I was praying with another man this morning and the Lord reminded me of something that I had heard from Pastor Thom Gardner and the Lord about two years ago. In sharing this with this good friend in our weekly prayer time I also felt that it was for the general populous of men and their families as well. It remains as one of those messages that continues to draw me into the Father. I apologize for the length, but it is really a good read.
Immediacy - is when the Lord’s heart beats and your beats. It's when what consumes Him, begins to consume you.
To experience the Passion, the Presence, & the Glory; something in me will need to go. Intimacy to us may represent a dog warming himself by the fire. The Lord however is more interested in me coming into the Fire. There is a song that says: "I want to see what you see, love what you love, and heal what you heal, Lord have mercy."
Exodus 24: 12-17 is a demonstration of the Lord's Mercy. Mercy is above all a consuming love. It burns away all priorities and the hidden purposes that exist in one's heart.
"Come up to the mountain" as described in the above verse means that we must depart from a place that I am to go to another place. The cloud covered Mt Sinai and the Glory of the Lord rested on Mt Sinai. It was from this place that the Lord called Moses by name..... to enter into the cloud of the Lord (a consuming Fire). I believe that the Lord is now calling you as he did Moses, by name and is inviting you to come to a new place that you have not known. It says in the Word that the "cloud looked like a consuming fire."
Pastor Thom asked the Lord what does this look like in both the spirit and the natural; the Lord's response was a picture of what the Lord showed him:
"Picture an old man, 80 yrs of age at least, climbing a mountain with a cloud in the distance. As he approaches the top near the cloud he continues to crawl up the mountain with all of his remaining strength in this arid place (remember, this mountain is in the desert); and he comes to the cloud. The cloud is a cloud of flame, fire & darkness, then more of the same. As Moses approaches the cloud he can begin to fell the heat. He hears a voice from within which says: "Come up here & live." This cloud represents a place of certain death, if he walks into the cloud it represents certain death, nothing will remain of who he formerly was. This is God's invitation to you (the call). The Lord is saying that: "I love you where you are, but if you come to me you'll learn to love me as I love you", not from perspective of what can I get from the Lord but from a place of Mercy. Moses recognized that if he entered that cloud that his flesh would be consumed and that he would come face to face with God.
As Moses enters into the cloud he in effect steps out of this present world and into God's glory, which is a place from which eternity exists (the heart of God). On top of Mt Sinai, Moses sees another mountain, the Mt of Transfiguration. From a place within the Lord Moses can see eternity (Past, Present, & Future). Jesus saw Moses, & Moses saw Jesus. Beyond both of those mountains was another Mt, the mountain of Calvary. When Jesus himself will also give up his flesh as an eternal offering for all, even as Moses gave up his flesh to step into the presence of the Lord.
The realm of true Life is made on a daily basis, sometimes-momentary decisions.
Your flesh will keep you from knowing God, that's why the invitation has been extended to you from God. "Come up here and Live," He's inviting you to a place where your flesh will be consumed.
Now Moses has been with the Lord 40 days and nights and the Lord has laid out the plans for the tabernacle and has given Moses the Ten Commandments. He's been in the presence of the Lord for 40 days, in the cloud of fire. Remember the Israelites have now built a golden calf and the Lord says of Moses in so many words: "Leave me alone, that I may destroy this wicked nation, & I will build my nation from you." Moses in turn sought the Lord.
Exodus 32: 9-11 & 13
Moses sought the Lord (Pena) - means literally Moses turned and touched the face of the Lord. Moses' flesh had become so consumed that there was nothing left except the heart of God. In essence Moses turned to the face of the Lord and gently touched/stroked His face. It was as if Moses was bringing remembrance to the Lord of his covenant with the people. "Remember your covenant with Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob... Interestingly enough the gate in front of the Mountain of Sinai that was between the people and the mountain was called and means Mercy.
When flesh is consumed, remember a cloud will come. Think of a barbecue. We are the flesh that has been called to be sacrificed and the Lord is asking us to willingly sacrifice all. This is why it says when the aroma from the sacrifices (the cloud) of the people reached the Lord that his anger was turned aside.
Exodus 33:18 & 34:5-7
The Lord, The Lord - represents compassion. The Glory of God is the Mercy of God.
2 Chronicles: 5-7 is 3 chapters long.
- 120 priests around the alter in the new temple of God: represents His presence
- Surely the Lord is good & His mercy endures forever. Singing about the Mercy of God.
