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I Chronicles 17:16
II Samuel 7:18
And David the king came and sat before the Lord..........
It is not necessary to point out what a busy life style we all lead in maintaining a marriage, raising a family, going to a job five or six days a week, and if there is a ministry, performing as we believe that God would have it the calling that he has put upon us. When all of this is said and done, we look for some time to just sit and rest or meditate. We often think like David and say "And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." We might take a lesson from David when he made the aforementioned statement; "And David the king came and sat before the Lord....." When is the last time that you or I have determined to just do as David said and sit before the Lord?
I worked with a Pastor 'Buddy' Garret in McAlister, Oklahoma who taught me more about this concept than any other preacher that I have been privileged to know. It is very easy to be 'doing' at the expense of 'being.' Both are absolutely necessary and both are fruitful and sometimes it is not easy to see where the balance should be between the two of them. Pastor Garrett knew and practiced the presence of God. He spent hours sitting before the Lord and knowing him. The apostle Paul expressed in Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Paul's greatest desire was not that he might be a great preacher or missionary, or evangelist, or teacher, but that he might know Christ. Pastor Garret's greatest desire was to know his Saviour. When he preached it was very evident that he had accomplished this goal in his life and ministry. Brother Garrett taught me more than any other pastor than I have known about the presence of God. When you are privileged to company with a man of God such as this you never forget it.
I would like to add at this point that what I am saying about Pastor Garrett does not in any way take away from the importance that I place upon my current pastor. Bro. Baker is exactly what God designed for my present needs as my pastor. At the time when I was under the leadership of Bro. Garret, I need the unique ministry that was available from his perspective and of course was affected for life, even as I am affected for life by my present pastor.
There are so many wonderful projects and ministries and people in need and things to attend to and budgets to maintain and souls to win and on and on and on that we end up by saying; well Lord, I have no time to sit before you today, maybe tomorrow. We go out then with no presence of God, no confidence in the Spirit, no heart preparation and we find ourselves chopping with a dull ax and hacking on a tree that is unyielding to the dull spirit that we possess. Where is the power? Where is the confident boldness of the Spirit of God? Left in the place where we should have been sitting before the Lord as David did.
Paul expressed over and over again his sweet fellowship and close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:8-9 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
We cannot affect people to God unless we are first affected by God. We cannot bring people to God until we have been to God and sat before him and gazed upon the crucified one and been changed by him. 2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. A story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne titled 'The Great Stone Face,' a young man named Earnest spent many hours gazing on a rock formation of a huge face which had such a countenance of peace and tranquility that he was fascinated by the effect that it had upon him. After years of returning to the same place to look upon the face and meditate upon it, it was said that Earnest had become himself a picture of the tranquility exuded by the image.
Paul the apostle said, BE ye followers of me. That little word 'be' is so very important; to be must proceed to do. If we have not been with him and sat with him and learned him we will not affectively be able to do. Obviously both are absolutely necessary and we cannot attend to one to the elimination of the other; both are vitally important. When Joshua had watched his troops defeated by the little nation of Ai and fell on his face before God to find what was wrong, God reproved him telling him to get off his face and find out what was the cause of the failure and correct the problem and then do battle.
Do we have the spirit that David the sweet psalmist had? Is our greatest desire to know him as the apostle Paul said? Have we sat before him today, or do we rush out with our dull ax and begin to swing again and again without the power or the confidence that comes with knowing him? Let's determine today that we will not begin our day without first giving ourselves to him and waiting on him to prepare us for what we will face in each day of our lives. Let us sit before him.
Author Resource:- Clarence Killingsworth Assistant to the Pastor Gospel Light Baptist Church Greeley, Colorado 80634 www.glbcgreeley.com You can read more on kostenlos Handy orten PerfectResources: handy orten kostenlos Greathostgator promo codesTry also handy orten kostenlos GreatGo to hoover vhd 716 Waschmaschine Thanksstudy2010: Waschmaschinen kaufen ThanksFurther information Waschmaschine Kaufempfehlung cuGo toTry elektrische Zigarette PerfectStudy 2008: elektrische Zigarette Good to knowLearn more about elektronische Zigarette ThanksGot to e Zigarette Ciao
Article From Christian Baptist Articles
We do have an awesome God, but do we really know what that means? The
word awesome is very popular today, especially with the younger
generation. I doubt seriously that most people who use this word have
any idea of its real meaning. The slang meaning used most often today
means excellent or outstanding. Awesome really means inspiring or
displaying awe. Awe as a noun is fear mingled with admiration or
reverence and as a verb it means to strike with fear and reverence.
Inherent in its meaning is to astonish which means to stun or strike
dumb with sudden fear, terror, surprise or wonder.
The Scriptures tell us often that we are to fear the Lord. From the definitions above you can see that the fear of the Lord is related to His being an awesome God.
