Position of our Heart

This morning, i was spending some time thinking about all that God is doing in my family, my friends, my church, and my city. God is so big, often when He moves I can only see a part of the "wake" of His motion. It is only when I go through my day and hear how He is moving in many places, from many people, that I can start to piece together an idea of where this is all going.


I picture it like the day after a large storm, you know something big is happening near you, but it isn't until the reports come in the next morning that you have a sense of the widespread effect of what happened. God is moving in power right now, if you have eyes to see it and ears to hear it, it is obvious. If you don't, you could actually miss it!


Seeing God move in power has to do with the position of our heart:


Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.


God is not boring. If there is one thing God does not want us to believe, it is that He is boring or powerless. If you think I might be off a little, look at His conversation with Job sometime. Chapter after chapter of His mighty power to tell Job who God is and how Job knew little about it!


In the last days, God's power will be the issue of the day. The great question: can the invisible God really do anything, or should we trust the man we can see (anti- or alternative to- christ) who seems to have all the plans? God says one of the strategies of the enemy is to pull away a large portion of the church who claims to know God but has no history of seeing His power:


2 Timothy 3:1-5 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!


Paul told Timothy that it was the position of mankind's heart that would keep them from experiencing the actual power of God. Self-focus, worries about resources, taking pride in what they have achieved rather than in what they knew about God from a personal history of seeing Him actually rescue them, being fascinated with the world rather than being fascinated in talking with and experiencing the one who owns it all, created it all, and is longing for an invitation to come in to a life and wow them with real demonstrations of power!...these are the things that keep us from seeing God's power.


Part of the problem is that we don't know that it pleases God to show us His power. Because of love, God generally doesn't force His power upon us, but instead patiently waits for us to invite Him into the situations of our life, expectantly waiting for Him to appear. This is faith. Faith opens the door for power, and that door only opens from the inside, because God has chosen love.


Sometimes, God breaks in with power without an invitation after we have resisted Him for too long, this is not a pleasant demonstration of power, but it is still rooted in His love. God wants no one to be lost for eternity:


Isaiah 29:14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”


I want to see God move in powerful ways around me. I want to see heaven open, angels moving around...I want to see Jesus. I want to pray for people and see them miraculously healed. I want to hear God tell me things about me, and those around me, and then see Him bring those same things into fullness. This is part of seeing His power.


God generally gives introductory displays of His power. If we are faithful with a little, we are given more:


Matthew 25:23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’


When God speaks, it is often a faint voice directly into our heart, our inner man. Isaiah called it a still, small, voice. Often, when I hear this voice, there is a bit of risk required if I am to believe it is really God speaking. A while ago, He told me to write down whatever He was saying for the future, then I could develop a history of knowing His voice. As things He spoke come to pass, confidence in His power builds. This morning, I went back through some of the notes I have written to record those things I believe He has spoken. I am astounded at how many of them have come to pass, or are coming to pass, in miraculous ways.

I want a trained ear and a trained eye to see God's movements. Often, God's movements are so much bigger than my sphere, it requires an intentional "seeking" to find. Sometimes they are specific responses to prayers that happen so quickly I am vulnerable to forgetting I even prayed about them once they are answered. I want to write down what God says and does to be faithful with what I am given. I want to testify of His power, whether it is over a headache or cancer. I want to take risks on the small promptings, and celebrate the "small" miracles as real miracles. I want to be faithful with every demonstration of power and then I WILL receive much more!