How To Have a Personal Relationship With Jesus July 8, 2007
Hearing God in his Creation
Over the past few months we’ve been doing this series called. “How To Have a Personal Relationship With Jesus” We’ve looked at how to start the relationship; how to talk to God, how to recognize God’s voice; the Holy Spirits role in our relationship; how to hear his voice through scripture, and in worship; Carl spoke last week on hearing God in affliction.
This week we are going to look at hearing God in his creation.
Intro - stories of awe and wonder with nature
Rain storm
3 Sun Rises
Bay Street
Stars
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
vs 2 - children and infants
“Have you ever watched a small child studying the movements of an insect, or touching a sticky bud for the first time, or listening to a sea shell? Have you ever seen a group of children crouched round a rock pool, silent, attentive, intrigued, totally absorbed and full of wonder?” - Sister Margaret Magdalen in “Jesus, Man of Prayer”
She says that this awe and wonder is the child’s first prayer.
children are natural conteplatives
- discovery of God in his creatures,
- Calvin’s "general revelation"
Rom 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom
coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
Isn’t all this “finding God in nature” a little pagan or new-agey?
I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. (Psalms 77:12 NIV)
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. (Psalms 119:27 NIV)
I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. (Psalms 143:5 NIV)
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. (Psalms 145:5 NIV)
Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. (Psalms 111:2 NIV)
You won’t ever really know an artist until you see his/her art. – talk about Dave Chapman
How do we hear God in his creation – much the same way that we would in worship
Awe & wonder
Van Morrison - A Sense of Wonder lyrics
I walked in my greatcoat
Down through the days of the leaves.
No before after, yes after before
We were shining our light into the days of blooming wonder
In the eternal presence, in the presence of the flame.
Didn’t I come to bring you a sense of wonder
Didn’t I come to lift your fiery vision bright
Didn’t I come to bring you a sense of wonder in the flame.
How God might speak to you in worship
Physical sensations
Scripture
Song – the song that is to be a theme, a soundtrack to life for a time
Picture – still or video
Thought that is not your own
Voice – inner, or audible
Marabelle’s vision of purple
Jesus calls us to be like children - much discussion on what this means, but this is part of it.
We have lost our natural contemplation just like forgetting how to run.
"As adults, most of us have lost the ability to bow before the mysteries of life. Driven by a compulsive urge to explain and rationalize everything, and beset by so many cares and responsibilities, we are unable to lose ourselves utterly, as a child does when he is totally absorbed in whatever has captured his interest. We find it almost impossible to give our undivided attention to anything because we are too distracted (literally, `pulled apart’) by conflicting demands and interests; so dissipated by the multiplicity of claims upon or time and energy." - Sister Margaret Magdalen in “Jesus, Man of Prayer”
Luke 12:27 - Jesus telling his disciples not to worry about what they will wear or eat..
- He tells them to "Consider the lilies" not just glance at, not take this lily for example; but take a long feasting look
Imagine Simon the Zealot’s reaction to this!
"Consider the lilies, the ravens, the grass, the sparrows
The way that Jesus explained things points to a fantastic relationship with his own creation.
Parables were not likely just spontaneous stories, but were born out of much reflection in the hours spent alone in prayer
He is able to explain the intangibles with the material.
Because Jesus was so in touch with the world around him, and the way that God was speaking through his creation, he was able to explain the Kingdom of Heaven in
lilies
a mustard seed
yeast
ravens,
grass,
sparrows,
Not just items from nature, but everyday items
a lost coin (Lk 15:8),
lamps under bushels (Mk 4:12),
badly patched garments (Mk 2:21),
or burst wine skins (Mk 2:22).
Not just rural images, but urban images
children piping and dancing in the village square (Matt. 11:17),
Jeremiah heard God speak through the potter’s wheel,(Jer 18)
Ezekiel heard God speak through the watch tower, (Eze 33)
Joyce Hugget "Listening to God" quotes Carlo Carretto -"Contemplate what lies before you, it is God’s way of making himself present."
Not listening to the object, we are listening to what God is saying to us through the object that he has placed in front of us - not always a "spiritual lesson" maybe that "I am fearfully and wonderfully made"
Andrew shares
How many are taking holidays this summer?
Make some of your time holy-days and listen to God, get to know him through his creation!
Take a walk with God, or go and sit in a quiet spot, take time to contemplate God’s masterwork 1/2 hr. - ask him, "God what are you saying to me through this scene?"
