SETTING THE LIFE IN ORDER BRINGS GODLY VISION

Transcription

1 SETTING THE LIFE IN ORDER BRINGS GODLY VISION God desires for us to have a future and a hope in Him. He wants us to have His dreams and visions realized in our lives. Before that can happen, however, our lives as Christians must be put in Divine Order. Divine Order comes when we prioritize our lives according to God s priorities. We must have a foundation of His truth rooted in us. We must live by and follow His principles, His and other s godly examples, and have a willing heart to live in His Divine Order. When we allow the Lord to determine our priorities, a life of sacrifice will be necessary. Every form of selfish desire must go, because it is from our life in Christ that we will live out our future and hope in Him. Only then will we realize and experience His dreams and visions for us as a reality. This being true, let s go back to the Book of Beginnings to see how God and mankind have worked together to bring forth God s vision. Genesis 22:1-14 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of Abraham was tempted. This means his heart and motives were put to the test by God to see if they were pure. Abraham passed the test. Since Abraham is called the Father of faith, we must realize we all will walk through the same tests in life. Is there anyone or anything that you hold as more precious in your heart than your relationship God? If so, according to God, it is an idol. Obeying and pleasing God are to be our priorities. Burnt offerings are types and shadows of things that were to come in the New Testament. They were symbolic of the total consecration of the worshiper to Jehovah. Because these offerings were completely consumed

2 and no part was left for human consumption, they symbolized self. Nothing of ourselves is to be allowed to have its way over God s way. Interestingly, these offerings were offered every day in the morning and in the evening and because of the regularity and frequency with which they were offered, they were called the continual burnt-offering. Exodus 29:42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. Here we see that the Lord will speak to those who are consecrated to Him daily. What did a burnt offering literally look like that Abraham and our other forefathers demonstrated before God? Leviticus 1:3, 7, 8 v. 3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests Aaron s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: Wood symbolizes every area of desire in our lives. our desires are to be laid down for God s use. Every selfish desire is to be burned up by the fire of God s will. Godly desires: 1) the need for fulfillment in life 2) the need for friendship and fellowship 3) the need for love and acceptance

3 4) to have all our God given gifts and talents be worth something and be significant during our life here on earth and used by Him for His glory Selfish desires: 1) unforgiveness towards God, self or others 2) Sin - anything we desire that is not the way in God desires we obtain something. Marriage vs. living together; stealing vs. working for a living, taking responsibility, etc... As we saw in the previous verses the wood was to be put in order. The word order means: to arrange; set in a row. It is symbolic of priorities. In building a fire the wood must be placed in a certain order so it to burns effectively. The same is true with our desires. If our lives and priorities are not in order they will not burn effectively for God. We read in Matthew 25:4, 7 the story of the 5 wise virgins and 5 foolish virgins. These virgins symbolize a believer s preparation to meet the Lord. The virgins took oil for their lamps so they could see. To take means they received it by paying the price for it. It costs to have our lives prioritized rightly. They trimmed their lamps (trim - cosmeo, cosmetic, to put in order). They made it a priority to have oil in their lamps. We, too, are to make it a priority to receive revelation knowledge from the Holy Spirit. His revelation will ignite the desires of God in our hearts and put His will in order in our lives. Following this parable is the parable of the talents. Jesus was instructing His disciples concerning the accountability of the use and development (or lack of use and development) of the talents given them. Fallen man who has not received His salvation through the death, burial and resurrection power of Jesus Christ can only think apart from God. A born again man without a mind yielded over to the Lord s priorities only thinks old thoughts of

