| Poster | Thread | IRONMAN
Member
Joined: 2004/6/15
Posts: 1924
IN HEAVENLY PLACES WITH JESUS
| | Re: | | brethren
in truth i am not willing to give anything nor pay any price for Christ. However it is the Spirit of God working in me makes sacrifice possible. no man can freely sacrifice anything to God unless led to do so by the Spirit of God.
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Farai Bamu
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|  2006/1/11 10:00 | Profile | InTheLight
Member
Joined: 2003/7/31
Posts: 2850
Phoenix, Arizona USA
| | Re: What price are you willing to pay? | | Quote:
Is there one thing the Lord has asked, or is asking, you to do? Are you being obedient to do what He is asking? No matter how insignificant or seemingly foolish it might be, will you/have you done it? If so, what was the fruit of your obedience?
In my walk with the Lord He has faithfully put His finger on one thing at a time, and kept it there until I obeyed.
For me, being led by the Spirit has meant a sequence of "knowing" and then "doing". The light of revelation shines on some hinderance to the flow of Life (knowing). Then all that is required is the removal of the hinderance (doing). Sounds so simple, even as I say it now, but I tend to make it difficult and drawn out sometimes. Other times obedience is immediate and easy. As I look back on it I am thrilled to see the loving hand of God in my life.
To give a few examples, one area was smoking, God put His finger on this one just a few weeks after being born again and by His grace I obeyed immediately and haven’t touched one since. The fruit of the obedience wasn’t so apparent at the moment but as I look back on it there was a peace and joy that filled me and a precious sense of growing fellowship and communion.
Then God put His finger on the need to make some past wrongs right. In my mind I was ready to obey right away and even spoke with my wife about what needed to be done that same day that the Lord put His finger on it. But then I procrastinated, I began to come up with all kinds of reasons why I shouldn’t do this and before I knew it I was convincing myself that this was just condemnation from the enemy instead of the loving hand of a chastening Father. The fruit of this disobedience was especially manifest in the prayer closet, a coldness in prayer and therefore a weakened desire to pray. Just a loss of some of that precious fellowship and communion when one walks “in the light”. The Lord was patient and persistent and kept His finger there until I obeyed, which I finally did and the cloud was lifted, praise God, He is good!
This process continues daily, a series of "knowing" and then "doing", like steps leading upward to the mountain of God, a path of progress if you will. Often I just ask the Lord in prayer for a simple willingness to walk in the light of what He reveals to me. And like the man with the withered hand who stood up in the synagogue in willingness when Jesus told Him too stand, I am then given the strength to follow the next command, "stretch forth thy hand", and I am healed.
In Christ,
Ron
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Ron Halverson
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| | 2006/1/11 10:48 | Profile | habakkuk3
Member
Joined: 2005/10/18
Posts: 490
Virginia
| | Re: | | Thanks for sharing Brother Ron,
Quote:
Sounds so simple, even as I say it now, but I tend to make it difficult and drawn out sometimes.
I've been there brother and find myself there now in some respects. In my own heart anyway, I've found that I've made this excuse simply because I didn't want to do it His way.
Lord can't you see it's too hard! :-( Can't you just cut me slack? At times, I've spent some woodshed time where He doesn't speak to me when I read the Word or in the prayer closet simply because I wouldn't submit a particular thing to Him.
The most painful chastening is when God doesn't speak to me. Look what it cost Abraham. After he gave birth to his precious Ishmael, God didn't speak to Abraham for 13 years.
Isn't it amazing that He knows how to deal with our hearts? It's never precisely the same way but the effect is always the same if we obey. When I obey God quickly, I'm sometimes overwhelmed by this incredible joy, which totally contrary to my natural self. I'm amazed by all the different ways He deals with His children but He knows how to get to the root. (Jeremiah 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?) Only God knows our hearts!
Quote:
But then I procrastinated, I began to come up with all kinds of reasons why I shouldnt do this and before I knew it I was convincing myself that this was just condemnation from the enemy instead of the loving hand of a chastening Father. The fruit of this disobedience was especially manifest in the prayer closet, a coldness in prayer and therefore a weakened desire to pray. Just a loss of some of that precious fellowship and communion when one walks in the light. The Lord was patient and persistent and kept His finger there until I obeyed, which I finally did and the cloud was lifted, praise God, He is good!
I've done this so much brother but he's always faithful. It's His work, not a work of the flesh. The procrastination in my own heart is most times an unwillingness to honestly deal with what He has put His finger on and then the condemnation follows. (e.g. You're never going to make it, etc.)
When the Holy Spirit pulls away, I sometimes pout but I thank God that he doesn't allow that much any more. Well if you're going to be that way God, I'm not going to pray and I have fled the prayer closet in anger. Then He calls me back to repentance, sometimes in rather painful circumstances.
The victories over sin are the victories of Jesus and He is so gracious, beyond measure. I'm so glad that He doesn't bend but rather that He bends me to conform to His will. That was the great cry of the Welsh revival "Or Lord bend me!" That doesn't negate the fact that this process is oftentimes painful and messy.
Thanks for sharing Brother Ron. It's exciting to see what Jesus is doing in your life. Look out brother, he's about to increase the frequency of this process in your life. That's just my sense.
It goes from the "external" things (e.g. smoking was one for me, overeating, etc.) to the sins of heart and restitution is a key component in all of this. For example, I borrowed some money in 1990 that I had to repay last year.
Blessings to you Ron. I praise Jesus for the work He is doing in your heart. Sorry I rambled a bit, which I didn't intend to do. :-)
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Ed Pugh
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| | 2006/1/11 13:54 | Profile | InTheLight
Member
Joined: 2003/7/31
Posts: 2850
Phoenix, Arizona USA
| | Re: | | Quote:
Thanks for sharing Brother Ron,
I'm thankful that you shared your experiences in this thread also. It's a joy to see Him working in your life and it's comforting to know the Lord is working in similar ways in others.
In Christ,
Ron
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Ron Halverson
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| | 2006/1/11 14:47 | Profile |
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