In Ephesians 3 we find a beautiful and deep prayer by Paul. We will dive into its depths at another time, but I wanted to focus on one aspect of it.
“that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” (Eph 3:16)
Paul was asking that the believers of Ephesus would be strengthened in the inner man by the person of the Holy Spirit. Take note of something of crucial importance: the strengthening was “according to the riches of His glory.” Why is this important? What is the glory of God anyway? Let’s take a look at it in the Greek to get a better understanding.
doxa = “opinion, judgment, splendour, brightness.” As we can see the word has a variety of meanings. But I suppose we can say it can mean the “weight” of God Himself. It is the unveiling of the very essence of the living God to us mortals.
One of the first people in the Bible to experience God’s glory was Moses. In fact, his life was marked by the glory. When God first called to Moses it was through a burning bush.
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. (Exodus 3:1-3)
Moses would see God’s glory on the mountain when he received the ten commandments. Lastly, God’s glory (presence) was promised to Moses as he would lead the Israelites into the promised land.
There is an interesting exchange between God and Moses in Exodus 33. Again, this is right before Moses would have brought the Israelites into the promised land.
“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
‘And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’
Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
So the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’
And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’
Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.’” (Exodus 33:12-23)
The first thing Moses said (even declared!) “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Moses recognized that he needed God’s glory to be with him and strengthen him. After God assured Moses that His presence would indeed go with him, Moses pressed further “Please, show me Your glory.” Now get this: Moses knew that he needed a personal experience with God’s glory to sustain him.
The same is true with us. Each of us desperately needs a personal encounter with God’s glory. We need our own personal burning bush and each of us needs the mountain top experience. And this is the true essence of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. Ask God to show you His glory. Be as bold as Moses. No, be even bolder! If we are to go forward we need to see His glory in a unique, personal way. Not sure about you but I am not satisfied with merely reading about others experiencing God’s glory. I know it is for me – and you!
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Last Updated: March 9, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Our Position in Christ – The Crowning Achievement of God’s Grace – Part 4
Some of the crowning achievements of men are traveling to the moon, mastering flight, creating the wheel, creating photography, the establishment of democracy, the printing press and more of course.
But what is God’s crowning achievement? Is it not us, human beings? We see in creation that God created all of the natural world first and left us for last: His crowning achievement. We may be tempted to stop there. But there is more. We are His true crowning achievement when we are found IN Christ. Find yourself in this verse:
“to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:6)
That beautiful string of words “praise of the glory” is found 3 times in the book of Ephesians. But in this case Paul goes even further “praise of the glory of His grace.” In other words we – me and you – are the crowing achievement of His grace.
Do you know what grace means? It is the Greek word charis and means “unmerited favor, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight.” Do we earn grace by being good Christians? No, grace is unmerited, unearned and freely given.
But here we see grace doing a great work with God’s glory. His grace, when properly received and understood, makes us into His crowning achievement. The last part of the above verse says “by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Let me be clear: the only way to be accepted by God is to accept His Son Jesus and what he did on the cross. Oh and by the way, the Greek word for “accepted” is charitoō, a derivative of charis – grace. So we see it is grace upon grace.
Some humans may be stoic regarding their crowning achievements. Not God. The verse says He has made us accepted in the “Beloved.” Beloved is a romantic word, full of God’s affection. Here it is actually agapaō, from agape. The Father deligts in us because of what His son did for us. That grace extends to us, causing us to be formed into “the praise of the glory of His grace.”
Father, we thank you for Your grace. Thank you for Your Son Jesus and that we are accepted in the Beloved. I ask you to remove all lies that contradict the above truth that You delight in me. I am, in Christ, Your crowning achievement. I am going to be even so bold to say that out loud even now “God, I am Your Crowing Achievement in Christ.” In Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.
Posted: March 5, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Our Position in Christ – Adopted as Sons – Pt. 3
“having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Eph 1:5)
God decided before the foundation of the world that you and I would be adopted as sons of God. How great is that?! To be adopted means you were an outsider to a family and were welcomed in.
Israel itself was adopted by God. When Moses was commissioned by God to set Israel free from Egypt He said “Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” (Exodus 4:22) This sonship was the basis for their deliverance. It was the love of the Father. We see this loving heart of the Father in Hosea 11.
“When Israel was a [a]child, I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
As they called them,
So they went [c]from them;
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to carved images.
