Our Priority Toward God

   

"God’s number one priority toward us is to restore us into proper relationship with Him.  This is so that we can then fulfill our top priorities toward Him which are to love Him entirely and then love others.  When we do these things, we not only keep the commandments, but we fulfill the original intent of our design to rejoice in one another and be good stewards of everything entrusted to us."  Listen as Pastor Rick explains this today.

A Call to Prayer

  

In the Middle East, and in Muslim countries around the world, the muezzins - selected for their sonorous voices - ascend the minarets of the mosques or pick up their microphones five times per day to utter the Adhan, the haunting Muslim call to prayer.  Sadly, as millions bow in answer, they do not pray to God in Christ as we do.  Thus as our brother Nabeel Qureshi shared so often, how great is the darkness amid their prayers.  Today, I do not utter haunting cries across the landscape, but I am under a burden that began to grow in me last week.  It is a burden to urge us at Water of Life Fellowship to pray. 

Nehemiah Series - Preparing to Rebuild - Sermon 2

Are you Prepared to Serve?  Are you Prepared to Rebuild?  Are you ready to answer God’s call to build up what is torn down in your life, in your home, in your relationships, in our church, in our community? 

The Gospel of John Series - Episode 3 - BELIEVERS

Listen as Pastor Rick concludes chapter 1 of the Gospel of John by introducing us to the next actors on stage, the first followers of Christ who were witnesses to his identity. Go beyond the familiarity to discover the reality of their testimony.

All These Things

Listen as Pastor Rick returns to Matthew chapter 6 to finish considering the truths of verse 33.  If I seek first the Kingdom of God, what are all the "things" that will be "added unto me?"

The Kingdom of God

What is the Kingdom of God?  What does it mean to seek it first?  And if I do seek it, what do I gain in return?  These are great questions.  Listen as Pastor Rick takes us down a path of better understanding the answers to them.

DEEPER STILL

Listen as Pastor Rick challenges us to go deeper still with the Lord in this second half of 2013.  Christ is the only answer to the challenges of our lives and culture.  Surrender to Him is still most essential above all else.

INTERCESSORS

Listen as Pastor Rick breaks down intercession simple enough for even our children can understand it.  Will you be an intercessor?

The Prayer Answerer

Listen as Pastor Rick challenges us to pray together and shares principles of public prayer before leading the congregation in corporate prayer.  It was a wonderful evening together.

More Than an Introduction

How well do you know Christ?  I mean, really know Him?  I have been thinking a lot about this question.  Let me phrase the question this way: when you get to Heaven, will it be an introduction or a reunion?

For far too many of us, our relationship with God is cursory or perhaps entry-level at best.  We want to know Him just enough to get in the door: kind of like the friend you have that you know just well enough to get you tickets or a good seat in the restaurant.

But God wants to know us far better.  Enoch walked so closely with Him that he walked right out of this world into the next.  Abraham was called a God’s “friend.”  Moses was allowed to see Him in person and hear his voice.  Isaiah, saw Him and cried, “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips.”  Enough people in the annals of Bible history knew God well enough to lead me to the conclusion this is supposed to be the “norm,” not the exception.

Jesus went further, calling himself the heavenly bridegroom and describing the relationship of the church with Himself as a marriage.  Beyond this, Jesus commanded His disciples to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the very essence of Heaven could flow through them into this world. These are concepts of intimacy.  Why then do we think we can or should live shallow lives devoid of His presence?

Instead of possessing the atmosphere of our lives, bringing our thoughts into captivity to the law of Christ, and instigating major change in our spheres of influence, we settle for “sermons on Sunday” and occasional “prayers in a pinch” during the week.  So much more is available, and I am in pursuit of it.

I want to have a relationship with God that is genuine and deep, one that permeates every thread of my life’s fabric.  I want to be on close speaking terms with my Heavenly Father.  He promised he would listen when I call and answer when I knock.  He promised if I would seek Him first, I could have anything I ask for in the name of His Son, my fellow heir.    He promised that if I would surrender and obey, He would guide and bless.  He didn’t say it would be comfortable, easy, or fun (in fact He indicated otherwise).  But, He did promise He would dwell with me, commune with me, and give me peace that passes all understanding. 

Imagine it: all of Heaven stopping stock still so God can hear the sound of your prayer; every angel pausing for the possibility of a new assignment when you knock on Heaven’s door; the throne room cleared to make room for your ascending praise when you lift it from your heart!  This is intimacy with Heaven’s King!

This is what I want: to know God intimately, not so I can be famous or successful, but so that I may breathe a whiff of Heaven’s air here on earth.  I want to know Him so well, that when I come before the throne, it is like meeting an old friend: not being introduced to a God I barely know. 

How about you?  Are you ready to Ask, Seek, and Knock so you can find this powerful peace ready to be given at the open door of Heaven?