The Waiting Room

To Christian Workers - Chapter 23b

2007-12-08T18:53:00.001-06:00

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"Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

As for the simple and unlearned, it is not true that they are incapable of this inner relationship to Christ. The reverse is true. They are actually more suited to it.

The Lord loves who walk simply. (Proverbs 12:22)

Their humility, their simple trust in God, make it easier for them to turn within and follow the Lord’s Spirit. They are more qualified than most! You see, these simple believers are not accustomed to analyzing; they do not have the habit of discussing the issues of everything; and they are quick to let go of their own opinions.

Yes, they do lack a great deal of education and religious training; therefore they are freer and quicker to follow the leading of the Spirit. Other people—more gifted, better educated, trained in theology—are often cramped and even blinded by their spiritual wealth! Such a person very often offers greater resistance to the inner anointing and to the leading of the Lord’s Spirit.

The psalmist tells us,

“Unto the simple God gives the understanding of His law.”
(Psalm 119:130)

Furthermore we have been assured that God loves to give Himself to those who need Him.

“The Lord cares for the simple, I was reduced to extremity and He saved me.” (Psalm 116:6)

If you are one who has new believers in your care, be careful of preventing these children from coming to Jesus Christ. Remember that he said to His disciples: “let the children alone and do not hinder then form coming to Me; the kingdom of the heavenlies belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) (it was the disciples attempt to prevent the children from coming to Jesus Christ that caused Him to make this statement.

It has been the habit of man throughout the ages to heal people by applying some to the outward body when, in fact, the disease s deep inside. Why do converts remain basically unchanged despite so much effort? It is because those over them have dealt only with the outward matters of their lives. There is a better way: Go straight to the heart!

Laying down rules and trying to change the outward behavior will not produce a work that will endure in the life of a Christian.

Then what is the answer? Give the new convert the key to his spirit, to the inward parts of his being! Give this secret to him first, and you will discover that his outward life will be changed naturally and easily.

Accomplishing all this is very easy. How? Simply teach a believer to seek God within his own heart. Show the new Christian that he can set his mind on Jesus Christ and return to Him whenever he has wandered away.

Furthermore show him he should do all and suffer all with a single eye to please his God, What a difference it will make. The new convert will be led to Jesus Christ; he will discover that the Lord Jesus is the source of all grace; he will see that in Him is everything we need for life and godliness.

You steward of men’s souls. I urge you to lead these young ones in Christ this very way. Why? Because this is way is Jesus Christ. It is not I, but Christ Himself urging you by His own blood that was shed for these believers:

Speak to the Heart of Jerusalem (Isaiah 40:2)

Preachers of His Word! Dispensers of His grace! Ministers of His life! You must establish His kingdom. In order to establish that kingdom, make Him Ruler over the heart.

I would emphasize again: the heart is the key. The heart alone can oppose His sovereignty. But counter-wise, in gaining the heart, the Lord’s sovereignty in the believer’s life is confessed and highly honored.

Give glory to the holiness of God, and He shall become your satisfaction (Isaiah 8:13)

Teach this simple experience, this prayer of the heart. Don’t teach methods; don’t teach some lofty way to pray. Teach the prayer of God’s Spirit, not of mans invention.

Take Note! You who teach believers to pray in elaborate forms and meaningless repetition! You actually create the major problem new Christians have. The children have been lead astray by the best of fathers. The new believer has become too conscious of his style of prayer, too concerned with how to pray. Furthermore, he has been taught a language too refined, and too lofty.

The simple way to God has been hidden.

Are you a Christian new to Christ? Go then poor child to your loving Father. Speak to Him honestly in your own words. No matter how crude and simple those words are, they are not crude and simple to Him!

It may be that your words will seem unclear and confused. It may be at times that you re so filled with love and so awestruck at His presence that you do not know how to speak. That is all right! Your Father is far more pleased with these words—words which He sees pouring out from a heart that is full of love—than He could ever be by elaborate sounding words that are dry and lifeless.

The simple, undisguised emotions of love express infinitely more to Him than the words of any language.

For some reason men try to love God by forms and rules. Can you not see it is by these very forms and rules that you have lost so much of that love?

How unnecessary it is to teach the art of loving!

The language of love is strange and unnatural to that man who does not love. Oh but it is perfectly natural to the one who loves.

And how shall you love Him?

It is amazing and delightful to see that it is the simplest Christians who often progress farthest in an inner relationship with Jesus Christ! Why? Because the Spirit of God simply does not need our tapestry!

The simplest can know Him, and in the deepest way, with no help from rituals or forms or theological instruction! When it pleases Him, He turns factory workers into Prophets! No, He has not turned man away from the inner temple of prayer. The reverse! He has thrown wide open those gates that all may come in!

Whoever is simple.
Let him turn in here.
Whoever lacks understanding,
Come.
Eat of my food
And drink the wine I have mixed.
(Proverbs 9:4-5)

The Lord Jesus thanked the Father for having “hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealing them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25)

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

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To Christian Workers - Chapter 23a

2007-11-11T23:11:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

As we draw near to the close of this little book, I would like to address a word of exhortation to those Christian workers who are in charge of new converts.

Let us consider the present situation. All around us, Christians are seeking to convert the lost to Jesus Christ. What is the best way to do this? And once men have been converted, what is the best way to aid them in attaining full perfection in Christ?

The way to reach the lost is to reach them by the heart. If the new convert were introduced to real prayer and to true inward experience of Christ as soon as he became converted, you would see countless numbers of convert go on to become true disciples.

On the other hand, you can see that the present way of dealing only with the external matters of life of the new convert brings little fruit. Burdening the new Christian with countless rules and all sorts of standards does not help him grow in Christ. Here is what should be done: The new Christian should be led to God.

How?

By learning to turn within to Jesus Christ and by giving the Lord his whole heart.

If you are one of those in charge of new believers, lead them to a real inner knowledge of Jesus Christ. Oh, what a difference there would be in the lives of those new Christians!

Consider the results!

We would see the simple farmer as he plowed his field, spend his days in the blessing of the presence of God. The shepherd, while watching his flocks, would have the same abandoned love for the Lord, which marked the early Christians. The factory worker, while laboring with his outward man, would be renewed with strength in his inner man.

You would see each of these people put away every kind of sin from his life; all would become spiritual men and women with hearts set on knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ.

For a new Christian—for all of us in fact—the heart is all important if we are to go forward in Christ. Once the the heart has been gained by God, everything else will eventually take care of itself. This is why He requires the heart above all else.

Dear reader, it is by the Lord gaining your heart, and no other way, that all your sins can be put away. If the heart could be gained, Jesus Christ would reign in peace, and the whole church would be renewed.

In fact, we are discussing the very thing that caused the early church to lose its life and beauty. It was the loss of a deep, inner, spiritual relationship to Christ. Counterwise, the church could be restored if this inner relationship were recovered!

That is not all. Right now Christian leaders are quite preoccupied with the fear that the Lord’s people will fall in to some doctrinal error.Oh but when Christians are believing in Jesus Christ and drawing near to Him, there is little danger of such a thing happening!

You can be sure that if a Christian turns away from the Lord, he can discuss doctrine and engage in arguments all day long, but none of it will help him! Endless discussion only brings more confusion. What that believer needs is for someone to direct him to simply believe in Jesus Christ and to turn within to him. Were any believer to do so, he would very soon be led back to God.

What inexpressible damage new Christians—for that matter most Christians—have suffered because of the loss of an inner, spiritual relationship to Jesus Christ.

You who are in authority over young believers must yourself one day give an account to God for those who have been entrusted to you by the Lord. You will have to give an account for not having discovered for yourself this hidden treasure—this inner relationship to Christ—and you will also be held accountable for not having given that treasure to those in your charge.

Nor will you, in that day, be able to excuse yourself by saying that this walk with the Lord was too dangerous or that simple uneducated people are unable to understand spiritual things. The scripture simply does not validate these conjectures.

What about the dangers of walking in this way? Are there any?

What danger can there be in walking in the only true way: in Jesus Christ?
What danger is there in giving yourself up completely to the Lord Jesus and fixing all your attention continually on Him? Can any harm come from placing all your confidence in His grace and in loving Him purely with all the love and passion your heart is capable of pouring out?

As for the simple and unlearned, it is not true that they are incapable of this inner relationship to Christ. The reverse is true. They are actually more suited to it.

The Lord loves who walk simply. (Proverbs 12:22)

Their humility, their simple trust in God, make it easier for them to turn within and follow the Lord’s Spirit. They are more qualified than most. You see, these simple believers are not accustomed to analyzing; they do not have the habit of discussing the issues of everything; and they are quick to let go of their own opinions.

Yes, they do lack a great deal of education and religious training; therefore they are freer and quicker to follow the leading of the Spirit. Other people—more gifted, better educated, trained in theology—are often cramped and even blinded by their spiritual wealth! Such a person very often offers greater resistance to the inner anointing and to the leading of the Lord’s Spirit.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Praying The Bible - Wesley Campbell
Good Morning Holy Spirit - Benny Hinn
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...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

The Constant State - Chapter 22b

2007-11-04T23:34:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Now In this state of rest, is your soul active or passive? It is active! You are not in a passive state, even if you are resting. By what activity could there be resting? You are resting in the act of abiding in His love/ Can that be activity? Yes! Inside your spirit there is an act going on. It is a sweet sinking into Deity.

The inward attraction—the magnetic pull—becomes more and more powerful. Your soul, dwelling in love, is drawn by this powerful attraction and sinks continually deeper into that love.

So you see, this inward activity has become far greater than it was when your soul first began to turn inward. Under the powerful attraction of God drawing you into Himself, the inward activity has increased.

The difference is that at the outset the activity was more outward; now the activity has moved inside; it has become deep, inward, hidden and outwardly imperceptible.

To that Christian who is totally given up to God (that is, a Christian in whom this activity is taking place continually), there is not even an awareness of all these things! He cannot sense this activity because it is all a direct inward turning to God. Nothing is outward or surface.

This is the reason that some Christians who have touched upon this state have reported that they do nothing, that there is no activity and no turning taking place within them.

Unwittingly, they are mistaken about their own internal state; they are, in fact, more active than ever before and are continually turning to God. (they act each time they turn inward and return to God.)

The better report would be to say that they do not sense any distinct activity, not that they have no activity within.

Oh, it is true that they are not acting (or turning) of themselves. However, they are being drawn, and they are following the attraction. Love is the weight which sinks them.

If you were to fall into the sea, and were that sea infinite, you would fall from one depth to another for all eternity. This is how it is with a Christian who is in that place of continuous abiding. He is not even aware of his descent. And yet he is sinking with inconceivable swiftness to the most inward depths of God.

We are now at a point where we can draw some conclusions concerning the subject of this chapter.

First, let us not say we do not form the act of turning to God. We do! Each of us does turn within. The way we do it, that is a different matter. The way we turn within is not the same for everyone.

Here is the error, though, of the new Christian. Every person who desires to turn to God to abide with Him just naturally expects to feel the Lord’s presence and to experience Him outwardly.

This just cannot always be.

The outward experience is for the beginner! There are other experiences; these experiences are much deeper and far more inward. Such deeper experiences are laid hold of by these Christians who have progressed somewhat in spiritual experience.

Is the outward feeling of the Lord’s presence to be disdained?
Most certainly not!

It is true that the outward acts are very week touches of the Lord; and furthermore, they are of little value. For you to stop there is to deprive yourself of the deeper experience of a more mature Christian.

But—and you should be very clear about this—it is a great error for the new Christian—for you –to attempt a deep, inner walk without first experiencing the outward turning to Christ and knowing that outward sense of His presence.

The writer of Ecclesiastes said it: “To everything there is a season.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) This is especially true of your soul. Every state of transformation the soul passes through has a beginning, a progress, and a consummation. To stop at the beginning of any one of these stages is foolish. You must go through a period of learning, then a period of progress. At first you toil diligently, but at last you reap the fruit of your labor!

Let me illustrate. When sailors first take a ship out of port, it is difficult to head her out to sea. They must use all their strength to get that ship clear of the harbor. But once she is at sea she moves easily in whatever direction the seamen choose.

It is the sane with you as you begin to turn within to God. You are like that ship. At first you are very strongly bound by sin and by self. Only through a great deal of repeated effort are you turned within. But eventually those ropes which bind you have to loosen!

Keep on turning within!

Do so despite every failure! Despite all the distractions that pull you away!

If you will remain faithful and strong in this continual turning, gradually you will push off from the port of self. Leaving it far behind, you will head for the interior to an inner abiding with God, for that is your destination.

What happens once the ship has left port? She moves farther and farther out into the deep sea, and the farther from port she goes, the easier she moves.

There comes a time at last, when she can use her sails! Her oars become useless. They are laid aside! Now her course is swift!

And what does the pilot do? He is content to spread sails and hold the rudder. All he does now is keep the swiftly moving vessel gently on its course.

“To spread the sails” is to lay yourself before God in simple prayer. “To spread the sails” is to be moved by His spirit.

“To hold the rudder” is to keep your heart from wandering away from its true course. “To hold the rudder” is to recall the heart, gently. You guide it firmly by the moving of the Spirit of God.

Now as you begin to move into Him, He will gradually gain possession of your heart. He gains it in the same way—little by little—that the gentle breeze fills the sails and moves the ship forward.

When the winds are favorable, the pilot rests from his work. The pilot rests and leaves the ship to be moved by the wind. Oh what progress they make without becoming the least bit tired!

They are making more progress in one hour then they ever did before, even when exerting all their strength. If the oars were used now, it would only slow the ship and cause fatigue. The oars are useless and unnecessary.

You have just seen a description of your proper inward course.

If God is your mover, you will go much father in a short time than all your repeated self-effort could ever do.

Dear reader, try this path! You will eventually find it to be the easiest in the world.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Praying The Bible - Wesley Campbell
Good Morning Holy Spirit - Benny Hinn
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...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

The Constant State - Chapter 22a

2007-10-14T00:04:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

We will begin this chapter with this simple point: Your Spiritual experiences fall into two categories—those that are external (surface) and those that take place internally, deep within your being. There are activities or actions that you form: some are surface; some are deeper.

Your external activities are those which can be seen outwardly. They have to do with, more or less, physical things. Now this you must see: There is no real goodness in them, no spiritual growth in them, and very little experience of Christ!

Of course, there is an exception: If your outward actions are as result (a by-product) of something that has taken place deep within you, then these outward actions do receive spiritual value and they do possess real goodness. But outward activities have only as much spiritual value as they receive from their source.

Our way therefore, is clear. We must give our full attention to those activities that take place deep within our innermost being. These are the activities of the Spirit. The Spirit is inward, not outward. You turn inward to your spirit and in so doing, turn away from outward activities and outward distractions.

Inward activity begins by simply turning within to Jesus Christ, for that is where He is within your spirit.

You should continually be turning within to God.

Give Him all your attention; pour out all the strength of your being purely on Him.

Reunite all the motions of your heart in the holiness of God. (Apocrypha)

David expressed it so well when he said, “I will keep my whole strength for you.” (Psalm 59:9)

How is this done? By earnestly turning to God, who is always there within you.

Isaiah said, “return to your heart.” (Isaiah 46:8) Each of us by sinning, has turned from our heart, and it is only the heart that God desires.

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. (Proverbs 23:26)

What does it mean to give your whole heart to God? To give your whole heart to God is to have all the energy of your soul always centered on Him.

It is in this way we are conformed to His will.

If you are new in this new voyage, your spirit is not yet strong. Your soul is easily turned to outward, physical things; it is very easy for you to become distracted from the Lord your Center.

How far you turn away from Him will depend on how much you yield to the distractions and how far you allow yourself to be drawn away to surface things. In like manner, the means you use to return to God will depend on how far you have turned from Him. If you have only turned slightly, only the slightest turning again will be necessary.

As soon as you notice yourself straying from the Lord, you should deliberately turn your attention within to the living God. Re—enter your spirit; return at once to that place where you really belong: in Him. The more complete the turning is, the more complete will be your return to the Lord.

Rest assured that you will remain there—in God—just as long as your attention is centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ. What will hold you there? You will be held there by the powerful influence of that simple, unpretentious turning of your heart to God.

Repeat this simple turning within to the Lord again and again, as often as you are distracted. Be assured that eventually this turning will become your consistent experience.

But what will you do until then?

Until then simply keep returning to Him each time you have wandered away. When something is repeated over and over it becomes a habit. This is true even of your soul. After much practice your soul forms the habit of turning inward to God.

In other words, the more you progress in Christ, the more you continually abide in Him, without repeatedly straying and having to return. Your turning will become less and less outward. Eventually the turning will become imperceptible as a surface or conscious, action and will take place deep within you.

What began as something quite sporadic—something that was a conscious, deliberate action—becomes habitual and continuous, without interruption. A continuous inner act of abiding begins to take place within you.*

What do I mean by this continuous inner abiding?

To be continuously turned deep inside simply means that, having turned within to God—by a direct act—you have remained in His presence. You have no further need to keep turning to Christ; You already abide with Him in the chambers of your spirit. The only time you need to make a point of turning again is when your abiding is interrupted for some reason.

At this point in your spiritual life, you should not concern yourself with trying to turn to the Lord by any outward means. You will even find it difficult to make a deliberate, outward act of turning when you have begun this inner abiding.

You see, you are already turned within to the Lord; any outward activity will only draw you away from your union with Him.

To form the act of turning within, that is the goal! When this act has been formed in you, it will express itself as a continual abiding of your spirit and a continuous exchange of love between you and the Lord. Once the goal is attained, there is no longer any need to seek after it by outward acts. You may forget the outward act of trying to love the Lord and to be loved by Him. Instead just continue on as you are. You should simply remain near to God by this continuous inner abiding.

In this state of continually being turned to God, you are abiding in the love of God, and the man who abides in love abides in God. (I John 4:16) You rest. But what does that mean? You rest in the continuously inward act of abiding.

*for some Christians, this abiding with God comes slowly, by degrees. Progress is gauged only as seen over an extended period of time. For other Christians, there is a continuous abiding form the very beginning. It does not matter ahich lot God has decreed for you. Simply keep turning within.

Get the book for yourself!

