THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
                                                            FEBRUARY 13th

ONE WHO TRULY ENTERS INTO CLOSE AND INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER GAINS A BUILT-IN DESIRE [A HUNGERING AND THIRSTING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS] TO KNOW HIM TO A CONTINUALLY GREATER DEGREE
 
 
          ...."One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord"....

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Psalm 27:4 NASB

        ...."Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"....    

                                                                                                                                                    Matthew 5:6 NASB


                   In Psalm 27:4 David gives us the key to what brought him to the place where he could make such a bold statement in the face of adversity as, "My heart will not fear" [verse 3]. David desired only to "know" the Lord, and to seek Him first in all things. He desired only to fellowship with Him, and to behold His ways. To truly know the Father is to desire to know Him more fully with each passing day. The one who truly enters into close and intimate fellowship with Him gains [by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit] a "built-in" desire to know Him to a continually greater degree [a hungering and thirsting after righteousness]. As one meditates the Word of God in the "secret" place of His presence [the "inner chamber"], His Word is revealed to their heart and they gain deep insight into His Holy nature. Again, it if from this place of an abiding intimacy that ALL ground of fear shall be removed from the heart of the believer.
 
AS ONE COMES TO RELY UPON THE WORD OF GOD ALONE, THEN THE FATHER SHALL TRULY BE ENABLED TO TAKE CARE OF ALL OUR NEEDS - AND CONTINUALLY DIRECT US IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
 
          ...."For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me upon a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord".... vs. 5-6
 
          The Father has lifted us up above all our enemies; He has seated us at His right hand in the Heavenly places with Christ. Indeed, we are in the "ascended position of victory" in Christ [more than conquerors], and as we continue on and pursue diligently the things of God [the will of God through faith and obedience] - keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus - THEN we shall be able to see and understand clearly that we need have NO fear at any time, regardless of circumstances.
 
Psalm 94:19 states:
 
          ...."When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul"....
 
          As one comes to rely upon the Word of God alone, THEN the Father will truly be "enabled" to take care of ALL our needs - and continually direct us in the paths of righteousness. It is also from this position of total reliance upon the revealed Word of God that we become partakers of the fullness of the ministry of the Holy Spirit - Who, among other things, is our Comforter and, indeed, the source of ALL of our divine empowerment
[1 John 2:27].
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Amen.

Related Scriptures: Ephesians 1:17-23; Ephesians 2:4-6; Hebrews 12:1-2; Romans 8:31-39; Psalm 23:4; John 14:16-17; John 16:13;
 

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