THE INNER ROOM - "Learn and Grow - to Maturity". Please read the OP. - Page 59

SweetSurrender · 04-21-2008, 04:31 AM

We had a good Sunday service today, and my hubby was there. The message was on the parable of the hidden treasure.

Mat 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Which tells us that the secrets to joy are hidden in Christ and if we want it, we have to give up all we have to purchase that hidden treasure. Pastor told a story about someone who purchased a Harley at a garage sale for $600, looked up the vin # and called Harley Davis to see who'd owned it before. He gave them the vin # and they asked him if they could call him back. When they called back, they offered him $4 million for it, as it had been owned by Elvis Presley. The person he bought it from lost out because they got rid of a hidden treasure.

Not very many of us in this world find what God has provided for us. They go to church and don't really "sell out" to get the treasure He has given each of us if we only accept it. It was very much of an eye-opener to me and I think all of us here on this thread have sold out to God and are discovering more and more hidden joy and peace.

We sang a beautiful song called I Give You My Heart. I copied the words.

This is my desire
To honor You
Lord with all my heart, I worship You
All I have within me
I give you praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord, I give you my heart
I give You my soul
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have your way in me.

I think there was more. But if you could hear the music, it was soooo pretty. There are so many new songs I'm learning. Such good ones. And then they sing an old hym out of a song book. Some of them have really good words too. I'd like to take one home and look through it.

Pastor told us that a Missionary, Jim Elliot, wrote these words shortly before he was martyred, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them but rubbish that I may gain Christ."

Robin, I came to see the same thing you discovered also when it comes to wearing certain clothes that didn't bother us before. I just don't feel comfortable wearing them now. But, what I give up isn't worth half of the treasures I find now. Gads! I get to get a whole new wardrobe!

Although it may appear to be an unwise decision from the world's eyes, it is the utmost wisdom to give up what is nearly worthless for something absolutely priceless!

Faithwoman · 04-21-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Robin, I came to see the same thing you discovered also when it comes to wearing certain clothes that didn't bother us before. I just don't feel comfortable wearing them now. But, what I give up isn't worth half of the treasures I find now. Gads! I get to get a whole new wardrobe!

Although it may appear to be an unwise decision from the world's eyes, it is the utmost wisdom to give up what is nearly worthless for something absolutely priceless!

That is what we must remember- IT IS NOT the world's eyes that we live our lives by, it is Christ's love and eyes and heart we are living for.

Sometimes it is so hard to understand why folks are so darn stubborn, but as I learn more and more they are the ones losing out. I just keep reminding myself of his love for me.

Have a great day!
Robin

Fluffy · 04-21-2008, 06:34 PM

Hey, ya'll! I know what you mean about the clothing issue! Been thru it, myself! Hee! I like Bonnie's idea, though! A whole new wardrobe! yeah! Although I dont have too much on top, I still get uncomfortable if too much skin shows.

Hey, Faithwoman! What you said about the lost ones is so true. Its humbling to remember that I was once one of those. Blind. Deaf. Foolish.
Yep, I said foolish. Tearing down my house with my own hands instead of building it up. But now, praise the Lord! All that is changed! Hallelujah!
Like Bonnie said, Hidden Treasure in Jesus!

Staples1973 · 04-21-2008, 06:46 PM

bondman just to let you know i ordered those john powell books today. amazon uk are sold out but i got both second hand for £10. will let ya know how i go with them

Bondman · 04-22-2008, 07:15 AM

I simply MUST honour you lovely gals here who the LORD honours also - cos you've seen how important it is to dress carefully, with heavenly wisdom, so as not to cause temptation. That you've all seen this - AND taken action about it - rather blows my mind! WELL DONE, and God bless each one of you!!!

Definitely a WOW!!

- BM

Bondman · 04-22-2008, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Staples1973

bondman just to let you know i ordered those john powell books today. amazon uk are sold out but i got both second hand for £10. will let ya know how i go with them

Hey, Staples, hi to you, and that's absolutely wonderful! I look forward to hearing what you think.

For those who don't know what we're talking about, I recommended 2 of John Powell's easy-reading paperbacks that are SO GOOD as to understanding how we tick as individuals, how we relate to others, how our self-worth can be built up, about love, how to retain new truths we learn, and much, much more!

Thing is they're so amazingly simple, clear, and easy to read paperbacks that truly changed my life when I read them some decades ago. A Doctor and Professor, the only Christian genius I've ever met (quite an experience I can tell you!) was who recommended them to me.

They are Why Am I Afraid to Love and Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am by John Powell. Check them out on Amazon.

Thoroughly recommended for EVERYONE!!! (cos either they'll help you, or help you to help others! - or hey, maybe maybe BOTH!!)

Bondman · 04-22-2008, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetSurrender

We had a good Sunday service today, and my hubby was there. The message was on the parable of the hidden treasure.

Mat 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Which tells us that the secrets to joy are hidden in Christ and if we want it, we have to give up all we have to purchase that hidden treasure. Pastor told a story about someone who purchased a Harley at a garage sale for $600, looked up the vin # and called Harley Davis to see who'd owned it before. He gave them the vin # and they asked him if they could call him back. When they called back, they offered him $4 million for it, as it had been owned by Elvis Presley. The person he bought it from lost out because they got rid of a hidden treasure.

