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Monday, May 26,
2008
God Is
John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24) God is a Spirit:
and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (KJV)
We have all seen pictures and paintings
of how man sees God and try’s to portray Him, mostly based on a physical
interpretation. Many people claim they are worshipping God, which is
carried out in many different ways, sometimes in songs or hymns, or other
times I have seen people look to the ceiling and wave their arms thinking
that is a form of worship. The fact is that God is a Spirit; a totally
different realm than the one we are accustomed to, something mankind cannot
comprehend on his own, but rather needs a personal revelation in order
understand God. Worshipping God is not some song and dance as many think,
but rather in order to truly worship or reverence Him it has to be done in
deed, or in other words it has to become a way of life in order to have
fellowship with Him. Not only is God true to us in His word and promises,
but He expects us to be true to Him as well, serving Him in love with the
right motive of the heart. While many depict our Lord according to their
own understanding, and compare God to man’s standards of how things are
accomplished, God’s ways are so much higher and better than ours, something
few experience because of their lack of trust in Him. Jesus Christ was a
true worshipper of God because He walked according to the Spirit of Christ
which led and guided Him on His path of life and brought a message of truth
to a fallen mankind, thus the reason for all the opposition.
Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. (9) For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (10) For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the
earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: (11) So shall my word be that goeth forth
out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish
that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
(KJV)
God’s thoughts, His ways, His timing, is
so much higher and better than ours, now the question is how many will be
still long enough to hear His voice and then act on what He is asking, even
if it means patiently waiting as well? While the Spirit is willing and is
at peace, it is our flesh and its impatient nature that says we need to act
now, or with many they think their prayers were not answered because the
results didn’t happen the way they thought it should. With many others they
follow a predetermined path that is based more on their outward sight than
their spiritual insight, thus keeping God in a denominational box and
limiting Him. In order to walk in the Spirit you have to start thinking in
the Spirit, a realm that is so much higher than ours and totally different
and contrary to the carnal way of thinking. How much more could God work
through His people and give them the confidence and assurance that they are
one of His, if only they would let Him? We have all prayed about certain
things in our life and were absolutely sure that we couldn’t live without
them, so when it didn’t manifest the way we thought it would we think we
are failures. Was it so much you were a failure, or maybe that thing you
were requesting wasn’t really what you needed or wasn’t beneficial to your
walk, but rather would have been more of a detriment. As one matures in
life they realize that there is a big difference between what they want and
what they truly need, something the Lord knows and knew before the
foundation of the world when He chose a place for us in His body of
believers. Now the questions is, will you trust in the Lord with all your
heart and not lean to your own understanding, letting His peace rule in all
your decisions and not the outward appearance of things?
Galatians 5:16-18 This I say then, Walk
in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (17) For the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. (18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the
law. (KJV)
Just because you were born again and had
a personal experience with the Lord that brought you peace doesn’t mean you
are on easy street, rather it is just the beginning of a brand new way of
life. While the ways of man are limited by the flesh and its way of
thinking the Spirit of God is unlimited and without any boundaries. Now it
is a matter of renewing your mind on a daily basis so that you can see more
and more into the spiritual realm and allow God to do a work in you that no
other man can do. We have the mind of Christ so that we are no longer under
the law of sin and death, but rather under a law of faith which allows us
access into the realm of the Spirit which is unlimited and unending to
those that continue in it. While the disciples of our Lord were limited in
their thinking and told Him they would have to go back to town and get
provisions, it was the Spirit of Christ within Jesus of Nazareth that
trusted that loaves of bread and a few fish would suffice. While some
questioned our Lord concerning His timing and why He didn’t show up in time
to save Lazarus, in the end God had a perfect plan and demonstrated His
power and love through Jesus of Nazareth, so that not only did Lazarus
resurrect from the dead, but it brought life to some of the others that
were there and witnessed it as well. So what are you holding to as truth
today, will you let God be true and hold His word above and beyond what man
says or are you leaning more to your own understanding and doubting His
word? The Spirit and the flesh are totally contrary one to the other, like
a tug-a-war, only you have to decide for yourself which one you will hold
to.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. (13) Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
(14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. (KJV)
Do you spend time daily in prayer and in
the word of God so that you can let Him renew your mind and receive the
things of His realm? God does not take spiritual things and give them to
carnal people, because it is foolish to them. However He does take
spiritual things and compare or interpret it with spiritual people who are
willing to walk in the Spirit and hold Him to be true, worshipping Him in
spirit and in truth. There are many that claim to be of God and speaking on
His behalf, that operate according to the natural man and its way of
thinking, and may even have big followings also. But remember, that which
is highly esteemed among mankind, in others words popular people pleasing
doctrines, are an abomination in the sight of God. And what may have
started out with good intentions is nothing more than the blind leading the
blind into an eternal ditch.
Psalms 92:4-6 For thou, LORD, hast made
me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. (5) O
LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. (6) A
brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. (KJV)
A brutish man is referring to a stupid
one, someone who thinks they know better than our Lord. Anytime we decide
to lean to our own understanding we limit God as well. Have you ever had a
small child contradict something you knew to be true, no matter what you
said they thought they knew better? Now compare that with the Lord, in
other words the creation telling the Creator He doesn’t know what He is
talking about, or you know a better way, that would fall under the category
of brutish.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (KJV)
Are you tired of walking in circles or
like on a treadmill, lots of effort but you end up in the same place? Or
maybe you are bound and determined to have things your way no matter what
the Lord thinks, then you wonder why your walk with Him is stale or at a
standstill. In order to walk in the Spirit you need to think in the realm
of the Spirit and be willing and obedient to what the Lord is asking
despite what the outward would dictate, or how foolish it may seem to the
many that hold to popular opinions and doctrines of man. God’s ways and
thoughts are so much higher than ours with victory guaranteed before hand,
isn’t it time you mount up and start looking above for your answer?
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