TRANSFORMATION #3: THE SECRETS OF THE SECRET PLACE #2
INTRO TO TOPIC: I believe the Lord is calling us to go deeper in the secret place.
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works.” (Rev. 2:4-5).
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev. 3:19-20).
Whatever else we do in this season, let’s respond to the call of Jesus to the secret place.
KEY TEXT: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18).
THE BIG IDEA: As we spend time in the secret place of prayer – in solitude, silence, soaking and Scripture meditation, we are transformed into the image of Jesus.
REVIEW TEXT: (John 15:4-5).
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
• The first spiritual discipline is prayer – abiding in Jesus – in the secret place.
1. SOLITUDE: Review this point from last week.
• Solitude is spending time with Jesus alone in the secret place of prayer.
• “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6).
2. SILENCE:
• Silence is spending time with Jesus listening in the secret place of prayer.
• “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).
o “Be silent, and know that I am God!” (NLT).
o “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God.” (The Message).
• Too often in prayer we do all the talking and don’t pause to listen.
• God wants to speak to us and give us encouragement, wisdom and direction in our lives:
• “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27).
• We need to take the time to listen to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to our lives.
• As we’re going through the process of transformation, part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin and show us areas we need to work on.
• QUOTE: The secret place “is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs… (where) I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend… just me – naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken – nothing.” (Henri Nouwen).
• This is why it’s good to get silent in solitude – so we can hear God speak to our hearts.
EXAMPLE:
“1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts."” (Isaiah 6:1-5).
• When we get alone in the secret place, God can speak to our hearts and give us direction:
• “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me.” (v.8).
3. SOAKING:
• Soaking is spending time with Jesus abiding in His love.
• “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9).
• What is soaking? Definition: to lie in and become saturated or permeated with water or some other liquid. If we aren’t soaking in His love, we become cracked and dry.
• So soaking in the secret place means to come into your prayer closet with no agenda but let Jesus pour out His love on you.
• “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5).
• When we neglect our personal quiet time with Jesus, and don’t meditate on His love, that’s when we get disappointed and lose hope.
• TESTIMONY: Youth retreat in Albany, Oregon – soaking, angel visitation, Scripture (Matthew 13), release into supernatural ministry. All fruitfulness flows out of intimacy! After this, we started preaching the kingdom and saw the supernatural power of God.
EXAMPLE: We need to press in and draw near to Jesus, and not let go until He blesses us…
“24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." 28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."” (Genesis 32:24-30).
“A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1).
“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring.” (Isaiah 44:3).
4. SCRIPTURE MEDITATION AND BIBLE STUDY:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2).
• I have never met a person who experienced a transformed life apart from God’s Word.
• QUOTE: “The best food for you is the Word of God itself. Sermons and books are well enough, but streams that run for a long distance above ground gradually gather for themselves somewhat of the soil through which they flow, and they lose the cool freshness with which they started from the spring head. It is always best to drink at the well and not from the tank. You shall find that reading the Word of God for yourselves, reading it rather than notes upon it, is the surest way of growing in grace.” (Charles Spurgeon, How to Read the Bible).
• We need to read the Bible, but also to study it, meditate on it, and memorize it:
• “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11).
• TESTIMONY: One of the things I learned to do early on in my Christian life was to memorize Scriptures. Sometimes a few verses or paragraphs, but also whole chapters.
• In the next couple of weeks I will do some teaching on how to study the Bible.
SOAP JOURNALLING: (courtesy of Wayne Cordeiro and the Life Journal)
S - Scripture - write out the Scripture God speaks to you through
O - Observation - write out your observations on that Bible verse
A - Application - write out how you intend to apply this truth to your life
P - Prayer - write out a prayer to pray back to the Lord based on this Scripture
CHALLENGE – PRACTICAL TIPS:
• Begin slowly, praying for 5 minutes a day.
• Choose the same time each day.
• Stir up your hunger for more of God – maybe fast if you need to (food or TV/other stuff)
• Take your Bible with you and meditate on the Psalms.
• Pray through and meditate on Scriptures like the Lord’s Prayer or Psalm 23.
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
