Forgotten God Podcast Notes

What’s the worst item on your home to do list?

The first thing I noticed when I came home was my lawn needed to be mowed. So I put that on my list.

The lawn mower is in the garage and when I lifted the garage door, the bottom part of my garage door fell off.So now I needed to fix my garage door. I put that on the list.

When I did get the door opened I saw the half built doll house that I’ve been working on for my daughter. So I had to get some work done on that. So that’s on my list

Another thing I noticed when I opened my garage was car parts. I’m in the process of selling my van so I took the car parts off to clean them. So I put “replace car parts” on my list

After I replaced the car parts, the van was ready to sell. So I put “sell the van” on my list. When I drove my car to the the place outside of Starbucks where everyone sells there car I heard a clunk. Can’t sell a car with a clunk so I put “Take car to mechanic” on my list. By the way, it needed new brakes.

Then I went in the back and my pool was green. That means that I have to go to the pool store, get the water tested, then scrub the pool and clean the filter. So that went on my list. When I went to clean the filter I saw some saw dust on my pool equipment. I had seen this kind of sawdust before. This isn’t saw dust. It’s termite damage. So I put “replace termite infested wood” on my list.

That’s just the outside of the house. We had been gone for a week so we didn’t have any groceries so I put that on my list. The house also needed to be clean so that made the list.

Mow the lawn
Fix the garage door
Build a doll house
Replace van parts
Get the van ready to be sold
Sell the van
Clean the pool
Clean the pool filter
Replace the termite damaged wood
Buy groceries
Clean the house

Some of you have a very different list than I do

Call gardener to mow lawn
Call garage door repair man to fix door
Search Amazon for doll house
Trade van in for new car
Call pool boy to clean pool
Call carpenter to fix termite damage
Remind maid to clean blinds

If we are all honest, this is the to do list we all want. Am I right. If money were no object we all want that to do list. We’d all like other people to do those jobs for us. While we are at it let’s add personal chef and chauffeur.

This is a to do list that many people get when they become God followers

Read your bible a half hour every day
Spend 15 minutes in prayer
Say 10 Our Fathers and 5 Hail Mary’s
Discipline yourself to overcome bad habits
Go to church
Tithe 10% of your income
Join a small group
Serve in Sunday School
Memorize one verse a week

Wouldn’t it be great if there was another list?

God never intended you to have a long to do list of responsibilities. Pull yourselves up by your own boot straps is not in the bible. Jesus sent his spirit down to be with us.

All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:25-27

Most of us think that life would be easier if Jesus was just walking beside us along our journey. Jesus said, “I will do you one better. I will send my Spirit to live in you.”

Let me ask you golf fans what you would rather have. First scenario. Dustin Johnson agrees to teach you the game of golf. The spirit of Dustin Johnson will live inside of you.

Let me give you a quick rundown of some of the things God promises us through his spirit.

• He promises us power

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; Acts 1:8

God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

• He promises to give us hope in a hopeless world

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

The Holy Spirit gives us power to speak for God

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. I Corinthians 2:12,13

• The Holy Spirit gives us the power to experience all the fullness of God

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

Is there anything that you don’t want on this list.
Anyone here who doesn’t want inner strength?
Anyone here not want hope even when life looks hopeless?
Anyone here not want God to speak the words you can’t seem to say?
Who here doesn’t want all the fullness of God’s love and peace and knowledge and joy?

Turns out we are working on the wrong to do list. We are trying to do it all ourselves by our own power. If only I could read more. If only I sacrificed more. If only I had more will power and I just tried harder. Then I could live like I want. That was never God’s plan.

If that is the case, why are we not experiencing more of him? 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.

Two reasons why we don’t see God’s spirit work in our lives

1) We neglect to invite the Holy Spirit into our situation

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:26-28

2) We don’t need the comfort of the Holy Spirit because we’re already pretty comfortable.

From my own experience, I have felt closest to God when nearness to Him was a necessity. Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Helper” or “Comforter.” Let me ask you a simple question: Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable? It is those who put their lives at risk and suffer for the gospel who will most often experience His being “with you always, even to the end of the age. Francis Chan, Forgotten God

Waffle Fairy story.

Here are Chad’s notes from today.

If Christians are to be effective in mission, they must offer a faith that is vibrant and alive. Speaking about God is meaningful only if there is an encounter with God.

What does it do?
The holy Spirit works in different groups in different ways.

The Holy Spirit works to convict non believers of their need for God.

The Holy Spirit reminds the believers of their right standing with God. When you forget it, it reminds you, it brings you back.

The fruit of the Spirit is the outward characteristics but the root of the spirit is Grace in your life that transforms you on the inside.’

For further reading on spiritual disciplines, being aware of Gods presence, and the Holy Spirit check out: Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard or The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford

Here are Jonathan’s notes

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