Quiet Time By DR. Stephen Olford

To have something of this kind. And I just felt that for them, and for many others I didn't talk to, this may be helpful this morning. We're going to start by reading just two or three verses from Deuteronomy chapter 8. Chapter 8 and verse 1. The words of God through Moses to his people. Words from which our Savior quoted, you remember, in the temptation and the wilderness. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.
Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manner which thou knewest not, neither did thy father's know. Now notice this. All this happened, all this happened, that he might make thee know, that man doth not live by bread only. That may be important to keep body and soul together. Most of the world is doing nothing but living for bread. That he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only. But, this is the positive statement, by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Now I don't know if that hits you with the impact that reached my heart this morning in rereading it. This is all that really matters outside of tent making, just to keep soul and body together. That I hear his voice every day. That a word is spoken to my heart every day, and that I live by that word. Well now just a moment's prayer, and then write into our message. O Lord, open thou our hearts and our minds, that we might receive wondrous things out of thy word, for thy blessed namesake. Amen. If I were to come down alongside of you this morning and ask you whether or not you considered the quiet time, or the devotional hour, the morning watch, whatever you like to call it, was important in your life, there wouldn't be one of you Christian workers here who wouldn't say yes, Mr. Rolford, very important indeed. But I wonder how many of you would look up and say, ah, it's far more than important. It's far more than important. This is absolutely vital. Absolutely vital. Now I want to confess, and confess very humbly, that throughout my whole Christian experience I've never found anything more difficult than having my quiet time. It's harder to have my quiet time in that disciplined fashion today than when I was first converted, when I yielded my life to the Lord Jesus in totalitarian surrender, or during the Crusades and missions and churches I have pastored. I find it harder today than all the years behind me, and I've discovered that the devil's far more concerned at wrecking my quiet time than he is at stopping me from talking to people, or even preaching, or even engaging in Christian work. For if he, if he strikes strategically enough at my quiet time and ruins me there, the rest is only a matter of time and it'll all collapse. I know missionaries and I've toured some of the mission stations where plenty of work is being done, where the medicines are being dispensed, the school teaching is going on, the Bible readings are being taken, but the missionary is being, listen carefully, is being sabotaged slowly, subtly, but surely by the neglect of his quiet time. And
sooner or later incompatibility will follow. Sooner or later the nervous
breakdown will come. Sooner or later spiritual, spiritual decadence and
departure, backsliding will come. Sooner or later the missionary will collapse
under some moral pressure. And it's happened again and again and again. Do
you have a quiet time? Do you have a daily quiet time? I want to discuss this
morning at terrific speed. You'll have to take your notes in shorthand. Three
very simple, very simple principles, but I won't say quite a lot about them. First
of all what I'm going to call the reasons for your daily quiet time. And by
that daily quiet time I mean that deliberately planned time when you're
alone with God in the light of his word in the atmosphere of prayer to do
business with him. I'm now not speaking of study periods. Please mark that. I'm
not speaking of sermon preparation. I'm not speaking of study periods. Nor am I
speaking of reading the Bible for the knowledge of the word. That is to say
book by book, book by book, seven or eight books a day. No I'm not talking about
that. I'm talking about this shut in time with God where you are exposing your
soul to his light and your heart to his voice. And you're going to spend time
alone with God secretly to take in the breath from heaven and his word from
this holy revelation. I'm talking about the quiet time in that sense. Now the
reason for the quiet time. Well I believe Jesus summed it up for us in his
quotation from Deuteronomy chapter 8 when he said in Matthew 4 for man shall
not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God. It's an interesting phrase that the word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God. Many people imagine that having the quiet time is memorizing scripture. I'm
all for memorizing scripture. I'm constantly doing it myself. But that's
not having the quiet time. Using the sword of the Lord isn't carrying the
Bible in your pocket. And it isn't merely repeating it parrot fashion. I'm
interested to discover Dr. Maxwell that that word means every spoken word of God.
