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For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14
1 Thessalonians 5:5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
this year in housegroup i think i’m feeling led to focus on a few main things:
LEADERSHIP
WHAT WE BELIEVE aka doctrine
LIFE AP
i believe that what you believe then leads to how you live
you have to live out your faith and make it real in every day life
a right belief about God will lead to a right living for God
and how you approach life and obstacles is influenced majorly by what you believe
orthodoxy is important because it leads to good God pleasing, world changing, fruit growing orthopraxy
believing affects being and being affects doing, attitudes, lifestyle ~ kevin conner
“When we know the truth about God, it fills us with wonder. If we fail to understand his true character, we’ll never be amazed by Him. We’ll never feel small as we stare up at Him. We’ll never worship Him as we ought. We’ll never run to Him for refuge or realize the great love He’s shown in bridging the measureless distance to rescue us.” Dug Down Deep / Joshua Harris
"Doctrine is important and theology is important, but it’s only important insomuch as it informs us and fuels our love and passion for Jesus that works itself out as we love and patiently walk with others inside the family and outside the family." ~ Matt Chandler
looking at the WHAT we believe is also really great for those who are young adults and finding their own faith and belief outside of their family and youth group and are being perhaps challenged in their peer group, work or study situations. Orthodoxy matters because the Christian faith is not just a cultural tradition or moral code. Orthodoxy is the irreducible truths about God and his work in the world.
plus it never gets old to to talk about God and His greatness and His salvation! to me doctrine isnt crusty and old or dull but its about magnifying the greatness and goodness of God, setting the foundation of faith in which to springboard into the adventure of knowing God and making Him known
Ive come to learn that theology matters. And it matters not because we want a good grade on a test but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. What you believe about God’s nature- what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer him- affects every part of your life. Joshua Harris
so i’m taking a highlighter to my FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (by Kevin Conner) book and am prob going to pillage the library of tim keller, john piper and mark driscoll books, have brought my own copy of DOCTRINE by mark driscoll, and DUG DOWN DEEP by Joshua Harris (which i think was one of those God appointed books, was a 4 for $40 deal at the local christian bookshop and i had 3 books chosen but couldn’t find a fourth so was browsing elsewhere then asked God to help me find the fourth… and then boom, saw this one, its tagline is “unearthing what i believe and why it matters” – exactly what the aim is for housegroup, yay God)… along with re reading THE EXPLICIT GOSPEL by matt chandler – basically feeding my mind and heart with anything i can find that fits my brief and wraps language around what we believe and why
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4:1-11
Temptation Comes To Us
- For Test: Sincerity, faith, love, patience, are put to proof.
- For Growth: It develops and increases our graces.
- For Usefulness: We’re able to comfort and warn others.
- For Victory: How glorious it is to overcome the enemy!
- For God’s Glory: He vanquishes Satan by feeble men.
We read in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was TEMPTED, but that He overcame the temptation and did not compromise or choose to give in to it.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15
So what are the lessons we can learn from Jesus’ example of overcoming temptation?
The devil slyly begins, "If you are the Son of God…." He’s basically saying to Jesus, "You may not be the Son of God at all. Prove it to me by doing this minor miracle." He was also pushing Jesus’ flesh buttons knowing that Jesus had been fasting and praying for 40 days in the wilderness – the enemy was tempting Jesus to satisfy the needs and wants of His flesh in ways that were disobedient to God. The second temptation is about authority and worldly glory. The devil leads Jesus up to a high place and shows Him the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Again, Jesus resists. Satan tries a third time. He brought Jesus to Jerusalem and took Him up to the highest part of the temple and told Him to jump off. He said that angels would come and lift Him up so that he wouldn’t be hurt. The devil even starts quoting scripture now, quoting from Psalm 91, "For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." (Satan left out the part about ‘to keep you in all your ways’.) Jesus answered him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’."
