by John Piper

"This is the essence of what it means to love God: to be satisfied in Him. In Him - not just his gifts, but God himself, as the glorious person that He is !

.... Loving God will include obeying all his commands; it will include believing all his word; it will include thanking him for all his gifts. But allthat is overflow. The essence of loving God is admiring and enjoying all he is." X


RESOURCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• NASB

• Experiencing God, Henry T. Blackaby, Claude V. King

• Jason DeRouchie, professor of Old Testament and biblical theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary

• “What It Means to Love God”, John Piper

• “How to Love God” Ella Hearrean

• Topic “Loving God” at www.gotquestions.org


http://www.gotquestions.org/

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EXPERIENCING GOD - timelesstruthfortoday.com fileEXPERIENCING GOD Based on the Bible Study “Experiencing God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King SESSION 2