Hi Everyone
Here are last Friday's notes. You can download or listen to the audio here.
Do share it as you are blessed!
Chris
God Wants Us to Seek Him
As His Sons, God wants relationship with us. At the end of the day, what is relationship all about? It is all about LOVE.
Love is one of those words that the devil has taken and twisted, like the words “holiness” and “righteousness”. In the flesh, LOVE is often twisted and made confused with LUST.
Love is something we cannot understand outside of God (1 John 4:19). As we start to understand it more, there’s really nothing wrong with having feelings of love, of wanting the best for someone outside of a man-woman relationship. When we start to know the love of God more and more, this should be a natural extension (John 13:34).
When we start to think like God, we start to see a lot words and concepts in God’s eyes.
God Knows Us Already
We are already known to God. In the New Testament, under the New Covenant, God’s Spirit dwells in all who believe. It is now for us to know Him:
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (NKJV)
He has always known us – even before we were born.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. (NKJV)
God’s Buddy #1 – Enoch
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. (NKJV)
Enoch walked with God, like Adam did before the fall. He was very close to God, not like Adam after the fall, who felt guilt.
God’s Buddy #2 – Noah
Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. (NKJV)
It is not about his actions, but about his heart. He walked with God, not imitate His actions or try to do good. The moral nature of his life was a result of his walk.
God’s Beloved Friend – Abraham
Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. (NKJV)
God told Abraham top leave his family because they were all serving other Gods, unlike Abraham.
Joshua 24:2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. (NKJV)
James 2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. (NKJV)
2 Chronicles 20:7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? (NKJV)
Isaiah 41:8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. (NKJV)
“Friend” here in Hebrew has its root in the word “love”. It was not “friend” as we know it, but was a very intimate kind of walk, like Jonathan and David, where their lives were completely intertwined and covenantal in nature, such that David would seek to bless any of Jonathan’s descendants after Jonathan’s death.
Anything for God’s Blessing – Jacob
Genesis 25:29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (NKJV)
Esau suffered greatly for this thereafter, for his hardness of heart, his unbelief. Flesh things were more important than spiritual things to him. God loved Jacob and respected him for hungering for the right things, even if his means were not necessarily right.
God loves those who seek Him, not those who try to have the right actions alone. Right heart produces right action. Believe in the penultimate goodness of God manifested in His Word.
Genesis 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. (NKJV)
Jacob went very hard after God’s blessing. He knew that if he had God, he would have God’s blessing in everything. This pleases God, when we are willing to seek God knowing that He is the rewarder, the one who blesses.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (NKJV)
We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. In acknowledging these good things that we enjoy them.
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (NKJV)
Philemon 1:6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
A Man After God’s Heart – David
Psalm 42:1 To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?(NKJV)
David's soul pants for the Lord! Such is his hunger and thirst for the one true LIVING God. No other second best, not their impression of who God is through religion, but who God is in the Word.
1 Samuel 30: 1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” (NKJV)
David sought the Lord no matter what the situation was. He never let go of his relationship with the Lord, no matter what he did.
Truth Seeker – Zacchaeus
Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (NKJV)
We see in this story again the kind of people that catch the Lord's eyes. Zacchaeus should have by all natural reasoning been a man who was very content - he was very rich from being a chief tax collector - he took commissions and possibly kickbacks from his "downline" tax collectors. Yet this man had a hole in his heart. He had a longing for the truth.
When truth came in the form of Jesus, he must have already heard some things about Him, to be so enthusiastic. Zacchaeus the seeker met Jesus the Truth that day.
We see how all he wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus, so much so that he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a tree. Quite a strange thing for someone like him to do, we would think. All that to see and hear the man Jesus.
This is what catches the Lord's eye. Not how good we are, not how much knowledge we have of Him, but a plain simple hunger for the truth, and a recognition of it when it came.
The result of this story is what many would perhaps take as a formula - that if we love God, we should give. We see here that the giving did not come first. Love came first. We love for He first loved us (1 John 4:19). After he had received Jesus joyfully, such love touched his heart that it changed his priorities on an instant. Contrast this with the story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) who thought he could "do" good things his way into the Kingdom, but would not walk away from his wealth. You see, if his heart was right, that last part of walking away from his wealth would have been easy and voluntary, like Mr. Zacchaeus here. Again, put this alongside the parables that Jesus told about the Kingdom of Heaven being like treasure in a field. Zacchaeus did not stumble upon the treasure. Had he been satisfied with his wealth and not been hungry to fill that hole in his heart, he would have missed Jesus. He was a digger, one who sought and when he found the truth, selling all else at it were was no issue.
