Romans 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), (fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs), but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude); so that you may prove (for yourselves) what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect (in His sight for you)."
Through the years, we've come to a place where we're content to know our Father through someone else's relationship with Him. We've settled for creeds and doctrines that were taught to the family of God by others. Some of these things are right and some are not. Even those teachings that are right, can't replace your personal relationship with God. We've known about Him by testimony and word, but we need to know Him.
The Apostle Paul sought a more intimate relationship with the Lord, even after he was taken into the third heaven and received the revelation of the new covenant. Paul's was a continued journey into the personal relationship with Jesus. Many times, we receive Jesus as Savior and stop there at just being saved. Praise God for this, but our relationship with Him isn't supposed to stop there.
I've spent the last forty years of my life (ever since I got born again) sharing how God is your answer and not your problem. For some, this is contrary to everything they've learned over the years. Many choose to believe that God uses problems to teach and show them things, instead of using His Word or the Holy Spirit. Mostly, they've come to know God through creeds and doctrine instead of personal relationship.
The only way to know Him in the light of truth is through a personal journey of faith. I'm overjoyed that people are born again and have come to salvation. Some have looked upon this as everything that is needed and I suppose that's true in the overall sense. But, it still leaves a void in the life of the believer. It's unthinkable in my mind, to have no personal relationship with one who loves you as much as our heavenly Father does.
I was never someone who's content with what someone told me about another person. The way some react to you might be because of the way you act to them. I've also found over the years, that they might be reacting to what they've heard about you from others. I had coffee with a man who was speaking about "the preacher down the street." Little did he know, but I was that preacher. While he was telling me why he didn't like that preacher, I was thinking how, "If I was really like that preacher, then I wouldn't like me either." I asked him if he'd ever met that preacher and his answer was, "No, and I hope I never do!" I paid for his coffee without ever telling him who I was. I've thought about that conversation many times and have wondered how someone's opinion could bring such reproach into another person's life.
I began to understand a little more about why it was so difficult to share Jesus with some people. Their view of our Father was slanted by what some other people thought and not from their own relationship with Him. Some had even believed that God killed their spouse or their child or had given them some terrible disease or sickness to teach them a lesson.
Preachers were sent to lead the people to God through Jesus. Teachers were given to teach the people how to have a personal relationship with Jesus after becoming saved. The Church wasn't supposed to stand on the Pastor's relationship with God, but through the Pastor, gain a relationship with God of their own. I'm not called to love my wife based on who she is. The same is true about Jesus and the Church. Ephesians 5:32 (Amplified) says, "This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning (the relationship of) Christ and the church." Every man should love his own wife based on a personal relationship in their lives. This same principle is true of our relationship with Jesus and our Father.
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10 (Amplified), "(For my determined purpose is) That I may know Him (that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly) and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection (which it exerts over believers) and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed (in spirit into His likeness even) to His death (in the hope) that if possible I may attain to the (spiritual and moral) resurrection (that lifts me) out from among the dead (even while in the body)."
According to what Paul said, we can (as he did) go on into a relationship with Jesus that will bring us into a much deeper understanding and a personal place with our Lord Jesus. Paul proceeded to say in Verse 12 that he "Hadn't yet attained this, but was now pressing on into this place with Jesus."
Some of us have pressure place on us by others to stop where they are in their relationship with God. We aren't always encouraged to pursue a further understanding of Christ by others. We need to have guidance into the scriptures by teachers, but not in order to stifle our search for truth. Many teachers are concerned that further searching will lead to error. The heart of the teachers are right for not wishing to bring error into our lives. The motive and heart is correct before God. But, the greatest teacher of all is the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13 (Amplified) says, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth (the whole, full truth) For He will not speak His Own message (on His Own authority) but He will tell whatever He hears (from the Father, given to Him) and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)."
We must learn to trust the Holy Spirit as our teacher and allow Him to reveal things to us about our Lord. Mans truth is still limited to our own limited knowledge. Once we've reached the end of our knowledge, we don't allow revelation knowledge to carry us further into God. We always think that we "have arrived" in our own thinking when we find a truth in God's Word. Such men as Martin Luther came into a new revelation when he was shown that "The just shall live by faith."
This was revolutionary to those living under mans idea of justification instead of God's idea. In most Christian circles today, this is sound doctrine and truth. Yet, some Christian circles do not altogether accept this. Some are still trying to justify themselves by works and good deeds. This is a thing God will sort out and take care of on His Own. My job or my calling, is to bring the Church into a place where we're not afraid to know or trust our Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment