The Secret Place
THE SECRET PLACE
OF HIS PRESENCE
BY REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
PART 2
God wants to be up close and personal! He longs to be gracious to you and not only that, He waits on high to have compassion on you (Isaiah 30:18). Wow! In His compassion, He wants to give you the gift of "holy hunger" for His presence. When this happens you'll be "wrecked!" By that I mean, you'll be desperate for God; consumed with hunger for Him; "ruined!" On the surface, being wrecked doesn't sound very good, but it is good because increased intimacy with God happens! And when we're ruined like this, an intense longing for God's presence begins to well up inside of us. This needs to be expressed.
Last week we discussed that the Psalms are so popular because they express our deepest longings and our cry for God's presence. It's like the Psalms give us a "kick start" because they help our emotions come to the surface as we identify with the cry of the Psalmists.
We looked at two great verses from Psalms (in Part 1) composed by the sons of Korah. This week I want to share one particular verse by the psalmist Asaph: "My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud. My voice rises to God, and He will hear me" (Ps. 77:1). Listen. When God hears our cry it's like He is saying, "Run into my arms, child." In fact, God is inviting you to run into His arms of love so that He can carry you into the secret place of His presence. It's the place where your relationship with Him can flourish deeply and where you are free to experience the "rapture of love," which is a joyful, passionate love for God. Now that's favor!
And let's not forget that God doesn't ignore those who don't know Him yet. His arms of love are wide open to everyone. He is constantly seeking and saving the lost with a heart-attitude that says, "I am completely aware of that one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6). I'm going after that one!" And when that lost sheep is found, an opportunity will come for that person to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If they do receive Him, then, as their godly Christian character matures, an appointed time of revelation will come to them too about the secret place—its relevance and its splendor.
And there's more! The favor of God and His benefits toward us (Ps. 68:19) aren't just for us. His benefits are meant for our families too, as a godly inheritance. And His benefits are for our "spiritual children" as well. [Our spiritual children are those whose lives come into greater alignment with the Lord because we have influenced them with our godly character, anointing and spiritual gifts. Perhaps we led them to the Lord and we helped them understand His Word.]
So let's review a segment of scripture from Psalm 45 (from last week's teaching) because it illustrates the principle that favor brings a godly inheritance for our families and our spiritual children.
BUILDING-UP A GODLY INHERITANCE
In verses 10-12 the sons of Korah were inspired to write that the bride (called the "daughter") must forget her people and her father's house because she was about to enter into a marriage relationship with the King in a brand new culture and location. After she obeyed this command "THEN the King will desire her beauty" (v.11). But not only did the King desire her beauty, she received even more favor. Look at this: "And the virgins are brought to you, and with gladness and rejoicing they shall enter the King's palace. Instead of your fathers shall be your sons who you shall make princes in all the earth" (v.15-16).
Think about that. Her former way of life would be overtaken by fruitfulness and blessing after she forgot her father's house. She would concentrate on her sons, making them "princes" in all the earth. Her offspring would be princes. A prince is a royal heir! Now let's apply these verses personally. When you are completely sold out to God's purposes, you can establish a new godly inheritance of revival in your generational line because you're giving up one thing concerning your "father's house" [ where you have come from—your past, your family history] and you are embracing a whole new "breed." By this I mean that God will give you a whole new lineage; a whole new family tree. It's a whole new "revival root system" in which out of your loins your "biological" sons and daughters, as well as your "spiritual" children, will be missionaries, apostles, pastors, and prophets.
Maybe your generational line has been plagued with poverty, sickness, disease, death, thieves, criminals, witchcraft, or the occult. Perhaps no one in your family knows Jesus; just you and one sister and you're praying for the rest of your family. But starting with you—the royal son or daughter—you can "birth" new sons, a new inheritance and a new generational line. Here's how you can bring this to birth. By making a decree that from this day forward every son, every daughter, every grandchild, every son of my son's, son's, son shall be an apostle, a pastor, a prophet, an evangelist, or a teacher! Your decree actually administers God's justice.
