The Importance of Personal Time with God | Led by Fire - #14 | Pastor John Lindell

[Music] what i'd like to do is i'd like to talk to you this morning on the importance of personal time with god now i realize that as i say that title there are many here who have a regular daily time with the lord but for others your time with god is at best hit and miss it all depends on your day depends on your schedule depends on how you're feeling how tired you are depends on your attitude depends how busy you are but here's the problem if your time with god is hit and miss if your time with god is not a priority you will miss much of what god wants to do in your life maybe i can illustrate it best by just talking about a friend or telling you a story about a friend of mine uh he's a pastor and and he wanted to go to africa to the nation of ghana and do a micro enterprise and so he assembled the money got his team together they went to ghana they were working among the ashante tribe and as they were trying to make things happen they kept running into brick wall after brick wall road block after road block until finally somebody said to him listen unless you have an audience with the king you'll never be able to do business in the kingdom because unless you have an audience with the king you dishonor the king and you disempower your activity so what he did was he petitioned the king to have an audience and they gave him a date and a time and they set up this tent and so he went there and he waited at the tent and he waited and he waited and finally the king came and he had this encounter this meeting with the king and the king gave his blessing to what this pastor wanted to do and then all of the sudden things that had seemed impossible before were all of a sudden happening it was like having met with the king now the things that were in his heart started to take place the next year he took a friend of his another pastor friend and and they were going to kind of work together and and yet expand what they were doing but they soon found out that his friend couldn't just rely on on jonathan's experience with the king but he too would have to have an audience with the king if he was going to do business in the kingdom and the reason why because an audience with the king was necessary it was essential if you were going to do business in the kingdom with that in mind i'd like you to look at exodus chapter 33 if you have your cell phone or your bible with you turn with me to exodus 33 because when you come to exodus chapter 33 moses is carrying out god's business he's been called by god he's been empowered by god he's been he's been given a task by god but even though it's god's will for moses to lead the children of israel into the promised land and even though moses has been called by god and even though god has done miracles moses still needs a daily audience with the king if he is going to be effective in doing the king's work let's look at it in exodus chapter 33 verse 7. now moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp far off from the camp and he called it the tent of meeting and everyone who sought the lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp whenever moses went out to the tent all the people would rise up and each would stand at his tent door and watch moses until he had gone into the tent when moses entered the tent the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent and the lord would speak with moses and when all the people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the entrance of the tent all the people would rise up and worship each at his tent door thus the lord used to speak to moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend when moses turned again into the camp his assistant joshua the son of nun a young man when we're talking young man joshua now is 40 years old so it's young in comparison to moses but he is is now well in his adult years would not depart from the 10. i want you to notice something here even though joshua is now the commander of israel's army even though joshua has proven himself to be proficient in battle he led them in a victory over the amalekites he too needs time at the time it's not enough for moses to go and talk to god joshua has to talk to god it's not enough if i go talk to god you have to go talk to god it's not enough if your mom or dad go talk to god you need to talk to god it's not enough if your spouse goes and talks to god you need to talk to i mean far too many men who tell me well my wife she she handles that no you need to handle it she needs to handle it you need to handle it you both need your time with the lord now as we look at this i want to point something out that as you're reading the book of exodus if you're going to read through the bible you'll find in the book of exodus there are two different tense of meeting in exodus chapter 33 and verse 7 moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp what's that tell you it's a little tent he it was far off from the camp and he called it the tent of meeting in exodus chapter 35 and they came everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him and brought the lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting and for all the service and for all the holy garments the first tent is a personal tent the second tent is a corporate tent it is the tabernacle it is where the sacrifices are offered it is where there is the holy place it is where there is the most holy place with the ark of the covenant inside so there is a big tent and there is a little thing which speaks to us about some things that are very important for us to realize your personal time with god does not negate the necessity of corporate time with god you can't