Ok, Ok, I’m Listening!

You know when God really wants you to hear something, He continues the theme over and over until you listen and hear and change.

I have definitely experienced that two times very recently.  This weekend being one of those times.  So I gave you the gist of what Beth talked about on Saturday and then we get to church Sunday and it’s a continuation of what I was already hearing.  That evening a friend posted on his Facebook wall a question to answer.  He wanted to know how we could be sure of our salvation.  He’s a bible teacher, pastor, theologian, and most recently and author.  I would say he’s a jack of all trades, but I think that implies he’s a master of none.  He is definitely a master of being obedient to God and getting believers to think.  Anyway, the continuation of my education…

Pastor Chris started a new series on the Holy Spirit and The Spirit Led Life.  So here we go delving into something that I have really not been living by in a while.  It’s not that there weren’t periods of time when I would suddenly tune into the Spirit’s moving, it’s just that for the majority of the time I was trying to do it all under my strength and determination.  The Holy Spirit was thumping me on the head for a long time this time.  In fact, I wouldn’t doubt that the holy hot glue stick was getting ready to come out and smack me. (if you have a question about that let me know)

So anyway, I hear Beth’s message, I went to church Sunday morning and sat through the sermon, took notes, but I wasn’t really listening because I was agitated about getting home and finishing my blog post for yesterday.  I was severely agitated and once I hit the publish button, several hours after starting it, I felt this rush of peace.  The only explanation that I have for it is that God was really wanting me to share.

So anyway, this morning I printed off my devotions for the week from the sermon notes and reopened by notebook to read my notes.  Below is the summation.  John 3:1-8

First of all, I wrote that the work of the Holy Spirit is miraculous, John 3:2.  Private faith propels public ministry and the Holy Spirit gives life and understanding to God’s word.  Secondly, the work of the Spirit is mandatory for new life. John 3:3-5.  All the things we do count for nothing unless we have the Holy Spirit and have been born again.  In other words, if we serve and give to others, we are doing good work, but unless it is motivated by the Holy Spirit it doesn’t mean a thing.  The Holy Spirit is the one who tells us that we are lost and in trouble, then offers salvation.  It is then our choice to accept it or reject it.  The Holy Spirit is the one who effects change.  Third, the Spirit’s ministry is mysterious, John 3:5  You can’t predict it or control it.  Like the wind, He blows where He pleases.  He brings mysterious transformation.  1 Samuel 10:6-7, 9-11 shows us that when God finished with Saul, he wasn’t who he formerly was.  The question for us is not whether we are changing ourselves but whether we are being changed.  Fourth, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is a mighty, moving, force.  He moves us where, when, and how He wishes.  God overcomes our resistance, He makes our efforts effortless.  He changes our hearts.  Lastly, He joins us to the mission of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit makes us the hands and feet of Jesus by leading us to the mission.  We just have to be tuned in and listening.

So here are Pastor’s devotional verses and questions to ponder.

1 Samuel 10:6-10  Consider the work of the Spirit on Saul.  What happened as a result?  What was the reaction of the people around him?

1 John 2:29, 3:9, 4:7, 5:1 and 4.  Have you been born again? 2 Cor 5:17 and Ezekial 36:24-28  Praise God for His desire to make beautiful creations out of us and His ability to redeem us from our previous lives.  Give thanks to Him and take time to address any business you have with Him…heart to heart.

Ecclesiastes 11:5; Ezekiel 37:1-14  The Spirit of God mysteriously breathes life into whomever and wherever God decides.  Reflect on where you have seen God breathe life into death.  Consider how God may want His Spirit that dwells within you, to breathe life into the people and circumstances around you.  How is He stirring you?

John 3:1-8  As Christians, we surrender our lives to Christ, but don’t we often try to take back control?  What are you holding on to that may be causing you to sail against the Wind rather than allowing the Wind to push you?

Romans 9:15-16, Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:8-9  the Spirit of God can indeed overcome our resistance to God.  Is there someone in your life who is resisting Jesus?  Take time today to pray for them.  Pray and ask God to show you how to be His ambassador to that person.

