“Feed My Sheep” means you are the nourishment which feeds others. Where are you getting your supply which enables you to supply nourishment to others? Are you exhausted spiritually? Is it because you are producing from your own resources? Psalm 87:7 John 7:38
The Lord is a PERSONAL Lord! Philippians 3:10
Paul’s experience: It was a personal experience –walk with Him, obey His will, and seek to glorify His name. It was a powerful experience—as the resurrection power of Christ works in your life. It was a painful experience—“and the fellowship of His suffering”. It was a practical experience—the most important part of a tree is the part you cannot see, the root system and the most important part of the Christians’s life is the part only God sees.
You can know doctrine, but not know Jesus. Does your knowledge of doctrine overshadow your knowledge of Him?
A Quiet Time: The measure of worth of your public activity for the Lord is the private profound communion you have with Him. Mark 4:34 You must have private time with the Lord for Him to explain fully.
Matthew 11:28 Have you come to an overwhelming set of circumstances where the Lord is about to move you from a program of belief to a personal belief? This comes when a personal need arises out of a problem.
The first commandment is to love the Lord. Love can only be cultivated adequately in aloneness with the One you love. Matthew 6:6 Amp.
The important thing is aloneness, in secrecy, being alone with your Father. Prayer is a thing of the heart, expressed before uttered, for the Lord looks on the heart. Our quiet time should then become something for Him, not something for me!
Psalm 27:4 Have you determined as David did … “that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require”?
Worship: To worship the Lord during your quiet time is not the end…it is only the beginning!! We must walk in fellowship with the Lord throughout the day. C.H.Spurgeon said that he was never out of vital contact with God for more than 10 minutes. We were created to worship the Lord. This demands that we CHOOSE to be disciplined. This demands that we take out of our lives everything which doesn’t contribute to the one great objective…to love Him.
In the story of Mary and Martha, we discover that Mary chose the better part…to worship Him. In her getting to know Jesus so intimately. John 12:7
The Lord loved us with His life sacrifice, He wants us to love Him with all our heart, and we will miss the sweetness of His love for us if we don’t learn how to love Him. We get intimate with the person who we know loves us, the person who is committed to us…who better should that be than Jesus? In Matthew 22:37-39 God is a jealous God. He desires that we put Him first. He desires our worship. It is in this process of worshipping God that He communicates His presence to you and me.
The discipline to make and keep that appointment will most likely always be a struggle. The enemy will always distract and tempt to delay and finally to kill the time entirely. Then we do not have our manna for the day. Manna saved for another day grows old, sour, and rancid, wormy and stank. Matthew 4:4 Amp. Stephen Olford says that this is the word that God speaks to your soul in the quiet place of prayer and meditation. It is the thing that maintains life–the living word of God which is spoken to your soul every day.
To express worship: bow,
make a gift of self Romans 12:1,2 crown Him,
consent to His work in you “I am His workmanship”,
adore,
admire,
appreciate,
express gratefulness for His works/His blessings.
You can do all of this by speaking, singing, and silent reverence!
In Matthew 22:37-39 God is a jealous God. He desires that we put Him first. He desires our worship. It is in this process of worshipping God that He communicates His presence to you and me.
The discipline to make and keep that appointment will most likely always be a struggle. The enemy will always distract and tempt to delay and finally to kill the time entirely. Then we do not have our manna for the day. Manna saved for another day grows old, sour, and rancid, wormy and stank. Matthew 4:4 Amp. Stephen Olford says that this is the word that God speaks to your soul in the quiet place of prayer and meditation. It is the thing that maintains life–the living word of God which is spoken to your soul every day.
To express worship:
bow,
make a gift of self, yield “…to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”,
crown Him,
consent to His work in you “I am His workmanship”,
adore,
admire,
appreciate,
express gratefulness for His works and His blessings.
You can do all of this by speaking, singing, and silent reverence!
Worship is critical because:
God desires our worship Deut 26:10: I Chr. 16:29; Psa. 95:6; 96:9; Matthew 4:10; John 4:24; Rev. 14:7; 22:9
Christ was worshipped Matt.2:11; 14:33; 28:9; Luke 24:52; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:8
Our attitude in worship: John 4:24
Hindrances to worship: Unsurrendered Heart…”let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily”
Unconfessed sin..will not depart any more than cancer normally disappears.
Wrong attitude, especially when it is directed toward some other brother or sister in the body of Christ.
Enemy opposition…
Physical tiredness and emotional fatigue.
Unbelief … faith is foremost.
Revelation 4: 10-11 The falling down indicates the submission to the One worshipped…the first essential condition for true worship. The second essential is that Christ alone should be glorified, which the casting down of their crowns indicate.
“…You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.” Matthew 4:10 shows us the priority of worship. Worship comes first, then serve.
