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How to Receive God's Best
All of the Time!
Scripture Study:
"Then shall we know, if we press on to know the LORD: that his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
[Hosea 6:3]
MINING FOR THE GOLD:
When mining gold, or any other valuable resource, the common practice is to concentrate on first FINDING the gold. All of the focus, all of the effort is put into locating where the gold is. Many different areas are scouted - and many tunnels are dug before actually finding a vein or lode that is rich in the metal.
However, once the gold is found, all of the focus, all of the concentration and all of the effort is now shifted into REMOVING the gold.
Why does the focus shift?
Because the goal is not just to find the gold - but to get it out of the ground - and the more you are able to get out of the ground, the wealthier you become.
But many prospectors never reached the goal of becoming the wealthy men they envisioned.
Why?
- Was it because there was no gold to find? No!
- Was it because there wasn't enough for everybody? No!
- Was it because they didn't have the proper tools? No!
The simple matter is - they quit before they found the gold!
Many prospectors found nuggets - but they never pressed on - or followed thru to actually finding the mother lode that the 'nuggets' came from.
Why? Because they got tired or distracted and simply stopped digging.
The mother lode of gold was there for them all the time - all of the wealth - status - promotion and provision they dreamed was there. But they just quit digging before they reached it! They didn't 'press on'.
ABOUT SEASONS:
The Word of God talks about seasons and every season it has its own distractions and temptations.
- In the fall: it's harvesting, clean up and preparing for winter.
- In the winter: it's the holidays, the weather and winter sports.
- In the spring: its spring clean-up, preparing the ground and planting
- In the summer: it's boating, summer sports, swimming, picnics, vacationing, etc
All of these things are great - with two exceptions:
- When they interfere with what the Lord is trying to do with you NOW
- When they interfere with what the Lord is trying to get done thru you NOW.
God has given us all things to enjoy - but if we are to become MATURE Christians, we MUST learn a couple things about seasons.
NUMBER ONE:
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man"
[1Cor:10:13]
These things are exactly the type of things that the enemy USES to distract, divert and prevent
you from obtaining God's best.
- The common things
- The things that you are familiar with
- The things that you do all
the time.
And when does he pull these things out? Whenever necessary!
You have an Enemy:
In Mark Chapter four - we read that whenever the Word of God is being taught - the enemy comes immediately to STEAL what God is trying to get across to you.
And how does the enemy accomplish this? Simple, he uses those things that have worked in the past!
- The things you LIKE
- The things that you LOVE
- The things you are familiar
with
And Especially:
The things that he can deceive you into believing that the LORD certainly doesn't mind you doing - even though they may be interfering with what the Lord is trying to get to you or do thru you.
The enemy will usually blind you to this by simply reminding you that you
always do this at this time.
- You always go skiing on Saturdays in the winter
- You always go on vacation during a certain week in the summer
- You have been doing this for 5, 10, 15 years - every year
- You are the captain of the team, the president of the club, the pilot of the boat, the
instructor of the class, the sponsor, the
director, etc
- Etc
WHAT ABOUT GOD'S PLANS FOR YOU?
All of those things are well and good - but what if the LORD has
something else for you to do instead - and what if that thing
conflicts with your regular schedule?
Unfortunately, most Christians are so wrapped up in their plans that they miss what God has for them.
I have seen it time-after-time:
Some dear brother or sister begins attend a certain church, or a Bible study, or a prayer
group. Maybe they volunteer their time or commit to
some enterprise at the direction of the Spirit.
They begin to grow - and start to get a REAL revelation about something that they desperately need -
they begin to see results. In other
words, They begin to PRESS IN.
Then: Here comes the enemy with every reason in the world why they just can't continue..... And whatever that reason is - it is always justified -
when you are deceived.
If it was God when you
started - then it is STILL GOD!
But what happens to them when they quit? Nothing. And that is the point!
- Their life goes on as usual
- Nothing changes
- Victory is just over the next hill as usual
- And they remain the same baby Christian that they always were
You see, one of the main reasons that a Christian NEVER reaches the place of victorious living is that just like the miners of old - They give up before actually finding the mother lode!
