Ah, but I saw young people dancing for the Lord, shouting for the Lord, praising Him and worshiping Him. It was so electrifying it made me think of the story in the Bible of David dancing when the Ark was returned to it's rightful place. (Read 2 Sam. 6 special attention to verses 1, 14-15, 21-22)
Now these young folks jumped, they shouted, and yes they even did some up to date dances. Nothing was vulgar or shameful...it's just not how we do it at OCBF. However, I looked and the first thought was you know there would be some adults shaking their head in disgust and admonishing them for what they were doing. (sounds like David's wife)
Seriously though, it was all clean, in order, and it truly was a beautiful sight.
And then....it happened!!! Can't say exactly when, the moment just happened. There was a shifting in the atmosphere. The presence of the Lord was there. One by one these young people began to cry out unto the Lord with humble hearts and outstretched hands.
My prayer, as was many other parents prayers, that the revival would begin in the hearts of our youth. That it would flow from them to the families, the schools, the communities, the cities, and yes even flood the state of Texas!!!
I applaud and praise our youth ministry for all they do for our children. The time they invest into their lives and to see that they really do love these children...it is amazing. This is the village which I don't mind helping me to guide my children in the right direction.
So last night the former youth pastor came to speak. He spoke from Matthew 5:6, John 7:37-38, 1 Corinthians 1:30, and Zechariah 14:8. Remember the theme was Obey Your Thirst! Monday, the question was What are you thirsty for? I told you we are to seek after right things. Things that are godly, holy, and good...righteous. Last night Pastor Von told them that the righteousness they are to be seeking is JESUS!!!
Our bodies are made up of 70% water. It is the most necessary thing to sustain life. Our bodies can go for days without food, but not without water. Many times we are so thirsty and yet we try to quench that thirst with overly sweetened kool-aid, soda, tea, etc. and yet our bodies still crave water. We overeat a lot of times mistaking that pain for hunger, when in reality our bodies are crying out for water. We try to give our bodies substitutes, but to no avail. The moment we drink water, our bodies are satisfied and the thirst is quenched. It's one of those after you take that loooong drink of water you say Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! because that's what your body wanted all along.
Well, our spirits are no different. Our spirits are filled with the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ. He longs for Jesus. We try to quench our spirits with things, people, relationships, activities, and such, but our spirit man within is never satisfied. We keep trying to give him something he was not equipped to want or need in order to survive. He is begging for the Lord to infiltrate our lives, hearts, and minds, but we keep picking up iphones, ipads, tv shows, movies, ungodly music, and relationships that mean us no good. Yet the moment we open our hearts to Jesus and cry out for Him, our spirits are no longer dry. When we are craving more of God's Word and Striving for His Ways, our spirit man becomes quenched and you can almost here Him say Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
You want peace, joy, love, happiness, satisfaction? Obey Your Thirst!
Now that above was what the Lord spoke to me this morning as I was driving to work. Pastor Von used the analogy of being hungry and stopping at the store for a snickers. He said he got home and his wife had prepared a home cooked meal for him. It was hot and laid out, ready for him to partake of it. However, when she asked him if he was hungry, he said no. The 2 snickers he had gotten and eaten had eased his hunger pains, but he knew he would be hungry again because in reality he had not addressed the hunger, just the pains!!!
Satan knows that we are hungry. He knows that our spirit man cannot be satisfied with anything else but Jesus, but he throws in all these candy bars to "ease the hunger pains" (money, sex, power, material things, popularity, acceptance, relationships, etc.) and yet he knows they will never address the real hunger.
We've got to get so far beyond satisfying the condition and feed our spirit man what it's really seeking.
So I ask you....Still Thirsty? Let me introduce you to a Man that knows all about you and still loves you and wants you. He knows your heart and thoughts. He knows what you've been through and what you'll go through in all your tomorrows. He knew you before you were born and had your story written out before time began. He's been calling you by name since the beginning of time. He died so you wouldn't have to. He conquered the grave and hell so you could be free. He did this for you before you even knew Him. There is no one or no thing on earth that will die for you or your freedom.
His name is Jesus!!! He's the Father & the Son, the Holy Spirit within you...yeah, that's Him too!!! Everything you can ever want, everything you will every need....that's Him, He's got it!
He'll never leave you! He not only wants to call you friend....He actually calls you child & heir!
This Jesus, died for you, so that when it's all said and done, you can spend eternity with Him! Who on earth can love you this much? No man can do for you what this ONE Man has already done!
I dare you to hear Him calling you and run to Him!!!!
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