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Praying The Bible - Wesley Campbell
Good Morning Holy Spirit - Benny Hinn
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...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

"Prayer Requests - Chapter 17

2007-07-01T21:59:00.000-06:00

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Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”.

As you continue in this venture with Christ—this venture that began as a simple way of prayer—yet another experience may await you. It is this: Do not be too surprised if you find you are no longer able to offer up prayers of petition.

You may find that prayers of request become more difficult. Yes it is true that in the past you offered up petitions and requests with complete ease. Until now, praying this way was never difficult. But in this new relationship with your Lord, it is the Spirit who prays! And as the Spirit prays, He helps your weakness. He is making intercession for you. And He is praying according to the will of God.

For we do not know how to pray as we should; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:28)

There is your will; there is God’s will. There is your plan; there is God’s plan. There is your prayer; there is His prayer. You must agree to His plans. He takes from you all your own workings so that His may be substituted in their place.

Therefore, yield. Let God do in you what He will.

In His prayers, which He prays, there is also His will. Let Him pray. Give up your own prayers; give up your own desires and your own requests. Yes you have a will; Yes you have desires and your own requests. Nevertheless, let Him have the will, the desire, that is the prayers He prays.

But this relationship goes even deeper.

In order for God to have that which is found in His prayer, then you, the one praying, must give up your attachment to everything. This means you must live a life in which there is nothing you want! Be attached to nothing, no matter how good it is or appears to be.

Reading from ”Good Morning Holy Spirit” by Benny Hinn

Are you ready to meet the Holy Spirit intimately and personally? Do you want to hear his voice? Are you prepared to know Him as a person?

That’s exactly as it happened to me and it drastically transformed my life. It was an intensely personal experience, and it was based on God’s word.

You may ask, “Was it the result of a systematic Bible Study?” No, it happened when I invited the Holy Spirit to be my personal friend. To be my constant guide. To take me by the hand and lead me “into all truth.” What He will uncover and reveal to you in scripture will make your study of the bible come alive.

What I am about to share with you began the moment the Holy Spirit entered my room in December 1973, and it has never stopped. Here is the only difference: I know Him infinitely better today than I did when we first met.

Let’s start with the basics, The Holy Spirit changed my life. He was with me from the moment I asked Christ to come into my heart and became born again. Then came the time when I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was filled with the Spirit. I spoke in tongues. He imparted His presence and His gifts. So many Christians have received that experience and stop right there. They fail to realize that what has happened at Pentecost was only one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But what I want you to know is this: beyond salvation, beyond being baptized in water, beyond the infilling of the Spirit, the third person of the trinity is waiting for you to meet Him personally. He yearns for a life long relationship. And that is what you are about to discover.

When the Holy Spirit and I met, that is what began to happen. I began to discover things about his personality that changed me as a Christian. Salvation transformed me as a person but the Spirit had a tremendous effect on my Christian walk.

As I began to know the Holy Spirit, I became sensitive to Him and learned what grieves Him—and what pleases Him. What He likes and what He doesn’t like. What gets Him angry and what makes Him happy. I came to understand the Bible itself was written by the Holy Spirit. He used men of all walks of life but every one of them was led by the Spirit.

For so long I struggled to understand the Bible. Then came the day I looked up and said, “Wonderful Holy Spirit. Would you please tell me what you mean by this?” And He spoke. He revealed the Word to me…

… I fell to my knees and. I was honest and transparent when I said, “Precious Holy Spirit, I want to know you.” I will never forget how nervous I was. But from day I have grown to know Him like a brother. Truly He is a member of the family.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

The Scripture - Chapter 16

2007-06-30T23:14:00.000-06:00

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For the last few chapters we have been discussing a deeper experience of Christ, and in the last chapter we looked at how to deal with sins and confession. Let us now go on to consider what other experiences with Him go deeper still.

Let us take the Scripture first. Is there a deeper use you can make of the Scripture than has been mentioned up until now?

Remember please, from an earlier chapter that reading the Scripture is a way into prayer. Remember, too, that what you read may become prayer. Is there yet more scripture can provide? Yes you can use the Scripture in yet a more refined manner than has been mentioned before. Let us consider that way. I will give you a brief, practical description.

First come before the Lord and begin to read. Stop reading just as soon as you feel yourself being drawn inwardly. Stop reading when you feel the Lord drawing you in your inward parts to Himself. Now simply remain in stillness. Stay there for a while. Then momentarily, proceed with your reading; but read only a little. Always cease reading each time you feel a divine attraction drawing you deeper within.

What can you expect beyond this state?

From time to time you will begin to touch a state of inward silence. What shall be your response to such an experience? One thing is this: no longer burden yourself with spoken prayer. (At this time, to pray out loud, or in any conventional way, would only draw you back from an inward experience and draw you back to an outward, surface prayer.)

You will be attracted to silence so there is no reason to force yourself to speak.

But if you do not speak, what shall you do? Nothing! Simply yield to the inward drawing! Yield to the wooing of your spirit. Your spirit is drawing you deeper within.

One other word.

In all your experience of Christ, it is wisest for you to stay away from any set form, or pattern, or way. Instead, be wholly given up to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

By following your spirit, every encounter you have with the Lord is one that is perfect… no matter what the encounter is like.

Reading from Good morning Holy Spirit?

The minute my work was finished I went home and rushed upstairs and just started talking to Him. “Oh Holy Spirit, I’m so glad to be back here alone with you.” Yes He was always with me, but my bedroom became a very sacred, special place. Sometimes, when I wasn’t working I stayed home all day just having a personal communication with Him.

What was I doing? Having fellowship. Fellowship with the Spirit. And when I wasn’t at work or in my room, I tried to go to church. But I didn’t tell anyone what was happening to me. When I left the house in the morning He left with me. I actually felt someone beside me. On the bus I’d feel the urge to start talking with Him, but I didn’t want people to think I was crazy. Even at work, there were times when I whispered things to Him. At lunch, He was my companion. But day after day, when I got home, I hopped up those stairs, locked the door to my room, and said, “now we are alone.” My spiritual journey continued.

Let me explain that many times I wasn’t aware of His presence. I knew He was with me, but I became so accustomed to Him that I did not feel the electricity of those special times.

But other people felt it. Many times when my friends came to see me, they began weeping because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Once Jim Poynter called to say, “I want to pick you up and take you to a Methodist Church where I am singing. You can sing with me if you’d like.” I wasn’t really a singer, but I helped him out once in a while.

That afternoon I was once again lost in the anointing of God’s Spirit. Then I heard Jim honking the horn. I ran downstairs and to the car, I actually felt the Lord’s presence running with me. The moment I Jumped into the front seat and shut the door. Jim began to weep. He began to sing that chorus, Hallelujah!, Hallelujah! He turned to me and said, “Benny, I can feel the Holy Spirit in this car! Of course His presence is in this car where else would it be? To me it had become the norm. But Jim could hardly drive. He continued to weep before the Lord.

Once, my mother was cleaning in the hallway while I was in my room talking with the Holy Spirit. When I came out, she was thrown right back. Something had knocked her against the wall. I said, “whats wrong with you Mama? She answered, “ I don’t know” Well the presence of the Lord almost knocked her down.

As time went on I lost my desire just to go out with the young people at church to have fun. I just wanted to be with the Lord. So often I said, “Lord, I’d reather have this than anything the world can offer.” They could have their games, their entertainment, their football—I just didn’t need it.

“What I want is what I have right now,” I told the Lord. “Whatever it is , don’t let it quit.” I began to understand more fully Paul’s desire for “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

A New Look at Confession Of Sin - Chapter 15b

2007-06-17T22:01:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Let us go on a little farther now and consider confession of sin

There is awaiting you a higher understanding and a higher experience of confession and repentance. Should you truly desire to walk these paths, you should be aware of something about confession of sin which is generally misunderstood.

In the past when you have confessed your sins to your Lord, you have most likely felt regret for those sins, have you not?

There is a higher experience of repentance, and there is a deeper experience of confession of sin, than the feeling of regret. In fact, you will find those feelings of regret replaced by something else—replaced by a love and tranquility. That love, that tranquility sweetly saturates your soul and, having saturated it thoroughly, takes full possession of it.

Repentance that is sweet? Confession of sin that brings love and tranquility? If you have never bee instructed in such matters, you will naturally want to resist this love.
You ill instead have a human inclination to try to produce a sorrowful, contrite attitude before God.

It has often been told you that a sorrowful, contrite heart over your sins is a thing well pleasing to God. This is true.

But consider this: Trying by your own effort to produce a contrite heart causes you to lose genuine repentance. What is genuine repentance? Have you ever had the experience of real, genuine repentance? Think back, was it not a deep felling of love pouring itself out within you?

It is that love, that deep sense of love within you which is a more purer and much higher expression of repentance; higher than anything you could probably reproduce by your own effort. This love takes all other feelings of repentance, sums them all up into one, and expresses the totality of repentance much more perfectly than if each part of repentance were individually expressed to the Lord.

When the Lord has established this relationship in your life, you will not need to trouble yourself to produce your feelings about your sin. God is working His expression of repentance into you in such a pure way.

God hates sin and to experience a repentance which is given to you wholly of God will bring you to hate sin as He hates it.

Dear reader, do not be anxious and do not be so eager for action. The purest love you can ever know is that love which comes to you when the Lord I working on your soul. So let Him work. You must remain in the place He assigns to you. Agree with the instruction of the wise man who said:

Put your confidence in God; remain quiet where He has placed you. (Apocrypha)

As you walk on in this experience we have just described, you will notice something. You will be amazed at how difficult it is to remember your sins! Forget your sins? Is this proper? Yes! And such an experience should not cause you to be uneasy. You see, forgetting your sins is a proof of you having been cleansed from them.

It is a good thing to have forgotten your sins. It is best you forget anything that concerns you so that you can remember only God.

Keep in mind that what has been presented in this chapter is a higher experience of confession and a deeper experience of repentance; yet you can be absolutely certain that as you experience the Lord this way, He does not allow your sins to be unexposed. On the other hand, if you do the exposing, much may be left undiscovered. That is not the case when it is the Lord who is examining you! Unlike you, He will bring all your faults to the light. Therefore leave your examination to God. You will find your heart far more revealed than if you had tried to do it by your own efforts.

Dear reader this must be made very clear: These instructions are not applicable to a Christian living on the level of experience in which the soul is still in the active state. These instructions are not for the soul that is still active. On that level of experience it is altogether right--and necessary --that the soul exert itself in dealing with sin.

The soul of the Christian exerts itself in proportion to where it is in spiritual advancement. The more the soul advance toward its center—that is, the farther it is removed from the surface—the less the soul exerts itself. (This is true in dealing with sin, in dealing with confession of sin, and in all other involvements of life as well.)
Should you come to know this more advance level, I exhort you no matter what your circumstances, to begin all your comings to the Lord by a very simple quiet waiting before Him.

In doing so, you allow Him to act freely within you. He can never be better received than by Himself.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

" A New Look At Self Examination" - Chapter 15a

2007-06-10T22:42:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Where does confession of sin and examination of your life concerning sin fit into the life of a Christian following this path? How does he deal with these important matters? Let us take this chapter to open up a clearer, higher view of self-examination and of confession of sin.

It is commonly taught that self-examination is something that should always precede confession of sin. Though this may be correct, the manner of the self-examination is dictated by the level of your Christian experience.

I would recommend for a Christian whose spiritual state has actually advanced to the stage which was described in the preceding chapters that when you come to the Lord concerning sin and confession, you do this: Lay your entire soul open before God. You can be certain that the Lord will not will not fail to enlighten you concerning your sin. Your Lord will shine as a light in you; through His shining, He will allow you to see the nature of all your faults.

You might say that when this brilliant light, which is Christ Himself, shine on you and in you, you are under examination. An examination is being given to you by God when this happens. Since it is your Lord who is doing this, and no one else, you should simply remain peaceful and calm before Him as He carries out this exposing.

Depend upon your Lord, not on yourself, to expose your sin and to show you the extent of your sin.

Please understand this fact: It is not your diligence, it is not your examination of yourself that will enlighten you concerning your sin. In stead it is God who does all the revealing.

You see, if you try to be the one who does the examining, there is a very good chance that you will deceive yourself. You will never really allow yourself to see your true state. That is the simple fact about the nature of your own self-love. “We call the evil good, and the good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Ah not so when you come to your Lord. He can be so thorough, so exacting, and so demanding! There before Him you are in full exposure before the Sun of Righteousness. His divine beams make even your smallest faults visible. You must abandon yourself into the hands of God, both in self-examination and in the confession of your sins.

A Christian does not begin his spiritual experience with the Lord on this level which I am describing. On the other hand, he can, through this “prayer of simplicity”, eventually arrive at this level.

Once you have established such a relationship with your Lord, you will soon discover that no fault in you escapes the reproof of God. For instance, as soon as you commit a sin, you are immediately rebuked by an inward sense. It will be a kind of deep inward burning…a tender confusion. You see, all things are exposed under the piercing glance of your Lord. He will not allow any sin to be hidden or concealed.

As for you, when the Lord has firmly established this relationship, you will have the sense that He has so completely found you out that each time His light focuses on the sin in your life, you have only one course. All you can do is turn very simply to Him and there bear all the pain and correction He inflicts.

Continue in this experience with your Lord. After a period of time of experiencing Him this way, the Lord will become more and more the constant examiner of your soul. It will not be you examining yourself, nor will it be seasonal. It will be the Lord, constantly.

If you remain faithful in giving yourself up to the Lord this way, you will come to realize that the divine light of your Lord can really reveal your heart far more effectively that all your efforts could.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

"Silence" - Chapter 14

2007-05-27T23:20:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

The point to which this venture has led us is a state of silence and continuous prayer.

Let us go back a little a take a closer look at this matter of silence. Why, for instance, is being silent before the Lord when you first come to Him so important? First of all it is because of your fallen nature is opposed to God’s nature. The two of you are not at all alike. Secondly, Jesus Christ is the Word, the speaking Word. He can be heard! But for the Word (Jesus Christ) to be received by you, your nature must be made to correspond to His nature.

Let me illustrate further.

Consider the act of hearing. Listening is a passive sense. If you ever want to hear anything, you must yield a passive ear.

Jesus Christ is the eternal Word. He and He alone, is the source of new life to you. For you to have new life, He must be communicated to you. He can speak. He can communicate. He can impart new life. And when He desires to speak to you, He demands the most intense attention to His voice.

Hearken unto Me, My people. And give ear unto Me, Oh My nation. (Isaiah 51:4

Hear Me, all you whom I carry in My bosom, and bear within My bowels (Isaiah 46:3)

Hearken, oh daughter, and consider and incline your ear; forget also your own people, and your father’s house; so shall the king greatly desire your beauty. (Psalm 45:10-11)

Here is how to acquire this habit of silence. First of all, forget yourself. That is lay aside all self-interest.

Secondly, listen attentively to God.

These two simple actions will gradually begin to produce in you a love of that beauty which is the Lord Jesus. This beauty is inwrought in you by Him.

One other thing. Try to find a quiet place. Outward silence develops inward silence; an outward silence improves inward silence as it begins to take root in your life.

It is impossible for you to really become inward, that is, to live in your inner most being where Christ lives without loving silence and retirement.

Hosea said it well:

I will lead her into solitude, And there I will speak to her heart (Hosea 2:14)

You are to be completely occupied, inwardly, with God. Of course, this is impossible if, at the same time, you are outwardly busied with a thousand trifles.

The Lord is at the center of your being; therefore, He must become the center of your being.

What are you going to do when you become drawn away from this God who is your center? No matter what it is that draws you away, whether weakness or lack of faith, you must immediately turn within once more.

Be ready to turn within, again and again, no matter how often you are drawn away. Be ready to repeat this turning just as often as distractions occur.

It is not enough to be turned inwardly to your Lord an hour or two each day. There is little value in being turned within to the Lord unless the end result is an anointing and a spirit of prayer which continues with you during the whole day.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Abundance - Chapter 13

2007-05-15T20:47:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

In the last chapter, we spoke of entering into a deeper level of experience with Jesus Christ.

At the very outset of this journey, you found that the only preparation you needed was a quiet waiting before God. The same is true in this new level of experience. This is no longer a rare experience, nor an occasional experience; gradually it becomes your daily experience. The presence of God begins to be poured forth within you. Eventually it will become yours almost without intermission.

In the beginning, you were led into His presence by prayer; but now, as prayer continues, the prayer actually becomes His presence. In fact, we can no longer say that it is prayer that continues. It is actually His presence that continues with you. This is beyond prayer. Now a heavenly blessedness is yours. You begin to discover That God is more intimately present to you than you are to yourself, and a great awareness of The Lord begins to come to you.

I have said previously about each one of these experiences with the Lord, that the only way to find Him is by turning within. It is there and there alone, you can find Him. Now you will discover that as soon as you close your eyes you are enveloped in prayer. You will be amazed that He has blessed you so much.

It is at this point, therefore that it is proper to introduce you to yet another experience; one that takes place deep within you.

There is born within you an internal conversation with God.

This conversation is highly enjoyable, and the most amazing thing about it is that no outward circumstances can interrupt it.

Now you see just how far that simple prayer you began with can lead you! The same thing can be said of the “prayer of simplicity” that was said of wisdom: “All good things come together in her.” (Apocrypha)

And the same thing can be said of this deeper experience with the Lord. Godliness flows so sweetly and so easily from within the believer who has advanced this far that it even seems too be His very nature that pours itself out with much sweetness and ease. The spring of living water within the spirit breaks forth abundantly, producing every kind of goodness.

And what of sin? Sin seems so far removed from the believer at this point that he is hardly even aware of it.

When you have entered into this deeper realm of experience with Jesus Christ, what should be your response to circumstance, to outward events? Simply to remain in this state. Rest quietly before the Lord. Let this simple, quiet rest in Him always be your preparation for everything. You must keep this in your mind: Your only purpose is to be filled to overflowing with the divine presence of Jesus Christ and , deep within you, to be prepared to receive from Him anything He chooses to bestow upon you.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

“Continual Prayer” - Chapter 12b

2007-05-15T20:23:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Chapter 12b – “Continual Prayer”
This experience with Christ has its beginning in a simply way to pray. Gradually, though it goes on from there. The experience deepens until the fullness of grace completely stills the activity of the self. Therefore, you see why it is of the greatest importance that you remain as quieted as possible.

