This post is intended to be used in conjunction with the 12-week Bible Study of Experiencing God by Henry, Richard, and Mike Blackaby and Claude V. King.
This week’s unit is titled “Looking to God”.
When you make a major decision in your life, do you look to God?
When you are facing a battle or some crisis, do you look to God?
When all hope seems lost, do you look to God?
Most likely, you answered “yes” to all of these questions.
But what about first thing in the morning? Upon waking up, do you look to God?
When you have a rare day with no set plans, do you look to God?
When you’re going about one of your routines, whether in the office, running errands, or cleaning the house, do you look to God?
Some may be able to answer “yes” to some of those honestly, but more than likely, we don’t go about our ordinary days expecting an experience with God.
Psalm 105:4 NIV “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
But can we be real for a moment? Are we seeking His face always? Probably not. We consider ourselves too busy. We’re preoccupied with our agendas, activities, hobbies, and passions.
We are self-centered and if you think for a moment that you’re not self-centered, then you’re probably more self-centered than you realize. I know, I know. That’s not a pleasant thought, is it?
On page 32 of Experiencing God, there’s a comparison chart stacking up a self-centered life vs. a God-centered life.
| A Self-Centered Life | A God-Centered Life |
| is focused on self | places confidence in God |
| is proud of self & self’s accomplishments | depends on God & His ability & provision |
| is self-confident | focuses on God and His activity |
| depends on self & abilities | is humble before God |
| affirms self | denies self |
| seeks to be acceptable to the world & its ways | seeks first the kingdom of God & His righteousness |
| looks at circumstances from a human perspective | seeks God’s perspective in every circumstance |
| chooses selfish & worldly living | chooses holy & godly living |
We know which side of the chart we should be on, but if we truthfully analyze ourselves, which side identifies us most accurately? In order for us to experience God in the way He designed us to, we must become less self-centered and more God-centered. We must deny ourselves daily and anticipate encounters with God.
In Matthew 25, Jesus shared a parable of the ten virgins. The parable compares being prepared to enter the kingdom of Heaven with ten virgins who take their lamps out to greet the bridegroom. Just as a refresher, out of the ten virgins, five of them were expectant and prepared with not only their lamps but also oil to fuel the lamps. The other five virgins took their lamps, but no oil.
The bridegroom is delayed for a bit and all ten virgins become drowsy and fall asleep. They are all awakened by a proclamation that the bridegroom is about to arrive.
The ten virgins begin preparing their lamps to greet the bridegroom, but the five of them with no extra oil realize they aren’t prepared to keep their lamps burning. So they turn to the others and ask for oil. All five are met with rejection. It is then suggested that they go out and buy the needed oil and so they did.
As those five unprepared virgins journey out on their own, the bridegroom arrives. The other five who were expectant and prepared then join the bridegroom at the wedding banquet.
Matthew 25:10b NIV “And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Many read this parable and consider themselves to be a prepared and expectant virgin because they’ve been saved by the blood of Jesus, they’ve been redeemed, and they will be with Him in eternity.
But this parable also serves as a reminder of being prepared for experiences with God in our everyday lives. We miss opportunities to see Him at work because we’re unprepared, we’re not observant, and we are not God-centered. “God-centeredness requires the daily death of self and submission to God.”[i] (page 33, EG) The oil in our lamp is the Holy Spirit. Are we continually submitting ourselves to the Holy Spirit so that we can be more aware and more sensitive to the activities of God? Or are our lives so self-centered, that when we hear others talking about God’s activities around them, we have to re-engage with the Holy Spirit simply because we’re unprepared.
Take a look at the 7 realities of Experiencing God and identify our responsibility in each of them.
- God is always at work around you. Does that mean that God can’t do what He wants to do without us? Nope! God created the Earth, moon, stars, sun, night & day, animals & man just by speaking. He doesn’t need us. We need Him!
- God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal. The first two words say it all. God pursues. Our responsibility is to respond to that pursuit.
- God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. In this reality, God does the inviting and He does the work. What is our role? To be involved.
- God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. If someone speaks, what is our task? To listen!
- God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. So this one’s a little tougher, right? This is where we get into the trenches. God’s still pursuing, He’s inviting, and He’s working. He’s not sending anyone of us out on our own to do the dirty work or the hard stuff. He’s right there with us. At this point in the relationship, our responsibility is to respond in faith and action.
- You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. You might notice that this is the first reality that doesn’t begin with “God””. This one starts with “you”. Major adjustments. This is the molding of the clay in the Potter’s hand. How pliable we are depends on how self-centered or God-centered we are.
- You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you. The only other reality that begins with the word “you” is simply a byproduct of accomplishing the other 6 realities.
The 7 realities are a spiritual process. God’s going to do what God has always done. He defined Himself to Moses as “I am Who I am.” Did God need Moses to stretch out his hand in order to part the Red Sea? No! Philippians 2:13 AMP “13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”
From the very beginning of time, we’ve misconstrued how things really are. We’ve somehow gotten the impression that it’s all about us. We often leave God out of the equation. We use other people to whom we measure ourselves and compare ourselves. We do this to make ourselves smarter, prettier, nicer, thinner, more generous, more popular, more respected, more well-known, more successful, wealthier, holier, more gracious, and the list goes on. We use imperfect people to compare our imperfect selves to make ourselves seem more perfect.
