Triune GOD - Jovan Mackenzy feat Dr. James White

That I Might Know Him

That I might know Him! Let this be life’s aim,

Still to explore the wealth stored in His name.

With heaven-bought intelligence to trace

The glories that light up His sinless face:

That I might know His power day by day,

Protecting, guiding in the upward way:

That I might know His Presence, calm and pure,

Changeless midst changes, and midst losses sure:

To dwell in Him, in spirit, day and night;

To walk in Him by faith, if not by sight;

To work with Him, as He shall plan, not I:

To cleave to Him, and let the world go by:

To live on earth a life of selfless love;

To set the mind and heart on things above:

Till I shall see Him without vision dim,

And know Him as I know I’m known by Him.

(Max I. Reich 1863-1945)

Overcoming Hindrances on the Path to God's Presence

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

(Hebrews 2:1-4 ESV)
 

The heart is a leaky thing.  You have good intentions and at times a strong spiritual desire for God, but your heart is like a sieve, and pretty soon it all leaks away.  Soon there is no desire left at all.

The difference between spiritual things and earthly things is that the things of the spirit are so modest; the things of the spirit are not pushing in on you; they are not singing commercials to you; they are not knocking on your door and urging you to buy; they are simply waiting for you to notice.  The things of the flesh are so insistent, so clamorous.  Everybody is singing to you, urging you, pushing you, trying to get you to go certain ways and do certain things.

Our Lord is never intrusive; but the things of the world are intrusive.  Here is the point I'm trying to make: If you are going to give attention to the things of God, you must shake yourself and say, "Now, I don't know what others are going to do, but as for me, I'm going to seek the face of God." Some will confess, "I intend to ... later."  However there may be no later time.  "I didn't understand," they may say, but they understood enough at the time.  "I was too busy." But at last they found time to die.

Somebody else says, "Nobody in my crowd paid any attention to these things," but it is always so.  The saving voice of God speaks to a crowd of men, but only one here and there hears it.  When the voice of God spoke to the antediluvian world, only Noah and his family heard it.  The rest of them perished in the flood.

Somebody else says, "If I pay attention to this, I'll lose my job."  Chances are, you will not, but if you do, any job you lose saving your soul certainly will be a wonderful bargain.

Somebody else says, "I want to have some fun now.  And then I'll become a Christian."  This is meaningless, lacking in significance to warrant any serious answer.

Somebody else says, "I was afraid of what people would say."  Afraid of what people would say?  What about what God says?

Society is in an elaborate conspiracy to make us alike.  Society is in a conspiracy to make us all bad; not too bad, because if we get too bad, we become a problem to the police.  But not too good, for if we get too good, we are fanatical, so they say.  So society wants to keep us nice, trimmed down, going to church, supporting boys' clubs and girls' clubs and hospitals.  Certainly those things are all right.  The general society wants to keep us good enough not to be a problem to the police but bad enough not to bother their conscience.

I hear the voice of God calling us to a higher kind of life.  The book of Hebrews is an urgent, vibrant, living book that speaks to those that are on the border and says, "Go on over.  You can dare to do it.  Go on over."  And it speaks to those who could not quite make up their minds whether they wanted to obey and believe God, and says, "You dare obey.  You dare believe."

We who overcome all hindrances is handsomely rewarded when we break through to the glorious sunshine of His blessed presence.

[A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God]

An Evening of Eschatology

The Word of God Is At Work In You

A — I admit I can’t in myself do what needs to be done.
P — I pray for God’s help.
T — I trust a particular promise he has given.
A — I act to do whatever God is calling me to do.
T — I thank him for his help when I am done.

God wants worshipers before He wants workers.

God of gods and Light of light, He was born of a virgin, suffered under Pontius Pilate, overcame the sharpness of death and opened the Kingdom of heaven to all believers.  Back of this must be a purpose, for God has intellect.  Intellect is one of the attributes of deity and, therefore, God must have a reasonable purpose that can stand up under the scrutiny of sanctified human reason.

The supreme reason the Lord was born of the Virgin Mary to suffer under Pontius Pilate to be crucified, die, and be buried; the reason He overcame death and rose again from the grave is that He might make worshipers out of rebels.  We are the recipients of a grace meant to save us from self-centeredness and make worshipers out of us.