The word “awe” is used three times in Scripture.
Psalms 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Psalms 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Psalms 119:161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
The first usage of the word shows that if we stand in awe of God it will keep us from sin. When we see who God is we will stand in awe of Him. The fear that is implied in awe causes us to turn from sin to avoid the punishment that comes from God.
The second of these verses tell us the the all the earth should fear the LORD. It further states that all of the inhabitants of the world should stand in awe of Him. You cannot separate the fear of the Lord from standing in awe of Him.
The final verse shows that even in times of unjust persecution a godly heart will stand in awe of the Word of God. When the pressures of the world push the Christian to compromise the fear of God should give us strength and motivation to stay faithful to God's Word.
Another important word used in the definition of the word awe is reverence. This word means fear mingled with respect and esteem. No matter how you try, you can't separate the idea of fear from the words awe and awesome.
Our awesome God is seen in striking manner in Isaiah chapter six. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:1-5)
Isaiah was already a great man of God for five chapters before we get to chapter six. When king Uzziah died Isaiah saw the power behind the throne was really God. His reaction in verse five is a great picture of the definition of awesome. As he saw the awesome God, he was stricken with fear as he saw himself in the light of the holiness of God. He saw himself and the society in which he lived as unclean. Although he was already a spokesman for God, in verse he volunteers to go further for his God. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
God is indeed an awesome God. What effect does this have on us? Does it give us a fear of God? Does it make us more careful to follow the precepts of His Word?
Romans 3:11-18 explains why we have so many problems in the world today. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
This passage does a good job of describing modern society. Understanding of the things of God is missing in most people. As a result of this lack of understanding none see after God. Everyone is out for themselves. All that our leaders try to solve our problems turn out to be unprofitable. The real problem is “There is not fear of God before their eyes.”
We, as Christians, must live lives that show who our God is and what He is able to do. Our lives should show God's ability to change lives for the better. If we are just like the world, if they can't see a change in us, how do we expect them to believe that God can heal our world?
God's job in getting us to turn back to Him is to show His power in judgment. The blindness of even Christians is astounding. The violence of Islam is nothing new. America's first military conflict was against Islamic pirates. Until recently God has protected our nation against Islam's violence. The attacks on America show that God has removed His hand of protection from our nation.
Until God is seen as an awesome God we will only see more of God's judgment. Author Resource:- Dr. Pierre Coovert has been a missionary, a pastor, and an evangelist for more than thirty years. In those years he has seen a dramatic change in the attitudes and conduct of Christians. His website, Awake to Righteousness is dedicated to encouraging Christians to return to the faith and conduct of the Bible.
Article From Christian Baptist Articles
Any Christian knows that there is resistance to walking with God. Sometimes the resistance comes from without, and sometimes the resistance comes from within. Sin is less a resistance to walking with God as it is a breaking of fellowship. But what resists our spiritual walk with God?
There are several things the Bible speaks of that cause resistance.
THE ILLUSTRATION
First, let me paint an illustration. If you know anything about electricity, you know that there are several factors that create resistance to the ability of electrons to flow across a wire. These factors reduce the amount of power able to reach the object you are wishing to supply power to.
If God is the source of power, and we are the ones who need that power and strength, then walking with God is like being plugged into Him. Our walk with God is the wire, our connection to the source of power.
It is important that we have a conductor from God to us. But along that route there is resistance. This resistance reduces the power, strength, blessings, and joy that we get from God. It is essential that we reduce as much of the resistance as possible to enjoy as much as possible from our God.
SATAN
Zechariah 3:1 - And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
In electricity, the thickness of the wire allows more free electrons to flow through it. The thinner the wire, the more resistant it is to power.
Satan wants to restrict you as much as possible. He will resist your walk with God. He will seek to stem the tide of grace, mercy, power, and love from God to you. If he can keep your walk with God thin, stretched out, and weak, we will not enjoy the fullness of God.
Satan will throw things our way that will distract us, reduce our time with God, and consume what we get from God faster than we can get it. Satan seeks to resist what you can get from the Lord!
DISTANCE
Acts 7:51 - Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
2 Timothy 3:8 - Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
In electricity, the greater the distance to the source of power, the more resistance there is to the flow of free electrons. There are just more things that can go wrong. There are more barriers and unexpected twists.
In our Christian life, distance from God is equal to our acceptance of Him in our life. The further away from Him we find ourselves the more resistant we are to Him, His will, and His truth.
Our unwillingness to accept some of the things about God or Christianity distances us from God. This distance brings more resistance. We add too many variables that distract us from getting the power of God. There are too many barriers and things that can go wrong.
PRIDE
Pride is a scary resistance. In this case, it is not Satan resisting your access to God, nor is it you necessarily distancing yourself from God, but pride causes God to resist you!
