The secret ingredient - Part I

Have you ever seen somebody lose their glasses? They wander all round the house, looking and looking. They pick up piles, move them, look under them, come into a room, leave again, come back and then eventually give up. Only to finally realize ... their glasses were on their head the whole time. Funny isn't it.

Or what about the movie where the boy grows up, leaves town, gets a job in the big city, forms lots of relationships all the time looking for the right girl, until finally ... he gets married to the girl from back home who lived next door.

There's something about us as humans that will travel for hours just to save a few minutes. Or spend hundreds to grab a bargain and save a few dollars. We travel over land and sea to find something new that will be the magic key that will unlock our lives and make a difference.

We unconsciously dismiss, put aside, climb over, go around, and ignore the mundane because it's soooooooooooooooooooo boring. Really we're not so much interested in what works, as we are in what's fun, entertaining, titillating, exciting, SPECTACULAR!

I know that I've spent my whole life looking for that secret ingredient which will make the difference, to find out that it's right under my nose. And the most embarrassing for me is that I found it once, and then got bored with it and let it go. Proverbs 6:10-11 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a bandit.

Well I'm glad to say that I found it again. I got a second chance. And now I want to share with you what I believe to be the biggest secret to growing as a Christian: the little used gift of praying in tongues.

Praying in tongues is not spectacular, but it is supernatural. It's not always exciting but it is always effective. It may be boring and uninteresting but it is life-changing.

First encounter
My first encounter was in the spring of '86. I was brought up in an open brethren church, where they sure preached salvation - how I could be born again by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and rose again so I could walk as a new creation in Christ. And it worked. I got saved at a young age, and have never seriously doubted my salvation. I heard the word on salvation, faith came from hearing that message, I believed on Christ, and I was born again. But as for being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues - that was definitely a no-no.

But one holidays, during my second year at University, that all changed. My sister had been attending a Pentecostal church (one that does openly preach about the Holy Spirit and tongues) and I had been impressed with the change in her life. So when I was home for the holiday my sister took me around to one of the pastor's homes, who prayed for me. I didn't feel any different but I believed I had changed. Then several days later after reading several books, and crying out to God, I began to pray in tongues.

It was incredible. I was 19 years old and I knew God was real, but it sure was hard to prove it. And now whenever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to, and for as long as I wanted to - I could simply open my mouth, listen on the inside for the words that the Holy Spirit gave me, and then begin to speak them out - and I had tangible evidence that God was real, that He still cared about me, still loved me, and was alive today.

Awesome, outstanding, fantastic, and yes - even spectacular - for a while. I would pray in tongues for an hour or more most days, and I hardly even noticed the time go by. But once the initial honeymoon of a few months was over it settled down to a more mundane experience. The spectacular had gone. And I was left with the mundane.

Had God changed? NO. Had I been changed by praying in tongues? YES. Did I still enjoy it? Mostly. Was it still exciting? Well ... sometimes. Was I still doing it? Off and on.

Pride before a fall
Looking back now I think that somewhere in the first year I got offended at God. I'd been praying and reading my bible for 1-2 hours or more every day for several months. I was really impressed with myself. But somehow my life hadn't completely changed. For me the changing point was getting a prophetic word which included the phrase "... I believe God wants you to make a fresh commitment. I see that God's really asking you to press in now ...". I did my best to try and not be offended by that statement, but how could God say that? Didn't He see how much I'd changed in the last few months? Didn't He know how many hours I'd been spending praying in tongues and reading my bible? I'd been getting up around 5am every morning. How was I supposed to make a fresh commitment?

I didn't really notice until years later but I eased off the gas pedal then. I still believed in praying in tongues, but I wasn't as impressed as I once was.

Add some works into the mix
One big question I had in those early days was whether I impressed God with how long I spent? Was 2 hours twice as effective as 1 hour? Did he count the number of hours I spent in prayer? Did my works affect how much God loved me? I wasn't really sure. But I was pretty confident I was doing more that most people, so I got a bit prideful at the start.

Then at church one of the prevalent teachings was that you had to pray through, i.e. you had to pray in tongues and shake yourself until you had a feeling in your spirit that you had broken through. Then and only then was your prayer effective. (well - that's the way I understood the message).