‘I taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them by [d]their arms;
But they did not know that I healed them.
I drew them with [e]gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their [f]neck.
I stooped and fed them.” (1-4)
Look at the words: “loved,” “called My son,” “drew them with gentle cords,” “bands of love,” “fed them.”
We must remember that prior to Jesus this adoption was only for the Israelites. (see Romans 9:4) But thank God, now through Jesus, we have been adopted into the family of God.
See this verse:
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29)
Jesus was the firstborn among many brethren. That’s you – and me. Take that truth in and savor it.
With sonship comes authority and responsibility. We see this in John 1:12.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
The Greek word for “power” here is exousia, meaning authority. We get our English word executive from it. Notice it says the power was to “become.” God has called us to “be” and not do. And when we become sons we will automatically do the things a son does. It becomes who we are.
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
This is my prayer that as we read and understand our sonship, as shown in Eph 1, the spirit of adoption within us will cry out Abba Father. He is your Father and He loves you very much. I am praying that you get a deep revelation of His love today. You have been adopted into the family of God, with Jesus as your big brother.
Posted: March 2, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Our Position in Christ – Set Apart and Blameless – Pt. 2
“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Eph 1:4)
What does it mean to be “holy?” Does it mean to be absolutely perfect in all acts and deeds? If so, we are all doomed to fail. No, it means to be “separated, set apart.” Just like many of us have fine China that is set apart in a glass cabinet and is only used on special occasions. Likewise, we are set apart for the Lord’s purpose. Our purpose is for Him alone. Take a look at what God said about the Israelites to Moses.
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:5-6) That is the perfect description of Holy: a special treasure. Now, this was obviously in the Old Testament and before the death and resurrection of Jesus, who satisfied all the requirements of the law. Today, we are holy based on what Jesus did on the cross and not our own works. We are called to be set apart to God, which can only happen through Jesus. Notice how it says in the Ephesians verse that God chose us “in Him?” That is because it is ALL in Him. So really, our first and most important positional truth is that we are “in Him.”
The other half of this positional truth is that we are “without blame before Him in love.” Again, if this all depends on our conduct we are all doomed. Without blame simply means without blemish. In the Old Testament God required the sacrifice to be without blemish. “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.” (Exodus 12:5) John the Baptist, when first seeing Jesus in the wilderness, said “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God who was slain for us so that we could be Holy and without shame before the Father in love. There is no substitute for this. We can never be good or holy enough in and of ourselves. Our being holy and blameless are completely found IN HIM.
I will leave you with one more verse: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor 5:21) We are right with God and pleasing to Him through Jesus. When God looks at us who have accepted Jesus, He looks past our blemishes and sees the spotless Lamb of God!
So, saints, (which means holy ones) our position is that we are holy and blameless before God in love. We are set apart to God for His purposes alone. We are free from the shame and blame of our sin. Jesus took that blame. Now, it is time to live in the glorious liberty that has been freely given to us.
Posted: March 1, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Our Position in Christ – Every Spiritual Blessing is Already Ours – Pt. 1
There are few things more important than knowing who we are in Christ. In this series my aim will be to point to the positional truths mostly shown in the book of Ephesians. The first positional truth is that God has freely given us all things through Jesus Christ. The spiritual blessings are not something we must somehow obtain – they are already ours. To start we must first rightly recognize this.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (v.3)
“…who HAS blessed us.” Not WILL but HAS. Isn’t that great news?
God has not withheld anything from us. He has gives us His very best, namely His Son Jesus Christ. All spiritual blessings are ours for the receiving.
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
Now we turn to the well known parable of the Prodigal Son. Instead of focusing on the younger, wasteful son we will put our attention on the older son. When his brother came home and was received with great joy the older son was jealous and angry. He said to his father “Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.” (Luke 15:29-30)
Now hear the response of the father: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” (v.31) We tend to put our disdain on the younger son for his “prodigal” living but what about the older son? He had his father with him and all his resources but failed to make use of his position. In my eyes this is the greater tragedy.
If you look at the whole of Ephesians 1 the main point of it is to remind the believer of their wonderful position in Christ. The first position – if you will – is that God has not held anything back from us. He has given us His very own Son and all things that flow through our union with Him. So let us not be like the older son who has been given all but does nothing with it. It is time to live out of all that God has freely given us.