Ephesians 1:15-23 Read. Pray.  Give thanks.  This is God’s hope for you, with Him, and for the world.  Commit yourself to Him and intercede for others today.

I promise I am listening!

What I Learned

This is going to be a bit random but I wanted to share the thoughts that I wrote down during the Beth Moore simulcast.  There are somethings scattered throughout my notes that I am sure are verbatim from Beth’s mouth.  However, in writing my notes I didn’t put into quotes the things that I wrote down.  I am even having to edit some of the things I wrote because I was writing so fast and furious.  Here are the highlights!

Jesus prays for us!  Jesus has come for me (and you)!!

Our virtual (Facebook, Twitter, bloggy world…) relationships have surpassed our face to face relationships.  We have become more comfortable interacting with the typewritten and not the spoken.

We were created for GOOD company!  We need it, we crave it, and we can’t flourish without it.

If we want good company, we have to be good company.  Our hearts have to come from a pure place to have healthy relationships.

Disobedience to God DEFORMS our hearts, obedience REFORMS them.

If I don’t bring a heart surrendered to God to my relationships with people then I can be destructive and shouldn’t be trusted.  These relationships become co-dependent messes and are destructive beyond measure.

self-absorption is part of our nature, our culture, and we are so limited by it.  As Christians we get stuck looking for what God has to say to ME and not looking at what He has to say.  We need to approach the word looking for what God is saying and not just looking at what the ME can get out of it.

Fireworks are not always surrounding us when God calls us to do something big.

God has not forgotten ME!!

Autonomy has no place in the body of Christ.  We shouldn’t mind being part of the big “also”

When you read each of these verses look for the word also.

Luke 8:1,2; 12:8; 16:10

John 10:16; 14:3; 14:19

Romans 1:6; 8:30,32

1 Corinthians 6:14

Ephesians 1:11,13

II Timothy 2:2; 4:7,8

1 Peter 2:5

1 John 1:3

Colossians 3:4

ALSO= Another Life Sold Out

Another Life Sent Out

Another Life Swept Out

Jesus is the one and only who has gone before us in all things.  He came to be our friend so that we could be friends of God.

Healing is for everyday.

Do not separate your life into segments.  You cannot separate your church life and sin life.  Talk to Jesus about those sins, don’t hide like Adam in the garden.  Every time Satan tries to torment you with past decisions or current sinfulness you need to repeat scripture, out loud to him.  He will flee.  He’s not tempting you to get you to spout scripture at him.  He wants you to fail.

Jesus is the only one who can  get you through this day.  Our determination is not enough.  Our will, will not hold us.  Only Jesus can do it.  He will sustain us each and every day.

As for your birth,on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.  No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.  “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’   Ezekiel 16:4-6

We cannot get away with being unforgiving because we have been flooded with forgiveness and grace by Jesus.  When we hold onto our unforgiving spirit it is not just an action it is what we become.  Being bitter and unforgiving will begin to weigh us down so much that we will be as flat as pancakes.

The best way to be a friend to God is to be filled with the love that He has given us.

As Christians we have been taught the word of God and yet we are still uncertain of what we have not seen.  We need to begin to be certain.  God’s promises are true.  Everything that God teaches us, is Him reaching for us.

The reason some of us have uncertainty is because we are having bible study without God.  We are religious and are empty of God’s spirit.  We study His word but we don’t invite Him to speak to us.

We can be the proof that Jesus is alive.  The convincing proof.  Our lives should show that He is alive.  We cannot be infallible, but we can be convincing if we allow God to work through us.

God has called us to an unhindered life.  Jesus came to release us from the hindrances of our being.  He wants us to leap the walls of our cages, He has unshackled our feet, loosed the bindings of our wrists, given us room to run free.

The one song that gets me every time is  “How He Loves”  This is what I wrote while it was playing:  He found me worthy to die for, He is holding on to me, He looks at me in the state of my depravity and He loves me.  He loves me, He loves me, He loves me!

Praise God, He is in the business of redeeming!  He has come to redeem all the brokenness that sin has wrought in our lives, our world, on His creation.  He loves us in such a way that He was willing to sacrifice his purity, take our sin on to his shoulders and die for us.  He is making all things new.