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EXPERIENCING GOD IN YOUR LIFE
Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. Jonah 2:8 (NLT)
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HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG AND LIFE WAS WASTED, HOPELESS OR THAT THE FUTURE LOOKED BLEAK?
When Jacob was told to send Benjamin to Egypt he was deeply grieved. He felt God was against him. Joseph was gone and now Simeon held prisoner. He did want to lose his youngest son, Benjamin.
Genesis 42-50
42 :2 “ I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.” 3 So 10 of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”
14 Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ 15 This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. 19 If you are honest men, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain [to relieve] the hunger of your households. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.
He took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” 38 But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”
45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10 You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you, your children, and grandchildren, your sheep, cattle, and all you have. 11 There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.” ’ 12 Look! Your eyes and my brother Benjamin’s eyes can see that it is I [, Joseph,] who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father all about my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.” 14 Then Joseph threw his arms around Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
Gen 45:4-15 (HCSB)
God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. And Jacob replied, “Here I am.” 3 God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will put his hands on your eyes.”[
Gen 46:2-4 (HCSB)
28Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph hitched [the horses to] his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time. 30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen your face [and know] you are still alive!”
Gen 46:28-30 (HCSB)
Has God asked you to do something and you believe it will be horrible or at a great price?
Don’t call evil good and good evil. We don’t know the future. When you are in God’s hands you have to wait for God to reveal His plan. Jacob sent Benjamin and then he found out that Joseph was alive and that his family would be cared for during the severe famine. He could have messed this up by holding back his son. God wants us to have His best for us, but it might mean taking a risk. Jacob died knowing that God was not against him after all.
Whatever you may be facing, it is not over until God says so.
Trust and obey, there is no other way.
'When you trust and obey God you will have some of the most thrilling experiences of your life.'
If you don’t know God you must take care of that before you can experience Him in your life. Place your faith in Jesus and then receive the free gift He offers you
And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. 1 John 3:23-24 (NLT)
If you are walking with the Lord and have the indwelling Holy Spirit, you will experience God in your life.
You will:
You will only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things’. John 14:26
Allow the Holy Spirit to make Jesus real in your life.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:
Romans 8:13-16 (ASV)
God is involved in our daily lives. He cares about our life and what we face in this world. He wants us to allow Him into our life so that He can fill our life with purpose and peace. He wants to give us direction and to invites us to walk with Him. When we are open to Him and allow Him access to our hearts, He will dwell in us and we will be His ambassador and used for His purposes. He will be in the center of our lives when He gives us an assignment to accomplish. God is absolutely trustworthy, and we must continue to put our faith in Him day by day. Our faith will grow day by day as we walk with Him through life.
If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes that uncertainty. Often much can happen during this waiting for the Lord. Sometimes He changes pride into humility, doubt into faith and peace. Corrie ten Boom
God is working all around you and in your life. What is sad is that many don’t know how to recognize Him. Our faith would grow stronger if we would see His hand move in our circumstances. We can learn to trust Him in greater ways when we realize that He is active in every part of our lives. The Holy Spirit will instruct you and help you know when and where He is working and then you can adjust your life to join in Him in His work. We can’t accomplish anything worthwhile unless we walk with the Lord and do the work He has given us in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can’t accomplish the goal that He gives us; it is only when He works in us and accomplishes it through us that it has any use to Him. We should ask Him what His will is, and then watch to see how He answers and how the Spirit leads us to proceed. Walking with the Lord brings peace and great joy. Who would want to do this life without Him? When God works through His servant, He can accomplish anything.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8 (Darby)
We want to do things ourselves; that is just how we are. But when it comes to living an abundant life and making wise choices, we need guidance. When God wants to use us for something, He has to get us to a place where we can hear Him and we are willing to be moldable in His hands. The moment that you know God wants to do something in your life, you need to join Him and be willing to follow His command. As you experience more of God, you come to know more about Him. The more you obey Him, the more He will share with you about the work He is doing. Remember, it is not about you. God is doing a work for the advancement of the kingdom and He will ask you to join in the work. It is not that God is doing something wonderful for you, although you will be blessed by responding to His call and seeing the great work that He is doing. Don’t be concerned whether or no you are doing well. God already knows what you will do and He has built in a plan that will work around your mistakes. He cares about the relationship He has with you. But just think about how awesome it is to have Him ask you to join in the work that He could accomplish on His own. He does not need you to help Him. It is His desire to use you. He is able to reach people through another human being easier than trying to get their attention directly. Remain humble and willing to do your part. God can do great things with one willing person. He looks for people whose hearts are seeking Him, that He can use as He brings about a part of His eternal plan.
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chron 16:9 (NLT)
If you just show up and listen and watch what is taking place, you will see with spiritual eyes and know when He has shown up. There is no way to explain how you will know that He has done something. You will just know when you see it. It is God who reveals it to you; you are able to see the connection of events and understand what it meant for someone; that God touched them in a special way. Most people have wondered if God could ever accomplish what He wanted to achieve through them. God is not surprised when you fail and He chooses to use you anyway. He delights in using you, even in your moments of stupidity, or inability to perceive what He is doing. Just join in and allow Him to work in you and then you will grow by that experience and be greatly blessed by it. Talk to Him about your fears and concerns. Talk to Him about your failures and in hindsight.
God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty. Rick Warren
Ask His forgiveness for the things you failed to do or did wrong. He understands and will enjoy sharing these moments with you. He wants you to be real and honest with Him. He will help you to see what you could have done differently, or the timing, or the method. He will show you what you need to know; and through experience you will learn to walk closer with and be useful to God. You will be ready to step up when He calls you, then you will listen to His plan and adjust your life, you will remain humble and willing to be used by Him, you will be obedient to His plan and method and wait for His timing, and do it His way, and you will leave the results to Him.
Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. Oswald Chambers
We are often hesitant or non-responsive to His call to join Him. When will we realize that whatever He does is always wonderful, and it is the best that could ever be accomplished? How could we ever want to do things our own way? It really is stupid to think that our way is best. What good would it do to make plans and not involve His leading? Where ever you are God is at work in those people around us, drawing them to Himself all the time. He wants to reach out to them and He wants to use another human being to whom they can relate. You have two arms, an ear, and an understanding heart that they need to touch their life and bring relief to their pain. God will show you how and when, and give you the words to say and He will allow you to see the joy He brings into their life. If you are self-centered you may miss the opportunity and you will lose out on the joy of the Lord. It is better to give than receive. But when we are used by God we also are the ones who are blessed.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)
God takes the initiative to speak to you about His plans. Bow your knee and answer Him when He calls. Get your heart in a state of readiness to answer and respond to Him immediately. Be ready, always, to go where He says to go and do what He says to do. If you are unable to hear Him speak, you are in trouble at the core of your relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. It is the Holy Spirit who helps you to understand the word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit who is your counselor and your comforter, He is your power and your wisdom in all things. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to indwell you. The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with power into your life to do God’s will. God may call you and use you in a small and insignificant task. God will do that to test your faithfulness. If you are faithful in little He will give you more responsibility. God gets to decide what your task will be. It is all for His glory not yours. This is not about you. He has a right to interrupt your life and use you in ways you may not like. He is not your God to make you happy every day. God may ask you to wait, and it is for your good so that you will be prepared for the right moment in time when He wants you to step up to the task He calls you to do. He uses us in many and various ways as practice, to be prepared for some bigger things. We grow through experience and become more responsive to His voice and in following His direction. It would not be unusual for God to use these smaller tasks in preparing you for a bigger task; for a specific moment in time. There may be one grand purpose for your life. If you miss the opportunity in the smaller things, you will never be called to the bigger thing. God knew us before He created the world. He planned for us live at a certain time, and knew what our life would be. He has a purpose for every body. Many never realize what that is. At the end of their days they may look back and realize that they wasted their life; that they didn’t listen to God and missed out on His love and guidance in many ways. It is sad to come to the end of life and feel that it was wasted.
God’s curriculum for all who sincerely want to know Him and do His will always includes lessons we wish we could skip. With an intimate understanding of our deepest needs and individual capacities, He chooses our curriculum. Elisabeth Elliot
Spend time in prayer every day. Ask that the Holy Spirit would get your attention and that you would be in a right relationship with God in ready response to Him. God wants us to have a loving relationship with Him and longs to be with us in everyday living in very meaningful ways. The constant presence of God is the most practical part of your life. We often assign God to a limited place in our lives. Then we can call on Him whenever we have a need or want His help. This is exactly the opposite of what we find in the Word of God.
He is the one who works in our world and He invites us to relate to Him, and He will accomplish His work through us. When He speaks we will know it, we will listen and respond to Him, and we must be prepared to adjust our lives, ready to do His will. Until you are willing to make major adjustments in your life, leaving family, quitting a job, whatever it may be, God will not be able to use you. God wants to be your first priority, above all. Until you get to a place of total commitment and sacrifice He can’t use you. When you come to a complete and total trust in God, to take care of everything, when you seek first His kingdom, then He will provide for your most basic needs and use you to advance the kingdom. God always initiates, empowers us, and will complete His task. His goal is an eternal work, a spiritual work in this dark and evil world where Satan is at work deceiving and tempting people. His whole plan for the advance of the kingdom depends on His working in real and practical ways through us, and in us, and with us having a deeply devoted and trustworthy reliance upon Him.
Jesus showed us by His ministry and the commission of His disciples, what the work is. He is about people and showing them His love. He draws people to Himself, He convicts them, He leads them into truth, He reveals His love, and He forgives, heals and He also judges. He is in control of everything that takes place. Anything that is going on in this world is not out of His control. He oversees all of His creation. He allows and disallows according to His plan and for His purpose. He uses us to represent Him. God never forces anyone to love Him. He offers them a free choice. Our role is to present people with that choice. Unless people hear the Gospel message, they will not know what options they have. Many people don’t like to think about the hereafter and so they focus on having a good time now. But God wants them to face reality and be prepared for death. He wants people to choose to love and serve Him. Our character must be one that rightly represents God’s own. So that when they encounter us, they feel the heart of God. They will want to turn to Him and trust Him.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Phil 1:9-11 (NLT)
When true believers are awed by the greatness of God and by the privilege of becoming His children, then they become sincerely motivated, effective evangelists. Bill Hybels
You will never be satisfied with knowing about God. God is not satisfied with tt either. He intends us to know Him and to be known by Him in a daily conversation, in a daily walk, in trust, in honesty, in sharing, our time together. When we pass on from this life we will know His presence fully and wholly. Our flesh, this body, keeps us apart and flesh cannot enter into His kingdom. When we pass into hereafter, our soul will go on living; it is our spiritual being. God is at work within us to grow us into spiritual maturity. The moment we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and gave our life to His rule as Lord and Master, we began living a new life. Our soul passed from death to life. Only those who have been born anew in the spirit will enter His eternal presence. That is our real existence and the hope to which we hold to. We don’t look at this life the same way when we know we will live in God’s kingdom forever. Things of this world are not as important and things that belong to God and are part of His plan for eternity takes priority. Is your mind set on things above? If you answer no, then you are in a dangerous place. You may not have a right relationship with God. Come to Jesus and receive the gift of eternal life.
