Pathways to Intimacy with God - How God Speaks to Ordinary People, Part 2

As I traveled around the admit Christians from every background ever imagine they got a couple things in common. Number one most people feel guilty about not reading or studying the Bible as much as they should. And second, most of them would say. I don't think I'm getting very much out of the Bible. When I do what it got great news for you.

You can understand God's word and he wants to speak to very clearly specific. Stay with welcome to this Thursday edition of Living on the Edge Chip Ingram trips are vital to this international discipleship program early currently in chip series called pathways to oversee with God, nor write about in the middle of the previous programs, but we suggest downloading the chip will have free access to these messages to explicit notes and all the special pleasure strip with part two of his message of God speaks to ordinary people, first we need to know his word is living and reveals the person of Christ. So we need to read that with a Christ focus, and second, we need to understand God is not revealing himself to casual by people who just casually combines a Lord I'm in a jam that I really need to hear your voice. It's really big decision. Okay, I need to hear some mouselike Dragon I need a legally spiritual feeling.

I know I haven't read this and why don't know much about what assessment there. I've been working. God doesn't play games.once your heart and my heart in the path of the holy writings are people who rearrange their life, their time in their thinking to get in to this book in such a way that they hear God's voice and ask how to do it. Okay, I'm open. Maybe I'm not doing it, but I want to do. How do you do it. Let me give you three specific ways to come to God's word.

The first way is as a love letter to cherish the first way I think maybe the most important, not exclusively but is to come to the Scriptures as a love letter and cherish it as a personal reminder of your relationship with the author.

I love what Jeremiah says hear your words were found that I ate them in your words became circle the wording it in your notes became didn't happen overnight.

Your words were found, and I ate them and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart. Why, because in his word. Guess what Jeremiah learned, for I have been called by your name all Lord literally Yahweh God of hosts, personal name, and I God of host of all power. I came to your word and I hated to get digested. I begin to devour the fun begin to dig in and begin to search for soberness for goldfish and I searched and as I did he came over time. The joy and the delight of my heart. It wasn't making money is the delight of my heart. It was even my mate is a delight of my heart. It was a success is the delight of my heart. It was what other people think is a lot of my heart by words were found, and I ate them and they became became over time. That means that there were mornings. Jeremiah didn't want to get up there times.

He didn't feel like reading there's times he didn't want to look into the scrolls and here was the author he cherished it when you come first and foremost to the Bible as a love letter is to cherish, I've got a little note here it's it's it's a Father's Day card. I will read it is for my wife but it has a little picture from some years ago and it says your irreplaceable and it says my love for you is unshakable. Don't forget ever. And then there's a little note from Teresa. I throw away.

I'm never thrown away. I want I want to remit what she said to me about me about how she feels about me.

I never want to forget.

I mean, I know all about Teresa know I can tell you how tall she is and what her favorite colors are what kind of furniture she likes and I can become an expert on Teresa and you know there's people that can become an expert on the Bible. But something happens inside their heart is cold it's crusty and what I want to be an expert in understanding how much Teresa loves me and I want to cherish what she is written to me because I matter to her. And if you want to hear God speak to you, you must first come to his word as a cherished love letter personally written to you with a sense of awe and wonder that you really are the object of his affection.

The second way to come is as an instruction manual if the first way focuses on the who, how God feels about you.

The instruction manual has the idea of the focus on the what the content here. It's an instruction manual not to cherish, but to master to prepare you to fulfill God's purpose for your life knows what it says in second Timothy 316 all Scripture is God inspired her literally God breathed and is profitable for what teaching give give me the right direction. For reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Why so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work God has breathed. He has spoken life to you and to me and all of this Scripture is profitable for teaching, knowing Christ knowing God, knowing his will is profitable for reproof when you're moving into a relationship as you're reading it. Hugo don't go there. That's trouble when when you can start running with this person that person and as you're reading about things don't go there or correction. Not only that, you're off the path. It teaches you how to get on the path or training. It shows you how to develop the kind of patterns in your life that produce the kind of men and the kind of women in the kind of kids that you long to become. But but it's it's an instruction manual for life and so you need to master it. One of the ways that I mastered it because I was tired of stopping in Leviticus this is in the book form is called the daily walk Bible and not about you, but since I didn't grow up reading the Bible you not Hezekiah Zachariah McCook hi Mookie, my main who are all these people you know, Judah, Israel, the Assyrians may take ancient Eastern studies and I'm reading through here and you know in the land of Canaan. I'm go you where is all this stuff and after, but as a Christian front two years to half years. Someone sent me a daily walk and I read through the Bible once a year with it for the next 10 or 15 years. Just every year just redo the Bible and and there's little charts and it would tell you this is what's happening here is the historical context. Here's what you can find today here some historical background here some specific takeaways and here's how to personally put in the practice in your life and you took me about 20 minutes mean way less in the sports page and I just decided I would just I just can't bring to the Bible every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year everything pretty soon you know what it's it's an instruction manual. Pretty soon you you hear people talk. Can you think like you like born smart one smarted off. I never open this book but now I can think my way through all the books. Now I can think through a number many many books. All the chapters. Why is for about the last 30 years.

This is the instruction manual for you and have a good marriage, here's instruction manual.

You want to be a good parent.

Here's instruction manual. You want to be a woman of God. Here's instruction manual. You want to have the kind of job in the kind of work that pleases God and honors your boss and makes a difference. Here's instruction manual and part of it is.

You just need to learn it all and grasp it all and you study the characters and you study the history and study how it all fits together and embedded in this is God's word effect. He calls it. This is your life take to your heart, Moses would say all the words with which I'm warning you today, for in his word is your life and so it's it's a journey. It doesn't happen overnight but is the process and I'd encourage you by member talking with Howard Hendrickson asking him properly.

When you do a mean guy and he was old when I had when he was like 60 when the professor when I was there to meet 60 like really old back then and he had such wisdom and I just look at all the people I meet everyone I heard on the radio and all these people missionaries and presidents of of all these institutions in all their lines went back to profit Hendrickson. I thought this guy get to be so wise is a chip it's notes I just started doing something I said what would you do sit every month I study a book of the Bible you know like I thought you guys and 301 yeah observation, interpretation, application yeah he said I just take a book. The last I forget he said back then it was only 40 years, probably about 65 years now.

They said for every year. Each month I take a book I'll take the book of John and like from scratch all chart the entire book and around themes to the whole book that'll think to the books that will memorize key passages until I understand the entire message of the book of John, then maybe I'll take Ezekiel the next month and he studied a book of the Bible every month in depth about the last 50 or 60 years and there's a reason why he hears God's voice does it happen overnight. No precept upon precept, line upon line.

That's how God speaks to ordinary people. The final way to come is not only the Lovelady letter, or an instruction manual but is the wisdom of the ages and the first one had to do with who God is and how he cares about you.

The second was on the content or the what this third one focuses on the principles that this is how God gives direction and guidance and wisdom for life's biggest decisions and in relationships. This is the ponder and reflect and meditate on what he gives you. In order to get his counsel, his direction and his guidance to live according to his design.

By the way, that's God's debt definition of success success and guides it God's eyes as this understanding how he created life to work and then following his path that success this is how I want relationships to work do about what here's how I want you to act and think about money that what hears the priorities in life do it that way.

Here's what I think about parenting do it that way. Here's how you treat people who treat you terrible and just do it that way when you do life according to God's way. He says that's what I call success. Notice the promise here in Joshua 18 this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night to get the idea that this this is a passion, meditate the word and it means to ruminate you we get that idea from a cow has four stomachs and you choose. It's kind to meditate or to ruminate the cow take some grasp long long long long long swallows it goes down one of the stomachs. Are you ready for this ladies hold your breath, sit back up, choose it again takes it back down to another stomach and he does that. It's called ruminating and so you take a passage where God speaks to you and you memorize that passage and then you digest it while you're driving instead of talk radio or some lousy music or this or that you ruminate you think, and then digested them before you go to bed you think about you ponder it and then you pray that verse for you and then you pray at first for a friend. You meditate or ruminate on it until the principles get embedded in your soul in your psyche and your mind and then you being about byway reflex to treat people this way and respond this way even before you think you see, you ponder the wisdom of the ages. This book of law shall not depart out of your mouth that you meditate on it when, how often day and night.

