The Value of Writing What God Speaks
Babies are wonderful. They are cute. They are funny. Everyday is a new day of exploration and discovery. But babies are also a great deal of work. They need constant attention. They need to be fed – six, seven times a day. They need to be changed – 10 or 12 times a day. They need to be held. No parent of a baby is ever rested. No parent of a baby has unstained clothes. Babies are high maintenance, and quite seriously, cannot survive without intensive care from loving parents. Let’s face it – as wonderful as babies are, they are also a great deal of responsibility and work. And we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Have you ever watched someone feed a 6 month old baby? It’s quite comical.
• Little bit of apple sauce on the spoon.
• “Open your mouth, little snookems”
• Mouth opens – until the spoon approaches and then it closes – leaving the food all over the babies face and new clothes – ‘oops, forget the bib – again!’
• Wipe cloth, clean up.
• Try again
• Mouth opens, zoom in for the close up: Will the spoon make it in the mouth in time – or will we have a repeat spill?
• Mouth stays open – yeah! We did it! Food is in the mouth!! Success!! – No, wait, there’s a late breaking development, what? Oh no – baby is spitting the food out of his mouth!
• Wipe cloth, clean up.
• Try again
• And on and on it goes… it’s amazing babies survive! But somehow they do!
And that is an illustration of what parenting is all about: Caring, feeding, cleaning up and trying again. Ultimately, the goal of parenting is to help the baby grow until such time they are able to fully care for themselves. And that takes somewhere around 20 years.
The same thing is true in the realm of the Spirit of God. When you become a Christian, you begin as a baby – makes sense, after all, you were spiritually dead prior to receiving Christ, and then He gives you new Life in Him, but you are NEW AT IT – you are a baby. But, just as human babies are designed to grow up, so, you and I are designed to grow up and become mature.
God created a process by which this spiritual maturity takes place – look at Ephesians 4:11
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-15
Do you see the process?
- PREPARATION for ministry: Five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – who all have the same objective: Prepare God’s people for ministry! – Greek: “Complete equipping for service” – which then is followed by:
- MATURITY in Christ: We will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. – It is God’s will that you be absolutely mature in Him, that you become just like Him, that you become Christ to this world!
Why is this important? Because it is time for you to become self-feeding! You do not need me – or – any other pastor/teacher – to spoon-feed you! You need to become mature – you need to become like Christ – you need to allow His Spirit to utterly and forever transform you – so that you indeed will ‘grow up into Him’!
I don’t say this critically – I say this to exhort you to become the person you were created to be! In fact, many of you are becoming exactly what I’m talking about! I see you – ministering to one another, praying believing, fighting for others. Rising up! I see guys like Brad – who is rarely without his Bible in hand! Praise God!
And, I say this to explain again why I am teaching you so carefully how to have dialogue with God – how to hear His voice, how to be filled with His Holy Spirit living within – because as this becomes the priority of your life – you will become what God made you to be!
In recent weeks we’ve discovered three vital tools to having honest dialogue with God:
1. SPONTANEITY - God’s voice in our hearts sounds like the flow of spontaneous thoughts. Therefore, when I tune into God, I tune into spontaneity! (John 10:27)
2. STILLNESS – In order to sense God’s voice, I must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions. (Psalms 46:10)
3. VISION – As I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of God. (Habakkuk 2:1, Ephesians 1:17-18, Acts 2:17)
Today, we focus on one last tool of revelation as it relates to having authentic dialogue with God.
4. JOURNALING – The writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice.
Journaling is simply writing out my prayers to God and what I believe His response is to me. It is a record of my two-way dialogue with God.
BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS:
TURN TO PSALMS 32:6
The entire books of Psalms is really a journal of David’s experience with God. David writes – then God speaks. Notice sometime as you are reading Psalms, the word “selah” – it means musical rest or interlude – and frequently, after the ‘selah’ the depth of the message has increased – why? Because God spoke during the interlude!
“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding-place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Psalms 32:6-11
Prior to the ‘selah’ – it is David talking – he is speaking faith! He is praying believing! He is walking in the power of the Holy Spirit – and then the ‘selah’ comes – And now, it is GOD speaking – “I will instruct, I will counsel and watch...” And the result: We can rejoice in the Lord!
The apostle John is worshipping – and he records – he journals what God reveals and speaks:
“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”” Revelation 1:10, 11
BENEFITS OF JOURNALING
1. Doubts can be set aside, without throwing away my common sense.
When I first began to journal, I was worried that the stuff I was writing came from me, or from the enemy. I am a skeptic. I need to know for sure that something is truly from the Lord. Journaling has helped that – because as I write whatever comes to me, I am then free to go back and review it later to evaluate it in the light of what I already know from Scripture!
Let me read you a sample from a recent journaling – you tell me if it sounds like something God would say. ILLUSTRATION #1
A second benefit of journaling is…
2. Journaling gives my brain something to do while receiving revelation.
My brain is used to being in control, and frankly, it needs something to do. So, by journaling what you are receiving, your brain is involved in the physical processes of writing. So, as I move in the Spirit, I tell my brain to do what its told and to write. And my brain is happy and my ability to receive from the Lord continues!
