Series: Meeting with God
Category: Core Seminars, Devotional Life, Personal Holiness, Sanctification & Growth
Summary:
This week we'll be thinking about how to have a quiet time. As you can see on the handout, we’ll define a quiet time as “an intentional set apart time to know God, ourselves, and others through His Word and prayer.”
Detail:
If you were here with us last week, we began by looking at two assumptions we bring into this class:
1) That it is actually possible both to know and to meet with God; and
2) That we should meet with God on a consistent, even daily basis.
One of the ways that we as Christians meet God on a consistent, even daily basis is through a quiet time.
As you can see on the handout, we’ll define a quiet time as “an intentional set apart time to know God, ourselves, and others through His Word and prayer.”
What are ways that Quiet times are important to our walks as Christians?
Recalibrates our priorities
Helps us remember who is in control
Fights against temptation
Worships God
A quiet time in the word recalibrates our perspective on the world according to God’s perspective. And a key aspect of this recalibration is meeting with God by reading His Word.
We know that we can meet with God and to know him because we have His Word, however- we often don’t want to meet or know God. We often don’t wake up in the morning eager to get in God’s word. For me as a high schooler it was all about that extra 15 minutes of sleep. But even as an adult, I still feel that tug- if I can just get 15 more minutes, I’ll be more refreshed than being in God’s Word. Why is that? Because We are sinful people. We trust ourselves over and above God on a daily basis and because of this we have committed treason. We have sinned against the holy, infinite God and we have no right to come into his presence.
He has banished us and thus, we need a mediator to gain access to Him. That is exactly who Jesus Christ is! He is that mediator for us, through His blood shed on the cross. He is the perfect sacrifice, paid once for all time . And so Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” That’s the key verse for this course. We can be encouraged to approach God even when we are tired and weak and lazy and unmotivated. But how do we approach and know this merciful God? Through his word.
Let’s look at two passages that clearly speak to this point. The first is John 17:17
“Sanctify them in the truth,” he prays. “Your word is truth.” So, Jesus prays for our sanctification, the daily process of our being made righteous and being conformed to the image of Christ. Jesus wants us to be like Him. And the means by which Jesus asks God to do this is by the truth. He could have left it alone there. He could have stopped and ended the prayer here. But He got more specific. There is no question about what truth Jesus is talking about. “Your word is truth.” What is truth? God’s word. So How are we sanctified? we are sanctified by the word of God. Which means the entire Bible is composed of this sanctifying truth. Isn’t that wonderful- that even the small drips of God’s word on our life is affecting us though we may not realize it.
Second, let’s look at a few parts of Psalm 119 saves and God’s word sustains .
Psalm 119:57-64
“The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!”
Here are five things we learn from just this one section of Psalm 119.
God’s word of promise to us is the foundation of our receiving grace from him (vs. 58 - be gracious to me according to your promise). God’s word humbles us and causes us to look to him (vs. 59 - When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies). God’s word is more powerful than anyone who would oppose us (vs. 61 - though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law). God’s word leads us to praise Him (vs. 62 - …I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules). There is something circular going on here. We go to God in His Word because He is worthy. And when we go to His word He sends us back to praise Him. Spending time in God’s Word leads us to praise Him, and praising Him leads us to want to know Him more through His Word. The Word of God leads us into the fellowship of the church (vs. 63 - I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts).
So, to summarize, God’s word of promise to us is the foundation for our receiving grace from Him, God’s Word humbles us, His Word is more powerful than any who oppose us, His Word leads us to praise Him, and His Word leads us to the fellowship of the church.
Question: Which one of these 5 stood out to you and why?
The Bible
Let’s talk now a bit more about the Bible itself. The Bible is a book written by God about God. It contains the message of salvation. It will tell us the truth of God. It is a book about God. It is not a book we should read simply to try to make ourselves better people. When we read it, we should ask, “What does this tell me about God, his character and his purposes?”
As Paul and Silas were preaching in the town of Berea, Luke, tells us in Acts 17:11 that “these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Are we like the Bereans? Do we examine the scriptures daily?
The Bereans are a great example for us, but over and above the Bereans, we are called to follow Jesus. Many times Scripture describes Jesus as going out to a quiet place where he could spend one-on-one time with the Father. Matthew 14:22-23, Mark 1:35 and Luke 5:16 all describe Jesus getting away from the crowds, even away from his disciples, and spending time alone talking to the Father. If Jesus needed to spend this time with God, how much more do we need to do it? Follow Jesus in spending time alone with God.
Being busy is often a real hindrance to spending daily time with the Lord. We live in a very busy area, and I’m sure that many of you are incredibly busy. But remember the example of Christ, who gave his life to healing and teaching numerous people, yet found time to be by Himself with His Father. People flocked to him and yet, he made time to get away.
