tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85065618111341604012024-03-15T21:12:55.105-04:00Francis Frangipane Eword Messagesfrangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-34120355615254220962024-03-15T11:00:00.001-04:002024-03-15T11:00:00.143-04:00Two Things, Two Things OnlyBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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<i>There are so many things to occupy our minds: so many books, so many examples, so many good teachings that deserve our attention, that say, "Here is a truth." But as I have been serving the Lord these past years, He has led me to seek for two things and two things only: to know the heart of God in Christ and to know my own heart in Christ's light.</i><b> </b><br />
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<b>Knowing the Heart of God</b><br />
I have been seeking God, searching to know Him and the depth of His love toward His people. I want to know Christ's heart and the compassions that motivate Him. The Scriptures are plain: Jesus loved people. Mark's gospel tells us that after Jesus taught and healed the multitudes, they became hungry. In His compassion, Christ saw them as "sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34). It was not enough for Him to heal and teach them; He personally cared for each of them. Their physical well-being, even concerning food, was important to Him.<br />
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A lad with five loaves and two fish provided enough for Jesus to work another miracle, but this miracle had to come through Christ's willing but bone-weary body. Consider: Christ brought His disciples out to rest, "for there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat" (Mark 6:31).<br />
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Consider: Jesus personally had come to pray and be strengthened, for John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, had been beheaded by Herod earlier that week. It was in the state of being emotionally and physically depleted that Jesus fed the multitudes -- not just once or twice but over and over again: "He kept giving [the bread and the fish] to the disciples to set before them" (v. 41).<br />
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Thousands of men, women and children all "ate and were satisfied" (v. 42). Oh, the heart of Jesus! The miracle was for them, but we read of no miracle sustaining Him except the marvelous wonder of a holy love that continually lifted His tired hands with more bread and more fish. Out of increasing weakness He repeatedly gave that others might be renewed.<br />
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So, if my quest is to know Him, I must recognize this about Him: Jesus loves people -- all people, especially those society ignores. Therefore I must know exactly how far He would travel for men, for that is the same distance He would journey again through me. Indeed, I must know His thoughts concerning illness, poverty and human suffering. As His servant, I am useless to Him unless I know these things. If I would actually do His will, I must truly know His heart. Therefore, in all my study and times of prayer, I am seeking more than just knowledge; I am searching for the heart of God.<br />
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<b>Knowing Our Hearts</b><br />
At the same time, as I draw closer to the heart of God, the very fire of His presence begins a deep purging work within me. In the vastness of His riches, my poverty appears. The psalmist wrote, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4).<br />
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We cannot even find the hill of the Lord, much less ascend it, if there is deceit in our hearts. How does one serve in God's holy place if his soul is unclean? <i>It is only the pure in heart who perceive God.</i> To ascend toward God is to walk into a furnace of truth where falsehood is extracted and removed from our souls. To abide in the holy place we must dwell in honesty, even when a lie might seem to save us. Each ascending step upon the hill of God is a thrusting of our souls into greater transparency, a more perfect view into the motives of our hearts.<br />
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It is this upward call of God that we pursue. Yet the soul within us is hidden, crouching in fear and darkness, living in a world of untruths and illusions. This is our inner man, the soul God seeks to save. Have you discovered your true self, the inner person whom truth alone can free? Yes, we seek holiness, but true holiness arises from here; it comes as the Spirit of Truth unveils the hidden places in our hearts. Indeed, it is <i>truthfulness</i> that leads to <i>holiness.</i><br />
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God, grant us a zeal for truth that we may stand in Your holy place!<br />
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Men everywhere presume they know the "truth," but they have neither holiness nor power in their lives. Truth must become more than historical doctrine; it must be more than a museum of religious artifacts -- mementos from when God once moved. <i>Truth is knowing God's heart as it was revealed in Christ, and it is knowing our own hearts in the light of God's grace.</i><br />
As members of the human race, we are shrouded in ignorance. Barely do we know our world around us; even less do we know the nature of our own souls. Without realizing it, as we search for God's heart, we are also searching for our own. For it is only in finding Him that we discover ourselves, for we are "in Him” (Acts 17:28).<br />
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Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24).<br />
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Let us wash the cosmetics from our souls and look at the unadorned condition of our hearts. I know God has created us eternally complete and perfect in Christ. I believe that. But in the first three chapters of John's Revelation, Jesus did not tell the churches they were "perfect in His eyes." No! He revealed to them their true conditions; He told them their sins. Without compromise, He placed on them the demand to be overcomers, each in their own unique and difficult circumstance.<br />
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Like them, we must know our need. And like them, the souls we want saved dwell here, in a world system structured by lies, illusions and rampant corruption. Our old natures are like well-worn shoes into which we relax; we can be in the flesh instantly without even realizing it. The enemies that defeat us are hidden and latent within us! <i>Thus the Holy Spirit must expose our foes before we can conquer them!</i><br />
