Over the coming weeks I would like to begin discussing the topic of the Father Heart of God.
It's a subject I'm currently leading at Holy Fire School of Ministry Logan Campus. It's our desire to not simply attain a head knowledge and be able to say by rote, 'Yes, God loves me.' Such information without a corresponding experience becomes dead weight instead of living reality. Rather this is a potentially life transforming process that will provide everything you need to sustain you through every season of your life.
This opening paper is concerned with the issue of identity and the enemy's plan to erode your sense of self and identity in God. The key to combating this erosion is to meditate on what God is saying about us instead of the ambiguous loaded questions of the enemy.
The enemy’s sole purpose is to try to separate us, to disconnect us and use lies and loaded half truths to cause us to doubt the lavish love Father God has for us. He will use any method available to this end, even ministry activity or ‘church’ itself to distract and begin driving a wedge between you and your heavenly Father.
The ambiguous question that he used to confront Eve in the garden in Genesis 3 ‘Did God really say..?’ if entertained has great potential to derail your life, your self-esteem and your perception of who Father God is and what He is really like. And you soon realise the enemy needs no encouragement in leading you down this road of questioning God, His will for your life, His prophetic promises declared over you, your family and circumstances and His affections toward you when things feel like they've turned south.
The solution to combating such lies is truth. It is truth that sets captives free. Lie and half truths only cause most people to turn inward looking for solutions to problems they will not find internally. Half-truths are probably the most dangerous. Remember, the enemy comes parading as an angel of light whose sole purpose is to deceive people by starting an enticing argument to lead people away from God and His truth. The enemy used a half-truth in the garden, but twisted it to meet his own agenda - to separate Adam and Eve from God and cause them to question God's nature, character and desire for their lives.
The key is using the Word of God as a sword to separate truth from falsehood. What God says is perfect truth and perfect theology. Because we are His delight, the apple of His eye, His desire is always concerned with our best interests. Our self awareness and identity must be grounded in who He says we are in His sight as His children born now of Spirit and not flesh.
His words are spirit and they are life. He is not a man that He should lie. God has no desire in boosting our ego or inflate a false sense of self worth or value with a string of 'Christianese buzz words' to numb any internal pain we might be carrying.
Rather, in the flow of divine love being declared over us, a deep transformation begins to take place in our inner man when we begin to receive and believe God's revelatory truth concerning our identity and value according to how He sees us. In time this truth will manifest in how we speak, act, minister, love and relate to others, including ourselves.
Prayerfully consider the truth of these statements:
For the Father so loved you that he gave his one and only son. The primary purpose for this gift was that you would never ever feel separated or abandoned by God again. The giving of the son was an open invitation for you to step in and experience the extravagant love and acceptance of the most loving person in all of cosmic history.
This extravagant love has been directed toward you since even before the foundations of the world, even the universe itself. This love has never been based on how good you’ve been, how well you’ve done or even how successful you’ve been. It’s simply been based on the source itself – the embodiment of pure, unselfish and unconditional divine love.
What lies have you been believing concerning the love of the Father towards you? The enemy tends to come at us with statements, "You're not good enough; You're not a good enough christian; You haven't done enough; You need to give more, pray more, read more, go to church more; You're not worthy of God; You'll never make it; You're just a sinner; Did God really say?...."
Take some time right now to reject these thoughts and any others the Spirit of God will reveal to you as you wait on Him. Invite Father God to whisper His sweet truths into your soul. These words will become the fuel that will sustain you throughout your days.
Meditate on these verses:
Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture . .. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. (Rom. 8:34-39 The Message)
Remember, God not only loves You, He really likes You too.
Be blessed and thanks for reading.
Marty