JUSTICE OUT OF THE PALACE
Let's explore the story of Esther's life because she is an example of someone who administered the justice and judgment of God out of the royal palace. This was possible because right from day one the king greatly desired her beauty. Now why did he desire her beauty? It was because he saw that she possessed a beauty and grace that far surpassed any poise that the other beautiful virgins had. Her queenly stature was evident for all to see before she became queen! Therefore the king's servant eagerly gave her the beauty preparations, an allowance, and seven choice maidservants (Esther 2:9). Talk about favor!
How did she enhance her queenly stature and make herself ready to come before the king? She made herself ready by surrendering to the twelve month beauty treatment program—six months in the oils and six months in the perfumes. I believe the oils and perfumes symbolize different elements of intimacy that we experience in the secret place of God's presence. The oils represent: death, suffering, sacrifice, and dying to the flesh. The perfumes symbolize the presence of God and the fragrance of Christ. Actually this beauty treatment process can be summarized by the expression I mentioned earlier when I said, "you'll be wrecked." Let's not forget that the elements in this process will produce the kind of godly character that has the potential to affect many people and nations.
Isn't it interesting that she received an allowance. I want to ask a question. Do you know why there are some ministries that always seem to have enough "allowance" to carry on the work of the ministry? Here's the answer. It's because these ministries please King Jesus. Just like Esther had the royal scepter of favor extended to her (Esther 5:1-3), so do some ministries. This happens because, just like Esther, these ministries made themselves ready, like she did (2:12; 4:16).
You know, out of that place of favor in the palace, Esther saved the Jewish people—her people (Chapters 4-9). She administered the justice and judgment of God out of the royal palace. Like Esther, we need to be in the King's palace in order to administer justice. Yet some of us are trying to administer the justice and judgment of God without any favor because we aren't doing it out of the King's palace in the secret place.
Let's take to heart that ministry comes out of the King's palace, the secret place of His presence. I have always said that everything we have today at Fresh Fire Ministries is because of the secret place.
BENEFITS FOUND IN THE SECRET PLACE
The secret place can be seen symbolically as the bridal chambers of the King. So let's take a look at several areas described in different verses from the Song of Songs and the Psalms that reveal some of the benefits we can enjoy when we abide in the secret place.
1.
The voice of God and the face of God are manifested in the secret place. "Oh my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely" (SOS 2:14). In fact, the secret place of the cliff is translated this way in the KJV: "in the secret places of the stairs…" In Strong's Concordance "the secret places of the stairs" is: #5643 in the Hebrew: "cether"— a cover; hiding place, protection, secret (-ly place). Something happens in the secret place—the voice of God is heard and the face of God is seen. We hear the voice of God in quietness and stillness and we behold the face of God in worship.
It's a preparation place for the bride's future ministry. It's a place in which the hidden life and our secret history with God are developed as a result of being drawn in and responding to the presence of the King. Everybody talks about history makers. Many will say, "I want to be a history maker." But we don't have a history unless there is a secret history that is developed in the intimate bridal chambers of Jesus.
2.
The King's chambers are like a banqueting house with a banqueting table inside. "He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love" (SOS 2:4). In Strong's Concordance the banqueting house is: #3196 in the Hebrew "yayin"—wine (as fermented); by impl. Intoxication:--banqueting, wine, wine [bibber]. You know what goes in the banqueting chambers? A whole lot of drinking of heaven's wine, and it's a new wine!
3.
The secret place is a hiding place in the secret place of His tabernacle. "For in the time of trouble He will hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He will hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock" (Ps. 27:5). It's a place in which we dwell and where we inquire of the Lord and behold the beauty of the Lord.
4.
In the secret place of His tabernacle we'll be safe and we'll make an offering of the sacrifice of joy, and we'll sing praises to the Lord. "And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD" (Ps. 27:6).
5.
In the secret place we are hidden from the plots of man. "You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Ps. 31:20). Judgment, gossip, or criticism doesn't affect you because you are in the secret place of His presence.
6.
There is divine protection in the secret place. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. . . . You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday" (Ps. 91: 1, 5-6). This Psalm goes on to say, "Because he has set his love upon me . . . (when) He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him . . . ." (v.15a).