And sure I could pray in tongues whenever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to, and for however long I wanted to, but I couldn't always pray through. Some days I might pray in tongues for more than an hour and it not feel any different. So based on the message I had been taught, I thought that I had failed and that hour had been wasted, as I didn't feel any change.

With the combination of my being slightly offended at God (thought I tried hard to not think about that), and then feeling a failure when I didn't manage to pray through it's no real surprise that it soon became a habit that I would talk about doing, but not actually do. I would always remember my first encounter, my honeymoon, with sweet memories, and talk longingly of the days that used to be. And if someone didn't believe in the benefit of praying in tongues then I would jump on their back and try to convince them. But actually practicing what I preached and doing it ... I had fallen by the wayside.

Second Chance
Then in November 2005 I had my second chance. As I've earlier shared, I heard that Jason Hamlin was preaching about being filled with the Spirit and hope began to arise again. I listened to him, was renewed in my commitment and began to practice again. But it took 9 months, and listening to Gary Carpenter's testimony before I actually took up the challenge, and SET MY ALARM and began a regular prayer time once again.

There was no big honeymoon this time, no amazing feelings. But I had grown and matured emotionally (I'd been married, and raised 3 children) a lot in this time. So I did approach tongues with a whole new emphasis. There's a lot I want to say about it, but I'll leave of it most for another time.

The thought I want to leave you with today is the same as I started with. Don't overlook the mundane sometimes boring gift of tongues because it doesn't seem exciting. Praying in tongues is not a get quick rich scheme. It's far more of a long term investment. As you pray in tongues regularly, your life will go from strength to strength. Look back in a years time and you will see definite change. Look back in five years time and you'll be amazed.

Jude [17] But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. [18] They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” [19] These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
[20] But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. [21] Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Verses 17-19 show that in the last days (which we're in) that much opposition will come, especially from those who follow natural instincts. And the solution to prevent us being divided and turning on one another is verses 20-21; pray in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in God's love. And how long should we do this for? Verse 21 - until Jesus Christ returns.

The best thing you can do in these last days is to not just follow your mere natural instincts, but to follow your spiritual instincts, those of your born again spirit. And the best way to do that is by regularly spending time with God in reading His word (with the purpose of meeting him), and praying in tongues. As we do these things Jude 24 promises us:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy

God bless you as you long to know Him more. Spend time with him today. He's longing for your fellowship. And remember, it may not always be spectacular, but it will always be supernatural, and will transform you more and more into his very own image.

Reading the bible is like mountain climbing

Picture this. I'm at the bottom of a mountain. I lift my eyes and look up to the peak. It's a long way up. How will I ever get to the top? But that's where I want to be - at the top of the mountain. I look around and notice another person beside me. Oh, I see. He's all dressed up in mountain climbing gear, and has the obvious look of someone who knows what he's doing. He must be the guide. I stroll on over, and enlist his help for my adventure. He starts by asking me questions.

• Am I hungry, not for food, but for the challenge of getting to the top?
• Am I prepared to roll-up my sleeves and put in some effort?
• Will I listen to his guidance, as he knows the right trails to take?

I take some time before answering. The mountain looks big, and I look small. I don't think I could ever do it by myself. Do I want to go all the way to the top? I lift my eyes again and look at the snowy peak glistening in the sunlight. It beckons to me, calling me up. The longer I look at it, the more desire begins to grow within me. That is where I want to be. I take my eyes off the peak and look at myself again. Have I really got what it takes? I'm not sure, but that mountain sure does look inviting, and scary. Woah, what am I thinking that I could take this on by myself? Oh yeah, I'm not on my own. I look at the guide again. He looks quietly confident, poised and ready, and I know I can trust him. So am I hungry enough, and prepared to put in the effort. Hmmm.

I turn to my guide and say "Let's do it!".

He turns to me and say, all you ever needed about mountain climbing can be learned by your 1-2-3's.

• There is one goal in mountain climbing - getting to the top; not half way there, but all the way
• You need one guide - who knows the way and can lead you there
• you need two things from yourself - hunger and hard-work
• hunger - you must want to get to the top; and every time you look at the goal, your desire will grow
• hard work - it will involve effort; you must roll-up your sleeves and put in the effort

And reading the bible is like climbing that mountain.
One Goal
What is the one purpose in reading the bible? Is it to gain more knowledge? Is it to win arguments? Is it to prove you know more than someone else? No. The one purpose is to meet the author.