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Concerning man's nature, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). Quoting another of David's prayers, a similar cry is heard: "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression" (Ps. 19:12-13).<br />
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There may be errors inside of us that are actually ruling us without our awareness. Do we realize, for instance, how many of our actions are manipulated purely by vanity and the desire to be seen or accepted by others? Are we aware of the fears and apprehensions that unconsciously influence so many of our decisions? We may have serious flaws inside yet still be either too proud or too insecure to admit we need help.<br />
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<i>Concerning ourselves, we think so highly of what we know so little!</i><br />
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Even outwardly, though we know our camera pose, do we know how we appear when we are laughing or crying, eating or sleeping, talking or angry? The fact is, most of us are ignorant of how we appear outwardly to others; much less do we know ourselves inwardly before God! Our fallen thinking processes automatically justify our actions and rationalize our thoughts. Without the Holy Spirit, we are nearly defenseless against our own innate tendencies toward self-deception.<br />
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Therefore, if we would be holy, we must first renounce falsehood. In the light of God' grace, having been justified by faith and washed in the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we need not pretend to be righteous. <i>We need only to become truthful.</i><br />
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No condemnation awaits our honesty of heart -- no punishment. We have only to repent and confess our sins to have them forgiven and cleansed; if we will love the truth, we will be delivered from sin and self-deception. Indeed, the nectar of truth is in two things and two things only: to know the heart of God in Christ and our own hearts in Christ's light.<br />
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, <i>Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God</i>; reprinted and included in <i>I Will Be Found By You</i>, available at t <a href="http://www.arrowbookstore.com/">www.arrowbookstore.com</a>.frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-81377621679303821222024-03-08T11:00:00.001-05:002024-03-08T11:00:00.140-05:00Walking in Eternal LifeBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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God's end time people will "end time." What I mean is that, as we near the end of the age, we will increasingly learn how to walk in eternal life, abiding above the boundaries, constraints and the pressures of the realm of time. We"ll see what's coming and either avoid it or announce it, but we won't be limited by it.<br />
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Jesus taught that those who come to Him "have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16). Right now, we have eternal life in our spirits. Yet, how do we access the timeless place of God's presence? This is a serious question, for we have become more 'time conscious" than "God conscious." Schedules, meetings, appointments and deadlines all fuel our anxieties and compel us to live horizontally, instead of vertically in the Presence of God. <br />
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The Lord seeks to deliver us from anxiety, but that can only happen if we truly learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The sad fact is, most Christians fail to spend time with the Holy Spirit. We pray, even calling upon the Lord, but few are they who have cultivated moment by moment openness to the Spirit of God. <br />
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"But, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:23).<br />
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The Holy Spirit "will guide . . . He will speak . . . He will disclose" to us what we otherwise could never know or attain. To guide, speak and reveal are forms of communication. Clearly, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to talk to us.<br />
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The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There are issues in our hearts that the Holy Spirit alone can reveal and remove. Listen to Him, like Christ, He does not come to condemn but to save. His voice is Salvation speaking to us. <br />
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Jeremiah said that the heart is deceitful above all things. We cannot objectively know ourselves. Yet the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth sees and understands our ways. Trust Him, He cannot be deceived. Indeed, the ancient Greeks used the same word for truth as they did for "reality." Thus, we could accurately say that the Holy Spirit is the 'spirit of Reality." He shows us the reality of our need and the reality of God's answer. To hear Him is to hear the voice of eternal life. <br />
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Jesus lived in union with the Holy Spirit continually. The miracles He accomplished came through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit He saw the things the Father was doing; He heard the words the Father was speaking. Every strategy we may come up with pales in comparison to seeing God and doing what God does and hearing God and saying what God says. You see, Jesus lived in the dimension of time, but was not limited by it. His consciousness was always aware of the eternal realm. <br />
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Even the urgent news of Lazarus" illness did not make Jesus move anxiously. As right as it seemed to rush to Lazarus" aid, Jesus was aware of another reality. He was conscious of the heavenly Father. Because He knew that the Father was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He lived without hand-wringing or being driven by anxious thoughts or pressures.<br />
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Oh how we need to walk in the Spirit today. In every situation, we would consciously be aware of God's involvement in our lives! <br />
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"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). <br />
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God has a system of thoughts and ways that are totally on another plane, yet He invites us to abide with Him! <br />
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Beloved, we are not mere human beings. We each are a temple for the Holy Spirit, but we must cultivate a listening heart if we will do the things that God is doing. A Christian is not just someone living out a natural life, hoping that God will bless him. No, God has more for us than that. Jesus set the standard, and He's given us the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him.<br />
