Receiving the Blessings of the Lord
Psalm 84:
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
I believe that the desire that God has expressed to bless His people is one of the foundational pillars of the Christian faith. Knowing that God desires to pour out His goodness on us is what gives us confidence to take risks and step out in faith. How can a believer have faith in God if we don’t know whether or not God will bless our submission to Him? The Bible states:
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. (Hebrews 11:6).
If I can’t be confident in the promise that God rewards those who diligently seek Him, it is impossible to have faith. Understanding and believing God’s promises to reward and bless our lives is paramount in the life of the church and the life of every believer. The question we often ask is, “If God desires to bless, why are we struggling to live obedient and God doesn’t seem to bless us?”
Our Focus Must be God’s Focus.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.
God must reveal His vision to His people. The revelation or vision is the direction that God has given to His people. The Hebrew word translated into the phrase ‘cast off restraint’, literally means to ‘act as our own leader’. In other words, without a vision by God, the people within a body will begin pulling in different directions as they pursue individual agendas rather than pulling together to fulfill a common purpose. If I asked what the purpose of this church is, at least half would be able to quote the purpose statement of the church. If I asked how this is applied, I would be very surprised to find any that could explain what this statement means in real terms, why this body meets together, and what do we hope to accomplish as a church.
Most church’s purpose is to continue to function as a church. Very few will actually have a vision for fulfilling God’s call and their role in that call. We must understand that God has a reason for our existence and that we have been brought together under a common banner in order to join God’s work and fulfill our individual calling. An individual’s calling is a God given tool that is used within the body in order to assist the body’s call to reach the community around them. When there is a common vision, individuals work together to reach for the higher purpose God has given to the church. Without that vision, the people are unrestrained. There is no common bond and individuals may work diligently with good intentions, but individuals will pull in different directions and the purpose of the church will remain unfulfilled.
Our Lives must be Holy.
Take note of these two passages:
1 Peter 2:
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Hebrews 12:
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
From these two passages, we can observe several truths – one of which references us back to our original verse that promises that we are blessed when we set our heart on a pilgrimage. A pilgrim is one who has come from a foreign land to dwell among the natives. The word ‘pilgrimage’ in Psalm 84 is literally, ‘a highway’. The scripture teaches us that when we are born of God, we are no longer our own and we are not of this world. We are foreigners looking forward to the city of God. Our hearts are not set on this world that is passing, but our heart is set on the highway of God. We are taking the path God has laid before us and our heart is set on completing our journey as we also fulfill our primary purpose to set others on that pathway of righteousness through evangelism and discipleship.
Holiness is paramount because we are a people who have been set apart for the high calling of God. If we take our heart off our pilgrimage and become lovers of the world, we make ourselves at odds with God. Without holiness no one will see God. Holiness is to live separate lives from the world while living among the world. God has placed us at a specific place at a specific time to accomplish His will and glorify His name. The scripture promises that if we have holy conduct and abstain from the temptation to live like the lost world around us, the lost men and women around us will glorify God on the day of His visitation. My life and my conduct are either tools of God or a hindrance to those who don’t know God.
Holiness is vital to both the life of the church and the Christian. We must live lives that are set apart for God and are distinguishable from those who do not know Him. The world will seize every opportunity to speak evil against the church, however, when we are faithful sojourners, set apart for God, we will bring glory to God as He reveals Himself to those influenced by our testimony.
We Must be Founded on Truth.
There is no uglier word in our culture that truth. Even so, there is not a more important principle in the life of a church. Our work must be founded upon the absolute truth of God’s word. Even sincere worship with great enthusiasm is worthless if it is not based on truth. It is required, we can only worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). The Bible states that the entirety of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160). We are sanctified by God’s truth and His word is His truth (John 17:17). Even though heaven and earth shall pass away, God’s word will never pass away and all His word will be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).
All good works are based on obedience to the Word of God. All the good deeds and all the sacrifices we make to God are absolutely meaningless unless it is done within the obedience of His word and His calling. King Saul performed the mission that God sent him to do, but did not obey God in the process. When God empowered Saul to destroy an enemy of Israel, He commanded that he take nothing from the defeated nation but even destroy the cattle and sheep. Saul noticed how good they looked and decided to save the best of the flock to use as a sacrifice to God. He thought that making sacrifices to God would justify his neglect for the word of the Lord. God sternly rebuked this way of thinking in 1 Samuel 15:
22 Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams
In church, we tend to fall into the same trap. We neglect our obedience to God and feel like we are justified again by our service or sacrifices to Him.
In Ephesians 6, we are commanded to put on the whole armor of God. As an illustration, we are given an example of a Roman Soldier’s armor. All of the armor is held in place by the belt; therefore the first thing a soldier puts on is his belt. The armor of God begins by the belt of truth. From the position of truth, we are then able to prepare our lives with all the armor God has provided. If truth is compromised, everything is compromised and nothing can be secured. Without obedience founded upon truth, the church will never accomplish the will of God.
God Alone Must be our Trust.
