God is Infinitely Forgiving

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him (Ha. 2.20).

We shall never take lightly the presence of the Lord. The building we designate as His house should never be considered something as common. Neither should the true temple of the Lord be lightly considered. God's name represents who He is. His name represents His presence.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Ex. 20.7)."

I must ask myself, "Do I have respect for the temple of the Living God? Do I recognize the full power of God rests within? Do I despise the work of God if the appearance of His temple does not meet my specifications?"

Beloved, I find myself not only halting to consider the blood of Jesus and His work at Calvary and myself as one "scarcely saved (1 Pe. 4.18)," I also agree with His Spirit I must repent for considering less of His presence that I ought.

His presence is found within every believer. Almighty God has made His dwelling within men. Should we not afford Him the respect of His ark, temple, dwelling place He deserves. Do the heathen have greater respect for the shrines of their idols?

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own (1 Co. 6.19)?

Folks, the Bible insists the full power of God is in His inheritance, the saints.

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places (Ep. 1.18-20).

Please read the passage carefully. Compare with other versions. The importance here is astounding. I took this to prayer. Now I must say to you, "Consider the greatness of His power in you, that power which was wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead."

There is no greater power than that which lies within you and within other believers. The tragic thing is, we are either ignorant of that, being taught by those who don't believe or we simply trust more in academic bile of the last century. Even the seminaries have fallen prey to the same anti Christ spirit.

The fact is, I need to repent for I have considered His great power in the saints as something to be scoffed. Does the whole Church need to repent or am I the only one to whom this revelation is given. Is it something only I have overlooked? I know the mocking I have received of many churches in this area. I am aware of the scoffing of others. I come before our Holy God and ask, "Is what I have sensed an area I need to repent of and is my sensitivity in this simply a thorn to cause me not to be exalted but to draw nigh unto thee? Thy grace shall be sufficient in my weakness."

Depth and Root

A word of knowledge can only be received by one who has depth of root. Since the Word is a double edged sword, it will cut that which is on the surface. If there is too little root, the plant can no longer live after being cut.

The depth of a man's spirit is directly related to the unseen time of meditation on the Word and prayer in his life. A life of much time in secret prayer creates a depth in a man's spirit that cannot be attained through ecclesiastic activity, academic knowledge nor work related experience. Such a depth produces an undeniable aroma of Christ in a person.

Without the depth called for by our Lord, those in the ministry perform a great disservice in the Kingdom of God. A minister without depth must repent of the sin of being too busy. Many activities have trumped the prominent place Jesus must take in our lives. We call Him, "Lord." We either deny the true meaning of Lord or are simply disobedient to Him supplanting His lordship with our own concerns. After all, most Christians have made Him only a lord so no one will notice when one with much doctrinal knowledge makes him only a lord. It's like everyone wearing a ball cap for the same team. For too many years had I kept Jesus off the throne as Lord. How horrible a life without the wonderful presence of Christ.

Repentance is the only step for the churches now as the sin is allowing ourselves to be too busy to seek the face of Almighty God. Our Lord lovingly caused me to see the sin I had been blind to, repent and once again, seek His face as if my next breath depended thereon. His presence produces depth of root allowing us to receive more of His Word.