Keys to Knowing God

1. You must learn how to listen to God.

2. You must study God's Word prayerfully.

3. You must apply what God is saying to you through His Word.

4. You must make notes of what and where God has spoken to you. 

5. You must reflect on the outcome of applying God's Word, or choosing not too. 

6. You must take time to be silent and listen to God.

7. You must discipline yourself to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of you. 

 The Holy Spirit impresses you to guide you while you study God's Word. 

8. You must anticipate and believe when God has spoken to you. 

 If God speaks to you and you ignore Him, why should He continue to speak to you? 

9. You must obey God if you want Him to continue to speak to you. 

If you really trust God, you will obey Him. 

Every act of obedience will build your faith if you pay attention to the consequences of obeying or disobeying. 

 (Study the life of Abraham in Genesis 12-17) 

10. You must learn to depend upon God to meet your needs. 

Depending upon the world to meet your needs is always a bad idea. 

It is a form of idolatry.

11. You must acknowledge your faith failures to God for what it is. 

 Say Lord I just haven't been trusting you, but I have been doubting that you know better than me.  

I have doubted that you will take care of me. 

Please forgive me for doubting you and not obeying you. 

Please start speaking to me again. 

I will listen, and do what you say.

-Charles Stanley

How to Handle Difficult People

It is amazing how quickly a beautiful day can be over taken by a violent storm. 

In a former job, we invited all our prospects over for lunch. 

We set out a couple of 10 by 10 canopies to grille out. 

Everything was going well until my wife called from home to tell me that a violent storm was fast approaching. 

I ran out of my office to pull down the tents and park the prospect’s vehicles inside the warehouse. 

When I started doing this, it was still beautiful outside, but we barely got finished before the storm hit. 

 You've got to prepare for a storm before it happens, or it may be too late. 

 In the same way, you've got to prepare for difficult people before they arrive.

Difficult people are just like that spring storm. If you don't prepare beforehand, you might get hurt. 

 Everything seems fine, but before you know it. You've been sucked into conflict. 

A difficult person’s facial expression, demeanor, tone, and behavior pull you into their negative disposition. 

Before it's all over, you ask yourself. What just happened?

Let me give you an illustration about how conflict happens. 

 One of the hottest things a few years back on TV was American Idol. 

One reason for its popularity was the conflict between the judges. 

The tension stemmed from how each judge thought differently. 

For example, Simon normally said something negative to the contestant. 

Then, Paula attempted to soften her criticism with kindness. 

The judges got upset with each other based upon their different perspectives.

Conflict is going to happen because we all see things differently. 

There are negative and positive aspects about every situation and person. 

The conflict stems from how we all come from a different point of view. 

 If we don't intentionally take an unselfish viewpoint, we will drift into conflict. 

We're going to be drawing conflict into our lives like a magnet.

We must prepare ourselves for difficult people and notice them when they arrive. 

If we don't, things might get out of hand.

GET UP EARLY. Take the time to reflect, relax, and read before you start each day.

DO MENTAL CHECKUPS. Monitor your thoughts, mood, and conversations throughout the day.

SMILE. When you approach someone, smile. It's amazing how something as simple as a smile can open doors and reduce conflict. 

It's extremely hard for a difficult person to be rude to you while you are smiling at them. 

Smiling even works while you talk on the phone. It comes through in your voice.

BE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY with other people. When you are proactively being friendly, it makes people really uncomfortable being abrupt with you.

STAY CALM. When someone is angry and is raising their voice at you, you can feel your emotions matching theirs. 

By staying calm and quietly responding, the other person will eventually calm down to your emotional level.

LOOK AWAY. Normally, it’s better to look at the speaker; however, a lot of anger is shown by facial expressions. 

If someone is losing control, look away.

PARAPHRASE. Calmly, repeat back to the upset person what they are saying. 

Paraphrasing simply means that you understand them, and does not mean that you agree.

SYMPATHIZE with how they must be feeling.

How to Know if You Are Filled with the Holy Spirit

1. A Spirit Filled Believer is not dominated by their circumstances.

2. A Spirit Filled Believer responds to stress in a way pleasing to God.

3. A Spirit Filled Believer might be tempted to respond in an ungodly way, but yields to the Holy Spirit's guidance anyway.

4. A Spirit Filled Believer follows the Spirit's leadership and acts like the recreated person that they really are and not selfishly.

5. A Spirit Filled Believer receives empowerment to do God's will because it flows through his or her surrendered will from the Holy Spirit.

6. A Spirit Filled Believer surrenders voluntarily to the Spirit's moment by moment and step by step direction.

7. A Spirit Filled Believer recovers from sin quickly.  

8. A Spirit Filled Believer responds to the initial promptings of the Holy Spirit inside of them.

9. A Spirit Filled Believer refuses to allow the world to steal from him or her the qualities that God has put inside of them.

