 Have you ever been Discouraged? I think just about everyone has. Did you know that you don't have to remain in a discouraged state? That may not be something you know. If you need an encouraging word - then read what is below!
In 1 Samuel 17 we read the historical account of David as he met Goliath in battle. Before David faced down this Philistine giant of a man, the Israelites had to listen to him daily berate them as well as the Lord their God. We read that as he came and trash-talked them day after day they became discouraged. Each day they would approach the battle site – and each day they would retreat from it when he would come and demand someone to fight him. By the time that David came to the camp to learn of the condition of his brothers who fought with Israel, it had been 40 days that they experienced this scenario. Needless to say, their discouragement was great. What exactly is discouragement? Well, honestly, the word itself is little more than the word courage with the prefix dis- attached to it. Dis- simply means the lack of something or the opposite of it. They had lost their courage. They no longer had any courage when it came to their circumstances on that battlefield. A massive man – a professional warrior – was asking for a single person to come and fight him. Even the king, Saul, who stood head and shoulders above anyone else in Israel, had his courage leave him at the thought of a man-on-man fight with this guy. But something happened when David walked into the camp. He came to the front lines that day and saw the same thing all the other soldiers saw. He heard the same thing all the other soldiers heard. But there was one thing David did see on that day that all the others had lost sight of in their minds. David still saw God – and – God was bigger than Goliath! We have a principle at work here! If you want to be discouraged – keep looking at your problems. This has a corollary as well – if your problem seems very large – continue mentioning how big it is over and over again. If you do NOT want to be discouraged – keep your eyes, your focus on God. Compared to Goliath David was a runt. I mean no disrespect towards David in saying this. When David came out to fight him without any armor – without a sword or a spear. When he came out with a shepherd’s sling and a bag filled with 5 stones, (1 for Goliath – and four for his ugly brothers if they came too) Goliath was pretty ticked off and considered his very appearance an insult to him. David had fought other giants in his day. He fought a hairy one that took one of his father’s sheep in a very bear-like fashion because, in fact he was a bear. He also faced another monster that took one of his father’s sheep. Some think this thief didn’t walk in the truth – but that was just because he was a lion. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself) Both times David looked to God and saw that through Him he could rescue his father’s sheep. He killed both the lion and the bear and rescued his father’s sheep from them. All this current situation was to David was another one in which his Father’s sheep were in danger because of another bear/lion like predator that was seeking to take them. Just as God helped him with his father’s enemies, the lion and the bear – so God would help him as he fought his heavenly Father’s adversaries as well. Was David experiencing some fear or trepidation when he went to battle? It doesn’t seem like it. But that was because he wasn’t looking at the giant who cast a shadow over him – he was looking at the faithful God who cast an infinite shadow over the tiny giant before him. Where did David get this kind of perspective? David was a Jewish boy. As such he had heard the history of his people as it was read by the priests and repeated by his parents. He knew of a nation of slaves who defeated the mightiest military of their day by looking at God rather than focusing on them. He knew of a leader who did not cower before a mighty walled city named Jericho. That leader focused on the God who told him to march around the city until they were good and tired. Then they were to shout and blow trumpets at the city. Those God-directed actions allowed them to see, not the walls, but the Wall-smasher. Over and over again David had heard of those who didn’t look at their situation, but who looked at their God. Those who did this – were “couraged.” I know that is not an actual word – but I hope it speaks to you. When you look at your circumstances and make much of them – your courage will be taken. You will be discouraged. But when you face obstacles that loom before you and you choose instead to see the infinitely powerful, infinitely mighty, infinitely great, infinitely wise God instead, you will be “couraged.” How do we do this? We do it by daily seeking God’s face. We do it by daily pursuing an appointment in the presence of our God. We do it by seeking first His kingdom and His glory – and He adds to us the things that we need in life. We don’t let tomorrow (or today for that matter) to dominate our field of view. Such, there are things in many of our tomorrows that are HUGE! There are many things in a perceived future moment that seem bigger than what we can handle. There are things that send our emotions into a frenzied panic – making us want to run and hide. But here is a truth you should write down somewhere. “You don’t have to act how you feel.” Too many people today think that they are controlled by how they feel. They think this way so much that their “feels” make them blind to anything else in life. “Don’t confuse me with facts,” they say, “this is how I feel!” To suggest to them that they don’t have to act how they feel is an insult to them – for to them they are their feelings. “To not act how I feel would be to act like a phony,” they say. The truth is that we have the ability to say no