Member Response: “God Has Something to Say to You!”
October 24th, 2008 by KPIC AdminBelow is a response from a KPIC member to Pastor Taylor’s recent sermon:
Pastor Taylor Stewart really stirred up a passion in me to get alone with the Lord. He had a great message yesterday entitled, “Get in His Face — God has a word for you!” It wasn’t meant with disrespect, but with the love a Father has for His child. He wants us in His face, seeking Him with all our heart.
Right now in this season of uncertainty with the economy and the election of a new president, we could consider this a day of trouble! In Psalm 27:5 David proclaims, “For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tent and set me high upon a rock.” In verse 8 David says, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Sometimes we may feel unworthy to approach God, or feel that our problems are too small compared to bigger issues in the world. However, I am convinced that He delights in our conversations with Him. We should walk in confidence and approach our Father. Hebrews 4:16 declares, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Pastor Taylor brought our attention to 1 Chronicles 16:11 that states, “Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.” We belong in His face (as Pastor T put it). We are to seek Him. I was so glad for Pastor Taylor’s confirmation that WE NEED REVELATION TO LIVE BY! The logos (means “word” — referring to the Bible) is wonderful, but we also need a fresh revelation. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus speaks the truth when He says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
We should expect to hear from our Father because John 10:27 declares, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Pastor Taylor brought up a good point when he said, “WE NEED TO STOP LIVING AS IF WE AREN’T HIS OFFSPRING.” He gave a cute example of how his youngest daughter would turn her Mom’s face to get her attention. My daughter does the same thing. If she is in my lap and I’m ignoring her, she will put both hands on my face and turn my face towards her. That is a great example of how we should feel about our Abba Father. We should believe that we ARE His offspring and that He delights in speaking with us!
Once upon a time, I was a Prayer Coordinator. When my dad heard that we met two hours or more for prayer each week, he would make comments like, “What could you possibly have to say for two hours? I’m sure God gets tired of hearing …” Well, if you read the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18, you will understand WHY we need to continue to storm heaven with our prayers and concerns.
Here is the story from verses 1-8: Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Emphasis mine …
Persistence and commitment is what Pastor Taylor pointed out! Amen to that. What a great reminder! We need to hear from our Lord! We need that fresh revelation about our situation.
Revelation BREAKS confusion, oppression, and captivity! Revelation has a way of parting the clouds in our life. WHAT A GREAT REMINDER THAT THERE IS A “WORD” FROM GOD FOR ME, FOR YOU, FOR ALL OF HIS CHILDREN!
Pastor Taylor reminded us that sometimes you just HAVE to get alone with God. In Mark 5:35-42 we see how Jesus had to get away from the scoffers: While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why BOTHER the teacher any more?”
Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
Isn’t it interesting that the people told Jairus, “Why bother the teacher …” when that was EXACTLY when he needed to bother Jesus!
So … BOTHER Him … seek His face.