10. The question is not whether you can identify whether someone else is a Spirit Filled believer, but can you identify a Spiritual Filled Believer in you?

(Charles Stanley)

God's Money in My Hands

1. God owns it all.

2. God has made you His money manager.

3. Make decisions based upon what God has told you to do with His money.

4. If you do good with a little, God will give you more money to manage.

5. You must acquire it in God's way.

6. You are to work as unto God, and He will repay you with more of His money.

7. You are to wisely invest His money.

8. You are to save His money for His purposes.

9. You are to make gifts of His money, and God will return more money for you to manage.

(Lk 6:38)

(Charles Stanley)

The Dangers of Drifting from God

1. You begin to ignore your conscience.

2. You step out of the will of God into some type of sin.

3. You start living in denial of what is true, and what you're doing is sin.

4. You start to shrink away from what is spiritual 

  (I John 2:28).

5. You lose your ability to hear God.

6. Your heart becomes hardened (Heb. 3:12).

7. You become deceived by sin.

8. You begin to suffer, and are deceived from knowing it.

9. You grieve the heart of God because He knows the consequences of what's about to happen as a result of your drifting.

10. You miss God's best.

11. It impacts every aspect and relationship in your life negatively.

12. You feel guilt which creates stress.

(Charles Stanley)

Indications that you are Drifting from God

1. When you pay less and less attention to God's word.

2. When your prayers lack passion, and you spend less and less time in prayer.

3. When your Church attendance becomes more sporadic.

4. When your hunger grows for pleasure and not for God Himself.

5. When you don't talk to others about Jesus.

6. When you just don't feel close to God.

7. You're giving to the Lord's work begins to slip.

REASONS WE DRIFT

1. When you start listening to people instead of 

listening to God's voice inside of you.

2. When the lure of the world captures your attention (I John 2:15).

3. When you doubt God. 

You begin to believe that the world offers something that God won't. 

Remember, those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing (Psalm 84:11)

THE DANGERS OF DRIFTING - 

The end of drifting is destruction, but seeking God leads to a fulfilling life (John 10:10). 

-Charles Stanley

How to Handle a Crisis

1. See all crisis as coming through God (Romans 8:28).

2. Believe that God works everything together for your good if you truly love Him.

3. Remember that God is in control (Psalm 103:19).

4. Understand that you can't fully understand what God is doing (Isaiah 55:8-9).

5. Don't make quick judgments.

6. Turn your attention away from the crisis and upon your God.

7. Avoid focusing on the pain.

8. Recall past crisis and how God brought you through.

9. Remember that God is conforming you into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

10. Know that you might not understand it now, but you will in the future.

11. Deal with any anger at God, and ask for forgiveness.

12. Submit yourself to the will of God.

13. Trust God's heart and His word.

14. Demonstrate a sense of gratitude.

15. View the crisis as an opportunity for God to teach you something.

16. Refuse to listen to other people's interpretation of your crisis. Why should God tell them your business when you have a personal relationship with Him?

17. Stay in constant prayer listening for God's inner voice.

18. Refuse to give in to emotions.

19. Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.

20. God tests our loyality to determine who's #1 (Gensis 22).  -Charles Stanley

How to Win an Argument

1. Don't call names.

2. Don't raise your voice.

3. Don't bring up past conflicts.

4. Avoid the use of the words always and never.

5. (With spouse) Never threaten divorce.

6. (With spouse) Never takes sides with a child over a spouse in front of the child.

7. Do acts of kindness and service when not in conflict.

8. In good times, tell the other person what you like about them, and invite them to tell you how you can improve the relationship. This should open the door for you to tell them how to do things to improve the relationship with you.

9. Never go to bed angry.

10. Think through the effect of your words before you say them.

11. Ask yourself before speaking. 

Is the problem arising because I'm being selfish? Is the problem mine or theirs?

12. Recognize the true enemy is not the other person, but Satan who is trying to destroy you and your relationship with the other person.

(Craig Groeschel)

How to give Problems to God.

1. Recognize you have a problem.

2. Believe God is interested in your problem.

3. Understand God is bigger than your problem.

4. Go to God first with your problem, and give it to Him. If you don't go to Him first, it is offessive to God. (Who you go to first. Reveals who your real God is).

5. Realize God knows exactly how to handle your problem.

6. Focusing on God's ability and desire to handle our problem makes our problem seem really small.

7. Listen to God's Holy Spirit as He leads you over and through your problem. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

(Charles Stanley with my comments)

Purpose Driven Bible Study

Combine your Bible Study with Prayer. Don't separate them. Read it carefully. Don't be in a hurry. Don't skim through it.

As you read, ask...

1. Is there a sin to avoid?

2. Is there a truth to comprehend?

3. Is there a promise to believe?

4. Is there a victory to experience?

5. Is there a blessing to enjoy?

6. Ask the Lord. What are you saying to me? 

(Charles Stanley)