He Sees in Secret

As I go through my day at work, I find myself not enjoying it many times. I know that sounds like a duh! statement, but I really get discouraged at work sometimes because I feel like it is pointless. As a result I tend to cut corners and do my job half-hearted.

As I have begun to cultivate a conscious connection with the Holy Spirit, He releases power on my heart (see ‘Walking in the Spirit’ Part 1 and Part 2).

One of the things I have noticed when He releases power on my heart is that I have zeal to do my job with unbelievable DILIGENCE and JOY, even when no one is watching. The power that the Holy Spirit releases on my heart when I fellowship with Him is such a weight on the inside. When I touch even small levels of it, I want more. I don’t want to do anything to quench the feeling of His presence on my heart. Also, I am carrying such an emotional joy in my heart, that nothing really bothers me. I will do things joyfully because I am touching Him in a way that is giving me power on the inside.

…your Father who sees in secret…(Mt. 6:4, 6, 18)

Our view of God directly influences how we will relate to Him. I always used to read ‘He sees in secret’ and immediately say, “OH NO!” I would jump to fear, thinking that He was going to punish me for some hidden sin.

I saw God as a harsh taskmaster ready to punish me for one wrong move. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. While He does discipline, He does it out of His burning heart and He is always after our heart through the discipline. He is a passionate Bridegroom God who is madly in love with His people. He has great affection and feelings for us.

I now read that verse and I say, “OH YES!”

But when you do a charitable deed (serve)…be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly…(Mt. 6:4, 6, 18)

God sees everything. He sees the small things that no one else sees, and He does not forget them. He rewards us so great for such small acts of obedience. Even a cup of cold water has eternal reward.

42…whoever gives…only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple…shall by no means lose his reward…(Mt. 10:42)

God rewards so much more than we deserve or earn. He’s not just giving us our dues for a job done, He is giving out of the overflow of His burning heart.

I, more than anything, want more capacity to feel the love of God on my heart, and the capacity to love Him back with more of my heart, loving others out of the overflow.

Matthew 5:21-6:21 is what we call the fasted lifestyle.

In Mt. 5:21-47 there are six toxins to our inner life that we need to resist. They are:

1. Spirit of Murder (hate): Mt. 5:21-26
2. Spirit of Adultery (lust): Mt. 5:27-30
3. Spirit of Treachery (marital unfaithfulness): Mt. 5:31-32
4. Lying / False vows: Mt. 5:33-37
5. Spirit of Pride / Bitterness (insisting on rights): Mt. 5:38-42
6. Spirit of Retaliation: Mt. 5:43-47

In Mt. 6:1-21, there are five nutrients that we need to water our heart with. They are:

1. Serving: Mt. 6:1-4
2. Giving: Mt. 6:1-4, 19-21
3. Praying: Mt. 6:5-13
4. Blessing Enemies: Mt. 6:14-15
5. Fasting: Mt. 6:16-18

As we begin the fasted lifestyles, our hearts are small and cannot receive much. We don’t feel anything. Over time our hearts are tenderized and enlarged. We are able to feel more of God’s love and give more back to Him.

The enlarging of my heart is my reward. It is the power to love. The reward of a lover is the power to love. I carry the reward on the inside, even if the circumstances in my life are bad.

We set our cold hearts before the bonfire of the Lord’s heart (through the fasted lifestyle) and over time our hearts become tenderized and moldable. We are not earning God’s grace, we are positioning ourselves in front of Him so that we can receive the free heat that comes from His burning presence. It’s affection-based obedience which results in the power to love Him.

This is my great reward now, and I know there is reward being stored up for me in the eternal city. God rewards so much more than we deserve. Even the smallest acts of obedience have great value in His eyes. They move His heart…

Read that verse and know that He rewards all the acts of obedience, all the acts of kindness and goodness. Even in secret, when no one else sees, He sees. We want to live our lives before His eyes, He is our great reward. He counts the movements of your heart towards Him as great and defines us as lovers of God even as we grow in grace.

Josh

Walking in the Spirit (part 2)

Paul exhorts us in Galatians 5:16 to walk in the Spirit. Then he tells us that if we walk in the Spirit we will have the power to not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

At the new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us as a real person. He has the power to confront and deal with all darkness inside of us. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is pictured as light, fire, and living water. Jesus releases power on our heart as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

During prayer, we focus our mind in two directions: God the Father on the throne in heaven (Rev. 4) and God the Spirit living in our spirit.

9 In this manner…pray: Our Father in heaven…(Mt. 6:9)

2…I (John) was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One (the Father) sat on the throne. (Rev. 4:2)

9…the Spirit of God dwells in you…10…the Spirit is life…11…the Spirit…dwells in you, He will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Rom. 8:9-11)

When we address God on the throne we ask for strength. When we address God the Spirit we thank Him for the strength that is already present in us. We fellowship with Him by honoring and recognizing His presence in us. We thank Him for His presence, power and leadership.

