I was listening to an A.W. Tozer sermon a couple of weeks ago and he made a statement that brought conviction and resonated with me, “We have as much of God as we want to have.” His statement is a truth that I like to hide from. It is uncomfortable for me to think of all the religious posturings to the contrary. The depth and closeness of my fellowship with God are functions of my lack of desire.
Christ promises that if we seek him we will find him (Mathew 7:7). The writer of Proverbs promises that we will find the knowledge of God if we seek it as hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-7). The prophet Jeremiah tells the children of Israel that they will find God if they seek him with their whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Christ says that pursuit of God and his kingdom is like a man who sells everything for the field that has treasure (Mathew 13:44-46). Either scripture is false or there is a treasure to be found and the finding is dependent on the searching.
I’m afraid that for me, and too many of us, our treasure hunt looks more like a weekend hobby rather than an all-consuming obsession. Deep down, I don’t think many of us can argue too persistently or object too strenuously that our “finding” is not commensurate to our “seeking.” We get what we pay for. We rarely hear the voice of God because we rarely seek it.
Mission: Our Purpose is to Know God
Were we really intended for that kind of knowing? A hearing and seeing relationship that includes us speaking to God and God speaking to us? I think Christ answers that question pretty definitely as he is preparing to go to the cross. He prays for his disciples, and John records what he said. Christ says he has been given eternal life to all those the Father gave him (John 17:2). And this He says is eternal life, to know God (John 17:3). His prayer is not just for those around him, but for all people that would believe in him through their words (John 17:20). Finally, he ends his prayer by asking that the Father show us His glory (John 17:24).
But maybe this is more of a theoretical positional statement of coming to a saving knowledge of God rather than a continuous personal fellowship. What does Paul, the man caught up to the third heaven, who spoke with God, and whom the demons feared say? He says that forgetting the things behind he presses towards the mark of the high calling of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:14). What is this calling? It is to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and the conformity with his death (Philippians 3:10). To quote Tozer, Paul sought, found, and sought again.
Means: We’ve Been Given the Holy Spirit to Enable Us to Know God
But is this even possible? It is our purpose to know God that we've been given the Holy Spirit? God’s spirit dwells within us so that we can know Him and fellowship with Him even after Jesus ascended into heaven. It is BETTER, Christ says, that I go away because the spirit will come, and he will guide you into all truth (John 16:7-15). Christ says that the spirit would show us Christ and all the Father has for us (John 16:13-15).
However, this is not automatic, the spirit can be quenched (I Thessalonians 5:19), eyes can be darkened (Ephesians 4:18), ears can be dulled (Hebrews 5:11), but again, on the positive side, we must seek the kingdom of God (Luke 12:31); for those that seek, find (Luke 11:9). The implication is if you do not seek him, you will not find him.
Misery: The Misery of the Soul is God’s Way of Sharpening Our Appetite for Him
As the hymn writer says, we are creatures, “prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love”. God places us here in this world with our jobs, stresses, pains, toils, and heartbreak to continually turn our wandering hearts back to gaze on Christ. Paul talks at length about how God uses these things to bring our focus back to himself. “Count it all joy,” James says about these trials because that is what draws us back to Christ (James 1:2). The author of Hebrews tells us that it is the discipline of the Lord through difficulties in our lives that produces righteousness in us (Hebrews 12:1-17). And as we gaze upon the Lord we are changed from glory to glory (II Cor 3:18).
I’m afraid that rather than letting our struggles and difficulties whet our appetite for the Lord and draw us into more prayer, more fasting, more longing, we do anything we can to make ourselves feel better. We tell ourselves we don’t need to hear the Lord but follow our hearts and desires. We pray for deliverance and healing; to be content and happy. These are all fine secondary goods, but God has a much greater good for you. God has lit the fires in your life to shake you out of complacency and in his mercy, makes you miserable for him. He desires to suit you for heaven and show you his glory, but instead, we just want to keep playing with our “mud pies,” as CS Lewis describes it. We are satisfied with sex, wealth, and power when the God of the universe stands in front of us.
Does your heart sing, "Come Lord Jesus?" We have as much of the Lord as we truly desire.
I pray God makes you miserable without his presence. I pray that the longing is so intense that everything else in life feels bland and meaningless. I pray you cannot sit down to watch a movie without getting up to ask God to show you his presence. I pray you cannot sit down to eat a meal without asking to see His face. May God make you miserable so that you draw into his presence. Then may God’s intoxicating presence and his overwhelming nearness raise you to that third heaven so you can say with Paul, “it’s better that I go be with the Lord.”
We welcome your comment. Please include author and blog title or date of article.
We Have as Much of God as We Want to Have
I was listening to an A.W. Tozer sermon a couple of weeks ago and he made a statement that brought conviction and resonated with me, “We have as much of God as we want to have.” His statement is a truth that I like to hide from. It is uncomfortable for me to think of all the religious posturings to the contrary. The depth and closeness of my fellowship with God are functions of my lack of desire.
Christ promises that if we seek him we will find him (Mathew 7:7). The writer of Proverbs promises that we will find the knowledge of God if we seek it as hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-7). The prophet Jeremiah tells the children of Israel that they will find God if they seek him with their whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Christ says that pursuit of God and his kingdom is like a man who sells everything for the field that has treasure (Mathew 13:44-46). Either scripture is false or there is a treasure to be found and the finding is dependent on the searching.
I’m afraid that for me, and too many of us, our treasure hunt looks more like a weekend hobby rather than an all-consuming obsession. Deep down, I don’t think many of us can argue too persistently or object too strenuously that our “finding” is not commensurate to our “seeking.” We get what we pay for. We rarely hear the voice of God because we rarely seek it.
Mission: Our Purpose is to Know God
Were we really intended for that kind of knowing? A hearing and seeing relationship that includes us speaking to God and God speaking to us? I think Christ answers that question pretty definitely as he is preparing to go to the cross. He prays for his disciples, and John records what he said. Christ says he has been given eternal life to all those the Father gave him (John 17:2). And this He says is eternal life, to know God (John 17:3). His prayer is not just for those around him, but for all people that would believe in him through their words (John 17:20). Finally, he ends his prayer by asking that the Father show us His glory (John 17:24).
But maybe this is more of a theoretical positional statement of coming to a saving knowledge of God rather than a continuous personal fellowship. What does Paul, the man caught up to the third heaven, who spoke with God, and whom the demons feared say? He says that forgetting the things behind he presses towards the mark of the high calling of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:14). What is this calling? It is to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and the conformity with his death (Philippians 3:10). To quote Tozer, Paul sought, found, and sought again.
Means: We’ve Been Given the Holy Spirit to Enable Us to Know God
But is this even possible? It is our purpose to know God that we've been given the Holy Spirit? God’s spirit dwells within us so that we can know Him and fellowship with Him even after Jesus ascended into heaven. It is BETTER, Christ says, that I go away because the spirit will come, and he will guide you into all truth (John 16:7-15). Christ says that the spirit would show us Christ and all the Father has for us (John 16:13-15).
However, this is not automatic, the spirit can be quenched (I Thessalonians 5:19), eyes can be darkened (Ephesians 4:18), ears can be dulled (Hebrews 5:11), but again, on the positive side, we must seek the kingdom of God (Luke 12:31); for those that seek, find (Luke 11:9). The implication is if you do not seek him, you will not find him.
Misery: The Misery of the Soul is God’s Way of Sharpening Our Appetite for Him
As the hymn writer says, we are creatures, “prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love”. God places us here in this world with our jobs, stresses, pains, toils, and heartbreak to continually turn our wandering hearts back to gaze on Christ. Paul talks at length about how God uses these things to bring our focus back to himself. “Count it all joy,” James says about these trials because that is what draws us back to Christ (James 1:2). The author of Hebrews tells us that it is the discipline of the Lord through difficulties in our lives that produces righteousness in us (Hebrews 12:1-17). And as we gaze upon the Lord we are changed from glory to glory (II Cor 3:18).
I’m afraid that rather than letting our struggles and difficulties whet our appetite for the Lord and draw us into more prayer, more fasting, more longing, we do anything we can to make ourselves feel better. We tell ourselves we don’t need to hear the Lord but follow our hearts and desires. We pray for deliverance and healing; to be content and happy. These are all fine secondary goods, but God has a much greater good for you. God has lit the fires in your life to shake you out of complacency and in his mercy, makes you miserable for him. He desires to suit you for heaven and show you his glory, but instead, we just want to keep playing with our “mud pies,” as CS Lewis describes it. We are satisfied with sex, wealth, and power when the God of the universe stands in front of us.
There is a song we sing at Parkway.
All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon
Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon
Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be at Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing "even so come"
Lord Jesus, come
Even so, come
Lord Jesus, come
Does your heart sing, "Come Lord Jesus?" We have as much of the Lord as we truly desire.
I pray God makes you miserable without his presence. I pray that the longing is so intense that everything else in life feels bland and meaningless. I pray you cannot sit down to watch a movie without getting up to ask God to show you his presence. I pray you cannot sit down to eat a meal without asking to see His face. May God make you miserable so that you draw into his presence. Then may God’s intoxicating presence and his overwhelming nearness raise you to that third heaven so you can say with Paul, “it’s better that I go be with the Lord.”
We welcome your comment. Please include author and blog title or date of article.