Intro
     1.   Background
               a.   How does our entertainment emphasize the dramatic & spectacular?
               b.   How does God’s nature? He is a mighty God, supernatural, omniscient,
          omnipotent.
               c.   So we expect that when God says something to us, it will be dramatic, exciting,
          supernatural results.
               d.   We expect anything God does to be BIG.
               e.   When we ask someone to pray for us — physical healing, relationship restored,
          financial solution — we hope for the dramatic; disappointed if answer not
          dramatic.
               f.   This series: helped change our understanding of our ability to hear God speak;
          helped develop necessary skills.
               g.   Today: change some of our expectations regarding what God speaks to us about;
          will help us recognize when he speaks.

     2.   Think about how often Bible address small things.
               a.   What does Bible say about a  sparrow falling to ground? Is seen by Father. Why
          does Bible use sparrow as example? Relatively insignificant.
               b.   If you give cup of water in Lord’s name, will receive reward. How much
          sacrifice/effort involved in giving cup of water? Virtually none.
               c.   Bible says every word you speak will be judged/evaluated. How much
          importance do we put in every word we speak?
               d.   Jesus' parables often dealt with small things in life; a seed, a coin.
               e.   told disciple to catch a fish to pay tax. Why not produce coin out of thin air? Or
          take up offering?
               f.   Bible says little child is greatest in kingdom. Traits: dependent, trusting,
          inadequate
               g.   Much of NT demonstrates God's attention to what we consider the small &
          insignificant.

     3.   The little things you do are significant to God.
               a.   Zech 4:10 “Who despises the day of small things?”
               b.   Clear principle in scripture (Mt 25:21):  prove yourself faithful in small things,
          then have responsibility for greater things.
                         i.   “faithful”: if you could count on someone in big issues, but not in small
               ones, would you consider them faithful? If someone handled millions of
               dollars in cash flow, only embezzled $1000, faithful? Faithful = even in
               small things.
               c.   Biblical concept of “single-minded” not “double-minded”: personal integrity.
          the greater someone’s integrity, the more their convictions/ standards will
          influence everything they do.
               d.   The small things are always important to God.
               e.   Be alert to spiritual input on all matters, not just “big” stuff; God is interested in
          everything you do.

What about those “little” impressions you have?
     1.   My general rule of thumb [very profound, highly advanced, so listen carefully]:  “If
     you have nothing to lose, try it.”
               a.   Try following your hunches on small issues.
                         i.   choosing a route to drive, how you perform your chores, etc.
                         ii.  Issue: not finding a better route to work, but becoming sensitive to
               spirit.
               b.   This is not spontaneity for the sake of being different
                         i.   Learning to hear our spirits, hear God speaking to our spirits.
                         ii.  Your mind needs to relinquish some control — “That doesn’t make
               sense. This way has always worked.”
                         iii. Make your mind submit to your spirit.
               c.   God proves us in small things before he entrusts us with greater things.
               d.   When teaching your children about money, you don’t give them responsibility
          for your household finances; you give them relatively small allowance.
                         i.   some of you might be better off if entrusted your finances to your kids.
                         ii.  But that’s now how you train someone; you start small.
               e.   We see importance of developing skills in controlled, low-risk situations.
               f.   This is how we must learn to hear & recognize God’s voice.

     2.   As you become more experienced, can follow impressions even when greater risk
     involved.
               a.   You learn by experience.
               b.   Reminder:
                         i.   Not talking about using meditation to help you figure things out
               mentally.
                         ii.  Not talking about shutting mind down to produce altered state of
               consciousness.
                         iii. We’re learning to make our minds cooperate with our spirits, becoming
               more sensitive to spiritual activity & communication.
                         iv.  You are spiritual being, is spiritual activity all around you, God speaks
               to you spirit-to-spirit; problem: your mind is in control and refuses to
               acknowledge your spirit’s inputs.
               c.   I’m convinced: God will use small incidents to teach you how to listen to your
          spirit
               d.   Also convinced: God will always address the small things in your life.
               e.   If issue is important, you’d be wise to pray about it and wait until you have
          spiritual impression about it.