2 Corinthians 10:12b ERV “They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing. 13 But we will not boast about anything outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our boasting to the work God gave us, but this work includes our work with you.”
In these verses, what will Paul boast about? The work that God gave them. Here again- it’s not about us; it’s about God!
“Life is God’s novel. Let Him write it.”
Isaac singer
“Out of these two statements, which one interests you the most:
(1) I am writing my own story.
(2) I am a character in a story.”[ii]
In this week’s video of Experiencing God, we’re told that in order to understand our story, we have to start with God. While that may make perfectly good sense to us, how many of us do just that? In the video, Richard and Mike Blackaby share that the Bible started with God – not us! And we’ll never understand our story if we don’t start with God.
“Why do we not realize that it is always best to do things God’s way?”1 We’re arrogant! We somehow think we’re wise enough, savvy enough, and know what’s best. News flash- we don’t! On our own, we can do nothing! (John 15:5)
Towards the middle of page 36 is the subtitle “You need to know what God is about to do.”
How do you feel about that statement? If we truly trust God as we should, this statement should give us comfort.
How do we know what God is about to do?
Jeremiah 33:3 GW “Call to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mysterious things that you do not know.”
On page 37, the question is asked: “How close do you think your country is to God’s judgment and why?” The choices range from “I do not believe God will bring judgment on my country” to “I believe we have already experienced part of God’s judgment”.
Do you think it’s God’s timing that our church is going through Experiencing God at this time when our country is in such a mess? I have no doubt that the timing is intentional. If each one of us deepens our relationship with God, begins to see His activity around us and we join Him in that activity, think of the ripple effect! Multiply that by everyone participating in this Bible study and the ripple effect grows even greater! We must be diligent in our relationship with Him, submitting and preparing ourselves to have our hearts and lives more God-centered
One of the concerning lines from day 2 was the passage from Psalm 81.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel did not obey me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.” (Psalm 81:11-12 CSB)
Do you believe this describes our nation? Our world? It certainly seems like it at times, doesn’t it?
Before you get discouraged, look at reality #2. With whom does God want an intimate love relationship? YOU! Just because those around you in your family, community, your state, country and even your world are suffering from hardened and stubborn hearts, you can still have that intimate love relationship with Him on your own. In fact, that’s how God designed it to be!
Our relationship with Him is personal. It’s one-on-one. It isn’t contingent on anyone else’s relationship with Him.
“The key to knowing God’s voice is not a formula, nor is it a method you can follow. Knowing God’s voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. That is why those who do not have the relationship (John 8:47) do not hear what God is saying. You must watch to see how God uniquely communicates with you. You will not be able to rely on other people’s walks with God. You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship with Him is crucial.” (EG, page 43)
In other words, you can’t borrow the oil from someone else to keep your lamp lit!
“We tend to want God to speak to us so He will give us a heart-warming devotional thought to make us feel good for the rest of the day. If you want the God of the universe to speak to you, you need to be ready for Him to reveal what He is doing where you are. In Scripture God is not often seen coming and speaking to people just for conversation’s sake. He was always working to accomplish His purposes. When God speaks to you through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, the church, or another way, He has a specific purpose in mind. (EG, page 45)
How do we tune out the selfish narration in our mind so that our thoughts are more God-centered?
It may not happen overnight, but with the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit, it will happen!
We may think we’re God-centered because we don’t consider ourselves important, worthy, or special. We may assume that God can’t use us because we’ve got nothing to offer. Like Moses, we may think so little of ourselves that we seem to be dripping with humility. Can I let you in on a little secret? That’s still being self-centered! We need help in finding that balance between self-importance and self-deprecation.
We waste so much precious time focusing on ourselves and not on Him. Let me tell you something. God is not impressed with your success, your resume, your bank account, how many books you’ve read, how many boards or committees you serve on, what kind of car you drive, how many shoes you own, or who you know! In fact, God scoffs at any attempt by me or you to prove our worthiness[iii] and even our unworthiness. It is not about you and it’s not about me!
Do you know what FOMO means? It’s an acronym that means fear of missing out. We need to have a heart for God, a focus on God, and a passion for God that we have a Spiritual FOMO in that we have a fear of missing out of God’s activity all around us.
Experiencing God Summary Statements from this week:
“To know and do God’s will, you must deny self, and return to a God-centered life.”
“I must focus my life on God’s purposes, not on my own plans.”
“I must seek to see from God’s perspective rather than from my own distorted human outlook.”
“Understanding what God is about to do where you are is far more important than telling God what you want to do for Him.”
“Knowing God’s voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God.”
“God has a right to interrupt my life. He is Lord. When I accepted Him as Lord, I gave Him the right to help Himself to my life anytime He wants.”
[i] Experiencing God by Henry, Richard, and Mike Blackaby, Claude V. King
Beacons of Light 