The Lord is speaking to us about responding more intentionally to the prophetic words which he has given to Calvary. One word that is stirring involves the More of God revelation which Pastor Steve Meeks shared with us in 2017. In the fall of 2017, Pastor Steve preached a series of messages rooted in the teaching in Ephesians on the Spirit and God’s promises. Those messages stressed that Paul wanted the church to have more than doctrine; he wanted the people to move into personal experience with the Lord.
In Ephesians Chapter 1, Paul teaches some of the greatest doctrine in Scripture. But, that is not enough. We need to experience God’s presence and power. In light of all of the great doctrines which Paul shares (Ephesians 1:1-14), he prays for us to get something more (Ephesians 1:15-23). We need an encounter with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we can know God better (Ephesians 1:17). We can’t just be theologically enlightened people; we need to be Spirit empowered. Paul talks about what the Spirit will do in our lives.
What does it look like to have more of God in our lives?
- It will result in intensification of the Spirit’s presence among us.
- It will result in an increase in the Spirit’s power manifested among us.
- It will result in fresh fillings of the Spirit for individual believers. We will seek the Lord; we won’t be satisfied with where we are.
- It will result in a personal Pentecost for believers who haven’t had that experience. We need unmistakable encounters with the Holy Spirit. Such encounters are for every believer, including our children and young people.
To experience more of God, we want to start by becoming more aware of the Lord who is with us. So, we are launching the 60/60 Experiment on Sunday, February 3. It will go through April 3.
On Sunday, January 20, past Pastor Steve gave a brief introduction to the 60/60 Experiment. You can read the details about it in this handout.
- For the next 60 days, we will try to stay in a continuous, honest conversation with God, willing to do his will moment by moment. So, we will set a watch, alarm, or app to beep every 60 minutes as a reminder to turn our affections, attention, and availability to the Lord.
- We will get a Running Partner, someone with whom we can have open and honest conversations. We will share from our times of intimacy with the Lord in our reading, praying, and practicing his presence through the 60/60 Experiment. We will ask each other questions and encourage one another. (See the handout for the list of helpful questions and values for Running Partners.) Mutually accountable relationships help us in our journey with the Lord.
- Each pair of Running Partners will read the same book and share from their reading. (See the handout for the recommended book list.)
- Then, we will gather at Calvary for a celebration dinner on Friday, April 5, at 7:00pm.
We will kick off the More of God series and the 60/60 Experiment on Sunday, February 3.
Calvary, we want More of God. The good news is that there is more of God for us to experience, and he wants more of us, too.
Expectantly,
Pastor Jeff