God Has Needs!
“For loving God means obeying His commands. Moreover, His commands are not burdensome, because everything which has God as its Father overcomes the world. And this is what victoriously overcomes the world: our trust.” 1 John 5:3-4 (JNT)
Do you revere God? Do you honor God in your life? Does what you do each day, give God glory? Does your life each day give testimony to the fact that you follow God? Do you fully rely on God for each decision in your life? Do you spend quality time with God each day? Is that quality time according to God, or according to you? Is God first in your life? If not why, and what is your excuse? Does God make your schedule for the week? Here is that same old question, “Do you know God?”
If a person doesn’t understand God’s needs (basically) you are not going to get what you need from God! You are never going to get what you need from God if you don’t understand God’s needs! Why? Because, if you don’t understand God’s needs you won’t understand your purpose on earth, and you won’t understand the purposes of your relationship with God! You won’t understand how to help other people, and you won’t understand how to take care of yourself. You just won’t!
So, if you don’t understand how to help people, if you don’t understand how to take care of yourself, if you don’t understand your calling, and if you don’t understand your relationship with God, how are you going to know what you need? You’re not!
Let’s take it a step further. God knows your needs. So, if He gave you everything you needed in one shot without a perfect understanding from your perspective of what He was doing, would you be able to use any of it? Would you know what to do with any of it? Would you be able to appreciate any of it? Would it do you any good? It might make you feel good but - then again maybe not!
Understanding God’s needs, only comes by spending time with God and learning the way He works and the way He is. Asking Him questions and developing a friendship with Him and developing an honor of Him that comes from knowing Him.
If we don’t pursue a working friendship with God the following could happen: As quickly as God could give us some instruction to handle an issue/circumstance, it is going to be stolen from you; or you are not going to know how to use it to help you.
Example: “God, how do I handle this situation with my child? Or “What do I do God, do I take this job or not? “What do I do God?” Then, God proceeds to give someone direction. “Do this, this, and this.” They answer, “Well, that doesn’t make any sense, that can’t be God! That can’t be God, so I will just do what the Bible says, and just believe it is going to work out.” Again, I ask you, does this person understand God’s needs? No! Are they going to get what they need from God? No! So, what is going to happen? They are going to fail! Then they are going to go to church, and sing a few praise and worship songs, and feel better for a time. They might even declare, “God is so wonderful, isn’t he wonderful.” But under their breath, they are going to be saying, “Oh, I still have this problem God, what am I going to do? The answer comes again, “Do, this, this, and this.” They answer, “Well, I guess I can try it.” Now, some do try, and others don’t. Even if they try, there is no stability here. It just isn’t stable, and it doesn’t result in any permanency in someone’s life. No consistency! That is the thing, they don’t understand God’s needs, and they don’t get what they need from God, and nothing ever changes. Rarely, there is any change.
Pearl - If you don’t understand God’s needs you will never get what you need from God! Never!
Jewish New Testament
“The way we can be sure we know him is if we are obeying his commands. Anyone who says, “I know him,” but doesn’t obey his commands is a liar - the truth is not in him. But if someone does what he says, then truly love for God has been brought to its goal in him. This is how we are sure that we are united with him. A person who claims to be continuing in union with him ought to conduct his life the way he did.” 1 John 2:3-6 (JNT)
Jewish New Testament Commentary
“Two ways not to have the truth: (1) to claim not to have sin (1:8), and (2) to say “I know him” but not obey his commands (as Ya 2:14-26 teaches). In the Tanakh the word “know” can mean “have intimate experience”; here “knowing Yeshua” means having intimate spiritual experience with him to the degree that one obeys his commands from the heart. Anything less is not true knowledge; there is a difference between giving mental assent to Yeshua’s Messiahship and knowing him. Elsewhere Yochanan reports that Yeshua said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands, “and “If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love” (Yn 14:15, 15:10; compare Yn 14:21, 15:14). This is how we are sure that we are united with him, and this answers the question raised by the “eternal security of the believer” in MJ (Hebrews) 6:4-6n. (JNTC, pg. 770)
Daily Cleansing
A daily cleansing is not only a cleansing of yourself from unrighteousness or un-forgiveness, but it is also a cleansing of yourself of things which entail a blockage from hearing God. In addition, it is a giving over of your attitude, and a giving over of your day at that point. All these things should be a part of your cleansing.
