Wasting time with God Sacred Pathways 2 1

“Wasting” time with God (Sacred Pathways 2) 1

Naturalist – Loving God out of doors Sensate – Loving God with the senses Traditionalist – Loving God through rituals and symbols Ascetic – Loving God in solitude and simplicity Activist – Loving God through confrontation Caregiver – Loving God through loving others Enthusiast – Loving God with mystery and celebration Contemplative – Loving God through adoration Intellectual – Loving God with the mind 2

What is the Blessing of the Naturalist pathway? 1. It helps us to visualize Scriptural truths. 2. Helps us to Learn to rest within the beauty of nature.

Results of the Sacred Pathways survey for our church Naturalist – 12% (4 th rank) 1. Show examples from the Bible regarding the pathways, or at least characteristics related to them. 2. The blessings that these Pathways bring. 3. How to love God within a specific pathway? 4. Some cautions / temptations associated with each Pathway.

How to love God through the Naturalist pathway? Believe Perceive Receive

How to love God through the Naturalist pathway? Believe that the wonders of God are hidden in creation. “it is only with the eyes of faith we can see miracles all through nature, miracles that are even greater than the miracles of the sacraments. If we truly understand the growth of a grain of wheat, we would die of wonder. ” － Martin Luther

George Washington Carver, 1864 – 1943 “All my life I have risen regularly at four o'clock and have gone into the woods and talked to God. There He gives me my orders for the day. ” 7

George: “Oh Mister Creator, why did you make this universe? ” “Dear Mister Creator, tell me what man was made for. “Mister Creator, why did you make the peanut? ” God: “That’s better. ” 8

How to love God through the Naturalist pathway? Perceive • • Greatness of creation Multitude of creation Beauty of creation God’s abundance

How to love God through the Naturalist pathway? Believe Perceive Receive • Remember to build nature trips into your life. • take note of Scripture whenever it speaks of nature – for example, mountains.

Ascetic 11

Mark 1: 35 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. ” 12

What then are the characteristics of the Ascetic, which we can learn from, to know our God better, and to deepen our relationship with Him? 13

Results of the Sacred Pathways survey for our church Naturalist – 12% (4 th rank) Ascetic – 6. 6% (6 th rank)

What then are the characteristics of the Ascetic, which we can learn from, to know our God better, and to deepen our relationship with Him? Solitude, Austerity and Strictness. 15

What then are the characteristics of the Ascetic, which we can learn from, to know our God better, and to deepen our relationship with Him? Solitude, Austerity and Strictness. 16

The Desert • Here, we can contemplate on God and discover what is truly important in life then we set our priorities properly. • meet with God intimately. 17

How to go to the “desert’? • Watching in the Night • Being still • Fasting • Taking Retreats • Living Simply 18

Contemplative 19

Results of the Sacred Pathways survey for our church Naturalist – 12% (4 th rank) Ascetic – 6. 6% (6 th rank) Contemplative – 20. 5% (2 nd rank)

These Christians seek to love God with the purest, deepest and brightest love imaginable. 21

“You God, are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for you, … because Your love is better than life …” – Psalms 63 22

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. ” – Deuteronomy 33 “You God, are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for you, … because Your love is better than life …” – Psalms 63 23

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, has mercy on me, a sinner. ”

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion o An anonymous gift of cash to someone in need. o A poem or letter written to God (but only you know). o A secret devotional place where you frequently go to meet God. o A vow to give up something permanently or for a period of time to signify how your most important needs are met in God o A symbol of your love for God, which you carry in your pocket or wear as a necklace or ring. o Sending an anonymous note of encouragement to a friend or pastor.

How can we love God with Adoration? • Secret Acts of Devotion o An anonymous gift of cash to someone in need. o A poem or letter written to God (but only you know). o A secret devotional place where you frequently go to meet God. o A vow to give up something permanently or for a period of time to signify how your most important needs are met in God o A symbol of your love for God, which you carry in your pocket or wear as a necklace or ring. o Sending an anonymous note of encouragement to a friend or pastor. The importance of secrecy is that it ensures that you are doing it for the love of God and the love of God only

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer Be still enough so that God can lead, as we pray.