James 4:6 - But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1 Peter 5:5 - Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
You may spend a lot of time in prayer, Bible study, and church. But if you have pride, God is resisting you! As you can imagine, this is not good. Pride is a resistor to the power of God. Whereas humility brings a free flow of grace and power from God, pride will bring resistance from God Himself!
Often, pride isn't resistance to God or the things of God; it is the desire to control these things, to dominate them, or to be known for them. God, however, resists this concept emphatically! A Christian can serve God in pride. A Pastor can preach in pride. A Sunday School teacher can teach in pride. Pride is where you love to serve God so that you might have the preeminence, to have the spotlight shining on you!
God will resist you!
Humility is about submitting to Him. It is not about you. It is not about what you do. It is about God. It is submitting yourself to the will of Jesus Christ, not choosing to follow your will in service to God.
CONCLUSION
These are a few of the Biblical resistors in our life. If we want to enjoy the fullness of God, we need to reduce or eliminate these resistors. In electricity, a superconductor is a conductor with a resistance of zero. That is the goal of every Christian. We want to be superconductors to the power of God in our life.
Author Resource:- Greg S. Baker is a Pastor, Counselor, and Author specializing in building and strengthening relationships.
Please visit our website at: fitlyspoken.org
For more books and resources on how to communicate better, express yourself, and strengthen social skills. Check out our book, 'Fitly Spoken', a Christian based book that explores the intricacies of human communication and expression in relationships.
See my article directory for more articles: articles.christianbaptists.com
by Sandy Rempel
I had just spent eight days vacationing in France and Switzerland
with three very dear friends. We had so enjoyed being together and
seeing all the beauty that God had placed in that part of the world. As I
traveled back home, I was feeling refreshed, relaxed, and on top of the
world. I returned to my job the next day and enjoyed recounting my trip
with my coworkers. I ended my work day and drove home, only to be met
at the door with the very painful news that another dear, sweet friend
of mine had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I had been so excited
to see him and tell him about my trip and share my many experiences
with him. But now, he was gone from this life and walking the golden
streets of Heaven, enjoying everything that God had prepared for him.
Oh, how my heart ached! He was a very active member of my church, my
Sunday school teacher, a prayer warrior, and an encouragement and help
to young and old alike. What a good and Godly man he was! What a huge
hole was left in my life and in the lives of so many people in my
church!
Truthfully, I felt lost and alone. The loss was deep, and I had so
many questions. That was several months ago, and in that time, I have
come to realize that God did not allow this loss in my life to hurt me.
He allowed it in my life to bring me back to Him. You see, I had been
backslidden and out of fellowship with Him for many years. My heart was
cold, and I knew it; I just didn't care to acknowledge it. Even on my
trip, I remember being almost annoyed at my friends who kept talking
about lessons God had shown them in nature and in the beauty that
surrounded us. I remember thinking at one point, "Can't you just enjoy
the beauty here because it's here? Do we have to have a Bible spin on
everything?" At least I had the small amount of wisdom to keep my mouth
shut so as not to hurt my friends.
I had tried so hard to put on a good "front" for the people around
me to see. Don't misunderstand me; I hadn't "gone off the deep end" and
turned to some "wicked sin." I still attended church faithfully, worked
in junior church, and played my trumpet in the church orchestra. In my
eyes, all was well. My life was just fine the way it was. Maybe I had
others fooled, but then again maybe not. God knew my heart was far from
Him; God is never fooled by the things we do, the choices we make, or
the way we act.
When we get saved, we begin a relationship with God. If we allow
ourselves to grow in Christ, that relationship grows and becomes a thing
of beauty. I had neglected my relationship with God and had stopped
growing. I believe my relationship with God had become something ugly in
God's eyes. I likened it to the field of the slothful in Proverbs
24:30--32, which says, "... I went by the field of the slothful, and by
the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown
over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the
stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I
looked upon it, and received instruction." I think that is a good
picture of how my relationship with Jesus looked. My relationship
(field) was there because of salvation, but through neglect, it had
grown over and was an ugly thing to see. The longer I went without
tending to it, the worse it became (nettles, thorns, and weeds).
I am reminded of the day we moved to the house where I now live. No
one had lived here for a few years, and weeds were everywhere. The lawn
was full of mole holes, and the trees needed to be trimmed. The flower
and rose beds were weedy, and the ground was as hard as a rock. It took
my family and me a couple of years to get it in shape. We burned or
hauled away mounds of dead branches, dead flowers, vines, and roots. We
brought in good soil and worked it into the flower beds, mowed,
fertilized, and trimmed the lawns. Now it looks beautiful! So it was
with my "field"--my relationship with Jesus. It needed work, and it
needed it badly. I just didn't know where to begin.