Not very many of us in this world find what God has provided for us. They go to church and don't really "sell out" to get the treasure He has given each of us if we only accept it. It was very much of an eye-opener to me and I think all of us here on this thread have sold out to God and are discovering more and more hidden joy and peace.

We sang a beautiful song called I Give You My Heart. I copied the words.

This is my desire
To honor You
Lord with all my heart, I worship You
All I have within me
I give you praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord, I give you my heart
I give You my soul
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have your way in me.

I think there was more. But if you could hear the music, it was soooo pretty. There are so many new songs I'm learning. Such good ones. And then they sing an old hym out of a song book. Some of them have really good words too. I'd like to take one home and look through it.

Pastor told us that a Missionary, Jim Elliot, wrote these words shortly before he was martyred, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them but rubbish that I may gain Christ."

Robin, I came to see the same thing you discovered also when it comes to wearing certain clothes that didn't bother us before. I just don't feel comfortable wearing them now. But, what I give up isn't worth half of the treasures I find now. Gads! I get to get a whole new wardrobe!

Although it may appear to be an unwise decision from the world's eyes, it is the utmost wisdom to give up what is nearly worthless for something absolutely priceless!

So much in this great post that I can't comment on all of it. But those of us who HAVE found God's TREASURE are blessed way beyond belief!!! I am utterly unworthy. But by His grace, and grace alone, I HAVE JESUS, THE treasure that is beyond price, to me treasure even beyond BELIEF!!! Yet it's true!

HE FOUND ME... I AM HIS... AND ALL IS A-OKAY AND TOTALLY WONDFUL!!!

Then: "Pastor told us that a Missionary, Jim Elliot, wrote these words shortly before he was martyred, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." Wow, how powerful are those words! And so true!!

I quite clearly remember when he and 4 other missionaries were martyred. This was first-contact in seeking to reach primative and war-like Auca Indians in Equador who had never heard about Jesus, and they paid the ultimate price, speared to death by those they came to save from hell. But it was not in vain, because relatives of two of the men returned, and ultimately numbers were won to Christ and will be with us in heaven with the Lord. As will the five men who will receive from God the Martyr's Crown!!!

Jesus gave His life for us. The 5 gave their life for Him. Ultimately primative people were saved, and God was VERY pleased!

Bondman · 04-22-2008, 01:38 PM

Message #51

Trust and OBEY!

As I awoke to a new day here in Australia the Lord clearly spoke to me about OBEDIENCE. "There are numbers here who come to read," He said, "who TRUST Me, but as yet do not OBEY Me." In the words of the wonderful old hymn:

Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey.

If you truly are trusting in Jesus then this should LEAD to obedience. Obedience is virtually a PROOF of your faith! Truly trusting in Him means that you have grasped something of the magnificence and the extent of Jesus LOVE for you. SUCH LOVE AS THIS DEMANDS A RESPONSE FROM US!! And there's no better response than what for most of us is clearly this DIFFICULT decision:

"Lord, I am DETERMINED to start being OBEDIENT
to everything YOU say that I should do!"

Yes, this IS a decision - of both the HEART and of the WILL! And God will HELP you to make it, i.e., you do NOT have to do this in your own strength!! Decide that you're going to make the decision, and He will come to your aid!!!

Obedience brings massive rewards - though let me hasten to add that one does NOT choose to obey in order to be REWARDED!! You choose to become an obedient son or daughter of the King, BECAUSE YOU SHOULD - and better still, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO!!

Responding to ALL that Jesus has done for you, you see that the very LEAST you can do in return is seek to PLEASE Him by setting your face towards living a life of doing everything He says!!! And this OBEDIENCE surely does bring its own rewards - one of the first of these being the JOY of knowing that finally, finally you know that you've moved to a place in your Christian life where you've known, maybe for a long time, that you SHOULD be - but you've never taken the step!

___________

And that's it from me! I've delivered the message. It's now in your hands as to what you will do, i.e., to respond, to dilly-dally instead of acting today, or fail to respond altogether. I urge you with every fibre of my being to do the first of these: get down on your knees and say, "Jesus, I want YOU to be Lord over ALL of my life from now on! I give You ALL OF ME - forever! I want to not just TRUST You, but also to OBEY You. Without Your help I know I can't do this, but WITH YOUR HELP I'm starting right now! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for giving Your life to save me from sin and hell. You gave Your ALL for me. Now I'm choosing to give ALL OF ME to You in return!"

You are in my prayers as you take this momentous step!!!

- BM, with his Love

EDIT! You can trust me implicitly that you will NEVER EVER EVER regret meaning what you say in taking the step of faith in the prayer above!

Fluffy · 04-22-2008, 02:04 PM

Hey, in reference to Jim Elliot and the missionaries in Ecuador...there was a movie made about them. It was called "The End of the Spear". It was a very powerful and moving movie! Wonderful account of the forgiveness of God. I highly reccommend it!

Bondman · 04-23-2008, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluffy

Hey, in reference to Jim Elliot and the missionaries in Ecuador...there was a movie made about them. It was called "The End of the Spear". It was a very powerful and moving movie! Wonderful account of the forgiveness of God. I highly reccommend it!

Didn't know that, hon. Reading how they guys actually came to be speared to death is quite astonishing.

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