4 rebellion. We must know and be reminded daily that we are God s special creation created for His fellowship and needed use. Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. In English, the word workmanship means poem. A poet is one who writes or expresses himself with imaginative power, beauty of thought, flowing language, etc. The difference between a poem and regular writing is it can be rhythmical, expressing experiences, ideas, and emotions in a style more concentrated, imaginative and powerful than that of ordinary speech. We were meant to be an expression (poem) of God on this earth. Until we know who He is and who we are in Him, we will never express His glory to the entire world at the highest level He intended or desires. Why do people, even some so-called Christians, yield to substance abuse, drugs, immoral sex and more? The reason is they have stuffed their pain and lack of Godly satisfaction away in their hearts. They think this numbs the pain of the past. They have not allowed Jesus Christ Himself to bring healing and wholeness to them. Most often, they have not found ministers who can help in the healing and recovery process. Therefore, the years that have been stolen from them through personal sin and/or the sin of others towards them continues on. We must put first things first in our lives so we, as well as others, can see the workmanship of God in us. Most of humanity has their beliefs founded on what they learned growing up from others who probably didn t know who they were. As we begin a life in Christ we must search to know who we are and why we are what we are.

5 MY STRATEGY BOOK What is a strategy book? My Strategy Book is a practical way God had me lay out my life so I might really examine every part of me and how complex I am as a person. It is vitally important to realize/recognize how fearfully and wonderfully made we are for His purposes. Putting my life/wood in order involves the following: 1) The first piece of wood - Know God personally through salvation in Jesus Christ. His will needs to determine our will every day of our lives. It is essential we know who we are in Christ through the Word of God and allow His will to take precedence in our lives. Look through all the Epistles and note where it says in Him or in Christ. Begin to find out who you are as a born again Christian. This might also enable You to discover if you have truly received Christ. Knowing this truth brings understanding of God s authority and what He has entrusted to you as a believer in Him. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to bring your whole life into Divine Order through whole-hearted, honest, believing prayer. God leads by His word (which changes our mind to His mind) and His Spirit (that works His word into our being with power). As the following verses say: Psalm 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. It is vitally important to take inventory of your life. If you have been bankrupt in an area then it is your responsibility to get help. You must understand that your soul (before you received Christ) hated God. Until your

6 will is brought into submission to Him and His will, your soul will continue to hate Him even though your heart may have received Him. In order to go on with Him, forgiveness of self, past hurts from self and others, abuses, neglect and negligence, debts, and offences must be dealt with and forgiven. Why forgive? According to God s word, Jesus is the only man that ever lived a sinless life. He can understand our shortcomings since He also was tempted as we are. He alone has the right and fairness of character to judge all our situations. There is no limit to His forgiveness towards us if we meet His conditions of repentance and forgiveness. 2) The second piece of wood - A place of fellowship for growth with God s leaders and other Christians. It is important to fellowship in a Christian environment of believers in Christ. Make sure it is not a religious setting of rituals keeping Christ at a distance and not offering the power of God to heal, deliver, and make whole. This fellowship is where we should be getting the repair and equipping to fulfill all His will mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4 - the entire chapter. 3) The third piece of wood - Our Manhood/Womanhood. Injuries in this area will affect every part of a life. A man or woman who does not know who they are will not stand in the roles of spouse, parent or businessperson etc. effectively. It is the person that marries and parents and conducts business not the role. What is a man according to God? What is a woman according to God? They are to be a full expression of who God is: strong tender protecting nurturing. Today, as in times in the past, men and women are struggling to understand who they are and why they were placed in a man or woman s body. Some are confused and think God made a mistake. One of the worst injuries a person can ever suffer is an injury to their creative uniqueness. Unless this is addressed with the Lord and mended, a person will not get passed the first piece of wood/priority and will not even begin to get their wood in order. 4) The fourth piece of wood - Role of Husband, Wife. Ignorance of what God says marriage is will affect us fulfilling His plan in the roles of husband/wife. Marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman in

