Tired of the Shallow? Desperate for Intimacy?

God Calls Us to a Deep, Intimate relationship with Himself.

           

         Psalm 45:7   Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your  waves and billows have gone over me.

So many marriages fail because one of the spouses comes to that place where they just have to have more, they crave a close, intimate relationship but their spouse has no clue. Jesus wants us to know Him as the LOVER OF OUR SOUL, and that is anything but a shallow distant relationship. It is impossible to express His love for individuals if you have not experienced it yourself.

Back in the 60’s we used a derogatory expression, “Plastic People.” These were those people who are perceived to be phony, superficial, “stuck-up,” a manikin that breaths, moves, eats and all too often puts down other people. A wonderful thing about God is that He loves the people and draws them to Himself, promising an abundant life. The phony, imitation can receive real life and depth of character as their relationship with Jesus grows.

I wonder about some churches that are plastic too. Did you ever hear the criticism that a church is a mile wide but only an inch deep? Too many of God’s people are living this kind of life, most probably saved but not answering God’s call to the deeper places, never experiencing the close relationship with Jesus that He died to bring us into. There is an implication in this that our relationships with other believers become more meaningful too.

Ezek 47:1   In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side.

3    Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles.

4   He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist.

5   Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

6   He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank.

7   When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.

8   Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure.

9   There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows.

In the beginning of Ezekiel chapter 47 we read of a very fascinating vision that demonstrates this principle. The prophet was led to a river that gradually got deeper and deeper. Ezekiel was led gradually from an ankle deep stream to a river that was so deep and wide it could not be crossed. This is a river of life and healing, but the progression also depicts the various stages where people get content and stop. The real purpose of this river was not described to Ezekiel until he got in over his head. There is real life, real healing and abundance of provision in the deep waters. The shallows have a little but God calls us deeper and deeper to where we experience the abundance of His life. Please take careful notice of the fact that the water was over his head, deep waters to swim in, deep waters of a river moving swiftly and taking control of you if you let it. Swimming upstream is impossible, you must just surrender to the waters and let them take you through life. 

You see, real victory over every obstacle of life, over every temptation and adversity comes with surrender to Jesus.

Let me give you a picture of how this works out in our lives. Not long after I got saved I visited Martinsville, VA. There I met a young lady with whom I had several lengthy conversations. I don’t remember anything we talked about (it was in early 1972) but I will never forget the way the Lord was working in my heart during those talks. It was as if a big shovel was digging deep into my heart and digging out garbage. We had a depth of conversation I had never experienced before. I never saw her again but I hope we will re-unite in Heaven. Something supernatural happened in my heart that day. A deep well was dug in that day.

Wells and springs in the desert are another Biblical analogy to deep calling unto deep.

Gen. 26: 17   Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 

18  And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

19   Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.

Without water there just is no life. Here is Isaac, a shepherd with huge flocks, many workers and a large extended family. These people and animals needed a lot of water. The enemy had stopped up Abraham’s wells, he is always seeking to destroy people and thwart the plans of God. You can bet Isaac’s servants worked their proverbially butts off digging out those wells in the hot desert sun, with little to drink until they accomplished their task. Can you imagine the joy when they hit that well of springing water. They found an artesian well. Our hearts and lives should be like that, even as Jesus said,

John 7:38   He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

And as King David declared,

Psalm 46: 4   There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5   God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

There are many other verses, and a multitude of songs, about the river, about living water and other references along this line. There is no drought in the Kingdom of God. The problem is that those who truly thirst for the things of God are far less in number than those satisfied with just, “Fill my cup Lord.” If all they are asking God for is to fill that little communion sized cup they are missing the plan of God for themselves and those they could touch. We need to come to Jesus, not with a little cup but with our whole being and pray for such a outpouring that overflows all over the place, spilling out onto those around us. The obstacle to doing this is that we don’t want to open up places of secret sin in our hearts that waste space the Lord wants to fill and that stop to overflow that others need so desperately..

Look at the connection between what David said in Psalm 46:4 above and,

 Matthew 5:6   Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Where is the gladness David referred to? In the city of God, a phrase that is analogous to the church. Tie together the second part of that verse, “the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High” with the verse,

1 Corinthians 3:16   Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

We, God’s people, all born again believers in the Gospel, should walk in holiness because we are the Temple, and walk in gladness because the river of God flows through us. If we continuously hunger and thirst for righteousness (right standing, right relationship with God) we are motivated to surrender to Him and to get in the deepest places of the river. Oh, how different the world could be if the Church at large walked in this close relationship with God. Oh that we would allow ourselves to take the time to get intimate in our conversation with the LOVER OF OUR SOUL, for you see the result of intimacy is as the result of intimacy between a man and his wife.

