A number of years ago I spoke at a meeting of Catholic Charismatics who met at a university. I was housed in a dorm room for the few days I was there. Since it was summer, the room was stripped bare and I only had a bunk bed and a desk. There was no usual television, radio, telephone or even an alarm clock. I had brought a cassette player and tapes and I was glad I had them. I spent four days putting together a marriage series which eventually produced my book One Flesh. Sometimes, we look back on times of hardship and realize how close we came to God. Some of our greatest spiritual advances come from separation from the luxuries of life.
Paul came to this realization in prison where he told us in Philippians 3:8-10 that he too was separated from the conveniences of everyday life and was chained to a Roman prison guard. He wrote this not at the beginning of his ministry but quite a few years into it. He had great accomplishments already but was suddenly faced with separation from all that had given him comfort. He called all his possessions and accomplishments “dung.” He was now in a position to hear from God clearer than ever before. He now looked at his relationship with God in a new way. His knowledge of the word and the ways of the Holy Spirit were now referred to as the “excellency of the knowledge of God.” He also looked forward to “knowing God” in a more powerful way than ever. This time in prison affected Paul in such a way that his life was never the same. In his time of separation he found his “high calling” and pursued it.
We all need times of separation from the luxuries and conveniences of life. It does not have to be prison time, but could be those simple times of prayer and reflection on what is truly important in life. Nothing we can attain to in the natural will go to heaven with us, only those things which are spiritual, the things which are dear to Gods heart. Perhaps in your own walk, no matter how long you have been saved, you can separate yourself from the things of this life and find your high calling. You can then say assuredly, “I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection.”
Jesus told us in Mark 4 to open our ears to the Word. “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” The hearing of the Word of God allows our hearts to become more fertile and productive. Listening is a choice. God says if we have spiritual ears, we still have to make the choice to hear.
The book of Revelation tells us, “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We not only hear from the Word of God, but we also hear from the Holy Spirit. Throughout your day you need to choose to hear God’s voice to you from His Word and from His Spirit. God may choose to lead you by scripture. How important it is to pray for guidance and receive scripture. This is just as supernatural as hearing an audible voice from God’s throne. Yet, how important is it also to pray for guidance and sense the direction of the Holy Spirit to help us make the right choice for our job, our family, our personal health and our future. Our guidance is secure when we know we can be guided from heaven. We know we have arrived into spiritual maturity when we learn to be guided supernaturally by our Lord.
Psalm 116:15: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
I ministered from this verse at the memorial service for Chip [Chip Olin, Associate Pastor of Grace Church for 17 years] this week. This verse has been a blessing to me when a Christian dies and goes to be with the Lord. This verse did not say it was precious to us, but to the Lord. In our sight, death is a time for grieving and sorrow. Rightfully so. God commanded Israel to take time to grieve for the death of Moses. And throughout the Word we are given permission to mourn for the absence, the hole that will exist, when our friends and loved ones are gone. But we are also told not to grieve as those who have no hope. Our grieving only lasts for a short time before it is overtaken by the eternal joy inside of us. Our hope is in Jesus and in the fact that we will see the person again.
The death of a saint is precious in the sight of the Lord. We stand on one side of the door and see an exit. God stands on the other side of the door and sees an entrance. Our friends exited this life and entered eternity. From God’s side, it was a glorious event. True success in the Christian life comes from looking at our lives from God’s viewpoint, not ours. We are to set our affection (minds) on things above and not on things of the earth. The mind of Christ, which should guide us daily, tells us that the person is far better off in God’s presence than they ever were on earth. We often ask, “Why would that person want to leave us?” We should be asking, “Why would they ever want to come back?”
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