I ENVY MOSES!

In the last verses of Numbers 7, we find these words:

When Moses went into the Meeting Tent to speak with the LORD, he heard the LORD speaking to him. The voice was coming from between the two gold creatures with wings that were above the lid of the Ark of the Agreement. In this way the LORD spoke with him.

What a blessing! To be able to actually carry on a dialogue with God! Wow! What wouldn’t we give to have such a privilege?

Hearing God’s voice is a finely developed ability that is honed by a long practice of spending time with Him in an intimate way. It is not something that typically comes quickly to new believers. Speaking with unseen others is not normal behavior for most of us! It’s a honed skill that emerges as we explore a deeper and more intimate relationship with God!

I believe there are some factors that will usually be present when we desire to hear His voice [by this I mean receive messages from Him].

The environment where you approach God is important!

Now, if it’s an emergency need that you’re presenting, then any environment is acceptable!

Psalm 18:6 ESV

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”

However, God desires more from us than urgent pleas for help! God wants us to develop intimacy with Him!

A Special Place

It’s a good idea to designate a special place for communicating with God!

I had a fellow student who beat the Pittsburgh traffic by driving in very early and then he spent an hour reading his Bible and talking with God in the confines of his car.

Find a place and time in your home where you will be less likely to be interrupted. It could be a spare bedroom, or a breakfast nook, or in the corner of a basement, or even in your car while parked in the garage. In nice weather it might be a porch swing or picnic table or a walk through a nearby park!

Make this place your sanctuary! It is where you privately commune with God! Even when you find yourself passing this spot at other times of the day, you may reflect on the blessings that have been yours in this sacred spot!

Adequate Time

Ah, here’s the real challenge!

There is a tendency to want to hurry this devotional/prayer time due to the obvious busyness of our lives. Most of us have to work at carving out enough time for it to be impactful. Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still; and know that I am God.”

The bottom line here is simple: we have time for the things we really want to do! 

Making time for God is the result of two factors: desire and planning.

First and foremost, we must really LOVE having time for intimacy with God! He has to be real to us! We have to believe down deep in our hearts that time with Him changes us and makes life better! His guidance and peace alone are of inestimable value! Proverbs 18:24 clearly refers to God by reminding us that “…there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”

Only when we’ve learned this truth in the deepest and most meaningful ways will we prioritize significant time for God!  It doesn’t naturally come with a new birth! For most it has to be cultivated. It’s part of maturing in our faith!

Some Unstructured Time

New believers often use devotional materials or Bible-reading-plans to guide them in their private time with God. This is good and necessary for the novice.

However, these disciplines can become regimented and easy ‘check-off-points’ that fail to really engage us with God!

Essentially, spending time with God involves an exchange! We speak as we pour out our praises, concerns and requests. But this is only part of the divine equation! We must also discipline ourselves to LISTEN! This inevitably involves WAITING. Developing silence and solitude is a challenge for us in the 21^st century where most things are immediately available.

A friend told me of overhearing his two sons talking in the kitchen while warming something in the microwave. One said: “Somebody needs to invent an oven that warms things up more quickly!”  😂

Sitting still to listen to God has its hazards. It may feel awkward.

o   “How will I know when He speaks to me?”

o   “What does His voice sound like?”

o   “I sometimes fall asleep while I’m listening for God!”

On mornings when I am easily distracted, I often type my prayer to God. I am painfully honest! I confess my sins and shortcomings. I tell Him exactly how I feel with no attempt to sugar-coat it! My candidness often evokes a spiritual response. In the process – I hear Him speaking to me – usually words of comfort; but sometimes words of confrontation. When the process is over, I usually delete these letters.

Some Written Record

Journaling is the official word for this practice. It is not a requirement, but it can be a helpful investment. There’s something about the process of writing that integrates what we’ve learned into our memory and locks it in place! It seems to engage our emotions more to write these things down for later reflection.

