A daily devotional moment by Chris Garcia
John 17:6–8 (NKJV): “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
Matthew 7:21–23 (NKJV): Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
There is nothing like ministering to the Lord. In His presence is fullness of joy. In His right hand are pleasures forevermore. How can I experience the activity of the Holy Spirit? It is by being still, because the flesh is often active. How can I know the voice of the Spirit? It is by quieting down my own thoughts. How can I become aware of the presence of God? The answer is found by becoming less aware of self. How can we engage in fellowship with the Holy Spirit? By locking our eyes and attention on Him. There is a beautiful oneness that comes when we wait upon the presence of God. The word "wait" means to bind together to twist in like matter. It is when the soul, the spirit of man, waits before the Spirit of God. That is when the spirit of man and the Spirit of God become one. They are bonded together. The Scriptures say, "They that are joined to the Lord are one Spirit with Him." What is it that you are lacking? Joy? Peace? Love? The fruits of the Spirit? What is it that you are lacking in? Everything is found in your fellowship with the Holy Spirit. 99% of life’s problems outside of the things that are beyond our control and reach, are simple negligence of the presence of God. Do you want a better marriage? Be attentive to the Spirit and He will teach you to be a better husband or wife. Do you want to be a better parent? Wait before the Father who will teach you how to be a father and a nurturing person. Do you want to be a better brother in Christ? Learn to wait on our elder brother the Lord Jesus Christ Who is able to sympathize with all of our weaknesses. Everything is found in Christ. Everything that you need. It offends the intellectual mind because they cannot grasp or comprehend the spiritual realm. Knowing the Lord is experiential knowledge. Just like you know your husband or wife. It is experiential knowledge with time well spent with your spouse. It is the same with the Spirit. Time well spent with the Spirit. Do you need humility in your life? Do you find yourself lacking in humility? Come to the humble Shepard and He will break you with His presence. You thirst come to the Living Water. Everything is found in Christ. Your mindsets are healed by the mind of Christ. Your heart is revived when you wait before God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is extremely important in the believer's life. We constantly and consistently want God to minister to us. There is nothing wrong with wanting the Spirit of God to minister to you. Because we all have wants and needs as we are humans. There is nothing wrong with receiving a touch from God.
There is nothing wrong with experiencing a beautiful experience in the presence of God. There is nothing wrong with all of those desires. However, what happens is that our desire for those things like the touch, ends up eclipsing the simple enjoyment of Him. By looking to Him. However, our desires sometimes distract us from the present time with God. We view waiting before God as a waste of time. We view spending time with the Spirit as frustrating because we are too caught up on what we are feeling in the moment or the expectations we have. But we don’t enter through feelings. We enter through the door of faith. The disposition of the heart is not one of "I want to feel." The disposition of the heart should be "I want to know you." This is eternal life. John 17 says, Jesus declared these words “This is eternal life, that they may know you and believe in the one whom you have sent.” Eternal life begins as you begin to know the Lord. It is not always based upon outside power but based on inward presence. To know Him is the highest thing. To keep the most important thing which is Him and to know Him as the highest priority. Mathew 7:23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” So what does that tell us? It tells us that the perspective should not be on the power of God but on the presence of God and knowing Him. To know Christ. As you know Him, the powers will follow. The signs and wonders are not the things for us to seek. The signs and wonders follow those that seek Him. Everything should be based upon knowing the Lord. The most important ministry is to minister to God. You are called a royal priesthood. A holy nation. A kingdom of priests to our God. You are called to stand in the presence of God. You are called to minister to God on behalf of the people and the people on behalf of God. The Church is a priestly body. One with the heavenly priest. Our great High Priest Christ Himself. Prayer must never ever be neglected. Because this is what Christ is doing now. The scripture says that He is interceding at the right hand of God. What is Christ doing right now? He is interceding for the Church.
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