Hi Folks. Happy New Year… Welcome to 2016. I’m
trusting God that this will be a great year for all of us in Jesus’ name. Last
year, on January 1st, I challenged y’all to take God’s Word as it is
and live in His promises. I know some of us who
took that challenge seriously and are happy we did. Praise God for that.
For about three weeks now, I’ve been praying,
asking God what He wanted to share with us here on Temi’s Race for the New
Year. Just a few days ago, I sensed that He'd like me to share what He's been dealing with me on.
Recently, as I studied my Bible, I had a sort of
déjà vu kinda moment. I didn’t enjoy my Bible study that day like I should have.
I realized there was hardly any connect between my spirit and God’s; and
honestly to myself I observed it had been going on for days. I was learning
alright, but the thrill wasn’t there and it sucked. (For someone who enjoys studying her Bible more than anything else,
that was a big deal). I’d been there before. That was some years ago. That
time my drum was a lot smaller and so was the content, but proportionally, it
wasn’t much different from what I realized that it is now. Yeah, now I have a
bigger drum and more content of God, but there’s still too much space for more
in my bigger drum. The knowledge I have about Christ isn’t enough. Now, I want
Christ Himself. I want closeness. I want a more intimate relationship. Yes, I
have Him. But what I have is not enough anymore. I am thirsty; I need my thirst
to be quenched. But after it is quenched, I want to thirst again. I am hungry;
I want to be filled. But once I’m filled, I want to be hungry again. I need
more of God. Not a one time or seasonal dish anymore. I want Him daily; every
moment of every day – all of the time. This is what I found myself telling God
over and over again during my church’s one week global congress this past
December. I just really couldn’t pray for anything else sufficiently. I just want
more of HIM.
And from this year on, He wants you to desire more
of Him too – desperately, like everything depends on it, because it does.
Enough of doing things to please yourself.
Enough of running after ambition for your own benefit. Oh, brothers, enough of
getting drowned in those success, prosperity and self-improving sermons. Enough
of flipping over Matthew 6:33. Enough of using Christ only for your personal
gain; quoting and holding on to scriptures in “faith” for the sole purpose of
enriching yourself and having having having. Enough! Enough, please. Let’s
focus on Him. There’s sooo much in Him. So so much. Focus on Him this year and
beyond. Enough of all that pleases you. You were made for His pleasure
(Revelation 4:11; Isaiah 3:7); please, give Him pleasure.
See folks, it may surprise you to learn that God
does NOT have a purpose for YOUR life. No, He doesn’t. God has a purpose. God
has a plan. It DOES include you; but it is NOT about you. The fact that it
includes you is what makes Jeremiah 29:11 for you; but there is no part of His
purpose or plan that is about you.
No. there isn’t. It is not, it cannot – never has, never will be – about you.
So, enough of making it about you. It is His desire that every believer would
understand this truth and begin to live it out. You see, at every crucial/changing
point in your life, God expects you to take a step back, and rather than ask, “What is God’s plan for me here, or at this
point?” He wants you to ask, “What is God doing in this place, at this
point? What is His purpose? And how can I fit myself into His plan?”
Whatever the answers to these latter questions are become your purpose. That is,
His will becomes your will. His desires become your desires and His plans, your
plans. It is always about Him.
This simply means that your good paying job, your
education, your nice house/car, your business, your money in the bank aren’t
part of His plan for your life. No. Instead, they are some of the tools you
will need to achieve His purpose. Your spouse, your children aren’t His purpose
for your life. No. Your union with your spouse and your children is a tool
you’d use in fulfilling your own bit of His purpose. There is no “your”
ministry. There is HIS ministry that you are meant to work in.
Brothers and sisters, stop paying too much
attention on the tools; focus on the task and more on the One who assigned you
the task. A mechanic who keeps admiring His solid and beautiful new tools will
never get the job done. Focus on His task. Give Him pleasure. When you
understand that nothing is about you, you won’t be too downcast when things don’t
seem to be going favorably. If you’re in the center of His will, you’ll know
that however things go, as long as they work together to get His job done, you’re
good. Unlike the fair weather believer, you’ll be able to say, “When things look up, LORD, it’s all about
you; and when things look south, it’s still all about you, GOD.” (But don’t
be afraid. No one works for Him without getting rewarded).
Folks, it’s not enough to know about God. This
is especially to my fellow New Creation Realities’ friends, Bible teachers, and
Pastors. I know we love to seek His word, hold on “Rhemas” and share them.
There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s awesome and highly encouraged.
But let’s not only learn about
Christ, let us learn Christ. Let’s know Him (Ephesians
4:20; Philippians 3:10). Anybody can know about anybody. But not anybody
can know anybody. There must be relationship. There must be fellowship. There
must be intimacy. I know too many pastors/ministers who search scriptures only
because they have to preach a sermon. This should not be so. No. This is why
hungry sinners come to church and go back hungry. A lot of “active” believers
don’t even know their Shepherd. They don’t know His voice. They don’t hear.
They don’t listen. They don’t follow. This is why winds of doctrines come and attempt
to sway them about. Jesus said in John 10:28-29 that there are some people who
can NEVER be snatched from His hands. He described them in verses 3-5, 27. They
are His sheep. Are you His sheep? Do you know His voice? Or you’ve only heard
that He’s a gentle talker? Do you know Him? Or you only know about Him? Do you
listen to Him? Or you only listen to those who listen to Him? Do you follow Him?
Or you only follow man and what men say? If you don’t even know to whom you
belong, how do you expect sinners to come to Him? Paul said, I know whom I have
believed (1st Timothy 1:12). This means, it is one thing to believe
Him, it’s another to know Him. God is calling out to us at this time, folks.
He’s inviting us to come know Him like we never have before. How will you RSVP
His invite? Positively or negatively?
Brother and sisters, I’m writing with so much
passion. There is more of Him. He wants that quiet moment with you – often, not
seasonally. He wants to tell you secrets. He wants to whisper in your ears. He was
to listen to you too (a back-and-forth communication with Him). He wants you to
find solace in His arms. He wants to love you. He said this in Zephaniah 3:17 (I love the NLT version). Don’t get
carried away with the busyness of life. This world will pass away. It’s only a
matter of time. Don’t get carried away by the beauty and sturdiness of the
tools He has given you. Partner with Him who has given you the tools and
together with Him, get the job done. Stop running after the comfortable things
of life. I know they are nice. But I’d rather you run after Him who is called
Comforter. In the words of Tommy Tenney, be a God Chaser. There’s so much more
of Him that you can have, and like me, I know there’s a lot lot lot of space in
your drum for more. You only need ask. He’s more than willing to give you more
of Himself in ways that can’t be explained with words.
I encourage you brethren in Christ, from this
year on, have Him and seek to have more of Him – every moment of every day.
It’s so much worth more than anything else.
Happy New Year once again. I long to hear from
you as you experience intimacy on a fresher level with HIM this year. God bless
you.
And please, share this post with other believers.
Perhaps, this is a timely message for them too.
