PART 1 of 8
SEEKING GOD: Calling out to God
The footsteps behind him were unrelenting but he was running as fast as he could. His lungs felt like they would explode at any moment, yet the swish of footsteps in the grass that followed him, didn’t lose a beat. In fact, they seemed to be closing the gap. Mere exhaustion would soon force him to stop and face his stalker no matter what the outcome. His heart raced and threatened to give up on him.
How much longer he could keep up this pace he didn’t know. His legs were getting tired and sore and he could feel his shoulders beginning to sag and lean forward. He looked from side to side hoping to see someone to help and to know which way he could run. To his dismay, nobody was around that could help or intervene. Just when he felt that his heart would burst through his chest, his body conceded and he collapsed.
First his lungs, then his heart, and now the tremendous pressure of anxiety filled what was left of his body as he looked up at the man and down the barrel of a 45 cal handgun. A triumphant smirk adorned the attackers face.
With no help, there wasn’t any way he could fend for himself against his attacker in this position or condition especially against a guy with a gun. He watched as the attacker raised the weapon and aimed it at his head as his eyes enlarged and the smirk turned into a full-fledged smile.
As if his arms and hands would stop a bullet, he raised them and cried out, “Oh God, no. . . God. . . help me! Don’t!”
Why do we Seek God
Deep within the soul of every man lies the knowledge that there is a God in heaven, whether they want to admit that fact or not. Many a person has cried out to God in any number of situations, even as our unsaved man did in the above story of desperation and fear. If anything, the desperate act of crying out to God is a condition reflex stemming from a hidden inherent knowledge that all men have embedded in them. God placed that knowledge in man when He first created him in the Garden of Eden.
Because of predestination [1], God calls us first and for one reason, He loves us [2]. However, because of free will [3], we seek god first and for many reasons and it usually takes a while to build our love and trust in Him.
Man seeks God for many reasons, not the least of which is peace, comfort, healing, deliverance, financial help, or any number of benefits derived from knowing Christ. Maybe He even saved us from someone who pointed a loaded gun at us.
More times than not the reason we seek God is because we have watched somebody else and witnessed how their life has changed after accepting Christ. Maybe that person even led us to Christ. In any event, this prompted us to want the same life, no matter what it was about them that we coveted.
Seeking God: The Beginning
When God gave this series to me, I received seven words from Him: seek, will, hands, face, heart, purpose, and prayer. At the time I was reading 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says,
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
It has always been important for man to seek and know God, but in this day and age [4], it is imperative because His Word also says that God will not always strive with man [5]. This says that salvation will not always be available. That is a scary thought, or it should be, to those who are unsaved.
With the emanate rapture of the church [6] getting closer, remember that life is but a vapor [7] and eternity is. . .well. . .forever. We get one chance at salvation and then the judgment [8]. After the judgment, man will die in his sin and spend eternity in hell with no possibility of escape. The way world events are shaping up nowadays, the judgment and eternity seem to be looming on the horizon.
God is love
First John 4:8b tells us that, “. . .God is love.” Can you imagine what it would be like to be Love and not have anyone to love - or love you back? We can only speculate as to how God felt before He created the heavens, the earth, and then man. We have to assume that since He created us, He needed somebody on which to lavish that love.
Christ also needed a Bride with which to lavish His love. This, however, presented two problems: Number 1, Jesus was Spirit and therefore needed a spirit for a bride. Since God [9] was the only entity in the universe at the time, He would have to create a spirit. Number 2, He needed the spirit to love Him with its own volition because without choice, you render love meaningless. The new spirit needed choice.
Whether it is a natural or spiritual relationship, love drives us to seek out the other person and to know what they are about. It is a constant quest to learn what we can about them. You call that relationship. . . bonding. . .love.
You might say, “It's impossible to know God, just because of that, ‘He is God.’”
Knowing God?
