DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY

 

CAPTIVATED

 

 

Just one glance and I am captivated,

I have seen my Jesus, oh wondrous day,

My heart skipped a beat,

I saw His nail scarred hands and feet.

 

His glory shining as bright as can be,

My eyes blinked at the brightness,

Too bright for a mortal such as me to fully see,

This is my Lord in the beauty of His Holiness.

 

I fall down at His feet, this is just too much,

This wonderful moment of His glorious touch,

This is the one I love, the one who takes my breath away,

“I adore you Lord Jesus and I will serve you the rest of my days.

 

All that is within me will praise your Name,

For truly I can never ever be the same again,

I have encountered the King of Kings,

I am captivated by the wonder of His sweet presence.

 

I love you Lord!”

 

Irene McGough © 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PRESENCE OF GOD

 

Psa 27:4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.

The pursuit of God’s presence might cause you to be you criticized and scorned by others at times, especially from those who focus on “walking by faith and not by sight.” They are right about living by faith, but should we should live by theology and not by experience, and by mental assent and not by personal relationship?

Do you have a passion for the presence of God? If the Bible is a true witness, then the God we serve is a God of infinite passion and delight. The knowledge of God's presence usually comes straight to the heart unannounced and unexpected. Our desire should be more of the Father, more of Jesus and more of His precious Holy Spirit —it is God we are after not a cheap thrill.

We should desire to know the heart of God. God wants us to desire a real deep relationship with Him.

Do notice that in the middle of all of the crises and difficulties in the Bible we so often find praise and worship? When troubles hit you in life, what is your first instinct? Do you gripe and complain at Him or worship and praise Him?

Think of Paul and Silas who worshiped Him even from their jail cell. Paul worshiped Him throughout a lifetime of suffering and hardship. David himself, wrote some of his most exalted Psalms from the dismal interior of the cave Adullam in exile from his own nation, family and home. Maybe then we should find it even stranger that praise and worship is so often absent from our daily lives?

God wants us to be in that place of worship and spiritual hunger, it make you so attractive to God when your circumstances cease to matter anymore, when you can praise Him when all is falling apart around you. When you begin to worship with all your being and desire, your heart turns God towards you for you capture the Father's heart.

Isa 29:13 Therefore the Lord said:
"Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

God wants our hearts, He desires real relationships with us. Do we desire to know Him, really know Him?

 

 

Jesus prayed for us and gave us His glory so that we might walk in the glory realm of His Kingdom today.

 

Joh 17:20  "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

Joh 17:21  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Joh 17:22  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

Joh 17:23  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Joh 17:24  "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Joh 17:25  "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.

Joh 17:26  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

 

Look at this prayer in fact it is good to ponder over the whole chapter, Here the Lord prays for us you and I and all believers everywhere. The Lord wants us to be with Him where He is, not just when we get to heaven but in the now - in the present, at this moment in time.

 

Eph 1:3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

 

Eph 2:6  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

 

  Look at this can you see that even as we are at this moment in time we are caught up with the Lord in those heavenly places and every spiritual blessing is ours. Wow let that sink into your spirit, it certainly takes my breath away.

 

     He wants us the body of Christ to be in unity, the same kind of close fellowship He has with His Father. Isn't that a tall order?

     Remember though we are in Christ and the fullness of the Godhead - Father, Son and Spirit indwell us.

 

Heb 3:14  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

 

Eph 3:19  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 

Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

 

  Christ is meant to be seen in us so that the world around us might see that He lives and who He is. Verse 22 says we, that's right you and I have been given His glory do we really perceive what that means?

 

    The angel of the Lord was the pre- incarnate Christ  (Before He came putting aside His glory and came as a man to live among us)

 

The angel of the Lord comes to Hagar after she has fled from the abusive Sarai ( Gen 16:7-14 ) to assure her that God has heard about her misery and that her descendants will be too numerous to count. She names him "You are the God who sees me"

 

  Lets look further at what this means taking a quick look at Genesis 22 and Exodus 3.

 

Gen 22:11  But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

Gen 22:12  "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Gen 22:13  Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Gen 22:14  So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

Gen 22:15  The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time

Gen 22:16  and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Gen 22:17  I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

Gen 22:18  and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

 

Exo 3:2  There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

Exo 3:3  So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."

Exo 3:4  When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."

Exo 3:5  "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

Exo 3:6  Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 

   His glory is an all consuming fire that cannot be put out. That same glory lives in you and I.

 

Moses face shone with that glory.  He had spent forty days and nights in the Lord's presence, fasting throughout prior to this. Moses sought to see God face to face, He was hungry for God and His presence.