to our feelings and choose to act another way. This is not being phony. It is being responsible. When one gives in to the false logic that says one HAS to act according to their feelings – they will find a multitude of things that will discourage them. Their courage will be robbed from them as they tremble at their circumstances and difficulties, hoping that someone, anyone will come along and deliver them from their feelings. We overcome this slavery to feelings by turning to God in our need. With our focus no longer on the problem or the feelings it engenders, we begin looking to God and listening to Him. He tells us to “take courage” for He has overcome the world. The more we look to Him and what He has said and promised, the more we experience encouragement. It is then that we can overcome discouragement. We do it by looking to Him – listening to Him – and responding to Him and what He says. We no longer live by our “feels” but by a responsibility to obey God. We respond to God who tells us our responsibility to do what He says. Thus, we learn that we don’t have to act how we feel – we act according to our responsibility. We act according to what it means to be a responsible child of God. We act according to what it means to be a responsible servant of God. That allows us to be a responsible parent, a responsible child, a responsible employer or employee, and any other role or task that God calls us to be responsible to do. We’re just responsible. So, the next time you face a situation where your feelings try to dominate you and lead you to discouragement, look past your situation to your God. Focus on Him and you will no longer be discouraged. To the contrary – you will be very “couraged.”
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 What do you do when you’ve had your quiet time, prayed, and you come away with a sense that you’ve basically gotten nothing from the Lord for the day? This is a question I wanted to tackle because it is my guess that just about every Christian has mornings like this.
First of all, let’s address this from the sin point of view. If we are in known sin from which we have yet to repent - this will be the norm. If we think we’re going to have a wonderful time alone with God when we are in conscious known sin, we are kidding ourselves. The Word of God is very clear on this matter. “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) Not only will He not hear - but usually when He speaks - it will only be to deal with the area of rebellion until repentance is embraced. Something I feel the necessity of saying is that He does this because He loves us. Scripture says God disciplines those He loves. But when this is ruled out we are still left wondering why it seemed like God did not do anything at all in our time alone with Him. Second, let’s address this from the emotions point of view. We all want emotions - at least when we think that they are going to be good. But life is not a series of incredible emotions that are guaranteed every day. The emotion with which I loved my wife on my wedding day and subsequent honeymoon was a very high point in our marriage. The emotion we had at the birth of each of our six children was a high point in life. The emotions I had when I went up to preach my very first sermon to Calvary Chapel was a high point. But there have been many days as a husband, father, and pastor that were not equally as high. In fact, to wonder why every day isn’t that high, emotionally speaking, is ridiculous. I still love my wife - love my children - and love the congregation I pastor when I have average emotional days - and even when I have bad and horrible days emotionally. That is called living. Too often we paint the Christian life as one high after another - or like some kind of trip to an amusement park with thrill ride after thrill ride. That is a disservice to others on this path. A normal person has a normal range of emotions - up, down, and often - somewhat blah at times. To have a continuous high cheapens who we are to be in Christ. Jesus knew highs and lows and everything in between. To have a somewhat blah-zay time alone with God is not horrifically abnormal. This takes me to the third thing we need to consider. Third there is the matter of faithfulness. Sherie and I do not have daily earth-shattering conversations. Most days we talk - and it is fairly normal, run of the mill, how was your day honey - kind of conversations. Because there is not a rush of emotion every time we speak does not make me doubt either her love for me or my love for her. We are faithful in really emotional times - and in times when the emotions don’t run as high. One of the things we need to remember is that God wants us to be faithful to Him. Therefore, when we have a really average time alone with God, or worse, a series of those average times - do we stop making time to be alone with God? The only way to build faithfulness in a life - is for there to be times when little more than faithfulness is why we keep going. We have things we value - regardless of whether they come with daily warm fuzzies or not. I value God - and value the relationship He has given to me through Jesus Christ. Whether I leave my time alone with Him high as a kite - or feeling very “non-feeling” will have no effect on whether I will continue to seek Him in the future. I seek Him BECAUSE I love Him - and I love Him because He first loved me. He values faithfulness - therefore I, too, will value it - with Him - with my wife - with my children - and with God’s saints. Truly - valuing faithfulness helps often with reaching out to the lost - because very often I get little back in response at first when sharing the gospel. But God calls me to love them and to share His Word with them - which requires (shocker alert) faithfulness. The last (but certainly not exhaustive) matter is that