The more I die, the closer God gets.

in #steemchurch6 years ago

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Some of us seem to thrive on the momentary revelations of God when He wants us to press in for His secret things. He loves to honor the prayers of persistent pursuers like Moses, but He will actually stop our attempts to build monuments to partial and incomplete revelations of His glory—especially ones that we never paid for with our prayers and death on the altar of brokenness.

We like things to come quickly. easily, and cheaply— microwave revival. God knows that such things never produce godly character in us. tie says: ....if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26).
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I have feebly tried to explain the unexplainable, but all I know is this: "The more I die, the closer God gets." I don't know how much of God you know or have, but He will reveal more of Himself to you if you are willing to die to yoursell Paul the apostle said he knew a man (himself) who was caught up into the third heaven in Second Corinthians 12:2. This apostle didn't merely know "about" God; he knew God. How did he gain that intimate knowledge? He said, "I die daily" (see 1 Cor. 15:31).

Many modern saints spend a lot of time looking for shortcuts to God's glory. We want the gain without the pain. We want revival in our cities, but we don't want to hear anyone tell us that revival only comes when people are hungry, when "vicarious intercessors" repent for sins they never committed on behalf of people they've never met. Paul said, "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:3).
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You are reading this article by divine appointment. Somewhere, somehow, an unforgettable prayer is being answered today. But it could be that you are avoiding death and you're running from the altar of sacrifice that God has placed before you. (Don't worry, it is true of all of us.)

The greatest blessing doesn't come from God's hand; it comes from His face in intimate relationship. You find the u-ue source of all power when you finally see Him and know Him in His glory.
Now let me tell you the good news beyond the altar of death and brokenness. While all flesh dies in His glory, all that is of the Spirit lives forever in His glory.

That part of your being that really wants to live can live forever, but something about your flesh has to die. Let me put it this way: Your Flesh holds back the glory of God. The God of Moses is willing to reveal Himself to you today, but it is not going to be a "cheap" blessing. You're going to have to lay down and die, and the more you die, the closer He can come.

You need to forget about the opinions and expectations of those around you. You need to lay aside every idea of what the "normal religious protocol" may be. God has only one protocol for the flesh: death God is out to redefine the Church.

He is sending His fire to burn away everything that isn't from Him anyway, so you have nothing to lose...but your flesh. God isn't looking for religious people; He's looking for people who are hot after His heart. He wants people who want Him, who want the Blesser more than the blessings.

We can seek for His blessing and play with His toys, or we can say, "No, Father, we don't just want the blessings; we want You We want You to come close. Touch our eyes. Touch our hearts and ears. Change us, Lord. We are tired of the way we are. We understand that if we can change, then our city and nation can change."