Let me conclude with the key to walking out everything written so far. I mentioned above that we experience victory when we surrender to Jesus. Notice, in this next verse, what the woman is doing as she comes out of the wilderness,

https://cherideejohnson.com/outrageous-love/

The LOVER OF HER SOUL, had come to the door late at night and she didn’t get up out of bed to let him in so he passed on. When she realized what she had done she panicked, got dressed and frantically searched for Him throughout the city. Several chapter later in the story we see a dramatic change in her. She is no longer frantic, no longer striving in her own strength to find the Lord. She is leaning on HIM, her own strength has proven insufficient and her broken heart is totally healed. This is the true definition of meekness – with personal strength gone, one becomes submissive to the divine will; neither proud nor self-sufficient. The Lord had taken her through a wilderness experience and she learned to yielded completely to Him, she entered into a deep intimate relationship with the 
JESUS, the LOVER OF OUR SOULS. 

IS EXCELLENCE A PIPE DREAM?,

PART 2 OF "WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU MESS UP?"

Let’s start out with a little review from Part 1 of this topic. We all mess up, we are all imperfect. BUT, if you are a born again Christian you are on the path to becoming more like Jesus who was perfect. I have no doubt we can all agree with old Job,

 

Job 5:7   Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

So what should we do when we mess up? I am convinced that God laid out all the “how to’s” for how His creation is supposed to be. It is our responsibility to, by His grace and power, follow that plan. It will lead to life and great long term resolutions of the consequences of our words and actions. If you are just “looking out for number one” (yourself) your pride will rule and your failure is guaranteed (see Proverbs 16:8) As hard as it may seem, we really need to follow thru with the steps listed below::

1.   Man Up and confess your fault.

2.    Accept responsibility for the consequences

3.   Experience Godly sorrow that brings repentance and will motivate you to do everything you can to make things right (2 Cor 7:11)

4.   Seek God for the power to change, for the power to become what God created you to be. You are a new creature in Christ (2Cor.5:17), Jesus will make you to become…(Mark 1:17) and the infinite power of the Holy Ghost is God’s gift to the believer (Acts 1:8)

If you have tried to change , to consistently do what is right, to become more like Jesus, by using your own will power than I am certain you have experienced frustration, I sure have. I have a confession to make, I am tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. I am also tired of hearing people say, “OK, my bad” and then going on as if nothing happened and nothing needs to change going forward. It is time we learn to apprehend the grace of God and accept His power to change, His grace to do everything necessary to make things right. He will provide every dollar, every ounce of strength, every bit of intestinal fortitude we ever need to accomplish anything He leads us to do.

Mark 10:27…   Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

I attended a simulcast of a men’s conference recently, with teaching from a preacher named Erik Luny. Check out http://www.ellerslie.com He spoke on numerous topics and made many of the same points you read in my previous blog; except in great detail and with numerous analogies. I was excited by this gravity\flight analogy. Pastor Erik taught that we can compare walking in the flesh vs. walking in the Spirit to the law of gravity vs. the law of aerodynamics. Gravity says flight is impossible – aerodynamics proves they can. Does this not echo Mark 10:27?

Let’s take a look at some points made in Romans chapters 7 & 8. The struggle and the victory that Paul so passionately exclaimed is often misunderstood, over complicated and polluted by the intellectual looking for an excuse to continue in sin.

Rom.7:4   So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

5   When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 

6   But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Do you see the contrast? Coming to Christ frees one from the power of the law, from the control of our old nature, from those evil desires that bound us in the garbage can of what we called life. We are reckoned dead and born to real life, the life we have in Christ, walking in the Spirit. Excellence in how we live is within our grasp and applies to every aspect of life. Let me say that again, Excellence in every aspect of life is within the grasp of the believer because we are dead to self and alive to God, empowered not by dead flesh that seeks its own, but by the Spirit of the Living God who inhabits the believer.

The seeming contradiction is what we saw too much of in the latter part of the last century. Many big name Christian leaders fell into sin, causing many well intentioned believers to become disillusioned. I boldly declare that this is no contradiction at all but is, by definition, the struggle exemplified. When someone falls, it is because they yielded to the old man, to the flesh and the enemy of our souls whose name I refrain from mentioning. They came to a fork in the road and willfully and intentionally went the wrong way. They took the gravity route instead of aerodynamics.

 

Rom. 7:24   Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 

25    Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom. 8:1   So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

2   And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

5   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

6   So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

7   For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

8   That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9   But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

Walking in the Spirit and experiencing the Manifest Presence of God has been my passion since getting saved at a Christian commune in 1971. It was a Pentecostal ministry and I have considered myself to be a Pentecostal ever since. It is thrilling to know that the power that defines the term Pentecostal is a gift available for God to every believer. This walk in the Spirit takes on a whole other dimension after one has the supernatural experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus very specifically told the disciples to expect it and what would happen in them and through them as a result. We see this in Acts 1:8 and Acts 2:4. This baptism doesn’t make you perfect, or excellent instantly, you just have the power to become, the power to reflect Jesus (being a witness) wherever you are or wherever you go. All we need to do is willfully and intentionally yield to it.

