9am Sat — Tithing vs. Giving: CONSEQUENCES: “Believers Not Learning How to Hear the Lord”

What Hinders Our Purpose Now? (Part 1)

Misconceptions About Who We Are, Who God Is and What He Is Doing Hinder Our Purpose Now

Do you know why you believe what you believe? Beliefs are caught, not taught, and we are often not aware that much of what we believe contradicts something else we believe (this is one reason there are so many versions of the Bible and an ever-growing number of denominations). God wants us to know His ways, how He does things, how He feels about us, and how He works on our behalf. Taking another’s explanation for this hinders God from revealing the truth to us directly.

For example, there’s a popular saying in Christian circles that goes; “We’re not human doings, we’re human beings.” Well, neither is true. We’re not human doings, or human beings, but spirit beings, with the nature of our Father. But it’s a quotable quote, and easy to remember. The more times we hear it, the more “factual” it becomes — the more it rings true. But God wants to make our true identity real to us: “I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in a body.”

Knowing Ourselves According To Our Temperament Hinders Our Purpose Now

We often live according to the belief that our temperament is who or what we are. For instance, someone who has a strong intellect may believe that their value to God (and to themselves and to others as well) is measured in terms of doing something with their intellect. Likewise someone who is compassionate and caring toward people may believe that God gave them those qualities in order to minister to people. But our temperament, the way God put our soul together, is not the basis upon which He evaluates us. In fact, most often our temperament, because of our misbeliefs, is our greatest hindrance because it provides a means to excuse the flesh. Our goal for freedom is not so that our temperament can be free, but so that He can be free, unhindered by our temperament. Before our soul (our temperament) can be fully available for the Lord to flow through, it must become unencumbered by the flesh.

Not Understanding How God Uses Circumstances Hinders Our Purpose Now

If your watch stopped, yet you still went by it because you didn’t know it had stopped, you would be believing a lie, you just wouldn’t know it. You’d start showing up late for things, and that’s how you’d find out your watch had stopped, that you were believing a lie. Likewise, God often allows things to go wrong in our lives, to reveal that what we are believing is a lie. If we don’t understand this, and then learn to listen for His voice, to see His hand in every circumstance of our lives, we miss out on learning to know Him in the practical areas of our lives.

9am Sat — Tithing vs. Giving: CONSEQUENCES: “Believers Not Learning How to Hear the Lord”

If Change is God’s Responsibility, Is There Anything WE Can Do?

Well, yes and no. We can learn to actively rest; like an injured patient undergoing surgery, it is imperative we lie still on the operating table. So imperative, in fact, that during surgery our bodies are anesthetized to keep them from reacting to the pain. But when undergoing soulical surgery, we are fully aware of everything that is going on around us. The best we can do is be still and learn to know Him. To get to that state of rest, God will teach us how to truly repent, renew our minds and submit our beliefs, until we believe what He says about us. We will then trust Him because we have experienced His love for us, not because of the strength or nature of our beliefs.

Only God can live the Christian life; our purpose now is to let Him live that life through us without our interference. His life in us becomes our reality. We become blind to our surroundings and our own desires, and deaf to the cries of the needs within and the needy without, to the point that all we know is what He tells us, and only respond to His will, joyfully and with His power and authority.

This will require turning a deaf ear, and shutting our eyes to what we have learned about God and how we fit into what He is doing. What God says to us and about us is the truth, not what we’ve learned from our pastor, parents, our “selves,” etc. Our thinking, feeling and choosing all need to be reconciled, brought into alignment, with the Truth — what God says is true. Just because you believe something is true doesn’t make it true. Test it! Is it bringing you into dependence on God alone or on something else? A fact is anything someone can get you to believe. We must let go of everything we think we know; that which is Truth will remain. What is from God will stand up to all scrutiny. We must learn to trust the Lord to lead us into all truth more than we trust the world, the flesh and the devil to lead us into deception.

9am Sat — Tithing vs. Giving: CONSEQUENCES: “Believers Not Learning How to Hear the Lord”

If Success is Dependence on God, What Is Our Purpose Now?

If Success is simply actively depending on God to live His life in and through us, on His terms, what are we here for? What is our purpose? What are we doing here on earth?

This Is Life Eternal — To Know Christ!

Our purpose, our job now is to know God on His terms and in His timing. Though this may sound simplistic, we often struggle with that very simplicity; man loves to make complex what God has made simple. By making “knowing God” harder than it is, we often rob God of the opportunity to reveal Himself. Knowing God is His idea! So it is His responsibility to make Himself real to each one of us. He teaches us, and we learn — to live and move and have our being in Him.

What Does Knowing God Look Like?