Question: what is one hindrance for you that keeps you from spending time with the Lord in His Word?
Dr. Don Whitney in his book Spiritual Disciplines has laid out five ways that we meet with God through His Word. Five means of “Bible intake,” as he calls it. You’ll see them on your handout at the top of page 2:
Hearing
Reading
Studying
Memorizing
Meditating
Today we’re going to look at hearing and reading. Next week we’ll look at studying, memorizing and meditating.
Hearing the Word of God
There is a scriptural basis for the public hearing of God’s word. Ezra read God’s word publicly to God’s people after they had returned from exile and Nehemiah had led them in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. In Nehemiah 8:1-4, the people have Ezra read the book of Moses publicly . It says they “told” him. So we see that the people had a desire to hear the Word. Second, they were attentive for a long time. Ezra read from “early morning until midday” (you think our sermons are long!) and yet the people were attentive even though it was read for a long time.
Likewise, Paul tells Timothy in 1 Tim 4:13 “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”
Don Whitney writes, “Hearing the Word of God is not merely passive listening, it is a discipline to be cultivated (Spiritual Disciplines – Pg. 31).” Thank goodness it is not going to hear an academic lecture, as much as we might like that. Instead, we are going to hear the very Word of God preached.
One way that our service helps us prepare ourselves to be active in listening is through our moment of silence. Do you guys notice how hard our church works to carve out space for this corporate quiet time? During that moment of silence, our active silence should be an outward parallel of what we are doing inwardly- actively preparing our hearts to receive God’s Word- getting rid of anxieties, task lists, distractions, and preparing our hearts and minds to participate in the prayers, singing, reading, and preaching of God’s word.
There are a number of benefits to hearing the Word of God regularly, but I want to highlight one of them particularly for us. A benefit of regularly hearing the Word of God is that it cultivates a hunger for God’s Word. (Psalm 119:103-104). This hunger for hearing the Word regularly will lead to a desire to read the Bible on your own outside of just hearing it Sunday mornings. If you want to study more of the benefits of hearing the Word, I would encourage you to read Thabiti’s book “What is a Healthy Church Member?” which speaks in more detail in Chapter 1 about hearing the Word.
The question then becomes: how do I grow in my ability to hear and listen to the Word of God? Thabiti also has good advice here. One way is through discussing what you have heard with others. This will help you see what others are getting from hearing the Word. Through the example of others you will be able to grow in your ability to listen to God’s word more faithfully. Second, spend time listening to sermons or an audio Bible outside of Sunday mornings. Many of us enjoy listening to podcast, perhaps use that time to listen to the Word more regularly and practice becoming a better listener to God’s Word.
Any questions??
Personal Question: How has hearing the Word of God preached helped you meet with God and grow in your relationship with him?
Reading the Word of God
While it is vital for us to listen to God’s word, the focus of the rest of this class is on meeting with God personally and on a daily basis. Let’s talk now about reading
The Reformation and Reading
There was a time when reading God’s Word was essentially impossible for the common person. During the years leading up to the early 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England would not allow a Bible to be published or written in the language of the common people. The only way for the people to know the Bible was to hear it preached by the priests and bishops. And then the Reformation happened. In 1516, Erasmus had his Greek translation of the Bible printed. One historian described the importance of that event in this way:
This was the first time that the Greek New Testament had been printed. It is no exaggeration to say that it set fire to Europe.
Martin Luther, a reformer begins to devote his life to getting the word of God to the common man and William Tyndale gives up his life to translate the scriptures into English.
In the same year that Luther died, he said, “Let the man who would hear God speak, read the Holy Scripture.”
These men devoted and or lost their lives that those who came after them, including you and I, could read the scripture for ourselves. Two powerful realities strike me when I think about this:
Men actually died so that we could read God’s Word. William Tyndale was burned alive to get God’s Word to us.
We have the privilege and gift of holding in our hands and beholding with our eyes the very words of God. These are no mere stories.
So I encourage you to look at our time in God’s word as an immense privilege that we have to read God’s word every single day. Some of us have multiple translations that we can read. Just think that 500 years ago, almost no one was able to do what you are able to do today. Hold God’s word and read it for yourself. What a privilege!
History tells of the amazing power of being able to Read God’s Word, but we’re people of the Bible, So what does the bible say about reading God’s word?
Scriptural Basis for Reading
Matthew 4:4 “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Here’s the parallel. If you don’t eat physical food, you die. Likewise, if you don’t eat spiritual food, you die. Reading God’s word is one of the primary ways that we feast on God.
