"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 timothy 2:15
Pastors Blog
Intimacy with God
Written by Pastor John Garcia Wednesday, 28 October 2009 10:05
Intimacy with a Personal God
Do you ever feel that you are praying to some mystical, distant, non-personal being, almost like the way God is represented in a sci-fi movie? Have you ever wondered what you had to do to cultivate intimacy with God? Have you ever thought, "I wish God would just lay it out straight? I wish He would give me a few steps to take - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5."
I stumbled upon Proverbs 2 as a young adult and found out that God has given us a divine prescription for deepening our relationship with Him. He really does give us the steps. He gives us five conditions to understand the fear (reverence) of the Lord and to draw close to Him.
On the morning I started to receive revelation about this chapter, I began spending a lot of time figuring out what those five conditions were. I already knew that spiritual intimacy develops progressively, but as I continued to focus on seeking the knowledge of God, I would discover more and more. I soon learned that the five conditions listed in Proverbs 2:1-4 are fairly simple. Though they are costly, they are not confusing. Here's what I discovered.
Goliath and His Kin-Folk
Written by Pastor John Garcia Thursday, 13 August 2009 09:39
There has been a subtle, but persistent spiritual attack --a cloud of unbelief– that has settled on a number of people. Some folks have not even noticed how unbelief has unnoticeably crept into their thought life; others have been in major battles, suffering from relentless questions concerning the validity of God's promises. People are finding themselves in circumstances that are far removed from what they hoped or envisioned.If we look at the heroes of faith in the Scriptures, we will find people that, without fail, found themselves in circumstances that were unlike anything their faith expected. If we pursue our investigation, we will also see that it was in the "unexpected place" that God established character in His servants, which in turn released power that fulfilled destiny.
Here's the scene: You're in a battle with sickness, oppression or some similar need. However, you seek God and, in some way, the grace of God touches your life. Your victory may have come through a word or prayer or some other experience, but you absolutely know the Lord delivered you. Using the one of your five smooth stones of divine grace, you defeated your Goliath.
But then, a few weeks or months later (or perhaps, years), suddenly all the old symptoms return with a vengeance. If you were struggling with an illness, it manifests now worse than ever; if your battle was regarding a relationship, it seems like all progress has been lost and you are back to square one.
Have you ever been there? These negative experiences can drain the faith from your heart to such a degree that you feel you'll never recover the anticipation of faith again. A spiritual paralysis immobilizes your soul. You may still attend church, but your faith is unresponsive; when others testify of a healing or deliverance, you secretly wait, measuring the time until they, too, lose their healing.
Consecration
Written by Pastor John Garcia Friday, 13 March 2009 07:35
I Give Up
Written by Pastor John Garcia Friday, 13 February 2009 09:20
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life."
There is an unspoken posturing found in the Church today that tells us that there is something inherently wrong with giving up. Of course, the context of the circumstance reveals whether or not giving up would be appropriate. For example many people are encouraged to give up bad habits in order to make their life better. But in movies, on television, in books and magazines, we are bombarded with story after story that inspires us because someone did not give up when it would have been so easy to do so.
Recently, a reminder was given to a group of missionaries that “giving up” was a normal and natural attribute of the Christian life and also of the missionary life. The Bible is filled with stories that teach us that following obediently after God does mean that we will give up much in order to do so.
Abraham gave up. He gave up his homeland, his family, and his plans for he was told to go to a place that would be revealed to him at a later time. Jonah, we see in 2 Kings 14:25, was minding his business, faithfully fulfilling his responsibilities and duties as a prophet, serving his God and the people of Israel. Then one day he was asked to give up both his comfort and his control in order that he might go to Nineveh and preach salvation to a people doomed for destruction.
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