“My life needs GOD’s presence to work GOD’s purpose.”
Jack Hayford (jackhayford.org)
GOD's Presence above His Purpose
Finding unspeakable pleasure
“In our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure.”Tozer (American Pastor d1963)
We should take our worship so seriously, that we do not stop until we are finding unspeakable pleasure. We need to be passionate about who we are encountering! GOD calls us to excellence.
I feel that passion is so important in finding and encountering GOD because the road that we walk into His presence can be uphill and narrow. If we have no passion in seeking GOD, we will not find unspeakable pleasure - we may find 'some' joy, but not the joy of the Spirit.
WRESTLING WITH GOD
Today, I want to encourage you in this: Wrestling with GOD is necessary to receive His blessings!
Our lives can get really hectic and the thought of having to wrestle with GOD might not be at the top of your list of favourite things to do... but I want to remind you of a man in the Bible who had to do just that.
Genesis 32:22-29
That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
It's a simple story, but it's also a reminder of the journey we need to take along the road to GOD's blessings for our lives. I firmly believe that GOD blesses us only when we're ready to receive! This can be a tough pill to swallow because we may believe that we're ready today, but GOD is the only one who can see the journey that we need to take.
I found this awesome prayer by John van de Laar that encourages us to take the journey!
(Print it out and pop it in your Bible at Genesis 32)
Wrestling
by John van de Laar
© 2010 Sacredise
Following you is not as easy as it may seem at first, God;
Getting your ways into our hearts
is not a matter of just reading a few verses of the Bible,
or singing a few hymns;
No, to get your law inscribed on our inmost beings takes some wrestling;
It takes standing our ground when you come to us
in your fearful glory,
and carrying the mark of the encounter in our bodies and souls;
It takes prayer that is more than superstitious words
to try and manipulate circumstances or people,
but is a life-altering opening of ourselves,
that confronts and challenges us,
and makes us your instruments of justice and grace.
But if we are to live what we believe,
to go beyond empty words
or simple agreement with ideas or doctrines,
we need this wrestling;
If our lives are to be portals for your reign,
channels for your compassion and healing,
containers for your joy and abundance,
we need our hearts to be broken open,
our souls to be engraved with your words,
our bodies to be driven by something more than appetite.
And so we come, nervously but expectantly,
and offer ourselves to you again
in whole-hearted prayer and worship.
Getting your ways into our hearts
is not a matter of just reading a few verses of the Bible,
or singing a few hymns;
No, to get your law inscribed on our inmost beings takes some wrestling;
It takes standing our ground when you come to us
in your fearful glory,
and carrying the mark of the encounter in our bodies and souls;
It takes prayer that is more than superstitious words
to try and manipulate circumstances or people,
but is a life-altering opening of ourselves,
that confronts and challenges us,
and makes us your instruments of justice and grace.
But if we are to live what we believe,
to go beyond empty words
or simple agreement with ideas or doctrines,
we need this wrestling;
If our lives are to be portals for your reign,
channels for your compassion and healing,
containers for your joy and abundance,
we need our hearts to be broken open,
our souls to be engraved with your words,
our bodies to be driven by something more than appetite.
And so we come, nervously but expectantly,
and offer ourselves to you again
in whole-hearted prayer and worship.
Faith; measured by sacrifice
Phil 1:27-29"Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting."
It is not enough for us to simply trust in Christ or to believe. There is more to life than this. True faith is not measured in our trust of GOD, it’s measured in how much we are willing to suffer for Him; in how much we are willing to sacrifice – and then still trust Him! That may sound scary, but actually, it's really encouraging! It means that when hard times face us that we have an opportunity for true worship!!
Excellence in what I do....
I believe that many people misunderstand 'excellence' when it comes to church. We think:"There's no way I can play guitar like them, they're excellent!" "There's no chance I could teach like that, that was an excellent message!"
What we do is we attach someone else's 'excellence' to our own abilities - and that's where we go wrong!
Check this passage out... Gen 4:2-7
We want so much to be accepted and loved by others. We see from this story that Cain missed out on that acceptance because he didn't bring his best, the best of the gifts that GOD had given him. He went into a rage of jealousy for his brother because he thought that his gift had some relation to Abel's, which it didn't!
It had to do with bringing the best of what GOD had equipped them with. It had nothing to do with being 'better' than others... Jesus was clear that we are all equal, we can never out-give someone else because each of us should give as we have decided in our hearts (2 Cor 9:7). The gifts that we bring show GOD our hearts.
The New Testament Epistle writer, Paul, spent much of his time reminding his readers that all of us have gifts that GOD has given us. I want to encourage you to bring the very best of those gifts to GOD.
All these gifts have been given to us so that we can meet the needs of others in GOD's strength. Our ministry (meeting the needs of others) is threefold;
The gifts that we bring (talents, treasures, time, nature, body) need to be better than our previous gifts if we want them to be excellent. If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, then our best becomes our average.
Abel brought his best and found favour with the King. He showed GOD his heart for excellence, a heart to give GOD his best! We will expand on this concept over the next few posts and encourage you to always, always bring GOD the best that you have!
What we do is we attach someone else's 'excellence' to our own abilities - and that's where we go wrong!
Check this passage out... Gen 4:2-7
"Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer. Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk. God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."
We want so much to be accepted and loved by others. We see from this story that Cain missed out on that acceptance because he didn't bring his best, the best of the gifts that GOD had given him. He went into a rage of jealousy for his brother because he thought that his gift had some relation to Abel's, which it didn't!
It had to do with bringing the best of what GOD had equipped them with. It had nothing to do with being 'better' than others... Jesus was clear that we are all equal, we can never out-give someone else because each of us should give as we have decided in our hearts (2 Cor 9:7). The gifts that we bring show GOD our hearts.
The New Testament Epistle writer, Paul, spent much of his time reminding his readers that all of us have gifts that GOD has given us. I want to encourage you to bring the very best of those gifts to GOD.
All these gifts have been given to us so that we can meet the needs of others in GOD's strength. Our ministry (meeting the needs of others) is threefold;
- to the Lord
- to believers
- to non-believers
The gifts that we bring (talents, treasures, time, nature, body) need to be better than our previous gifts if we want them to be excellent. If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, then our best becomes our average.
Abel brought his best and found favour with the King. He showed GOD his heart for excellence, a heart to give GOD his best! We will expand on this concept over the next few posts and encourage you to always, always bring GOD the best that you have!
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