God and Man(II)
To have fellowship with God is essential and elementary to our being, but it is also an unfathomable privilege. What could possibly be more exciting than to have fellowship with the Almighty? What could possibly be more interesting? As King David asked, why would the Lord even be interested in man? It is hard to understand, but God loves us, and wants to be close to us. We were created for God\’s pleasure! The One who stretched out the heavens like a tent curtain enjoys being close to man. Is it not our greatest and most tragic folly to fail to take advantage of this incomprehensible opportunity to have fellowship with Him?
In 1 Cor 1:6-9, the Apostle Paul states all of this with extraordinary brevity and clarity: “….even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The testimony concerning Christ is confirmed in us when we are not lacking in any gift.
The gifts of the Spirit are named in 1 Cor 12:4-12, and we are told in verse 31 to “earnestly desire the greater gifts,” and again in 1 Cor 14:1 to “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” Jesus demonstrated all of the gifts of the Spirit in His ministry. Therefore, the testimony that Christ is fully functioning through us is confirmed when all of the gifts are functioning through us. This is not singular, but corporate. He has distributed the gifts to individuals so that we must come together for the full testimony of Him to be confirmed through us.
It is right for us to “earnestly desire” spiritual gifts. This fulfills the yearning for the supernatural that is in every human soul because we were created to have fellowship with a supernatural God. Through the moving of the Spirit that is given to us, we have fellowship with Christ. When the Spirit moves through us to heal, we are touched by His compassion for the sick. When He speaks a prophetic word through us, we are touched by what is on His heart, etc. Having spiritual gifts is a way we have fellowship with God who is Spirit.
Ask the Lord to teach your hands to war and your fingers to do battle on behalf of your family, the church, nation and continent. Ps 144:1
- Ask the Lord to equip you and His Ecclesia with skills, technology and weapons for effective warfare as he did for David. 2 Sam 5:19-25; 1 Ch 14:10-17
- Pray that the Lord will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth to thresh all mountains (everything formidable, insurmountable challenge, everything that makes itself greater than the Lord, confrontations, etc.,) and beat them small. Isa 41:15-16
- Ask the Lord to make you His battle axes and weapons of war to deal with the plan and agenda of the kingdom of darkness and all battles of the enemy against the saints of God. Jer 51:20-24.