say well i have my own prayer time therefore i don't need to go to the prayer meeting you need the prayer meeting there are some things that will only happen when you and i gather together corporately in this place and seek the lord that's true for the church and it's true for you and i personally i could be healed at home but i would suggest that there's healing that more regularly takes place in the corporate setting god does some things corporately that would not happen personally at the same time god does some things in our personal tent time that will not happen in the corporate prayer time that's why it's not either or it's both end we need to gather together corporately and seek the lord we need to gather together privately and seek the lord we need the little tent and we need the big tent what i'm talking to you about though is the necessity a personal devotional time with god i would suggest on a daily basis i realize for some who are not doing any that's a really big stretch but you got to start somewhere you've got to start developing that discipline of meeting with god because unless you do there are some things that will never happen in your life not because they weren't the will of god not because god didn't love you and want to work in your life but because you did not ask james said you have not because you ask not jesus said ask and you'll receive you have to be in his presence personally you have to seek his face and when you do powerful things will happen i would suggest to you things will happen in your life that you can't begin to imagine the scale and the scope of how god will work and answer to your prayers to everybody who's sitting in any one of the james river campuses or watching online you're participating in something that came out of somebody's tent time in 1969 a man by the name of g raymond carlson how many have ever heard that name if you're from an ag background you might have heard it he was a general superintendent of the summers of god so he was the leader of the denomination at one time he came here in 1969 to springfield he moved here from minnesota he came as an assistant general superintendent one of uh they had several at that time and when he came to town god put it in his heart this is a very interesting thing to me because in 1969 there weren't mega churches as we know them today a big church back then could have been 400 people so he comes to town and when he comes to town god puts it on his heart what i think to be a rather unusual desire that springfield would have an assemblies of god mega church springfield is not a big city the idea that springfield would have a mega church with all the other a.g churches is a is a bit i mean that that almost seems impossible i mean you could understand it more readily if he comes to the metroplex in dallas or he's up in chicagoland or he's somewhere where there's a larger group of people but he comes here and for the next 22 years he prays every day that there would be a mega church in springfield in 1991 james river starts he's still praying i had a pastor recount this i knew brother carlson um he and debbie's family go back to ministry years years ago but he told a pastor a pastor told me this uh you know probably around 2000 2003 but he and this pastor were very close and the he was told this pastor he was praying that this pastor would be the mega church he said i've been praying for this and it would be great if that happened and so in 1999 they were going out for uh coffee and and some dessert and while they were there he said to the pastor he said you know i believe god has answered my prayer i believe the mega church is james river church i'm just saying to you that you're sitting in the answer to somebody's tent time prayer that there when you and i go when we get away with god when we go to a tent and we have a time and we have a place and we say i'm going to spend time with god powerful things happen i as godly as brother carlson was i can assure you he had no idea what james shiver would become he had no idea how how god would raise up a church and what it would look like i would suggest it's probably beyond what he would have imagined and the same is true of you and i that when you and i seek the lord when you and i get alone with god when you and i regularly go to him in prayer powerful things happen supernatural things happen in your life and in the lives of others that have a scale and a scope you and i cannot begin to imagine that is why it's critical that you have time with god time alone regularly with god personal time with the lord in a very real sense commit yourself to a daily audience with the king and you'll find yourself fulfilling your destiny some of you are spinning your wheels i'm not saying that derogatorily i'm simply expressing what you know to be true in your heart you're spinning your wills you can't get any traction in life and can i just suggest it's because you're not spending any time with the lord if you begin to pray you begin to call on god you begin to regularly have that time and and spend time daily with the king you would see a massive difference in your life here's moses on divine assignment here's moses a man who knows the lord well here's moses a man who has seen god do miracles but he doesn't assume what god has done in the past means he doesn't have to spend time with god in the present you may have had god use you in great ways in the past you still need that time in his presence as we look at moses i want to give you four reasons why he spends that time with the lord first of all moses meets with god because he's a pilgrim i don't mean pilgrim in the sense of thanksgiving and you have the pilgrim and the turkey and all of that i mean pilgrim in