of the silences of God. There are times when all seems to go silent in our spiritual lives. I’ve read many biographies of godly men and women who all testify to these times. Some call them the dark night of the soul while others refer to them as the silences of God. Whatever they are called, they are disturbing when they come. David spoke of one of these when he said these words: How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. Psalm 13:1-4 The silence of God disturbed David - it spiritually freaked him out. He wondered where God was. He had a longing to see God’s face. He desired God’s counsel - and the way that God would enlighten his eyes like He previously had in days gone by. He looked at how his being shaken in his confidence in God would cause those who hate God to rejoice. Now, I have to confess that I purposely left out verses 5-6 of this Psalm. David was shaken somewhat by what he thought was God’s absence - or at least disinterest in fellowship with him. In a way I believe that this was by design. The design behind it was for David to see how futile life was without God. The design was for David to recognize that there was no other God for him but Jehovah. That threw him even more dependent and needy upon God. Such words are not written because a person is disinterested in God or had an apathy about his or her spiritual life. These are the words of the true believer who is “desperate for God!” Peter spoke such words in John 6 when he said, “Where else can we go? You alone have the words of life!” Now I’ll share the rest of Psalm 13. But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6 David goes from despair to trust - i.e. faith! One can almost hear him lifting these words to the heavens. “I’ve trusted your covenant-love.” Even as he lifts them there - he speaks them also to himself deep within his heart. This first phrase speaks of God’s covenant with Israel - and later His covenant with David. God made promises - and He WILL keep them. David turns from emotion to the Word. He turns from feelings to faith. I have trusted in Your promises. But next David says, “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” He turns from God’s promises to God’s prior works. He remembers the salvation of God - how God worked in him and he again shouts to the heavens, “I’ve trusted what You promised - and I will choose to rejoice in what You’ve done.” It is wise in our blah moments to remember the mercies and grace of God given to us in salvation. As we remember His salvation - we need to speak it to our heart - and speak it with our heart as well. Then David finishes with a song. “I will sing to Jehovah, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Please note that exclamation points are not used here. I’m glad they were not - because I believe David is not speaking from excess emotion within himself. He is speaking truth TO himself. Remember what God has both promised and done requires singing. But what if we don’t feel like singing? Sing anyway, because deep down that is probably what David was doing. He sang of how Jehovah had dealt “bountifully” with him. The word for “bountifully” is the Hebrew word “gamal” which means to recompense or to bring to a good completion. But it can also mean, “to wean.” It was this meaning that grabbed me when thinking of my dry, blah moments in my time alone with God. There are times when what God is doing is weaning us from the constant call for an emotional experience. The child who is weaning may feel that he or she is getting a raw deal. There was plenty of food and a nearness - even an intimacy with mom involved. Where has that gone? But the mother is not removing love from the child - she is preparing the child for a thousand different foods to come. We need to grasp that at times our loving Father in heaven is weaning us from the glut of “feelings” so that we can be ready for mature food. We are being moved from milk to meat. Also - when these times come - God is allowing us to do what is truly in our hearts. That can be a painful moment - if all you have in your heart is “religious obligatory practices” and not a deep love of God. In those moments many turn away from God. If this is how it is going to be - I’ll just go somewhere else! That is a statement made by someone who has yet to be ruined by God. They have been ruined by God so that nothing else satisfies except God. His silences - or even our lousy quiet times can remind us of this. I am not here to fulfill a checklist of religious obligatory practices! I am here to meet God! Since nothing but God Himself will satisfy that longing - I MUST HAVE HIM! So - you’ve finished your time alone with God. You “feel” as if nothing has happened. You wonder why? Maybe its unconfessed sin - but that is not God’s only reason from allowing such a thing in your life. He loves you and wants you weaned from “emotionally-dependent Christianity” where life is one awesome experience to the next. He also loves you and wants to build faithfulness into your life. And He may love you enough to be weaning you from such things so that you can move on from milk so that you may begin partaking of the meat of the Word. Whatever it is - let Him drive you, not away from Himself, with such difficulties. Let them drive you further into His arms - further into His promises in His Word - and further into a relationship of trust and faith in His Son.  What is the Word of God? When is it that God speaks to us through His Word? These are important questions for us to answer. There are a couple of views of this that are based on just a slightly different preposition that is used to describe when it is that God speaks to us. But that difference is not slight at all. It is actually the difference between having God speak to us - and us saying when He speaks. Let's take a look at these two very different views.
