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Christian
Education Pre-K-12
Richmond Academy
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Inner Limits
Eze. 44:15-18 (KJV) “But the priests the Levites, the sons
of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went
astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall
stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: 16
They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to
minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 And it shall come to pass,
that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed
with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in
the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon
their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird
themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.”
(Rev.19:8) “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,
clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
First Peter 2:9 tells us we all have the same call and privilege to minister to
the Lord – it is first above all else that we seek to do. And this joy is given
to the sons of Zadok – it is the joy of coming into His presence. How do we
prepare ourselves to come into the inner court to minister before the Lord?
TAKE OFF THE WOOL & PUT ON THE LINEN: The wool was the standard for the outer
court – the work that was bloody and messy and dirty.
When the Lord said He did not want us to “sweat” in His presence, He was
speaking about our hearts. If the linen represents our righteousness, then we no
longer have the guilt and condemnation of sin – we can relax before Him.
Righteousness is not based on what we have done, but on our standing with Christ
Jesus by faith. We have confessed our sins, we are forgiven of our sins and we
are cleansed by the blood of Jesus so we can obtain the known presence of God.
UNLESS WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THIS, WE WILL NOT ENTER INTO THE DEPTH OF WORSHIP
THAT GOD WANTS. We will remain on the outside feeling insecure.
So we put on a heart that is quiet and a mind that is secure, allowing us to
breathe in the presence of God. Psa 46:10 “Be still, and know that I [am]
God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
“know” = experience (yada – to see)
We cannot know the presence of God unless our hearts are stilled before Him.
Throughout our times of seeking Him, our minds are filled with garbage,
condemnation, agendas, STUFF. “To take the wool off” means to get rid of the
distractions. How?
1. Enter His gates with thanksgiving
2. Enter His courts with praise – speak it
3. Write down the important things that are filling your minds, then get rid of
the rest. Resolve to settle your mind
4. Speak to your mind: “Be quiet”
1Pe 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the
end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.” Begin to ignore the mental interruptions, and focus on Jesus.
We are ready to submit ourselves to Him and offer ourselves as instruments of
righteousness (Rom.6:13).
(Phil. 3:3) When you come to this place you can have the assurance that you are
in the spirit. Begin to hear truth, comfort, life, hope, healing, and
revelation. Be filled with the spirit = allow the Spirit to control your
thoughts.
If we fail to do this, we walk in presumption and the flesh will win.
Presumption is the greatest threat to being able to worship in Spirit & Truth.
Once we have quieted our hearts and minds we become a living sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God; this is our spiritual act of worship. At the Spirit’s prompting
we then can realize “We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor.2:16)
Remember, Jesus is seeking two kinds of people: Worshippers (Jn.4:21-23) &
Intercessors (Eze.22:30). Wherever there are pray-ers and praisers, the Lords
work will be released.
We must worship in Spirit & Truth – by the Spirit with integrity of heart. What
the Spirit says and wants – GOES. (1 Cor. 2:11) Only the Spirit knows what the
Father wants, so as a sacrifice we respond accordingly. If we always worship the
same way, we are not being led by the Spirit. Sometimes we are silent, and other
times we shout. So the real question is not “What do I need to do to get my need
met?” But, “What kind of worship does God want from me?”
This brings us into the inner limits with God where things begin to happen.
Worship is not the end, but the means to find the intimacy with God that He
desires. It does have to do with the hunger that we have and the desire that we
crave. It is what brings BREAKTHROUGH. Remember, if we don’t have the presence
of the glory, we go no further spiritually. But learning the inner court
requirements cultivates intimacy with the Lord. It brings the embrace that draws
us into His chambers. It is the fulfillment of our longing heart that cries
continually, “Draw Me, Lord.”
This state is one of absolute helplessness, humility, holiness: Song 2:14
“…let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet [is] thy voice,
and thy countenance [is] comely.”
Worship is our expression of our longing and love for our Lord. [I believe the
Lord is getting ready to fulfill these longings.]
Praise is a declaration of who God is, while worship is an
encounter with who He is. Praise is an act of the will. Worship is
the interaction of our will with the Spirit.
The experience of worship must not be more important than the God we worship. If
you become too familiar with God, you won’t seek Him for His greatness. Worship
becomes a moment by moment desire for His glory, a living communion with the
living God.
(Ezekiel 44:18) The one area that keeps us from living a life of worship is the
negative thought patterns that govern our thinking: Rom 12:2 “And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.”
Mar 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the
first commandment.”
1st. Mind = nous (nooce) = the intellect of understanding
2nd. Mind = Dianoia = imagination
This is why behavior modification does not work. We try to be something and fail
and our minds are filled with dread. The process of being conformed to His
likeness is not a matter of willpower, but of positioning ourselves to allow the
Holy Spirit to rule.
To renew our minds is to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and fill us with
God’s Word for the time. To love the Lord with all your mind is to allow your
imagination to be filled with images that reflect what God’s Word tells us. It
is an exercise or a discipline that does not allow our minds to wander in the
garbage pails of life.
Isa 26:3 “Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on
thee]: because he trusteth in thee.”
Mind = yetzer (Hebrew) = imagination
Phi 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
Mind =Phroneo (froneho)(Greek) = the exercise & affection of
We don’t empty our mind the way Eastern meditation suggests. We fill our minds
with meditations from the Spirit & the Word. In the inner court we find the
“table of shewbread” or “the bread of His presence.” To meditate means to mutter
and mumble the word. Let’s do it!
-Pr. Steve
October Newsletter 2007 |
Inner Limits | Pastor's
Journal October 2007
One Narrow Road part 2
| Reasoning
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Biblical
Counseling for Leaders
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