Have you ever been to heaven? Perhaps you don’t feel that you have walked it’s streets, but have you ever stood on an adjoining hill and looked out over it, and heard the sounds of life there? Right now you are probably thinking that I have lost my mind, but more than likely you have been closer than you think, and in some moments of realized faith, actually stood there. The problem with most of us is that we don’t look around, hear the singing, smell the fragrance, and understand where we are.
Jesus said that whatever we asked in His name He would do, so why is it that you are praying and He isn’t doing what you are asking of Him? This is a common question asked about prayer, and one that causes many pastors to begin making excuses for Jesus and God. The inability to understand prayer based on one verse of scripture, taken out of context, leads to the downfall of many.
There is great mystery in the blood of Jesus, a newness that isn’t seen anywhere else in the Bible. The symbolism in the blood of communion is beyond rich, and gives us more than purification and forgiveness... it changes our lives completely, and cuts us off from the old life we were once living. The blood of Jesus requires that we make a choice... to continue on as we have been, or to drink of it and be called out... made other.
We say we love the Lord, but do we really love Him, or do we love studying and reading about Him? Do we really love Him or do we love talking to others about our knowledge of Him? Do we really love Him, or do we just want Him around in case of an emergency? Do any of these sound familiar, or maybe your relationship with Him is dysfunctional in another way. Knowing who He is isn’t faith; reciting a children’s prayer we learned a lifetime ago isn’t the prayer He expects from you. Open the door of your heart to Him.
When we look at Jesus we see a humble man, and yet at the Last Supper His disciples argued over which of them would be considered the best, or the greatest. This is an oxymoron... how can they want to be the greatest follower of a man of absolute humility; the greatest of the least? It is human nature to want to be the best at what we do... even if it is being humble. Is humility something you struggle with? Is placing your pride and conceit under subjugation impossible? Then turn to Jesus.
Sometimes, when we have been serving the LORD for a while, we find ourselves going about the things He has called us to do without keeping in mind that this is the will of the LORD. When we fall victim to this snare of familiarity, it will bring discipline upon us. Going through the motions of our calling without honoring God, and seeing the blessings He intends to bestow on us as we do His will, is placing our desires before His.
How many churches are there within your congregation? How many groups of different mind, and various agenda, are milling about one another, and often find themselves at loggerheads? This is what happens when we lose focus on maintaining ourselves in the image of Jesus Christ. This is what occurs when a marriage ceases to be of one flesh.
What do we know about Jesus, God, and our faith? Have we read the Bible cover to cover, and memorized key scriptures? Have we taught Sunday school lessons, or preached the Word from the pulpit? Or, perhaps we have learned and spoken on the subject of Church history, and all the councils and creeds... but does this bring us an inch closer to knowing God? My real question this morning is this... “do you know God, or just know of God?”
Do you boast in your accomplishments in faith? Do you think yourself better than another because you quote more scripture, appear more saintly, or are of greater righteousness than another? Well if you are any of these things it is not of your doing, and if you feel boastful it is to your detriment because these things are in you as a result of our God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ alone.
Do you feel called to serve the Lord, but just can’t seem to satisfy yourself in the answer to His calling? Do you answer “Here am I!”, and yet doubt the significance of what you are giving towards the effort? Well forget the grand desires you may have, and concentrate on giving all of yourself to Him, not to bring Him glory in the earthly sense, but in every little thing He asks of you. Do His will as He would have you do it.
Do you have sacrificial blood on your clothing? How about on the door of your household? No? Maybe you have it on the ground around you, in your prayer closet, or sprinkled on your Bible? Is the answer still no? Well there was a time when this would have been the case, but now that is no longer necessary because of the New Covenant we have with God in Jesus Christ. Today we consume the blood in Holy Communion in remembrance, and it is in each of us.
Once we have received the Holy Spirit into ourselves what can we expect to occur? What is it that we find within ourselves from that point forward? It is of course accompanied by the obvious gifts that were promised like wisdom and comfort, but it is much more... we are going to know the fullness of God. We are going to receive an amazing spark.
Have you ever healed someone by praying over them? Perhaps not, but if you are a believer then someone certainly prayed with you as the confession, and contrition for your sins were lifted up, and you were healed by the acceptance of your faith... healed of the wretched sin-filled soul you once harbored, and joined with Jesus as a joint heir of God. Sickness comes in all forms, and so does healing.
Before we begin our day do we join ourselves anew to the power of God? Before we do anything else, do we immerse ourselves in the Holy Spirit, and seek God in fervent, and reinvigorating prayer? As we lay out our day are we praying that God will show us His will for us in it? If we aren’t doing these things in prayer each day, perhaps that explains the trouble we have in life. So... Pray each morning before you begin those worldly things you are chomping at the bit to rush into alone.
Do you allow God to dwell with you? Is His spirit within you, and does it repair and revive your brokenness? When we first believe, we are inclined to wear our faith like a new suit; we feel good in it, and want to wear it all of the time, but it is still just a garment... never going any deeper than our skin. However, when the Holy Spirit arrives, and we breathe Him deep into us, something remarkable happens... our faith suddenly wells up from within us like a spring, and the external faith that we once put on, and could take off, becomes the person as well as the clothing.