Photo credit: zebble (Creative Commons)
God woke Tony and me up at 3am on October 17th to speak to us directly from the book of Haggai.
It's worth reading the story if you haven't already done so. That will make sense of this very insightful comment from Ross Rohe, whose own blog can be found here.
Ross Rohde wrote:
I rejoice that God spoke to you about this and that God has given you and Tony a platform which allows this to go to a much broader audience than one family or some believers in Austin.
The thoughts that come to mind when I read this have to do with personal holiness and corporate holiness. We have a tendency to be self focused. We are much more concerned with our house than God's. At best we want to be connected with a God who is going to take care of US, ME, MINE.
We bring this lack of personal holiness to a group and we just have a bunch of people who are focused on US, ME, MINE. Then we wonder why the Lord doesn't show up. I'm making a general comment about the self focused state of the Western church (simple church or non-simple church), with quite a bit of self reflection.
If we want the Holy Spirit to show up in power in our lives individually and among us when we meet we have to seek him, only him and his will, not our own. When we do this individually, corporately and nationally, we will encounter Him and His power. It really boils down to Matt. 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
I think Ross has hit on something here. There's a difference between seeking God for an experience of his presence and seeking Him for himself. If we seek the experience, it gratifies our flesh. It's about US, ME, MINE. If we seek to know Jesus, and to listen to him and to do his will, I believe we will find him.
Jeremiah 29:13-14 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD
2 replies on “Insights on God’s wake up call”
Matthew 6:33 is about seeking the kingdom, and the kingdom is a place where the king rules, not the subjects. Too much of christianity is about being self fulfilled rather than being a ‘good and faithful servant’ – we are all guilty at times.
I read someone say (possibly here, possibly elsewhere) that too often the church (and it can be big or small) is a retirement home for the comfort of the residents rather than a lifeboat for the help of these not yet in the boat. Like Jesus, we need to be focused on the needs of others as much as we can tear ourselves away from our own needs (Col 2:4).
This is a sermon to myself as much as to anyone else. Thanks.
Check the giving… some work, and some feed into the work. Why are we so focused on how others worship, or seek, or experience the Lord. Why are we not just simply sharing his goodness and his faithfulness. It is not nearly so important that we are faithful as it is to know and experience his faithfulness. He is faithful, so we can focus on Him and not find a thing to complain about!