Remember: If the minute you get up, you begin going about “your” schedule, you have basically blown it! When you are done with your cleansing, be sure and ask God, “My day is yours God, so what is next? What would you have me do?” Why? Because if you are not listening to specifically what God wants you to do, sometimes He won’t talk!
NOTE: We may have to do a cleansing more than once a day! Keep that in mind because there are times in our day’s things can get very stressed out and when that happens, we must step back and regroup because stress can keep us from hearing correctly!
Hearing God
God communicates in different ways, in fact there are about three (3) ways in which God can give a Word.
1) Through a vision
2) A discerning feeling
3) Word by Word.
There are people who have experienced all three. It depends on the circumstance, what God wants to say, and how He wants to say it. When you get a vision, or a feeling, it is good at that point to ask God for a Word by Word. It is better not to go by the feeling, or on what you saw in the vision. By asking God for a Word by Word, this will give you a clearer perspective on what He is trying to tell you, and what His direction really is. This is a check for you, so you don’t get off. Even if God drops an understanding of the feeling or vision into your mind, sometimes still the Word by Word is the best thing. Why? Because even if you think you are understanding it, it is better to ask God to explain it to you. It is extremely important we know exactly what God is saying. We can not only be dealing with things in our lives, but we can be dealing with the lives of others. Often it is crucial and can be critical that we know exactly what to do! Thus, we need a Word by Word from God.
Purpose for Hearing God!
Make sure your attitude, and your reason for wanting to hear God is to give victory to God in your day! Make sure it is not to answer questions or to solve problems you encounter. Understand what I’m saying here, that may come with the territory because God loves us and wants to do that for us. But! That should never be the primary focus for wanting to hear God! When you listen for God, there are going to be times when God wants to talk to you about a very serious or intimate issue, or a personal issue. If this be the case, He will not talk with you while you are doing housework, or any other kind of work. You must be sitting down listening. Because your mind isn’t going to be able to absorb everything He is saying, and He is not going to be able to minister to you. Why? Because your mind will be half on Him, and half on whatever you are doing.
If you are just sharing with Him, or singing praise songs to Him, that is one thing. But! If you are looking for a serious answer or something, it is crucial you give Him your full attention. Also, if God is about to say something very important which is very, very, very important to your life; or if He wants to give you a terrific direction, He will not talk unless you are sitting at your computer or have a pen and paper in your hand. Why? Because He will want you to take notes. There are things God wants to say, which the Devil will want to snatch from your memory. Therefore, it is so important to have the availability to write things down.
Hearing God is not to make you feel better! It is okay for you to discuss issues with God, but your main focal point should be in getting your direction for victory for God. Once you have gotten that, then the issues come into play. But! The main objective here is not in making you feel better.
There are many times especially as it gets closer to the second coming of Jesus those things are getting worse around us. There are going to be weeks in which we feel awful serving God. That is very difficult for some people, but it is something we will have to get used to. Is it always going to be like that? No! Is every day going to be like that? No! But! You may go a couple of weeks, feeling lousy. Why? Because you are being oppressed by Satan, and you are going to be feeling like nothing is going right. Sometimes you are going to be able to fight back, and sometimes you will get the victory. Sometimes you will have a victory with God, but you may not feel your whole self, and sometimes you may struggle three times a day getting yourself to the point of joy to serve God. There is no general rule of how you get through these times of attack. You will just have to get with God and ask Him how to pull yourself out. It depends on what is happening in your life at the time, and it depends on your calling. It depends on a thousand things.
Pearl: The purpose for hearing God is to enable Him to guide you into a victorious position! Thus, giving God victory in your day!
Scriptures
“Here is how we will know that we are from the truth and will set our hearts at rest in his presence. If our hearts know something against us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts know nothing against us, we have confidence in approaching God; then, whatever we ask for, we receive from him; because we are obeying his commands and doing the things that please him.
“This is his command: that we are to trust in the person and power of his Son Yeshua the Messiah and to keep loving one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands remain united with him and he with them.” 1 John 3:19-24 (JNT)
“Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations, for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask in trust, doubting nothing; for the doubter is like a wave in the sea being tossed and driven by the wind. Indeed, that person should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord, because he is double minded, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:2-8 (JNT)
"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death." (NIV) Proverbs 8:32-36
From God’s Perspective: Our goal should get to the point we are spending at least two (2) hours and forty (40) minutes a day with the Lord. That is 10% of your day!
Remember: Your time is God’s time; your calling is God’s calling!
If your time isn’t glorifying God, then who is it glorifying?
(sw-h)
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