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IS GOD REAL TO YOU?/DO YOU
KNOW HIM? by Maria Weaver |
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My passion is getting to know God more intimately every day, enjoying Him & his presence, gaining a better understanding of who He is, and what His plan is for me, being used by Him each day for His purposes & SHARE with others!!
My “Mission”: – to help others reach an understanding of How Much God Loves You!! (Sozo & through talking /sharing God's word, His love for us!) I also feel called to help bring others to develop a deep, intimate relationship with God/to be able to reach YOUR secret place with Him and deepen your relationship with HIM & so that you walk in all that He has planned for you—your DESTINY. (realized in Dec 09)
He wants to be in relationship with us, just like we are in relationship with people in the flesh SEEK HIM: He wants us to KNOW Him He wants us to deal with issues that block our relationship with him He wants us to spend time with Him (secret place, Rest) (In relationship, you spend time, you communicate: share your heart & listen, work through 'issues' )
Mark 12:28-31: ...teacher of the Law asked: Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” The most important one, answered Jesus, “is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this:'Love your neighbor as yourself” There is no commandment greater than these. --He wants us to know His HEART We are called to share God's Love with the Lost, BUT we must first KNOW HIM, HIS LOVE and WHO WE ARE IN HIM before we can LOVE others as OURSELVES!! Colossians 3:1-3 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ”
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Jeremiah 29:11-14: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity”.(all that holds you back)
Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart”
1. Knowing Him through the Word: (we need to know in our heart too!! not just in our head) Do you Know HIM; his nature? (God wants to know us, to be in relationship with us!!) We need to learn who He is, His NATURE (good, loving, kind) His ATTRIBUTES
Verses: Jeremiah 29:11-14 as we just read, as we SEEK God with all of our heart, we will FIND Him The Godhead: attributes of God (*Sozo ministry looks at this)
[*Sozo ministry offered by God's Girls Ministry is an inner healing ministry] – We learn to trust God when we step out in faith, Pray to him and trust Him in our life experiences!! He works in our lives, giving us every good thing, or making good out of the bad the enemy started EXAMPLE: pray for – Headache & God heals it! problem finding sitter for 3yr child when sick—trust in Him and I found one easily every time; building faith is a process, experience over time. We learn that God is REAL, He LOVES US, He provides for us, protects us, trains us up, lovingly corrects us, comforts us, teaches us, guides us, HIS Word is true! He does not lie!! GOD WANTS TO BE AS REAL AS A PERSON TO YOU!!! He wants us to experience Him as a real person! HE WANTS INTERACTION with US!!! As we come to a greater understanding of who He is, we can better understand how He sees us and get to know WHO we are in Christ!!
HOW Do You See HIM? When I re-dedicated my life to God in 2000, I saw Daddy God as I saw my earthly Father, as “President Lincoln statue at the Lincoln monument; showing no emotion, unreachable, uncaring, stone-faced, ready to punish you. Over time, learning the Word, experiencing situations in which I had to rely on God and He came through for me time after time, my perception of God changed!! I now see Daddy God as a loving Daddy who likes to give hugs, is loving and encouraging in his corrections of me, who likes to hold me on his lap, and dances with joy over me!! This change in perception of who God is to me is a process, something that I can share, but not teach, each person needs to experience this individual journey on their own with Christ.
God wants us to look at Him as a Loving, Faithful, Merciful Daddy! Romans 8: 15: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship, and by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (ABBA= Daddy) 8:16: “ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
He Wants US!! He desires relationship with US!! He desires relationship so much that he spends a lot of time with us, studying us, knowing us:
Psalm 139: 1-10 (Message) God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand I'm an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I am 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! 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 horizon, You'd find me in a minute-- You're already there waiting!
His Word shows us WHO HE IS: LOVING, JOYFUL
Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior, He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy!!”
Hebrews 11:6 “He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him”
2 REMOVE God Blocks: --all interfere with your Connection with God!
lies-- I believed as a child and through life; now I have learned to speak truth instead!!
sin-- I learned to confess,repent and claim Christ's victory over sin in my life
unforgiveness —I learned to give up (anger, resentment, bitterness over situations) to God, and forgive those persons; giving the situation to God to deal with (doesn't mean what they did was ok)
surrender idols-- I learned that anything that I can't live without/interferes with my relationship with God is an idol. Some common idols: work, smoking, drugs, sex, a relationship with a person, shopping, status, etc.
walls— I learned that walls were a good coping mechanism for a season only-- as a believer we need to rely on God to protect us and not our “walls”. We have built these to protect ourselves from being hurt, but they keep out the good as well as the bad, and block our relationship with God.
---GOD (Holy Spirit) deals with these in SOZO inner healing ministry – OTHER Blocks: didn't know relationship with God was possible, busyness “no time”, not understanding HIM, selfish requests/using God as an ATM machine—just making requests, not wanting to just 'be' with him, unbelief—not believing God wants to be MY friend?
3. Spending Time in His Presence: SECRET PLACE/REST
BE INTENTIONAL/Seeking his presence through: --TO GET TO NOW HIM Without strings attached (no requests,obligation etc.)
prayer – PRAYER WITHOUT CEASING, conversation with God over the whole day reading the Word meditation on Daddy God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit through worship listening prayer prayer walks, & many other ways prayer language (Speaking in Tongues)
Psalm 91:1 “Those that dwell (take shelter, reside) in the secret place of the Most High God, rest in the shadow of the Almighty”
James 4:8: Come near to God and he will come near to you” Matt 11;28-29: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you REST. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find REST for your souls.”
