Abiding

Having a Heart after the LORD

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THAT’s My King! Pastor Lockridge [video]

Powerful Prayers from Children-This Will Shake You [video]

The Fear of the LORD is to Hate Evil: Pride, and Arrogancy #shorts [video]

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

IF we don’t have a heart after God today, all we have is dead religion, A MERE FORM OF GODLINESS (Acts 13:22; 2 Timothy 3:5).

Having a heart after God, a heart, a life that relentlessly seeks the LORD is a choice, today.

We are either choosing to be full of self or full of Christ. Here’s how we can be full of Christ:

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

By default, the person who is not fervently seeking Jesus today, is full of self, not the Savior (Matthew 5:6).

Your prayer life or lack thereof is a clear reading of what your life with Christ truly is, or is not.

Who are “THEY”?

IF you are seeking Him…

He’s filling you!

“Blessed are THEY which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for THEY shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

As you are seeking the face of the LORD continually, He’s filling you to motor victoriously through every fear and every trial! Boom Jesus! Memorize the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:6.

A great prayer right this moment is …. Heavenly Father, please grant me to have a pure heart, a poor in spirit heart, and an heart after Thee. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“We would see Jesus” is the cry of every Heaven-bound child of God (John 12:21).

When the LORD had examined all of Jesse’s son to see who should be king in Israel, He passed by the tall, strong, handsome, established men to get to beloved David. David is the only person in all the Bible called by God “a man after mine own heart.”

“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” Acts 13:22

The eyes of the Almighty are scanning the earth today, looking, searching for that one heart that pants after Him.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

What do we learn from this verse?

The LORD is looking, scanning the earth
The LORD is looking for a heart perfect toward Him
The LORD is not looking for perfect performance. If He were He wouldn’t be looking at mankind at all. The present state of your heart is what’s important to Him (1 Samuel 16:7).

May it be said of us, of you beloved of God, that you have a heart that is perfect toward your God, one that pants for more of Him daily.

Notice this Scripture and how it says “heart” that is “perfect toward your God” and not performance. Wow! Selah. Meditate on that one. Your past performance means nothing to the LORD. What matters now, this moment, is whether or not you will turn your heart truly to Him, to cry out to Him.

The true servant of the LORD will always foster in you a love for Jesus, a desire to know Him more (John 17:3; Phlippians 3:10). His love for Jesus is contagious. He will never draw attention to himself but only point all to Christ crucified – as revealed in Holy Scripture!

Religious or bloodline pedigree is zilch in Christ’s kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28; 23:8-12). He aggrandizes the heart that follows hard after Him (Psalms 63:8). Who’d you rather spend a day with?

a seminarian graduate (they are a dime a dozen), or
a humble disciple with a heart after the LORD?

SATAN created the system where people feel like they’ve sought God because they attended Sunday morning church service. Not. So, they coast all week, backsliding more each day for lack of the presence of God filling their lives via daily seeking Him. By biblical definition, foolish virgins are those who were once saved, espoused to the Bridegroom of Heaven, and yet have since fallen away from intimacy with Him and will be shut out of His eternal bridal chamber if they don’t repent and return to Jesus as “first love.” (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 2:4-5)

Jesus promised that those of His people who die lukewarm will be spued from His holy mouth, rejected.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16

Those who pretend to serve God, those who read His Word and fellowship in prayer with Him only when they feel like it, when crisis hits, when it’s convenient to their own self-serving, self-worshiping, self-idolatrous life, are backslidden and hell bound. Repent now, lay down your life and obey God. The fires of eternal damnation are going to forever feed upon your helpless, conscious soul if you don’t repent and return to Jesus as the “first love” of your life (Revelation 2:4-5).

Personally, I am constantly aware of the danger of the danger of the dehydration of the body and therefore continue to militantly force water into my body hourly. In the same way, and much more importantly with eternal consequence, we must be disciplined followers of Christ, empowered by His truth, the warning, and the Holy Spirit to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) “Men ought ALWAYS to pray and not to faint.” (Luke 18:1) Those who don’t drink lots of fresh water will have physical problems and those who don’t drink from the well of the LORD in prayer without ceasing, will suffer defeat here and eternally (Matthew 26:41) | Pray without Ceasing

Talking to God in prayer is more important than our speaking to men about God (ministering). The greatest temptation we face is rejecting Christ, denying Him the “first love” place in our lives which includes time, our hearts, our lives in the temporal world (Revelation 2:4-5). Those who do not commune with the LORD in prayer, simply will not be imbued with His divine anointing to effectively, powerfully minister to others.

“Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to people. Power with God is the first thing, not power with people. Christ loves to teach us how to pray.” Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, p. xxiii-xxiv The disciples asked Jesus “Teach us to pray” and not “teach us to preach.”

Those not delighting in the LORD daily have self as their idol.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4

Are you lukewarm, fallen away, or are you one “that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee (the LORD)“? (Isaiah 64:7)

Those not delighting in the LORD daily have self as their idol.

Beware of the Pitfalls

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 1 Corinthians 13:5

Ultimately we shall all stand before the LORD to give account and yet, that’s not all the Bible says. Many isolate themselves from God’s people and His Word spoken through His people (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16). They hide in darkness with the attitude that “God will judge me so leave me alone” because they are not accountable to Christ and therefore want no self-examination or the help of the body of Christ. David said: “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.” (Psalms 141:5)

The Word of God carries the judgments of God in order that we might know Him and be prepared to meet Him (Psalm 119). The Judge of our eternal souls has spoken and thank God it’s an open book test we can pass if we truly repent, lay down our lives in this world, put our faith in Christ, and say with John the Baptist – “He must increase but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

“Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23b

Life in Christ involves continual learning, a never ending classroom of divine instruction and correction, of learning to lay down our lives, to abandon ourselves to Christ – crucified with Him, dead and buried, and raised up by Him! (2 Corinthians 4:10-12)

We know when our lives are not practically dead and buried with Christ when the works of the flesh are raising their ugly head! (Galatians 5:16-24) So, we know then to get back to the cross, right? | The Crucified Life

“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” Hosea 4:11

SIN takes away the heart. In other words, the reason some aren’t full of holy conviction, fervent in spirit, full of the love and zeal of the LORD, is due to their own choice not to repent, be sanctified, and follow Jesus. Self and sin rule their lives, not Christ.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Greed is a soul damning sin. Read 1 Timothy 6:6-17.

SUCCESS is not money. No, it’s an abiding oneness, relationship with Jesus! Jn 15, 17

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4

God promises that He will be found of us as and only if we seek Him.

“But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity…” Jeremiah 29:12-14

“If thou seek him, he will be found of thee.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

By Satanic Design

In the modern church building meetings, there seems to be little in the way of authentic worship, seemingly very little hunger for Christ (Matthew 5:6). False Christs are being preached by Satan’s wolves – exactly as Jesus and His apostles warned (Matthew 24).

All of our sin comes out of our hearts. The Hebrew word for “Heart” means the source. Think about that and realize that when we see faults and sins in our lives, we must run afresh to the feet of our LORD to cleanse, and to change our hearts (Psalms 51; 139:23-24). Listen to the Savior beloved:

“That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:20-23

Life in Christ Key

This has worked powerfully for me for many years. Is it biblical? Yes, see the Bible verse below.

Each evening, set yourself to get up in the morning to seek the LORD in His Word, praise, thanksgiving, and prayer.

A nightly prayer to God and declaration to self could go something like…. “Dear Father, in Jesus’ name, if you choose to awake me in the morning, I shall seek Thee, I shall search, read, and study, Your Word and seek Your holy face by delighting in prayer communion, thanksgiving, and praise. I love You Jesus!“

Meditate upon the following verse of divine truth. Make it part of your life.

“Now SET your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God;” 1 Chronicles 22:19

Hebrew word for “set” – to apply, assign, cause, make, thrust, utter.

With this definition of the word “set” in mind, read the above verse of Scripture again.

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Anyone not praying is not seeking God and has already fallen away (Luke 12:40).

Begin every day with Christ!

Jesus says that in order to have the things of God added to your life, to have God richly present in your personal life, you must put Him first:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

“First” in Matthew 6:33 means first priority. WHEN God truly is first in your life, it’s proven in that you arise each morning to seek His holy face, to commune with Him, to offer thanksgivings, to do His holy bidding, to be empowered and led by His Holy Word and Spirit (Psalms 5:3; 63:1; Mark 1:35).