This is the same for the early Christians that we see in Acts 4:32 - they shared all they had. They were all fighting on the same side and had their minds stayed on the things above, not the things of this world. Sharing of things (not having much care for the things of this world) isn't a formula for Christians - it is a by-product of having found the truth and having a true relationship with the Lord. No set of creeds could make a group of people behave the way they did; only a true relationship with the One who Loves can.
Seeking Truth Unwaveringly – Mary vs Martha
Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (NKJV)
We see that BOTH sisters were sitting at Jesus’ feet. However, Martha was DISTRACTED with serving the Lord. Jesus does not want us so much to serve Him as to sit at His feet. If we feel this strong need to serve and serve in church and ministry while we have not sat His feet, know that this is not from God, but is from some external pressure to follow a code of religion. If we choose to sit down, it won’t be taken away! To him who has, more will be given (Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18).
True belief always begins at sitting at His feet hearing His Word first. The service that comes out of this will not face burnout.
Turned Around by Love – Devout Jews in Acts
Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? (NKJV)
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (NKJV)
Interesting to note also that it was the devout Jews who heard it in their own languages. The noise from the upper room was such that they heard it and heard the preaching in their own language.
There are religious Jews, one who had zeal but not according to the Word by faith (Romans 10:2, Hebrews 4:2) and there are these, the Devout Jews who heard and accepted. There is a huge difference between religious and devout! The distinction is between those who followed only the rituals to look good and those whose heart is right, truly after the One True God. These are the ones who heard the tongues in their own languages.
Hunger for Truth – The Ethiopian Eunuch
Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. (NKJV)
The eunuch was reading Isaiah which was probably not of his native religion. He obviously was seeking the Lord with all his heart to find the one True God. He did not just read the Word but sought to know the God behind the Word.
God Seeker – Cornelius the First Gentile Christian
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. (NKJV)
It is interesting to note the character traits of this man Cornelius that he should be the first Gentile Christian eventually.
- He was a devout man - he cared about things of the eternal, not just the things of the temporal.
- He feared God, not one who was irreverant. He knew that there was a God out there somewhere, not restricting his view of life to the here and now.
- He was a generous man, giving of his wealth freely to those in need. God seems to have a special place for people like these. Much of the manifestation of goodness and righteousness is in how tightfisted or generous one is. Love of money is, after all, the root of all evil.
- A man who wanted a relationship with God, such that he "prayed to God always".
God does indeed favour such people. Instrinsically, our relationship with God really ought to be a lot more than to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour and come to church every Sunday. Developing a relationship (prayers) results in bearing fruit (alms). It is obvious that Cornelius still needed Jesus for salvation through the remission of sins and that his good works alone weren't good enough - Verse 6 says "He (Peter) will tell you what you must do." Also, see what Peter preached in Acts 10:43 to them. It takes a man to preach the Gospel, not God!
Hungry and Knows It - The Younger Son
Luke 15:14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ (NKJV)
The most important thing is that he CAME TO HIMSELF! Some of us never come to ourselves, in spite of the fact that we ALL need a saviour. Many do not realise this. He realised that he was in BAD SHAPE, something we ALL are without the Lord. Some people subsist their whole lives below what they are supposed to be, never realising who they were meant to be, always worrying and being troubled by many things. They can be so hungry but pig food sometimes seems better still.
The bottom line is simple – it doesn't matter why you come back to the Lord. The most important thing is you do and that you accept His love for you!
Blessed Are…
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (NKJV)
These are all HEART attitudes, realizing that we’ve missed the mark, that we need the finished work of Jesus to make us who are unwhole, whole again.
Come and Feast
Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. (NKJV)
Jesus readily gives to us, because His own body and blood were offered that we might be sanctified and made whole again.
Those who come to the table and eat daily will enjoy this.
Come – He has made the way, is one with us who are saved. The doors are open. We only need to come to Him boldly (Hebrews 4:16)
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