If you have been following this Blog for any length of time you have noticed that I am not like most Bloggers. You won't see a daily or even weekly post, especially those done mostly to boost readership. I am not interested in numbers for the sake of numbers. Nor is it my intention to try and convince those who are satisfied with their relationship with Jesus that they need to spend time in private worship. I am more interested in providing the hungry with a road map for entering into a long term pursuit of worshipping The Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. So, if you are hungry for God's manifested presence and refuse to stop until you see it then you're the person I am writing for.
It has been a little over a year since beginning my pursuit of His presence in private worship. At first, I think I had the idea that one day I would be in worship and God would suddenly show up and totally engulf me with Himself resulting in a life altering change. Don't get me wrong, I would still love for that to happen, but after a year of pursuing His presence I am coming to the realization that a one time encounter with God is not what this is about. He is more interested in a lifetime pursuit of Him rather than a one time spectacular encounter.
So, if this is not about a one time event in which God touches your lips with a coal from His altar, what can you expect?
Consider this, instead of looking for God to swoop in one day and sweep you off your feet, what if each moment you spend investing in the development of a love relationship with God the dividend is that a small fraction of His presence becomes a little more real to you? In other words, rather than God suddenly flooding you with Himself in a one time experience, His presence in you gradually becomes more apparent as His nature in you flourishes. That's right God's nature; His character, who He is, will begin to manifest more in you and through you each hour you spend in worship.
Here is an example of what I am referring to. Just this week I was having dinner with some fellow ministers in whom I have a great deal of respect. One of them made a comment that they could see a noticeable change in me and the peace that I am now walking in. When he said it, I noticed it for myself, and yes I am walking in much more peace than I have ever had before. I attribute this peace to the time I have spent in private worship and how this has allowed more of God's nature to manifest in and through me. You have to understand, to step into full time ministry as I and my wife have with no direct support from anyone but God, can be a little unsettling. But, instead of biting my nails and wondering where the money would come from, I have regularly spent time in private worship getting to know Jesus like never before. Consequently He has slowly been able to manifest Himself in me and His character is showing up to the point that others are able to see the change in me.
Another recent development is worth mentioning. The other day, following some time spent in private worship, the realization came to me that I was beginning to sense His presence a little more than before. I am not talking about in some dramatic way, but rather in a subtle way. Then, this example came to mind. Before I share it with you understand this is just an analogy to help get the idea across to you. I know that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, as well as, God is omnipresent so there is no place that God is not. With that being said here is the analogy. Have you ever walked into a room that was dark and you have had a knowing that there was someone else in that room with you. It was not like you could see the person, but you could feel that someone was there and the closer you got to them the stronger that feeling became. That is what I was sensing. A year ago I knew by faith that God would never leave me nor forsake me. Now, there seems to be a knowing in me that, although I can not see Him, I recognize His person much more now. With this knowing has come great peace and assurance like I have never had before.
I have had the opportunity to discuss this with Pastor Dave Roberson and he confirmed this to be true with him as well. He said that it is this presence that I have begun to experience that will continue to grow and develop until it will actually move to the atmosphere that surrounds me. When that happens, others will be able to experience His presence as they did when Peter's shadow fell on those who were instantly healed.
I can tell you now by experience that private worship has certainly changed me. Maybe not in the way that I had expected, but in a way that is none the less dramatic. To walk in this level of peace while faced with the challenges of life and ministry is priceless.
I want to encourage you to continue in the lifelong pursuit of His presence in private worship and allow Him to forever change you.
~
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Perfect Peace
Does the thought of spending any amount of time quietly sitting still and telling God how much you love and worship Him and Jesus sound impossible to you? So many of us have such busy lives that we wonder where we will find time to spend in worship. Well, consider this, something so simple as you telling God how much you love and adore Him brings Him immeasurable pleasure. However, it requires something that has become a rare commodity, your undivided attention.
If you were to ask most Christians what they think they will be doing for much of eternity, I believe a very high percentage would acknowledge that they would have an intimate, loving relationship with Jesus and the Father. Most would say they expect to enjoy times in His presence basking in His glory and free of all care. But, if asked, chances are those same people would have no clue that they can enjoy that same presence right now while still on this earth.
One thing I have discovered as I have endeavored to cultivate His presence in worship is that this is not a race to a finish line it is a journey. Some days the journey is rich with His presence full of joy and excitement knowing that you have the attention of the creator of the universe. Other days are a struggle trying to keep every thought focused on Him. Whether it is financial worries, family problems or just random thoughts, it is a challenge to keep your thoughts focused on Him.
Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee."
If you were to add all the hours I have spent in private worship and then subtracted the hours spent struggling, fighting with everything in me to keep my thoughts focused exclusively on Him, I am sad to say that I think the hours free of struggle would be very few.
Here's why; my soul thinks it is still in charge and fights endlessly to maintain control. For example, just today, I was sitting in my chair worshipping the Lord with all my attention focused on Him when all of a sudden off go my thoughts on a totally unrelated subject. Today, it wasn't necessarily worried thoughts, I think I was thinking about giving my dog a bath. But, nevertheless, my soul was in control for those few seconds. So, I regained control once again and with everything in me I focused on Jesus. I worshipped Him. I told Him how much I love Him. Next thing I know, my mind wants to think about food. If I let my mind, it will run all over the place thinking about one thing and then another. "What am I going to do today?" "Has anyone sent me an email?" "What is the weather forecast?" "I need to wash my truck?" The list goes on and on because the soul demands to be in control. The act of worshipping the Lord is birthed out of your reborn human spirit consequently your soul is gaining nothing from it, in fact it is losing its seat of dominance and it hates it. Your spirit soars with joy every second you give yourself over to worshipping God, while your soul pines away, sulking because it isn't in control.
Just consider your soul like a spoiled little brat always wanting his way and never growing up. Be stern and don't let it get by with anything. Maybe you don't even realize your thoughts have drifted until about 10 minutes later. Don't get upset. Crack the whip and demand your soul to shut up then put your attention back on the Lord.
Look back at that scripture once again. Look at those words, "perfect peace". Can you imagine perfect peace? Most people, Christians and non-Christians alike have no idea that "perfect peace" is even possible in this life, especially now with the financial downturn. To think that anything even remotely close to "perfect peace" is possible in this life is like a fairy tale to most.
Let me assure you that "perfect peace" is not a pipe dream. It flows like a river out of your new nature and can be accessed through private worship. His peace will role over you like waves across the water as you focus all your attention on His greatness and His all consuming love for you. He loves you. God, who set the sun and the moon in their orbit and spoke this world into existence loves you, that's right you, with a never ending love.
Crawl into His lap and put all your attention on Him as you worship Him and allow His "perfect peace" to engulf your entire being. That is what He wants for you.
~Blessings Mark
If you were to ask most Christians what they think they will be doing for much of eternity, I believe a very high percentage would acknowledge that they would have an intimate, loving relationship with Jesus and the Father. Most would say they expect to enjoy times in His presence basking in His glory and free of all care. But, if asked, chances are those same people would have no clue that they can enjoy that same presence right now while still on this earth.
One thing I have discovered as I have endeavored to cultivate His presence in worship is that this is not a race to a finish line it is a journey. Some days the journey is rich with His presence full of joy and excitement knowing that you have the attention of the creator of the universe. Other days are a struggle trying to keep every thought focused on Him. Whether it is financial worries, family problems or just random thoughts, it is a challenge to keep your thoughts focused on Him.
Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee."
If you were to add all the hours I have spent in private worship and then subtracted the hours spent struggling, fighting with everything in me to keep my thoughts focused exclusively on Him, I am sad to say that I think the hours free of struggle would be very few.
Here's why; my soul thinks it is still in charge and fights endlessly to maintain control. For example, just today, I was sitting in my chair worshipping the Lord with all my attention focused on Him when all of a sudden off go my thoughts on a totally unrelated subject. Today, it wasn't necessarily worried thoughts, I think I was thinking about giving my dog a bath. But, nevertheless, my soul was in control for those few seconds. So, I regained control once again and with everything in me I focused on Jesus. I worshipped Him. I told Him how much I love Him. Next thing I know, my mind wants to think about food. If I let my mind, it will run all over the place thinking about one thing and then another. "What am I going to do today?" "Has anyone sent me an email?" "What is the weather forecast?" "I need to wash my truck?" The list goes on and on because the soul demands to be in control. The act of worshipping the Lord is birthed out of your reborn human spirit consequently your soul is gaining nothing from it, in fact it is losing its seat of dominance and it hates it. Your spirit soars with joy every second you give yourself over to worshipping God, while your soul pines away, sulking because it isn't in control.
