How Do You See God?
Scripture: Matthew 6:8Devotional Series: Preparing for Persecution
Teaching: Preparing For Persecution pt. 4 (WED 2021-04-21) by Pastor Star R Scott
In Luke, Chapter 18, verse 8, Jesus asks, “When I come, will I find faith upon the earth?” We believe Jesus is coming back soon. It’s imminent, it can happen at any moment, and every man that has that hope purifies himself even as He, Jesus, is pure. You’ll love holiness, you’ll love righteousness, you’ll hate the world, you’ll hate the old man. Do you hate that old man? Do you believe, like the apostle says, that in me, that is in my old man, dwells no good thing? In this flesh there’s no good thing! So, the apostle says, “I die daily.” Jesus said it this way, “Deny yourself daily, take up your cross, and follow Me.” How do we prepare for persecution? Daily dying to self. What does that do? It activates all of those promises that no weapon formed will prosper, our faith becoming that victory, that we make those declarations that have been made by the Spirit of God in recognizing who we are and that we have been given all power and all authority over all the power of the devil, praise God! Do you think that’s something Satan doesn’t want us to find out? So, what does he do? His tactics haven’t changed so don’t fall for them. What was the original temptation? The same thing that he tried on Jesus. It worked on Adam but it didn’t work on Jesus; amen? The first thing that happens is this: God’s integrity, God’s love, God’s providential wisdom and care for us… The devil wants you to believe God doesn’t care, “You wouldn’t be in this situation if God cared.” The disciples said it on the boat, “Lord, don’t you care that we perish?” They’re all terrified, they’re all bailing out the boat; Jesus is asleep in the back. “Lord, Master, don’t you care that we perish?” Where did perishing come into the conversation? Guess who introduced it? Self, Satan; amen? How many times did Moses hear it? “You brought us out here to kill us. God doesn’t really care.” The people were murmuring against Moses, and murmuring against God, and God finally got fed up with it all and said, “Ten times you’ve said this about Me. I’ve told you that I’m taking you into a land that flows with milk and honey, and I’m going to give it unto you, and I’m going to give you houses you didn’t build, and you’re going to drink from wells that you didn’t dig, and you keep saying I’m going to kill you, so guess what? I’m going to kill you.”
How do you see God? The way Satan presents Him or the way the Holy Spirit presents Him, or the way He was presented in the person of Jesus Christ. “I and the Father are one; If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” It’s that simple. When we’re in the midst of trials and our emotions are going everywhere: the question is, how do you see your Father? Why would God allow this to come upon me? So, you can learn patience, so that you can become mature and the next time you come into this situation, you won’t be questioning God, you’ll be praising Him. Because the Bible says, “He knows what you have need of, He knows the hairs on your head, He can number them, He can call you by name.” Praise God! That’s my God, that’s my Father; amen? If the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord, then this trial is by the ordering of God for my good, and faith proclaims that. Guess what? You’re going to need that in the time of persecution because the first thing persecution will do is to get you questioning again, “Am I in the will of God? Why am I here? Have I done something wrong? Is there sin in my life?” Faith stands up and calls things that are not as though they were. So, in the midst of this trial and all of these things coming against us, like pain in our body, or we’re fighting cancer, we can proclaim that God is good and every promise of God is yea and amen, and by His stripes we’re healed! Praise God! How dare we ever say anything else?
How do you see God? The way Satan presents Him or the way the Holy Spirit presents Him, or the way He was presented in the person of Jesus Christ. “I and the Father are one; If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” It’s that simple. When we’re in the midst of trials and our emotions are going everywhere: the question is, how do you see your Father? Why would God allow this to come upon me? So, you can learn patience, so that you can become mature and the next time you come into this situation, you won’t be questioning God, you’ll be praising Him. Because the Bible says, “He knows what you have need of, He knows the hairs on your head, He can number them, He can call you by name.” Praise God! That’s my God, that’s my Father; amen? If the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord, then this trial is by the ordering of God for my good, and faith proclaims that. Guess what? You’re going to need that in the time of persecution because the first thing persecution will do is to get you questioning again, “Am I in the will of God? Why am I here? Have I done something wrong? Is there sin in my life?” Faith stands up and calls things that are not as though they were. So, in the midst of this trial and all of these things coming against us, like pain in our body, or we’re fighting cancer, we can proclaim that God is good and every promise of God is yea and amen, and by His stripes we’re healed! Praise God! How dare we ever say anything else?