The Map Maker s Guide Spiritual Exercise The Holy Bible contains many models for prayer, including the following. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 This prayer is one of four Apostolic Prayers recorded in Paul s epistles. The others are found in Ephesians 1:15-23, Philippians 1:3-11, and Colossians 1:9-14. Each one can be adapted as a prayer for oneself, or for someone in your spheres of influence, by replacing the appropriate pronouns. In this form, they become instruments of promise and truth that will transform both the person being prayed for and the person that prays. Let the following example encourage your turning to the Lord. Prayer Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, we pray that You would grant us, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in our inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know Christ s love which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We pray to you Father, knowing that You are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us. We choose to believe it. To You be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Introduction We previously discussed some of the more significant processes God uses to restore His creation. We learned that salvation is the process that brings us into an eternal relationship with Christ; beginning with our justification and ending with our glorification. Sanctification is the process whereby we are separated from profane things, purified and dedicated to God. Through the transformation process, we are changed into the very image of Christ s glory. Transformation is unique in that it occurs iteratively in the lives of every Christian that has submitted to the Holy Spirit s work. Through our beholding Christ s glory, the Holy Spirit transforms us from one level of glory to the next, out-raying more of the light that is His life. The mature Christian can look back on their life and see where the Holy Spirit has transformed them step-by- 81
82 step, and season-by-season. If they look carefully, most will see that each of these seasons of transformation were bookended by a desire and an assignment. This lesson explores the desires of our hearts and the assignments of God that bring Him glory. We will also discover the relationship these have to the purposes of God for each season of our lives. Definition Desire (mish'alah): Request, petition, desire. Outline of Biblical Usage,www.BlueLetterBible.org Good (kalos): Beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable; beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent; good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends; beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy; honourable, conferring honour; affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming. Outline of Biblical Usage,www.BlueLetterBible.org Work (ergon): Business, employment, that which any one is occupied; that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to that which is less than work. Outline of Biblical Usage,www.BlueLetterBible.org Searching out the Matter has become a passion for me. In my searching, I have discovered that one of the easiest and most rewarding discovery methods is digging into the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words that are used in Scripture. God purposefully created these two languages to express Himself and the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. Both are far richer than the English language particularly Americanized English. In His providence, God has hidden mysteries for us in the meaning of many Greek and Hebrew words. For example, the Hebrew word that is translated as desire is more than a passive wishing or hoping for something. It includes the action of request and petition. Many Hebrew and Greek words are more active than the meaning we have given them. The people of the Bible God s children are to be active participants in His story and in their spheres of influence. The concepts of beauty and comfort included in the Greek word for good add a relational character to its meaning. Furthermore, with meaning that includes surpassing, excellent and magnificent, it is not surprising that this word is used to describe the work that glorifies our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16). Interestingly, a different Greek word agathos is used in Ephesians 2:10 to describe the work we are created to walk in (a matter I will leave for you to search out and consider). Searching Out the Matter (All Scripture references, but those noted, are NKJV; Thomas Nelson, Inc.; footnotes excluded) Creatures of Purpose Man (consisting of both male and female) was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). One trait of this image is our purposefulness. For us humans, What is my purpose? is one of the more revealing worldview questions; because it defines what we believe about ourselves and the world around us. As Creator and Father, God intends for us to know the purposes He has for us. [God] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began 2Timothy 1:9 Our salvation and calling are in accordance with the purposes of God. They were given to us along with His necessary grace before the beginning of time. However, and this is critically important, they are not for us; but according to His own purposes.