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer Be still enough so that God can lead, as we pray. To recognize and discern correctly that it is indeed God’s voice would take a time of walking with Jesus, knowing His Word and obeying it.

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer To recognize and discern correctly that it is indeed God’s voice would take a time of walking with Jesus, knowing His Word and obeying it. If I am to nurture my relationship with God, I must learn to hear His voice, learn to adopt His concerns and seek to know His perspective.

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer • Prayer of the Heart o What are we feeling as we enter God’s presence? o Is our adoration centred on God? o Are we content to enjoy the presence of God? More “being” prayer than “doing” prayer.

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer • Prayer of the Heart • Meditative Prayer o Prayerful reflection of a biblical text, or prayerful reflection of a particular theme (such as hope).

How can we love God with Adoration? • The Jesus Prayer • Secret Acts of Devotion • Dancing Prayer • Prayer of the Heart • Meditative Prayer o Prayerful reflection of a biblical text, or prayerful reflection of a particular theme (such as hope). Psalms 34: 8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. ”

Genesis 25: 28 “Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ”

How can we love God with Adoration? • Meditative Prayer o Prayerful reflection of a biblical text, or prayerful reflection of a particular theme (such as hope). o What do you want me to learn? o What kind of person do you want me to become? o How can I love you more? Psalms 34: 8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. ”

Contemplatives The rest of us Time is one of the best gifts we can give to God, and contemplatives want to give God plenty, “wasting” time for God.

Intellectual 36

Results of the Sacred Pathways survey for our church Naturalist – 12% (4 th rank) Ascetic – 6. 6% (6 th rank) Contemplative – Intellectual – 20. 5% (2 nd rank)

Right thinking – conforming our thoughts to the thoughts of God – enables right living.

How can we love God with our Mind? We should aim to broaden your faith by gaining an understanding of the basic disciplines of theological training: • Church History

How can we love God with our Mind? We should aim to broaden your faith by gaining an understanding of the basic disciplines of theological training: • Church History • Biblical Studies – in-depth study of the books of the Bible

How can we love God with our Mind? We should gain an understanding of the basic disciplines of theological training: • Church History • Biblical Studies • Systematic Theology o o o o God – trinitarianism, divine providence, etc Jesus Christ (Christology) Holy Spirit (Pneumatology) The Church (Ecclesiology) The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) Salvation (Soteriology) End times (Eschatology)

How can we love God with our Mind? We should gain an understanding of the basic disciplines of theological training: • Church History • Biblical Studies • Systematic Theology • Ethics The study of Christian ethics seeks to provide a framework from which Christians can make prayerful decisions.

How can we love God with our Mind? We should gain an understanding of the basic disciplines of theological training: • Church History • Biblical Studies • Systematic Theology • Ethics • Apologetics – concerns how we explain and defend the faith today in the midst of unbelief and pluralism.

How can we love God with our Mind? • Apologetics – concerns how we explain and defend the faith today in the midst of unbelief and pluralism. o What is truth? Who decides and how can we know for sure? o Is God real? o Who was Jesus? What makes the biblical gospels more truthful than the Gospel of Philip?

How can we love God with our Mind? • Apologetics – concerns how we explain and defend the faith today in the midst of unbelief and pluralism. o o o What is truth? Who decides and how can we know for sure? Is God real? Who was Jesus? o Can the Bible be trusted? Is biblical history the true history? o How can you claim a good God in a world with so much evil? o Has not science disproved that there is a God?

Dr Nabeel Qureshi

Nabeel told David: “Do you know that the Bible had been irretrievably modified and corrupted in the centuries after Jesus? (why else would there be so many versions of the Bible throughout history? )” “Do you know that Christ never claimed to be God, but rather Christians had forged all verses that would indicate such a claim? ”

Nabeel told David: “Do you know that the Bible had been irretrievably modified and corrupted in the centuries after Jesus? (why else would there be so many versions of the Bible throughout history? )” “Do you know that Christ never claimed to be God, but rather Christians had forged all verses that would indicate such a claim? ” David was able to answer these 2 questions easily with many historical evidences – causing Nabeel to do his own investigations.

God often uses the mind to draw people to Himself, to love Him, like in the case of Nabeel.

Memory verse Psalms 34: 8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. ”