Sunday I gave a testimony about how God graciously met with me early that morning. He spoke to me through His Word by His Spirit and it was a wonderful thing. But, lest anyone think that His speaking was due to an existential experience I had, I want to make a very important distinction. Each and every day I have my time alone with God, I open the Word of God. As I begin to read I am immediately experiencing the Word of God – every single word that I read IS His Word. The reason I am making a point of this is because of an errant theological view of God’s Word. Let me give an example. When we read the Word you will hear me say, let us listen “to” the Word of God. There are traditions that will phrase that differently. They say, “As we read, let us listen ‘for’ the Word of God.” Our statement represents the understanding that, “All Scripture is inspired by God,” (literally God-breathed). We believe that the words that we read ARE the Word of God. The view that we listen “for” the Word of God as we read implies that it is not until we have some kind of existential experience that God is speaking. (i.e. a feeling, a sense, an experience that God is speaking to us, in some circles the Greek word ‘rhema’ is used to say God is speaking in that moment) The way that this is described in theological circles is that - when we experience it – then what we read ‘becomes’ the Word of God. That is a heretical view of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. Every word from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 IS the Word of God. It is God speaking to us. To say that we need some kind of feeling, insight, or experience for it to be God’s Word is a very dangerous false doctrine. One of the dangers is that we ignore parts of Scripture because they don’t make us feel anything – or that we don’t have some kind of experience as we read it. There are even parts we may react negatively toward as we read them. The “listen FOR the Word of God” doctrine allows us to ignore them – and say that they are not the Word of God for us. Again, this is a very dangerous heresy – and one that I believe will be used with greater frequency to ignore God’s moral standards that don’t fit with contemporary moral views. The Bible becomes a smorgasbord where “we” determine what is right and what is not – what is Scripture and what is not. One thing I want to say here that I hope is helpful is that when I read God’s Word there is not always an emotional response. Also there are times when I read it and it is instructive to me – and I don’t have the “sense” I had this past Sunday morning. Those times are just as important as ones I have that involve strong feelings. They are just as authoritative in speaking to any way I am living my life. When they speak of sin – I am just as guilty of breaking them – and just as hindered in my fellowship with God. Feeling or no feeling – sense or no sensation at all – warm fuzzys or just reading the words on the page – I am still hearing God speak. Let me say something about the Bible. There are certain parts I can almost guarantee will have a greater impression on me than others. There are times in my yearly Bible trek that I am about to hit Leviticus that I almost dread it. Certain parts of 1 Chronicles (the first 10 chapters) will rarely bring about some existential feeling in me. But – I am still hearing God speak – because ALL of His Word is Him speaking. Some folks get excited when they are about to read the prophets – while others may not. I used to start Job almost rolling my eyes at what was going to be a daily dose of listening to his friends say, “Your wicked – that’s why all this bad stuff has happened to you,” only to then hear Job say, “Nuh-uh.” Yet – when reading it I was listening to God speak the whole time. NOTE: by the way throughout the 38 years I’ve been a believer and have read the Bible at least once a year – the Holy Spirit has taken me through every book of the Bible slowly at one time or another to have me understand much more closely what God is revealing of Himself through them. Yes – even through Leviticus, Numbers, and the genealogies in Genesis, Matthew, and Luke – and was thoroughly blessed because of it! Saints, I mean no disrespect toward God’s Word in saying these things. I am only trying to help you grasp and understand that even though we may find some books more interesting than others – they all are God’s Word – and God is speaking when we read them. To hold the view that He is only speaking when we feel or sense something is only going to diminish His Word in our thinking – and eventually lead us to hold a very deficient view of the Scriptures. So the next time you open His Word and begin to read, remind yourself of this fact. It is all God-breathed! It is all profitable to you! It is all Him speaking and revealing Himself! Then read – thankful for the gracious times our emotions are stirred – but also thankful that whether they are or are not – we’ve just experienced God speaking to us and revealing Himself graciously to our understanding.  A Lot to learn in 2016 part 2 - Decisions