May I illustrate this again? When a baby is born, it draws milk from its mother’s breast by moving its lips. However once the milk begins to flow, the child simply swallows without any further effort. If the baby continued any effort, it would hurt itself, spill the milk, and have to quit nursing. This must be your attitude in prayer. You must act this same way, especially in the beginning. Draw ever so gently. But as the Lord flows out of your spirit into your soul, cease all activity.

How do you begin? By moving your lips, by stirring up the affections of your love for the Lord. As soon as the milk of divine love is flowing freely, be still—do nothing. Rather, very simply and sweetly, take in that grace and love. When this grace, this sense of the Lord’s love ceases to flow, it is time once again to stir up your affections. How? Just as the infant does by moving its lips.

All this time remain very quiet. If you bring yourself to the Lord in some other way, you will not make the best use of this grace. You see, the sense of the Lord’s presence has been given to you, by the Lord, to allure you into a restful experience of love. It goes without saying that His presence has not been given to you to stir up an activity of the self.

Let us return to the illustration of the nursing baby.

Let us say that the baby has drunk gently of the milk and has done so completely without effort. Now what happens? You would have to admit that all of us find it hard to believe that we could receive nourishment in such a passive way, as a baby receives his. And yet, look at the baby: the peaceful it nurses, the better it thrives. So I will ask the question again: What becomes of the little baby after it has nursed?

It falls asleep on its mother’s breast.

It is the same way with your soul. When the Christian has become calm and peaceful in prayer, he frequently sinks into a sort of mystical sleep; or to put it another way, the powers of his soul are completely at rest.

It is here, at this point, that you begin to be introduced to yet a deeper level of experience. The Christian now begins to touch on an experience of complete rest before the Lord.

The mind is at rest, the soul is at rest; the whole being has come to a gentle, quiet and peaceful calm before the Lord. Nothing disturbs it. At first you will experience this only occasionally, but eventually your soul will come to experience this state of rest frequently.

Be sure of this: Your soul will be led into this experience without effort, without trouble, and without skill. And all you need to do is to continue with the Lord each day, waiting for Him to deepen your experience with Him.

Let us look closer at what has just been said.

The interior life, that is, the inward life of the spirit, is not a place that is taken by storm or violence. That inward kingdom, that realm within you, is a place of peace. It can only be gained by love.

If you will simply pursue the path I have pointed out until now, you will be led to this quiet place of rest. And beyond this rest lies yet another experience—that of continual prayer.

When we speak of continual prayer, we are speaking of a prayer that originates within. It originates there and works out, filling and permeating your whole being. Nor is this a difficult matter. Actually, God demands nothing extraordinary. On the contrary, He is very pleased by a simple, childlike conduct.

I would even put it this way: The highest spiritual attainments are really the ones that are the most easily reached. The things that are most important are the things that are the least difficult!

Again, this can be illustrated in nature.

Let us say that you wish to reach the sea. How will you get there? You need to do nothing except embark upon a river. Eventually you will be carried to the sea with out any trouble, with out any self-effort.

Now would you like to go into God? Then return to the early thoughts that we presented at the beginning of this little book. Follow this sweet and simple path. Continue on it, and eventually you will arrive at your desired object. You will arrive at God and with a speed never imagined.

Then what is lacking? Nothing! You need only to make the trail effort.

If you will make that initial effort, you will find that what I have said is really far too little to express the discovery that lies ahead. Your own experience with Jesus Christ will carry you infinitely beyond even this level.

What is there for you to fear? Dear child of God, why do you not instantly cast yourself into the arms of Love?

The only reason He extended those arms on the cross was so He might embrace you. Tell me, what possible risk do you take in depending solely on God? What risk do you run by abandoning yourself completely to Him? The Lord will not deceive you (that is unless it is to bestow on you more abundance than you ever imagined). However, those who expect all of these things from the Lord by self-effort will hear the Lord’s rebuke: “you have wearied yourselves in the multiplicity of your ways, and have not said, Let us rest in peace.” (Isaiah 57:10)

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

"Continual Prayer" - Chapter 12a

2007-05-06T20:12:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

If you remain faithful on the things touched on up until now, you will be astonished to feel the Lord gradually taking possession of your whole being. I would like to remind you that this book was not written for your enjoyment. Neither is it presenting just some method of prayer. The purpose of this book is to offer a way in which the Lord Jesus can take full possession of you.

As the Lord gradually begins to do this, to take full possession of you, it is true that you will begin to enjoy a sense of His presence. You will find that this sense of the Lord’s Presence will become very natural to you. Both the prayer with which you first began and a sense of His presence which comes with that prayer, will eventually become a normal part of your daily experience.

An unusual serenity and peacefulness will gradually spread over your soul. Your whole prayer, your whole experience, will begin to enter upon a new level.

What is this new level? It is prayer. Prayer that consists of silence. And while in this silence, God pours into you a deep inward love. This experience of love is one that will fill and permeate your whole being. There is no way to describe this experience , this encounter. I would only say that this love which the Lord pours into your depths is the beginning of an indescribable blessedness.

I wish it were possible in this little book to tell you some of the levels of endless experiences you can have with the Lord, experiences that come out of this encounter with God. But I must remember that this little book is written for beginners. Therefore, I trust on some future day I will be able to relate these deeper experiences to you.

There is one thing I will say, however. When you come to the Lord, gradually learn to have a quiet mind before Him. One of the most important things you can do is cease from any self-effort. In this way, God Himself can act all alone. It was the Psalmist speaking for the Lord who said, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

This verse gives you an insight into your own mind. Your self nature becomes so pleasantly attached to its own efforts that it simply cannot believe that anything is going on within your spirit. Unless the mind is able to feel and understand, it refuses to believe the spirit is having the experience.

The reason you are sometimes unable to feel God’s working within you is that the work is fully within the realm of the spirit, and not in the mind. Sometimes God’s workings in you are quite rapid, and yet the mind is not aware that you are making progress. The workings of God in you, always increasing more and more, are absorbing the workings of your self.

Let me illustrate this.

During the night the stars shine very brightly, but as the sun begins to come up, the stars gradually vanish. Actually the stars are still there; they have not stopped shining; but the sun is so much brighter that you cannot see them. The same is true in spiritual matters. There is a strong and universal light which absorbs all the smaller lights of your soul. The smaller lights of your soul grow fainter and eventually disappear under the powerful light of your Spirit. Self activity is no longer able to be distinguished or noticed.

Self-effort becomes swallowed up in the working of God.

Sometimes the question is raised, “Is not this prayer experience one of inactivity? The question would not even be asked if it were preceded by experience. If you will make some effort to obtain this experience of prayer, this deeper experience of Jesus Christ, you will be full of light and understanding concerning the state of your soul. No, the soul is not inactive-at least not because of barrenness or lack –but has become still because of great abundance.

The Christian who has laid a hold of this encounter will understand this and will recognize that this silence is rich, full, and alive! This silence is coming forth from a storehouse of plenty!

You see there are two kinds of people who keep silent. The first is one who has nothing to say, and the other is who has too much to say. In the case of this deeper encounter with the Lord, the latter is true. Silence is produced from excess, not from lack. To die of thirst is one thing; to be drowned is quite another. Yet water causes both. In one it is the lack of water, and in the other too much water causes death.

This experience with Christ has its beginning in a simply way to pray. Gradually, though it goes on from there. The experience deepens until the fullness of grace completely stills the activity of the self. Therefore, you see why it is of the greatest importance that you remain as quieted as possible.

"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne GuyonDownload QuickTime Player
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Toward the Center - Chapter 11

2007-04-08T22:29:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon
In the last chapter we discussed dealing with the outward senses. Here was our conclusion: If at any time you find your desires stirred up, those senses can best be deadened by a gentle retreat inward to a present God. Any other way of opposing your restless senses will merely stimulate them further.

As you come into this deeper level of knowing the Lord, you will eventually come ot discover a principle I will call the law of central tendency.

What do I mean by the law of central tendency? As you continue holding your soul deep in your inward parts, you will discover that God has a magnetic attracting quality! Your God is like a magnet! The Lord naturally draws you more and more toward Himself.

The next thing you notice is this: As you move toward the center, the Lord purifies you of all the things that are not of Him.

This is illustrated in nature. Observe the ocean. The water in the ocean begins to evaporate. Then the vapor begins moving towards the sun. As the vapor leaves the earth, it is full of impurities; however as it ascends, it becomes more refined and purified.

What did the vapor do?

The vapor did nothing. It simply remained passive. The purifying took place as the vapor was drawn up into the heavens!

There is one difference between your soul and those vapors. Although the vapor can only be passive, you have the privilege of cooperating voluntarily with the Lord as HE draws you inwardly toward Himself.

When your soul is once turned toward God—the God who dwells within your spirit—you will find it easy to keep turning within. The longer you continue to turn within, the closer you will become to God and the more firmly you will cling to Him. Of course, the closer you are drawn to God, the farther you are removed from the activities of your natural man. The natural man, to be sure, is very opposed to you inward drawing toward God. Nonetheless, there will come a point when you will finally be established in having turned within. From that point on, it will be natural for you to live before the Lord! In the past it was natural for you to live on the surface of your being; now it will be habit to live in the center of your being where your Lord dwells.

May I remind you that you are like the vapors ascending to the heavens; you must not think that you can bring all this about by exerting your efforts. The only thing you can do –actually the only thing you should attempt to do—is to keep withdrawing yourself from the external objects. Keep turning from external objects and keep turning within to your spirit. There is very little you should ever do, but that one thing can do! Yes you are capable of that much cooperation with divine grace.

Beyond that though, you have nothing more to do but continue firmly holding on to your Lord. At the outset of this venture, all this may seem somewhat difficult to you; but be assured that this kind of inward turning becomes very easy. You will advance spiritually very naturally and effortlessly.

Again, this is because God has a magnetic attraction. He is within you, always drawing you to Himself.

You can see this principle in the natural elements. The center of anything always exerts a very powerful drawing force. That fact is even more true in the spiritual realm. On the one hand, there is a drawing force in the center of your being; it is powerful and irresistible. And on the other hand, there is a very strong tendency in every man to be reunited to his center. The center is not only drawing the object away from the surface, but the object itself tends toward the center!

As you become more perfected in Christ, this tendency to be drawn within to the Lord becomes stronger and more active.

What might slow down the process of this central tendency?

Only some obstacle which stands between the outer object (you) and the inward magnet (Christ). As soon as anything turns toward the center, it will rush there very rapidly unless it is hindered.

Take for instance, a stone. When you drop a stone from your hand, what does it do? It immediately falls to the earth from whence it once came. The stone returns to its original source. The same is true of fire and water. They always seek to return to their centers.

Your soul, once it begins to turn inward, is brought under this same law of central tendency. It too gradually falls toward its proper center, which is God. The soul needs no other force to draw it than the weight of Love.

The more passive and peaceful you remain, the more quickly you will advance toward God. The freer you are from exerting your own effort, the more quickly you will move toward your Lord.

Why is this? Because there is a divine energy drawing you. When this divine energy is completely unhindered, He has complete liberty to draw you just as He pleases.

Jesus Christ is the great magnet of your soul, but of your soul only. He will not draw the impurities and mixtures that are mingled with it. Any such impurities prevent His full power of attraction.

If there is no mixture in your soul, the soul would instantly rush toward the all-powerful, irresistible God within to be lost in Him. But if you are loaded down with many material possessions—or anything else—this attraction is greatly hindered. Many Christians seize some part of this world or some part of self with so tight a grip that they spend their whole lives making only a snail’s progress toward their Center.

Thank God, sometimes your Lord, out of His boundless love strikes the burden violently from your hand. It is then that you realize just how very much you have been hindered and held back. Dear Christian, only allow everything to drop. How? Simply withdraw your hands from self; withdraw your hands from every other person and all things. Of course, that is something of a sacrifice. It can even be called a crucifixion.

But you will be amazed to find that there is only a very short space between your sacrifice and your resurrection!

Is it proper for the soul to become so completely passive?

Some seem to feel that, according to what I have said, the soul is required to become dead—dead like some lifeless object—before God has His will in it. Actually, the very opposite is true.

The main element of the soul is the will, and the soul must will to become neutral and passive, waiting entirely upon God. Can you not see that this condition of utter passivity, this state of doing nothing and waiting upon God, is actually the highest activity of the will? Listen to your soul as it says, “I am willing with all the power of my being that the desire of God be accomplished within me. I am willing to be here, ceasing from all my activity and all my power, so that God might have His desire of fully possessing me.”

When the soul has done this, it has actually exerted the highest possible action of the will. The soul has taken the action of total surrender to another will, the Divine will!

Therefore dear reader, give all your attention to learning how to turn within and dwell in your spirit. Do not be discouraged by any difficulties you may have encountered this far. Before long, God will give you abundant grace, and all this will be easy.

I would add only one admonition. You must remain faithful in humbly withdrawing your heart from outward distractions and occupations. Form the habit of continually returning to God, who is your center, with a peaceful tender love.

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Living Indoors - Chapter 10

2007-04-01T14:39:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

In the last chapter we concluded by saying that the believer who is utterly in love with the Lord will not even desire the things that might offend the object of his affection. I will go on to say it is only by abandonment that it is possible to reach that total victory in subduing your senses and your desires.

Why is this so?

Actually, the reason is very obvious. First of all, you must understand the workings of your innermost parts. Where do your five senses draw their life and energy? From your soul. It is your soul that gives life and energy to your five senses; and when your senses become aroused, they in turn stimulate your desires.

How can we speak of total victory over the five senses and over the passions and desire that becomes aroused through them?

If your body were dead, you would not be able to feel, and you certainly would have no desire. But why? Why would the body have no desire? Because it would be disconnected from the soul. So let me repeat, your feelings and your senses draw their power from the soul.

Christians have sought to find many ways to overcome their desires. Perhaps the most common approach has been discipline and self-denial. But no matter how severe your self-denial may be, it will never completely conquer your senses.

No, self-denial is not the answer!

Even when it appears to have worked, what self-denial has actually done is to change only the outward expression of those desires.

When you deal with the externals, what you are doing is driving your soul farther outward from your spirit. The more your soul is focused on these outward things, the farther it is removed from its center and from its resting place! The result of this kind of self-denial is the opposite of what you sought. Unfortunately, this is what happens to a believer when his life is lived out on the surface.

If you dwell on the desires of you outward nature—paying attention to them—they will in turn become more and more active. Instead of being subdued, they gain more power. We can conclude from all this that although self-denial may truly weaken the body, it can never take away the keenness of your senses.

Then what is your hope?

There is only one way to conquer your five senses, and that is by inward recollection. Or, to put it another way, the only way to conquer your five senses is by turning your soul completely inward to your spirit, there to possess a present God. Your soul must turn all of its attention and energies within, not without! Within to Christ, not without to the senses. When your soul is turned within, it actually becomes separated from your external senses; and once your five senses are separated from your soul, they receive no more attention. Their life supply is cut off!

They become powerless.

Now let us follow the course of the soul. Your soul has learned at this point to turn within and draw near to the presence of God. The soul becomes farther and farther separated from the self. You may experience being powerfully drawn within—to seek God in your spirit—and discover that the outer man becomes very weak. (Some may even be prone to fainting.)

Your main concern, therefore, is with the presence of Jesus Christ. Your main concern lies in dwelling continually upon the God who is within you. Then without particularly thinking of self-denial or “putting away the deeds of the flesh,” God will cause you to experience a natural subduing of the flesh! You can be sure of this: The Christian who has faithfully abandoned himself to the Lord will soon discover that he has also laid hold of a God who will not rest until He has subdued everything! Your Lord will put to death all that remains to be put to death in your life.

What then is required of you? All you need to do is remain steadfast in giving your utmost attention to God. He will do all things perfectly. The truth is, not everyone is capable of severe outward self-denial, but everyone is capable of turning within and abandoning himself wholly to God.

It is true that what you see and what you hear are continually supplying your busy imagination with new subjects. They keep your thoughts jumping from one subject to another. Therefore, there is a place for discipline concerning what you see and hear. But be at peace; God will teach you about all this. All you need to do is follow His Spirit.

Two great advantages will come to you if you proceed in the way I have described in this chapter. First of all, by withdrawing from the outward objects, you will constantly draw nearer to God.

The closer you are to God, the more you receive His nature, the more you will draw upon His sustaining power.

Secondly, the nearer you draw to the Lord, the farther you are removed from sin. So you see, by simply turning within to your spirit, you begin to acquire the habit of being near the Lord and far from all else.

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Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Abandonment & a Holy Life - Chapter 9

2007-03-26T20:38:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Recap & Intro:
Chapter 6: Abandonment

To penetrate deeper in the experience of Jesus Christ, it is required that you begin to abandon your whole existence, giving it up to God. Let us take the daily occurrences of life as an illustration. You must utterly believe that the circumstances of your life, that is every minute of your life, as well as the whole course of your life--anything, yes, everything that happens--have all come to you by His will and by His permission. You must utterly believe that everything that has happened to you is from God and is exactly what you need.

Chapter 7: Abandonment & Suffering

You must be patient in all the suffering that God sends you. If your love for the Lord is pure, you will love Him as much on Calvary as on Mount Tabor. The Lord Jesus loved His father on Mount Tabor where He was transfigured, but He loved Him no less on Calvary where He was crucified. Surely, then you should love the Lord as much on Calvary, for it was there that He made the greatest display of His love.

Chapter 8: Abandonment & Revelation

As revelation comes to you, something happens; Jesus Christ actually makes an imprint of Himself upon your soul. Each time He comes to you, He leaves a new and different impression of His nature upon you.

Soon there are many different expressions of His nature impressed into your being.

Perhaps you have heard that you should think on the different experiences of Jesus Christ. But it is far better for you to bear, to carry, these experiences of Jesus Christ within yourself.

Chapter 9 Abandonment & a Holy Life

What is the result of walking continually before God in a state of abandonment? The ultimate result is godliness. Once you have made this relationship with God part of your life, godliness is easily within your reach.

What do we mean by godliness? Godliness is something that comes from God.
If you are faithful to learn this simple way to experience your Lord, you will take possession of God. And as you possess Him, you will inherit all His traits.

