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Please read these thoughts first if you can, to enter into the flow of what I sense Father saying.
Within the revolution happening amongst so many people wanting to embrace the only truth and reality found in the person of God’s son, Christ Jesus, there are so many outer expressions that folks are trying to manipulate into a “working model-pattern,” that will somehow differentiate them from the religious clubs they exited from. At best a mere cosmetic makeover will never replace or substitute His divine imprinting upon our soul.
“Unless the Lord builds (establishes) the house, the laborers work in vain.”
Without seeing His divine perspective, calling upon our lives, we will inevitably try and clone a lifeless facsimile, (working model) template instead of that which can only flow out of/from His purpose for us!
Without the Father initiating at a spirit-heart level, His divine Pattern, Purpose for us individually and corporately, simply moving out from, out of some religious establishment will never bring lasting satisfaction. Our calling far exceeds a mere cosmetic rearrangement of meeting with one another, and hopefully I might capture some of what that might look like.
If the veneer were to be stripped away from us “Chrischuns” there would be in most cases a very visible display of emptiness and artificiality. It is simply we have tried to change our minds without having a change of heart or nature. The New Testament standard of conversion demands regeneration-and this we have largely missed in our man-centered appeal for decisions. It is true the religious vocabulary is used, but one essential has been by-passed. God cannot change the heart and nature where there has been NO governmental change-no turning from our own lordship to His lordship. With a true change of government comes a change of purpose and appetite. Instead of seeking to use God for one’s own purpose this means giving one’s being to Him for His purpose. In this crisis of giving ourselves unto Him, God begins the impartation of His own divine nature, and our responses change accordingly.
As long as man still desires things, he cannot be satisfied with just God. Was it not so with Abram? God had first offered to give him Canaan land, to make of him a great nation, to bless him and make his name great. How responsive was Abram to all this? He forsook his homeland and in due time left his father. But it was not until Abram had deliberately refused to take the spoil of battle that God could move in to announce to him: Abram, “I am your exceeding great reward” (Gen.15:1).
Until God changed Abram’s inner desires and helped him to say, “I will not take any thing lest you should say I have made Abram rich”; what would it have meant to him to offer Himself as an exceeding great reward?
God’s way then is to change our inner being-to make us partakers of the divine nature so we will have an appetite for spiritual things. God does not change goals to fit our appetite, but works upon our inner being that we might truly come to have a hunger for God Himself!
Until that inner change has been fashioned, all religious life is completely exteriorized. Those who have no longing for God Himself, become preoccupied with things and events-nor can they understand or appreciate the song writer’s depth of meaning in the following lines: “My goal is God, Himself, not joy or peace, Not even blessing, but Himself my God.”
There is more to follow, as he continues to open the eyes of my heart.
Rich
6 comments:
Rich,
This is purely beautiful...as are all your posts (sincerely!)
I love what you said here:
"Until God changed Abram’s inner desires and helped him to say, “I will not take any thing lest you should say I have made Abram rich”; what would it have meant to him to offer Himself as an exceeding great reward?...God’s way then is to change our inner being-to make us partakers of the divine nature so we will have an appetite for spiritual things. God does not change goals to fit our appetite, but works upon our inner being that we might truly come to have a hunger for God Himself!"
Amen!
Blessings,
~Amy :)
http://amyiswalkinginthespirit.blogspot.com
HI Rich,
I love everything that you said here.
I agree ,God's desire is that we would hunger and thirst after Him. Perhaps we are where we are because Father is doing that, doing that in us - creating in us the longing and the desire for Him that is truly deeper than we have known. IT brings me peace knowing that He is in control of my spiritual well being and harmony with Him. I find the longer I know Him, the less stuff I know at all, sigh, what a relief. All I know is how much within me I seem to need him more than I did yesterday, need and desire Him to be life and life abundant in me. How i am getting there or where I am even going I don't seem to understand or care to understand, but i simply trust in Him who is doing it , whose breathing in me. that Christ lives as the King of Kings and has come to us as our humble King born of above and born within , truly He is all in All, the true life giver is Christ
ruth
Wow, Rich... very powerful thoughts/truth here. I am left realizing how much of me still wants "things" and yet much of me desires only Him and Him alone. And so the battle ensues. But we cling to this reality... He that began a good work in us will see it through to completion. I thank Him that He is our Good Work in us!
Maranatha!
Amy,
I had fun in doing this piece.
I love it where Jesus said, Father I have come to do your will, and I DELIGHT in doing it!
That delight is becoming so real to us His children, for it is Christ that works in us both to WILL and DO His good pleasure..wow, how awesome is dat? :)
I am seeing more and more that we R His will being expressed here on earth as it is being done in heaven.
Ruth,
It is always a pleasure to see your loving face and kind heart here.
As this 4th demensional world-realm is opening up to our natural senses it is at best for right now throwing us for a major loopyiness :) There is such an unporportioned awakening unfolding in His body the Church, it is awesome to Bhold!
I thought you might like to dive into the following good news here nad enjoy the river of his love 4 us.
"A phenomenon which consistently occurs in those who are beginning their journey with God outside the camp is the sense of a loss of identity. It can be very disconcerting at first as God systematically removes the religious landmarks that once gave us a sense of belonging, providing nothing as a replacement - or so it seems. There are often questions such as, “Where do I fit in?”, or “How do I exercise my giftings?”, or “How do I relate to God now?”. For those of you reading this article who either have or are now experiencing this phenomenon be comforted in knowing you are not alone. It is a natural by-product of being detached from a system that has neatly prescribed definitions for every member of the body. A religious system based upon the reformation of Adam, where purpose and position are determined by a change of mind and lifestyle rather than an exchange of life-source."
"For the period of time during which we wandered in that wilderness called modern Christianity, who we were was defined by activity and accomplishment. Titles, callings and visions became the expression of our pursuit of and position in God. It is then no small surprise that upon exiting the system we would experience a loss regarding self-definition, for our previous definition was inextricably bound to the system. Our life supply was not being found in Christ, but in the soulish stirrings of common agreement and the noble aspiration of something called “purpose”."
"The perceived immediate need then is to reestablish a sense of identity - to catch ourselves from this free fall and once again establish landmarks. Unfortunately this effort subsequently sets us on the path of defining a new system based on new principles through which we define a new identity. An identity which is typically centered around the proclamation of our new or “reformed” system. And so the trap is reset. Given time and the right set of circumstances a new perversion of Christianity will arise - a new camp outside the camp from which God will again call people out. A new manifestation of Christian religion which has the common foundational element of fear. Fear of losing one’s identity. Of being swallowed in ambiguity. That most base of fears - the fear of death."
He is SO GOOD!!!! Happy New Year to you and your Family
Dave,
Wow, Rich... very powerful thoughts/truth here. I am left realizing how much of me still wants "things" and yet much of me desires only Him and Him alone. And so the battle ensues. But we cling to this reality... He that began a good work in us will see it through to completion. I thank Him that He is our Good Work in us!
Isn't it wonderful that we R permitted to feel the depth of pain, hurt, disappointments etc, as well as the intenseness of seeing-experiencing Him bringing us to the surface and breathing in deep His breath, filling our lungs with a heavenly foretaste of so much more yet to become real IN US!!!
We R being brought into an eye-witness encounter with this Living Christ, and in so doing we R having made real to and in us this reality. It is Him-Christ that is working IN us to both WILL and to DO of His good-great pleasure!!
As this continues to unfold, look out, the reality of being ruptured from within will witness to our outer rapture when he calls 4 us...how great is that?! :)
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