Be careful not to let this become an obsession! Doing so can drain the joy from the experience. Record high moments, insights into scripture, messages received from God and other impactful responses.

____________________________________

Spending time with God shouldn’t be a drudgery, nor should it be merely a discipline. We want to grow this time to be a TREASURE!

This is a time for us to get to know God and invite His guidance into the choices of our lives.

Remember, God initiated this type of daily relationship clear back in the very beginning when He came and spent time in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve [Genesis 3:8]. In that environment of perfection, one day God came to walk with them, but He couldn’t find them. He had to call out, “Where are you?”  It turns out that they had sinned!

How many times has God called out: “Hal, where are you?”

“________________ [put your name in the blank], where are you?

HOW ARE YOU DOING SPIRITUALLY?

I’d like to talk a little about my retirement.  For over forty-two years, I led Free Methodist churches.  Leading a church is a weighty responsibility.  I entered the ministry as a young zealot who had high passion, creative dreams and little experience.  I quickly ran into adversity and discovered that it would be my constant companion. 

One of the things I did right was to develop disciplines that would help me stay connected to God.  Early on, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to read through the Bible every year.  I also knew that prayer was important and have tried through the years to maintain a vital prayer life with God.  I also decided to try my best to read a book every week.  That helped to keep me growing and gave me an ever-expanding pool of wisdom to draw on when writing messages. 

A final discipline I’ll mention was that of journaling.  I have a number of log books and journals that record my ups and downs through these years.  It was a good way for me to take my own temperature and monitor my spiritual and emotional health.  Reading back through those journals is not a fun exercise;  my level of honesty shocks even me at times.

But, at the end of May that all came to an end.  I no longer had responsibility for a congregation.  I suddenly faced days with no agenda, no meeting, no messages to prepare and no calls to make. Although I had read numerous books to help prepare me for this transition, I still felt like a nomad dropped into the middle of a desert.

 

For a while, I continued my disciplines of prayer and Bible reading.  But gradually, they became infrequent and then nearly non-existent.  Through the summer and fall, my preoccupation was with the many jobs that needed done around our new home in Enon Valley.  I had a yard to put in, a garage to finish, and a lot of landscaping to care for.  My day began with the news and some breakfast and then I went out to work until the sun went down.  I came in, cleaned up, ate supper, and read or watched TV until an early bedtime. 

It was as though the ministry aspect of my life came to an end.  I must admit that it was nice to be free of the burdens that had weighed me down for so long. 

I found myself relishing the privacy of my new life.  I began to shun opportunities to be with other people.  Sundays lost their joy for me.  I began to feel stress when we went to church.  I arranged to arrive exactly on time and leave immediately when the service ended.  I’ve been increasingly isolating myself since Travis' death, and retirement seems to have exacerbated that tendency. 

• When these kind of things happen, what does it take to awaken you to the realities of your situation?  
• How does one wake up?  
• Is there anybody in your life who calls you to accountability?  
• What systems surround you that might help you to make corrections and get back on track?

I think those are good questions. 

For me, my accountability systems – weak though they were – were tied to my role as a pastor.  When I retired, they evaporated.  I began to walk a gradual decline that was leading not to moral depravity, but to ineffectiveness and unfruitfulness.  I was no longer making a difference in my world.  I had reasonably isolated myself and severely limited my sphere of influence. 

I’d say that was a gigantic win for the enemy of my soul. 

Consider Psalm 139 from The Message. 

A David Psalm

139 ^1-6 God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!

^7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

^17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
    God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
    all the men and women who belittle you, God,
    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
    Your enemies are my enemies!

^23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

In this wonderful psalm, David acknowledges the sovereignty of God in a personal way:

·     God’s knowledge of us is complete!

·     God’s presence is inescapable!

·     God created us marvelously and uniquely!

·     God’s thoughts toward us are relentless!

·     God’s enemies are my enemies!

But before he ends his psalm, David adds a significant postscript.  In more familiar words: 

Search me, 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.