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:10-13 Lot had a problem. He did not have his own walk with the Lord. Abraham interacted with God - both hearing and speaking to Him - and Lot just followed Abraham. There is a problem with this kind of living. Eventually you will have to walk on your own. What will happen then? How will you know, follow, and experience an interactive relationship with God? What will counteract your heart - which according to Scripture is deceitful and wicked. This was Lot’s problem - and as we will see in this part of, “A Lot to Learn in 2016,” it does not go well for those who follow in Lot’s steps. Abraham and his nephew Lot were both in the business of raising livestock. When you prosper in this endeavor you will eventually have problems - and they did. Their herdsmen began go quarrel over pasture land. Rather than have a growing enmity between their servants, Abraham proposed that they separate from each other so that enough pasture land would be available for their herds. This was the moment where Lot would have to make his own decisions - and the first one is indicative of a man who does not know how to follow God himself - but who relies on other people to hear God for him. Abram offers him any of the land that was before them. Lot got first choice. What he chose was the land near Sodom and Gomorrah. He chooses a place where the people were wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord. He chose on the basis of what "he" saw. Scripture says that he looked and saw that this land was “like the land of Egypt” and therefore he chose it. In Scripture, Egypt is not considered a good place to be. In addition to this - we also learn from the passage that the place Lot chooses is “near” Sodom. The problem here is that we also learn that the men of Sodom were considered “wicked exceedingly and sinners against Jehovah.” Lot’s first choice was to live by what his eyes saw and what his selfish desires wanted. He didn’t consider that by doing this he was moving closer and closer to sin. He did not consider that he would be taking his family into a place where there would no longer be Abraham’s godly influence - but the influence of exceedingly wicked sinners. Lot moved his tents as far as Sodom. The phrase used here in Hebrew means he moved “near” Sodom. There was enough in Lot to know he shouldn’t go into Sodom - so he did the next best thing - he moved near it. Here is a lesson we need to learn from Lot. What you move toward in your life - is likely what you are going to become. Having followed a godly man (Abraham) Lot now was going to have as his strongest influence, ungodly, exceedingly wicked men. If Lot had his own relationship with God he may have done this to influence those men - but we know that what he saw was their prosperity - and the “good life” and place they lived. There is going to be more - much more to this in our next installment. But . . . before we go there let’s consider something in our journey together. There is a “Lot” to learn even at this point. What drives your decisions in life? If our decisions are made with what we see with our eyes as our primary information - we will wind up in a mess. If we are seeking “the good life” as defined by the world around us - we will once again wind up in a mess. If we joyfully grab first choice in things (and don’t consider others better than ourselves - Philippians 2:1-3) and want first place - we will surely wind up in a mess. Lot’s decisions were driven by the (1) Lust of his eyes; (2) the lust of his flesh; and (3) the boastful pride of life. By the way, these three things are all defined as sin and worldliness in 1 John 2:15-17. Lot made a choice that increased the worldliness in his life - and then deceived himself by thinking that only by moving “near” sin he would be fine. These kind of choices don’t bring blessing - except in the immediate gratification of our fleshly lusts. The long-term results of these kind of decisions - are disastrous in our lives. Let me state this positively though - so you will have something to do on when making decisions. First - make decisions by wisdom, which is defined as seeing life from God’s perspective. We look at things through His Word, His Spirit, and the wisdom that comes from spiritual sight. Don’t just seek an answer - seek Him and ask Him to give you His eternal perspective on your choices. Second - make decisions in light of long-term (honestly - eternal) joy and delight. Ask yourself, what is going to last? What is going to be an eternal blessing? What will benefit me spiritually - so that I can take it with me when I leave this world? Lastly, make decisions that move away from sin - not toward it. Consider the sins of your past - and the sins God wants to deliver you from in life. Don’t move toward those things - and especially don’t think you can get nearer to them without