7 order that God can fulfill His plan together with them. It is not God coming into agreement with our personal plan apart from His will, but uniting our lives and wills to be in agreement with each other and Him. 5) The fifth piece of wood - Role of Father/ Mother Impregnating a woman or carrying a child does not make us a parent. Only knowing God s reason and following His way of fathering and mothering makes us parents. Abuse or negligence in this area will cause injuries in who we are as His creation. What is a Father? A man who protects, provides, and upholds his children. What is a mother? One who nurtures (to impart spiritual and natural strength), trains (in spiritual and natural matters), cares for the sick child (by showing them how to care for themselves) and imparts truth about divine health. 6) The sixth piece of wood - Role in life outside the family: Minister, Governmental job, Businessman/Businesswoman, etc. These are parts we play in God s universal plan for eternity, not just the earth. It is a dress rehearsal for our future role when Jesus returns. These are roles God has foreordained for every person. He will use their gifts, talents, and who they are to support others, their families, the gospel, or oversee the Body of Christ. Why My Strategy Book? In II Timothy 2:14 the word soldier means strategies to make war. Strategy is the science of planning and directing large scale military operations. Most Christians don t understand that when they came to Christ they enlisted in the army of God and in this army there will be spiritual conflict. In Ephesians 4, the word perfect means to equip or mend a torn fishing net. Sin brought tears in all of our lives and until these are mended we won t fulfill our life purpose. We may work very hard, yet

8 everything we may do comes to nothing or slips away like a fish in a torn net. As a soldier for Christ we must learn where our strengths and weaknesses are and recognize both in order to keep growing in our strengths. Did we have a tendency to lie, be depressed, get angry, be unforgiving, be passive, or become an aggressive fighter? These tendencies must be rooted out by God s power and His word. Then His nature must be allowed to graft into our new nature as Christians. His nature is strengthened in us by making eternal decisions not temporary ones. Make a decision that from today on through the rest of your life you will always choose to His nature over yours. THE CHOICE IS OURS NOT GOD S OR SATAN S God gave all men a FREE WILL. He will not violate it. Satan, however, will attempt to exercise dominion over our will through our ignorance or laziness. The following paragraphs concern two men from two unsaved backgrounds, who made two different choices. The first chose life as an adult to fulfill his fate from Satan as an abused child. The second man, though very educated as a Jew, grew up with hatred towards Christians, murdered them yet fulfilled God s will for his life. Malcolm X grew up with many family tragedies. Those tragedies included the loss of a father, becoming very poor and as a result having children mock him in school. His teachers didn t see the gifts he had from God, therefore, he became Satan s man for Satan s vision. Why? Because who he was as God s creation had been injured and never repaired by God Almighty. After his life of crime led to a prison sentence, he was visited in prison by a demonic spirit and given a vision. Because of unresolved issues in his heart of anger, unforgiveness, etc. he chose to follow Satan s will/fate for his life. The Apostle Paul grew up with great training yet lacked the truth of who Christ was. He began his life as Satan s man by murdering Christians. He

9 thought he was doing a good Jewish thing. Yet through the intercessory prayer of Christians he came to know Christ as his Savior. Even though his mind was affected by wrong training, his heart wanted to know TRUTH. JESUS met him on the road to Damascus and confronted his rebellious life. At that moment Paul surrendered his heart and life to Christ JESUS. After going away for 3 years from his old surroundings he then studied the scriptures through God s eyes as enlightened by the Holy Spirit. He was retrained and became God s man, never to return to his old lifestyle. According to the Bible when all are born with an angel is assigned to them by God to help them come to Christ and fulfill God s purposes for their life. Likewise, there is also a fallen angel (called in scripture adversary ) assigned by Satan to every man to hinder them from coming to Christ. Unless they are released by Christ through salvation, they are kept in a fallen state so they never come to know God and follow His plan for their lives. For every human there are 2 forces that have a vision and life plan for them: Almighty God and the fallen angel satan. Almighty God has a destiny for us; Satan has a fate for us. The fulfillment of God s will in our lives is based on MAN S FREE WILL TO CHOOSE given to him by God. God s Will, will always be rooted in who God is according to scripture. Satan s will, will always be rooted in lies, deception, stealing, killing, destroying and rebelling against God. REMEMBER THE CHOICE IS OURS WHOSE VISION WILL WE FULFILL?

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