A Burning Yes

I was reading in Psalms/praying about this morning.

Psa 43:3 O send out Your light and Your truth,

let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your

holy hill And to Your dwelling places. NASU

As I was reading I turned this verse into a prayer.

Bible- must become more than information- Factbook.

Ps 43:3 Give me your lantern and compass, give

me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred

mountain, to the place of your presence, MSG

Ultimately God wants to bring us into His presence.

Light speaks of illumination.

Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path. NASU

Jn 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the

Light of men. NASU (Jesus- Living Word)

Truth speaks of stability, certainty, trustworthiness.

Psa 40:11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your

compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and

Your truth will continually preserve me. NASU

God wants to release His truth into our lives to set us free from false concepts that keep us in bondage.

One of the concepts He wants to correct is our idea of-

what the church is/who we are as Christians.

God gave apostle/prophet/evangelist/pastor/teacher …

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, NASU

The church- not here to meet our needs- consumerism.

Look at this picture in the life of Jesus/disciples …

Lk 8:22-25

Jesus rebuked- disciples- for their littleness of faith.

He expected them to have …

spoken to the wind/waves,

believed in God’s supernatural provision.

Even today, the Church stands, as it were, gazing into Heaven, expecting Jesus to do from Heaven what He has empowered us to do through the Holy Spirit on earth. (Mahesh Chavada)

The degree to which God is going to move in our generation, depends on our willingness to take up the authority/anointing the Lord has given to us.

Morning prayer- several months ago- write down

what people pray when it seems significant …

Release an "I can do it spirit" in the church. We are told we cannot do this or we cannot do that, but "we can do all things" through Christ Jesus. (Chelle Tapper, morning prayer)

We must trust in God and who He says we are.

Jesus’ words …

Jn 5:30 " I can do nothing on My own initiative

… I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. NASU

Paul’s words …

Php 4:13 for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. TLB

We must understand who we are in Christ.

If the devil can keep us from knowing who we are- he

can render us ineffective for the Kingdom of God.

He wants to keep us from understanding the purpose

for which we were created and exist.

Look at some examples …

Gideon

Jud 6:11-16

Gideon did not know he was a mighty man of valor.

He saw himself as nothing- person of no consequence.

He did not understand the plans God had for his life.

Moses

Ex 3:6-11, Ex 4:1, 10-12

Moses did not know he was the deliverer of Israel.

He was raised in the palace but had messed up/failed.

At this time- saw himself as nothing- shepherd/desert.

He did not understand the plans God had for his life.

David

Shepherd boy-no idea he would someday be a king.

1 Sam 17:31-32, 38-40

God worked with David in the context of his personality, his natural man/experiences.

David could not wear Saul’s armor/weapons.

He was not comfortable trying to be what he was not.

When he understood who he was, God could empower him to live beyond his natural man.

How About You?

All three- did not understand who God created them to be.

We need to understand who we are, not who someone else is- I cannot be what God created you to be.

Who we are is not just who we are in the natural, but

who we can to be in Christ.

We have a personality in the natural- God wants to

empower us to live beyond our natural man.

Conclusion

Stephen Covey- talking about developing priorities in

our life so we can be who God created us to be.

The problem is more often that the person has not

yet sufficiently paid the price to get very clear about what matters most to them. Once you have a burning “yes” inside you about what’s truly important, it’s very easy to say “no” to the unimportant. (Stephen Covey)

For most of us- does not cost much to be a Christian.

Consequently- do not have a clear focus on what is important and are easily distracted.

News Story

Christian men brutally tortured/murdered in Turkey.