Every spoken word of God. I believe that the quiet time is a living encounter
with the living word in the written word. Not just reading. Not just reading
poetry. Not just reading literature. Not just reading theology. Not just reading
biblical truth. It's meeting Christ livingly through the word. Every spoken
word. He must speak to me. I mustn't leave the place of prayer until I know he has
spoken to me. And Jesus said man shall live by it. That's how life is maintained.
Man shall live by every word that has spoken out of the mouth of God. Now stop
a moment and just think. There isn't anything that exists today that hasn't
come out of the spoken word of God. The entire universe and its vast outreaches
came into existence by a spoken word. Every blade of grass out there, if you
can see it this morning, or every leaf of every tree stands and exists and
consists by the outgoing of divine energy all the time. There is nothing
that exists or consists held together but by the outgoing of the Word of God.
And what is true in the physical realm is equally true in the spiritual realm.
My life is maintained and sustained by the outgoing of the Word of God to my
soul every day. In other words the Word of God is absolutely vital for a number
of things. We'll put down the first one for your spiritual constitution. Your
growth. If you happen to be newly born in the Christian family then listen. Peter
is speaking. He says newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you
may grow thereby. And I'm prepared to challenge the reality of the Christian
experience of anyone in this audience this morning who says they can go
through one week, two weeks, three weeks, a month and months without reading the
Word of God. You're not a Christian. For just as that tiny little baby that's
normal cries out for its mother's milk without being taught to do so because
God has given it the nature to desire the milk by which to grow. So every true
Christian is given a nature, a spiritual nature, a nature from heaven which cries
out for the milk of the word. And without the milk of the word there'd be utter
dissatisfaction and crying of heart. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of
the word that you may grow thereby. I you say but I'm not a newborn babe. I've been
on the way a long time. Very well there's a verse for you. Strong meat
belongeth to them that are full grown. So you can't get out of it. Whether it's the
milk or the meat it's absolutely vital for your spiritual constitution. Oh that
you might pray with Solomon every day. Feed me Lord with food convenient. But
it's not only vital for spiritual constitution it's absolutely vital for
spiritual cleansing or correction. All scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good
works. It's vital for correction. Did you notice that correction? Now I hold very
firmly the conviction that when I come to the cross as a sinner and I am
cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that blood speaks for
me forever. And as I walk in the light as he is in the light that blood continues
to speak before and upon the throne for me continually. And cleansing can be made
real in my life by virtue of that blood once and forever shed. But do you know
this in your reading of the Old Testament that whereas the priest had
the blood applied once on his right ear, on his right thumb, on his right toe. Once
what he had to do every day was to wash at the labor. And I believe that's
reading the Word of God, the washing of the word at the labor. And you know what
happened to any priest or Levite who tried to touch the work of God or offer
him a sacrifice without washing at the labor? He was smitten with death at
once. Have you ever asked yourself why the work of God which you do and touch
seems to be dead and without life? Have you ever asked yourself why it is why it
is life doesn't quicken, doesn't come from heaven with the breath of the
Spirit upon your preaching and upon the work of your hands? It may be that you're
not washing at the labor. Do you remember how the Lord Jesus said to
Peter when Peter said no you're not gonna wash me you're not gonna wash me
very well said Jesus if I don't wash you you have no fellowship with me you know
have no part with me whatsoever. He said well then wash me head and
foot. Wasn't that Peter all over? Yes that's Peter. And Jesus said to him listen he that is
bathed or bathed one different word not same not same word as in your authorized
version it's washed each time there he that is bathed or bathed saved not saved
not to wash saved not to wash except his feet feet. It's the feet it's the feet
walking the dusty pilgrim journey that has to be washed every day at the labor
of the word the blood ever speaks I'm clean I'm clean before saved my feet why
my hands well in the Old Testament was hands and feet because because man was
still working for his salvation now thank God now thank God the work is done
and it's our feet it's our feet our daily walk has to be washed by the labor
of the word let me go a little further when the Lord Jesus Christ when the Lord
Jesus Christ had given that glorious upper room discourse you remember how he
finished he said now you're clean or purged through the word that I have
spoken unto you praying his high priestly prayer he said father sanctify
them according to thy truth thy word is truth sanctify them according to thy
truth David cries in Psalm 119 wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his
way answer by taking heed thereto according to thy word correction and
cleansing every day incidentally that word youth in the sound there is a
tremendous word would I had time to break it up dr. Campbell Morgan points
out in one of his one of his books that that word youth in that sound derives
from a root which means the mane of a lion you ask yourself what on earth has
that got to do with me remember its youth I've been in the bushes of Central
Africa 17 years of my life I've watched the great monarch of the forest I've
seen him strut across with his mighty majestic name waving to and fro I've
seen him matted in blood in conflict I've seen it standing erect in fury I've
seen it flowing from side to side with its restive breathlessness and I said
that's the picture of youth all his emotions sometimes battling sometimes in
conflict sometimes in fury sometimes being misunderstood sometimes not
understanding wherewithal shall all those creative energies that want
expression but no don't know how to express themselves how will they be
harnessed how will they be brought into into line with the purpose of God David
says by taking heed thereto according to thy word it's vital for spiritual
constitution it's vital for spiritual cleansing the quiet time is absolutely
vital for spiritual guidance yes or counsel counsel me according to thy word
says the solace and again all scripture is given by inspiration of God what for
for doctrine for a proof for correction for instruction in the right ways of
living righteousness and I believe this is a book not of rules but of great
principles and I believe that no one can read this Bible continuously in the
presence of God and in the atmosphere of prayer without being without being
equipped with the great principles of right and wrong that bring that bring
decision and decisiveness and purposefulness in all matters of counsel
and direction in everyday life though the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God and
although the Christian testimony of the church and of history and although the
experienced counsel of believers in my own day are all helpful finally it's the
Word of God which is our guidebook our guidebook it's absolutely vital for
spiritual conflict now here we're touching a great subject we could spend
the whole time on this spiritual conflict my dear young friend you can't
win the battle against the devil without this living word when the devil is
discovered to us in Ephesians chapter 6 in all his ugliness you notice what Paul
says having discussed the defensive armor he now talks about the two
offensive weapons one is all prayer but the other is the sword of the spirit
which is the Word of God and you know in the Greek that word the Word of God there
is exactly the same as Matthew 4 for the spoken Word of God how many
Christians have said have you got your sword and they put up the Bible the
Bible there is absolutely nothing and if it's becomes personal living experience
in terms of battle with the enemy let me just give you a little bit of sanctified
speculation and imagination I trust I trust I'm not going beyond but I have
the feeling that when the Lord Jesus after being baptized in Jordan was
carried by the Holy Spirit into the into the wilderness to be tested and
tempted of the devil he was reading the book of Deuteronomy because I believe
Psalm 1 is a beautiful picture of my Savior upon his law that he meditates
day and night he never missed his quiet time he openeth my near morning by
morning and he literally lived in that book because it was the great battle
book of the children of Israel it was the book of joy it was a book of
deliverance it was the book of victory he knew he knew what he might be in need
of and the devil attacks him along the line of the body and out comes the sword
of the spirit from a living experience of Deuteronomy and he quotes it is
written the devil attacks him along the line of the soul out comes the spirit
again it is written the word of the spirit the devil tax him along the line
of the spirit out again comes that sword of the spirit from personal
experience it is written and the devil leave at him for a season John the
Apostle writes to his converts and he says I write unto you young men because
you're strong and the Word of God abided in you and ye have overcome the evil one
and I want to tell you from personal experience quoting texts doesn't drive
the devil away it's when I face the devil in the light of the word which has
become living to to me and and Revelation chapter 12 becomes true they
overcame him by the blood of the lamb and what the word of their testimony the
word made live in me in terms of personal experience that's the fall trust
that lays the devil bear it's absolutely vital for conflict but let's go further
if that is not reason enough for the quiet time and I could add many more I
want to add one last one as time is going and I've got other things I want
to say I believe the quiet time is absolutely vital for spiritual
communion these people who tell me that they can go out into the countryside
look up into the skies and see the trees and the birds and have communion with
God have my sympathy because nothing nothing oars me more and draws out a
sense of worship than to be in the countryside I remember the first time I
ever went to Switzerland looking out of the window having arrived at the dead of
night I hadn't seen the hills I hadn't seen the snow and I hadn't seen that
glorious country of Switzerland and I looked out of the window my wife was
with we were celebrating our 10th anniversary and one look at that glorious
panoramic scenic beauty made me drop on my knees and weep like a child now so
moved so it isn't that I'm not aesthetically affected in that way but
my dear friend I want to add very quickly deep spiritual intimate
communion is only in the book and beware of the Oxford group people and
the moral rearmament people who tell you to sit still and wait blank until
something comes into your mind then write it down and go and do it it's a
lot of satanic lies spiritual communion is in the word and I believe the Lord
Jesus meant this when he looked into the face of a sordid shameful sinful woman
at the well side at Sychar and said the father seekers such such as you are such
as you are you woman of Samaria to worship him the Lord Jesus didn't want a
drink of water from the well you know that as well as I do nor did he want the
disciples sandwiches Jesus was looking beyond water to the love and allegiance
and worship of a redeemed soul and he was waiting for that glorious moment
when that woman would see the truth and stoop and drink and live and Jesus said
I want to drink from your life give me a drink but she didn't understand and then
Jesus said the father seekers such to worship him for they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth and that word truth can carry the
thought of reality and integrity and sincerity we all know that but I believe
it has more than that it's according to truth we worship God according to truth
and I believe with all my heart that the Bible in the final analysis is a love
letter from God to me and I've had many a love letter from my wife in which
there's been rebuke or instruction or a searching remark I needed it and there
are many things that search many things that exhort many things that command and
demand in this book but most of it is God's self-disclosure of a heart of love
to me and he waits to meet with me did you know this my beloved friend that
God has a tristing place as we say in England a tristing place with you every
day I wonder how often you disappoint his heart by never keeping the
appointment there was a time when my quiet time was a duty and a demand
that's all gone now that's all gone now the incentive for having my quiet time
isn't it's a sheer delight and if I but go through storm and fire and telephone
calls and all the manner of things and even the misunderstanding of my best
friends and even of my family I must knock myself away to keep my trust with
God he wants to meet with the God of the universe the omnipotent omniscient
omnipresent eternal God of the universe wants to meet with me he wants to drink
from my life allegiance and devotion he wants to stir me to deeper discipleship
he wants me to worship him could there be a greater incentive than that to meet
with him it's absolutely vital for spiritual communion but now just for a
change and as fast as I can go let me just suggest what I'm going to call some
requirements for the quiet time here I'll pass along very swiftly because I
know most of this is elementary but let's start fundamentally first thing
you need is a Bible and a good Bible a Bible you could read you discourage
yourself from having your quiet time by having something so tiny that you can't
read may I suggest and this is not being dogmatic I'm just suggesting that you
never put annotations in your quiet time Bible by all means cover your study
Bible with all the annotations you like but not in your quiet time Bible so that
if you come to the page it's absolutely fresh and there are no notes that are
going to start your mind operating along lines that you've studied before you may
have liked my dear friend I have a Powell pigeon-holed mind and the moment
one thought is suggested his whole mind travels along prepared lines he was
telling me that yesterday and I share that largely with him one tiny little
note in the edge of my Bible will give me a whole line of truth that I've
studied before keep your page clean for your quiet time secondly so that you
won't miss anything have a notebook while you don't put any marks on your
Bible keep your notebook a quiet time notebook I have a whole shelf of them
and I would sell most of my commentaries rather than lose my quiet time notebooks
practically all my ministry subsequently subsequently have derived their first
thought then nor their suggestiveness from my quiet time books as I've gone
back to them we'll come back to that in a moment as to what we put in the
notebook have a prayer list or a little prayer book I suggest a loose-leaf book
so that you can always add pages and subtract pages when all the matters that
are there for consideration in prayer have been answered and please have a
system for your prayer life learn how to be systematic in your intercessory prayer
we're not talking about worship and adoration at the moment we'll come to
that I'm talking about your intercessory prayer some of you heard me
say the other morning that I pray for Ivor Powell on a Wednesday why I meant
that that wasn't just the drop of a word no I mean that you say how is that
because I have a very simple mind and I use a very simple method in fact my wife
and I share it and although it can be developed ad infinitum the simple method
is just this we start at Monday and go through to Sunday Monday M M stands for
missionaries for all our missionaries get a very special praying for on a Monday
T Tuesday is Thanksgiving Day a girl at Moody Bible Institute convicted me
tremendously on one occasion when she came and said pastor Alford you know the
greatest blessing I ever had in my life was having completed the reading of the
Psalms to put down side by side how many times David praised God and how
many times David asked God when I learned that proportion she said I
decided to set aside one day for Thanksgiving every day every week now
thank God every day and in a general sense I pray for mysteries every day but
they're specifically prayed for every Monday and Tuesday is Thanksgiving Day
when my wife and I when we have our quiet times devotional times together by
the way we always have our quiet time separately always there are some things
I want God to do in my heart that require absolute solitude and although
we have our devotions around the table with our two little boys and we have our
prayers together my wife and I in the evening my quiet time is always alone
always alone but we like to thank God for all the answers to prayer especially
on a Tuesday Wednesday workers and I make the distinction between home
workers and foreign missionaries in the term workers I pray for this man every
Wednesday I pray for Billy Graham every Wednesday I pray for Alan red pot every
Wednesday I pray for some of my evangelist friends in England every
Wednesday T Thursday tasks tasks the job God's given me to do there's a sense in
which I pray for that every day but particularly there has a complete
workover on a Thursday F Friday the family under fire we pray for every
member of the family especially unconverted ones on a Friday s Saturday
the Saints have you ever thought how often the Apostle Paul speaks of
praying for the Saints and our whole church constitution and constituency are
brought into the presence of God on a Saturday and especially the babes in
Christ do you know why we're not seeing better Christians today because they're
not enough praying for Saints there's not enough traveling and soul again
until Christ is formed in them and then Sunday for sinners you would expect
that wouldn't you and all the people I'm contacting some folk I've met over
television and so on I put down for Sunday praying that God will bring them
through into the kingdom now there's a simple one now work one out for yourself
Bible notebook prayer list then my friend this is not going to be difficult here
because you're in a training center where time is made for you and a place
is made for you but three little things a time a place and an expectant spirit a
time a place and an expectant spirit but since there are visitors here my friend
listen you asked me how long you should spend with God my answer to that is this
I can have more more intimacy and blessing and power and meaningfulness
and sacredness and a quiet time in five minutes then five hours with my eye on
the watch Samuel Chadwick says hurry is the death of prayer but my answer to
your question is how long I'll say as long as you can give God and if that
means three times a day like the psalmist morning noon and evening fine
but the system I am sharing with you that I have used now for many many years
could operate within a quarter of an hour a half an hour or an hour I like to
give at least one full hour every morning to God for my quiet time and my
friend you've got a plan that time that time will not come fortuitously it won't
come by chance you'll never drift into having a quiet time may I tell you where
it's the hardest time to ever have a quiet time when I'm on holiday
when the whole day is mine and I just say well all the day is mine I'll soon
have an hour and it's evening before you've really got to grips with God
but in my plan day with a quarter of an hour schedule right throughout the day of
administrative work are the thousands of letters from television on and and and radio with all the
pastoral responsibilities and the preaching commitments of a city church every hour of
a day has to be planned and the hour with God comes first place have a quiet place you may not
be the type I am but I cannot have a quiet time really intelligently with a lot of noise around
and by noise I mean intimate noise people speaking and carrying my thoughts away I don't mind distant
noise you say to me but you don't know where I live we have 16 children in our home and
television and radio going the same time well listen my friend where there's a will there's
a way the Lord Jesus hadn't a place to lay his head but he never missed his quiet time
mark 135 he rising up a great while before it was day went out into a solitary place in their
prey that was his want he never missed it and if the green sod was his praying mat and if the
solitude of the mountains his womb and the canopy of heaven his quietness well he had his quiet time
now an expectant spirit you know an expectant spirit is is part of three ingredients
spirit soul and body let's start with body first of all that's where discipline is needed Paul says
I keep my body under I pumble it like a like a bully like a pugilist like a boxer I pumble my
body lest having preached to others I myself be a dacchymos listen you've got to you've got to
discipline your diet you've got to discipline your sleep you've got to discipline your exercise if
you're going to have a daily quiet time of any sense don't come to me and say mr ophin I cannot
I cannot pray because when I kneel my mind absolutely wanders all over the place and I
happen to know that you didn't go to bed until two o'clock or three o'clock the previous night
you've got to learn to discipline social contacts you've got to discipline your time you've got to
sleep if your mind's going to be alive and you're going to be fresh to meet with your God
and then there is the matter of the moral issue first of all the physical then there's the moral
issue and the moral issue needs the question listen carefully here yes of cleansing and
forgiveness if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me if I look with approval
on anything in my life which is out of adjustment to the will of God the heavens will be as brass
and if you have an unforgiving spirit to any brother or sister leave your gift of prayer at
the altar and going to be reconciled to your brother then come and offer your gift and then
there is a spiritual issue factor and it's the matter of obedience obedience that little verse
in John 7 17 he that will if to do shall know I am persuaded after years of study and experience
that the revelation of God to my soul and the blessing of God to me in terms of the Bible is
dependent upon obedience as I obey God reveals as I obey God reveals when I cease to obey God ceases
to reveal I may get second-hand stuff from the pulpit and second-hand stuff from books
but God will not speak to me so long as I disobey light received bringeth light light rejected
bringeth night and revelation and obedience are like two railway lines and I move in the purpose
of God as I obey and he reveals I obey he reveals I obey he reveals that's why I like to have a
quiet time notebook because invariably when I get down on my knees and test my heart as to why I
can't get anything out of this chapter I can't get anything out of this chapter it seems a lot
chapter to me invariably I turn back to what God said to me yesterday and on an issue of obedience
I haven't gone through with him and God says right I hold it up I'll hold it up for 40 years
I'll hold up revealing my truth to you for 50 years until you obey
now you put those three things together and you've got an expectant spirit
and in conclusion some of the regulations of a quiet time and I'm going to give you in sentence
form seven movements in this matter of quiet time the first one I'm calling waiting when you come
now remember this you've got your bible you've got your notebook you've got your prayer list
you've got your place you've got your time you've got your method of your quiet time you have an
expectant spirit you're convinced you're convinced that you must have a quiet time if it's only for
communion with God now you're in the place of quietness and you're going to have your quiet
time what's the first thing here it is waiting waiting be still and know that I am God
let me quote Samuel Chadwick again hurry is the death of prayer don't rush into God's presence
be still and I've learned something Dr. Maxwell from dear old George Muller about this George
Muller learned after years of being a mature Christian that he couldn't pray and he wondered
why he couldn't pray and in that little pamphlet from one of his books called no soul nourishment
it's explained he discovered that why he couldn't pray was because he was trying to speak to God
before God had spoken to him so I never attempt to pray I just say a little prayer like open
thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law waiting then next movement reading
come to the book come to the book and when I say come to the book I mean come to it reverently
I mean come to it systematically I mean come to it intelligently please don't use your book
like a promise box don't let it fall open anywhere and say here that's irreverent
that's disrespectful use your bible rightly if you're using a system like scripture union
or some other systematic devotional reading fine my own system is as simple as ABC I read from
genesis to revelation and when I finish at revelation I go back to genesis I never read
more than a chapter or half a chapter for my quiet time plenty of reading for study but only a chapter
for my quiet time read it through three times more if necessary one generally two specifically
three personally personally personalize the whole thing we're moving to the third
point waiting reading meditating meditating pondering ask yourself questions like this
is there any promise for me to claim is there any experience for me to enjoy
is there any sin for me to shun is there any command for me to obey
is there any new thought about god about the lord jesus about the holy spirit is there some thought
about the devil what is god saying to me what is the message for my heart at this hour and don't