Just consider your soul like a spoiled little brat always wanting his way and never growing up. Be stern and don't let it get by with anything. Maybe you don't even realize your thoughts have drifted until about 10 minutes later. Don't get upset. Crack the whip and demand your soul to shut up then put your attention back on the Lord.
Look back at that scripture once again. Look at those words, "perfect peace". Can you imagine perfect peace? Most people, Christians and non-Christians alike have no idea that "perfect peace" is even possible in this life, especially now with the financial downturn. To think that anything even remotely close to "perfect peace" is possible in this life is like a fairy tale to most.
Let me assure you that "perfect peace" is not a pipe dream. It flows like a river out of your new nature and can be accessed through private worship. His peace will role over you like waves across the water as you focus all your attention on His greatness and His all consuming love for you. He loves you. God, who set the sun and the moon in their orbit and spoke this world into existence loves you, that's right you, with a never ending love.
Crawl into His lap and put all your attention on Him as you worship Him and allow His "perfect peace" to engulf your entire being. That is what He wants for you.
~Blessings Mark
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
In Love with LOVE
In times past, when I thought about the Genesis account of creation my attention seemed to always gravitate towards the fall of man in the Garden. Questions would immediately flood my mind such as: “How could Adam fall like he did?” “Why didn’t Adam just run the devil out of the Garden?” All my attention seemed to be focused on man and what he did and didn’t do.
Something has begun to change in the way I am looking at that entire account of creation. My focus of attention has begun to shift from man and his failures to God and His Love. Now, instead of trying to see everything through man’s eyes, I am catching glimpses through God’s eyes. Believe me, when you can finally start appreciating the depth of God’s love for man and stop just focusing on man’s failure you are on your way to knowing your Father more intimately than ever before.
Man is always so “I” focused that when he looks at Adam he identifies with Adam’s failure. He loses sight of the fact that God’s greatness and His abounding love for man is on display as clearly in the Garden as ever. For a moment, take your eyes off man and look at God. See Him for who He is. Stop trying to measure God with terms that only exist in this world. See Him for who He is beyond the four walls of this creation.
God exists outside the limits of time and space. This means that if you had the ability to look in each direction, past and future, you would never arrive at a place where God has not already existed forever. God is omnipresent. You might ask yourself why it is that you can not see a God who exists everywhere and the answer would be that He exists in a realm that operates just beyond our ability to see with the naked eye. He lives just beyond the speed of light making it impossible for man to see Him. So, at some point man became subject to the speed of light barrier and his ability to see an omnipresent God stopped. We do see instances where for a brief moment man has been allowed to experience travel at God’s speed in the accounts of people like Philip who were translated. Philip moved from one place to another instantly because he was allowed to briefly experience moving above the speed of light.
Likewise, God has no need for a wristwatch. Time exists in our world because God created a planet that revolves around a sun. Prior to the fall when everything still existed in a state of perfection and there was no decay man would have lived indefinitely and not suffered the effects of the aging process. The introduction of sin changed all that. The instant Adam fell all of creation immediately began a count down process to total destruction. All the while as creation continues its steady decent to destruction, God remains unchanged, constant, as He has always been. That is, except for the fact that the second member of the Godhead stepped out of His realm and into ours. It wasn’t that God tried to coexist with man in His “original” form. That would have been like trying to mix oil and water. They just don’t mix. One member of the Godhead, Jesus, willingly stepped out of His realm never to return in the same way again. He stepped out of His realm that He always, always, always existed in to become one of His own creation living in a world set for destruction. Here is what you must see. You must see the reason God was willing to do what He did. What motivation could be so strong that God Himself willingly set this creation into motion knowing forever in both directions that the instant He did it He would eventually be required to pay the price Himself for the failure of His own creation? Only one motivation could be so strong. Love. God does not have love God is Love. Love spoke the creation into being. Love placed man in the Garden to fellowship with Him. Love even set into motion the plan of redemption way back in the Garden when God told satan that one would come who would “…bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Man had just betrayed God and yet immediately Love provided man with the way back to Himself.
To think, all of this, all of what we know and see was done for the sake of Love. Love that goes far beyond what fallen man calls love. This Love willingly altered Himself in order that He could finally end up with someone who would freely love Him in return. Not manipulated or coerced in any way because love that is made to love is not love at all. This is love that is born out of a heart of gratitude for a Creator who willing died for His creation. Is this the love that you have inside you for your Father? It has cost God literally everything to finally have a person who will lift up his hands for no other reason but loves sake alone and tell Him how much he loves Him.
I believe all of heaven surges with excitement when one child of God looks to heaven and worships the Father and the Son because God finally has the unsolicited, free will offering of love for which He has longed.
~
Something has begun to change in the way I am looking at that entire account of creation. My focus of attention has begun to shift from man and his failures to God and His Love. Now, instead of trying to see everything through man’s eyes, I am catching glimpses through God’s eyes. Believe me, when you can finally start appreciating the depth of God’s love for man and stop just focusing on man’s failure you are on your way to knowing your Father more intimately than ever before.
Man is always so “I” focused that when he looks at Adam he identifies with Adam’s failure. He loses sight of the fact that God’s greatness and His abounding love for man is on display as clearly in the Garden as ever. For a moment, take your eyes off man and look at God. See Him for who He is. Stop trying to measure God with terms that only exist in this world. See Him for who He is beyond the four walls of this creation.
God exists outside the limits of time and space. This means that if you had the ability to look in each direction, past and future, you would never arrive at a place where God has not already existed forever. God is omnipresent. You might ask yourself why it is that you can not see a God who exists everywhere and the answer would be that He exists in a realm that operates just beyond our ability to see with the naked eye. He lives just beyond the speed of light making it impossible for man to see Him. So, at some point man became subject to the speed of light barrier and his ability to see an omnipresent God stopped. We do see instances where for a brief moment man has been allowed to experience travel at God’s speed in the accounts of people like Philip who were translated. Philip moved from one place to another instantly because he was allowed to briefly experience moving above the speed of light.
Likewise, God has no need for a wristwatch. Time exists in our world because God created a planet that revolves around a sun. Prior to the fall when everything still existed in a state of perfection and there was no decay man would have lived indefinitely and not suffered the effects of the aging process. The introduction of sin changed all that. The instant Adam fell all of creation immediately began a count down process to total destruction. All the while as creation continues its steady decent to destruction, God remains unchanged, constant, as He has always been. That is, except for the fact that the second member of the Godhead stepped out of His realm and into ours. It wasn’t that God tried to coexist with man in His “original” form. That would have been like trying to mix oil and water. They just don’t mix. One member of the Godhead, Jesus, willingly stepped out of His realm never to return in the same way again. He stepped out of His realm that He always, always, always existed in to become one of His own creation living in a world set for destruction. Here is what you must see. You must see the reason God was willing to do what He did. What motivation could be so strong that God Himself willingly set this creation into motion knowing forever in both directions that the instant He did it He would eventually be required to pay the price Himself for the failure of His own creation? Only one motivation could be so strong. Love. God does not have love God is Love. Love spoke the creation into being. Love placed man in the Garden to fellowship with Him. Love even set into motion the plan of redemption way back in the Garden when God told satan that one would come who would “…bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Man had just betrayed God and yet immediately Love provided man with the way back to Himself.
To think, all of this, all of what we know and see was done for the sake of Love. Love that goes far beyond what fallen man calls love. This Love willingly altered Himself in order that He could finally end up with someone who would freely love Him in return. Not manipulated or coerced in any way because love that is made to love is not love at all. This is love that is born out of a heart of gratitude for a Creator who willing died for His creation. Is this the love that you have inside you for your Father? It has cost God literally everything to finally have a person who will lift up his hands for no other reason but loves sake alone and tell Him how much he loves Him.
I believe all of heaven surges with excitement when one child of God looks to heaven and worships the Father and the Son because God finally has the unsolicited, free will offering of love for which He has longed.
~
Friday, August 19, 2011
No "Goose Bumps" Required
If you are someone who has struggled with the prospects of sitting and worshipping God for an extended period of time because of the total lack of emotions then this message is for you.
Our church society has cultivated this idea that we are only making spiritual progress when we have corresponding emotions to confirm what we are doing spiritually is actually working. In other words, if we don't feel something then we must not be getting through to God. My question to you is this, where did God ever say that we must feel something in order to know what we are doing spiritually is working?