Thomas Boston said the difference between man and beast is that a beast looks down and a man is made to look up.  A man can engage the God above while the beast goes about and only sees the ground underneath its short legs.  But man can see into the heavens above.  A beast bows under his burden, but a man lifts his heart in praise to his Burden bearer, Jesus Christ.

God is infinitely more concerned that He has worshipers than that He has workers.  Unfortunately, most evangelicals do not share this concern.  For the most part, evangelicals have been reduced to the position where God is a supervisor desperately seeking help.  Standing at the wayside, He tries to find how many helpers will come to His rescue and bail Him out of a tight spot.  We mistakenly believe that God needs workers, and so we cheerfully say, "I'll go to work for the Lord." If we could only remember that as far as His plans are concerned, God does not need us.

We should work for the Lord, but it is a matter of grace on God's part.  However, I do not think we should ever work until we learn to worship.  A worshiper can work with eternal quality in his work but a worker who does not worship is only piling up wood, hay and stubble for the time when God sets the world on fire.  God wants worshipers before He wants workers.  He calls us back to that for which we were created -- to worship the Lord God and to enjoy Him forever.  And then out of our deep worship flows our work for Him.  Our work is only acceptable to God if our worship is acceptable.

[A.W. Tozer, The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship, pg. 94-95]

Christopher Hitchens, the Mission of Desiring God, and God's Word About Death

Three things came together in the last thirty-six hours to create this post. The death of Christopher Hitchens, the Desiring God Board meeting Thursday, and the word of God.

1. Christopher Hitchens died Thursday night. He was, perhaps, the most aggressive of the “new atheists.” I am sobered and made quiet by the probability (though we do not know his final hours) that he is in torment today awaiting his final judgment and the lake of fire.
2. Also on Thursday the Desiring God Board clarified and refined the Ultimate Goal, the Mission, and the Core Strategy of Desiring God. The Mission of Desiring God is to help people everywhere understand and embrace the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
3. Pondering these two events in connection to God’s word I asked myself: How shall we be satisfied in God in the face of, and the hour of, our death?

There are more answers than we can give here. But here are some. I can be satisfied in God at the moment of my death. . . .

Because the sting of death is removed by the work of Christ.

O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55–57)

He satisfied the law’s demand for my perfection and for my punishment. I may  weep, but not because of the sting.

Because Jesus stands to greet us.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. . . . And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:55–60)

The satisfaction in Christ can be so deep that all revenge vanishes.

Because death is the last great occasion in this life for glorifying God

Jesus said to Peter: Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. (John 21:18–19)

Death is not after a life of glorifying God. It is our last supremely meaningful, God-glorifying assignment.

Because the Spirit of glory and of God will rest on us in our final crisis.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14)

I have often feared that my present faith would be inadequate for a time of torture. But I infer from this verse a precious truth: God comes to his own in the hour of final trial and rests on them with the Spirit and the glory so that we are able to endure.

Because the hairs of your head are all numbered and you out-value the unforgotten birds.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4–7)

Fear God, not death. For in the fear of God, there is nothing to fear. Fear not what displeasing man will mean, but fear what failing to trust God will mean.

Because in death not a hair of your head will perish.

Some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. (Luke 21:17–18)

Even if beheaded, not a hair will be lost. We are held in his hands and raised more whole than when we fell asleep.

Because you have passed from death to life and will not come into judgment.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)

As we die we say: I am not going to judgment. My judgment happened 2,000 years ago. I am going home.

Because Jesus is the resurrection and you never die.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26)

There is a sense in which we die. But most essentially, most personally, we simply do not die. There is no millisecond in which our fellowship with God is broken.

Because death will not separate you from the love of God.

I am sure that neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romams 8:38–39)

We are inseparable from God’s love for reasons more solid than the pillars of the universe. That is the point of Romans 8:29–39

Because to die is gain — it is to be with Christ more fully and more intimately.

To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:21–23)

More of Christ is superior treasure than all that we leave behind.

Because Jesus is the Lord of the dead and the living.

To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (Romans 14:7–9)

Not the Lord of the living only. But of the dead. Which means the dead are not dead. For God cannot be the God of the dead (Matthew 22:32).

written by John Piper, December 17, 2011 [http://www.desiringgod.org]