REST= Greek word 'anapauo': to cease movement/labor/striving to recover & collect strength, to refresh; keep quiet & calm
Spending time with God is like walking through the Tabernacle: Resting Holy of Holies Spirit Adoring Holy Place Soul Serving Entrance Physical/Flesh – As we transform in the way we relate to God, we go from Serving Him out of our Flesh, so we are at the 'entrance of the Tabernacle. Then as we progress more in the soul, we are adoring Him, not striving, entering the 'Holy Place'. Then as we get to a place just enjoying his presence, just 'being' with Him, we are resting in Him, more in the Spirit, and entering the Holy of Holies!
We must be INTENTIONAL about getting into God's presence or our “SECRET PLACE” daily
Lamentations 3: 22-24: “ Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him” As you decide to spend time with God, pursue your 'Secret Place' with Him: – Check for any “God blocks” ; ask God to show you if needed so you can pray/repent Practice: daily time with God Persistence: spend time until you make contact with God in a way that is special to YOU Patience; waiting on the Lord for him to reveal himself to you--listening
The More TIME I spent with GOD, the MORE REAL He became!!! – Just like spending time with a friend!!
God Expresses His LOVE for us in many ways: --We can experience God in a PERSONAL WAY --Through our 5 senses --Through our Imagination:
(A)--He will meet us in ways that mean the MOST to us (in a Personal/Special Way) !! --When spending time with Him: he will reveal himself to US in way special to us!: He reveals his love for us, who we are to Him, encouragement, answers to life questions – God knows us: Knows me : love language is touch (love getting & giving HUGS) what God has given me with his presence is a physical feeling of energy/anointing through my body when I feel his presence My Daughter Kate: God gives her poetry when she seeks to be in his presence:
What Every
Lover Wants: by Kate Weaver
The cool black night cloaks my shoulders Golden strands of ribbon are entwined in my hair Then, the wind gently brushes my cheeks, flooding them with color.
The green carpet beneath my feet unfolds for miles. I close my eyes and rest my head upon the strong willow tree. It is here I wait for you, my Jesus
Jesus, I wait for your soothing voice. You are my Rock, you never fail. I desire your presence beneath the radiant moon. My lips are calling your Magnificent Name.
I desire you love to envelope me entirely, Like the sweet air I breathe. I long to serve you, For your purposes are worth more than money can purchase.
Jesus, I am bringing you a gift, A gorgeous blood-red rose. You are my Lover and I am your Beloved. Open it, Precious One Inside is my heart, all that I have. It is what every lover wants, the heart of their beloved.
– There are many other ways God shows us His love for us in our day to day experiences; how does God show His love to you?__________________________________
(B) We can experience God through our 5 senses:
Taste: Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” Smell: Fragrant offering: Ephesians 5:2: and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Hear: Listening to His voice: (shows relationship) John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me” John 10:21” My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me"
See: See God in the spirit, a vision, or a dream: Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see God Matt 5;8 Feel: Feel the presence of God, His peace, love, warmth within you: Psalm 23 “feel peace”, feel arms around you
Have you had some AWESOME God/ Spiritual experiences?________________________
(C ) We can Experience God through our imagination:
LISTENING PRAYER: God gave us our imagination for a reason: --He gave us an imagination so that we can more fully experience HIM. --He gave it to us to reveal things to us through visions and dreams.
Joel 2:28: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days I will show wonders in the heavens and on earth...”
Guide for Listening Prayer to meet God (play CD of Soaking Worship Music)
Matthew 7:7 “ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” Preparation for Listening Prayer:
Read scripture describing the throne room; or other area to prepare yourself to meet God: Psalm 23, Revelation 4:2-5:13 in the throne room, etc.
Imagine you are asking to meet God, you may decide if you want to meet Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit specifically.
Think of a favorite place where you would like to meet him (at the beach, on the edge of a lake, in your garden, your prayer area at home, or see where He takes you!) Think about the purpose: Consider just meeting with God to JUST BE WITH HIM, experience his awesome presence. You may also ask God a significant question if you feel led to do so.
Listening Prayer:
Imagine yourself walking down to your special area where you want to meet God.
Sit and wait for God, think about him. Meditate on the scriptures you just read.
You may be able to see God quickly, but if your mind is racing, you may not be successful right away; pray for peace and a mind just focused on God.
When you see God (Jesus, Daddy God or the Holy Spirit) talk to Him, ENJOY HIS PRESENCE, HIS PEACE. JUST BE OPEN TO WHAT EVER EXPERIENCE GOD HAS PLANNED FOR YOU. ENJOY HIM !!!!
JOURNAL YOUR EXPERIENCE. It will bless you tremendously in the future!!
PRAYER prior to Listening Prayer:
Lord, I lift up my sisters to you. Lord we want to connect with you Father God, we want to be in your PRESENCE!! I thank you that as your Word says, that we will FIND YOU when we SEEK you with ALL of Our HEART!!
SHOW us is there is anything that we need to bring before you to UNBLOCK our connection with you, such as unforgiveness, unconfessed sin, SHOW us any LIES we are believing and Help us to see the TRUTH in YOU. (wait a few minutes for God to reveal blocks and to pray through)
Lord God, we ask you to make us AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE We thank you that all good gifts are from you FATHER, the Father of heavenly lights I am asking you Daddy God to touch every woman here, SHOW and REVEAL yourself to them IN A NEW WAY
Lord SHOW us/TEACH us to be in Closer Relationship with YOU, TO Really KNOW YOU TO KNOW your NATURE Teach us how to just REST in your presence I thank you Lord for Blessing each of us tonight as we REST/MEDITATE on YOU We give you all the praise, honor and glory Lord, in Jesus name Amen!
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