Father, thank you for freely giving us every spiritual blessings. Thank you for not holding anything back from us. I ask that you would help be better understand and appreciate all that You have freely given me. In Jesus’ name.
Posted: February 15, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Christ Indwelling – Pt.7
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” (Eph 3:17a)
We are continuing the wonderful prayer of Paul found in Eph 3:14-19. In the last article we learned that we receive inner strength by the Holy Spirit. We are strengthened as we see the riches of God’s glory.
Now, Paul is asking that this inner strengthening would allow “Christ to dwell in our hearts.” Paul was not asking that they would receive salvation. This is going beyond salvation to the dwelling – even resting – of Christ in our hearts. The fact that Paul said “that” Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith shows there is a conditional element. There are many such conditional promises in the Bible.
John 14 provides us with some very valuable insights into this conditional dwelling of Christ.
Jesus, responding to a question from one of His disciples, said:
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (v.23) Notice the word “if” related to the promise. Jesus said that those who keep His word He would “come to him” and “make our home” with him.
The first promise that Jesus would “come to him” can be likened to a visitation from the Lord. We have many such beautiful encounters with God. They are essential and should never be taken for granted. The last promise was that God would make “Our home” with him. This signifies a tarring of the Lord. Obviously, this is what we want above all else.
Before going further I want to touch on keeping God’s Word. We know its important because Jesus made it such an ephasis. Let’s rewind to a few of the veses earlier in John 14 and see something very important that Jesus said.
In verse 15 Jesus said “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Now, watch what He said next:
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-.” (v.16)
You see, NONE of us can keep the comnmandments of God. It is impossible in our own strength. The great news is that He has given us the person of the Holy Spirit to enable us to keep His commandments. But notice it is through “abiding.”
Jesus made another beautiful promise in John 14.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (v.21)
The word “manifest” has really caught my spiritual attention as of late. In the Greek it is emphanizō – a combination of en “in,” and phanio, “to cause to shine.” Therefore, Jesus manifesting Himself is a shining of His glory in our inner man. This goes back to us being strengthened in the inner man as we see the glory of God.
Lord, we thank you for desiring to dwell with us. We appreciate Your coming to us but we want more than anything else for you to make Your abode with us. Holy Spirit, we ask you to strengthen us to have and keep the commandments. We ask for the glory of God to shine on our inner man, strengthening us for communion. We love You Lord. In Jesus’ name.
Posted: February 12, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries 2 Comments
Listening for the Sound of the Mulberry Trees
“And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly.”
In 2 Samuel 5, David, upon seeing the Philistines in the Valley of Rephaim, asked the Lord “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” (v.19) The Lord said yes David was to go and that victoiry was assured. Some time later the Phiistines yet again assembled in the Valley of Rephaim. David asked the Lord yet again if he should attack. The Lord’s response was different this time.
“You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” (vv.23b-24, emphasis mine)
Take careful note of the habit of David in praying, asking God for His will in battle situations. David could have easily assumed that it was the Lord’s will to go up against the Philistines a second time. This is important to us because, like David, we are in a war, and cannot afford to fail to consult the Lord in our battle plans. If you haven’t noticed the Lord has many creative ways in which He defeats the enemy. How about marching around a city seven times and then shouting, causing the walls to crumble? What about the time Philistines were so confused that they struck each other with their own swords? (1 Sam 14) Should we mention how the Egyptian army was swallowed up by the Red Sea? There are many more examples of course but you get the idea. God enjoys bringing victory in new and unique ways. But we must consult Him for timing and strategy.
“when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees.” Charles Spurgeon likened the sound of the mulberry trees in our lives to the many ways in which God moves and speaks to us. The person who prays with fervency, filled with the Holy Spirit, is a sign of the sound of the mulberry trees. To the person who God enables to preach the gospel to the lost is the sound of the mulberry trees. The point is that God often gives us signs showing us He has called us to something. We must be a people who are constantly listening for the sound of the mulberry trees. Like David, if we do so, God will surely give us victory against our enemy.
David was told that once he heard the sound of the mulberry trees “then you shall advance quickly.” Not only do we need to be attentive, listening for the sound of the mulberry trees, but we must act quickly once we do. We cannot hesitate. Some – no, many – do not gain the victory because they fail to act when hearing the sound of the mulberry trees.