leave it until something has emerged and if something doesn't emerge challenge your heart
concerning what god said to you yesterday reading meditating now then recording the psychologist says
there's no such thing as an impression without an expression
in fact an impression without an expression brings depression
and this is where my quiet time notebook comes out and I have a very small notebook
I never use more than a page lest it should develop into writing something
or sermonizing or going beyond the devotional aspect I always use the personal pronoun and
I suggest it to you put the date if you like put the chapter and whether it's a phrase
or whether it's a verse or whether the sense of the passage or what it is write down on one page
or half a page what the lord has said to you and say it all in the personal pronoun lord jesus
this morning thou has said this to me and write it down you know the sort of person you've met
you said I say brother did you have a quiet time this morning oh yes oh yes where did you read
uh let me see now um oh um old testament oh oh no it wasn't it was new testament that's right
new testament new testament what book what book uh let me see whether the gospels or epistles
our gospels that's right now which one was it you know that's playing with god playing with god
bishop taylor smith always used to challenge people when he was at conferences
if you had any sense at the breakfast table you'd ask him straight away bishop what did
you have in your quiet time that took the rest of the breakfast time
but let me say something to you and let me say it positively i don't believe anybody has ever
had a quiet time who cannot record in a few sentences at least what god has said recording
now then my friend turn it to prayer now we come to pray now we come to pray and i'm going to for
simplicity and brevity for my time is up divide the praying into two words adoration asking
asking adoration asking i beg your pardon adoration adjustment asking three a's adoration
adjustment asking the first thing is an act of adoration as you bring your whole being to god
and you worship him you just tell him what the word is meant even if it's searched your heart
even if it's caused sin to be revealed within you then move from that to adjustment and listen
my friend you have asked the question many times why is it i pray the same old prayer the same old
prayer the same old prayer i could have it recorded and put it on a record and jump into
bed and save the time because it's exactly the same as last time i'll tell you why my friend
because you never have this kind of quiet time my prayers never are the same since god taught me
this for as i take up my quiet time notebook and read what god has said and then i pray that back
to god until i feel my will is adjusted to god's will and his will adjusted to my will in the light
of what he said to me prayers are always different always different and then move from adjustment to
asking and bring your prayer list into operation and begin to pray for others waiting reading
meditating recording praying two more and we're done
sharing what happened to the israelites when they gathered manner that they couldn't use
at bread worms and stank
and what happens to the christian who merely gathers information for the sake of self
assertion knowledge puffeth up says paul but love it if i my friend take to yourself that which god
has given you and then share it he that savith his life shall lose it said the lord jesus he
that loses his life shall save it that's the principle in quiet time share it with some other
christian put a gospel slant on it and share it with the unconverted put in a letter talk about
it to your wife and as you share what god has given you you'll find it live with the richness
it's double the blessing to you the last word is obeying now you told the lord on your knees just
now in your quiet time that you were going to obey that you're going to go right through that
ah that's in theory but in this issue will turn up a situation will emerge today tomorrow next
week or next month where god puts you to the test to translate into action to galvanize into action
what he said to you on your quiet time morning now then what about it what about it be instant
to obey for if you don't god will drive you back to what you said and nothing more will be revealed
until you go through with him an order my last word to you is this last night i spoke about
discipleship the life of discipline and implicit in that message was a call to totalitarian
surrender for the sovereignty of jesus christ i want to make this statement and sit down
listen to me very carefully the barometer of you your life your spiritual life the barometer of
your spiritual life and the measure of your surrender and the evidence of true discipleship
in your life is whether or not you go right through with every point i've talked about here
this morning you can say it differently and you can use different methods but in principle
to my mind this is it holiness isn't taking a spiritual aspirin at a spring conference until
the next year holiness is this rugged discipline of going through with god like i've been talking
about today and doing it not because it's a duty or a demand but a sheer delight god bless you