Look at Jeremiah 17:
5 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
How easy it is to think that if we only had a better music program we could succeed? Or if we could hurry up and get a pastor we can turn our problems around. In reality, a pastor cannot save any church. At best, a pastor could persuade a congregation to trust God, but he cannot restore the work of God within a church. A man of charisma may be able to draw people in, but this also is meaningless unless the work of God is being fulfilled within the church. When we begin to put our trust in a man, we place ourselves under the curse, not under the hand of God. Notice that God does not promise that when we trust in God we will be exempted from struggles. No, the promise is that ‘when it comes’ we will continue to flourish and be fruitful in spite of the hot times of drought.
This also ties into our opening passage, ‘blessed is the man whose strength is in You’. God alone is our strength and God alone created our path and directs our steps. We have the promise that when we are walking with God, He enlarges the path under us so that we do not slip, directs our steps so we are going in the right direction, and upholds us with His hand so that we are not cast down. It is God that designed the plan for this local body, every local body and every individual believer. It stands to reason that if all things are of God and all direction is from God, seeking Him is the only way to find our way. It is amazing how churches will look to books, programs and organizers in order to be rescued from trouble. While all these can be valuable resources provided by God, we often trust in these while neglecting to seek the heart of God.
We Must Humble Ourselves and Pray.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is one of the most over-quoted verses in the Bible – yet oddly enough it is the most under-practiced verses in the Bible. Everyone has heard that if God’s people humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways and seek God’s face then He will come and heal their land. Why is it that we have such a solid promise, yet Romans 3:11 continues to ring true, “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”? Look at Jeremiah 29:
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
This was promised to Israel thousands of years ago and remains true to all of God’s people today. Do we seek God with all our heart? I have been involved with this church for almost 4 years now. Nearly 4 years ago I noticed how little the pastoral staff prayed together. Then I noticed how little the leadership team prayed together. On two occasions I preached this concern from the pulpit. I have yet to find anyone to disagree with this need for prayer, yet I have yet to see anyone take prayer seriously. There is not a time when the leaders of this church meet together for the sole purpose of prayer. If the leadership of the church gathers together for prayer, it always turns into a business meeting. Ten minutes of prayer before talking business is never going to work. It is good to seek God’s guidance before business meetings; however, this alone does not qualify for humbling ourselves and seeking God’s face.
Where is the brokenness? We can be distressed without ever being broken. Jesus made an interesting statement of Himself in Matthew 21:
44 "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Which side of the stone are you on? When we step outside of God’s plan, God will chastise us and press us as far as we require Him to do so. Blessings are only by God; therefore if we are not being blessed we should not ask why God isn’t blessing, but rather ask, “what is hindering us from walking with God so He can bless us?” We can have the best of intentions, but if we are not actively seeking God we will veer off course. The garden of prayer this church practices is a valuable part of worship, but it does not replace setting aside time for the sole purpose of seeking God’s face.
Prayer begins by first humbling ourselves before God, expressing gratitude for who He is and His goodness, and then asking God to reveal His will to us as we also petition God for our needs. Not one revival has ever begun without God-fearing believers on their face pouring out their hearts to God. Revival in this church is no different. This church must purposefully set time aside for no other reason than to get on our knees before God and the responsibility of this falls on both the leadership for direction and each individual to seek God’s face.
Do not expect God to change the direction of this church while the church continues to try to be self-sufficient. I see frustration continuing to build in the church while leaders try to fix the problems rather than laying their hearts out before God. To continue to have meeting after meeting to resolve the mounting problems is futile unless we first seek God with all our hearts and then we can schedule meetings with the confidence that we have first humbled ourselves before God. God said, “Call to Me and I will answer and show you great and mighty things which you do not know” – Jeremiah 33:3. God can open a door where there is none and provide the wisdom to resolve any issue. It is only lip service to say, let’s pray about it and never set time aside to do so. The Bible does not call us to be lone Christians, but to agree together in prayer as to touching the world around us for His kingdom.
Do you not think that God can revive this church with those who remain here and are faithful? It is the glory of God to take our weaknesses and exalt His name by lifting us up. This will not happen unless we humble ourselves before Him. Consider the distress of King Hezekiah. He was preceded by a wicked King named Ahaz. God sought to establish King Ahaz and offered to show him a sign signifying that God was with him. Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD”. The leadership remained stubborn and refused to seek the Lord even though their entire kingdom was dwindling away. Enemies rose up and conquered cities one at a time until almost nothing remained.
Ahaz died and Hezekiah became king and inherited a disaster. The only thing that remained was Jerusalem and the king of Assyria had besieged it as well. The complete fall of this kingdom was a certainty. Hezekiah had no resources or strength to withstand these insurmountable odds. In desperation, Hezekiah did what those before him refused to do – He humbled himself, got on his knees and sought the Lord. God did for Hezekiah what He desired to do from the beginning. Without a battle, God defeated Hezekiah’s enemies and restored the kingdom.
Do you think that God does not desire to pour out His Spirit on this place? Will He neglect His promises if His people pour out their hearts before Him?
Psalm 34:
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
Psalm 84:
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Psalm 89:
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
James 4:
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Are we angry at God because He isn’t honoring our efforts and seeing our commitment? Or are we willing to pour ourselves out before God and humble ourselves before Him? When we do so, God has promised that He will lift us up. The power to accomplish God’s will comes from God’s own hand to those who humble themselves and pray, not to those who stand on commitment alone.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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