Tuesday, June 7, 2016

DId God Really Say You Name Anything And Claim It - Really?

My Utmost For His Highest
 
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13
 
“Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? […] It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. […] Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? […] “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). […] … what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. […] “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.” CHAMBERS
 
There was and perhaps still is a movement, actually a heresy, that taught Christians can “name it and claim it”.  Whatever you ask for God will give it.  It doesn’t matter what the motivation of you asking.  In fact, if you don’t get it, it is because you lack faith.  But that is the heretical part.  Name it and claim it is actually a veiled effort for people to embrace the love of money and possessions in the name of God’s Word as the justification.  If our God-given goal is to be more like Jesus, what should my life look like?  Should I be busy “feathering” my nest?  Ensuring that I am comfortable, my future is secure because my nest egg is the size of an Ostrich egg, not a chicken egg?  Should I be asking God for more than I have because I believe that by having more it will mean that God is blessing me?  (Luke 12:16-21) “And he [Jesus] told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.””  The question is not how much you have, but what you are prepared to do with what you have?  I know some people who are very well to do financially, who love God and are very generous in their giving.  It doesn’t matter to God how much money you have.  What matters to God is how much of God you have, in your heart.  If the love of things, maybe your personal comfort or bank account has edged God out, do you really think that God is pleased with you?
 
Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”. I believe that means as I seek God, He will change my heart to desire what He desires.  And what is that?  Micah 6:8 answers that question.  “He has told you, O man, what is good;  and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Does that sound consistent with the thinking that if I am a Christian, if I ask God for anything, He will give it to me?  I think not.  James wrote this (James 4:3) “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”  Think about what you pray for?  Think about what you are doing with what God has already given you.  Money is not the measure that God uses, it is the measure that man uses.  Think about it.  CHARLEY

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