Process Spirituality: Trust, Gratitude & Contentment part 4

A Process from the Inside to the Outside

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

 “Without God we cannot, without us He will not.” Augustine

Pray during the day…

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

Meditate on His Word…

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

Meditate on during the day… The Ten Commandments

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet.

 

The Beatitudes

Poverty of spirit (nothing apart from God’s grace)

Mourning (contrition)

Gentleness (meekness, humility)

Hunger and thirst for righteousness

Merciful to others

Purity of heart (desiring Christ above all else)

Peacemaking

Bearing persecution for the sake of righteousness

 

The Fruit of the Spirit

Love, Joy, Peace

Patience, Kindness, Goodness

Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control

Begin to Take EVERY thought Captive and make it Obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Now this will be a great way to end this year and start the next.

Process Spirituality: Being VS Doing part 3

The Problem of Busyness – “busy, busy, busy” said the magician in the Frosty the Snowman classic... and we all are... too busy!

·        Busyness in our home

·        Busyness in our work

·        Busyness in our recreation

·        Busyness in our church, ministry

·        Busyness in our walk with God

Some Suggestions about Busyness

Invest time with God

·        Develop a mission of life

·        Free yourself from the bondage of: opinions, agendas & agendas of others

·        Seek balance between rest, work, worship

·        Resist the urge to allow work to invade rest

·        Budget time

·        Beware of distractions

“Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt any situation you believe to be the will of God.” Jim Elliot

 

We must make a distinction between Causes &  Christ (you know there not the same thing) Intimacy VS Activity

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31

 

Being	Doing
Intimacy with Christ	Activity in the world
Solitude	Engagement
Abiding	Serving
Interior	Exterior
Relational Calling	Dominion Calling
Calling	Character
Invisible	Visible
Real Life	Reflected Life
Restoration of spiritual energy	Application of spiritual energy
Perspective	Practice
Rest	Work

 

We MUST learn to Practice His Presence

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:4-7

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; Romans 8:5-6

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Practice His Presence by...

·        Send up flash prayers during the day

·        Pray as you work, drive, live

·        Live to an audience of One

·        Ask Jesus to energize your activities and cultivate an attitude of dependence on Him

·        Monitor your temptations as they arise (lust of the flesh, eyes & pride of life)

·        Look for God in everyday things

·        Listen to God throughout the day (or try to) develop a Listening Ear

·        Ask God for grace to see and treat others

·        Try to live in the moment

Process Spirituality: part 2

And while we are in Process we abide in Faith, Hope & Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Abiding in Faith

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25
These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Consider the timeless words of AW Tozer.

A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen; talks familiarly every day to someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest; and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge. The man who has met God is not looking for anything; he has found it. He is not searching for light, for upon him the light has already shined. His certainty may seem bigoted, but his assurance is that of one who knows by experience his religion is not hearsay. He is not a copy, not a facsimile. He is an original from the hand of the Holy Spirit.

Now true Biblical Faith contains a number of components.

Faith Component 1: Knowledge – we must learn what God has revealed about Himself, ourselves and the world we live in

Faith Component 2: Trust – we must respond to how God has revealed Himself with Belief

Faith Component 3: Action – we must Obey what God has revealed about Himself and His expectations for our lives

Abiding in Hope

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:25-26

There are Those with No Hope

There are Those with a Misplaced Hope

There are Those with ill-defined Hope

And then there are Those with Proper Hope

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, Hebrews 6:18-19
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 1 Peter 2:6
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

Abiding in Love

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

FAITH	LOVE	HOPE
Appropriated in the PAST	Active in the PRESENT	Anticipating the FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace (Gospels)	Love & Community (Acts)	Purpose & Hope (Epistles)
Salvation	Sanctification	Glorification
Positional (deliverance from the penalty of sin)	Progressive (deliverance from the power of sin)	Ultimate (deliverance from the presence of sin)
Significance	Satisfaction	Security
Hindsight	Insight	Foresight
History	Our story	His Story
Humility	Obedience	Trust
Knowing	Doing	Being
Mind	Will	Emotions
Seeing	Acting	Expecting
Life	Love	Light

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13