The Secret Place

The Secret Place

 

“I want to be closer to God!” and “How do you get closer to God?” Two things I hear often, and today, we’re going to answer them! The Lord wants you to get to know Him like He knows you! Oh? Do you think that you BOTH need to get to know each other? No, brother…He already KNOWS YOU! He knows you better than you know yourself! Remember, He also lives in your being…He knows your thoughts and intentions…you cannot hoodwink the Holy Ghost!

 

No…we need to get to know Him for ourselves. How?

 

King David (The man after God’s own heart) said God is his …a place to live…

 

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Psalm 91:1 (KJV)

 

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. Psalm 91:1 (NLT)

 

These celebrations and declarations of King David bring to remembrance the celebration of protection and provision the Israelites received after escaping 400 years of slavery in Egypt.

 

: celebrates God’s faithfulness during the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in the desert. The festival recalls how they lived in temporary shelters and relied on God for sustenance.

 

Sounds like another “shelter.” The shelter of birth:

 

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that . Psalm 51:5-6 (NIV)

 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalms‬ 139‬:13‬-18‬ (NIV)‬‬

 

The secret place described by David: the womb/when we are formed and knit together. A place where God began to reveal His loving plan for our existence. A plan He established before we were even conceived:

 

The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NLT)

 

We are born naturally through a mother and father to become sinful living beings that are then able to be born again…made right by our God! God does not want us to “leave home” and do life alone. He beckons us to continually return to His side in relationship. 

 

The deposit of the Holy Spirit inside us (our being) is the DNA deposit of the Father in His kids!

(Tell your neighbor…Thank God you look like your Daddy!)

 

The secret place is a place where we are close to our creator, allowing Him to reshape the misshapen parts of our lives.

 

The secret place is that location where we refuse to listen to any other voices, where I must see Jesus! You have an audience with the KING! The highest, greatest, mighty God! Wow!

 

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father . Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Matthew 6:5-6 (NLT)

 

How do we enter the Secret Place? Through a secret passage…! 

 

There are disciplines of group engagement in the presence of God. But this one…you can only get there by yourself!

 

We must get away to meet with !

 

Push past the distractions all around us and reach for the arm of your King! 

 

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 (NLT) 

 

God knows you! Don’t go in there thinking you’ll never reemerge…this is a relationship. It’s a start… (tell the story of teaching kids how to pray)

 

I’m alone! Now what?

 

…pray to your Father in private.

 

Talk to God about everything…in a tone of reverence and love: Jesus demonstrated the way He does it

 

When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT)

 

The secret place is a place of : no need to babble when you already have His attention! 

 

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)

 

Please don’t try to talk to God like this! Don’t turn into “Ghetto Shakespeare” when you talk to God! If you do, I promise Michael, Gabriel, and the other angels are going to make fun of you! BE YOU! Talk to your Creator with all honor and respect, but He KNOWS YOU, SO BE YOU!

 

The secret place is a place of : God sees you and will show you things!

 

He will reveal the areas of your life that need reforming. Let the potter do His masterful work in your life!

 

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-10 (NLT)

 

Jesus just shared a secret tool of prayer! God doesn’t mind when we persistently bug Him!

 

The secret place is a place of : You and God have a thing going on!

 

The secret place is a place where you and God develop your private circle. A place where you can share your most sacred thoughts, dreams, and emotions. He is your confidant!

 

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT)

 

Did you notice the gifts God bestows on His children as we dwell in His presence?

 

The secret place is a place of : restoration and rejuvenation 

 

Where the Lord exists, there is healing…and restoration!

 

The secret place is a place of : God affirms us and reminds us of identity.

 

He constantly reminds us of our divine identity, by claiming us on Earth and in heaven!

 

The secret place is a place of : The peace of God starts here.

 

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Matthew 6:25-26 (NLT)

 

God extends peace to us amid everything! His shelter and His protection keep us safe and puts us at peace! Peace is not living without incident; it is living through our incidents without worry!

 

When we enter the secret place, we enter a relational construct of eternal significance! What we do in there matters!

 

Go to Jesus!

 

Run to Jesus!

 

Make room for Jesus!

 

Jesus will meet you there!