Christian Living
Matt 5:6 Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled.
Hunger means a strong desire or strong craving, a weakened disordered condition brought about by prolonged lack of food
Thirst means to have a strong craving, to yearn
What happens if you have a strong desire, or a craving for something you intend to have? You go after it with everything that is in you, don't you? When you were in the world and you wanted something "bad", you went after it with everything in your being. If you wanted sex, and had no self control even if you knew it was wrong, you went after it. It was all you thought about day and night. If you wanted drugs and set yourself to have them, and took them, then it was all you thought about night and day. No matter what the addiction, whatever you set your heart and mind on, you will seek for it with all of your heart, mind, will, emotions, everything that is in you.
If you want to play sports and you want to be the best, you have to set your will on it to practice daily. Every day you practice and learn everything about your part in the sports you are playing in, whether its football, baseball, hockey, ice skating, a sports in the Olympics, no matter what it is, your coach will push you daily, daily, daily to spend hours and hours practicing. Over, and over, until you get it perfect. Isn't that right?
If you go to college to get a degree in a specific area, you spent all day every day, sometimes 12 hours a day learning, and studying. You wanted to make high grades so you could be the best, to not only get those degrees, but so you would be considered the best in that field of study to get the best paying career when you were finished with studying. Isn't that correct?
Natural things are always compared to spiritual. Jesus used natural things to tell stories comparing them to something spiritual.
Why is it when people join God's team, they think it will be any different then when they were on the world's team? We will still spend time going after what our heart wants the most. If a person is called to preach, and they desire to be the best preacher for God they can be, they have to do the same thing as if it was sports, or studying for a degree. Why would it be any different? If one aspires to be the best at anything, one must spend hours and hours studying in that area. To be an outstanding preacher, one must spend many hours a day in study, prayer, listening to the word, spending time before God, or they won't be able to stay in the spirit and preach out of the spirit. No one wants to hear a head knowledge sermon.
I don't want to hear an empty, useless nonsense, head knowledge sermon, so why would I think I can get out of spending hours with God each day, and still be able to preach anointed sermons. If I thought that, I would be in deception. And yes, I have had times where I thought that. I thought I could watch movies, and still get the anointed sermons, and I have found it just doesn’t work. In order for me to preach everyday, I will have to give up everything secular. I have looked for every loop hole there is, and I haven't found any. I have pleaded with God, and He has listened… patiently. But, in the end, I will do it God's way, or I won't be the best preacher. I won't have the best anointed sermons.
I can tell as soon as a person opens their mouth, whether it be in voice person to person, in voice, or even in text like this, where they are, and how much time they spend with God. The more time I spend with God, the more things just seem to show themselves. At the same time, I feel like I'm not spending enough time with God. I can't get enough. I feel like not even 12 hours a day would be enough, and I have only done that a few times. I average 8 hours a day with God, and it's still not enough. Then, I hear Kenneth Copeland say the first 10 years he spent 14 to 18 hours in God's presence in the word. I go, what??? 14 to 18 hours??? I can barely sometimes do 12! **faint** LOL That looks overwhelming. I talk to people and they feel 6 hours a day is overwhelming.
Thankfully, God doesn’t say you have to do 12 hours your first day of training. He may start you out on what Gloria Copeland calls giving God the tithe of the day, 2 hours and 40 minutes. That's a good start. 10% of a 24 hour period. Everyone, every Christian should at least be studying a tithe of his or her day.
Some of you are saying, "I'm too busy to give God almost three hours a day." If you're not spending time with God, your day will seem longer than it should. If you wonder why you are tired all the time, it's because you don't have peace. Tiredness comes from depression, and depression comes from fear. The only way to have peace and to maintain peace is to be in God's presence every day of your life. There is no other way to have peace. I know. I've looked. I've been lazy like some of you. We all go through it. Look for the loop holes to get out of studying. There are none. Study, you must. Be in God's presence daily, you must.
We live in the best times the body of Christ has ever lived in. There is more anointing for the body of Christ, and in the Body of His Anointed One, than there has ever been upon the earth. There is more revelation knowledge available to us, than ever before. There are more preachers preaching out of their spirit with strong anointings than ever before. I've never had so much available to me like this. I love it! I love the internet, and all the preachers who are on it. We can do Bible searches for many translations of the Bible, and easily find the scriptures we need. They have the Bible in many translations in mp3 format, and audio streaming. It's amazing the godly stuff there is on the net.
At the same time, don't be lulled to sleep thinking the fighting is getting easier because of all this. The darkness is also darker than it has ever been. Homosexual relationships are higher than they have ever been. Now, they are calling it a lifestyle, and demanding they have it called a lifestyle and be allowed to marry their "partner in sin." Next, the porn people and the adulterers will be demanding theirs is a life style too, and they should be permitted to have their "lifestyle". Porn is higher than it has ever been. Now they have porn channels on satellite, several of them. Violence in movies is the worse it has ever been. More murders, and rapes, and robberies are being committed than ever before in history. Darkness is at an all time high.
And if you think the Christian is safe and immune to all this darkness, think again. Darkness hates us and is trying to steal the word right out of our hearts. Mark Chapter 4, the sower sows the word, is being done right in our midst. The only way to escape from the darkness is to spend daily time in the word. There is no place that is safe from the darkness trying to lick at your mind, than being in the word of God, being in the presence of God, and staying put.
Depression, fear, tiredness are manifestations of darkness oppressing your mind. Darkness wants your soul. Only you can decide if the darkness will win. Are you willing to fight to stay in the presence of God? You have to set yourself to fight daily. We are in a battle. There is no peace in the world. The only peace you will find is when you are staying in the presence of the word of God. Stay in the bubble and the protection of the word. That is where you will find God. Jesus is the Word of God. The Word of God is Jesus. He is your only protection from the evil that would try to destroy your mind. The battle is in your mind. Darkness wants your soul, which is your mind, your will, and your emotions.
Are you tired of feeling tired all day? Get in the word. Are you sick of being sick all the time? Get in the word. Are you tired of being depressed? Ne 8:10 The Joy of the Lord is your Strength. Get in His presence. Are you tired of being worried all the time? Stay in the presence of your God.
Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Isa 35:10
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isa 61:3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified
Jer 33:11
The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
2005 © Caroline Alderson Ministries
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