- Fire fell from Heaven & consumed the flesh.
- Then God's glory (the cloud), filled the temple.
The cloud of God's glory is the effects, aroma, of burnt flesh. The choice is ours. If we want to move into a new place with the Lord, we will have to choose to accept the invitation of the Lord to climb the Mt of God and as the Lord says: "Come up here and Live." We enter life through the death of our flesh.
Lord, I pray that you would invite both men and their families into your cloud. Show us what is in our flesh and needs consumed in our lives today. Let the cloud of your Glory come to our lives that everything that cannot withstand the fire may be burned away and only the purest of all may remain. Something of permanence, even your heart, in the strong and powerful name of Jesus. Amen
Showing posts with label Difficult Questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Difficult Questions. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Cost
Are you willing to pay the cost to go deeper in/with God? I find my self asking this question repeatedly through out my journey with the Lord. It is not an easy question to answer, if you are truly honest with yourself. I find that their are different seasons that we go through that affect the way we answer this question. Ultimately, though it is the Father that draws us onto Himself. He hides himself not from us but for us.
A few months ago I was comtemplating something that I heard spoken at a school that I'm a part of. The statement was made that: "There's a difference between those who come to the Lord and those who come after the Lord!" The inference is that we have one of two reasons for coming to the Lord:
1) We're coming to Him because we need something.
2) We're coming after Him not because of physical/self-serving need, but because we just need Him (His prescense).
This can be clearly displayed in the following examples. The first is the classic example of when a child comes to a father and asks for a new toy. In this example the child comes for the purpose of: "I come to get." The other example would be of a child who searches out the father for no other reason than to just be with him; to spend time with him doing something; and being in his prescence because the child enjoy's their daddy.
I want to be like example number two. I often however, find myself in example number one. Typically, after prayer and reflection I find that I move into the first example after having a lack of time with the Father. When I'm not spending time with Him, I begin to reflect more of the world and less of Him. My desire moves from God focused to me focused. It's been said that whoever you hang out with the most will determine who you look like. Please don't mis-understand me though, I'm not saying that we can not go to the Father for physical, emotional, or other needs. I'm just merely stating that more often than not our relationship with the Lord can be self-serving at times. I'm just suggesting that we look at our motives behind why & when we go to the Lord. The indication of the "when" may serve as a better indicator for the above two reasons than the "why".
At this point your probably wondering what's the next step? How do I move to the next level and breakthrough. I believe the answer is to spend more time with the Father even though our flesh may not always find it conveniant. Pray for His assistance. Pray dangerous prayers that only He can answer and that will require you to make choices that determine how you move forward in your relationship with Him both now in the present and future. The decisions you make today will affect where you end up tomorrow.
A few months ago I was comtemplating something that I heard spoken at a school that I'm a part of. The statement was made that: "There's a difference between those who come to the Lord and those who come after the Lord!" The inference is that we have one of two reasons for coming to the Lord:
1) We're coming to Him because we need something.
2) We're coming after Him not because of physical/self-serving need, but because we just need Him (His prescense).
This can be clearly displayed in the following examples. The first is the classic example of when a child comes to a father and asks for a new toy. In this example the child comes for the purpose of: "I come to get." The other example would be of a child who searches out the father for no other reason than to just be with him; to spend time with him doing something; and being in his prescence because the child enjoy's their daddy.
I want to be like example number two. I often however, find myself in example number one. Typically, after prayer and reflection I find that I move into the first example after having a lack of time with the Father. When I'm not spending time with Him, I begin to reflect more of the world and less of Him. My desire moves from God focused to me focused. It's been said that whoever you hang out with the most will determine who you look like. Please don't mis-understand me though, I'm not saying that we can not go to the Father for physical, emotional, or other needs. I'm just merely stating that more often than not our relationship with the Lord can be self-serving at times. I'm just suggesting that we look at our motives behind why & when we go to the Lord. The indication of the "when" may serve as a better indicator for the above two reasons than the "why".
At this point your probably wondering what's the next step? How do I move to the next level and breakthrough. I believe the answer is to spend more time with the Father even though our flesh may not always find it conveniant. Pray for His assistance. Pray dangerous prayers that only He can answer and that will require you to make choices that determine how you move forward in your relationship with Him both now in the present and future. The decisions you make today will affect where you end up tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)