There Is So Much More
As kingdom citizens God has given us certain rights and benefits. There is so much more to knowing Jesus and today I sense that the Lord wants to remind us of this. Why is that you may say? Well, too often when the busyness of life is aiming to take over our existence here on earth, and turmoil seems to be at every turn, God sends a word, to bring relief and comfort and to set things straight.
Today I want to look at two kingdom benefits
1) You have a right to peace, specifically the inward peace that comes with knowing Jesus.
2) You can hear from God. He has a personal word just for you.
Let us look at peace. In John 14:27 Jesus is speaking to His disciples, preparing them for His departure. He said “peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” They were to face, up until this particular point in their lives, their greatest trial. Fear, sadness, betrayal, grief, uncertainty, and much more was beckoning. Sounds a bit like what is happening around us today, doesn’t it? He said to his followers before the onslaught of all these emotions and circumstances “I give you peace” He is saying the same thing to us today as we confront an ever-changing world and various demanding situations. He gives us peace.
What is peace? According to the Strong’s #1515, it is described as “peace of mind; wholeness; to join together.” Note it is not a denial of what is going on around us. It is referring to an inward state where in this case, we are joined to the peace that God alone can provide. It does not originate from, and cannot be manufactured by the world we live in.
If we are disturbed, upset, confused on the inside let us stop for a moment and avail ourselves of Jesus’s offer of peace. The Prince of Peace says “I am here, let me give you rest.” He will not condemn; He will not scold us. He will draw us to Himself by precious Holy Spirit and lovingly swap out the confusion and pain for His peace. This is His promise. So just take a moment, focus on Him, and posture your heart to receive.
The next point is linked to the above. You and I can hear from God.
In John 10:27 we see Jesus answering accusations from some of the Jewish people who were antagonistic to what He was doing and who He said He was. Jesus started talking about sheep and how His sheep hear /know His voice and they follow Him. One of the things I have noticed about sheep whether it is a shepherd herding in the Mediterranean or in the countryside in England, they are obedient. They know their shepherd’s voice, they listen, and they follow.
No doubt it took them a little time to become familiar with the shepherd’s voice. It takes time to get to know His voice. How do we do we get to know the voice of the Lord? How is God’s sound, distinct from all the other sounds/voices in this world? First, we ask Jesus to come into our lives and be our Lord and Savior. Then we commit to reading His Word; to praying to Him and to attending a Bible based discipleship group where the Lordship of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is emphasized. Discipleship is the means by which every believer grows in their relationship with God. It requires us to be in a posture of learning what it is to follow in the ways of Jesus. It requires that we always stay open in great expectation that God wants me to progress and develop in my relationship with Him and others. This aspect of our life in God is crucial and cannot be absent. If it is, then we are subject to becoming vulnerable to worldly fears and philosophies that are in contrast to God’s word and the peace that we talked about earlier on.
It is a process. Do not give up. God wants to speak His children. He loves us and is more than willing to talk with us and have us pour our hearts out to Him. He wants to give us direction on our life’s purpose; what kind of business we should involve ourselves in; how we should talk with our spouse and children and show us how to tap into the grace available to carry out these endeavors well. If we remain obedient to Him, we will hear His voice.
Peace in Him,
Sonia.
Prophetic Word from the Lord…
The Lord says there is no other voice like your voice. He longs to hear you. Your tone, your unique way of saying things. He delights in this. Do not believe or come into agreement with the thinking that He doesn’t want to hear from you. He does! He wants to hear, listen and respond.
You were made for connection with your Creator. This connection, this communication stimulates Life. God longs to give you this Life and strength to deal with the activities you face daily. He longs to give you Life and strength to be a blessing to others. He longs to give you Life and strength so that you can know with crystal clear clarity what direction to take. He doesn’t want you to maintain. He’s looking to build a foundation in you that is so strong that you will not waver when circumstances come to shake. So pursue and obtain and build. You will look back in years to come and rejoice at what He has done.
