The Pursuit of God - Chapter 6b - Living Grace Fellowship

Wednesday 04/06/16

Series: The Pursuit of God

Message – The Speaking Voice II

{The audio is typically divided into two sections. The 1st is where we read through part of the chapter and divide into groups for discussion. The 2nd is when we come back together as and share from our groups. This week the 2nd division did not record well so it is not included.}

For Discussion

What do you think about Tozer’s belief that God’s voice (though unperceived as such by most people) has often troubled men’s conscience and generated an increased desire for immorality?

As Tozer said, if it is true that God’s voice (or urging presence) is the catalyst for increased desire for sin, it is not the Voice itself that led to immorality, but our reaction to it.

Why does God’s holy presence and voice generate such a universally experienced reaction in mankind towards immorality? (Try to think through this collectively – it is a VERY important key as to why we often miss His voice. If after trying for a while you are stumped, call for me.)

Is it likely that all the moments of transcendence that we experience in this life are nothing more than a call to us from the Voice of God? To say “it thundered” is too easy and often leads our minds to extinguish the truth as quickly as we may.

By transcendence I simply mean anything that awakens our soul out of the slumber of its everyday existence. It is something that shakes us and moves us towards the contemplative. These moments of transcendence can take many forms….

A sunrise or sunset
Marriage / divorce
The birth of a child
The death of a loved one
The vastness of the starry sky or of the grand canyon
The depth of emotions of love and connectedness or hate and isolation.

All of these tend to pull our souls to the very edge of a precipice where in our desperation we find ourselves grasping for control.

It’s like someone has blindfolded us and taken us the Grand Canyon and when they’ve positioned us as close to the edge as possible, with our toes just over the edge – they take the blindfold off!

What we do in that moment is much the same as what we do in response to the Voice of God.

We momentarily reel and seek to gain some balance, overwhelmed by the vastness of what stretches out in front of us. We are immediately aware of what is true all the time – we have no meaningful control and it is for this that we find ourselves grasping in all our moments – whether transcendent or not.

This is the reality our souls were birthed into and we spend all our lives with our fingers in our ears and blindfolds upon our eyes muttering “Its not so…it cannot be so”. One of the first truths of the effect of the Voice of God since the fall of man is it strikes terror in the heart of those who have not come to trust it completely.

Take s few minutes to talk about this.

Read Genesis 3:6-10. Remembering that Adam had spent SOME time with God prior to this event and had been a collaborator with Him in the naming of all the animals and never did Adam feel fear or inhibition at the presence of God. What changed? (Don’t just examine this like a rat in a laboratory – BE ADAM…BE EVE…what changed in YOU – what was the source of your fear?)

Tozer speculates that all creative expressions of man are a reaction to His Voice – His ever nudging presence. All artistry, construction, philosophy and science are expressions of that inward awareness on one level or another. What are your thoughts about this?

The verse Tozer quotes, “Be still and know that I am God.” gives authority to all we have covered tonight, because in a single short sentence it states the lingering cause of man’s deaf ears.

The two English words “Be still” represent the one Hebrew word rāp̱āh which actually means – to relax, to cease from striving, to desist, to become weak, to leave alone, to let go. Of the 47 times it appears in scripture, 45 of them are associated with the hand – offering a meaning similar to “release your grip”.

This Hebrew word “know” “yada” is very similar in meaning to the Greek word “know” which we are familiar with – it means to learn, to perceive, to discern, to make known or to be known relationally and by way of experience.

So this verse is telling us –

“Let go of control and come to know God relationally by experiencing Him.”

As an example consider what Moses told the Israelites in response to their fear of Pharaoh as his armies were about to overtake them at the Red Sea.

Exod. 14:10-14, “(10) As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help. (11) They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? (12) Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (13) But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. (14) The LORD will fight for you; you must be quiet.”

What does this tell you about hearing His Voice?

This is where we ended our discussions on chapter 6 , The Speaking Voice of A.W. Tozer’s book, The Pursuit of God. We will be continuing on in this chapter next Wednesday…Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!