the sense of he's a spiritual pilgrim he's on a spiritual journey he lives in a tent he doesn't build a permanent structure why because he is on a journey he's on his way to the promised land so he pitches that tent and it's an illustration of what his life is all about that his life is not just a physical journey it is first and foremost a spiritual journey that he is on a spiritual journey with the lord when you and i are going into our tent and we're meeting with god we are instantly reminded that this life is about more than what we can see it's about more than what you and i can do in our own power it's about more than our own ability that we are on a spiritual journey with spiritual realities that there are spiritual forces and we need spiritual power we're a pilgrim on a journey this is always how it's been for people of faith people of faith have always understood this listen to what the writer of hebrews says in hebrews chapter 11. he's talking about abraham the father of our faith it says by faith he that's abraham made his home in the promised land and like a stranger in a foreign country he lived in tents as did isaac that's his son and jacob his grandson who were heirs with him of the same promise why for he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is god he was looking he realized that this life was not all that there is that what he could see is not all that there was he realized he's on a faith journey you're on a faith journey i'm on a faith journey we're we're walking a super natural walk and when you and i go into that tent what's happening is we're focusing on things unseen this is critically important for you and i to understand we have to be regularly reminded because the physical world seems so real we have to be reminded regularly that there's more than the physical realities and that the spiritual realities are in fact the greater realities apostle paul says in second corinthians chapter 4 verse 18 so we fix our eyes not on what is seen listen when you go in to your devotional time you're going beyond what you can see you're looking in that moment to things you cannot see you are reminded that there's an unseen world that there's unseen power that there are things that you and i can't see with our physical lives but they are real nonetheless we're reminded that what we see is not the greater reality because it is temporary for what is seen as temporary what is unseen is eternal when you go into that tent when you have that time with god you're reminding yourself that you are first and foremost a spiritual being on a spiritual journey to an eternal destiny and that there are things that are happening that you and i cannot know apart from god himself working them in us revealing them to us as well can i just suggest that when you and i have that personal time with god what we are declaring to ourselves and those close enough to see it is that our salvation our deliverance our future isn't in the things of this society it's not in this culture it's not in this world we're literally looking beyond this life into eternity itself when i have my devotions when you have your devotions you are focusing on matters that matter you're focusing on the most important things moses goes into the tent because he is a pilgrim on a journey he realizes it's a spiritual journey oh yes there's two million people traveling with him oh yes there are some physical realities but he understands that the solution to all of the physical problems is found in spiritually spending time in god's presence the problem for most people is i don't have time esti gordon the devotional writer of the last century in his quiet talks on prayer writes this the great people of the earth today are the people who pray i do not mean those who talk about prayer nor those who say they believe in prayer nor yet those who can explain about prayer but i mean those people who take time and pray they have not time listen everybody's too busy everybody's got plenty to do nobody has just a bunch of time laying around to pray if you do you're really blessed you have to take time you have to make time they have not time it must be taken from something else that something else is important very important and pressing but still less important and less pressing than prayer the most important thing listen you don't have to be a preacher for this to be true because it's not a matter of whether you're a preacher or not it's a matter of if you know the lord if you're a believer the most important thing you'll ever do is pray we do the hard work of prayer and then the rest of life in ministry is just picking up the results and so moses goes into the tent because he's a pilgrim he's on a spiritual journey second moses meets with god because he is a shepherd and shepherds lived in tents you go to modern-day israel and you'll see the better ones outside the cities and they'll have they'll be living essentially very similar to how they did in abraham's day while there are many things we could say about shepherds i want to point out just a couple that in the bible and in jewish society shepherds were by and large uninfluential they were marginalized they were on the lowest rung of the societal totem pole they were not the important they were not the influential and yet here's what's true god loves to take insignificant people and do significant things with them god likes to take ordinary people and do extraordinary things with them because then he gets all of the glory because people look and say i don't know how they could do that and the answer is you're right they couldn't but god did why because they prayed listen prayer is the be it's the start it's the finish it's the sum it's the circumference of all that god wants