This is godliness: The more you possess God, the more you are made like Him. (you are transformed)

But it must be a godliness that has grown from within you. If godliness is not from deep within you, it is only a mask. The mere outward appearance of godliness is as changeable as a garment. But when godliness is produced in you from the Life that is deep within you-then that godliness is real, lasting, and the genuine essence of the Lord.

“The King’s daughter is all glorious within.” (Psalm 45:13)

How, then, is godliness achieved?

The Christian, who has learned to be abandoned to Jesus Christ and who walks in a life of abandonment to Him, practices godliness in the highest degree.

But you would never hear such a person claim to possess any particular spirituality at all. Why? Because, that Christian has become totally united with God. It is the Lord Himself who is leading that believer into this very thorough practice of godliness.

The Lord is very jealous over any saint who is utterly abandoned to Him. He does not let that believer have any pleasures at all, outside of Himself.

Is abandonment the only thing necessary to bring us into godliness? No, but if you become faithful in following everything that has been said so far, godliness will come. But do not forget that suffering is included in the experience of abandonment. It is the fire of suffering which will bring forth the gold of godliness.

Do not be fearful that you will not wish to walk this way. In the level of experience of which I now speak there is a hunger for suffering. Such Christians burn with love for the Lord. In fact if they were permitted to follow their own desires, they would put themselves under a great deal of discipline, even excessive self-denial. Once such a love burns within the heart of a believer, he thinks of nothing but how to please his beloved Lord. He begins to neglect himself - no, far more than that – in love with the Lord, he completely forgets about himself.

As his love for the Lord grows, so does his hatred for his self-life.

May you learn this path.

Oh, if this simple way to prayer, this simple experience of Jesus Christ, could be acquired by the Lord’s children, the whole church of God would easily be reformed.

This way of prayer, this simple relationship to your Lord, is suited for everyone; it is just as suited for the dull and the ignorant as it is for the well educated. This prayer, this experience which begins so simply, has as its end a totally abandoned love to the Lord.

Only one thing is required—love.

St. Augustine said, “Love… then do as you please.” For when you have learned to love, you will not even desire to do those things that might offend the One you love.

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

You are not your Own! You have been bought with a price!

2007-03-11T23:22:00.000-06:00

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You know God is good to bring the message anyway he wants to.
I didn’t know really what Phil was going to preach this morning. I just want you to know that was not a lot of elaboration or collaboration or anything to decide how things should be said or anything. So we’ve had an experience where God's shown up this morning. I am not going to read it but I want to give you an assignment for this week, that we just don’t have time to do this here but this is a word of the Lord for you this week and a word of the Lord for us. Phil basically said it, "What’s real and what’s not real?"

This has nothing to do with Madame Guyon , but it has everything to do with Jesus. Isaiah Chapter One, God comes to Israel and they have got all the patterns down. They are worshipping who they know, at least the patterns of who they know. Phil eluded to the fact that maybe we are all tired of going through the motions, without touching the life, the vine, the stem where the life comes out of. You will find in Isaiah Chapter One that God is tired too.

But He ends that passage with the kind of negotiation that a king would say. He ends that passage with a scripture that is very familiar to us. “Come let us reason together” that is what He says. Like a king, “Come!” Come to the courtroom let’s sit down and negotiate, before I come as king, riding a white horse. “Let us reason together though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” What a great message, that’s the message of the Gospel! Do you know that?

It doesn’t matter what mess you have been in, it doesn’t matter if it is your fault, somebody else’s fault, your parents fault, the society you live in. It doesn’t matter if I am a man of unclean lips or whether I dwell among a generation of unclean lips. What matters is, He says, “come let’s sit down at the table, Let’s strike a deal, though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” But read through that passage, because it has a lot to do with the modern church in America. You will be reading it in a Jewish context, but don’t miss the fact that it applies. He talks about New Moons and Sabbaths, while we would talk about Sunday mornings and fire meetings on Friday nights or whatever.

God doesn’t want our form he wants us! He doesn’t want to give us His form he wants to give us Himself. We were talking about abandonment and abandonment is not about taking the easy way out. It is really about turning the rights of our life over to the King. “Come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet,” though your white robes are stained with the blood of, things you have said against your neighbor, accusations, sins, I will make them as white as snow. I am your righteousness, “He who knew no sin,” by experience, He did not know what it was like to be separated from God. You remember when He is hanging on the cross, He says, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” you know why Jesus said that? Because He had never experienced what broken fellowship with the Father was like. He could watch as Adam and Eve were, sent out of the Garden in exile but He didn’t know how it felt. In Hebrews it says, “That we have a High Priest and He can be touched by our infirmities because He was tempted in every way we were.”

He couldn’t say that unless God forsook Him on the cross. He couldn’t say, that He knew what it was like to live in your skin, unless He knew what it was like, for the Heavenly Father to turn his back on Him and say “I am breaking fellowship with you.” That is the same God that says, “come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet I will make them as white as snow.”

He says I will give you a way to come back past the flaming swords into the garden, where you can meet with God in the cool of the day face to face and God is your friend as well as your King. Showing up at ten O’Clock Sunday morning will not cut it. Having a to do list in your DayTimer that says do fifteen minutes of prayer and fifteen minutes of Bible reading is not going to do it. It is about coming and seeing the King face to face, it is about meeting with God in the cool of the day. And then it doesn’t matter if you get in the Bible or not!

Really! Because if Jesus shows up, He might just talk to you. Jesus left the Holy Spirit, He said “It is expedient for you that I go away because I will ask the Father and He will send the Comforter and the Comforter is better than the Bible because it says, “He will remind you of everything I have spoken.

And without the Holy Spirit, you can read the Bible and you can have a lot of words but it will not touch you where life is, unless the Holy Spirit comes alongside of it. So, if you want to make a choice between the Bible and the Holy Spirit, I‘d choose the Holy Spirit every time, how about you. Praise God in this country we can have the freedom to own the printed word, and we can have the Holy Spirit come on over it and breathe on it and it brings us life.

So this abandonment here is abandoning ourselves to the King, because he has paid the price. We don’t talk about this very often but the life we live is not ours, we don’t own our lives anymore. In the marriage covenant we say that, by coming into that covenant, that a man’s body does not belong to himself anymore, but it belongs to his wife. And the woman’s body does not belong to her anymore but it belongs to her husband. Paul says, I am not talking about marriage I am talking about Jesus and the Church. See your body doesn’t belong to you anymore it belongs to Jesus Christ. And His body doesn’t belong to just Him anymore it belongs to you. I think that needs to sink in. Your body doesn’t belong to you anymore, be careful what you do with it. His body doesn’t belong to just Him anymore it belongs to you.

So we abandon ourselves to Him because He has paid the ultimate price, we don’t abandon to him so we can just not do anything, it is not sitting back in an easy chair, it is actually letting the King come and live His life through us on His earth, He is the Lord of all the earth! He owns us lock, stock, and barrel. If you want to renege on the contract, then go back into the kingdom of darkness, live life like you want to. You don’t have to subject yourself to the King. You don’t have to be a subject to the King. This is a volunteer situation, and this is a coming and sitting down at the table. “Come let us reason together” not come I am going to beat you over the head. “Though your sins be as scarlet,” though you have lived in the kingdom of darkness, though you have been a slave, chained, I have come to set you free I have come to make you as white as snow, I have come to erase… the charges against you.

Do you know what He bought with His blood? He went out and negotiated a deal, with the one who had all the documentation to put you in prison for eternity, and he bought the evidenceAgainst you! And then He destroyed it! The Bible says, “He cast it into the sea of forgetfulness, it is the ultimate shredder. Even the accuser cannot get to it anymore. When you go to the court of heaven… it is right to fear God. But when you go to the court of heaven… if you are living in Jesus and He is living in you…there is not going to be a prosecutor, there is no evidence. That’s the good news.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Abandonment & Revelation - Chapter 8

2007-03-11T23:04:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Let us continue viewing this matter of abandonment.

Some have asked the question, “If I utterly abandon myself to the Lord, will that mean I will have no new revelation of Jesus Christ?”

Does abandonment end revelation?

No, it does not. Quite the contrary, abandonment is the means that the Lord will use to give you revelation. The revelation you receive will come to you as reality rather than knowledge. This is made possible only by abandonment. You must remember to whom it is you are abandoning yourself.

It is to the Lord Jesus that you abandon yourself. It is also the Lord whom you will follow as the Way; it is this Lord that you will hear as the Truth, and it is from this Lord that you will receive Life. (john 14:6) If you follow Him as the Way, you will hear Him as the Truth, and He will bring Life to you as the Life.

As revelation comes to you, something happens; Jesus Christ actually makes an imprint of Himself upon your soul. Each time He comes to you, He leaves a new and different impression of His nature upon you.

Soon there are many different expressions of His nature impressed into your being.

Perhaps you have heard that you should think on the different experiences of Jesus Christ. But it is far better for you to bear, to carry, these experiences of Jesus Christ within yourself.

This is the way it was in the life of Paul. He did not ponder the sufferings of Christ; he did not consider the marks of suffering of on the Lord’s body. Instead, Paul bore in his own body the experiences of his Lord. He even said, “I bear in my body the marks of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:17) Did he do so by considering such marks? No. Jesus Christ had personally imprinted Himself upon Paul.

When the Lord finds a believer who is completely abandoned to Him in all things without and in all things within, He will often choose to give that person special revelations of His nature. If such should be your experience, accept these revelations with a thankful heart.

Always receive everything from Him with a thankful heart, no matter what it is He chooses to bestow.

Let us say that the Lord gives you special revelation. What should be your attitude? You must receive the revelation as you would receive all other things from Him.

There are Christians to whom God has given some revelation of Himself, and that revelation has brought enjoyment to them for years. In other words, sometimes the Lord will give you such a powerful revelation of Himself that the experience of that one truth will be your strength for years. During that time you are drawn more and more inwardly to God. This is wonderful. You should be faithful to that revelation just as long as it lasts.

But what happens when that revelation begins to fade away; what do you do when it no longer bring the enjoyment it once did? When this happens, it simply means that God has decided it best to put an end to that experience. What must be your attitude? You must freely lay yield to having it taken away from you. Lay it aside. The Lord wishes to move on to a deeper and more central understanding of Himself. Receive all things equally. Abandon yourself even in matters of revelation. Always be ready to give yourself to whatever seems to be His will. Have no desire in your life except the desire to reach passionately after Him and to always dwell with Him. Learn what it means to continually sink into nothingness before your Lord.

Learn, having done this, to accept equally all His gifts, whether they are light or darkness. Treat fruitfulness and barrenness the same way.

Whether it be weakness or strength, sweetness or bitterness, temptation, distraction, pain, weariness, uncertainty or blessing, all should be received as equal from the Lord’s hand. None of these should delay your course even for a moment.

One last word on revelation.

The Lord gives you some revelation that you are unable to understand. Do not be distressed; you have no reason to be concerned. Simply Love the Lord. This love includes within itself every kind of devotion for Him. If you are one who is given up to God and God alone, then you will have no trouble seeing Jesus Christ revealed to you in all the fullness of His nature. Some part of the revelation of Himself may be very clear; some other part of that revelation may be not so clear.

Accept them both the same. Anyone who loves God loves everything that pertains to Him. You joy in the revelation of Him that you do not understand just as you do in the revelation of Him that you do understand.

If you love Him, you love everything about Him.

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Abandonment And Suffering - Chapter 7

2007-03-04T21:20:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon
I would like to continue speaking to you about abandonment, but in this chapter let us see how much consecration affects you when suffering comes into your life.

You must be patient in all the suffering that God sends you. If your love for the Lord is pure, you will love Him as much on Calvary as on Mount Tabor. The Lord Jesus loved His father on Mount Tabor where He was transfigured, but He loved Him no less on Calvary where He was crucified. Surely, then you should love the Lord as much on Calvary, for it was there that He made the greatest display of His love.

There is a possibility that you might make a mistake concerning your abandonment to the Lord. You may abandon yourself to the Lord hoping and expecting always to be caressed and loved and spiritually blessed by Him. You who have given yourself to the Lord during some pleasant season, please take note of this: If you gave yourself to Him to be blesses and to be loved, you cannot suddenly turn around and take back life at another season…when you are being crucified!

Nor will you find any comfort from man when you have been put on the cross. Any comfort that comes to you when you are knowing the cross, comes to you from the Lord.

You must learn to love the cross. He who does not love the cross, does not love the things of God. (Matthew 16:23) It is impossible for you to truly love the Lord without loving the cross. The believer who loves the cross finds that even the bitterest things that come his way are sweet. The Scripture says, “To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7)

How much do you desire to hunger after God? You will hunger after God and find Him, in the same proportion that you hunger after the cross.

Here is a true spiritual principle that the Lord will not deny: God gives us the cross, and then the cross gives us God.

As you can see, now we have moved outside the realm of a certain period of time set aside for prayer; we have now moved into a realm that involves the whole experience of the believer. Let it be said here and now: You may be certain there will come to you an inward spiritual advancement when there is also in your life a real progress in knowing the experience of the cross. Abandonment to Christ and the experience of the cross go hand in hand.

Then how will you treat suffering? Or, to put it another way, how will you respond to the Lord’s working the cross into your life?

You may respond this way. As soon as anything comes to you in the form of suffering, at that very moment a natural resistance will well somewhere inside you. When that moment comes, immediately resign yourself to God. Accept the matter. In that moment give yourself up to Him as a sacrifice. By doing this, you will eventually make a wonderful discovery. It is this: When the cross does arrive in your life, it will not be nearly as burdensome as you first feared. Received it as from God, no matter what it is. The burden is far lighter this way.

Why is the cross so much lighter when accepted this way? Because you will have desired the cross, and you will have accustomed yourself to receive everything from the hand of the Lord.

Do not misunderstand these words. I have not described to you a way to get out of the cross. Even though you utterly abandon yourself to the Lord and completely resign yourself to suffering, this will not prevent you from feeling the weight of that cross. If you have not felt the cross, then you have not suffered. Feeling the pain of suffering is one of the principle parts of suffering. Pain is an inescapable aspect of the cross. Without it, there has been no cross at all. Suffering is woven into the nature of the cross. Pain is at the center of knowing suffering. Please remember that your Lord chose to endure the most extreme violence the cross could offer.

Sometimes you may bear the cross in weakness; at other times you may bear the cross in strength. But whether you bear it in weakness or in strength, bear it!
Both the weakness and strength should be the same to us since we bear the cross in the will of God.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Abandonment - Chapter 6

2007-02-25T18:01:00.000-06:00

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon
At the outset of this book we discussed how to know the depths of Jesus Christ. Our beginning was quite simple. We looked first at praying the Scripture and then the simplicity of just beholding the Lord. After you have pursued this level of experience with the Lord for a considerable length of time, you then should be ready to go on to a deeper level of experience with Him and a deeper level of knowing Him. But in this deeper encounter with the Lord which we looked at in Chapter 4, you must move outside the realm of prayer alone; or, to state it more clearly, you must move away from just that one or two times a day you set apart for prayer with the Lord.

At this point there must enter into your heart whole new attitudes toward your entire life. If you are to branch out beyond just a time of prayer each day, other parts of your life-and even your whole viewpoint of life-will have to be altered. This new attitude must come for a very special reason—so that you may go on deeper, still deeper, into another level with Your Lord.

To do this, you must have a fresh attitude toward yourself as well as toward the Lord; it is an attitude that must go much deeper than any you have known previously.

To do this I introduce a new word to you. This word is abandonment.

To penetrate deeper in the experience of Jesus Christ, it is required that you begin to abandon your whole existence, giving it up to God. Let us take the daily occurrences of life as an illustration. You must utterly believe that the circumstances of your life, that is every minute of your life, as well as the whole course of your life--anything, yes, everything that happens--have all come to you by His will and by His permission. You must utterly believe that everything that has happened to you is from God and is exactly what you need.

Do you remember in an earlier chapter that you saw how you could first be introduced to such a disposition? You can begin by accepting every time of prayer, whether it be a glorious time with Him or a time when your mind wanders, as being exactly what He desired for you. Then learn to broaden this perspective until it encompasses every second of your life.

Such an outlook towards your circumstances and such a look of faith towards your Lord will make you content with everything. Once you believe this, you will then begin to take everything that comes into your life as being from the hand of God, not from the hand of man.

Do you truly, sincerely desire to give yourself up to God?

Then I must next remind you that once you have made the donation, you cannot take the gift back again. Once the gift has been presented, it no longer belongs to the giver.

This little book is written to tell you how to experience the depths of Jesus Christ, but knowing the depths of Jesus Christ is not just a method. It is a life-long attitude. It is a matter of being enveloped by God and possessed by Him. We have spoken of abandonment. Abandonment is a matter of the greatest importance if you are to make progress in knowing your Lord. Abandonment is in fact, the key to the inner court—the key to the fathomless depths. Abandonment is the key to the inward spiritual life.

The believer who knows how to abandon himself to the Lord will soon become perfect.*

*Jeanne Guyon did not have in mind sinless perfection, but a life lived and a will lived in absolute, perfect concert with the will of God—constantly, under all circumstances, at all times.

Let us say you reach this state of abandonment. Once you have reached this state, you must continue, steadfast and immovable. Otherwise, to arrive there and remain only briefly is of little value. It is one thing to reach this state; it is another thing to remain there.

Be careful; do not listen to the voice of your natural reasoning. You can expect just such reasoning to well up with in you. Nonetheless, you must believe that you can abandon yourself utterly to the Lord for all your lifetime and that He will give you the grace to remain there! You must trust in God, “hoping against hope.”
(Romans 4:18)

Great faith produces great abandonment.

What is abandonment? If we can understand what it is, perhaps we can better lay a hold of it.

Abandonment is casting off all your cares. Abandonment is dropping all your needs, This includes spiritual needs. Let me repeat that, for it is not easily grasped. Abandonment is laying aside, forever, all of your spiritual needs.

All Christians have spiritual needs; but the believer who has abandoned himself to the Lord no longer indulges in the luxury of being aware of spiritual needs. Rather he gives himself over completely to the disposal of God.

Do you realize that all Christians have been exhorted to abandonment?