On the contrary, the Gospel is not about believing only in what you can feel. For example, if you are waiting to feel something before you believe you are saved, then you are in trouble. Salvation is strictly based on believing in someone you can't see or feel. Salvation is about accepting the word of this unseen person with no physical proof of His existence but rather believing and receiving by faith. There are no feelings required.
For those of us who have successfully crossed that hurdle of salvation, we have discovered that not just salvation, but everything in the kingdom of God is received by this force called faith. Healing, material needs, everything in God's Kingdom is available to those who believe. It is not based on if we need something or how long we beg God for it. No, it is based on our ability to stand on the Word of our God, whom we can not see, releasing the unseen force of faith, believing that at the moment we pray that we receive the answer to our prayers. After that, we stand and thank God for the answer until it manifests in the natural. No feelings required at all. NO, there is no need for little "goose bumps" in order to know that He heard us or that we have what we are believing for. In fact, until we stop relying on having to feel something we aren't really going to make much progress at all in the Kingdom of God.
Please understand, I am not opposed to feeling God's presence. I love it when I am in a service and all of a sudden His glory roles in like a wave and it is actually possible to feel something. Those times are great. But, I don't measure my relationship with God based on those few short moments. My relationship with God goes far beyond a few "goose bumps" every once in a while. I have a daily communion with God based on His Word which assures me that He will never ever leave me nor will He ever, for any reason, forsake me.
You see, I am head over heels in love with my Heavenly Father, my Lord and Saviour Jesus and the sweet Holy Spirit. When I approach the God head I don't do it with the attitude, "Make me feel something so I will know you are real". No, I approach the God Head knowing with every fiber of my being that He is real. I am not about to embarrass myself by asking God to let me feel something so I can know that He is real.
Let's bring this all into the arena of private worship. Do you think that God responds any differently when we worship Him? Do you think that all of a sudden now feelings are some how a prerequisite for knowing that God is receiving your worship? Do yourself a favor and settle this one issue once and for all. Determine in your heart that regardless of whether or not you ever feel anything at all, you are a worshipper of God. This could very easily be one of the best decisions you will ever make.
Look at what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman He met at Jacob's well. (John 4:23) "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." Think about this, God, who has no need for anything is actually seeking something that He can not create for Himself. How can this be? The simple fact that He is God means that He is the sum total of everything. What could someone with an endless supply of everything seek after? He seeks after what only you and I as His born again kids can give Him, worship out of our reborn human spirit. When Jesus said "in spirit" He was speaking directly to the time we now live in when we who have received the Lordship of Jesus are born again in spirit. No old testament believer could ever worship God the way you can because they were dead in spirit.
God has waited out the centuries looking for someone with a reborn human spirit to give to Him the most unique, priceless offering available, worship out of a reborn human spirit. You see, this cost Jesus His life.
Yes, you can give to God something that no one else on the face of the earth can give Him, your worship.
So, at what moment do you think He receives your worship? Do you think He starts receiving it after an hour, or maybe 2 hours of you sitting and worshipping Him? Do you think He only receives it once you finally feel something? What about the rest of the time? Is that all wasted? No No No. Settle this once and for all, there is no wasted moment of worship. Feel something, don't feel anything, either way makes no difference at all. The very moment you decide to speak out the least little bit of worship to God all of heaven is at attention. Why? Because, with all of hell stacked up against you, symptoms screaming in your body, problems at every turn, you decide to stop and look to heaven and begin to pour out of your spirit the very thing that God seeks for, your unsolicited worship.
I thank God that His receiving my worship is not based on me feeling anything. If that were the case, so much of my time would be wasted because generally I don't feel anything. But, I know that He has waited out the generations for me to give to Him what only I can give Him, my worship.
I hope that this inspires you to once and for all decide that you are a worshipper and that nothing is ever going to stop you.
~
Our church society has cultivated this idea that we are only making spiritual progress when we have corresponding emotions to confirm what we are doing spiritually is actually working. In other words, if we don't feel something then we must not be getting through to God. My question to you is this, where did God ever say that we must feel something in order to know what we are doing spiritually is working?
On the contrary, the Gospel is not about believing only in what you can feel. For example, if you are waiting to feel something before you believe you are saved, then you are in trouble. Salvation is strictly based on believing in someone you can't see or feel. Salvation is about accepting the word of this unseen person with no physical proof of His existence but rather believing and receiving by faith. There are no feelings required.
For those of us who have successfully crossed that hurdle of salvation, we have discovered that not just salvation, but everything in the kingdom of God is received by this force called faith. Healing, material needs, everything in God's Kingdom is available to those who believe. It is not based on if we need something or how long we beg God for it. No, it is based on our ability to stand on the Word of our God, whom we can not see, releasing the unseen force of faith, believing that at the moment we pray that we receive the answer to our prayers. After that, we stand and thank God for the answer until it manifests in the natural. No feelings required at all. NO, there is no need for little "goose bumps" in order to know that He heard us or that we have what we are believing for. In fact, until we stop relying on having to feel something we aren't really going to make much progress at all in the Kingdom of God.
Please understand, I am not opposed to feeling God's presence. I love it when I am in a service and all of a sudden His glory roles in like a wave and it is actually possible to feel something. Those times are great. But, I don't measure my relationship with God based on those few short moments. My relationship with God goes far beyond a few "goose bumps" every once in a while. I have a daily communion with God based on His Word which assures me that He will never ever leave me nor will He ever, for any reason, forsake me.
You see, I am head over heels in love with my Heavenly Father, my Lord and Saviour Jesus and the sweet Holy Spirit. When I approach the God head I don't do it with the attitude, "Make me feel something so I will know you are real". No, I approach the God Head knowing with every fiber of my being that He is real. I am not about to embarrass myself by asking God to let me feel something so I can know that He is real.
Let's bring this all into the arena of private worship. Do you think that God responds any differently when we worship Him? Do you think that all of a sudden now feelings are some how a prerequisite for knowing that God is receiving your worship? Do yourself a favor and settle this one issue once and for all. Determine in your heart that regardless of whether or not you ever feel anything at all, you are a worshipper of God. This could very easily be one of the best decisions you will ever make.
Look at what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman He met at Jacob's well. (John 4:23) "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." Think about this, God, who has no need for anything is actually seeking something that He can not create for Himself. How can this be? The simple fact that He is God means that He is the sum total of everything. What could someone with an endless supply of everything seek after? He seeks after what only you and I as His born again kids can give Him, worship out of our reborn human spirit. When Jesus said "in spirit" He was speaking directly to the time we now live in when we who have received the Lordship of Jesus are born again in spirit. No old testament believer could ever worship God the way you can because they were dead in spirit.
God has waited out the centuries looking for someone with a reborn human spirit to give to Him the most unique, priceless offering available, worship out of a reborn human spirit. You see, this cost Jesus His life.
Yes, you can give to God something that no one else on the face of the earth can give Him, your worship.
So, at what moment do you think He receives your worship? Do you think He starts receiving it after an hour, or maybe 2 hours of you sitting and worshipping Him? Do you think He only receives it once you finally feel something? What about the rest of the time? Is that all wasted? No No No. Settle this once and for all, there is no wasted moment of worship. Feel something, don't feel anything, either way makes no difference at all. The very moment you decide to speak out the least little bit of worship to God all of heaven is at attention. Why? Because, with all of hell stacked up against you, symptoms screaming in your body, problems at every turn, you decide to stop and look to heaven and begin to pour out of your spirit the very thing that God seeks for, your unsolicited worship.
I thank God that His receiving my worship is not based on me feeling anything. If that were the case, so much of my time would be wasted because generally I don't feel anything. But, I know that He has waited out the generations for me to give to Him what only I can give Him, my worship.
I hope that this inspires you to once and for all decide that you are a worshipper and that nothing is ever going to stop you.
~
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Anointing of the Believer
For many people, I believe the idea of getting alone with the Lord is a foreign idea. Then, to instruct someone to go beyond that and spend any length of time telling the Lord how much they love Him is far beyond what most Christians consider normal.
The first question most would have is obviously, "Why would I want to do that?" For the majority of Christians, the few minutes of worshipping the Lord during a church service is more than enough. The music is playing and people are singing so it is easy to join in and become one in a mass choir singing about the goodness of God. There is nothing wrong with that, but this is not the type of worship I'm speaking about when I say, "Private Worship". In a public assembly filled with fellow worshippers and beautiful music your soul is being energized by the beat of the music and instead of reaching out with your spirit and truly ministering to the Lord you are being emotionally moved and are able to coast into God's presence through the help of others. Yes, there are some who are able to offer up some level of worship out of their spirit, but the depths of true worship are never able to be explored in these brief church experiences. Until a person makes the decision to take a step beyond "normal" and begin their own personal Jouney into Private Worship they can never know the joy that awaits them for offering up their soul on the altar of private worship.
