“So Samuel said: ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.’” – 1
Samuel 15:22
REALITY 7.
YOU COME TO KNOW GOD BY EXPERIENCE AS YOU OBEY HIM AND HE ACCOMPLISHES HIS WORK
THROUGH YOU.
This is the last reality in Experiencing God. Oh there is a
lot more to the study, but these realities are at its core. Do you want to know God more? Do you want Him to be “real” in your life? This
new life we live could be so much more if we would only stop choosing our old
nature over our new. Spiritual maturity
happens by the power of the Spirit at work in a surrendered heart. Martie and I watch a lot of programs on
Amazon Prime and Netflix. Recently we
watched a program called “Grimm” based loosely off of the Brothers Grimm fairy-tales. Anyway there are people roaming about that
have another nature – a beastly nature –
one that only they and the Grimms can see.
Watching that program reminded me of the fact that, as a Christian, I
have two natures. One is bound to Earth
– the flesh, the natural man, and one is bound to Heaven – the spiritual man. How much of my spiritual nature is evident
depends upon how much of my heart is yielded to God. The strength of the spiritual
man within me happens by being obedient to His commands which I can only do by
faith, with a surrendered heart and life and the power of the Spirit in me.
Principle 2 (Where Faith Is Waiting).
God acts on Faith shown NOT on Promises made.
“God is not an enabler. He does not act based upon promises
made, but only upon the demonstration of faith and obedience. He doesn’t act
until we take the step of faith. This should not be confused with God’s grace
and mercy that He shows to all people so they might come to repentance, (Romans
2:4) or the fact that He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:25)
When you are confronted with the Truth of God, you know it.
The troubling question is always, “What are you going to do about it?” The
Truth always confronts what is not true. If there is something in your life
that is contrary to the nature of God, the Word and the Spirit of Truth will
expose it. Once exposed, you are faced with a choice. Do you act in obedience
to the Truth or disregard it? Disregarding truth is a kinder way of describing
disobedience. Most often we prefer to not consider our disregard of Truth as
disobedience, but rather merely a choice that is available to us.” (Where
Faith Is Waiting – Leader’s Guide, Charley Elgin)
To demonstrate our faith we must first trust God and choose
His way and not some way that we have engineered on our own, perhaps encouraged
by our culture. If you want to
experience God to the full, you must stop making promises about what you will
do if He only will act first. If He
would only prove Himself then, of course, you would be happy to do this or
that. Well, my friend, God has already proven Himself, one time for eternity, –
He did that through Jesus. When you yielded your life in faith on the day that
you were born again – you committed your heart – your very life to the Lord. It
is so easy to let that commitment slip away to the back of your mind, condemned
to that desolate region where lies all of your broken promises and
rationalizations about why you were justified in breaking them. Why are we so easily satisfied with something
far less than God desires and intends for us?
This was the Apostle Paul’s hope for us and mine as well ….
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that
you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the
saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of
Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of
God.” – Ephesians 3:17-19
I suspect that some if not many who read this will agree
with the idea but will not be even remotely interested in picking up their pace
in the pursuit of God and His purposes, of changing the way they live. For them
I hope this is a seed planted. But, I am really writing this for the few. Those
whose hearts hunger to know God more. To fulfill their purpose as His children
– as those called according to His purpose. So to you – let’s pick up the pace
and finish the race. You can do it!
“…. since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For
His Glory Alone
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