Success, knowing God, will outwardly look different for each of us at different times. Since we already completely and perfectly know God in our spirit, it is only in our soul (mind, will and emotions) and in our body that the learning to know Him is taking place. This learning is three-fold: 1) learning how to go to Him to get healed (soulically and physically), 2) learning how He exposes our flesh, so He can consume it, and 3) learning to rest in and enjoy our present relationship with Him. Every circumstance in our lives contributes to these three activities.

Our purpose now is not to “do” these three things, but to depend on God to do them in and through us. God’s timeframe is totally different than ours; depending on God will require His working His patience in us. Being successful at practical Christianity will bring contentment in all things, even in the midst of turmoil and tension. In fact, it will often look like the opposite of what it is because of the misbeliefs, wounds and flesh that are being brought to the surface and exposed to His Loving Truth. For example, learning to live in His peace may appear as great turmoil to others as our control in that area is challenged and stripped. Change is hard for us and on us, but the Lord will prove His trustworthiness and lovingkindness as we allow Him to work in and through us. How and when we are changed is His responsibility.

9am Sat — CURRENT EVENTS: “What Is Your Assignment?” Follow Up w/ Personal Responsibility in Christianity and Society & Tithing vs. Giving: CONSEQUENCES: “Believers Not Learning How to Hear the Lord”

How Can I Judge How I’m Doing? If I’m Successful? If I’m On the Right Track?

Well, ask the Judge. Unlike in the Olympics, our Judge is also our Coach, Teammate and Biggest Fan. He has walked this way before, and knows what it’s like. Most often we will find that we are much harder on ourselves than He is.

God does want us to know how we are doing, so He will often give us tokens of accomplishment or graduation appropriate to what we have overcome. He knows we need encouragement, and does what He needs to in order to keep us coming to Him for that encouragement. But be aware that His affirmations are not like ours… His score card is much simpler!

For many years I was very afraid of dealing with anything demonic. But there came a point in time when I knew that if I continued in the direction the Lord was taking me I would have to face and overcome this fear. So I told the Lord I was willing to be taught in this area, even though I was still afraid of my reaction. Well, without going into details, a few weeks later the Lord orchestrated a situation where a demon manifested itself into the room where I was working. When this happened all I felt was curiosity, then surprise that I wasn’t afraid. From that time on I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that even these things are all completely under His authority and control. To me, this was not only an encouragement to continue to proceed in the direction I was heading, but a reward for allowing Him His choice and method of teaching.

While we are here on this earth our battlefields consist of overcoming the world, the flesh and the devil. You know you’ve overcome in an area, or achieved a goal, not because it’s finished or a deadline met, but because you can rest in dependence in that area.

9am Sat — CURRENT EVENTS: “What Is Your Assignment?” & Tithing vs. Giving: CONSEQUENCES: “Believers Not Learning How to Hear the Lord”

Christian Success: Where Are The Role Models?

One of the ways we are motivated is by wanting to be like someone we admire. We recognize someone’s positive traits or that they have achieved certain goals that are appealing to us. So we reason that if we can do what they do we can also achieve similar goals or traits. This is a normal expectation; Christians should be able to identify role models that exemplify dependence on the Father. This is one of the reasons Jesus came in the flesh, and dwelt among us. And Paul encouraged his readers to follow him as he followed Christ; to examine his life, to see where he was depending on his God.

Unfortunately, in many, if not most cases, Christian role models in leadership positions or public ministry are either not exemplifying dependence on the Father, or they have isolated themselves from the people in such a way that we really don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors. It’s interesting that it took Jesus 30 years to learn and practice being dependent on His Father in private in order to minister publicly for three and a half years.

As we truly learn how to depend on the Father, we want to also be aware that there will likely come a time when we will be used as a role model in some capacity. We just don’t want a public ministry to be our measure of success.

When you recognize the peace, rest and confidence that comes from dependence on the Father, don’t be shy about asking how to do it. If a person is truly depending on God, His nature is flowing to and through him. Since God’s nature is, basically, to give, anyone depending on Him will be willing to mentor and instruct on how to enjoy the freedom that comes with this relationship.

Another way to test true character, especially of those in public positions of religious authority, is to check with those closest to them. Do their family, friends and co-workers feel unconditionally accepted? Loved? Valued by that person? The successfully dependent Christian will be freely giving of him or herself to those around them, according to spirit, and allow them the freedom to be who and where God has them at any given moment. (This does not mean all behavior is accepted.)

Remember though that we only truly live the Christian life as we depend on God. It is only Spirit character, flowing to and through that person’s spirit, teaching that individual on a moment by moment basis, that is to be emulated. Remembering this keeps us from putting others on a pedestal, and frees them to make mistakes as well.