I asked for and received some of the best advice anyone has ever
given me. A very wise pastor's wife and dear friend told me, "No matter
what the reason you neglected the relationship, a feeling of distance
came. All you need to do is to spend time with God, and I don't just
mean in Bible reading and prayer. God is with you where you are, so
acknowledge Him. Just practice His presence. He wants to spend the whole
day with you--not just the time you read your Bible and pray. He's with
you as you drive to work, as you answer the phone, as you send out the
orders, as you take your breaks, and then as you head home. Greet Him
when you wake, and say good night as you sleep. Jesus just wants to be
your Friend!"
Well, that advice sounded pretty easy to follow. I know how to
become friends with people, but how was I supposed to become friends
with Someone I couldn't see? That very thought came to my mind one day a
few months ago as I left work. As I started my truck to leave, I
invited Jesus to ride home with me. I usually drive the back roads home
on Friday afternoons, and I did so on this day. I popped in a new CD I
had just bought and turned up the volume. Then I thought, "That was
rude! Invite a friend to ride with me and blare music at Him!" So off
went the CD. Then I said, "How am I supposed to get to know You when I
can't even see You?" My very next thought was, "Just look; I'm all
around you!" For the next 40 minutes, I "saw" Him. Let me share with you
how.
I love my drive home along the winding roads through the country,
along the beautiful Clackamas River. On my way home I saw pine, cedar,
white pine, scrub pine, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, maple, red maple,
Japanese maple, and redwood trees. I also saw evergreen bushes, bushes
of every kind, sunflowers, pansies, mums, and wildflowers. I saw weeds,
grasses of every shape and size, golf course grass, and grassy lawns.
There were farmers' fields with onions (and ohhhhh the smell!), corn,
and every kind of vegetable still not harvested. God tells each tree
when to change color, when to drop its leaves, when to produce its fruit
and how much. He tells the flowers when to bloom, how often, and where
to grow. When I had marveled in just about everything I could see, I
turned the CD back on and "God of All Gods" was playing.
By this time, I was back on a main road. The traffic light turned
green, and I turned left onto my highway. I had driven just a short
distance when I saw a small doe was standing on the hillside beside the
road! I have NEVER before seen a deer there at that time of day. I can't
possibly tell you how completely overwhelmed I felt with how much God
loved me at that moment. I find it ironic that God used the very thing I
was criticizing my friends for--lessons learned from nature--to show
Himself to me. I have driven those roads most of my life, but I have
never before "seen" them. I was so amazed at all the things my new
Friend pointed out to me!
God wants to fellowship, build a friendship, enjoy a relationship
with us. When He created the Garden of Eden, He could have easily made
the rocks or trees or birds or even the beasts of the field to talk with
Him. Instead, He created and chose man to fellowship with Him! He
chooses you and me! There is a place in God's heart that only we can
fill. God made me just the way He wanted me to be. God made you to be
just what He wanted you to be. He did this so we could fellowship and
love Him in our own unique way. God doesn't expect you or me to love Him
like anyone else can. We don't have to compete with one another.
Likewise, there is a place in our heart that only God can fill.
There is nothing in this world that can or will fill that place other
than God. We can't fill it with things. We can't fill it with the love
for or the love of another person. It is God's place, and only He can
fill it!
If you already have a walk with God, a good friendship, please keep
it. Nurture it. Grow it. Love it. If you do not have one, please begin
now. He loves you and wants to have fellowship with YOU and be near YOU!
If you used to have a walk with God and have neglected it, it's time to
fix it. Start today by inviting Him into your day. Psalm 145:18 says,
"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call
upon him in truth." Psalm 86:5 says, "For thou, LORD, art good, and
ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon
thee." The words of the song "Jesus Loves Even Me" say it so well:
"Though I forget Him, and wander away, still He doth love me wherever I
stray; back to His dear loving arms would I flee, when I remember that
Jesus loves me."
I was reminiscing on my way home the other night of the time my dear
friend moved back to Alabama to care for his sweet mamma. Oh, how I
missed him! I felt lost without his teaching my Sunday school class,
without his smile, and without his sharing something that had happened
in his day. Then he returned, but only for a short while. Now he is
truly gone until the day I see him again in Heaven. Then he can tell me
all that has happened in Heaven--not just about his day! I still miss
him, his sweet smile, his cute Southern accent, and I still miss hearing
about something that happened in his day. I miss his emails, his text
messages, his text reminders to be sure to be in church on Sunday. Then I
was reminded that Jesus is my dear Friend-- One to Whom I will never
have to say goodbye, One Whom I will never have to miss nor lose the
sweetness of His fellowship. I have a Book full of letters from Him to
read every day, and on the day I have to say goodbye to this world, I
will see Him--my Friend--face to face!
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