But indeed for this purpose I have raised you (Pharaoh) up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. Exodus 9:16 God uses both good and evil people to accomplish His purposes. This is a great encouragement. If God would use someone as evil as Pharaoh to show Himself strong, then why not every one of His children? To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven Ecclesiastes 3:1 Every season in the life of every child of God has a purpose. Seasons come and seasons go (as they say); and with them, the purposes of God for that season. If we miss it, the purpose God has for us may be lost entirely, or passed on to someone that will respond. By His grace, God may decide to offer a purpose to someone multiple times. How God orchestrates the many purposes of the many seasons of His many children is a mystery. But one thing we know God Reveals His Purposes Simply stated, God reveals His purposes through the desires of our hearts. As we mentioned earlier, the process of transformation begins with the discovery of these desires. The secret to this discovery is found in the following verses: Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-6 He shall give you is an emphatic promise of God. Of course, these are not our carnal desires, but those He intended before He established the foundations of the earth (Ephesians 2:10). How exciting is that!?! And there s more. God has been orchestrating events for thousands of years to help you discover the desires of your heart. Why? So He can give them to you!! Some father s are blessed with the resources to plan ahead for a special gift they want to give their child (e.g., an education, a home, the family business), but no father has been planning as long as your Heavenly Father, for the desires He has put in your heart. How do we discover this gift and put ourselves in position to receive it? By following the conditions of the promise: 1. Trust in the LORD In the face of evildoers that are getting ahead through works of iniquity, will we trust God to give us our desires? 2. Do good Will we resist the temptations to pursue our desires in unethical and evil ways? 3. Dwell in the land The land to the Psalmist represented the promises of God their inheritance. Psalm 37 contains many promises of God for the righteous man. Dwelling in them means to believe, reckon and cherish them. Are His promises enough of a dwelling place for His children? 4. Feed on His faithfulness Will we look to His faithfulness as our sustenance trusting nothing or no one else for our desires? Will we be satisfied in Him and what He wants to give us? 5. Delight yourself in the LORD This last condition is my favorite; because it contains a hidden matter one of God s mysteries. I found this treasure as I was searching out the meaning of desire. Using BlueLetterBible.org, I discovered that the Hebrew word that is translated as delight is not used in any of the other 149 Psalms. Here it is the word `anag. `Anag has a very simple meaning: to be soft. Now, what does that make you think of? For me, it was the softness of clay in the Potter s hands. 83
84 And so, by searching out this matter, we have discovered that the hidden key to receiving the desires of our heart is to be surrendered to the LORD. He will reveal the desires of our heart and give them. In essence, they will become the purposes of God for the one so surrendered. This is an incredible treasure; for the Scriptures have much to say regarding the promises of God s purpose. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 Find His purpose for this season of your life and all things (past, present and future; good and bad) will work together for your good. What an amazing promise!! Furthermore, we can know that it will be accomplished. I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. Job 42:2 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:5 No matter how bad it looks, once we are walking in God s purpose, we can rest in the assurance that it will come to pass. It is an awesome encouragement to know that we share in the desires of our Father s heart. That powerful and intimate connection with the heart of God will carry us through the trials and tribulations of transformation; and into the assignment He has called us to walk in with Him. Transformed for Our Assignment The end of the transformation process comes when we are adequately prepared for the assignment that will glorify our Father in heaven. This assignment is the physical manifestation of the desire of our heart. There is a mystery here that we will cover briefly. Consider these verses: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Psalm 37:6 We have been created in Christ Jesus to walk in good works. These works are the assignments that are birthed from the desires of our hearts. As we walk in these assignments, men will see them and glorify our Father in heaven. But how will someone see a work of man and say something like, Isn t God awesome! Will God take the glory of His children s work? Of course not! That is the mystery. We can begin to understand this mystery by recognizing that the command of Matthew 5:16 is not to do good works. The command is to let your light shine. What is this light? And what is your righteousness that He (the Father) has promised to bring forth (Psalm 37:6)? In Him [the Word, Christ] was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that, as it is written, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord. 1Corinthians 1:30-31 Christ Jesus is our righteousness and His life is our light! In Him, we will shine forth IF we are not getting in the way! This is one of the primary purposes of transformation to get us out of the way. Let me explain. If we are children of God, we have the Holy Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit, we have His fruit.