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<b>Spirit Filled?</b><br />
When we are born again, we begin a journey with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts to help us grow; He baptizes us in power to increase our effectiveness. All of this is to lead us until we are actually filled with the Holy Spirit, where we think and act like Jesus. <br />
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Many of us think we are already filled with the Spirit, but we are not. We have three quarts of self and one quart of the Holy Spirit, and we think we have a gallon of God. There is still too much self ruling in our hearts. In America, some pastors identify themselves as being Spirit filled and say they pastor Spirit-filled churches. To be perfectly candid, I have never attended a church that is truly Spirit filled. In the Book of Acts, we see a picture of a Spirit-filled church. The leaders met daily for prayer, and on the way to prayer, their shadows healed the sick! Their offerings went to feed the poor. Out of their sense of love and community, they held all things in common. In that atmosphere, the church grew exponentially. <br />
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I know some are thinking, "My church is getting close to this example." Oh, I forgot to mention, in a Spirit filled church, if you lied, you died (see Acts). <br />
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You see, let's not accept that we are further along spiritually than we are. God desires to take us further, deeper into eternal life. Having a spiritual gift doesn't mean that you are filled with the Holy Spirit; being born again does not mean you are also Spirit filled. I have never met a truly spiritually mature person who was anxious; no one who is nervous about time can truly be led by the Holy Spirit. <br />
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<b>Where Do We Go from Here?</b><br />
In our quest to walk in eternal life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of self. If we want to tune into the God channel we must tune out the 'self channel," where the anxieties, fears and sins exist. <br />
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I want a heart that can hear God; I want perception that can see God. We are too much like the world. How do we break this? Spend time with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to talk to your heart and then write down what you feel He is saying. If we want more of God, we must cultivate the awareness of His Presence, and especially listen for His voice. <br />
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We must also take faith and believe that the Spirit is here to help. Zechariah 4:6 teaches us that it's not by our might or power, but it is by the Spirit of the Lord that we succeed. Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days God seeks to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. I love the words "pour out." We must stop thinking 'thimble" and think Niagara Falls!<br />
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It's time to step out of the box called 'time," and live in the Spirit. I"m not suggesting that you become unreliable or are late for your appointments, but that you give yourself to learning how to hear God's voice and how to live in His presence. If you are one of God's end-time elect, then it's time to rise above the pressures of time and walk in the eternal life of God.<br />
<br />frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-46277587017583283962024-03-01T11:00:00.003-05:002024-03-01T11:00:00.137-05:00Beware of the Spirit of Strife<p>By Francis Frangipane<br /><br />One does not have to do an exhaustive search to become aware of the spirit of strife that is rampant in our world. Our world is just as Jesus forewarned, "nation [has risen] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Matt. 24:7). <br /><br />Yet we need not be familiar with world events to be personally affected by this invasion of strife. The church itself has had so much conflict that many now identify the ability to create division as a courageous and honorable virtue. Even the home is not safe, as we see divorce rates in the Western World have skyrocketed over the past 60 years. And who is unfamiliar with the phenomenal breakdown of families and the recent turmoil in our world?<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br />Strife has had a way of touching us all. Beloved, we must recognize that there is a war raging against relationships. It is hitting us on all levels, and the sooner we deal with this fact, the quicker we can win our war against it.<br /><b><br />Origin of Strife</b><br />There are many sources that contribute to strife: personal ambitions, jealousies and fear, to name a few. In fact, James tells us that, "where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16). To look with jealousy upon a role that belongs to someone else creates a world of "disorder and every evil thing." David, though anointed as king twice by Samuel, never sought the place of King Saul; John the Baptist, though greatest of the prophets, never was jealous for the ministry of Jesus. <br /><br />James tells us that the strife engendered by jealousy and selfish ambition is "earthly, natural, and demonic" (Jam 3:15). To overcome strife, we must therefore recognize the two primary fronts upon which strife advances: our flesh nature and the demonic realm, and the demonic will manipulate the flesh in every way it can. <br /><br />To repel this attack, it is vital we seek humility. We are all vulnerable to deception. The ability of the enemy to deceive, frankly, is astonishing. Remember that Lucifer deceived one third of the angels, convincing them they could win a war against their Creator! These very angels had seen galaxies roll out from the mouth of God, yet they were seduced into deep deception. To assume we cannot be deceived is itself deception. So we must learn to be "quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger" (James 1:19). Indeed, to maintain a humble heart before the Lord is the best weapon we can have before our enemy. <br /><br />Job 41:15 reveals that the "scales" that protect Satan (called Leviathan in this chapter) are made of pride. Pride is what "protects" Lucifer and keeps him from repenting, and it is pride in us that protects us from repenting as well. What if Adam had just admitted he was wrong instead of blaming Eve? What if Eve simply said, "I’m sorry," instead of blaming the devil? So much of the separation of relationships in our world comes because we simply are too proud to admit we were wrong. To be able to say, "I was wrong, please forgive me," is to eliminate much strife. <br /><br />Additionally, many