I will leave you with a quote from Spurgeon. “If Providence tarries, tarry till Providence comes, never go before it.”
Lord, we thank you for the mulberry trees in our lives. Thank you for the grace and anointing in our lives. Help us to be like David, always consulting You with battle plans. And finally, help us to “advance quickly” when we do hear the sound. In Jesus name.
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Posted: February 9, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Prayers of Paul – Receiving Inner Strength – Pt. 6
Now, with great excitement, we are moving on to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. Like the prayer in Ephesians 1, it is a prayer that runs very deep. In fact, that is the focus on today’s little article: going deep; in particular, strengthening what Paul called the “inner man.” The inner man is the seat of our emotions and spiritual life. The potential of the inner man is for great joy or pain.
But first, let’s look at the beginning of the prayer, which should by no means overlooked.
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” (Eph 3:14-16)
“For this reason” tells us we need to be aware of what Paul said in the previous verses. Paul laid out how God revealed the mystery of salvation, and how this mystery had been hidden for ages. Paul talked about the unveiling of that beautiful mystery. Knowing God’s mysteries as they relate to us will give us a deep inner strength. And that was the main thrust of Paul’s prayer.
Now, Paul said that this strengthening of the inner man was “according to the riches of His glory.” Talk about a loaded statement. His glory would be enough but it says the “riches” of His glory! Why is this important? What is the glory of God anyway? Let’s take a look at it in the Greek to get a better understanding.
doxa = “opinion, judgment, splendour, brightness.” As we can see the word has a variety of meanings. But I suppose we can say it can mean the “weight” of God Himself. It is the unveiling of the very essence of the living God to us mortals.
One of the first people in the Bible to experience God’s glory was Moses. In fact, his life was marked by the glory. When God first called to Moses it was through a burning bush.
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” (Exodus 3:1-3)
Moses experienced God’s glory while receiving the 10 commandments. Moses also asked the Lord “Please, show me Your glory.” (Exodus 33:18) As we know he got his prayer answered. And so will we! If he had the boldness to ask for God’s glory how much more can we?
“…to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”
“To be strengthened” in the Greek is krataioō = “to strengthen, make strong.” It is found in the passive tense, meaning it is something received. This can be likened to the Ephesians 6 passage that says “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (6:10) This is not a conjured up strength but a strength received.
One way we receive strength is to wait on the Lord. “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:31) Waiting on the Lord, if you will, is like a cellphone being charged. With a dead battery is is useless. It gets plugged in and waits to be charged. It does nothing but waits to be juiced up. The same holds true for us. We must learn to wait on the Lord.
I am reading the book The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Her father was a master watchmaker. He could repair almost any watch of his day. Corrie remarked that she often witnessed her dad asking the Lord for a solution to a unique repair problem. He would ask God how the repair should be made and then wait for the answer. So, waiting on the Lord is not a passive activity but rather active listening.
As I mentioned, the Greek word is strengthened krataioō. The root of that word is kratos. It is the word for power that means God’s governmental power. It is derived from a root kra–, “to perfect, to complete:” “creator” is probably connected. Furthermore, it also signifies “dominion.”
This strengthening is with “might.” It is the Greek word dynamis, meaning, “strength power, ability.” It is the explosive, supernatural power of God.
Therefore, according to riches of God’s glory, we are receiving the strength of God’s government. Along with that power comes the explosive, supernatural power of God. In the next article we will find out the purpose and direction of this power. It is leading us to a deep place of intimacy with Christ. It also leads us to knowing for ourselves the depths of His love.
Last Updated: February 7, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Please, Show Me Your Glory
In Ephesians 3 we find a beautiful and deep prayer by Paul. We will dive into its depths at another time, but I wanted to focus on one aspect of it.
“that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” (Eph 3:16)
Paul was asking that the believers of Ephesus would be strengthened in the inner man by the person of the Holy Spirit. Take note of something of crucial importance: the strengthening was “according to the riches of His glory.” Why is this important? What is the glory of God anyway? Let’s take a look at it in the Greek to get a better understanding.
doxa = “opinion, judgment, splendour, brightness.” As we can see the word has a variety of meanings. But I suppose we can say it can mean the “weight” of God Himself. It is the unveiling of the very essence of the living God to us mortals.
One of the first people in the Bible to experience God’s glory was Moses. In fact, his life was marked by the glory. When God first called to Moses it was through a burning bush.
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. (Exodus 3:1-3)
Moses would see God’s glory on the mountain when he received the ten commandments. Lastly, God’s glory (presence) was promised to Moses as he would lead the Israelites into the promised land.
There is an interesting exchange between God and Moses in Exodus 33. Again, this is right before Moses would have brought the Israelites into the promised land.
“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
‘And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’
Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
So the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’
And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’
Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.’” (Exodus 33:12-23)
The first thing Moses said (even declared!) “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Moses recognized that he needed God’s glory to be with him and strengthen him. After God assured Moses that His presence would indeed go with him, Moses pressed further “Please, show me Your glory.” Now get this: Moses knew that he needed a personal experience with God’s glory to sustain him.
The same is true with us. Each of us desperately needs a personal encounter with God’s glory. We need our own personal burning bush and each of us needs the mountain top experience. And this is the true essence of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. Ask God to show you His glory. Be as bold as Moses. No, be even bolder! If we are to go forward we need to see His glory in a unique, personal way. Not sure about you but I am not satisfied with merely reading about others experiencing God’s glory. I know it is for me – and you!
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Last Updated: January 29, 2022 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
Coming to Him as a Trusting and Humble Child
“He called a little child and set him before them, and said, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'” (Matt 18:2-4, AMP)
The other day I had a vision during a time of worship. A mother was holding a baby in her arms. The idea that I got was that the baby was in complete trust, of course because he was in the arms of his mother. The Lord impressed on me that He desires that kind of trust from us toward Him.
The baby doesn’t question the ingredients of its baby food. It doesn’t worry about where they are going or have any concerns for safety. It simply trusts.
I love how the Amplified version describes how children are. They are trusting, humble and forgiving. First off, we trust the Lord completely. We must abandon ourselves to His purposes without question. Think of Abraham who was told by God: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.” (Gen 12:1) Now that is trusting like a child.
We must also have humility. Jesus said this about the mysteries of God: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25) Children approach learning differently than adults. They come with a simplicity. We too can come to God in that way.
I conclusion, by the grace of God, let us be like Abraham and get out of our country (what we know, our comfort zone) and change to become like little children. Think back to when you were first saved. You approached life with a simple wonder. You rightly believed God had wonderful things in store. He does have those things ready for us. They are only discovered as we rest in His arms like that baby.
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Posted: December 31, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries Leave a Comment
The Year of the Deep Cry | Prophetic Word for 2022
The children of Israel were in bondage and afflicted by Egypt for 400 years. Now we jump to the time of their deliverance.
“Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” (Exodus 2:23-24)
There are a few key words to pay attention to here. The first is “cry” and the second is “groaning.” These are words that come from a very deep place in a person. I remember when my daughter Sarah was a baby and my wife left for a few hours to do some laundry. Sarah cried and creed. As time went on it seemed the crying got loader and more intense. She didn’t stop until her mother came home. Sarah wasn’t yet able to express herself with words but she was able to cry out from her inner self. To groan means to sigh deeply, most of the time it is in grief.
God responded to the cries and groanings of the people of Israel. He could not turn His ear to their cry any more than a parent can’t ignore the cries of their children. You see, God is a God of deepness. He interacts with us not on a surface level but from the deep place of His and our hearts.
“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls…” (Psalm 42:7a)
The deep in God calls to the deep in us. Likewise, the deep in us calls (eve cries!) to the deep in God. In fact, much of Psalm 42, where we got the above passage, is filled with the cries and groanings of David. Perhaps this is why David was know as “a man after God’s heart.” He went straight to the heart of God with his joys and sorrows.
God’s ear is inclined to us when we cry out to Him. And by cry I don’t mean volume. I am talking about coming to Him out of a deep place in our hearts. I love the way Psalm 42 begins: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (vv.1-2a) David likened himself to the parched deer. He realized life was in him alone in the same way the deer received life from the stream.
Here is the prophetic word: God is releasing, in 2022, a deep cry within us toward God. For some it will be a cry to be set free like the Israelites. For others it will be a cry for more of the living God. God will respond to that cry released. It will reach His throne. And as He intervened with Israel He will intervene with you.
I will leave you with a passage from Romans that ties in nicely.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession [g]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:22-27)
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