HIDE AND SEEK
Yes! When we love the Lord and we call out to Him, He will answer. But sometimes He doesn't respond to us immediately. If this happens it's like a test. Christians may either cry out louder and press-in more, or they'll withdraw and shrink away from pursuing the Lord.
Keep that in mind as we turn to Song of Songs once again. "By night on my bed, I sought the one I love. I sought him but I did not find him. 'I will rise now,' I said, 'And go about the city; into the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.' I sought him but I did not find him" (3:1-2).
Have you ever been in a place of such hunger and desperation that you said, "I will seek the one that I love. Draw me away with You. I will run after You." And you're pressing-in to His presence, thinking: One thing do I desire and I am hungry for is the manifest presence of God. I long to be united, to be one with Him. But even in all that seeking and even in all that crying out—"kiss me with the kisses of your mouth"—it's as if He can't be found. It's as if there is a "divine withholding" of His presence. It's like God wants to be pursued and He wants to "know that you know" that He is worth the chase!
That's what the bride is experiencing. She is seeking, she is crying out, but now the presence of God is withheld. Maybe you can identify with her. Maybe you're in a valley right now, in a dry and thirsty land, and it's like the heavens are brass and there is no breakthrough.
Look. Sometimes there is a divine withholding of the presence of God. The face of God is hidden. But why is God hiding? After all, here she is in the sweetness of: "Draw me away! We will run after you" (1:4). The cry of desire. "Kiss me with the kisses of your mouth" (1:2). "The King has brought me into His chambers" (1:4b). "My beloved arose and spoke to me and said, 'Rise up my fair one and come away, for lo the winter is passed'" (2:10). There is this glorious presence of God, this secret place, the voice of God, the face of God. It's sweet. It's lovely. She's in hot pursuit of God. There is a hunger in her heart. There is this beautiful intimacy, and then He is gone!!
WHY GOD WITHHOLDS HIS PRESENCE
So let's take a look at three reasons why God withholds His presence.
1.
God hides His face so that we will seek Him. He wants to be found! "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:10). How much do we really seek Him? How much do we really hunger for Him?
2.
God withholds His presence so that we'll work on the hidden life—our inner motivations and areas where sin is manifesting. Sometimes when we're in the blessing of His presence, we're tempted to try and ignore the messes in our life. But when God's presence isn't there, we're driven to seek Him, and we find out what's really going on in our heart.
3.
Sometimes God withholds His presence simply because He's okay with what we're doing. We just need to keep moving forward until He re-directs us. Some of us can't even brush our teeth until we hear God say, "get out of bed!"
It's difficult, especially after we've experienced rich seasons with God in the secret place, to find ourselves in a season when His presence feels like it has lifted. There are times when we're hurting because of hardships and testings and we get tired. But know this. God's good purposes are behind this and He will bring you through. He will awaken that fire that you once had in your heart. He wants to awaken lost love. If you're at the point of wanting to quit, don't give up. Rest in the Lord's arms of love and let Him love on you or determine to seek Him until you find His embrace.
And so next week in Part 3 we're going to discuss numerous keys to arouse and awaken love! We'll also take a look at "intimacy robbers."
I want to invite you to join with me in prayer as we close this week's teaching.
PRAYER
O God, we realize that You are inviting us to pursue You. Thank you! We are learning that when You hide, You aren't rejecting us, but You are actually yearning for us to draw closer to You in our hearts. Your Word says that if we draw near to You, You will draw near to us (James 4:8a).
Thank you that You are bent on having whole-hearted lovers and You are not content with just a piece of our heart. You are jealous for our affection and complete attention even at inconvenient times. We want to ask You to work in each of our lives through various circumstances to draw us into the secret place of Your embrace, where You long to reveal Yourself to us in a deeper way. We love You God. In Jesus' name. Amen.
"For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. It will no longer be said to you, 'Forsaken,' nor to your land will it any longer be said, 'Desolate; but you will be called, 'My delight is in her,' and your land, 'Married'; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married" (Isaiah 62:4-5).
Fresh Fire Ministries
PO Box 2525,
Abbotsford, B.C.