to do in your life when you and i pray powerful things happen and when we don't nothing happens this is why prayer is so important moses goes he prays because he's a shepherd it's very very interesting how god likes to take the ordinary and do extraordinary you read through the bible and literally it it's a who's who of ordinary shepherds abraham was a shepherd isaac was a shepherd jacob was a shepherd joseph was a shepherd moses was a shepherd david was a shepherd jesus said i am the good shepherd he identifies with the ordinary he identifies with those those who aren't influential in the world's eyes but who know their god and become extremely powerful in their generation that all starts when you and i have our time in prayer i've been reading through the gospels again and and it's so interesting to see all the times jesus withdraws to a quiet place what to pray the disciples are out early in the morning looking for him where is he what happened where did he go he's alone he's praying it's the key to seeing god do powerful things in your life it's this key to saying god give you wisdom in your life you know a shepherd one of the things we know about a shepherd their concern is for the flock their concern is that the flock have food that the flock has water that the flock be protected from predators and and they can't assume that the next day is going to be like the previous day because they're moving the flock to different places and and and sometimes there's food where there wasn't food and sometimes there's not and sometimes there's predators where there wasn't predators so shepherds become dependent in that sense when i meet with god here's what i'm saying i'm saying god i absolutely have to have your help to make it through the day when you don't have your prayer time essentially what you're saying is you're saying i got it god i don't need your help today i can get along just fine i can do not and and that's the height of pride what does the bible say god resists the proud he holds his hand you know so would you say as i don't need to pray god's like okay you you got it go ahead see see what you can do but when i pray when you pray when we have our devotional time what we're saying is god i'm not smart enough i'm not strong enough i'm not creative enough i'm not winston enough i'm not connected enough god i'm not enough of anything to make it through the day i've got to have your help and when you start the day that way god says i am so glad you asked i'm going to help you in the things you've mentioned and the things you never thought about i'm going to go before you i'm going to be behind you i'm going to be beside you i'm going to anoint you why because he gives grace to the humble he gives grace to the person who needs him and realizes it by reaching out to him when i go when you go to that personal devotional time when i go into that tent i'm reminding god that i'm an ordinary person who is in need of extraordinary power that on my own i'm not enough for anything i have to do that day moses meets with god as well because he's a prophet he was prophetically as he's going out to the camp he's showing the people prophetically here's how it's going to be in the future for people that in the future people will have to go outside the camp in order to meet with god you say what do you mean hebrews tells us about it hebrews chapter 13 the high priest carries the blood of animals into the most holy place as a sin offering but the bodies are burned outside the camp and so jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood let us then go to him outside the camp bearing the disgrace he bore for here we do not have an enduring city but we are looking at the city that is to come moses is saying listen spiritually speaking the way god's people will always get a hold of god and receive the help from him they could never achieve on their own is by going outside the camp essentially what he's saying is your deliverance is never going to be in the things of the world it's never going to be in your bank account it's never going to be in your job it's never going to be in what you can amass or accumulate or who you know or what you can do always our deliverance is going to be when we go outside the things of this world and we leave them behind as it were there is a there is a prophetic element to prayer i mean i i want you to think about this for just a moment your prayers are prophetic you say how how so show me your prayer journal and i'll tell you what's going to happen to you because the things you pray are the things that take place that's right and when you don't pray you're on your own it works it's not that god doesn't want to help you just you didn't ask listen when you and i pray we're literally shaping our future we're shaping the future of our our life the lives of those we love the place where we work the situation that we have as well can i just say this there's a prophetic element to the christian life that god's intent is not that you just get saved and then sitted out and wait until heaven too many christians have what i believe an understanding of christianity that is basically a lie from the enemy that somehow it's enough that you got saved and they never experienced the joy the thrill the delight of walking in the spirit and seeing the supernatural as a part of their life on a regular basis in that sense our old christian life is designed to have an element of the prophetic in it in first corinthians chapter 14 listen to this pursue love now let me say this obviously if you don't have love you don't have anything paul made that clear in chapter 13. too many christians say well i'll just be content to just love people but can i just tell tell you this you'll love