Exercise
     1.   Write following on paper: “Lord, how important to you are the small things in my
     life?”
     2.   Meditate on Lord, visual image, worship him, pray in tongues.
     3.   Read question to Lord, record dialog.
     4.   Tests:
 Critical tests (must always pass):
               a.   Is it biblical?
               b.   Peace in your spirit?
 Additional tests (consider; may not be relevant):
               c.   Does it require humility or service?
               d.   Is it consistent with your character?
               e.   Has God confirmed what he said?

Personal experience
     1.   Many, many instances of following impressions, hunches, my curiosity; often leads to
     solution or discovery. Not always, but often enough to assure me this is one way God
     speaks to me.
     2.   I rely on this heavily in practically everything I do [important, say again]; whether a
     technical issue, personal issue, studying scripture, whatever.
     3.   Example; happened several years ago, but is almost a textbook example:
               a.   Working on project that needed an electrical timer with certain feature; looking
          at timers in store, dropped a pin, couldn’t find it
               b.   Words spontaneously came into mind, “Take four steps”
               c.   “If you have nothing to lose, try it.”
               d.   Those words came to me while assuring myself about timer; spontaneous. Had
          already given up trying to find the pin.
               e.   Very gentle, natural; could have easily ignored.
               f.   Took 4 steps, found the pin
               g.   could have thought:
                         i.   “that’s silly”
                         ii.  “pin couldn’t be over there”
                         iii. “which direction?”
                         iv.  “big steps or little steps?”
                         v.   My mind could easily have seized control.
               h.   Issue: not finding an insignificant piece of plastic; was about learning to
          respond to spiritual input.
               i.   I learned a valuable lesson from that; was a very significant experience; I
          always look back & value that experience.
                         i.   But incident itself was insignificant.
                         ii.  It was a small thing.
               j.   Don’t overlook the small things; God doesn’t.

     4.   Somewhat unusual
               a.   Every day isn't like that.
               b.   I often lose things, forget things, miss phone calls, etc. I live a normal life.
               c.   But these special things happen frequently enough to remind me that God is
          intimately involved in the details of my life.
               d.   One of the things that allows him to demonstrate that is my willingness to do
          what he says to me.
                         i.   I'm aware that he uses impressions, hunches, spontaneous thoughts,
               even my curiosity to lead me.
                         ii.  I try to be sensitive to these things
                         iii. Realize that if I do my best, God will protect me from harm if I follow a
               hunch that isn't from him.
                         iv.  Quite often if I'm following a hunch that isn't from him, he'll give me
               insight or impression about what I'm doing, so I can make a change.
               e.   Emphasize:
                         i.   not advocating random actions, irrational behavior, following every
               stray thought or whim.
                         ii.  God is author of order, not anarchy/chaos.
                         iii. I’m intuitive, but also rational & practical; believe God gave us common
               sense and expects us to use it.
                         iv.  Book of Proverbs strong example.
                         v.   Things of God (including spiritual matters) are not irrational, but often
               super-rational; may not make sense unless we see things from God’s
               perspective or know what he knows.
                         vi.  Must recognize: God’s ways & thoughts infinitely superior to ours and
               he interacts with us spirit-to-spirit.
                         vii. So if we’re really smart, we’ll pay attention to spiritual input.
               f.   Be alert to that occasional impression or thought.
               g.   Rule of thumb: “If you have nothing to lose, try it.”
               h.   We’re learning to be sensitive to our spirits; not our feelings or thoughts, but
          our spirits.

Questions?

Class examples?
          Hunch, spontaneous thought, etc., that could have been the Lord? Any harm in
     following them?
 

Additional Notes
Waiting
     1.   If you don’t know what God wants in specific situation:
               a.   Pray about it, ask for direction
               b.   Ponder relevant scriptures
               c.   Wait. Don’t be frustrated you don’t have immediate answer. Wait.
               d.   Thank God for his interest and desire to help you.
     2.   The answer you need might come when you least expect it.
               a.   God often speaks some time after you have prayed.
               b.   Speaks most frequently when you’re relaxed and mind is quiet enough to hear
          him.
               c.   When thinking or praying about situation, mind is usually cluttered with details,
          or intense; makes it difficult to recognize when or what God speaks.
               d.   Also, when God speaks spontaneously, we have greater confidence it was he
          who spoke, not something we forced out of our own thoughts or imagination.
     3.   If you don’t receive anything from God, make your best decision based on scriptural
     principles and examples. Use “sanctified intellect.”