The Lord Himself has said, “Take no thought for tomorrow, for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.” (Matthew 6:32, 34) Again the Scripture says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6) “Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established.” (Proverbs 16:3) Again inj the book of Psalms it says, “Commit your ways to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)

True abandonment must cover two complete worlds, two complete realms.
There must be an abandonment in your life concerning all outward, practical things. Secondly there must also be an abandonment of all inward spiritual things. You must come to the Lord and there engage in giving up all your concerns. All your concerns go into the hand of God. You forget yourself, and from that moment on you think only of Him.

By continuing to do this over a long period of time your heart will remain unattached; your heart will be free and at peace!

How do you practice abandonment? You practice it daily, hourly, and by the moment. Abandonment is practiced by continually losing your own will in the will of God; by plunging your will into the depths of His will. There to be lost forever!

And how do you begin? You must begin by refusing every personal desire that comes to you just as soon as it arises—no matter how good that personal desire is, and no matter how helpful it may appear!

Abandonment must reach a point where you stand in complete indifference to yourself. You can be sure that out of such a disposition a wonderful result will come.

The result of this attitude will, in fact, bring you to the most wonderful point imaginable. It is the point where your will breaks free of you completely and becomes free to be joined to the will of God! You will desire only what He desires, that is what He has desired for all eternity.

Become abandoned by simply resigning yourself to want the Lord wants, in all things, no matter what they are, where they come from, or how they affect your life.

What is abandonment? It is forgetting your past; it is leaving the future in His hands; it is devoting the present fully and completely to tour Lord. Abandonment is being satisfied with the present moment, no matter what the that moment contains. You are satisfied, because you know that whatever that moment has-it contains—in that instant—God’s eternal plan for you.

You will always know that that moment is the absolute and total declaration of His will for your life.

Remember, you must never blame man for anything. No matter what happens, it was neither man nor circumstances that brought it. You must accept everything (except, of course, your own sinfulness) as having come from your Lord.

Surrender not only what the Lord does to you, but surrender your reaction to what He does.

Do you wish to go into the depths of Jesus Christ? If you wish to enter into this deeper state of knowing the Lord, you must seek to know not only a deeper prayer but also abandonment in all realms of your life. This means branching out until your new relationship includes living 24 hours a day utterly abandoned to Him.

Do so right now!

Surrender yourself to allow Him to do with you exactly as He pleases—both in your inward life of experiencing Him and also in your outward life of accepting all circumstances as from Him.
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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Periods of Dryness - Chapter 5

2007-02-18T16:40:00.000-06:00

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Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Mother Theresa Story taken from a devotional…

CBS anchor, Dan Rather, found himself unprepared for a Television interview with Mother Theresa.
Ron Mehl described the encounter this way: “All of Dan’s standard approaches were inadequate. And the little nun from Calcutta didn’t seem inclined to make his task easier.

“When you pray,” asked Dan, “What do you say to God?”

“I don’t say anything,” she replied. “I listen”

Dan tried another tack. “Well okay… when God speaks to you, then, what does He say?”

“He doesn’t say anything. He listens.”

Dan looked bewildered. For an instant, he didn’t know what to say.

“And if you don’t understand that” Mother Theresa added,

I can’t explain it to you.”

QUIET TIME MEANS JUST THAT... QUIET... TIME!

It is in the place of silence that the Holy Spirit boils the truth we receive from scripture, down into its essence, reveals specific insights that are pertinent, and then applies them to our most perplexing problems and our most stubborn misconceptions.

As He transforms our heart to beat in sync with His, our decisions begin to accomplish His will and we begin to reflect His character. Go Ahead, try it. Open up the word of God in a peaceful place and sit in quietness before Him. In time, the Holy Spirit will illuminate a passage and it will come to life in your mind. Before you know it the knotty situation that drove you to distraction will unravel. As you learn to “be still” in God’s presence, your greatest problems will suddenly become more manageable. He will reveal Himself to you. He will calm your emotions and relieve your mind. You will discover new direction, freedom from worry, and a fresh sense of peace.

Say hello to God and then, be still...

.... and know

Chapter Five “Periods of Dryness”
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ - Madam Jeanne Guyon
In chapter four we touched on the subject of spiritual “dry spells.” If you set forth for spiritual lands that have been described in the first chapters, you must realize that times of dryness await you. It would be wise of us then, to continue this subject for just a little while longer.

Dear reader, you must realize that God has only one desire. Certainly you can never understand a dry spell unless you understand what His desire is. His desire is to give himself, to the soul that really loves Him and to the soul which earnestly seeks Him!

Now why would God do that? Dear saint of God, you must learn the ways of your Lord. Yours is a God who often hides Himself. He hides Himself for a purpose. Why? His purpose is to rouse you from spiritual laziness. His purpose in removing Himself from you is to cause you to pursue Him.

The Lord Jesus is looking about everywhere for that Christian who will remain faithful and loving even when He has withdrawn Himself. If the Lord finds such a faithful soul, when He does return, He rewards the faithfulness of His child. He pours out upon that faithful one goodness and tender caresses of love.

Here, then is something you must understand.

You will have times of spiritual dryness. It is part of the Lord‘s way.

But the fact you will have spiritual dry spells is not the issue. The important question is what you will do in a time of spiritual dryness? At this point you must learn something about your natural tendencies. It will be the natural thing for you, during a dry season, to try to prove your love to the Lord. During a spiritual dry season you will find that you will try to prove to the Lord your faithfulness to Him; you will do this by exerting your strength. Unconsciously you will be hoping by such effort to persuade Him to return more quickly.

No, dear Christian, believe me, this is not the way to respond to your Lord in seasons of dryness.

What then shall you do?

You must await the return of your Beloved with patient love. Join with that love self denial and humiliation! Even though the Lord has hidden Himself, remain constantly before Him. There before Him, pour out your love upon Him passionately and yet, I would add always peacefully.

Spend time with Him in worship and in respectful silence.

By waiting on the Lord in this way, you will demonstrate to Him that, it is He alone whom you are seeking. You see, you will be demonstrating that it is not the selfish enjoyment which you receive from being in His presence that causes you to love Him. You will be showing that it is not the pleasure which you experience, but your love that motivates you.

There is a quote from the Apocrypha that speaks of such seasons:

“Do not be impatient in times of dryness and darkness; allow the removals and delays of the consolations of God; draw near to Him and await upon Him patiently that your life may be increased and renewed.”

So dear children of the Lord, be patient in your prayer during those seasons of dryness.

Let me ask you a question. What if the Lord called upon you to spend your whole lifetime waiting for His return to you? How would you conduct yourself if this were the lot the Lord should mete out to you for all the rest of your life? What would you do?

Do this.

Wait upon Him in a spirit of humility, in a spirit of abandonment, with the contentment and resignation. Spend your time in that wonderful kind of prayer which I have mentioned in chapter 4. Come before Him quietly and peacefully, recalling your mind to His presence even though His presence may evade you.

As you do these things, accompany them all with pleas of sorrowful, plaintive love and expressions of yearnings for your lover’s return.

I wish to assure you that if you will conduct yourself this way, it will please the heart of God greatly. Such an attitude will compel Him to return much more quickly than any other.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on Periods of Spiritual Dryness :
Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

The Second Level - Chapter 4

2007-02-11T22:13:00.000-06:00

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I want to capture the heart of the person in this scripture. Turn to Chapter 10 of I Kings.

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

There was no more spirit in her. I don’t even know if we can picture that kind of wealth. Solomon was the wealthest man in the world. His wisdom, Solomon was the wisest man in the world.

the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord's temple, it took her breath away.
Holman Christian Standard Bible.

5 she was breathless. She was also amazed Message Bible, New Living Bible

6 And she said to the king, The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

Jesus said…

The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Matt 12:42

When we come to worship, whether we come from the far ends or we come from five minutes away, do we recognize? Do we recognize? Do we see the food of His table, and it takes our breath away? Do we see the seating of His Government in the Church and does it take our breath away? This was a woman who was a ruler herself, it says that her train was loaded down with spices, it was loaded down with everything the world could offer. And when she came into another realm where God had given a king wisdom, this queen had to sit down. They had to pull in a chair for her, her knees went weak.

Do your knees go weak when you come into worship? Have you ever found yourself at a loss for words? Have you ever caught a glimpse of God moving in our midst during worship where you just don’t want to say anything? Where you don’t want the noise of your breathing to interrupt what God is doing in your heart? That’s true worship, this is true worship. There is a greater than Solomon here this morning!

And when she had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, when we have seen all the wisdom of God, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, the clothing, not of the King but of His servants. Do the robes of righteousness you see Him putting over your brother, your sister, or the person sitting next to you do they take your breathe away? When you see the sacrifice of other people in worship, there’s people that are more passionate then you, do we look at them and go, "man is that guy weird," or do we say? "Wow this God must be something! Look at the way that guy worships Him."

Well, when the Queen of Sheba caught her breathe, after they brought her whatever, a little of wine or little water or something to refresh her spirit. If you go on in that chapter ever, if you ever get in your Bible again and go back to I kings chapter 10 you will find out that her response to being overwhelmed, was that she sent her servants out to those camels, and she brought more spice than had ever been brought into Israel. We are not talking here about Oregano, we are not talking about Thyme, we are talking about Myrrh and Frankincense. The things required to make incense, that would go on the altar, of that temple, that she was so impressed with his sacrifice to worship God. And she brought as it were the "mother load" of incense building materials into Solomon’s kingdom so that he could lavish more (worship)on his God. And it was so significant, that the scribes wrote it down the chronicles of the kings in I Kings chapter 10 that never had more spices been brought into Israel.

And how does that apply to prayer? Well the Bible says that the prayers of the saints are like incense that goes up before God.

So what will happen in this House, is when we get ‘breathless’ in His presence, like the Queen of Sheba did, Were also going to bring out of our treasury more spices then have ever been brought into the house before. We are going to bring out prayer. We are going to bring out worship. It is going to be like incense that goes up from us.

We are in Chapter four.

Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon

You now have some acquaintance with praying the Scripture and beholding the Lord or Waiting in His presence. Let us assume that you have practiced these two ways of coming to the Lord. Let us say that you have passed through the awkward stage of this and have come into real experience.

Now let us move on to consider a deeper level of experience with the Lord; that is a deeper level of prayer. Some have described this second level as an experience of “faith and stillness.” Others have referred to it as the “Prayer of Simplicity” I prefer the latter name.

Let us say you have grown accustomed to praying the Scripture and to waiting quietly in the sense of the Lord’s presence, that these have made themselves part of your life. If this is so, you have found that it is now much easier to come to the Lord and to know His presence. But I would like to remind you once more that, what was written previously was written to those who are just beginning to know Christ.

When you first began, it was difficult for you to recall your wandering mind. It was difficult to continually turn inward to your spirit. Little by little, these matters have become much more natural and simple. And now prayer has come to be easy, sweet and natural—as well as delightful. You gradually recognize that prayer is the true way, the real way of finding God. And once you have found Him, you proclaim joyfully. “His name is an ointment poured forth” (Song of Solomon1:3)

You might think that I would now encourage you to continue on this very successful path. Instead, I am going to encourage you to change your course just a little. In so doing, once more you are going to come to a point that might have some discouragement in it. Starting out on a new path to explore the Lord always means encountering some difficulties at the outset! Therefore I would encourage you to have a believing heart from this point on. You must not be discouraged. There will be a little difficulty along the way as you seek to go into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Now with these words behind us, let us look at this new level of prayer.

First of all, come into the Lord’s presence by faith. As you are there before Him, keep turning inward to your spirit until your mind is collected and you are perfectly still before Him. Now when your attention is finally turned within and your mind is set on the Lord, simply remain quiet before Him for a little while.

Perhaps you will begin to enjoy a sense of the Lord’s presence. If that is the case, do not try to think if anything. Do not try to say anything. Do not try to do anything! As long as the Lord’s presence continues, just remain there. Remain before Him exactly as you are.

The awareness of His presence will eventually begin to decrease. When this happens, utter some words of love to the Lord or simply call on His name. Do this quietly and gently with a believing heart. In so doing, you will be once again be brought back to the sweetness of His presence. You will discover that you once more return to that sweet place of utter enjoyment, that you have just experienced! Once the sweetness of His presence has returned to its fullest, again be still before Him.

You should not seek to move as long as He is near.

What is the point? The point is this: There is a fire within you and it ebbs and grows. That fire, when it ebbs must be gently fanned, but only gently. Just as soon as that fire begins to burn, again cease all your efforts. Otherwise you may put out the flame. This, then is the second level of prayer—a second level in experiencing Jesus Christ.

When you have come to the end of this time, always remain there before the Lord, quietly for a little while. Also, it is very important that all your prayer be done with a believing heart. Praying with a believing heart is more important than anything else that has to do with prayer!

Before we finish this chapter, I would like to talk with you just a moment about the motive of your heart in your seeking the Lord. After all, why do you come to the Lord? Do you come to Him for the sweetness? Do you come to Him because it is enjoyable to be in the Lord’s presence? Let me recommend a higher way.

As you come to the Lord to pray, bring a full heart of pure love, a love that is not seeking anything for itself. Bring a heart that is seeking nothing from the Lord, but desires only to please Him and to do His will.

Let me illustrate. Consider the servant. The servant takes good care of His master; but if he does it only to receive some reward, he is not worthy of any consideration whatsoever. So dear Christian, as you come to the Lord to pray, do not come for spiritual enjoyment. Do not even come to experience your Lord.

Then What? Come just to please Him.

Once you are there, if He chooses to pour out some great blessing, receive it. But if, instead, your mind wanders, receive that. Or if you have a difficult time in prayer, receive that. Joyfully accept whatever He desires to give. Believe that whatever happens is what He wants to give you!

Let me repeat that, for it is very important! It is especially important to you for any future growth in experiencing Christ. Believe by faith that whatever happens is His desire for you at that time.

When you have come to the Lord this way, you will find that your spirit is at peace not matter what your condition. When you have learned to come to the Lord with this attitude, you will not be upset if the Lord withdraws Himself from you. The times of spiritual dryness will be the same to you as the times of spiritual abundance. You will treat them both the same. Why? Because you will have learned to Love God just because you love Him, not because of His gifts, nor even His precious presence.
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

The Depths - Chapter 3

2007-02-04T21:47:00.000-06:00

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We have been talking this morning about King David wanting to build a house for God.
God is saying, "I live in a tent not in things built by hands." Heaven is my throne the earth is my footstool, where is the house you will build for me. We all want to go out and build a house for God, but what He is saying in that Scripture is, "What house could you, build for me? Heaven is my throne and the whole of the earth is just my footstool, it is just my ottoman, what kind of a house are you going to build for me? If you built a house that covered the whole earth, all it would do is just house my feet. There is a movie from a few years back "FIELD OF DREAMS".

Remember the movie the Field of Dreams, a farmer is haunted by a voice “ If you build it they will come”. He hears that voice several times before he REALLY believes it and begins to act “by faith to build.. Finally, this farmer begins to disc under his crops and in that place he builds a professional sized baseball diamond. So that the great players of past, will come back to earth and play in his field, he gets to see them display their power and their glory. The great stories of glory of bygone days is seen today, on his field.

This morning we want to talk about how we can disc under our field, our crops and build a habitation for God by the Spirit, building an ethereal temple, a place where God will come and display his strength and power, his Majesty and His Glory.

What is an etheral temple? That is what Pat was talking about, the kingdom of God is inside you. An etheral temple is not a temple, out there in Jerusalem somewhere made out of stones and cedar timbers. But it is a place you create in here, a place in your spirit. This is where God dwells, Don't you know... the bible says, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the holy Spirit? Remember that verse? "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the holy Spirit? Well, yeah! It is familiar but do we believe it? Because if we believe it... There was a times in Israel's history, where the temple that they had built for God, had been used for other things while they went into captivity. The Holy things had been defiled and there was rubbish and there was trash in the corners of the temple. And when Ezra came back from Babylon, he cleaned out the temple and they repaired the hinges of the doors and everything else. And I want to tell you, although it is not physical brick and mortar, not physical beams, there is a place inside you, maybe it has gotten cluttered with rubbish in the corners. So we have to go there and clean out a place that God might dwell in our midst. because our bodies are the "temple of the Holy Spirit."

"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon
I would like to address this chapter to those of you who may not be able to read.* Because you cannot read, you may feel that you are in a weaker state than most Christians. You may feel you are unqualified to know the depths of you’re your Lord. But In fact, you are really blessed. The blessing in not being able to read is that prayer may become your reading! Do you not know that the greatest book is Jesus Christ Himself? He is a Book who has been written on within and without. He will teach you all things. Read Him!

The first thing you must learn, dear friend, is that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21)Your body is the temple of the HOLY Spirit

Never look for the kingdom anywhere but there, within. Once you have realized that the kingdom of God is within you and can be found there, just come to the Lord.

As you come, come with a deep sense of love; come to him very gently; come to Him with a deep sense of worship. As you come to Him, humbly acknowledge that He is everything. Confess to Him that you are nothing. Close your eyes to everything around you; begin to open the inward eyes of your soul, turning those eyes to your spirit. In a word give your full attention to the deep inward parts of your being.

You need only to believe that God dwells in you. This belief, and this belief alone, will bring you into His holy presence. Do not allow your mind to wander about but hold it in submission as much as possible.

Once you are in the Lord’s presence, be still and quiet before Him.

And now there in His presence, simply begin to repeat the Lord’s Prayer. Begin with the word “Father.” As you do let the full meaning of that word deeply touch your heart. Believe that the God who lives inside of you is indeed willing to be your Father. Pour out your heart to Him as a little child pours out his heart to his father. Never doubt your Lord’s deep love for you. Never doubt his desire to hear you. Call on His name and remain before Him Silently for a little while. Remain there, waiting to have His heart made known to you.

As you come to Him, come as a weak child, one who is all soiled and badly bruised—a child that has been hurt from falling again and again. Come to the Lord as one who has no strength of his own; come to Him as one who has no power to cleanse himself. Humbly lay your pitiful condition before your Father’s gaze.

While you wait there before Him, occasionally utter a word of love to Him and a word of grief over your sin. Then simply wait for awhile. After waiting, you will sense when it is time to go on; when that moment comes, simply continue on in the Lord’s Prayer.
As you speak the words, Thy Kingdom come” call upon your Lord, the King of glory, to reign in you. Give yourself up to God. Give yourself to God so that He may do in your heart what you have so long been a failure in trying to do.

