|
|
by: Maurice Perry
There are four sources from which we can experience true divine contentment. Contentment, as defined in part one, is a plateau of the Christian life that every believer must reach in order to be fulfilled spiritually, mentally and emotionally. That being said, let’s look at these four sources of divine contentment in which are sure to provide ways to reach a state of fulfillment.
John 14:8
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
We cannot reach a state of divine contentment until we know and understand inexplicably who our Father truly is. Not knowing who our Father is will leave us in darkness. We will not be able to discern His voice from all of the other voices that are trying to be influences in our lives. Our Father God wants us to call Him Daddy, Abba, Father. Some of us may have earthly, biological fathers, and a number of us have never met our biological fathers, nor even know where he can be found. But our Father in heaven wants us to know that He is there when we call. Our Father God wants us to commune with Him as if He were the only father that we’ve ever known. He wants to be there for us in all of our situations and circumstances. He longs for an eternal dialog with us.
John 15:10-11
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Knowing the voice of God is critical in the days that we live in because there are many false prophets, pastors and teachers that are leading God’s sheep down wrong paths. This is due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. We must possess logos (literal word) and the rhema (revealed word) Word of God in our inner man to be able to persevere. We must abide in God’s Word daily, consistently and with passion.
Having His commandments etched onto our hearts is what our Father God longs for. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of having God’s commandments etched onto the heart. It is through the keeping of the commandments of God that we experience the love of God and the presence of God. Abiding in God’s love is our purpose. To accomplish this, keeping the commandments of God is mandatory.
The most beautiful part about this passage is in verse 11. After keeping the commandments, and after abiding in the love of God, then, and only then, will the joy of the Holy Spirit dwell within us. Joy is the end result of our obedience and our abiding in the love of God. Joy is our reward for staying steadfast and unmovable in the things of God. Joy is our source of contentment and happiness.
Romans 8:28-29
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
It was no accident that we fell into the arms of our Father God and came into the knowledge of His Son. Many people struggle with their attempted relationship with God because they were not called. For those who are called to the knowledge and understanding of who God is and what Jesus Christ has already done for us, there is a divine purpose behind the call. The purpose of the call is to raise up a group of dedicated individuals who would press into the things of the kingdom of God, magnify the kingdom of God, and do the will and work of the Father. God called us from birth to be His foot soldiers on earth to establish His kingdom. God knew us before our birth, and predestinated us to be His, and His alone.
But not only has He pre-chosen us before our birth, but he wants us to be mirror images of His Son. Jesus Christ is our big brother, according to verse 29 - “…that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” We are the brethren. So if he is to be the firstborn of many brethren, that makes us His little brothers and sisters.
II Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
It is in the place of beholding the glory of the Lord that we are transformed into His image. Being in the persistent presence of God is what we should desire. We are a product of our environment. If our environment consists of violence and murder, our children will be influence by the spirit of violence and murder and there will be a good chance that they will fall into the snare of violence or murder. The same thing is the case with an environment of holiness and sanctification. If our children grow up in an environment that fears the Lord, and is clean, righteous and holy, then our children will be influenced by these things and therefore grow up to be fearful of the Lord, clean at heart and mind, righteous in the eyes of God and man - holy and separated unto God.
Being in the presence of God changes us overtime. It is the consistent purging by the water of the Word of God that cleanses, purifies our spirit, and transforms us into the likeness of God. But we must understand that this transformation is usually not something that happens overnight. Persistency and consistency is the key to being taken from glory to glory. The Spirit of the Lord purges us by stripping layers of ungodliness, one at a time. With each level of glory that we come into, a layer of ungodliness is shed. Continued pressing into the glory of God allows the stripping of our old man (flesh, sin) so that the new man (Christ) that has been supplied by the Spirit of the Lord will be able to show and do His work - being a reflection of the anointing of God, the oil of joy that he wants to pour into our lives.
Adam and Eve forgot who they were in God. They forgot that they were made in the image and likeness of God. Sin and disobedience led to the lack of knowledge of who they were in God. The same thing happens to us. Sin and disobedience places a barrier in front of our eyes. This barrier of sin blocks our vision of the image of God, and then we forget who we are in Christ and how we are to be like Christ. We must always keep God in remembrance so that His glory will continue to shine upon us and change us into His image.
Mark 8:14-21
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among themselves saying, it is because we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened?
18 Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember?
19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the testimony of what God has already done in our lives that will allow us to always remember that God is able in all circumstances and situations. It is in remembering how we were delivered and set free from past bondages and pitfalls that increases our faithfulness in God and our belief in His Word.
In Mark 8, Jesus fed the multitude with only two fish and five loaves of bread. This miracle was seen by the masses, including the disciples with a front row seat! And yet, only a few verses later in the same chapter, they had already forgotten what God had done for the people. A miracle, sign and wonder that was done in their presence had been forgotten in so short a period of time.
We are guilty of this also! We become so consumed with our problems that we forget about the miraculous power of our Lord, Jesus Christ! He wants us to remember what He has done for us in times past. We must always carry a testimony of how good God has been to us in the past and how he has delivered us from the snares and traps of the enemy. It is Satan that wants to erase our minds of the goodness of God. Satan longs to trap us in sin so that we are incapable of recalling our testimonies of what God has done for us. A lot of us are probably still living because of the grace of God, and His grace alone. Let us not forget who we are in Christ, and how he has set us free from the captivity and bondage of sin.
In closing, these four sources of divine contentment - 1) seeing God as our Father, 2) Living by the Word of God, 3) Being who we are born to be, and 4) remembering what God has already done, will allow us to experience the fullness of God. This fullness encompasses all that God wants us to possess in His kingdom. Joy is a possession in the kingdom of God. Happiness is a benefactor of that joy.
Lets make it a priority in our lives to strive for happiness by seeking the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is the result of the kingdom of God becoming our environment. Our environment will be permanently changed by these four sources of divine contentment.
Be content in the Lord! Be happy! Be filled with joy, in Jesus name!
See Also:
Finding True Happiness: Part One
What does it take for man to find true happiness in the world that we live in?
How can a person be content in this fast-paced, drive-thru society that we are a
part of?
About The Author
Maurice Perry is an up and coming author in the kingdom of God. He is currently writing his first two books on spiritual warfare in the urban community. If you are interested in knowing more, sign up for his Christian Newsletter today at http://www.todays-word.com/signup.html.
Spiritual/Moral | General Interest | Church Fathers | Faith | History | Inspirational | Sermons | Malankara World Home | Church Home
-------
Malankara World
A service of St. Basil's Syriac Orthodox
Church, Ohio
Copyright © 2009-2020 - ICBS Group. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
Website designed, built, and hosted by
International Cyber Business Services, Inc., Hudson, Ohio