quarrels occur because we misunderstand each other or falsely judge based on insufficient information. Pride paralyzes our wrong perceptions. Instead of the peace of Christ guiding and protecting us, we react in the flesh to our environment. A quarrel is often nothing more than a misunderstanding manipulated by the devil until two reactions harden into walls around our hearts. <br /><br />"The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out" (Prov. 17:14). Strife is like the "letting out of water." Once water pours onto the soil, it is impossible to retrieve or undo. Thus Solomon warns, "abandon the quarrel." There may be another time when things are calm, when you can sit down in peace and discuss what happened, but nothing positive is accomplished in a heated argument. <br /><br />Yet, there is still another component to deception and strife. Isaiah 27:1 speaks of the serpent, again calling him "Leviathan." But here he is identified as "the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent" (English Standard Version). Isaiah calls the devil the "twisting serpent." I have personally been amazed how words spoken can somehow get twisted between my mouth and someone’s ears. Sometimes people are certain of something I’ve said and I am just as positive something totally different left my mouth. Has that ever happened to you? Satan is a "twisting serpent." We should be aware that both the speaker and hearer may be accurately representing what was said and heard, but that a twisting spirit has stood between two (or more) people to divide them. <br /><br />If this is the case, stay calm and simply repeat what you just said. Pray with your companions and take authority over the enemies’ involvement. Whatever you do, do not react wrongly to one another. Leonard Ravenhill once said, "If your enemy has a social security number, you have the wrong enemy." We often think that the fruit of the Spirit, "self-control," refers to not eating two gallons of chocolate ice cream, but it is more than that. The Spirit can control our mind and emotions, our reactions and insecurities. The Holy Spirit’s fruit is called "self-control." Indeed, the Bible tells us the "God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Rom. 16:20). <br /><br />Therefore, let us pray against strife on all levels, especially as tensions mount. Remember also, Satan rages when he knows his time is short (Rev. 12). If we can keep ourselves from reacting wrongly to the increase of conflict, we will find greater breakthroughs awaiting us on all levels. <br /><p></p>frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-82232029995531451452024-02-23T11:00:00.005-05:002024-02-23T11:00:00.132-05:00The Peril of Religious FleshBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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<b>Two Types of Knowledge</b><br />
There is a type of knowledge that is doctrinal, theological and instructive, and there is a type of knowledge that is born out of a revelation of God. Both are known as "truth," both produce a certain type of person, and both are accepted as "Christianity."<br />
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You can be certain that God wants us to have right doctrines, but we must never content ourselves with merely the accumulation of correct knowledge. For this knowledge often remains just a file of religious facts; where the Word of God is viewed more as a museum than a power plant.<br />
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When we halt our spiritual ascent toward God at the plateau of doctrinal knowledge, we become people who never really change. Instead, our old nature simply pretends to be new. The longer we settle for just head knowledge, our Christianity begins to degenerate into a religious spirit.<br />
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It takes God to change our stubborn, rebellious natures. And our mighty God does not want us to fake our Christianity. He wants you to be real, where the knowledge of your head becomes the reality of your heart. You see, truth, in God's view, is more than doctrines. It is reality.<br />
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The difference between mere doctrinal truth and revelation truth is that, with doctrinal truth the heart of a man may be deceitful, lustful and arrogant yet still maintain a theologically true opinion of God.<br />
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The Pharisees had, more or less, a theologically true opinion of God, but Jesus said inwardly they were full of "robbery and self-indulgence" (Matt. 23:25). Outwardly, they looked holy, but all they had was religious flesh. Inwardly, they were false.<br />
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David knew God. He visited the tent of God, where he worshiped and prayed. In fact, even after he sinned with Bathsheba he continued the outer form of his relationship, but his heart was from far from God. When he repented, he reverently acknowledged of God, "Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being" (Psalms 51:6).<br />
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Doctrinal truth has an illusion about itself: the illusion is that knowledge is the same thing as righteousness. It is not. We all know people who are fault-finders, critical and gossips, yet they are capable of maintaining all the proper doctrines about love. When they speak ill of people they do so with boldness, feeling like they are serving God.<br />
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What these people have, is called "religious flesh." On the other hand, truth that comes by revelation always produces change; it always leaves us less sure of our selves, more dependent upon God, and more loving toward others.<br />
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To topple the old ways of thinking, God must penetrate and remove the arrogance that guards our ignorance. We must be broken of self-confidence and become God-confident. To break us, God must confront us.<br />
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<b>The Sword of God</b><br />
The primary way we change is through the Spirit-empowered word of God. Again, there are two ways to view the Bible: doctrinally or, as it really is, a two-edged sword. When we read the Bible merely on an intellectual level, we may gain knowledge, which is good, but such knowledge by itself still leaves us intact. If we are not convicted, challenged or more perfectly conformed to Christ when we read the Scriptures, it may be because we have a religious spirit that is limiting the penetration of God's word to our minds.<br />
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When the Lord appeared to the Apostle John on Pathos, Christ revealed Himself with a "...sharp, two-edged sword" coming out His mouth; His eyes were two flames of fire. We need to picture this, for God's word is a sword. To whatever degree we fail to see it as such, we are probably serving a religious spirit rather than the Holy Spirit.<br />