people less if you don't love them prophetically look at this pursue love yeah chase it work on it try to be the most loving person you can through the grace of god and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts what gifts are we talking about gift of tongues interpretation of tongues prophecy gift of word of knowledge word of wisdom discernment of spirits gift of healing gift of miracles gift of faith those are the nine gifts that are listed in first corinthians chapter 12 pursue those things but especially that you may prophesy i mean in that sense i would say every single believer ought to have this in mind you said what do you mean i'm not talking we're too limited in our understanding of prophecy if we limit it to in our context somebody coming to a mic on a wednesday night and speaking prophetically which is very valuable to the body but i don't believe that's the totality of what paul intends here what we're talking about is the sense that when you and i pray god reveals things to us god speaks to you as you start praying for people god starts talking to you about those people i mean he begins to give you insight often times for the encouragement and the strengthening of the people you're praying for that as you pray for them god begins to let you know things or what can happen so many times as you're praying and you're walking in that attitude of prayer you've had your time with the lord now you're sensitive to the spirit all of a sudden you meet somebody and maybe you weren't even praying for them at all but all of a sudden because your heart is sensitized to the holy spirit in that moment god is speaking to you about that person and giving you words of encouragement that can change the trajectory and the course of that person's life i mean psalm 25 verse 14 i love this god friendship is for god worshipers they are the ones he confides in when you spend time with god god's going to talk to you and god's going to do more than talk at you god's going to talk with you and god's going to confide in you it's an amazing reality there's a prophetic nature that happens in our life when we pray finally moses meets with god because he's a leader look at it in exodus 33 and verse 7. now moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp far off from the camp and he called it the tent of meeting and everyone who sought the lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp and whenever moses went out to the tent all the people would rise up and each would stand at his tent door and watch moses until he had gone into the tent when moses entered the tent the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent this is a very interesting thing so you've got this pillar of fire by night that's cloud by day big enough that people can see it within a nation a camping nation of two million people it's ginormous moses goes over to the tent of meeting and when he does the the pillar comes down it's it's an obvious meeting with the lord and when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent all the people would rise up and worship each of his tent door thus the lord used to speak listen to this to moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend god wants to talk to you god wants to tell you things but god is not going to do that if you're never taking time to be with him i mean moses is doing this and as moses does it what he's doing is he's doing it as an example if leadership is influence what's the best way to influence people it's by example don't listen to what i say do what i do right moses is saying to the people listen i'm going to go over here and i'm going to meet with god and if anybody else wants to meet with god you can come over here and you too can have an encounter with god and some did look at it in exodus 33 and verse 7 7 and everyone who sought the lord would go out to the tent of meeting others and this is what's unthinkable to me imagine this everybody knows god's there but not everybody goes some go and they meet with god but other people just watch from a distance they watch moses having a meeting with god they watch others having a meeting with god but they don't have a meeting with god but moses sets the example he meets with god and the results are obvious when he comes out his face literally radiates the glory of god he spent so much time with god that now the presence of god just hangs on him have you ever been around somebody like that where when you leave being with them you don't think so much about them but you feel like you've been with jesus and now you just want to go be with jesus because being with jesus was so wonderful the glory of god is so on them because they've spent so much time in the glory of the lord look at it exodus chapter 34 whenever moses went in before the lord to speak with him he'd remove the veil until he came out and when he came out and told the people of israel what he was commanded the people of israel would see the face of moses that the skin of moses face was shining and just the glory of god radiating from his face and notice he's not just doing it for himself he's doing it for the people for the tribe of that he's a part of he's doing it for his own family listen when when you have your time with god it's not it's not just going to affect you it's going to affect everybody around you your family is going to know your friends are going to know when you've been with jesus i'm just telling you they will know and they will know when you haven't moms and dads let me just encourage you talk about your devotional time with your kids talk about what the lord is showing you what the lord is is you know you don't have to be crazy weird or spooky spiritual just be normal about it say hey i had a great