David apparently had a sense of false dependency.  He knew how good he was at posing.  At the deepest part of his core, he knew that he needed to open himself to the penetrating view of an all-knowing, all-powerful, omni-present and passionately loving God! 

It must have been said with a good measure of fear and humiliation.  Can you even begin to imagine inviting God to look deeply into your heart and thoughts?  C’mon, we’re all hiding things within that if brought to light would make us look as miserable and defeated as Larry Nassar. 

What really matters is that we’ve fallen short of our own expectations for ourselves – let alone God’s desires for us. 

When I was serving at the New Middletown FMC, I invited my staff members in at least once per year for evaluation discussions.  I tried to challenge each of them to improve and grow.  I modeled a godly life before them and encouraged them to do the same for all the people who worked with them in their departments. 

For my own health, I submitted to my conference superintendent and participated in a small group of pastors who met for accountability, support and training once-a-month. 

But all of these tended to be geared toward performance and growth.  Most of us have few (if any) interventions that are directly related to our spiritual condition. 

I recently wrote a blog article and mentioned a man who, on a few occasions, sought me out when I was a student on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College and asked me how I was doing spiritually.  I added the comment that no one has asked me that question in years. 

Now, a friend quickly responded on Facebook by asking me how I was doing spiritually.  Of course, it was done in humor.  But in reality, I need someone to ask me this question from time-to-time;  and if you’re honest, so do you.  Not on Facebook, of course, but in a quiet, intimate, genuine setting. 

Listen, the hymn writer captured the essence of our problem when he described us as “Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”  I don’t know about you, but that’s where I live. I don’t like it;  as a matter of fact, I hate it! 

Years ago I heard Chuck Swindoll talk about being a living sacrifice as described in Romans 12:1,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing

to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

Swindoll went on to point out that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps climbing down off the altar!

I propose to you this morning that in order to maintain a high level of consistency and commitment, we need

1.  A frequently renewed commitment to God,

2.  One that is characterized by measurable practices,

3.  And a systematic plan for evaluation executed through submission to a band of brothers (sisters) who love us and have high expectations for us! 

FIRST:

A frequently renewed commitment to God.  What better than engaged involvement in weekly worship?  Not just attendance!  The fact that you put your body in the seat every Sunday doesn’t tell us anything about your relationship to God.  A book was written years ago with the title:  Worship Is A Verb!  My take-away from Sunday worship will be in direct relationship to:

How (or if) I prepared for worship

How I connect with others before, during and after worship

How focused I stay on hearing from God throughout worship

How I respond to God in my heart, soul and spirit.

SECOND,

My measurable practices will be easily evaluated by myself and my band of brothers/sisters.

•       Am I eating His Word daily?  Let’s not get hung up on this.  I’m not talking about consuming chapters or checking boxes.  Use something as simple as “Our Daily Bread”, “The Upper Room” or some website.  Maybe you could listen to CD’s of the Bible on your way to work every morning?  Just find some way of getting a bit of God’s Word into your life daily!

•       Do I have an open and ongoing dialogue with God?  Is the channel open?  Am I talking to Him and listening for Him?  Be creative!  This could be during your daily commute or as you exercise.  It could be in the shower or in a prayer closet.  Don’t laugh.  I recently invited a nephew over to go through my boxes of books.  As we talked, he told me that he has established a prayer closet.   I’m deeply impressed with his commitment to be a godly man, husband, father and worker!

THIRD,

Do I have a band of brothers (sisters)?  Have I given them the right to ask me the hard questions?  Are we committed to hold each other accountable to such a level that we’ll show up at one another’s door if we miss a meeting without notice? I need this, don’t you?  I need someone with flesh on who will pursue me and grill me and stay with me until the work is done!  If you don’t have this – and that’s going to be the case for the majority of us – how can I get one?

Talk to your leadership for guidance about this. 

Take initiative and invite some men (women) to meet and talk about this.

Talk to someone you admire and respect and tell them you’d support them if they started up a group. 