V2T 6R3
Tel: 604-853-9041
Fax: 604-853-5077
OF HIS PRESENCE
BY REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
PART 2
God wants to be up close and personal! He longs to be gracious to you and not only that, He waits on high to have compassion on you (Isaiah 30:18). Wow! In His compassion, He wants to give you the gift of "holy hunger" for His presence. When this happens you'll be "wrecked!" By that I mean, you'll be desperate for God; consumed with hunger for Him; "ruined!" On the surface, being wrecked doesn't sound very good, but it is good because increased intimacy with God happens! And when we're ruined like this, an intense longing for God's presence begins to well up inside of us. This needs to be expressed.
Last week we discussed that the Psalms are so popular because they express our deepest longings and our cry for God's presence. It's like the Psalms give us a "kick start" because they help our emotions come to the surface as we identify with the cry of the Psalmists.
We looked at two great verses from Psalms (in Part 1) composed by the sons of Korah. This week I want to share one particular verse by the psalmist Asaph: "My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud. My voice rises to God, and He will hear me" (Ps. 77:1). Listen. When God hears our cry it's like He is saying, "Run into my arms, child." In fact, God is inviting you to run into His arms of love so that He can carry you into the secret place of His presence. It's the place where your relationship with Him can flourish deeply and where you are free to experience the "rapture of love," which is a joyful, passionate love for God. Now that's favor!
And let's not forget that God doesn't ignore those who don't know Him yet. His arms of love are wide open to everyone. He is constantly seeking and saving the lost with a heart-attitude that says, "I am completely aware of that one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6). I'm going after that one!" And when that lost sheep is found, an opportunity will come for that person to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If they do receive Him, then, as their godly Christian character matures, an appointed time of revelation will come to them too about the secret place—its relevance and its splendor.
And there's more! The favor of God and His benefits toward us (Ps. 68:19) aren't just for us. His benefits are meant for our families too, as a godly inheritance. And His benefits are for our "spiritual children" as well. [Our spiritual children are those whose lives come into greater alignment with the Lord because we have influenced them with our godly character, anointing and spiritual gifts. Perhaps we led them to the Lord and we helped them understand His Word.]
So let's review a segment of scripture from Psalm 45 (from last week's teaching) because it illustrates the principle that favor brings a godly inheritance for our families and our spiritual children.
BUILDING-UP A GODLY INHERITANCE
In verses 10-12 the sons of Korah were inspired to write that the bride (called the "daughter") must forget her people and her father's house because she was about to enter into a marriage relationship with the King in a brand new culture and location. After she obeyed this command "THEN the King will desire her beauty" (v.11). But not only did the King desire her beauty, she received even more favor. Look at this: "And the virgins are brought to you, and with gladness and rejoicing they shall enter the King's palace. Instead of your fathers shall be your sons who you shall make princes in all the earth" (v.15-16).
Think about that. Her former way of life would be overtaken by fruitfulness and blessing after she forgot her father's house. She would concentrate on her sons, making them "princes" in all the earth. Her offspring would be princes. A prince is a royal heir! Now let's apply these verses personally. When you are completely sold out to God's purposes, you can establish a new godly inheritance of revival in your generational line because you're giving up one thing concerning your "father's house" [ where you have come from—your past, your family history] and you are embracing a whole new "breed." By this I mean that God will give you a whole new lineage; a whole new family tree. It's a whole new "revival root system" in which out of your loins your "biological" sons and daughters, as well as your "spiritual" children, will be missionaries, apostles, pastors, and prophets.
Maybe your generational line has been plagued with poverty, sickness, disease, death, thieves, criminals, witchcraft, or the occult. Perhaps no one in your family knows Jesus; just you and one sister and you're praying for the rest of your family. But starting with you—the royal son or daughter—you can "birth" new sons, a new inheritance and a new generational line. Here's how you can bring this to birth. By making a decree that from this day forward every son, every daughter, every grandchild, every son of my son's, son's, son shall be an apostle, a pastor, a prophet, an evangelist, or a teacher! Your decree actually administers God's justice.