Jesus berated the religious leaders in his day because they were forgetting that the whole purpose of reading the bible is to meet the author.
John 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Jesus is the author of the bible. And he is alive today. Every time you pick up the bible and start reading, remember that he is alive and wants to spend time with you. So whenever you read - STOP - slow down - and prepare to meet the person who wrote it.

When you read the bible just for knowledge, it's like starting up a mountain and stopping half way. The whole purpose is to get to the top.  Go all the way to the peak, and meet with Jesus.
One Guide
The quickest way to learn a subject is to spend time with an expert. And if that expert has written a book, buy it. But even better than buying the book would be actually meeting the author, the one who wrote it, and talking directly with them. Then any time you had a question, you could stop and ask.

Believe it or not - that is what you have. You don't just have the bible to read, you have the Holy Spirit as your guide. He is the author of the book, and he knows exactly what he meant when he wrote it. So he is the most qualified to explain it to you.

In his last supper before being crucified for us, Jesus takes some time and let's his friends (his disciples) know what is coming. Their biggest concern is that they'll be left alone when Jesus is gone. So he tells them:
John 14.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.

At the moment, Jesus is their personal counsellor, but he is going away. But another counselor, the Holy Spirit,  is coming. And the Spirit is just as good as Jesus. In fact, Jesus even goes so far as to say that the stuff he couldn't explain to them, hard stuff, complicated stuff, the Holy Spirit will be able to explain to them. in fact, He'll be able to explain everything to you.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

This is who you have to teach you. You're not alone. Jesus has given you a guide, a counsellor, a life-coach, a personal trainer, a one-on-one teacher who has a purpose and a mission, to not leave one stone unturned and guide you into all truth.
Two Requirements
It almost sounds too easy. Isn't there something we have to do? Sure - we definitely have a part to play. We must bring hunger and hard work to the table.

Hunger - when we're hungry to know God, it's easy to spend time with him, and easy to read your bible. But just because you're not hungry doesn't mean you stop eating. When you're hungry you still eat, because without eating, there is no energy to live life. Sometimes eating is just ....

Hard work. Yes, that's right - hard work. It's not always exciting, but every step you take, each word you read, takes you one stop closer to reaching the top of the mountain, or in our case, meeting Jesus.

Reading vs Studying
I very deliberately wrote reading the bible and not studying the bible. Because studying is often starting off on mountain trails of our own, ignoring our guide, and trusting on ourselves to get up the mountain i.e. trusting in our ability to understand the bible with our natural mind instead of relying on our coach, the Holy Spirit.

And also studying sounds like hard work, and if you struggled at school,  you may think that studying is something you wouldn't be able to do, and wouldn't want to do. However, I love the way Jesus made it simple. He said, all it takes is the humility of a child.

Matt 18 [1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
 [2] He called a little child and had him stand among them. [3] And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Reading the bible does require hard work, but not complicated work. It's not easy, but anyone can do it. The hard part is simply the child-like faith to just keep doing it, to simply humble yourself and believe that when you read the bible, you're reading God's thoughts and ideas, and you're spending time with him.

Back in 1994 I attended a youth conference. One of the speakers shared the following thought.
God has never given me personal direction for my life while studying the bible and trying to get a message for other people. Everytime I get personal direction from God, and he talks to me, it comes from reading the bible for myself, just to spend time with him, not to get a message for someone else. Make sure that you're reading the bible for yourself. Put some time into your day just to sit with Jesus, and read his word, because that is when he will speak to you personally and give you direction.

That thought really struck me, and I realized that most of the time when I read the bible it was for the wrong reasons. I didn't have the one goal of meeting Jesus, but usually the other goals of gaining knowledge, or winning arguments, or preparing a message. And I wasn't a Pastor, or a Priest or anything, I was just a normal christian. I'd done exactly what Jesus had berated (told off) the religious leaders for - studying the bible for knowledge about God, instead of relationship with him.

And that is why I emphasize reading rather than studying. Reading implies something done for fun, enjoyment, pleasure. And that's the goal. Read the bible to meet the one who wrote it. The hard work comes in when you keep reading even when it seems boring.