"Mark, what do you mean, 'offering up my soul on the altar of private worship?'"
Our spirit is encased by layers and layers of what I will refer to as the unrenewed parts of our soul. This is the residue from the fallen man that has yet to be transformed. All the while your spirit man is wanting so desperately to enter into communion with the Lord Jesus and offer up words of adoration, but your unrenewed soul resists. In the early stages of trying to enter into private worship your mind will do everything it can to convince you that this is a waste of time. It will tell you that you would be better off reading your Bible or passing out tracts rather than spending 30 minutes to an hour just telling Jesus and the Father and the Holy Ghost how much you love them. Finally, you decide that you are done letting your soul rule over you and you plant yourself in a solitary place for predetermined times of worship. Second by second your soul is being offered up to the Lord on this altar of private worship and layer by layer your soul is giving way to reveal your born again spirit. As your spirit tastes more and more of this freedom it becomes less difficult for you to return for more sessions of private worship.
Pastor Dave Roberson was given a vision one day of a rock falling into a pond of water. I'm sure you are familiar with what happens when a rock is dropped into a pond of calm water, ripples are formed. Pastor Dave watched as these little rings began to spread out all over the little pond. There were three rings. He knew that they represented our spirit, soul and body. What the Lord was showing Pastor Dave was that as he spent extended periods alone in worship this would begin the process of breaking down the walls erected by the soul that hold our spirit in check. Through worship these walls would begin to come down and little by little God's presence would begin to radiate outward beginning in the spirit, past the soul until finally the space that surrounds your body would be filled with the presence of God. Smith Wigglesworth walked with this kind of presence of God surrounding him. Pastor Dave calls this the "Anointing of the Believer".
Think of it, you too can reach a place where God's presence fills the air around you. How does this happen? It happens because you have spent the time to offer up your soul on the altar of Private Worship. Be warned, your soul will not give up easily. The longer you sit there trying to focus on the Lord, the more it tries to convince you that you are wasting your time. Your soul is like a spoiled little child. It wants to be entertained. It wants to feel something. Most importantly, it wants to be in charge. When it feels threatened your soul will fight back for its position of dominance. For most Christians their soul dictates to them every aspect of their life. It is time to dethrone the soul.
So, let me ask you, what would you be willing to do in order for the presence of God to fill the space around you? I'm sure most of you reading this are thinking, "Anything". Anything? "Oh, yes, anything!" Would you be willing to subject your soul to regular daily periods in which you sit and offer worship to the Lord and the Father? "Maybe, if it is not too hard." What if I told you that there is actually a secret weapon you could use to silence the flesh and help you break down those soulish walls like a bulldozer, would you be interested? How about if it involved going without food? "What???" How hungry are you to get past your mediocre Christian life and really begin to impact the kingdom of God? When a person finally becomes more hungry for the things of God than they are pacifying their unruly soul they become much more willing to do whatever it takes to experience His presence.
Be aware, this is not going to happen overnight. It is going to take time and dedication. But, if you will make this your lifestyle and not just a passing fad, I believe you will eventually walk in an anointing that will astound you.
I welcome your comments about this Blog. Let me know if this is blessing you and how you are doing in your own Journey into Private Worship.
~
The first question most would have is obviously, "Why would I want to do that?" For the majority of Christians, the few minutes of worshipping the Lord during a church service is more than enough. The music is playing and people are singing so it is easy to join in and become one in a mass choir singing about the goodness of God. There is nothing wrong with that, but this is not the type of worship I'm speaking about when I say, "Private Worship". In a public assembly filled with fellow worshippers and beautiful music your soul is being energized by the beat of the music and instead of reaching out with your spirit and truly ministering to the Lord you are being emotionally moved and are able to coast into God's presence through the help of others. Yes, there are some who are able to offer up some level of worship out of their spirit, but the depths of true worship are never able to be explored in these brief church experiences. Until a person makes the decision to take a step beyond "normal" and begin their own personal Jouney into Private Worship they can never know the joy that awaits them for offering up their soul on the altar of private worship.
"Mark, what do you mean, 'offering up my soul on the altar of private worship?'"
Our spirit is encased by layers and layers of what I will refer to as the unrenewed parts of our soul. This is the residue from the fallen man that has yet to be transformed. All the while your spirit man is wanting so desperately to enter into communion with the Lord Jesus and offer up words of adoration, but your unrenewed soul resists. In the early stages of trying to enter into private worship your mind will do everything it can to convince you that this is a waste of time. It will tell you that you would be better off reading your Bible or passing out tracts rather than spending 30 minutes to an hour just telling Jesus and the Father and the Holy Ghost how much you love them. Finally, you decide that you are done letting your soul rule over you and you plant yourself in a solitary place for predetermined times of worship. Second by second your soul is being offered up to the Lord on this altar of private worship and layer by layer your soul is giving way to reveal your born again spirit. As your spirit tastes more and more of this freedom it becomes less difficult for you to return for more sessions of private worship.
Pastor Dave Roberson was given a vision one day of a rock falling into a pond of water. I'm sure you are familiar with what happens when a rock is dropped into a pond of calm water, ripples are formed. Pastor Dave watched as these little rings began to spread out all over the little pond. There were three rings. He knew that they represented our spirit, soul and body. What the Lord was showing Pastor Dave was that as he spent extended periods alone in worship this would begin the process of breaking down the walls erected by the soul that hold our spirit in check. Through worship these walls would begin to come down and little by little God's presence would begin to radiate outward beginning in the spirit, past the soul until finally the space that surrounds your body would be filled with the presence of God. Smith Wigglesworth walked with this kind of presence of God surrounding him. Pastor Dave calls this the "Anointing of the Believer".
Think of it, you too can reach a place where God's presence fills the air around you. How does this happen? It happens because you have spent the time to offer up your soul on the altar of Private Worship. Be warned, your soul will not give up easily. The longer you sit there trying to focus on the Lord, the more it tries to convince you that you are wasting your time. Your soul is like a spoiled little child. It wants to be entertained. It wants to feel something. Most importantly, it wants to be in charge. When it feels threatened your soul will fight back for its position of dominance. For most Christians their soul dictates to them every aspect of their life. It is time to dethrone the soul.
So, let me ask you, what would you be willing to do in order for the presence of God to fill the space around you? I'm sure most of you reading this are thinking, "Anything". Anything? "Oh, yes, anything!" Would you be willing to subject your soul to regular daily periods in which you sit and offer worship to the Lord and the Father? "Maybe, if it is not too hard." What if I told you that there is actually a secret weapon you could use to silence the flesh and help you break down those soulish walls like a bulldozer, would you be interested? How about if it involved going without food? "What???" How hungry are you to get past your mediocre Christian life and really begin to impact the kingdom of God? When a person finally becomes more hungry for the things of God than they are pacifying their unruly soul they become much more willing to do whatever it takes to experience His presence.
Be aware, this is not going to happen overnight. It is going to take time and dedication. But, if you will make this your lifestyle and not just a passing fad, I believe you will eventually walk in an anointing that will astound you.
I welcome your comments about this Blog. Let me know if this is blessing you and how you are doing in your own Journey into Private Worship.
~
Monday, May 30, 2011
Different Seasons
I have found, over the course of time, that the Holy Ghost takes me into sessions where I am devoting more of my time in what I will refer to as "disciplines". For example, He may direct me specifically to spend the bulk of my time time praying in tongues for a season. Many of you may question how and why anyone would ever sit and just pray in tongues for extended periods of time. Some may even question, "Is this possible?" Without going into a lot of detail at this time let me simply say, yes, you can pray in tongues whenever and where ever you want and the benefits for doing this are tremendous. If you have questions about praying in tongues I will be more than happy to give you the scriptural foundation for this. Just send in your comments to this Blog with your email address. I will not post your questions. Answering questions from people who are genuinely hungry for Truth is what I am interested in. Please don't think I want to debate the issue.