JUSTICE OUT OF THE PALACE
Let's explore the story of Esther's life because she is an example of someone who administered the justice and judgment of God out of the royal palace. This was possible because right from day one the king greatly desired her beauty. Now why did he desire her beauty? It was because he saw that she possessed a beauty and grace that far surpassed any poise that the other beautiful virgins had. Her queenly stature was evident for all to see before she became queen! Therefore the king's servant eagerly gave her the beauty preparations, an allowance, and seven choice maidservants (Esther 2:9). Talk about favor!
How did she enhance her queenly stature and make herself ready to come before the king? She made herself ready by surrendering to the twelve month beauty treatment program—six months in the oils and six months in the perfumes. I believe the oils and perfumes symbolize different elements of intimacy that we experience in the secret place of God's presence. The oils represent: death, suffering, sacrifice, and dying to the flesh. The perfumes symbolize the presence of God and the fragrance of Christ. Actually this beauty treatment process can be summarized by the expression I mentioned earlier when I said, "you'll be wrecked." Let's not forget that the elements in this process will produce the kind of godly character that has the potential to affect many people and nations.
Isn't it interesting that she received an allowance. I want to ask a question. Do you know why there are some ministries that always seem to have enough "allowance" to carry on the work of the ministry? Here's the answer. It's because these ministries please King Jesus. Just like Esther had the royal scepter of favor extended to her (Esther 5:1-3), so do some ministries. This happens because, just like Esther, these ministries made themselves ready, like she did (2:12; 4:16).
You know, out of that place of favor in the palace, Esther saved the Jewish people—her people (Chapters 4-9). She administered the justice and judgment of God out of the royal palace. Like Esther, we need to be in the King's palace in order to administer justice. Yet some of us are trying to administer the justice and judgment of God without any favor because we aren't doing it out of the King's palace in the secret place.
Let's take to heart that ministry comes out of the King's palace, the secret place of His presence. I have always said that everything we have today at Fresh Fire Ministries is because of the secret place.
BENEFITS FOUND IN THE SECRET PLACE
The secret place can be seen symbolically as the bridal chambers of the King. So let's take a look at several areas described in different verses from the Song of Songs and the Psalms that reveal some of the benefits we can enjoy when we abide in the secret place.
1.
The voice of God and the face of God are manifested in the secret place. "Oh my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely" (SOS 2:14). In fact, the secret place of the cliff is translated this way in the KJV: "in the secret places of the stairs…" In Strong's Concordance "the secret places of the stairs" is: #5643 in the Hebrew: "cether"— a cover; hiding place, protection, secret (-ly place). Something happens in the secret place—the voice of God is heard and the face of God is seen. We hear the voice of God in quietness and stillness and we behold the face of God in worship.
It's a preparation place for the bride's future ministry. It's a place in which the hidden life and our secret history with God are developed as a result of being drawn in and responding to the presence of the King. Everybody talks about history makers. Many will say, "I want to be a history maker." But we don't have a history unless there is a secret history that is developed in the intimate bridal chambers of Jesus.
2.
The King's chambers are like a banqueting house with a banqueting table inside. "He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love" (SOS 2:4). In Strong's Concordance the banqueting house is: #3196 in the Hebrew "yayin"—wine (as fermented); by impl. Intoxication:--banqueting, wine, wine [bibber]. You know what goes in the banqueting chambers? A whole lot of drinking of heaven's wine, and it's a new wine!
3.
The secret place is a hiding place in the secret place of His tabernacle. "For in the time of trouble He will hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He will hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock" (Ps. 27:5). It's a place in which we dwell and where we inquire of the Lord and behold the beauty of the Lord.
4.
In the secret place of His tabernacle we'll be safe and we'll make an offering of the sacrifice of joy, and we'll sing praises to the Lord. "And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD" (Ps. 27:6).
5.
In the secret place we are hidden from the plots of man. "You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Ps. 31:20). Judgment, gossip, or criticism doesn't affect you because you are in the secret place of His presence.
6.
There is divine protection in the secret place. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. . . . You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday" (Ps. 91: 1, 5-6). This Psalm goes on to say, "Because he has set his love upon me . . . (when) He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him . . . ." (v.15a).
