02/27/11 - Power of a Whisper PT4 - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore continues the series "The Power of a Whisper" with part 4, "The Practice of His Presence: So Close I Can Feel Your Breath When You Whisper", in this Sunday service.

The Power of a Whisper - Part 4
The Practice of His Presence: So Close I Can Feel Your Breath When You Whisper
LifeGate Church - Mirror Lake
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 9:30am to 1:00pm EST
http://bible.us/e/6Ut

www.mylifegatechurch.com


Sermon Notes:

Hosea 6:2
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Hosea 6:2 (NLT)
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In just a short time he will restore us,

so that we may live in his presence.

John 20:22
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John 20:22 (NLT)
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Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Learning from someone who heard the whispers of God clearly.
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Isaiah, the old testament prophet, started off his life struggling to hear and understand God.  But he learned to practice His presence so well that he predicted the coming of Jesus the Messiah in amazing detail 400 years before Jesus was born.  Everything Isaiah said would happen, happened.  The mathematical odds of one person being that accurate are 1 in 100 billion, billion, billion.  He also predicted the overthrow of the Babylonian empire by a Persian named Cyrus and he said this Cyrus would decide to let the Jewish exiles in his territory go free without any payment of ransom (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; and 45:13). Isaiah made this prophecy 150 years before Cyrus was born, 180 years before Cyrus performed any of these feats (and he did, eventually, perform them all), and 80 years before the Jews were taken into exile.  The turning point in Isaiah’s life, and in his ability to clearly hear the whispers of God, is described in Isaiah 6.

Isaiah 6
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Isaiah 6:1-8 (NLT)
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It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.  They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

1.   Our kings must die…
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God will not share His throne.  As long as we have other things, people, ourselves as King, our vision of God will be blurred and distorted.  We will define God by the image of those kings.  “I want a God who matches my desires instead of a God who gives me what I should desire.” Psalm 37:4—My misinterpretation—God will give me the desires I want.  I asked for a Harley Davidson.  I got it and almost killed me and Sheryll.  That was my desire.  The verse means if I find my pleasure, my delight, in God, then my heart will desire what His heart desires.

-   Isaiah hearing God started with seeing Him—getting rid of the religious images, our presuppositions, our misconceptions, taking off our colored glasses and seeing Him for who He really is
   -   Paul: something like scales fell off his eyes
   -   Jesus: If you have seen me you have seen God.

2.   Immerse yourself in a worship lifestyle
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Isaiah still has not heard God.  He is hearing others worship God.  Hearing God clearly is a result of being immersed in a lifestyle of worship.

-   Surrounding yourself with worship, and with people who are worshippers.  Being saturated in the worship of God.

-   Moving from comfortable worship defined by me and my personality to worship that shakes me, and the foundations I have established.  Worship that challenges me and makes me vulnerable.  (Amanda’s example of being uncomfortable with the emotion she saw when she first came to LifeGate)

3.   Humility
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Isaiah’s journey to hearing God clearly now takes him to a place of humility—recognizing we are nothing without God.  Understanding our hopelessness without His hope.  If we are able to take credit for anything good in our lives, if we see anything about us that is worthy of praise, then we have not seen God.  The more clearly we see God, the more clearly we will hear God.  And when we have seen God, no one can stand in His presence.  His holiness, His beauty, His power and majesty, His grace, peace and love, are overwhelming.  In comparison to truly seeing Him we, like Paul, will say everything we have gained in this life through our own efforts will look like a pile of dung.

-   Humility opens the door for Heaven to touch earth.  Until this point Isaiah’s experience has been seeing Heaven, but there has been no interaction.  Now, as a response to humility, he enters into participation with Heaven.  Heaven touches him.  Heaven is no longer something he sees as far off and to be longed for.  Heaven is touching him right in the midst of his sin!  Heaven is actively participating in his life as a response to his humility.  Jacob saw a ladder with angels ascending and descending. (Genesis 28:12)  Jesus told Nathanel that the greater things he would see are a constant interaction between Heaven and Earth—a conversation, a relationship.  (John 1:51)

4.   See yourself as God sees you
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Before Isaiah can hear God clearly, he must see himself as God sees him.  “…Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven…”

-   What does God say about you?  Get in the Word and find out.
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He sees us as forgiven, spotless & blameless because of Christ.

5.   Get close enough to overhear, then obey
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Isaiah, a prophet who must hear clearly from God so he can tell others who are not hearing as clearly, begins his life of hearing God speak directly to him by overhearing God.  God is not speaking to Isaiah.  He is having a conversation—the Triune God is speaking—and Isaiah is close enough to overhear Heaven’s conversation.  He responds in obedience to Heaven’s desires and a life of clearly hearing the whispers of God has begun!

Excuses: Why I can't hear the whispers
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Practicing His Presence: What if you practiced God’s presence with the discipline and passion that you practice other pursuits in your life?

-   God would not want to be around me…(sin consciousness, guilt, condemnation)

1 Chronicles 28:9
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1 Chronicles 28:9 (NLT)
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“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Deuteronomy 4:29
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Deuteronomy 4:29 (NLT)
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But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

Jeremiah 29:13
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Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
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If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Matthew 11:28-29
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Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)
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Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Luke 13:34
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Luke 13:34 (NLT)
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“OJerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

Psalm 51:17
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Psalm 51:17 (NLT)
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The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, OGod.

James 4:8
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James 4:8 (NLT)
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Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Leviticus 26:44
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Leviticus 26:44 (MSG)
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But in spite of their behavior, while they are among their enemies I won’t reject or abhor or destroy them completely. I won’t break my covenant with them: I am God, their God.

Song of Solomon 4:9
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Song of Solomon 4:9 (NLT)
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You have captured my heart,

my treasure, my bride.

You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,

with a single jewel of your necklace.

Excuses: Why I can't hear the whispers (continued)
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-   I can’t hear God.

Zechariah 7:11  "Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing"  Start with an act of obedience
What is something you know God wants you to do?  You don’t need a whisper for that.  All of us have areas in our lives, things we need to do or stop doing, attitudes that need adjusting, changes we need to make.  That’s proof you are hearing God.  Get your fingers out of your ears by making a step toward obedience. Anita Logan’s story of just telling God she wanted to hear and obey His whispers about helping others—over the next 3 days she had 3 unique and obvious encounters with people who God sent across her path.

1 Samuel 15:22
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1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)
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What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

Psalm 40:6
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Psalm 40:6 (NLT)
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You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.  Now that you have made me listen (NKJV-My ears you have opened), I finally understand—you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come…”

He wants you, not all your efforts and religious duty.  He wants a relationship with you.

Psalm 46:10
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Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
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Be still, and know that I am God!...

Get alone with God
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Set a time and a place where you will meet with Him.  A rocking chair, a place in the woods, a favorite chair, a deer stand, on or behind a lawnmower, Tony D’s on the way to the ballpark.

Bring your Bible and your journal.

Get still before Him.  Set aside other things and give Him time to talk to you.  Practice quieting your mind and surroundings.  Meditate on the Word.