18 February 2013

On Earth as it is in Heaven

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Ro 12:2). Restoration causes transformation. We need to rest and be restored. We need to be renewed so we can be more like God (aka be godly). We are made in His image and are His children. We represent Him here on Earth. We are spies in the enemy camp showing and displaying the goodness of God and turning people from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. We create a hunger for God through our actions. We become sheep among wolves (Mat 10:16), a tasty treat so others can taste AND see that God is good (Ps 34:8). It is the goodness of God that draws people. It is heaven in us that draws people.

Jesus prayed “on Earth as it is in Heaven”. How does this become a reality?
1. By understanding we are of the spiritual realm much more than we are of the physical realm. We are a new creation (2 Co 5:17); we worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23-24, 1 Co 6:17). We are not of this world (1 Pe 2:11). We are under a new dominion, a new kingdom (Jn 18:36). With this, comes a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing things.
2. By spending time with the Father and learning more about Him and following His example. When we spend time with someone, we become like them. I have picked up quirks from my friends. From Elise, I have learned to have the love language of awkward. I feel so loved when a friend and I have awkward eye contact and sit in silence for a few minutes. I have picked up some of Kyah’s hand gestures. I have started to smile like Amy smiles. When we spend time with people, we pick up their phraseology, their gestures, their way of viewing life.
If we want to become more like the Father, we need to spend time with Him. We need to rest in His presence and soak in His goodness. We need to be so saturated in Him that it oozes out of our pours and changes the very essence of our being, our very perception of our circumstances and our very response to those around us. It creates a hunger in us for more of God, for more of His goodness.
Moses spent so much time in God’s presence that his face shone (Ex 34:29). As a young man, Joshua would not leave the Tent of Meeting (Ex 33:11). David was called a man after God’s heart (1 Sa 13:14). These men loved spending time with God. They were changed by it. They loved God’s presence.
I love Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33: “If I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight” (13). When we love someone, we don’t want to always do what annoys that person. We learn what brings them joy and love doing that with them and for them. Moses so wanted to know God. Right after Moses asked God to know Him better and to learn what pleases Him, God responds with “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (33:14). God didn’t directly answer Moses’ question. Instead, He responded with I will be with you and will give you rest. It was not about what Moses could do for God, it was about resting and being in God’s presence. It was about growing in intimacy. As my pastor frequently says, “God is more concerned about what He is doing in you than through you.”

Spend time resting in God’s presence this week. Get to know His voice. Begin to hear His heartbeat. Knowing God changes everything.