Thirdly,
3. Journaling stands as testimony to the faithfulness of God.
In the Old Testament we see that when God did something really special for the people of Israel, they build a pile of rocks – an Ebenezer – to serve as a reminder of the faithfulness of God. When you journal, you are building an Ebenezer of paper and ink that serve you as a reminder of what God has done. Is that important? You bet it is - because we so easily forget!
Fourth,
4. Journaling keeps the message pure.
Sometimes, in our excitement and passion, we can easily get off track from His purposes. And as we do, we will inevitably hit the wall of failure or frustration – why? Because God doesn’t bless what He isn’t building! So, by journaling, we can go back to what He has revealed and He reminds us of what His true intentions were.
Fifth -
5. Journaling helps me wait.
The journey into Christ is long and filled with potholes, diversions, distractions and pain. Many times the Lord will speak something into our lives that are going to come to fullness – but not now – but in the fullness of God’s time! His promises always come true. By journaling, we can review what He has revealed and be assured that ‘he who began the good work, is faithful to complete it!’
Sixth:
6. Journaling helps me see God more accurately.
Most of us have a sneaking suspicion that to encounter God is to encounter judgment, criticism and condemnation. Even though we know that the Bible tells us things like “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and “God is love” – we doubt that that applies to us.
But when you begin to receive revelation through journaling – you’ll be surprised to hear Him say things that are more gentle than you’d imagine – let me illustrate… ILLUSTRATION #2
Dear family - He is calling us into Himself. He desires that we become fully mature in Him! It is possible! One of the most important things you can do is learn to feed yourself.
BABIES are wonderful – but as any parent will tell you – they don’t stay babies long. Unfortunately, in the modern church many, many Christians stay babies for 20, 30 or 50 years! That cannot happen in this church. You are expected to grow up into Christ! And I’ll help you.
No pastor on earth is able to keep you well fed – you come to Sunday mornings and you expect to be fed – and I promise that I will continually strive to prepare you for works of service. But you must do your part. You cannot expect to grow in the Lord if your only feeding happens on Sunday mornings. Can you imagine if you only ate one meal per week? You’d starve!
And that is what some of you are doing now – you are beginning to look like a holocaust victim spiritually and Satan is thrilled! It’s time to eat! It’s time to feed! It’s time to feast!
And how? By entering into true dialogue with God.
• Open yourself to SPONTANEITY.
• Seek to be STILL before the Lord.
• Expect to see VISIONS AND DREAMS.
• JOURNAL what He is speaking.
Have you ever watched someone feed a 6 month old baby? It’s quite comical.
• Little bit of apple sauce on the spoon.
• “Open your mouth, little snookems”
• Mouth opens – until the spoon approaches and then it closes – leaving the food all over the babies face and new clothes – ‘oops, forget the bib – again!’
• Wipe cloth, clean up.
• Try again
• Mouth opens, zoom in for the close up: Will the spoon make it in the mouth in time – or will we have a repeat spill?
• Mouth stays open – yeah! We did it! Food is in the mouth!! Success!! – No, wait, there’s a late breaking development, what? Oh no – baby is spitting the food out of his mouth!
• Wipe cloth, clean up.
• Try again
• And on and on it goes… it’s amazing babies survive! But somehow they do!
And that is an illustration of what parenting is all about: Caring, feeding, cleaning up and trying again. Ultimately, the goal of parenting is to help the baby grow until such time they are able to fully care for themselves. And that takes somewhere around 20 years.
The same thing is true in the realm of the Spirit of God. When you become a Christian, you begin as a baby – makes sense, after all, you were spiritually dead prior to receiving Christ, and then He gives you new Life in Him, but you are NEW AT IT – you are a baby. But, just as human babies are designed to grow up, so, you and I are designed to grow up and become mature.
God created a process by which this spiritual maturity takes place – look at Ephesians 4:11
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-15
Do you see the process?
- PREPARATION for ministry: Five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – who all have the same objective: Prepare God’s people for ministry! – Greek: “Complete equipping for service” – which then is followed by:
- MATURITY in Christ: We will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. – It is God’s will that you be absolutely mature in Him, that you become just like Him, that you become Christ to this world!
Why is this important? Because it is time for you to become self-feeding! You do not need me – or – any other pastor/teacher – to spoon-feed you! You need to become mature – you need to become like Christ – you need to allow His Spirit to utterly and forever transform you – so that you indeed will ‘grow up into Him’!
I don’t say this critically – I say this to exhort you to become the person you were created to be! In fact, many of you are becoming exactly what I’m talking about! I see you – ministering to one another, praying believing, fighting for others. Rising up! I see guys like Brad – who is rarely without his Bible in hand! Praise God!