85 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 Consequently, and as one example, we don t need to pray for patience. Every Christian has within them the supernatural patience of God. Hard to believe, I know. But it s true! God s way for our finding patience is in our beholding Christ s glory and submitting to the Holy Spirit s work of removing the impatience that is in us (putting to death the deeds of the flesh). Similarly, we don t need more love. We need to be delivered from the judgmental spirit that has built a barrier between us and those we should love unconditionally. It is a process of subtraction. Each portion of the Spirit s fruit has an opposing carnal poison, found in our flesh, which inhibits the life of Christ in our relationships. If we will allow Him, the Spirit will transform these things out of us. As God determines, the Holy Spirit s transformational work will be completed, giving way to the assignment that God will use to glorify His name, expand His kingdom and give us the desires of our hearts. Conversely, through transformation, the Holy Spirit will work into us the things we need to live the normal Christian life: Faith, courage, virtue, etc. As we have previously pointed out, this includes a renewal of our minds; a change in the way we understand and consider this world and the kingdom of God. Conclusion We will more fully search out the matter of good works and God s glory in future lessons. For now, it is important to recognize that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them. The purpose of transformation is to prepare us for the assignment that God reveals in the desires of our hearts. A heart surrendered will reveal its desires. Desires surrendered will become the purposes of God purposes filled with promise and certain fulfillment. His assignments for us are our part in His larger eternal work. Large or small, they are critical to His kingdom and a blessing to each person that is involved in them. Application Many Christians go through life longing for ministry that is joyful and Spirit-filled. Regrettably, they most often find disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment. Why? Because they do not know where to find the purposes of God for this season of their lives. God has raised up Leaders in the Workplace to show all His children that His purposes can be found in the desires He has placed in their hearts. One of the greatest blessings a Leader in the Workplace can give to someone in his sphere of influence is to help them discover those desires. Reckoning God has created me with His desires carefully placed in my heart. Assignment 1. Review the Bible passages for this week. Study and meditate on those that may have challenged your understanding. Ask the Lord to give meaning to them for you. Share this with another. 2. The Hebrew word for delight in Psalm 37:4 means to be soft like clay in the Potter s hands. How does this affect your understanding of the verse? 3. Create a four column table with the following headings: God s Promises, What It Is Worth, The Condition, What It Will Cost Me. Read through Psalms 34, recording each promise in column one (e.g., in verse 7: The Lord hears my cry). In column two put a value, from 1 to 10, for the promise s worth to you. In column three, record the condition for the promise (e.g. being
righteous). In column four, put a value (again from 1 to 10) that indicates the cost of the condition to you. Weigh the value versus the cost and see just how profitable it would be to go all in for the Life that has been offered. Devotion Dreaming Big From Rob Streetman, The inlight Adventure Blog God has not left us to our own devices to understand the desires that He has for us. He has been orchestrating events for a very long time so that we would discover what He wants to give us in this very season! Why would we consider for even a moment that He would not do all in His power to manifest these very desires? It is so very important that we receive the faith that He has given us. It is a faith proportional to the sum of every desire. It is the faith of Christ!! Of course, these desires are not necessarily for us. They are primarily for His Name sake, His glory and His kingdom. Beyond that, they may be for our children s future, our neighbor s salvation, our spouse s spiritual strength or for a thousand other people. Having said that, let me tell you what gets me up in the morning (literally). Every desire is also very much about us. What can I say? It is a wonderful, amazing mystery. Now don t miss this: The desires that He gives us are absolutely and directly out of the desires of His own heart!! Read that at least one more time. Read it in light of your strongest desire. He not only put it there, but He shares it with you. I ask again: Why would we consider for even a moment that He would not do all in His power to manifest these very desires? You might be wondering if this could possibly be true. Why me? Why now? The answer can be found in the hidden meaning of the condition for the promise: Delight yourself also in the LORD You see, the Hebrew word translated as delight has a special meaning in the 37 th Psalm. It is not the chaphets (to take pleasure in) that is found in the other Psalms. It is anag (to be soft, delicate or dainty). It is an effeminate word in the Hebrew language. Do you see it? It is the definition of the Bride s heart toward the Bridegroom soft, delicate and surrendered. It is the Bride trusting her Husband King with all Her heart, mind, soul and strength. This sharing of His desire is the way in which He woos us and melds our heart into His. Yes, it is the melding of two hearts in the most intimate love we will ever know. And so I encourage you: Find the time to be softly surrendered before your Bridegroom. Let Him show you the desires of your heart, and His, for this season of your life. Recognize that these are the desires that were put in you before the foundations of the earth. Surrender and He will give you the desires of your heart. He will include all the faith and courage you need to take the adventure with Him. And in the process, you will find a love for Him that you could never have imagined. Dream with Him! Dream big!! He is the Dream Giver!!! 86