You have to believe God is who He says He is. Trusting that God will demonstrate Himself to be who He says He is, and then obey what He says to do, will bring you into an intimate relationship with Him. God wants you to be His witness, His ambassador, to reach those who do not know Him. He wants you to display His character and His loving, forgiving nature, for others to see what He is like. When God reveals Himself to others through you, God receives the glory. When you recognize that God did work through you, you will be blessed. Walking with God, doing His will, and loving Him is what He intends for us. God may speak to you and use in unique ways. Keep listening for His voice, it will become more distinguishable. Be in a habit of sitting quietly in His presence and earnestly seek to hear from Him. Sit at His feet and feel His love, His goodness, kindness, and mercy. Honor Him in your heart. Worship Him in your heart. He is, and was, and is to come. He is the Lord your maker, awesome in power and deeds; mighty and holy and majestic.
We cannot experience the fullness of Christ if we do all the expressing. We must allow God to express His love, will, and truth to us.
Gary Smalley
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Gen 18:14 (NLT)
13 O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds
Psalms 77:13-20 (NLT)
God uses prayer, His Word, circumstances, and others in the church (the universal church) to speak to you. You will know when it is God. When God uses other people to speak to you on His behalf, they might not even realize it. The Holy Spirit will use people to bring a message to someone, without their even realizing it. And likewise, you may say something to someone and they will recognize it as God, and you had no clue that God was using that conversation as a means to convey a message to someone. That is how the Holy Spirit works. You may read something in Scripture that jumps out at you and moves you to actively pursue to do something because of it. When God speaks through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will lead you into the truth of the Word. God reveals His ways to you and desires you to follow His ways and according to His precepts. He is your resident teacher. God will lead you to do things that you had not planned to do on your own. God will never tell you to do something that goes against His own Word. We will never see Him work in our life if we don’t hear Him speak. What God does reveals who He is. God wants to accomplish great things through you. It is this kind of marvelous relationship that He calls us to. Be alert and watch for ways that God uses to get your attention. He wants you to do something and you need to listen to His direction. When you realize that God is showing you something, you must act on it. You may have a crisis of belief, that God is asking you to do something. God’s children are important to Him. He knows what your weaknesses are and what you are capable of doing. Be assured that He will equip you, lead you, and mostly you just have to be obedient and show up; He does most of the work. He will do the spiritual work and you are the vessel through which His power will flow and bring the results of His work. Praise God!
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. John 14:15-17 (NLT)
We will hear and heed His voice if we love Him and have a relationship with Him. Obedience comes from having complete trust in Him. It can be costly to you. Sometimes it will lead to misunderstanding and even opposition. We have record of what Paul went through in service to the Lord. After He received the call from God, his life changed. He suffered much to bring about God’s will. It may not seem that God would allow such things, but He does. It is actually a good way to tell that you are working against Satan’s plan. He will attack with vengeance. What are you not willing to give up?
It’s sobering to contemplate how much time, effort, sacrifice, compromise, and attention we give to acquiring and increasing our supply of something that is totally insignificant in eternity. Anne Graham Lotz
You will know His voice above any noise and commotion that is going on around you. It is a distinct voice and you will be stirred in your spirit to know that it is His. When you have the absolute confidence that you have heard from God you have to make the choice to obey or disobey. By spending time with the Lord you will grow in assurance that He is with you and will sustain you, He will watch over you and fight for you. That doesn’t mean that you will come out unscathed. Paul suffered great hardship, beatings, and many life threatening circumstances. He never would have endured that if the purpose for which he was committed wasn’t worth it. And so for us as well, if we truly are about our Father’s business, nothing should deter us.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matt 6:33 (NLT)
Fall on your knees and let God know how you feel about this. The enemy will try to persuade you that it is not worth it. When Jesus did the will of the Father, He died on the cross. If we look at the circumstances with our own reasoning and not through the eyes of God, with the perspective of eternity, we will have a hard time committing to be obedient. Here comes a real testing of your faith and love for the Lord. The cost may be one that someone you love has to pay. It is harder to see your loved ones suffer than to endure the suffering yourself. Satan will use many ways to get you to be disobedient to God. How would you feel about that? There are some who have chosen to be disobedient when it would cost their loved ones great suffering or death. Obedience has a price to pay. The experience with God requires sacrifice and a complete surrender to Him. When our focus is set on ourselves, on the here and now, on our comforts, our family, and our well being, we will lose sight of what God intends to do. Keep your eyes on Him and catch the vision of what He wants to achieve. He may call you to a dangerous mission. Here is a test of how much you value your life. While we know that God watches over us and protects us, we must realize that He protects our soul. Our physical body is not eternal. Our real life is in Him, and we will live with Him forever.
Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
1 Chron 28:20 (NLT)
Trusting in the Lord
1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.
11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.12 For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
13 Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.14 For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.15 Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.16 She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.17 She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.18 Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
19 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.20 By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.
21 My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,22 for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.23 They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.24 You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.25 You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,26 for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
29 Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.30 Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.
31 Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.32 Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly.
33 The Lord curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.
34 The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.
35 The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
Prov 3:1-35 (NLT)
You will get untold flak for prioritizing God’s revealed and present will for your life over man’s…but boy, is it worth it. Beth Moore
To make a total commitment to Him also means that you become totally dependent on Him. You need to rely on God’s method and time frame. No matter what you think it should be, it is not right; He is right. The key here is your relationship with Him. The method is never the key to accomplishing God’s will. The key is that your purpose is to have a relationship with Him. If you use your own method, or follow someone else’s advice, you have abandoned your relationship with God. You have not proven to be faithful. This is spiritual adultery. You have chosen a pagan method over God’s. You must continually be in communication with Him and not allow yourself to forget what He says. He knows the method He is going to use to bring His plan to fruition and He does not need any advice on how it will work. God is the one in charge, don’t forget it. By focusing on anything other than God you take the glory away from Him. He is the only one who has the right to tell to you how to do this. Be in constant prayer and don’t get ahead of God. The Holy Spirit will show you how to do this and when. It is only through prayer and listening to His direction that you will ever be able to see it come to pass. You are just the worker and God will bring the results according to His plan and for His purpose. It might not end up looking like you thought it would. Don’t judge it by your own standards. God does everything in light of eternity. He does things with spiritual methods for spiritual results. Often they are not things that we can see with our eyes and use any of our other senses to determine if it was a good or bad outcome. It may leave you with some odd feelings. God may share it with you later on when He knows you will be able to understand. Just leave it all up to Him. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. He had the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit. That is the example for us as well. This is not our plan and we don’t have anything to offer. We are chosen to participate, to do His work, and He gives us the power and ability to do it through the Holy Spirit. So don’t boast, except to boast in the Lord. Give Him the glory.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Eph 1:3-23 (NLT)
It is not possible that mortal men should be thoroughly conscience of the divine presence without being filled with awe. C.H. Spurgeon
God is able to accomplish more in one moment of your obedience to His will than you could ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. The Holy Spirit goes to work ahead of God’s plan to bring people into situations that prepare them for this moment. There is nothing any human being can do to accomplish that in another person’s heart. God orchestrates everything to be conducive to what He is going to accomplish. It involves so much detail that we will never even begin to understand. He works in men’s hearts to bring to salvation, that they too may be used in God’s plan. He uses nonbelievers also. They don’t know it, but God uses them for His purposes. He does not necessarily bring them any blessing, but He just like with Pharaoh or Herod, they are used by God to bring His plan into it’s needed setting. He sets the stage for this great opportunity and brings the results that will impact all of eternity. This is a greater work than any man could ever accomplish. We are not to try to do any of it on our own. He uses us, but according to His will. We are to be empty vessels as a tool for Him to use. It requires that we remain open, humble, and willing to be used.
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” Psalms 32:8-9 (NLT)
Each new command by Him will require a new knowledge and understanding of Him. The deeper your relationship becomes, the more He will choose to reveal to you. You will learn more about Him than you had ever known before. Your experience with Him, in seeing how He works, will strengthen your faith in Him, and you will trust Him in greater measure and in ways you had not even thought of before. It is a grand experience to see His hand at work in the lives of people and the events that cause them to see God’s glory. Be awed at the fact that He chooses to use you in His plan. The more He has of you the greater way He can and will use you. Die to self. Ask Him to enable you to do more, to trust more, love more, be more obedient, and to be totally dependent on Him alone. You will experience His mighty work. He can move mountains and part the sea. If you believe and trust in Him, you might get to see it.
Faith and Endurance
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 1:2-27 (NLT)
It’s your choice: you can either count your blessings or recount your disappointments. Jim Gallery
Rebellion is a serious rejection of God’s will. There is a great cost in that. It is better to have God on your side and offering His protection. Obedience brings you to a moment of truth. If God is who He says He is, then your obedience to Him will bring you a blessing. If God is angry with you in your disobedience, then you will suffer not only from the attack of the enemy, but also from God‘s own punishment and from turning aside from your life. If you decide to do Gods’ will, you will have great peace and joy even in difficult tasks and in facing some suffering. It is all a great experience with God as you grow and come to know Him more fully. Uninterrupted fellowship with Him is the greatest blessing we could ever hope for. God does give us commands that we can pick and choose from. Every command He gives requires our obedience. God does not give us options there. He does give us second chances to be obedient. He knows our heart and when we confess that we have learned from disobedience, He forgives and is willing to use us again. God is interested in developing your character. Some of the great people of God had been broken by sin. God allowed them to make mistakes but He was never far away. He always has a way open for us to return to Him. When the Holy Spirit guides you to recognize any way that you have sinned against God, it is to convict you so that you will return. Do not be afraid to come to God and confess your guilt. He wants to forgive and to restore the relationship. Ask Him to guide back on to the right path and He will. Don’t ever take it lightly though. God knows your heart and if you think that you can be rebellious and return making everything alright, you will discover that God knows your motives. He will not allow any rebellion to go without punishment. He is a holy and just God and can’t allow evil to go unpunished.
