The Secret of the Shut Door: Practicing Solitude with God

And one of the ways in which our relationship grows stronger and deeper with Jesus Christ is by you practicing the spiritual discipline of solitude. Solitude liberates you from the toxic chatter that is so consuming in our present society. Solitude frees you from the demands that are put upon you, demands that in that moment feels so urgent and pressing, but that in reality have no lasting significance. [01:29:41] (45 seconds)

What if you cannot hear from God because you are addicted to company? You are addicted to people, and sometimes God will require you to go in by yourself where you are not surrounded by noise, where you can hear him clearly. Before God blesses you publicly, God must first deal with you privately. Let me say that again. Before God blesses you publicly, you God first must deal with you privately. [01:36:59] (42 seconds)

A strong relationship with God like any relationship requires dedicated time and intentional effort for it to grow. It's not gonna happen by osmosis. Consistent time even when feelings and emotions are not all at their best is the key to move beyond more surface level intimacy to actually having a deep and fruit bearing connection with God. Remember Jesus said, apart from me, you cannot do nothing. [01:28:53] (48 seconds)

As a matter of fact, your relationship with Jesus helps you to have better relationships with one another. Be careful of people who want to have a relationship with you, but they have no relationship with Jesus Christ. The only thing you can do for them is lead them to Jesus because there is absolutely nothing that they can do for you. [01:26:41] (36 seconds)

There is a word from the lord this morning and I'm grateful to god for god still speaking to me in spite of me And as we shared in scripture this morning at 09:00, I pray that what is said and what is heard will be a blessing in your life because there's nothing like the word of god. Can't nothing beat the word of god. Can't nothing outpower the word of god [01:20:43] (50 seconds)

the lord has led us in this season and time to talk about the spiritual disciplines of our faith. Not so much where we are disciplined by God, but we are disciplined in God. [01:23:53] (30 seconds)

God never intended for us to live a life isolated and separated from God's presence. The mere fact that Jesus came, died, and was resurrected and coming back again is so that we will have a constant, consistent, and continued relationship with the presence of God. [01:25:10] (34 seconds)

We're talking about the disciplines and the importance of practicing them because the truth of the matter is I genuinely care about each and every one of you. And because I care about you, the most important relationship that you will have in this life is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Your relationship with Jesus Christ is everything. [01:24:23] (47 seconds)

It is in solitude the useless trivialities of life begin to drop away. In solitude, you are set free from the many false selves that you have built up in order to cope with the expectations others place upon you and the ones we place on ourselves. [01:30:26] (31 seconds)

Brothers and sisters, do not confuse solitude with loneliness. There is a difference between solitude and loneliness. Solitude is a state of being alone, but you're not lonely. My brothers and sisters, solitude is chosen and can be fulfilling. Solitude is an intentional, often restorative time for divine reflection. [01:33:16] (41 seconds)

Solitude is not simply withdrawing from people. Solitude is drawing closer to God because solitude is not loneliness. It's not where you say, well, I wanna be by myself. No. That's the problem. You by yourself when you need to be with yourself with God. Solitude, my brothers and sisters, is drawing closer to God. [01:37:41] (27 seconds)

And one of the ways in which our relationship grows stronger and deeper with Jesus Christ is by you practicing the spiritual discipline of solitude. Solitude liberates you from the toxic chatter that is so consuming in our present society. Solitude frees you from the demands that are put upon you, demands that in that moment feels so urgent and pressing, but that in reality have no lasting significance. [01:29:41] (45 seconds)

What if you cannot hear from God because you are addicted to company? You are addicted to people, and sometimes God will require you to go in by yourself where you are not surrounded by noise, where you can hear him clearly. Before God blesses you publicly, God must first deal with you privately. Let me say that again. Before God blesses you publicly, you God first must deal with you privately. [01:36:59] (42 seconds)

He will lift your bow down head. He will mend your broken heart. Look over at your neighbor if you don't mind and say, neighbor, make room for him. Make make room. In your busy schedule, come on. Make room for him because he is the king of kings and the lord of lords. Make room for him [00:55:21] (25 seconds)

and if by chance you don't have a relationship with Jesus or your desire is to have a closer relationship with Jesus, my hope and my prayer for you today to make a decision, make a conscious decision, I desire my relationship with Jesus Christ to grow stronger and deeper. [01:27:21] (29 seconds)

It is the freedom to be alone because whatever you cannot step away from, you are a slave to it. You cannot take a break from it. It's not love. It's labor. And every now and again, God will call you to be ye separate and apart from them. [01:38:08] (28 seconds)

Solitude is contentment. It's peace with yourself. But loneliness is unhappiness and distress due to a perceived lack of social support. Solitude can be restorative and can lead you to clarity. Solitude can lead you to creativity and emotional balance. [01:34:27] (26 seconds)

Solitude is proactive to spend time alone with God. Loneliness is an unwanted and uncontrollable emotion. And my brothers and sisters, God wanted me to pause here and say, don't allow your emotions to dictate your solitude because solitude is being by yourself and together with God. [01:35:01] (30 seconds)

But, beloved, Jesus shows us that after you pour out, you must get poured back into. You can't be so busy spending your wheels for other people and other expectations that you don't take some time to withdraw from what you are pouring out of and spend some time with the one who can pour back in you. [01:40:16] (32 seconds)

Solitude is not simply withdrawing from people. Solitude is drawing closer to God because solitude is not loneliness. It's not where you say, well, I wanna be by myself. No. That's the problem. You by yourself when you need to be with yourself with God. Solitude, my brothers and sisters, is drawing closer to God. [01:37:41] (27 seconds)