them influencing you. If God wants you to minister to someone or minister somewhere that is one thing - because that doesn’t move you closer to sin - it moves you closer to sinners - but only for God’s purposes of leading them to Christ and influencing them for godliness and the gospel. A parallel question to this might be, “Am I moving toward influencing others - or being influenced by them?” You can move toward sinners or sinful situations if the first is true - your seeking TO influence them. But if you are going to BE INFLUENCED - you need to move toward godliness and be sure that their influence brings you closer to God. May God help us to make good, godly decisions. May we be wise and seek and desire His perspective in all things. May we be seeking eternal benefit in life rather than a quick fix high. And may we truly learn from Lot in this situation (as well as in any we face this year) that there are much better ways of decision making than the ones he chose. "Genesis 12:4 - So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him.
One man heard and knew intimacy with God and one did not. One man walked with God and one man did not. One man knew an amazing level of blessing in his life and one did not. One man experienced immediate satisfaction of his desires and one did not. One man was directed by himself and his wants and one was not. One man eventually lost just about everything in his life and one did not. One man had a legacy of godly descendants and one did not. Such is the history of Abram and Lot. And if you will pardon the pun - there is a "Lot" we can learn in 2016 from this man , Lot, and his choices. I hope you will join me for several posts as we seek to learn a "Lot" that will benefit us in this coming year. This passage begins with a man who walked with God and responded to Him when God initiated in his life. Abram was a man drawn, led, and blessed by the grace of God. God started this relationship - and Abram followed as he gave himself to God and the plans He had for him. He "went forth as the LORD had spoken to him." God spoke to Abram and he immediately obeyed and went with the LORD. Abram was not a picture of perfect obedience - but rather of a man who entered into a relationship with God and embraced submission to God's will. Whether it led to immediate obedience or at times to an eventual obedience colored with discipline on the edges, Abram 's desire was to hear God and go forth in a direction led by Him. Lot's introduction is that he was a man who "went with Abram." What we see in Lot is that he was willing to tag along with the man of God - but he himself was not walking with the Lord. Thus, there was a measure of blessing because of his nearness to a man who was following God. The problem though was that Lot was not building his own walk with the Lord - and eventually the abundance of our heart is going to be expressed in our lifestyle and our choices. Please understand that the blessing of following God is that you get God - not that you get blessed. You do get blessed, but even that is tempered by the reality that your blessing is what God considers as blessing - not what you want at the time. Lot was along for the ride with Abram, but what would happen if a situation arose where he no longer was around him? That is actually what we will learn before these articles are over. So . . . how goes it with you? I know many who have little or no relationship with God in their lives. They either have a man or woman of God whom they tag along with in life - or they are living off the spirituality of their teachers - whether they be a pastor, a Sunday School or Community Group teacher - or even a favorite radio or TV preacher or podcast. Will they be blessed - yes, in a measure, but what happens when that influence is no longer around? What happens when more and more the manifest state of their heart or inner man is expressed through their life? How much of life is truly us "following" the Lord, hearing Him and and going where He leads - and how much is that I've either heard or seen a man of God hear from God and I come along for the ride. Lord, help us to have a genuine experience with You this year. Please deliver us from Lot's error, and just tag along with others who have genuinely walked with You and sought You. We want to experience You ourselves - and walk and teach as one who has an intimate knowledge of the God of Whom we speak.  May the Lord grant you grace to move into the proper inner posture to be able to hear what He IS saying to you TODAY! This past week I was blessed to read a chapter in a book by A. W. Tozer. The chapter had to do with Abraham's relationship with God. The gist of what Tozer said was this. The reason Abraham heard God and eventually obeyed Him was because of being in the proper spiritual posture. God was on His throne speaking - and Abraham was on his face listening. There is a whole lot being said in that statement. Let's look at it for a few minutes this week together.