Principle: we walk in the Spirit by talking to the indwelling Spirit. Talking with Him is the means by which His power is released in us.

We will not walk in the Spirit more than we dialogue with Him. If we talk with Him, He will talk back. He just has to get us into the conversation. He will talk us out of sinning and quitting. He talks to us by releasing impressions on our mind and heart.

I suggest starting by speaking directly to the indwelling Spirit 5-10 times a day for 3-5 minutes each time. As we talk to Him, He releases small amounts of power on our heart, but the power is real. He releases small increments of power that strengthen us over time, much like food and water. We must be diligent to sow to the Spirit by cultivating an on-going dialogue with the Spirit.

7…whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary…for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:7-9)

The language of our mind and spirit is images. Therefore, whatever we set our mind on is imparted to our spirit, whether good or bad. If we set our mind on unrighteousness, then unrighteousness is what is imparted to our spirit. By beholding (seeing) the Holy Spirit in our inner man (focusing our mind on Him) we are imparting righteousness to our spirit.

Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit is within reach of all believers. We all need a greater connectedness with the Holy Spirit. We know Him by beholding Him in our inner man.

16…the Father…will give you another Helper…17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees (beholds) Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you. (Jn. 14:16-17)

We must treasure the Holy Spirit inside of us by responding to His prompting on our hearts and not quenching Him. Paul exhorted us to not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. The primary way that we quench the Holy Spirit is our use of speech (not necessarily profanity), but anything that is destructive to others.

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification…30 and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed…(Eph. 4:29-30)

19 Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thes. 5:19)

The more we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the less we talk to others in a way that quenches the Holy Spirit, our spirit, and their spirit. Our words release (activate) or quench the power of the Spirit.

John referred to walking in the Spirit as “walking in the light.”

5…God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. 7…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…(1 Jn. 1:5-7)

Walking in the light includes walking in the light of revelation by meditating on the Word, fellowshipping with one another in the light by sharing our life in God with one another, and bringing our sin into the light by confessing it to one another. We must not limit walking in the light to any one of these activities.

As we focus our mind on God’s light that is brighter that diamonds (either on the throne or in our inner man), then light is manifested in us in a greater measure.

In our battle against sin we must focus on the bonfire of God in our Spirit rather than our sin. When we set our mind on Him, He empowers us to overcome our darkness. It is like turning on a light switch in a dark room. The light comes and pushes the darkness away.

I hope this is helpful. It takes some effort, but the power that the Holy Spirit releases on your heart is more than worth the effort. What a powerful way to live, even though it may seem weak in the flesh!

Part 3 to come…

Josh

 

Walking in the Spirit (part 1)

I think one of the great promises in the Bible is found in Galatians 5:16. If you walk in the Spirit, you will have the power to not fulfill the lust of your flesh. What an invitation of the Lord.

16 I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law…25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-25)

In verse 16, Paul tells us to “walk in the Spirit” and gives us a great promise: if we walk in the Spirit we will have the ability to not fulfill the lust of our flesh. In verse 17 Paul describes the violent war that takes place inside of every believer.

The lust of the flesh include physical as well as emotional lusts. Paul describes 17 expressions of the flesh in verses 19-21. They are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries.

Paul then describes 9 fruit (or results) of the Spirit working in us in verses 22-23. They are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We are created in 3 parts: body, soul, and spirit. Our inner man has 2 parts: spirit and soul (mind, will, emotions) and our outer man is our physical body.

23 Now may…your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless as the coming of…Jesus Christ. (1 Thes. 5:23)

At the new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our spirit as a real person. He literally takes up residence inside of us. We become one with the Spirit of God. The new birth is more than just being forgiven, we have a new connectedness with the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:17; Jn. 14:17).

17 …he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)

At the new birth, God placed His seed (His very life) into us. This seed destroys the works of darkness in us. If we have His seed in us, we no longer live in habitual (uncontested) sin.

8…For this purpose was the Son of God manifest, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin (habitually, uncontested) for His seed remains in him…(1 Jn. 3:8-9)

Jesus was raised according to the Spirit, pictured as the “power of an indestructible life.” The Holy Spirit has the power to oppose all darkness inside of us (Heb. 7:15-16).

Jesus manifests His power in us as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:20; Col. 1:27-29). It is His power manifest on our hearts that gives us the strength to wage war against and not fulfill the lust of our flesh.

In Scripture the Holy Spirit is pictured as light, fire, and living water.

5…God is light…7 …if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…(1 Jn. 1:5-7)

6 Set Me (Jesus) as a seal on your heart…love is as strong as death…Its flames are flames of fire…(Song 8:6-7)

29…our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. 12:29)

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart (belly, innermost being) will flow rivers of living water…39…He spoke this concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive…(Jn. 7:38-39)

Part 2 to come…

Josh