A Call to Repentance
1 Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation.2 Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins.3 Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Zeph 2:1-3 (NLT)
When you trust and obey God you will have some of the most thrilling experiences of your life. When God invites you to join in His work, and He brings a God sized result, you will see the glory and power of the Lord. Your knee will bow and your tongue will confess, that He is Lord!
“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.
2 Chron 6:14 (NLT)
EXPERIENCING GOD IN YOUR LIFE
Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. Jonah 2:8 (NLT)
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HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG AND LIFE WAS WASTED, HOPELESS OR THAT THE FUTURE LOOKED BLEAK?
When Jacob was told to send Benjamin to Egypt he was deeply grieved. He felt God was against him. Joseph was gone and now Simeon held prisoner. He did want to lose his youngest son, Benjamin.
Genesis 42-50
42 :2 “ I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.” 3 So 10 of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”
14 Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ 15 This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. 19 If you are honest men, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain [to relieve] the hunger of your households. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.
He took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” 38 But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”
45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10 You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you, your children, and grandchildren, your sheep, cattle, and all you have. 11 There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.” ’ 12 Look! Your eyes and my brother Benjamin’s eyes can see that it is I [, Joseph,] who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father all about my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.” 14 Then Joseph threw his arms around Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
Gen 45:4-15 (HCSB)
God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. And Jacob replied, “Here I am.” 3 God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will put his hands on your eyes.”[
Gen 46:2-4 (HCSB)
28Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph hitched [the horses to] his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time. 30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen your face [and know] you are still alive!”
Gen 46:28-30 (HCSB)
Has God asked you to do something and you believe it will be horrible or at a great price?
Don’t call evil good and good evil. We don’t know the future. When you are in God’s hands you have to wait for God to reveal His plan. Jacob sent Benjamin and then he found out that Joseph was alive and that his family would be cared for during the severe famine. He could have messed this up by holding back his son. God wants us to have His best for us, but it might mean taking a risk. Jacob died knowing that God was not against him after all.
Whatever you may be facing, it is not over until God says so.
Trust and obey, there is no other way.
'When you trust and obey God you will have some of the most thrilling experiences of your life.'
If you don’t know God you must take care of that before you can experience Him in your life. Place your faith in Jesus and then receive the free gift He offers you
- Recognize that you are a sinner and you need a saving relationship with Jesus.
- Confess (agree with God about) your sins.
- Repent of your sins (turn from sin to God)
- Ask Jesus to save you by His grace.
- Turn over the rule of your life to Jesus. Let Him be your Lord.
And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. 1 John 3:23-24 (NLT)
If you are walking with the Lord and have the indwelling Holy Spirit, you will experience God in your life.
You will:
- hear when God is speaking to you.
- clearly identify the activity of God in your life.
- believe Him to be and do everything He promises.
- adjust your beliefs, character, and behavior to Him and His ways.
- see a direction that He is taking in your life and what He wants to do through you.
- clearly know what you need to do in response to His activity in your life.
- experience God doing through you what only God can do.
You will only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things’. John 14:26
Allow the Holy Spirit to make Jesus real in your life.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:
Romans 8:13-16 (ASV)
God is involved in our daily lives. He cares about our life and what we face in this world. He wants us to allow Him into our life so that He can fill our life with purpose and peace. He wants to give us direction and to invites us to walk with Him. When we are open to Him and allow Him access to our hearts, He will dwell in us and we will be His ambassador and used for His purposes. He will be in the center of our lives when He gives us an assignment to accomplish. God is absolutely trustworthy, and we must continue to put our faith in Him day by day. Our faith will grow day by day as we walk with Him through life.
If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes that uncertainty. Often much can happen during this waiting for the Lord. Sometimes He changes pride into humility, doubt into faith and peace. Corrie ten Boom
God is working all around you and in your life. What is sad is that many don’t know how to recognize Him. Our faith would grow stronger if we would see His hand move in our circumstances. We can learn to trust Him in greater ways when we realize that He is active in every part of our lives. The Holy Spirit will instruct you and help you know when and where He is working and then you can adjust your life to join in Him in His work. We can’t accomplish anything worthwhile unless we walk with the Lord and do the work He has given us in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can’t accomplish the goal that He gives us; it is only when He works in us and accomplishes it through us that it has any use to Him. We should ask Him what His will is, and then watch to see how He answers and how the Spirit leads us to proceed. Walking with the Lord brings peace and great joy. Who would want to do this life without Him? When God works through His servant, He can accomplish anything.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8 (Darby)
We want to do things ourselves; that is just how we are. But when it comes to living an abundant life and making wise choices, we need guidance. When God wants to use us for something, He has to get us to a place where we can hear Him and we are willing to be moldable in His hands. The moment that you know God wants to do something in your life, you need to join Him and be willing to follow His command. As you experience more of God, you come to know more about Him. The more you obey Him, the more He will share with you about the work He is doing. Remember, it is not about you. God is doing a work for the advancement of the kingdom and He will ask you to join in the work. It is not that God is doing something wonderful for you, although you will be blessed by responding to His call and seeing the great work that He is doing. Don’t be concerned whether or no you are doing well. God already knows what you will do and He has built in a plan that will work around your mistakes. He cares about the relationship He has with you. But just think about how awesome it is to have Him ask you to join in the work that He could accomplish on His own. He does not need you to help Him. It is His desire to use you. He is able to reach people through another human being easier than trying to get their attention directly. Remain humble and willing to do your part. God can do great things with one willing person. He looks for people whose hearts are seeking Him, that He can use as He brings about a part of His eternal plan.
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chron 16:9 (NLT)
If you just show up and listen and watch what is taking place, you will see with spiritual eyes and know when He has shown up. There is no way to explain how you will know that He has done something. You will just know when you see it. It is God who reveals it to you; you are able to see the connection of events and understand what it meant for someone; that God touched them in a special way. Most people have wondered if God could ever accomplish what He wanted to achieve through them. God is not surprised when you fail and He chooses to use you anyway. He delights in using you, even in your moments of stupidity, or inability to perceive what He is doing. Just join in and allow Him to work in you and then you will grow by that experience and be greatly blessed by it. Talk to Him about your fears and concerns. Talk to Him about your failures and in hindsight.
God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty. Rick Warren
Ask His forgiveness for the things you failed to do or did wrong. He understands and will enjoy sharing these moments with you. He wants you to be real and honest with Him. He will help you to see what you could have done differently, or the timing, or the method. He will show you what you need to know; and through experience you will learn to walk closer with and be useful to God. You will be ready to step up when He calls you, then you will listen to His plan and adjust your life, you will remain humble and willing to be used by Him, you will be obedient to His plan and method and wait for His timing, and do it His way, and you will leave the results to Him.
Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. Oswald Chambers
We are often hesitant or non-responsive to His call to join Him. When will we realize that whatever He does is always wonderful, and it is the best that could ever be accomplished? How could we ever want to do things our own way? It really is stupid to think that our way is best. What good would it do to make plans and not involve His leading? Where ever you are God is at work in those people around us, drawing them to Himself all the time. He wants to reach out to them and He wants to use another human being to whom they can relate. You have two arms, an ear, and an understanding heart that they need to touch their life and bring relief to their pain. God will show you how and when, and give you the words to say and He will allow you to see the joy He brings into their life. If you are self-centered you may miss the opportunity and you will lose out on the joy of the Lord. It is better to give than receive. But when we are used by God we also are the ones who are blessed.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)
God takes the initiative to speak to you about His plans. Bow your knee and answer Him when He calls. Get your heart in a state of readiness to answer and respond to Him immediately. Be ready, always, to go where He says to go and do what He says to do. If you are unable to hear Him speak, you are in trouble at the core of your relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. It is the Holy Spirit who helps you to understand the word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit who is your counselor and your comforter, He is your power and your wisdom in all things. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to indwell you. The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with power into your life to do God’s will. God may call you and use you in a small and insignificant task. God will do that to test your faithfulness. If you are faithful in little He will give you more responsibility. God gets to decide what your task will be. It is all for His glory not yours. This is not about you. He has a right to interrupt your life and use you in ways you may not like. He is not your God to make you happy every day. God may ask you to wait, and it is for your good so that you will be prepared for the right moment in time when He wants you to step up to the task He calls you to do. He uses us in many and various ways as practice, to be prepared for some bigger things. We grow through experience and become more responsive to His voice and in following His direction. It would not be unusual for God to use these smaller tasks in preparing you for a bigger task; for a specific moment in time. There may be one grand purpose for your life. If you miss the opportunity in the smaller things, you will never be called to the bigger thing. God knew us before He created the world. He planned for us live at a certain time, and knew what our life would be. He has a purpose for every body. Many never realize what that is. At the end of their days they may look back and realize that they wasted their life; that they didn’t listen to God and missed out on His love and guidance in many ways. It is sad to come to the end of life and feel that it was wasted.
God’s curriculum for all who sincerely want to know Him and do His will always includes lessons we wish we could skip. With an intimate understanding of our deepest needs and individual capacities, He chooses our curriculum. Elisabeth Elliot
Spend time in prayer every day. Ask that the Holy Spirit would get your attention and that you would be in a right relationship with God in ready response to Him. God wants us to have a loving relationship with Him and longs to be with us in everyday living in very meaningful ways. The constant presence of God is the most practical part of your life. We often assign God to a limited place in our lives. Then we can call on Him whenever we have a need or want His help. This is exactly the opposite of what we find in the Word of God.
He is the one who works in our world and He invites us to relate to Him, and He will accomplish His work through us. When He speaks we will know it, we will listen and respond to Him, and we must be prepared to adjust our lives, ready to do His will. Until you are willing to make major adjustments in your life, leaving family, quitting a job, whatever it may be, God will not be able to use you. God wants to be your first priority, above all. Until you get to a place of total commitment and sacrifice He can’t use you. When you come to a complete and total trust in God, to take care of everything, when you seek first His kingdom, then He will provide for your most basic needs and use you to advance the kingdom. God always initiates, empowers us, and will complete His task. His goal is an eternal work, a spiritual work in this dark and evil world where Satan is at work deceiving and tempting people. His whole plan for the advance of the kingdom depends on His working in real and practical ways through us, and in us, and with us having a deeply devoted and trustworthy reliance upon Him.
