Hearing God’s Voice Anytime

1. Hearing God’s Voice Anytime Session One: Introduction Bill Perry

2. Where we are as a people A recent Barna report shows that many Americans are looking for new ways to connect with God.

3. Where we are as a people 88% of Americans believe that "my religious faith is important to my life.”

4. Where we are as a people 88% of Americans believe that "my religious faith is important to my life.” 75% say that "God is motivating people to stay connected with Him, but in different ways and through different types of experiences than in the past."

5. Where we are as a people 64% say they are "completely open to carrying out a pursuing of your faith in an environment or structure that differs from that of a typical church."

6. Where we are as a people 64% say they are "completely open to carrying out a pursuing of your faith in an environment or structure that differs from that of a typical church." 71% say they are "more likely to develop my religious beliefs on my own, rather than to accept an entire set of beliefs that a particular church teaches."(barna.org, 6/8/09)

7. Where we are as a people “Cafeterians”

8. Where we are as a people “Cafeterians” Just as we go to a cafeteria and create our own meal to satisfy our stomachs, we choose what we want to believe and create our own religion to satisfy our soul.

9. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”:

10. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800

11. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800 World’s second billion people: 1930

12. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800 World’s second billion people: 1930 World’s third billion people: 1960

13. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800 World’s second billion people: 1930 World’s third billion people: 1960 World’s fourth billion people: 1975

14. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800 World’s second billion people: 1930 World’s third billion people: 1960 World’s fourth billion people: 1975 World’s fifth billion people: 1987

15. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: World’s first billion people: 1800 World’s second billion people: 1930 World’s third billion people: 1960 World’s fourth billion people: 1975 World’s fifth billion people: 1987 World’s sixth billion people: 1999

16. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: If you folded a piece of paper in half 42 times, how thick would it be? Scott Armstrong, Long-Range Forecasting: From Crystal Ball to Computer (NY: Wiley, 1985), 102.

17. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot?

18. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No.

19. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile?

20. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile? No.

21. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile? No. • greater than a mile but less than two thousand miles?

22. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile? No. • greater than a mile but less than two thousand miles? Nope.

23. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile? No. • greater than a mile but less than two thousand miles? Nope. • thick enough to reach from here to the moon?

24. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: • less than a foot? No. • greater than a foot but less than a mile? No. • greater than a mile but less than two thousand miles? Nope. • thick enough to reach from here to the moon? YES!!

25. Where we are as a culture We live in “Exponential Times”: Internet devices: In 1984, there were a thousand. By 1992, there were one million. By 2008, there were one billion, almost two billion. By the year 2015 some experts believe that there will be fifteen billion Intelligent Connected Devices. “15 Billion Connected Devices - Powered by the Embedded Internet,” Small Forms Factors Blog, 28 April 2009.

26. Where we are as a culture What about the impact of technology?

27. Where we are as a culture “Television is altering the meaning of ‘being informed’ by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information -- misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information -- information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing.”-- Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves To Death (1985)

28. Where we are as a culture “Anyone who has studied the history of technology knows that technological change is always a Faustian bargain: Technology giveth and technology taketh away, and not always in equal measure. A new technology sometimes creates more than it destroys. Sometimes, it destroys more than it creates. But it is never one-sided…”

29. Where we are as a culture “…The invention of the printing press is an excellent example. Printing fostered the modern idea of individuality but it destroyed the medieval sense of community and social integration.” -- Neil Postman, in a talk given at the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft fuer Informatik) on October 11, 1990 in Stuttgart

30. Where we are as a culture Trends indicate that the more we depend on higher technology for communication, our personal, face-to-face communication not only decreases -- creating isolation -- but allcommunication also tends to be more superficial, and thus increasingly unreal and incomplete.

31. Where we are as a culture Communication requiring a screen means that such contacts are always controlled by the individual. Young people especially tend to ignore or sometimes shut off technology when communication is difficult or challenging, keeping them from developing interactive communication skills they’ll need later in life.

32. Where we are as a culture Such deficits in communication skills caused by an overdependence on high tech devices tend to show up in face-to-face relationships (family members, colleagues at work, clients, fellow students, relatives, friends and neighbors, strangers, etc. This includes our relationship with God!

33. James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

34. James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

35. James 4:7-8 “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

36. James 4:7-8, 10 “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

37. James 4:7-8, 10 “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Notice all the commands when we are in an active relationship with the Lord! We are responsivein real relationships.

38. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) “I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact: that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.”

39. Where we are going Session 2: Biblical assumptions and framework Session 3: What it is and what it isn’t Session 4: Hearing God’s Voice in the Bible Session 5: Hearing God’s Voice outside the Bible; Q&A