Acknowledge before Him, His right to rule over you.

At some point in this encounter with your Lord, you will feel deep within your spirit that it is time to simply remain silent before Him. When you have such a sense, do not move on to the next word—not as long as this sense continues with you. You see, it is the Lord Himself who is holding you to silence. When that sense of waiting before Him has passed, go on again to the next words of the Lord’s Prayer.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Praying these words, humble yourself before the Lord, earnestly asking Him to accomplish His whole will in you and through you. Surrender your heart into His hands. Yield to your Lord His right to do with you as He pleases.

Do you know what God’s will is?

His will is that his children love Him. Therefore when you pray, Lord, “thy will be done,” you are actually asking the Lord to allow you to love Him. So you begin to love Him! And as you do, beseech Him to give you His love.

All that I have described to you will take place very sweetly, and it will take place very peacefully, throughout the entire prayer.

Let us look now at another possibility.

There may come an occasion while you are with the Lord that you will wish to lay aside the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps you will wish to come to Him as your shepherd.

Come to Him, then, as a sheep who is looking to his shepherd for real food. As you come to Him, utter something like this: “Oh, loving Shepherd, you feed your flock with Yourself, you are really my daily bread.”

It is proper for you to bring all your needs to your Lord. But whatever you do, do it believing one thing; that is, that God is found within you.

I realize that you might be one of those who has a set pattern or ritual, to your prayers. You should not burden yourself with the rituals you have learned. There is no need for using repetition or memorized prayers. Instead simply repeat the Lord’s Prayer as I have described. It will produce abundant fruit in your life.

Dear child of God, all your concepts of what God is like really amount to nothing. Do not try to imagine what God is like. Instead, simply believe in His presence. Never try to imagine what God will do. There is no way God will ever fit into your concepts. What then shall you do? Seek to behold Jesus Christ by looking to Him in your inmost being, in your spirit.

Let’s close this chapter by looking at a third way in which you may begin a deeper encounter with your Lord.
You may come to the Lord by looking to Him as your Physician. Bring to Him all your sicknesses so that He can heal them. But as you come to Him, do not come with anxiety or restlessness. And as you come, pause from time to time. This period of waiting silently before your Lord will gradually increase! Furthermore, your own efforts at praying will grow less and less. Eventually there will come for you that moment when He will gain the complete control, when you will continually yield to God’s working within you.

As you can see, what has begun as something very simple will grow! It will grow to become a very real and vital relationship between you and the living God.

When the presence of the Lord really becomes your experience, you will actually discover that you have gradually begun to love this silence and peaceful rest which come from His presence.

There is a wonderful enjoyment of His Presence

This wonderful enjoyment of His presence will now help introduce you to yet another level of prayer!

We will go on to this second level of prayer in the next chapter. It is a depth of prayer that can be experienced by all believers, the simple as well as the scholarly.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Beholding The Lord! - Chapter 2B

2007-01-28T23:28:00.000-06:00

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Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
I would like to address you as though you were a beginner in Christ, one seeking to know Him. In so doing, let me suggest two ways for you to come to the Lord. I will call the first way “Praying the Scripture” the second way I will call “Beholding the Lord” or “Waiting in His presence.” …

Let us move on to the second kind of prayer, which I mentioned earlier…

The second kind of prayer, which I described as “beholding the Lord” or “waiting on the Lord” also makes use of scripture but it is not actually a time of reading.

Remember, ia m addressing you as if you were a new convert. Here is your second way to encounter Christ. And this second way to Christ, although you will be using the scripture, has a purpose altogether different from “praying the Scripture.” For that reason you should set aside a separate time when you can come and just wait upon Him.

In “praying the Scripture” you are seeking to find the Lord in what you are reading, in the very words themselves. In this path, therefore the content of the Scripture is the focal point of your attention. Your purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you.

What of the second path?

In “beholding the Lord” you come to the Lord in a totally different way. Perhaps at this point I need to share with you the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord. It has to do with your mind. The mind has a very strong tendency to stray away from the Lord. Therefore, as you come before your Lord to sit in His presence, beholding Him, making use of Scripture to quiet your mind.

The way to do this is really quite simple.

First, read a passage of Scripture. Once you sense the Lord’s presence, the content of what you have read is no longer important. The Scripture has served its purpose it has quieted you mind; it has brought you to Him.

So that you can see this more clearly, let me describe the way in which you come to the Lord by the simple act of beholding Him and waiting upon Him.

You begin by setting aside a time to be with the Lord. When you do come to Him, come quietly. Turn your heart to the presence of God. How is this done? This too, is quite simple.; You turn to Him by faith. By faith you believe you have come into the presence of God.

Next, while you are before the Lord, begin to read some portion of Scripture. As you read, pause. The pause should be quite gentle. You have paused so that you may set your mind on the Spirit. You have set your mind inwardly –on Christ.

(you should always remember that you are not doing this to gain some understanding of what you have read; rather you are reading in order to turn your mind from outward things to the dep parts of your being. You are not there to learn or to read, but you are there to experience the presence of your Lord!)

While you are before the Lord, hold your heart in his presence. How? This you also do by faith. Yes, by faith you can hold your heart in the Lord’s presence. Now, waiting before Him, turn all your attention toward your spirit. Do not allow your mind to wander. If your mind begins to wander, just turn your attention back again to the inward parts of your being You will be free from wandering—free from any outward distractions—and you will be brought near to God.

(The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where he dwells. The Lord once promised to come and makes his home within you. (john14:23) He promised to there meet those who worship Him and do His will. The Lord will meet you in your spirit. It was Saint Augustine who once said that he had lost much in time in the beginning of his Christian experience by trying to find the Lord outwardly rather than by turning inwardly.)

Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord, you will have an impression of His presence. You will be able to notice His presence more acutely because your outer senses have now become very calm and quiet. Your attention is no longer on outward things or on the surface thoughts of your mind; instead sweetly and silently, your mind becomes occupied with what you have read and by that touch of His presence.

Oh it is not that you will think about what you have read, but you will feed upon what you have read. Out of a love for the Lord you exert your will to hold your mind quiet before Him.

When you come to this state, you must allow your mind to rest.

How shall I describe what to do next?

In this very peaceful state, Swallow what you have tasted. At first this may seem difficult, but perhaps I can show you just how simple it is. Have you not at times, enjoyed the flavor of a very tasty food? But unless you were willing to swallow the food you received no nourishment. I t is the same with your soul. In this quiet, peaceful, and simple state, simply take in what is there as nourishment.

What about distractions?

Let us say your mind begins to wander. Once you have been deeply touched by the Lord’s Spirit and are distracted, be diligent to bring your wandering mind back to the Lord. This is the easiest way in the world to overcome external distractions

When your mind has wandered, don’t try to deal with it by changing what you are thinking. You see, if you pay attention to what you are thinking, you will only irritate your mind and stir it up more. Instead withdraw from your mind! Keep turning within to the Lord’s presence. By doing this you will win the war with your wandering mind and yet never directly engage in the battle.

Before we close this chapter, I would like to bring up one or two more points.

Let’s talk about divine revelation. In the past your reading habit may have been to wander from one subject to another. But the best way to understand the mysteries that are hidden in the revelation of God and to enjoy them fully is to let them be imprinted deeply in your heart. How? You may do this by dwelling on one revelation just as long as it gives you a sense of the Lord. Do not be quick to go from one thought to another. Stay with what the Lord has revealed to you; stay there just as long as a sense of the Lord is also there.

As you begin this new venture you will, of course discover that it is difficult to bring your mind under control. Why is this? Because through many years of habit your mind has acquired the ability to wander all over the world, just as it pleases; so what I speak of here is something that is to serve as discipline to your mind.

Be assured that as your soul becomes more accustomed to withdrawing to inward things this process will become much easier.

There are two reasons that you will find it easier each time to bring your mind under subjection to the Lord. One is that the mind, after much practice, will form a new habit of turning deep within. The second is that you have a gracious Lord!

The Lord’s chief desire is to reveal Himself to you and, in order for Him to do that, He gives you abundant grace. The Lord gives you the experience of enjoying His presence. He touches you, and His touch is so delightful that, more then ever, you are drawn inwardly to Him.
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Praying The Bible Out Loud

2007-01-21T23:18:00.000-06:00

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Praying The Bible by Wesley & Stacey Campbell
I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes in the middle of our plans, you know God says in the Bible “man makes his plans and God directs his steps.” Sometimes you come to that place where there is a fork in the road. And you have to decide, Am I going to take this fork? or that fork? So I am going to ask your permission this morning to not take the fork I would have taken this morning; we can come back there next week.

But you know sometimes we tend to rush ahead, the scheduled topic this week and the notes I printed out last week are all about quietly coming before the LORD, Beholding Him, in the presence of the LORD. But if we did that now, I think we might just gloss over “Praying the Scripture” And just move on to the next point, move on to the next point, move on to the next point, ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.

Does that make sense? Will you give me permission to take a diversion from Madam Guyon for one week or maybe two? I mean we could go ten or twelve weeks off topic. I don’t want to do that, but I do want to make sure that we are setting into place, the Praying of Scripture. And I am going to give you some homework this week, so I am not going to leave you without structure. If you have a pen or pencil, I want you to write down Revelation Chapter 4:1-11. We are going to practice what we preach here; I am going to read this passage to you.

In this book…I referenced this book in your notes last week, under other resources, “Praying the Bible” by Wesley and Stacey Campbell. A great book, it is a little different take than Madam Guyon. This wasn’t written by a woman from 200 years ago, but it is written by a couple that are in our day, that are prayer intercessors, that have studied prayer. You know, it is good to receive the full council of God, and this is just a different take on this. One of the things that I am going to challenge you with is… to take this prayer and pray it ten times a day, for ten days. It is Revelation Chapter 4: 1-11, let me read it to you and as a background let me tell you what is in this book, because it is too long to share here this morning in the time I have.

Every generation from Moses on, have prayed the scripture, except for the last generation, the one we live in. Every denomination, almost without exception has prayed the Scripture. The highest, the most central thing in the Jewish religion was the Shema, “Hear Oh Israel the LORD your God is one,” and it is also our first commandment we could say it right now, “And thou shalt love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” Well, the reason we can quote that, is that it has been prayed. The only one that we hang on to in our generation and ours is the only generation that hasn’t prayed the scripture. We have hung onto “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” Did you know that when you pray “Our Father”, you are praying scripture? And where did that prayer come out of the context of? The disciples had seen a man, a perfect God-man pray. And they said, "teach us to pray!"

In our context we would say, "why would Jesus have to pray? He knew the Father. He was with the Father in the beginning the Bible says and the Father was with Him. Why did he have to pray?" Because prayer is an expression of love and He loved the Father, a lot so He prayed a lot. And it is an indication, like we talking about this morning, Pat’s talking about one way to show God, how we love Him is how we serve him with our finances. but another way is how we serve him with our heart. Prayer is a service of the heart. Jesus didn’t have to pray because he was so, "out of fellowship" with God, he had to pray because he was so "one" with God. And how much we pray will not indicate how much we need to be "in fellowship" with God either, but how much we are "one" with God.

Sometimes when we come into worship, the way we get to, what I am going to talk about next week which is "Beholding the LORD, in His glory," comes to us as we pray scripture. This is a great scripture to do that.

Revelation Chapter 4:1-11
“After this I looked and there was before me a door standing open in Heaven, and the voice I had first heard speaking to me, like a trumpet, said “come up here and I will show what must take place after this. At once, I was in the Spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven, with someone sitting on it, and the one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne, were 24 other thrones and seated on them were 24 elders, they were dressed in white and crowns of gold on their heads from the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peels of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing, these are the seven spirits of God, and also before the throne there was what was like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center around the throne there were four living creatures and they were covered with eyes in the front and in the back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stopped saying Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God almighty, who was and is and is to come. Whenever the creatures gave glory honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, and who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fell down before Him who sits on the throne and worshipped Him who lives forever and ever.
They lay their crowns before the throne and say you are worthy Oh LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you have created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

This book has several kinds of prayers, these are called the Theophanies? These are the chance encounters where a person prays, or they fall into a trance like John did and then they actually see Jesus you know. Wouldn’t that be good to remind ourselves about how people have seen God? Might give us a picture of what’s going on in Heaven. Cause one of the challenges we have about prayer frankly and about worship, is we don’t see into Heaven. What we see is each other, we see the back of somebody’s head. We see sheet rock and ceiling tiles and we see people up here with mic stands. We see a pulpit and we see a person standing here moving their lips, but we don’t see JESUS. So it is good to find what saints of old saw when they saw Jesus, this is John on the island of Patmos. But if we pray that out in our quiet times, it will bring us to place of worship, that leads us into the next kind of prayer that we are going to talk about, when we get back to Madam Guyon. The prayer of silence, the prayer of quietly beholding God and seeing Him in His Glory. Words paint pictures on our brains, these words, painted pictures this morning. I don’t know if you have ever seen a rainbow that looks like an emerald, one that surrounds a throne, I haven’t. But you start to get a picture, that the God we serve is not just some…poverty stricken, with insignificant impact on our culture, which is so with it and so moving forward. But rather our culture is missing it and our God is so with it. And if we miss Him we miss everything. Hollywood will show you movie after movie, after movie, where some evil person, is sitting on a throne and lightning is flashing behind the throne and there is peels of thunder, and they want you to fear the person, in the movie. But did you know that they stole that from our God? It says in here that behind His throne is lightning and thunder; He is a scary God. Like Mr. Beaver says in the Narnian Chronicles says, ”is He safe? No! but He is good!” But we miss it! He is the center of everything, if we miss Him, we miss life! So when we come to pray we can’t come to pray, as though we are talking to some absentee landlord, off somewhere in the galaxy. No! This is the One, who sent His Son. Our prayer has to be the expression of our heart being hooked up with His heart. And the more our heart is hooked up with His heart, the more He’ll will call in the middle of the night, or He’ll call in the early morning. Or He’ll call when we finally turn the sound down of our sports bar like we talked about a few weeks ago. And He will say, “Come away with me,” He will say, “Come up here and I will show you some things that must come to pass.”

So the way that we go to the quiet place, is actually is by praying scripture. The other thing I will ask you to do is… I cannot give you all that is in this book but I recommend it. If you want to go places you have not gone before, this is a good book, to add to the other one we are reading. Pray Scripture out loud. That has been the tradition, Pray it Out Loud, because you’ll be declaring it, not only to yourself but to those things that are set against you, to oppose you, as you pray scripture you will be declaring the word of God.

So if you see this in the context, prayer has three different dimensions,
1. Connects our heart to God
2. Sets a separation between us and the enemy. It
3. It tells our souls what’s real, what’s reality.

So it works on three different planes,
1. It works against your enemy,
2. Draws you closer to the one you love and
3. Sets you in a place where you can deal with reality.

Can we just pray that God could use this in our lives this week?

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Praying the Scripture - Chapter 2A

2007-01-14T16:02:00.000-06:00

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
I would like to address you as though you were a beginner in Christ, one seeking to know Him. In so doing, let me suggest two ways for you to come to the Lord. I will call the first way “Praying the Scripture” the second way I will call “Beholding the Lord” or “Waiting in His presence.”

“Praying the Scripture” is a unique way of dealing with the scripture it involves both reading and prayer. Here is how you should begin.

Turn to the scripture; choose some passage that is simple and fairly practical. Next, come to the Lord. Come quietly and humbly. There before Him, read a small portion of the passage of Scripture you have opened to.

Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read.

In the past it may have been your habit, while reading, to move very quickly from one verse of Scripture to another until you had read the whole passage. Perhaps you were seeking to find the main point of the passage.

But in coming to the Lord by mean’s of “Praying the Scripture” you do not read quickly; you read very slowly. You do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read.
You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.

After you have sensed something of the passage and after you know that the essence of that portion has been extracted and all the deeper sense of it is gone, then very slowly, gently and in a calm manner begin to read the next portion of the passage. You will be surprised to find that when your time with the Lord has ended, you will have read very little, probably no more than half a page.
“Praying the Scripture” is not judged by how much you read but the way in which you read.

If you read quickly, it will benefit you little.
You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead, in this new way of reading with prayer, you must become as the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to remove its deepest nectar.

Of course there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study-but not here. That studious kind of reading will not help you when it comes to matters that are divine! To receive any deep, inward profit from scripture, you must read as I have described. Plunge into the very depths of the words you read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks out upon you.

I am quite sure that if you will follow this course, little by little you will come to experience a very rich prayer that flows from your inward being.
Write the scripture passage you selected here and then pray it out for the next several days, exploring new directions to take it. Connecting it other similar scripture passages in subsequent days as you plunge deeper into the flower for the deepest nectar.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Shallows to the Depths - Chapter 1

2007-01-07T23:43:00.001-06:00

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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
As you pick up this book, you may feel that you simply are not one of those people capable of a deep experience with Jesus Christ. Most Christians do not feel that they have been called to a deep inward relationship to their Lord. But we have all been called to the depths of Christ as surely as we have been called to salvation.

When I speak of this “deep inward relationship to Jesus Christ,” what do I mean? Actually it is very simple. It is only the turning and yielding of your heart to the Lord. It is the expression of love within your heart for Him.

You will recall that Paul encourages us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

The Lord also invites us to “watch and pray” (Mark13:33,37) It is apparent from these two verses, as well as many more, that we all live by this kind of experience, this prayer, just as we live by love.

Once the Lord spoke and said, “I counsel you to buy from me gold tried in the fire that you may be rich.” (Revelation 3:18) dear reader, there is gold available to you. This gold is much more easily obtained than you could ever imagine. It is available to you. The purpose of this book is to launch you into this exploration and into this discovery.

I give you an invitation: If you are thirsty come to the living waters. Do not waste your precious time digging wells that have no water in them. (John 7:37, Jeremiah 2:13)

If you are starving and can find nothing that can satisfy your hunger, then come. Come and you will be filled. You, who are poor, come. You, who are afflicted, come. You who are weighted down with your load of wretchedness and your load of pain, come. You shall be comforted.

You who are sick and need a physician, come. Don’t hesitate because you have diseases. Come to your Lord and show Him all your diseases, and they will be healed! Come!