Rom. 6:16   Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU MESS UP?

Everybody messes up, makes mistakes, does something he or she is not proud of. So what are we supposed to do about it?

Job 5:7   Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

My Jr. High School wood shop teacher frequently used the expression, “I may not be right but I am never been wrong.” Well that was one teacher who lied every time he said that. Everybody messes up, makes mistakes, does something he or she is not proud of.

Just think for  a minute, it won’t take you long to remember the last mistake you made, the last careless error, the last bone headed stupid thing that come out of your mouth. What is disturbing is that culturally, we have found ways of slighting the consequences of our mistakes. The expression, “OK, my bad” is good in that one takes the blame but most often that’s as far as it goes. Hopefully it was something easily fixed and the one who made the mistake took of it quickly, like fixing a typo or putting something back where it belongs. More often than not, however, people do all they can to PASS THE BUCK, to deny culpability. Pride makes sure to convince all that it was someone else’s fault.

 

Prov.16:18   Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. (NLT)

The laws of physics show us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Concerning the words and action of people, there are consequences for everything. Sometimes those consequences are good, sometimes not so good, sometimes pretty bad and sometimes horrible. It’s easy to MAN UP when the consequences are good, men crave that pat on the back. But so often I hear people trying to rationalize their fault when something doesn’t turn out right, when they made a mistake.

Human nature is all too predictable. The pattern of behavior thus far described started just after God put Adam and Eve in the beautiful, and easy to maintain, Garden of Eden. I have no doubt you have heard some great, and perhaps some not so great, sermons about what happened. When they messed up Adam tried to pass the buck to Eve who in turn tried to pass the buck to the serpent. The problem with this is that they were all guilty and the Lord let them all know it. Mankind, and all the rest of creation, is still dealing with the consequences of what those three did, and it is not very pretty. So much for a “no sweat” everything’s right there way of life.

So what should we do when we mess up? I am convinced that God laid out all the “how to’s” for how His creation is supposed to be. It is our responsibility to, by His grace and power, follow that plan. It will lead to life and great long term resolutions of the consequences of our words and actions. If you are just “looking out for number one” (yourself) your pride will rule and deal with it as mentioned before and Proverbs 16:8 makes clear the eventual consequences to good old number one. As hard as it may seem, we really need to:

1.   Man Up and confess your fault.

2.    Accept responsibility for the consequences

3.   Experience Godly sorrow for with it you receive the ability to do what the last sentence of this verse says,

2 Cor. 7:11   Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm,… such zeal, and   . You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

4.   Seek God for the power to change, for the power to become what God created you to be.

2 Cor.5:17   Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.(KJV)

Mark 1:17   Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become...(NLT)

Phil.2:12   … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Acts 1:8   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses,

If you have tried to change , to consistently do what is right, to become more like Jesus, by using your own will power than I am certain you have experienced frustration, I sure have.

Mark 10:27…   Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

I have a confession to make, I am tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. I am also tired of hearing people say, “OK, my bad” and then going on as if nothing happened and nothing needs to change going forward. It is time we learn to apprehend the grace of God and accept His power to change, His grace to do everything necessary to make things right. He will provide every dollar, every ounce of strength, every bit of intestinal fortitude we ever need to accomplish anything He leads us to do. 

.

STAND FAST – STAY FREE!!!

What is your concept of freedom? 
Is it based on some political definition? 
Is it based on some empty promise? 
Please understand true freedom and how to maintain it. It has nothing to do with where you live, where you are politically, how rich or poor you may be, where you work or your education. Freedom has nothing to do with how evil your leaders are or how hard your circumstances may be. Freedom comes from God and it is for every person on the planet who will accept it. 

These verses say everything that needs to be said about it. Read them and then I want to help you make it personal. (All verses are NLT version unless noted otherwise noted.)

John 8:36   So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (KJV)

I have long said that the verse that puts the Gospel in a nut shell is

Matthew 4:17,   From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent:  for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The freedom these verses refer to is the freedom from the penalty of sin (IE eternal death) and the freedom to live a life in God’s kingdom. Every concept of freedom in the New Testament is relative to God giving people the power to live free from what leads to eternal death and to live as His kids in His Kingdom. It is even first in the list of the primary characteristics of His Kingdom,

Romans 14:17   For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Just think about Matt. 4:17 and Rom. 14:17. Take your hand and pit it over your face. Let your fingertips touch your for head and your palm cover your mouth. That’s how close God’s righteousness, and peace, and joy are to you. 

