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TALK TO ME
part four

If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:10-11

IF YOU WANT TO BE USED BY GOD FOR GOOD IN THE LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD… THEN:

1. You WILL listen with wide-open ears

“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.” Zechariah 7:11,12

“I’m ready, Lord. Rock my world! Show me where to invest myself, and I’ll follow you every step of the way.”

2. You WILL give with wide-open hands.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6, 7

We serve a God of abundance AND provision

3. You WILL serve with wide-open hearts

No matter how high the stakes, and no matter how high the risk, when you’re committed to spending yourself on behalf of others, you’ll lay everything on the line.

TALK TO ME!
Part 3


I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (see John 15:1-17)

To practice the presence of God, to get really good at hearing God’s voice, we must learn to remain in God.

1. Pay Attention to all My Thoughts

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth Ephesians 4:25

I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” John 18:37


“Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil…” 1 Kings 3:9

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought …” James 1:5

2. Communicate with God Throughout My Day

We are to communicate with God intimately—as a close friend.
Consistently—on a regular basis.
Frequently—as part of our daily experience.

“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:18

3. Align My Life With God’s Word

“God’s Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

Talk to Me
Part 2, What Does God Say?

Genesis 6:1-22(MSG):
8 But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.
9-10 This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11-12 As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core.
13 God said to Noah, “It’s all over. It’s the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I’m making a clean sweep.
14-16 “Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
17 “I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
18-21 “But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”
22 Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

A Whisper of Action

Ephesians 2:10, “You are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

2. A Whisper of Challenge or Correction

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Philippians 1:6 “Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

3. A Whisper of Assurance

2 Kings 4:36-37
…He called Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman in here!” He called her and she came in. Elisha said, “Embrace your son!”
She fell at Elisha’s feet, face to the ground in reverent awe. Then she embraced her son and went out with him.

Our losses don’t change who God is.

TALK TO ME
“The Power of a Whisper”

Get better at hearing God’s promptings and get bolder about doing what He says.

The Story of a Man Named Paul Giving His Life to Follow Jesus—Acts 9:1-19

God can open our ears to hear in surprising ways.

Our obedience to God’s whispers influence others to listen also.

We may not fully know all the good for God that happens when we follow HIS whispers.

5 TEST QUESTIONS FOR KNOWING WHEN A WHISPER IS FROM GOD

ASK: God, is this Prompting (impression, whisper, internal nudge) from You?

LOOK To See if Your Next Action Aligns with the Example of Jesus in the Bible

COMPARE it to the Best Wisdom
Proverbs 1:3, wise people do what is “right and just and fair.”

ASK: Does This Support WHO I Desire to Be?

SEEK Advice from the Strongest Christ-followers I Know
Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

1 John 4:1–6 wisely advises, “Don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God.”

WHEN YOU NEED GOD TO SHOW UP:
Stories of God Meeting Our Financial Needs


…as Elijah arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you have said but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers…” I Kings 17

It’s most often when we are working that God works!

God didn’t do ONLY enough, but more than enough.



When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So, he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. Mark 6

“Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.” Mark 8

Remember Who You Are Walking With

While We Wait for God to Work, We Work
Generosity Rock Star- Someone who trusts God to meet their needs while they commit to contribute $20 a week.

Train to Develop an Abundance Faith
He is not a ‘barely enough God.’
He is not a ‘bare minimum God.’
He is not a “I want you to barely make it God.’

He’s a 12-baskets-left-over-God!

Family Values
Part 2 - Our Interactions

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand

“Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 (MSG)

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.” Phillippians 2:5-11(MSG)

1) Prioritize Unity
2) Practice Humility
3) Facilitate Forgiveness