Satan came to tempt Jesus and question his sonship. Satan began the whole series of his temptations by casting a doubt upon Jesus’ sonship. Has the enemy tried this with you? Has he tried to cast doubt on your salvation or your status as son or daughter of God? Satan does not come with point-blank denial for that would be too startling; doubt and deception serve Satan’s purposes better than heresy. He opens with an "If" making the doubt look like holy anxiety concerning divine sonship. Yet, Jesus’ sonship is made clear in scripture (Ps. 2:7) and the Father had just pronounced him as his beloved Son (Mt. 3:17). Satan tries to make us doubt what God has told us is true. Resurgence
We see His temptation here and also in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46). In both instances, Jesus chooses His Father’s will over the temptation to pursue an easier path. But notice that He has no extraordinary weapons in his temptation; He used the same tools we have — the Spirit and the Word.
An important lesson for us is this: temptation is not sin. The enemy may tempt us by putting evil thoughts into our mind, but we can push them right out again with God’s help and our choice. Martin Luther says "You can’t help it if a bird flies over your head, but you don’t need to let him make a nest in your hair." Temptation is not sin. It is that thing that stirs within us that desire to do something we know is wrong and not pleasing to God, something that compromises the lifestyle of holiness that we live as children of God.
"Temptation is inevitable. You have to decide whether or not it’s going to connect with a lust or vulnerability on the inside of you." -Casey Doss
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want" (Galatians 5:17). The battle is both inevitable and necessary for you to begin to experience spiritual freedom in your life.
Note: God may test His children, a process designed to purify and strengthen them, but He does not lead them into sin. Without exception, sin results when temptation strikes a sympathetic chord in the human heart, and man has no one to blame but himself.
But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread. Job 23:10-12
Notice how Jesus responded to temptation. The devil brought truths mixed with half truths to deceive and entice Jesus. Jesus answered with the Word. Even when the devil misquoted the Bible to Jesus, Jesus answered back with the Scripture He knew.
Jesus teaches us this: answer temptation with God’s Word. We need to know Scripture well enough to answer our doubts and fears and temptations with it. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), and as we learn to apply the Word to every circumstance of our lives, we too can emerge victorious from fierce temptations.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Jesus trusts the Father and overcomes the temptation. He does not give in, and he never gave in or gave up on his way to Calvary to pay for our sins and the times when we give in. When tempted, we must trust the Father’s words and promises as Jesus did when he was tempted. Satan only questions truth for he is the father of lies (John 8:44). Therefore let us stand strong in the truth that we are sons and daughters of God not because of our work, but because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Resurgence
We all know that God reveals Himself in many different ways…
But did you know that God reveals Himself through baking?
Yes baking.
The other week we had to get our bath resurfaced and so we had this guy, this tradesman come, and mend the crack and spray some stuff and stink out the house.
While he was there I was doing some baking for children’s church and felt a nudge to give him a coffee and a muffin. So I went down to the bathroom, asked if he wanted a coffee and then went and made it. Took back the coffee and a muffin on a plate.
“I thought you might be hungry” I said, “and I’m doing some baking for our children’s church and thought you could do the taste test.”
“this is home baking?” he replied. “I haven’t had home baking since I was 12.”
Now this trades guy, the bath fix it man, was in his 50s. Gray unkept hair. Lives on a boat. That kinda guy.
He took the muffin in a really humble way and I was really humbled. Since he was 12. my mother heart melted.
About 2 hours later he came into the lounge and straight up asked me “so you’re involved in the church are you?” (did you notice the drop about children’s church) which led into me telling my story about how I became a Christian when I was 16.
God revealed Himself to me with the nudge when I was baking, but God revealed Himself to the bath fix it man with baking. With a muffin.
I love how God speaks. I love that HE DOES.
One of my most most most favourite bible verses of all time is this:
However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9-11
God HAS revealed Himself – He is not an unknowable God that we cant pin down so tonight we’re going to explore some of the ways that God speaks to us and makes Himself known.
Let me begin with this:
1. God is deliberately mysterious.
Now that may sound like a complete contradiction to what I’ve just said but get this: God is deliberately mysterious and also puts Himself totally out there.
We are never – until the other side of eternity – going to understand the depth, breadth, height, width and scope of God.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God is bigger than we can imagine. He breathed out the stars. He knows the path of the lightening. He knows how many hairs you have on your head and how many hairs you have on your toes. He fashioned the mountains and knows the path of the lightening. Unfathomable greatness.
And because of that and those omnis – He knows all and sees all and is out of time – He has perspective that we as finite beings don’t have.
God’s ways are higher. His wisdom is higher. His perception is higher. His love is higher. And because we can’t grasp it all, God sometimes seems mysterious and unpredictable.
But what we can know, even though the mysteriousness and even though the unpredictability is what He has revealed to us – we can trust and be confident in those things He has put out there in black and white about who He is.
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. Psalm 25:14 NIV
The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. NSAB
God invites us to seek Him: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
You see even though He is deliberately mysterious He puts Himself totally out there, inviting us to draw near and find Him. He has given us this book – the Bible – revelation of WHO God is. And the most stunning of all – He sent Jesus – Jesus says in John 14 “if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” Time and time again in the NT it says that Jesus is the exact likeness of God.
Colossians 1:15 – He is the image of the invisible God
Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Don’t you just love that. God became flesh, Jesus – and the message says The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
You want to see what God is like… look at Jesus. Look at how Jesus lived and loved and gave and spoke and did.
You see one of the things you can stake your life on and that never changes is that God is good.
All the time.
God is good. In every action and in every day and in every moment God is good.
Just a few weeks ago I was priv’d to go to Sistas and Sy Rogers was one of the main speakers and he had the most fantastic analogy about this.
Imagine with me the ocean. Helpful imagination triggers on the screen.
Did you know that The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world’s five oceans. It covers 155.557 million sq km, covering about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world.
Did you know they are still discovering new life forms in the pacific ocean and there are unexplored depths that are even too deep for the bestest marine explorer technology to reach?
The cool thing is you can go to the Pacific Ocean – by going to Eastern Beach. You can swim in the Pacific. Of course you could go to Hawaii or California where the water would be warmer… but you can go there, tonight. You can swim in it. Touch it. Drink it (which I don’t recommend!)
God is a little bit like that ocean. Big. Deep. Unexplored territory. You can experience a bit of God – just like how you can experience a bit of the ocean.
But the cool thing is – if you go to Eastern beach tonight you can scoop up a handful of water and know something about the whole ocean. It is wet and it is salty. From coast to coast and through and through the pacific ocean is wet and salty.
Likewise, with God, you can know what He has said about Himself and know that it is true through and through.
God is good and God is love.
These are the 2 main revelations of WHO GOD IS that I live my life on and that I colour everything else about God with. I may not get to swim the whole ocean – but this I know. Wet and salty. I may not get to know every detail and revelation about God. But this I know. Good and love.
God is deliberately mysterious and His ways are higher than ours but He is good and He loves us. All the time.
So back to the best but in the bible: BUT HE HAS REVEALED
this is my message from Sunday Night at our Young Adults service
Intro:
So I’ve heard there is some discussion on my accent… I bring that up because tonight the topic is The Word… with one r….
I’ve heard a few interesting theories about my accent.
Firstly, no I’m not American. I’m not Canadian. Thank God I’m not Australian…
I used to live in Southland – and people there have a tendancy to roll their rrrrs… so they’re a plenty or RRRRs tonight!
I want to tell you an interesting story from the bible… and you know I have that word because its not a story as in make believe but real life this is what happened truth… this is someones experience and life… so I want you to listen and hear what happened to this guy…
It’s a long passage, the entire chapter in 1 Kings 13 so I encourage you to turn there and to put a toe in it as a reminder to read it later…
It begins with a young man of God who goes from Judah to Bethel, he follows the call of God and is led by the Holy Spirit speaking within his spirit, revealing what step to take next…
And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD 1 kings 13:1
And he prophesies majorly – he prophesies the birth and life of Josiah who was one of the righteous kings of Judah, who refinds the Law, the Word of God after it was hidden in the temple walls, and ushers revival in Judah – huge prophecy – with signs following
This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.” 1 Kings 13:3
Not your everyday prophetic word…
So the king hears about this, as kings do and totally isn’t into what the young prophet has prophesied and so pointed to his soldiers to go get the man, lock him up etc etc etc and boom his hand withers and is paralyzed as he does that… so we’re saying there is some major God encounter power here surrounding this young mans life and ministry.
