His Word is His Will

 God’s will for you is to be transformed into a new creation, a child of God Himself, while putting away the old sinful nature.  He desires to live in you, making you into the nature of Christ, and presenting you holy and blameless before the Father.  Jesus became sin (our old fallen nature) so we could become the righteousness of God.  As 2 Peter states clearly “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious, that through these you may be partakes of divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

This transforming work seems too good to be true, beyond what we could think, ask, or imagine.  How can we ever believe God would treasure us so much that He would do all for us and purpose for us to live in abundant life and glory with Him forever? The answer is to receive God’s Word, His exceedingly great and precious promises until this truth renews our mind and soul.

Consider what Jesus said about His Word  “If you continue in the Word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32  In His final prayer He asks the Father to “Sanctify them (us) by Your truth, Your Word is truth.” To sanctify means to set apart for His own special purpose. 

The Apostle Paul also understood this life-giving power of the Word, when leaving the Ephesians (Acts20:32), “I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Faith, or believing God’s amazing love and plan for us, comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.  Jesus even joins the Word and His presence as conditions of believing prayer.  “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.” He further states believing prayer and fruitful results glorifies the Father and shows you are a disciple, one who follows God’s ways.

In the beginning was the Word according to John 1, and in Revelation 19, His name is revealed as The Word of God.  Everything begins and ends, the alpha and the Omega, with Jesus revealed and manifested by the Word.  His Word enlightens every man.

Over and over the Scriptures declare the benefits of and instructions of how to let the Word of God dwell in us richly.  Young men are strong and overcome the evil one because the Word abides in them.  Jesus countered the devil’s temptation by pointing out man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every Word of God.  

In short, you will never know the truth and the glorious future God has provided for you unless you read, reflect, let dwell in you, and absorb the promises of the Word.  You can know His will for you by being in His Word.

Job Done Right

 If you want the job done right…

How do you complete that sentence?  The wisdom of the world says “Do it yourself.”  But Jesus shows the way of God which is to teach others.  “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” His plan was to teach and demonstrate Kingdom living and then entrust the work to His disciples, with the promise to equip and guide them by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can’t do it without His help and He has chosen to allow us to be His body whom He sends and equips to complete the task.

We see Paul follow the same principle in dealing with Timothy.  “The things you heard from me, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2. 

A more important question is teach and do what?  Christian parents and Christian schools spent great effort to educate and train their children. However, often the goal is to be able to get a good job and have a successful and comfortable life, perhaps realistically defined as a well paying job, a lovely spouse and good family, a nice house and car with all the comforts this world can give. 

What is the distortion of this objective?  Is that really the goal that God has given?  What about “Seek first the kingdom of God.” or “He who loses his life for My sake will find life.”? Rather than being a worldly success, we must teach and be an example of living for the Lord.  James gives a stronger warning, saying if we love the world, love of the Father is not in us.

The heart of our purpose is to love and serve God, and love our neighbor.   Jesus obviously came to take care of sin and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth  Each of us who know God have the assignment to share that love and truth in our sphere of influence.  In the words of Jesus, you are the light of the world.

Following the pattern of Jesus who demonstrated and taught the ways of God, thus making disciples who could continue His mission, we are told to make disciples.  

So if you want the job done right, make godly disciples.

Are You the Most Blessed?

 You are “most blessed forever,” according to Psalm 21:6.  Most blessed in what way?  His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), so it follows that when Jesus is our shepherd, I shall not want.  My needs are met according to His riches in glory.  By His stripes I am healed.  He always leads me in triumph and no weapon formed against me shall prosper.  All things work together for good for me because I love Him and am called according to His purpose.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 

Are these statements true for you and are you  really “most blessed forever,” as the king before God?  Since Jesus has made you and  me to be priests and kings forever (1 Peter 2:5, Revelation 1:6) we are the ones this psalm is talking about as kings, and joint heirs with Jesus receiving everything He has purchased through His death and resurrection.  It is true and more than we could ask, think, or imagine. As children of God who by grace share His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), we have intimate relationship with Jesus, our living hope of eternal glory forever!

In the Gospel of John, Jesus explained various truths as “now is and will be.”  There are times we “feel” and easily declare these positive Scriptures are true in our lives, but there also may be times when circumstances and feelings are screaming against them.  In these challenging times we are called to “fight the good fight of faith.”  We live by faith and not sight, 2 Peter 1:4 reminds us that “through these precious and great promises we escape the corruption that is in the world and partake of divine nature. 

At a recent prayer meeting in Tulsa, the Lord gave a word that the enemy was throwing firry farts designed to “destroy our will to fight.”  Therefore, the Lord is calling us to stand strong in His power, cast down every thought and imagination that is contrary to Christ, and equipped in God’s armor take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit declaring the Word of God as Jesus did in the wilderness against the devil. 

Faith and patience inherit the promises. In Revelation Jesus reminds us that trying times call for the endurance of the saints. We encourage you, like Abraham, to not waver in your faith, but continue to give Him glory for what He has promised.  We will make it and every word of God will prove true.  He is faithful.

