Love Has a Name - Purity 966
Purity 966 02/14/2023 Purity 966 Podcast
Purity 966 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo a “pretty sky” and a “placid river”
comes to us from Lisa Sharp who shared this photo from somewhere along the
Hudson River in Germantown NY, that captures the peaceful stillness just before
twilight time, on social media this past Sunday.
When you see a sight like this you just want to
share its beauty with someone you love, so I am sending it to you as a Valentine’s
Day reminder that no matter what your relationship status is today, you can be
assured that you are loved by God because He expressed it by sending His Son to
save us. His love has a name – Jesus.
Which reminds me of the Jesus Culture song that begins by saying:
“There's a space in every
beating heart
There's a longing that reaches past the stars
There's an answer to every question mark
There's a name
There's a hope flowing
through these veins
There's a voice that echoes through the pain
There's an ember ready for the flame
There's a name
We will fix our eyes on
the One who overcame
We will stand in awe of the One who breaks the chains
Love has a name
Love has a name
Jesus”
I’m sharing to that song
on the blog today if you don’t know it because it shows us that Jesus shows us God’s love and our victory, our joy
and our hope!
This triumphant worship
song speaks a fundamental truth of our faith – That God is love sure, but God
is more than just a feeling – God is a person. As hard as it may be to
understand that He is One God in three persons, existing in unity as The
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we can be confident of His love for us because
of our savior who has the name of Jesus!
I’m particularly sensitive
to the importance of this truth today because I recently talked to an old
friend who has verred off the path of Christian Discipleship into error and was
expressing his false belief that God was an impersonal force that indicated
that pantheistic ideas had corrupted his understanding.
His emphasis being
that God as light, which was extremely ironic because he was obviously coming
from a place of darkness and confusion, as He posed the question of “What is God?” and followed it up by asking
the question “Would that make Jesus
wrong?” after trying to reduce God to some mystical feeling.
Frankly, I didn’t
entertain his questions very much because they revealed that he was missing
something. God has a name, several in
fact and they all describe His personhood.
God is not a what, God is a who. God is a person!
And to entertain
that idea that Jesus was wrong clearly demonstrated that my old friend wasn’t
in his right mind because Christ is the TRUTH, the Way and the Life – Jesus doesn’t
get it wrong.
So why would
someone try to craft God into the impersonal forces of light and feeling of love that was some all inclusive swamy feeling
of surface sentimentality rather than relating to Him as the Father, Son, and
the Holy Spirit?
Probably because impersonal
forces of light and swarmy feelings of love and unconditional acceptance, wouldn’t
call us to be holy as God is holy. Light
and worldy love wouldn’t call us out our sin and callus to repent.
We don’t have to be accountable to live as God’s word calls us to if we “translate”
the Bible to see some false gnostic belief that God isn’t what His word says He
is, that we have to see past God the Father, Christ the Son, and The Holy Spirit
to get some special revelation that we are perfect the way we are and that we
are gods in our selves.
This man’s life has
been defined by addictions, broken relationships, and lies. In his attempts to
share this latest revelation, he forgot who he was talking to. I know enough truth about God to know Satan’s
counterfeit no matter how sweet and nice you try to make it. My friend’s
presentation of God as light and nonjudgmental love was clearly a product of
the evil one who disguises himself as an angel of light!
So this morning I
am going to share the “My Father God List” resource from the Freedom in Christ
course, to renounce the lies and to emphasize the truth about our heavenly
Father because I feel that in this modern age there is an increasing tendency for
people who knew the truth about God to be lead astray.
My
Father God
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are distant
and uninterested in me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
are always personally present with me, have plans to give me a hope and a
future, and have prepared works in advance specifically for me to do. (Psalm
139:1-18; Matthew 28:20, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are
insensitive and don't know me or care for me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
are kind and compassionate and know every single thing about me. (Psalm
103:8-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Hebrews 4:12-13).
I renounced the lie that You, Father God, are stern
and have placed unrealistic expectations on me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
have accepted me and are joyfully supportive of me. (Romans 5:8-11; 15:17).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are passive
and cold toward me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
are warm and affectionate toward me. (Isaiah 40:11; Hosea 11:3-4).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are absent
or too busy for me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
are always present and eager to be with me and enable me to be all that You
created me to be. (Phil 1:6; Hebrews 13:5).
I renounced the lie that you, Father God, are
impatient or angry with me or have rejected me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
are patient and slow to anger, and that when You discipline me, it is a proof
of Your love, and not rejection. (Ex 34:6; Romans 2:4; Hebrews 12:5-11).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, have been
mean, cruel, or abusive to me.
I choose to believe the truth that Satan is mean,
cruel, and abusive, but You, Father God, are loving, gentle, and protective. (Ps
18:2; Matt 11:28-30; Eph 6:10-18).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are denying
me the pleasures of life.
I choose to believe the truth that you, Father God,
are the author of life and will lead me into love, joy, and peace when I choose
to be filled with Your Spirit. (Lam 3:22- 23; Gal 5:22-24).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, are trying
to control and manipulate me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
set me free and gave me the freedom to make choices and grow in Your grace. (Gal
5:1; Heb 4:15-16).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, have
condemned me and no longer forgive me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God,
have forgiven all my sins and will never use them against me in the future. (Jeremiah
31: 31- 34; Romans 8:1).