Why so you may be careful to become very very smart.

No more of the Bible that anyone else is that what it says what to say what's the purpose of meditation so that you may be careful to do it. Ultimately, the organ of responsive revelation with God is not knowledge it's obedience, it's never about how much of the Bible you know there's people know this book a lot more. There's people that are experts in this book we don't even know Christ personally is not how much of the Bible you know is how much of the Bible are you putting into practice. God gives light the truth when you respond to the light.

He gives more truth and so I meditate on it in order that I can be careful to do what, according to all that's written in it. Then look at the promise for then you will make this essay. God will make what to say for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success in the prosperity here is the smile of God. The blessing of God. His benevolence and his highest and best will getting played out in your relationships in your job with your family in your life.

The things the wealth that is the greatest in matters the most. You want you to have. We was think it's monetary it may include, you can handle it, and they included him trust a lot of wealth a lot of people so you can spread it around exactly the way you want you to and to enjoy it deeply. Nowhere comes from but the key to successful life to wisdom.

It's where you say to yourself I want to know what God says. This is where you ponder on what God says about relationships and work in future in marriage and parenting and money. How to know what God says about sex in children and singleness in spiritual gifts holler what God says about grief and depression, and forgiveness about how to discover his will, about anger, about power, about lust about education about decision-making, and you say I'm going to discover I'm to come to the wisdom of the ages and in this book I'm gonna find out what does it say about relationships, what to say about parenting what to say about money, what to say about sex and on to categorize those things and you make a life study and to get those principles in my heart and my mind and meditate on them so I can live that way and when you do that God will speak you find yourself in middle of a sentence in verse will come to your mind. You'll find yourself a time sitting in a meeting as I have, and being involved in something and ready to pull out a pen and's and and write down on a sheet of paper or sign your name to a contract and have the spirit of God bring something to your mind or verse, and you go you excuse me, and I really can't do this, why does God speaks to ordinary people speaks to ordinary people then speak the small smart people are super spiritual people. He speaks to ordinary people help the spirit of God through the word of God. When you understand the word reveals Jesus and its living. When you understand you must come to him and Ernest you must accept his word.

You must store up his word. You need to cry out for insight and call for understanding you need to search for it is for silver can seek for it as for hidden treasure. Then then you will discern the fear of the Lord discover the knowledge of God will how do you do that you come at it. First of all personally never forget that.

Oh God, this is your love letter your form you care about me. You need to cherish it way beyond what I cherish this that my wife gave me and then you need to realize some of its can be just plain hard work and select the manual to a car or the manual to computer and just keep reading all the directions until you master it and understand it and finally come to it, as is the wisdom of the ages to understand and know in figure what is it the God really wants to do in areas I don't have any verses about who to marry or how much to invest at which time or who you are doing business with you know what, that's wisdom issues, but as you ponder and meditate day and night in order that you might be careful to please and do life according to God's way. He promises that you will make your way successful and you will prosper because God delights to reveal himself. He delights to love you. He delights to express his favor upon your life in a fallen world to be plenty of challenges and suffering and pain that will allow you to become more more like his son to be dependent all along the way but to give you three specific takeaways three time-honored ways of this path of the holy writings. First of all read God's Word to write the name for the word in their devotional. He devotional event that's from the heart. The pondering the enjoying the relationship. I mean, again, of maybe this is sacrilegious but I rarely rarely have a quiet time in the morning that I don't have a cup coffee and part of that is I really want to remember this is about a person in a relationship and I usually put my feet up and I get a good cup of coffee and I get my Bible and I first of all, review a couple verses that remind me that despite the crowd that I see in my own heart that God really really loves me because of what Jesus is done and then I just tell him thank you that today on the object of your affection that the prayer of the upright is your delight, God, thank you this morning that the Lord Almighty is with me that you're mighty to save.

You will quiet me with your love and the today you want to rejoice over me was singing Lord, that you know what my days can bring what you would you speak to me and I drink cup of coffee and I want to remember that it's me and my Savior. He loves me and I'm not here to impress him. I just want spend time with them and I want to read. It is a love letter and I want to read it devotional. He the second way to read God's word is to read it systematically and that's where I may not. The daily walk is the best read through the Bible in a year just decide I'm going to do it is good read to the Bible this year and other third way is to study God's word selectively in NetSuite's take major topics.