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Consider also Simeon's prophecy to Mary, Jesus' mother. He said, "...and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed" (Lk 2:35). Notice, He did not say, "...and you will learn a lot of handy facts about the Bible so you can win at Bible Trivia." He said that a sword will pierce your heart, and even your thoughts will be revealed.<br />
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You see, when you came to Christ, you did not come to a religion, you came to a Person--a Person who knows us as well as He knows His own body. He exposes our hearts: He illuminates those dark, secret areas within us -- not to condemn us but to liberate us from the bondages of sin and deception.<br />
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You may say, "Well, I need to hear that the Lord loves me." Yes, that is the most life changing, central truth in the Bible. However, Jesus says that those whom He loves, He reproves and disciplines. He then tells us to be zealous and repent (Rev 3). His love is not on a shelf somewhere, removed from us until we get hurt. No. His love is what motivates His word as He speaks to our hearts to deliver us.<br />
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Consider how the Word describes itself: "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb 4:12).<br />
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It should be normal for you to be discovering areas God wants to change. It is typical of true Christianity to suddenly see that you have had wrong thoughts or that the intentions of your heart have been carnal. The voice probing into your heart is not the devil; it is God. He wants to set you free from religious flesh.<br />
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<b>Sustained By The Revelation Of Christ</b><br />
When God called Abraham, He called him to a promise that was staggering. Although Abraham was old and childless, God told him he was going to be the 'father of many nations'. Twenty-six years elapsed from Abraham's first encounter with God until his son was born, and throughout the entire process of many ups and downs, the Scripture says, "...and Abraham believed God."<br />
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Let me make this very clear: Abraham did not merely believe there was a God; no, Abraham believed what God had said, personally, to him. He had an encounter with God's living word which, like a sword, pierced into his heart. Abraham did not just have a religion about God, he received a promise upon which he built his life.<br />
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The faith that saves us is a living response to the word which God speaks to us. Whatever the word says about God's kingdom, His power, His grace and ability to change us, we must accept and believe!<br />
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Religious flesh is occupied with pretending to be (or look) good. The spiritual soul has its focus upon the greatness of God, believing that what God has promised, He is able also to perform (Rom 4:21).<br />
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Your experience with Christianity will never be sustained by something less than an unfolding relationship with Jesus Christ! The strength of Christianity is Christ! When you are weary, He says come to Him (Matt. 11:28). When you are hungry, come to Him. Thirsty? Come to Him. For every thing we need, He is the way, the truth and the life.<br />
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If I don't succeed in inspiring you to draw closer to the Lord, where you hear from Him and are sustained by Him, I have failed in my ministry. Religious flesh is convinced that growth is measured in religious facts. True spirituality, however, is measured in the depth of our hunger for God, where our soul pants "for the Living God" like the deer pants after water.<br />
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Religious flesh will never inherit the kingdom of God, but a heart set on being real with God will find God's fullness awaiting him.<br />
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Let's pray:<br />
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<i>Lord, go deep within us. Help us to hear Your word speaking to us when you come to excavate our soul of unrighteous thoughts and attitudes. Deliver us from religious flesh and lead us into the fullness of Your Spirit. In Jesus' name. </i>frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-59877918810464556962024-02-16T11:00:00.001-05:002024-02-16T11:00:00.135-05:00 Measure Those Who WorshipBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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<i>"Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, ‘Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations'" (Rev. 11:1-2).</i><br />
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For whatever else this verse ultimately means, it tells us that the Spirit of God is measuring worshipers. He is looking for those whose treasure is in Heaven and who abide in the "inner court" of God's temple.<br />
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Consider: in our world of terrors, pressures and trauma, our only refuge exists in the living presence of God. We must not accept a religion about God and assume it is the same as living in the presence of God. If we are to truly dwell in the Divine Presence, one thing perhaps above all others will take us there: <i>we must become true worshipers of God.</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><br />Genuine Worship Causes Us to Become Genuine Christians</b><br />
Jesus taught that "true worshipers" are those who worship "the Father in spirit and truth." In other words, their worship to God flows unhindered regardless of difficult or challenging conditions. Such are those whom God seeks "to be His worshipers" (John 4: 23).<br />
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Consider well the priority of God. His first priority isn't for us to be miracle workers or great apostles and prophets. What does He seek? He is seeking worshipers. If we focus on being true worshipers, the miracles will follow.<br />
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If we focus on making our worship true, our ministries will be true, our spiritual disciplines will be anointed, and our walk with God will be true. If we bow in worship before studying God's Word, His Word will sink deeper into our soul; our fruit will be sweeter and more enduring. If before we open our mouths in prayer, we spend time honoring God in worship, our intercession will ascend toward Heaven on wings of unfeigned trust and expectant faith.<br />