I'm ready to start - what now
You've scheduled your time - whether you've got up early, stayed up late, or grabbed some time during the day. You've got your bible with you. What do you do now?
One goal - Picture the mountain. Look at the peak. Remember the goal - to meet with Jesus. So, talk to him, and tell him you're ready to come and meet him.
One guide - look beside you. You're not alone. You have a guide, who will lead you into all truth. Talk to the Holy Spirit, and thank him for his help as you read today.
Begin to read. I suggest you start in the New Testament - either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. These are the four eye witness accounts of Jesus' time on earth.
Read out loud if you want - I often do. And talk to Jesus and the Spirit while you read.
Be just like the little child, the one God said was the greatest in the kingdom. Treat Jesus like he's really there, next to you while you're reading about him.
And have fun!

Where do I start?

So, God loves me, and wants to talk to me, and the secret is to spend time with him.
But ... where do I start?

I believe time with God is so important that I can't wait for you to get started yourself. I don't want to rattle on and on and bore you when you could be spending time with God now. Time spent with Him is far more important than time spent reading this blog. So practically, how do you start.

Is there a right or wrong way to spend time with God?
No. Time is time. Just think family. Is there a right way or wrong way to spend time with your best mate? No. It's all time.

How much time?
As much as you like. The more you spend, then the more you will become like him. Again, think family. How often do you say "I really enjoyed that 5 minutes with ...". Usually it takes a while to unwind and relax in someones company, and that won't happen in 5 minutes. I suggest you start with a minimum of 15 minutes, and then if you're still enjoying yourself - go longer. Next time go half an hour. Do that for a few days. If you're finding it's not long enough, then add another 15 minutes. You may find that in a few months you can enjoy 1-2 hours alone with God.
But if the only exercise you've ever done is walk to the letter box, then don't expect to start by running a marathon.
Begin small and let it grow as you enjoy it more. Just treat God like your best friend.

How often?
As often as you like. Think of exercise. My son is fond of telling me, "Dad, if you only exercise once a week, then you're going backwards. If you only exercise twice, then you might just keep your current level of fitness. You need to exercise at least three times a week to improve your fitness and stamina." (Sad to say, I'm still not doing any regular exercise.)

The same advice is good for developing a friendship. But ... you must look at your schedule. I don't know your circumstances, but Jesus does. Ask him. "Jesus, when can I spend time with you. Help give me ideas of when could be the right time". Don't kill yourself by trying to book in time every day if your schedule won't allow it. Don't take time from your spouse or children to spend time with Jesus. But do sacrifice some of your leisure, television or facebook time.

When in the day?
Again, look at your schedule. Are you better in the morning or at night? Do you work shifts or odd hours? What will fit in for you? Whatever your schedule, I suggest that you make it a priority, and spend some time either at the start of your day, or at the start of your leisure time.
e.g. if you work night shift, and then sleep mornings, then your day might start at 1pm in the afternoon - that would be when to hang out with Jesus.
Or maybe the start of your day is so rushed you couldn't possibly see when it could fit in. Then have a look. When does your work day finish and your leisure time start? If you're a mum or dad and haven't seen your children all day, then give them the first half hour or so, but when you're ready to just sit down and relax and watch tv, and not spend time talking to others - then that is when you should hang out with Jesus.

What should I do?
Here's a few things you can do:

• pray in tongues (the language of the spirit).
• read your bible (don't study, but just read, as if you'd received an email from a friend)
• sing to him, praise him, worship him - with or without music - just tell him that he's special and that you love him
• just sit and enjoy being with him - be still and know that Jesus is Lord.

And most importantly - stop stressing about it!

Jesus likes spending time with you. He likes you spending time with him. He does not have a checklist that he uses every day to see if you've meet the grade, and then only love you if you've passed everything. He is our friend, and loves anything we do. If you're trying to perform and meet some unknown standard then you're stressed, and won't enjoy it.

Again think of family. You may spend time with your family every week. Some time is special. Some time is super special. Some is boring. Some is down-right boring. BUT ALL OF IT IS TIME WITH FAMILY.

In the same way, every minute you spend with Jesus is time with him. Don't try and grade yourself on how good your hang-out time with Jesus was. It's not about getting full marks, and doing it all right. It's about family - and family spends time together. It won't be long before you start sounding like Jesus, and acting like Jesus - because you grow like the people you spend time with.

The ball is in your court- Just do it!