 

Exo 34:27  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Exo 34:28  Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments.

Exo 34:29  When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.

Exo 34:30  When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.

Exo 34:31  But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.

Exo 34:32  Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

Exo 34:33  When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

Exo 34:34  But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,

Exo 34:35  they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.  

 

The Israelites were not ready to look upon that wonderful glory, hence Moses veiled His face.

 

 A very significant thing happened when Jesus died for us, do you know the temple veil was rent in two. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit so we can go beyond the veil. For there in the temples of old you found access to the Holy Of Holies. Now we as believers have been given access to press on in to the very throne room of God and to behold Him in all His Splendour.

 

Even John the apostle in Revelation found the glory so strong that He fell at His feet as though dead.

 

Rev 1:17  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

Rev 1:18  I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Rev 1:19  "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

 

    I have had visions and dreams where I have beheld something of His glory. But for now we see only as through a mirror dimly. For as of yet we see only part but when we see Him we shall be like Him, have that radiance, shine fully with His glory.

 

1Co 13:12  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 

1Jn 3:2  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.

 

Our glorified transformed bodies will be able to behold His glory. Amazing! Awesome! Marvellous! Words cannot describe the wonder of this.  But for now we are supposed to be living in some measure of the glory realm. The Kingdom of God is about His Kingdom touching earth.

 

 The Lord taught us to pray Mat 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

  Do you really perceive what you are praying when you pray this?

 

What does it mean for His Kingdom to come? Is it all futuristic in heaven?

 

During my early years as a Christian that was my understanding of this prayer, but no there is so much more. The prayer says on earth as in heaven. That means now, in the now at this moment in time, we should be living in Kingdom reality.

 

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 

Mar 16:15  He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Mar 16:16  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Mar 16:17  And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

Mar 16:18  they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

 

The message of the Kingdom was right at the heart of Christ's teaching from the very beginning. The four Gospels use the term "kingdom of God" in 53 verses. The gospel Jesus Christ brought is clearly about this Kingdom.
Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1-2)

In Luke 10 he sent seventy others aside from the disciples. Jesus told the seventy to proclaim, "The kingdom of God has come near to you"

Look at the beatitudes. The message of the Kingdom comes across there.

Mat 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ………….
Mat 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

     The good news of the gospel is that Jesus saves, heals and delivers. That is the good news of the Kingdom. The subject of the Kingdom of God is enormous so I won’t go into it more here. Suffices to say that we should expect to see heaven touch earth in our daily lives as believers. If you are a Spirit filled believer you can lay hands on the sick and see them healed.

 

Joh 14:12  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

 

     Wait a minute does this say the pastor, the church leader will do those greater things and the body of Christ can watch them?  Jesus said “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Kingdom reality is when nameless faceless believers start doing the things Jesus done just because they believe and they reach out to the people they meet.

 

      The Hebrew word for “glory” is Kabod; it basically means weight. When we look to Jesus the knowledge of the glory of God is revealed. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 

2Co 4:6  For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

 

 

        The signs, wonders, and miracles that Jesus did were manifestations of the glory of God, manifestations of His love and power. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

 

 

Joh 2:11  This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

 

      The needs of people are an opportunity to reveal and manifest God’s glory, His compassion.

 

Joh 11:4  When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

 

 Mat 14:14  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

 

       As Jesus moved with compassion the power and love of God was revealed. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  

 

    Verse 26 of John 17 tells us that Jesus who lives in us has made the Father known to us, that surely means we are getting to know His nature, His compassion, His love and should be becoming like Him.

 

     Don’t you find it amazing that the Lord Jesus had you and I in mind as He prayed on that day? He was thinking about us at the time He was preparing to go all the way to the cross and He was interceding for us.

 

Rom 8:27  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

 

Heb 7:25  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 

       Even today Jesus is interceding for us. How wonderful? With Jesus our great High Priest praying for us constantly and the Holy Spirit indwelling us we should be walking in the glory realm which He wants us to know about.

 

     We are in the last days a time when the Lord said He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

 

Act 1:8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

 

Act 2:17  "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Act 2:18  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

 

       He will not withhold the Holy Spirit from anyone who asks Him.

 

Mat 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

 

      It is time for the body of Christ to waken up and realize that the Lord has called us to walk in the glory realm, He even prayed for us to walk in that realm and to really know Him and the Father prior to His death on the cross. That knowing here is not merely knowing about Him and about Father God, it is an intimate personal relationship, where we have two way conversation with Him, we hear His voice and follow Him. We seek after Him and to be like Him in response to drawing closer to Him and we start walking in the supernatural glory realm of His Kingdom now.

 

God's Presence in Everyday Life