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Jesus told us to begin our prayer with worship. “Pray, then, in this way,” He said: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” (Matt. 6:1). You see, before we even lift our voice in prayer, He instructs us to bow our hearts in worship.<br />
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True worship rescues our spiritual efforts from empty routine and pride; it takes our minds off ourselves and burrows us into the depths of God.<br />
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Indeed, whether the outward form of our worship is expressed with tears of joy or in silent awe, worship unites us with love to the heart of God.<i><br /><br />Lord, come into my life and fulfill Your promise of transformation. Create praise on my lips, and help me to worship You in spirit and in truth. </i><br />
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, <i>I Will Be Found by You</i>, available at <a href="http://www.arrowbookstore.com/">www.arrowbookstore.com</a>.frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-66052721620105995632024-02-09T11:00:00.002-05:002024-02-09T11:00:00.158-05:00At an Inconvenient TimeBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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The Lord has multitudes who believe in Him, and when I consider that fact I am blessed. At the same time I am aware that, of those numbers, it is but a minority who actually worship Him.<br />
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True worshipers find their fulfillment in adoring God. The fragrance of their worship rises, not only during the scheduled times of church services but also during inconvenient times.<br />
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A true worshiper will rise early before work or school; they're up before the household so they can be alone with God. Instead of being frustrated by delays, they transform difficulties and setbacks into opportunities to magnify God. You might see one of these worshipers sitting in the car next to you during a traffic jam, singing along with Christian music in their car.<br />
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A true worshiper has learned the secret of worshiping God at inconvenient times.<br />
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I, too, find the Lord leading me to worship Him during inconvenient times. I might be alone writing or working on some important project when something awakens in my spirit: I become aware that the presence of the Lord is near. Yet He isn't commanding me to worship; He's inviting me. The time of worship may be as little as ten or fifteen minutes or it might be much longer. Regardless, I turn from what I was doing, pick up my guitar and begin to worship Him.<br />
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Frankly, I am not a good musician; I only know a few chords. Yet as I worship, I know the King of Heaven is actually pleased with my offering. He has granted me an audience, and in some mysterious way, He causes me to feel that the sound of my worship is the only thing He hears as I'm singing.<br />
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<b>The Invitation</b><br />
I, for one, desire my worship to become all consuming. Yet I confess that a primary obstacle I must overcome is the inconvenient timing of His invitation. It seems like He actually waits until I am focused on something He actually wants me to complete. Or it might be late at night when I am almost asleep when the opportunity to worship draws near.<br />
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The very fact that I have responded, in spite of the "inconvenience," actually refines and sweetens my worship. Indeed, when I worship in our Sunday service, I admit I can be carried by the sound of the music and the participation of others around me. I am in an atmosphere of worship, so my praise may actually be something imparted to me by others and not purely my own. However, when He comes at an inconvenient time, my response reaffirms that my worship is real and that God truly is first in my life<br />
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What is also a great pleasure to me is that, given such short notice, He does not expect from me a large production. As wonderful as Sunday worship services are, He is not looking for a professional song service, just something real from my heart.<br />
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Another blessing is that often my wife will hear me worshiping and, without fail, join me. As I worship, I’ll soon notice a voice singing alongside me in the background. She’s as absorbed as I am in the presence of God. It doesn't matter what she was doing, she loves to bow before God and that, too, sweetens our worship.<br />
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<b>Prayer and Worship</b><br />
There is a difference between prayer and worship. Prayer is an appeal to God based on our needs and the needs of our world. The world is filled with people, each with heartfelt and urgent requests that are welcomed by our Father in Heaven, and they are each heard in the throne room of light. However, worship is not the articulation of our needs; it is the consummation of our love. It is what we offer to God regardless of the status of our needs.<br />
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Recall the Gospel account of the ten leprous men who cried to Jesus for healing. After the Lord answered their prayers and healed them, they all went their way. One, however, stopped and “turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him" (Luke 17:15-16). Full of gratitude to Christ, this man returned to bow in worship before God. You see, many people will pray, multitudes will find answers, but few will return to Him in worship.<br />
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Beloved, if worship flows genuinely from our hearts, the Lord will repeatedly invite us into His presence. His invitation will approach the doorstep of our souls quietly. It will come disguised as a simple desire to love Him. If we follow this desire, it will lead into the presence of God.<br />
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As we worship Him, He will grant us inner strength and peace. As we come with thanksgiving, He will refresh us with His love and joy. Let us delight in the privilege of becoming true worshipers of God, even when the opportunity comes at an inconvenient time.<br />
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, <i>I Will Be Found by You</i>, available at <a href="http://www.arrowbookstore.com/">www.arrowbookstore.com</a>.frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-6004092620184698372024-02-02T11:00:00.004-05:002024-02-02T11:00:00.253-05:00 Those Who Make a Covenant With GodBy Francis Frangipane<br />
