THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
january 10th
THE
CALL TO INTIMATE PRAYER AND FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
1 Corinthians 13:8a NASB
All true ministry has
its root in intimate prayer and fellowship with God. Therefore, for one to take
lightly their call to minister to the Lord first and foremost in the
"inner chamber" is for one to exalt themselves above the wisdom of
God. And, in their failure to comply with God's requirement, their
"deepest" belief is that they themselves are somehow capable of
carrying out that which can only be carried out in and by the power of God. As
the individual child of God is obedient in the area of ministry unto the Lord -
regardless of how much "time" they have been in the faith - they
shall become aware of that which has proceeded from God and that which has not
- without exception! Had Korah and those with him [the story of Korah's
rebellion] [Numbers 15:37-16:50] been right before God in their hearts
they would have known that the words that Moses spoke concerning the call to
holiness were of God. And, so, as we go on in the days ahead to look at God's
reaction to this rebellion let us set ourselves to learn the most valuable
lessons provided in order that we might avoid the pitfalls of a
"self-exalting" heart.
THE "MANTLE" OF PERFECT OBEDIENCE [LOVE]
In this time of the
building up of the "spotless and unblemished" [glorious] Church, God
is raising up leaders to carry the mantle of perfect obedience; leaders who are
not moved by "self-initiative", but who are moved solely by the love
abiding in their heart. The "true" delegated authority is one who has
humbled themselves deeply before God and, thus, when they are freely reviled by
those whose hearts are not one with Him this constitutes a "serious
problem" in the eyes of the Lord. Now certainly there are those who have
taken upon themselves an "authority" that is not of God and, thus, when
they are confronted with the Truth [exactly opposite to the proper attitude of
Moses, who knew his God intimately] these false authorities must continually
seek to "justify" themselves, seeking always the approval of flesh
and blood for their actions with no "inward" consideration for the
will of God. I must issue a severe warning to any child of God who would take
lightly the command of God to love Him with their "whole" heart, for
if in the life of any child of God, ministry unto the Lord is not their first
and foremost priority, then to the degree it is not, it is to that degree that
they shall "fail". For if we are not constrained by the love of God
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit then we shall be found
"missing" God in this "most critical time" and, thus, shall
find ourselves abiding in failure - for "selfishness" ALWAYS fails
[falls short of the Glory] while love [faith and obedience] NEVER fails to
accomplish the Father's highest purpose in any given situation!
Related
Scriptures: Hebrews 4:12; John 7:17; Romans 5:5;
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