Since God’s ways and thoughts are far above man’s ways and thoughts [10], some will have a hard time understanding the concept of knowing God. I understand this thinking but we have to remember that God is Spirit and He created us in His image, which makes us spirit beings as well [11].
In the natural it is incomprehensible to understand God, for after all. . .He is God, the creator of the universe. Actually, in the natural, we can never really know God to His fullest because He is infinite. Since God is Spirit though, we must seek Him in spirit and in truth [12]. In addition, the Bible says that the Spirit will lead us to all truth [13]; not to some truth, but to all truth.
However, if one side of a relationship contributes more than the other side, is that a prerequisite to whether we can love and aspire to know that person, or whether both sides couldn’t benefit from the relationship, either in the natural or in the spiritual? I wouldn't think so.
Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God and if we do not seek to know God, to that man [14], it is just religion.
What follows are the six remaining words that God gave to me that day and what I perceived them to have meant. There will be two levels of prayer bringing the total to eight complete levels. This will not be an all-inclusive study on seeking God but prayerfully we can learn together what we can somewhat expect at each level. God bless you all as you read.
Ever wonder what the will of God was for your life? Seeking God's Will may give us an answer.
__________________________________________________________
[1] Romans 8:29, 30
[2] 1 John 4:19
[3] Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 3:31, Acts 13:48, James 4:17
[4] Emanate rapture
[5] Genesis 6:3
[6] 1 Thessalonians 4:17
[7] James 4:14
[8] Hebrews 9:27
[9] Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[10] Isaiah 55:8
[11] Since God created us in His image, we are a triune being as well. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and we are Spirit, soul, and Body.
[12] John 4:24
[13] John 16:13
[14] Generic term for mankind, meaning man or woman.
.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
SEEKING GOD
PART 6 of 8
SEEKING GOD’S PURPOSE: Treasure Hunters
The sky was a little overcast as he walked down the road, a road that was more like a small path winding itself through the countryside. At least he had a heavy tunic that shielded him from the evening air. As long as he made it to Jericho before the Sabbath [1], he’d be alright, for this wasn’t the safest stretch of road in the land.
From out of nowhere, three men pounced on him hitting his face and chest with their fists and cutting him with their knives. They kicked him while he was down, stripped him of his cloths, and left him on the side of the road to die. It all happened very quickly and was over in seconds.
He laid there naked, dazed, cold, and could barely move as he tried to stand but fell back to the ground slamming his face on a bed of rocks. Still struggling to breathe, he gasped for air trying to suck in the life saving oxygen. From where, he did not know, but he found the strength to mutter, “Hhhhel-p. . .me?” He coughed, spraying blood on the rocks.
He could no longer talk and was on the verge of losing consciousness. Everything around him was becoming blurry and the bleeding from his side was not stopping. Not only was the pain excruciating but he began to worry whether each subsequent breath would be his last. His whole body started to go numb.
If it was at all possible, his heart began to fill with even more anxiety, as a stranger approached. The hazy figure was hard to make out through all the blood. Did his attackers return to finish him off or did God send some help his way.
He tried to lift his arm as far as he could to signal for help, but it was difficult at best. He opened his mouth to ask for help but he gurgled on his own blood. He finally managed to moan, “Pleeeaze, hhhelp me.”
The approaching man moved to the opposite side of the road and disappeared out of his peripheral vision. The half-dead man dropped his arm and gasped. His body went limp. It hurt, even to think. It is God’s will, I am going to die. He lost consciousness.
The Good Samaritan
All of us have either read or know about this parable and know how it ends [2]. The Good Samaritan, stopped, went above and beyond the call of duty, and saved the injured man but only after a priest and a Levite had gone by and not helped.
Many preachers have told the story of the Good Samaritan countless times, as well that they should have because it was a great act of kindness, mercy, compassion, and unselfish behavior. That Samaritan deserved a place in God’s Word and like Jesus, his story is one, after which, we should all model our own existence.
