II. Because It Is Our Privilege as Christians
We should have a quiet time each day because it is a tremendous privilege that we have been granted – a personal interview and time of fellowship with the Creator of the Universe. This time allows us four great privileges.
- We GIVE devotion to God.
- We GET direction from God.
- We GAIN delight in God.
- We GROW more like God.
1. We GIVE Devotion To God.
First privilege is to give and not get.
What happens when we have a quiet time?
Ps 29:2
2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Ps 95:6
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
In recent years two wrong emphases have permeated the church.
The overemphasizing of GETTING. What will I get out of church, Sunday School, what can you do for my kids etc…
This is the result of our cultures being fascinated with being entertained. People must be entertained to be satisfied. When carried over into spiritual matters it becomes self-centered religion and that is not biblical.
Today in many churches much talk is about following Jesus but not much about the cost of discipleship. We have to offer prizes to get people to come when they ought to be coming because they love the Savior.
The other is the over emphases of WORKING for God and neglecting the WORSHIP of God. Satan has sold us a bill of goods in getting us to substitute work for worship.
We are to give Him daily devotion because He DESERVES it.
When John saw the multitude in heaven singing praises to God, he heard them saying.
Rev 4:11
11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Rev 5:1-10
5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
We are to give Him daily devotion because He DESIRES it.
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We Get Direction From God.
Direction for our daily lives. Look at what David said,
Ps 25:4-5
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
(Ps. 40:8, Ps. 73:24, Ps. 143:10, Isaiah 42:16)
Ps 40:8
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
Ps 73:24
24 You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
Ps 143:10
10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Isa 42:16
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.
Our quiet time is a great time to receive counsel from the Almighty.
When we get direction from God it causes us to consider our ways.
We take time to assess our lives.
That is what David did (Ps. 139:23-24 & Prov. 4:26, 14:12) Are we keeping on track? Are we growing in our spiritual life? Have we allowed sins to pile up?
Ps 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Prov 4:26
26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
Prov 14:12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Our quiet time is also a time to commit our day to the Lord.
Prov 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Ask God to show you His will for the day. (Much of His will is found in spending time in His Word.)
Ask Him to help you budget your time to allow you to use yours more wisely.
Ask Him to help you sort the necessary from the unnecessary.
Only through meeting with Him daily will He be able to guide your life more effectively.
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We Gain Delight in God.
To simply enjoy Him and bask in His presence. .
Ps 16:11
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The secret of real joy is knowing God personally and intimately.
Ps 34:8
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Ps 37:4
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Ps 42:1-2
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
Ps 63:1
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Ps 73:25
25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
Many Christians are unfulfilled and unhappy because they never spend any time in God’s presence..
The Apostle Paul number one priority was to know Him intimately.
Phil 3:7-11
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
To know someone intimately and enjoy them personally you must…
- Spend quality time together.
- Communicate meaningfully with them.
- Observe them in a variety of situations. It is hard to have a love affair in a crowd. You need to get alone with that person. That is why the Bible speaks of our relationship with God through Christ as one of love. In fact it is a marriage – He is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride.)God said through the prophet Jeremiah in (Jer. 2:32). 32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number. We particularly forget Him when we fail to read the love letter (His Word) written to us. Donna kept all of the letters that I used to write to her before we were married. Sometimes she takes them out and reads them again. What will it be like when we stand before the Father and tell Him, I just did not have time to read your letter?
Are you anxious to get alone with Him and share with Him intimately? If not we should be.
Sometimes we get so busy working for God or even with our own doings that we just forget to love HIM.
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We GROW more like God.
How do we become more like Christ?
1st, we are made holy (like God) through the Word.
John 17:17
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Our growth comes from through time spent in the scriptures, getting to know God intimately.
2nd, daily growth comes as the Word builds us up.
2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
As we are taught in the ways of God, rebuked when we go astray, corrected to go back to the right path, and trained in righteous living, we cannot help but grow in the nurture and the admonition of God.
3rd, we grow as our minds are transformed from thinking the world’s way to thinking God’s thoughts after Him.
Rom 12:2
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
This only comes through Scripture, God’s revelation of His perfect will for us.
4th, through the promises of God we become more like God.
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
We can only know Him and appropriate His promises through the Word.
5th, we grow through the help given us by our Christian leaders, who teach the Word to us.
Eph 4:11-13
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
6th, we become more like Jesus as we spend time contemplating Him.
2 Cor 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This change is gradual; as we continue contemplating Him in His Word, we grow more and more like Him. It is not a 5 second glimpse of Jesus that changes us, but rather a constant contemplation over a period of time.
The more you are with another person, the more you become like them. A couple married 50 years, so much alike. Like the same things, eat the same foods, and sometimes they start to look alike. The ultimate goal of the quiet time is for us to grow to be just like Jesus Christ.