Yeah, I know; "Oh no! Not another preacher pushing how to GET something from God." The title certainly seems to be conveying that, but my intention in this is to show how the answer to everything we have need of is found in God's presence. Wisdom, provision, protection, peace that passes ALL understanding... everything is clearer and possible in the presence of God. But it all starts and ends with relationship... and at that... relationship that is rightly motivated.
I mean, how does it feel to you when you find out the only reason someone wanted to be your friend was because of what you could do for them? They didn't really like YOU... they liked the benefits of being around you. It's kind of like winning the lottery and suddenly finding out you had all kinds of friends and family you never knew you had. God really does love us. Romans 5:8 gives us a great example of that when it says, "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (emphasis added)." God didn't wait for us to prove our worth to Him. He didn't wait to see if there was some benefit to dying for us. He just loved us and was willing to do whatever it took to make a true relationship with Him possible!
Earlier this month was the District Council for the Assemblies of God. Here, we dealt with business issues, etc... but the highlight for me was getting to hear Dr. Wayne Lee preach back-to-back nights from Daniel Chapters 1-6 on the need for us to be "healing" Christian leaders in Babylon. Essentially, he was likening our modern culture to Babylon and showing how we, like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, can impact this culture if we'll commit to a process of preparation and being used by God.
One of his opening thoughts was: "Shifts in culture and changes in world governments require new leadership preparation", which he then listed a 5 point process of how to go about such preparation: 1) Intense training - For us that includes such things as our discipleship/growth track (classes 101/201/301), Connection Groups, Elective classes, etc... 2) Character purification - James 4:8; not allowing ourselves to be defiled; accountability... not allowing secrecy to become a weapon satan can use against God's people. 3) Teaming with other believers. There's safety in numbers. Also; "One can put a thousand to flight; two can put ten thousand to flight." 4) Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit through prayer. That speaks for itself, really. It stands to reason... the more time you spend getting to know someone; the easier it is to recognize their voice and intentions. 5) Confidence in God's sovereignty. God is in control! Pastor Perry's wife Melissa posted an interesting quote from Rick Warren on Facebook the other day. With regards to giving God true control of our lives, he said, "We want God in COMFORT, but not in CONTROL. They go together. God will show up when you give up." That's good stuff. How much do I really trust that God DOES have my best interests in mind and that He DOES know best how to go about it, even when it seems crazy? Dr. Lee went on to say that God releases His delivering presence in the fire of opposition (see Daniel 3). No matter what opposition we face in life, we know that God's presence is the answer.
I know... this all sounds great, but "how do we come into God's presence to receive that fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11)? One thing that really helped me when I was feeling overwhelmed with all of the "how-to's" a few years ago was James 1:5 which reads, "If you need wisdom-if you want to know what God wants you to do-ask Him and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking." After reading that I said to myself, "That's a promise from God." We don't have to have all of the answers. We just need to be open and honest with God and trust that, as we let go, He's more than able to lead us and handle our situations. All we have to do is ask. But, as the following verses talk about, we have to really believe that God is going to answer. As I said a moment ago... sometimes it may seem crazy, but we have to trust the ONE who see's the BIG PICTURE! This is when Proverbs 3:5-6 comes into play: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."
I believe that we are all positioned where God wants us to be for such a time as this; but we need to be proactive in our preparation and not reactive. We need to come together as the family God has created us to be and use all of our unique gifts to impact this culture. But, this calls for coming into God's presence and being transformed (Romans 12:2). Once we receive God's guidance, we are then responsible to act upon it. Bottom line: Abiding in God's presence will allow us to have God's wisdom amidst chaos. In this environment is where we can release God's healing presence if we've allowed ourselves to be prepared by God.
2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Romans 12:1 it reads: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him."
That is freedom. And that is the "present" we can receive in God's presence...a healing presence that we can then give to the hurting of this world.
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perry meade
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