Transitioning Knowledge & Revival (WE REACH!)

May 12th, 2011 8:03 AM

"The fountains of sin need to be broken up. In a true revival Christians are always brought under such convictions; they see their sins in such a light, that they often find it impossible to maintain a hope of their acceptance with God" - Charles Finney

--> Last night Pastor shared part four of the 'Transitioning your Knowledge' series - such a weighty and surely bringing down the fire topic. Today I've just been resting on it. He talked about Job and how the closer be got to God, the less he felt he knew Him. I like that. It's so true. While we need to be constantly walking towards God, actually more like desperately running towards Him, we also need to be in awe of Him. He is so far beyond us, but even reaching out to grasp Him can save everyone. Like when the woman with the issue of blood reached out to touch but the hem of Jesus's garment. She, and we as a people, are desperate for the things of God. We do lose hope and we believe ourselves unworthy, but still we reach out. In desperation, in our hurts and in our failures, we still reach out to God. We are unworthy, but we reach. We are sinners, but we reach. We run from truth, but still we reach. With everything we are, we reach. And in that reaching, in that acknowledgement of our humanity, we move closer to God and He overwhelms the bad. We become teachable. We become steady. We become light-bearers of His truth. In spite of ourselves. It is powerful. It is life-giving. It is worth all.

1 Samuel 12:20-22
"And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not; ye have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart: and turn ye not aside; for then would ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For Jehovah will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it hath pleased Jehovah to make you a people unto himself."

In terms of the service, I just felt a shift. An alignment in the way we approach God. Pastor asked us to dedicate the 31 days left until the feast of Tabernacles to the study of Proverbs 2. A mapping ground to knowing God. What a powerful way to enter into such a season. He spoke about how God's plan in taking the Israelites to the Promised Land was more than that - how He was building a people completely and totally for Him. A people that He could dwell among. A people that would live just as He said. That would move when He moved and stay when He dwelt. That was such a powerful image. I always end up going back to my 'fractal' word to place myself in a position of learning with the things of God. It works here too. His plan is just so much bigger, complex, and just so completely whole that we can't grasp it. I think that's what happened with Job, really with all those who determinedly walked towards His presence. The more pieces of God's good plan, of His absolute glory, that are revealed to us - the more we know there is. There's talk about people being like icebergs with 90% of themselves being unknown and under the surface, but if it were so with God, I believe knowing even a percent would threaten to overload our systems - that is, if we were living in the world's system. That percentage can only climb higher when we stop ourselves and just rely on Him. It's something we should work towards though. Imagine dying because of His presence. We are slain by the Spirit daily, but physically - wow. In the meantime, God's pulling stuff out and like Pastor said we've got to fill those empty spaces up before they are full of darkness again. To fill them with the light of the Word and with the lifeblood of Jesus.

John 7:24
"Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly."

Proverbs 2:9
"Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, yea, every good path."

--> In studying Proverbs 2, I picked out this verse as one I really want to start living out. When we follow those 'if's' Pastor laid out, when we listen to a word or revelation with ears to hear, when we find it in and dwell amongst the Word, when we understand it and know it so well that it gets imprinted in our hearts, and when we're ready to give our voice to glorify God, then what is not open to us? Nothing can come against what is so firmly and complexly planted in us. We will be steady in the things of God. It says every good path will be open to us. What a word He has given us. We live for Him, to know and understand Him and He opens every good path to us. Who would want to walk down a rough and tumble path when one that is of God is open to us? The old ones will be unused and start being filled with overgrowth. An overgrowth that removes them as options for our lives. In working to know God, we stop the problems that we create for ourselves. We can put mindsets aside. We can live an existence in which we work wholly towards Him. As Pastor said, to live that way is to open up the way we really need to work. The way we're called to. We will work by abandoning ourselves. We will work by pushing for the things of God. By helping others see their need of Him. By building people up in Christ. By using words that give life and not death. How much better is the work of God then the work of the world? Infinitely. Every good path found in Him.