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<b>The Covenant-Keeping God</b><br />Throughout the history of God's dealings with man, He has revealed Himself as a covenant-making God. The Almighty made major covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David; He renewed His Abrahamic covenant in His call to Isaac and Jacob. Each covenant initiated a new wave of redemptive power into the world and forever impacted the human condition.<br /><br />The word <i>covenant</i> means "to fetter" or chain together. It was the highest form of commitment that two individuals could share. Any of several rituals were employed to express the covenant partners' unity: A sword might be passed, signifying that the two would be united against the enemy as one. They might pass a sandal between themselves, which symbolized they would travel any distance to be at one another's side. Or, they might cut an animal in two and pass between its halves. As the two halves, though separated, were still one animal, so the two covenant partners would become as one individual.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />When the Lord initiated His covenant with a man, He did so as an extension of His eternal purpose; the man was a component in a series of divine initiatives. Contained within the Lord's covenant was His divine intervention, His supernatural wisdom and strategies, His love and forgiveness, and His provisions.<br /><br />Thus, if we look at the Lord's call to Noah, we see that it was not the ark but the covenant of God that preserved Noah and his family during worldwide judgment (Gen. 6:18). Noah was a component, a factor in a series of divine initiatives, which accomplished the Lord's predetermined plans. God established the covenant, designed the ark and brought the animals. The Lord even shut the door after Noah entered the ark (Gen. 7:16).<br /><br />When the Lord established His covenant with Abraham, twice a flaming torch passed through the halves of the animals Abraham offered in sacrifice. The two passes signified that God would keep His part of the covenant and, remarkably, He would also be the strength in Abraham to fulfill his part of the covenant as well! Today, a restored Israel testifies to God's faithfulness in His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it is God's covenant with Abraham, not merely the Israeli military, that preserves Israel in our times.<br /><br />The agreement the Lord cut with His covenant partner was not only for His servant, but it extended to His servant's descendants as well. The promise God made could be passed on generationally.<br /><br /><b>Payment And Pattern</b><br />Similarly, we are saved and sustained through life by Christ's covenant with the Father. Our salvation has been secured not only because Jesus died for our sins, but because His death was part of a covenant He had with the Father. The fact that Jesus suffered on my behalf is staggering, but His crucifixion was a component of an even more powerful reality: His covenant with the Father.<br /><br />The terms of Christ's covenant were such that, if He would live His life blamelessly and offer that holy life upon the cross for sins, everyone who believed in the Son of God would be granted forgiveness by God. The Father would look to Christ's sacrifice and see justice; sinners would look to Jesus and find mercy. We are saved by this New Covenant.<br /><br />Yet, as maturing disciples, we find in Christ's covenantel mission not only our peace, but also a pattern Christ calls us to follow. He told His disciples, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21). Having laid down His life in covenant surrender, He now bids us to follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Of course, our cross does not replace His cross, nor do the local covenants we make with God supersede Christ's eternal covenant. The truth is, our cross extends the power of Christ's cross into our world and times. Indeed, our covenant with God finds its backing because of Christ's covenant with the Father.<br /><br />Thus, the Lord invites us to follow Him; even as He covenanted with God for the sins of the world, so we covenant to God for our homes, cities and nations. The covenant positions us in the same attitude expressed by Christ, revealed again through us for our families, cities and nations.<br /><b><br />The Harvest and Covenant Power</b><br />To many, the idea of making a special covenant with God is unfamiliar. Yet, besides the major covenants we mentioned earlier, the Bible tells of many other times when men made a localized covenant with God. (See 2 Kings 11:17; 2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chr. 29:10; Ezra 10:3; etc.) I believe that many have already felt the Holy Spirit speaking, urging them to deepen their commitment to Christ on behalf of their families, cities and nations.<br /><br />Even so, covenants, and our obedience to them, must not be made casually. They must come from our hearts in response to the Lord's initiative. You will know the depth of your covenant by the vision, faith and depth of burden God has given you.<br /><br />A new authority is coming to those who desire full conformity to Christ. For a great harvest is indeed prophesied for the end of this age (Isa. 60:1-3; Acts 2), and those leading the way will be individuals who understand Christ's covenant and, in surrender to Christ’s initiative, have themselves covenanted with God for those they love.<br /><br /><i>Lord Jesus, You are my inspiration and pattern. I desire to be like you in all things, even as Paul said, to be "conformed to [Your] death" (Phil. 3:10). Master, open my eyes to the realities granted me through Your covenant with the Father. And lead me into the power of covenant prayer for my loved ones, church and city. In Jesus’ name.<br /></i>
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, <i>"The Power of Covenant Prayer" </i>available at <a href="http://www.arrowbookstore.com/">www.arrowbookstore.com</a>. <i><br /></i><br />