Back to what I was saying. The Holy Ghost may have me in a season of extended times in tongues or private worship. Whatever the case, I have learned to be sensitive to Him and allow Him to direct me into how He wants me to spend my time with Him. He may have me combine praying in tongues with meditating the Bible. Or, He may also have me combine private worship with confessing the scriptures. Whatever the case, the point that I want to make is this, you must learn to be sensitive to His leadership and willing to do whatever it is that He wants you to do. Early on, I had the idea that I needed to spend all my time every day doing one thing. As I have grown in my relationship with the Lord I have discovered that He wants to be able to direct me into how I should spend my time. He knows what I need much more than I do. Another thing I have discovered is that once He alerts me to the specific "discipline" He wants me to focus on, then I will spend the majority of my time that day doing just that. In other words, if He is leading me into private worship that day, I may do some Bible study and some prayer, but the majority of my time that day will be private worship. My objective is to spend as much of my alloted time that day in non-stop private worship. I try not to stop and do anything else. I want to keep a continuous flow of worship coming out of my mouth. Pastor Dave Roberson taught that we make greater strides when we can continue to press in with this continuous unbroken flow as opposed to starting and stopping and coming back to it later. I hope you will be able to put this into practice for yourself. "How long should I do this?" That seems to always be the question. There is no formula that anyone can give you. In other words, I can't tell you that if you spend so many hours every day or week in private worship that in 3 months the heavens are going to suddenly open and God is going to appear before you and fill you with some amazing anointing. But, I can tell you this, however much time you spend in private worship or praying in other tongues or in meditation of the scriptures will cause more change to take place inside of you and bring you that much closer to fulfilling His plan for your life. I highly encourage you to schedule daily time alone with Him. It will be life changing.
I would like to expound a little bit on the subject of combining private worship with confessing God's Word.
Recently, while in an extended time of private worship, all of a sudden I noticed that scriptures began to come up inside of me. So, I began to incorporate confessing those scriptures along with my worship. I recommend this especially to someone who is faced with some particularly difficult situations. Find the scriptures that deal with your situation and as you are worshipping God the Father and Jesus begin to speak out those scriptures affirming that you have the result of those scriptures and thank your Father and your Lord Jesus for the answer. Here is what I found, this gave me even more confidence that I have what I asked for because I'm focusing on all of His goodness and all that He has done for me as I worship Him. What a combination. Here's what you can do. Write down the scriptures that speak to your specific situation. Make those scriptures into positive statements affirming that you have what they say you have. Then, during your time of private worship, begin to confess those statements thanking Him for the answer. If you will continue doing this and refuse to stop, before long you will see the fulfillment of those statements manifested in your life.
I hope this blessed you today. I am working on launching a new website for Mark Jenkins Ministries. Details coming soon.
Blessings.
Mark
Back to what I was saying. The Holy Ghost may have me in a season of extended times in tongues or private worship. Whatever the case, I have learned to be sensitive to Him and allow Him to direct me into how He wants me to spend my time with Him. He may have me combine praying in tongues with meditating the Bible. Or, He may also have me combine private worship with confessing the scriptures. Whatever the case, the point that I want to make is this, you must learn to be sensitive to His leadership and willing to do whatever it is that He wants you to do. Early on, I had the idea that I needed to spend all my time every day doing one thing. As I have grown in my relationship with the Lord I have discovered that He wants to be able to direct me into how I should spend my time. He knows what I need much more than I do. Another thing I have discovered is that once He alerts me to the specific "discipline" He wants me to focus on, then I will spend the majority of my time that day doing just that. In other words, if He is leading me into private worship that day, I may do some Bible study and some prayer, but the majority of my time that day will be private worship. My objective is to spend as much of my alloted time that day in non-stop private worship. I try not to stop and do anything else. I want to keep a continuous flow of worship coming out of my mouth. Pastor Dave Roberson taught that we make greater strides when we can continue to press in with this continuous unbroken flow as opposed to starting and stopping and coming back to it later. I hope you will be able to put this into practice for yourself. "How long should I do this?" That seems to always be the question. There is no formula that anyone can give you. In other words, I can't tell you that if you spend so many hours every day or week in private worship that in 3 months the heavens are going to suddenly open and God is going to appear before you and fill you with some amazing anointing. But, I can tell you this, however much time you spend in private worship or praying in other tongues or in meditation of the scriptures will cause more change to take place inside of you and bring you that much closer to fulfilling His plan for your life. I highly encourage you to schedule daily time alone with Him. It will be life changing.
I would like to expound a little bit on the subject of combining private worship with confessing God's Word.
Recently, while in an extended time of private worship, all of a sudden I noticed that scriptures began to come up inside of me. So, I began to incorporate confessing those scriptures along with my worship. I recommend this especially to someone who is faced with some particularly difficult situations. Find the scriptures that deal with your situation and as you are worshipping God the Father and Jesus begin to speak out those scriptures affirming that you have the result of those scriptures and thank your Father and your Lord Jesus for the answer. Here is what I found, this gave me even more confidence that I have what I asked for because I'm focusing on all of His goodness and all that He has done for me as I worship Him. What a combination. Here's what you can do. Write down the scriptures that speak to your specific situation. Make those scriptures into positive statements affirming that you have what they say you have. Then, during your time of private worship, begin to confess those statements thanking Him for the answer. If you will continue doing this and refuse to stop, before long you will see the fulfillment of those statements manifested in your life.
I hope this blessed you today. I am working on launching a new website for Mark Jenkins Ministries. Details coming soon.
Blessings.
Mark
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Just Because We Want To
Have you ever thought about where God came from? God has always existed. He has no beginning and He has no ending. Since we were born into a world bound by the constraints of time, we have a beginning. But, we have no end. Why? Because we were born with a spirit that will exist forever. The fact that we have a choice as to where we will spend our eternity is what makes redemption and salvation so unique.
The success of God's redemptive plan hinged on one basic element; man maintaining the right of free choice. Free will choice was by no means free. It cost God the highest price imaginable. So, why was He willing to pay it? Keeping man's ability to choose in tact was essential in fulfilling God's ultimate desire which was experiencing the love that is only known by those of a family. Love that is not demanded, but rather offered freely.
Consider this, not only is God eternal in His existence, but He is complete in every way. Imagine existing in such a complete state that there is no lack for anything. The question then is this, "Can someone, as complete in every way as God, want something?" Think about it, when God speaks galaxies are created. How could God ever want anything?
We, as God's creation, can not grasp the magnitude of Who God is, nor His unlimited capacity to create. We see hints of His Greatness by looking at creation. A planet that marks time by rotating while perfectly positioned in orbit around the sun. A planet that produces the very food needed by its inhabitants for survival. A witness to His Greatness is the minute detail exhibited in His creation. This is best characterized by the universal building block found in every living organism which is so small it is invisible to the naked eye, the cell. With the Word spoken from His mouth, creation, in all its complexity, came into existence. For what reason? So man could take up space here? On the contrary, we are here because God, in all His completeness, desired the love and companionship that is only known by those of a family whose love is shared freely with one another.
Think about it, A Creator with limitless ability to create and limitless wealth who has never not existed found Himself with a desire for something that He did not have. What God did not have was a family with whom He could shower His love upon and could in turn shower their love upon Him through a free will choice.
This love is something that God could not fabricate. It only comes from someone who possesses the right to choose to either give love or not.
God always knew what the price would be to have such love because God knows the end from the beginning. Nothing has ever surprised God. Everything that He ever put into motion He did so knowing the consequences at the start. He always knew the cost for creating lucifer. He always knew the cost for making man. He knew from the moment He made man that this would require Him to one day take on the form of His creation and to permanently join Himself to His creation.
Here is where we discover the Greatness of God. God, knowing full well all that this venture would cost Him, still chose to make man. This should birth in every one of us a desire to lay down our lives at His feet.
Consider the alternative. What if God had decided not to create man or this universe. What if God had just gone on throughout eternity without us. Not only would nothing we see exist, but we would not exist. Think about it, you and I and all of mankind would never have existed, nor the world as we know it.
Knowing that He would have to redeem His creation by first becoming one of us and forever joining Himself to His creation, God chose to make us and this world and all that we know.
Now, we occupy the most unique period ever. The uniqueness of what we are experiencing right now goes beyond this creation. The uniqueness of this period can only be measured in the depth of God's desire to have a family because we live in the period in which we directly influence who will be in God's family for eternity. All of what God accomplished through Jesus is directly translated into newly born children into His family every time we lead one more person into the Kingdom of God. All that He desired is realized with every newly born again person.
In addition to being His children, we can finally give Him what He was willing to die for, our love and worship out of a heart of complete surrender to Him. No coercion, No pressure. Just because we want to. Everything He did is summed up in that one statement. We love and worship Him just because we want to.
~
The success of God's redemptive plan hinged on one basic element; man maintaining the right of free choice. Free will choice was by no means free. It cost God the highest price imaginable. So, why was He willing to pay it? Keeping man's ability to choose in tact was essential in fulfilling God's ultimate desire which was experiencing the love that is only known by those of a family. Love that is not demanded, but rather offered freely.
Consider this, not only is God eternal in His existence, but He is complete in every way. Imagine existing in such a complete state that there is no lack for anything. The question then is this, "Can someone, as complete in every way as God, want something?" Think about it, when God speaks galaxies are created. How could God ever want anything?
We, as God's creation, can not grasp the magnitude of Who God is, nor His unlimited capacity to create. We see hints of His Greatness by looking at creation. A planet that marks time by rotating while perfectly positioned in orbit around the sun. A planet that produces the very food needed by its inhabitants for survival. A witness to His Greatness is the minute detail exhibited in His creation. This is best characterized by the universal building block found in every living organism which is so small it is invisible to the naked eye, the cell. With the Word spoken from His mouth, creation, in all its complexity, came into existence. For what reason? So man could take up space here? On the contrary, we are here because God, in all His completeness, desired the love and companionship that is only known by those of a family whose love is shared freely with one another.
Think about it, A Creator with limitless ability to create and limitless wealth who has never not existed found Himself with a desire for something that He did not have. What God did not have was a family with whom He could shower His love upon and could in turn shower their love upon Him through a free will choice.
This love is something that God could not fabricate. It only comes from someone who possesses the right to choose to either give love or not.
God always knew what the price would be to have such love because God knows the end from the beginning. Nothing has ever surprised God. Everything that He ever put into motion He did so knowing the consequences at the start. He always knew the cost for creating lucifer. He always knew the cost for making man. He knew from the moment He made man that this would require Him to one day take on the form of His creation and to permanently join Himself to His creation.
Here is where we discover the Greatness of God. God, knowing full well all that this venture would cost Him, still chose to make man. This should birth in every one of us a desire to lay down our lives at His feet.
Consider the alternative. What if God had decided not to create man or this universe. What if God had just gone on throughout eternity without us. Not only would nothing we see exist, but we would not exist. Think about it, you and I and all of mankind would never have existed, nor the world as we know it.
Knowing that He would have to redeem His creation by first becoming one of us and forever joining Himself to His creation, God chose to make us and this world and all that we know.
Now, we occupy the most unique period ever. The uniqueness of what we are experiencing right now goes beyond this creation. The uniqueness of this period can only be measured in the depth of God's desire to have a family because we live in the period in which we directly influence who will be in God's family for eternity. All of what God accomplished through Jesus is directly translated into newly born children into His family every time we lead one more person into the Kingdom of God. All that He desired is realized with every newly born again person.
In addition to being His children, we can finally give Him what He was willing to die for, our love and worship out of a heart of complete surrender to Him. No coercion, No pressure. Just because we want to. Everything He did is summed up in that one statement. We love and worship Him just because we want to.
~
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Holy Ghost is Our Teacher and More
I have been instructed by the Holy Ghost to deviate from the normal theme of this Blog and post a recently received Word of prophecy. The essence of the Word is that many believers are missing out on one of the greatest gifts, other than Jesus, that our Father has given to us, which is the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Few seem to ever explore the vastness of the Holy Ghost and all that He has been sent here to accomplish.
As you read this Word, compare you own daily experience with the Holy Ghost against what He says is available to us and see how you compare.
I am sure you will enjoy this.
(The Holy Ghost)
As you read this Word, compare you own daily experience with the Holy Ghost against what He says is available to us and see how you compare.
I am sure you will enjoy this.
(Jesus)
My oneness with My Father (while on the earth) required oneness with The Spirit. You cannot experience this oneness with Me, without oneness with The Spirit.
He, the Holy Spirit, takes what is Mine and will show it unto you. All that the Father has is Mine, and I say unto you that He will take what is Mine and show it unto you.
Fellowship and communion is spirit to Spirit. You cannot overlook the importance of My Holy Spirit.
You just don’t see how significant the role is of the Holy Spirit.
He is the bridge that joins Me with you. It would be impossible for you and I to commune without Him. Cherish His Presence. Recognize His invaluable ministry and refuse to take it for granted, for it has been made available to you at such a high cost to Me.
When you look at the Holy Ghost only as your Teacher, as important a role as it is, you are focusing on only one attribute and ignoring all His others. It would be like focusing on one small, micro section, of a multi-faceted diamond. It is like focusing on one single mountain and ignoring the rest of the entire Rocky Mountains . It is like focusing on one gallon of water and ignoring the rest of the entire Atlantic Ocean .
The depths of the Holy Spirit are limitless. The communion available to you is as vast as the ocean. There is no end to His depth.
Why would you ever think that I would want you to try and figure out what I want you to do for Me in your own mind. That is ludicrous.
Remember, He will take of Mine and show it unto you, but only when He has an opportunity to do so.
Strangers seldom converse on levels beyond just superficial.
(The Holy Ghost)
I don’t want to be a stranger to you.
I can be closer than any friend or brother to you, but I can also be ignored by you, quenched and even grieved.
I am the Teacher who loves you beyond words. My desire is to see you fulfill your place in His body. Commune with Me and allow Me to not just teach you but to mold and form you.
You are the clay and I am the hands of the Potter in the earth. I mold you. I hold you in My hands and I squeeze out all the air pockets so you don’t explode in the heat.
I am the coach who is encouraging you to go beyond where you ever have gone before.
What you need, I am.
When He said He would not leave you as an orphan you must look into the depth of what He said to you. Orphans are alone, you are never alone with Me. Orphans are helpless, you are never without your Helper. Orphans don’t know the love of a parent. The Father’s love I show unto you. I am the conduit that all of who He is flows through to you and (through which) all your worship flows to Him.
What can’t you do when I am the Helper who helps you.
(The Father)
There is nothing, absolutely nothing that you do for Me that goes unnoticed or unappreciated. When there are so many who walk blind of Me and deaf towards Me, to have one who longs to please Me and lifts up his voice to Me makes all of heaven rejoice and not a word falls to the ground unnoticed.
These statements came after the Word.
A responsibility of the Holy Ghost is to prepare us for the battle, walk with us into battle and minister to our needs after the battle. It is a partnership with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost’s purpose is to glorify Jesus. The Holy Ghost will tutor us to the place that He can manifest Himself through us for the purpose of bringing glory to Jesus and subsequently the Father.
To watch the video click here.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Peace in the Turmoil
I believe it is impossible to live in this world with all its daily challenges, especially with all that is happening around the world, and not deal with emotional turmoil. Just trying to survive from day to day is becoming more difficult. Rising prices threaten our ability to maintain the standard of living that we have come to expect. Besides the economic uncertainty, many face disease and illness that not only threatens their economic future, but also their very life. With all these things continuing to mount up against us is it any wonder that our emotions are in such a mess? Just look at the increase in the number of people taking their own life in suicide. They have simply come to the place that emotionally they can no longer deal with the reality that surrounds them. God knew these days were coming and has already made available to His children a source of relief from all the madness.
I want to share with you what I believe to be one of, if not the best, benefits of entering into Private Worship and it is available to anyone. God has provided every believer with the ability to disconnect from what seems to be overpowering emotions and enter into a place of peace and stillness simply by entering into Private Worship.
What I have discovered in my own times of Private Worship is that there are, for lack of a better term, layers that you reach as you continue in your times of Private Worship. Remember, you are probably not going to feel much change as you enter into the beginning stages of Private Worship. It is generally that lack of visible change that stops people from continuing. Be encouraged, if you will press through those dry times when nothing seems to be happening and your words seem to fall to the ground, you will eventually enter into a place of peace which you will find to be overwhelming.
This place of peace is not going to be found in two or three sessions of Private Worship. It is going to take some time and dedication on your part. It is going to require some endurance. You have to be willing to suffer through the emotionless times when it feels like no one, not even God, hears what you are saying. Rest assured, God hears every word and the joy He feels because of your worship is immeasurable.
So, the question is pretty obvious, exactly how long is it going to take before I enter into this place of peace? There is no set answer to this question. It really depends on each person. Each one of us are at different places in our spiritual development. Maybe you are someone who has not been saved very long and have just begun to grow spiritually. It may take you some time, but because of your enthusiasm you may be willing to endure. You may be someone who has been saved for a long time and yet your growth and development spiritually has been minimal. You too may have to press through quite of bit of dry time before you enter this place of peace. It is possible that there are some who have already traveled down this road of Private Worship a good distance and still have not entered this place of peace. Be encouraged, you will enter in just don't stop.