Major issues book by book or according to the need. Many times I thought men I'm struggling with anxiety, I'm to get a concordance and I'm gonna find out what's the New Testament say about anxiety from struggling with forgiveness and some to find out what the Bible say about that or for once, I thought, you know, the book of Luke was written to the ordinary guy. I just did a study where I studied the book of Luke and all. I looked for was every time the word prayer came up and I study the life of Christ in Luke on prayer and just take take what you need that you have what's what something is on your heart with you want to learn and study it selectively or save yourself. Do it like prof does it say you know what I'm gonna study you start with a small book study Galatians or first Thessalonians in first Timothy or or sometimes I decide I'm to study the interviews in the book of John and us can look at all the interviews are understudied and the seven I am statements in the book of John or Guy want to find out. Fulfilled prophecy in the book of Matthew you say to yourself I don't know much about prophecy so and selectively decide what you want to study and block some time off and here's what I can tell you, and no guilt intended. I struggle to is everyone here in this room has all the time you need to study the Bible to unplug your TV for 10 days you be bored stiff.

I'm dead serious, and is it wrong to watch.

Now I'm just saying what you tell me is your lives are full. I'm talking to a group of people that some of you are studying a lot. Some of you are skimming your Bible and some of you. You know what you don't read much at all and what I want to tell you is rather you going that I feel really guilty and about God's really doubt God's not down on you at all. He wants to speak to you, but you gotta get the time somewhere right so it's a lot. You just hear God say to you today what you your ordinary person.

This is about how God speaks ordinary person. If you're ordinary you qualify, you don't know much of the Bible you qualify. Tell you what, why don't you just try this if you don't have enough time and you know you just there's no way you can get up in the morning what they what just to save yourself. I'm not going to turn the TV on. If I've had my quality time with God and some of you have so much fun wanting turn the thing on. But we got you all the time you need or for some of us it's, you know, no ESPN until Bible what I did in the early I was so hard so difficult for me to be disciplined but I'm telling you over here and I get up early now and I love my time and it sounds real good up here in the first couple three years and I could not get myself out of bed. I could not.

I couldn't drag myself to the bathroom. It was like a three minute quiet times like you know what, now what I do know okay but prayed for three people. It's all I know. I mean, you and I read a whole chapter mean if you just it takes time just jump in. Take your time. Let God speak to you, he's not down on you block off the time and come with the heart that says I really want to hear your voice and here's what I'm I will guarantee the God of the universe wants to speak to you and meet with you and encourage you and love you beyond anything you could ever become a man or woman of the word of God because the word Jesus. Jesus wants to reveal himself back at him and just doing your listening to Living on the Edge with shipping ships message today is not about rules, rituals, or religion is from his series pathways to intimacy with God in the series. You're going to be challenged to move beyond routine to the richness of relationships we all long for with God and with others will. Here's the thing though we rarely catch the important points. Just hearing a message once. So if Chip's teaching was helpful for you. Let me encourage you to listen again. If you're thinking about making some changes pathways to intimacy with God.

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Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Well here's chip with some final thoughts about today's message has we close today's program I have to ask you what you do with this. I mean, what you do are you willing to get in the Bible before you pick up the Wall Street Journal. Are you willing to get in the Bible before you eat breakfast. Are you willing to say God you promised. Draw near to me and I'll draw near to you. Are you willing to draw near to him and I have to tell you that if you do, he will. God loves you. He wants to speak to you. He's got answers for your problems. He's got comfort for your hurts and he has given his life to have a relationship with you.

So let me ask you what you get to do with you to make it a priority to get in the Bible.

I mean really for the next 30 days and as you do.

Would you email us and tell us what God does in your life.

God bless you have a great day. No great way to stay engaged and connected to chip and Living on the Edge is with the Chip Ingram map will get free access to all of Chip's recent messages is message notes and much more. Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call or email directly from the F tomorrow. Chip continues his series pathways to God's oilfield make plans to courtship and the entire team. This is the thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge