“20/20/20” (320)

Exodus 16:1-31

Introduction

A. During last month’s sabbatical,

1. One of our Drs had us read through several really good books on burnout

a. And we really learned a lot

C. But then Pastor Wayne gave me this book called ‘DIVINE MENTOR’

1. Which really caught my attention, because as of recent;

a. I have had several people ask me to mentor them

b. I thought, “I’d love to, but I’M SO BUSY, I don’t know where I’ll find the time”

D. So I read this book by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro called ‘Divine Mentor’ and I couldn’t put it down!

1. This is easily in the top 3 books I’ve ever read!

E. It’s NOT about how to do church, or be a better Christian, or how to develop more programs;

1. It’s a simple book about being MENTORED BY GOD’S WORD!!!

2. EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES

F. Statistically speaking, Christians spend an average of

1. 4 hours / day or 28 hours / week watching TV

2. And typically less than 30 minuets / day in DAILY DEVOTIONS

3. And sadly, many Christians don’t even open their bibles all week, until Sunday

a. And some people don’t even do that

G. They have determined that the human mind will only retain about 10 % of what it takes in

1. That means if you spend 10 minutes / day reading your bible;

a. You will only retain about 60 seconds, and for many, not even that much

H. Unfortunately what’s happening for most American Christians;

1. Is they are relying too heavily on Sunday morning church for their spiritual feeding

2. Which if the sermon was 30 minutes;

a. You’d be attempting to live on about 3 minutes of bible teaching/ week

b. Or about 26 SECONDS/ DAY

I. Can you imagine what would happen if you only ate one meal / week?

1. You’d die

2. In a matter of less than 1 ½ months, you’d be dead

J. Think of eating ONCE/ WEEK and only retaining 10% of the NUTRITION that you ate;

1. You’d be in big trouble, really fast;

2. Yet, that’s exactly what MOST CHRISTIANS today are doing with their spiritual lives;

a. And they are DYING on the VINE

K. Marriages are falling apart at alarming rates;

1. There are more Christians getting divorced than unbelievers

2. Suicide is up at an unprecedented rate

3. Teen pregnancy, drug addiction, alcoholism is common place today –

4. DEPRESSION, and depression medication for Christians is at the highest rate in history

L. All of these things are happening today in the lives of Christians all across America

1. The lives of Christians, just like you and I!

2. MAYBE YOU’RE ONE OF THESE STATISTICS?

M. For the past 12 years, I have been on a DAILY-READ THRU THE BIBLE PROGRAM;

1. And over the past year, I didn’t even finish because it became so LEGALISTIC

a. I’d read the daily appointed portion of scripture

b. Put a check in the little box, and then be off to my day

c. And I wasn’t really hearing from God

N. Even less likely to hear from God are those who rely on reading daily ‘Devotionals’ for sustenance

1. Only God’s Word is Divinely inspired

2. As good and helpful as daily devotionals can be, they are not necessary INSPIRED of God

O. Just think, if every day, God wanted to personally speak to your heart;

1. And He wanted to personally MENTOR YOU and give you WISDOM and TELL you what to do;

a. Would you want to hear from Him?

P. How many days we all get out of bed and are facing tremendous challenges in life?

1. Marital

2. Financial

3. Relational

4. Health

Q. Wouldn’t it be GREAT IF GOD SHOWED UP AND TOLD US WHAT TO DO?

1. How many of us would like to learn how to have GOD HIMSELF FEED US & mentor us daily?

2. HE WILL!

3. And HE WANTS TO

R. Do you realize that God is ALWAYS SPEAKING?

1. It’s just that we’re not always listening

S. And what we NEED is NOT another DEVOTIONAL written by the latest popular preacher;

1. Nor do we need to come to church every day

2. Nor do we necessarily need to buy an easier to read bible

So what is the answer?

EXODUS 16:1-31

A. So how do we do this in practical terms?

1. How can we daily be mentored by the Lord through His Word?

B. God wants to mentor you and I,

1. And WHO does God want to use to MENTOR YOU?

C. MOSES, DAVID, JOSHUA, JEREMIAH, PAUL, PETER, MATTHEW, SOLOMON, RUTH, BOAZ….

1. You get the idea!

D. Can you imagine getting up every morning knowing that God WANTS TO SPEAK to YOUR HEART?!

1. Can you imagine that the VERY THING that you need an ANSWER ON…

a. God WANTS to TELL you what to do?

E. You don’t need to go to your pastor, spouse or another believer;

1. But you can boldly go directly to the THRONE of HEAVEN —EVERY MORNING;

a. And hear directly from the heart of God!

F. “Lord, we’re facing bankruptcy…what should we do?!”

1. “Lord, my marriage is falling apart, I need wisdom, what should I do?”

a. Let God mentor you through King Solomon

2. “Lord my health is failing, and I’m afraid, what should I do?”

a. Go sit at the feet of Jesus, and be mentored by all who were sick

G. You and I can even be mentored by those who made terrible choices!

1. Judas Iscariot; Isabel; Demas; Absalom

H. Well, how do we put this into a PRACTICAL FORMAT?

1. Here’s what we do:

I. Journal our Daily Devotions

A. We begin to hear the voice of God through journaling our DAILY DEVOTIONS

1. And it’s critical that we journal for a number of reasons

2. It’s critical that we WRITE DOWN the specific WORD the Lord gives us each morning

3. And then meditate upon it throughout the day

II. Must have a daily reading program

 A. Everyone in our church should be on the same daily reading program

1. The reason for this is that this BUILDS UNITY

B. The most important reason that we are all reading and journaling on the same scriptures is because;

1. One of the big benefits of this system is that it will draw us together corporately

C. Again, one of the biggest problems with so many Christians today is their desire to be autonomous

1. Autonomy creates division and really keeps us from being in fellowship w/ each other

D. If we are all daily reading from the same passages of scripture -

1. Then when we share with one another what the Lord is speaking;

2. We will all be able to relate with one another!

E. And when we get together, either inside or outside the church;

1. We can share w/ one another, what God ‘gave us for the day’

F. One of the big questions we will begin to ask each other is:

1. “WHAT DID THE LORD SHOW YOU TODAY?!”

G. and it really builds excitement upon the word of God!

1. And we begin to EDIFY ONE ANOTHER as we SHARE the Word of God w/ each other!

H. This system incorporates a read through the bible program reading, in one year

1. It actually includes reading the O.T. once; and the N.T. twice

I. I have ordering forms on the back table for the various JOURNALING BOOKS

1. There is the FULL VERSION called ‘LIFE JOURNAL’

2. A REDUCED reading version called ‘LIFE JOURNAL – 1ST STEPS’ – same reading, but less

3. CHILDREN’S LIFE JOURNAL – kids all read the same portions of scripture, but much less

J. We’ll put in an order this week, and we’ll sell you these journals at whatever the cost is – 7-8$???

1. Sign up for them on the back table if you’re interested,

2. They also include this bible reading program

III. “320” method, or system

A. This is sort of the heart of journaling and your daily devotions

1. 20 minutes reading

2. 20 minutes journaling

3. 20 minutes sharing with others and prayer time

B. You can journal alone in the morning or afternoon, whenever is best for you

1. Whatever time of the day that you are at your best

C. We can also journal in groups and just meet in public places or our homes

1. And I pray that we even see many ‘LIFE GROUPS’ formed from this

2. Christians getting together, in HOME FELLOWSHIP SETTINGS, and just JOURNALING

D. Many Christians meet at places like Starbucks, or whatever and journal in PUBLIC – witness

1. The 1st 40 minutes are YOU ALONE WITH GOD

2. The last 20 minutes you are simply sharing with the others what God gave you!

E. It’s just fantastic, and it’ll make you EXCITED AGAIN ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD

1. And you’ll even get excited about getting up in the morning to HEAR FROM GOD!!!!

F. God promises that HE WILL SPEAK TO YOU PERSONALLY if you will daily get your manna

What you need to journal:

• Bible

• Journal

• Pen

• Day planner or a note pad

On our journaling page, we will use the acronym “S.O.A.P.”, which stands for -

S – for Scripture

Open your Bible to the reading found under today’s date of your Bible bookmark.

Take time reading and allow God to speak to you. When you are done, look for a verse that

particularly spoke to you that day, and write it in your journal.

O for Observation

What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and

reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own works, in your

journal.

A for Application

Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps

it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular

area of your life. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.

P for Prayer

This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight

on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two way conversation, so be sure to

listen to what God has to say! Now, write it out.

My Example from Exodus 20:4

S – Scripture

Exodus 16:4  “Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in MY law or not.”

A. So that’s the very specific verse that God gave us this morning,

1. And that’s the verse I’m going to mediate on all day

2. You may even chose to write it down on a 3×5 index card and carry in your pocket-meditate

O – Observation

“It was God who spoke to Moses. God took the initiative to meet His children’s needs. God didn’t put the weight on Moses’ shoulders to daily feed the people. God made the provision, but He also required that His people come out and partake of His manna. God also gave them each a certain quota, He knew what they needed and how much they needed and God provided exactly what each person needed.

A – Application

A. Here’s where we apply the verse to our own lives

1. “OK, I know that God is speaking to my heart…

2. “What’s He wanting me to hear, see, do, change?”

B. How does this verse APPLY TO MY LIFE?

“God has already taken the initiative to provide for all that I have need of. God does not expect me to be sustained by being fed once a week. He personally desires to feed me every day. He has made the provision and has the answers to all my needs. All I need to do is to respond to Him, open His word, and feast on His daily manna. Some days will be harder than other days, and on those days, God will have just the right amount of manna to cause me to live in victory.”

P – PRAYER

“Father teach me to daily come with boldness to Your throne. Teach to me come to You first. Teach me to daily feast on Your Word. Teach me how to be mentored by Thy Word, through Thy Spirit, so that I might live the life of victory that you have provided for me. I love You! Amen.”

A. You can also end your prayer time by covering all your prayer requests

After you have journaled and prayed, then find someone to share what God has given you.

A. The last thing we need to do is to find someone to SHARE what the Lord has shown you

1. Spouse

2. Friend

3. Call me

4. Parent – anyone, especially another person who is also JOURNALING

B. You share with them,

1. And then they will share back with you

C. I can’t think of any other greater way to MEND MARRIAGES & FIX FAMILIES that by

1. Sharing the WORD of God together!

D. Pastor Wayne has couples who were on the virge of divorce 2 weeks ago;

1. And GOD has RADICALLY HEALED their marriage!!!

2. Imagine that?!

E. THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD!

1. It’s there!

2. All we must do is DAILY PARTAKE!