Jesus showed us by His ministry and the commission of His disciples, what the work is. He is about people and showing them His love. He draws people to Himself, He convicts them, He leads them into truth, He reveals His love, and He forgives, heals and He also judges. He is in control of everything that takes place. Anything that is going on in this world is not out of His control. He oversees all of His creation. He allows and disallows according to His plan and for His purpose. He uses us to represent Him. God never forces anyone to love Him. He offers them a free choice. Our role is to present people with that choice. Unless people hear the Gospel message, they will not know what options they have. Many people don’t like to think about the hereafter and so they focus on having a good time now. But God wants them to face reality and be prepared for death. He wants people to choose to love and serve Him. Our character must be one that rightly represents God’s own. So that when they encounter us, they feel the heart of God. They will want to turn to Him and trust Him.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Phil 1:9-11 (NLT)
When true believers are awed by the greatness of God and by the privilege of becoming His children, then they become sincerely motivated, effective evangelists. Bill Hybels
You will never be satisfied with knowing about God. God is not satisfied with tt either. He intends us to know Him and to be known by Him in a daily conversation, in a daily walk, in trust, in honesty, in sharing, our time together. When we pass on from this life we will know His presence fully and wholly. Our flesh, this body, keeps us apart and flesh cannot enter into His kingdom. When we pass into hereafter, our soul will go on living; it is our spiritual being. God is at work within us to grow us into spiritual maturity. The moment we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and gave our life to His rule as Lord and Master, we began living a new life. Our soul passed from death to life. Only those who have been born anew in the spirit will enter His eternal presence. That is our real existence and the hope to which we hold to. We don’t look at this life the same way when we know we will live in God’s kingdom forever. Things of this world are not as important and things that belong to God and are part of His plan for eternity takes priority. Is your mind set on things above? If you answer no, then you are in a dangerous place. You may not have a right relationship with God. Come to Jesus and receive the gift of eternal life.
You have to believe God is who He says He is. Trusting that God will demonstrate Himself to be who He says He is, and then obey what He says to do, will bring you into an intimate relationship with Him. God wants you to be His witness, His ambassador, to reach those who do not know Him. He wants you to display His character and His loving, forgiving nature, for others to see what He is like. When God reveals Himself to others through you, God receives the glory. When you recognize that God did work through you, you will be blessed. Walking with God, doing His will, and loving Him is what He intends for us. God may speak to you and use in unique ways. Keep listening for His voice, it will become more distinguishable. Be in a habit of sitting quietly in His presence and earnestly seek to hear from Him. Sit at His feet and feel His love, His goodness, kindness, and mercy. Honor Him in your heart. Worship Him in your heart. He is, and was, and is to come. He is the Lord your maker, awesome in power and deeds; mighty and holy and majestic.
We cannot experience the fullness of Christ if we do all the expressing. We must allow God to express His love, will, and truth to us.
Gary Smalley
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Gen 18:14 (NLT)
13 O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain; the thunder rumbled in the sky. Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds
Psalms 77:13-20 (NLT)
God uses prayer, His Word, circumstances, and others in the church (the universal church) to speak to you. You will know when it is God. When God uses other people to speak to you on His behalf, they might not even realize it. The Holy Spirit will use people to bring a message to someone, without their even realizing it. And likewise, you may say something to someone and they will recognize it as God, and you had no clue that God was using that conversation as a means to convey a message to someone. That is how the Holy Spirit works. You may read something in Scripture that jumps out at you and moves you to actively pursue to do something because of it. When God speaks through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will lead you into the truth of the Word. God reveals His ways to you and desires you to follow His ways and according to His precepts. He is your resident teacher. God will lead you to do things that you had not planned to do on your own. God will never tell you to do something that goes against His own Word. We will never see Him work in our life if we don’t hear Him speak. What God does reveals who He is. God wants to accomplish great things through you. It is this kind of marvelous relationship that He calls us to. Be alert and watch for ways that God uses to get your attention. He wants you to do something and you need to listen to His direction. When you realize that God is showing you something, you must act on it. You may have a crisis of belief, that God is asking you to do something. God’s children are important to Him. He knows what your weaknesses are and what you are capable of doing. Be assured that He will equip you, lead you, and mostly you just have to be obedient and show up; He does most of the work. He will do the spiritual work and you are the vessel through which His power will flow and bring the results of His work. Praise God!
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. John 14:15-17 (NLT)
We will hear and heed His voice if we love Him and have a relationship with Him. Obedience comes from having complete trust in Him. It can be costly to you. Sometimes it will lead to misunderstanding and even opposition. We have record of what Paul went through in service to the Lord. After He received the call from God, his life changed. He suffered much to bring about God’s will. It may not seem that God would allow such things, but He does. It is actually a good way to tell that you are working against Satan’s plan. He will attack with vengeance. What are you not willing to give up?
It’s sobering to contemplate how much time, effort, sacrifice, compromise, and attention we give to acquiring and increasing our supply of something that is totally insignificant in eternity. Anne Graham Lotz
You will know His voice above any noise and commotion that is going on around you. It is a distinct voice and you will be stirred in your spirit to know that it is His. When you have the absolute confidence that you have heard from God you have to make the choice to obey or disobey. By spending time with the Lord you will grow in assurance that He is with you and will sustain you, He will watch over you and fight for you. That doesn’t mean that you will come out unscathed. Paul suffered great hardship, beatings, and many life threatening circumstances. He never would have endured that if the purpose for which he was committed wasn’t worth it. And so for us as well, if we truly are about our Father’s business, nothing should deter us.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matt 6:33 (NLT)
Fall on your knees and let God know how you feel about this. The enemy will try to persuade you that it is not worth it. When Jesus did the will of the Father, He died on the cross. If we look at the circumstances with our own reasoning and not through the eyes of God, with the perspective of eternity, we will have a hard time committing to be obedient. Here comes a real testing of your faith and love for the Lord. The cost may be one that someone you love has to pay. It is harder to see your loved ones suffer than to endure the suffering yourself. Satan will use many ways to get you to be disobedient to God. How would you feel about that? There are some who have chosen to be disobedient when it would cost their loved ones great suffering or death. Obedience has a price to pay. The experience with God requires sacrifice and a complete surrender to Him. When our focus is set on ourselves, on the here and now, on our comforts, our family, and our well being, we will lose sight of what God intends to do. Keep your eyes on Him and catch the vision of what He wants to achieve. He may call you to a dangerous mission. Here is a test of how much you value your life. While we know that God watches over us and protects us, we must realize that He protects our soul. Our physical body is not eternal. Our real life is in Him, and we will live with Him forever.
Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
1 Chron 28:20 (NLT)
Trusting in the Lord
1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.
11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.12 For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
13 Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.14 For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.15 Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.16 She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.17 She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.18 Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
19 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.20 By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.
21 My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,22 for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.23 They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.24 You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.25 You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,26 for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
29 Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.30 Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.
31 Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.32 Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly.
33 The Lord curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.
34 The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.
35 The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
Prov 3:1-35 (NLT)
You will get untold flak for prioritizing God’s revealed and present will for your life over man’s…but boy, is it worth it. Beth Moore
To make a total commitment to Him also means that you become totally dependent on Him. You need to rely on God’s method and time frame. No matter what you think it should be, it is not right; He is right. The key here is your relationship with Him. The method is never the key to accomplishing God’s will. The key is that your purpose is to have a relationship with Him. If you use your own method, or follow someone else’s advice, you have abandoned your relationship with God. You have not proven to be faithful. This is spiritual adultery. You have chosen a pagan method over God’s. You must continually be in communication with Him and not allow yourself to forget what He says. He knows the method He is going to use to bring His plan to fruition and He does not need any advice on how it will work. God is the one in charge, don’t forget it. By focusing on anything other than God you take the glory away from Him. He is the only one who has the right to tell to you how to do this. Be in constant prayer and don’t get ahead of God. The Holy Spirit will show you how to do this and when. It is only through prayer and listening to His direction that you will ever be able to see it come to pass. You are just the worker and God will bring the results according to His plan and for His purpose. It might not end up looking like you thought it would. Don’t judge it by your own standards. God does everything in light of eternity. He does things with spiritual methods for spiritual results. Often they are not things that we can see with our eyes and use any of our other senses to determine if it was a good or bad outcome. It may leave you with some odd feelings. God may share it with you later on when He knows you will be able to understand. Just leave it all up to Him. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. He had the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit. That is the example for us as well. This is not our plan and we don’t have anything to offer. We are chosen to participate, to do His work, and He gives us the power and ability to do it through the Holy Spirit. So don’t boast, except to boast in the Lord. Give Him the glory.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Eph 1:3-23 (NLT)
It is not possible that mortal men should be thoroughly conscience of the divine presence without being filled with awe. C.H. Spurgeon
God is able to accomplish more in one moment of your obedience to His will than you could ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. The Holy Spirit goes to work ahead of God’s plan to bring people into situations that prepare them for this moment. There is nothing any human being can do to accomplish that in another person’s heart. God orchestrates everything to be conducive to what He is going to accomplish. It involves so much detail that we will never even begin to understand. He works in men’s hearts to bring to salvation, that they too may be used in God’s plan. He uses nonbelievers also. They don’t know it, but God uses them for His purposes. He does not necessarily bring them any blessing, but He just like with Pharaoh or Herod, they are used by God to bring His plan into it’s needed setting. He sets the stage for this great opportunity and brings the results that will impact all of eternity. This is a greater work than any man could ever accomplish. We are not to try to do any of it on our own. He uses us, but according to His will. We are to be empty vessels as a tool for Him to use. It requires that we remain open, humble, and willing to be used.