<br />frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8506561811134160401.post-57131396743276551432024-01-26T11:00:00.006-05:002024-01-26T11:00:00.137-05:00True Revival: Conformity to Christ<p>By Francis Frangipane<br /><br />We must have three foundational standards as believers. One is to be people of prayer. That means our hearts are positioned to stand in the gap in prayer between the judgement and the mercy of God. Our earnest goal is to manifest the intercession of Christ Himself, where mercy triumphs over sin rather than divine wrath destroys sinners.<br /><br />Another of our goals is to attain Christ's meekness. This forever will be a goal because the moment we assume we've attained it; we've actually lost it. Yet, possessing the humility of Christ remains an ever-living passion in our spirits. Without humility, we can't see with clarity what we lack in spiritual substance. Humility enables us to grow in all the other virtues and gifts we see manifest in Jesus.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span></span><br />However, the very center of our vision must be to attain the character and power of Jesus Christ. Humility helps us see what we lack; prayer helps us appropriate God's provision for that need. Yet, the pinpoint goal is the full revelation of God's Son manifest within a many membered body. <br /><br />People define success in many ways – range of influence, souls saved, churches started, etc. However, to me the definition of a successful life is measured in how truly transformed we are to Christ's likeness. When persecuted, do we pray? When attacked, do we turn the other cheek? When threatened by the impossible, do we trust God? When crucified, do we forgive? <br /><br />You see, the issue is not how many people are attending church, but how many are becoming Christlike. The evidence of true revival is not whether we fall, jump, roar or soar, but how Christlike we are on Monday morning when we're in the world. <br /><br /><b>One Goal</b><br />Attaining Christlikeness must become our life. In His prayer in John 17, Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." We cannot know who God is without first knowing Jesus Christ. To know Christ is to know God; to see Christ and what He did, is to behold the beauty of God. <br /><br />Consider: Paul's primary goal wasn't to convert the world, but to reveal Christ to the world. He never laid out a plan to write two-thirds of the New Testament. He never sought even to become an apostle. His one singular passion was to know Jesus. <br /><br />In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul reveals the inner cause of His outward achievements. He writes, "that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10). He said he counted "all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8). His love and passion for Christ produced miracles, power, virtue, revelation and conversions of sinners in the world. <br /><br /><b>Beware Of the Dogs</b><br />A mature Christian is one who sees Christlikeness as the true objective of His salvation (Phil 3:15). In contrast, Paul warned the church that there were goals that could awaken false religious fervor, which would obscure our vision of personal transformation. Thus, he wrote, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision" (Phil 3:2). <br /><br />In the first century, dogs were not so much pets as they were scavengers, animals that fed on garbage and waste. Likewise, there are Christians who are always sniffing out what is wrong, looking for what is corrupt. They actually feed off the knowledge of other people's failures. Paul says to beware of the dogs. Don't become a Christian who feeds off garbage. <br /><br />He also says to beware of the "false circumcision" and the "evil workers." Under the Jewish Law, circumcision of the flesh was one of a long list of painful obligations that were necessary to be accepted by God. Paul says that all of those obligations were fulfilled in Christ. True circumcision is something God does to the heart by the Spirit (Rom 2:29). An evil worker was one who, among other things, placed upon the Christian a yoke of religious bondage instead of the yoke of Christ. <br /><br /><b>One True Goal</b><br />A time will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Between now and the fulfillment of that promise, the church will increasingly become Christlike. Our passion must be to know Jesus and become like Him. We must reach for this goal while we are in this world, not the next. It will not be difficult to become Christlike in heaven; God wants us Christlike on earth – at work, in our neighborhoods and in our families. <br /><br />Conformity to Christ is God's promise for each of us. Scriptures tell us that "as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes" and "amen" (2 Cor 1:20). Whatever is in your heart that you are believing for, God says the answer is "yes!" That's how much the Father loves His Son. That's how high a price Jesus paid for us. But first, if you want the promises, you've got to pursue Christlikeness, for the promises are "in Him." The first promise that God seeks to fulfill is the promise of His Son revealed through us.<br /><br />The Father, who knows us intimately, is continually drawing us toward knowing Him. This is the essence of all true spiritual experience. The journey is described in the 139th Psalm: <br /><br />"O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways." <br /><br />The word translated "scrutinize" literally means "to winnow." God winnows our path. When a farmer winnows grain, he throws the grain and its mixture of straw and husks into the air. The kernels of wheat or barley fall into a pile on the threshing floor, while the chaff, or refuse, is blown away by the wind. David is saying that this is what God does to us. He winnows our lives, allowing the Holy Spirit to blow away our chaff, so that what remains is the pure grain of our lives, resting at His feet. <br /><br />I tell you, if you are serious about wanting to be like Christ, He is going to put you in circumstances where your only true choice is to become like Him. I can think of many things that people attribute to me as being a virtue; they ask, “How did you attain such and such?” In reality, I had no choice. All my other choices were winnowed away. In Gethsemane, Jesus could indeed have had the cup of suffering removed – 12 legions of angels would have come to His aid (not that He needed angels to save Himself). Yet to save Himself from the cross would mean all mankind would be lost. Yes, He had a choice, but to save Himself was not really an alternative. Likewise, God winnows us until the chaff, flesh and even the excess baggage of our lives is removed. What remains is the most precious element of our lives: Christ in us.<br /><br />In the story of the Israelites' captivity, we find cruel taskmasters appointed over them, who afflicted the Hebrews continuously (Ex 1:11). Yet, verse 12 says that the more the taskmasters afflicted them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread out. This is the way it is with the Lord. The more the enemy seeks to afflict you in some battle, the more Christ begins to multiply in your life and the character of Jesus spreads throughout your soul.<br /><br />In the midst of God's winnowing, we must decide to be like Jesus. There is something that happens deep inside when we say, unequivocally, that our vision and passion is the pursuit of Christlikeness. When conformity to Jesus becomes the reason we live, true revival has begun in our lives.<p></p>frangipane.org/messageshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378205780527218537noreply@blogger.com