Quiet Time Coaching Episode 319

Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God; Dallas Willard

Today we look at Chapter 3.

Never alone
* Loneliness a great curse
* Loneliness is “the leprosy of the modern world.” 45
* Rom 8:35-39 God’s great commitment to us never being alone
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35–39 NIV11)

* Immanuel – God with us – fully committed
* ““The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).” (Matthew 1:23 NIV11-GK)

* “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 NIV11-GK)

* The giver and his gifts
* “Our contentment lies not in his presents but in the presence of the one whose presents they are.” 45
* We have been made with the capacity and the need to enjoy God. His greatest gift is himself.
* “God is also with us in a conversational relationship: he speaks with us individually as it is appropriate – which is only to be expected between persons who know one another, care about each other and are engaged in common enterprises.” 51
* Working together with God means that we are aware of what he is focused on, and that guides us
* When we work on his work we work with him as a friend, then we know his mind, his heart, his priorities

* Summed up by Galatians 2:19-20.
* ““For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19–20 NIV11-GK)

* Mistaken interpretations 57
* God will tell me what to do minute by minute
* “There is no evidence in the life of Peter or Paul, for example, that they were constantly receiving communication from God.”
* Even Jesus was not following the dictates of garden detail moment by moment. He knew the will of his father encouraged it out.
* Perhaps God speaks ultimately to people who are mature. A young Christian would not be able to handle it

* The it’s-all-in-the-Bible view
* There are many commands and helpful principles, but not everything in life is covered by the Bible
* “Our reverence for and faith in the Bible must not be allowed to blind us to the need for personal divine instruction within the principles of the Bible yet beyond the details of what it explicitly says.” 59

Next week we will go on to look at chapter 4 of the book which is titled “Our communicating Cosmos”.

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“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)

God bless, Malcolm