Run with Horses

Jeremiah 12:5 exhorts us, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you run with horses?"  

 Get ready.  The pot is starting to boil!  Prophetic warnings sound across the world that the time of the Lord's return is short and the intensity of the battle with the powers of darkness is increasing exponentially.  However, Jesus shifts our attention from what is happening in the world to focusing on the glory of His plan, “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28.

 Sudden or tragic events do not mean it is a time to panic, but rather a fresh awareness to put on the armor, stand equipped declaring the Word, and seeing the kingdom of God overcome all.  Jesus promises, "in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  Furthermore, as 1 John 5 states, because He overcomes, all who are born of Him also overcome!

Several times in John 14 Jesus explains to His disciples that He is telling them what is coming so that when it comes they continue to believe.  Since we have His assurance that He is working all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, we can afford to rejoice, trust Him, and simply “see the salvation of God,” as He told the Israelites at the Red Sea.   The book of Revelation is the “revelation of Jesus Christ” according to verse 1:1 and the message is clearly that He is King of kings and Lord of lords who triumphs over all evil establishing the kingdoms of the world as kingdoms of our Lord.

Praise God forever!  Heaven and earth declare He is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.  Therefore, every time we hear of one more negative thing happening, it is time to praise the Lord more for being greater and conquering this area too   Let’s turn every enemy work into thanksgiving and praise for the victory of Jesus, because God is not mocked, every act and word will receive His just retribution.  Yes, rejoice and give Him glory for His faithfulness and perfect plan.

  

Know the Word is From God

 “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God” or simply your own human authority, according to Jesus in John 7:17.  Jesus not only declares His sheep hear and know His voice, He also tells us how to know the difference between His voice and the voice of “strangers” (John 10).

When we receive thoughts or images, our first goal is to determine whether it is from God or just our own manufactured ideas.  The truth is God is much closer than most of us realize.  As Paul explains in Acts 17:28, “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  We are temples of the Holy Spirit and by His presence Jesus further declared that the Father and Jesus would also make their home in us.” Jesus told Pilate everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.  

Since we have asked the Lord to speak, by faith choose to believe and receive it from Him.  Don’t question it at this point (we will provide a means of testing it later.), but faithfully write down everything that comes to you.  Yes, write it down rather than assume you will remember.  Take time to let the Lord say all He wants, don’t take a small bite and run away.  The real objective is to have fellowship,, a relationship where He and you can share what is on your hearts.

I repeat, write it down.  God told Moses to write it down.  God told Habakkuk (ch 2, v 3) to write the vision clearly on tablets so all could read it.  Now you have the  written message to examine its authenticity and godly instruction.

The first test, always, is does it agree with God’s Word.  God does not change and will never give a message contrary to His eternal nature and direction.  For example, He won’t tell you to lie, or steal, or be involved in immoral sexual behavior when His Word has clearly stated His commands.  

Secondly, James 3:17 states the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy  and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Proverbs reminds us the wisdom of many counselors and this is a good time to have a wise counselor, a spiritual person who can help you determine if it meets God’s standard, especially if the spoken Word demands major changes.

The point of these past four posts is that God loves you and delights in sharing His heart with you  Rather than believe the lie that “I don’t hear God,” try following these simple steps and enjoy His presence and personal messages for your heart  1) Get alone and prepare your heart with thanksgiving, praise, and praying in the Spirit, 2) Lay down your thoughts and desires, and take authority over the devil forbidding him to speak, 3)  Ask the Lord to confirm His Word and speak to you as His child that wishes to do His will, 4) Receive and believe the words and thoughts that come to you are from Him by WRITING them down, and finally evaluate the message jin light of God’s Word and godly counsel.

Jesus, who loves you so much that He willingly died for you, longs to spend time with you and speak to you.

Heart Ready and Open to Hear

 Why did the prophets of old get a minstrel before they could hear God?  Why does Psalm 100 say to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts wit praise?  Why does worship and praying in tongues bring us into the right disposition, or tuned into the right channel, to hear God?   

The answer is that God is a spirit (and has created us in his likeness) so his “still, small voice” is directly to our heart or spirit.  In eternity, as you may have noticed from the report of people who died and went to heaven, communication is spirit to spirit.  We will just “know” what Jesus or any other person is “saying.”

Jesus pointed out the necessity of being right with our brother before we come to the altar of God,  The application of this principle is to let the Spirit search our heart, then repent and ask forgiveness so the blood of Jesus can cleanse us of any unrighteousness  We want to draw near to God with a clean heart.

One of the serious questions people often wonder about is how do I know this “voice” isn’t from the devil?  If that is a concern, take care of it by using your authority in the name of Jesus  Just as Jesus commanded the demon to be quiet, simply declare, satan and any demon I forbid you to speak, I command you to go in the name of Jesus.

Once we have cleansed our temple, and asked the Lord to speak to us, all we need to do is wait and expect the Lord to speak to our heart  If you recall the pattern of Habakkuk “I will watch and see what the Lord will say to me.”

