Principles for a Powerful Meeting PT3

Principle #4: Recognizing God’s Activity and Answers

What Caused People in the Bible to Recognize God?

1. They ___________________________ for Him

Psalm 27:4 – The one thing I ask of the Lord – the thing I seek most – is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. (New Living Translation)

John 1:38 – When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?” . . . (Christian Standard Bible)

2. They ___________________________ Him to be working in their lives and to answer them

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (New Living Translation)

3. They made the __________________________________ between prayer and God’s working

2 Samuel 15:31 – When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!” (New Living Translation)

2 Samuel 15:32-34 – 32 When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 33 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. (New Living Translation)

4. They _____________________________________ immediately

How Can We Recognize God’s Activity and Answers?

1. We can recognize His activity and answers from _______________

Psalm 51:6 – But you want complete honesty, so teach me true wisdom. (Contemporary English Version)

Ephesians 3:14-16 – 14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. (New Living Translation, 1st ed.)

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (New Living Translation)

2. We can recognize His activity and answers by His work among His _______________

Philippians 1:6 – And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. (New Living Translation)

Philippians 2:13 – For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (New Living Translation)

1 Corinthians 2:14 – The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit – God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. (The Message)

3. We can recognize His activity and answers in our ______________

John 6:44 – For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, . . . (New Living Translation)

Romans 1:28-31 – 28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. (New Living Translation)