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” Psalms 32:8-9 (NLT)
Each new command by Him will require a new knowledge and understanding of Him. The deeper your relationship becomes, the more He will choose to reveal to you. You will learn more about Him than you had ever known before. Your experience with Him, in seeing how He works, will strengthen your faith in Him, and you will trust Him in greater measure and in ways you had not even thought of before. It is a grand experience to see His hand at work in the lives of people and the events that cause them to see God’s glory. Be awed at the fact that He chooses to use you in His plan. The more He has of you the greater way He can and will use you. Die to self. Ask Him to enable you to do more, to trust more, love more, be more obedient, and to be totally dependent on Him alone. You will experience His mighty work. He can move mountains and part the sea. If you believe and trust in Him, you might get to see it.
Faith and Endurance
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 1:2-27 (NLT)
It’s your choice: you can either count your blessings or recount your disappointments. Jim Gallery
Rebellion is a serious rejection of God’s will. There is a great cost in that. It is better to have God on your side and offering His protection. Obedience brings you to a moment of truth. If God is who He says He is, then your obedience to Him will bring you a blessing. If God is angry with you in your disobedience, then you will suffer not only from the attack of the enemy, but also from God‘s own punishment and from turning aside from your life. If you decide to do Gods’ will, you will have great peace and joy even in difficult tasks and in facing some suffering. It is all a great experience with God as you grow and come to know Him more fully. Uninterrupted fellowship with Him is the greatest blessing we could ever hope for. God does give us commands that we can pick and choose from. Every command He gives requires our obedience. God does not give us options there. He does give us second chances to be obedient. He knows our heart and when we confess that we have learned from disobedience, He forgives and is willing to use us again. God is interested in developing your character. Some of the great people of God had been broken by sin. God allowed them to make mistakes but He was never far away. He always has a way open for us to return to Him. When the Holy Spirit guides you to recognize any way that you have sinned against God, it is to convict you so that you will return. Do not be afraid to come to God and confess your guilt. He wants to forgive and to restore the relationship. Ask Him to guide back on to the right path and He will. Don’t ever take it lightly though. God knows your heart and if you think that you can be rebellious and return making everything alright, you will discover that God knows your motives. He will not allow any rebellion to go without punishment. He is a holy and just God and can’t allow evil to go unpunished.
A Call to Repentance
1 Gather together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation.2 Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins.3 Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Zeph 2:1-3 (NLT)
When you trust and obey God you will have some of the most thrilling experiences of your life. When God invites you to join in His work, and He brings a God sized result, you will see the glory and power of the Lord. Your knee will bow and your tongue will confess, that He is Lord!
“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.
2 Chron 6:14 (NLT)
WHAT IS OUR AUTHORITY IN PRAYER?
Read 2 Chron 20:18-22
Jehoshaphat felt deeply afraid but didn’t cower when he heard that there were great armies in great numbers coming to attack. He proclaimed a fast and sought the Lord. He didn’t express doubt in public but proclaimed trust in the Almighty God. He declared he was putting hope in the unlimited power of God. Even as king he stood in humility and weakness before the LORD. He claimed no authority in or for himself. No egotism.
He prayed to the LORD:
You are the one who gave us…
You are the one who has allowed us …
You are the one who said …
You are the one who told us ….
You are the one, the only one capable of ….
Our eyes are upon you. We are putting our entire trust upon you. He made no demand that God do something that He did not desire to do. All power and authority rest in God alone.
We don’t have to worry about engaging in any conflict for it is God’s presence that matters. We must learn to look for God because He involves Himself in every circumstance of our life. His work is manifested in ways that we could easily miss. He does allow some disappointments, some struggles; but they are to cause us to listen even closer to Him. He is trying to say something and to show us where we may have gotten off track. He wants us to turn toward a different direction and follow Him. He loves us too much to allow us to get off track. He is committed to showing us the way to go, and wants us to follow and do what He wants us to do. He has a specific plan for each of us, and we do well if we spend time with Him to find out what He wants us to do. Don’t concern yourself with what anyone else is doing. God has a design for your life and wants you to walk it out. You don’t have to fear anything because He provides whatever you need to accomplish the plan. God wants you to know and wants you to achieve what He designed your life to be. There is great reward in hearing the words He will speak to commend you for your obedience. That is your part, obedience. He provides you with everything else that you need to accomplish the task. You can be sure there will be conflict and opposition along the way. Put it all in God’s hands and He will use what is meant for harm by the enemy to bring about something good. That is how God works. So go onward valiant one, in the power of His might.
Read Acts 17:1-15
The Thessalonians stirred up the city after Paul spoke. The Berean’s were fair minded and believed after they looked for themselves whether Paul was speaking the truth. God commended them for this. Acts 20:25 The very thing that Satan intended to use to ruin God’s people the LORD used to bless them and enrich them. God loves to answer the prayers of His obedient people in surprising ways.
Acts 18:9 God told Paul to keep speaking for God was with him. In Corinth Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. He was opposed and blasphemed. The Jews said he persuaded men to worship God contrary to the law.
Some people receive the Word of God, the Words of life, and others don’t. It is by the grace of God that some people believe in Christ and understand God’s will.
I love the way God works. I am using Charles Stanley’s Life Principles Daily Bible to read through the Bible in a year during my daily devotions. Before I read today’s portion I opened by devotion time with a song. It is titled “Wonderful Words of Life”
The words are beautiful, wonderful, and gave me the focus I needed for the Scripture I would read. God knows how to set things up magnificently. All praise and glory to Him.
Wonderful Words of Life, written by Philip P. Bliss 1838-1876
Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of Life.
Let me more of their beauty see. Wonderful words of Life.
Words of life and beauty. Teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Christ, the blessed One, gives to all. Wonderful words of Life.
Sinner, list to the loving call. Wonderful words of Life.
All so freely given. Wooing us to heaven.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Sweetly echo the gospel call. Wonderful words of Life.
Offer pardon and peace to all. Wonderful words of Life.
Jesus, only Saviour. Sanctify forever.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Paul knew the words that bring people to see Christ as their Saviour. He lived to bring that message to the people. He looked to God for direction, he was led by the Holy Spirit.
Jehoshaphat looked to God for direction. He knew God alone could save his people.
This is the message that the world needs to hear. God freely offers it to all. We should speak words of Life to the people who cross our path. Freely offer so they too may freely receive.
Psalm 84
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. Selah or Interlude
9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.
10 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.
Psalms 84:1-12 (NLT)Chapter 84
THE PSALMIST EXPRESSES HIS AFFECTION TO THE ORDINANCES OF GOD. 84:1-7
The ordinances of God are the believer's solace in this evil world; in them he enjoys the presence of the living God: this causes him to regret his absence from them. They are to his soul as the nest to the bird. Yet they are only an earnest of the happiness of heaven; but how can men desire to enter that holy habitation, who complain of Divine ordinances as wearisome? Those are truly happy, who go forth, and go on in the exercise of religion, in the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, from whom all our sufficiency is. The pilgrims to the heavenly city may have to pass through many a valley of weeping, and many a thirsty desert; but wells of salvation shall be opened for them, and consolations sent for their support. Those that press forward in their Christian course, shall find God adds grace to their graces. And those who grow in grace, shall be perfect in glory.
HIS DESIRE TOWARDS THE GOD OF THE ORDINANCES. 84:8-12
In all our addresses to God, we must desire that he would look on Christ, his Anointed One, and accept us for his sake: we must look to Him with faith, and then God will with favor look upon the face of the Anointed: we, without him, dare not show our faces. The psalmist pleads love to God's ordinances. Let us account one day in God's courts better than a thousand spent elsewhere; and deem the meanest place in his service preferable to the highest earthly preferment. We are here in darkness, but if God be our God, he will be to us a Sun, to enlighten and enliven us, to guide and direct us. We are here in danger, but he will be to us a Shield, to secure us from the fiery darts that fly thick about us. Through he has not promised to give riches and dignities, he has promised to give grace and glory to all that seek them in his appointed way. And what is grace, but heaven begun below, in the knowledge, love, and service of God? What is glory, but the completion of this happiness, in being made like to him, and in fully enjoying him for ever? Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us. If we cannot go to the house of the Lord, we may go by faith to the Lord of the house; in him we shall be happy, and may be easy. That man is really happy, whatever his outward circumstances may be, who trusts in the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob.
—Matthew Henry Concise
Use the tool below to search for Psalm 82 and read it all the way through.
Read 2 Chron 20:18-22
Jehoshaphat felt deeply afraid but didn’t cower when he heard that there were great armies in great numbers coming to attack. He proclaimed a fast and sought the Lord. He didn’t express doubt in public but proclaimed trust in the Almighty God. He declared he was putting hope in the unlimited power of God. Even as king he stood in humility and weakness before the LORD. He claimed no authority in or for himself. No egotism.
He prayed to the LORD:
You are the one who gave us…
You are the one who has allowed us …
You are the one who said …
You are the one who told us ….
You are the one, the only one capable of ….
Our eyes are upon you. We are putting our entire trust upon you. He made no demand that God do something that He did not desire to do. All power and authority rest in God alone.
We don’t have to worry about engaging in any conflict for it is God’s presence that matters. We must learn to look for God because He involves Himself in every circumstance of our life. His work is manifested in ways that we could easily miss. He does allow some disappointments, some struggles; but they are to cause us to listen even closer to Him. He is trying to say something and to show us where we may have gotten off track. He wants us to turn toward a different direction and follow Him. He loves us too much to allow us to get off track. He is committed to showing us the way to go, and wants us to follow and do what He wants us to do. He has a specific plan for each of us, and we do well if we spend time with Him to find out what He wants us to do. Don’t concern yourself with what anyone else is doing. God has a design for your life and wants you to walk it out. You don’t have to fear anything because He provides whatever you need to accomplish the plan. God wants you to know and wants you to achieve what He designed your life to be. There is great reward in hearing the words He will speak to commend you for your obedience. That is your part, obedience. He provides you with everything else that you need to accomplish the task. You can be sure there will be conflict and opposition along the way. Put it all in God’s hands and He will use what is meant for harm by the enemy to bring about something good. That is how God works. So go onward valiant one, in the power of His might.
Read Acts 17:1-15
The Thessalonians stirred up the city after Paul spoke. The Berean’s were fair minded and believed after they looked for themselves whether Paul was speaking the truth. God commended them for this. Acts 20:25 The very thing that Satan intended to use to ruin God’s people the LORD used to bless them and enrich them. God loves to answer the prayers of His obedient people in surprising ways.
Acts 18:9 God told Paul to keep speaking for God was with him. In Corinth Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. He was opposed and blasphemed. The Jews said he persuaded men to worship God contrary to the law.