The Israelite Traveler
However, throughout history and the teaching of this parable, we seemed to have forgotten about the poor Israelite traveler who was beaten, robbed, stripped of his clothes, and left for dead on the side of the road. God never forgot about him and neither should we.
There is another lesson to learn from the Good Samaritan parable: how many people are lying on the side of the road reaching out to us gurgling in their sin and despair crying out for help and, as in the case of our traveler, crying out to God? Will we pass them by?
God’s Number One Purpose
The number one purpose and desire of God’s heart is that we know Him and make Him known.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” [3]
Christ could not have been any clearer than that.
In verse 31, God has called us all to be Good Samaritans. Are we going to be like the priest and the Levite and walk around the dying and hurting people or are we going to be like the Good Samaritan and help our fellow man?
When Christ’s heart births in us we will not only find opportunities to take Christ's heart to others but we will look for them. There is a buried treasure of beauty in every person. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all be treasure hunters and find the good in all people? What we look for, we will find.
People are dying all around us and the fields are white unto salvation [4]. They all need the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. It is amazing what God can do for others through us. God birthed His heart in the Good Samaritan.
That they may be one
Christ is not only coming for His Bride, but He is coming for a Bride without spot, blemish, or wrinkle [5]. It is why God created man in the first place.
In 1993 I flew down to the Morris Cerullo’s Twenty-Third World Conference in San Diego, California. Believers from all over the world attended and although there have been bigger Christian gatherings, close to seven thousand believers showed up to worship God and hear from Him.
Unless you have been in a big crowd like this it will be hard to fathom the atmosphere that hovered over the auditorium while 7000 Christians worshiped, prayed, and sang to God. The spirit was so thick; it was hard even to stand. I will never forget the feeling and awesome time that I had that year with the Lord.
Now, can you further imagine the heavenly sound as millions of Christians raise their voice to God in song; millions of Christian spirits filled with the Holy Ghost and raising their praises to Him? This must be a beautiful sound to God, especially for Jesus, because we are His Bride.
Christ prayed to His Father that we’d all be one as He and the Father are one [6]. We are all many parts of the body but we are all baptized into one spirit [7], with Christ as the head. With the spirit that filled the atmosphere at that Conference with only 7000 Christians, I can see why God is not willing that one person should perish [8]. When millions of spirit-filled Christians become one spirit, we will become the Bride of Christ.
Each person is a facet of God’s love and beauty for God created us in His own image [9]. A part of God is in every individual that He longs to express Himself through, to show the different personalities and heart of God. He wanted people to love one another and to show mercy as He’s shown mercy. When the focus is on self, Christ-centeredness goes out the window. The goal is singleness of heart, where He’s the number one priority. This is the heart and the purpose of God.
Let’s go a little further and not only seek God, but talk to Him. When Christ died on the Cross, His death rent the veil in twain [10], which allowed us access to the throne room of God and His presence.
________________________________________________________
[1] The Jewish day starts at 6:00PM (1800 hrs)
[2] Luke 10:30-37
[3] Mark 12:30, 31 KJV
[4] John 4:35
[5] Ephesians 5:27
[6] John 17:21, 22
[7] 1 Corinthians 12:13
[8] 2 Peter 3:9
[9] Genesis 1:27
[10] Matthew 27:51 This means that the veil that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies in the Tent of the Meeting (Tabernacle), God ripped it in two upon Christ’s death.
SEEKING GOD’S PURPOSE: Treasure Hunters
The sky was a little overcast as he walked down the road, a road that was more like a small path winding itself through the countryside. At least he had a heavy tunic that shielded him from the evening air. As long as he made it to Jericho before the Sabbath [1], he’d be alright, for this wasn’t the safest stretch of road in the land.
From out of nowhere, three men pounced on him hitting his face and chest with their fists and cutting him with their knives. They kicked him while he was down, stripped him of his cloths, and left him on the side of the road to die. It all happened very quickly and was over in seconds.