Unfortunately, too many people, Christians included, do not appreciate the magnitude of this freedom, nor the cost. The cost was explicitly displayed in the movie, “The Passion” that was in theaters some years ago. I encourage every person to see that movie at least once and let it get deep into your heart. In 2009 I spent about five weeks in a hospital, bed ridden and unable to function or sleep very much. This gave me too much time to “channel surf” day and night. I saw an old “religious” movie that showed Jesus on the cross. My mind and heart were greatly troubled because He was clean, there was no blood in the image and there was no indication of the horror of the torture and of His crucifixion. Though the medications that were giving me were messing with my head, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart, “You cannot preach a bloodless Gospel.”

With Christ’s righteousness becoming that of the believer through repentance and forgiveness we begin to experience the personal magnitude of real Freedom – peace and joy in the midst of all of life. Even in the midst of the worst adversity or sorrow His peace and joy are available. Again, too many people try to mistakenly substitute the concept of peace for absence of war. They also make the same mistake by using joy and happiness as synonymous. God’s peace and joy are available even on the most horrendous of battlefields or adversities of life.

Psalm 23:5   You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Psalm 31:20   You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues

This verse from Psalm 31:20 uses the phrase, “   shelter of your presence…” This verse is the key to experiencing the magnitude of the freedom and the key to maintaining it. Look where that joy and peace are found,

Psalm 16:11   You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

One fall day in 1975 I was sitting in a car with my pastor Dale Hunter. He led our small country church in the middle of New York State. He was one of a few men I am eternally grateful for because God used them to shape me in those early years of my life with Christ and as a newlywed. That day he said something to me very strongly, and with hindsight I can say prophetically, “Andy, TAKE A STAND.” At the time I had little idea of what he meant but as life progressed, and still today, taking a stand has many important applications in all areas of life, especially in standing against the enemy of our soul who persistently tries to cause us to stumble into sin, tries to provoke us to say or do something stupid, something that will have bad, long term repercussions. After all, wasn’t that what the devil did in the Garden with Adam and Eve? In today’s America, it is more crucial than ever that we take a stand for what is right, for Biblical principles to again permeate our government and that those who will serve in the fear of the Lord get elected.

Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (KJV)

Eph. 6:13   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

OK, MY BAD

Part of that stance is that our personal integrity be beyond challenge. There’s an expression way over used in today’s culture. When it becomes obvious that someone made a mistake, big or small, they’ll say, “OK, my bad.” This is like an easy way of getting out of full admittance of guilt then quickly moving on, ending the conversation. I found this as bad, or worse, than making excuses. Do you know the definition of

excuse? “The skin of a reason wrapped around a lie.” These are big reveals of the lack of integrity or trustworthiness. Professionally, these kinds of attitudes will jeopardize your job, stop any chance for advancement and you will lose customers. I don’t do business with those I can’t trust and don’t hesitate to warn others to stay clear of a merchant lacking integrity. As a Christian, these detract from your testimony, you are not able to point people to Jesus, they see through it and consider you a hypocrite. This doesn’t appear to be the freedom Christ died to give you does It?

In this paragraph I just described an unacceptable behavior. You either thought “Amen,” or “Oh Jesus help me” or both. It’s just like the 10 Commandments, the law of God. If we try to live 100% using our own capabilities we mess up. Let’s look at how the Apostle Paul puts in Romans 7

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

Rom. 7:21   I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

22   I love God’s law with all my heart.

23   But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

24   Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

TEXT SLIDE

25   Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Can you feel Paul’s frustration? If you’ve say you’ve never experienced it too your lying. When I mess up I am my own worst enemy. I usually don’t need someone to “call me on the carpet” because I am already busy beating myself up. The next chapter in Romans will relieve that frustration and set you free.

TEXT SLIDE

THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO STAY IN THE BONDAGE OF SIN.

LIVE IN FREEDOM, TAKE YOUR STAND
WWW.SUSANPANZICA.CPM

Rom. 8:1   So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

2   And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

3   The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

4   He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

If realizing the magnitude of the freedom we have in Christ, cost of it, and  understanding the that we are in a battle to STAND FAST IN THAT LIBERTY, I ask you to make the following commitments. Share what you vow with someone you trust to be accountable in confidentiality to concerning these vows. I'll be glad to respond to any comments you put below, they are not public unless I publish them. 

  

    1.   I fully accept the freedom Jesus died that I might have.

    2.   I fully intend to live a life pleasing in the sight of the Lover of My Soul

    3.   I refuse to surrender to the lies of the enemy

   4.   I will not make excuses for shortcomings, mistakes, or the sins I commit but rather repent and thankfully embrace forgiveness at the foot of the Cross.

    5.   I will walk in the reality of:

          Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath          made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage 

LIVE IN FREEDOM, TAKE YOUR STAND.

Further reading – Romans 8, whole chapter.