We must have a true vision of the Lamb, a true concept of God …to know Him is to worship Him!
How to Worship:
A whole heart for true worship
Must have clean hands – no unconfessed sin. [deal with sin immediately all through your day. “short accounts”]
Obedience
Dependence on the Holy Spirit. True worship takes place when the spirit of woman is controlled by the Spirit of God.
Concentration…kneel with eyes closed in order to concentrate all our attention and affection on the Lamb of God. Forget all else in order not to forget Him.
Express all your statements of His worth audibly. Pray outloud.
Use Scriptures. Rev. 5:9,12; Psalm 8: 1; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 36:5-9; 29:1-2;
Choose passages of Scripture which occupy you with Him. Example: Psa. 8:1
Memorization proves its value over and over as we recite back to Him with exaltation of Him personally!
The Word of God is His general love letters to all born agains. The quiet spoken words which He gives to us personally during our quiet times with Him are His special love notes! To discover and hear His personal love notes, we must be in the the Word. The Bible study comes after the worship time or may be a separate time. But the words from the Word we recite back to the Lord are for worship time.
Use Hymns: I Come to the Garden Alone
Holy, Holy, Holy
Fairest Lord Jesus
And many others
Abandon yourself to worship – be lost in worship!
Praise: We admire God for Who and What He does and Who He is. Can be quiet meditation, celebrating and exulting in His majesty and splendor, His sovereignty, His limitless power, bountiful love, extol, exalt, magnify. It is even speaking highly of God to other people as well as directly to Him. If you have eloquent or stumbling struggling words, He knows your heart.
Hebrews 13:15 Psalm 71:8,14.23, 24 34:1,
Mingle honest pouring out of your feelings with sincere God honoring praise.
Through praise you can (1) strengthen your faith—you have focused on Him
(2) demonstrate your faith
True praise is unconditional—NOT I will if You will.
Suffering:
“Enter into fellowship with Me.”
“For me to live is Christ…” Philippians 1:21
A multiple of experiences happen in your life that is not meant for you at all, but to make you useful in His hands and to aid you in understanding others. “comfort that we may be comforters”
II Corinthians 3:18 This is what Hudson Taylor called “changed by beholding.” Changed into the same image of the One worshiped or made Christlike. If it the desire of the Lord that we behold Jesus, that we become like Him.
Hebrews 10:22 Amp. Matthew 15:8 Amp We should keep our lives so constant in its contact with God that His power can be expressed in any moment. We should have so much REAL Truth stored away in us that at any moment we can share it with others.
Our vertical relationship with the Lord and our horizonal relationships have a direct bearing on one another. As we grow to know and love the Lord more, we have a greater capacity to love one another. Indeed, it is a growth experience.
Prayer:
To know the Lord is impossible without the practice of prayer. Just as we cannot grow in our relationships with others without communication, we must be in communication with the Lord, which means an investment of time speaking to Him and time listening to His voice through the Scripture.
If we make it a habit to use a certain format or form, we can risk the loss of freedom in our communication with Him. If we use all freedom and no form or format, we can degenerate into an unbalanced and undisciplined prayer life.
“If a man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink“--heart thirst, physical thirst, soul thirsts!
Prayer is first mentioned in Genesis 4:26
Prayer is a universal need… Psalm 65:2 “…for My house will be called a house of prayer for all people.” Isaiah 56:7
The Holy Spirit Aids in Prayer: Romans 8:26-27
Prayers of the Saints are precious: Revelation 5:8
As Incense before God: Revelation 8:3
God desires our prayers: “Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and be in His presence continually!”
I Chronicles 16: 11
Luke 18:1 Ephesians 6:18 I Thess. 5:17
Our prayers need not be long, in fact the Scriptures warns of vain repetitions and long prayers. Ecclesiastes 5:2 Matthew 6:7
Postures in Prayer:
Bowing…Genesis 24:26; Exo. 4:31; 12:27; 34:8
Kneeling… I Kings 8:54; II Chr. 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Psa. 95:6;
Isa 45:23; Da. 6:10; Luke
22:41; Acts 67:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Eph. 3:14
On the face before God…Num. 20:6; Jos. 5:14; I Kings
18:42; II Chr. 20:18; Matthew 26:39
Standing…I Kings 8:22; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11
Thanksgiving:
“He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me;” Psalm 50:23
Ephesians 5:20 “At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”
I Thess.5:18 “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].”
Not commanded to FEEL, only to give thanks!
“Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him…” Psalm 62:8 “As grieved and mourning, yet [we are] always rejoicing; …” II Corinthians 6:10
Objective: Fellowship, aloneness with a consciously present Lord. This is separate from your Bible study and intercession. A time in your closet—personal and intimate.
Obedience:
As He has spoken to you for the day, now rise and go to obey. Along the way, give away to someone what has been shared with you.
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