Today Jack made a confession. “Head knowledge of the Bible was supreme to me. But, how wrong I had been.” “I had ignored the Holy Spirit completely and that means not knowing God the Spirit.” “My work in the church system was self and other humans-oriented and not God-focused. What worth were they? Not worth a penny. Not in God’s eyes.”
Having come to this conclusion, he made a significant resolution, all leaning to the Holy Spirit, in his application notes.
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Journal Day 21: God wants us to ask, seek and knock
When I read Matthew 7:7, I realized that God indeed likes us to ask, seek and knock. The verse goes as follows:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
In the preceding verse (7:6) to this, Jesus was telling His disciples not to give precious things to those who do not appreciate. Then He continued with this verse which clearly tells us how much He loves to give to those who desire to receive from Him!
All we need to do is ask. If we do not know what to ask for, seek guidance from the Holy Spirit. If we do not know how to connect to the Holy Spirit, knock on the Bible door!
It has taken me a long time to reach this far. I have reached the age when I could no longer chauffer young people around or take active participation in any youth camps. As my heart and its enthusiasm are not there, I cannot contribute meaningfully in this field.
In younger days when I physically actively served the Lord in a church system, I did not ask, seek or knock much on God’s door. I trusted my mind (knowledge and talent) more than anything else. I believed in what the church taught and I read a lot of reference books and accepted as truth what other mortals have written/spoken. I obeyed to the church system and deliberately shunned away from all matters of the Spirit.
Head knowledge of the Bible was supreme to me. But, how wrong I had been and how I had walked the wilderness path like the Israelites who did not know God in the Spirit, although they were chosen to be God’s people and were already in an organized religion.
I had ignored the Holy Spirit completely and that means not knowing God the Spirit. It also means that I had not really understood most, if not all, the Bible which I had read and re-read many times over the years. Worst of all, it means I did not really understand what Jesus taught about eternal life (which came through knowing God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
My work in the church system was self and other humans-oriented and not God-focused. What worth were they? Not worth a penny. Not in God’s eyes. Believe me, just read what Jesus said to the Ephesians’ Church. The Ephesians Christians were good at man-focus works, doing a lot of good labors. But Jesus reprimanded them for their not doing for the love of God. In fact they had lost their first love (of God) and still continued to do well in man’s eyes! Of course the Ephesians found this shocking. They thought they loved God. But did they? How deceptive works and results of apparent success can be.
Thus, thinking that we love God and doing a lot of works under the church system does not necessarily reflect the truth. Loving God requires knowing God (and His heart) personally. The church system does not necessarily reflect God’s heart. Many have confused these two separate entities and wandered into spiritual wilderness.
In Revelation 2:5, Jesus warned that He would remove the lamp stand from the church system if they do not repent and do the first works (let God/the Holy Spirit work into them). Without light the church system would be the blind leading the blind. How terrible!
How do we know God? God is Spirit. We can only know God through the spirit. Jesus promised in Luke 11:13, “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Yes, ask. This is the way to proceed forward.
My application: This morning I got up early and read psalms 11-20. Psalm 16 is a real comfort! I shall continue to ask, seek and knock on God’s door in the spirit, through reading and meditating on His words and praying in my spirit. Forget about serving Him unless I am clear it is a call in the spirit. I am learning to read the words to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to my spirit.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” (Ps. 16:9)
AAA Jack
15 March 2009 (pm)
P/s: By faith, based on the teaching at the Prayer House, I have recently learned to read chunks of the Bible in one sitting daily. Just read them. The words come alive. They speak and work wonders into me. Trust Jesus. He said His words are spirit. They are life.
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