The first proper inner (or spiritual) posture for us to know is the posture of God. He IS seated on His throne. In understanding that posture we are grappling with the fact that God is king, that He rules and reigns over all things, and that He is seated in the place of absolute, ultimate, unquestioned authority over ALL THINGS (and by the way - that "all things" includes you and everything that ever has or will pertain to you). Some think God is in a posture other than this. Some consider that throne to be empty and non-existent - but we know that the fool is the one who says in his heart, "There is no God." Others think God, after winding up the earth, took a break from it all and is allowing the earth to wind down on its own. He is not active in the scope of human affairs. Some would place another chair next to God. Seated in that chair opposite Him is the devil who, according to their thinking, is somewhat equal with God as the two of them "duke it out" for supremacy over earth and the spiritual realms. Here are the facts! In Isaiah 37:16 we read the following, "O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth." In addition to this we read 5 other times in the Psalms that God is enthroned in the heavens as well. In Ephesians 1:20 we read that Jesus was exalted, after His resurrection, to the right hand of God's throne. God is seated on His throne - and what we read in the Bible is His revelation - i.e. Him speaking to us! But if we are going to hear Him as we should - we need to remember and submit to the fact that when He speaks - it is from the place of ultimate authority - on everything! What this means is that when God says it - we have heard ultimate truth spoken with ultimate authority. We can debate it in our minds and even with others - but - when we're done God is right and we are still called to respond obediently. Our other choice is rebellion. We are truly ready to hear from God when we acknowledge from where He is speaking and with what authority those Words come to us. The second inner or spiritual posture Abraham portrays for us is that he was on his face listening. The posture here is unmistakable. It is a posture of submission - to listen - to hear - to understand - and then to obey. Think about this - even when God tested Abraham with the request to sacrifice Issac - Abraham did not rebel. He chose to obey God and head to Mount Moriah to do what God said. We read in the New Testament that Abraham thought that God would raise his son from the dead if he had to. Such was the faith and the truth that Abraham had for God and His commands. Are you in a spiritual posture to listen to God? Can you hear what He is saying through the Spirit to the church? Does He speak to you through His Word? Are you getting it - understanding what He is saying and dealing with the ramifications and the obedience that He is calling you to in life? Is hearing God resulting in action in your life - a choice for obedience and a choice to DO what He says you should do? Is your obedience instant - or delayed - or even subject to what you think in the end? Your spiritual posture often has a lot to do with whether you will hear Him at all. What is your spiritual or inner posture? Are you on your face - ready to obey OR are you sitting on a throne of your own making? Have you set up a rival throne to God from which you speak over your own life? Dearest saints of God, THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION YOU FACE DAILY IS THIS, "WHAT IS YOUR INNER, SPIRITUAL POSTURE BEFORE GOD?" Nothing is more important that this. Nothing supercedes it. It is THE determining factor on how your life will ultimately go each and every day you live. Join me, saints, in assuming an "on your face" posture of hearing, listening, understanding, and obeying God. There is another word for this - it is WORSHIP. Romans 12:1 tells us that posture when we read there, "I urge you therefore, brethren, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship." You could almost switch the word "posture" for "service" here and lose little in the translation. Our posture before God - our whole selves as a sacrifice to God. Oh, may God's grace make such a wonderful thing possible - and may our passionate obedience follow Him entirely in the way our inner posture is set daily. See you Sunday as we continue our study in 1 Peter! |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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