Some people receive the Word of God, the Words of life, and others don’t. It is by the grace of God that some people believe in Christ and understand God’s will.
I love the way God works. I am using Charles Stanley’s Life Principles Daily Bible to read through the Bible in a year during my daily devotions. Before I read today’s portion I opened by devotion time with a song. It is titled “Wonderful Words of Life”
The words are beautiful, wonderful, and gave me the focus I needed for the Scripture I would read. God knows how to set things up magnificently. All praise and glory to Him.
Wonderful Words of Life, written by Philip P. Bliss 1838-1876
Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of Life.
Let me more of their beauty see. Wonderful words of Life.
Words of life and beauty. Teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Christ, the blessed One, gives to all. Wonderful words of Life.
Sinner, list to the loving call. Wonderful words of Life.
All so freely given. Wooing us to heaven.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Sweetly echo the gospel call. Wonderful words of Life.
Offer pardon and peace to all. Wonderful words of Life.
Jesus, only Saviour. Sanctify forever.
Beautiful words, wonderful word, wonderful words of Life.
Paul knew the words that bring people to see Christ as their Saviour. He lived to bring that message to the people. He looked to God for direction, he was led by the Holy Spirit.
Jehoshaphat looked to God for direction. He knew God alone could save his people.
This is the message that the world needs to hear. God freely offers it to all. We should speak words of Life to the people who cross our path. Freely offer so they too may freely receive.
Psalm 84
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. Selah or Interlude
9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.
10 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.
Psalms 84:1-12 (NLT)Chapter 84
THE PSALMIST EXPRESSES HIS AFFECTION TO THE ORDINANCES OF GOD. 84:1-7
The ordinances of God are the believer's solace in this evil world; in them he enjoys the presence of the living God: this causes him to regret his absence from them. They are to his soul as the nest to the bird. Yet they are only an earnest of the happiness of heaven; but how can men desire to enter that holy habitation, who complain of Divine ordinances as wearisome? Those are truly happy, who go forth, and go on in the exercise of religion, in the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, from whom all our sufficiency is. The pilgrims to the heavenly city may have to pass through many a valley of weeping, and many a thirsty desert; but wells of salvation shall be opened for them, and consolations sent for their support. Those that press forward in their Christian course, shall find God adds grace to their graces. And those who grow in grace, shall be perfect in glory.
HIS DESIRE TOWARDS THE GOD OF THE ORDINANCES. 84:8-12
In all our addresses to God, we must desire that he would look on Christ, his Anointed One, and accept us for his sake: we must look to Him with faith, and then God will with favor look upon the face of the Anointed: we, without him, dare not show our faces. The psalmist pleads love to God's ordinances. Let us account one day in God's courts better than a thousand spent elsewhere; and deem the meanest place in his service preferable to the highest earthly preferment. We are here in darkness, but if God be our God, he will be to us a Sun, to enlighten and enliven us, to guide and direct us. We are here in danger, but he will be to us a Shield, to secure us from the fiery darts that fly thick about us. Through he has not promised to give riches and dignities, he has promised to give grace and glory to all that seek them in his appointed way. And what is grace, but heaven begun below, in the knowledge, love, and service of God? What is glory, but the completion of this happiness, in being made like to him, and in fully enjoying him for ever? Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us. If we cannot go to the house of the Lord, we may go by faith to the Lord of the house; in him we shall be happy, and may be easy. That man is really happy, whatever his outward circumstances may be, who trusts in the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob.
—Matthew Henry Concise
Use the tool below to search for Psalm 82 and read it all the way through.
In my daily devotional reading for July 12th of Psalm 82, in the Life
Principles Daily Bible , I turned my thoughts and prayers to the turmoil in our nation over the national deficit. Our economy hangs in the balance. The Psalms above moved me to pray for our nation. Do you have fear over what might happen due to the debt the U.S. is unable to pay? What does it mean for our future?
We do not need to fear, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the people of God would come to Him in prayer like Jehoshaphat did? I have attended some events of the National Day of Prayer that were very powerful. We cried out to God with one voice in song and prayer and I know He heard us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all God’s people spoke wonderful words of life to those around them who don’t know the LORD and that He is control?
I envision us meeting in a huge public arena and lifting our voices up as one. I attended "Rock the Range" evangelism training for an event coming to Denver in the fall (2011). This will be such an event, where God's Word will go forth with power to many thousands of people. God could be at work at that event to bring thousands into the eternal kingdom. We may preach and teach but only God can save people from eternal separation.
Pray for good leaders who will catch the vision that God has for them to be used in mighty ways. May they be strong and led by the LORD in the difficult days ahead. Pray for our spiritual leaders and pray for our nation and our government leaders.
We have this challenge in the days to come. Let us get down on our knees and pray to the only One with authority.
Let us praise our God for His wondrous works and remember His mighty deeds. Let us put our hope in Him and Him alone. Be encouraged and be strong in the LORD.
Principles Daily Bible , I turned my thoughts and prayers to the turmoil in our nation over the national deficit. Our economy hangs in the balance. The Psalms above moved me to pray for our nation. Do you have fear over what might happen due to the debt the U.S. is unable to pay? What does it mean for our future?
We do not need to fear, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the people of God would come to Him in prayer like Jehoshaphat did? I have attended some events of the National Day of Prayer that were very powerful. We cried out to God with one voice in song and prayer and I know He heard us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all God’s people spoke wonderful words of life to those around them who don’t know the LORD and that He is control?
I envision us meeting in a huge public arena and lifting our voices up as one. I attended "Rock the Range" evangelism training for an event coming to Denver in the fall (2011). This will be such an event, where God's Word will go forth with power to many thousands of people. God could be at work at that event to bring thousands into the eternal kingdom. We may preach and teach but only God can save people from eternal separation.
Pray for good leaders who will catch the vision that God has for them to be used in mighty ways. May they be strong and led by the LORD in the difficult days ahead. Pray for our spiritual leaders and pray for our nation and our government leaders.
We have this challenge in the days to come. Let us get down on our knees and pray to the only One with authority.
Let us praise our God for His wondrous works and remember His mighty deeds. Let us put our hope in Him and Him alone. Be encouraged and be strong in the LORD.
Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8
Obedience to the Moral Law
We have seen, that all the law requires is summarily expressed in the single word, love; that this word is synonymous with benevolence; that benevolence consists in the choice of the highest well-being of God and of the universe, as an end, or for its own sake; that this choice is an ultimate intention. In short, we have seen, that good-will to being in general is obedience to the moral law. Now the question before us is, what is not implied in this good-will, or in this benevolent ultimate intention?
Since the law of God, as revealed in the Bible, is the standard, and the only standard, by which the question in regard to what is not, and what is, implied in entire sanctification, is to be decided, it is of fundamental importance, that we understand what is, and what is not, implied in entire obedience to this law. Our judgment of our own state, or of the state of others, can never be relied upon, till these inquiries are settled. Christ was perfect, and yet so erroneous were the notions of the Jews, in regard to what constituted perfection, that they thought him possessed with a devil, instead of being holy, as he claimed to be. I will state then, what is not implied in entire obedience to the moral law, as I understand it. The law, as epitomized by Christ, “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, and thy neighbor as thyself,”—I understand to lay down the whole duty of man to God, and to his fellow creatures. Now, the questions are, what is not, and what is, implied in perfect obedience to this law?
1. Entire obedience does not imply any change in the substance of the soul or body, for this the law does not require; and it would not be obligatory if it did, because the requirement would be inconsistent with natural justice, and, therefore, not law. Entire obedience is the entire consecration of the powers, as they are, to God. It does not imply any change in them, but simply the right use of them.
2. It does not imply the annihilation of any constitutional traits of character, such as constitutional ardor or impetuosity. There is nothing, certainly, in the law of God that requires such constitutional traits to be annihilated, but simply that they should be rightly directed in their exercise.
3. It does not imply the annihilation of any of the constitutional appetites or susceptibilities. It seems to be supposed by some, that the constitutional appetites and susceptibilities are in themselves sinful, and that a state of entire conformity to the law of God implies their entire annihilation. I have been not a little surprised to find, that some persons who, I had supposed, were far enough from embracing the doctrine of physical moral depravity, were, after all, resorting to this assumption, in order to set aside the doctrine of entire sanctification in this life. But let us appeal to the law. Does the law anywhere, expressly or impliedly, condemn the constitution of man, or require the annihilation of any thing that is properly a part of the constitution itself? Does it require the annihilation of the appetite for food, or is it satisfied merely with regulating its indulgence? In short, does the law of God any where require any thing more than the consecration of all the powers, appetites, and susceptibilities of body and mind to the service of God?
4. Entire obedience does not imply the annihilation of natural affection, or natural resentment. By natural affection I mean, that certain persons may be naturally pleasing to us. Christ appears to have had a natural affection for John. By natural resentment I mean, that, from the laws of our being, we must resent or feel opposed to injustice or ill-treatment. Not that a disposition to retaliate or revenge ourselves is consistent with the law of God. But perfect obedience to the law of God does not imply that we should have no sense of injury and injustice, when we are abused. God has this, and ought to have it, and so has every moral being. To love your neighbor as yourself, does not imply, that if he injure you, you should feel no sense of the injury or injustice, but that you should love him and do him good, notwithstanding his injurious treatment.
5. It does not imply any unhealthy degree of excitement of the mind. Moral law is to be so interpreted as to be consistent with physical law. God’s laws certainly do not clash with each other. And the moral law cannot require such a state of constant mental excitement as will destroy the physical constitution. It cannot require any more mental excitement than is consistent with all the laws, attributes, and circumstances of both soul and body. It does not imply that any organ or faculty is to be at all times exerted to the full measure of its capacity. This would soon exhaust and destroy any and every organ of the body. Whatever may be true of the mind, when separated from the body, it is certain, while it acts through a material organ, that a constant state of excitement is impossible. When the mind is strongly excited, there is of necessity a great determination of blood to the brain. A high degree of excitement cannot long continue, without producing inflammation of the brain, and consequent insanity. And the law of God does not require any degree of emotion, or mental excitement, inconsistent with life and health. Our Lord Jesus Christ does not appear to have been in a state of continual mental excitement. When. he and his disciples had been in a great excitement for a time, they would turn aside, “and rest a while.”