The altar splits apart, as prophesied and the young prophet also prays for the kings healing, and he is healed.
Now you think that’s interesting, wait till you hear this next part…. The king invites the young man to the royal palace and tries to reward him….
But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel. 1 Kings 13:8-9
God had specific instructions for this young prophet. Go and prophesy. Say this. Do this. Follow Me.
How many of us know there is general revelation of things we need to obey – we all know that we need to obey the 10 commandments
Breather: Easy way to remember the 10 commandments: convo at dennys…
– that’s like a given, we all know we should keep ourselves pure and not sleep around, or tell lies, or get angry, or be drunks etc… we know there is a standard that is different to the worlds standard for us as Christians – that we’re not living just for ourselves anymore – that is like a general revelation of how to live serving God and loving God and pleasing Him – found in the Word of God – but there is also sometimes a specific leading by God that requires our obedience.
Your call is not my call. My path is not your path. The plan for your life is different from the plan for his life. The blueprint of her life is different from God’s blueprint for her life. But we know that God leads us and calls us and has a plan and a purpose.
The young man had a call to be a prophet – but it wasn’t a cookie cutter plan, it had specific conditions or requirements in the mix.
This man had HEARD from God – he had the Word of the Lord and was following it and building his life upon it and allowing it to filter what he did do and didn’t do.
If God reveals something to you it is not a divine suggestion. Usually it doesn’t come with an “oh if you feel like” it outclause tag…
Let’s grow up and be real now peeps. God’s Word is God’s Word. We say we’re hungry for encounter and to hear His voice but if we’re disregarding what He’s saying are we really encountering and listening? Just saying you know… Sometimes we got to clean up and start over fresh. We’ve got to be obeying God big picture and every day right now.
We all want to please God and live for Him and fulfill the call. But the call isn’t something way out there – its right here today, in the ordinary, in the everyday, in the how I live my life right now. The call isn’t some spiro superhero suit for when we “make it” – its every day living and being transformed and demonstrating God’s love and grace and listening to His voice and obeying right here and right now. In school. At uni. At work. With your parents. With your sisters and brothers. With your mates.
God’s Word needs to be alive and active in you NOW. It needs to be acted upon and listened to and done NOW.
So how do we have God’s Word LOUD within us as the dominant voice:
- Read it – So be strong and brave! Be careful to do everything my servant Moses taught you. Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land. Joshua 1:6-8
Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 2 Timothy 3:16
2. Let the Holy Spirit teach you and speak to you.
However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"—
10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:9-11
This takes TIME and practice… its like learning a friends voice over the phone or working out how your husband and wife really think and feel about things or being able to recognize what the baby wants by its cry… it takes time, its relational, it’s a learning process…. It won’t happen over night but it will happen. God is in the business of teaching us how to hear His voice. He doesn’t throw us in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and say SWIM – it’s a day by day process and if we’re willing to hear and learn it goes well!
But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. John 14:26 The Holy Spirit teaches us!
Some of our life experience is to prepare us for the future. Some of it is to form character in our lives right now. Some of it is to reveal to us who God is. Learn from everything all the time.
3. Do it. Obey it. Live it…
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. John 14:23
Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. 23If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror 24and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. 25But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget. James 1:22-25
Simple eh. Read it. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. Do it.
Smith Wigglesworth puts it like this:
“There are four principles we need to maintain:
First, read the Word of God.
Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you.
Third believe the Word of God.
Fourth, act on the Word.” Smith Wigglesworth
Work out what the general revelation of behaviour and standard is for a Christian and make a decision and do it. Listen and learn what God is unfolding for you personally and make a decision and go for it.
Now you might say, Claire, I’ve been doing this… I read my bible every dayish… I pray. I seek God.
That is awesome. Now trust that God IS speaking to you.
Sometimes we try and difficult it up. That only spiritual people can hear God. That only bible scholars can hear God. That only prophets hear from God. That only people who have done the 1 yr bible plan can hear God. Nope. Nada. I don’t think so.
I was 4 minutes saved and I heard God clear as.