He laid there naked, dazed, cold, and could barely move as he tried to stand but fell back to the ground slamming his face on a bed of rocks. Still struggling to breathe, he gasped for air trying to suck in the life saving oxygen. From where, he did not know, but he found the strength to mutter, “Hhhhel-p. . .me?” He coughed, spraying blood on the rocks.
He could no longer talk and was on the verge of losing consciousness. Everything around him was becoming blurry and the bleeding from his side was not stopping. Not only was the pain excruciating but he began to worry whether each subsequent breath would be his last. His whole body started to go numb.
If it was at all possible, his heart began to fill with even more anxiety, as a stranger approached. The hazy figure was hard to make out through all the blood. Did his attackers return to finish him off or did God send some help his way.
He tried to lift his arm as far as he could to signal for help, but it was difficult at best. He opened his mouth to ask for help but he gurgled on his own blood. He finally managed to moan, “Pleeeaze, hhhelp me.”
The approaching man moved to the opposite side of the road and disappeared out of his peripheral vision. The half-dead man dropped his arm and gasped. His body went limp. It hurt, even to think. It is God’s will, I am going to die. He lost consciousness.
The Good Samaritan
All of us have either read or know about this parable and know how it ends [2]. The Good Samaritan, stopped, went above and beyond the call of duty, and saved the injured man but only after a priest and a Levite had gone by and not helped.
Many preachers have told the story of the Good Samaritan countless times, as well that they should have because it was a great act of kindness, mercy, compassion, and unselfish behavior. That Samaritan deserved a place in God’s Word and like Jesus, his story is one, after which, we should all model our own existence.
The Israelite Traveler
However, throughout history and the teaching of this parable, we seemed to have forgotten about the poor Israelite traveler who was beaten, robbed, stripped of his clothes, and left for dead on the side of the road. God never forgot about him and neither should we.
There is another lesson to learn from the Good Samaritan parable: how many people are lying on the side of the road reaching out to us gurgling in their sin and despair crying out for help and, as in the case of our traveler, crying out to God? Will we pass them by?
God’s Number One Purpose
The number one purpose and desire of God’s heart is that we know Him and make Him known.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” [3]
Christ could not have been any clearer than that.
In verse 31, God has called us all to be Good Samaritans. Are we going to be like the priest and the Levite and walk around the dying and hurting people or are we going to be like the Good Samaritan and help our fellow man?
When Christ’s heart births in us we will not only find opportunities to take Christ's heart to others but we will look for them. There is a buried treasure of beauty in every person. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all be treasure hunters and find the good in all people? What we look for, we will find.
People are dying all around us and the fields are white unto salvation [4]. They all need the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. It is amazing what God can do for others through us. God birthed His heart in the Good Samaritan.
That they may be one
Christ is not only coming for His Bride, but He is coming for a Bride without spot, blemish, or wrinkle [5]. It is why God created man in the first place.
In 1993 I flew down to the Morris Cerullo’s Twenty-Third World Conference in San Diego, California. Believers from all over the world attended and although there have been bigger Christian gatherings, close to seven thousand believers showed up to worship God and hear from Him.
Unless you have been in a big crowd like this it will be hard to fathom the atmosphere that hovered over the auditorium while 7000 Christians worshiped, prayed, and sang to God. The spirit was so thick; it was hard even to stand. I will never forget the feeling and awesome time that I had that year with the Lord.
Now, can you further imagine the heavenly sound as millions of Christians raise their voice to God in song; millions of Christian spirits filled with the Holy Ghost and raising their praises to Him? This must be a beautiful sound to God, especially for Jesus, because we are His Bride.
Christ prayed to His Father that we’d all be one as He and the Father are one [6]. We are all many parts of the body but we are all baptized into one spirit [7], with Christ as the head. With the spirit that filled the atmosphere at that Conference with only 7000 Christians, I can see why God is not willing that one person should perish [8]. When millions of spirit-filled Christians become one spirit, we will become the Bride of Christ.
