Thursday, March 05, 2009
Look at the words of Jesus in Matt 7:23 and ask yourself this question. What does God not know? He has a higher value for a dynamic relationship with you than in you having a dynamic ministry. Rather than a warning to be feared, recognize the invitation to intimacy. There is a movement here where He’s taking us to from being “the Father” to “Father” to "Abba/Papa/Daddy". Intimacy does not decrease His holiness for holiness is not held captive by formality. Just as a father rewards the honest transparency of his child by giving him more wisdom, it is your articulation of intimacy that positions you for revelation from your heavenly Father. In your speech, you create the communication that invites communion with the abundance of your heart. Here's what I did with this. I thought about what it would be like to pray like Jesus did in John 17 when He expressed His heart to the Father. So I got a cup of coffee, and sat outside one morning on the porch and said outloud, "Good morning, Papa. I'm so glad to wake up in Your presence..." And then it got personal. You can't even begin to imagine what happens when your value for dynamic relationship meets His.
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3 comments:
Bill,
Great thought about ‘intimacy with the Father’. I winced however at the text you used for the idea: Mt. 7:23
Did you know there is a danger in camping around the red letters or otherwise teaching doctrine from them if the reader (i.e. the believer) is not acquainted with or otherwise well established in Paul’s doctrine?
You are no doubt familiar with the acronym “WWJD” (i.e. What would Jesus do?). Well, at my age in the Lord, I am convinced believers need to learn a new one: “WWJTPTTYTD” (i.e. What would Jesus tell Paul to tell you to do?)
Remember, what Jesus taught, He taught exclusively to his brethren, the Jews. The mission He was on was to fulfill the law and the prophets such that Israel, His brethren, would believe that He was the Son of God, the prophesied Messiah. Supporting Jesus in this mission was the discrete & primary “will of his father” during His earthly ministry. ('will of the father' - ref. Matt. 7:21; see also 12:50; 21:31; & Joh. 5:30)
Yes, men need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God today, but there is more about Him and His work they need to see and embrace. Why? Because Jesus successfully completed His mission at the cross; due to national Israel’s continued resistance (rebellion) to the gospel of the kingdom (even after the resurrection) kingdom prophecy was placed on hold and gave way to “the mystery” with the raising up of the Apostle Paul. (‘the mystery’ - ref. Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9; 3:3,4,9; 6:19; Col. 1:26; 2:2; 4:3)
The danger inherent in using the synoptic gospels for teaching today is that, among other things, believers can unwittingly take upon themselves a yoke that is not theirs to carry; a kingdom burden that was set aside to give way to "the mystery". Yes, “[a]ll scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16) but… if "the word of truth" is not “rightly divided” (2 Tim. 2:15) from the rest of scripture, for many reasons the risk is great that they can be unprofitable to the hearer.
What believers need to be most acquainted with today is “the gospel of [their] salvation”. (Eph. 1:13)
In Christ,
Robert Powell
Facebook:
http://profile.to/robertpowell
Robert, I think it's best to warn you now. You're really gonna hate the rest of my blog.
Hmmm, good word, Bill. Made me think...He's asking us to be hungry like Mary rather than concerned about performance like Martha. Like the song from Sound of Music...."Getting to knw you, getting to know all abut you..."
Paul's doctrine, Gospel of Salvation, Will of God/Father, all good topics for study and discussion.
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