“A sinning man stops praying. A praying man stops sinning.” – Leonard Ravenhill

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I want my life to glorify You, truly, authentically. Dear LORD there are so many inconsistencies in me that do not represent You that I now ask You to amend. Change me Jesus, please. Here and now afresh, I lay my life in Your holy hands. Please sanctify and anoint my life to be crucified with Christ, to be conformed to Your holy image dear LORD Jesus. I love You dear Maker, Master, and Savior of my soul, my life. Father, I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

Heart | Seeking God | Set Apart – Sanctified

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Abiding

Delighting in the LORD [podcast]

Many have set up their altar to the false gods of church, church attendance, mere men in ministry, etc., and not at the feet, the throne of Jesus Christ. These are examples of some of the most insidious, the most subtle forms of damnable idolatry.

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 22:1

Our lives in Christ must be built around His throne and not a certain church building or Sunday morning event (Jeremiah 17:12; Colossians 3:1-4; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 22:1).

Memory truth:

“A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” Jeremiah 17:12

Heaven is where God is and He’s your headquarters. The LORD Himself is “the place of our sanctuary.”

For many, going to “church” seems to take the place of diligently seeking and knowing, loving, and obeying the LORD. The foundation of such a person will not sustain them in this last hour (Matthew 7:19-29; 24; Luke 21; Hebrews 12:24-28).

The LORD speaks much of the importance of foundations (Psalms 11:3). Those who base their life in Christ on a certain ministry or church gathering or organization, do not have the sure, divine foundation to sustain them in this late hour. Everything is going to be shaken and only that which is truly and soundly grounded in Christ will be left standing.

Like Abel, who chose to do things God’s way and no other way, those who do the same, will be established in Christ the Rock and not be moved.

“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:24-29

Regrettably, so many, who have simply gotten lost in the church crowd, have not established that intimate, individual place in the sanctuary of the LORD. The coming storms will inevitably uproot them if there is no change, no repentance, and seeking the face of the LORD for themselves. Jesus saves us to establish us.

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:6-10

False churches today seek to sell families on the need to join their country club where’s there’s fun for the whole family. These beguilers cater to the urban family to build their church business, with no intention of preaching the whole counsel of God’s Word, the cardinal doctrines of the original Gospel (Jude 3-4). Their goal is to entertain and to grow their church enterpri$e and not to ground their prey in Christ (Colossians, etc.). It’s all surface level, cosmetic. There is no blood of Jesus, no King James Bible, no cross – no crucified life, no Holy Ghost baptism, no repentance, no holiness, no Christology, no readiness for the soon return of Christ, etc.

If you memorize this Bible verse below and speak it, often, your heart, your direction, your life will be divinely moved upward to the LORD! Memorize 1 Chronicles 16:11 beginning now.

“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

Those who delight in the LORD, delight to do His will.

“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalms 40:8

“STAY UPON THE LORD”

This is a Recurring Theme in Isaiah and Throughout Holy Writ

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall STAY UPON the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” Isaiah 10:20

“For they call themselves of the holy city, and STAY THEMSELVES UPON the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.” Isaiah 48:2

“Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and STAY UPON his God.” Isaiah 50:10

The LORD is NOT available to the casual seeker. Think about that.

“He is a rewarder of THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM.” Hebrews 11:6

Our LORD rewards those who “diligently seek him.”

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

In the ensuing verses (Jeremiah 29:15-19), God pronounces a judgment on His people for following those false leaders who sit upon the seat of David yet didn’t have an obedient heart after the LORD. Today is no different where you have people following false leaders who pretend to be representing Christ and yet, are compromised with false doctrine and worldliness.

Shannon Cook writes:

“Delight yourself in the LORD (Jesus) and He will give you the desires of thine heart. Jesus Christ IS in fact, the greatest desire of the heart of man. ‘Delight yourself in Me (Jesus), and I will give Me to you.’ Makes perfect sense!”

May God bless us with a John 17 and John 15 oneness abiding relationship with Him, possessed with a poor in spirit disposition, and pure heart after the LORD (Matthew 5:3, 6, 8). In Jesus’ Name.

We have nothing outside of what we have in Christ! Read Colossians 1 and 2.

So love Jesus and aren’t seeking His holy face daily, diligently? Not. Turn back to God in repentance, now.

