There is no substitute for 20/20 vision whether it is corrected or uncorrected. Everybody wants to be able to see everything. That is true, not just in the physical world, but that is true in the spiritual world. There is nothing like getting “up close and personal” with God and seeing Him in HD and hearing Him in surround-sound.

We are in a series we are calling “Up Close & Personal,” because that is the kind of relationship we can have with God. God sent His son to remove every barrier, tear down every wall, bridge every gulf, and unlock every door so that we can get up close and personal with Him anytime we want to. In fact, we can be and should be closer to God than we are to anyone else on this planet. That is not only why Jesus came, but that is also why Jesus left. [Turn to Hebrews 4]

The Book of Hebrews was written to an audience of Jews who had become followers of Christ, but they still had a lot of questions of how their new Christian life was to affect their old Jewish life. You actually find more quotations of the Old Testament in Hebrews than you do in any other New Testament book. In the 4th Chapter, the author of Hebrews writes something that would have made any religious Jew literally gasp for air. We pick up with verse 14.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” (Hebrews 4:14, ESV)

Everyone knew that the high priest was the only person that was allowed to draw near to God and actually come into His presence and then He could only do it on one day a year (the Day of Atonement) and he could only be in front of the alter in the Holiest of Holies. Now the author is saying that Jesus is the eternal high priest, who has gone before us into heaven.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV)

He then recounts to us that this high priest is not an ordinary high priest, but One, who even though He is above us also stands with us, because He too, had skin on at one time. He literally had “skin in the game.” He was a human being and experienced every temptation that we’ve experienced.

Then He closes with this unbelievable assertion. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

Now the tense of the verb “draw near” in the Greek language is present tense which denotes “continuous action.” What He was saying to these Jewish people was that you don’t have to go through a high priest anymore to get to God. You can draw near as often as you want, stay as long as you want, because the door is never locked, it is always open and you can get up close and personal with God anytime you want to.

I am not telling you anything you don’t already know if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but there is a problem. Too often, we come to God only because we want Him to do something for us, when He wants to say something to us. I want to give you a thought that ought to rattle your cage. God will speak to us if we will listen to Him. One of the reasons why we don’t hear God is because we won’t shut up. Most of the time, when we go into the presence of God it is not to hear what He has to say to us, but what we want to tell Him to do for us.

God still speaks to those who listen. Communication and conversation take time. Just as a husband and a wife need time together, just as a father and a son or a mother and a daughter need time together, we need time together with our Father in heaven on a daily basis where we connect with God and communicate with God. Call it whatever you want – a quiet time, a devotional life, time alone with God. We need that time with God and God wants that time with us.

Except for the moment of my salvation, when I surrendered my life to Christ, nothing has impacted my life more, nothing has inspired more sermons, nothing has encouraged me more, nothing has shaped me more, and nothing has sharpened my spiritual vision and spiritual hearing more than the regular habit of having a quiet time with God. Do you know why? When you draw near to God you hear from God.

What I want to share with you today is how I draw near to God. My way is not the only way. It may not even be the best way, but I know it is one right way to do it, because for many years now, I have connected and communicated intimately and personally with God. I am going to share with you four simple ways that I guarantee you, if you practice them, you will hear God speak to you as you have never heard Him before. You will see God guide you as He has never guided you before and you will be closer to God than you have ever been before.

I. Reserve A Time And Place

If you really want to connect with someone and communicate with someone, environment is a key. An environment is affected by two things: time and place.

For example, if I want to have a romantic meal with my wife, I don’t take her to the Waffle House for breakfast. I don’t need to hear sausage and bacon frying in the background and seeing eggs tossed up in the air. You get the picture. Neither do I want to take her to the McDonald’s for lunch to hear somebody say, “Do you want fries with that?”

No, if I want to have a romantic time with my wife, I take her to dinner to a quiet restaurant with candles, linen, soft music and low lights. Time and place are important.

If you have something important to say to someone or you need to engage in deep conversation you need to do it in peace and quiet. Sometimes when I want to be alone with my thoughts and with God I come into this room, during the week when it is empty. No one is here but me and God. Time and place are important.

Jesus understood the importance of a quiet time. Listen to these two verses of scripture.

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, ESV)

“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (Luke 5:16, ESV)

Jesus reserved a certain time and had a special place He would get away to be with God.

Time is important. If you are going to draw near to God, so you can hear from God you’ve got to schedule time to listen. I would encourage you to literally schedule this and to literally to make an appointment with God. Do you know why? If you don’t schedule time with God, then most times you won’t make time for God.

How many times have you said to someone, “We need to get together” or “We need to go to lunch” or “We need to go play golf”, but then you never do? There is only one reason why you don’t. You didn’t schedule it! The easiest thing to get squeezed out of your schedule is this time with God.

I am going to make a strong suggestion to you and I am not saying that it is set in concrete. Nor am I saying this is the only time you can have a quiet time, but I would encourage you to have your quiet time first thing every day. We have already seen that Jesus did. There was a method to His madness. He knew that the best way He could do what His Heavenly Father wanted Him to do, day-in and day-out was to meet first with His Heavenly Father. On my to-do list daily is a repeatable first thing and it is my quiet time.

Some of you are sitting there going, “But I am not a morning person.” Can I let you in on a secret? Everybody does something the first thing in the morning - you turn on the radio or the tv, get on the computer to check email, or your cellphone to check text messages. Matthew 6:33 says we ought to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” Since you are going to do something first, you may as well seek God first.