We need interventions!  We need correction.  We need forgiveness.  We need assurance. 

You’ve been given a pretty clear road-map of how to establish your path in a way that will provide these things.  You’re the only one who can make it work! 

By the way, how are you doing spiritually?  

Disconnecting

I'm on retreat at Mt. Zion Retreat Center in Roaring Branch, Pennsylvania. I've been coming here for years to be alone with God and allow Him to attempt to recalibrate my soul.  Roaring Branch is near Canton, which is about an hour north of Williamsport on Route 14.

I'm a half-hour drive from my brother, Ira's, home.  I always get a visit in with him (and Joyce) while I'm in the area.

Mt. Zion is a quiet, out-of-the-way place.  I'm usually the only guest here.  In recent years they've given me a room in the lodge, which is a three-floor, fully fledged retreat center.  I'm in room 10 on the second floor this week.  It has a small desk, a double bed, a lamp and stand, and a desk chair. This is the first time I've had a room with a private bathroom.  I'm quite comfortable.  There's a refrigerator and microwave on the first floor for me to use.

This area has changed a lot over the last decade or so.  The gas recovery business has brought jobs and wealth.  Mt. Zion seems to have benefitted from this phenomenon.  I'm noticing much-needed improvements (including my new bathroom).  I also just noticed several massive windmills on the mountain overlooking Mt. Zion!

This is the ideal place to disconnect.  I'm ten miles from Canton and its stores, restaurants and cell service.  I get an occasional bar of service on my phone, which once-in-a-while lets a text message squeeze through.  I never had internet here before, but now am blessed (?) to have wifi in the retreat house.

It's not uncommon for me to spend five days here and not see or talk with anyone (except for the visit to my brother's house).  I read and nap and type and pray and think in a random schedule that suits me perfectly.  I live in the same clothes all week.  I don't shave.  I don't eat.  There's no television. My phone can't ring.  I'm surrounded by mountains.  The place is appropriately named.

I've noticed that I always feel lonely when I arrive (which is usually late on a Sunday).  Entering the silence and solitude is a difficult process to describe. I know I've been privileged as a pastor to have the freedom to practice this discipline.  There've been times when I've done this two (and even three) times a year!

I find that I sleep a lot the first day - usually in frequent naps.  My schedule changes radically.  I may read or write late into the night and then sleep.  I usually take a walk in the woods at least once a day. I play guitar a little and sing and praise the Lord.  I bring about fifty books with me so I have the resources I think I'll need to plan preaching series.  [I'm here this week to pray, plan and prepare for the Tri State Family Camp in July.]

It seems to take a full day to disconnect.  I never expect to get much done the first day.  I know I'll read and nap and think.  I journal a lot while I'm here; it helps to cleanse my thoughts.

Gradually though, I do disconnect.  My mind settles down.  I'm old-school, so I usually start my planning with a yellow pad and pencil.  Eventually, though, my fingers begin to play on the keyboard. At some point I always reflect on how wise I was to take that summer school typing class between my junior and senior years.  :-)

Debbie has never come with me.  She seems to know how precious this 'alone time' is for me.  I did take Travis on retreat with me once for several days.  I got him a private room.  He read constantly. We had some good talks and bonding time.  I remember that trip fondly!

Connecting with God has clear benefits.  I can count on a time when the thoughts begin to flow and my fingers can't move fast enough.  These are often the times when I will work till 3:00 AM without a stop.  When I awaken refreshed, I can step right back into the flow and continue the work. Having no distractions is an amazing blessing!

Getting clear with God is rich!  I've known for some time that I've been letting a distance grow with Him.  The last eight months have been full of disappointments for me.  In my sorrow, my relationship with God has suffered.  I've been needing some face-to-face time with Him.  Here I am, Lord!

I know that some would not enjoy this experience.  I also know that some who would enjoy it can't seem to make it happen for one reason or another. To some extent, I believe our constantly 'plugged-in' culture is detrimental to us in almost every way.  Our spiritual relationships - although occasionally buzzed by something we read or see on Facebook - suffer from a lack of solitude and silence.