time with the lord today you know i was thinking about this it just really blessed me let your kids see that you go pray and let them hear you pray moses had an audience with the king and it empowered him to do business in the kingdom if you will so i want to ask you what's your personal devotional time with god like what's it look like what's it feel like [Music] let me give you let me give you three thoughts three things that could improve your time with the lord number one make a decision that you will pitch your tent exodus 33 and verse seven now moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp far off from the camp and he called it the tent of meeting he established a place what's your place can i can i just say if you don't have a place you won't pray and let me let me challenge you against i'm i'm not against people who pray in the car but don't make that your your place i mean because then what you know i mean on the one hand y'all some the way some of you drive you ought to pray but um on the other hand there are too many distractions you get distracted by how a crazy driver is driving you get distracted by the new building you see going up or the other one tearing down or or what's happening here and there and work crews and all the different things or you start listening to the radio next thing you know you're somewhere else it's not wrong to pray in the car i would applaud it but your tent time needs to be time where it's you and god alone where you're creating a place of solitude and sanctuary that in your mind and in your habit and routine is where you meet with god so when you get in there or when you're there you know this is the time this is the place this is my time with god establish a place number two pitch that tent far off from the camp you say what do you mean well the the talmud which is a compilation of of centuries of rabbinic teaching said this it said that the tent of meeting was two thousand cubits from the camp so that's about that's about five eighths of an of a mile a little over a half mile so here's moses and he lives in the center of the camp so the tabernacle's in the center and moses and aaron's family they lived right in the front on the east side of the tabernacle but now he's he's going to have to walk through the camp and he's going to leave the camp and then he is going to go for a half mile and as he's going on that half mile he's preparing himself no not but but he he understands he's got to get away from all of the distractions all of the things that vie for his attention all of the things that that would clamor and he's got to set that aside so he can be with god that's that's why you need to take your phone and you put it away you you you shut off your computer screen whatever it is that distracts you i think d.l moody said that the devil will do anything to keep you from praying even to the point of causing you to notice a shade that isn't quite closed and have you ever noticed that like you're going to pray and all of a sudden things you couldn't care less about like you said a little picture of this crooked on the wall you would never care about it but now all of a sudden you're like huh or you you start studying something that once you're done with praying you're like i'm so over that's the devil he hates your praying because he knows that when you pray powerful things are going to happen so anything he can do to keep you from praying he's all over it but moses set aside everything he leaves it behind so that he can have his time with god without distraction number three give your place a name moses gave his place the name the tent of meeting your name might be way more creative my name's fairly plain mine is my appointment with god and that's i do that for this reason because there are times people ask me to go to be at something or and i always tell them i have an appointment because if i don't guard it with that kind of vigilance it will get lost in the events of the day so say i've got an appointment i don't have to explain i've got an appointment they're like oh okay nobody's gonna say like who why what you know people like oh okay oswald sanders said this in his book spiritual leadership every one of us is as close to god as he has chosen to be now that's good news you can be as close to god as you want to be there you you don't have to look at anybody wistfully and say i wish i could be as close to god as there no you could be you can be as close as you want to be but if you don't have your personal devotional time with god you'll watch others have an encounter with god but you won't listen if you want to do business in the kingdom you have to have an audience with the king otherwise you dishonor him and you disempower yourself [Music] pitch your tent get alone with god and like moses talk face to face with him hey everybody thank you so much for joining james river church on our youtube channel our prayer is that you were encouraged and your faith was strengthened today and we want to let you know that we want to connect with all our online family you can just click the link next to me to connect to us we'd love to meet you and connect with you as well we love if you subscribe to the channel and press the bell for notifications i'll tell you what it's a great thing to do because we're always putting out great sermons new worship content and that helps you stay up to date with everything that's happening we hope you have a great day today and we'd love for you to join us live for our services every sunday and wednesday thank you again for watching and god bless

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Id: IY6NE1qr0QM

Length: 43min 27sec (2607 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 05 2021