You say, “But I am not at my best in the morning.” That is all right. God is always at His best. You say, “I can’t even get my eyes open in the morning.” Do you know what? The psalmist evidently had the same problem you had. Listen to what he said in Psalm 119:18. He said, “God, I can’t open my eyes. Will You do it for me?” God did. That leads to the second thing to do to draw near to hear.

II. Read Your Bible

The primary way that God speaks today is the Bible. I don’t put God in a box and I’m not saying God can’t speak in other ways, but for 2000 years His primary way has been through His word and 2000 years from now it will still be through His word. If you are going to draw near to God you must read your Bible. There is no other way. You can pray all you want to and talk to God all you want to, but He will not speak to you unless He does it through His word.

There are all kinds of Bible reading plans out there. Online you can visit www.youversion.com and find literally dozens of different reading plans that you can get on your smart phone or by email every day. One good way is to read through books of the Bible. If you are one of those people out there that just don’t read your Bible much or have never read it much let me give you a couple of books to start with. Start with either the Gospel of John or the Book of James. They are easy books. They are practical books and a good way to get started in reading your Bible.

Then, many people say, “I read it, but I just don’t get anything out of it.” I want you write down three questions to ask of every Bible passage you read and I promise you when you begin to really wrestle with these questions and think them through you will get something out of your Bible almost without fail. Here they are:

1) What does this passage say? That is a very simple question. You are just asking yourself, in essence, “What is the message here? Why is this in the Bible? What is the author saying?”

The next question, 2) What can I take from it? Is there a lesson to learn? Is there a warning to heed? Is there a principle remember?

Then the third question, 3) How do I apply this truth to my life? In every story in the Bible there is either something you show do (just like the character in the story did it) or something you should not do (like the character in the story did). For example, Daniel will teach you not to be afraid of Lion’s Dens or fiery furnaces. Samson will teach you not to marry a wicked woman and especially don’t let her cut your hair! David will teach you that you can’t cover up sin from God, so it is better not to sin in the first place. How do you remember those things? That leads to the third step in drawing near to Him and that is…

III. Record Your Thoughts

What I mean by that is to write down what God says to you in a spiritual diary or what I call a “journal.” By the way, do you know where I got that idea? From the Bible itself. Do you know what this book is? It is God’s journal that records two things: what He said and what He did. There are two things that we are all known by and judged by: what we say and what we do (by our words and by our actions.)

Do you remember this saying, “Actions speak louder than… words.” Actions are what we do and words are what we say. Here is another one, “Put up or…shut-up.” Put up – that is your action and shut-up that is your words.

In a journal you record two things: what God is saying to you as you read your Bible and what God is doing in your life.

I realize for some of you this is a natural and easily accomplished thing to do. You enjoy writing. You already have a journal or diary. You naturally write down what is happening in your life and what God is teaching you. For others, when I say that you should begin a journal, I might as well say, “Go out and build a space shuttle.” This is something that is completely alien to you and you believe it is beyond your talents or abilities to accomplish. In fact, the natural response of someone who does not journal is to ask, “Why, really, do I need a journal? After all I’ve gotten by without one for all of these years.”

Let me tell you that journaling can be a life-transforming. But I realize that some people need steps along the way to get from not journaling at all to keeping a spiritual journal. So let me suggest two ways to get started in journaling.

The first is to take notes during the sermon. As I am preaching and sharing information, Scriptures, illustrations, take down notes. Write on your bulletin or a piece of paper. You are going to retain more of what you hear when you write, and you are already sitting there. So all you need to get started is a pen. This week, review those notes when you are in your quiet time with God. Pray over what you have been learning and ask God to show you how to apply the sermon to your life this week.

The second is to jot down notes in the margins of your Bible. Some of you don’t want to write in your Bible. It’s okay! You own the book. God won’t mind! He already knows what He said. Don’t be afraid to underline verses and then out to the side write specific thoughts your ideas that God is communicating to you through the passage.

If you start with those two practices—taking sermon notes and then writing in the margins of your Bible—and do them regularly for a few months, you will find it a very short step to begin journaling. The important thing is to begin, right now today, writing down what you are learning and what God is saying to you, as part of your routine.

IV. Reach Out In Prayer

After I’ve heard from God. I can’t help but talk to God. Though I am going to expand on this next week the way I get into God’s presence is I simply thank God for what He has told me, thank God for what He is doing for me, and praise God for who He is to me.

I wish I had time to develop more about prayer, but I would encourage you to keep prayer list. I keep a list and I pray a different list every day. There are two things I pray for every day. I pray for my family and personal needs and I pray for my schedule every day. I keep a list for the sick and the suffering. I keep a list for political and spiritual leaders. I keep a list for special friends and marriages who are in trouble. I keep a list for people who are far from God. I don’t care how you pray. Just pray!

God wants to speak to you. If you draw near to God you will hear from God. There is a great benefit from doing it and it is not just for you.

The closer you are to Jesus the more others will want to get close to you. The better your relationship is with God the better it will be with other people. I know that to be true for this reason.

Have you ever noticed the more you spend time with other people the more you become just like them? You will find yourself using phrases they use, seeing things the same way they seem them, and adopting the same idiosyncrasies. Likewise, the more time you spend with Jesus the more you become like Jesus. When you read the New Testament one thing is clear – people were drawn to Jesus (rich people, poor people, good people, bad people).

The more you are like Him the more others will be drawn to you. Jesus died, gave His life so that we could be “up close and personal” with the God that created us. By knowing that we can, how much more we should. You reserve a time and a place. You read your Bible. You record your thoughts. You reach out in prayer, because when you draw near to God you will hear from God.

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