Who that has ever philosophized on this subject, does not know that the high degree of excitement which is sometimes witnessed in revivals of religion, must necessarily be short, or that the people must become deranged? It seems sometimes to be indispensable that a high degree of excitement should prevail for a time, to arrest public and individual attention, and draw off people from other pursuits, to attend to the concerns of their souls. But if any suppose that this high degree of excitement is either necessary or desirable, or possible to be long continued, they have not well considered the matter. And here is one grand mistake of the church. They have supposed that the revival consists mostly in this state of excited emotion, rather than in conformity of the human will to the law of God. Hence, when the reasons for much excitement have ceased, and the public mind begins to grow more calm, they begin immediately to say, that the revival is on the decline; when, in fact, with much less excited emotion, there may be vastly more real religion in the community. Excitement is often important and indispensable, but the vigorous actings of the will are infinitely more important. And this state of mind may exist in the absence of highly excited emotions.
Nor does it imply that the same degree of emotion, volition, or intellectual effort, is at all times required. All volitions do not need the same strength. They cannot have equal strength, because they are not produced by equally influential reasons. Should a man put forth as strong a volition to pick up an apple, as to extinguish the flames of a burning house? Should a mother, watching over her sleeping nursling, when all is quiet and secure, put forth as powerful volitions, as might be required to snatch it from the devouring flames? Now, suppose that she were equally devoted to God, in watching her sleeping babe, and in rescuing it from the jaws of death. Her holiness would not consist in the fact, that she exercised equally strong volitions, in both cases; but that in both cases the volition was equal to the accomplishment of the thing required to be done. So that persons may be entirely holy, and, yet continually varying in the strength of their affections, emotions, or volitions, according to their circumstances, the state of their physical system, and the business in which they are engaged.
All the powers of body and mind are to be held at the service and disposal of God. Just so much of physical, intellectual, and moral energy are to be expended in the performance of duty, as the nature and the circumstances of the case require. And nothing is further from the truth than that the law of God requires a constant, intense state of emotion and mental action, on any and every subject alike.
6. Entire obedience does not imply that God is to be at all times the direct object of attention and affection. This is not only impossible in the nature of the case, but would render it impossible for us to think of or love our neighbor as ourselves.
The law of God requires the supreme love of the heart. By this is meant that the mind’s supreme preference should be of God—that God should be the great object of its supreme regard. But this state of mind is perfectly consistent with our engaging in any of the necessary business of life—giving to that business that attention, and exercising about it all those affections and emotions, which its nature and importance demand.
If a man love God supremely, and engage in any business for the promotion of his glory, if his eye be single, his affections and conduct, so far as they have any moral character, are entirely holy when necessarily engaged in the right transaction of his business, although, for the time being, neither his thoughts nor affections are upon God; just as a man, who is intensely devoted to his family, may be acting consistently with his supreme affection, and rendering them the most important and perfect service, while he does not think of them at all. The moral heart is the mind’s supreme preference. The natural heart propels the blood through all the physical system. Now there is a striking analogy between this and the moral heart. And the analogy consists in this, that as the natural heart, by its pulsations, diffuses life through the physical system, so the moral heart, or the supreme governing preference, or ultimate intention of the mind, is that which gives life and character to man’s moral actions. For example, suppose that I am engaged in teaching mathematics; in this, my ultimate intention is to glorify God in this particular calling. Now in demonstrating some of its intricate propositions, I am obliged, for hours together, to give the entire attention of my mind to that object. While my mind is thus intensely employed in one particular business, it is impossible that I should have any thoughts about God, or should exercise any direct affections, or emotions, or volitions, towards him. Yet if, in this particular calling, all selfishness is excluded, and my supreme design is to glorify God, my mind is in a state of entire obedience, even though, for the time being, I do not think of God.
It should be understood, that while the supreme preference or intention of the mind has such efficiency as to exclude all selfishness, and to call forth just that strength of volition, thought, affection, and emotion, that is requisite to the right discharge of any duty to which the mind may be called, the heart is in a right state. By a suitable degree of thought and feeling, to the right discharge of duty, I mean just that intensity of thought, and energy of action, that the nature and importance of the particular duty, to which, for the time being, I am called, demand, in my honest estimation.
In making this statement, I take it for granted, that the brain together with all the circumstances of the constitution are such that the requisite amount of thought, feeling, etc., are possible. If the physical constitution be in such a state of exhaustion, as to be unable to put forth that amount of exertion which the nature of the case might otherwise demand, even in this case, the languid efforts, though far below the importance of the subject, would be all that the law of God requires. Whoever, therefore, supposes that a state of entire obedience implies a state of entire abstraction of mind from everything but God, labors under a grievous mistake. Such a state of mind is as inconsistent with duty, as it is impossible, while we are in the flesh.
The fact is that the language and spirit of the law have been and generally are, grossly misunderstood, and interpreted to mean what they never did, or can, mean, consistently with natural justice. Many a mind has been thrown open to the assaults of Satan, and kept in a state of continual bondage and condemnation, because God was not, at all times, the direct object of thought, affection, and emotion; and because the mind was not kept in a state of perfect tension, and excited to the utmost at every moment.
7. Nor does it imply a state of continual calmness of mind. Christ was not in a state of continual calmness. The deep peace of his mind was never broken up, but the surface or emotions of his mind were often in a state of great excitement, and at other times, in a state of great calmness. And here let me refer to Christ, as we have his history in the Bible, in illustration of the positions I have already taken. For example. Christ had all the constitutional appetites and susceptibilities of human nature. Had it been otherwise, he could not have been “tempted in all points like as we are;” nor could he have been tempted in any point as we are, any further than he possessed a constitution similar to our own. Christ also manifested natural affection for his mother and for other friends. He also showed that he had a sense of injury and injustice, and exercised a suitable resentment when he was injured and persecuted. He was not always in a state of great excitement. He appears to have had his seasons of excitement and of calm—of labor and rest—of joy and sorrow, like other good men. Some persons have spoken of entire obedience to the law, as implying a state of uniform and universal calmness, and as if every kind and degree of excited feeling, except the feeling of love to God, were inconsistent with this state. But Christ often manifested a great degree of excitement when reproving the enemies of God. In short, his history would lead to the conclusion that his calmness and excitement were various, according to the circumstances of the case. And although he was sometimes so pointed and severe in his reproof, as to be accused of being possessed of a devil, yet his emotions and feelings were only those that were called for, and suited to the occasion.
8. Nor does it imply a state of continual sweetness of mind, without any indignation or holy anger at sin and sinners. Anger at sin is only a modification of love to being in general. A sense of justice, or a disposition to have the wicked punished for the benefit of the government, is only another of the modifications of love. And such dispositions are essential to the existence of love, where the circumstances call for their exercise. It is said of Christ, that he was angry. He often manifested anger and holy indignation. “God is angry with the wicked every day.” And holiness, or a state of obedience, instead of being inconsistent with, always implies, the existence of anger, whenever circumstances occur which demand its exercise.
9. It does not imply a state of mind that is all compassion, and no sense of justice. Compassion is only one of the modifications of love. Justice, or willing the execution of law and the punishment of sin, is another of its modifications. God, and Christ, and all holy beings, exercise all those dispositions that constitute the different modifications of love, under every possible circumstance.
10. It does not imply that we should love or hate all men alike, irrespective of their value, circumstances, and relations. One being may have a greater capacity for well-being, and be of much more importance to the universe, than another. Impartiality and the law of love require us not to regard all beings and things alike, but all beings and things according to their nature, relations, circumstances, and value.
11. Nor does it imply a perfect knowledge of all our relations. Such an interpretation of the law as would make it necessary, in order to yield obedience, for us to understand all our relations, would imply in us the possession of the attribute of omniscience; for certainly there is not a being in the universe to whom we do not sustain some relation. And a knowledge of all these relations plainly implies infinite knowledge. It is plain that the law of God cannot require any such thing as this.
12. Nor does it imply freedom from mistake on any subject whatever. It is maintained by some that the grace of the gospel pledges to every man perfect knowledge, or at least such knowledge as to exempt him from any mistake. T cannot stop here to debate this question, but would merely say, the law does not expressly or impliedly require infallibility of judgment in us. It only requires us to make the best use we can of all the light we have.
13. It does not imply the same degree of knowledge we might have possessed, had we always improved our time in its acquisition. The law cannot require us to love God or man, as well as we might have been able to love them, had we always improved all our time in obtaining all the knowledge we could, in regard to their nature, character, and interests. If this were implied in the requisition of the law, there is not a saint on earth or in heaven that does, or ever can, perfectly obey. What is lost in this respect is lost, and past neglect can never be so remedied, that we shall ever be able to make up in our acquisitions of knowledge what we have lost. It will no doubt be true to all eternity, that we shall have less knowledge than we might have possessed, had we filled up all our time in its acquisition. We do not, cannot, nor shall we ever be able to, love God as well as we might have loved him, had we always applied our minds to the acquisition of knowledge respecting him. And if entire obedience is to be understood as implying that we love God as much as we should, had we all the knowledge we might have had, then I repeat it, there is not a saint on earth or in heaven, nor ever will be, that is entirely obedient.
14. It does not imply the same amount of service that we might have rendered, had we never sinned. The law of God does not imply or suppose, that our powers are in a perfect state; that our strength of body or mind is what it would have been, had we never sinned. But it simply requires us to use what strength we have. The very wording of the law is proof conclusive, that it extends its demand only to the full amount of what strength we have. And this is true of every moral being, however great or small.
The most perfect development and improvement of our powers, must depend upon the most perfect use of them. And every departure from their perfect use, is a diminishing of their highest development, and a curtailing of their capabilities to serve God in the highest and best manner. All sin then does just so much towards crippling and curtailing the powers of body and mind, and rendering them, by just so much, incapable of performing the service they might otherwise have rendered.
To this view of the subject it has been objected, that Christ taught an opposite doctrine, in the case of the woman who washed his feet with her tears, when he said, “To whom much is forgiven, the same loveth much.” But can it be that Christ intended to. be understood as teaching, that the more we sin the greater will be our love, and our ultimate virtue? If this be so, I do not see why it does not follow that the more sin in this life, the better, if so be that we are forgiven. If our virtue is really to be improved by our sins, I see not why it would not be good economy, both for God and man, to sin as much as we can while in this world. Certainly Christ meant to lay down no such principle as this. He undoubtedly meant to teach that a person who was truly sensible of the greatness of his sins, would exercise more of the love of gratitude than would he exercised by one who had a less affecting sense of ill-desert.