Being alone in a room with Him for several days means you're going to eventually have to converse with Him.  I typically find that most of what I have to say takes the form of confession (a rare topic in Christianity these days).  For me, it's like taking roto-rooter to a clogged drain.  Once those channels are flowing again the communion is once again rich!

Day one is ending.  The silence is overwhelming.  I feel like I'm not alone in this room...

FIGHTING THE WOODS

I sat last evening talking with my brother-in-law, Jeff Diddle.  It was after dark and we had just taken a dip in his backyard pool.  In the light of a full moon, we talked on a number of topics. 

Jeff is getting ready to host a family reunion on his property and spoke of the ongoing battle to keep the woods from encroaching on his property.  He wondered how long it would take for the woods to overtake his property and home if he was to just walk away from it.  We both agreed that it wouldn't take long!

I believe this is true of our spiritual lives as well. 

Years ago I learned to drive a 'stick shift' while working for my brother's father-in-law in Philadelphia.  When I drove one of his trucks out of the driveway and headed up the hill I prayed that I would get a green light!  If I got a red light, I always had difficulty getting the truck going forward without drifting backward first!

Drifting backward and being over-run with past sinful practices is a reality for all of us!  If we're not diligent, we'll find ourselves back in former patterns of sin.  We will have lost the blessing of God in our lives. 

We must be vigilant!  We must maintain momentum in growing spiritually.  We cannot afford to ride on past knowledge.  We cannot slack off without paying a price! 

Being "disciples" implies disciplines!  This is not for "rules" sake.  It's not about "legalism".  Disciplines are a hedge of protection!  They open channels of grace that can keep us growing and connected to our Lord!  They are our way of hacking down the encroaching trees, vines, and bushes that would overtake our lives!  If we ignore our disciplines for even a short time, it can feel overwhelming to gain back the lost ground! 

GRATITUDE

A lack of gratitude is a terrible thing.  Good parents work with their children early to teach them to say "Thank-you."  I'm always amused when you give a child a piece of candy and the mother says to the child, "What do you say?"  After several promptings, the child says, "I'm sorry!"

A lack of gratitude leads to an attitude of entitlement.  And if left long enough, it turns into bitterness and anger.

Gratitude is so important!

One Christmas, a parent decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank-you note duties.  As a result, their grandmother never received acknowledgements for the generous checks she had given.

The next year things were different, however.  "The children came over in person to thank me," the Grandma told a friend triumphantly.

 "How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed.  What do you think caused the change in behavior?"

"Oh, that's easy," the Grandmother replied.  "This year I didn't sign the checks."

We all appreciate gratitude when it's expressed to us.  Don't you imagine that God also appreciates a thankful heart?

I spoke with a friend this week and asked him if he was having a good day.  He told me that every day he wakes up and can move his hands is a good day!  Do you feel that way?  Do you regularly give thanks to God for the blessings and protection that He's given you?

I send out thank-you notes.  I want people to know how much I appreciate their contributions to what we do at Free Methodist Community Church.  I am often thanked for these notes.  To be honest, I receive a lot of thank-you notes too.  They encourage me.  I keep them and look over them from time-to-time.

Have you noticed that when people are truly grateful it makes you want to do even more for them?

Wouldn't it be great if you could develop a discipline of giving thanks to God?

My childhood, bedtime prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  God bless Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Jeannette and Lib, Tommy and Bobby, Beverly and Ira and everybody in the world.  Help Harold be a good boy.  Amen.

My prayers are longer and more thorough now,  and hopefully more meaningful. 

How about yours?  Does God know how grateful you are for all the blessings He's poured into your life?  Do we really need a national holiday to remind us to give thanks to God?  Don't you think He might like to hear it regularly?

The scripture says:  Give thanks to the Lord for He is good - His love endures forever!