Each person is a facet of God’s love and beauty for God created us in His own image [9]. A part of God is in every individual that He longs to express Himself through, to show the different personalities and heart of God. He wanted people to love one another and to show mercy as He’s shown mercy. When the focus is on self, Christ-centeredness goes out the window. The goal is singleness of heart, where He’s the number one priority. This is the heart and the purpose of God.
Let’s go a little further and not only seek God, but talk to Him. When Christ died on the Cross, His death rent the veil in twain [10], which allowed us access to the throne room of God and His presence.
________________________________________________________
[1] The Jewish day starts at 6:00PM (1800 hrs)
[2] Luke 10:30-37
[3] Mark 12:30, 31 KJV
[4] John 4:35
[5] Ephesians 5:27
[6] John 17:21, 22
[7] 1 Corinthians 12:13
[8] 2 Peter 3:9
[9] Genesis 1:27
[10] Matthew 27:51 This means that the veil that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies in the Tent of the Meeting (Tabernacle), God ripped it in two upon Christ’s death.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Fighting Off Invaders
In today's world amongst the N1H1 flu and health care reform and misdirection of politicians, I submit to you an attempt to keep us all on track in our daily lives. God is still in control!
Praise God in all things [1]. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. . .Yes, even when we’re sick and down, give praise unto Jesus.
Praise God when we're sick? You bet. Being physically sick is good. Temperature is the body’s way of fighting off the invaders of our body. Thank you Jesus because you have fearfully and wonderfully made us [2]. Our bodies work exactly like you have programmed them to work.
Since all truth is parallel, it is the same thing spiritually for when we are tempted, tried, and exposed to suffering; it is still Christ fighting off the invaders of our soul. Things go wrong naturally so we can fight the bad things in our spiritual system through Christ [3]. As long as we keep Jesus in focus and in charge, Christ will fight off the invaders of our spirit.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [4]
Therefore, the next time we are physically sick, rejoice and praise God because we know that Christ is fighting on our behalf on the inside of us. When we are spiritually sick and down, rejoice and praise God, because we know that there are battles going on inside of us. We can and should pray, but the battle needs to rage on inside of us until Christ expels those invaders.
When we are physically sick, we go to the pharmacist and get an aspirin pill, and then rest in bed. When we are spiritually sick, we go to the Great Physician, take the Gos-pill, and then rest in Jesus.
Hallelujah!
-------------------------------------
[1] Eph 5:20 KJV
[2] Psalms 139:14
[3] (Hebrews 4:14-16)
[4] 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 KJV
Praise God in all things [1]. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. . .Yes, even when we’re sick and down, give praise unto Jesus.
Praise God when we're sick? You bet. Being physically sick is good. Temperature is the body’s way of fighting off the invaders of our body. Thank you Jesus because you have fearfully and wonderfully made us [2]. Our bodies work exactly like you have programmed them to work.
Since all truth is parallel, it is the same thing spiritually for when we are tempted, tried, and exposed to suffering; it is still Christ fighting off the invaders of our soul. Things go wrong naturally so we can fight the bad things in our spiritual system through Christ [3]. As long as we keep Jesus in focus and in charge, Christ will fight off the invaders of our spirit.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [4]
Therefore, the next time we are physically sick, rejoice and praise God because we know that Christ is fighting on our behalf on the inside of us. When we are spiritually sick and down, rejoice and praise God, because we know that there are battles going on inside of us. We can and should pray, but the battle needs to rage on inside of us until Christ expels those invaders.
When we are physically sick, we go to the pharmacist and get an aspirin pill, and then rest in bed. When we are spiritually sick, we go to the Great Physician, take the Gos-pill, and then rest in Jesus.
Hallelujah!
-------------------------------------
[1] Eph 5:20 KJV
[2] Psalms 139:14
[3] (Hebrews 4:14-16)
[4] 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 KJV
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