Dear child of God, your father has His arms of love opened wide to you. Throw yourself into his arms. You who have strayed and wandered away as sheep, return to your Shepherd. You who are sinners come to your Savior.

I especially address those of you who are very simple and you who are uneducated, even you who cannot read and write. You may think you are the one person incapable of this abiding presence of Christ, this prayer of simplicity. You may think yourself the one farthest from a deep experience with the Lord; but in fact, the Lord has especially chosen you! You are the one most suited to know him well.

So let no one fell left out. Jesus Christ has called us all. Oh, I suppose there is one group who is left out!

Do not come if you have no heart, You see, before you come, there is something you must do: you must first give your heart to the Lord.

“But I do not know how to give my heart to the Lord.” (you say)

Well with this little book you will learn what it means to give your heart to the Lord and how to make that gift to Him.
Let Me ask you, then, do you desire to know the Lord in a deep way? God has made such an experience, such a walk, possible for you. He has made it possible through the grace he has given to all his redeemed children. He has done it by means of His Holy Spirit.

How the will you come to the Lord to know Him in such a deep way? Prayer is the Key. But I have in mind a certain kind of prayer. It is a kind of prayer that is very simple and yet holds the key to perfection and goodness—things found only in God Himself. The type of prayer that I have in mind will deliver you from enslavement to every sin. It is a prayer that will release to you every Godly virtue.

You see the only way to be perfect is to walk in the presence of God. The only way you can live in His presence in uninterrupted fellowship is by means of prayer, but a very special kind of prayer. It is a prayer that leads you into the presence of God and keeps you there at all times; a prayer that can be experienced under any conditions, any place, and any time.
Is there such a prayer? Does such an experience with Christ truly exist? Yes, there is such a prayer! A prayer that does not interfere with your outward activities or your daily routine.

There is a kind of prayer that can be practiced by kings, by priests, by soldiers, by laborers, by children, by women and even the sick.

May I hasten to say that the kind of prayer I am speaking of is not a prayer that comes from your mind. It is a prayer that begins in your heart. It does not come from your understanding or your thoughts. Prayer offered to the Lord from you mind simply would not be adequate. Why? Because your mind is very limited. The mind can pay attention to only one thing at a time. Prayer that comes out of the heart is not interrupted by thinking! I will go as far as to say that nothing can interrupt this prayer… the prayer of simplicity.

Oh yes there is one thing, selfish desire can cause this prayer to cease. But even here there is encouragement, for once you have enjoyed your Lord and tasted the sweetness of His love, you will find that even your selfish desires no longer hold any power. You will find it impossible to have pleasure in anything except Him.
I realize that some of you may feel that you are real slow, that you have a poor understanding, and that you are very unspiritual. Dear reader there is nothing in this universe that is easier to obtain than the enjoyment of Jesus Christ! Your Lord is more present to you than you are to yourself! Further more, His desire to give Himself to you is greater than your desire to lay hold of Him.

How then do you begin? You need only one thing. You need only to know how to seek Him. When you have found the way to seek Him, you will discover that this way to God is more natural and easier than taking a breath.

By this prayer of simplicity, the experiencing of Christ deep within, you may live by God Himself, with less difficulty and with less interruption than you now live by the air, which you take into you.

If this is true, then I ask, ‘Wouldn’t it be a sin not to pray?’ Yes, it would be a sin. But once you have learned how to seek Jesus Christ and how to lay a hold of Him, you will find the way so easy that you will no longer neglect this relationship to your Lord. Let us go on, therefore, and learn this simply way to pray.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Let's Get Mystical

2007-01-01T00:45:00.000-06:00

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My purpose this morning is this…We come and we are basically religious people. We just are, let’s admit it. We like the same old patterns, and if somebody upsets the pattern we know it. There is an area of your brain called broca. Its function is pattern recognition. If I was to quote a poem to you, “Roses are red, violets are green…” Immediately your broca just turned on, in high alert. Your brain has already determined and said, “that’s not right! It is supposed to be roses are red, violets are blue.” But by awaking broca, I ensure that you are not going to go to sleep. If broca determines what I am saying has a predictable pattern to it, you will turn me off… You will say, “been there, done that, got the t-shirt.”

I am not going into heresy, but I do want to upset broca.this morning. We are going to contrast two things.
I Corinthians 2:14
But the pragmatic man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are mystical to him; nor can he know them, because they are mystically discerned.
How many here are pragmatic? and how many are mystical? Oh nobody wants to be pragmatic. Ok how many are mystical, no mystical people, okay we can go home!
We might as well go home, Tim you can stay, we will have a spiritual service. You Guys are a little scared of that mystical word aren’t you? And if I hadn’t read that scripture that way, you would be real comfortable being pragmatic, right?
Let’s pretend let’s turn time back okay? How many before I read that would say I am pragmatic?... The rest of you are what? non-committal or what?
I went to an online dictionary because…this is kind of crazy but God woke me up this morning He said are you…do you want to be spiritual or do you want to be pragmatic? And I was thinking pragmatic that’s a good word isn’t it?
Pragmatism (defined) it has a doctrine did you know it is a faith
Doctrine: that practical consequences are the criteria of knowledge and learning. Attribute: of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Naturalism (defined) another religion
Doctrine: that the world can be understood in scientific terms without recourse to spiritual or supernatural explanations.
In our culture if we could go back to the fifties, I know there are people here who can remember the fifties. There was a wave of scientific thought that came into our culture that was naturalism. Then in the sixties we had, what kinds of things happened there? Well we took prayer out of the schools in the early sixties. We assassinated a president in 1963, we had a sexual revolution in 68, we started abortion in the early seventies, we went to consumerism, and new age in the eighties and the nineties. So guess what happens when you stop allowing yourself to be a mystical on the Christian side. You take all that mysticism away and you explain God, and all the power of God away, and you become a pragmatic man.
But there is something on the inside of you that is God shaped, that still is hungry and thirsty, like the deer that pants for the water (Psalm 42). And it has got to be filled and so what you do is, you take yourself out of the pragmatic world that you live in, in the fifties and the sixties. Presidents are getting shot, and civil rights leaders are being assassinated. And you say, “I have got to have something more, than what I understand.” So you go out there in the wilderness, a spiritual wilderness. And you begin looking, for mystical experiences, spiritual experiences. And you know what, we are the result of that process, all of us here. Maybe you weren’t born in the fifties, so you don’t have the idealism of the fifties. But we are all living in a post modern world where pragmatism doesn’t cut it, and Christianity isn’t relevant to my life and so I have got to go and find some spiritual power. Let me read another verse for you.
Hebrews 11: 6
But without a mystical belief it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe mystically that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Mystical (defined)
Having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence. Involving or having the nature of an individual’s direct communion with God.
Faith (defined)
A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
Mystical comes from the same root as mystery
Jesus talked to the crowds in mysteries, we call them parables but they were really mysteries. You notice that the root word of mystical is the same as mystery.
Mark 4:11
And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know THE MYSTERY of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.
So for those on the inside it is a powerful (Mystical) experience to those on the outside it is foolishness. And you don’t have to look very far to see that. Now if you look at
I Corinthians verses on foolishness
- For the message of the cross is foolishness (mystical) to those (who rely on pragmatic reasoning and miss the message of salvation in the cross) who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18

- For since, in the (mystical) wisdom of God, the world through (pragmatic) wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 1 Cor. 1:21

- but we preach Christ crucified, to the religious (Jews) a stumbling block and to the intellectuals (Greeks) foolishness, 1 Cor. 1:23

- Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Cor. 1:25

- But the natural (pragmatic) man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (mystical) foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14

For the wisdom (pragmatism) of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise (pragmatic) in their own (pragmatism) craftiness"; 1 Cor. 3:19

So as we were trying to think of a title for this talk, this morning so Rick could put it on the web-site, I was reminded of an old Olivia Newton John song that talks about, really if we contrat it again the tile was let’s get physical. It is all about being a natural man so I wanted to call this talk “Let’s Get Mystical”

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell ...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Good Morning Mr Phelps...

2006-12-24T21:54:00.000-06:00

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M I S S I O N I M P O S S I B L E ?

“Good morning Mr. Phelps… Your mission, should you choose to except it, ”is to...
...hear God speak, and adjust your life to obey his voice. In order to accomplish this you must be able to distinguish between God’s voice, your own soul (your mind, will, and emotions) and the enemy of your soul (the deceiver).

The future health of your own life, as well as the life of your family, your church, your city, and your country and even the world depends on the success of your mission.

SECRET AGENTS IN OPPOSITION

The cares of the world The lust of the eyes
The deceitfulness of riches The lust of the flesh
Lusts for other things The boastful pride of life

SECRET AGENTS IN ALLIANCE

GOD SPEAKS using:
The Word (of Truth)
Prayer
The Holy Spirit (of Truth)
The Body

The Word of Truth/Sword of the Spirit
The word of truth is an invincible secret agent, sharper than any two edged sword; Able to expose the most elaborate schemes, lies and deceptions of the enemy. Able to divide between soul and spirit, bone and marrow, is the discerner of the true intentions of the heart. It has the power to cut iron shackles, to Heal the broken hearted, set captives free, open blind eyes, set at liberty those who are trodden down. “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Prayer
Prayer is a communication specialist, he is your greatest ally, he works undercover and quietly behind the scenes but is able to changes things. He is fluent in many languages and all Heavenly communication protocols; An expert in deciphering codes, unraveling mysteries, unleashing the prophetic. Prayer is hard wired into Headquarters, prayer can get through the firewall and access the power of GOD!

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The only way to describe these agents is supernatural. Incredibly strong, many faceted and they provide a supernatural ability to identify and tear down strongholds. The Spirit of God will prove to be critical not only in the success of your mission, but for your survival as well! Don’t leave home without the Spirit.

The Body
Many faceted and multitalented they provide a well rounded solution both on attack and defense. The body will prove to be a great assistance in the success of your mission. Listen to them, embrace them, they carry the gifts of the Spirit, within them.

Circumstances
Not to be depended on when on its own, but useful as a support member when added to the team.

...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.

Sports Bar - Mission Impossible Part II

2006-12-24T21:52:00.000-06:00

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It all starts with a decision… even the decision to do nothing, to go with the flow, is a decision.
5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:5-13
1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." 3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." 6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." 9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow (Lot) came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here--sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" 18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." 21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.

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You're Lot in Life...Mission Impossible part III

2006-12-24T00:59:00.000-06:00

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22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called (small) Zoar.) 23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.
24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.
26 But Lot's wife looked back, (from “small” compromise) and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. 29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar (small) (compromise) and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar (compromise).
Lot has lost everything; riches, flocks, herds, servants, tents, his moral compass, his home, his wife and now he is living in a cave…

Let’s put this in perspective…
Lot had chosen to go with Abraham when he left Ur of the Chaldes. He decided to follow Abraham as he followed God. And as long as he did that God blessed him like he blessed Abraham, gave him flocks and herds, and tents and servants so much so that the land could not support both of them. When Lot saw that the life in the city was better than the life Abraham had given him, he moved toward the city, now he moved with all of his servants all of his flocks, all of his herds, all of his tents.
But when the two angels came, we don’t see or hear about any herds do we? We don’t hear about any servants do we? We don’t hear about any tents, but now he has a house. Maybe he had to sell all the tents to pay for the house. Maybe he had to sell all the herds and get rid of all of the servants to pay for the house. When the angels come and he is being attacked by the men of the city, he offers his daughters instead of the angels, so he has even lost his moral compass.
Later on his son-in-laws don’t believe him because he has not had enough of the truth in him that they would believe him, they think he is joking. And some people this morning may think I am joking. That this isn’t that serious, David. Really it isn’t. And then when we see him running for his life, he has, himself, his two daughters and his wife but when he stays at a small compromise instead of obey God he loses his wife! Now he has two daughters and his daughters have been so affected by the culture that he chose, that they don’t even know the difference between incest and the proper thing to do. But it goes beyond that it is not just about him and his daughters. Because the sin that they perpetrated with their father raised up two nations. Moab and Ammon, opposes Israel when they are on the way to the promised land. The things that are birthed out of compromise will come and attack you, when you want to enter the promised land. I am going to say that again, “the things that are birthed out of your compromise, out of your choosing a worldly lifestyle will be the very things that will come and attack you and try to bring death to you as you are trying to follow God out of bondage to the promised land. We are making choices everyday that are taking us toward the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that lifestyle. Or we are making decisions that are separating ourselves from that lifestyle, so that we have a chance at Mission Impossible hearing God’s Voice and obeying it.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and before the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble… and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
I don’t know how to finish this off, because, I really do not want to put a heavy thing over Christmas.
But I will tell you what, choices have results, and results bear fruit and the fruit we are going to eat off, whether it is good or bad, we are going to eat of the fruit of our actions. I don’t want you to hear this as about legalism, about denying yourself this or denying yourself that. What I want you to do, is go back to the sports bar and decide how are you going to respond to the quiet carpenter. I want this to be more of a sermon about, what you choose for life, rather than what you leave behind that would bring you death.
See I have set before you life and death…CHOOSE LIFE…

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Wondering Where the Lions Are...

2006-12-11T00:49:00.000-06:00

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Sun’s Up, Uh huh, looks okay
The world survives another day
And I’m thinking about eternity,
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

I had another dream about lions at the door
They weren’t half as frightening as they were before
But I’m thinking about eternity,
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me

We talked last week about expectation. We talked about setting an empty chair in our midst in expectation of Jesus coming. Without taking action, faith is dead. If we don’t set a place for Jesus to show up, He is probably not going to show up.

This week I want to talk about what happens once we have we set that chair in place. Once we have waited patiently like the Hebrew people. When year after year the festivals come and the festivals go. Christmas comes and Christmas goes. And still there’s no Messiah, sitting in the chair.

This is where the test of our faith begins. Because, if the chair stays empty, past this time when we come, Does that mean He is not coming? Does that mean God does not reign? We see that after waiting 2000 years for that chair to be filled. When Jesus himself, God Incarnate God in flesh, comes and sits down in the chair. Instead of being excited, instead of rising to their feet and declaring how great their God is. They want to push him off a cliff and stone him. But we might think, but that was them, You know, they were dull of hearing, Isaiah says of them, “they have eyes but don’t see they have ears but don’t hear.” But how does that apply to us? It applies to us, because we are just like them. We come here week after week, we haven’t been coming for thousands of years, Josh is not that old, but Howard has be coming for at least several decades. Does God show up every Sunday? How does you faith hold up in the face of a natural disaster like Katrina when it comes close to your house? How does Psalm 91 hold up if someone you know gets sick or is in the hospital? How we can miss him when he shows up? We saw that after the Israelites waited for a thousand years. Because He doesn’t always take out a full page ad in the paper to tell you he has arrived, incognito! Did you know He comes like a thief in the night? Even before the end, the second coming, all the stuff with the virgins being ready. Here is an example of coming incognito. Jesus has just finished at outdoor meeting and is doing altar ministry and dispersing the crowds. Let’s catch up with his disciples in Matthew 14:22-23.

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves,… Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

See, you can be close to God and still miss him, when he comes in the middle of the night. Here is the guy that they have lived with, worked with, they have seen the miracles, but they don’t recognize him, when he comes in the middle of the night.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."And Peter answered Him and Said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." Matthew 14:27-33

Do you identify more with the eleven in the boat or are you out there surfing in bare feet with Peter on the water? I am not asking which group you want to be in, but which group do you find yourself in this morning? Do you see yourself, standing peaceful with Daniel in the lion’s den? Could you have slept there all night long? Or do you see yourself cowering in the corner. If you were there praying, what would you be hoping for? You are in a lion’s den, what are you hoping for? Are you hoping for a set of bars to come between you and the lions? Are you hoping they won’t notice you?

See, what you are hoping for will determine how big your God is. How big is the chair you have set for Jesus to come in your midst?

How about a furnace that has just been stoked with fuel until it reaches 2000 degrees? The security guys that threw you in fell dead, their lungs seared from the superheated gases, coming off the fire you just landed in. What do you think they hoped for? The story is found in Daniel Chapter 3. While you are looking it up we will remind people that might not know the story. They haven’t seen the Veggie Tales version of this story, which is milk toast compared to the real thing. The King had a dream and Daniel interpreted the dream, and if you remember it, it was about what empires were going to come to rule over the world. The reason I am going this far back is because of the end of that dream. The answer is is Jesus Christ is going to reign, God is going to reign. All the kingdoms of this earth are going to be tumbled by the rock cut out without hands, that comes down the mountain and strikes the image at its feet. Jesus is the rock that is cut out of the mountain without hands. That comes down and strikes the image at its feet and then becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth. The King has to decide, “has God really said?” He decided, “No! God has not really said.”

I am going to make a gold image 66 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. And I am going to cause all the provinces all my empire, to come to this place and I am going to have worship music going on. And all of you, all the princes, all the governors, all the ambassadors, all the government clerks, and all the people that represent this great empire I have built. You are to bow down and to worship the gold image saying in fact, that this reign of Nebuchadnezzar is forever, and that the reign of Jesus was never going to come and destroy it. The three Hebrew children would not bow down to anything but their God but what did they expect?

Daniel 3:14-18 So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" That is a question you should write down.Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3

As I was quickly change directions this morning, taking some notes, I was reminded of a song I have not heard or even thought of for many years. It is written by a man named Bruce Cockburn.

He was writing about another natural disaster. Another super heated furnace, I didn’t know this story until just a couple of minutes ago. The song was written partially about Fire fighters in the woods of Canada. And the name of the song is “Wondering Where the Lions Are?” I am going to read you some passages out of here. This guy is writing about in the face of real heat in the face of real natural disaster. This is what he wrote.