Once you reach this place, it is the most amazing thing that you can be under attack and your emotions in turmoil until finally you can get alone with God and begin to worship Him. Then it is like you are disconnected from the weight that has been bearing down on you and you are free. Does that sound like a place you would like to go?
"What about my problems?" They are not just going to disappear. But, when you have spent a couple hours focusing your attention on the answer to your problems instead of the problems themselves it gives you a whole new confidence that your Father has already provided the answer to your prayers. All that worry and torment is not doing you or your situation any good. It is only undermining your confidence in your Father and His ability to take care of you.
So, instead of all that worry. Instead of dulling your emotions with 14 hours of watching television. Instead of masking the pain with drugs or alcohol, yes unfortunately some believers resort to chemical sedatives. Instead of doing all these things which will not take you one step closer to solving your dilemma, why not spend time with Jesus.
~
I want to share with you what I believe to be one of, if not the best, benefits of entering into Private Worship and it is available to anyone. God has provided every believer with the ability to disconnect from what seems to be overpowering emotions and enter into a place of peace and stillness simply by entering into Private Worship.
What I have discovered in my own times of Private Worship is that there are, for lack of a better term, layers that you reach as you continue in your times of Private Worship. Remember, you are probably not going to feel much change as you enter into the beginning stages of Private Worship. It is generally that lack of visible change that stops people from continuing. Be encouraged, if you will press through those dry times when nothing seems to be happening and your words seem to fall to the ground, you will eventually enter into a place of peace which you will find to be overwhelming.
This place of peace is not going to be found in two or three sessions of Private Worship. It is going to take some time and dedication on your part. It is going to require some endurance. You have to be willing to suffer through the emotionless times when it feels like no one, not even God, hears what you are saying. Rest assured, God hears every word and the joy He feels because of your worship is immeasurable.
So, the question is pretty obvious, exactly how long is it going to take before I enter into this place of peace? There is no set answer to this question. It really depends on each person. Each one of us are at different places in our spiritual development. Maybe you are someone who has not been saved very long and have just begun to grow spiritually. It may take you some time, but because of your enthusiasm you may be willing to endure. You may be someone who has been saved for a long time and yet your growth and development spiritually has been minimal. You too may have to press through quite of bit of dry time before you enter this place of peace. It is possible that there are some who have already traveled down this road of Private Worship a good distance and still have not entered this place of peace. Be encouraged, you will enter in just don't stop.
Once you reach this place, it is the most amazing thing that you can be under attack and your emotions in turmoil until finally you can get alone with God and begin to worship Him. Then it is like you are disconnected from the weight that has been bearing down on you and you are free. Does that sound like a place you would like to go?
"What about my problems?" They are not just going to disappear. But, when you have spent a couple hours focusing your attention on the answer to your problems instead of the problems themselves it gives you a whole new confidence that your Father has already provided the answer to your prayers. All that worry and torment is not doing you or your situation any good. It is only undermining your confidence in your Father and His ability to take care of you.
So, instead of all that worry. Instead of dulling your emotions with 14 hours of watching television. Instead of masking the pain with drugs or alcohol, yes unfortunately some believers resort to chemical sedatives. Instead of doing all these things which will not take you one step closer to solving your dilemma, why not spend time with Jesus.
~
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Itching Ears
One of the traps ministers find themselves in is feeling they must constantly be producing more and more new material for their audience. In their effort to "wow" their listeners more the next time than the last time, preachers will reach further and further for something fresh and new.
The real key when ministering to others is to only speak, or write, when He gives you something to say. God isn't interested in one person having the freshest revelation and everyone flocking to hear it and then someone else topping that revelation and the crowd flocks to them. No, He wants to be able to speak when He wants to, through whom He chooses, and say whatever He wants to say. The end result being that the listener is motivated to take one more step deeper in their relationship with Him.
What He has given me to say to you today is this; He led you to this Blog for a reason. It was not for you to be "wowed" by me. It was not for you to admire my fellowship with Jesus. No, God led you here for one purpose and that is for you to be motivated to press in with your own private worship. If I never posted another post, there is enough here for anyone who hungers to know how to enter God's presence in worship.
Why am I saying this? I believe He wants you to know that the internet can be such an awesome tool if used correctly. But if it is used to bounce around looking for something "new" to "wow" us, then we have become those with "itching ears" unwilling to endure sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3) instead of taking advantage of the tools that are available and having our own experience with God.
If you are waiting to see what new experience I have with Jesus in worship, and that is the only reason you are here, then you have missed the whole point of this Blog. Please, don't misunderstand. I am glad you are reading. I am blessed by your desire to learn more about worship. However, the real goal is for you to act on what you read. God wants you to experience for yourself how wonderful it is to enter into a place in worship where waves of His love rush over you. Where His peace is so thick you just don't want to move. There are places in worship that when you reach them you really don't want to leave. You can hardly speak because His glory has engulfed you. But, me telling you about these places is not the same as you entering into them yourself. That's why this Blog exists. This Blog is to be that carrot in front of you enticing you to set aside time to spend with Jesus in worship.
There will be more posts in the future, you can count on that. May I suggest that until then, use what is already here, make a plan for yourself to worship Him. He is waiting.
The real key when ministering to others is to only speak, or write, when He gives you something to say. God isn't interested in one person having the freshest revelation and everyone flocking to hear it and then someone else topping that revelation and the crowd flocks to them. No, He wants to be able to speak when He wants to, through whom He chooses, and say whatever He wants to say. The end result being that the listener is motivated to take one more step deeper in their relationship with Him.
What He has given me to say to you today is this; He led you to this Blog for a reason. It was not for you to be "wowed" by me. It was not for you to admire my fellowship with Jesus. No, God led you here for one purpose and that is for you to be motivated to press in with your own private worship. If I never posted another post, there is enough here for anyone who hungers to know how to enter God's presence in worship.
Why am I saying this? I believe He wants you to know that the internet can be such an awesome tool if used correctly. But if it is used to bounce around looking for something "new" to "wow" us, then we have become those with "itching ears" unwilling to endure sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3) instead of taking advantage of the tools that are available and having our own experience with God.
If you are waiting to see what new experience I have with Jesus in worship, and that is the only reason you are here, then you have missed the whole point of this Blog. Please, don't misunderstand. I am glad you are reading. I am blessed by your desire to learn more about worship. However, the real goal is for you to act on what you read. God wants you to experience for yourself how wonderful it is to enter into a place in worship where waves of His love rush over you. Where His peace is so thick you just don't want to move. There are places in worship that when you reach them you really don't want to leave. You can hardly speak because His glory has engulfed you. But, me telling you about these places is not the same as you entering into them yourself. That's why this Blog exists. This Blog is to be that carrot in front of you enticing you to set aside time to spend with Jesus in worship.
There will be more posts in the future, you can count on that. May I suggest that until then, use what is already here, make a plan for yourself to worship Him. He is waiting.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
When Your Desire Is Gone
I'm sure it is safe to say that only the truly committed believer is interested in pressing into worship. Having said that, why is it that people who are so committed still only last a short period of time trying to break through all the barriers of flesh into worship before giving up? Please don't feel condemned when I say; if you have not stopped yet, most likely you will unless you do something to prevent it.
I, like you, have many of the same struggles trying to juggle the things in life that are necessary and still have time to spend with Jesus. What I am finding out is that no matter how hard we try to maintain our walk and go deeper into God, the flesh begins to get "thick" once again in areas we may have previously seen progress in. Private times of worship is one of those areas.
The Lord has directed me to do some things to address these issues with my own flesh in an effort to retake some of that ground that the flesh recaptured. You see, I have been noticing in my own walk that my time of private worship was being challenged. I know how important it is to continue to press on if I am ever going to really break through and go to the next level in my relationship with Him. What the Lord directed me to do may seem to you a bit drastic and maybe even unrelated to the problem at hand, but believe me it is not. He directed me to do was to Fast. Yes, Fast. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, but let me share with you what I have discovered.
When the Lord sent me down this path into private worship it was clearly a mandate from Him and I charged in ready to conquer it. The fact is, developing a lifestyle of private personal worship is not accomplished over night and it is not something you conquer and then go onto the next assignment. Your objective is to establish a pattern for the rest of your life of intimate fellowship with your Father and Jesus which will follow you into heaven and eternity. Your enemy is not at all interested in you taking the first step down this path. But, for those of you who have won that battle and are already making your way down that path, his job is to sideline you and get you to the place where you are not interested in pressing in any longer. Somewhere along the way you lose that desire to go on and before you know it weeks have gone by and you have not spent any time at all worshiping your Father. This is usually followed by the enemy telling you what a loser you are and how you failed again so why even try to get back up and worship. Can you identify with what I am saying? The next thing you know there is absolutely no desire whatsoever to worship and so you stop.
