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AN INFINITE GOD BECOMES PERSONAL TO FINITE MAN- PART 1
Don Phillips- March 2, 2011
As I enter into the twilight years of my life, (upper 70’s), I have an increasing desire and passion to know God more personally and intimately and to make Him known to others. These words from the Amplified version of Philippians 3: 10 express my heart.
“[For my determined purpose is] to know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His person] more strongly and more clearly. And that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection and that I may so share in His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness] even to His death.”
A DREAM WORTH SHARING
Recently I was invited to be on the leadership team of the “Radical Men’s Summit” sponsored by Green Valley Church of Watsonville, California, pastored by Dennis Smith. The main Speaker was Rich Wilkerson, Pastor of Trinity Church in Miami, Florida. It was truly a Holy Spirit –encounter week-end. I was personally refreshed and renewed in my spirit.
Before I woke up Sunday morning of the Summit, I had a dream and I shared it with the men that morning. I dreamed there was a large black board and I saw a hand holding a piece of chalk. The hand was drawing different sizes lines. At the top of the board the hand drew a long line and the line kept going off the board into infinity. Then I saw the individual lines merging into the longer line at the top of the board.
When I woke up the dream was still fresh in my mind and I wrote it down and began to pray in the Spirit for further revelation. The Holy Spirit helped me to see that the individual lines represented each follower of Christ and the measurement of their spiritual maturity and commitment. The line going off into infinity represented God.
As further revelation began to come to me, I saw that God’s infinite love and grace was drawing each believer to Himself to experience a deeper more profound relationship with Him.
Those individuals who responded were now experiencing the fullness and completeness that God wanted them to have. I asked the Holy Spirit to give me Scriptural verifications to confirm what I was seeing and He did.
Scriptural verifications
Here are a few of them: (From the New Living Translation)
Ezekiel 40: 3-4 “As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring rod. He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”
John 3: 34 “For he (Jesus) is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God’s Spirit is upon him without measure or limit.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
God holds our faces in His hands
This dream reminded me of another spiritual picture God gave me several years ago when I was in an early Morning Prayer meeting at our church. I saw a large wheel with God at the hub of the wheel. Each believer had their own private channel to God. God was lovingly looking into the face of each believer, cupping their face in His hands. He was saying to each believer, ”I love you more than you know and I want a deeper more intimate relationship with you. Please come closer to me.”
I saw that people were at different proximity to God, some were very close and some one fourth of the way to Him and some three fourth and others at the rim end of their channel. I could see one person at the rim end of his channel representing many other believers. He was pacing back and forth in the shadows to the things he had erected between himself and God. He would peer around the stuff and wave at God and say “Yes, God, I know you love me and want a closer relationship with yourself but right now I am not there. I saw that person get so disgusted and angry with where he was and depressed about how he had gradually let things come between himself and God.
Then I saw this man confess and repent for allowing those things to come between himself and God. He began to throw the “stuff” aside and make his way to the Father. His life became less complicated and cluttered as He got closer to God. As he was making his way closer to God he was encouraging others to do the same.
Application
I pray that God will help us all to heed and obey the Holy Spirit as He calls us to examine our lives and allow Him to help us to MEASURE up to all He desires for us to be and do.
“Let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:22-25 NLT)
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