We are in the Preaching Institute on Going
Deeper with God, and I want to start,
friends, by sharing a story with you.
This saintly F.B. Meyer was sharing a
room with a young C.T. Studd as
they were ministering in a conference together in
America.
They each had their morning devotional time together,
and one facet of C.T. Studd's Bible
study sparked curiosity from F.B. Meyer.
One morning, F.B. Meyer asked Charlie Studd
a question concerning his daily quiet time.
He asked, Oh, why don't you read other
passages of Scripture?
It seems like you just get stuck on
one verse.
You keep staring at it.
Are you hung up on it, or are
you trying to memorize it?
C.T. Studd cleared up the mystery by
explaining, No, I choose a particular verse or
passage from God's Word, and then I go
to prayer, and I pray over that verse,
and I ask God by His Spirit to
make that part of His Word a living
reality in my daily living.
Now, that, friends, is a kind of Bible
study that isn't just going through God's Word.
It's having God's Word go through us.
One year, I longed to go deeper with
God, and I was getting serious with Him
after the tragedy of my wife's death, and
my walk with God was deepened during this
time.
Our walk with God can be deepened if
we want to go further with God in
a closer walk with Him, and I'll give
you this personal example, friends.
Years ago, after my wife died tragically, I
entered a season in my life where I
wanted to go deeper with God in a
life of faith, and He gave me what
I call four days on the mountain, and
I want to share that with you now.
During this time of my seeking God more
earnestly, He revealed four truths out of His
Word to me from Colossians 1.10, which
reads, that ye might walk worthy of the
Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God.
And I wrote in the margin of my
Bible what I thought those verses meant to
me, but God was not interested in my
perspective of His Word.
He was going to teach me His Word
from His perspective, and this made all the
difference in the world.
Yes, He broke that verse down into four
sections of truth for me over the next
four days, and that literally felt like I
was walking on a mountaintop with God those
four days, four days, friends, for the next
four days.
I met with God from 4 30 a
.m. to 6 a.m. in a pursuit
of going deeper with Him, what cost counts,
and what counts costs.
And I give you my notes from my
Bible that I wrote in my margins, August
15, 2013, 4 30 a.m. to 6
a.m. The first sentence of Colossians 1
.10 is, that ye might walk worthy of
the Lord.
Well, God would always give me a companion
verse to go along with my truth for
that day from Colossians.
And that truth for that day was that
ye might walk worthy of the Lord.
And that day's companion verse was from Philippians
3.10, that I may know Him in
the power of His resurrection, in the fellowship
of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His
death.
And God said that my companion verse was
to be from His perspective, and I was
to walk worthy in the fellowship of my
sufferings.
Well, little did I realize at the time
the trials and afflictions I would pass through
over the next 10 years, and this would
be the reality of the truth God wanted
me to gain from my first day on
the mountaintop with Him.
For me to live out Colossians 1.10,
to walk worthy of the Lord, I would
have to experience the fellowship of His sufferings
from Philippians 3.10. Well, day number two,
day two on the mountain, August 16, 2013,
4.30 a.m. to 6.00 a
.m., the next section of Colossians 1.10
was unto all pleasing.
And this particular morning, friends, in my quiet
time with God, He gave me my companion
verse from His perspective to match Colossians 1
.10 unto all pleasing.
And it was found in Hebrews 11.6,
which reads, But without faith it is impossible
to please Him.
And God said the truth for me that
morning regarding my faith walk was that He
would develop a faith life in me that
was deep and real.
And God would give me plenty of opportunities
over the next years to develop this life
of faith, to be more in step with
Him for His glory.
For Hebrews 11.6 declares, He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
God was gradually demonstrating to me that if
I was going to diligently seek Him, that
if we get serious with God, He will
get serious with us for a deeper spiritual
life.
Well, that brings me to day number three,
friends, on my mountaintop with God, day three
on the mountain, August 17, 2013, 4.30
a.m. to 6.00 a.m. My
section of Colossians 1.10 for that particular
morning was being fruitful in every good work.
And the companion verse God gave me from
His perspective to come alongside that was found
in Zechariah 4.6, which states, This is
the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might nor by power, but by
my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
And God's teaching for me that morning was
this instruction.
My spirit must be in control at all
times through your surrendered life.
God wanted me to be a clear channel
through which He could flow through by His
power, by His spirit, as a means of
blessing to others.
And through my yieldedness to God, He would
move through me.
He had me read and contemplate John chapter
15 over and over again about Jesus as
the vine and me as the branch.
And the result of abiding in the vine
was fruit.
It was fruit, more fruit and much fruit.
And He wanted to bring me much fruit.
And His teaching to me from that regarding
John 15 was that He never meant for
us to be fruit producers, but fruit bearers,
where what fruit He produces through our yielded
life to Him will remain now and for
eternity.
But what we produce in the flesh will
just dissipate and fall to the wayside.
But now, friends, this brings us to day
four on the mountain, day four on the
mountain, August 18th, 2013, 430 a.m. to
6 a.m. The last section of Colossians
110 is an increasing in the knowledge of
God.
In the companion verse, God gave me that
day from His perspective was some Jeremiah.
It was Jeremiah 33, 3, which declares, Call
unto me and I will answer thee and
show thee great and mighty things which thou
knowest not.
And God said, you will experience more of
me through the fulfilled promises I have revealed
to thee.
Then God gave me 18 promises from Isaiah,
each beginning with verse 18 of each given
passage of scripture that God would apply to
me.
The reason I share all this with you
friends is that the church is in dire
need of preachers today.
We need men full of the Holy Ghost
who will take the and preach the Word
of God with the anointing of the Spirit
of God.
And it's because we have many teachers today,
but few preachers.
Like my friend Richard Owen Roberts used to
say, teaching informs, but preaching transforms.
And we've got too many teachers today.
And many of just are like entertainers to
their congregation.
They feel they need to warm up their
crowd like a nightclub comedian.
So they begin their message with some jokes
or some amusing stories.
But men of former days were much wiser
than us today.
Solomon Stoddard, the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards, saw
four seasons of revival in his church in
Northampton, Massachusetts.
And Solomon Stoddard said this, this is the
advice he had to preachers.
And I quote, we are not sent into
the pulpit to show our wit and eloquence,
but to set the consciousness of men on
fire.
I'll repeat that.
We are not sent into the pulpit to
show our wit and eloquence, but to set
the consciousness of men on fire.
If you want to be a better preacher,
brother, then get to know your God better.
And this all starts with a desire for
more of God.
Moses begged to see more of God.
And we see that in Exodus 33, 18,
where he boldly pleads.
And he said, I beseech thee, show me
that glory.
And God honored their request in a big
way for reading Exodus 33, 19.
And he said, I will make all my
goodness pass before thee.
And I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee.
And we'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious.
And we'll show mercy on whom I will
show mercy.
When we get to the place, friends, where
we desire more of God and want to
go deeper with him.
If we are earnest, if we are sincere,
God will honor that request.
I believe God gets serious with those who
get serious with him.
And I leave you with this last personal
story.
I was sitting with my pastor, Adrian Rogers,
in his study at church one day.
And I asked him a question.
I asked Dr. Rogers, at what point in
your life do you believe God touched you
with a special anointing?
And he got a faraway look in his
eye.
Even sadness was there.
And he looked at me and he said
to me, it was after my baby son
had died.
It was during that time of terrible grief
that I began to seek more of God.
Well, how about you, friend?
Are you ready to go deeper with God?
Let us pray.