And, I say this to explain again why I am teaching you so carefully how to have dialogue with God – how to hear His voice, how to be filled with His Holy Spirit living within – because as this becomes the priority of your life – you will become what God made you to be!
In recent weeks we’ve discovered three vital tools to having honest dialogue with God:
1. SPONTANEITY - God’s voice in our hearts sounds like the flow of spontaneous thoughts. Therefore, when I tune into God, I tune into spontaneity! (John 10:27)
2. STILLNESS – In order to sense God’s voice, I must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions. (Psalms 46:10)
3. VISION – As I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of God. (Habakkuk 2:1, Ephesians 1:17-18, Acts 2:17)
Today, we focus on one last tool of revelation as it relates to having authentic dialogue with God.
4. JOURNALING – The writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice.
Journaling is simply writing out my prayers to God and what I believe His response is to me. It is a record of my two-way dialogue with God.
BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS:
TURN TO PSALMS 32:6
The entire books of Psalms is really a journal of David’s experience with God. David writes – then God speaks. Notice sometime as you are reading Psalms, the word “selah” – it means musical rest or interlude – and frequently, after the ‘selah’ the depth of the message has increased – why? Because God spoke during the interlude!
“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding-place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Psalms 32:6-11
Prior to the ‘selah’ – it is David talking – he is speaking faith! He is praying believing! He is walking in the power of the Holy Spirit – and then the ‘selah’ comes – And now, it is GOD speaking – “I will instruct, I will counsel and watch...” And the result: We can rejoice in the Lord!
The apostle John is worshipping – and he records – he journals what God reveals and speaks:
“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”” Revelation 1:10, 11
BENEFITS OF JOURNALING
1. Doubts can be set aside, without throwing away my common sense.
When I first began to journal, I was worried that the stuff I was writing came from me, or from the enemy. I am a skeptic. I need to know for sure that something is truly from the Lord. Journaling has helped that – because as I write whatever comes to me, I am then free to go back and review it later to evaluate it in the light of what I already know from Scripture!
Let me read you a sample from a recent journaling – you tell me if it sounds like something God would say. ILLUSTRATION #1
A second benefit of journaling is…
2. Journaling gives my brain something to do while receiving revelation.
My brain is used to being in control, and frankly, it needs something to do. So, by journaling what you are receiving, your brain is involved in the physical processes of writing. So, as I move in the Spirit, I tell my brain to do what its told and to write. And my brain is happy and my ability to receive from the Lord continues!
Thirdly,
3. Journaling stands as testimony to the faithfulness of God.
In the Old Testament we see that when God did something really special for the people of Israel, they build a pile of rocks – an Ebenezer – to serve as a reminder of the faithfulness of God. When you journal, you are building an Ebenezer of paper and ink that serve you as a reminder of what God has done. Is that important? You bet it is - because we so easily forget!
Fourth,
4. Journaling keeps the message pure.
Sometimes, in our excitement and passion, we can easily get off track from His purposes. And as we do, we will inevitably hit the wall of failure or frustration – why? Because God doesn’t bless what He isn’t building! So, by journaling, we can go back to what He has revealed and He reminds us of what His true intentions were.
Fifth -
5. Journaling helps me wait.
The journey into Christ is long and filled with potholes, diversions, distractions and pain. Many times the Lord will speak something into our lives that are going to come to fullness – but not now – but in the fullness of God’s time! His promises always come true. By journaling, we can review what He has revealed and be assured that ‘he who began the good work, is faithful to complete it!’
Sixth:
6. Journaling helps me see God more accurately.
Most of us have a sneaking suspicion that to encounter God is to encounter judgment, criticism and condemnation. Even though we know that the Bible tells us things like “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and “God is love” – we doubt that that applies to us.
But when you begin to receive revelation through journaling – you’ll be surprised to hear Him say things that are more gentle than you’d imagine – let me illustrate… ILLUSTRATION #2
Dear family - He is calling us into Himself. He desires that we become fully mature in Him! It is possible! One of the most important things you can do is learn to feed yourself.
BABIES are wonderful – but as any parent will tell you – they don’t stay babies long. Unfortunately, in the modern church many, many Christians stay babies for 20, 30 or 50 years! That cannot happen in this church. You are expected to grow up into Christ! And I’ll help you.
No pastor on earth is able to keep you well fed – you come to Sunday mornings and you expect to be fed – and I promise that I will continually strive to prepare you for works of service. But you must do your part. You cannot expect to grow in the Lord if your only feeding happens on Sunday mornings. Can you imagine if you only ate one meal per week? You’d starve!
And that is what some of you are doing now – you are beginning to look like a holocaust victim spiritually and Satan is thrilled! It’s time to eat! It’s time to feed! It’s time to feast!
And how? By entering into true dialogue with God.
• Open yourself to SPONTANEITY.
• Seek to be STILL before the Lord.
• Expect to see VISIONS AND DREAMS.
• JOURNAL what He is speaking.
posted by Doug Love at 7:44 PM
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