- They don't PRESS ON to the finish.
- They don't complete the course
- They don't dig until the FIND the ALL of gold
And saddest of all is the fact that most of them NEVER realize that it was the ENEMY that distracted them in order to PREVENT them from obtaining what God was attempting to give them - or do thru them.
The enemy used the very temptation that they are so familiar with
- The one they LIKE
- The one they LOVE
- The one they believe that the Lord would certainly never mind them doing
- The one they always do at
this time
- The one that is one their
schedule
Even though it conflicted with God's
plans, and prevented them from receiving the blessing that the Lord has for them, and others.
NUMBER TWO:
"To every thing there is a season...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;...a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;...A time to get, and a time to lose" [Eccl:3:2-6]
Know the Season You Are In:
One of the HARDEST things for a baby Christian to understand is that there are SEASONS in our life. Times when doing something is right - and good.
However, there are other times when doing those SAME things are NO LONGER right - or good.
And, very often we may find it necessary to change our behavior, our schedule, our desires, in order to follow what the Lord is attempting to do in our life right then!
It can be very difficult to do this; especially when it involves something that you like doing - or look forward to - or something that is on
your regular schedule.
But here is a secret - God doesn't work according to YOUR schedule - and it is NEVER a good idea to keep Him waiting for you
simply because you have other plans.
That's a great way to lose whatever he has already given you. [See Lk:8:18].
The Word teaches us that He has given us all things to enjoy [1Tm:6:17]
The mature adult Christian, the mature man/woman of God understands that there is a season when it is proper to
avail ourselves of the times of pleasure granted to us by God - yet there are other seasons when we need to lay those things aside and
PRESS ON TO KNOW THE LORD - to follow on to the place that GOD is trying to lead us to.
"But Brother" - some might say: "It's the only time when I can do this!"
That brings me to my next point...
NUMBER THREE
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.... And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" [Rom 12:1-2]
Sacrifice:
Sometimes, in order to get God's best - it requires
sacrifice on our part. Yes, I know that no one likes to admit that there is sacrifice on the part of the Christian. But the secret is to
understand what sacrifice actually is - and what are
the benefits.
Paul said it best:
"Let us lay aside every weight that holds us back, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.... forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,.... PRESSING toward the mark for the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus...Let as many as be MATURE, be thus minded. [Hebrews 12:1, Philippians 3:13-15]
The Mature Christian:
Notice that he uses the statement: 'Let as many as be mature, be thus minded'.
That means that baby Christians don't understand this. Babies always want - what they want - right NOW! They don't understand that there just MIGHT be something MORE IMPORTANT than their personal whims and desires.
No brothers and sisters, if we want GOD'S BEST - then we have to be willing to give him OUR BEST.
Moreover- we must be willing to PRESS ON - to FOLLOW ON TO KNOW HIM and to
be available when God is moving - RIGHT
THEN! Not when or if it suits our schedule.
That means that we may have to lay aside some weights
(things) that may be holding us back - to either delay our plans -
or sometimes abandon them entirely in order to receive from him whatever HE is attempting to get to us.
Don't be fooled beloved
The enemy is cunning, and he knows your likes and dislikes. He knows how you think (because he
has put many of those thoughts in you himself - and he knows how to
distract you (because he has done it in the past).
Remember: The blessings come when we seek the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness. So
before you make your plans for your summer, your winter, your fall or spring - seek God first!
- Find out what the Lord wants you to do
- Find out if you need to put that thing down for a season
- Find out if the Lord has something else for you instead
Be prepared to sacrifice your time, your desires, and your regularly scheduled programs for HIS.
Press On - Follow On To Know Him
- That's how you will find the Mother lode!
- That's how you will receive the STRONG MEAT!
- That's how you will get the ANSWER!
- That's where your PROSPERITY
lies!
- That's how you can receive your
HEALING!
- That's how you will COMPLETE the course!
- That's how you will WIN the prize!
- That's how you will gain the
VICTORY!
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Corinthians 9:6-10]
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In addition to his contributions to this website Reverend W. C. Slyde Moran also has a weekly television
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