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, reject me
when I fail to live a perfect or sinless life.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God, are
patient toward me and cleanse me when I fail. (Proverbs 24:16; 1 John 1:7- 2:2).
I AM THE
APPLE OF YOUR EYE! (Deuteronomy 32:9-10).
If you
realize that you have had a faulty understanding of God, reading this list out
loud every day for six weeks or so can dramatically help heal your emotional
pain that resulted from your wrong view of God and to attach emotionally to Our
Heavenly Father.
We are to be
in a relationship with God and we need to make sure our relationship is based
on the truth of who He is, and who we are in Christ.
So enjoy
your Valentine’s Day by expressing your love to the people in your life and by
telling God - the Father, the Son – Jesus- and the Holy Spirit that you love Him
for leading you out of the darkness of the world’s lies about Him and for
giving you His love, victory, joy, and hope.
---------------------------------------------------------
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
1 Peter 4:14 (NLT2)
14 So be happy when you are
insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon
you.
Today’s Bible reminds us that we are
not alone in our sufferings.
Yesterday in the comments on Acts
5:17 – I shared the preceding verses in 1 Peter, so I would say we are right on
track with the Holy Spirit who apparently wants us to know that we are not
alone in our sufferings and encourages us to be happy when we are persecuted
for our faith because in those moments He draws close to us to comfort us.
Christ called the Holy Spirit the
comforter after all and the Apostle Paul assures us that God’s Spirit rests
upon us when we are hated, rejected, and insulted for our faith.
Paradoxically, when we would think
that we have been abandoned by the Lord because we are being treated badly for
our faith, God’s word assures us that He has not left us or forsaken us and
that He is with us in our sufferings and times of trials and tribulations.
So, don’t believe the enemy’s lies
that God has left you when you are attacked for your faith, the word tells us
the opposite is true and when we abide in Christ in those times we will
experience the truth of this word through the supernatural strength, guidance,
and comfort we will receive from the Holy Spirit.
___________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By ARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER SIX
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN OPERATION continues
God’s
method of dealing with the righteous: concludes
4. God exerts upon His own elect a preserving influence or power.
Many are the scriptures which set forth this
blessed truth. “He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out
of the hand of the wicked” (Psa. 97:10). “For the Lord loveth judgment, and
forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved
for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off” (Psa. 37:28). “The
Lord preserveth all them that love
Him: but all the wicked will He destroy” (Psa. 145:20). It is needless to
multiply texts or to raise an argument at this point respecting the believer’s
responsibility and faithfulness—we can no more “persevere” without God preserving us than we can breathe when God ceases to
give us breath; we are “kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”
(1 Pet. 1:5). Compare 1 Chron. 18:6. It remains for us now to consider,
God’s
method of dealing with the wicked:
In contemplating God’s governmental dealings
with the non-elect we find that He exerts upon them a fourfold influence or
power. We adopt the clear-cut divisions suggested by Dr. Rice:
1. God exerts upon the wicked a restraining influence by which they are prevented from doing what they are
naturally inclined to do.
A striking example of this is seen in Abimelech,
king of Gerar. Abraham came down to Gerar and fearful lest he might be slain on
account of his wife he instructed her to pose as his sister. Regarding her as
an unmarried woman, Abimelech sent and took Sarah unto himself; and then we
learn how God put forth His power to protect her honor—“And God said unto him
in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning
against Me: therefore suffered I thee
not to touch her” (Gen. 20:6). Had not God interposed Abimelech would have
grievously wronged Sarah, but the Lord restrained him and allowed him not to
carry out the intentions of his heart.
A similar instance is
found in connection with Joseph and his brethren’s treatment of Him. Owing to
Jacob’s partiality for Joseph his brethren “hated him,” and when they thought
they had him in their power “they conspired against him to slay him” (Gen. 37:18). But God did not allow them to carry out
their evil designs. First He moved Reuben to deliver him out of their hands,
and next he caused Judah to suggest that Joseph should be sold to the passing
Ishmaelites, who carried him down into Egypt. That it was God who thus restrained them is clear; he made known himself to his
brethren; said he, “So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God” (Gen. 45:8)!
The restraining
influence which God exerts upon the wicked was strikingly exemplified in the
person of Balaam, the prophet hired by Balak to curse the Israelites. One
cannot read the inspired narrative without discovering that, left to himself,
Balaam had readily and certainly accepted the offer of Balak. How evidently God
restrained the impulses of his heart is seen from his own acknowledgment—“How
shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord
hath not defied? Behold I have received
commandment to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it” (Num.
23:8, 20).
Not only does God
exert a restraining influence upon wicked individuals but He does so upon whole
peoples as well. A remarkable illustration of this is found in Ex. 34:24—“For I
will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land,
when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.”
Three times every male Israelite, at the command of God, left his home and
inheritance and journeyed to Jerusalem to keep the Feasts of the Lord; and in
the above scriptures we learn He promised them that while they were at
Jerusalem He would guard their unprotected homes by restraining the covetous designs and desires of their heathen
neighbors.[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available
on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and
Audible.com.
These teachings are also available on the
MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247
Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her Facebook
Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of
God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 124–126.