You say, “Do I really have to read? Can’t I just show up to church and hear the word preached? Can’t I just listen to a sermon on my iPhone every day?” Merely listening to God’s word and never reading it cultivates passivity, which can and often does lead to sin. I really like delicious food, but there’s one thing to just enjoy good food, there is another enjoyment when you learn how to cook delicious food. You see your joy is amplified when you eat something that is Good and you know how much time and effort went into making it. Likewise, your joy in God’s word increases when you yourself personally dig into scripture and then hear it proclaimed.
There is no substitute for that daily, personal digging into the deep things of God through His word. A life that lacks personal reading, study, meditation and prayer is a life that leads to passivity. Consistent dependence on others for spiritual life and knowledge of God will lead to a drying up of our relationship with God. We cannot ultimately rely on others’ knowledge of God to cultivate our own relationship with God any more than I can rely merely on conversations with my wife in order to know my daughters. We need to go to God on our own in His Word.
It is interesting that Jesus often asks, “Haven’t you read…? (Matt. 12:3 – Have you not read what David did when he was hungry…?)” And when he is tempted by Satan in the desert he responds, “It is written…” There is an assumption here that reading is taking place.
So, what are some practical things we can think about that would help us be more consistent and profitable in reading God’s Word? Here are three:
As sinful people, it is our heart and flesh’s first inclination to steer away from God. It is easy to make excuses to not spend daily time with God in His word. “I’m too tired today.” “We had a rough night with our kids, so I can’t get up that early.” “I have to be at work early today so I can’t spend time in God’s word.”
We live in one of the busiest cities in the world, and if you’re like me with a family and young children, you might be even busier. Before I was married, I was busy, after I was married, I was still busy, and Still with children I am even busier. That’s why God gives us not just his word, but the church to remind us of our dependence for him. We need to remember that Jesus had many time demands, and yet he still got away to be with God.
That’s why we need to move this conversation away from “where I can fit in my Quiet time” to “have I rightly valued my quiet time. Do I find it to be important?” Because the truth is, you make time for things that are important to you. As important as exercise or catching up with a friend is, they pale in comparison to spending time with God. As the woman at the well says,
When should I read?
Well, there is no hard and fast rule to this. Some people are morning people and some are night people. That said, I think that doing your quiet time in the morning is the best time to do it, and I would encourage each of you to start your days off by reading God’s word and praying. It helps you focus your day on the Lord as opposed to your own life. It sets the tone for the rest of your day.
How much time do I need?
What is important is not the time you spend reading or praying. What is important is that you meet with God. This could be for 20 minutes. It could be for an hour. It could be more or less. It is better to read a little and understand what you read and have it affect your life than to read a lot and not get anything out of it. Once again you will prioritize and make time for the things that you find important.
Please don’t hear this as a license to spend 5 minutes a day reading the Bible. Especially if you’ve been a Christian for a long time, if you’re only spending 5 minutes a day alone with God then there is probably something wrong. We should want to go to God’s Word. The more time you spend with God the more you will know Him as well. In your quiet times, strive to know the Lord.
What should I read? It is important to…
I typically need to have a plan to get things done. If you sit down with God’s word every day and haven’t thought about what to do once you get there, you’ll probably find yourself just wandering through the text with no consistency and little fruit. It is helpful to think in advance about what you need to read. There is no science to this. This class is not about giving you a formula that will guarantee you to have a good meeting with God.
There are lots of plans to help you read through the Bible in a year. Or several times through the year. Maybe reading a lot of the whole of scripture would be helpful.
Maybe you just need to study through one book and give your all to that, such as Romans.
There is nothing set in stone. But you should think about it and make a plan. Lastly, stick to your plan. A plan that you don’t follow will profit no one.
We will talk more in-depth about this next week, but I do want to mention it here. Meditation is important because our minds are so cluttered that it is easy to read a long passage of scripture and not remember two hours later what it was that you read. If this is the case with you then you won’t get very much out of your time in the Word. Remember the goal from our definition of a quiet time: to know God, ourselves, and others through His Word and prayer.
Pick out one word, phrase, verse or idea from the text and think about it more deeply than you have read the rest of the passage. That’s what meditation is. It is focusing on something that you might know it better. This might even entail asking a few questions: Why did God say this? What does this tell me about God? Is there a way that I can specifically apply this to my life today?
I often do this with a journal in hand- I’ll write out a verse that stood out to me and then write out why it stood out to me. Pretty soon, I’ll be prayer journaling through that verse because it has shown me who God is, who I am, and how I am to live with others.
Question: What suggestions do you have for others in class for growing in regularly meeting with God through reading Scripture?
Lastly, we should also briefly mention the role of the Holy Spirit in our hearing and reading God’s Word. In John 14:26, Jesus speaks of how the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us as believers, will teach us the truth as we spend time in God’s Word. We’ll unpack this more next week, but what a promise!