Wondering where the lions are? Bruce Cockburn

Sun’s Up, Uh huh, looks okay
The world survives another day
And I’m thinking about eternity,
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me
I had another dream about lions at the door
They weren’t half as frightening as they were before
But I’m thinking about eternity,
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me
Walls windows trees waves coming through
You in me and me in you
Together in eternity
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me
And I’m wondering where the lions are…I’m wondering where the lions are…
Huge Orange flying boat rises off a lake
Thousand-year-old Petroglyphs doing a double take
Pointing a finger at eternity
I’m sitting in the middle of this ecstasy
Young men marching, helmets shining in the sun,
Polished as precise like the brain behind the gun(should be)
they got me thinking about eternity
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me
And I’m wondering where the lions are…I’m wondering where the lions are…
Freighters on the nod on the surface of the bay
One of these days we’re going to sail away,
Going to sail into eternity
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold of me
And I’m wondering where the lions are…I’m wondering where the lions are…

Now that may seem weird for you to hear that in Church,
but this guy is talking about fire fighting, and all the equipment and all the efforts of men to put out a fire but his mind is not on what man can do. This is like those fox hole experiences, where you have everything you can do and you are standing in the middle of something that is bigger than what you are and bigger than your equipment. You can have freighters pumping water and shooting it up across the burning forest. You can have these machines that can go up and have that water pumped into them and fly across these fir forests. There is a raging fire, it going to take acres and acres of land. And there could be a fire coming into your life, it could be financial, it could spiritual , it could be emotional, and you need to have the same focus that he has. That in the face of a fire fight we say, “You know there may be lions at the door, but they are not as big as they were before” because my mind is on eternity, and I am being kept in the peace of God. There is a ecstasy that has a hold on me. And I am wondering where the lions are? Where are your teeth? Oh death where is your sting, Oh grave where is your victory, would be the biblical way to say that....

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The Empty Chair

2006-12-04T00:54:00.000-06:00

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Jesus got in trouble for the thing I am going to talk about this morning. I am going to leave a little mystery hanging there. I am going to talk about expectation. You’ve probably got a five minute drive or a fifteen minute drive here. What is it you expect to get from God this morning? Think about that… Ask yourself the question, what is it that I expected this morning?

Some of you, came expecting donuts. Can we be honest? How many people came expecting donuts this morning? And your expectations were met. How many people were expecting a warm cup of coffee and warm fellowship? Who forgot it was donut morning like me this morning? I wasn’t expecting donuts. What were you guys expecting if you didn’t come for donuts and warm fellowship?

Did you coming for the same old, same old? Did you come to see friends, family? Did you come to hear a couple familiar songs, to hear Ben play skillfully? See because what we expect we get. “You have not because you ask not,” and when you ask you don’t receive because you ask out of a wrong motive. I am going to say that again. We have not because we ask not. See, God wants to meet you in this place, so let’s ask!

Remember the prayer of Solomon when he dedicates the temple. David had gathered materials for years but Solomon built the Temple. Solomon stands there a mere puny man cut out of the same fabric that we are, and he asks for God’s presence to come down. The presence of God comes down and smoke fills the temple. The priests cannot stand and minister anymore. They have to fall on their faces or just get out of the building, because the presence of God is so thick. Well…that could never happen here! Isn’t that what we think? That could never happen here…we don’t have Solomon… but we have the same God Solomon prayed to and he filled the temple with smoke at one man’s asking.

Back in that time in every synagogue, it took ten men to form a synagogue, and every Synagogue had an empty chair. I thought about doing this last week but there were three rows of empty chairs, there is just not that many Saviors, there is only one. They had an empty chair right in the front row. Can anyone guess why that empty chair was there? Yeah! They were expecting a Messiah, and every week, every Saturday as they came, that chair stayed empty. That chair stayed empty for a thousand years! That chair stayed empty for two thousand years. Then one day a man of about thirty years stood up and read out of the book of Isaiah, “the Lord has anointed me to preach the gospel, to the poor, to set at liberty those who are held captive, to open the eyes of the blind, to give the deaf their hearing, to heal the broken hearted and restore those that have been trodden down and lift them up” and that 30 year old carpenter sat down in that chair. Because He sat down in that chair, they wanted to push him off a cliff and stone him. (more later about that)

But my question this morning is, “have we, in our hearts, have we left an empty chair? Or are we coming, not expecting Jesus to really walk in our midst. Did we come to church to talk about Him or did we come to meet Him? That is the question we need to ask ourselves this morning....

Somewhere In Time

2006-11-27T00:57:00.000-06:00

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This morning I want to talk about the timelessness of Prayer. Can we cross over a threshold in prayer and reach into a Heavenly reality? Can we cross over to a place where time ceases to exist. There is a threshold in our minds, that divides time from eternity. Can we cross in prayer to a place that transcends time? We can cross over from world consciousness into Heavenly Consciousness?

Did you know that as a culture, we are very interested in transcending time to touch timelessness? In the last several years at least 556 movies have been made with time travel as the central plot. Hollywood has experimented with every aspect of traveling to a different time. Including how one can change history by going back in time and changing what was done in the past.
Well prayer also changes things, prayer for forgiveness and for deliverance remove the power of things done in the past and can change the future.

In the movie “Somewhere in Time” Christopher Reeves plays a man who finds a mystical connection with a woman whose picture graces the lobby of the Grand Hotel, He goes out and purchases a vintage suit at a second hand store.

We need to clothe ourselves in a mindset that is of heavenly culture.
He checks into his room and shuts the door, then dresses in his period suit from a time many years earlier. He carefully removes from himself every vestige of the present world. He quiets himself closes his eyes and begins to meditate. Everything in him is focused towards traveling to that other time. We should be just as devoted to make journey to the inward life and just as captivated in meeting with Jesus. Our movie friend is successful in reaching that other time. He finds the object of his adoration. But after overcoming many hurdles, just when they are getting ready to spend time together, he reaches into the vest pocket of his second hand suit to tip the bell hop and pulls out a penny from the current year.

He is pulled back into the present screaming and never gets back again to where he was in that other place. He never gets to reconnect with the object of his love. He dies in that hotel room trying desperately to get back to that other place again. But it never happens.

This movie helps us understand the fragile nature of connecting with our (supernatural) Lord during our devotional time. Almost any little thing from the present age, from the here and now, can pull us out of our time with Him and try as we might to get back there, it is never easy. Have you ever had a dream and forget it and think I know I can get it back if I just go back to sleep. Let me know how it turns out....
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Song Of Ascent

2006-11-20T00:59:00.000-06:00

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Hallelujah! How many of you know it is a little bit of a rush, to get here on Sunday morning? It is like you get up and you have so much to do. How many things do you think of, other than thinking about coming into the presence of God on a Sunday Morning? Quite a few!

If you remember it was about two weeks ago when we talked last time and I read an article about Jesus chasing us through our busy schedules. I don’t know how much you remember of that but, this morning I want turn the tables and I want to talk about how it is that we can pursue God.

Because, it is one thing for Him to be pursuing us. There is a scripture that says, That Jesus was really following the Israelites through the wilderness. Because they didn’t pursue God He ended up following them. We don’t want God following us, because His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts above our thoughts. And how many of you want the God of the universe following you like you are the deal. It doesn’t work that well. That’s why they were in the wilderness when they turned around and followed God they went into the promised land.

So what I wanted to talk to you about a little bit this morning is how we pursue the presence of God. I am going to take you back into the Old Testament . You may not be aware of this all, but three times a year all males 20 years and up were required to make a journey to Jerusalem, to the presence of God. From wherever they farmed, from wherever they ran their business, wherever they did their work, they had to make a trip. They had to go up to Jerusalem, the place where God had put His presence and they had to go there physically. Now we know that in the new covenant we do not have to go to Jerusalem. How many people want to have to travel to Jerusalem three times a year? It gets pretty expensive. But in the new covenant, the presence of God has not changed, just where it dwells has changed. Now in the New Testament it says “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So what I am going to tell you this morning, don’t just apply it to Corporate worship service in this place. But apply it when you go into your prayer closet on Monday morning, Tuesday Morning, Wednesday morning, Thursday night, Saturday in the afternoon, whenever you go to prayer, think about this process.

The commandment was this that they would not come empty handed, but they would come with something in their hand. If you lived close by, these men would have to get up early in the morning, they would take a goat or a sheep or whatever their sacrifice was and they would walk that pathway up to Jerusalem. Now every man in Israel was walking that pathway up to Jerusalem as well, so they would meet each other along the way. And they would sing. Several of the Psalms are songs of ascents. Several Psalms in the book of Psalms, we have today are songs these men sang together as they met in the little byways, highways and pathways coming from the fields and heading toward the main roads, that all lead to Jerusalem.

This idea of preparation, is so foreign to our American mindset. We are so instant, so… pop it in the micro wave, hit the button, turn on a dime. But there is something about real things, whether it is romance, marriage, or a relationship with God that takes time, trust takes time, building a relationship takes time. And if we wing in here Sunday morning, with about three seconds of preparation time, and we can miss the deeper relationship God wants to have with us.

How many people prefer frozen microwave pizza, to the really good Italian pizza fresh from a pizzeria? Raise your hand if you like frozen pizza better than real. (No hands went up) When we come in on Sunday morning with a flash in the pan attitude, we get Jesus in a frozen pizza, watered down, throw it together mode. And we don’t get the full flavor, that takes time. The wood fired pizza, so to speak. I am way off my topic, aren’t I? but not really because these pictures help us understand God.

Let me paint the picture for you. If you lived too far away to carry your sacrifice with you, then the law provided that you would sell the goat the sheep whatever and turn it into money that would be easier to carry in your pocket. Now this option takes even more preparation because you would have to sell it when it was still a market day. Some people already traveled two or three days to get to Jerusalem. Obviously it will not take you two or three days to get here. And hopefully, it will not take two or three days to get to your prayer closet. But there is a preparation that is required, and what I want you to do this morning, in your hearts, is to turn that little switch off. The switch that turns off the American lifestyle, the instant lifestyle.

And when I finish reading this Song of Ascent of David, when they start playing, I want you to mentally start that journey. Leave your place of business, your place of education, your place of all the family responsibilities, the family farm, the family household. You know what I am talking about, the cluttered closets, the dirty dishes, paying the bills, unfinished homework. Start taking that journey in your heart as they play worship this morning. We are going to someplace and the place we are going is where the presence of God dwells. By the Holy Spirit, by the new covenant, it says, we can come face to face, with the lover of our soul, with our Redeemer, with the One who loved us first. We can love Him because he loved us first. This is David, the king, the psalmist

Psalm 122: A song of ascents of David, This is a song written for the men to sing as they came up into Jerusalem. Wouldn’t it be great if …when everybody parked up here in the parking lot and saw each that we would begin to sing songs, as we walked down the steps and the city would hear it .. of course they would have to be short. And we come at such varied times, but can you get the picture of maybe a million men, maybe a million and a half men singing as they are coming to Jerusalem from every side. You can as you get close, hear the guys singing that are coming in from the opposite direction to Jerusalem. They are singing one of the songs of Zion!

Psalm 122 a song of ascents of David
“I was glad when they said unto me let us go up unto the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing within your gates Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together where the tribes go up, the tribes of Lord to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord, for thrones are set there for judgement, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you”

They are not talking about a city here. Do you understand what they are talking about? You, the place where his presence dwells. Jerusalem is just the name of the city, but pray for the peace of God in your life, pray for peace in your busyness.

“May they prosper who love you”

See, now we have turned the tables, we are now pursuing God, He is no longer pursuing us anymore. We are going to the place where He is at. In a high school romance, we’re going closer to His locker, just to see him one more time. We’re going to go close to God this morning. We might just catch a glimpse of him. We might be able to leave him a little love note this morning. That is what worship is about.

“For the sake of my brethren and my companions, I will now say peace be within you because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”

There are other songs of ascents, but they all do this, they all focus us towards getting ready to come into the presence of God. So What I want you to do as they bring this song up, is to close your eyes, and do this. Picture water being poured over your mind, washing away all the cares of this world, all the schedules, all the things you’re thinking about; what’s going to happen today, tomorrow, this week. What happened yesterday, what happened last week. And begin to check your heart. Is my heart a place where the Holy Spirit would feel coming and talking to you this morning. Is my heart a place that God would feel comfortable, coming and touching this morning. Or does my heart need to be cleaned, and if my heart needs to be cleaned, then ask Him to wash your heart, so He can come and touch you there in your heart so He can bring it to life....

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Jesus is Chasing You!

2006-11-04T01:00:00.000-06:00

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The Divine Romance, Adam & Martha...(Download mp3 Audio)

In God’s perfect world, it was not an office, not a factory, not a sports arena, but a garden where God placed man, his most cherished creation. God’s ideal setting for a pursuing a love relationship with man, was a garden.

He created man naked and unashamed. Intimacy comes, when we know we are loved, just as we are, there is no shame, no need to perform, no need to hide, (no fig leaves required).

In the cool of the day God would come down to be with Adam, where Adam was, the garden, and walk with him. God comes again, one day but this day Adam and Eve have sinned and are hiding, God says “Adam where are you?” Since that day of separation, from the garden, man now asks, "God, where are you?”

In our post modern, post industrial, information age, we have trouble seeing God as the Divine suitor in a sacred romance. Ohh! We see him as a boss, a judge, an absentee landlord, a policeman, some see Him as a teacher, a doctor, maybe others see a savior, a deliverer, a resource, a higher power, few may even picture Him as a friend. But do we see him as our lover? Comparing God to a romantic lover makes us uncomfortable.

While we accept that He is the author and finisher of our faith, we forget that He is also the Creator, the author and finisher of all aspects of human intimacy, physical, emotional and spiritual. This same God inspired Paul the apostle to compare these two; marriage and the church, as Paul was writing about husbands and wives becoming one flesh, he says,

“For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. (quoted from Gen. 2:24)
This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning the relation of Christ and the church.”(Ephesians 5:31, 32)

Close your eyes, with me, for a moment, try to picture this;
Jesus, is chasing a woman, she is the object of his affection, through the mall shopping, He chases her, store after store, as she stops for lunch with friends, phone calls, taking in a movie, standing in line at Starbucks? There He is! did you see Him? He is right on the edge of the crowd. He is waiting, watching for his (promised) bride, to turn around and recognize Him, to throw her arms around him and embrace him. If we could hear his thoughts, they would be insistent, “come away, come away with me. my love.

The Lord of Glory, so brilliant is His countenance, it surpasses the brilliance of the noonday sun! This noonday sun itself pales to shades of gray in his presence. Yet He waits, for Her! Does anybody in the crowd gathered there see him? Can you see him?

Imagine. Now you are the woman, pushing your way through your daily routine of busyness? He runs behind your car, as you race off to work, a quick stop by the drycleaners and on to the job, oops, fill up the tank, grab a coffee and back on the road.

Arriving at the office, He watches as endless tasks consume all your thoughts, off to lunch, fruitless conversations, then more tasks. Get the kids from school, grab a few groceries on the way home. Ahh! Home at last! Flip on the tube catch the news and relax, for a couple of minutes before supper? Then clean up, dishes, pay the bills, kiss the kids goodnight make, a late night trip to Wal-Mart and the video rental outlet, back home in time to drop into bed. Tomorrow is another day. Jesus is still waiting, can you hear him? Martha? Martha where are you?

Mary kept finding herself at his feet. Like Martha are you distracted, busy, worrying, about many things? Only one thing is needful, to sit at his feet to embrace him, let him kiss you with the kisses of his mouth. Do you have eyes for Him? Can the eyes of your heart, capture and process that brilliant spectrum of light? Is his dazzling beauty lost on you? Are you blinded by the glare of lesser lights? Like looking at a welding torch without protection? Have the sparks of man-made lights damaged your ability to see? Do you have difficulty comprehending things not tangible? Could you see Him among the crowd pursuing you, as your passionate lover?

Because they lack comprehension of true love, the sacred romance, Hollywood paints distorted pictures. Computer animation and special effects allow Hollywood to create other “savior’s”, from Superman to King Arthur. They ascribe the attributes of God to His creation, redirecting worship from the Creator, to the creation, “worshipping the creation instead of the Creator.” With flickering light and shadow, they dull our ability to comprehend the magic and mystery of the living God, in the process of satisfying the human longing for a god. “Leaving the fountain of living waters; to build broken cisterns that cannot hold water”. (Jeremiah)

Unsurpassed in beauty, unequaled in strength, faithful, true, gentle, pure, He is our knight in shining armor, the only hero in our tale, our defense, our high tower our kinsman redeemer.
He offers us everlasting life, the only ‘true’ version of living ‘happily ever after.’

I remember a hymn we used to sing when I was a child. It paints a picture of this intimacy I have been trying to describe.

“I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses

And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am his own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

Man was made to bring God pleasure, for touching God. God’s idea was to meet man in the garden (places of life) in the ‘cool’ of the day. No wonder we all have an inner tug for leisurely strolls in the ‘garden’ places, with the ones we love. Whether that place is as cultivated as a formal English garden, as rough as the mountains, as random as a cascading stream, or as expansive as the shifting seashore. He meets his love in the lonely garden places of life. We have been made in His image and so we too have that ideal written on our hearts. We too want to steal away from the crowd with the one we love, to share a moment of expressed love a kiss, an embrace, a tender words of love.

The following passage may embarrass you, it is bold and unabashed in its expression of passion.

He becomes the center as we linger in the garden places - Excerpts from Song of Solomon

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, (turning to the king )for your love is better than wine.

I have come into my garden, my sister, my (promised) bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam and spice from your sweet words I have gathered the richest perfumes and spices. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, feast on, O revelers of the palace; you can never make my lover disloyal to me!

Drink! Yes drink abundantly of love, O precious one for now I know you are mine, irrevocably mine! With his confident words still thrilling her heart, through the lattice she saw her shepherd turn away and disappear into the night.

I went to sleep, but my heart stayed awake. I dreamed that I heard the voice of my beloved as he knocked, at the door of my mother’s cottage. Open to me , my sister, my love, my dove, my spotless one, he said for I am wet with the heavy night dew; my hair is covered with it. But weary from a day in the vineyards, I had already sought my rest, I had put off my garment---how could I again put it on? I had washed my feet—how could I again soil them?

My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him. I rose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh which he had left on the handles of the bolt.

I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and withdrawn himself, and was gone! My soul went forth, to him when He spoke, but it failed me and now He was gone! I sought Him but I could not find Him: I called Him but he gave me no answer.

The watchman who go about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took my veil and my mantle from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am sick from love, simply sick to be with him...

Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? ... Where is your beloved hiding himself? For we would seek him with you. She replied, My Beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies. I am my beloved’s garden and my beloved is mine! He feeds among the lilies which grow there.....

Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as hard and cruel as sheol. It’s flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame the very flame of the Lord.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would offer all the goods of his house, for love he would be utterly scorned and despised....