The Seed Blog: The Place Where God is Found

I want to share with you what God is doing in my own heart right now. I know that God has been working to bring me to a closer and more serious relationship with Him, as He does with all of His children. In very obvious and personal ways, He has made a number of things glaringly clear to me—some of which I want to share with you today. Question: Do you want to truly know God in a more personal and absolutely real way? Stop and truly think about this a moment. Do you think that will happen because God joins you in your life, your sins, your plans, your desires? Or do you think that will happen by becoming more like Him, thinking more like Him, acting more like Him, joining Him where He is? Because after all, He has some pretty big plans that He's working on.

Stop and think of what that means in actuality. He is righteous and set apart from the world. He is focused on loving and living for others over Himself. He is seeking fellowship and intimacy with us. He is passionately and selflessly given to saving and healing. He is set completely apart from everything that our lives are based upon right now. In order to truly know Him better—in order to truly be close and intimate with Him—where would you have to go in your life to get there? (Where He is!) Are you willing? Do you want Him that badly? Do you truly believe that you will find Him there if you go? Often people are reluctant to believe—even bothered by the fact—that God expects us to change so many things in our lives to be nearer to Him. And that if He doesn't want to be a part of who I am right now, He is not a loving or accepting God. God absolutely loves and wants us right where we are now, but that is a far cry from being able to draw close to us right where we are now. The Gift of Salvation is free. The Gift of Closer Fellowship is completely on us. How we look with the effects of sin and the world, of how we are trapped, hurt, and addicted to the wrong things—that is why God wants to change us so badly after we are saved—so we can be truly happy, even when our horrid lives are all we know anymore—so we can actually have fellowship and life with Him away from all we have been saved from: Jeremiah 24:7; Ezekiel 36:26; Hosea 2:14-17, 19-20. He wants us to change. He wants us to be different, weird, separated so that we can have the ability to know Him more. God uses broken people. So many of us hear this and it is wonderful to us. But we honestly feel we are so sinful—we have messed up so badly—that our chance for real fellowship and our chance to be used in any real and awesome way is forever gone because of our mistakes; because of the way the world will see us, or even God sees us now, or how our mistakes have changed us as a person. Get over yourself. And trust the God who was able to create you to save you. Is He not able to use every mistake and failure? Is He not able to see and do far more than we can imagine? Please take in this solid fact of God: there is not a person in the Old or New Testament that God used, loved, and grew intimately close to ho was not a total failure at some point—in their own eyes, in His eyes, and in the world's eyes. We could give many examples of this, but we would lose the impact by simply quoting names. Think how you'd feel if I brought a man to you today and said, “Here is our new pastor. I paid his bond to get him out of jail. He raped a woman and then killed her husband." [I have just described King David.] But God used him to bring His Son into the world. God will make him the Prince of New Jerusalem one day. And consider Abraham since he is called the father of our faith and the key to all God has done to bring Israel and Salvation. Abraham left all that he knew to follow God; he was willing to offer his only son to God; but Abraham twice pimped out his wife to a king, denying that she was married to him, to be taken as their wife, to save his own skin, doubting God's provision and betraying the love and trust of his bride. Abraham doubted God's promise to Give him a son and had a child by another woman against God's will, betraying God and causing terrible pain and distress for his wife, and bringing an enemy to Israel that would last to this present day. Jacob was a liar and deceiver. Jonah ran from the clear will of God. Samson was a selfish, partying, womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. Joseph was a spoiled brat. Solomon turned completely from God's Ways for a time. Paul was a hunter and hater of Christians. Peter completely turned his back on Jesus and denied Him. Many of these people would have been completely written off by the societies in which they lived, and trusted by no one to do God's will, believed by no one to be loved intimately by God. But these people knew God more intimately than almost anyone in Scriptures. They were used powerfully in His plan because God uses broken people. It is not about our achievements or failure; it is about what we trust Him to do in our lives. It is about how willing we are to be completely surrendered to Him. It is about how desperately we want to know Him. True repentance is the key. We know that God wants to change us so that we are capable of real love, intimacy and joy; and that if we do this, He is willing to draw close to use us no matter how far we have fallen, or how badly we have failed. That means there is one thing only that can take us from the worst of sinners to someone whom God can talk to, guide, fill, and use: true, sincere, life-changing repentance. The first two people on earth—Adam and Eve—bought into Satan's biggest lie—that God is keeping His best from us, and there is much more for us if we will do things our way: Genesis 3:1. Somehow, deep in our hearts, we still hold to this lie today, and our repentance before God often reflects this mentality. For so many, repentance means: that we are sorry for our sins and want them removed, based upon the fact that we cannot have Salvation without it. Much like a person feels sorry, embarrassed, and worried for the repercussions of their actions after they are caught; wanting to remove the shame, guilt and consequences but not truly broken or even caring about the wrongs committed. True repentance comes with an understanding that we have hurt and offended our Go;, that we have hurt other people; that we have altered and afflicted our own mind and heart with life-changing consequences; that we have a desire for something that is ultimately deadly and horribly wrong; and we are determined to remove the desire and effects of the sin from our souls; that we want more of God—we want a better way more than we want these things anymore. And true repentance is always followed by real actions that show our remorse; that show our determination to be restored; that show our determination to be completely different in our thoughts and lives; that show a real want to be who God desires and not just forgiven. Please listen to David's deepest desires as he repents before God after his adultery and murder: Psalm 51:2-19. First, be aware of your own evil heart that caused the sin. Be aware that you have displeased the One Who loves you so much. Confess and own the hurt your actions have caused—seriously consider how it affected others and you—and know that you are deserving of any repercussions that have come of the consequences of your actions. Next, grasp and believe that God wants you to change because His Ways are to be trusted. You must stop believing the lie from the Garden and embrace that to change will bring you more wisdom and joy in life. Do you really trust this? Or are you listening to the serpent, still? Really trust that it is all cleansed and forgotten—even if He had to break you in your sins—and long for a new fellowship with Him. See why you need a new spirit and mind, and ask Him to help you be that person. Then—knowing what He has done, what He has changed in you, how good His ways really are—ask Him for the desire and ability to reach and touch others who are damaged as well. When you begin to see the real difference that His love and ways make in life. Most importantly, know there is absolutely nothing God wants more than a heart which is sincerely, desperately wanting to be released from sin so they might know Him, please Him and work with Him for the Kingdom. A genuine desire to hate and reject what God says is horrible because we trust Him, because we want to be different in a desperate desire to know Him more; to be used in His work, with Him will take you into depths of intimacy with Him more powerfully than any service, giving or good conduct ever could.
True repentance makes you chase after Jesus Christ—in thoughts, words and action—with a single-minded, abandon and expectant desire that He will open the door to a whole new powerful and intimate world. Are you sorry that your sins can keep you out of heaven? Or are you truly broken for hurting God—truly sorry that your sin is keeping you from knowing Him intimately; truly wanting to be different—so you can be beautiful for him? Revelation 19:7-8. There is a whole new, wonderful world waiting for those who are willing to truly repent and change everything for a chance to be near Him. If you want to be closer, go where He is, truly repent. Then look for and expect Him to show up.