Expect the next promptings or thoughts that come to be from the Lord.

We will deal with this next concept and whether the voice is from God or just our thoughts in the next post.  The message today is making sure our heart is prepared and open to hear.

Be Still and Know that I am God

 Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul, according to the instructions of Psalm 25  How do we lift up our soul?  The answer is to put other thoughts and feelings aside and focus your mind and heart on Jesus and who He is. Our fallen nature wants to be preeminent, the boss who controls us, but God leads us beside still waters where we let the presence of the Lord dominate.  The first step that Habakkuk takes in chapter 2 in order to hear God is to get alone on his post to seek God. Jesus calls this going into your room and shutting the door 

Psalm 37:7 tells us to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”  God promises he will renew the strength of those who wait for Him.  Even Jeremiah reminds us that those who seek Him with all their heart will find Him, how much more does this principle apply to seeking to hear His voice. We show how much we really want to hear from God by our taking time to get still before Him and patiently wait.

Shut the door. What does Jesus mean by this action?  Does He not tell us to clean our plate of all our other thoughts and desires, to deliberately lay them down.  God honors our choices, our decisions.  As Romans 8:13 states “put to death the flesh by the power of the Spirit.”  Therefore, ask and depend on the Holy Spirit to help you lay aside anything and everything that wants your attention so you can receive what the Lord wants to say to you.

We will consider the next step, expecting Him to speak, in future posts, but today prepare your mind and heart to find a place and time where you can be still and know He is.

Getting to this ready state is such an important one if you are serious about wanting to hear God. If you need more encouragement, do a concordance or google search on “waiting on the Lord.”  Psalm 62:5, for example, states, “For God alone, O my soul (your mind, will, and emotions), wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.

Do You Hear God’s Voice?

 What do you think?  A fool delights in his own opinion.  However, we know God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts and God’s ways are not man’s ways.  Yet very few Christians confidently know what God is thinking or hear God’s voice when they need to make decisions.

 The gold standard to reveal His thoughts and ways is the Word of God. Jesus in John 8:32 reminds us that if you continue in the Word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 

Jesus is the Logos, the written, forever settled Word that endures and will never pass away, but He is also the “rhema,” the specific spoken Word that enlightens the mind with understanding and direction in every situation.

Hebrews 4 says, today when you hear His voice.  Likewise, Jesus declares “My sheep hear My voice.” There is no question, we are meant to walk with the Lord who abides in us and hear Him speak to us. The bigger dilemma is how to hear Him and how to determine if these “thoughts” are really from God.

The prophet in Habakkuk 2 gives us a pattern. He isolates himself on his guard post, keeps watch to see what his will speak, expects the Lord to give specific instruction, and is told to record the vision or words given. We could summarize these steps to stillness, vision, recognizing spontaneous thoughts, and journaling or writing down what you receive.

In the garden God walked and talked daily with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening.  This essential characteristic of our relationship with the Lord is worthy of a more thorough investigation to ensure the benefits and provision God has given to those who know Him.

What is Your Plan for End Times?

 If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail, according to current financial planning wisdom.  How much more true is this principle in light of coming events and eternity.

"What is the world coming to?" many are asking as age-old standards of decency, honesty, and common sense are violated.   

Jude tells us to contend for the faith because the world will be filled with ungodly people who turn the grace of God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  They are grumblers, fault finders who live after their own lusts, ones who speak arrogantly and flatter people to gain an advantage. Likewise, 2 Peter 3 states "that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming?'" 

Proverbs tells us that the prudent see trouble coming and prepare for it.  Both Jude and Peter give advice for anyone who wants to know what to do.  Peter answers the question "what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?"  

However, Jude 1:20-21, giving specific details of how to not only endure but how to overcome this present evil generation, states, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."  

Let's consider each of these four directions.  1) Build yourselves up on your most holy faith.  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.  Faith builds faith, as we exercise the faith we have in little, God increases our faith to be greater.  Therefore, this instruction calls us to daily not only read and hear the Word, but also to step out and apply the Word to the challenges of our life.

2) Pray in the Holy Spirit.  When we yield our will to God, the Holy Spirit cries out "Abba Father" and with groanings beyond words expresses the will of God to the Father.  Use your prayer language and cry out to Him from the depth of your heart. God has given us gifts which are tools to be used not put away on the shelf. 

3) Keep yourself in the love of God.  What does God require but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.  Walk in the humble fear of the Lord, which simply means love good and hate evil and pride.

4)  Finally, look for the mercy of the Lord Jesus unto eternal life.  Our focus is not on the evil world that is passing, but as Romans reminds us, keep our focus on the fact that our Redeemer is coming with mercy for all those who call on His name.  In short, rejoice that God is not mocked, but continues to work all things for good, HIs mercy is greater than sin, and His authority reigns supreme so every evil will be justly dealt with and every one who turns to Him will live forever. 

Thank God we are not helpless, but in union with Him who has overcome, we overcome by simply walking in the ways He has provided.  Praise God forever, as God's children we will never be shaken.