Continuing Michael's message, he points out that Isaiah 6 describes Isaiah’s vision when he saw the glory and the majesty of God filling His holy temple. He beheld in awe the seraphim worshiping God saying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty and the earth is full of his glory.” Upon witnessing this spectacle, Isaiah, overcome with shame and unworthiness, said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” The angel took a hot coal “And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” The angel touched a hot coal to Isaiah’s lips so that he would be purged to speak forth the Word of the Lord.
According to Jeremiah 1, God had called His prophet to speak on His behalf, no matter what the audience of unbelievers thought about the message. We, like Jeremiah are called to deliver the message of the Gospel and to be the message. We’re no longer independent agents keeping our options open. For Him to live in us, we need to relinquish our wills to His will by delighting ourselves in the Lord. As Jesus said to Peter in John 21:15, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” Do you love me more than these fish, this fishing business, your fishing buddies, your livelihood, your paycheck and your worldly influence? Your love is your delight.
God did not call us to “be delighted in Him.” Rather He said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” This is a command from our Commander in Chief. We must deliberately focus our minds to intentionally, deliberately, and purposefully, actively delight ourselves in the Lord. Only when we obey his command to delight ourselves in Him will we receive the promise of God … Delight thyself also in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. When our delight is His delight, and His desires our desires, then He will give us the desires of our heart.
The focus this year is to raise the “bar of the mark” to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Our first priority is to “raise the bar” in our own lives. We do not have the luxury of being casual. O Lord, make me the person I know to be… totally devoted, not to the things of this world, but totally devoted to you. Jesus said, abide in me and I in you and you will bear much fruit. Pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is to blaze a trail to God’s inner chamber. Those who dare enter into God’s inner chamber of the holy of holies must enter in with total abandonment and absolute trust … Nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee.
May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ, Michael
No comments:
Post a Comment