Sermon 7-7-13 the pursuit of God chpt 4
apprehending pp-09
Continue
in summer series- the pursuit of God
Chapter
4 apprehending God
The
concept of apprehending
Csi
apprehending vs seeing God
God Ps 34:1-8
I will extol the Lord at all times;(B)
his praise will
always be on my lips.
2 I will glory(C)
in the Lord;
let the afflicted
hear and rejoice.(D)
3 Glorify the Lord(E)
with me;
let us exalt(F)
his name together.
4 I sought the Lord,(G)
and he answered me;
he
delivered(H)
me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;(I)
their faces are never
covered with shame.(J)
6 This poor man called,
and the Lord heard him;
he
saved him out of all his troubles.(K)
7 The angel of the Lord(L)
encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers(M)
them.
Many
settle for an Intellectual faith in one form or another,
it
makes sense to me that god is, so he must be.
Or
I was taught from a child it is so, so he must be.
So,
many people live and die and never get to know God
The
possibility of intimate acquaintance with Him has not entered their minds.
While
admitting His existence they do not think of Him as knowable in the sense that
we know things or people.
Christians,
go further than this, we hope.
Their
creed requires them to believe in the personality of God,
Loving, caring, guiding, jealous attributes of God’s character
they
have been taught to pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven."
Now
personality and fatherhood carry with them the idea of the possibility of
personal acquaintance.
But
Many people go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere
principle.
I
know I have a father, but I do not know him
Rex
smiley on fathers day
Over
against all this cloudy vagueness is the biblical teaching that God can be
known in personal experience.
A
loving Personality dominates the Bible,
walking
among the trees of the garden
Walking
on the shores of galilee
Setting
children on his knee
Forgiving
the judged, releasing the captives, healing the broken
God
is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting Himself
whenever and wherever His people have the receptivity necessary
The
Bible assumes that just as you can know a person, you can know God.
So
I know jon cundiff. See him here? He is a good man.
We
can know god in the same way. But do we??
The
same terms are used to express the knowledge of God as are used to express
knowledge of physical things. "O taste and see that the Lord is
good." "My sheep hear my voice." "Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God." These are but three of
countless such passages from the Bible.
It
is not just an idea, It is a theme from beginning to end.
We
come to know the physical world by our five senses, hearing, seeing,
smelling, touching, tasting
We
also possess the ability to know the world of the spirit if we pay attention
Tozer
says,
First a person comes to Christ, then they begin to have a growing spiritual
sense with which to perceive god and get to know him
Jeff
says,
But I have seen the opposite at work too, where a deep yearning begins to grow
in a person and their spiritual faculties are spot on, and that leads them to
faith in Christ.
Two
worlds
Temporal
and eternal
Physical
and spiritual
Seen
and unseen.
We
are aquainted much more with the world that we can touch. But is it
actually the real world?
The
allegory of Plato’s cave
Describe
it
Show
the
video
video
in
one of the versions of this, the prisoner is drug up the steps
the
ascent to reality can be very painful
the
process of leaving our earthly paradigms can hurt
what
is the real part of a person?
Genesis...created dust and spirit...physical and spiritual
Amazing how it is all formed
the spirit and body are joined to make a human.
Amazing how it is all formed
the spirit and body are joined to make a human.
Look
at a body at a funeral visitation – the person is not
there
the soul is the man...take it away, have nothing
the soul is the man...take it away, have nothing
And
so there is this real world of the spirit
1
cor 13- now we see thru a glass darkly
Glass
in the wild wild west
2
kings 6 – Elisha and the army of angels – picture
8 Now the king of Aram
was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will
set up my camp in such and such a place.”9 The man of God sent
word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans
are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the
place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so
that he was on his guard in such places.11 This enraged the
king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of
us is on the side of the king of Israel?”12 “None of us, my
lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in
Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”13 “Go,
find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.”
The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses
and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the
city.15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out
early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the
city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.16 “Don’t
be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those
who are with them.”17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he
looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
When
we look at this world and think that this is all there is
Or
that this is what really is
We
have bought a lie
We
have been sucked into the matrix 1999
The matrix Neo and Morpheus
The matrix picture
Choosing to be sucked into a world that isn’t the true reality
The matrix picture
Choosing to be sucked into a world that isn’t the true reality
So
we have the physical world and the spiritual world. which will we value?
We
value the physical world when we become consumers
·
When
we can’t wait for the sale
·
When
we are overly worried about our good looks
·
When
I want it fever takes us over
We
value the spiritual world when we
·
Love
god with our heart soul mind and strength
·
See
others as god sees them
·
And
practice habitually to see the world with the kind heart of God
We
must choose
The
physical world or the spiritual world
Do
we see the clouds or do we see the sky- past the sky to the universe, past the
universe to see the creator?
Do
we see the insult or look past the broken human- there is something
spiritual going on
Do
we value Christmas trappings, or a savior come to earth
We
know how our human mind sees a thing, but How does our soul see a thing?
The
soul has eyes with which to see and ears with which to hear. Feeble they may be
from long disuse, but by the life-giving touch of Christ we can learn to live
with a more spiritual mindset
think
of people that you know that you consider spiritual
they have a wonderful perception. They listen, they hear, they see things
It is amazing we are attracted to them
The
work of God is the work of the spirit.
Churches
like to talk about what God is doing at their place…..
Revival……..
not done by putting up a sign.
John
Wesley did not intend to start a new church
But
sometimes god moves on a people.
In
revival god doesn’t take sides, god takes over…….
Picture your life as a place where god is moving
Your heart as a place where god is speaking
Your mind that is thinking more and more about him and his ways.
How
do we learn to do it? Can we do it today?
Yes
1.
Break
the habit of looking at the physical as the real life
Break the habit of
ignoring the spiritual
Stop thinking that the physical is the real
stuff, the good stuff or the important stuff
2.
See
the world for what it is, both spiritual and physcical
3.
Change
our interest from that which is seen to that which is unseen
The birthday gifts
4.
Think
on god
5.
pray
·
God
let me see your world
·
God
let me hear your voice
·
God
who can I care about for you this day
O God, Bring to life the spirit within me so that I may see you
more clearly.
Give me spiritual insight that I may know you more dearly. Let
me taste and know that you are good. Help me to know you with
certainty and bring me closer to you and heaven than I have ever
been. Amen
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