God came into my bedroom when I was a newbie Christian when I was sitting on my blue bean bag and invaded my room. I hadn’t done no bible course. I hadn’t really even read much of the bible. I thought that the story of daniel in the lions den was the same as the esops fable where the boy/mouse pulls the thorn out of the lions foot and that is why the lion didn’t eat Daniel…
I still feel like that. I am just me.
I am a child of God, forgiven, born again, made new, accepted, loved, given access to the very throne room of God because of the blood of Jesus – that is my qualification for hearing God and knowing He speaks to me.
The bible says My sheep hear My voice – john 10 – I am His sheep, baa, so I hear!
Keep doing it. Keep coming before God. Keep listening. Keep following Him. You’re doing it already you may just not be aware of it… He is at work in your life always and forever. Don’t give up. Keep listening.
So you wanna know what happened to the young prophet? He wasn’t distracted by the king. He left bethel by another road, following the instructions God had given him in his spirit. But he then met an older prophet, who distracted and deceived him. The young man went and had a meal at his house. He ate and he drank with the old prophet.
So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him. 1 Kings 13:23-26
Sobering.
Don’t give your call up for any reason.
Don’t give away the preciousness of knowing God for any reason.
Don’t be distracted or discouraged or diswayed from following God.
Its not worth it.
It doesn’t measure up.
The only way we’re going to be strong and unswerving in following God is if we have His Word strong within us as the loudest voice. The young prophet knew what God had said. He told the king. He told the prophet. But he allowed someone to make Him doubt what God had said… sound familiar… is a pattern from the garden of Eden… did God really say???
How did Jesus deal with the “did God really say” when the devil tried to distract, discourage and deceive Him? The Word of God says.
Hit the lie with the truth.
Get the truth strong and loud within you. It will be a guide for your feet and your heart. It will protect you. It will encourage you. The Word of God is an offensive and a defensive weapon.
Listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you, as He guides you, as He stirs your conscience, as He makes you feel a bit wary or yuck about something – that’s Him saying don’t go there, don’t do this, don’t get distracted….
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21
We are a revival generation. We are a generation in which God is doing amazing things and revealing Himself to people like never before. We are so blest to be alive now – we have the Word in books and on ipods and on the net, free and easy access. We can go and download fantastic fired up God inspired messages from truckloads of awesome churches in the world. We can read about the lives of incredible men and women of God who have gone before us and changed their world for Jesus. We can fly in the sky across the world in a matter of hours/days.
We don’t have to share one page of the bible per village, that is if we could read.
We don’t have to walk 5 days in the snow to hear the first visiting preacher in 6 months speak.
We don’t have to only imagine what it would be like to see God move, to hear God’s voice, to feel His presence….
We live in a generation changed by technology and changed by the supernaturalness of our age.
Are we going to be blasé or run with all that God has poured out upon us?
When you’re tempted by the greener grass on the other side of the fence, it might be time to water the grass you’re standing on.
You have got to have your own relationship with God. You’ll starve if you live from Sunday to Sunday – because you can encounter God every day at home in your own bedroom.
In the OT (Exodus 16) we have the picture of the manna falling, the Israelites were instructed to collect an omer of manna – to prepare and eat what they needed but not to store up any for the next day. Those that stored the manna found the next day it was rotting and full of maggots. It had to be collected each day. Likewise in our own relationships with God it is nourished and developed through relationship and the manna God pours out upon us every day…
Now do you want to know something cool?
Jesus is called the Bread of Life, the bread that is come down from heaven, which is the very description in Exodus 16 for manna.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:33, 35
Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 4:4 – in one of those did God really say conversations with the devil…
Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ " Mathew 4:4
If the grass looks greener on the other side then water your own grass – spend time with God, find your satisfaction in Him, grow up and repent and seek Him and find Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
The challenge for all of us to be keep on tuning the ears of our spirit to what God is saying to us through His Word and by His Spirit and to not just let it go in one ear and out the other but to stop drop and roll and hear and listen and learn and obey and do it.
Today if you need to make things right with God do it.
Today if you need to repent of putting your fingers in your ears, do it.
Today if you want to hear God’s voice afresh and know He is with you and calling you, do it.
“There are four principles we need to maintain:
First, read the Word of God.
Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you.
Third believe the Word of God.
Fourth, act on the Word.”
Smith Wigglesworth
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