15. Entire obedience does not imply the same degree of faith that might have been exercised but for our ignorance and past sin. We cannot believe anything about God of which we have neither evidence nor knowledge. Our faith must therefore be limited by our intellectual perceptions of truth. The heathen are not under obligation to believe in Christ, and thousands of other things of which they have no knowledge. Perfection in a heathen would imply much less faith than in a Christian. Perfection in an adult would imply much more and greater faith than in a child. And perfection in an angel would imply much greater faith than in a man, just in proportion as he knows more of God than man does. Let it be always understood, that entire obedience to God never implies that which is naturally impossible. It is naturally impossible for us to believe that of which we have no knowledge. Entire obedience implies, in this respect, nothing more than the heart’s faith or confidence in all the truth that is perceived by the intellect.
16. Nor does it imply the conversion of all men in answer to our prayers. It has been maintained by some, that entire obedience implies the offering of prevailing prayer for the conversion of all men. To this I reply,—Then Christ did not obey, for he offered no such prayer. The law of God makes no such demands, either expressly or impliedly. We have no right to believe that all men will be converted in answer to our prayers, unless we have an express or implied promise to that effect. As, therefore, there is no such promise, we are under no obligation to offer such a prayer. Nor does the non-conversion of the world imply, that there are no saints in the world who fully obey God’s law.
It does not imply the conversion of any one for whom there is not an express or implied promise in the word of God. The fact that Judas was not converted in answer to Christ’s prayer, does not prove that Christ did not fully obey.
Nor does it imply that all those things which are expressly or impliedly promised, will be granted in answer to our prayers; or, in other words, that we should pray in faith for them, if we are ignorant of the existence or application of those promises. A state of perfect love implies the discharge of all known duty. And nothing strictly speaking can be duty, of which the mind has no knowledge. It cannot, therefore, be our duty to believe a promise of which we are entirely ignorant, or the application of which to any specific object we do not understand.
If there is sin in such a case as this, it lies in the fact, that the soul neglects to know what it ought to know. But it should always be understood that the sin lies in this neglect to know, and not in the neglect of that of which we have no knowledge. Entire obedience is inconsistent with any present neglect to know the truth; for such neglect is sin. But it is not inconsistent with our failing to do that of which we have no knowledge. James says, “He that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” “If ye were blind,” says Christ, “ye should have no sin, but because ye say, We see, therefore your sin remaineth.”
17. Entire obedience to the divine law does not imply, that others will of course regard our state of mind, and our outward life, as entirely conformed to the law.
It was insisted and positively believed by the Jews, that Jesus Christ was possessed of a wicked instead of a holy spirit. Such were their notions of holiness, that they no doubt supposed him to be actuated by any other than the Spirit of God. They especially supposed so on account of his opposition to the current orthodoxy, and to the ungodliness of the religious teachers of the day. Now, who does not see, that when the church is, in a great measure, conformed to the world, a spirit of holiness in any man would certainly lead him to aim the sharpest rebukes at the spirit and life of those in this state, whether in high or low places? And who does not see, that this would naturally result in his being accused of possessing a wicked spirit? And who does not know, that where a religious teacher finds himself under the necessity of attacking a false orthodoxy, he will certainly be hunted, almost as a beast of prey, by the religious teachers of his day, whose authority, influence, and orthodoxy are thus assailed?
18. Nor does it imply exemption from sorrow or mental suffering. It was not so with Christ. Nor is it inconsistent with our sorrowing for our own past sins, and sorrowing that we have not now the health, and vigor, and knowledge, and love, that we might have had, if we had sinned less; or sorrow for those around us—sorrow in view of human sinfulness, or suffering. These are all consistent with a state of joyful love to God and man, and indeed are the natural results of it.
19. Nor is it inconsistent with our living in human society—with mingling in the scenes, and engaging in the affairs of this world, as some have supposed. Hence the absurd and ridiculous notions of papists in retiring to monasteries, and convents—in taking the veil, and, as they say, retiring to a life of devotion. Now I suppose this state of voluntary exclusion from human society, to be utterly inconsistent with any degree of holiness, and a manifest violation of the law of love to our neighbor.
20. Nor does it imply moroseness of temper and manners. Nothing is further from the truth than this. It is said of Xavier, than whom, perhaps, few holier men have ever lived, that “he was so cheerful as often to be accused of being gay.” Cheerfulness is certainly the result of holy love. And entire obedience no more implies moroseness in this world than it does in heaven.
In all the discussions I have seen upon the subject of Christian holiness, writers seldom or never raise the distinct inquiry: What does obedience to the law of God imply, and what does it not imply? Instead of bringing everything to this test, they seem to lose sight of it. On the one hand, they include things that the law of God never required of man in his present state. Thus they lay a stumbling-block and a snare for the saints, to keep them in perpetual bondage, supposing that this is the way to keep them humble, to place the standard entirely above their reach. Or, on the other hand, they really abrogate the law, so as to make it no longer binding. Or they so fritter away what is really implied in it, as to leave nothing in its requirements, but a sickly, whimsical, inefficient sentimentalism, or perfectionism, which in its manifestations and results, appears to me to be anything but that which the law of God requires.
21. It does not imply that we always or ever aim at, or intend to do our duty. That is, it does not imply that the intention always, or ever, terminates on duty as an ultimate end. It is our duty to aim at or intend the highest well-being of God and the universe, as an ultimate end, or for its own sake. This is the infinitely valuable end at which we are at all times to aim. It is our duty to aim at this. While we aim at this, we do our duty, but to aim at duty is not doing duty.
Nor does it imply that we always think, at the time, of its being duty, or of our moral obligation to intend the good of being. This obligation is a first truth, and is always and necessarily assumed by every moral agent, and this assumption or knowledge is a condition of his moral agency. But it is not at all essential to virtue or true obedience to the moral law, that moral obligation should at all times be present to the thoughts as an object of attention.
Nor does it imply that the rightness or moral character of benevolence is, at all times, the object of the mind’s attention. We may intend the glory of God and the good of our neighbor, without at all times thinking of the moral character of this intention. But the intention is not the less virtuous on this account. The mind unconsciously, but necessarily, assumes the rightness of benevolence, or of willing the good of being, just as it assumes other first truths, without being distinctly conscious of the assumption. It is not therefore, at all essential to obedience to the law of God, that we should at all times have before our minds the virtuousness or moral character of benevolence.
22. Nor does obedience to the moral law imply, that the law itself should be, at all times, the object of thought, or of the mind’s attention. The law lies developed in the reason of every moral agent in the form of an idea. It is the idea of that choice or intention which every moral agent is bound to exercise. In other words, the law, as a rule of duty, is a subjective idea always and necessarily developed in the mind of every moral agent. This idea he always and necessarily takes along with him, and he is always and necessarily a law to himself. Nevertheless, this law or idea, is not always the object of the mind’s attention and thought. A moral agent may exercise good-will or love to God and man, without at the time being conscious of thinking, that this love is required of him by the moral law. Nay, if I ant not mistaken, the benevolent mind generally exercises benevolence so spontaneously, as not, for much of the time, even to think that this love to God is required of him. But this state of mind is not the less virtuous on this account. If the infinite value of God’s well-being and of his infinite goodness constrains me to love him with all my heart, can any one suppose that this is regarded by him as the less virtuous, because I did not wait to reflect, that God commanded me to love him, and that it was my duty to do so?
The thing upon which the intention must or ought to terminate is the good of being, and not the law that requires me to will it. When I will that end, I will the right end, and this willing is virtue, whether the law be so much as thought of or not. Should it be said that I may will that end for a wrong reason, and, therefore, thus willing it is not virtue; that unless I will it because of my obligation, and intend obedience to moral law, or to God, it is not virtue; I answer, that the objection involves an absurdity and a contradiction. I cannot will the good of God and of being, as an ultimate end, for a wrong reason. The reason of the choice and the end chosen are identical, so that if I will the good of being as an ultimate end, I will it for the right reason.
It is impossible to will God’s good as an end, out of regard to his authority. This is to make his authority the end chosen, for the reason of a choice is identical with the end chosen. Therefore, to will anything for the reason that God requires it, is to will God’s requirement as an ultimate end. I cannot, therefore, love God with any acceptable love, primarily, because he commands it. God never expected to induce his creatures to love him, or to will his good, by commanding them to do so.
23. Obedience to the moral law does not imply that we should practically treat all interests that are of equal value according to their value. For example, the precept, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” cannot mean that I am to take equal care of my own soul, and the soul of every other human being. This were impossible. Nor does it mean that I should take the same care and oversight of my own, and of all the families of the earth. Nor that I should divide what little of property, or time, or talent I have, equally among all mankind. This were--
(1.) Impossible.
(2.) Uneconomical for the universe. More good will result to the universe by each individual’s giving his attention particularly to the promotion of those interests that are within his reach, and that are so under his influence that he possesses particular advantages for promoting them. Every interest is to be esteemed according to its relative value; but our efforts to promote particular interests should depend upon our relations and capacity to promote them. Some interests of great value we may be under no obligation to promote, for the reason that we have no ability to promote them, while we may be under obligation to promote interests of vastly less value, for the reason, that we are able to promote them. We are to aim at promoting those interests that we can most surely and extensively promote, but always in a manner that shall not interfere with others promoting other interests, according to their relative value. Every man is bound to promote his own, and the salvation of his family, not because they belong to self, but because they are valuable in themselves, and because they are particularly committed to him, as being directly within his reach. This is a principle everywhere assumed in the government of God, and I wish it to be distinctly borne in mind, as we proceed in our investigations, as it will, on the one hand, prevent misapprehension, and, on the other, avoid the necessity of circumlocution, when we wish to express the same idea; the true intent and meaning of the moral law, no doubt, is, that every interest or good known to a moral being shall be esteemed according to its intrinsic value, and that, in our efforts to promote good, we are to aim at securing the greatest practicable amount, and to bestow our efforts where, as it appears from our circumstances and relations, we can accomplish the greatest good. This ordinarily can be done, beyond all question, only by each one attending to the promotion of those particular interests which are most within the reach of his influence.
—Finney's Systematic Theology