The bless-ed word “delight” appears several times in God’s Word.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4

TODAY, THERE’s nothing more important for me to be doing than seeking the face of the LORD Almighty – to be “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28

Having a heart after God is something that is a daily, a moment to moment choice, a decision, which must be cultivated in us.

David, the man after the heart of the LORD, is a glorious example to us.

“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” Acts 13:22

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. … When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.” Psalms 27:4, 8

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” Psalms 57:7

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalms 63:8

As can be seen in the following verse, legal or religious mindset causes obedience, serving God to the LORD to seem like drudgery.

“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” Jeremiah 6:10

Those living under grace operate in grace, in their heart of hearts, delight to obey their Savior.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3

No matter what’s going on – good or bad – WE KNOW that the song is true …. that our “God is so good, God is soooo gooood, God is so good, He’s so good to me…..” … There’s NO way to sing this simple song of praise and not get happy in Jesus! Impossible.

The LORD our Maker alone can truly satisfy, all the way to the marrow of the bone, to the depth of the human heart!

“For I have satiated (fully satisfy) the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah 31:25

All who are not full of Christ via knowing and seeking Him, delighting in and worshipping Him perpetually, are full of misery – from which they shall never escape, unless they repent and let Jesus be the King, the LORD, the Master of their lives.

The Bible is music to the ears of truth-seeking followers of Christ! They pour prayerfully of the words of Holy Scripture daily, as they seek the face of the LORD.

Times of fasting and prayer are doing yourself a favor and not God. Yes. You are crucifying self, getting self out of God’s way so that Christ is reigning in your life in place of sinful self! This should be viewed with absolute delight! (Psalms 37:4; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13, etc.). You are crying, you are driving a stake in the ground and declaring: “LORD, You must increase but I must decrease! (John 3:30) That’s the “daily” operation of the cross God has ordained to be transpiring in our lives (Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20, etc.).

“We would worry less if we praised more. THANKSGIVING is the enemy of discontentment and dissatisfaction.” Harry Ironside

Powerful resurrection life teeming in and through our lives requires a going down deep into the death the resurrection of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). There is no shortcut.

“WE WOULD SEE JESUS.” John 12:20-21

Detox your inner man! Detox your spirit, soul, and body! How? Fasting and Prayer! Delighting in the LORD (Psalms 37:4). Fasting and prayer begins with being done, being fed up, being exhausted of the iniquitous nature that has driven us into darkness, into dismal ditches with guilt, shame, and forfeited blessings the result! Our desire now and henceforth is for Christ to reign supreme in our lives and not self! Self, sin must be dethroned. Serving self instead of the Savior has ushered in every single evil thing into our lives and we now stand forth and declare that Christ must increase but we must decrease! (John 3:30) We do this now with more than just words – also with a holy resolve, a driving of the stake deep into the ground, singly focused on the reign of Heaven’s coming KING, on the seat, the throne of our hearts. The reins of our lives are reserved for Him to reign, no longer us!

“Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:14

“It has been said that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.” Austin Phelps

Anita Villarreal exhorts:

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…..do this and you will live.’ Luke 10:27-28

The death of Jesus. Christ on the Cross is what has drawn men to Himself. Christ did this out of Divine Love for humanity, and LOVE ALWAYS DRAWS. It is the LOVE that men and women need, and wherever they find it they want to come and rest in it’s warmth and tenderness. God’s love is the purest form of true, sincere and unselfish love. Of you haven’t received or known this kind of love, ask Jesus to show you this love and by faith receive it. Let Him cleanse your soul of all impurities and forgive you of all your sins.”

We were created to know Him!

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8

Our union, our oneness with God is from which all else in His kingdom emanates….

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17

“We are truly living in a time of great apostasy and I would urge each person to seek to know the Lord for yourself as Jesus said in John 17:3 that this is life eternal that we know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. In the book of 1 John 5:20 John states that Christ came to give us understanding of the one true God and His son Jesus Christ. David said in Psalms 27:4 that one thing he desired of the Lord and that he would seek after that He could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. I urge people to examine the scriptures and stop trusting in flesh (mere men) for the scripture states that curse is the man that trust in man and makes flesh his arm whose heart has depart from the Lord (Jerm 17:5). Any real man that God has called will only point you to Lord not himself. Wake-up Church those who have an ear to hear what Lord is speaking to His true body.” Matthew Washington

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