If you find yourself in this situation, whether it be worship or prayer or whatever spiritual endeavor you are being resisted in, a sure cure for the "I don't cares" is a dose of fasting. Whether you fast for a few meals or a day or a few days it will not take long before your "I don't care" attitude turns into pure desire rising up out of your spirit to do what before seemed impossible. Your emotions can be so strong and if they are working against you spiritually then they must be turned and fasting is how we can turn them. Before you know it, that thick flesh will begin to give way to your born again spirit and your desire to worship will return and you are on your way. What is interesting to me is how quickly you are able to see the true desire emerging out of your spirit. All it takes is for you to put a little pressure on your flesh and before you know it that "want to" to worship is back on line.
Some of you are saying, I need to see some scripture telling me to fast. That is real easy. In Luke 5:33 Jesus is speaking to the scribes and Pharisees who had just asked why John the Baptist and his disciples fasted often but He and his disciples did not. Jesus began to question them about whether or not the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is still with them. He is clearly speaking about Himself and the fact that He was present with them, but would soon be gone. He then says,
Luke 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
We are living in those days. Fasting is not fun and we really need to be cautious how we fast. It is never wise to fast if you have any kind of medical condition before seeking the counsel of your physician. The goal is not to hurt our bodies and we need to make sure we don't. I have found for myself that fasting one day and eating the next and fasting the next is a very good way to get control of my flesh without hurting myself. Sometimes on those fasting days I will not just limit myself to water, but I will drink some fruit juice or if I am working and really feel my body getting weak I will eat a piece of fruit. Most important of all is to learn to listen to our body and not to push it beyond what is safe. Again, consult your doctor to make sure fasting is okay for your body. Everyone's body is different and we need to make sure we are doing what is right for our own body.
Finally, If you are someone who has been struggling and you decide to do some fasting, I would love to hear how fasting has benefited you. Please take a few minutes and write a few lines about the difference you discovered once you fasted. Tell us how your worship was directly impacted by your fasting. I'm sure others would be blessed and encouraged by your testimony.
I, like you, have many of the same struggles trying to juggle the things in life that are necessary and still have time to spend with Jesus. What I am finding out is that no matter how hard we try to maintain our walk and go deeper into God, the flesh begins to get "thick" once again in areas we may have previously seen progress in. Private times of worship is one of those areas.
The Lord has directed me to do some things to address these issues with my own flesh in an effort to retake some of that ground that the flesh recaptured. You see, I have been noticing in my own walk that my time of private worship was being challenged. I know how important it is to continue to press on if I am ever going to really break through and go to the next level in my relationship with Him. What the Lord directed me to do may seem to you a bit drastic and maybe even unrelated to the problem at hand, but believe me it is not. He directed me to do was to Fast. Yes, Fast. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, but let me share with you what I have discovered.
When the Lord sent me down this path into private worship it was clearly a mandate from Him and I charged in ready to conquer it. The fact is, developing a lifestyle of private personal worship is not accomplished over night and it is not something you conquer and then go onto the next assignment. Your objective is to establish a pattern for the rest of your life of intimate fellowship with your Father and Jesus which will follow you into heaven and eternity. Your enemy is not at all interested in you taking the first step down this path. But, for those of you who have won that battle and are already making your way down that path, his job is to sideline you and get you to the place where you are not interested in pressing in any longer. Somewhere along the way you lose that desire to go on and before you know it weeks have gone by and you have not spent any time at all worshiping your Father. This is usually followed by the enemy telling you what a loser you are and how you failed again so why even try to get back up and worship. Can you identify with what I am saying? The next thing you know there is absolutely no desire whatsoever to worship and so you stop.
If you find yourself in this situation, whether it be worship or prayer or whatever spiritual endeavor you are being resisted in, a sure cure for the "I don't cares" is a dose of fasting. Whether you fast for a few meals or a day or a few days it will not take long before your "I don't care" attitude turns into pure desire rising up out of your spirit to do what before seemed impossible. Your emotions can be so strong and if they are working against you spiritually then they must be turned and fasting is how we can turn them. Before you know it, that thick flesh will begin to give way to your born again spirit and your desire to worship will return and you are on your way. What is interesting to me is how quickly you are able to see the true desire emerging out of your spirit. All it takes is for you to put a little pressure on your flesh and before you know it that "want to" to worship is back on line.
Some of you are saying, I need to see some scripture telling me to fast. That is real easy. In Luke 5:33 Jesus is speaking to the scribes and Pharisees who had just asked why John the Baptist and his disciples fasted often but He and his disciples did not. Jesus began to question them about whether or not the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is still with them. He is clearly speaking about Himself and the fact that He was present with them, but would soon be gone. He then says,
Luke 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
We are living in those days. Fasting is not fun and we really need to be cautious how we fast. It is never wise to fast if you have any kind of medical condition before seeking the counsel of your physician. The goal is not to hurt our bodies and we need to make sure we don't. I have found for myself that fasting one day and eating the next and fasting the next is a very good way to get control of my flesh without hurting myself. Sometimes on those fasting days I will not just limit myself to water, but I will drink some fruit juice or if I am working and really feel my body getting weak I will eat a piece of fruit. Most important of all is to learn to listen to our body and not to push it beyond what is safe. Again, consult your doctor to make sure fasting is okay for your body. Everyone's body is different and we need to make sure we are doing what is right for our own body.
Finally, If you are someone who has been struggling and you decide to do some fasting, I would love to hear how fasting has benefited you. Please take a few minutes and write a few lines about the difference you discovered once you fasted. Tell us how your worship was directly impacted by your fasting. I'm sure others would be blessed and encouraged by your testimony.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Whispering in God's Ear
As I write this entry, I have just finished one of the best times with God that I have ever had. Before I begin, I want to make sure you understand the reason for writing this Blog. I am not doing this to make myself sound more spiritual than anyone else. I am doing this to show you that a common person can have some of the most amazing experiences with God here on earth. You do not have to be anyone special for God to come and visit you. All you need to be is hungry enough to press through the dry times until there is enough of "you" out of the way that He can come and visit you. That's it! So, as you read the following post realize that this is available to you. More than that, He wants to share these kind of experiences with you.
My wife, Debbie, and I spent much of the day doing spiritual things. I decided to end my day with Jesus in worship. The first hour was less than uneventful. So much so, I actually caught myself napping. Determined to worship God, I went to my bedroom and laid down and began again. This time, wide awake, I offered up worship to Jesus and the Father. It was still a challenge to stay focused on what I was doing. Thoughts began to fill my mind and I had to consciously push them aside and focus on Him. Time went slowly by. Then, with no warning, it was like a heavy blanket was laid on top of me and a peace that is not of this world engulfed me. He's here! Words that I had been forcing out of my mouth now seemed to flow out effortlessly. It was as though I was whispering into the ear of the Father words of worship. Each word filled with my love for Him. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of His joy when I spoke those words. It was a joy that seemed to explode in all directions. Then, He said, "This is why I made you." I feel like I have had just a small taste of what it must be like to be in heaven.
He wants you to know that this is available for you. Don't stop during the dry times. Your Father is receiving your worship just as much then as ever. He wants you to press in and not stop because He wants to share these same times with you.
I hope this has blessed you and encouraged you.
~
My wife, Debbie, and I spent much of the day doing spiritual things. I decided to end my day with Jesus in worship. The first hour was less than uneventful. So much so, I actually caught myself napping. Determined to worship God, I went to my bedroom and laid down and began again. This time, wide awake, I offered up worship to Jesus and the Father. It was still a challenge to stay focused on what I was doing. Thoughts began to fill my mind and I had to consciously push them aside and focus on Him. Time went slowly by. Then, with no warning, it was like a heavy blanket was laid on top of me and a peace that is not of this world engulfed me. He's here! Words that I had been forcing out of my mouth now seemed to flow out effortlessly. It was as though I was whispering into the ear of the Father words of worship. Each word filled with my love for Him. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of His joy when I spoke those words. It was a joy that seemed to explode in all directions. Then, He said, "This is why I made you." I feel like I have had just a small taste of what it must be like to be in heaven.
He wants you to know that this is available for you. Don't stop during the dry times. Your Father is receiving your worship just as much then as ever. He wants you to press in and not stop because He wants to share these same times with you.
I hope this has blessed you and encouraged you.
~
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