I believe that most Christians lack a true understanding of who God really is. Instead of God being a Father who loves them with a love that knows no end, most see God as someone who isn't really interested in them personally, but rather only cares about them more like His subjects. They view God as a dictator not a loving, caring Father whose deepest, heartfelt desire is to bless them. Consequently, with such a misunderstanding of God, it is easy to see why the idea of sitting and worshipping Him is not very appealing to many believers.
No matter how hard "religion" tries to paint a picture of God as being a self-absorbed, untouchable, uncaring God who watches from afar waiting for us to slip up just one time and then WHAM! The truth is, that picture is just not correct.
"Religion" is man's attempt to understand an infinite God by using a finite mind, which is impossible and any attempt to do so produces horrible misconceived ideas. It results in organizations which put their leaders in long robes placing them in a category above normal people, as a go between to God. "Religion" builds huge castle-like buildings which produce feelings of inferiority in the hearts of the people and instead of God being someone who hungers to fellowship with His children, He is viewed as "unreachable" and "distant". This results in feelings of unworthiness and insignificance in the presence of a huge God. It also causes a wrong kind of fear of God in people which magnifies their sin in their own eyes becoming the central focus of their attention. Yes, we should reverentially fear God and try to abstain from sin, but not because we think that He is about to squish us like a bug. That kind of fear will always keep a person from ever truly knowing God.
When you think about God; who is He to you? Is He your Father who is close to you and cares about the smallest details of your life? How about Jesus, when you look at Him are you looking into the most loving eyes you have ever seen, or are you unable to even think about looking into His eyes? Instead of some unapproachable being off in the distance, is God your Father eager to spend time with you and love on you? Until your image of God changes from the false picture painted by "religion" to the picture of who He really is, you will never be able to worship Him with true worship. Worship is not supposed to be your efforts to appease an "Angry" God nor are you are worshipping God because He needs His ego fed. Worship is born out of an understanding of who God is as your Father and what God has done by sending His Son to the cross in your place to suffer and die in order to pay the price for your sin. He did all this because He wants to fellowship with us as His child. It is essential that believers realize He did all of this to give us the opportunity, if we choose, to accept His gift of salvation and be engrafted into His Family as His children.
Instead of seeing God as the "Ogre" who is poised and ready to jump on us at the least mistake, see Him as the one who pulled out all the stops by going beyond what any other person would ever consider doing when He sacrificed the life of His Son Jesus for each one of us individually. He did this with no guarantee that anyone would ever accept what He did. Unfortunately, for most believers, they will never know in this lifetime the real person of God. They will accept the lies of "religion" and consequently they will live and die and miss out on the joy and fulfillment God meant for them to experience in their life on earth. For those unfortunate people, assuming they can manage to hang on to their salvation in the light of their misconceptions of God, they are going to arrive in heaven one day and discover someone who is quite different than they were told. They will discover the most loving and kind person they have ever met. They will finally see God for who He really is instead of the lies of "Religion".
I quickly run out of words when I try to describe God's loving kindness or just how wonderful He is to me and instead of saying these things because I feel I have to, I say them because I want to. I have fallen so in love with Jesus and my Father God and the Holy Spirit that all I can do is try to find more ways to lay my life down for Him. Am I perfect? No, not by a long shot. But, I have discovered the secret of quickly repenting when I sin and (Hebrews 4:16) "Come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." I learned a long time ago that when I sin not to run from God but to run to God and confess my sin according to I John 1:9. He is not looking for reasons to keep you out of His presence. He has done everything possible to make a way for you back into His presence.
In conclusion, worship is born out of knowing your Heavenly Father and what He has really done for you and not the picture "religion" tries to paint of Him. The truth is, that false picture painted by "religion" is done with the goal of keeping you in bondage to fear and never knowing the liberty Jesus purchased for you with His own life. The devil is the author of "religion". Always remember, God did not send Jesus to the cross to start a "religion", He did it to start a family. That is the message the devil doesn't want you to hear. The devil doesn't want you to know that God made a way through Jesus for you to become a member of His family, something satan will never ever know. This infuriates the devil and consequently he came up with a plan to convince man that God was mad at them and the whole idea of "religion" began. Do yourself a favor and take God out of the stained glass cathedral, out from behind the closed doors of the monasteries, and see Him for who He really is, your Father and your Lord and Saviour who loves you more than you could ever imagine. Worship Him out of a heart of gratitude, love and appreciation for all He has done. When you really begin to Know God and what He has done for you, you will begin to see worship in an entirely new way.
~Blessings
Showing posts with label Saviour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saviour. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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.
~
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