HIDE AND SEEK
Yes! When we love the Lord and we call out to Him, He will answer. But sometimes He doesn't respond to us immediately. If this happens it's like a test. Christians may either cry out louder and press-in more, or they'll withdraw and shrink away from pursuing the Lord.
Keep that in mind as we turn to Song of Songs once again. "By night on my bed, I sought the one I love. I sought him but I did not find him. 'I will rise now,' I said, 'And go about the city; into the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.' I sought him but I did not find him" (3:1-2).
Have you ever been in a place of such hunger and desperation that you said, "I will seek the one that I love. Draw me away with You. I will run after You." And you're pressing-in to His presence, thinking: One thing do I desire and I am hungry for is the manifest presence of God. I long to be united, to be one with Him. But even in all that seeking and even in all that crying out—"kiss me with the kisses of your mouth"—it's as if He can't be found. It's as if there is a "divine withholding" of His presence. It's like God wants to be pursued and He wants to "know that you know" that He is worth the chase!
That's what the bride is experiencing. She is seeking, she is crying out, but now the presence of God is withheld. Maybe you can identify with her. Maybe you're in a valley right now, in a dry and thirsty land, and it's like the heavens are brass and there is no breakthrough.
Look. Sometimes there is a divine withholding of the presence of God. The face of God is hidden. But why is God hiding? After all, here she is in the sweetness of: "Draw me away! We will run after you" (1:4). The cry of desire. "Kiss me with the kisses of your mouth" (1:2). "The King has brought me into His chambers" (1:4b). "My beloved arose and spoke to me and said, 'Rise up my fair one and come away, for lo the winter is passed'" (2:10). There is this glorious presence of God, this secret place, the voice of God, the face of God. It's sweet. It's lovely. She's in hot pursuit of God. There is a hunger in her heart. There is this beautiful intimacy, and then He is gone!!
WHY GOD WITHHOLDS HIS PRESENCE
So let's take a look at three reasons why God withholds His presence.
1.
God hides His face so that we will seek Him. He wants to be found! "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:10). How much do we really seek Him? How much do we really hunger for Him?
2.
God withholds His presence so that we'll work on the hidden life—our inner motivations and areas where sin is manifesting. Sometimes when we're in the blessing of His presence, we're tempted to try and ignore the messes in our life. But when God's presence isn't there, we're driven to seek Him, and we find out what's really going on in our heart.
3.
Sometimes God withholds His presence simply because He's okay with what we're doing. We just need to keep moving forward until He re-directs us. Some of us can't even brush our teeth until we hear God say, "get out of bed!"
It's difficult, especially after we've experienced rich seasons with God in the secret place, to find ourselves in a season when His presence feels like it has lifted. There are times when we're hurting because of hardships and testings and we get tired. But know this. God's good purposes are behind this and He will bring you through. He will awaken that fire that you once had in your heart. He wants to awaken lost love. If you're at the point of wanting to quit, don't give up. Rest in the Lord's arms of love and let Him love on you or determine to seek Him until you find His embrace.
And so next week in Part 3 we're going to discuss numerous keys to arouse and awaken love! We'll also take a look at "intimacy robbers."
I want to invite you to join with me in prayer as we close this week's teaching.
PRAYER
O God, we realize that You are inviting us to pursue You. Thank you! We are learning that when You hide, You aren't rejecting us, but You are actually yearning for us to draw closer to You in our hearts. Your Word says that if we draw near to You, You will draw near to us (James 4:8a).
Thank you that You are bent on having whole-hearted lovers and You are not content with just a piece of our heart. You are jealous for our affection and complete attention even at inconvenient times. We want to ask You to work in each of our lives through various circumstances to draw us into the secret place of Your embrace, where You long to reveal Yourself to us in a deeper way. We love You God. In Jesus' name. Amen.
"For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. It will no longer be said to you, 'Forsaken,' nor to your land will it any longer be said, 'Desolate; but you will be called, 'My delight is in her,' and your land, 'Married'; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married" (Isaiah 62:4-5).
Fresh Fire Ministries
PO Box 2525,
Abbotsford, B.C.
V2T 6R3
Tel: 604-853-9041
Fax: 604-853-5077
posted by KFF at 10:05 AM
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